THE 
DISPENSATORY 
IfI 
or THE 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
BY 
GEORGE B. WOOD, M.D., 
/RESIDENT OP THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL 80CIETY } 
PRESIDENT OP THE COLLEGE OP PHYSICIANS OP PHILADELPHIA j 
EMERITUS PROFESSOR OP THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OP MEDICINE IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OP PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. ETC, 
AND 
FRANKLIN BACHE, M.D., 
LATE PROFESSOR OP CHEMISTRY IN JEFFERSON MEDICAL COLLEGE OP PHILADELPHIA J 
LATE VICE-PRESIDENT OP TnE COLLEGE OP PHYSICIANS OF PHILADELPHIA} 
LATE PRESIDENT OP THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, ETC. ETC. 
THIRTEENTH El ITION, 
CAREFULLY REVISED. 
PHILADELPHIA: 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT AND CO. 
1874. Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1870, 
By George B. Wood, M.D., 
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States in and tor the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PREFACE 
TO 
l’HE FIRST EDITION. 
The objects of a Dispensatory are to present an account of medicinal 
substances in the state in which they are brought into the shops, and to 
teach the modes in which they are prepared for use. The importance 
of these objects, and the general value and even necessity of a work of 
this nature, will not be disputed. It may, however, be a question, how 
far the wants of the medical and pharmaceutical community in this 
country are supplied by the Dispensatories already in circulation; and 
whether such a deficiency exists as to justify the offer of a new one to 
the public attention. The great merits of the works severally entitled 
“ The Edinburgh New Dispensatory” and “ The London Dispensatory,” 
the former edited by the late Andrew Duncan, M.D., the latter by An- 
thony Todd Thomson, M.D., are well known wherever the English lan- 
guage is spoken. Founded, as they both are, upon the excellent basis 
laid by Lewis, they are nevertheless entitled, from the great addition 
of valuable materials, and the distinctive character exhibited in the ar- 
rangement of these materials, to be considered as original works; while 
the style in which they have been executed speaks strongly in favour 
of the skill and industry of their authors. But they were calculated 
especially for the sphere of Great Britain, and are too deficient in all 
that relates exclusively to this country, to admit of being received as 
standards here. In the history of our commerce in drugs, and of the 
nature, growth, and collection of our indigenous medical plants ; in the 
chemical operations of our extensive laboratories; and in the modes of 
preparing, dispensing, and applying medicines, which have gradually 
grown into use among us; there is much that is peculiar, a knowledge 
of which is not to be gained from foreign books, and is yet necessary 
to the character of an accomplished American pharmaceutist. We 
have, moreover, a National Pharmacopoeia, which requires an explana- 
tory commentary, in order that its precepts maybe fully appreciated, 
and advantageously put into practice. On these accounts it is desirable 
III IV 
Preface to the First Edition. 
that there should be a Dispensatory of the United States, which, while 
it embraces whatever is useful in European pharmacy, may accurately 
represent the art as it exists in this country, and give instruction adapted 
to our peculiar wants. It appears due to our national character that 
such a work should be in good faith an American work, newly pre- 
pared in all its parts, and not a mere edition of one of the European 
Dispensatories, with here and there additions and alterations, which, 
though they may be useful in themselves, cannot be made to harmonize 
with the other materials so as to give to the whole an appearance of 
unity, and certainly would not justify the assumption of a new national 
title for the book. Whether, in the Dispensatories which have been 
published in the United States, these requisites have been satisfactorily 
fulfilled, it rests with the public to determine. That valuable treatises 
on Materia Medica and Pharmacy have been issued in this country, no 
candid person, acquainted with our medical literature, will be disposed 
to deny. In offering a new work to the medical and pharmaceutical 
professions, the authors do not wish to be considered as undervaluing 
the labours of their predecessors. They simply conceive that the field 
has not been so fully occupied as to exclude all competition. The phar- 
macy of continental Europe is ground which has been almost un- 
touched; and much information in relation to the natural history, com- 
merce, and management of our own drugs, has lain ungathered in the 
possession of individuals, or scattered in separate treatises and periodi- 
cals notgenerally known and read. Since the publication of the last edi- 
tion of our National Pharmacopoeia, no general explanation of its pro- 
cesses has appeared, though required injustice both to that work and 
to the public. The hope of being able to supply these deficiencies may, 
perhaps, be considered a sufficient justification for the present un- 
dertaking. 
The Pharmacopoeia of the United States has been adopted as the 
basis of this Dispensatory. It is followed both in its general division 
of medicines, and in its alphabetical arrangement of them under each 
division. Precedence is, in every instance, given to the names which 
it recognises, while the explanations by which it fixes the significa- 
tion of these names are inserted in immediate connection with the titles 
to which they severally belong. Every article which it designates is 
more or less fully described; and all its processes, after being literally 
copied, are commented on and explained wherever comment and ex- 
planation appeared necessary. Nothing, in fine, has been omitted, 
which, in the estimation of the authors, could serve to illustrate its 
meaning, or promote the ends which it was intended to subserve. This 
course of proceeding appeared to be due to the national character of 
the Pharmacopoeia, and to the important object of establishing, as far 
as possible, throughout the United States, uniformity, both in tho no- 
menclature and preparation of medicines. In one particular, conveni- Preface to the First Edition. 
V 
ence required that the plan of the Pharmacopoeia should be departed 
from. The medicines belonging to the department of Materia Medica, 
instead of being arranged in two divisions, corresponding with the Pri- 
mary and Secondary Catalogues of that work, have been treated of indis- 
criminately in alphabetical succession; and the place which they re- 
spectively hold in the Pharmacopoeia is indicated by the employment 
of the term Secondary, in connection with the name of each of the medi- 
cines included in the latter catalogue. 
But, though precedence has thus been given to the Pharmacopoeia 
of the United States, those of Great Britain have not been neglected. 
The nomenclature adopted bj7 the different British Colleges, and their 
formulas for the preparation of medicines, have been so extensively 
followed throughout the United States, that a work intended to repre- 
sent the present state of pharmacy in this country would be imperfect 
without them; and the fact that the writings of British physicians and 
surgeons,in which their own officinal terms and preparations are exclu- 
sively employed and referred to, have an extensive circulation among 
us, renders some commentary necessary in order to prevent serious 
mistakes. The Pharmacopoeias of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin 
have, therefore, been incorporated, in all their essential parts, into the 
present work. Their officinal titles are uniformly given, always in sub- 
ordination to those of the United States Pharmacopoeia, when they 
express the same object; but in chief, when, as often happens, no cor- 
responding medicine or preparation is recognised by our national 
standard. In the latter case, if different names are applied by different 
British Colleges to the same object, that one is generally preferred 
which is most in accordance with our own system of nomenclature, 
and the others are given as synonymes. The medicines directed by the 
British Colleges are all described, and their processes either copied at 
length, or so far explained as to be intelligible in all essential particulars. 
Besides the medicinal substances recognised as officinal by the Phar- 
macopoeias alluded to, some others have been described, which, either 
from the lingering remains of former reputation, from recent reports 
in their favour, or from their important relation to medicines in gen- 
eral use, appear to have claims upon the attention of the physician and 
apothecary. Opportunity has, moreover, been taken to introduce in- 
cidentally brief accounts of substances used in other countries or in 
former times, and occasionally noticed in medical books; and, that the 
reader may be able to refer to them when desirous of information, their 
names have been placed with those of the standard remedies in the 
Index. 
In the description of each medicine, if derived immediately from the 
animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdom,the attention of the authors has 
been directed to its natural history, the place of its growth or produc- 
tion, the method of collecting and preparing it for market, its commer- VI 
Preface to the First Edition. 
cial history, the state in which it reaches us, its sensible properties, its 
chemical composition and relations, the changes which it undergoes by 
time and exposure, its accidental or fraudulent adulterations, its medi. 
cal properties and application, its economical uses, and the pharma- 
ceutical treatment to which it is subjected. If a chemical preparation, 
the mode and principles of its manufacture are indicated in addition 
to the other particulars. If a poison, and likely to be accidentally taken, 
or purposely employed as such, its peculiar toxicological effects, to- 
gether with the mode of counteracting them, are indicated; and the 
best means of detecting its presence by reagents are explained. 
The authors have followed the example of Dr. A. T. Thomson, in 
giving botanical descriptions of the plants from which the medicines 
treated of are derived. In relation to all indigenous medicinal plants, 
and those naturalized or cultivated in this country, the advantages of 
such descriptions are obvious. The physician may often be placed in 
situations, in which it may be highly important that he should be able 
to recognise the vegetable which yields a particular medicine; and the 
apothecary is constantly liable to imposition from the collectors of 
herbs, unless possessed of the means of distinguishing, by infallible 
marks, the various products presented to him. A knowledge of foreign 
medicinal plants, though of less importance, will be found useful in 
various ways, independently of the gratification afforded by the indul- 
gence of a liberal curiosity .in relation to objects so closely connected 
with our daily pursuits. The introduction of these botanical notices 
into a Dispensatory appears to be peculiarly appropriate; as they are 
to be considered rather as objects for occasional reference than for regu- 
lar study or continuous perusal, and therefore coincide with the gen- 
eral design of the work, which is to collect into a convenient form for 
consultation all that is practically important in relation to medicines. 
The authors have endeavoured to preserve a due proportion between 
the minuteness of the descriptions, and their value as means of infor- 
mation to the student; and, in pursuance of this plan, have generally 
dwelt more at length upon our native plants than upon those of foreign 
growth; but, in all instances in which they have deemed a botanical 
description necessary, they have taken care to include in it the essential 
scientific character of the genus and species, with a reference to the 
position of the plant in the artificial and natural systems of classifica- 
tion ; so that a person acquainted with the elements of botany may be 
able to recognise it when it comes under his observation. 
In preparing the Dispensatory, the authors have consulted, in addi- 
tion to many of the older works of authority, the greater number of 
the treatises and dissertations which have recently appeared upon the 
various subjects connected with Pharmacy, and especially those of the 
French writers, who stand at present at the head of this department 
of medical science. They have also endeavoured to collect such de Preface to the First Edition. 
VII 
tached facts, scattered through the various scientific, medical, and 
pharmaceutical journals, as they conceive to he important in them- 
selves, and applicable to the subjects under consideration; and have 
had frequent recourse to the reports of travellers in relation to the na- 
tural and commercial history of foreign drugs. The occasional refer- 
ences in the body of the work will indicate the sources from which they 
have most largely drawn, and the authorities upon which they have 
most relied. In relation to our own commerce in drugs, and to the 
operations of our chemical laboratories, they are indebted for informa- 
tion chiefly to the kindness of gentlemen engaged in these branches 
of business, who have always evinced, in answering their numerous 
inquiries, a promptitude and politeness which merit their warm thanks, 
and which they are pleased to have this opportunity of acknowledging.* 
It has not been deemed necessary to follow the example of the British 
Dispensatories, by inserting into the work a treatise upon Chemistry, 
under the name of Elements of Pharmacy. Such a treatise must neces- 
sarily be very meagre and imperfect; and, as systems of chemistry are 
in the hands of every physician and apothecary, would uselessly occupy 
the place of valuable matter of less easy access. 
The authors may, perhaps, be permitted to observe, in relation to 
themselves, that they have expended much time and labour in the pre- 
paration of the work; have sought diligently for facts from every readily 
accessible source; have endeavoured, by a comparison of authorities, 
and a close scrutiny of evidence, to ascertain the truth whenever prac- 
ticable; and have exerted themselves to the extent of their abilities to 
render the Dispensatory worthy of public approbation, both for the 
quality and quantity of its contents, and the general accuracy of its 
statements. They are conscious, nevertheless, that, in so great a mul- 
tiplicity of details, numerous errors and deficiencies may exist, and that 
the faults of undue brevity in some cases, and prolixity in others, may 
not have been entirely avoided; but they venture to hope that a candid 
public will make all due allowances; and they take the liberty to in- 
vite, from all those who may feel interested in the diffusion of sound 
pharmaceutical knowledge, the communication of friendly suggestions 
or criticisms in relation to the objects and execution of the work. 
Philadelphia, January, 1833. 
* The authors deem it proper to state that they are peculiarly indebted for assistance 
to Mr. Daniel B. Smith, president of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, to whom, 
besides much important information in relation to the various branches of the apothe- 
cary’s business, they owe the prefatory remarks on Pharmacy which are placed at the 
commencement of the second part of the work, and the several articles, in the Materia 
Mediea, upon Leeches, Carbonate of Magnesia, and Sulphate of Magnesia. PREFACE 
TO THE 
TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH EDITIONS. 
In the preface to the twelfth edition of the Dispensatory, the changes which 
had taken place after the first publication of the work, and its various existing 
relations, were so fully stated, and so little has since occurred to modify those 
relations, that it has been deemed advisable to retain that preface unaltered. 
What especially concerns the present edition may be briefly noticed at the 
close of it. 
Preface to the Twelfth Edition. 
In the foregoing preface to the first edition of this work, sufficient has been 
6aid of its objects, the plan upon which it was written, and the sources whence 
the materials composing it were originally derived. A modification of its ar- 
rangement was made in the second edition, by the introduction of an Appen- 
dix, containing an account of drugs not recognised by the American or British 
Pharmacopoeias, yet possessing some interest from their former or existing 
relations to Medicine and Pharmacy. This Appendix was so much enlarged 
by the numerous additions made to it in successive editions, that the authors 
at length deemed it worthy of being considered as a third part of the Dis- 
pensatory; and, in the edition immediately preceding the present, this change 
was carried into effect, so that the work as then arranged, and as it now con- 
tinues, consists of three divisions, the first treating exclusively of the medi- 
cines included in the Materia Medica catalogues of the Pharmacopoeias, the 
second of the Preparations, and the third of substances not strictly officinal. 
An Appendix, however, is still retained, in which are introduced various ta- 
bles and other subjects of interest or use to the apothecary and physician, 
for which a place could not conveniently be found in the body of the work. 
A precision has thus been given to the arrangement of the Dispensatory which 
was at first wanting. 
In the several successive editions, it has been the aim of the authors to keep 
pace with the progress of Materia Medica and Pharmacy, making changes cor- 
responding with those of the officinal codes acknowledged by them as authori- 
tative, and introducing more or less in detail all the new facts, views, and pro- 
cesses, as they came to public notice. In the ninth edition, that, namely, of 1851, 
it was necessary to make a thorough revision of the whole work, and in a con- 
siderable degree to rearrange the materials, in consequence of the then recent 
appearance of new and greatly altered editions of our national Pharmacopoeia, 
and of those of the London and Dublin Colleges. On this occasion, attention 
was called to a new division of weights adopted by the Dublin College, which, 
though the same in terms as those in general use, differed from them materially 
in value, and, therefore, required much caution, on the part of the authors, to 
guard against serious mistakes. Happily, these Dublin weights have been aban- 
doned in the existing British Pharmacopoeia, and one great source of incon- 
venience, if not of error, has been removed. The British Council, in the revision 
VIII Preface to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Editions. 
IX 
of the former London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Pharmacopoeias, resulting in their 
consolidation into one work, which, under the name of the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, is hereafter to serve as a standard for the whole empire, have retained the 
Imperial gallon and its subdivisions, differing more or less in value from tho 
similar denominations of the wine measure used in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
They have, moreover, adopted the avoirdupois pound and ounce, abandoning 
entirely the Troy pound and its divisions, which arc still retained in our national 
standard. To secure the practical pharmaceutist from misapprehension and 
mistakes in fulfilling the directions of the officinal formulas, arising from this 
want of uniformity in the meaning of the terms employed, it has been deemed 
necessary, in this work, to make a special reference to the value, in U. S. de- 
nominations, of the British measure or weight employed, in every formula in 
which entire accuracy is essential. 
In regard to the present edition of the Dispensatory, it is thought desirable 
to enter into some detail. Few of our readers require to be informed of the de- 
cease of Dr. Bache, one of the authors of this work. This deplorable loss, by 
which long existing ties of friendship and joint labour have been broken, has 
thrown tho whole responsibility of the revision upon the surviving author; 
and at a time, moreover, when circumstances called for an unusual exercise of 
judgment, and rendered necessary an extraordinary amount of labour in pre- 
paring a new edition. 
In the first place, an unprecedented length of interval has occurred between 
the present and immediately preceding revisions of the work; the eleventh 
and latest edition having been published in February, 1S58, more than seven 
years ago. It is true that, in this interval, it has been necessary to reprint 
the work twice to meet the public demand; but no material change could be 
made; and, with the exception of some errors corrected, the book remained 
the same as before. This delay of the revision was caused by the unfinished 
state of the Pharmacopoeias, which wore to constitute tho basis of tho new 
edition, as the old Pharmacopoeias had done of the preceding. It was knowa 
that the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was undergoing a thorough revision, with many 
and important changes ; and it was equally notorious that the three British 
Pharmacopoeias were in the course of consolidation into one, which, it was 
supposed, would retain few features of the former works, and almost none 
unaltered. Under these circumstances, it would have been folly to undertake 
a new revision of the Dispensatory, which, when completed, would in a short 
time have had its whole foundation undermined, and in all probability been 
left as useless lumber upon the - hands of the publishers. This long period 
allowed materials to accumulate beyond all precedent, and thus increased in 
proportion the necessary labour of revision. 
In the second place, the changes made both in our own and the British 
Pharmacopoeias rendered indispensable similar changes in the Dispensatory. 
One not familiar with the subject can scarcely appreciate the constant vigi- 
lance, the unceasing attention to the minutest details running through every 
part of the work, which were necessary to obviate confusion and prevent em- 
barrassing mistakes, in making the book conform to the present standards. 
Not only was it requisite to introduce all that was new, to alter positions in 
conformity with the changes in the standards, aud to notice and discuss all 
modifications whether in substance or form; but there was a constantly re- 
curring necessity to solve the various practical problems arising from the sub- 
stitution of a single one for the three former British Pharmacopoeias, which 
were referred to, at greater or loss length, in almost every page. 
Taking the above circumstances into consideration, and reflecting, in the 
third place, how greatly the field of labour has been extended for the surviving 
author by the decease of his colleague, the reader will understand that he has 
had a very heavy task upon his hands, and will not be disposed to censure 
him for a delay in the appearance of the present edition, which could have 
been shortened only at the expense of the usefulness and trustworthiness of X 
Preface to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Editions. 
the work itself. Independently of the attention given, ever since the publica- 
tion of the preceding edition, to the collection of materials for the one to fol- 
low, he has, during the last six months, devoted his whole time and energy to 
the business of revision, at the sacrifice even of ordinary social enjoyments, in 
order that he might have nothing to regret in future from errors or deficiencies 
in a book in which accuracy is so important to the general good. 
It is, however, with pleasure that he acknowledges his indebtedness, for mate- 
rial assistance in the prosecution of the revision, to his friends, Mr. William Proc- 
ter, Jun., Professor of Pharmacy in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and 
Dr. Robert Bridges, Professor of Chemistry in the same Institution. By the sug- 
gestion of new subjects for investigation and new points of inquiry, by a careful 
watchfulness to prevent or correct error, and by valuable information particu- 
larly connected with their special departments ; though thereby rather increas- 
ing than diminishing the labours of the author, they have contributed no little 
to extend the usefulness, and secure the accuracy of the work. But with all 
these advantages it would be expecting too much from human fallibility to look 
for a faultless production. No one is more sensible than the author of possible 
errors and omissions ; and he can only reiterate the invitation for friendly sug- 
gestion or criticism, given at the close of the original preface. 
Some idea may be formed of the amount of new matter added to the Dispen- 
satory in this revision, when it is understood that, notwithstanding the very con- 
siderable space gained by the consolidation of the three British Pharmacopoeias 
into one, and the consequent substitution, in many instances, of a single process 
and its necessary commentary for three, and notwithstanding the effort made to 
compress everything to be said into the fewest possible words, and to leave no 
part of the space unoccupied, it has nevertheless been found necessary to extend 
the limits of the work by more than one hundred pages. Among the more im- 
portant additions, independently of those made in conformity with the Pharma- 
copoeias, in the first and second parts of the Dispensatory, and the various new 
or modified pharmaceutical processes in the preface to the second part, or 
scattered here and there throughout that division, may be particularized the 
articles in the third part upon Anilin, Calabar Bean, Carbolic Acid, Coal Tar, 
Peroxide of Hydrogen, Petroleum, Propylamia, Sorghum, Thallium, the Upas, 
&c., with numerous brief notices of plants, especially the indigenous, intended 
to call attention to them rather as objects worthy of inquiry by the physician, 
than from their known value. The reader who may be already in any degree 
familiar with the work will bo struck with one change, for which he may proba- 
bly not perceive, at first sight, sufficient necessity in all cases. Reference is 
here made to the transfer of various articles from one part of the Dispensatory to 
another, as for example the articles on coffee, gutta-percha, ignatia, leptandra, 
permanganate of potassa, &c., from the third into the first part, and origanum, 
sponge, tin, &c.,from the first to the third. But all these and analogous change? 
have been made in accordance with the Pharmacopoeias adopted as the basis of 
the work, and will be explained when necessary in connection with the several 
articles themselves. On the whole, it may be said truly of this revision, that 
there has been no one, since the Dispensatory was originally published, which 
has been attended with so much labour, or in which so many modifications and 
additions have been introduced. 
Finally, it may be permitted to the surviving author to say that, considering 
his advanced age, it is hardly probable that he will live to see or at least par- 
ticipate in another revision, and, under these circumstances, to express his warm 
thanks to the members of the Medical and Pharmaceutical Professions, who 
have in so many ways evinced a kind regard for him personally, and a disposi- 
tion to judge favourably if not partially of his works. 
Philadelphia, March 14th, 18G5. Preface to the Twelfth and Thirteenth Editions. 
XI 
In reference to the thirteenth edition it is only requisite to say that, in 
consequence of the rapid advance in pharmacological knowledge since the pre- 
ceding revision, it has been necessary to add much new matter to the work, 
which, notwithstanding the enlarged leaf, has been increased by about one 
hundred pages. Some modifications were also rendered necessary by the pub- 
lication of a second edition of the British Pharmacopoeia, which differs in so 
many important particulars from the first edition, that, without corresponding 
changes in the Dispensatory, great injustice would have been done to the 
British authorities. 
The author may claim the merit of an honest effort to maintain the Dispensa- 
tory in all its former accuracy and fulness, and has pleasure in acknowledging 
his indebtedness to his former assistants for aid on the present occasion. The 
reader will probably have noticed, at the close of the preface to the twelfth edi- 
tion, that the author expressed some doubt as to the probability of his partici- 
pating in another revision. That his anticipations in this respect have not been 
realized, may be ascribed to the very unexpected rapidity of the sale of the last 
edition, which has been exhausted several years before the expected time, and 
to the favour of a kind Providence, which has permitted sufficient health and 
strength to remain to support him in the necessary fatigues of the work. 
Philadelphia, Feb. 1870. ABBREVIATIONS EMPLOYED IN THE WORK. 
IT. S.—“Tiie Ph arm acopcei a of the United States of America. By au- 
thority of the National Convention for revising the Pharmacopoeia, held at 
Washington, A. D. I860.” 
U. S. 1850.—The same, by authority of the Convention of 1850. 
Br.—The British Pharmacopoeia, published under the direction of the Gen 
oral Council, A. D. 1867. 
Bond.—London Pharmacopoeia, A. D. 1851. 
Ed.—Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, A. D. 1841. 
Dub.—Dublin Pharmacopoeia, A. D. 1850. 
Off. Syn.—Officinal Synonymes, or the titles employed by the Pharmaco- 
poeias with the accompanying explanations, when these titles are not given 
in chief. 
Sex. Syst.—The Sexual System, or the artificial system of Linnaeus, founded 
on the sexual organization of plants. 
Nat. Ord.—The Natural Order to which any particular genus of plants be- 
longs. When not otherwise stated, it is to be understood that the natural 
orders referred to are those recognized by Professor Lindley, of the Univer- 
sity of London, in his “Introduction to the Natural System of Botany.” 
Gen.Ch.—The Generic Character, or scientific description of any particular 
genus of plants under consideration. 
Pharm. Uses.—Use of the substance referred to in the preparation of officinal 
medicines, without entering into the constitution of the medicines prepared. 
Off. Prep.—Officinal Preparations ; including all the preparations into 
which any particular medicine directed by the U. S. or British Pharmacopoeia 
enters. When the same preparation is contained in both Pharmacopoeias, 
neither is referred to ; but when only in one, this is designated by its repre- 
sentative abbreviation at the end of the preparation named. 
Sp. Or.—Specific Gravity. 
Equiv., or Eq.—Chemical Equivalent, or the number representing the small- 
est quantity in which bodies usually combine. 
Linn., Linnaeus.—Juss., Jussieu. — De Gand., De Candolle.— Willd. Sp. 
Plant., WlLLDENOW’S EDITION OF THE SPECIES PlANTARUM OF LlNNA2US.— 
Woodv. Med. Bot., Woodville’s Medical Botany, 2d edition.—B., Baume’s 
Hydrometer. 
Fr., French. —Germ., German. — Ital., Italian. — Span., Spanish.—Arab., 
Arabic. 
Journ. de Pharm.— Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie. 
Pharm. Journ.—London Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions. 
When, in referring to a journal in parenthesis, the word See is placed before 
the name of the journal, it is generally intended to Intimate that the article 
referred to is not original. 
XII THE 
L- LJ *3 I O O U J 
DISPENSATORY 
OP 
THE UNITED STATES. 
PART I. 
MATERIA MEDICA. 
The Materia Medica, in its most comprehensive sense, embraces all those 
substances which are capable of making sanative impressions on the human 
system; but, as the term is employed in this work, it has a more restricted 
signification. The Pharmacopeia of the United States very appropriately 
arranges medicines in two distinct divisions; one including all those which 
are furnished immediately by nature, or thrown into commerce by the manu- 
facturer; the other, those which are prepared by the apothecary, and are the 
objects of officinal directions. The former are enumerated under the title of 
“Materia AIedica ;” the latter, under that of “Preparations.” In Dispen- 
satories, which may be considered as commentaries on the Pharmacopoeias, the 
same arrangement is usually followed; and the authors of the present work 
adopt it the more willingly, as, independently of the weight of authority in its 
favour, it has the recommendation of being the most convenient. By this plan, 
all the directions which relate to the practical operations of the apothecary are 
collected in one place, and are thus more easily referred to than if mixed in- 
discriminately with other matters, as they must be by any mode of arrange- 
ment which makes no distinction between the original medicinal substances 
and their preparations. Under the head of Materia Medica, therefore, in this 
Dispensatory, we treat of medicines in the state only in which they are pro- 
duced by nature, or come into the hands of the apothecary. Of these medicines, 
such as are recognised by our National Pharmacopoeia are most minutely de- 
scribed ; but we consider also all that are included in the British officinal catalogue. 
Another point in which we accord with the Pharmacopoeias is the alpha- 
betical arrangement of the objects of the Materia Medica. As a Dispensatory 
is intended rather for reference than for regular perusal it is important that 
its contents should be so disposed as to facilitate consultation. Medicines, in 
a work of this kind, are considered as independent objects, to be studied sepa 
rately, and without any reference to community of source, or similarity of 
character. Their scientific classification belongs to works which treat of them 
rather in their relations than their essential properties; and different systems 
have been adopted, according to the set of relations towards which the mind 
of the author has been especially directed. Thus, the naturalist classifies them 
according to the affinities of the several objects in nature from which they are 2 
Materia Medica. 
PART I. 
derived; the chemist, according to their composition ; the practitioner of medi- 
cine, according to their effects upon the system in a state of health and disease. 
But none of these classifications is without imperfections; and a simple alpha- 
betical arrangement is decidedly preferable, in every case in which the medicines 
are considered solely in their individual capacity. Yet, as it comes within the 
scope of this work to treat of their physiological and therapeutical effects, and 
as the terms by which these effects are expressed are also the titles of classes to 
which the medicines belong, it will not be amiss to present the reader with the 
outlines of a system of classification, by consulting which he will be enabled to 
ascertain the precise meaning we attach to the terms employed to designate the 
peculiar action of different medicinal substances. 
Remedies are divided into general and local; the former acting on the whole 
system, the latter on particular parts or organs. 
I. GENERAL REMEDIES include 1. Arterial Stimulants, sometimes 
called Incitants, which, while they raise the actions of the system above the 
standard of health, exhibit their influence chiefly upon the heart und arteries; 
2. Narcotics, which especially affect the cerebral functions, and are either 
stimulant or sedative according as they increase or diminish action; 3. Anti- 
spasmodics, or Nervous Stimulants, which, with a general stimulant power, 
exert a peculiar influence over the nervous system, exhibited in the relaxation 
of spasm, the calming of nervous irritation, &c., without any special and de- 
cided tendency to the brain; 4. Tonics, which moderately and permanently 
exalt the energies of all parts of the frame, without necessarily producing any 
apparent increase of the healthy actions; and 5. Astringents, which have the 
property of producing contraction in the living tissues with which they may 
come in contact. 
II. LOCAL REMEDIES may be divided into four sections: a. Those 
affecting the function of a part, namely, 1. Emetics, which act on the stomach, 
producing vomiting; 2. Cathartics, which act on the bowels, producing a 
purgative effect; 3. Diuretics, which act on the kidneys, producing an increased 
flow of urine; 4 Antilithics, which act on the same organs, preventing the 
formation of calculous matter; 5. Diaphoretics, which increase the cutaneous 
discharge; 6. Expectorants, which augment the secretion from the pulmonary 
mucous membrane, or promote the discharge of the secreted matter; T. Chola- 
aoGUES, which increase the flow of bile; 8. Emmenagogues, which excite the 
menstrual secretion; 9. Uterine Motor-Stimulants, or Oxytocics, which 
specially promote uterine contraction; 10. Sialagogues, which increase the 
flow of saliva; and 11. Erriiines, which increase the discharge from the mu- 
cous membrane of the nostrils: b. Those affecting the organization of a part, 
including 1. Rubefacients, which produce redness and inflammation of the 
skin; 2. Epispastics or Yesicatories, which produce a serous discharge be- 
neath the cuticle, forming a blister; and 3. Escharotics or Caustics, which 
destroy the life of the part upon which they act: c. Those operating by a me- 
chanical agency, consisting of l. Demulcents, which lubricate the surface to 
which they are applied, and prevent the contact of irritating substances, or 
mingle with these and diminish their acrimony; 2. Emollients, which serve 
as vehicles for the application of warmth and moisture; and 3. Protectives, 
which operate by excluding the air: d. Those which act on extraneous matters 
contained within the organs, including 1. Antacids, which neutralize acid, 
whether existing in the alimentary canal, or circulating with the blood; 2. Ab- 
sorbents, which absorb, and thus in some degree counteract certain iriitant 
or poisonous substances; 3. Solvents, which promote the solution of indi- 
gestible matters in the stomach; 4. Disinfectants, which destroy or prevent 
noxious and offensive effluvia, and counteract other injurious influences origin- 
ating in animal or vegetable decomposition ; 5. Anthelmintics, which destroy, 
worms, or expel them from the bowels; and 6. Antizymotics, which destroy 
or render inert, all microscopic organized beings which are hostile to humaD 
health by promoting the fermenting processes. PART I. 
Materia Medic a, 
3 
It is believed that all substances employed as medicines, with the exception of 
a very few which are so peculiar in their action as scarcely to admit of classifi- 
cation, may be distributed without violence among the above classes. Some 
substances, however, in addition to the properties of the classes to which they 
are severally attached, possess others in common, which give them practical 
value, and authorize their association in distinct groups, not recognised in the 
system of classification, but constantly referred to in medical language. Thus, 
we have Refrigerants, which, when internally administered, diminish animal 
temperature; Alteratives, which change, in some inexplicable and insensible 
manner, certain morbid actions or states of the system; and Carminatives, 
which, by promoting contraction in the muscular coat of the stomach and 
bowels, cause the expulsion of flatus. It is customary, moreover, to attach dis- 
tinct names to groups of remedies, with reference to certain effects which aro 
incident to the properties that serve to arrange them in some more compre- 
hensive class. Thus, Narcotics frequently promote sleep, relieve pain, ancj 
produce insensibility, and, in relation to these properties, are called Soporifics, 
Anodynes, and Anaesthetics; and various medicines, which, by diversified 
modes of action, serve to remove chronic inflammation and enlargements of the 
glands or viscera, are called Deobstruents. These terms are occasionally em- 
ployed in the following pages, and are here explained, in order that the sense 
in which we use thenj may be accurately understood. W. 4 
Absinthium. 
PART I. 
ABSINTHIUM. U. S. 
Wormwood. 
The lops and leaves of Artemisia Absinthium. XJ. S. 
Absinthe, Fr.; G-emeiner Wermuth, Germ.; Assenzio, Hal.; Artemisio Axenjo, Span. 
Artemisia. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Composite Sene> 
cionidese. De Cand. Asteracese. Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle sub-villous, or nearly naked. Seed-down none. Calyx 
imbricate, with roundish, converging scales. Corollas of the ray none. Willd. 
Several species of Artemisia have enjoyed some reputation as medicines. The 
leaves of A. Abrotanum, or southernwood, have a fragrant odour, and a warm, 
bitter, nauseous taste; and were formerly employed as a tonic, deobstruent, and 
anthelmintic. Similar virtues have been ascribed to A. Santonica. A. pontica 
has been occasionally substituted for common wormwood, but is weaker. A. vul- 
garis,ox mugwort, formerly enjoyed considerable reputation as an emmenagogue, 
and some years since came into notice, in consequence of the recommendation 
nf its root in epilepsy by Dr. Burdach, of Germany. For this purpose, it should 
be collected in autumn or early in the spring, and the side roots only dried for 
use. These should be powdered as they are wanted, the ligneous portion being 
rejected. The dose is about a drachm, to be administered in some warm vehicle 
in anticipation of the paroxysm, and to be repeated once or twice, at intervals 
of half an hour, till perspiration is produced, the patient being confined to bed. 
In the intervals, it may be given every second day. This is merely the revival 
of an old practice in Germany. Dr. Neumeister, of Arneburg, has used mugwort, 
in connection with assafetida, successfully in chorea. He adds a pound of the 
tops to a gallon of water, digests for three days, then strains, adds three ounces 
of assafetida, and gives a teacupful for a dose. The proportion of assafetida 
might be reduced to one-third, if well mixed. A. vulgaris of this country is 
thought by Nuttall to be a distinct species. In China, moxa is said to be pre- 
pared from the leaves of Artemisia Chinensis and A. Indica. The medicine 
known in Europe by the name of wormseed, is the product of different species 
of Artemisia. The only species which requires particular description here is 
A. Absinthium. 
Artemisia Absinthium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1844; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 54, 
t. 22. Wormwood is a perennial plant, with branching, round, and striated or 
furrowed stems, which rise two or three feet in height, and are panicled at their 
summit. The lower portion of the stem lives several years, and annually 
sends up herbaceous shoots, which perish in the winter. The radical leaves are 
triply pinnatifid, with lanceolate, obtuse, dentate divisions; those of the stem, 
doubly or simply pinnatifid, with lanceolate, somewhat acute divisions; the 
floral leaves are lanceolate; all are hoary. The flowers are of a brownish-yellow 
colour, hemispherical, pedicelled, nodding, and in erect racemes. The florets of 
the disk are numerous, those of the ray few. The plant is a native of Europe, 
where it is also cultivated. It is among our garden herbs, and has been natural- 
ized in the mountainous districts of New England. The leaves and flowering 
summits are employed; the larger parts of the stalk being rejected. They should 
be gathered in July or A ugust, when the plant is in flower. They preserve their 
peculiar sensible properties long when dried. 
Wormwood has a strong odour, and an intensely bitter, nauseous taste, which 
it imparts to water and alcohol. It yields by distillation a volatile oil (oleum 
absinthii), usually dark-green, sometimes yellow or brownish, having a strong 
odour of the plant, an acrid peculiar taste, and the sp„gr. 0-912. It is sometimes 
adulterated with alcohol, oil of turpentine, &c., which lessen its specific gravity 
The dried herb yields much more than the fresh. {Zeller.) The other constitu- 
ents, according to Braconnot, are a very bitter, and an almost insipid azotized 
matter, an excessively bitter resinous substance, chlorophyll, albumen, starch, 
saline matters, and lignin. The cold infusion becomes olive-green and turbid on part I. 
Absinthium. 
5 
the addition of sesquichloride of iron, indicating the probable existence of a 
little tannic acid. (Pereira.) Among the salts, Braconnot found one consisting 
of potassa, and an acid which he supposed to be peculiar, and denominated 
absinthic acid, but which is said to be identical with the succinic. This acid 
may be recognised among the products of the dry distillation of wormwood. 
The substance formerly called salt of wormwood (sal absinthii) was impure 
carbonate of potassa, obtained by lixiviating the ashes of the plant. By precip- 
itating an infusion of wormwood with acetate of lead, separating the excess 
of lead by sulphuretted hydrogen, evaporating the liquor to dryness, digesting 
the residue in a mixture of alcohol and ether, and submitting the resulting tinc- 
ture to slow evaporation, Caventou obtained a very bitter, imperfectly crystal- 
line substance, which he considered as the active principle, and which has been 
named absinthin. Dr. E. Luck has procured pure absinthinby a process which 
may be seen in the Am. Journ. of Pliarm. (xxiii. 358). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wormwood was known to the ancients. It is 
highly tonic; and its active principles probably enter the circulation, as it is 
said to render the flesh and milk of animals fed with it bitter. It formerly en- 
joyed great reputation in numerous complaints, attended with a debilitated con- 
dition of the digestive organs, or of the system generally. Before the introduc- 
tion of Peruvian bark, it was much used in the treatment of intermittents. It 
has also been supposed to possess anthelmintic virtues. At present, however, 
it is little used in regular practice on this side of the Atlantic. A narcotic prop- 
erty has been ascribed to it by some writers, in consequence of its tendency to 
occasion headache, and, when long continued, to produce disorder of the nervous 
system. This property is supposed to depend on the volatile oil, and, therefore, 
to be less obvious in the decoction than in the powder or infusion. A case is 
recorded in the Lancet (Dec. 6, 1862, p. 619) in which half an ounce of the oil, 
swallowed by a male adult, produced insensibility, convulsions, foaming at the 
mouth, and a tendency to vomit; though the patient recovered under the use of 
emetics, with stimulants and demulcents. In large doses, wormwood irritates 
the stomach, and excites the circulation. The herb is sometimes applied extern- 
ally, by way of fomentation, as an antiseptic and discutient. The dose in sub- 
stance is from one to two scruples; of the infusion, made by macerating an 
ounce in a pint of boiling water, from one to two fluidounces.* W. 
* Oil of Wormwood. The possession of narcotic properties by this volatile oil referred 
to in the text, has been confirmed by experiments on the lower animals. Among its 
effects, one of the most striking and characteristic are epileptiform convulsions, which 
seem to occur uniformly from a certain dose. Eecovery after the convulsions often takes 
place; but large doses are capable of producing fatal effects. M. Marce, in a commu- 
nication to the Academy of Sciences, in Paris, a.d. 18G4, states, as the result of experi- 
ments on dogs and rabbits, that two or three grammes (30 or 45grs.) given by the stom- 
ach, produce trembling, stupor, hebetude, insensibility, and all the appearances of ex- 
treme terror; that from three to eight grammes induce epileptiform convulsions, with 
involuntary evacuations, foaming at the mouth, and stertorous breathing; but that 
these symptoms are transient, and do not cause death. (Bulletin Gen. Therap., Mai 15, 
1864.) Similar experiments were afterwards made by M. Magnan, with similar results, 
except that in the case of guinea-pigs, death followed convulsions from a dose of two 
grammes of the oil with three grammes of alcohol. (L’ Union Med., Aout 4 et 9, 1864.) 
Dr. E. Amory, of Boston, subsequently repeated these experiments on guinea-pigs and 
rabbits with confirmatory results. Dr. Amory, on post-mortem examination, found no 
apparent lesion except slight cerebral congestion. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Marr'i 
12, 1868, p. 83.) 
Absinthe. Under this name, a liqueur is much used in Prance, consisting essentially of 
alee hoi mixed with volatile oil of wormwood, and some other less active ingredients, 
especially oil of anise. It has for some time been noticed that the effects of this liqueur 
differ essentially from those of pure alcoholic drinks, constituting a series of symptoms, 
which have been designated by the name of absinthism. From a case recorded by M. 
Magnan, in which the patient, having habituated himself to the use of brandy, and 
afterwards substituted absinthe, gave an opportunity of comparing the effects of the two 
kinds of drink, it appears that the characteristic symptoms of the latter, taken in excess, 
are restlessness at night with disturbing dreams, nausea and vomiting in the morning, 
with great trembling of the hands and tongue, vertigo, and a tendency to epileptiform 6 
Acacia. 
PART I. 
ACACIA. U.S. 
Gum Arabic. 
The concrete juice of Acacia vera and of other species of Acacia. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ACACIAS GUMMI. A gummy exudation from the stems of one or 
more undetermined species of Acacia. Br. 
Gomme Arabique, Fr.; Arabisches Gummi, Germ.; Gomma Arabica, Italy GomaAra- 
biga, Span.; Samagh Arabee, Arab. 
Acacia. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Moncecia. — Nat. Ord. Leguminosse. Trib. 
Mimoseae. 
This genus is one of those into which the old genus Mimosa of Linnaeus was 
divided by Willdenow. The name Acacia was employed by the ancient Greeks 
to designate the gum-tree of Egypt, and has been appropriately applied to the 
new genus in which that plant is included. 
Gen. Gh. Hermaphrodite. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-cleft, or formed 
of five petals. Stamens 4-100. Pistil one. Legume bivalve. Male. Calyx 
five-toothed. Corolla five-cleft, or formed of five petals. Stamens 4-100. Willd. 
Several species of Acacia contribute to furnish the gum arabic of the shops. 
Among the most important are A. vera and A. Arabica, confounded together 
by Linnaeus under the title of Mimosa Nilotica. 
Acacia vera. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1805; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. dec. 
x. 34. This is a tree of middling size, with numerous scattered branches, of 
which the younger are much bent, and covered with a reddish-brown bark. 
The leaves are alternate and bipinnate, with two pairs of pinnae, of which the 
lower are usually furnished with ten pairs of leaflets, the upper with eight. The 
leaflets are very small, oblong-linear, smooth, and supported upon very short 
footstalks. On the common petiole is a gland between each pair of pinnae. Both 
the common and partial petiole are smooth. Two sharp spines, from a quarter 
to half an inch long, of the colour of the smaller branches, and joined together 
at their base, are found at the insertion of each leaf. The flowers are yellow, 
inodorous, small, and collected in globular heads, supported upon slender pedun- 
cles, which rise from the axils of the leaves, in number from two to five together. 
The fruit is a smooth, flat, two-valved legume, divided by contractions, occur- 
ring at regular intervals, into several roundish portions, each containing one 
seed. This species flourishes in Upper Egypt and Senegal, and is probably 
scattered over the whole intervening portions of Africa. 
A. Arabica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1805; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. x. 
32; Carson, Illust of Med. Bot. i. 31. —Acacia Nilotica, Delille, Illust. Flor. de 
VEgypte, p. 19. This species, though often little more than a shrub, attains in 
favourable situations the size of a considerable tree, being sometimes forty feet 
high, with a trunk a foot or more in diameter. The leaves are alternate and 
doubly pinnate, having from four to six pairs of pinnae, each of which is fur- 
nished with from ten to twenty pairs of minute, smooth, oblong-linear leaflets. 
The common petiole has a gland between the lowest pair of pinnae, and often 
also between the uppermost pair. Both the common and partial petioles, as 
well as the young branches, are downy. The thorns are straight, and disposed 
as in the former species. The flowers are also arranged as in A. vera, and the 
fruit is of a similar shape. A. Arabica is perhaps the most widely diffused of 
convulsions, in which the patient loses consciousness, falls, bites his tongue, foams at the 
mouth, makes facial grimaces, throws about his limbs. &c., but from which he usually 
recovers. Experiments made with alcohol and oil of wormwood, separately, on the 
lower animals, have demonstrated that these latter effects are ascribahle to the worm- 
wood; and the inference is, that the abuse of absinthe is more dangerous than that of 
alcoholic drink in its purer forms. Erom the fatal effects produced by the oil of worm- 
wood, recorded in the preceding paragraph and in the text, it is highly probable that 
absinthe is capable of producing immediately fatal convulsions, in quantities in which 
ordinary spirituous drinks, containing a similar amount of alcohol, might he taken 
with present impunity. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., March 5, 18G8, p. 69.)—Note to 
the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Acacia. 
7 
the gum-bearing species. It grows in Upper and Lower Egypt, Senegal, and 
other parts of Africa, flourishes also in Arabia, and is abundant in Hindostan, 
where its gum is used for food. It has been introduced into Algeria. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 837.) 
Besides the two species above described, the following afford considerable 
quantities of gum:—A. Karroo of the Cape of Good Hope, formerly considered 
by some as identical with A. vera; A. Senegal, a small tree, inhabiting the hot- 
test regions of Africa, and said to form vast forests in Senegambia; A. gummi- 
fera, seen by Broussonet in Morocco near Mogador; A. Ehrenbergiana, a shrub 
six or eight feet high, named in honour of the German traveller Ehrenberg,who 
observed it in the deserts of Libya, Nubia, and Dongola ; A. Seyal, growing in 
the same region, and also in Upper Egypt and Senegambia; A. Adansonii, of 
the Flore de Senegambie, said to contribute a portion of the Senegal gum ; and 
A. tortilis, which sometimes attains the height of sixty feet, and inhabits Arabia 
Felix, Nubia, Dongola, and the Libyan desert. It is highly probable that gum 
is obtained from other species not hitherto described, growing in the hot lat- 
itudes of Africa. A. decurrens and A. floribunda are said to yield it in New 
Holland. Trees, moreover, not belonging to the genus, afford a similar product, 
especially Feronia elephantum of Hindostan, the gum of which, according to 
Ainslie, is used for medical purposes in Lower India, and Algarobia glandu- 
losa of New Mexico, supposed to be the source of the mezquite gum. 
The gum-bearing Acacias are all thorny or prickly trees or shrubs, calculated 
by nature for a dry and sandy soil, and flourishing in deserts where few other 
trees will grow. We are told that camels, attached to the caravans, derive 
from them their chief sustenance in many parts of those desolate regions in 
which Africa abounds. In these situations, they have a stunted growth, and 
present a bare, withered, and uninviting aspect; but in favourable situations, 
as on the banks of rivers, they are often luxuriant and beautiful. 
Their bark and unripe fruit contain tannic and gallic acids, and are some- 
times used in tanning. An extract was formerly obtained from the immature 
pods of A. Arabiea and A. vera, by expression and inspissation. It was known 
to the ancients by the name of acacise verse succus, and was highly praised by 
some of the Greek medical writers; but is at present little used. It is a solid, 
heavy, shining, reddish-brown substance, of a sweetish, acidulous, styptic taste, 
and soluble in water. Its virtues are probably those of a mild astringent. On 
the continent of Europe, a preparation is said to be substituted for it called 
acacia nosti’as, obtained by expression and inspissation from the unripe fruit ol 
Prunus spinosa, or the wild plum-tree. 
The gum of the Acacias exudes spontaneously from the bark, and hardens 
on exposure; but incisions are sometimes made in order to facilitate the exuda- 
tion. This is supposed to be favoured by disease; and it is stated by Jackson 
that, in Morocco, the greatest product is obtained in the driest and hottest 
weather, and from the most sickly trees. An elevated temperature appears to 
be essential; for in cooler climates, though the tree may flourish, it yields no 
gum. According to Ehrenberg, the varieties in the characters of the gum do 
not depend upon difference in the species of the plant. Thus, from the same 
tree, it will exude frothy or thick, and clear or .dark-coloured, and will assume, 
upon hardening, different shapes and sizes; so that the pieces, when collected, 
require to be assorted before being delivered into commerce. 
Commercial History and Varieties. The most common varieties of this drag 
are the Turkey, the Barbary, the Senegal, and the India gum; to which may 
be added the Cape and the Australian gum. 
1. Turkey Gum. Gum arabic was formerly procured, chiefly if not exclu- 
sively, from Egypt and the neighbouring countries; and much is still obtained 
from the same sources. It is collected in Upper Egypt, Nubia, Kordofan, and 
Darfur, whence it is taken down the Nile to Alexandria. We obtain it in this 
country through Smyrna, Trieste, Marseilles, or some other entrepot of the 
Mediterranean commerce. Two varieties have long been noticed, one more oi 8 
Acacia 
PART I 
less coloured, the other white, which were formerly distinguished by the titlea 
of gum gedda and gum turic, derived from the ports of the Red Sea, Jidda 
and Tor, from which the varieties were erroneously supposed to be respect- 
ively exported.* The gum from Egypt is commonly called Turkey gum, and 
is the kind with which apothecaries are usually supplied. Though interspersed 
with roundish pieces of various sizes, it consists chiefly of small, irregular 
fragments, commonly whitish, or slightly tinged with yellow or reddish-yel- 
low'. It is, on the whole, lighter coloured, more brittle, more readily soluble, 
and freer from impurities than the other commercial varieties, and contains 
much of that form of gum arabic which is characterized by innumerable minute 
fissures pervading its substance, and impairing its transparency. 
2. Barbary Gum. Much gum arabic is obtained from Barbary; and Mo- 
gador, a port of Morocco, is the chief entrepot of the trade. It is probably1 
derived, in part at least, from Acacia gummifera. According to Jackson, the 
natives call the tree which affords it attaleh. They gather it in July and A ugust, 
when the weather is hot and very dry. Two kinds are brought to Mogador, 
one from the neighbouring provinces, the other by caravans from Timbuctoo. 
This may account for the fact, that Barbary gum in part resembles the Turkey, 
in part the Senegal. When first deposited in the warehouses, it has a faint 
smell, and makes a crackling noise, occasioned by the rupture of the small 
masses as they become more dry. Barbary gum is exported in casks, and 
reaches the United States through English commerce. 
3. Senegal Gum. This variety was introduced 'into Europe by the Dutch. 
The French afterwards planted a colony on the western coast of Africa, and 
took possession of the trade; but, since the last great European war, it has 
been largely shared by the English. St. Louis, at the mouth of the Senegal, 
and Portendic, considerably further north, are the ports in which the commerce 
in gum chiefly centres. Immense forests of Acacia exist in the interior. These 
are composed chiefly of two trees, called by the natives vereck or nereck, and 
nebuel or nebued; the former yielding a white gum, the latter a red. These 
are probably distinct species; the vereck being, according to M. Rain, A. vera, 
and the nebuel, A. Senegal. According to Adanson, there are several other 
gum-bearing species in the neighbourhood. The juice begins to exude in No- 
vember. The dry winds, which prevail after the rainy season, cause the bark 
to crack; the juice flows out, and hardens in masses, which are often as large 
as a pigeon’s egg, and sometimes as that of the ostrich. At this period, the 
Moors and negroes proceed to the forests in caravans, collect the gum in leather 
sacks, and convey it to the coast. Senegal gum is imported into the United 
States chiefly from Bordeaux. It is usually in roundish or oval unbroken pieces, 
of various sizes, sometimes whitish, but generally yellowish, reddish, or brown- 
ish-red, larger than those of Turkey gum, less brittle and pulverizable, and 
breaking with a more conchoidal fracture f 
* Bayard Taylor states that Turkey gum is obtained almost entirely from Kordofan, 
where 30,000 cwt. are annually gathered. (Journey to Central Africa, N. Y. 1854, p. 387.) 
f An interesting account is given by M. J. Leon Soubeiran of the varieties of gum sold 
under the name of Senegal. The following is an abstract from his paper, published in 
the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Juillet, 1856, p. 53). 
Hard gum Galam (gomme dure de Galam) is the name given to the product of the two 
species mentioned in the text. That of A. vereck is white, wrinkled, and dull externally, 
of a vitreous fracture, sometimes vermicular or tortuous, but in general roundish or oval, 
two inches in diameter, of a sweetish slightly acidulous taste, and wholly soluble in 
water, with which it forms a mucilage much clearer and less consistent than that of Turkey 
gum, and reddening the tincture of litmus. The product of A. nebued differs only in being 
more frequently of a reddish colour, almost always in roundish lumps from six lines to an 
inch in diameter, transparent, of a slightly bitter taste, and yielding a mucilage thicker 
than that of Turkey gum, and but very slightly reddening the tincture of litmus. 
Mixed with the Galam gum are two other varieties, named Bondou gum and GonakU 
gum; the former closely resembling the Galam gum, but differing by its decidedly bitter 
taste, which renders it unfit for medical use; the latter derived from A. Adansonii, redder 
than the red Galam gum, drying readily and becoming vitreous like the better varieties, part i. 
Acacia. 
9 
4. India Gum. Large quantities of gum have been imported from India, 
derived from A. Arabica, and probably other species of Acacia. Most of it is 
taken to Bombay in Arab vessels from Cape Gardafui and Berbera on the north- 
eastern coast of Africa, where it is collected, or from the ports of the Red Sea. 
It is in pieces of various size, colour, and quality, some resembling the broken 
fragments of Turkey gum, though much less chinky; others large, roundish, 
and tenacious, like the Senegal. It is usually much contaminated, containing, 
besides genuine gum arabic, portions of a different product, having the char- 
acteristic properties of Bassora gum. This is distinguished by its insolubility 
in water, with which, however, it unites, swelling up, and forming a soft viscid 
mass. It owes its properties to the presence of bassorin. Besides this im- 
purity in the India gum, there are often others more readily detected. Among 
these, we have observed a yellowish-wThite resinous substance, which has the 
sensible properties of the turpentines. If care be used in assorting this com- 
mercial variety, it may be employed for all the purposes of good gum arabic. 
India gum is brought to this country, partly from Calcutta or Bombay, and 
partly by way of England. It usually comes in large cases. We have seen a 
parcel said to have come directly from the Red Sea, enclosed in large sacks 
made of a kind of matting, and bearing a close resemblance to the gum from 
Calcutta, except that it was more impure, and contained numerous large, irre- 
gular, very brittle masses, not much less than the fist in size.* 
5. Cape Gum. Pereira mentions that gum is imported into Great Britain 
from the Cape of Good Hope, where it is collected probably from Acacia Kar- 
roo, which grows abundantly on the banks of the Gariep, and in other parts. 
Dr. Pappe, of Cape Town, refers it to Acacia horrida of Willdenow. (Flor. 
Capens. 8.) It is of a pale-yellow colour, in tears or fragments, and is con- 
sidered an inferior variety. According to Mr. Simmons, the importation has 
nearly ceased; this gum having been superseded by the artificial product called 
British gum or dextrin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 75.) 
6. Australian Gum. Considerable quantities of gum have been imported 
into England from South Australia. It is in pieces elongated or globular, rough 
and even wrinkled upon the surface, and of a violaceous tint, which distinguishes 
but unfortunately so bitter as much to lessen the value of the gum. with which it maybe 
mixed, and from which it is not easy to distinguish it. 
Brittle gum, Salabreda, or Sadra-beida, is supposed to be obtained from A. albida of the 
Flora of Senegambia, which is much smaller than A. vereck, and characterized by its white 
bark. The gum is usually in small, irregular pieces like coarse salt, probably the fragments 
of larger lumps, hut sometimes in vermicular pieces about as thick as a goose-quill, and 
of variable length. It is dull and often wrinkled externally, of a vitreous fracture, and 
of different tints of colour, white, green, yellow, or orange. It is always somewhat bit- 
ter. Very easily soluble in its weight of water, it affords a mucilage of little consistence, 
which has but a slight effect on the tincture of litmus. When the solution is evaporated 
to the consistence of a paste, it absorbs moisture so as to become viscid; and this prop- 
erty detracts much from its value. It is much less esteemed than the Galam gum. (Note 
to the eleventh edition.) 
* In the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Oct. 1867, p. 270), a variety of India gum, im- 
ported into France, by way of London, in boxes containing about 400 pounds, is de- 
scribed as follows. It is a mixture of tears of various tints with impurities. In assorting 
it for use,.the lightest coloured tears are selected. These are less perfectly transparent 
than gum arabic, less fissured on the surface, which is brilliant and often mammillated, 
and are also much less friable. But the most important distinctive character of this 
gum consists in its relations to water. If agitated with twice or thrice its weight of cold 
water, instead of forming, like ordinary gum arabic, a homogeneous, slightly mucilag- 
inous solution, it forms a thick, transparent, very tenacious magma, which cannot be 
diluted with a larger quantity of water, but may, after a long time, be coarsely divided, 
still, however, retaining its viscid, ropy aspect, which never entirely disappears, what- 
ever may 1 3 the quantity of water added. It imparts to syrup a very thick and rsry 
viscid consistence. It is important that the apothecary should be able to distinguish it, 
as it is unfit for ordinarjr pharmaceutic use, being employed exclusively by the manu- 
facturer in the preparation of cloths. All that is necessary is to add a few pieces to twice 
their weight of cold water, and allow the mixture to stand. After some hours, the pe- 
culiar, very viscid mucilage above described is developed, betraying t tte character of 
the gum. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 10 
Acacia, 
PART I. 
it from other varieties. It is not entirely soluble in water, to which it imparts 
less viscidity than ordinary gum arabic.* 
General Properties. Gum arabic is in roundish or amorphous pieces, or 
irregular fragments of various size, more or less transparent, hard, brittle, 
pulverizable, and breaking with a shining fracture. It is usually white, or 
yellowish-white ; but frequently presents different shades of red. and is some- 
times of a deep-orange or brownish colour. It is bleached by exposure to the 
sun. In powder it is always white. It is inodorous, has a feeble, slightly 
sweetish taste, and when pure dissolves wholly in the mouth. The sp. gr. 
varies from 1-31 to l-48. Gum arabic consists essentially of a peculiar proxi- 
mate principle usually called gum, but for which the name of arabin has been 
adopted. In describing its chemical relations, therefore, we describe those of 
the principle alluded to. Water, either cold or hot, dissolves it, and forms a 
viscid solution called mucilage, which, when evaporated, yields the gum un- 
changed. (See Mucilago Acacias.) It is insoluble in alcohol, ether, and the 
oils; and alcohol precipitates it from its aqueous solution Diluted acids dis- 
solve it, but not more freely than water. The concentrated acids decompose it. 
Triturated with sulphuric acid at ordinary temperatures, it is converted into a 
product similar to the gummy substance resulting from the action of the same 
acid on linen rags and sawdust. Heated with concentrated sulphuric acid, it is 
decomposed with the evolution of carbon. The diluted acid, when boiled with it, 
gives rise to the formation of a saccharine substance. Strong nitric acid con- 
verts it into mucic acid, and at the same time produces oxalic and malic acids. 
It combines with several salifiable bases. With the alkalies and earths it forms 
soluble compounds. By the subacetate of lead it is precipitated from its solu- 
tion, in the form of a white insoluble compound of gum and protoxide of lead ; 
and a delicate test of its presence in any liquid is thus afforded. It enters into 
combination with several salts. A solution of borax coagulates it. When 
added to a solution of silicate of potassa, it precipitates a compound of gum, 
potassa, and silica; while a compound of gum and potassa remains dissolved. 
Its solution yields a precipitate with nitrate of mercury, and forms a brown, 
semi-transparent jelly with a strong solution of sesquichloride of iron. In soiu- 
* Much confusion has existed in the use of the word gum, which has been employed to 
express various concrete vegetable juices, and, at the same time, a peculiar proximate 
principle of plants. It is now proposed to restrict the term to the former of these appli- 
cations, and to designate the principle alluded to by the name of arabin. The subject of 
the gums was investigated by M. Guerin, who repeated and corrected the experiments 
of former chemists, and threw new light upon the nature of these substances. Several 
of the facts mentioned in the text were derived from his memoir, published in the Ann. 
de Chim. et de Phys. (t. xlix. p. 248). M. Guerin considers as characteristic of gums the 
property of affording mucic acid, when acted on by nitric acid. He recognises in the lif- 
ferent gums three distinct proximate principles; namely, 1. arabin, or the pure gui*. of 
chemical writers, which is the essential constituent of gum arabic; 2. bassorin, which 
enters largely into the composition of Bassora gum and tragacanth ; and 3. cerasin, wl ch 
constitutes the portion of cherry gum insoluble in cold water. Of arabin sufficient is s-ud 
in the text. Bassorin will be treated of under the head of Bassora gum. (See Part Thh i.) 
Of cerasin it may be proper to say a few words in this place. The gums which exi le 
from the cherry, apricot, peach, and plum trees, and which the French call gomme iu 
pays, appear to be identical in composition, consisting of a portion soluble in cold wat* r, 
which is arabin, and a portion insoluble, which was formerly thought to be bassorin, but 
has been proved by M. Guerin to be different, and is appropriately denominated cerasm. 
This principle is colourless, semi-transparent, tasteless, inodorous, uncrystallizable, in- 
soluble in alcohol, insoluble in cold water in which it softens and swells a little, and 
convertible by the action of boiling water into arabin, with which it appears to be iso- 
meric. In this last property it differs from bassorin, which is not changed by boiling 
water. M. Guerin suggests that the heat of the climate, in tropical countries, produces 
the same effect upon the exuded gums as artificial heat in colder regions, and that con- 
sequently the acacia gum consists chiefly of arabin. (Note to the third edition.) 
From the observations of Dr. Kiitzing, it would appear that the spontaneously exuded 
gum of the plum, cherry, &c.,is sometimes at least the product of a diseased cell-action, 
and contains remains of the cells, probably analogous to the epithelial constituent of ani- 
mal mucus. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 39.)—Note to the tenth edition. PART I. 
Acacia. 
11 
tion it unites with sugar; and the liquid, when evaporated, yields a transparent, 
solid substance, insusceptible of crystallization.* 
Gum arabic undergoes no change by time, when kept in a dry place. Its 
aqueous solution, if strong, remains for a considerable time unaltered, but ulti- 
mately becomes sour, from the production of acetic acid. The tendency to be 
come sour is increased by employing hot water to dissolve it. Mixed with chalk 
and cheese, at ordinary temperatures, it undergoes a fermentation, resulting in 
the production of alcohol, without an antecedent formation of sugar. {Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chim., 3e sdr., xxxii. 261.) Between 300° and 400°, the gum 
softens, and may be drawn into threads. At a red heat it is decomposed, yield- 
ing, among other substances, a minute proportion of ammonia. When burnt, it 
leaves about 3 per cent, of ashes, consisting, according to Guerin, of carbonates 
of potassa and lime, a little phosphate of lime, chloride of potassium, oxide of 
iron, alumina, magnesia, and silica. The lime is now supposed to exist in the 
gum combined with gummic or arabic acid, and this compound constitutes 
pure gum or arabin. In consequence of the presence of lime, oxalate of am- 
monia occasions a precipitate with the solution. Besides pure gum, gum arabic 
contains a very small proportion of an azotized body, which is thought to 
occasion a slight opalescence in its solution, several saline substances, and 
16 to 17 per cent, of uncombined water. {Guerin.) Pure gum (or more prop- 
erly gummic acid) may be obtained by treating the compound of gum and prot- 
oxide of lead with sulphuretted hydrogen. Its ultimate constituents are carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen; its generally admitted formula being C12HnOn. 
The properties above enumerated belong to gum arabic generally. There 
* Arabin or Pure (him. Gummic Acid. Arabic Acid. At the time of the publication of 
the eleventh edition of this work, experiments by Lowenthal, reported by Neubauer, had 
led to the supposition that arabin or pure gum, instead of being a distinct proximate prin- 
ciple, was really complex, consisting of an insoluble acid united with a small proportion 
of lime or other base, forming a soluble compound. Since that period, the subject of the 
gums generally, and of gum arahic in particular, has received a new and interesting de- 
velopment through the researches of M. Fremy. The following are the conclusions to 
which these researches have led. 
1. Pure gum or arabin consists of a substance soluble in water, having acid properties, 
and hence called gummic acid [arabic acid, Gmelin, Handbook, xv. 193), combined with 
about 3 per cent, of lime, forming a soluble salt. In other words, the arabin of Guerin 
is gummate of lime. Gummic acid may be obtained in a soluble state by decomposing 
gum arabic by means of oxalic acid, which separates the lime without modifying the 
condition of the acid. 
2. Under the influence of concentrated sulphuric acid, applied in a peculiar manner, 
or of a heat of about 300° P. maintained for several hours, gummic acid undergoes a 
molecular change, by which it is converted into an isomeric substance, also feebly acid, 
which M. Fremy calls metagummic acid, and of which the distinctive property is that it 
swells up with water without dissolving, acting in this respect like cerasin andbassorin. 
3. When this insoluble metagummic acid is exposed to the action of boiling water 
alone, it undergoes no change; but, if small quantities of a base, such as potassa, soda, 
ammonia, baryta, or lime are added, it is immediately dissolved, having been recon- 
verted, under "the influence of these bases, into gummic acid, which forms soluble salts 
with them; and the salt thus formed has all the characters of gum arabic. 
4. Gum arabic itself, as ascertained by M. Gelis, undergoes the same change under.the 
operation of a high temperature; being converted from a gummate into a metagummate 
of lime, which swells up in cold water without dissolving, but by boiling water is ren- 
dered again soluble, being reconverted into gummate of lime. 
5 According to M. Fremy, cerasin is nothing more than metagummate of lime, being, 
as is well known, changed by boiling with water into arabin, in other words, gummate 
of lime, or gum arabic. 
6. Hence, M. Fremy supposes that, in plants, metagummic acid is first formed, which 
in the progress of vegetation is more or less completely changed into gummic acid, thus 
giving rise to different varieties of gum, distinguished by the greater or less proportion 
of the soluble to the insoluble ingredients. 
7. Bassorin, however, when boiled with water and an alkali, though rendered soluble, 
is not, like cerasin, converted into gum arabic or arabin; the soluble gum which results 
being precipitated from its aqueous solution by neutral acetate of lead, which is not the 
case with gum arabic (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Fev. 1860, p. 81.)—Note to the 
tv\elfth edition. 12 
Acacia. 
PART L 
are, however, pharmaceutic varieties with differences which deserve notice 
1. Gum that is transparent and readily soluble. This constitutes by far the 
greater portion of the commercial varieties distinguished by the name? of Tur- 
key and Senegal gum. It is characterized by its transparency, ready solubility, 
and the comparatively slight degree of thickness and viscidity of its solution. 
"Under this head may be included the gomme blanche fendilleeot Guibourt. It 
is distinguished by the whiteness and deficient transparency of the pieces, at- 
tributable to the minute cracks or fissures with which they abound, and which 
render them very brittle and easily pulverizable. This peculiar structure is 
generally ascribed to the influence of solar heat and light; but is conjectured by 
Ilayne to arise from the exudation of the juice in the frothy state noticed by 
Ehrenberg. Though the unbroken pieces are somewhat opaque, each minute 
fragment is perfectly transparent and homogeneous. This variety, in conse- 
quence of its prompt and entire solubility, is usually preferred for medical use, 
and for most purposes in pharmacy. 2. Gum less transparent and less soluble. 
Guibourt has proposed for portions of this gum the name of gomme pelliculee, 
from the circumstance that the masses are always apparently covered, on some 
part of their surface, by a yellowish opaque pellicle. Other portions of it have 
a mammillary appearance on the surface. It is less transparent than the for- 
mer variety, is less freely and completely dissolved by water, and forms a more 
viscid solution. It melts with difficulty in the mouth, and adheres tenaciously 
to the teeth. It is found in all the commercial varieties of gum, but least in 
that from Egypt. Its peculiarities have been ascribed to variable proportions 
of bassorin or cerasin associated with the soluble arabin. Between these two 
varieties of gum there are insensible gradations, so that it is not always easy 
to classify specimens. 
Impurities and Adulterations. In parcels of gum arabic there are some- 
times pieces of a dark colour, opaque, and incorporated with ligneous, earthy, 
or other impurities. The inferior are often mixed with or substituted for the 
better kinds, especially in powder; and portions of insoluble gum, bdellium, and 
other concrete juices of unknown origin, are found among the genuine. Flour 
or starch is sometimes fraudulently added to the powder, but is easily detected 
by the blue colour which it produces with tincture of iodine. In consequence 
of the impurities and difference in quality, gum arabic should generally be as- 
sorted for pharmaceutic use. A foreign substance sometimes adheres to its 
surface, giving it a bitter taste, from which it may be freed by washing in 
water.* Dextrin, broken into small fragments, has been mingled with parcels 
of gum. It may be known by yielding, in solution, a reddish-purple colour 
with solution of iodine. It does not, like gum, produce a yellowish or brownish 
jelly with solutions of the sesquisalts of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This gum is used in medicine chiefly as a 
demulcent. By the viscidity of its solution, it serves to cover and sheathe in- 
flamed surfaces; and, by blending with and diluting irritating matters, blunts 
their acrimony. Hence, it is advantageously employed in catarrhal affections 
and irritation of the fauces, by being held in the mouth and allowed slowly to 
dissolve. Internally administered, it has been found useful in inflammations of 
* Bleaching of gum. M. Picciotto proposes to purify coloured gum by dissolving it in 
six or eight parts of a strong and pure solution of sulphurous acid, heating the solution, 
treating it with carbonate of baryta in excess, then filtering, and evaporating at a mod- 
era te heat. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., ix. 16.)—Note to the ninth edition. 
M. Picciotto has since proposed a better metnod, consisting in dissolving the gum in 6 
to 18 parts of water, passing the solution through linen, and then mixing it with gelatinous 
alumina freshly precipitated. A pap-like substance is formed; and the colouring matter 
is so fixed by the alumina, that when the mixture is placed on a linen strainer, the mu- 
cilage escapes colourless; or, if not entirely so at first, becomes so on a repetition of the 
process. The alumina may be used a second time. To recover the alumina, it may be 
washed with hot water to separate the remaining gum, then treated with chlorine water, 
or hypochlorite of lime, and finally washed with boiling water. (Jmm. de Pharm et dt 
Chim., Juillet, 1867, p. 55.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Acacia.—Aceium. 
13 
the gastric and intestinal mucous membrane; and its employment has even 
been extended to similar affections of the lungs and urinary organs. Whether 
it is beneficial, in the latter cases, in any other manner than by the dilution 
resulting from its watery vehicle, is doubtful. By some it has been thought to 
possess a positively sedative influence over inflamed surfaces to which it may 
be applied in the state of solution. It is a good article of diet in cases of high 
febrile and inflammatory action, requiring a very rigid regimen. If not positively 
sedative, it is certainly not in the least irritating; while it ij sufficiently nourish- 
ing to prevent the injurious action of the organs upon themselves. Its nutritive 
properties have been denied; but the fact of their existence rests on incontro- 
vertible evidence. The Moors and negroes live on it almost exclusively during 
the period of its collection and conveyance to market; the Bushman Hotten- 
tots, in times of scarcity, support themselves upon it for days together ; and 
we are told that the apes of South Africa are very fond of it. Six ounces a day 
are said to be sufficient to sustain life for a time in a healthy adult. In many 
cases of disease, its solution may constitute, for a short period, the exclusive 
drink and food of the patient. It is best prepared by dissolving an ounce of 
the gum in a pint of boiling water, and allowing the solution to cool. An ex- 
cellent demulcent, called gum-pectoral, is made by dissolving equal parts of 
gum arabic and sugar in water, and evaporating by means of a water-bath. 
It is held in the mouth, and allowed slowly to dissolve.* In pharmacy, gum 
arabic is extensively used for the suspension of insoluble substances in water, 
and for the formation of pills and troches. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Amygdalae, U.S.; Mistura Cretae; Mistura Glycyrrhizae 
Composita, U.S.; Mistura Guaiaci, Br.; Mucilago Acaciae; Pulvis Amygdalae 
Comp., Br.; Pulvis Tragacanthae Comp., Br.; Syrupus Acaciae, TJ. S. W. 
ACETUM. U.S.,Br. 
Impure dilute Acetic Acid prepared by fermentation U. S. An acid liquid, 
prepared from malt and unmalted grain by the acetous fermentation. Br. 
Vinaigre, Fr.; Essig, Germ.; Aceto, Ital.; Vinagre, Span. 
Vinegar is a sour liquid, the product of the acetous fermentation. Viewed 
chemically, it is a very dilute solution of acetic acid, containing certain foreign 
matters. 
The acetous fermentation may be induced in all liquors which have under- 
gone or are susceptible of the vinous fermentation. Thus sugar and water, 
saccharine vegetable juices, infusion of malt, cider, and wine maybe converted 
into vinegar, if subjected to the action of a ferment, and exposed, with access 
of air, to a temperature between 15° and 90°. During the acetous fermenta- 
tion, a microscopic vegetable growth has been noticed, which Pasteur has 
shown to be a cryptogam of the genus Mycoderma, and which appears to be 
essential to the process. By the presence and influence of this plant, the germs 
of which exist in the atmosphere, alcohol sufficiently diluted with water is con- 
verted into acetic acid, as sugar in solution is, through the agency of an anal- 
ogous growth, converted into alcohol. 
Vinegar is generally made by the German process, by which the time con- 
Vinegar. 
* Jujube paste. Marsh-mallow paste. Iceland moss paste. Under these names, prepa- 
rations are sold in the shops which are essentially the gum-pectoral of the text, contain- 
ing little or none of the substances which give them distinctive names. Prof. Procter 
has favoured us with the following formula, according to which they are made. Take 
of gum arabic 8 fbs., of sugar 12 ibs. avoirdupois, the whites of two dozen eggs, and 
5 pints of water. Heat together the gum and water, by means of steam, to 220°, stir till 
dissolved, strain forcibly, stir in the sugar quickly, and, when it is dissolved, add the 
white of eggs previously well beaten, stirring constantly, and at the same time remove 
from the dre. If made in real accordance with the name, decoction of marsh-mallow or 
Iceland moss must be substituted for the water. (2Vby* the twelfth edition.) 14 
Aceium. 
PART I. 
sumed in its formation is greatly abridged. A mixture is prepared of one part 
of alcohol of 80 per cent., four or six parts of water, and one-thousandth of 
honey or extract of malt, to act as a ferment. This mixture is allowed to trickle 
through a mass of beech shavings, previously steeped in vinegar, and contained 
in a deep oaken tub, called a vinegar generator. The tub is furnished, near 
the top, with a wooden diaphragm perforated with numerous small holes, whicH 
are loosely filled with packthread about six inches long, prevented from slip- 
ping through by a knot at one end. The alcoholic mixture, heated to between 
75° and 83°, is placed on the diaphragm, and slowly percolates the beech shav- 
ings, whereby it becomes minutely divided. It is essential to the success of the 
process that a current of air should pass through the tub. In order to establish 
this current, eight equidistant holes are pierced near the bottom of the tub, 
forming a horizontal row, and four glass tubes are inserted vertically in the 
diaphragm, of sufficient length to project above and below it. The air enters 
by the holes below, and passes out by the tubes. The contact of the air with 
the minutely divided liquid rapidly promotes the acetification, which consists, 
essentially, in the oxidation of the alcohol. During the process the temperature 
rises to 100° or 104°, and remains nearly stationary while the process is going 
on favourably. The liquid is drawn off by a discharge pipe near the bottom, 
and must be passed three or four times through the tub, before the acetification 
is completed, which generally occupies from twenty-four to thirty-six hours. 
According to Wimmer, pieces of charcoal, about the size of a walnut, may be 
substituted for the beech shavings in the process, with the effect of expediting 
the acetification. The charcoal must be deprived of saline matter by dilute 
muriatic acid, and afterwards washed with water. M. Pasteur denies that the 
more rapid acetification, produced by enlarging the surface of contact with the 
atmosphere, by means of packthread, beech shavings, &c., is owing to the direct 
influence of the air, and ascribes it to the presence of mycoderms upon the sur- 
face of these substances. 
In England vinegar is made from the infusion of malt by the German pro- 
cess, which is said to have originated with Mr. Ilam, of Bristol, England, as 
early as 1822. The fermented wort is made to fall in a shower upon a mass 
of fagots of birch twigs, occupying the upper part of a large vat, and, after 
trickling down to the bottom, is pumped up repeatedly to the top, to be again 
allowed to fall, until the acetification is completed. This mode of oxidizing the 
alcohol in the fermented wort has the advantage of rendering insoluble certain 
glutinous and albuminous principles, which, if not removed, would cause a mud- 
diness in the vinegar, and make it liable to spoil. 
In the United States, vinegar is often prepared from cider. When it is made 
on a large scale, the cider is placed in barrels with their bung-holes open, which 
are exposed during the summer to the heat of the sun. The acetification is 
completed in the course of about two years. The progress of the fermentation, 
however, must be watched; and, as soon as perfect vinegar is formed, it should 
be racked off into clean barrels. Without this precaution, the acetous ferment- 
ation would run into the putrefactive, and the vinegar be spoiled. Cider vin- 
egar contains no aldehyd. It contains malic acid, and therefore yields a pre 
cipitate with acetate of lead. The want of such a precipitate would indicate 
that the supposed cider vinegar is probably a manufactured substitute. 
Vinegar may be clarified, without impairing its aroma, by throwing about 
a tumblerful of boiling milk into from fifty to sixty gallons of the liquid, and 
stirring the mixture. This operation has the effect, at the same time, of ren- 
dering red vinegar pale. 
The series of changes which occur during the acetous fermentation is called 
acetification. During its progress, there is a disengagement of heat; the liquor 
absorbs oxygen and becomes turbid; and filaments form, which are observed to 
move in various directions, until, finally, upon the completion of the fermenta- 
tion, they are deposited in a mass of a pultaceous consistence. The liquor now 
becomes transparent, its alcohol has disappeared, and acetic acid has been part 1. 
Acetum. 
15 
formed in its place. How is this change of alcohol into acetic acid effected? 
Liebig supposes that it takes place in consequence of the formation of aldehyd, 
into which the alcohol is changed by the loss of a part of its hydrogen. The 
alcohol, consisting of eqs. of carbon, six of hydrogen, and two of oxygen, 
loses two eqs. of hy ! n through the influence of the atmosphere, and be- 
comes aldehyd, composed of four eqs. of carbon, four of hydrogen, and two of 
oxygen. This, by the absorption of two eqs. of oxygen, becomes four eqs. of 
carbon, four of hydrogen, and four of oxygen; that is, hydrated acetic acid 
(C4H303,H0). Thus the conversion of alcohol into acetic acid consists in, first, 
the removal of two eqs. of hydrogen, and afterwards the addition of two eqs. 
of oxygen. Aldehyd is a colourless, very inflammable, ethereal liquid, having 
a pungent taste and smell. Its density is 0‘7 9. It absorbs oxygen with avidity, 
and is thus converted into acetic acid, as just stated. Its property of absorb- 
ing oxygen gives it a reducing power, like that possessed by glucose. Hence, 
Trommer’s test for glucose may be applied to the detection of aldehyd. A few 
drops of solution of sulphate of copper is added to the solution suspected to con- 
tain aldehyd, and then a solution of potassa in excess. The liquid is next heated 
nearly to the boiling point, which will cause the precipitation of red suboxide 
of copper, if aldehyd be present. The name, aldehyd, alludes to its relation to 
alcohol, aZcohol dehydrogenated. Its aqueous solution is decomposed by caus- 
tic potassa, with formation of aldehyd resin. This is a soft, light-brown mass, 
which, heated to 212°, gives off a nauseous soapy smell.* 
Properties. Vinegar, when good, is of an agreeable penetrating odour, and 
pleasant acid taste. According to Magnes Lahens, wine vinegar always con- 
tains a little aldehyd. The better sorts of vinegar have a grateful aroma, which 
is probably due to the presence of an ethereal substance, perhaps acetic ether. 
The colour of vinegar varies from pale yellow to deep red. When long kept, 
especially if exposed to the air, it becomes muddy and ropy, acquires an un- 
pleasant smell, putrefies, and loses its acidity. 
The essential ingredients of vinegar are acetic acid and water; but, besides 
* To the above account of acetous fermentation by Dr. Bache, the progress of scienco 
requires that some addition should be made. It has been shown that, as the alcoholic 
and most other fermentative processes, the acetous is necessarily connected with the pres- 
ence of a microscopic plant, which is generally believed to be the real cause of the 
changes by which the alcohol is converted into acetic acid. The organism is, in this in- 
stance, the Mycoderma aceti, which is one of the simplest of vegetables, consisting of ar- 
ticulated structures, somewhat compressed at the middle, about of a millimeter in 
diameter, and twice as long. Without the presence of this mycoderm, alcohol, so far as 
is known, never undergoes acetilication, whatever quantity of albuminoid matter, for- 
merly supposed to act as the ferment, may be present; and, with the mycoderm, the pro- 
cess will take place, even in the absence of albuminoid matter, provided there exist in 
the liquid a little alkaline and earthy phosphate. Hence it is inferred that the albumi- 
noid substances, usually employed as ferment, act merely as nourishment for the myco- 
derm. The pultaceous mass referred to in the text, formed during the fermentation, and 
commonly called mother of vinegar, because vulgarly supposed to be essential to its pro- 
duction, consists of this mycoderm, portions of which, spread over the beech wood shavings, 
in the German process for manufacturing vinegar, produce acetilication. The mycoderm 
probably acts by oxidizing the alcohol, deriving oxygen itself from the air; and hence 
it is necessary that it should be at the surface of the liquid; and the fermentation is 
suspended on its submersion. When the whole of the alcohol has been consumed in the 
process, the mycoderm, if it continues present, extends its oxidizing influence to the 
acetic acid, which is thus converted into water and carbonic acid. For the development 
of these facts in reference to the acetous fermentation, science is indebted to the re- 
searches of Pasteur. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 343.) 
It is well known that, in certain kinds of vinegar, little eel-like animals may be seen 
in great numbers. Their origin has been unknown, until they were shown by M. Davaine 
to be developed in most fruits, as the apple, plum, peach, cherry, &c., in great numbers, 
and thus their presencein cider-vinegar can easily be explained. These little animals need 
air for their support; and a curious contest may sometimes be noticed between them and 
the mycoderm upon the surface, which, as it tends to consume all the oxygen absorbed, the 
little eels combine their efforts to submerge, so as to expose the liquid freely to the air. 
{Ibid., also Neues Repert. fur Pharm., 1865, band xiv., no. 809, s. 427.)—Note to the thir- 
teenth edition. 16 
Acetum, 
PART I. 
these, it contains various other substances, derived from the particular vinous 
liquor from which it may have been prepared. Among these may be men- 
tioned, colouring matter, gum, starch, gluten, sugar, a little alcohol, and fre- 
quently malic and tartaric acids, with a minute proportion of alkaline and 
earthy salts. According to the TJ.S. Pharmacopoeia, vinegar should be devoid 
of lead and copper and of free sulphuric acid, as shown by its not being dis- 
coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen, and yielding no precipitate when boiled 
with a solution of chloride of calcium; and of such a strength that a fluidounce 
would require, for saturation, not less than thirty-five grains of crystallized bi- 
carbonate of potassa. After saturation it should be free from acrid taste, indi- 
cating the absence of acrid substances, the taste of which may have been con- 
cealed by that of the acetic acid. 
In the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, two kinds of vinegar were officinal, 
malt vinegar and wine vinegar, under the names of British vinegar and French 
vinegar. The present British Pharmacopoeia now recognises only the former. 
Malt vinegar (Acetum Britannicum) has a brown colour, and a sp. gr. from 
1’006 to 1 ‘019. The strongest kind, called proof vinegar, contains from 46 
to 5 per cent, of acetic acid. That of British manufacture usually contains 
sulphuric acid, which the manufacturer is allowed by law to add in a propor- 
tion not exceeding one part in a thousand. This addition was at one time 
thought necessary to preserve the vinegar; but it is now admitted that, if the 
vinegar be properly made, it does not require to be thus protected. 
As ordered by the British Pharmacopoeia, “it has a sp gr. of 1017 to 1‘019; 
one fluidounce of it (445 4 grains) require at least 402 grain-measures of the 
volumetric solution of soda for neutralization, corresponding to 46 per cent, of 
anhydrous acetic acid. If ten minims of solution of chloride of barium be 
added to a fluidounce of the vinegar, and the precipitate, if any, be separated 
by filtration, a further addition of the test will give no precipitate. Sulphu- 
retted hydrogen causes no change of colour.” Br. The chloride of barium test 
admits the presence of 1 part in 1000 of sulphuric acid. The non-action of 
sulphuretted hydrogen indicates the absence of metals generally. 
Wine vinegar (Acetum Gallicum) is nearly one-sixth stronger than pure malt 
vinegar. It is of two sorts, the white and the red, according as it is prepared 
from white or red wine. White wine vinegar is usually preferred, and that made 
at Orleans is the best. Bed wine vinegar may be deprived of its colour, and 
rendered limpid, by being passed through animal charcoal. According to the late 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, wine vinegar may be distinguished from malt vinegar 
by the addition of ammonia in slight excess, which causes in the former “ a pur 
plish muddiness, and slowly a purplish precipitate,” and in the latter, either no 
effect, or a dirty-brownish precipitate. 
Adulterations. The principal foreign substances which vinegar is liable to 
contain, are sulphuric and sulphurous acids, certain acrid substances, and cop- 
per and lead, derived from improper vessels used in its manufacture. Tin has 
been found in it after standing a short time in tin vessels. Muriatic and nitric 
acids are but rarely present. Chloride of calcium will detect free sulphuric acid, 
when boiled with the vinegar, without causing the least precipitate with the 
minute quantity of sulphates, almost always present in the liquid. (Boettger.) 
Chloride of barium is not a suitable test here; as it will cause a precipitate 
with these sulphates, when no free sulphuric acid is present. Sulphurous acid 
may be detected and estimated by first precipitating the sulphates and free sul- 
phuric acid by baryta-water, next acting on the vinegar with arsenic acid, which 
converts sulphurous into sulphuric acid, and finally precipitating the newly 
formed sulphuric acid by chloride of barium. From the sulphuric acid in the 
last precipitate, its equivalent of sulphurous acid is easily calculated. {Baroque.) 
Muriatic acid may be discovered by adding to a distilled portion of the sus- 
pected vinegar a solution of nitrate of silver, which will throw down a curdy 
white precipitate, insoluble in nitric acid. If nitric acid be present, an improb- 
able impurity, it may be detected by producing a yellow colour, \yhen the sus- part I. 
Acetum.—A chillea. 
17 
pected vinegar is boiled with indigo. The acrid substances usually introduced 
into vinegar are red pepper, long pepper, pellitory, grains of paradise, and mus- 
tard seed. These may be detected by evaporating the vinegar to an extract, 
which will have an acrid, biting taste, if any one of these substances be pres- 
ent. By far the most dangerous impurities in vinegar are copper and lead. 
The former may be detected by a brownish precipitate on the addition of fer- 
rocyanide of potassium to the concentrated vinegar; the latter, by a blackish 
precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen, and a yellow one with iodide of potas- 
sium. Pure vinegar is not discoloured by sulphuretted hydrogen. According 
to Chevallier, wine vinegar, which has been strengthened with acetic acid from 
wood, sometimes contains a minute proportion of arsenic. The deleterious metal 
is probably derived from arseniferous sulphuric acid, employed in preparing the 
acetic acid. 
Medical Properties. Yinegar acts as a refrigerant and diuretic. With this 
view it is added to diluent drinks in inflammatory fevers. It is sometimes used 
as a clyster, diluted with twice or thrice its buik of water. It has been sup- 
posed to be a powerful antidote to the narcotic poisons, but this is a mistake. 
In the case of opium, the best authorities unite in considering it worse than 
useless; as it gives activity to the poison rather than neutralizes it. Externally 
it is employed as a fomentation in bruises and sprains. Diluted with water, it 
forms the best means of clearing the eye from small particles of lime. Mixed 
with an equal measure of water, strong cider-vinegar was successfully used by 
Dr. A. H. Hunt, of Wayne Co., Ohio, by injection into the bladder, for break- 
ing up and removing clotted blood from the cavity of that viscus. {Med. and 
Surg. Reporter, Sept. 14, 1867, p. 222.) Its vapour is inhaled in certain states 
of sorethroat, and it is diffused through sick rooms under the impression that it 
destroys unwholesome effluvia, though, in fact, it has no other effect than to 
cover unpleasant smells. The dose is from one to four fluidrachms; as a clyster, 
the quantity used is one or two fluidounces. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Destillatum, U. S.; Emplastrum Cerati Saponis, Br., 
Tinctura Opii Acetata, U.S. B. 
ACHILLEA. U. S. Secondary. 
Yarrow. 
The herb and flowers of Achillea millefolium. U. S. 
Millefeuille, Ft.; Schafgarbe, Oerm.; Millefoglie, Ital.; Cientoenrama, Yerba de Sai 
Juan, Span. 
Achillea. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua —Nat. Ord. Composite Seneci- 
onidese. De Cand. 
Gen.Ch. Beceptacle chaffy. Calyx imbricate, ovate, unequal. Pappus none. 
Floi'ets of the ray five to ten, roundish, dilated. 
Achillea Millefolium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2208; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 36, 
t. 15. Milfoil or yarrow is a perennial herb, common to the old and new conti- 
nents, though supposed to have been introduced into this country from Europe. 
It abounds in old fields, along fences, and on the borders of woods and of culti- 
vated grounds, throughout the United States. It is from a foot to eighteen 
inches high, and is specifically distinguished by its doubly pinnate, downy, mi- 
nutely divided leaves, with linear, dentate, mucronate divisions, from which it 
derived the name of milfoil, by its furrowed stem and calyx, and by its dense 
corymb of whitish flowers, which appear throughout the summer, from June to 
September. The whole herb is medicinal. 
Properties. Both the flowers and leaves have an agreeable, though feeble 
aromatic odour, which continues after drying, and a bitterish, astringent, pun- 
gent taste. The aromatic properties are strongest in the flowers, the astringeney 
in the leaves. The plant owes its virtues to a volatile oil, a bitter extractive, and 
tannin. It contains also a peculiar acid, denominated achilleic acid. The oil, 
which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, has a beautiful 18 
Achillea.—Acidum Aceticum. 
PART T. 
azure-blue colour, and the peculiar flavour of milfoil. The active principles are 
extracted both by water and alcohol. 
Medical Properties. The medical properties of the herb are those of a mild 
aromatic tonic and astringent. In former times it was much used as a vulne- 
rary, and was given internally for the suppression of hemorrhages, and of pro- 
fuse mucous discharges. It was employed also in intermittents, and as an anti- 
spasmodic in flatulent colic and nervous affections. It has recently been highly 
recommended by M. Richart, of Soissons, in low forms of exanthematous fevers 
with difficult eruption, in colic, painful menstruation, and infantile convulsions. 
He uses the infusion at once as a drink, an injection, and fomentation. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Ghim., xviii. 62.) Dr. B. H. Coates, of Philadelphia, has found 
it useful in hemorrhage ( Trans.of Philad. Col. of Phys., N. S., ii. 334); and Dr 4 
R. Joly, of France, has used it very advantageously as an emmenagogue, anu 
states that it is much employed popularly, in his neighbourhood, for the same 
purpose. (Bullet. Gen. de Therap., Mars, 1857.) He has also found it useful in 
the suppressed lochia. In some parts of Sweden it is said to be employed as a 
substitute for hops in the preparation of beer, which it is thought to render more 
intoxicating. It is most conveniently administered in the form of infusion, which 
may be made in the proportion of an ounce to the pint, and given in the dose 
of a wineglassful or more. The volatile oil has been given in the dose of twenty 
or thirty drops. W. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM. U.S.,Br, 
Acetic Acid. 
Acetic acid of the sp. gr. 1 047, and containing 36 per cent, of monohydrated 
ncetic acid. U. S. An acid liquid prepared from wood by destructive distilla- 
tion and subsequent purification; 100 parts by weight contain 33 parts of the 
acetic acid, H0,C4H303, corresponding to 28 parts of anhydrous acetic acid, 
C4Hs03. Br. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM GLACIALE. Br. 
Glacial Acetic Acid. 
Concentrated Acetic Acid, corresponding to at least 84 per cent, of anhy- 
drous acid, C4H303. Br. 
Exclusively of Acidum Aceticum Dilutum, which will be noticed in the 
second part of this work, two strengths of acetic acid are now officinal in the 
U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias, assuming those acids to be identical which 
approach most nearly to equality in specific gravity. These are the Acidum 
Aceticum Glaciate, Br., of the sp. gr. 1 065 to 1 066, and the Acidum Aceticum, 
U. S , Br., of the sp. gr. 1 047 as directed by our officinal standard, and 1 044 by 
the British. 
We shall consider these grades separately, in the order of their strength. 
Acidum Aceticum Glaciale, sp.gr. 1-065 to 1 066. Br. A process for this 
preparation was given in the British Pharmacopoeia of 1864, which consisted 
in first heating acetate of soda so as to drive off all its water of crystalliza- 
tion, then, aftei cooling, distilling it with concentrated sulphuric acid, and, 
finally, if the resulting acetic acid, upon being tested with a mixture of solu- 
tion of iodate of potassa and a little mucilage of starch, was found to contaui 
sulphurous acid, agitating the distilled acid with perfectly dry black oxide »f 
manganese, and again distilling. The object of the process was to furnish an 
acid of the maximum strength, containing one eq. of dry acid with one of 
water derived from the sulphuric acid. But, on trial, it was not found to be 
satisfactory, as the resulting acid was not truly glacial, and always contained 
sulphurous acid. (C. H. Wood, Pharm. J. and Trans., July, 1867, p. 17.) The 
acetate of lead, which was employed for the same purpose by the Edinburgh part I. 
Acidum Aceticum. 
19 
and Dublin Colleges, is said to yield a purer product, though objectionable from 
the liability of being by accident contaminated with lead. In the Dublin me- 
thod, well-dried acetate of lead was decomposed by dry muriatic acid gas, and 
the liberated acetic acid distilled over. It is said that acetate of lime is prefer- 
able to either of the salts mentioned, because better able to bear without de- 
composition the heat necessary to dry it. (Ibid.)* It is affirmed, however, by 
Prof. Redwood, that the true monohydrated acetic acid cannot be produced 
by this process, nor by any other on a small scale, and that to obtain it re- 
course must be had to the manufacturer, who operates on large quantities of 
the material. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans , March, 1864, p 411.) It was there- 
fore, wise in the revisers of the British Pharmacopoeia to abandon the pro- 
cess, and trust to the manufacturer, securing a proper purity and strength of 
the acid by giving precise directions on these points. 
Acetic acid of maximum strength may be obtained by distilling binacetate of 
potassa at a heat between 390° and 570°. One eq. of monohydrated acetic 
acid distils over, and neutral acetate of potassa is left. The binacetate may be 
formed by evaporating a mixture of the neutral acetate with an excess of 
watery acetic acid. In this process, the same acetate of potassa serves re- 
peatedly for conversion into binacetate, and subsequent decomposition. This 
process is said to be employed by manufacturers on a large scale in some parts 
of the continent of Europe. It originated with M. Melsens. 
Acidum Aceticum, U. S., Br. (sp. gr. 1-047, U. S., 1 044, Br.). This is the 
acid resulting from the purification of the crude acetic acid, obtained by the 
destructive distillation of wood. It is the acid most useful to the apothecary, 
and which gives the first heading to this article. As this grade of acid has its 
source in the impure acetic acid, obtained by the destructive distillation of 
wood, it will be proper to premise some account of the crude acid, called crude 
pyroligneous acid. 
Wood, when charred, yields many volatile preducts, among which are an 
acid liquor, an empyreumatic oil, and tar containing creasote and some other 
proximate principles. When the carbonization is performed in close vessels, 
these products, which are lost in the ordinary process of charring, maybe col- 
lected, and, at the same time, a large amount of charcoal is obtained. 
The cai’bonization of wood in close vessels, with a view to collect the con- 
densible products, was first put in practice by Mollerat in France. The appa- 
ratus employed at Choisy, near Paris, is thus described by Thenard. It con- 
sists of 1st, a furnace with a movable top; 2d, a strong sheet-iron cylinder, 
standing upright, sufficiently capacious to contain a cord of wood, and furnished 
with a sheet-iron cover; 3d, a sheet-iron tube, proceeding horizontally from 
the upper and lateral part of the cylinder to the distance of about a foot; 4th, 
a copper tube connected with the last, which is bent in such a manner as to 
plunge successively to the bottom of two casks filled with water, and, after 
rising out of the second, is bent back, and made to terminate in the furnace. 
At the bottom of each cask, the tube dilates into a ball, from the upper part 
of which another tube proceeds, which, passing wTater-tight through the cask, 
terminates above a vessel intended to receive the condensible products. 
* The process of the late British Pharmacopoeia is contained, in detail, in the 12th 
edition of the U. S. Dispensatory {page 17), that of the Dublin College in the 11th edi- 
tion {page 17), and that of the Edinburgh College, in which acetate of lead was decom- 
posed by sulphuric acid, in the same place. The process said to have been principally 
followed by the British manufacturer is the following. One cwt. of purified acetate of 
soda, which had previously been deprived of water by fusion, and broken up after cool- 
ing, was digested with 60 lbs. of sulphuric acid, of sp.gr. 1-848, and then heated in a 
still till all the acetic acid was driven over. This was redistilled, in a chloride of cal- 
cium or oil bath, with peroxide of manganese, and afterwards again distilled from char- 
coal and peroxide of lead. The acid thus procured, being placed in ice, was in great 
measure solidified ; and, the liquid portion being decanted, the solid residue, when 
melted, had the sp. gr. 1-067, and contained 98 per cent, of the monohydrated acid. 
(Ileathfield, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., vii. 188.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 20 
Acidum Aceticum. 
PART I 
The sheet-iron cylinder, being filled with wood, in the state of billets, or, as 
some prefer, in that of sawdust, and closed by luting on its cover with fire 
clay, is let down into the furnace by the help of a crane. The fire is then 
applied; and, when the process is completed, the cylinder is removed by the 
same means, to be replaced by another. During the carbonization, the vola • 
tile products are received by the tube; and those which are condensible, being 
an acid liquor and tar, are condensed by the water in the casks, and collect in 
the lower bends of the tubes, from which they run into the several recipients; 
while the incondensible products, being inflammable gases, are discharged 
into the furnace, where, by their combustion, they assist in maintaining the 
heat. Eight hundred pounds of wood afford, on an average, thirty-five gal- 
lons of acid liquor, weighing about three hundred pounds. 
This is the crude pyroligneous acid, sometimes called pyroligneous vinegar. 
It is a dark-brown liquid, having a strong smoky smell, and consists of acetic 
acid diluted with more or less water, and holding in solution chiefly tar and 
empyreumatic oil, with pyroxylic spirit, and probably a small proportion of 
creasote. It is from this crude acid that the U. S. and British acetic acid, 
corresponding to the acetic acid of commerce, is obtained. The purification is 
effected as follows. The acid is saturated with cream of lime, whereby acetate 
of lime is formed in solution, and a good deal of the tarry matter precipitated. 
The solution of acetate of lime is then mixed with a concentrated solution of 
sulphate of soda, and, by double decomposition, acetate of soda is formed in 
solution, and sulphate of lime precipitated. The solution of acetate of soda is 
next subjected to evaporation, during which further impurities that separate on 
the surface are skimmed off. The solution, being duly concentrated, is set aside 
to crystallize; and the impure salt thus obtained, after having been partially 
purified by solution and recrystallization, is fused in an iron vessel, stirred 
until it dries, and, the heat being carefully raised, subjected to incipient car- 
bonization, whereby remaining empyreumatic matters are carbonized, with little 
damage to the salt. The mass is then dissolved in water, and the solution, 
being strained and recrystallized, furnishes pure acetate of soda. (See Sodae 
Acetas.) Finally, this salt is distilled with from 34 to 35 per cent, of its weight 
of sulphuric acid, when it yields the acetic acid of commerce, the residue being 
sulphate of soda, which is reserved for decomposing fresh portions of acetate 
of lime. The acid has still an empyreumatic flavour, which is removed by 
filtering it through animal charcoal. 
Sometimes the acetate of lime is distilled with sulphuric acid directly, with- 
out having been previously converted into acetate of soda, by which mode of 
proceeding a step in the process is saved. But this is attended with many in- 
conveniences, and the acetic acid obtained is apt to contain sulphuric acid. 
The same step is saved, and without this risk, by distilling the acetate of lime 
with hydrochloric acid, as recommended by Christl; and, if the acid be not in 
excess, the acetic acid obtained scarcely contains a trace of chlorine.* 
The sp. gr. of the different acetic acids increases with their strength up to 
the density of l'Of 35 (maximum), after which it decreases until it reaches l-063, 
the density of the strongest acid (glacial acid). The following table, condensed 
from one given by Pereira on the authority of Mohr, exhibits the sp. gr. of acetic 
acid of different strengths, including the officinal Acidum Aceticum Dilutum. 
The officinal and commercial acids are noted opposite to their several densities, 
and the corresponding number in the column on the left gives the percentage 
of monohydrated acid in each. 
* M. Eichter prefers the acetate of baryta to that of soda, because the fusibility of the 
latter somewhat interferes with the operation ; but adds to the baryta salt 2 per cent, of 
the acetate of soda, in order in some measure to obviate its tendency to become pulveru- 
lent. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4 ser., v. 169.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. TART I. 
Acidum. Aceticum. 
21 
Per cent, 
of Acid. 
Speoific Gravity. 
Per cent, 
of Acid. 
Specific Gravity. 
100 
1-063 
Acetic acid (glacial), Ed,.* 
36 
1-047 Acetic acid, U.S. 
99 
1-065 
Glacial acetic acid, Br. 
33 
1-044 / Acetic acid of commerce, 
\ Dub., Br. 
97 
1-068 
90 
80 
1-073 
1-0735 Maximum density. 
32 
1-042 i Scotch acid of commerce 
\ (strongest). 
70 
1-070 
31 
1-041 Acetic acid, U.S. 1850. 
60 
1-067 
30 
1-040 
59 
1-066 
Strong acetic acid, Dub. 
25 
1 -034 Pyroligneous acid, Ed. 
54 
1-063 
J Acid corresponding in 
20 
1-027 
\ sp. gr. to the strongest. 
10 
1-015 
52 
1-062 
6 
1-008 Diluted acetic acid, Bond. 
50 
1-060 
5 
1-006 Diluted acetic acid, U.S.,Br. 
40 
1051 
4 
1-0055 
39 
1-050 
f English acid of com- 
3 
1-004 Diluted acetic acid, U.S. 1850. 
\ merce. 
Up to the specific gravity 1-062, the density of acetic acid is a pretty accurate 
index of its strength; but above that specific gravity, two acids of different 
strengths may coincide in density. Thus, by the table, it is seen that an acid 
weighing 1 063 may be either the strongest possible liquid acid, or an acid 
containing only 54 per cent, of such acid. The ambiguity may be removed by 
diluting the acid with a portion of water, when, if the density be increased, 
the given specimen is the stronger acid of the two having the same density. 
Hence the test, in the British Pharmacopoeia, of adding 10 per cent, of water 
to their glacial acetic acid. The density of the English and Scotch acetic acids 
of commerce is given on the authority of Dr. Christison. 
Properties of the Glacial Acid (Acidum Aceticum Glaciale, Br.). This acid, 
sometimes called radical vinegar, is a colourless, volatile, inflammable liquid, 
possessing a corrosive taste, and an acetous, pungent, and refreshing smell. It 
crystallizes when cooled to 34°, and remains crystalline until heated above 
48°. (Br.). Its sp.gr. is 1 063 (1-065 to 1-066, Br.), and is increased by add- 
ing 10 per cent, of water; an apparent anomaly, which has been already no- 
ticed. It possesses the property of dissolving a number of substances, such as 
volatile oils, camphor, resins and gum-resins, fibrin, albumen, &c. As it at- 
tracts humidity from the atmosphere, it should be preserved in well-stopped 
bottles. Its combinations with salifiable bases are called acetates. A drachm 
of it, “mixed with a fluidounce of distilled water, requires for neutralization at 
least 990 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda. If a fluidrachm 
of it, mixed with half a [fluidjounce of distilled water and half a drachm of 
pure hydrochloric acid, be put into a small flask with a few pieces of granulated 
zinc, and while the effervescence continues a slip of bibulous paper wetted with 
solution of subacetate of lead be suspended in the upper part of the flask above 
the liquid for about five minutes, the paper will not become discoloured” (Br.)-, 
showing the absence of sulphurous acid. (See Liquor Sodse.) It consists of one 
eq. of dry acid 51, and one of water 9=60. The dry acid has been isolated 
by C. Gerhardt, who finds it to be a limpid liquid, heavier than water, and 
having the constant boiling point of 279°. Its formula is C4H303. 
Properties of the Acid of Commerce (Acidum Aceticum, U.S., Br.). This 
acid has similar properties to those of the glacial, but milder in degree. It is a 
colourless, volatile liquid, having a sharp taste and pungent smell. It unites in 
all proportions with water, and to a certain extent with alcohol. It is incom- 
patible with the alkalies and alkaline earths, both pure and carbonated, with me- 
tallic oxides, and with most substances acted on by other acids. It is wholly 
volatilized "by heat, and yields no precipitate with chloride of barium or nitrate 
of silver. Any fixed residue is impurity; and precipitates by the tests men- 
* Varies to 1-065. The abbreviations used in this table, Land., Ed., and Dub., have 
reference to the Pharmacopoeias of the several British Colleges, now no longer in use. 22 
Acidum Acelicum. 
PART I. 
tioned show the presence of sulphuric and muriatic acids. Sulphohydrate of 
ammonia does not discolour it. Sometimes the acid is contaminated with em- 
pyreumatic oil arising from its mode of preparation. Much of this impurity 
would betray itself to the senses of smell and taste. When too minute in pro- 
portion to be sensible, it may be detected, according to Mr. John Lightfoot, by 
neutralizing the acid with carbonate of potassa, and adding solution of per- 
manganate of potassa, when if the acid is pure the latter retains its pinky 
colour, but if in the slightest degree empyreurnatic, the permanganate is de- 
colorized, and after standing a brown precipitate occurs. (Ghem. News, Nov. 
30, 1861, p. 290.) If sulphuretted hydrogen produces a milkiness, sulphurous 
acid is present. When saturated with ammonia, the acid gives no precipitate 
with iodide or ferrocyanide of potassium, which proves the absence of lead 
and copper. If silver be digested in it, and chlorohydric acid afterwards added, 
no precipitate will be produced. The negative indication of this test shows the 
absence of nitric acid. Of theU. S. acid (sp.gr. 1 047) “100 grains saturate 60 
grains of crystallized bicarbonate of potassa, and contain 36 grains of mono- 
hydrated acetic acid.” This corresponds exactly with the percentage given in 
the foregoing table. Of the British acid (sp. gr. 1 -044) the strength in anhydrous 
acetic acid is 28 per cent., in the monohydrated acid, according to the table is 
33 per cent. “By weight 182 grains require for neutralization 1000 grain- 
measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” Br. It should respond in the 
same manner as the glacial acid to the test of hydrochloric acid and granu- 
lated zinc. The U. S. officinal is somewhat stronger than the British. 
It is difficult to ascertain the strength of acetic acid by saturating it with the 
carbonated alkalies, when the operator depends upon test paper for ascertain- 
ing the point of neutralization. The difficulty is caused by the fact that the 
acetates of potassa and soda, though neutral in composition, are alkaline to test 
paper. Hence the liquid begins to be alkaline to test paper, while some free 
acid yet remains, but insufficient to overcome the alkaline reaction of the salt 
formed. It follows, therefore, that, by the use of test paper, the strength of the 
acetic acid will be underrated. The degree of inaccuracy, where test paper is 
used, is much diminished by saturating the acid with a solution of saccharate 
of lime, of a known strength, as proposed by Mr. C. G. Williams. (Pharm. 
Journ. & Trans., May, 1854, p. 594.) A still better way is to add to the acid a 
weighed excess of carbonate of baryta, and to calculate its strength by the 
amount of the carbonate decomposed, ascertained by deducting the undissolved 
from the total used. {Redwood.) Equally accurate results may be obtained by 
the use of carbonate of lime in a similar manner. (E. C. Nicholson and D. S. 
Price, Ghem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1856.) 
Uses of Crude Pyroligneous Acid. This acid having been incidentally de- 
scribed as the source of the acetic acid of commerce, it may be proper in this 
place to notice its uses. It has been employed as an application to gangrene 
and ill-conditioned ulcers. It acts on the principle of an antiseptic and stimu- 
lant ; the former property being probably chiefly due to the presence of creasote. 
Several cases in which it was successfully employed are reported in a paper by 
Dr. T. Y. Simons, of Charleston, S. C {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., O. S., v. 310.) 
The crude acid is advantageously applied to the preservation of animal food. 
Mr. William Ramsey made some interesting experiments with it for that pur- 
pose. Herrings and other fish, simply dipped in the acid and afterwards dried 
in the shade, were effectually preserved, and, when eaten, were found very agree- 
able to the taste. Herrings, slightly cured with salt by being sprinkled with 
it for six hours, then drained, next immersed in pyroligneous acid for a few 
seconds, and afterwards dried in the shade for two months, were found by Mr. 
Ramsey to be of fine quality and flavour. Fresh beef, dipped in the acid in 
summer for the space of a minute, was perfectly sweet in the following spring. 
Professor Silliman states that one quart of the acid, added to the common 
pickle for a barrel of hams, at the time they are laid down, will impart to them 
the smoked flavour as perfectly as if they had undergone the ordinary process 
of smoking. PART i. 
Acidum Aceticum.—Acidum Arseniosum. 
23 
Medical Properties of Acetic Acid of Commerce (Aciduni Aceticum, U S-, 
Br.). Acetic acid of about this strength acts as a stimulant. When diluted 
sufficiently, it is refrigerant, diaphoretic, and diuretic. Owing to its volatility 
and pungency, its vapour is frequently applied to the nostrils as an excitant in 
syncope, asphyxia, and headache. When employed in this manner, it is gen- 
erally added to a small portion of sulphate of potassa, so as to moisten the salt, 
and the mixture is put into small glass bottles with ground stoppers. 
Acetic acid, more or less diluted, has been proposed by Dr. Broadbent, of 
London, as a local remedy in cancer, being injected by means of a syringe into 
the diseased tissue. Some instances have been reported of good effects in cai- 
croid tumours; but the general result has not been favourable, and the remedy 
will probably be abandoned ere long. 
In large doses it is capable of producing poisonous effects; and a case is re- 
corded in the Lancet (July 27, 1861, p. 98), in which an adult man, by 
s wallowing two or three ounces of the undiluted acid, was brought into a condi- 
tion of great danger, from which he was with difficulty rescued. The prominent 
symptoms were at first slight collapse, and asphyxia from closure of the glottis, 
from which he was recovered by tracheotomy, and, after reaction, great thirst, 
salivation, pain in the fauces, and inability to swallow, but without any evi- 
dence of serious gastric, pulmonary, or cardiac disturbance. 
Medical Properties of the Glacial Acid. This acid is used only externally, 
and acts as a rubefacient, vesicant, or caustic, according to the length of time 
it is applied. Its application requires caution It is sometimes employed as a 
substitute for cantbarides, when a speedy blister is desired; as, for example, in 
croup, sorethroat, and other cases of internal inflammation. It may be applied 
by means of blotting paper or cambric moistened with the acid. It is a good 
corrosive for destroying warts and corns, and is also a valuable remedy in 
scaldhead. 
Pharm. Uses of Acetic Acid. In the preparation of Digitalinum, Br.; San- 
toninum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Acetic Acid. Acotum Cantharidis, Br.; Acidum Aceticum Di- 
lutum ; Extractum Colchici Aceticum ; Extract. Conii Fluidum, U. S.; Extract. 
Ergot* Fluidum, U. S.; Extract. Ipecacuanhas Fluidum, U. S.; Liniment. Tere- 
binthin* Aceticum, Br.; Liquor Aromoni* Acetatis, Br.; Liquor Epispasti- 
cus, Br.; Morphiae Acetas; Oxymel, Br.; Plumbi Acetas, Br.; Potass* 
Acetas; Zinci Acetas, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Glacial Acetic Acid. Acetum Cantharidis, Br.; Mistura 
Creasoti, Br. B. 
ACIDUM ARSENIOSUM. U.S.,B> 
Arsenious Acid. 
Sublimed arsenious acid in masses. U. S. An anhydrous acid, obtained by 
roasting arsenical ores, and purified by sublimation. AsOs. Br. 
Arsenicum album, Ed.; White arsenic; Acide arsenieux, Arsenic blanc,Fr.; Arsen- 
ichte Saure, Weisser Arsenik, Germ.; Arsenik, Dan., Swed., Polish; Acido arsenioso, 
Arsenico, Ital.; Arsenico bianco, Span. 
Arsenious acid is prepared chiefly in Bohemia and Saxony, where it is pro- 
cured on a large scale, as a collateral product, during the smelting of cobalt 
ores, which are almost invariably accompanied by arsenic. These ores are 
roasted in reverberatory furnaces, with long horizontal flues. The arsenic is 
converted by combustion into arsenious acid, which rises in vapour, and con- 
denses on the sides of the flues. In this state it is impure, and requires a 
second sublimation, which is performed in cast-iron vessels, fitted with conical 
heads of the same material, having an opening at the summit. The vessels 
are placed over a furnace, and brought to a red heat, when a portion of the 
impure arsenious acid is thrown in tu'ough the opening, which is immediately 
stopped. This portion being sublir ed, a second portion is introduced in a 24 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
similar manner. Finally, the vessels are allowed to cool ; and, upon removing 
the heads, the purified acid is found attached to them in vitreous layers, at first 
as transparent as glass, but gradually becoming, by contact with the air, opaque 
at their surface. These are broken into fragments of a convenient size, and 
thrown into commerce. The arsenious acid which reaches this country is gen- 
erally packed in casks, containing from two to five hundred pounds, and is 
shipped principally from the ports of Hamburg and Bremen. 
Properties. Arsenious acid is entirely volatilized by heat. As it occurs in 
commerce, it is in masses, with a vitreous fracture, and of a milk-white colour 
exteriorly, but, internally, often perfectly transparent. As first sublimed, the 
whole mass is transparent; but it gradually becomes white and opaque, the 
change proceeding progressively from the surface inwards. This change has 
not been well explained; but probably depends upon the absorption of moist- 
ure, causing a gradual passage of the acid from the amorphous to the crystal- 
line state. {Pereira.) Hence the masses “usually present a stratified appear- 
ance, caused by the existence of layers differing in degrees of opacity.” Br. 
According to Guibourt, the sp. gr. of the transparent variety is 373, of the 
opaque 3 69. The experiments, however, of Dr. J. K. Mitchell and Mr. Durand 
make the density of the former variety from 3-208to 3 333. As it occurs in the 
shops for medical use, it is often in the form of a white powder, almost as fine 
as flour. In this state it is sometimes adulterated with powdered lime or chalk, 
or sulphate or arsenite of lime, a fraud which is easily detected by exposing 
the powder to a heat sufficient to evaporate the arsenious acid, when these im- 
purities will be left behind. In consequence of the liability of the acid to con- 
tain impurities when in powder, it is directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia to be 
kept in masses; so that the apothecary may powder it for himself as it is wanted. 
It has been erroneously stated to have an acrid taste. Dr. Christison asserts 
that it possesses hardly any taste; inasmuch as it produces merely a faint sweet- 
ish impression on the palate. In strong, hot solution, it has an austere taste, 
most nearly resembling that of sulphate of zinc. {Mitchell and Durand.) It 
has no smell, even in the state of vapour; but, when thrown on ignited char- 
coal, it emits a garlicky odour, in consequence of its deoxidation, and the vola- 
tilization of the reduced metal. Its point of sublimation, according to Berzelius, 
is at an incipient red heat; but, according to Mitchell and Durand, it is lower 
than that of metallic arsenic, being only 425° F. In the British Pharmaco- 
poeia it is said to be entirely volatilized at a temperature not exceeding 400c. 
Dr. Taylor, in his work on Medical Jurisprudence, gives the subliming point 
at 310°; and Mr. Wm. A. Guy, who has made careful experiments on the vola- 
tility of various substances, states that arsenious acid rises in vapour at about 
280°. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Feb. 1868, p. 313.) When slowly sublimed, 
it condenses in regular octohedral crystals, exhibiting a sparkling lustre. It 
consists of one eq. of arsenic 75, and three of oxygen 24=99. “One hundred 
grains of this acid, boiled with dilute muriatic acid, and then treated with hy- 
drosulphuric acid, yield a deposit of tersulphuret of arsenic, weighing 124 
grains ” U.S. “ Four grains of it, dissolved in boiling water with eight grains 
of bicarbonate of soda, discharge the colour of 808 grain-measures of the volu- 
metric solution of iodine. ” Br. 
Arsenious acid is soluble in water. According to Bussy, at the temperature 
of 55° a pint of water dissolves 293 grains of the transparent variety, and only 
about 92 grains of the opaque. Thus the transparent acid, so far from being 
less, as previously supposed, is much more soluble than the opaque variety. 
The following particulars are given on the same authority. The transparent 
acid dissolves much more rapidly than the opaque. By prolonged ebullition 
with water, the opaque variety attains the same solubility as the transparent, 
and may be supposed to be converted into the latter. Thus, at the boiling tem- 
perature, a pint of water dissolves 807 grains of both varieties. The transparent 
variety, in cold saturated solution, gradually lessens in solubility, until it reaches 
the solubility of the opaque, no doubt in consequence of being changed into the PART i. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
25 
latter. Pulverization lessens the solubility of the transparent variety, without 
affecting that of the opaque. The mixture of the two varieties of the acid in the 
same solution serves to explain the anomalies heretofore observed in its solu- 
bility. (Journ. de Pharrn , Nov. 1847.) In relation to some of these results, 
Pussy had been anticipated by Taylor. (See Lond. and Ed. Philos. Mag., Nov. 
1837.) “The solution of arsenious acid gives with ammonio-nitrate of silver a 
canary-yellow precipitate, insoluble in water, but readily dissolved by ammo- 
nia and by nitric acid.” Br. Though arsenious acid combines with salifiable 
bases, yet, when it is heated with muriate of ammonia, instead of evolution of 
muriatic acid gas, which might have been anticipated, we have an escape of 
ammonia; the materials reacting so as to produce chloride of arsenic, water, 
and ammonia. (Y. de Luynes, Comptes Rendus, Juin 29, 1857, p. 1354.) 
Medical Properties. Internally, the action of the preparations of arsenic is 
alterative and febrifuge; externally, for the most part, violently irritant. They 
have been considered as peculiary applicable to the treatment of diseases of a 
periodical character. At the commencement of their exhibition, the dose should 
be small, and afterwards gradually increased, the operation being carefully 
watched. When the specific effects of the medicine are produced, it must be 
immediately laid aside. These are, a general disposition to oedema, especially 
of the face and eyelids, a feeling of stiffness in these parts, itching of the skin, 
tenderness of the mouth, loss of appetite, and uneasiness and sickness of the 
stomach. The peculiar swelling produced is called oedema arsenicalis. Some- 
times salivation is produced, and occasionally the hair and nails fall off. It is 
stated by M. Charot that he has seen, in two cases, decided anaphrodisiac effects 
result from the prolonged use of arsenic, which disappeared several months 
after the discontinuance of the remedy, and in one instance returned upon its 
resumption. {Ann. de Therap., 1865, p. 267.) The principal preparations now 
in use are the arsenious acid, the substance under consideration, the solution 
of arsenite of potassa, or Fowler's solution, and the solution of iodide of ar- 
senic and mercury, or Donovan's solution. The arseniates of potassa, soda, 
and iron are also occasionally employed; and the British Pharmacopoeia has 
a preparation denominated hydrochloric solution of arsenic. 
M. Tschudi has given some strange accounts of the habitual use, b}r the pea- 
sants of Styria and the Tyrol, of arsenious acid as an invigorating remedy, which 
they are unable to relinquish without suffering. The air in the neighbourhood 
of Swansea, in South Wales, is impregnated with arsenical vapour, derived from 
the copper smelting works in that locality, and yet the workmen do not appear 
to suiter in health. {Wood's Therapeutics, ii. 308.) This negative statement is 
very different from that of M. Tschudi, who would lead us to believe that the 
habitual use of arsenic may be beneficial in ordinary health. Encouraged by 
the reports from Styria, M. Decaisne tried a course of arsenious acid in marsh 
cachexy, but with unfavourable results. Upon the whole, it is not improbable 
that the accounts received of the habitual use of arsenic by the peasants of 
Styria, though having a basis of truth, are greatly exaggerated. It is said that 
horse dealers sometimes fatten horses by giving them small doses of arsenic. If 
this statement be admitted as reliable, it may, perhaps, be explained upon the 
ground that arsenic, as would seem to result from the experiments of Schmidt 
and Stiirswage upon animals, lessens the amount of carbonic acid expired and 
urea excreted, showing a diminished oxidation in the system, and consequently 
a diminished destruction of its constitutents. {Philos. Mag., March, 1860.) 
Arsenious acid has been exhibited in a great variety of diseases, the princi- 
pal of which are seirrhus and cancer, especially cancer of the lip; anomalous 
ulcers; various cutaneous diseases; intermittent fever; chorea; chronic rheu- 
matism, particularly those forms of it attended with pains in the bones; rheu- 
matic gout; diseases of the bones, especially nodes, and firm swellings with 
deformity of the small joints of the hands ; chronic syphilitic affections; frontal 
neuralgia; and different painful affections of the head, known under the names 
of hemicrania and periodical headache. In intermittent fever it is inferior only 26 
Acidum Arsenio.mm. 
PART 1 
to Peruvian bark and its alkaloids, and probably no remedy surpasses or even 
equals it in that most obstinate affection of the joints frequently called rheu- 
matic gout. It is asserted by M. Blain that, associated with tannin, arsenious 
acid has been attended with a success in intermittents greater than could be 
obtained from sulphate of quinia, or arsenious acid alone. (Ann. de Therap., 
1865, p. 270.) Mr. Henry Hunt, of Dartmouth, England, found it useful in 
mitigating the pain of ulcerated cancer of the uterus, and in menorrhagia; 
also in irritable uterus, attended with pain and bearing down in the erect pos- 
ture. He gave it in pill, in the dose of the twentieth of a grain three times a 
day. In this dose the remedy seldom produces unpleasant feelings, and may 
be continued for three or four months, for which period it must sometimes be 
employed, in order to produce the desired effect on the uterus. In cutaneous 
affections, especially those of a scaly character, as lepra and psoriasis, it is an 
invaluable remedy. Dr. Pereira says that he has seen it used in a large number 
of cases of this kind without a single failure. It is thought highly of by some 
in the treatment of lupus, and of ill-looking sores of the face, lips, and tongue, 
and sometimes effects a cure. Dr. Piquot, of Honfleur, employs it in apoplectic 
congestion, in the belief that there is in that affection a great excess of red cor- 
puscles, and that arsenic has the effect of diminishing this constituent of the 
blood in a very decided manner. (Banking's Abstract, xxxi. 53, Am. ed.) It is 
asserted also to have proved useful in piles and passive hemorrhages. (Ibid.) 
Inhalation of the vapour of arsenious acid is said to have proved very beneficial 
in asthma, the arsenious acid being smoked in a cigarette, in the dose of one- 
quarter of a grain; but this application of the remedy would require great 
caution. (Ibid., xxxv. 87.) Arsenic has also been found useful in intermittent 
mania, where quinia had proved useless. (Ibid., xxv. 50.) M. Cahen was very 
successful with it in cholera; 20 cases having recovered under it out of 24 in 
which it was used. (Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 140.) 
Five cases of snake-bite, occurring in men, are said to have been successfully 
treated by Mr. Ireland, in the Island of St. Lucia, by grain doses of arsenious 
acid, in the form of Fowler’s solution, given every half hour, until the patient 
began to revive. The quantity of the solution to form this dose is two flui- 
drachms. The number of doses taken varied from six to eight, which always 
produced abundant vomiting and purging, results important to the success of 
the treatment. (Braithwaite, xxviii. 423.) 
The external application of arsenic has been principally restricted to cancer, 
and anomalous and malignant ulcers, especially of the kind denominated noli 
me tangere. Dupuytren used with advantage a powder, composed of one pari 
of arsenious acid and twenty-four parts of calomel, as a topical application to 
herpes exedens, and to the foul ulcers occurring in those who have undergone 
repeated courses of mercury. 
Arsenic is the chief ingredient in nearly all the empirical remedies for the cure 
of cancer by external application. Plunket's caustic, a remedy of this kind of 
great celebrity, consisted of the Ranunculus acris and Ranunculus Flammula, 
each an ounce, bruised, and mixed with a drachm of arsenious acid, and five 
scruples of sulphur. The whole was beaten into a paste, formed into balls, and 
dried in the sun. When used, these balls were rubbed up with yolk of egg, and 
spi’ead on pig’s bladder. The use of the vegetable matter is to destroy the 
cuticle; for, unless this is done, the arsenic will not act. Mr. Samuel Cooper 
thinks that this caustic was never of any permanent benefit in genuine cancer, 
but has effected cures in some examples of lupus, and malignant ulcers of the 
lips and roots of the nails. In onychia maligna, Mr. Luke, of London, regards 
an ointment composed of two grains of arsenious acid and an ounce of sperma- 
ceti ointment as almost a specific. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
At Paris, an arsenical paste of the following composition has been used as an 
application to malignant ulcers :—Red sulphuret of mercury 70 parts; dragon’s 
blood 22 parts; arsenious acid 8 parts. It is applied, made up into a paste with 
saliva. The pain produced by this composition is very severe, and its applica- PART i. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
27 
tion dangerous. The arsenical paste of Frere Gome has been applied advauta- 
geously by M. Biettto the ulcerated surfaces in yaws. The precaution was used 
of not applying it, at one time, over a surface larger than that of half a dollar. 
This paste is made by mixing water with a powder, consisting of ten grains of 
arsenious acid, two scruples of red sulphuret of mercury, and ten grains of pow- 
dered animal charcoal. The practice of sprinkling unmixed arsenious acid on 
ulcers is fraught with the greatest danger. Mr. S. Cooper characterizes it as a 
murderous practice. The acid may, however, be used either in solution, or re- 
duced by some mild ointment. A lotion may be formed of eight grains of arseni- 
ous acid and the same quantity of carbonate of potassa, dissolved in four fluid- 
ounces of distilled water; and a cerate, of half a drachm of arsenious acid and 
six drachms of simple cerate. The cerate is sometimes formed of half this 
strength. The lotion is in effect a solution of arsenite of potassa. 
Febure's remedy for cancer consisted of ten grains of arsenious acid, dis- 
solved in a pint of distilled water, to which were added an ounce of extract of 
conium, three fluidounces of solution of subacetate of lead, and a fluidrachm of 
tincture of opium. With this the cancer was washed every morning. Febure’s 
formula for internal exhibition was, arsenious acid two grains, rhubarb half an 
ounce, syrup of chicory q. s., distilled water a pint. Of this mixture, a table- 
spoonful, containing about the sixteenth of a grain of the acid, was given every 
night and morning, with half a fluidrachm of the syrup of poppies. The dose 
was gradually increased to six tablespoonfuls 
Mr. Lloyd, of London, praises the effects of arsenical injections in cancer of 
the vagina and uterus. They act favourably by preventing rather than destroy- 
ing the fetor, and by diminishing the sloughing and discharge. The strength 
of the solution employed was from two to eight grains of arsenious acid to the 
pint of water. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1854, p. 541.) 
The average dose of arsenious acid is the tenth of a grain, three times a day, 
given in the form of pill. It is usually combined with opium, which enables the 
stomach to bear the medicine better. A convenient formula is to mix one grain 
of the acid with ten grains of sugar, and to beat the mixture thoroughly with 
crumb of bread, so as to form a pilular mass, to be divided into ten pills. The 
Asiatic pills, so called, consist of arsenious acid and black pepper, in the pro- 
portion of 1 part of the former to 80 of the latter. A preparation much used on 
the continent of Europe is Boudin's solution, which is simply an aqueous solu- 
tion of arsenious acid with the addition of wine, and is made by boiling one 
gramme (15*4 grains) of the acid with one litre (21 pints) of distilled water 
till entirely dissolved, then cooling, filtering, adding enough distilled water to 
supply the loss, and finally mixing with one litre of white wine. Of this solu- 
tion a fluidounee contains about one-quarter of a grain of arsenious acid. 
Properties of Arsenious Acid as a Poison. Arsenious acid, in an overdose, 
administered internally, or applied externally, acts with very great energy, and 
generally destroys life in a short time; but, in some rare instances, no well- 
marked symptoms are developed until eight or nine hours after the ingestion 
of the poison. Dr. Edward Hartshorne relates a case of recovery, in which at 
least a drachm of arsenious acid had been swallowed, and where the symp- 
toms of poisoning were delayed for sixteen hours. {Med. Examiner, Dec. 1855, 
p. 701.) The symptoms produced by the poison are an austere taste; fetid state 
of the mouth; frequent ptyalism; continual hawking; constriction of the 
pharynx and oesophagus; the sensation of the teeth being on edge; hiccough; 
nausea; anxiety; frequent sinkings; burning pain at the praecordia; inflam- 
mation of the lips, tongue, palate, throat, bronchi, and oesophagus; irritable 
stomach, so as-not to be able to support the blandest drinks; vomiting of mat- 
ters, sometimes brown, at other times bloody; black, horribly fetid stools; 
small, frequent, concentrated, and irregular pulse, but occasionally slow and 
unequal; palpitations; syncope; insatiable thirst; burning heat over the whole 
body, or a sensation of icy coldness; difficult respiration; cold sweats; sup- 
pression of urine; scanty, red, bloody, and sometimes albuminous urine; 28 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
change in the countenance; a livid circle round the eyelids; swelling and itch- 
ing of the body; livid spots over the surface, and occasionally a miliarv erup- 
tion; prostration of strength; loss of feeling, especially in the feet and hands; 
delirium; convulsions, often accompanied with insupportable priapism; falling 
otf of the hair, detachment of the cuticle, &c. In some cases there is inflamma- 
tion with burning pain in the urino-genital organs. It is very rare to observe 
all these symptoms in the same individual. Sometimes, indeed, they are nearly 
all wanting, death taking place without any pain or prominent symptom. Oc- 
casionally the symptoms have a perfect resemblance to those of Asiatic cholera, 
in the stage of collapse. After death, the morbid appearances are various. In 
some instances, no vestige of lesion can be discovered. The appearances, how- 
ever, in the generality of cases, are the following. The mouth, stomach, and 
intestines are inflamed; the stomach and duodenum exhibit spots resembling 
eschars, and perforations of all their coats; and the villous coat of the former 
is in a manner destroyed, and reduced to the consistence of a reddish-brown 
pulp. In cases of recovery, it has been a question how long it takes for the 
poison to be eliminated from the system. In a case, reported by Dr. D. Mac- 
lagan, in which about two drachms of the poison had been swallowed, and in 
which magnesia was used successfully as an antidote, arsenic was detected in 
the urine by Marsh’s test as late as the twentieth day. 
A milder grade of arsenical poisoning, yet sometimes serious in its conse- 
quences, has resulted in many instances from the inhalation of the air of apart- 
ments lined with green wall-paper, which owes it colour to arsenite of copper, 
and from which a fine poisonous dust sometimes escapes when the paper has 
not been well prepared. (See Chem. News, March 24, 1860 ) Death has also re- 
sulted, in more than one instance, from working in the manufacture of artificial 
leaves, which owe their green colour to the same poison. (Ibid., Nov. 30, 1861 ) 
In view of the numerous accidents and crimes caused by the use of arsenious 
acid, its sale should be regulated by law in all the States of the Union. In 
1851, an act for this purpose was passed by the British Parliament. 
Dr. Christison divides the poisonous effects of arsenious acid into three orders 
of cases, according to the character and violence of the symptoms. In the first 
order, the poison produces symptoms of irritation and inflammation along the 
course of the alimentary canal, and commonly kills in from one to three days. 
In the second, the signs of inflammation are moderate, or even altogether want- 
ing, and death occurs in five or six hours, at a period too early for inflamma- 
tion to be always fully developed. In the third order of cases, two stages 
occur; the first stage being characterized by inflammatory symptoms, as in 
the first order; the second, by symptoms referable to nervous irritation, such 
as imperfect palsy of the arms or legs, epilepsy, tetanus, hysterical affections, 
mania, and coma. It is a general character of this poison to induce inflamma- 
tion of the stomach in almost all instances, provided death does not take place 
immediately, whatever be the part to which it is applied. Thus the poison, 
when applied to a fresh wound, will give rise to the same morbid appearances 
in the stomach and intestines, as when it is swallowed. In some cases, ob- 
served by Drs. Mall and Bailie, the rectum was much inflamed, while the 
colon and small intestines escaped. 
The prtBcise rank which should be assigned, in the scale of poisons, to ar- 
senious acid when applied externally, is still undetermined. One set of observers 
contend that its external application is not attended with great danger; while 
another party conceives that it acts as a virulent poison. Hunter, Sir Everard 
Home, Joeger, Brodie, Dr. Campbell of Edinburgh, Smith, and Orfila have all 
adduced experiments on the inferior animals, which prove that’arsenious acid, 
inserted into a recent wound, causes death after a longer or shorter period. In- 
deed, some observations go to prove that its poisonous effects are developed by 
a smaller amount, applied in this way, than when taken into the stomach. Nor 
are there wanting many well authenticated facts of its deleterious effects, ex- 
ternally applied, on the human constitution. Roux has put on record the case of PART i. 
Acidum Arsemosum. 
a young woman under his care, whose death was caused, after agonizing suf- 
ferings, by the application of an arsenical paste to a cancerous breast. Death 
has occurred from the application of an arsenical paste to a soft tumour of the 
temple; the poisonous effects on the system at large being the cause of the 
fatal result. Sir Astley Cooper bears testimony to the dangerous effects of 
arsenic, externally applied. On the other hand, some writers assert the safety 
of the external application of this poison. Mr. Blackadder applied it in large 
quantities to sores, and never witnessed a single instance in which it acted 
constitutionally. The late Dr. Randolph, of this city, stated that Dr. Physick 
frequently and successfully employed arsenic by external application, without 
its being productive of the injurious consequences which have been attributed 
to it. (North Amer. Med. and Surg. Journ., v. 257.) In weighing testimony 
so conflicting, we are constrained to believe that the circumstances of the dif- 
ferent experiments and observations must have been different; and we think 
that the observations of Blackadder and Harles show in what this difference 
consists. It seems to depend entirely on the circumstances of the application, 
as being favourable or otherwise to absorption. Blackadder attributes his suc- 
cess to the large quantity of arsenic which he employs and which, he contends, 
kills the part without being absorbed; and this is probably the fact. Harles’s 
observations may be explained on the same principle. He contended that the 
outward application of arsenic is comparatively safe to ulcers, either common 
or malignant; but is dangerous to parts recently wounded and pouring out 
blood. Here the difference would seem to consist in the greater liability to 
absorption in the latter than in the former case. The very dilution caused by 
the blood may be an efficient promoter of absorption; for the experiments oi 
Dr. Campbell show that arsenic acts with more energy when dissolved in water 
than when in the solid state. The case in which Dr. Randolph employed ar- 
senious acid, by the advice of Dr. Physick, was one of ulcerated scrotum, in 
which it acted by producing the death of the diseased part, a state evidently 
unfavourable to absorption. The formula employed was one part of the acid 
to five of sublimed sulphur. Arsenious acid proves escharotic, according to 
some, by acting on the vital properties of the part so as to cause its death; 
according to others, by producing a chemical decomposition of the structure. 
Upon the whole, new facts are wanting to clear up this difficult subject 
Judging from the lights we possess, the external application of arsenious acid, 
in case it is absorbed, is attended with very great danger; and the conditions 
of a part, and of the system at large, favourable or otherwise to absorption, 
are too little understood, to make it warrantable to use this poison externally 
without the greatest caution. 
Treatment of Poisoning by Arsenious Acid Before the antidote, to be men- 
tioned presently, can be obtained, the poison should be dislodged as far as pos- 
sible by free vomiting, induced by the finger, the feather part of a quill, and 
the administration of an emetic of sulphate of copper or sulphate of zinc. The 
same object is promoted by the use of the stomach-pump. Demulcent drinks 
should be freely given, such as milk, white of eggs and water, or flour and 
water, which serve to encourage the vomiting and envelope the poison. 
The antidote above referred to is the hydrated sesquioxide (peroxide) of iron, 
in the moist or pulpy state. As soon as it is ready, it must be given in doses 
of a tablespoonful to an adult, of a dessertspoonful to children, every five or 
ten minutes, until the urgent symptoms are relieved. It is calculated that the 
quantity taken should be at least twelve times the supposed amount of the 
poison swallowed; but, as the antidote is perfectly innocent, it is prudent to 
give it in larger quantities According to the experiments of E. Riegel, one 
part of arsenious acid in solution is so fully precipitated by ten of the dry 
oxide, that, after its action, not a trace of the poison can be detected, even by 
Marsh’s test. Its efficacy is of course greater, the sooner it is administered 
after the ingestion of the poison; but, even after delay, its use will prove ad- 
vantageous, so long as any portion of the poison still remains in the stomach. 30 
Acidum Arsemosum.. 
PART I. 
The antidote acts by producing with the poison, by a transfer of oxygen, from 
the oxide to the acid, an insoluble, and therefore inert, subarseniate of protox- 
ide of iron (2Fe203 and As03 = 4Fe0,As05).* The manner of preparing the 
antidote will be given elsewhere. (See Ferri Oxidum Hydratum.) It should 
be kept by all apothecaries ready for use. 
This antidote for arsenious acid wasdiscovered by Drs. Bunsen and Berthold, 
of Gottingen, in 1834; and its efficacy has been abundantly confirmed by ex- 
periments on inferior animals, and by its successful application to numerous 
cases of poisoning in the human subject. Among others, the reader is referred 
to the following.—1. The case of M. Blondel, in which two drachms of arsenic 
had been swallowed. 2. Two cases treated by Dr. Buzorini. 3. A case reported 
by Mr. John Robson, in which more than a drachm and a half of the poison 
had been swallowed, and the antidote was not administered until two hours 
after the poison had been taken. In the last-mentioned case, about an hour 
after the ingestion of the poison, the stomach pump was used, but unsuccess- 
fully, on account of the instrument becoming choked with the remains of food. 
4. A case related by Dr. Thomas, of Baltimore, in which twenty grains of the 
poison had been swallowed. 5. Case of Dr. Macdonald in the N. Y Journ. of 
Med. and Surg. (ii. 205). 6. Case reported by Dr. Gerhard. {Med. Exam., iii. 
250.) 7. Cases related by Drs. Smiley and Wallace, of this city. Eight persons 
in one family were poisoned, of whom six recovered and two died. In the fatal 
cases, the patients could not retain the antidote. {Ibid., iii. 679.) 
Several valuable observations have been made in relation to the antidotal 
powers of the different oxides of iron, and the circumstances which influence 
their efficacy. The forms of oxide experimented with are the anhydrous ses- 
quioxide (colcothar), the dry hydrated sesquioxide (rust of iron, and the sub- 
carbonate of iron of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which are both essentially hy- 
drated oxides), the hydrated oxide in the state of pulp or magma, and the 
same oxide kept under a stratum of water. Orfila has shown that colcothar is 
without effect, because it does not combine with the arsenious acid. Dr. Von 
Specz, of Vienna, has proved that rust of iron acts as an antidote to arsenious 
acid; but, as it is much less powerful than the pulpy hydrate, it should be used 
only in the absence of the latter, and until it can be procured. Orfila agrees 
with Von Specz as to the degree of efficacy of the rust, and attributes its in- 
ferior power to its inability completely to neutralize the arsenious acid. Accord- 
ing to the French toxicologist, it forms with the acid a subsalt which is poi- 
sonous, though much less so than the free arsenious acid. All the best author- 
ities unite in considering the hydrated oxide, in the state of pulp or magma, 
to be the best form of the antidote; but opinions have been divided as to the 
necessity of its being fresh ly prepared as well as moist, and as to the relative 
advantage of much or little water to maintain it in the moist state. An able 
paper of Prof. William Procter, jun., of this city, appears to have settled these 
points. {Amer. Journ. of Pharmacy, xiv. 29, April, 1842.) He has proved that 
the moist oxide gradually decreases in its power of neutralizing arsenious acid, 
the longer it is kept; and that this decrease in power is more rapid in the 
* If the statements made by British writers as to the efficiency of thearseniate of pro- 
toxide of iron as a remedy, and the minuteness of the dose necessary, be admitted as 
correct, it will be necessary to seek some other explanation of the antidotal powers of 
the hydrated sesquioxide of iron than the one above given by the late Dr. Bache. The 
probability is that the new compound is the sesquiarseniate of sesquioxide of iron (2F2Os 
3As05); and the following may be the rationale. Six eqs. of sesquioxide (F203) may sur- 
render, each one eq. of oxygen, to 3 eqs. of arsenious acid (As03), converting them into 3 
eqs. of arsenic acid (AsOj, which then combines with 2 eqs. of undecomposed sesquiox- 
ide, producing the sesquiarseniate of sesquioxide of iron (2F203,3As05); twelve eqs. of 
protoxide resulting from the loss of one eq. of oxygen, each, by the six eqs. of sesqui- 
oxide lirst mentioned. If this be the true explanation, it may be determined by a simple 
calculation, based on the combining numbers, that each grain of arsenious acid will re- 
quire for saturation 2-64 grains of hydrated sesquioxide of iron; but, in fact, according 
to the experiments of the Messrs. T. & H. Smith, of Edinburgh, 8 grains are practically 
necessary. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART i. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
31 
oxide, when mixed with much water, than when in the form of a thick magma. 
The cause of this diminution of neutralizing power, on the part of the moist 
oxide, by being kept, is explained by the experiments of G. C. Wittstein. This 
chemist finds that the hydrated oxide of iron, recently precipitated, dissolves 
readily in acetic and other vegetable acids in the cold, but becomes nearly in- 
soluble when kept for some time under water. This change in solubility is 
attributed by Wittstein to two causes; the gradual change of the oxide from 
the amorphous to the crystalline state, and its partial dehydration; for, when 
kept a long time, the oxide loses half its water. From these considerations, 
Wittstein prefers the more recent oxide as an antidote for arsenic, and recom- 
mends that the preparation should be re-made every six months or year, by 
dissolving the old oxide in muriatic acid, and re-precipitating with ammonia. 
(Buchner's Repert., xliii. 366.) In the latter remarks, Wittstein has only con- 
firmed what had been previously observed by Procter. 
It follows from the above facts and observations, that the forms of sesqui- 
oxide of iron are efficacious as antidotes to arsenic in the following order, 
beginning with the one having the least power:—1, dry hydrated oxide; 2, 
hydrated oxide, long kept and mixed with much water; 3, the same, long kept 
and in the form of a thick magma; 4, the same just precipitated and still pulpy. 
The form of antidote which can be obtained first must be used first, although 
not the best, and may be replaced by a better as soon as it can be procured. 
The apothecary should, therefore, always keep the oxide in the form of thick 
magma, and be prepared, at a moment’s warning, to make the antidote. When 
applied to for it, he must furnish the magma, or, if unprovided with this, the 
rust or subcarbonate, and immediately proceed to prepare the antidote, which 
may be done in ten or fifteen minutes, if the proper solutions are always kept 
on hand. (See Ferri Oxidum Hydratum.) 
The antidote having been faithfully applied, the subsequent treatment con- 
sists in the administration of mucilaginous drinks. Should the patient survive 
long enough for inflammatory symptoms to arise, these must be combated on 
general principles. Accordingly, venesection and leeches may become neces- 
sary; and, in the course of the treatment, emollient enemata, antispasmodics, 
and narcotics will often prove useful in mitigating-pain and allaying nervous 
irritation. Convalescence is generally long and distressing; and hence it is of 
the greatest importance to attend to the diet, which should consist exclusively 
of milk, gruel, cream, rice, and similar bland articles. 
Bussy has proposed light magnesia, or the kind which has not been too 
strongly calcined, as well as recently precipitated gelatinous magnesia, as an 
antidote for arsenious acid; and a case is given by him in which it appeared 
to prove efficacious. (Journ. de Pliarm., x. 81.) The dense kind has very little 
efficacy. Dr. Christison saw a case in which this antidote seemed very ser- 
viceable. A successful case is also reported by Cadet-de-Gassicourt {Journ. de 
Pharm., Mars, 1848), and another by Dr. E. Bissel, of Norwalk, Conn. (Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1848.) For the full precipitation of arsenious acid, 
eighteen times its weight of anhydrous magnesia are required. (F. Riegel.) 
Like the sesquioxide of iron, the magnesian antidote is conveniently kept, in 
a pulpy state, under water in stopped bottles. M. Schroff has made some ex- 
periments on rabbits, to determine the comparative efficacy, as antidotes, of 
the sesquioxide and magnesia, and gives the preference to the latter. The hy- 
drated magnesia is best prepared extemporaneously by quickly forming a solu- 
tion of sulphate of magnesia, and precipitating by water of ammonia, which 
is preferable to potassa, as any portion of the latter, remaining in the prepara- 
tion, might act injuriously by favouring the solubility of the arsenious acid. 
Notwithstanding these statements, however, it is asserted by T. & H. Smith 
of Edinburgh, on the basis of experiment, that magnesia is incapable of neu- 
tralizing arsenious acid, and is utterly useless as an antidote. (Pharm. Journ., 
Oct. 1865, p. 144.) Under these circumstances, it would be unwarrantable to 
rely on it when the ferruginous antidote is attainable. 32 
Acidum Arscniosum. 
PART I. 
For the salts of the acids of arsenic, the subacetate of the sesquioxide of 
iron has been suggested as an antidote by Duflos. In poisoning by these salts, 
the sesquioxide is said to be without effect. 
A mechanical method of counteracting the effects of arsenic is said to have 
been employed with complete success in several instances. It consists, after 
thoroughly washing out the stomach, in administering large quantities, a pound 
or more, of a mixture of chalk and castor oil, of the consistence of thick cream, 
which so envelopes the particles of the poison adhering to the mucous mem- 
brane as to render them harmless, while carried through the bowels and evacu- 
ated. (W. T. Fewtrell, Chem. News, Jan. 14, 1860, p. 71.) 
Reagents for detecting Arsenious Acid. As arsenic is so frequently em- 
ployed for criminal purposes, it becomes important to detect its presence in 
medico-legal investigations. The tests for it may be divided into those which 
indicate indirectly its presence, and those which demonstrate its presence in- 
contestably, by bringing it to the metallic state. The former embrace all the 
liquid reagents, so called ; the latter, the processes for metallization. It is neces- 
sary, however, to be aware of the fact, that many of the substances employed 
as tests for arsenic are themselves often contaminated with arsenic, and unless 
great care be exercised to select reagents perfectly free from this impurity, 
there will be danger that the results may be fallacious. 
The most characteristic reagents are sulphuretted hydrogen, ammoniacal 
nitrate of silver, and ammoniacal sulphate of copper. In the opinion of Dr. 
Christison, the concurrent indications of these three tests are all-sufficient for 
detecting arsenious acid ; but we think that, in questions involving life, the 
metallization of the poison should never be omitted. 
In using sulphuretted hydrogen, the solution must be neutral. An excess of 
alkali may be neutralized with acetic acid, and an excess of nitric or sulphuric 
acid by potassa. A.slight excess of acetic acid is not hurtful, but rather favours 
the subsidence of the precipitate, which is the tersulphuret of arsenic Accord- 
ing to Dr. Christison, this test is so exceedingly delicate, that it detects the 
poison when dissolved in one hundred thousand parts of water. The colour it 
produces is lemon or sulphur-yellow; but the presence of vegetable or animal 
matter commonly gives it a whitish or brownish tint. Some medical jurists 
recommend the use of sulphuretted hydrogen water; but the gas is far prefer- 
able. It can be applied with much convenience by using one of Dr. Hare’s 
self regulating gas generators. 
The ammoniacal nitrate of silver gives a yellow precipitate of arsenite of 
silver. 
The ammoniacal sulphate of copper is a test of very great delicacy. The pre- 
cipitate occasioned by it is the arsenite of copper, of an apple-green or grass- 
green colour. Its operation is prevented by muriatic, nitric, sulphuric, acetic, 
citric, and tartaric acids in excess; as also by ammonia. 
Of the three tests mentioned, perhaps sulphuretted hydrogen is the most 
delicate; and it has the advantage of yielding a precipitate eligible for subse- 
quent reduction. But they are all liable to the objection of being obscured in 
their indications, where the amount of poison is small, by the presence of organic 
principles; a complication constituting the most difficult problem for the medical 
jurist. As this case includes all others of more easy solution, we shall suppose 
it to occur, and shall indicate the steps to be pursued 
Having obtained general indications of the presence of arsenic, the first step 
will be to separate the organic matters; the second, to throw down the arsenic 
by means of sulphuretted hydrogen; and the third, to reduce the precipitate 
obtained to the metallic state. It is proper to state here that, in a communi- 
cation to the Paris Academy, Dr. Blondlot, of Nancy, asserts, as the result of 
numerous experiments, that the smallest quantity of oily or fatty matter has the 
effect of diminishing, even to one-twentieth, the solubility of arsenious acid, and 
consequently of very much increasing the difficulty of detecting it. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 220.) PART I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
33 
The following are the directions given by Dr. Christison for separating the 
organic principles. Boil the suspected matter with distilled water for half an 
hour, and filter, first through gauze to separate the coarser particles, and after- 
wards through paper. To the transparent solution thus obtained add acetic 
acid, which will coagulate some animal principles. To ascertain whether the 
solution has been sufficiently freed from animal matter by this measure, neutral- 
ize with ammonia, and test a small portion of it with the ammoniacal nitrate 
of silver. If this give a characteristic precipitate, the solution is sufficiently 
deprived of animal matter; if not, another measure must be adopted to sepa- 
rate it. This consists in first rendering the solution neutral or slightly alkaline, 
next faintly acidulating with muriatic acid, and then adding an excess of nitrate 
of silver. This salt precipitates the animal matter in combination with oxide 
of silver. After this step, the excess of silver is thrown down by a slight excess 
of chloride of sodium, and the solution fdtered. 
The solution having in this manner been disembarrassed of organic matter, 
the free nitric acid is neutralized by potassa in slight excess, and the solution 
acidulated with acetic acid. A stream of sulphuretted hydrogen is then passed 
through it, which will throw down the arsenic as the tersulphuret. If the pro- 
portion of arsenic be very small, a yellowishness only will be produced, owing 
to the precipitate being soluble in an excess of the precipitant. In this case it 
is necessary to boil, to drive off the excess of sulphuretted hydrogen The pre- 
cipitate is then collected and dried. If it be very minute, it must be allowed to 
subside; and, the clear liquid having been withdrawn, the remainder is to be 
poured upon a filter. After filtration, the precipitate is washed down to the 
bottom of the filter, by means of the pipette, an instrument employed for wash- 
ing scanty precipitates. The filter is then gently pressed between folds of bibu- 
lous paper, and the precipitate removed with the point of a knife before it dries, 
and then dried in little masses on a watch-glass. In this manner, Dr. Christi- 
son states that it is easy to collect a portion of the tersulphuret so small as the 
twenty-fifth part of a grain. When the precipitate is small and not easily sepa- 
rated, Devergie recommends to dissolve it in a small quantity of ammonia, 
filter the solution, and evaporate it in a watch-glass, when the tersulphuret 
will be left. The precipitate is then to be reduced by means of a flux, which 
this author recommends to consist of two parts of ignited carbonate of soda 
and one of charcoal, as preferable to black flux. The best flux for arsenious 
acid is freshly ignited charcoal. 
In order to facilitate the detection of arsenic in the solid tissues, as the liver, 
spleen, stomach, &c., it is customary first to destroy the animal matter, and then 
to dissolve out the poison. Various agencies have been resorted to for this pur- 
pose, but heating with somewhat less than one-half the weight of concentrated 
sulphuric acid is perhaps the most convenient and effectual The animal mat- 
ter is thus carbonized, and will now yield a part at least of the arsenic which 
it may contain to boiling water, in a state proper for the application of tests. 
But M. Blondlot has ascertained by experiment that all the arsenic is not thus 
extracted; a considerable portion being left behind in the state of insoluble 
sulphuret, resulting from a partial decomposition of the sulphuric acid To 
remedy this disadvantage, M. Blondlot recommends, after the carbonized tissue 
has been exhausted as far as possible with water, to treat it with solution of 
ammonia, which dissolves the sulphuret, and yields it on evaporation. The 
sulphuret is now to be converted into arsenic acid by boiling with nitric acid; 
and, having been evaporated to dryness, is to be treated with water. The solu- 
tion thus obtained is to be added to the first, and the two will yield all the 
arsenic originally present in the tissue. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1857, p. 117 ) 
Another method of separating arsenic in solution from organic matters is 
by the process of dialysis, invented by Prof. Graham, of London, of which a 
particular account will be given in the pharmaceutical preface to the second 
part of this work. By means of an instrument called the dialyser, watery solu- 
tions of saline and other crystallizable substances may be separated from those 34 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PART I. 
not crystallizable, such as gelatinous, albuminous, mucilaginous, and amyla- 
ceous liquids; the latter refusing to pass through a diaphragm of some porous 
substance, which is readily permeable by the former Thus, a circular piece of 
parchment paper, folded in the form of a common filter, is placed in a vessel 
containing distilled water; the suspected liquid, having been heated so as to 
effect a more complete solution of the arsenic, is poured into the filter, and the 
vessel set aside for twenty-four hours. At the end of this time, the crystallizable 
matter, including the arsenic, will have, to a great extent, passed through into 
the distilled water, leaving the organic matters behind, and a solution will 
have been obtained in a condition fit for the application of the different tests. 
Following up a suggestion of Dr. Clarke, of Aberdeen, that arsenic might be 
separated by taking advantage of the volatility of its chloride, Dr. Andrew Fyfe, 
of the same place, applied the principle to the detection of the metal when mixed 
with organic matter. For this purpose, he heated the arsenical liquid with sul- 
phuric acid, free from arsenious acid, in a flask to which a bent tube and cooled 
receiver were adapted. When the mixture was brought to the boiling point, a 
little dried sea-salt was added, the receiver was connected, and the distillation 
continued for some time. Hydrochloric acid was evolved, which, by reacting 
with the arsenious acid, produced terchloride of arsenic, which distilled over 
free from organic matter. The terchloride of arsenic was then precipitated by 
a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, to obtain the yellow tersulphuret of arsenic, 
or subjected to the action of Marsh’s test. (Philos. Mag , 4th series, ii. 487.) 
The distillate of terchloride, as thus obtained, is liable to contain sulphurous 
acid, from the action of organic matter on the sulphuric acid, with the effect of 
obscuring the indications of Marsh’s test when subsequently applied, by giving 
rise to a yellow ring instead of a black stain. To prevent the formation of sul- 
phurous acid, L. A. Buchner recommends that the chloride of sodium should be 
added to the arsenical liquid before the sulphuric acid, and previously mixed 
with a little chlorate of potassa, the chlorine from which has the effect of pro- 
moting the formation of the arsenical terchloride, and of rendering the decom- 
position of the organic matter more complete. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., July, 
1855, p. 38.) Dr. Penny and Mr. W. Wallace bear testimony to the value of the 
plan of converting the arsenic into terchloride, as a means of separating the 
metal from organic matter, but think it will be found in practice more conve- 
nient to produce the terchloride by the direct agency of hydrochloric acid, than 
by sulphuric acid and chloride of sodium, as recommended by Dr. Fyfe. 
The general formula for reduction is as follows. The operation is performed 
in a small glass tube. If the matter to be operated on is small, it is introduced 
to the bottom of the tube, and then a little of the flux is added to cover it, care 
being taken that the materials are conducted to the place they are to occupy, 
by means of a small glass funnel with a slender stem, without soiling the empty 
part of the tube. The heat is applied by means of a spirit-lamp ; the upper part 
of the material being first heated with a small flame, and afterwards the lower 
part with a larger flame. A little water, disengaged at first, should be removed 
by a roll of filtering paper, before sufficient heat has been applied to sublime 
the metal. When the dark crust begins to form, the tube should be held quite 
steady, and in the same part of the flame. This crust is the metallic arsenic, 
having the surface next to the tube resplendent and polished, and the interior 
surface crystalline. Its characters are quite distinct, even when it does not 
amount to more than the three hundredth part of a grain. If any doubt should 
be felt as to the nature of the crust, it may be driven up and down the tube, so 
as to convert it inlo sparkling octohedral crystals of arsenious acid, the triangu- 
lar facets of which may be seen with a magnifying glass. Finally, the crystals 
may be dissolved iu a drop or two of distilled water, and the solution will react 
characteristically with the liquid tests. 
Another method of testing for arsenic has been proposed by Mr. Marsh. It 
consists in taking advantage of the power, which nascent hydrogen possesses 
of decomposing the acids of arsenic, with the result of forming water and arse- PART I. 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
35 
niuretted hydrogen. The liquid from the stomach, or obtained from its contents 
by boiling water, is added to the materials for generating hydrogen (dilute sul- 
phuric acid and zinc), contained in a self-regulating generator of hydrogen. If 
the liquid from the stomach contain arsenic, the nascent hydrogen will combine 
with the metal, and the nature of the compound gas formed may be ascertained 
by burning a jet of it from a fine jet-pipe connected with the generator. The 
flame will have a characteristic blue colour; and, by holding a porcelain plate 
against it, a thin film of metallic arsenic, forming a black stain, will be deposited. 
Liebig and Mohr bear testimony to the delicacy of this test; but, to remove 
every source of fallacy, it is necessary to be sure of the purity of the materials 
for generating the hydrogen, by a preliminary trial of the gas, before the sus- 
pected liquid is added; as zinc and sulphuric acid are both liable to contain a 
minute proportion of arsenic. This trial is made by holding a plate against the 
burning hydrogen, which, if pure, will produce no stain. The pieces of zinc 
employed should be changed after every experiment. Magnesium might be ad- 
vantageously substituted for zinc, as it contains no arsenic. A modification of 
Marsh’s apparatus, which is praised by Berzelius for the certainty and dis- 
tinctness of its results, is figured in the Chemical Gazette (iii. 46). 
It has been objected to Marsh’s test, that antimony forms a compound with 
hydrogen, very similar to arseniuretted hydrogen, both in the colour of its flame, 
and in the metallic spot which it deposits during combustion on cold surfaces. 
Still, the two metals may be discriminated by acting on the metallic spot with 
a drop or two of fuming nitric acid, with the aid of heat. Arsenic will thus be 
converted into soluble arsenic acid, precipitable brick-red by nitrate of silver; 
antimony, on the other hand, into insoluble antimonic acid. Another way of 
distinguishing them is to apply to the stain a solution of hypochlorite of soda, 
which instantly dissolves the arsenical spot, without affecting that of antimony. 
Another method, dependent on the difference of temperature at which the two 
metals are sublimed, has been proposed by Dr. D. Maclagan, of Edinburgh. It 
consists in subjecting the metallic spot to about the temperature of 500°, by 
means of a bath of olive oil; when it will be totally volatilized if arsenic, but 
remain unchanged if antimony. (Ed. Month. Journ., Nov. 1848.) Prof. E. Davy 
recommends a platinum spatula, instead of porcelain, to receive the metallic 
spot. A platinum surface affords facilities fortesting the spot, which, if arsenic, 
may be removed by the flame of a candle, giving rise to a garlicky odour; but, 
if antimony, cannot be so removed. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1857, 
p. 172.) Hydrosulphate of ammonia dissolves the arsenical spot with difficulty, 
leaving on evaporation a yellow stain ; it readily dissolves the antimonial, and 
yields an orange-red. 
Professor Reinsch has proposed a method for detecting arsenic in organic 
liquids, which is extremely delicate, and at the same time has the merits of facility 
and celerity. It consists in acidulating the suspected liquid with muriatic acid, 
which converts the arsenious acid into the terchloride, and boiling in it, for ten 
minutes, a slip of copper foil, on which the arsenic is deposited as a white alloy 
of arsenic and copper; and then separating it in the state of arsenious acid, by 
subjecting the copper, cut into small chips, to a low-red heat in the bottom of a 
small glass tube. The peculiar crystalline appearance of arsenious acid, men- 
tioned in the last page, is conclusive of its presence; and, besides, if collected 
and dissolved in water, it will answer to the ordinary tests for the poison. The 
form of copper, preferred by Dr. Maclagan, is that of copper wire, No. 24, made 
bright by being rubbed with sand-paper, and rolled into a loose spiral, about 
an inch long, by being twisted round a small pencil. In this form, the copper 
affords an extensive surface for the deposition of the arsenic. The merit of 
Reinsch’s procedure is not so much that it gives a characteristic deposit on 
the copper ; for bismuth, tin, zinc, and antimony also give deposits; as that the 
copper collects all the arsenic from the organic liquid, and presents it in a con- 
venient form for applying the liquid and subliming tests. Yet the gray metallic 
appearance of the arsenical deposit can hardly be confounded with that of any 36 
Acidum Arseniosum. 
PAR'i I. 
other metal, except perhaps of antimony, which can be distinguished by the 
tests already mentioned. But Reinsch’s method is not without its fallacies. Thus, 
it has been ascertained that the presence of a nitrate or chlorate in the suspected 
material, prevents the characteristic action of the arsenic on the copper, until 
the whole of these substances have been consumed by reaction with the metal. 
Besides, both muriatic acid and copper, even such as have been sold in the shops 
as the purest, are liable to contain arsenic, and therefore to afford fallacious 
results. This, however, is less true of the muriatic acid prepared in this coun- 
try than the European, as the sulphuric acid employed in its preparation is ob- 
tained generally from native sulphur, instead of pyrites as abroad. Nevertheless 
no conclusion from Reinsch’s test can be certainly relied on, unless the muriatic 
acid has been ascertained to be free from arsenic. With the copper there is less 
risk, as the arsenic in it can act only by solution of the copper itself, and this is 
known by the green colour imparted to the liquid; so that, if the arsenical de- 
posit is produced without discoloration of the liquid, the indication of the pres- 
ence of the poison maybe considered as satisfactory. (Olding and Taylor.) 
If the process of Reinsch be applied to the sulphuret (sulphide) of arsenic, 
it will be necessary to bring this into the liquid form. For this purpose Prof. 
J. C. Draper, of New York, makes use of ammonia, which dissolves the sul- 
phuret, and is also capable of attacking copper. The substance supposed to 
contain the sulphuret having been covered, in a suitable vessel, with water of 
ammonia, is set aside in a warm place, and permitted to stand for a few hours. 
The solution of the sulphuret is then separated by filtration, strips of clean, 
bright copper are introduced into it, and the whole gently heated. The copper 
gradually becomes coated with a deposit like that which is formed in Reinsch’s 
process. (N. Y. Med. Journ., April, 1865, p. 13.) 
A modification of the methods of Marsh and Reinsch has been proposed by 
Dr. Alfred S. Taylor, which he has found effectual in detecting arsenic whether 
in liquids or solids, and whether associated with organic or inorganic sub- 
stances, for an account of which, however, we must be content, from want of 
space, to refer the reader to the paper of that eminent toxicologist in the Phar- 
maceutical Journal and Transactions (Feb. 1861, p. 411). 
Still another method of detecting arsenic is the electrolytic, consisting in 
exposing the suspected liquid, in connection with diluted sulphuric acid, to a 
voltaic current, through the influence of which, if arsenic be present, even 
though associated with large quantities of organic matter, arseniuretted hydro- 
gen (terhydride of arsenic) is evolved. It is, however, only the arsenious acid 
that will respond to this test, arsenic acid not being affected; and the presence 
of mercury interferes materially with the process. For an account of the pro- 
cess, and of the method of rendering arsenic acid sensible to the test, and of 
counteracting the influence of the mercury, see papers by Mr. C. L. Bloxam in 
the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (Jan. 1860, p. 376, and April, 1861, p. 528). 
It has been shown by MM. Malaguti and Sarzeau that, for the detection of 
minute quantities of arsenic in exhumed bodies, the best method of proceeding 
is to distil the viscera with aqua regia, made by mixing one part of nitric with 
three of hydrochloric acid. The animal matter (the liver for example), cut into 
small pieces, is dried by a gentle heat, and mixed with a quantity of the aqua 
regia equal to the weight of the matter before it was dried. The mixture is dis- 
tilled, and the arsenic, if present, comes over in the form of the volatile terchlo- 
ride, which may be converted into the tersulphuret in the usual manner. 
Arsenic may be detected in exhumed bodies long after death. M. Blondlot 
found it in the brain of a body that had been buried twenty years. In this 
case, it was ascertained that no arsenic existed in the earth of the cemetery. 
(See Brit, and For. Medico-chir. Rev., Jan. 1855, p. 222.) It is necessary 
also to be guarded against the possible presence, about the body, of metals 
which may contain arsenic; as, for example, brass and copper. L. A. Buchner 
has found, in the intestines of persons who had been poisoned with arsenious 
acid, examined some months after death, the poison in the state of yellow sub PART i. 
Acidum Carbolicum. 
37 
phuret of arsenic, into which it had been converted by the sulphuretted hydro- 
gen developed by the putrefactive process that had taken place in the bowels, 
showing that even in poisonous doses arsenic has not always the property of pre- 
serving the body from corruption. (Neues Repertorium, xvii. 21.) 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arsenicalis, Br.; Liquor Arsenici Hydrochloricus, Br 
Liquor Potassae Arsenitis, U.S.; Sodse Arsenias, Br. B. 
ACIDUM CARBOLICUM. Br. 
Carbolic Acid. 
An acid obtained from coal-tar oil by fractional distillation and subsequent 
purification. Br. 
Syn. Phenic Acid. Phenylic Acid. Phenol. Hydrated Oxide of Phenyl. Phenylic 
Alcohol. Acide Phenique, Fr. 
This important medicine is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, not 
yet introduced into our own, because comparatively little known when the ex- 
isting edition was prepared. It was discovered, in 1834, in the tar of coal, by 
Runge, who gave it the name of carbolic acid. In 1841, it was thoroughly in- 
vestigated by Laurent, by whom it was considered as the hydrated oxide of 
a peculiar compound radical called phenyl (from (paivu), I show), and therefore 
described by the name of hydrated oxide of phenyl. Its acid properties, how- 
ever, having been subsequently recognised, it received the name of phenic acid; 
but, out of consideration for the original discoverer, chemical writers generally 
adhere to the title he gave it of carbolic acid. When on the subject of its com- 
position, we shall have occasion to show that it is more closely related chemi- 
cally with the alcohols, than the acids, and that consequently its proper desig- 
nation would be phenylic alcohol. 
Preparation. Carbolic acid exists, in some unknown mode of combination, 
in that portion of coal-tar which distils over between 300° and 400° F. This, 
when mixed with a hot concentrated solution of hydrate of potassa, is resolved, 
on the addition of water, into a light oil and a heavier alkaline liquid. If the 
latter be separated, and neutralized with muriatic acid, carbolic acid will be 
disengaged in an impure state, and will float on the surface'in the form of a 
light oil. By distilling this from dried chloride of calcium to separate water, 
and exposing the distillate to a low temperature, carbolic acid congeals in the 
form of a colourless crystalline mass, disposed to deliquescence, which is to be 
separated from the accompanying liquid by pressure in bibulous paper. This 
remains solid at a higher temperature than that required to congeal it; but at 
95° it melts, and constitutes the acid in its liquid form. 
But it is much more difficult to obtain the acid in its pure crystalline con- 
dition than might be inferred from this simple method of preparation. Thei’e 
are two difficulties especially in the way; one consisting of the presence in 
coal-tar oil of another principle, closely analogous to carbolic acid, denominated 
cresylic acid, which is apt to accompany the former in all the steps of its prepa- 
ration, and, through its much lower congealing point, interferes with its crys- 
tallization ; the second, of the existence in the original oil of a principle which, 
on exposure to the air, becomes of a brown colour, and if not thoroughly sep- 
arated in the process, imparts the same property to the carbolic acid. Now 
cresylic acid has remedial and hygienic influences, equal, and, as some think, 
even superior in certain respects to the carbolic; so that unless the object be to 
obtain the carbolic acid in the crystalline state, which is for some purposes 
highly desirable, no great harm can result from their admixture. The colour- 
ing impurity, however, is only injurious, and should be got rid of if possible. 
The following observations of M. Muller, condensed from the Zeitschrift 
fur Ghemie (New ser., vol. i. p. 270), may be useful to the manufacturer. 
Carbolic acid (phenic acid or phenylic alcohol) is habitually accompanied by 
its congeners, denominated by M. Muller, from his view of the nature of these 
bodies, xylic and cresylic alcohols, which adhere to it tenaciously, and cause 38 
Acidam Carbolicum. 
PART T. 
it to become brown on contact with the air. -The author procures it pure in 
the following method. Coal-tar yields to soda a mixture of the substances 
mentioned with naphthalin, which is soluble in a concentrated solution of the 
alkaline carbolates. Water is added until it ceases to produce a precipitate; 
and the liquid is exposed to the air in broad shallow vessels, so as to facili- 
tate the formation and deposition of brown substances. The liquid is then 
filtered, and the quantity of organic matter held in solution approximatively 
determined. As the matter consists mainly of carbolic acid and its congeners, 
combined with the alkali used, it is easily separated by acids. But the car- 
bolic acid is the last to separate; so that it is easy to get rid of the congeners, 
as well as the brown and resinified products, by adding only so much acid, the 
quantity being ascertained by calculation, as may be required to precipitate at 
once the foreign substances. By a few additions cautiously made, the operator 
will soon reach a point at which the carbolic acid will remain nearly pure. 
After rectification, the product soon crystallizes. As water, even in minute 
proportion, hinders this crystallization, a current of dry air is made to pass 
over the carbolic acid nearly boiling hot, so as to complete the desiccation. The 
crystallization is promoted by a sudden reduction of temperature, or the intro- 
duction of a fragment of the acid already crystallized. M. Muller attaches 
much importance to the long exposure to the air of the original alkaline solu- 
tion, so as to favour the resinification and deposition of the brown matters; 
as the carbolic acid is always impure when coloured. It often also contains 
a fetid substance, which is probably a sulphuretted compound of phenyl or 
cresyl. This can be separated by distillation from a little oxide of lead. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Ghim., 4e ser., ii. 408.) 
Commercial forms. In one of his latest publications in reference to car- 
bolic acid, Dr. P. Crace Calvert, to whom probably, more than any other 
person, is owing the introduction of this substance into use in Great Britain 
and the United States, informs us that the carbolic acid obtained by Laurent, 
melting at 84° C. (93° F.), and boiling at 180° C. (367° F.), was not quite 
pure. By successive steps of improvement in the process employed by the 
manufacturing house at Manchester with which he is connected, they had at 
length succeeded -in preparing the pure crystallized acid, without colour or sul- 
phurous odour; but, unfortunately, this statement is not accompanied with an 
account of the means by which the end had been attained. But, as the pro- 
ducts of this factory are those now generally used, a brief notice, derived from 
the same source, of the forms of the drug prepared by them, and now circu- 
lating in the market, is desirable. 1. A pure acid is prepared, crystallizing in 
white prismatic crystals, but, as usually sold, in a white, hard, fused mass, 
which differs from Laurent’s in being soluble in 20 parts of water instead of 
33 parts, fusible at 100° instead of 93°, and boiling at 359° instead of 367°. 
This should be preferred for internal use. 2 The second form is less pure. 
Like Laurent’s, it is white, solid, and fusible at 93°, and may be employed for 
external purposes, whether in medicine or surgery; but it is objectionable for 
internal use on account of its tar-like taste. 3. A third quality is manufac- 
tured, in white detached crystals, which melt at 81°. This, when dissolved in 
from 50 to 100 parts of water, forms a perfectly colourless solution, which can 
be used for antiseptic and disinfecting purposes. 4. The fourth and last form 
is that of a nearly colourless liquid, which is a mixture of carbolic and cresylic 
acids. Diluted with 100 parts of water or more, it may be used for the coarser 
antiseptic and disinfecting purposes out of doors, as in cess-pools, sewers, &c., 
and has been extensively employed to prevent the spread of the late very fatal 
disease among cattle, the famous rinderpest. (Lancet, Dec. 14, 1867, p. 734.) 
Besides these forms of carbolic acid, which issue from the manufacturing estab- 
lishment of the Messrs. Calvert, there are others from different sources, generally 
in the liquid state, which are usually of a brownish colour, and consist of mix- 
tures of carbolic acid with the cresylic acid, colouring matter, &c., and of which 
the first often constitutes but a small proportion. These are often imported FAllT I. 
Acidum Carbolicum. 
39 
from Germany. They should not be used internally ; but, for disinfectant and 
antiseptic purposes, they are probably equal to solutions of the pure acid, as the 
cresylie acid is said to be quite as powerfully disinfectant as the carbolic, if not 
more so. 
These impure liquors are sold sometimes under the improper name of coal- 
tar creasote. They are of various shades of colour from a light brown to 
nearly black. Their value depends on the proportion of carbolic and cresylie 
acids contained in them. Sometimes they consist of these acids almost ex- 
clusively, sometimes contain little comparatively, the residue consisting of 
nearly valueless coal oils, and occasionally in part of sulphuretted compounds 
of the two acids. In certain cases, an alkali is added to increase the solubility 
of the acids. They ought to contain from 70 to 90 parts of tire acids (Squibb), 
and should yield this percentage of their bulk to warm water when agitated 
with it in great excess. * 
Properties. Carbolic acid, in its pure state, is a solid at ordinary tempera- 
tures, crystallizing in minute plates or long rhomboidal needles, white or colour- 
less, of a peculiar odour recalling that of creasote, and an acrid burning taste. 
Its sp. gr. is T065. (Lemaire.) If coloured brown under the influence of light 
and air, it is impure. It deliquesces on exposure, and ultimately becomes 
liquid; and the presence of water in the smallest proportion causes it to liquefy. 
When quite pure, it melts at 106°, forming an oily-looking, colourless liquid, 
and boils at 359° F. (Calvert); but as often met with its point of fusion is 
lower, and that of volatilization higher than those named. The Br. Pharmaco- 
poeia gives the former at 95°, the latter at 370°. Carbolic acid is inflammable, 
burning with a reddish flame. The plane of polarization of a ray of polarized 
light is not affected by it. It is soluble in 20 parts of water (Lemaire); its 
solution being, if pure, colourless, and remaining so; but if impure, coloured 
brownish by exposure. It is very soluble in alcohol, acetic acid, gly- 
cerin, and the volatile and fixed oils. (Lemaire.) Though neutral to test-paper, it 
combines feebly with salifiable bases'; its salts being decomposed by carbonic 
acid, and those with the alkalies having an alkaline reaction. The carbolate 
of potassa is said to be decomposed even by water. Heated with .ammonia, 
it yields aniline and water. Nitric acid converts it into picric acid, in the 
manufacture of which it is largely used. It reduces many metallic salts, es- 
pecially those of silver and copper, and coagulates collodion. All the soluble 
carbolates communicate to pine wood, impregnated with their solution, the 
property of assuming a deep-blue colour half an hour or an hour after having 
been steeped in muriatic acid. ‘(Lemaire.) Carbolic acid in solution coagu- 
lates albumen, arrests fermentation, instantly destroys the lower forms of vege- 
table and animal life, and in very small proportion prevents mouldiness in 
vegetable juices, and protects animal substances against putrefaction. 
The substances with which carbolic acid is most likely to be confounded are 
cresylie acid and creasote, the former, like it, extracted from coal-tar, the latter 
from wood-tar exclusively. As cresylie acid is incapable of crystallizing at 
* Mr. William Crooks gives the following methods of testing these liquids, with suffi- 
cient accuracy for practical use. Commercial carbolic acid tit for disinfecting purposes is 
soluble in from 20 to 70 parts of water, and in twice its bulk of solution of caustic soda, 
while the oily impurities are nearly insoluble. 1. Put one fluidrachm of the liquid to be 
examined in a bottle, add half a pint of warm water, and shake occasionally for half an 
hour. The amount of oily residue will indicate the measure of adulteration. 2. Mix 
one part of caustic soda with ten parts of the adulterated liquid, and shake them well 
together. The residue undissolved is impurity. 3. The presence of the “sulpho-earbolic 
and sulpho-cresylic acids,” as well as the sophistication which consists in dissolving 
carbolic acid in water by means of an alkali, may be determined through the greater 
solubility of the adulterated than the unadulterated liquid. Put a wineglassful of the 
suspected liquid in a bottle, and add half a pint of warm water. If the greater portion 
dissolves, it is adulterated. If the liquid change litmus decidedly red, the impurity will 
be shown to consist of the acids mentioned; while, if the alkaline adulteration has been 
used, the litmus previously reddened will have its blue colour restored. (See Am Journ. 
vf Pharm., May, 1867, p. 232.) 40 
Acidum Carbolicum. 
PART I 
ordinary temperatures, the two cannot be confounded in the solid state, and, 
as before observed, its presence in the liquid state is of little consequence; as 
its virtues are of the same kind, and at least equal. Its boiling point, however, 
is considerably higher than that of carbolic acid, being about 400°; and it may, 
therefore, be supposed to be present in any suspected liquid which will not crys- 
tallize at any common temperature, nor boil under 395° to 400°. Creasote is 
distinguished by its less density, its liquid form, and higher boiling point; by 
not coagulating collodion; and by the different effects on it of strong nitric 
acid, which with carbolic acid produces pure picric or trinitrophenic acid, and 
with creasote, oxalic acid, resinous matter, and but a small proportion of picric 
acid (Calvert, Lancet, Oct. 31, 1863, p. 523.) Carbolic acid differs also in 
having no effect on polarized light. The change of colour in pine wood under 
the successive action of carbolic and muriatic acids has been mentioned above. 
Composition. The view generally taken of the composition of carbolic acid 
is, that it is the hydrated oxide of a peculiar compound radical denominated 
by Laurent phenyl (C12H5), and therefore, being analogous to the alcohols, 
should be called phenylic alcohol. It may be represented by the formula C12 
h5,o+ho, or empiricall}r C12H602. Indeed, its claims to be considered as an 
acid are very feeble; as, though it combines with salifiable bases, it is incapable 
of neutralizing the alkalies, does not affect the colour of litmus, and may be 
separated from its combinations with great facility, sometimes it is asserted 
even by water. Shaken in the liquid form with one-fourth of water, and cooled 
to 40° F., it crystallizes in the form of a hydrate, C12H50-f 2IIO. (C. H. Wood, 
Pharm. Journ. and Trans., July, 1867, p. 19.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbolic acid, in the liquid form, is locally 
powerfully irritant, and, applied undiluted to the skin, causes a sharp pain 
lasting for about an hour, and accompanied with a whiteness of the surface, 
which has been ascribed to the coagulation of albumen, arid is followed by 
severe inflammation and separation of the epidermis. In contact with mucous 
surfaces it acts in the same way, and if continued long enough may produce a 
superficial caustic effect. Taken internally in large quantities, and in a concen- 
trated state, it operates as an irritant or corrosive poison; and a case is recorded 
of instant death in a man, who, half intoxicated, had swallowed a bottle of it in 
mistake for rum. {Med. Times and Gaz., Aug. 1866, p. 173.) Several instances, 
besides, have been known of serious injury from its incautious use. ( Chem. News, 
Sept. 7, 1866, p. 119.) Its effects when taken internally in moderate doses do 
not seem to have been very accurately studied. They are, however, very prob- 
ably similar to those of creasote. Upon the alimentary mucous membrane the 
medicine operates as a gentle irritant, and, being absorbed into the circulation, 
probably escapes through the kidneys, and by exhalation from the bronchial 
mucous membrane, thus acting as a diuretic and expectorant, and at the same 
time as an alterative to the urinary and respiratory passages. It is also some- 
what stimulant to the circulation; and, though it produces no very observable 
influence on the brain in the ordinary medicinal doses, it seems to act pow- 
erfully on that organ when very largely taken. In experiments made by Dr. 
W. Kempster, of Utica, New York, on certain small animals, as the cricket, 
the mouse, and the rat, by confining them in large glass vessels, with a little 
liquid carbolic acid, either spread over the sides of the vessel, or suspended 
within it upon a piece of sponge, the animals, at first greatly excited, soon 
began to show signs of intoxication by their staggering movements, which were 
followed by a state of auaesthesia, and death preceded by violent convulsions. 
The brain and its membranes were found, on dissection, greatly congested; while 
the spinal cord below the cervical vertebra was bloodless, the lungs were col- 
lapsed, and the heart tense, though filled with coagulated blood. {Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., July, 1868.) 
But by far the most important property of carbolic acid, both as a therapeutic 
and preventive agent, is its destructive influence over the lower grades of organic 
life, whether vegetable or animal. In a solution containing only one part of i hrt i. 
Acidum Carbolicum. 
41 
the acid in 500 of water, it instantly destroys vegetable mould, both plant 
and spores, and operates with equal destructiveness upon minute or microscopic 
animalcules. Through this power it checks the different proper fermentations, 
including the putrefactive, and thus acts powerfully as an antiseptic or disin- 
fecting agent. It operates with wonderful efficiency in correcting or preventing 
putrefaction in animal substances, produces the same effect in the living human 
subject, and, through the same influence, corrects or suppresses those ferment- 
ative processes in the body which often lead to the most serious results, as 
purulent infection, poisoned dissecting wounds, carbunculous diseases, and hos- 
pital gangrene. Of these applications, as well as of its use in the prevention 
of infectious diseases, we shall treat more in detail directly. 
Carbolic acid has been used internally with advantage in vomiting and diar- 
rhoea, and in cases of dyspepsia accompanied with pain after eating, in all of 
which it may be supposed to act usefully by its stimulant or alterative influence 
on the mucous membrane. But there are also gastric and intestinal affections in 
which its antizymotic powers may sometimes give it great efficiency, as in yeasty 
vomiting, excessive flatulence, with or without pain, dependent on fermentation 
in the incompletely digested food, and in those cases of obstinate diarrhoea asso- 
ciated with the action of putrescent miasms on the system. Dr. Kempster speaks 
of it as being successfully used in the State Lunatic Asylum at Utica, in slug- 
gishness of the bowels with offensive breath; and in all instances of fetid eruc- 
tation, or extremely offensive flatulent discharges per anum, it would be very 
apt to afford relief. In cases of foul breath, connected with morbid states of the 
blood, it is clearly indicated; as also in chronic bronchial inflammation, and 
disease of the urinary passages attended with offensive purulent discharge; 
in all which cases it may come by absorption into positive contact with the 
morbid cause. From its poisonous action on the lower animals, its use in the 
different verminose diseases of the bowels has been suggested; and it is pecu- 
liarly applicable to ascarides in the rectum administered by injection. In vari- 
ous so-called zymotic diseases, as scarlatina, diphtheria, &c , independently of 
its usefulness as a local application, it may be given in the hope that it may 
interrupt the fermentative process supposed to be going on in the system, as it 
interrupts similar processes out of the body. 
But it is more as a topical than as an internal and systemic remedy that car- 
bolic acid has been used; and its employment in this way has reference in gen- 
eral to its antiseptic and antizymotic property. As regards the mere correction 
of offensive odour, by decomposition or neutralization of the effluvia on which 
the odour depends, there are other medicines much more energetic than car- 
bolic acid, as chlorine, bromine, and especially permanganate of potassa. In- 
deed, it has been doubted whether carbolic acid acts, in any degree, upon the 
offensive effluvia; but this, I think, is going too far; and the probability is that, 
even as regards the odorous matter, it exercises some deodorizing influence 
beyond that of merely disguising the smell of the offensive exhalations by its 
own, in other words, that it really acts chemically on them; though much less 
energetically than several other deodorizers. Its real action, however, is much 
more upon the cause of the exhalations than upon themselves. Most of these 
offensive odours depend upon a species of fermentation, the putrefactive for 
example, and the fermentations themselves are at present generally ascribed 
to the influence of microscopic organisms. Now carbolic acid, even in very 
dilute solution, is powerfully destructive of all such organisms, and consequently 
of the fermentative processes they support. Thus, carbolic acid acts much more 
by preventing putrefactive exhalations, than by destroying them. A piece cf 
offensive animal matter is less speedily deodorized by carbolic acid than by per- 
manganate of potassa; but the former in a short time entirely suppresses the 
putrefaction, and the matter consequently ceases to smell because it ceases to 
putrefy; whereas, under the mere chemical agent, it is only by its constant 
presence that the odour is prevented, and the putrefaction goes on unchecked. 
Through its parasiticidal influence, carbolic acid is highly useful, as a local 42 
Acidum Carbolicum. 
PART I. 
application, in all the diseases which are connected with or dependent on the 
presence of microscopic plants or animals. Hence its use in scabies, in which 
it destroys the itch insect, in the different forms of porrigo and trichosis, in 
pityriasis versicolor, in the thrush of infants, and in all cases of minute vermin 
affecting the human body. In these cases it is applied to the parts affected in 
weak solution, or in the form of ointment, or, where the affection is widely dif- 
fused, in that of bath. Offensive diphtheric exudations, putrid ulcers wherever 
they can be reached, and suppuration with a similar offensive odour, whether 
on the outer surface, or from the mucous passages, as of the nose, bronchial 
tubes, external meatus, urinary outlets, the rectum, and the vagina in females, 
afford similar indications for its use. Hence, it has been recommended in diph- 
theria, scarlatina anginosa, malignant or putrid sorethroat, ozaena, chronic 
bronchitis with copious expectoration of bad-smelling pus, in purulent otitis, 
in chronic cystirrhcea, hemorrhoids, rectal fistulas, abscesses into which the 
air has found entrance, and in leueorrhoea, and offensive lochial discharges. 
In the bronchial affection, the solution has been employed successfully by Dr. 
Kempster in the form of spray by means of the atomizer. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., July, 1868.) It may be used advantageously also in anthrax, 
malignant erysipelas, hospital gangrene, and in fistulous ulcers, often affecting 
the bones, into which it may be injected. On the same principle, it has re- 
cently been much used as a dressing in compound fractures, and after exten- 
sive surgical operations, in which it was introduced by Dr. Jos. Lister, Prof, 
of Surgery in the University of Glasgow. (Lancet, Sept. 21, 1867, p. 353.) 
In bad cases of this kind, copious suppuration is apt to occur, with offensive 
discharges from the putrefaction of pus, blood, or other substances in the 
wound, by which the system often becomes seriously affected, and even puru- 
lent infection may take place. By dressing the wounds with carbolic acid in 
various degrees of strength, these sinister effects are often obviated, the sup- 
purative process itself controlled, and healing greatly promoted. This is easily 
understood, if it be admitted that the changes originate in the presence of living 
organisms, giving rise to putrefactive or other hurtful fermentations. Exactly 
on the same grounds, good may be anticipated in puerperal cases attended 
with offensive discharges, and in the systemic disturbances from dissecting 
and other poisoned wounds. It has been highly recommended as a denti- 
frice in carious teeth with offensive breath, and to keep the teeth and gums 
clean from tartar or other morbid deposit, consequent upon, or at least con- 
nected with the presence of minute parasitic organisms in these parts. Intro- 
duced on cotton, in a concentrated liquid state, into the cavity of a carious 
tooth, it quickly relieves pain ; but care must be taken to prevent it from touch- 
ing the lips, or internal surface of the mouth. In cases, too, of morbidly offen- 
sive secretion in the axilla and groin, between the toes, &c., it may be used in 
the form of solution or ointment with hope of benefit. 
Independently of its disinfectant properties, it may be employed locally, in 
weak solution, as a gentle irritant or alterative, or concentrated, as a mild 
escharotic, in chronic indolent or flabby ulcers, or in those of a specific char- 
acter, as the syphilitic, in cutaneous eruptions independent of cryptogamic 
cause, and in non-suppurative chronic or even acute inflammation of the mu- 
cous membranes, as in common angina. In scalds and burns it is said to have 
proved very useful. Dr. E. R. Squibb has published a statement of extraordi- 
nary success from it in two cases, one a scald and the other a burn, in which 
its application in the early stage produced a prompt relief of the pain, and 
favoured a speedy cure. (N. Y. Med. Gaz., April 18, 1868, p. 236.) In conse- 
quence of its coagulating albumen, it may sometimes be beneficially employed 
to arrest hemorrhage. 
The dose of carbolic acid is one or two grains, or of the acid in its concen- 
trated liquid form one or two drops, which may be given in half a fluidounce 
or a fluidounce of sweetened water. An excellent menstruum is glycerin, 
which dissolves it in all proportions; and the Br. Pharmacopoeia has a pro- PART i. 
Acidum Carbolicwn. 
43 
paration denominated glycerine of carbolic acid, made by rubbing an ounce 
(avoirdupois) of the acid with four fluidounces of the menstruum, of which about 
four and a half minims represent a grain of the acid. From this solution for 
mulas may be readily prepared, either for internal or external use, by diluting it 
with water. An emulsion also may be made by mixing one part of the acid 
with eight parts of water and one or two parts of sugar. 
For external use the strength varies greatly according to the object desired. 
"When applied with a view to its superficial escharotic action, as in gangrenous 
or specific ulcers, it may be used in the solid state properly comminuted, or in 
the strongest liquid form. In this state it may be readily obtained by placing 
the bottle containing it in hot water. For the skin affections one part of the 
acid may be dissolved in one hundred or two hundred parts of water; or the 
impure liquid acid may be used, diluted in the same proportion. M. Bazin 
uses a solution of one part in forty parts of acetic acid of 8° B., and 100 of 
water, in tetter and psora, and states that a single application will destroy the 
itch insect. A solution containing a grain to the fluidounce of water may be 
used for application, in the form of spray, to the fauces, larynx, and bronchia, 
by means of the atomizer; and the strength may be increased, if thought de- 
sirable, up to four or five grains or more to the fluidounce. 
Prof. Lister, in his use of the acid in compound fractures, first introduces the 
liquid acid of its full strength into all accessible parts of the wound, in order 
completely to destroy all the septic germs which may have entered the wound 
with the air at the occurrence of the accident; and, for this purpose, a few drops 
of water added to the crystallized acid are sufficient to render it liquid. The next 
step is to cover the surface of the wound and a part of the sound skin with 
lint dipped into the liquid acid, in order to prevent the introduction of the 
septic agent from the atmosphere, along the stream of blood, &c. oozing from 
the wounded surfaces, and making its escape. The lint he protects by a tin cov- 
ering, which is raised daily to admit of a fresh application of the acid. If the 
wound, however, is extensive, he substitutes for the saturated lint a sort ol 
paste, made by rubbing up common whiting with a solution of one part of car- 
bolic acid in four parts of boiled linseed oil, so as to form a firm putty, which 
is to be applied of the thickness of one-fourth of an inch, between two pieces 
of muslin. This does not excoriate the skin. So long as there is any dis- 
charge, the paste is renewed daily. The whole is covered with rags dipped 
in the oleaginous solution of the acid, applied directly to the skin and kept 
there. When the discharge ceases, the paste is removed ; but the original dress- 
ing is left till the wound heals. This plan, introduced into hospital practice, 
has not only acted most favourably on individual cases, but has had an excellent 
effect in preserving the healthfulness of the wards; the prevalence of pyaemia, 
hospital gangrene, erysipelas, &c., having been effectually prevented. 
For a gargle in diphtheria, the sorethroat of scarlatina, &c., 20 minims of 
the liquid acid may be mixed with half a drachm of acetic acid (Br.), two flui- 
drachms of tincture of myrrh, and six fluidounces of water. It is asserted that 
with this early applied there will be few failures in diphtheria (M. and S. Re- 
porter, Aug. 3, 1867, p. 101; from Med. T. and Gaz.) For burns and scalds a 
liniment may be made by rubbing together one part of carbolic acid and 6 parts 
of olive oil, applied on lint. For the dressing of cancerous and other foul 
ulcers, an ointment may be used composed of 5 grains of the acid rubbed with 
an ounce of simple cerate. 
The impure liquid acid sold in the shops usually contains from 70 to 90 per 
cent, of carbolic and cresylic acids jointly (Squibb), and, as the latter aqid is 
quite equal to the former in disinfecting power, yields, if dissolved in water in 
the proportion of one to 80 parts, a solution equivalent on the average to that 
produced by dissolving one part of the pure acid in 100 parts of water. 
M. Bobceuf prefers the salts of carbolic acid to the acid itself. He has found 
the carbolate of potassaorsoda, in a solution of from 5° to 10° B., applied, by 
means of compresses, to bleeding wounds, to suppress hemorrhage instantly 
(Ann. de Therap., 1862, p. 62.) 44 
Acidum Carbolicum.—Acidum Chromicum. 
PART I 
The hygienic application of carbolic acid is among its most important uses, 
if not absolutely the most important. By the free use of it in the wards of hos- 
pitals, and in the private chambers of the sick, sprinkling it over the contents 
and through the air of the infected apartments, introducing it into the close 
stools, and washing with it to a greater or less extent, the persons of the sick 
when requiring it, much may no doubt be done towards the prevention of infec- 
tious and probably even contagious diseases; and there is reason to believe 
that the spread of certain fatal epidemics, as cholera, yellow-fever, and various 
malignant typhoid affections, though probably not arrested, may be much lim- 
ited by bringing this agent to bear upon the morbific causes, and especially by 
correcting, through its influence, the numerous exhalations from accumula- 
tions of filth, which contribute to the support and propagation of these causes. 
It is believed that the use of carbolic acid proved to a certain extent effectual in 
limiting the prevalence of the epidemic cattle disease lately so destructive in 
Europe. For these purposes, as before stated, the impure liquid acid is at least 
equally effectual; and Dr. Squibb recommends that, for disinfecting purposes, 
a solution should be kept on hand made, on the large scale, by dissolving two 
pints of the impure acid in a barrel or forty gallons of water; this being of 
about the same strength as the acid usually sold for such purposes. (V. Y. Med. 
Gaz., April 18, 1868, p. 235.) 
Off. Prep. Glycerinum Acidi Carbolici, Br. W. 
ACIDUM CHROMICUM. U. S. 
Chromic Acid. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in which it is placed in 
the Materia Medica Catalogue as an article furnished by commerce. It is 
readily obtained by mixing 100 measures of a cold saturated solution of bi- 
chromate of potassa with 150 measures of sulphuric acid, and allowing the 
mixture to cool. The sulphuric acid unites with the potassa, and sets free the 
chromic acid, which is deposited in crystals. The mother-liquor having been 
poured off, these are placed upon a tile to drain, covered with a glass bell-jar. 
Properties. Chromic acid is in the form of anhydrous, acicular crystals, of a 
brilliant crimson-red colour and an acid metallic taste, deliquescent, and very 
soluble in water, forming an orange-yellow solution. “At a heat between 356° 
and 374°, they melt into a reddish-brown liquid, which, on cooling, becomes 
a red, opaque, and brittle mass.” U. S. Chromic acid is a teroxide of the metal 
chromium, having the formula Cr03. At a heat above the melting point, it 
gives off half its oxygen, and is converted into the green sesquioxide Cr2Os. 
It is a powerful oxidizing and bleaching material, and gives up its oxygen with 
great facility to organic matter, which is at the same time dissolved. “If a few 
drops of alcohol are allowed to fall on a small portion of it, a vigorous action 
takes place, attended with an increase of bulk, and the liquid formed becomes 
yellowish-brown.” U.S. 
Medical Uses. Chromic acid is used medically only as an escharotic, in which 
capacity it acts by rapidly oxidizing and thus decomposing the tissues, while, 
by the loss of one-half its oxygen, it is itself converted into the inert sesqui- 
oxide. It was first employed as a caustic by Prof. Sigmund, of Vienna, on the 
recommendation of Dr. Heller. Used in substance, made into a paste with 
water, its action is exceedingly slow and gradual, but deeply penetrating. In 
saturated solution its action is less penetrating and less gradual. By using a 
solution more or less dilute, the action may be graduated according to the de- 
gree of effect desired. Prof. Sigmund tried the concentrated solution, with ad- 
vantage, for the destruction of condylomata, occurring in his syphilitic wards. 
The acid has been used with very good results by Mr. Marshall, of University 
College Hospital, London, for removing warts and other morbid growths from 
the genital organs. The solution employed was of the strength of 100 grains PART i. 
Acidum Chromicum.—Acidum Citricum. 
45 
of the acid to a fluidounce of distilled water. It is most conveniently applied 
by means of a pointed glass rod. Dissolved in an equal weight of distilled 
water, it has been employed very advantageously by M. Hairion in destroying 
excrescences in the female generative organs, and in certain obstinate forms of 
granular conjunctivitis, in which nodules form on the conjunctiva, threatening 
a destruction of the neighbouring tissues, especially of the cornea. He applies 
it by means of a pencil, and finds it neither very painful, nor followed by much 
reaction. Nevertheless great caution is required not to allow the destruction 
of parts to extend too far; and in ordinary granular disease of the membrane 
he considers it too hazardous for use. (Archives Generales, Mars, 1859, p. 
352.) Chromic acid is well suited to the destruction of morbid growths, and 
gives less pain than other caustics. It acts as a rapid solvent of organic mat- 
ter. “Smaller animals (mice, birds, &c.) were so completely dissolved by the 
acid within fifteen or twenty minutes, that no trace of their bones, skin, hair, 
claws, or teeth could be discovered.” (Dublin Quarterly Journ., xiii. 250, froir 
the Wiener Medizinische Woclienschrift.) B. 
ACIDUM CITRICUM. US.,Br. 
Citric Acid. 
Acidum limonis, Lat.; Acide citrique, Fr.; Citronensaure, Germ.; Acido citrico, Ttat.. 
Span. 
Citric acid is the peculiar acid to which limes and lemons owe their sourness 
It is present also in the juice of other fruits; such as the cranberry, the red 
whortleberry, the berry of the bittersweet, the red gooseberry, the currant, the 
strawberry, the raspberry, the tamarind, and the red elderberry (fruit of Sam- 
bucus racemosa rubra). The latter berry contains citric acid so abundantly that 
it has been proposed as a source of the acid by M. Thibierge, of Versailles. 
The acid is extracted from lemon or lime juice by a very simple process, for 
which we are indebted to Scheele. The boiling juice is first completely saturated 
with carbonate of lime (chalk or whiting) in fine powder, and the citrate of 
lime formed is allowed to subside. This is then washed repeatedly with water, 
and decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid. An insoluble sulphate of lime is im- 
mediately formed, and the disengaged citric acid remains in the supernatant 
liquor. This is carefully concentrated in leaden boilers until a pellicle begins 
to form, when it is transferred to other vessels in order to cool and crystallize. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia citric acid is properly placed in the Materia 
Medica list as an article purchased from the manufacturing chemist. The Brit- 
ish Pharmacopoeia gives the following process for preparing it. 
“Take of Lemon Juice four pints [Imperial measure]; Prepared Chalk 
four ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid two fuidounces and a 
half; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Heat the Lemon Juice to its boiling 
point, and add the Chalk by degrees till there is no more effervescence. Collect 
the deposit on a calico filter, and wash it with hot water till the filtered liquor 
passes from it colourless. Mix the deposit with a pint [Imp. meas.] of Dis- 
tilled Water, and gradually add the Sulphuric Acid previously diluted with a 
pint and a half [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water. Boil gently for half an hour, 
keeping the mixture constantly stirred. Separate the acid solution by filtra- 
tion, wmsh the insoluble matter with a little Distilled Water, and add the 
washings to the solution. Concentrate the solution to the density of 1 -21, then 
allow it to cool, and after twenty-four hours decant the liquor from the crystals 
of sulphate of lime which have formed; further concentrate the liquor until a 
film forms on its surface, and set it aside to cool and crystallize. Purify the 
crystals if necessary by a recrystallization. ” Br. 
A preliminary fermentation, which was directed in the former British 
Pharmacopoeia, has been abandoned in the present; and properly, as the vis- 
cidity which it was intended to remove, is sufficiently got rid of by heating 
the iuice to the boiling point. The Br. Pharmacopoeia states, as an evidence 46 
Acidum Citricum. 
PART I. 
of the purity of the crystals, that “70 grains dissolved in distilled water are 
neutralized by 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The juice is placed in a large vat, closed 
at top, and is saturated with whiting (carbonate of lime). Carbonic acid gas 
is evolved, which passes out by an exit-pipe, and may be used in the manufac- 
ture of bicarbonate of soda; and citrate of lime precipitates. The supernatant 
liquor, containing much extractive matter, is drawn off; and the citrate of lime 
is decomposed by dilute sulphuric acid, liberating the citric acid, and precipita- 
ting the lime as a sulphate. The mixture of citric acid and sulphate of lime is 
run off into a wooden filter back, lined with lead, furnished with a perforated 
false bottom, and lined throughout with stout twilled flannel. The solution of 
citric acid passes off through a pipe, leading from the bottom of the back to 
suitable reservoirs. The sulphate is washed until it becomes tasteless, and the 
washings are run off into the same reservoirs. The Altered acid solution is then 
concentrated by evaporation in wooden vessels lined with lead, through which 
steam is made to pass by means of coiled lead pipes. As citric acid is liable to 
decomposition, if subjected to too high a temperature, the use of the vacuum 
pan is highly advantageous in concentrating the solution. When the liquor is 
sufficiently concentrated, it is transferred to cylindrical sheet-lead vessels, placed 
in a warm situation, to crystallize. The crystals, at first obtained, are coloured. 
In order to purify them, they are redissolved in a small quantity of water, with 
the assistance of heat, and the solution is digested with purified animal charcoal, 
filtered, and recrystallized. The crystals, after having been washed and drained, 
are dried on wooden trays lined with sheet-lead, in a room heated by steam. 
More recently, Dr. Price and Mr. Pontifex, both of England, have made improve- 
ments in the manufacture of citric acid, for the details of which the reader is 
referred to Vac Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xiii. 313, and xvi. 430).* 
The citrate of lime of the above process should be decomposed without delay; 
for, if kept, it will undergo fermentation, with the effect of destroying the citric 
acid. According to Personne, the products of this fermentation are acetic and 
butyric acids; carbonic acid and hydrogen being evolved. It is desirable to 
have a slight excess of sulphuric acid, as this rather favours than otherwise the 
* Some suggestions have recently appeared in the journals, in relation to the prepara- 
tion of citric acid on the large scale, which may be of use to the manufacturer. In the 
Chemical News (Jan. 20,1866, p. 40) is a short paper by Mr. Frederick Row, in which it is 
Btated that the lemon or lime juice imported, from which most of the acid is prepared, 
contains so much colouring matter, mucilage, and other impurities, as very much to im- 
pede the process, and to make repeated crystallization and saturation necessary, to render 
the crystals fit for the market. It seems that the acid imported has undergone concen- 
tration, for the obvious purposes of enabling it to keep better, and to lessen the cost of 
carriage. Mr. Row states that he has found that much of the difficulty may be obviated 
by diluting the concentrated liquor, so that it shall have the strength of the fresh juice, 
by which operation much of the mucilage and other impurities will be made to separate 
in a flocculent form, and the citrate of lime, and consequently the citric acid will be ob- 
tained in a state of comparative purity. 
Another important point is that the sulphuric acid, in slight excess at first, accumu- 
lates largely in proportion with the repeated evaporation and crystallization of the citric 
acid out of the solutions, and thus exercises a most destructive action on that remaining 
in the mother-liquors. The most effectual way of removing this difficulty is to pass the 
mother-liquors, as soon as the sulphuric acid becomes in injurious excess, through a fresh 
portion of citrate of lime, which not only removes the sulphuric acid, but causes also at 
the same time the deposition of flocculent matters before held in solution by means of 
the acid, consisting mainly of sulphate of lime. 
Preparation of citric acid with the aid of magnesia. M. Perret proposes to manufac- 
ture citric acid by*preparing from the juice, in the situations where lemons and limes 
are produced, first an insoluble tribasic citrate of magnesia, and then from this a soluble 
bibasic citrate of magnesia, which maybe delivered to the manufacturing chemist for the 
extraction of the citric acid. The advantage of this method is that a material is brought 
to the manufacturer not liable to the injurious changes to which lemon-juice and mere 
citrate of lime are liable on exposure. The tribasic citrate is made from the defecated 
juice by adding an excess of magnesia; and the bibasic from it, by treating it with an 
additional quantity of juice equal to that first employed. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. 
4e ser., iv. 48; also Chem. News, March 2, 1866, p. 100.)—Note to the thirteenth edition bART I. 
Acidum Citricum. 
47 
crystallization of the citric acid. It is found necessary, also, to add occasionally 
a small proportion of sulphuric acid to the citric acid liquor, during the pro- 
gress of its concentration. 
According to the late Mr. Parkes, a gallon of good juice, if the process be 
well conducted, will yield eight ounces of white crystals. But the product de- 
pends on the proportion of citric acid in the juice, which is very variable. The 
more recent the juice the better the quality. That which is stale will sometimes 
be quite sour, without containing any citric acid, in consequence of having un- 
dergone the acetous fermentation. 
Properties. Citric acid is a white, crystallized solid, often in large crystals, 
having the form of rhomboidal prisms with dihedral summits. It is permanent 
in a dry air, but becomes moist in a damp one. Its sp. gr. is 1-6. Its taste is 
strongly acid, and almost caustic. When heated, it dissolves in its water of 
crystallization, and, at a higher temperature, undergoes decomposition, becoming 
yellow or brown, and forming a very sour syrupy liquid, which is uncrystalliza- 
ble. By destructive distillation it gives rise to water, empyreumatic oil, acetic 
and carbonic acids, carburetted hydrogen, and a number of pyrogenous acids, 
among which is the aconitic. A voluminous coal is left. 
Citric acid dissolves in three-fourths of its weight of cold, and half its weight 
of boiling water. It is soluble also in alcohol, but is insoluble in pure ether. 
A Aveak solution of it has an agreeable taste, but cannot be kept, as it under- 
goes spontaneous decomposition. It is incompatible with alkaline solutions, 
whether pure or carbonated, converting them into citrates; also with the earthy 
and metallic carbonates, most acetates, the alkaline sulphurets, and soaps. It 
is characterized by its taste, by the shape of its crystals, and by forming an 
insoluble salt with lime-water when heated, and a deliquescent one with 
potassa. If sulphuric acid be present, the precipitate by acetate of lead will 
not be entirely soluble in nitric acid; the insoluble portion being sulphate of 
lead. Sometimes crystals of tartaric acid are substituted for or mixed with the 
citric, or the two acids may be mixed in powder, a fraud which is readily de- 
tected by adding a solution of carbonate of potassa to one of the suspected 
acids; when, if tartaric acid be present, a crystalline precipitate of bitartrate 
of potassa (cream of tartar) will be formed. A still more delicate method of 
detecting tartaric acid is to digest the suspected acid with hydrated sesqui- 
oxide of iron in a test tube, afterwards to raise the heat slowly to the boiling 
point, and, having allowed the excess of oxide to subside, to decant the clear 
liquid, and evaporate it to a syrupy consistence. If the acid is pure the liquid 
remains limpid, and of a fine red colour; if contaminated with the tartaric acid, 
even to the extent of only one per cent., it becomes cloudy, and deposits tar- 
trate of the sesquioxide. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1862, p. 169.) Another 
test is permanganate of potassa, of which an alkaline solution is without action 
on citric acid; while, under the action of tartaric acid, the peroxide of manganese 
is deposited. (ttid., Sept. 1861, p. 239.) “The aqueous solution of citric acid 
is not darkened by sulphuretted hydrogen, gives no precipitate when added in 
excess to solution of acetate of potassa, or of chloride of barium, and, if spar- 
ingly added to cold lime-water, does not render it turbid,” Br.; showing the 
absence of metals, and of oxalic, tartaric, and sulphuric acids. Lime or other 
fixed impurity is detected by incinerating the acid, alone or with red oxide of 
mercury, when the fixed matter will be left. “ One hundred grains of citric 
acid saturate 15-0 grains of bicarbonate of potassa.” U.S. 
Composition. The formula of this acid, considered dry, as it exists in the 
citrate of silver, is C12H5Oir When crystallized from its solution by cooling, it 
contains four eqs. of water, three of which are basic. The British Pharma- 
copoeia gives the formula of the crystallized acid 3HO,C12H5Ou-}-2HO, thus 
giving it two eqs. of water of crystallization. 
Medical Properties, &c. Citric acid, when given in concentrated solution to 
the inferior animals, acts as a poison, producing effects similar to those of oxalic 
acid When largely diluted with water, it forms a cooling refreshing drink. 48 
Acidum, Citricum.—Acidum Lacticum. 
PART I. 
Accordingly, it is much used for making a substitute for lemonade. It is also 
employed in the composition of effervescing draughts, and for preparing the 
neutral mixture. (See Liquor Potassae Citratis.) When added in the quantity 
of nine drachms and a half to a pint of distilled water, it forms a solution of 
the average strength of lemon-juice. Of this solution, or of lemon-juice, a 
scruple of bicarbonate of potassa saturates three fluidrachms and a half; a 
scruple of carbonate of potassa, four fluidrachms; and a scruple of carbonato 
of ammonia, six fluidrachms. Half a fluidounce of lemon-juice, or of an equiva- 
lent solution of citric acid, when saturated, is considered a dose. An agreeable 
substitute for lemonade may be made by dissolving from two to four parts of 
the acid, mixed with sugar and a little oil of lemons, in nine hundred parts uf 
water; or a scruple of the acid may be dissolved in a pint of water, and sweet- 
ened with sugar which has been rubbed on fresh lemon peel. The dose of thy 
acid may be stated at from five to thirty grains. 
The physiological action of a weak solution of citric acid is that of a re- 
frigerant, increasing the fluidity of the blood, and rendering it less coagulaulo 
Hence its utility in inflammations and fevers. Dr. C. W. Oleson, of Blooming 
dale, 111., has found it peculiarly useful in a case of metritis, giving a tea- 
spoonful of a solution, containing about four grains of the acid, every two 
hours. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1867, p. 277 ) It is also useful in scurvy, 
liver disease, and dropsy. In recent times citric acid, in the form of lemon- 
juice, has come into vogue as a remedy for gout and rheumatism; but the 
trials made with it in these diseases have not shown that it possesses any pe- 
culiar efficacy. Dr. H. Bence Jones has made some interesting observations 
on citric acid and lemon-juice, and concludes that their action is identical. Ex- 
perimental trials showed that they always increase the acidity of the urine. 
In view of this fact, Dr. Jones cautions the practitioner against the use of the 
juice for three or four weeks continuously in chronic gout or rheumatism, for 
fear that red gravel, or uric acid calculus should be produced. (See Am. Jvurn. 
of the Med. Sci., Jan. 1855, p. 204.) The dose of lemon-juice in inflammatory 
rheumatism is two fluidounces, repeated from four to six times a day. Citric 
acid has recently been employed with much supposed advantage, as a local 
remedy, in diphtheric exudation, and in cancerous ulcers, being applied in the 
form of lemon-juice, or dissolved in water in the proportion of a drachm to eight 
fluidounces. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ferri Pyrophosphas, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammoniae Citras, Br.; Ferri et Quiniae Citras, Br.; Li. 
quor Ammoniae Citratis, Br.; Liquor Bismuthi et Ammoniae Citratis, Br.; Li- 
quor Ferri Citratis, U.S.; Liquor Magnesiae Citratis, U.S.; Liquor Potassae 
Citratis, U.S.; Lithiae Citras, Br.; Potassae Citras; Sodae Citro-tartras Effer- 
vescens, Br.; Syrupus Acidi Citrici, U.S. B 
ACIDUM LACTICUM. U.S. 
Lactic Acid. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and placed in the Materia 
Medica list, without a formula for its preparation. Lactic acid was discovered 
by Scheele. It exists in sour milk, and has been found in a number of the se- 
cretions, including the healthy gastric juice, in which its presence has been 
incontestably proved by Bernard and Barreswil. Liebig has shown that it 
exists in the juice of flesh. It has been detected by Prof. Wittstein 
in the vegetable kingdom, especially in the peduncles of Solanum Dulcamara, 
and the liquid which oozes from freshly cut vine branches. It is a product of 
the viscous or lactic fermentation of rice-water, and of the juices of the beet, 
turnip, and carrot. Indeed, it is formed whenever sugar in solution, of what- 
ever kind, is placed in contact with an alkaline or earthy carbonate, in pres- 
ence of a special ferment, as, for example, the casein of milk, or cheese which PART I. 
Acidum Laclicum. 
49 
contains it. Pasteur has demonstrated that the lactic acid fermentation, like 
the vinous, is accompanied with the growth of a peculiar microscopic plant or 
mycoderm, which he is disposed to consider as the real agent of the changes 
produced. This fermentation is attended with the production not only of lactic 
acid, but of other substances also, and among them, a peculiar gum-like sub- 
stance in abundance, which, first noticed by Kirchof, has been isolated in a 
pure state by Briining. Though similar to arabin and dextrin, with the formula 
C12H]aO10, it is not identical with either, and yields no mucic acid when treated 
with the nitric. (See Ghem. Gaz., May 15, 1858, p. 197.) 
Preparation. Lactic acid may be obtained by the following process, which 
was recommended by M. Louradour as the first step in preparing lactate of iron. 
Ferment whey by keeping it at a temperature between 70° and 80°, whereby it 
becomes charged with a eonsiderable quantity of lactic acid. Evaporate the 
liquor to one-third of its bulk, decant and filter, and then saturate with milk of 
lime. This converts the lactic acid into lactate of lime, which remains in solu- 
tion, and throws down a precipitate, consisting principally of phosphate of 
lime. The liquor is filtered again, and precipitated by oxalic acid, which throws 
down the lime as oxalate of lime, and sets free the lactic acid. By a new filtra- 
tion a solution of lactic acid is obtained, containing lactin (sugar of milk) and 
certain salts. From these it may be purified by concentrating it to a syrupy 
consistence, and treating it with alcohol, which dissolves the acid, and pre- 
cipitates the lactin foreign salts. The solution is filtered, and the lactic 
acid is obtained pure by distilling off the alcohol. Wackenroder’s method is 
to mix 10 parts of skimmed milk, 25 of sugar of milk, 2 of chalk, and 20 of 
water, to digest at about 75° for six weeks, or till the chalk is dissolved, then 
to express, clarify, and evaporate so as to crystallize the lactate of lime, and, 
having recrystallized this salt, to decompose it with sulphuric or oxalic acid 
in exact saturating proportions. 
Lautemann proposes a modification of this plan, consisting in substituting 
oxide of zinc for chalk. The fermentation is completed in eight or ten days. 
After boiling, the mixture is filtered, and the liquor, having been evaporated 
and again filtered, is allowed to stand. Lactate of zinc now separates, from 
which the acid maybe obtained by dissolving the salt in boiling water, throw- 
ing down the zinc by sulphuretted hydrogen, filtering, and concentrating. The 
solution now contains mannite and lactic acid, both the result of the fermenta- 
tion. By agitating with ether the acid is dissolved, and the mannite left; and 
by evaporating the ethereal solution the lactic acid is obtained. (See Philos. 
Mag., May, 1860, p. 385.) 
Properties. Lactic acid is a limpid, syrupy liquid, colourless or of a pale- 
wine colour, of a slight not unpleasant odour, and a very sour taste. Its sp. gr. 
is 1-212, and its formula C6II606, or, if considered as hydrated, C6H505-f-H0. 
Some consider it a bi-basic acid, 1 give as its formula C’12II120]2, or Ci2Hio°io 
4-2110. It mixes in all proportions with water, alcohol, and ether. Exposed 
to a heat of 480°, it is for the most part converted into a new body called con- 
crete lactic acid or lactide. It coagulates albumen, and dissolves a large quan- 
tity of freshly precipitated phosphate of lime; a property which, doubtless, 
renders it important in the animal economy. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is stated to produce no precipitate with acetate 
of lead, oxalate of ammonia, or, after saturation by ammonia, with sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen ; proving the absence of sulphuric acid, lime, and metallic salts. 
Ninety grains of it are saturated by not less than 75 grains of bicarbonate of 
potassa. When gently heated it should yield no smell of acetic or butyric acid. 
Its colour is not changed by.an excess of caustic potassa. 
Lactic acid, of the kind found in muscle, is said to exist copiously in the 
urine, both of men and animals, when labouring under the poisonous effects of 
phosphorus. (Sehultzen, Zeitsclirift fur Ghem., 1867, p. 138.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lactic acid was proposed by Magendie, on 
theoretical grounds, as a remedy in certain forms of dyspepsia, and for the re- 50 
Acidum Lacticum.—Acidum Muriaticum. 
PAET r. 
moval of phosphatic deposits in the urine. It has subsequently been employed 
with good effects in dyspepsia by Dr. Handheld Jones and Dr. O’Connor, both 
of London. The remedy should be taken at the time of meals. It is most con- 
veniently given in solution sweetened with sugar, prepared like lemonade. 
From one to three drachms may be taken in the course of the day. 
Lactic acid is a useful addition to medicinal pepsin, increasing the solvent 
power of that agent upon the food, when taken into the stomach Some imports 
ance has also been attached to it from the supposition that it might be the materies 
morbi in rheumatism, as uric acid has been supposed to be in gout; but in either 
case the acid is probably rather the effect than the cause of the disease. 
Off. Prep. Ferri Lactas, U.S. B. 
ACIDUM MUHiATICUM. U.S. 
Muriatic Acid. 
An aqueous solution of chlorohydric acid gas, of the sp. gr. IT 6. U.S. 
Off. Syn. ACIDUM H YDROCHLORICUM. Hydrochloric acid gas, 
HC1, dissolved in water, and forming 31 8 per cent by weight of the solu- 
tion. Br. 
Spirit of sea-salt, Marine acid, Hydrochloric acid, Chlorohydric acid ; Acide hydro- 
chlorique, Fr.; Salzsaure, Kochsalzsaure, Germ.; Acido muriatico, Ital., Span. 
The muriatic acid of pharmacy and the arts is a solution of muriatic acid gas 
in water. It is sometimes called liquid muriatic acid, but more properly aqueous 
muriatic acid. The acid is placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of the U.S. 
Pharmacopoeia; but among the Preparations in the British, which gives the 
following process for preparing it. 
“ Take of Chloride of Sodium, dried, forty-eight ounces [avoirdupois] ; Sul- 
phuric Acid forty-four fuidounces ; Water thirty-six fluidounces ; Distilled 
Water fifty fluidounces. Pour the Sulphuric Acid slowly into thirty-two 
[fluid]ounces of the Water, and when the mixture has cooled, add it to the 
Chloride of Sodium previously introduced into a flask having the capacity of 
at least one gallon [Imp. meas.]. Connect the flask by corks and a bent glass 
tube with a three-necked wash-bottle, furnished with a safety tube, and con- 
taining the remaining four [fluid]ounces of the Water; then, applying heat 
to the flask, conduct the disengaged gas through the wash-bottle, into a second 
bottle containing the Distilled Water, by means of a bent tube dipping about 
half an inch below the surface; and let the process be continued until the pro- 
duct measures sixty-six [fluid]ounces, or the liquid has acquired a sp.gr. of 
IT6. The bottle containing the distilled water must be kept cool during the 
tvhole operation.” Br. 
Preparation. Muriatic acid is obtained by the action of sulphuric acid on 
chloride of sodium or common salt. The commercial acid is procured, on a 
large scale, by distilling the salt with an equal weight of sulphuric acid, some- 
what diluted with water, from iron stills, furnished with earthen heads into 
earthenware receivers containing water. When thus obtained, it is contami- 
nated with iron and other impurities, and is not fit for medicinal purposes. 
Commercial muriatic acid is now procured in large quantities in England, 
during the decomposition of common salt for the purpose of making sulphate 
of soda, from which soda-ash and carbonate of soda are afterwards manufac- 
tured in immense quantities. When the object is to obtain sulphate of soda, 
the decomposition of the sea-salt is performed in semi-cvlindrical vessels, the 
curved part, next the fire, being made of iron, and the upper or flat surface, of 
stone. If the acid is to be saved, it is conveyedjfby a pipe to a double-necked 
stoneware receiver, half filled with water, and connected with a row of similar 
receivers, likewise containing water. 
The acid, when required to be pure, is generally prepared by saturating dis- 
tilled water with the gas in a Woulfe’s apparatus. A quantity of pure fused 
common salt is introduced into a retort or matrass, placed on a sand-bath. The PART I. 
Acidum Mwriaticum. 
51 
vessel is then furnished with an S tube, and connected with a series of bottles, 
each two-thirds full of water. A quantity of sulphuric acid is then gradually 
added, equal in weight to the common salt employed, and diluted with one-third 
ol its weight of water. The materials ought not to occupy more than half the 
body of the retort. When the extrication of the gas slackens, heat is applied, 
and gradually increased until the water in the bottles refuses to absorb any 
more, or until no more gas is found to come over. As soon as the process is 
completed, boiling water should be added to the contents of the retort or ma- 
trass, in order to facilitate the removal of the residue. During the progress of 
the saturation, the water in the several bottles increases in temperature, which 
lessens its power of absorption. It is, therefore, expedient, in order to obtain 
a strong acid, to keep the bottles cool by means of water or ice. The connect- 
ing tubes need not plunge deeply into the acid. 
The process of the British Pharmacopoeia is substantially the same as the one 
here described, with the exception of the proportion of the acid and salt em- 
ployed. In the process for muriatic acid, theory calls for a little less than 82 
parts of liquid sulphuric acid to 100 of common salt. A moderate excess of the 
former may be useful to ensure the complete decomposition of the salt; but the 
quantity of acid, directed in the British process, is sufficient to decompose twice 
the quantity of common salt taken. The intention obviously is to use enough 
of the acid to form the bisulphate instead of sulphate of soda; and it is thought 
that the process is thus facilitated. 
The rationale of the process for obtaining this acid is very simple. Common 
salt is a compound of chlorine and sodium; muriatic acid, of chlorine and hy- 
drogen; and liquid sulphuric acid, of dry sulphuric acid and water. The water 
is decomposed; its oxygen, combining with the sodium of the common salt, 
generates soda, which unites with the sulphuric acid to form sulphate of soda; 
while the hydrogen and chlorine, being both in the nascent state, combine, and 
escape as muriatic acid gas. The residue of the process is consequently sulphate 
of soda or Glauber's salt. 
As muriatic acid, prepared in the ordinary mode, often contains arsenic, so as 
to obscure its indications when employed in testing for that poison, it is of in- 
terest to the practical toxicologist to know that it may be obtained free from 
that impurity by distilling chloride of sodium or potassium with oxalic acid in 
equivalent proportions. (Ghem. News, Jan. 18, 1862, p. 41.) 
Properties of the Pure Acid. Muriatic acid, when pure, is a transparent 
colourless liquid, of a suffocating odour and corrosive taste. Exposed to the air 
it emits white fumes, owing to the escape of the acid gas, and its union with the 
moisture of the atmosphere. When concentrated, it blackens organic substances 
like sulphuric acid. Its sp. gr. varies with its strength. When as highly con- 
centrated as possible, its density is 1*21. The U.S. medicinal acid, as well as 
that of the present British Pharmacopoeia, has the sp. gr. 116; and “114-8 
grains by weight, mixed with half a [fluid]ounce of distilled water, require for 
neutralization 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
When of the sp. gr. 1*16 it contains rather more than 33-9 per cent, of muriatic 
acid gas. (Phillips.) It freezes at 60° below zero. When exposed to heat, it 
continues to give off muriatic acid gas, with the appearance of ebullition, until 
its sp. gr. falls to 1 094, when it properly boils, and distils over unchanged. 
Muriatic acid is characterized by forming, on the addition of nitrate of silver, 
a white precipitate (chloride of silver), which is insoluble in nitric acid, but 
readily soluble in ammonia. It is incompatible with alkalies and most earths, 
with oxides and their carbonates, and with sulphuret of potassium, tartrate of 
potassa, tartar emetic, tartrate of iron and potassa, nitrate of silver, and solu- 
tion of subacetate of lead. 
As it is desirable to know, on many occasions, in chemical and pharmaceutical 
operations, the quantity of strong aqueous acid, of acid gas, and of chlorine, 
contained in samples of acid of different densities, Ave subjoin a table by Dr. Ure, 
containing this information. 52 
Acidum Muriaticum. 
PART I. 
Table of the quantity of Aqueous Muriatic Acid of sp. gr. 12, of Muriatic 
Acid Gas, and of Chlorine in 100 parts of Aqueous Acid of different den- 
sities. 
Sp. Or. 
Aqueous 
Acid of 
sp. gr. 1-2. 
Acid Gas. 
Chlorine. 
Sp. Gr. 
Aqueous 
Acid of 
sp. gr. 1-2. 
Acid Gas. 
Chlorine 
1-2000 
100 
40-777 
39-675 
1-1102 
55 
21-822 
22-426 
1-1910 
95 
38-738 
37-692 
1-1000 
50 
20-388 
19-837 
1-1822 
90 
36-700 
35-707 
1-0899 
45 
18-348 
17-854 
1-1721 
85 
34-660 
33-724 
1-0798 
40 
16-310 
15-870 
1-1701 
84 
34-252 
33-328 
1-0697 
35 
14-271 
13-887 
1-1620 
80 
32-621 
31-746 
1-0597 
30 
12-233 
11-903 
1-1599 
79 
32-213 
31-343 
1-0497 
25 
10-194 
9-919 
1-1515 
75 
30-582 
29-757 
1-0397 
20 
8-155 
7-935 
1-1410 
70 
28-544 
27-772 
1-0298 
15 
6-116 
5-951 
1-1308 
65 
26-504 
25-789 
1-0200 
10 
4-078 
3-968 
1-1206 
60 
24-466 
23-805 
1-0100 
5 
2-039 
1-984 
Impurities. This acid, when pure, will evaporate without residue in a pla- 
tinum spoon. If sulphuric acid be present, a solution of chloride of barium will 
cause a precipitate of sulphate of baryta in the acid, previously diluted with 
distilled water. Iron may be detected by saturating the diluted acid with car- 
bonate of soda, and then adding ferrocyanide of potassium, which will strike 
a blue colour if that metal be present. The absence of arsenic may be inferred 
if it do not tarnish bright copper foil when boiled with it, and of this as well 
as other metallic impregnation, excepting that of iron, by its giving no preci- 
pitate with sulphuretted hydrogen. Ammonia in excess shows the absence of 
iron, if it produces no precipitate. Free chlorine or nitric acid may be discov- 
ered by its having the power to dissolve gold-leaf. Any minute portion of the 
leaf which may be dissolved is detected by adding a solution of protochloride 
of tin, which will give rise to a purplish tint. The free chlorine is derived from 
the reaction of nitric or hyponitric acid on a small portion of the muriatic acid, 
which is thus deprived of its hydrogen. Hence it is that, when free chlorine 
is present, hyponitric acid or some other oxide of nitrogen is also present as 
an impurity. The nitric and hyponitric acids are derived from nitrates in the 
common salt, and from hyponitric acid in the commercial sulphuric acid em- 
ployed in the preparation of the muriatic acid. The absence of sulphur is in- 
dicated by the same test as in the instance of acetic acid. (See page 21.) 
Muriatic Acid of Commerce. This acid has the general properties of the 
pure aqueous acid. It has a yellowish colour, owing to the presence of sesqui- 
chloride of iron, or of a minute proportion of organic matter, such as cork, 
wood, &c. It usually contains sulphuric acid, and sometimes free chlorine and 
nitrous acid. But the most injurious impurity, to those who consume it in the 
arts, is sulphurous acid. Mr. T. H. Savory analyzed three samples of commer- 
cial muriatic acid, each having a sp. gr. of between 1T6 and I II, and found 
them to contain from T to nearly 11 per cent, of sulphurous acid. To detect 
this acid, M. Girardin has proposed a very delicate test, namely, the proto- 
chloride of tin. The mode of using the test is to take about half an ounce of 
the acid to be tested, and to add to it two or three drachms of the protochlo- 
ride. The mixture having been stirred two or three times, as much distilled 
water as of the protochloride is to be added. If sulphurous acid is present, 
the muriatic acid becomes turbid and yellow immediately upon the addition of 
the protochloride; and, upon the subsequent addition of the water, a slight 
evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen takes place, perceptible to the smell, and 
the liquid assumes a brown hue, depositing a powder of the same colour. The 
manner in which the test acts is as follows. By a transfer of chlorine, the test 
is converted into bichloride and metallic tin, the latter of which, by reacting Jr IRT I. 
Acidum Muriaticum. 
53 
with the sulphurous acid, gives rise to a precipitate of the deutoxide and pro- 
tosulphuret of tin. In case the sulphurous acid forms but one-half of one per 
cent, of the commercial acid, the precipitate may not be perceptible. Under 
these circumstances, a solution of sulphate of copper must be added to the 
liquid previously warmed, when a brown pi’ecipitate of sulphuret of copper will 
be immediately formed. (Heintz.) M. Lembert has proposed the following, 
which he considers as a more delicate test of sulphurous acid. Saturate the 
suspected muriatic acid with carbonate of potassa, and add successively a lit- 
tle weak solution of starch, one or two drops of solution of iodate of potassa, 
and sulphuric acid, drop by drop. Sulphurous acid, if present, will be set free 
with iodic acid, and these, by reacting on each other, will develope iodine, 
which will cause a blue colour with the starch. 
Another impurity occasionally present in the commercial acid, as shown by 
Dupasquier, is arsenic. The immediate source of this impurity is the sulphuric 
acid used to prepare the muriatic acid. The sulphuric acid derives the arsenic 
from the sulphur used in its manufacture, and this last from pyrites containing 
a little of the poisonous metal. The arsenic, when present, is in the form of a 
terchloride, and, from its volatility in this state of combination, is transferred 
to the muriatic acid, distilled from the commercial acid. This impurity is sepa- 
rated by diluting the acid with an equal volume of water, and passing through 
it sulphuretted hydrogen, which throws down the arsenic as a tersulphuret. 
According to Wittstein muriatic acid is freed from arsenic by mercury, accord- 
ing to Reinsch by copper, and in either case it may be deprived of metallic 
impregnation by distillation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1851, p. 408.) 
M. Aug uste Houzeau asserts that it is sufficient to deprive commercial arse- 
niferous muriatic acid of arsenic simply to boil it, in a flat-bottomed vessel, 
to two-thirds of its original volume; all the arsenic escaping in the form of 
the terchloride. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., i. 97.) When leaden 
vessels are used in preparing muriatic acid, it is apt to contain chloride of 
lead, which falls as a white precipitate on neutralizing the acid. The nature 
of the precipitate is verified by dissolving it in nitric acid and adding iodide 
of potassium, when the yellow iodide of lead will fall. {Hainault ) This im- 
purity, being fixed, may be got rid of by distilling the acid. A small propor- 
tion of thallium has been detected in commercial muriatic acid by Mr. ffm. 
Crookes, being derived from sulphuric acid, in the manufacture of which py- 
rites were employed. (Ghem. News, April 25, 1863, p. 194.) 
Properties of Muriatic Acid Gas. Muriatic acid gas is a colourless elastic 
fluid, possessing a pungent odour, and the property of irritating the organs of 
respiration. It destroys life and extinguishes flame. It reddens litmus power- 
fully, and has the other properties of a strong acid. Its sp. gr. is T269. Sub- 
jected to a pressure of 40 atmospheres, at the temperature of 50°, it is con- 
densed into a transparent liquid, to which alone the name of liquid muriatic 
acid properly belongs. It is absorbed by water with the greatest avidity, and, 
according to the temperature and pressure, unites with a greater or less quan- 
tity of that liquid. Water, at the temperature of 69°, takes up 464 times its 
volume of the gas, increasing one-third in bulk, and about three-fourths in 
weight. Water thus saturated constitutes the strong aqueous acid already 
described. 
Composition. Muriatic acid gas consists of one eq. of chlorine 35 5, and one 
of hydrogen 1 = 36*5; or of one volume of chlorine and one of hydrogen, 
united without condensation. 
Medical Properties. Muriatic acid is tonic, refrigerant, and antiseptic. It is 
exhibited, largely diluted with water, in low fevers, phthisis, chronic dyspep- 
sia, some forms of syphilis, and to counteract phosphatic deposits in the urine. 
Dr. Paris has given it with, success in malignant cases of typhus and scarla- 
tina, administered in a strong infusion of quassia. It may also be added with 
advantage to infusions of columbo, gentian, and cinchona. It proves a good 
adjunct to gargles in ulcerated sorethroat and scarlatina maligna. The dose 54 
Acidum Muriaticum.—Acidum Nitricum. 
PART I. 
for internal exhibition is from ten to twenty minims, in a sufficient quantity of 
some bland fluid, as barley-water or gruel. In the composition of gargles, it 
may be used in the proportion of from half a fluidrachm to two fluidrachms, 
mixed with six fluidounces of the vehicle. (See Acidum Muriaticum Dilutum.) 
It has been found useful, as a topical application, in various affections of the 
skin, particularly in follicular acne. It may be used diluted with glycerin, or 
concentrated. If applied in an undiluted form, it should be removed in less 
than thirty seconds by washing with pure water and afterwards with soap. 
Toxicological Properties. Muriatic acid, when swallowed, is highly irrita- 
ting and corrosive, but less so than sulphuric or nitric acid. It produces black- 
ness of the lips, fiery redness of the tongue, hiccough, violent efforts to vomit, 
and agonizing pain in the stomach. There is much thirst, with great restless- 
ness, a dry and burning skin, and a small concentrated pulse. If the acid has 
been recently swallowed, white vapours of a pungent smell are emitted from 
the mouth. The best antidote is magnesia, which acts by saturating the acid. 
Soap is also useful for the same reason. In the course of the treatment, bland 
and mucilaginous drinks must be freely given. When inflammation supervenes, 
it must be treated on general principles. 
Pliarm. Uses. In the preparation of Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum, U. S., 
Antimonii Oxidum, U.S.; Calcis Phosphas, Br.; Calcis Phosphas Praecipitata, 
U. S.; Carbo Animalis Puriticatus; Liquor Sodae Chloratae, Br.; Potassae Bi- 
carbonas, Br.; Quiniae Sulphas; Sodae Bicarbonas, Br.; Strychnia, U.S.; Sul- 
phur Praecipitatum; Veratria, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Muriatic Acid. Acidum Hydrochloricum Dilutum, Br ; Aci- 
dum Muriaticum Dilutum, U.S.; Acidum Nitrohydrochloricum Dilutum, Br ; 
Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U.S.; Aqua Chlorinii, US.; Barii Chloridum, U.S.; 
Calcii Chloridum, Br.; Ferri Chloridum, 17. S.; Liquor Antimonii Chloridi, Br.; 
Liquor Arsenici Hydroehloricus, Br ; Liquor Calcii Chloridi, U.S.; Liquor 
Chlori, Br.; Liquor Ferri Perchloridi Fortior, Br.; Liquor Zinci Chloridi, Br.; 
Morphiae Murias, U.S.; Podophylli Resina, Br.; Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U.S.; 
Zinci Chloridum. B. 
ACIDUM NITRICUM. U.S.,Dr. 
Nitric Acid. 
Nitric acid, of the specific gravity 1-42. U.S. An acid containing 70 per cent 
by weight of the nitric acid H0,N05, corresponding to 60 per cent, of anhy- 
drous nitric acid N05. Br. 
Spirit of nitre; Aquafortis; Acide nitrique, Acide azotique, Fr.; Saltpetersaure,Grerm.; 
Zaltpeterzuur, Sterkwater, Dutch-, Shedwater, Swed.; Acido nitrico, Ital., Span. 
Nitric acid is one of the five compounds formed between nitrogen and oxy- 
gen. These are nitrous oxide (exhilarating gas), NO ; nitric oxide, N02; nitrous 
acid (formerly hyponitrous acid), N03; hyponitric acid (formerly nitrous acid), 
N04; and nitric acid, N05. 
Nitric acid is now officinal in two forms; the pure acid of the sp. gr. L42, 
and the diluted. The strong acid, of the sp.gr. 15, which was recognised in 
the former Br. Pharmacopoeia, has been abandoned in the present. The two 
stronger will be noticed here, and the diluted under the preparations. (See 
Acidum Nitricum Dilutum.) 
Tin1, usual practice, adopted in the laboratory for obtaining nitric acid, is to 
add to nitrate of potassa in coarse powder, contained in a retort, an equal 
weight of strong sulphuric acid, poured in by means of a tube or funnel, so as 
not to soil the neck. The materials should not occupy more than two-thirds of 
the capacity of the retort. A receiver being adapted, heat is applied by means 
of a spirit-lamp, the naked fire, or a sand-bath, moderately at first, but after- 
wards more strongly when the materials begin to thicken, in order to bring the 
whole into a state of perfect fusion. Red vapours will at first arise, and after- 
wards disappear in the course of the distillation. Towards its close they will be 
reproduced, and their reappearance will indicate that the process is completed -art i. 
Acidum Nitricum. 
55 
The proportion of equal weights, as above given, corresponding nearly to 
one eq. of nitrate of potassa and two of nionohydrated sulphuric acid, is the 
best for operations on a small scale in the laboratory. This proportion is pre- 
ferred by Thenard. In operations on a large scale, where an iron vessel is 
used, a strong heat applied, and water placed in the receivers to condense the 
acid, less sulphuric acid may be advantageously employed. 
Monohydrated Nitric Acid. Nitrate of Water. This is the strongest liquid 
nitric acid that can be procured, and may be supposed to be obtained by dis- 
tilling one eq. of pure and dry nitre writh two eqs of monohydrated sulphuric 
acid. One eq of monohydrated nitric acid distils over, and one eq. of monohy- 
drated bisulphate of potassa remains behind, KO,NO. and 2(HO,SOs)=H6, 
N05 and K0,2S03 + H0. Acid of this strength is very difficult to get, and 
requires for its preparation the most elaborate attention to separate the super- 
abundant water. According to Mr. Arthur Smith, of London, acid, dehydrated 
as far as possible, is perfectly colourless, boils at 184°, has the sp. gr. i'517 at 
60°, and nearly approaches, in composition, to a monohydrate. Acid of this 
strength, even at the boiling temperature, has not the slightest action on tin 
or iron. {Phil. Mag., Dec. 1847.) According to Millon, the true monohydratc 
has a sp.gr. as high as 1521. 
The acid of the late Dr. Pharmacopoeia, having the sp. gr. P5, is of a yellowish 
colour, and strongly corrosive It is considered to be a sesquihydrate, consist- 
ing of one eq of dry acid 54, and one and a half eqs. of water 13'5=67’5. 
Strictly speaking, it is a nitrate of water, diluted with half an eq. of water (HO, 
N05+1H0). An acid of this strength is inconveniently strong, is constantly 
undergoing decomposition under the influence of light, and has consequently 
been replaced by a pure acid of the density l-42 This substitution was made 
in the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and in the British of 1867. 
Nitric Acid (sp.gr. 1 42). Quadrihydrated Nitric Acid. This is the acid 
now officinal in both the IT. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. Acid of the density 
1'5 was not found in any of the shops, and much pains were required to get 
it of that strength. Besides, acid of this density was not necessary for any 
process of the Pharmacopoeia. Considerations of this kind induced the revisers 
of our national standard of 1850 to lower the strength of officinal nitric acid 
to 142, its purity in other respects remaining the same. To satisfy the tests 
given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, it must be colourless, entirely volatilizable by 
heat, and, when diluted with distilled water, not precipitated by hydrosulphuric 
acid, nitrate of silver, or chloride of barium Acid of the density 142 is the 
most stable of the hydrated compounds of nitric acid, and boils at 250°. When 
either stronger or weaker than this, it distils over at a lower temperature ; and, 
by losing more acid than water in the first case, and more water than acid in 
the second, constantly approaches to the sp. gr. 142, when its boiling point 
becomes stationary. These facts in relation to quadrihydrated nitric acid were 
first observed by Dalton, and have since been confirmed by Mr. Arthur Smith, 
of London. This acid consists of one eq. of dry acid and four of water (4110, 
N05); but as only one of the eqs. of water is basic, the other three being con- 
stitutional, the true formula is HO,NO.-|-3IIO. “Ninety grains by weight of 
it, mixed with half an ounce of distilled water, require, for neutralization, 1000 
grain-measui’es of the volumetric solution of soda.” Br. 
Nitric Acid of the A.rts. Two strengths of this acid occur in the arts; double 
aqua fortis {sp gr. 1-36), which is half the strength of concentrated nitric acid, 
and single aqua fortis (sp.gr. 122), which is half as strong as the double. 
Aqua fortis is sometimes obtained by distilling a mixture of nitre and calcined 
sulphate of iron. By an interchange of ingredients, sulphate of potassa and 
nitrate of iron are formed, the latter of which, at the distilling heat, readily 
abandons its nitric acid. The sulphate of potassa is washed out of the residue, 
and the sesquioxide of iron which is left is sold, under the name of colcothar, to 
the polishers of metals. The distillation is performed in large cast-iron retorts, 
lined on the inside with a thick layer of red oxide of iron, to protect them crom 56 
Acidum Nitricum. 
PART I. 
the action of the acid. The acid is received in large glass vessels containing 
water. A considerable portion of the acid is decomposed by the heat into red- 
dish vapoui’s, which subsequently dissolve in the water, and absorb the oxygen 
which had been disengaged. The acid thus obtained is red and tolerably strong, 
but is diluted with water before being thrown into commerce. 
The reddish acid, called nitrous acid of the shops, is nitric acid containing 
more or less hyponitric acid (N04). The same acid maybe formed by impreg- 
nating, to a limited extent, colourless nitric acid with nitric oxide (N02). If 
the saturation be complete, every two eqs. of nitric acid become three eqs. of 
hyponitric acid, by the aid of one eq. of nitric oxide (2N05 and N02=3N04). 
The nitrous acid of the shops may be converted into colourless nitric acid by 
exposing it to a gentle heat. As hyponitric acid (N04) forms, in contact with 
bases, a nitrate and nitrite, there being no hyponitrates, some chemists consider 
;t as a compound of nitric and nitrous acids (2N04=N0ft-j-N03). 
In France, nitric acid is manufactured on the large scale from nitre and sul- 
phuric acid in cast-iron cylinders. The cylinders are disposed horizontally 
across a furnace, and are strewed internally throughout their length with nitre. 
Two circular cast-iron plates, each pierced with a hole, serve to close the ends. 
At one end the sulphuric acid is poured in, and, by means of a stoneware tube 
connected-with the other end, the nitric acid is conducted to receivers. The 
sulphate of potassa is removed after each operation. The iron cylinders are 
acted upon by the acid; but this disadvantage is counterbalanced by a great 
saving of expense, when the process is conducted in such vessels. 
In England, nitric acid is generally procured, for the purposes of the arts, 
by distilling the materials in earthenware retorts, or cast-iron pots with earthen 
heads, connected with a series of glass or stoneware receivers containing water. 
The proportion of sulphuric acid, employed by the manufacturer, is between 
one and two equivalents to one of the salt; and hence the product has an 
orange-red colour, which is removed by heating the acid. 
In the United States, nitric acid is made, on the large scale, in a distillatory 
apparatus having the same general arrangement as in France and England. 
Sometimes a cast-iron cylinder is used, as in France, and sometimes a thick 
cast-iron pot with an earthenware head. The pot is set in brick-work over a 
fire-place, and, the materials having been placed in it, the head is luted on with 
a fat lute, and made to communicate with two receivers, either of stoneware or 
glass, connected together by means of a tube. Large demijohns of glass answer 
the purpose of receivers very well. The incondensible products are made to 
pass, by means of a tube, into a portion of water. The quantity of sulphuric 
ucid, employed in different establishments, varies from one-half to two-thirds of 
the weight of the nitre. Nitrate of soda (cubic nitre), imported into the United 
States from Peru, is used by some manufacturing chemists to obtain nitric acid. 
One objection to this salt is that it often contains much common salt. If pure, it 
yields 10 percent, more acid for a given weight than nitrate of potassa; but 
the residuum, sulphate of soda, is less valuable than sulphate of potassa. The 
latter salt, under the name of sal enixum, is sold to the alum makers. 
M. Mallet, of Paris, has proposed to obtain nitric acid from nitrate of soda, 
by distilling it with dried boracic acid. In this case, biborate of soda or borax 
is the residue. Another method, employed by Kuhlman, is to expose a mixture 
of nitrate of soda and chloride of manganese to a heat of about 450° F., and to 
pass the mixed gases which escape through water. Hyponitric acid and oxygen 
are disengaged, which become nitric acid when they enter the water. (See 
Pharm. Journ. and Trans ; Oct. 1862, p. 155.) 
General Properties of Nitric Acid. Nitric acid, so called from nitre, is a 
liquid, extremely sour and corrosive. It was discovered by Raymond Lully, 
in the 13th century, and its constituents by Cavendish, in 1T84. When per- 
fectly pure it is colourless ; but, as usually obtained, it has a straw colour, ow- 
ing to the presence of hyponitric acid. The concentrated acid, when exposed 
to the air, emits white fumes, possessing a disagreeable odour. By the action PART I. 
Acidum Nitricum. 
57 
of light it undergoes a slight decomposition, and becomes yellow. It acts pow ■ 
erfully on animal matter, causing its decomposition. On the living fibre it 
operates as a strong caustic. It stains the skin and most animal substances of 
an indelible yellow colour. On vegetable fibre it acts peculiarly, abstracting 
hydrogen or water, and combining with its remaining elements. When diluted, 
nitric acid converts most animal and vegetable substances into oxalic, malic, 
and carbonic acids. The general character of its action is to impart oxygen to 
other bodies, which it is enabled to do in consequence of the large quantity of 
this element which it contains in a state of loose combination. It acidifies sul- 
phur and phosphorus, and oxidizes all the metals, except chromium, tungsten, 
columbium, cerium, titanium, osmium, rhodium, gold, platinum, and iridium. 
In the liquid state it always contains water, which is essential to its existence 
in that state It combines with salifiable bases and forms nitrates. When mixed 
with muriatic acid, mutual decomposition takes place, and a liquid is formed, 
capable of dissolving gold, called nitromuriatic acid or aqua regia. 
A trace of nitric acid has been detected in atmospheric air. It is said to be 
always present in the air in summer. (Kletzinsky.) 
Tests. Nitric acid, when uncombined, is recognised by its dissolving copper 
with the production of red vapours, and by its forming nitre when saturated 
with potassa. When in the form of a nitrate, it is detected by its action on 
gold-leaf, after the addition of muriatic acid, in consequence of the evolution of 
chlorine ; or it may be discovered, according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, by heating 
the supposed nitrate in a test tube with a drop of sulphuric acid, and then add- 
ing a crystal of morphia. If nitric acid be present, it will be set free by the sul- 
phuric acid, and reddened by the morphia. The same effect is produced by 
brucia, by commercial strychnia, on account of its containing brucia, and still 
more strongly, according to M. Braun, by sulphate of aniline, which is an ex- 
ceedingly delicate test. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chivi., Aout, 1861, p. 15Y.) 
To prevent all ambiguity, arising from the accidental presence of nitric acid in 
the sulphuric acid employed, the operator should satisfy himself, by a separate 
experiment, that the latter acid has no power to produce the characteristic 
colour with morphia. Another test for nitric acid is to add pure sulphuric acid 
to the concentrated liquid, suspected to contain it, together with a little con- 
centrated solution of the sulphate of protoxide of iron. The smallest trace of 
nitric acid affords, when the mixture is warmed, a pink-red colour; and, if it 
be present in considerable amount, the liquid becomes almost black. 
The most common impurities in nitric acid are sulphuric acid and chlorine; 
the former derived from the acid used in the process, the latter from common 
salt, which is not an unfrequent impurity in nitre. They may be detected by 
adding a few drops of the solution of chloride of barium and of nitrate of silver 
to separate portions of the nitric acid, diluted with three or four parts of dis- 
tilled water. If these reagents should produce a precipitate, the chloride will 
indicate sulphuric acid, and the nitrate, chlorine. These impurities may be 
separated by adding nitrate of silver in slight excess, which will precipitate 
them as sulphate and chloride of silver, and then distilling nearly to dryness 
in very clean vessels. The sulphuric acid may also be got rid of by distilling 
from a fresh portion of nitre. The chlorine may be separated, without the use 
of nitrate of silver, by distilling the commercial acid, and rejecting the first 
eighth or fourth which comes over, according to the quality of the acid, and 
reserving that which passes subsequently, which is absolutely pure ( Ch. B.ir- 
reswil.) According to M. Lembert, the nitric acid of commerce sometimes con- 
tains iodine, probably derived from the native nitrate of soda, in which he 
found that element. It may be detected by saturating the suspected acid with 
a carbonated alkali, pouring in a little clear solution of starch, and then adding 
a few drops of sulphuric acid If iodine be present, the sulphuric acid will set 
it free, and the starch solution will become blue. Another test, proposed by 
Mr Stein, is to introduce a stick of tin into the suspected acid, and, after red 
vapours have begun to escape, to withdraw the metal, add a few drops of sul- 58 
Acidum Nitricum. 
PART I. 
phuret of carbon, and agitate. If iodine be present, drops of sulphui will soou 
separate, coloured more or less deeply red according to the amount of impurity. 
These impurities, however, do not affect the medical properties of the acid. 
As a nitric acid below the standard strength is necessarily employed in many 
chemical and pharmaceutical operations, it often becomes important to know 
the proportion of dry acid, and of acid of the strength of L5, contained in an 
acid of any given specific gravity. The following table, drawn up from experi- 
ments by Dr. Ure, gives information on these points. 
Table showing the Quantity of Hydrated Niti'ic Acid (sp. gr. 1*5), and of Dry 
Nitric Acid, contained in 100 parts of the Acid at different Densities. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
in 100. 
| 
; Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in IUU. 
1-500 
100 
79-700 
1-4189 
75 
59-775 
1-2947 
50 
39-850 
! 1-1403 
25 
*19-925 
1-498 
99 
78-903 
1-4147 
74 
58-978 
1-2887 
49 
39-053 
1-1345 
24 
19-128 
1-4960 
98 
78-106 
1-4107 
73 
58-181 
1-2826 
48 
38-256 
11-1286 
23 
18-331 
1-4940 
97 
77-309 
1-4065 
72 
57-384 
1-2765 
47 
37-459 
i1-1227 
22 
17-534 
1-4910 
96 
76-512 
1-4023 
71 
56-587 
1-2705 
46 
36-662 
1-1168 
21 
16-737 
1-4880 
95 
75-715 
1-3978 
70 
55-790 
1-2644 
45 
35-865 
1-1109 
20 
15-940 
1-4850 
94 
74-918 
1-3945 
69 
54-993 
1-2583 
44 
35-068 
1-1051 
19 
15-143 
1-4820 
93 
74-121 
1-3882 
68 
54-196 
1-2523 
43 
34-271 
1 -0993 
18 
14-346 
1-4790 
92 
73-324 
1-3833 
67 
53-399 
1-2462 
42 
33-474 
1-0935 
17 
13-549 
1-4760 
91 
72-527 
1-3783 
66 
52-602 
1-2402 
41 
32-677' 
1 -0878 
16 
12-752 
1-4730 
90 
71-730 
1-3732 
65 
51-805 
1-2341 
40 
31-880, 
1-0821 
15 
11-955 
1-4700 
89 
70-933 
1-3681 
64 
51-068 
1-2277 
39 
31-083 
1-0764 
14 
11-158 
1-4670 
88 
70-136 
1-3630 
63 
50-211 
1-2212 
38 
30-286 
1-0708 
13 
10-361 
1-4640 
87 
69-339 
1-3579 
62 
49-414 
1-2148 
37 
29-489 
1-0651 
12 
9-564 
1-4600 
86 
68-542 
1-3529 
61 
48-617 
1-2084 
36 
28-692 
1-0595 
11 
8-767 
1-4570 
85 
67-745 
1-3477 
60 
47-820 
1-2019 
35 
27-895! 
1-0540 
10 
7-970 
1-4530 
84 
66-948 
1-3427 
59 
47-023 
1-1958 
34 
27-098 ! 
1 -0485 
9 
7-173 
1-4500 
83 
66-155 
1-3377 
58 
46-226 
1-1895 
33 
26-3011 
1-0430 
8 
6-376 
1-4460 
82 
65-354 
1-3323 
57 
45-429 
1-1833 
32 
25-504' 
1-0375 
7 
5-579 
1-4424 
81 
64-557 
1-3270 
56 
44-632 
1-1770 
31 
24-707 
1 -0320 
6 
4-782 
1-4385 
80 
63-760 
1-3216 
55 
43-835 
1-1709 
30 
23-910 
1-0267 
5 
3-985 
1-4346 
79 
62-963 
1-3163 
54 
43-038 
1-1648 
29 
23-113 
1-0212 
4 
3-188 
1-4306 
78 
62-166 
1-3110 
53 
42-241 
1-1587 
28 
22-316 
1-0159 
3 
2-391 
1-4269 
77 
61-369 
1-3056 
52 
41-444 
1-1526 
27 
21-519 
1-0106 
2 
1-594 
1-4228 
76 
60-572 
1-3001 
51 
40-647 
1-1465 
26 
20-722 
1-0053 
1 
0-797 
Composition. The composition of the officinal acid of the density L42 has 
already been given. It contains about 15 per cent, of nitric acid, of the sp. gr. 
T5. Anhydrous nitric acid consists of one eq. of nitrogen 14, and five eqs. of 
oxygen 40 = 54; or, in volumes, of one volume of nitrogen and two and a half 
volumes of oxygen, supposed to be condensed, to form nitric acid vapour, into 
one volume. In 1849, the interesting discovery was made by M. Deville, of Be- 
sancon, of the means of isolating anhydrous nitric acid. The method pursued 
was to pass perfectly dry chlorine over nitrate of silver. The anhydrous acid is 
in the form of colourless, brilliant, limpid crystals, which melt at 85° and boil 
at 113°. In contact with water, they form a colourless solution with evolution of 
heat, without the disengagement of gas. (Journ. dePharm., Mars, 1849, p. 207.) 
MedPal Properties. Nitric acid is tonic and antiseptic. Largely diluted with 
water, it forms a good acid drink in low forms of fever. It is praised as an 
antiperiodic in intermittent fever by Dr. Geo. Mendenhall and Dr. E. T. Bailey, 
of Indiana, given in doses of from five to eight drops once in six hours, with- 
out regard to intermissions or exacerbations. (See Am. Journ. of the Med. 
Sci., Oct, 1854, p 581.) According to Dr. Arnoldi, of Montreal, nitric acid, 
added to water so as to give it the acidity of lemon-juice, and sweetened, is an 
efficacious remedy in hooping-cough ; and his report of its value was confirmed 
by Dr. Geo. D. Gibbs, in his treatise on hooping-cough, published in London in 
1854. The dose for a child one year old is a dessertspoonful every hour ; for an PART I. 
Acidum Nitricum. 
59 
adult, a tumblerful during the day. To save the teeth, the mouth should be 
washed after each dose In syphilis, and in the chronic hepatitis of India, this 
acid was highly extolled by Dr. Scott, formerly of Bombay. It has occasionally 
excited ptyalism. It cannot be depended upon as a remedy in syphilis, but, in 
worn-out constitutions, is often an excellent adjuvant, either to prepare the sys- 
tem for the use of mercury, or to lessen the effects of that metal on the economy. 
As nitric acid dissolves both uric acid and the phosphates, it was supposed to 
be applicable to cases of gravel in which the uric acid and the phosphates are 
mixed; but experience has not confirmed the opinion. Nevertheless, when the 
sabulous deposit depends upon certain states of disordered digestion, this acid 
may prove serviceable by restoring the tone of the stomach. The dose is from 
five to twenty minims in three fluidounces or more of water, given three or four 
times a day. The diluted acid is more convenient for prescribing. 
Externally, nitric acid has been used with advantage as a lotion to ulcers, in 
the strength of about twelve minims to the pint of water. This practice origi- 
nated with Sir Everard Home, and is particularly applicable to those ulcers 
which are superficial and not disposed to cicatrize. It is also useful in ulceration 
of the mouth and gums as a gargle, made by adding about sixty drops of the 
acid to a pint of water. In sloughing phagedena, strong nitric acid is one of the 
best remedies, applied by means of a piece of lint tied round a small stick, or by 
the use of a glass brush. Sometimes a piece of lint is soaked with the strong 
acid, and pressed into the sore, being allowed to remain for several hours. In 
cancrum oris concentrated nitric acid, freely applied, is one of the best local 
remedies that can be employed for arresting the phagedenic ulceration, and 
disposing the sore to heal. The strong acid has also been found very useful as 
an escharotic, in the local treatment of hemorrhoids and of prolapsus ani, by Dr. 
W. Cooke, of London, and others. For information as to the mode of applying 
the acid, the instruments employed, and the precautions to be observed, the 
reader is referred to Abstract (Am ed , xx. 143, and xxiii. 158). 
Nitric acid, in the state of vapour, is considered useful for destroying conta- 
gion, and hence has been employed for purifying jails, hospitals, ships, and 
other infected places. It is prepared for use by the extemporaneous decompo- 
sition of nitre by sulphuric acid. Half an ounce of powdered nitre is put into 
a saucer, which is placed in an earthen dish containing heated sand. On the 
nitre two drachms of sulphuric acid are then poured, and the nitric acid fumes 
are immediately disengaged. The quantities just indicated are considered suf- 
ficient for disinfecting a cubic space of ten feet. Fumigation in this mannei 
was first introduced by an English physician, Dr. Carmichael Smyth, who re- 
ceived from the British Parliament, for its discovery, a reward of five thousand 
pounds. But nitric acid, as a disinfectant, is not comparable to chlorine; and, 
since the introduction of chlorinated lime and the solution of chlorinated soda 
as disinfecting agents, this gas has been brought into so manageable a form, 
that its use has entirely superseded that of nitric acid vapour. 
Properties as a Poison. Nitric acid, in its concentrated state, is one of the 
mineral poisons most frequently taken for the purpose of self-destruction. Im- 
mediately after swallowing it, there are produced burning heat in the mouth, 
oesophagus, and stomach, acute pain, disengagement of gas, abundant eructa- 
tions, nausea, and hiccough. These effects are soon followed by repeated and 
excessive vomiting of matter having a peculiar odour and taste, tumefaction of 
the abdomen with exquisite tenderness, a feeling of coldness on the surface, hor- 
ripilations, icy coldness of the extremities, small depressed pulse, horrible anx- 
ieties, continual tossings and contortions, and extreme thirst. The breath becomes 
extremely fetid, and the countenance exhibits a complete picture of suffering. 
The cases are almost always fatal. The best remedies are repeated doses of mag- 
nesia as an antidote, mucilaginous drinks in large quantities, olive or almond oil 
in very large doses, emollient fomentations, and clysters. Until magnesia can be 
rbtained, an immediate resort to a solution of soap in large amount will be proper. 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum ; Anti- 60 
Acidum Nitricum.—Acidum Phosphoricum Glaciale. 
PART T. 
monii Oxidum, U. S.; Bismuthi Subcarbonas; Cadmii Sulphas, U.S.; Ferri 
Chloridum, U.S.; Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum; Liquor Ferri Perchloridi 
Fortior, Br.; Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Persulphatis, Br.; 
Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, U. S.; Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U. S.; Zinci Chlo- 
ridum, IT. S. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Nitricum Dilutum ; Acidum Nitro-hydrochlorieum Dilu- 
tum, Br.; Acidum Nitromuriaticum, U. S ; Acidum Nitromuriaticum Dilutum, 
U. S.; Argenti Nitras; Bismuthi Subnitras; Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U.S.; Li- 
quor Ferri Pernitratis, Br.; Liquor Hydrargyri Nitratis, U S.; Liquor Hydrar- 
gyri Nitratis Acidus, Br.; Spiritus Athens Nitrosi; Unguentum Hydrargyri 
Nitratis. B. 
ACIDUM PHOSPHORICUM GLACIALE. U. S. 
Glacial Phosphoric Acid. 
Phosphoric acid, in the anhydrous state, consists of one eq. of phosphorus 
and five eqs. of oxygen, P05, and can be obtained only by the direct union of 
its constituents, which takes place when phosphorus is burned in perfectly dry 
oxygen gas. Thus procured, it is in the form of a white amorphous powder, ex- 
tremely deliquescent, volatilizable at a red heat, and assuming, when it cools 
after fusion, a vitreous appearance. It has been shown by Prof. Graham that 
this acid is capable of assuming three isomeric conditions, each characterized 
by peculiar properties, and essentially distinguished by their relations to bases, 
water being considered as acting the part of a base. These are most con- 
veniently designated as monobasic, bibasic, and tribasic phosphoric acids, the 
first uniting with one eq. of base, the second with two eqs., and the third with 
three. Obtained in any other way than as above stated, they are always com- 
bined with water, the monobasic consisting of one eq. of acid and one of water, 
HO,POs, the bibasic of one of the former and two of the latter, 2H0,P05, the 
tribasic of one to three, 3H0,P05. When uniting with other bases than water, 
the same relation of equivalents is observed, the monobasic combining with 
only one eq., giving up its eq. of water, the bibasic with one or two eqs. accord- 
ing as it retains one or gives up both its eqs of water, the tribasic with one, 
two, or three eqs., according to the number of eqs. of water it abandons; in 
other words, the eqs. of water being replaced by as many eqs. of base; so that 
the acid always has its characteristic complement of basic eqs., water being 
counted among them. Other names had been given to these acids before their 
peculiar character was developed; the common and best known form of the 
acid being called simply phosphoric acid, which is the tribasic; another, from 
heat being used in its production, pyropliosphoric, which is the bibasic ; and 
the third metapliosphoric acid, which is monobasic. An aqueous solution of 
either of the three acids, heated so long as water escapes, yields the monobasic 
or metaphosphoric acid; and as, upon cooling, it becomes a transparent ice- 
like solid, it has received in this state the name of glacial phosphoric acid. 
Conversely, this monobasic acid is slowly transformed, in aqueous solution, and 
more rapidly if the solution is heated, into the bibasic and tribasic forms. Mr. 
Maisch has ascertained that nitric acid, added to the solution of the monobasic 
acid, with the aid of heat, causes the change from the monobasic to the tribasic 
form, or that of common phosphoric acid, without undergoing any observable 
change itself, and without the intermediate production of the bibasic. 
The three forms of acid are distinguishable by peculiar reactions. Thus, the 
monobasic is characterized by coagulating albumen, and giving white gelatinous 
uncrystallizable precipitates with the soluble salts of baryta, lime, and silver; 
the bibasic does not coagulate albumen, and, though it causes a white precipi- 
tate with nitrate of silver, must first be neutralized; the tribasic does not co- 
agulate albumen, and until neutralized does not precipitate nitrate of silver; 
but after neutralization throws down a yellow precipitate of phosphate of silver. 
The two latter forms of the acid will be considered in the second part of this PART I. 
Acidum Phosphoricum Glaciate.—Acidum Sulphuricum. 
61 
work under appropriate heads. Our attention will at present be confined to the 
monobasic acid, which is the glacial acid of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Glacial Phosphoric Acid. U. S. Metaphosphoric Acid. Monobasic Phos- 
phoric Acid. Monohydrated Phosphoric Acid. Phosphate of Water. This is 
most advantageously obtained from calcined bones, by first treating them with 
sulphuric acid, which produces an insoluble sulphate and soluble superphosphate 
of lime; then dissolving out the latter salt, and saturating it with carbonate of 
ammonia, which generates phosphate of ammonia in solution ; and, finally, ob- 
taining the phosphate of ammonia by evaporation to dryness, and then igniting 
it in a platinum crucible. The ammonia and all the water except one eq. for each 
eq. of the acid are driven off, and the glacial acid remains. 
Properties. Thus procured, glacial phosphoric acid is in the form of a white, 
transparent, fusible solid, inodorous and sour to the taste, slowly deliquescent, 
slowly soluble in water, and soluble also in alcohol. Its formula is H0,P05, and 
it contains 112 per cent, of water. As already stated, it is characterized by pro- 
ducing white gelatinous precipitates with albumen, and with the soluble salts of 
lime, baryta, and silver; and the precipitate produced with the chloride of ba- 
rium is readily redissolved by an excess of the acid. This is the form of the acid 
which results when the anhydrous acid, produced by burning phosphorus in 
dry oxygen gas, is introduced into water. 
Impurities. Glacial phosphoric acid is seldom prepared in this country. That 
found in our shops is almost all imported, and chiefly from Germany. It is often 
more or less impure, containing most frequently, as shown by the experiments 
of Mr. Maisch, silica, and the phosphates of lime and magnesia, which are pre- 
cipitated from a neutralized solution of the acid by ammonia. In one instance 
8 per cent, of these impurities was found; but in some others little or none. 
Mr. Maisch never found nitric or muriatic acid, and sulphuric acid rarely; and, 
though the presence of ammonia might be suspected from the source whence the 
acid is obtained, he did not detect it. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 194.) 
In consequence of its deliquescence upon exposure to the air, a portion of the 
monobasic acid passes into the state of the tribasic. This is detected, if in con- 
siderable quantity, by giving a yellowish colour to the precipitate with nitrate of 
silver. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs that the acid, in aqueous solution, should 
yield no precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen, showing the absence of metals; 
should cause a white precipitate with chloride of barium soluble in an excess of 
acid; and, with an excess of ammonia, should cause only a slight turbidness, 
proving the almost total absence of earthy salts. Should the presence of arsenic 
be ascertained by the tests for that metal, it may be separated by boiling with 
muriatic acid, so as to convert the arsenic into its very volatile chloride, which 
would escape with the vapours of the muriatic acid. 
Medical Uses. Glacial phosphoric acid is seldom if ever used medicinally in 
reference to its influence on the system, though probably capable of producing 
all the effects for which the officinal diluted acid is employed. It was introduced 
into the Materia Medica of our Pharmacopoeia as affording a convenient method 
of preparing the medicinal acid. It may also be used in prescriptions with the 
insoluble phosphates to render them soluble in the liquors of the stomach, and 
thereby favour their entrance into the circulation. Thirty-eight and a half grains, 
dissolved in a fluidounce of water, form a solution about equal in strength to the 
officinal U. S. diluted acid. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, U. S. B. 
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM. U.S.,Br 
Sulphuric Acid. 
Sulphuric acid, of the specific gravity 1-843. U. S. It contains 96 8 per cent, 
by weight of the Sulphuric Acid, H0,S03, and corresponds to T9 per cent, of 
anhydrous sulphuric acid, S03. Br. 
Oil of vitriol, Vitriolic acid; Acide sulfurique, Fr.; Vitriolol, Schwefclsaurc, Germ.; 
Acido solforico, Ital.; Acido sulfurico, Span. 62 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
part I. 
Sulphuric acid is placed in the Materia Medica list of the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia, as an article to be obtained from the wholesale manufacturer; and the 
same is now the case with the British Pharmacopoeia. Provision, however, is 
made that it shall be free from all odorous substances, and all metallic and 
other non-volatile impurities. 
Preparation. Sulphuric acid is obtained by burning sulphur, mixed with one- 
eighth of its weight of nitre, over a stratum of water contained in a chamber 
lined with sheet-lead. If the sulphur were burned by itself, the product would 
be sulphurous acid, which contains only two-thirds as much oxygen as sulphuric 
acid. The object of the nitre is to furnish, bv its decomposition, the requisite 
additional quantity of oxygen. To understand the process, it is necessary to 
bear in mind that nitric acid contains five, sulphuric acid three, sulphurous acid 
two, nitric oxide two, nitrous acid three, and hyponitric acid four equivalents 
of oxygen, combined with one eq. of their several radicals. One eq. of sulphur 
decomposes one eq. of nitric acid of the nitre, and becomes one eq. of sulphuric 
acid, which combines with the potassa of the nitre to form sulphate of potassa 
In the mean time, the nitric acid, by furnishing three eqs. of oxygen to form 
the sulphuric acid, is converted into one eq of nitric oxide, which is evolved. 
This gas, by combining with two eqs. of the oxygen of the air, immediately 
becomes hyponitric acid vapour, which diffuses itself throughout the leaden 
chamber. While these changes are taking place, the remainder of the sulphur 
is undergoing combustion, and filling the chamber with sulphurous acid gas. 
One eq. of hyponitric acid vapour, and one eq. of sulphurous acid gas, being 
thus intermingled in the chamber, react on each other, with the aid of moisture, 
so as to form a crystalline compound, consisting of one eq. of sulphuric acid 
and one eq of nitrous acid, united with a portion of water. This compound 
falls into the water of the chamber, and is instantly decomposed. The sul- 
phuric acid dissolves in the water, and the nitrous acid, resolved, at the mo- 
ment of its extrication, into hyponitric acid and nitric oxide, escapes with 
effervescence. The hyponitric acid thus set free, and that reproduced by the 
nitric oxide uniting with the oxygen of the air, again react with sulphurous 
acid and humidity, and give rise to a second portion of the crystalline com- 
pound, which undergoes the same changes as the first. Thus, the nitric oxide 
performs the part of a carrier of oxygen from the air of the chamber to the 
sulphurous acid, converting the latter into sulphuric acid. The residue of the 
combustion of the sulphur and nitre, consisting of sulphate of potassa, is sold 
to the alum makers. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The leaden chambers vary in size, but are 
generally from thirty to thirty-two feet square, and from sixteen to twenty high. 
The floor is slightly inclined to facilitate the drawing off of the acid, and covered 
to the depth of several inches with water. There are several modes of burning 
the mixture of sulphur and nitre, and otherwise conducting the process. That 
pursued in France is as follows. Near one of the sides of the chamber, and 
about a foot from its bottom, a cast-iron tray is placed over a furnace, resting 
on the ground, its mouth opening externally, and its chimney having no com- 
munication with the chamber. On this tray the mixture is placed, being intro- 
duced by a square opening, which may be shut by means of a sliding door, 
and the lower side of which is level with the surface of the tray. The door 
being shut, the fire is gradually raised in the furnace, whereby the sulphur is 
inflamed, and the products already spoken of are generated. When the com- 
bustion is over, the door is opened, and the sulphate of potassa removed. A 
fresh portion of the mixture is then placed on the tray, and the air of the cham- 
ber is renewed by opening a door and valve situated at its opposite side. Next, 
the several openings are closed, and the fire is renewed. These operations are 
repeated, with fresh portions of the mixture, every three or four hours, until the 
water at the bottom of the chamber has the sp. gr. of about 1-5. It is then drawn 
off and transferred to leaden boilers, where it is boiled down to the sp. gr. 17. 
At this density it begins to act on lead, and its further concentration must be PART T. 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
63 
conducted in large glass or platinum retorts, where it is evaporated as long 
as water distils over. This water is slightly acid, and is thrown back into the 
chamber. When the acid is fully concentrated, grayish-white vapours arise, 
which indicate the completion of the process. The acid is allowed to cool, and 
is then transferred to demijohns of green glass, called carboys, which, for greater 
security, are surrounded with straw or wicker-work, and packed in square 
boxes, enclosing all the carboy except the neck. 
As, in the manufacture of sulphuric acid, nitre is the most expensive mate- 
rial, many plans have been resorted to for obtaining the necessary hyponitric acid 
at a cheaper rate. One plan is to procure it by treating molasses or starch with 
common nitric acid. In this case, the manufacturer obtains oxalic acid as a 
collateral product, which serves to diminish the expense Sometimes nitrate of 
soda is substituted for nitre. The advantages of the former salt are its greater 
cheapness, and its larger proportional amount of nitric acid. Another method, 
sometimes practised, consists in filling the leaden chamber with sulphurous acid 
by the combustion of sulphur, and afterwards admitting into it hyponitric acid 
and steam. The acid is generated from a mixture of sulphuric acid with nitre 
or nitrate of soda, placed in an iron pan over the burning sulphur in the sulphur 
furnace, where the draught conducts the hyponitric acid fumes into the chamber. 
As, under these circumstances, sulphurous and hyponitric acids and aqueous 
vapour are mingled in the chamber, all the conditions necessary for generating 
the crystalline compound, already alluded to, are present. Mr. Thomas Bell, of 
England, obtained a patent in Dec. 1852 for the use of ozonized air, produced 
either by electricity, or by the slow combustion of phosphorus, in order to cause 
the union of sulphurous acid with the requisite oxygen, in the leaden chamber, 
without the use of nitre. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., March, 1853.)* 
The process for making sulphuric acid by the combustion of sulphur with 
nitre was first mentioned by Lemery, and afterwards put in practice by an 
English physician, of the name of Ward. As practised by him, the combustion 
was conducted in very large glass vessels. About the year 1746, the great 
improvement of leaden chambers was introduced by Dr. Roebuck, of Birming- 
ham, where the first apparatus of this kind was erected. In consequence of 
this improvement, the acid immediately fell to one-fourth of its former price. 
The only way to obtain pure sulphuric acid is by distillation. Owing to the 
high boiling point of this acid, the operation is rather precarious, in consequence 
of the danger of the fracture of the retort from the sudden concussions to which 
the boiling acid gives rise. Dr Ure recommends that a retort of the capacity 
of from two to four quarts be used in distilling a pint of acid This is connected, 
by means of a wide glass tube three or four feet long, with a receiver surrounded 
with cold water. All the vessels must be perfectly clean, and no luting employed. 
The retort is then gradually heated by a small furnace of charcoal, or, what is 
better, by means of a sand-bath, the retort being buried in the sand up to the 
neck. It is useful to put into the retort a few sharp-pointed pieces of glass, or 
slips of platinum foil, with the view of diminishing the shocks produced by the 
acid vapour. The distilled product ought not to be collected until a dense gray- 
ish white vapour is generated, the appearance of which is a sign that the pure 
concentrated acid is coming over. If this vapour should not immediately appear, 
it shows that the acid subjected to distillation is not of full strength; and the 
distilled product, until this point is attained, will be an acid water. In the dis- 
tillation of sulphuric acid, M. Lembert uses fragments of the mineral called 
* We are toM by R. Weber that, in the presence of much water, sulphurous acid re- 
duces binoxide of nitrogen (nitric oxide) to the protoxide (nitrous oxide); and thus con- 
siderable loss of nitric acid may he incurred in the manufacture. But sulphuric acid of 
a certain strength prevents this reaction, which should therefore diminish with the in- 
crease of sulphuric acid, and perhaps cease when the acid on the floor of the chamber 
becomes sufficiently concentrated. The inference is that the sulphuric acid in the cham- 
ber should always be kept of the necessary strength, which in the beginning of the pro- 
cess can be accomplished by the addition of a certain quantity of the acid. (Chem. News, 
July 5, 1867, p. 12; from Pogg. Ann., cxxx. 277.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 64 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
PART i. 
quartzite, instead of pieces of glass or platinum foil. After a time the fragments 
get worn, and must be changed. 
What is said above relates to the mode of preparing common sulphuric acid; 
but there is another kind, known on the continent of Europe by the name of 
the fuming sulphuric acid of Nordhausen, so called from its properties, and 
a place in Saxony where it is largely manufactured. This acid is obtained by 
distilling dried sulphate of iron in large stoneware retorts, heated to redness, 
and connected with receivers of glass or stoneware. The fuming acid distils over, 
and sesquioxide of iron is left in the form of colcothar or polishing rouge, a 
material used for polishing metals, particularly gold and silver. According to 
A. Yogel, jun., a better polishing rouge for fine work is made by calcining 
bxalate of protoxide of iron. (Chem. Gaz., Nov 1, 1854, p. 410 ) 
Properties. Sulphuric acid (sulphate of water), commonly called oil of 
vitriol, is a dense, colourless, inodorous liquid, of an oleaginous appearance, 
and strongly corrosive. On living tissues it acts as a powerful caustic. In the 
liquid form, it contains water, which is essential to its existence in that form. 
It unites with water in all proportions, and much heat is evolved on the mix- 
ture of the two fluids. When pure, and as highly concentrated as possible, as 
manufactured in leaden chambers, its sp. gr. is 1 -845 (1'8485, Ure), a fluidounce 
weighing a small fraction over 14 drachms. When of this sp. gr., it contains 
about 18 per cent, of water. If its density exceed th:s,.the presence of sulphate 
of lead, or other impurity may be inferred. The commercial acid is seldom of 
full strength. According to Mr. Phillips, it has generally the sp gr. 18433, and 
contains 22 per cent, of water ; and this is about the strength of the Br. acid, 
of which the sp. gr. is stated to be l'843. The strong acid boils at 620°, and 
freezes at 15° below zero. When diluted, its boiling point is lowered. When 
of the sp. gr. 1T8, it deposits crystals of the bihydrated acid at about 28°, and 
hence it is hazardous for manufacturers to keep an acid of that strength in 
glass vessels in cold weather, as they are liable to burst. With salifiable bases 
it forms a numerous class of salts, called sulphates. It acts powerfully on or- 
ganic bodies, whether vegetable or animal, depriving them of the elements of 
water, developing charcoal, and turning them black. A small piece of cork or 
wood, dropped into the acid, will on this principle render it of a dark colour, 
It absorbs water with avidity, and is used as a desiccating agent. It has been 
ascertained by Professors W. B. and R. E. Rogers to be capable of absorbing 
94 per cent, of carbonic acid gas, a fact having an important bearing on analytic 
operations. When diluted with distilled water, it ought to remain limpid; and, 
when heated sufficiently in a platinum spoon, the fixed residue should not ex- 
ceed one part in 400 of the acid employed. When present in small quantity in 
solution, it is detected unerringly by chloride of barium, which causes a pre- 
cipitate of sulphate of baryta. The most usual impurities in it are the sul- 
phates of potassa and lead; the former derived from the residue of the process, 
the latter from the leaden boilers in which the acid is concentrated. Occasion- 
ally nitre is added to render dark samples of acid colourless. This addition 
gives rise to the impurity of sulphate of potassa. These impurities often 
amount to 3 or 4 per cent. The commercial acid cannot be expected to be ab- 
solutely pure; but, when properly manufactured, it should not contain more 
than one-foui’th of 1 per cent, of impurity. The fixed impurities are discovera- 
ble by evaporating a portion of the acid, when they will remain. If sulphate 
of lead be present, the acid will become turbid on dilution with an equal bulk 
of water. This impurity is not detected by sulphuretted hydrogen, unless the 
sulphuric acid be saturated with an alkali. If only a scanty muddiness arises, 
the acid is of good commercial quality. 
Other impurities occur in the commercial sulphuric acid. Hyponitric acid is 
always present in greater or less amount. It may be detected by gently pour- 
ing a solution of green vitriol over the commercial acid in a tube, when the 
solution, at the line of contact, will acquire a deep-red colour, due to the libera- 
tion of deutoxide of nitrogen. Another method is to pass into tincture of guaiac PART I. 
Acidum Sulphuricum. 
65 
the gases proceeding from the suspected acid heated with iron fdings. If hy- 
ponitric acid is present the tincture becomes blue. The commercial acid, how- 
ever, is not to be rejected, unless the test shows the presence of hyponitric acid 
in unusual quantity. Hyponitric acid is an injurious impurity when the sul- 
phuric acid is employed in the manufacture of muriatic acid, which is decom- 
posed by the hyponitric acid with evolution of chlorine. To remove this im- 
purity it was recommended by Wackenroder, before distilling it, to heat the 
acid with a little sugar. This and the hyponitric acid mutually decompose 
each other, and the products are dissipated by heat. For the removal of the 
nitrogen acids generally, Dr. J. Lowe recommends the addition, to the heated 
sulphuric acid, of small portions of dry oxalic acid, so long as it exhibits a yel- 
low tinge. The oxalic acid is decomposed into carbonic acid and oxide, the lat- 
ter of which, in becoming carbonic acid, deoxidizes and destroys the nitrogen 
acids. A slight excess of oxalic acid produces no harm; as it is immediately 
decomposed. Perhaps a better method of getting rid of these acids is to distil 
with a little sulphate of ammonia. When sulphate of potassa is fraudulently 
introduced into the acid to increase its density, it may be detected by saturating 
the acid with ammonia, and heating to redness in a crucible; when sulphate 
of ammonia will be expelled, and the sulphate of potassa left. 
Arsenic is sometimes present in sulphuric acid. In consequence of the high 
price of Sicilian sulphur, some English manufacturers have employed iron py- 
rites for the purpose of furnishing the necessary sulphurous acid in the manu- 
facture of oil of vitriol. As the pyrites usually contains arsenic, it happens that 
the sulphurous acid fumes are accompanied by this metal, and thus the sul- 
phuric acid becomes contaminated. From 22 to 35 grains of arsenious acid have 
been found in 20 fluidounces of oil of. vitriol, of English manufacture, by Dr. 
G. O. Rees and Mr. Watson, and a still larger proportion by Mr. J. Cameron, 
of South Wales. To detect this impurity, the acid, previously diluted with live 
or six measures of distilled water, must be examined by Marsh’s test. (Seo 
Acidum Arseniosum.) To separate the arsenious acid, Dr. J. Lowe recom- 
mends that the concentrated sulphuric acid should be gently heated in a flat 
dish, in a place where the fumes may be carried off, and then treated with 
small quantities of finely powdered chloride of sodium, constantly stirred in 
with a glass rod. By the reaction between the arsenious acid and disengaged 
muriatic acid, terchloride of arsenic is formed, wrhich, being volatile, is sepa- 
rated by the heat. The heat is afterwards continued, to expel the excess of 
muriatic acid. This mode of purification introduces into the oil of vitriol a little 
sulphate of soda. Buchner proposes a similar process; instead of chloride of 
sodium, employing muriatic acid, or a stream of the acid gas. This plan does 
not introduce sulphate of soda into the acid; but is less convenient than that 
of Lowe, and, when, the aqueous muriatic acid is used, tends to weaken the oil 
of vitriol by introducing water. Experience, bowmver, has shown that neither 
plan can be entirely relied on. An excess of sulphuric acid is said to prevent 
the formation of the chloride of arsenic. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., Jan. I860, 
p. 85.) The sulphuric acid manufactured in the U. States, being usually made 
from Sicilian sulphur, seldom contains arsenic. Dupasquier states that tin is 
sometimes present in commercial sulphuric acid, derived from the solderings of 
the leaden chambers. It may be discovered by sulphuretted hydrogen, which 
precipitates sulplmret of tin, convertible by nitric acid into the w'hite insoluble 
deutoxidc of tin. Should the precipitate be the mixed sulphurets of arsenic and 
tin, the former would bo converted by nitric acid into arsenic acid and dis- 
solved, and the latter into insoluble deutoxide and left. As ordered by the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia, “50'6 grains by weight, mixed with distilled water, require for 
neutralization 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda.” Jir. 
As sulphuric acid is often under the standard strength, it becomes important 
to know how much hydrated sulphuric acid of the standard specific gravity 
and of dry acid is contained in an acid of any given density. The following 
table, drawn up by Dr. Ure, gives this information. 66 
icidwn Sulphuricum. 
PART I. 
Table of the Quantity of Hydrated Sulphuric Acid of Sp. Gr. 1 '8485, and 
of Dry Acid, in 100 parts of Dilute Acid at Different Densities. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp. Gr. 
I-Iyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp. Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
Dry 
Acid 
in 100. 
Sp Gr. 
Hyd. 
Acid 
in 100. 
d>7, 
Acid 
in 100. 
1 -8485 
100 
81-54 
1-6520 
75 
61-15 
1-3884 
50 
40-77 
1-1792 
25 
20-38 
1 8475 
99 
80-72 
1-6415 
74 
60-34 
1-3788 
49 
39-95 
1-1706 
24 
19-57 
1-8460 
98 
79-90 
1-6321 
73 
59-52 
1-3697 
48 
39-14 
1-1626 
23 
18-75 
1-8439 
97 
79-09 
1-6204 
72 
58-71 
1-3612 
47 
38-32 
1-1549 
22 
17-94 
1-8410 
96 
78-28 
1-6090 
71 
57-89 
1-3530 
46 
37-51 
1-1480 
21 
17-12 
1-8376 
95 
77-46 
1-5975 
70 
57-08 
1-3440 
45 
36-69 
1-1410 
20 
16-31 
1-8336 
94 
76-65 
1-5868 
69 
56-26 
1-3345 
44 
35-88 
1-1330 
19 
15-49 
1-8290 
93 
75-83 
1-5760 
68 
55-45 
1-3255 
43 
35-06 
1-1246 
18 
14-68 
1-8233 
92 
75-02 
1-5648 
67 
54-63 
1-3165 
42 
34-25 
1-1165 
17 
13-86 
1-8179 
91 
74-20 
1-5503 
66 
53-82 
1-3080 
41 
33-43 
1-1090 
16 
13-05 
1-8115 
90 
73-39 
1-5390 
65 
53-00 
1-2999 
40 
32-61 
1-1019 
15 
12-23 
1-8043 
89 
72-57 
1-5280 
64 
52-18 
1-2913 
39 
31-80 
1-0953 
14 
11-41 
1-7962 
88 
71-75 
1-5170 
63 
51-37 
1-2826 
38 
30-98 
1-0887 
13 
10-60 
1-7870 
87 
70-94 
1-5066 
62 
50-55 
1-2740 
37 
30-17 
1 -0809 
12 
9-78 
1-7774 
86 
70-12 
1-4960 
61 
49-74 
1-2654 
36 
29-35 
1-0743 
11 
8-97 
1-7673 
85 
69-31 
1-4860 
60 
48-92 
1-2572 
85 
28-54 
1-0682 
10 
8-15 
1-7570 
84 
68-49 
1-4760 
59 
48-11 
1-2490 
34 
27-72 
1-0614 
9 
7-34 
1-7465 
83 
67-68 
1-4660 
58 
47-29 
1-2409 
33 
26-91 
1 -0544 
8 
6-52 
1-73G0 
82 
66-86 
1-4560 
57 
46-48 
1-2334 
32 
26-09 
1-0477 
7 
5-71 
1-7245 
81 
66 05 
1-4460 
56 
45-66 
1-2260 
31 
25-28 
1-0405 
6 
4-89 
1-7120 
80 
65-23 
1-4360 
55 
44-85 
1-2184 
30 
24-46 
1-0336 
5 
4-08 
1-6993 
79 
64-42 
1-4265 
54 
44-03 
1-2108 
29 
23-65 
1-0268 
4 
3-26 
1-6870 
78 
63-60 
1-4170 
53 
43-22 
1.2032 
28 
22-83 
1-0206 
3 
2-446 
1-6750 
77 
62-78 
1-4073 
52 
42-40 
1-1956 
27 
22-01 
1-0140 
2 
1-63 
1-6630 
76 
61-97 
1-3977 
51 
41-58 
1-1876 
26 
21-20 
1-0074 
1 
0-8154 
Composition. The hydrated acid of the sp.gr. T845 (T8485, Ure) consists 
of one eq. of dry acid 40, and one eq. of water 9—49. As the water acts the 
part of a base, the proper name of it is sulphate of water, its formula being 
HO,SOs The dry acid consists of one eq. of sulphur 16, and 3 eqs. of oxygen 
24=40. The ordinary commercial acid (sp.gr. 1 8433) consists, according to 
Phil'ips, of one eq. of dry acid, and one and a quarter eqs. of water. The hy- 
drated ai Id of Nordhausen has a density as high as T89 or T9, and consists 
of two eqs. of dry acid, and one eq. of water (H0,2S03). This acid is particu- 
larly adapted to the purpose of dissolving indigo for dyeing the Saxon blue. 
When heated gently in a retort, connected with a dry and refrigerated receiver, 
dry or anhydrous sulphuric acid distils over, and the common monohydrated 
acid remains behind. In performing this operation, much difficulty from con- 
cussion is avoided, and the product of dry acid increased, by introducing a 
coil of platinum wire into the retort. The dry acid may also be obtained by 
the action of diy phosphoric acid on concentrated sulphuric acid, according to 
the method of Ch. Barreswil. The mixture must be made in a refrigerated 
retort, and afterwards distilled by a gentle heat into a refrigerated receiver. 
Anhydrous sulphuric acid under 64° is in small colourless crystals, resembling 
asbestos. It is tenacious, difficult to cut, and may be moulded in the fingers 
like wax, without acting on them. Exposed to the air, it emits a thick opaque 
vapour of an acid smell. Above 64° it is a liquid, very nearly of the density 2 
Medical Properties. Sulphuric acid is tonic, antiseptic, and refrigerant, in- 
ternally it is always administered in a dilute state. For its medical properties 
in this state, the reader is referred to the title, Acidum Sulphuricum Dilutum. 
Externally it is sometimes employed as a caustic; but, from its liquid form, it is 
very inconvenient for that purpose. A plan, however, has been proposed by Frof. 
Simpson by which it becomes very manageable. This consists in mixing it with 
dried and powdered sulphate of zinc sufficient to give it a pasty consistence. 
When mixed with saffron to the consistence of a ductile paste, Velpeau found it PART I. . 
Acidum Sulphuricum.—Acidum Tartaricum. 
67 
a convenient caustic, not liable to spread or be absorbed, and producing an eschar 
which is promptly detached. It is used also as an ointment, mixed with lard, 
in the proportion of a drachm to an ounce, in swellings of the knee-joint and 
other affections. Charpie, corroded by it, is a good application to gangrene. 
Toxicological Properties. The symptoms of poisoning by this acid are the 
following :—Burning heat in the throat and stomach, extreme fetidness of the 
breath, nausea and excessive vomitings of black or reddish matter, excruciating 
pains in the bowels, difficulty of breathing, extreme anguish, a feeling of cold on 
the skin, great prostration, constant tossing, convulsions, and death. Sometimes 
there is no pain whatever in the stomach; sensibility being apparently destroyed 
by the violence of the caustic action. The intellectual faculties remain unim- 
paired. Frequently the uvula, palate, tonsils, and other parts of the fauces are 
covered with black or white sloughs. The treatment consists in the adminis- 
tration of large quantities of magnesia, or, if this be not at hand, of solution of 
soap The safety of the patient depends upon the greatest promptitude in the 
application of the antidotes. After the poison has been neutralized, mucilagin- 
ous and other bland drinks must be taken freely. According to Dr. Geoghegan, 
the acid may be detected, after death, in the blood and the parenchymatous 
viscera, especially the liver. It is found, not as a sulphate, but combined sev- 
erally with the colouring matter and tissues. 
The holes burnt in linen by sulphuric acid, so long as the texture is undis- 
turbed, are distinguished from those produced by red-hot coals, by the paste- 
like characters of the edges of the former. (Masclika, of Prague.) 
Uses in the Arts. Sulphuric acid is more used in the arts than any other 
acid. It is employed to obtain many of the other acids; to extract soda from 
common salt; to make alum and sulphate of iron, when these salts command 
a good price, and the acid is cheap; to dissolve indigo; to prepare skins for 
tanning; to prepare phosphorus, chlorinated lime, sulphate of magnesia, &c. 
The arts of bleaching and dyeing cause its principal consumption. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Citricum, Br.; Acidum Hydrochloricum, 
Br.; Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum; Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; Acidum 
Valerianicnm, U.S.; ./Ether; Argenti Cyanidum, U.S ; Chloroformum, Br.; 
Chloroformum Purificatum, U. S.; Collodium, U.S.; Ferrutn Red actum, Br.; 
Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, US.; Hydrargyri Chloridum Mite, U.S.; 
Hydrargyri Cyanidum, U.S; Sod* Phosphas; Sod* Valerianas; Spiritus 
vEtheris Nitrosi,Br.; Veratria, U.S. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Acidum Sulphuricum Dilu- 
tum; Acidum Sulphurosum; Alumin* Sulphas, 17. S.; Atropi* Sulphas, U.S.; 
Beberi* Sulphas, Br.; Cadmii Sulphas, U.S.; Cupri Sulphas, Br.; Ferri Sul- 
phas; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Hydrargyri Sulphas, Br.; Hydrargyri 
Sulphas Flava, U.S.; Liquor Ferri Persulphatis, Br.; Liquor Ferri Subsul- 
phatis, U.S.; Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, U.S.; Oleum Mthereum, U.S.; Qui- 
ni* Sulphas, U.S.; Zinci Sulphas, Br. B. 
ACIDUM TARTARICUM. U.S.,Br. 
“An acid, 2HO,C8H4O10, a crystalline acid prepared from the Acid Tartrate 
of Potash.” Br. 
Acide tartrique, Fr.; Weinsteinsaure, Germ.; Acido tartarico, Hal., Span. 
Tartaric acid is placed, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in the Materia Medica 
list, as an article to be purchased from the manufacturing chemist. In the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia a process is given for its preparation. It is extracted from tar- 
tar, a peculiar substance which concretes on the inside of wine casks, being 
deposited there during the fermentation of the wine. Tartar, when purified and 
reduced to powder, is the cream of tartar of the shops, and consists of two eqs. 
of tartaric acid united to one of potassa. (See Potassae Bitartras.) The follow- 
ing is the .British process. 
Tartaric Acicl. 68 
Acidum. Tartaricum. 
PART l. 
“Take of Acid Tartrate of Potash forty-five ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency; Prepared Chalk twelve ounces and, a half [avoird.]; Chlo- 
ride of Calcium thirteen ounces and a half [avoird.]; Sulphuric Acid thirteen 
fiuidounces. Boil the Acid Tartrate of Potash with two gallons [Imperial meas- 
ure] of the Water, and add gradually the Chalk, constantly stirring. When the ef- 
fervescence has ceased, add the Chloride of Calcium dissolved in two pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Water. When the tartrate of lime has subsided pour off the liquid, 
snd wash the tartrate with Distilled Water until it is rendered tasteless. Pour 
the Sulphuric Acid, first diluted with three pints [Imp. meas.] of the Water, on 
the tartrate of lime, mix thoroughly, boil for half an hour with repeated stirring, 
and filter through calico. Evaporate the filtrate at a gentle heat until it acquires 
the sp. gr. of 1 21, allow it to cool, and then separate and reject the crystals of 
sulphate of lime which have formed. Again evaporate the clear liquor till a film 
forms on its surface, and allow it to cool and crystallize. Lastly purify the crys- 
tals by solution, filtration (if necessary), and recrystallization ” llr. 
Tartaric acid was first obtained in a separate state by Scheele in 1770. The 
process consists in saturating the excess of acid in bitartrate of potassa or cream 
of tartar with carbonate of lime, and decomposing the resulting insoluble tar- 
trate of lime by sulphuric acid, which precipitates in combination with the lime, 
and liberates the tartaric acid. The equivalent quantities are one eq. of bitar- 
trate, and one of carbonate of lime. The process, when thus conducted, furnishes 
the second equivalent, or excess of acid only of the bitartrate. The other equi- 
valent may be procured, as in the British process, by decomposing the neutral 
tai’trate of potassa, remaining in the solution after the precipitation of the tar- 
trate of lime, by chloride of calcium in excess. By double decomposition, chlo- 
ride of potassium will be formed in solution, and a second portion of tartrate of 
lime will precipitate, which may be decomposed by sulphuric acid together with 
the first portion. The process, when thus conducted, will, of course, furnish twice 
as much tartaric acid as when the excess of acid only is saturated and set free. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. The process pursued on the large scale is 
different from that above given. The decompositions are effected in a wooden 
vessel, closed at the top, called a generator, of the capacity of about 2000 gal- 
lons, and furnished with an exit-pipe for carbonic acid, and with pipes, entering 
the sides of the generator, for the admission of steam and of cold water respec- 
tively. Into the generator, about one-fourth filled with water, 1500 pounds of 
washed chalk (carbonate of lime) are introduced, and the whole is heated by a 
jet of steam, and thoroughly mixed by an agitator, until a uniform mass is ob- 
tained. About two tons of tartar are now introduced by degrees, and thor- 
oughly mixed. The carbonate of lime is decomposed, the carbonic acid escapes 
by the exit-pipe, and the lime unites with the excess of tartaric acid to form 
tartrate of lime, which precipitates; while the neutral tartrate of potassa re- 
mains in solution. The next step is to decompose the tartrate of potassa, so as 
to convert its tartaric acid into tartrate of lime. This is effected by the addi- 
tion of sulphate of lime in the state of paste, which, by double decomposition, 
forms a fresh portion of tartrate of lime, while sulphate of potassa remains in 
solution. The solution of sulphate of potassa, when clear, is drawn off into 
suitable reservoirs, and the I’cmaining tartrate of lime is washed with several 
charges of cold water, the washings being preserved. The tartrate of lime, 
mixed with sufficient water, is now decomposed by the requisite quantity of 
sulphuric acid, with the effect of forming sulphate of lime, and liberating the 
tartaric acid, which remains in solution. The whole is now run off into a wooden 
back, lined with lead, furnished with a perforated false bottom, and covered 
throughout with stout twilled flannel. Through this the solution of tartaric 
acid filters, and the filtered liquor passes through a pipe, leading from the bot- 
tom of the back, to suitable reservoirs. The sulphate of lime is then washed 
until it is tasteless, and the whole acid liquor is evaporated, in order to crystal- 
lize. The evaporation is effected in wooden vessels, lined with lead, by means 
of steam circulating in coils of lead-pipe, care being taken that the heat docs TART i. 
Acidum Tartaricum. 
69 
not exceed 1651’. The vacuum-pan is used with advantage in evaporating thb 
acid solution; as it furnishes the means of concentration at a lower tempera- 
ture. When the acid liquor has attained the sp. gr. of about 15, it is drawn off 
into sheet-lead, cylindrical, crystallizing vessels, capable of holding 500 pounds 
of the solution. These crystallizers are placed in a warm situation, and, in the 
course of three or four days, a crop of crystals is produced in each, averaging 
200 pounds. These crystals being somewhat coloured, are purified by redissolv- 
ing them in hot water The solution is then digested with purified animal char- 
coal, filtered, again concentrated, and crystallized. The crystals, having been 
washed and drained, are finally dried on wooden trays, lined with thin sheet- 
lead, placed in a room heated by steam. The mother-liquors of the first crys- 
tallization are again concentrated, and the crystals obtained, purified by animal 
charcoal as before. When the residuary liquors are no longer crystallizable, 
they are saturated with chalk, and converted into tartrate of lime, to be added 
to the product of a new operation. In order to obtain fine crystals of tartaric 
acid, it is necessary to use a slight excess of sulphuric acid in decomposing the 
tartrate of lime. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Feb. 1851.) The merit of this 
process consists in the greater economy of sulphate of lime over chloride of 
calcium for decomposing the tartrate of potassa. 
Dr. Price, of England, has made some improvements in the above process, 
which are described, in detail, in the London Pharmaceutical Journal and 
Transactions (Jan. 1854, p 315). The main point in his improvements is to 
convert the crude tartar into tartrate of potassa and ammonia by means of ara- 
moniacal liquor, which gives a soluble double salt, comparatively free from 
organic colouring matter and other impurities, and, therefore, favourable for 
conversion into tartrate of lime by the usual methods. Mr. Pontifex, of Eng- 
land, has obtained a patent for an improvement in manufacturing tartaric acid, 
which consists in evaporating in vacuo. (Ibid., Feb. 1857, p. 430.) 
Liebig has succeeded in preparing tartaric acid artificially by the oxidation 
of sugar of milk, and other substances, by nitric acid; and the resulting pro- 
duct lias been found to be identical in all respects, even in its influence on 
polarized light, with the acid derived from grapes. 
Properties. Tartaric acid is a white crystallized solid, in the form of irregu- 
lar six-sided prisms. Sometimes two opposite sides of the prism become very 
much enlarged, so as to cause the crystals to present the appearance of tables. 
The Br. Pharmacopoeia states that the primary form is the oblique rhombic 
prism. As found in the shops, it is in the form of a fine white powder, pre- 
pared by pulverizing the crystals. It is unalterable in the air, and possesses 
a strong acid taste, which becomes agreeable when the acid is sufficiently di- 
luted with water. It is soluble in a little less than its weight of cold water, 
and in half its weight of boiling water. It is also soluble in alcohol. A weak 
solution undergoes spontaneous decomposition by keeping, becoming covered 
with a mouldy pellicle. In the form of crystals it always contains combined 
water, from which it cannot be separated without the substitution of a base. 
In uniting with bases, it has a remarkable tendency to form double salts, sev- 
eral of which constitute important medicines. It combines with several of the 
vegetable organic alkalies, so as to form salts. It is distinguished from all 
other acids by forming a crystalline precipitate, consisting of bitartrate of po- 
tassa, when added to a neutral salt of that alkali. When associated with an 
excess of boracic acid, it is detected with difficulty; potassa not precipitating 
it, even with the addition of acetic or muriatic acid. Its separation, however, 
may be effected, according to Barfoed, by means of fluoride of potassium, which 
detaches the boracic acid, to form the fluoborate of potassa, and renders free 
the tartaric acid, which then responds to the ordinary test. (Journ. de Pharm. 
et de Ghim., 4e ser., ii. 70.) Its most usual impurity is sulphuric acid, which 
may be detected by the solution affording, with acetate of lead, a precipitate 
only partially soluble in nitric acid. When incinerated with red oxide of 
mercury, it leaves no residuum, or a mere trace. The British Pharmacopoeia 70 
Acidum Tartaricum. 
PART I. 
directs that it should give no precipitate with solution of sulphate of lime, show- 
ing the absence of racemic and oxalic acids, or with solution of oxalate of am- 
monia, which would detect lime, sometimes present in minute proportion. Its 
solution should not be affected by sulphuretted hydrogen. “ One hundred grains 
saturate 133 5 grains of bicarbonate of potassa.” U.S. “Seventy-five grains 
dissolved in water require for neutralization 1000 grain-measures of the volu- 
metric solution of socla.y Br. 
Tartaric acid is incompatible with salifiable bases and their carbonates; with 
salts of potassa, with which it produces a crystalline precipitate of bitartrate; 
and with the salts of lime and lead, with which it also forms precipitates. It 
consists, when dry, of four eqs. of carbon 24, two of hydrogen 2, and five of 
oxygen 40 = 66; and, when crystallized, of one eq. of dry acid 66, and one of 
water 9=75. But, if we agree with the chemists who regard it as bibasic, these 
numbers must be doubled, and its formula given, as in the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, C8II4O10, or, in its crystallized state, 2HO,C8H4O]0. In this view, its ordi- 
nary salts, whether with one or two bases, consist of one eq. of acid and two of 
base; and in the acid or bitartrates, one eq. of base is replaced by one of water, 
as in the bitartrate of potassa or cream of tartar, the constitution of which would 
be expressed by the formula KO,HO-f CgII40)n. 
Racemic acid, otherwise called paratartaric or uvic acid, is isomeric with 
tartaric acid. It exists, naturally, in small proportion, in the juice of grapes, 
growing in particular localities, and was obtained artificially, in 1853, by M. 
Pasteur. By combination with certain organic alkalies, M. Pasteur has re- 
solved racemic acid into two acids which form distinct salts with the alkali. The 
acids in these salts have the power of turning the plane of polarization of po- 
larized light in contrary directions, one to the right, the other to the left, which 
has caused them to be distinguished as dextro- and Isevo-tartaric acids. Ordi- 
nary tartaric acid is dextro-tartaric acid, which may be converted into racemic 
acid, by exposing it, in the form of tartrate of cinchonia, to a heat of 338° for 
several hours. At the same time, a portion of tartaric acid is formed, which has 
no action on polarized light, and which is, therefore, called inactive tartaric 
acid. This acid, like racemic acid, is resolvable into dextro- and laevo-tartaric 
acids. Accordingly, we have four isomeric tartaric acids—dextro-tartaric (or- 
dinary tartaric acid); laevo-tartaric; racemic, consisting of dextro-and laevo- 
tartaric acids; and inactive tartaric acid. Racemic acid differs from ordinary 
tartaric acid in being much less soluble in water, in precipitating the neutral 
salts of lime, and in want of action on polarized light. When crystallized it 
contains one eq. more of water than tartaric acid. The racemates differ from 
the tartrates in their crystalline form, and in their less solubility in water. 
Medical Properties. Tartaric acid, being cheaper than citric acid, forms, when 
dissolved in water and sweetened, a good substitute for lemonade. It is much 
used in medicine to form acid refrigerant drinks and effervescing draughts. It 
is also employed in making soda powders and Seidlitz powders, preparations 
now officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See PulveresEJfervescentes and Pul- 
veres EJfervescentes Aperientes, Part II.) Tartaric acid, dried by a gentle heat, 
and then mixed with bicarbonate of soda, in the proportion of thirty-five grains 
of the acid to forty of the bicarbonate, forms a good effervescing powder, the 
dose of which is a teaspoonful, stirred in a tumbler of water. The powder is 
generally directed to be kept in well-stopped vials; but Prof.Otto has shown that 
this direction tends to spoil rather than to preserve it, by preventing the evapora- 
tion of some water of crystallization which is set free by a commencing chemical 
reaction. A better plan is to keep the powder in ordinary boxes. On this subject 
see remarks by Mr. J. M. Maisch, published in the Proceedings of the Amer- 
ican Pharmaceutical Association (A. D. 1856, p. 52). The neutralizing power of 
tartaric acid is about the same as that of citric acid. Tartaric acid, in an over- 
dose, acts as a poison. After death, it may be detected in the blood and liver, 
from which it should be extracted by absolute alcohol, to avoid the error of 
mistaking the tartrates for it. PART i. 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconili Radix. 
71 
Off'. Prep. Ferri et Ammonice Tartras, U.S.; Pulveres Effervescentes, U. S.{ 
Pulveres Effervescentes Aperientes, U.S.; Sodse Citrotartras Effervescens, Br. 
ACONITI FOLIUM. U.S. 
Aconite Leaf. 
The leaves of Aconitum Napellus. U.S. 
Off.Syn. ACONITI FOLIA. The fresh leaves and flowering tops ofAci- 
nitum Napellus, gathered when about one-third of the flowers are expanded. Br 
ACONIT I RADIX. U.S., Dr. 
Aconite Root. 
The root of Aconitum Napellus. TJ. S. The dried root; collected in the winter 
or early spring before the leaves have appeared. Br. 
Aconit,Fr.; Eisenhut, Monchskappe, Germ,.; Aconito Napello, Ital.; Aconito, Span. 
Aconitum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Kanunculaceae. 
Gen. Cli. Calyx none. Petals five, the highest arched. Nectaries two, pe- 
duncled, recurved. Pods three or five. Willd. 
The plants belonging to this genus are herbaceous, with divided leaves, and 
violet, yellow, or white flowers, in spikes, racemes, or panicles. In the Paris 
Codex three species were recognised as officinal, A. Anthora, A. Cammaruvn, and 
A. Napellus; but the French authorities unite at present with our own and the 
British in acknowledging only A. Napellus. There has been much difference of 
opinion as to the plant originally employed by Stbrck. Formerly thought to be 
A. Napellus, it was afterwards believed to be A. neomontanum of Will- 
denow, and by De Candolle was determined to be a variety of his A. panicula- 
turn, designated as Storckianum. But, according to Geiger, A. neomontanum 
is possessed of little acrimony; and Dr. Christison states that A. paniculatum, 
raised at Edinburgh from seeds sent by De Candolle himself, was quite destitute 
of thatproperty. Neither of these, therefore, could have been Storck’s plant, which 
is represented as extraordinarily acrid. It is, however, of little consequence 
which was used by Stbrck; as many of the species possess similar virtues, and 
one is frequently substituted for another in the shops. Those are probably the 
best which are most acrid. Among these certainly is A. Lycoctonum.* Dr. 
Christison found A. Napellus, A. Sinense, A. Tauricum, A. uncinatum, and A. 
ferox to have intense acrimony; and Geiger states that he has found none 
equal, in this respect, to A. Napellus. This species is said to yield aconitia 
most largely. (Iiepert de Pharm , Nov. 1859.) A. uncinatum and A. reclina- 
tum (Gray) are our only indigenous species. Most of the others are natives of 
the Alpine regions of Europe and Siberia. Those used in medicine appear to be 
indiscriminately called by English writers wolfsbane or monkshood. The root of 
A. heterophyllum is said to be used as an antiperiodic in Upper India {Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., xvi. 312), and that of A. Japonicum as a local anaesthetic 
in China, as also for poisoning arrows {Ibid., Nov. 1861, p. 263). 
Aconitum Napellus. Linn., Flor. Suec., ed. 1155, p. 168. — A. neubergense. 
De Candolle, Prodrom. i. 62. — A variabile neubergense. Hayne, Darstel. und 
Besclireib. &c., xii. 14. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a spindle- 
shaped, tdpering root, seldom exceeding at top the thickness of the finger, three 
or four inches or more in length, brownish externally, whitish and fleshy within, 
and sending forth numerous long, thick, fleshy fibres. When the plant is in full 
* M.Hubschmann is said to have extracted two alkaloids from A. Lycoctonum ; one 
in the form of a white powder, insoluble in ether, but soluble in water and alcohol, 
vrhich he names acolytin; the other crystallizable, very soluble in alcohol, and but 
si ghtly so in ether or water, and named by him lycoctonin. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
. ily, 1866, p. 376.)—Note to thirteenth edition. 72 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
PART L 
growth, there are usually two roots joined together, of which the older is dark- 
brown and supports the stem, while the younger is of a light yellowish-brown, 
and is destined to furnish the stem of the following year, the old root decaying. 
The stem is erect, round, smooth, leafy, usually simple, and, from two to six or 
eight feet high. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, divided almost to the 
base, from two to four inches in diameter, deep-green upon their upper surface, 
light-green beneath, somewhat rigid, and more or less smooth and shining o:j 
both sides. Those on the lower part of the stem have long footstalks and five 
or seven divisions; the upper, short footstalks and three or five divisions The 
divisions are wedge-form, with two or three lobes, which extend nearly or quite 
to the middle. The lobes are cleft or toothed, and the lacinias or teeth are linear 
or linear-lanceolate and pointed. The flowers are of a dark violet-blue colour, 
large and beautiful, and are borne at the summit of the,stem upon a thick, simple, 
straight, erect, spike-like raceme, beneath which, in the cultivated plant, several 
smaller racemes arise from the axils of the upper leaves. Though without calyx, 
they have two small calycinal stipules, situated on the peduncle within a tew 
lines of the flower. The petals are five, the upper helmet-shaped and beaked, 
nearly hemispherical, open or closed, the two lateral roundish and internally 
hairy, the two lower oblong-oval. They enclose two pediceled nectaries, of 
which the spur is capitate, and the lip bifid and re volute. The fruit consists of 
three, four, or five pod-like capsules. 
The plant is abundant in the mountain forests of France, Switzerland, and 
Germany. It is also cultivated in the gardens of Europe, and has been intro- 
duced into this country as an ornamental flower. All parts of it are acrid and 
poisonous. The leaves and root are used. The leaves should be collected when 
the flowers begin to appear, or shortly before. After the fruit has formed, they 
are less efficacious. The root is much more active than the leaves; and an ex- 
tract from the latter is said to have only one-twentieth of the strength of one 
made from the former. It should be gathered in autumn or winter after the 
leaves have fallen, and is not perfect until the second year. It has been mis- 
takenly substituted for horseradish root, as a condiment, with fatal effect; but 
the possibility of such an event has only to be known to be avoided. The seeds 
also are acrid. The wild plant is said' to be more active than the cultivated. 
(Scliroff.) Prof. Wm. Procter has found the roots of the plant cultivated in 
this country richer in the active alkaline principle than the imported roots; 
having obtained as much as 0'85 per cent, from the former. (Proceed. of the 
Am. Pharm. Association, A.D. 1860.) 
Properties. The fresh leaves have a faint narcotic odour, most sensible when 
they are rubbed. Their taste is at first bitterish and herbaceous, afterwards 
burning and acrid, with a feeling of numbness and tingling on the inside of the 
lips, tongue, and fauces, which is very durable, lasting sometimes many hours. 
When long chewed, they inflame the tongue. The dried leaves have a similar 
taste, but the acrid impression commences later. Their sensible properties and 
medicinal activity are impaired by long keeping. They should be of a green 
colour, and free from mustiness. The root has a feeble, earthy smell. Though 
sweetish at first, it has afterwards the same effect as the leaves upon the mouth 
and fauces. It shrinks much in drying, and becomes darker, but does not lose 
its acrimony. Those parcels, whether of leaves or roots, should always be re- 
jected, which are destitute of this property. The analysis of aconite, though 
attempted by several chemists, has not been satisfactorily accomplished. Bu- 
cholz obtained from the fresh herb of A. neomontanum, resin, wax, gum, albu- 
men, extractive, lignin, malate and citrate of lime and other saline matters, 
besides 81 '33 per cent, of water. During the bruising of the herb, he experi 
enced headache, vertigo, &c., though water distilled from it produced no poi- 
sonous effect. It has been rendered probable by Geiger and Hesse, that there 
are two active principles in aconite; one easily destructible, upon which the 
acrimony depends, the oth ir less acrid, alkaline, and capable of exerting a 
powerful narcotic influence. For the latter the name of aconitin or aconitia has PART I. 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
73 
been proposed. Mr. Thos. B. Groves was unable to obtain any peculiar acrid 
principle from either the leaves or root by distillation with water; and though, 
when lime was added, an alkaline distillate was obtained, he found this to owe its 
alkalinity to ammonia. Mr. Groves, therefore, concluded that aconite contains 
no peculiar volatile acrid substance, and is disposed to ascribe any loss of acri- 
mony which may take place on drying to the easy destructibility of aconiti*,; 
and that any greater acrimony that the root may possess over aconitia is 
ascribableto an acrid resin with which the root may be said to abound. {Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., Sept. 1866, p. 118.) Hesse obtained aconitia from the dried 
leaves by a process similar to that employed in procuring atropia. (See Atro- 
pia, Part II.) The U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias give a process for its prepa- 
ration. (See Aconitia, Part II.) Hubschmann has found in impure commercial 
aconitia a small proportion of another alkaloid which he names napcllina.* 
Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of Edinburgh, have announced the discovery of a 
new alkaloid in the root, which they propose to name aconella, and which bears 
so close a resemblance to narcotina as to suggest the identity of the two.I Pes- 
chicr discovered a peculiar acid in aconite, which he called aconitic acid. The 
root contains also mannite and a fatty matter soluble in alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Aconite was well known to the ancients as a 
powerful poison, but was first employed as a medicine by Baron Storek, of "Vi- 
enna, w'hose experiments with it were published in the year 1762. In moderate 
doses, it has been said to excite the circulation, and to increase the perspiratory 
* Napcllina. To obtain this principle, Hubschmann treats the impure aconitia with the 
least quantity of ether necessary to dissolve the pure alkaloid, dissolves the residue in 
alcohol, filters the solution, adds acetate of lead so long as it produces a precipitate, again 
filters, and, having separated the lead by sulphuretted hydrogen and subsequent filtration, 
evaporates the alcohol, adds an excess of carbonate of potassa, evaporates to dryness, 
treats the residue with alcohol, passes the solution through animal charcoal, and again 
evaporates to dryness. The resulting napcllina is in the form of a white powder, of a 
bitter and afterwards burning taste, of decided alkaline properties, but slightly soluble 
in ether, and not, like aconitia, precipitated from its aqueous solution by ammonia. It 
contains nitrogen. (See Am. Journ. of Pkarrn., xxx. 399.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Aconella. The Messrs. Smith obtained this alkaloid in the following manner. The 
juice of the fresh root is evaporated to a soft extract, which is exhausted by officinal 
alcohol. The alcoholic liquid is treated with lime in the proportion of T5 per cent, of 
the root employed. To the liquid, previously filtered, sulphuric acid is gradually added 
till a precipitate ceases to be produced. After filtration, the alcohol is distilled off', and 
the watery residue, after separation of a copious dark-green fatty matter, is again fil- 
tered. The liquid is now very acid; and it is through this acidity that it retains the aco- 
nella; so that all that is required to separate the alkaloid is to neutralize the acid. For 
this purpose carbonate of soda is added, at first freely while there is brisk effervescence, 
but at last gradually, with constant stirring, till the liquid is nearly, but not quite neu- 
tralized, when it is to be set aside for a time. The aconitia, which has hitherto accom- 
panied the aconella, remains in the solution provided it be not alkaline, while the latter 
alkaloid is deposited partially crystallized. After a day or two, it is to bo removed, and 
may bo purified by repeated solution in hot alcohol, with the addition of animal char- 
coal. It is deposited from the alcoholic solution on cooling. 
Aconella is thus obtained in snow-white tufts of acicular crystals, which are without 
taste, though bitter in solution, nearly insoluble in pure water, but very soluble in water 
acidulated by any acid, soluble in 300 parts of cold and 11-4 parts of boiling alcohol of 
0-840, moderately soluble in ether, much more so in acetic ether, and remarkably so in 
chloroform. It is distinguished by an extraordinary facility of crystallization. It forms 
salts with the acids, of which only the muriate is crystallizable. It is precipit itel from 
its acidulated solution by tincture of iodine. Tannic acid precipitates its oxalate but not 
its muriate. Its solution in acids, even in contact with an excess of the base, reddens 
litmus, though the alkaloid itself restores the blue of litmus paper feebly reddened ny 
acids. It is not poisonous; the Messrs. Smith gave 15 grains to a cat without apparent 
inconvenience. In all these points it resembles narcotma, and its combining number 
was found virtually to be the same. Hence the Messrs. Smith, as stated in the text, are 
disposed to consider it identical with that alkaloid. 
An important practical consideration is that aconella probably often constitutes an 
unintentional impurity of aconitia, being yrecipitated along with it in its preparation 
Hence in some degree may be accounted for the frequent relative weakness of the aconitia 
of the shoos. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans. Jan. 1864, p. 317.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 74 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix. 
PART I. 
and urinary discharges; but these effects are doubtful, and certainly not constant. 
Schroff, however, states that it generally increases the secretion of urine. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Fleming, it is a powerful sedative to the nervous system, reducing 
also the force of the circulation. In moderate doses, it produces warmth in the 
stomach and sometimes nausea, general warmth of the body, numbness and tin- 
gling in the lips and fingers, muscular weakness, diminished force and frequency 
of the pulse, and diminished frequency of respiration. From larger doses all 
these effects are experienced in an increased degree. The stomach is more nau- 
seated; the numbness and tingling extend over the body; headache, vertigo, and 
dimness of vision occur; the patient complains occasionally of severe neuralgic 
pains; the pulse, respiration, and muscular strength are greatly reduced ; and a 
state of general prostration may be induced, from which the patient may not 
quite recover in less than two or three days. The effects of remedial doses 
begin to be felt in twenty or thirty minutes, are at their height in an hour or 
two, and continue with little abatement from three to five hours. 
In poisonous doses, besides the characteristic tingling in the mouth and else- 
where, aconite occasions burning heatof the oesophagus and stomach, thirst, vio- 
lent nausea, vomiting, purging, severe gastric and intestinal spasms, headache, 
dimness of vision with contracted or expanded pupils, numbness or paralysis 
of the limbs, diminished sensibility in general, stiffness or spasm of the mus- 
cles, great prostration, pallid countenance, cold extremities, an extremely feeble 
pulse, and death in a few hours, sometimes preceded by delirium, stupor, or con- 
vulsions. All these effects are not experienced in every case; but there is no one 
of them which has not been recorded as having occurred in one or more instances. 
Dissection reveals inflammation of the stomach and bowels, and engorgement of 
the brain and lungs. Pereira states that, when dogs are opened immediately 
after death from aconite, no pulsations of the heart are visible. Life may usu- 
ally be saved by a timely and thorough evacuation of the stomach, and the use 
of stimulant remedies internally and externally; and it is wonderful how rapidly 
the patient passes from a state of imminent danger to perfect health. Experi- 
ments upon inferior animals appear to have demonstrated a physiological an- 
tagonism between aconite and nux vomica, or of their two alkaloids respect- 
ively, of which advantage may be taken in treating the poisonous effects of 
these substances. In a case of extreme poisoning from tincture of aconite in a 
child, the tincture of nux vomica was administered with the apparent effect of 
saving life. (Hanson, Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Sept. 26, 1861.) But re- 
liance should not be placed on this antidote to the exclusion of emetic and 
stimulant measures. Applied to the skin, aconite occasions heat and prickling 
or tingling, followed by numbness, and, if in contact with a wound, produces 
its peculiar constitutional effects. Applied to the eye, it causes contraction of 
the pupil. In relation to its mode of action, it appears to be locally irritant, 
and, at the same time, entering the system, to operate powerfully on the brain, 
spin,al marrow, and nerves, directly diminishing their power, and thus pro- 
ducing, to a greater or less extent, paralysis both of sensation and motion. The 
heart also feels this paralyzing influence, and hence proceeds the great depres- 
sion of the pulse under the full action of the medicine. 
Aconite has been employed in rheumatism, neuralgia, gout, anginose and 
catarrhal affections, scrofula, phthisis, metastatic abscess and other cases of 
purulent infection, secondary syphilis, carcinoma, certain cutaneous diseases, 
hooping-cough, amaurosis, deafness, paralysis, epilepsy, intermittent fever, 
dropsies, and hypertrophy of the heart. It has long enjoyed, in Germany, a 
high reputation as a remedy in rheumatism; and has recently come into great 
vogue elsewhere in the treatment of that disease, especially in its chronic and 
neuralgic forms. By some practitioners it is considered as one of the most 
effectual remedies in neuralgia, in which it is used both internally and as a 
local application. Dr. Fleming considers it highly useful as an antiphlogistic 
remedy, and especially applicable to cases of active cerebral congestion or in- 
flammation; while it is contraindicated in the headache of anaemia, and in all PART I. 
Aconiti Folium.—Aconiti Radix.—Adeps. 
75 
cases attended with a torpid or paralytic condition of the muscular system. 
Cazenave has found it very useful in cutaneous eruptions with extreme sensi- 
bility of the skin; and it is said sometimes to check excessive sweating. It 
may be administered in powder, extract, or tincture. The dose of the powdered 
leaves is one or two grains, of the extract from half a grain to a grain, of the 
tincture of the leaves twenty or thirty drops, to be repeated twice or three 
times a day, and gradually increased till the effects of the medicine are experi- 
enced. The preparation now most employed is probably the strong tincture of 
the root, Tinctura Aconiti liadicis, U. S. Of this, from five to ten drops may be 
given three times a day, and gradually increased till its effects become obvious. 
It is very important to distinguish between the tincture of the leaves and the 
strong tincture of the root just referred co* Few patients will bear at first more 
than ten minims of the latter. Aconite may be used externally in the form of 
the saturated tincture of the root, of extract mixed with lard, of a plaster or 
liniment, or of aconitia. The cincture may be applied by means of a soft pieeo 
of sponge, fastened to tne c-nu of a stick. 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Extractum Aconiti, Br.; Extractum Aconiti Alco- 
holicum, U.S.; Tinccura Aconiti Folii, U.S. 
Off. Prep of tne Boot. Aconitia; Linimentum Aconiti, Br.; Tinctura Aco- 
niti, Br.; Tinctura Aconiti liadicis, U.S. W. 
ADEPS. U.S. 
Lard. 
The prepared fat of Sus Scrofa. Lard should be free from saline matter. Be- 
low the temperature of 90°, it has the consistence of a soft solid. U.S. 
Off. Syn. ADEPS PRJBPARATUS. The purified fat of the hog, Sus 
scrofa. Br. 
Axungia Lat.; Axonge, Graisse, Saindoux, Fr.; Schweineschmalz, Germ.; Grasso di 
porco, Lardo, Ital.; Manteca do puerco, Lardo, Span. 
Lard is the prepared fat of the hog. The Br. Pharmacopoeia gives a process 
for its preparation; but in this country it is purchased by the druggists already 
prepared. The adipose matter of the omentum and mesentery, and that around 
the kidneys, are usually employed; though the subcutaneous fat is said to afford 
lard of a firmer consistence. In the crude state it contains membranes and ves- 
sels, and is more or less contaminated with blood, from all which it must be 
freed before it can be fit for use For this purpose, the fat, having been deprived 
as far as possible by the hand of membranous matter, is cut into pieces, washed 
with water till the liquor ceases to be coloured, and then melted, usually with 
a small portion of water, in a copper or iron vessel, over a slow fire.f The heat 
is continued till all the moisture is evaporated, which may be known by the 
transparency of the melted fat, and the absence of crepitation when a small por- 
tion of it is thrown into the fire. Care should betaken that the heat is not too 
great; as otherwise the lard might be partially decomposed, acquire a yellow 
colour, and become acrid. This maybe guarded against by using a water-bath 
in melting the lard. The process is completed by straining the liquid through 
linen, and pouring it into suitable vessels, in which it concretes upon cooling. 
* Physicians should be very careful, when prescribing, to designate by name which of 
these tinctures they intend, Avhether that of the root, or that of the leaves; as serious 
mistakes may otherwise occur ; and apothecaries should be scrupulous in putting up the 
prcpartion of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia when the tincture of the root is prescribed, and 
not that of Dr. Fleming, which is stronger than the officinal. (Note to the tenth edition.) 
f Prof. Procter recommends the following method of operating. After careful removal 
of the membranes and adhering flesh, the crude lard is to be cut into small pieces, mal- 
axated with successive portions of cold water until this remains clear, and then heated 
moderately, in a tinned vessel, until the melted fat becomes perfectly clear and anhy- 
drous. Lastly, it is to be strained into earthen pots, being occasionally stirred as it cools; 
and the pots should be securely covered with waxed or varnished paper, and kept in a 
ccol, dry cellar. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 114.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 76 
Adejps. 
PART I, 
Lard may be rendered quite inodorous by melting it, when fresh, by means of 
a salt-water bath, adding a little alum or common salt, continuing the heat till 
a scum rises, which is to be skimmed off, and, after the lard has concreted, 
separating the saline matter by washing it thoroughly with water. For a par- 
ticular account of the process, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxviii. 176). 
The following is theprocessof the British Pharmacopoeia for preparing lard. 
“Take of the internal fat of the abdomen of the hog. perfectly fresh, fourteen 
pounds. Remove as much of the membranes as possible, cut the fat into small 
pieces, put it into a suitable vessel with about four gallons of cold water, and, 
while a current of water is running through the vessel, break up the masses of 
fat with the hands, exposing every part to the water, so that whatever is sol- 
uble may thus be dissolved and carried away. Afterwards collect the washed 
fat on a sieve or in a cloth, drain away as much as possible of the water, 
liquify the fat at a heat not exceeding 212°, and strain through flannel, press- 
ing the residue while hot; then put it into a pan heated by steam, and keep it 
at a temperature a little but not much above 212°, stirring it continually, until it 
becomes clear and entirely free from water; finally strain it through flannel.” Br. 
Lard, as offered for sale, often contains common salt, which renders it unfit 
for pharmaceutic purposes. This may be detected, when the quantity is insuffi- 
cient to be sensible to the taste, by means of nitrate of silver, which will pro- 
duce a precipitate of chloride of silver with water in which the salted lard has 
been boiled, after cooling and filtration. To free it from this impurity, it may 
be melted with twice its weight of boiling water, the mixture well agitated and 
set aside to cool, and the fat then separated. American lard is said to be adul- 
terated, in England, with water, starch, and a small proportion of alum and 
quicklime, which render it whiter, but unfit for medical use. The Br. Pharma- 
copoeia provides against the admixture of starch by directing that distilled 
water, in which it has been boiled, should not be rendered blue by the addition 
of solution of iodine. Considerable quantities of lard have been imported into 
France from the United States, adulterated with 25 per cent, of a jelly-like 
substance supposed to be extracted from Irish moss. This was separated by 
treating the lard with boiling water. (Journ de Pharm., 1855, p. 455.) 
Properties. Lard is white, inodorous, with little taste, of a soft consistence 
at ordinary temperatures, fusible at about 100° F., insoluble in water, partially 
soluble in alcohol, entirely so in ether and the volatile oils, dissolved and de- 
composed bv the stronger acids, and converted into soap by reaction with the 
alkalies. When melted, it readily unites with wax and resins. According to 
Braconnot, it contains, in 100 parts, 62 of olein or the liquid principle of oils, 
and 38 of stearin or the concrete principle. But M. Le Canu ascertained that 
the stearin of Braconnot consists of two distinct substances, differing in fusi- 
bility and solubility. For the least fusible of these he retained the name of 
stearin, and to the other applied that of margarin, from its resemblance to the 
principle of the same name in vegetable oils. Most fats and oils of animal ori- 
gin are composed of these ingredients, upon the relative proportion of which 
their consistence respectively depends. The liquid and concrete principles may 
be obtained separate by the action of boiling alcohol, which deposits the latter 
on cooling, and yields the former upon evaporation. Another method is to com- 
press fat, or oil congealed by cold, between the folds of bibulous paper. The 
olein is absorbed by the paper, and may be separated by compression under 
water; the stearin and margarin remain. 
Olein, stearin, and margarin are now generally considered as compounds re- 
spectivch’of oleic, stearic, and margaric acids with glycerin. For an account of 
these principles, see Olea Fixa. Very good candles are made out of the concrete 
constituents of lard; and the liquid principle or olein is extensively employed 
for burning in lamps, and other purposes in the arts. Vast quantities of it are 
prepared in Cincinnati, Ohio, and much is exported. In France it is said to 
be largely used for adulterating olive oil. 
Exposed to the air, lard absorbs oxygen and becomes rancid. It should, PART I. 
Adeps.—Alcohol. 
77 
therefore, be kept in well-closed vessels, or procured fresh when wanted for use. 
In the rancid state, it irritates the skin, and sometimes exercises an injurious 
reaction on substances mixed with it. Thus, the ointment of iodide of patassium, 
which is white when prepared with fresh lard, is said to be more or less yellow 
when the lard employed is rancid. Rancidity in lard and other fats is prevented 
by digesting them with benzoin, or poplar buds. (See Unguenta.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lard is emollient, and is occasionally em- 
ployed by itself in frictions, or in connection with poultices to preserve their 
soft consistence; but its chief use is in pharmacy as an ingredient of ointments 
and cerates. It is frequently added to laxative enemata. 
Off. Prep. Adeps Benzoatus, Br.; Ccratum Adipis, U.S.; Unguentum Adi- 
pis, US.; Unguentum Simplex, Br. AV. 
ALCOHOL. U.S. 
Alcohol, 
Spirit of the specific gravity 0'835. U.S. 
Off. Syn. SPIRITUS RECTIFICATUS. Bectified Spirit. Alcohol, C.IRO* 
with 1G per cent, of water, of the sp. gr. 0 838. Br. 
Rectified spirit, Spirit of wine ; Alcohol, Esprit de vin, Fr.; Rectificirtor Weingeist, 
Oerm.; Alcoole, Acquavite rectificata, Ital.; Alcohol, Espiritu rectificado de vino, Span. 
ALCOHOL DILUTUM. U. S. 
Diluted Alcohol. 
Alcohol mixed with an equal measure of Distilled Water. The specific gravity 
is 0-941. U.S 
Off. Si/n. SPIRITUS TENUIOR. Proof Spirit. Made by mixing five pints 
of Rectified Spirit with three pints of Distilled Water. Sp. gr. 0 920. Br. 
ALCOHOL FORTIUS. U.S. 
/Stronger Alcohol. 
Spirit of the specific gravity 0'S17. U.S. 
From tiie titles and definitions above given, which include all the forms of 
alcohol recognised by the U.S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, it will be perceived 
that there are three officinal strengths of Alcohol, those being considered the 
same which approach nearly in specific gravity, and are employed for similar 
purposes. Of these, two are common to both Pharmacopoeias; Alcohol, U. S. 
(sp gr 0 835), corresponding with Spiritus Rectificatus, Br. (sp. gr. 0 838), 
and Diluted Alcohol, U.S. (sp. gr. 0 941), corresponding with Spiritus Tcnuior 
or Proof Spirit, Br. (sp. gr. 0 920). The third, Alcohol Fortius or Stronger Al- 
cohol (sp gr. 0-817), is peculiar to our own officinal standard. As they are all 
placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, they will 
all be considered here. 
Alcohol, in the chemical sense, is a peculiar liquid, generated for the most 
part in vegetable juices and infusions by a fermentation, called the vinous or 
alcoholic. The liquids which have undergone it are called vinous liquors, and 
are of various kinds. Thus, the fermented juice of the grape is called wine; of 
the apple, cider; and the fermented infusion of malt, beer. 
With regard to the nature of the liquids susceptible of the vinous fermenta- 
tion, however various they may be in other respects, one general character pre- 
vails; that, namely, of containing sugar in some form or other. It is found, 
further, that, after they have undergone the vinous fermentation, the sugar they 
contained has either wholly or in part disappeared; and it was long believed 
that the only new products are alcohol which remains in the liquid, and carbonic 
acid which escapes during the process; and that these, when taken together 78 
Alcohol. 
pa r. t I. 
are equal in weight to the sugar lost. It was hence inferred that sugar is the 
subject-matter of the changes that occur during the vinous fermentation, and 
that it is resolved into alcohol and carbonic acid. More recently, however, it 
has been shown by M. Pasteur that, along with alcohol and carbonic acid, gly- 
cerin and succinic acid are also generated, and that the process is not so simple 
as at one time supposed. 
Sugar will not undergo the vinous fermentation by itself; but requires to be 
dissolved in water, subjected to the intiuence of a ferment, and kept at a certain 
temperature. Accordingly, sugar, water, the presence of a ferment, and the main- 
tenance of an adequate temperature may be deemed the prerequisites of the 
vinous fermentation. The water acts by giving fluidity, and the ferment and tem- 
perature by commencing and maintaining the chemical changes. The precise 
manner in which the ferment operates in causing the reaction has not been posi- 
tively determined; but the fermentative change seems to be intimately connected 
with the multiplication of a microscopic vegetable, in the form of diaphanous 
globules, contained in the ferment, and called torula cerevisiae. Pasteur has 
rendered it highly probable that the.yeast plant lives and grows at the expense 
of the sugar, which is convei’ted partly into the tissue of the plant, partly into 
alcohol and those other products which have been proved to result from vinous 
fermentation. The proper temperature for conducting the vinous fermentation 
ranges from 60° to 90°. 
Certain vegetable infusions, as those of potatoes and rice, though consisting 
almost entirely of starch, are, nevertheless, capable of undergoing the vinous 
fermentation, and form seeming exceptions to the rule, that sugar is the only 
substance susceptible of this fermentation. The apparent exception is explained 
by the circumstance, that starch is susceptible of a spontaneous change which 
converts it into sugar. How this change takes place is not well known, but it 
is designated by some authors as the saccharine fermentation. Thus, Kirchoff 
proved that, if a mixture of gluten from flour, and starch from potatoes be put 
into hot water, the starch will be converted into sugar. When, therefore, starch 
is apparently converted into alcohol by fermentation, it is supposed that it 
passes through the intermediate state of sugar. According to Berthelot, man- 
nite, glycerin, and similar substances may be made to ferment by contact, for 
several weeks, with chalk and cheese at 104°; and the change takes place with- 
out the production of sugar, provided chalk is present. M. Arnoult has suc- 
ceeded in obtaining alcohol by fermenting sugar (glucose), formed by the action 
of sulphuric acid on poplar wood sawdust, which yielded from 70 to 80 per 
cent, of this kind of sugar. 
Alcohol, being the product of the vinous fermentation, necessarily exists in 
all vinous liquors, and may be obtained from them by distillation. Formerly it 
was supposed that these liquors did not contain alcohol, but were merely capa- 
ble of furnishing it, in consequence of a new arrangement of their ultimate con- 
stituents, the result of the heat applied. Braude, however, disproved this idea, 
by showing that alcohol may be obtained from all vinous liquors without the 
application of heat, and therefore must pre-exist in them. His method of sepa- 
rating it consists in precipitating the acid and colouring matter from each 
vinous liquor by subacetate of lead, and removing the water by carbonate of 
potassa. According to Gay-Lussac, litharge, in fine powder, is the best agent 
for precipitating the colouring matter. 
In vinous liquors, the alcohol is diluted with abundance of water, and asso- 
ciated with colouring matter, volatile oil, extractive, and various acids and salts. 
In purifying it, we take advantage of its volatility, which enables us to separate 
it by distillation, combined with some of the principles of the vinous liquor em- 
ployed, and more or less water. The distilled product of vinous liquors forms the 
different ardent spirits of commerce. When obtained from wine, it is called 
brandy; from fermented molasses, rum; from cider, malted barley, or rye. 
whisky; from malted barley and rye-meal with hops, and rectified from juniper 
berries, Holland gin; from malted barley, rye, or potatoes, and rectified from PART I. 
Alcohol. 
79 
turpentine, common gin; and from fermented rice, arrack. These spirits are of 
different strengths, that is, contain different proportions of alcohol, and have va- 
rious peculiarities by which they are distinguished by the taste. Their strength 
is accurately judged of by the specific gravity, which is always less in proportion 
as their concentration is greater. When they have thesp.gr. 0-929 (0 91984, 
Drinkwater), they are designated in commerce by the term proof spirit. Lc 
lighter than this, they are said to be above proof; if heavier, below proof; ana 
the percentage of water, or of spirit of 0 825, necessary to be added to any sam- 
ple of spirit to bring it to the standard of proof spirit, indicates the number of 
degrees the given sample is above or below proof. Thus, if 100 volumes of a 
spirit require 10 volumes of water to reduce it to proof spirit, it is said to be “10 
over proof.” On the other hand, if 100 volumes of a spirit require 10 volumes of 
spirit, of 0'825, to raise it to proof, it is said to be “10 under proof” 
Proof spirit is still very far from being pure ; being a dilute alcohol, contain- 
ing about half its weight of water, together with a peculiar oil and other foreign 
matters. It may be further purified and strengthened by redistillation, or recti- 
fication as it is called. Whisky is the spirit usually employed for this purpose; 
and from every hundred gallons, between fifty-seven and fifty eight may be ob- 
tained, of the average strength of rectified spirit (sp. gr. 0-835), corresponding 
with the Alcohol of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and very nearly with the Spiritus 
Rectificatus of the British. When this is once more cautiously distilled, it will 
be further purified from water, and the sp. gr attained will be about 0-825, 
which is the lightest spirit that can be obtained by ordinary distillation, and is 
the pure spirit of the British system of excise. It still, however, contains 11 per 
cent, of water. In the mean while, the spirit, by these repeated distillations, 
becomes more and more freed from the contaminating oil, called grain oil or 
fusel oil. (See Alcohol Amylicum.) We shall first consider the general proper- 
ties of alcohol, and afterwards the different officinal forms. 
Properties. Alcohol, using this term in a generic sense, is a colourless, trans- 
parent, volatile liquid, of a penetrating, agreeable odour, and burning taste. 
It should be free from foreign odour, which, when present, is owing to fusel oil. 
When free from water, it is called anhydrous or absolute alcohol. It is inflam- 
mable, and bums without smoke or residue, forming water and carbonic acid. 
Its flame is bluish when strong, but yellowish when weak. It combines in all 
proportions with water and ether; and, when diluted with distilled water, pre- 
serves its transparency. Its density varies with the proportion of water it con- 
tains. When of the sp. gr. 0-820, its boiling point is at 176°. Its value depends 
upon the quantity of absolute alcohol contained in it; and, as this is greater in 
proportion as the sp. gr. is less, it is found convenient to take the density of a 
sample in estimating its strength. This is done by instruments called hydro- 
meters, which, when allowed to float in the spirit, sink deeper into it in pro- 
portion as it is lighter. Each hydrometer strength has a corresponding specific 
gravity; and, by referring to tables constructed for the purpose, the percentage 
of absolute alcohol is at once shown. Dr. W. H. Pile, maker of hydrometers, of 
this city, graduates instruments showing specific gravity at once, which are 
exceedingly convenient. 
Alcohol is capable of dissolving a great number of substances; as, for ex- 
ample, sulphur and phosphorus in small quantity, iodine and ammonia freely, 
and potassa, soda, and lithia in the caustic state, but not as carbonates. Among 
organic substances, it is a solvent of the organic vegetable alkalies, urea, tan- 
nic acid, sugar, mannite, camphor, resins, balsams, volatile oils, and soap. It 
dissolves the fixed oils sparingly, except castor oil, which is abundantly solu- 
ble. It acts on most acids, forming ethers with some, and effecting the solu- 
tion of others. All deliquescent salts are soluble in alcohol, except carbonate 
of potassa; while the efflorescent salts, and those either insoluble or sparingly 
soluble in water are mostly insoluble in it. It dissolves muriate of ammonia, 
and most of the chlorides that are readily soluble in water; also some nitrates, 
but none of the metallic sulphates. 80 
Alcohol. 
PART I 
A method of detecting alcohol in small proportions has been proposed by 
M. Carstanjin. The liquid supposed to contain it, having been mixed with 
platinum black in a small flask, is heated to 124° F., well shaken, and filtered. 
To the filtrate a few drops of solution of potassa is added, and the liquor evapo- 
rated to dryness on a water-bath. The residue is then heated with a little ar- 
senious acid ; when, if alcohol is present, a garlic odour will be perceived, owing 
to the production of cacodyl. According to M. Nickles, however, propylic 
alcohol would produce the same result. {Am. J. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 834.) 
The following table, constructed by Lowitz and improved by Thomson, gives 
the sp. gr. of different mixtures by weight of absolute alcohol and water. 
Table of the Specific Gravity of different Mixtures by Weight of Absolute 
Alcohol and Distilled Water, at the Temperature of 60°. 
100 Part*. 
Sp. Or. 
at 60°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 00°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 60°. 
100 Parts. 
Sp. Gr. 
at 60°. 
Ale. 
Wat. 
Ale. 
Wat. 
Ale. 
Wat. 
Ale. 
Wat. 
100 
0 
•796* 
76 
24 
■857 
52 
48 
•912 
28 
72 
•962 
99 
1 
•798 
75 
25 
•860 
51 
49 
•915 
27 
73 
•963 
98 
2 
•801 
74 
26 
•863 
50 
50 
•917 
26 
74 
•965 
97 
3 
•804 
73 
27 
•865 
49 
51 
•9205f 
25 
75 
•967 
96 
4 
•807 
72 
28 
•867 
48 
52 
•922 
24 
76 
•968 
95 
5 
•809 
71 
29 
•870 
47 
53 
•924 
23 
77 
•970 
94 
6 
•812 
70 
30 
•871 
46 
54 
•926 
22 
78 
•972 
93 
7 
•815 
69 
31 
•874 
45 
55 
•928 
21 
79 
•973 
92 
8 
•817f 
68 
32 
•875 
44 
56 
•930 
20 
80 
•974 
91 
9 
•820 
67 
33 
•879 
43 
57 
•933 
19 
81 
•975 
90 
10 
•822 
66 
34 
•880 
42 
58 
•935 
18 
82 
•977 
89 
11 
•825J 
65 
35 
•883 
41 
59 
•937 
17 
83 
•978 
88 
12 
•827 
64 
36 
•886 
40 
60 
•939 
16 
84 
•979 
87 
13 
•830 
63 
37 
•889 
39 
61 
•941ft 
15 
85 
•981 
86 
14 
•832 
62 
38 
•891 
38 
62 
•943 
14 
86 
•982 
85 
15 
•835? 
61 
39 
■893 
37 
63 
•945 
13 
87 
•984 
84 
16 
-838(1 
60 
40 
•896 
36 
64 
•947 
12 
88 
•986 
83 
17 
•840 
59 
41 
•898 
35 
65 
•949 
11 
89 
•987 
82 
18 
•843 
58 
42 
•900 
34 
66 
•951 
10 
90 
•988 
81 
19 
•846 
57 
43 
•903 
33 
67 
•953 
9 
91 
•989 
80 
20 
•848 
56 
44 
•904 
32 
68 
•955 
8 
92 
•990 
79 
21 
. -851 
55 
45 
•906 
31 
69 
•957 
7 
93 
•991 
78 
22 
•853 
54 
46 
•908 
30 
70 
■958 
6 
94 
•992 
77 
23 
•855 
53 
47 
•910 
29 
71 
•960 
II. vonBaumhauer has inferred from his experiments that the results in the 
above table are not entirely correct The inaccuracies, however, admitting the 
results of Baumhauer, are not so great as to be of much importance in a phar- 
maceutic point of view. (See Am. Joarn. of Pharm., July, i860, p. 1.) 
1. Absolute Alcohol. Anhydrous Alcohol. This, though formerly directed 
by the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, is not now officinal. By the term is 
implied pure alcohol, entirely free from water. In this state it cannot be obtained 
by ordinary distillation alone; the purest alcohol thus procured still containing 
11 per cent, of water. To separate this it is customary to have recourse to sub- 
stances having a very strong affinity for water, sufficient not only to abstract it 
from the alcohol, but to retain it at a temperature at which alcohol will distil 
over. Soubciran recommends the following as an easy method for obtaining it, 
free from water, abundantly and economically. 1st. Rectify alcohol, marking 86° 
of the centesimal aleoholmeter of Gay-Lussac (rectified spirit), by distilling it 
* Absolute Alcohol. • || Spiritus Recti flentus, Br. 
+ Alcohol Fortius, Stronger Alcohol, U. S. Spiritus Tenuior, Proof Spirit, Br. 
j Lightest spirit Ibtained by ordinary distillation. ff Alcohol Dilutum, V. S. 
I Alcohol, U. S. PART I. 
Alcohol. 
81 
from carbonate of potassa. This operation raises its strength to 94° or 95°. 
2d. Raise this alcohol to 97° by distilling it with fused chloride of calcium, or 
by digesting it with quicklime (from which it must be afterwards poured off), 
in the proportion of a pint of the alcohol to ounces of the chloride, or 2£ 
ounces of the lime. 8d. Distil the product of this operation slowly with quick- 
lime, in the proportion of 3f ounces to the pint. The product will be absolute 
alcohol. The operation may be shortened to two steps, by distilling the alcohol 
of 94° or 95° with an excess of quicklime (7£ ounces to the pint). In all cases, 
before decanting or distilling, the alcohol must be digested for two or three days 
with the lime, at a temperature between 95° and 100° F. Lime will not answer 
as a substance to be distilled from, unless it be in sufficient excess; for other- 
wise, towards the end of the distillation, the hydrate of lime formed will yield 
up its water to the alcohol, and weaken the distilled product. 
Properties. Absolute alcohol is a colourless, volatile liquid, of an agreeable 
odour and burning taste. It boils at 172°, and is not congealed by a cold of 
166° below zero. Its sp. gr. is 0 7978 at 68°, according to Regnault; 0*79381 
at 60°, according to Drinkwater. The sp. gr. of its vapour is I*59. Its freedom 
from water may be ascertained by dropping into it a piece of anhydrous baryta, 
which will remain unchanged if the alcohol be free from water; but otherwise 
will fall to powder. Another method for determining the same point is to allow 
alcohol to stand for some time, in a stoppered bottle, on anhydrous sulphate of 
copper. If the alcohol be anhydrous, the salt will remain white; otherwise it 
will become blue. (Casoria.) Absolute alcohol should be free from fusel oil. 
Absolute alcohol burns with a pale flame without residue, the products being 
carbonic acid and water. Its vapour, passed through a porcelain tube filled 
with pumice-stone and heated to redness, yields carbon, gaseous carbohydro- 
gens, aldehyd, naphthalin, benzin, phonic acid, and various other substances. 
(Berthelot.) It unites in all proportions with ether and water. Its union with 
water is attended by condensation and a rise of temperature. When 51 9 
volumes of alcohol are mixed with 48 T of water, corresponding with one eq. 
of the former to six of the latter, the decrease of volume is at the maximum, 
amounting to 34 per cent. Berthelot has announced the formation of alcohol 
synthetically, by uniting olefiant gas with water. In this discovery he was an 
ticipated by the late Mr. Hennel, who published it in 1828. 
Composition. Absolute alcohol consists of four eqs. of carbon 24, six of hy- 
drogen 6, and two of oxygen 16 = 46; or, in volumes, of four volumes of the 
vapour of carbon, six of hydrogen, and one of oxygen, condensed into two 
volumes. Its empirical formula is, therefore, C4II602. Yiewed as a hydrated 
oxide of ethyl, its formula is C4HvO-FHO. 
It has been stated, at page 77, that during the vinous fermentation sugar dis- 
appears, and that the sole products had been supposed to be alcohol and car- 
bonic acid, which, taken together, were equal in weight to the sugar lost. Now, 
the comparative composition of the substances concerned supports the opinion 
that these are the sole derivatives of a portion of the sugar lost. Preparatory 
to the fermentation, the cane sugar is changed into grape sugar, or, according 
to Mitscherlieh and Soubeiran, into uncrystallizable sugar. These two sugars, 
dried at 212°, consist of C12H12012. Supposing one eq. of this fermentable sugar 
to be the subject-matter of the change, it will be found to have a composition 
which admits of its being broken up into two eqs. of alcohol and four of carbonic 
acid; for C12H12012=2(C4H602) and 4(C02). But it does not follow that all 
the sugar has been converted into alcohol and carbonic acid; and Pasteur, as be- 
fore stated, has shown that a portion lost has not been thus converted, but has 
been partly appropriated to the growth of the yeast plant of the ferment, and 
partly changed into glycerin and succinic acid. 
2. Alcohol Fortius. U. S. Stronger Alcohol, sp. gr. 0*81T. This was an offi- 
cinal of the Dublin College, which gave a formula for its preparation, and stated 
itssp.gr. at 0-818. The Stronger Alcohol introduced into the Materia Medina of 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, at the late revision, though of the sp. gr. 0'817, and 82 
Alcohol. 
1AKT I. 
therefore a little stronger than the Dublin preparation, may for all practical pur- 
poses be considered as identical with it. To prepare it on a small scale, carbonate 
of potassa, previously ignited in a heated mortar, may be mixed with officinal alco- 
hol (sp.gr. 0-835)in a bottle, and shaken occasionally for about four hours; the 
mixture being, in the mean time, maintained at the temperature of about 100°. 
Upon resting, the liquid divides into two strata, the lower consisting of a watery 
solution of carbonate of potassa, the upper of the stronger alcohol, which is to be 
separated, and distilled so as to obtain the measure of about nine-tenths of the 
original alcohol employed. 
On a large scale, we are informed that alcohol of this strength is now pre- 
pared in the U. States, very abundantly, by simple distillation by means of a 
modified distillatory apparatus. The modification consists in substituting, for n( 
single refrigerated receiver, a series of receivers, kept at such temperatures that, 
in the first of them, the watery vapour shall condense with comparatively little 
of the alcoholic, which, as it passes through the successive recipients, is more 
and more deprived of water, until, when condensed in the last, it yields a spirit 
at least as strong as the officinal Stronger Alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-817. At the 
same time that the spirit is thus strengthened, it becomes, on the same principle, 
more and more freed from fusel oil, until at length almost wholly deprived of it. 
The properties of this form of spirit do not materially differ from those of 
officinal alcohol, except in its exemption from fusel oil. The test of the absence 
of this impurity, or of its presence in only very minute proportion, is that, when 
“treated with a few drops of solution of nitrate of silver, and exposed to a bright 
light, the alcohol either remains unchanged, or lets fall a very scanty dark pre- 
cipitate.” U. S. Stronger alcohol is used exclusively in the preparation of other 
officinals, as ether, purified chloroform, ethereal oil, spirit of nitrous ether, &c., for 
which purpose it was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia. 
3. Alcohol U. S. Spirttus Kectificatus. Br. Officinal Alcohol. Rectified 
Spirit. This is the form of spirit resulting from the ordinary distillation of ardent 
spirit, though not the strongest which can be obtained by a repetition of that 
process; having the sp. gr. 0'835, U. S., or 0-838, Br., while that of the strongest 
is 0’825. The British preparation contains 16, the U.S. only 15 per cent, of water. 
Officinal alcohol, though of standard strength, may still be impregnated with an 
essential oil, called fusel oil. This is usually removed by digesting the alcohol 
with charcoal. It may also be removed, as well as other impurities, by passing the 
impure spirit through a filtering bed, composed of sand, wood-charcoal, boiled 
wheat, and broken oyster-shells, arranged in layers, according to the method of 
Mr.W. Schaeffer. (Am. Journ.of Pharm., Nov. 1854, p. 536 ) Another method, 
proposed by M. Breton, is to add a few drops of olive oil to the spirit in a bottle, 
which is then to be shaken, allowed to settle, and decanted. The olive oil dis- 
solves and retains the fusel oil. ( Chem. Gaz., April 15,1859, p. 160.) It may be 
detected by adding a little of the solution of nitrate of silver to the alcohol, and 
then exposing it to a bright light If fusel oil be present, it will be converted into 
a black powder. Officinal alcohol will not withstand this test; as the best contains 
a little of the foreign oil. According to Mr. E. N. Kent, of New York, nitrate 
of silver will not detect fusel oil, but affords its indications byreacting with other 
organic substances. For detecting fusel oil Mr. Kent finds pure sulphuric acid 
the best test. To apply it he half fills a test tube with the spirit to be tested, 
and then fills it up very slowly with pure concentrated sulphuric acid. If the 
spirit be pute, it will remain colourless; otherwise it will become coloured, the 
tint being deeper in proportion to the amount of the impurity. (New York Journ. 
of Pharm., Aug. 1854.) “Four fluidounces, with thirty grain-measures of the 
volumetric solution of nitrate of silver, exposed for 24 hours to bright I’ght, 
and then decanted from the black powder which has formed, undergoes no 
further change when again exposed to light with more of the test.” Br. This 
admits the presence of a small but limited proportion of fusel oil. The U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia directs that officinal alcohol, when diluted with 20 parts of dis- 
tilled water, should have little or no foreign odour; the Br Pharmacopoeia, 
that its odour and taste should be purely alcoholic. TART I. 
Alcohol. 
83 
The best alcohol, made in Philadelphia, is that manufactured by Z. Locke & 
Co., under Atwood’s patent process, in which manganic acid is used to destroy 
the fusel oil and other foreign substances. This alcohol withstands the tests of 
nitrate of silver and sulphuric acid remarkably well. 
4. Alcohol Dilutum. U. S. Spiritus Texuior. Br. Diluted Alcohol. Proof 
Spirit. The U. S. preparation, which is placed in the Materia Medica, consists 
of equal measures of officinal alcohol and water, and has the sp gr. 0 941; the 
British, for which a process is given, is made by mixing five pints of Rectified 
Spirit with three pints of Distilled Water, and has the sp. gr. 0 920. The latter 
is much the stronger of the two, containing only 51 per cent, of water, while 
the U. S. preparation contains 6L per cent. Considering the purpose to which it 
is chiefly applied, that of making tinctures, our officinal diluted alcohol is pre- 
ferable to the British proof spirit; as it has enough alcohol both for solvent 
effect and preservative influence; and the less there is, when these objects are 
answered, the better. 
Medical Properties, &c. Alcohol is a very powerful diffusible stimulant. It 
is the intoxicating ingredient in ail spirituous liquors, including under this term 
wines, porter, ale, cider, and every other liquid which has undergone the vinous 
fermentation. In a diluted state, it excites the system, renders the pulse full, 
and gives additional energy to the muscles, and temporary exaltation to the 
mental faculties. It is found to lessen the amount of the excretions, from which 
fact some physiologists have inferred that it diminishes the disintegration of 
the tissues. But this is not likely; since the effect of stimulation is to increase 
function in the tissues, and consequently to cause their waste. On this subject 
Dr. Wood holds the more probable opinion, that alcoholic liquors, besides fur- 
nishing some nutriment, act by promoting digestion and sanguification, thus 
causing a more thorough appropriation of food to nutrition ; and that the saving, 
thus effected, more than counterbalances the waste of the tissues, implied by 
increased vital action. (See his Therapeutics, 3d ed., i 655.) 
In some states of acute disease, characterized by excessive debility, alcohol is 
a valuable remedy. In chronic diseases, physicians should be cautious in pre- 
scribing liquids containing it, for fear of begetting intemperate habits. Exter- 
nally, alcohol is sometimes applied to produce cold by evaporation ; but, when 
this is repressed, it acts as a stimulant. A mixture of equal parts of rectified 
spirit and white of egg forms an excellent application to excoriations from 
pressure, in their early stage, occurring in protracted diseases. It is to be ap- 
plied frequently by a fine brush or feather, and renewed as it dries, until an 
albuminous coating is formed over the excoriated surface. 
As an article of daily use, alcoholic liquors produce the most deplorable con- 
sequences. Besides the moral degradation which they cause, their habitual use 
gives rise to dyspepsia, hypochondriasis, visceral obstructions, dropsy, paralysis, 
and not unfrequently mania. 
Effects as a Poison. When taken in large quantities, alcohol, in the various 
forms of ardent spirit, produces a true apoplectic state, and occasionally speedy 
death. The face becomes livid or pale, the respiration stertorous, and the mouth 
frothy; and sense and feeling are more or less completely lost. Where the dan- 
ger is imminent, an emetic* may be administered, or the stomach-pump used. The 
affusion of cold water is often useful. An enema of two tablespoonfuls of com- 
mon salt in a pint of warm water is said to dissipate rapidly the more seriouM 
symptoms. As a counter-poison, acetate of ammonia has been found to act with 
advantage. After death, abundant evidence is furnished of the absorption of the 
alcohol. By Dr. Percy it has been detected in the brain, by others in the ven- 
tricles, and by Dr. Wright in the urine. According to Dr. Ducheek, alcohol un- 
dergoes, in the system, continued combustion, producing intermediate products, 
among which is aldehyd, to the presence of which in the blood he attributes in- 
toxication. Mr. R. I). Thomson has proposed the following test for detecting 
alcohol in medico-legal investigations. Distil one third of the suspected liquid, 
and to the distillate add a crystal or two of chromic acid, and stir. If the smallest 84 
Alcohol. 
PART I. 
quantity of alcohol be present, green oxide of chromium, and aldehyd percepti - 
ble to the smell, will be developed. Instead of chromic acid, a few grains of 
powdered bichromate of potassa, acted on by a few drops of sulphuric acid, may 
be used. Dr. Ed. Strauch objects to this test as liable to some ambiguity, and 
proposes platinum-black as preferable. For a description of the mode in which 
he uses it, the reader is referred to the Chemical Gazette for Aug. 1, 1854. 
It is, however, very rarely that any of the forms of alcohol here described are 
used internally in their ordinary state; the various forms of ardent spirit and 
fermented liquors being preferred for this purpose, and these are described else- 
where. The purer forms of alcohol, whether strong or diluted, are employed 
almost exclusively in pharmacy; as in the preparation of medicines, such an 
ether, into the composition of which they enter; for the preservation of organic 
substances; in the extraction of the active principles of vegetables, as in th». 
tinctures; for dissolving bodies soluble in alcohol much more readily than in 
water, or insoluble in the latter fluid ; and for various other pharmaceutic pur- 
poses. Nelaton, however, uses rectified spirit as a local application to woundi 
which are to be healed by the first intention, washing the surfaces with the 
liquid, before bringing them together, until the flowing of blood ceases. 
Diluted alcohol is employed as an addition to the compound infusion of gen- 
tian, and to some of the distilled waters and preparations of vinegar, in order to 
preserve them from decomposition; as a menstruum for extracting the virtues 
of plants, preparatory to the formation of extracts and syrups ; and in preparing 
many of the spirits, and a few of the medicated wines. But it is in forming the 
tinctures that diluted alcohol is chiefly used. Some of these are made with offi- 
cinal alcohol (rectified spirit), but the majority with diluted alcohol (proof spirit) 
as the menstruum. As the latter contains more than half its weight of water, 
it is well fitted for acting on those vegetables, the virtues of which are partly 
soluble in water and partly in alcohol. The apothecary, however, should never 
substitute the commercial proof spirit for diluted alcohol,-even though it may 
be of the same strength, on account of the impurities in the former; but, when 
it is recollected how variable the so-called proof spirits are in strength, the ob. 
jection to their use in pharmacy becomes still stronger. Thus, according to Mr. 
Brande, gin contains 51'6 per cent, of alcohol of 0 825 ; and the percentage of 
the same alcohol is 53‘39 in brandy, 53 68 in rum, 5390 in Irish whisky, and 
54 32 in Scotch whisky. The alcohol on which these results are based already 
contains 11 per cent, of water. 
Pharm. Uses. 1. Of Alcohol Fortius, U. S. In the preparation of Aloe Puri- 
ficata, U. S.; Atropiae Sulphas, U. S.; Ceratum Extracti Cantharidis, U. S.; 
Chloroformum Purificatum, U. SHydrargyri Iodidum Viride, U.S.—2. 01 
Alcohol, U. S., Spiritus Bectificatus, Br. In the preparation of Aconitia; Aqua 
Camphorae, U. S.; Atropia; Beberiae Sulphas, Br.; Cinchoniae Sulphas, U. S.; 
Digitalinum, Br.; Emplastrum Belladonna, Br.; Extracta; Extracta Alco- 
holiea, U. S.; Extracta Fluida, U. S.; Extracta Liquida, Br.; Fel Bovinum Puri- 
ficatum, Br.; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Hydrargyri Iodidum Viride, Br.; 
Morphia, U.S.; Quiniae Sulphas, U. S.; Resinae; Santoninum, Br.; Strychnia; 
Svrupus Aurantii Corticis, U. S.; Unguentum Aconitiae, Br.; Unguentum Atro- 
piae, Br.; Veratria. —3. Of Alcohol Dilutum, U. S., Spiritus Tenuior or Proof 
Spirit, Br. In the preparation of Extracta; Extracta Alcoholica, U. S.; Ex- 
tracta Fluida, U. S.; Santoninum, U. S.; Strychnia, U. S.; Svrupi; Unguentum 
Iodi, Br. 
Off. Prep. 1. Of Alcohol Fortius, U. S. A3ther, U. S.; Collodium, U. S.; Col- 
lodium cum Cantharide, U. S.; Oleum Althereum, U. S.; Spiritus Altheris Ni- 
trosi, U. S.; Spiritus, U S. — 2. Of Alcohol, U. S., Spiritus Bectificatus, Br. 
Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Alther, Br.; Chloroformum, Br.; Collo- 
dium, Br.; Essentiae, Br.; Infusum Gentianae Comp., U. S.; Linimentum Aco- 
niti, Br.; Liniment. Belladonnae, Br.; Liniment. Camphorae Comp., Br.; Lini- 
ment. Crotonis, Br.; Liniment. Iodi, Br.; Liniment. Saponis; Liniment. Sinapis 
Comp., Br.; Liquor Atropiae, Br.; Liquor Morphiae Acetatis, Br.; Liquor PART 1. 
Alcohol Amylicum. 
85 
Morpfciae Hydrochloratis, Br.; Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus, Br.; Li- 
quor Strychniae, Br.; Oleoresina Zingiberis, U.S.; Succus Conii, Br.; Succus 
Scoparii, Br.; Succus Taraxaci, Br.; Spiritus; Syrupi; Tincturae.— 3. Of Al- 
cohol Dilutum, U. S., Spiritus Tenuior or Proof Spirit, Br. Mistura Gen- 
tianae Comp., Br.; Spiritus, U. S.; Spiritus Armoraciae Compositus, Br.; Syru- 
pus Ilhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Tincturae; Vinum Ilhei, U. S. B. 
ALCOHOL AMYLICUM. US.,Br. 
Amylic Alcohol. Fusel Oil. 
“A peculiar alcohol, obtained by distillation from fermented gram or potatoes 
by continuing the process after the ordinary spirit has ceased to come over. 
Its sp. gr. is 0’818.” U. S. Amylie alcohol, C10H12O2, with a small proportion of 
other spirituous substances. An oily liquid contained in the crude spirit pro- 
duced by the fermentation of saccharine solutions with yeast, and separated in 
the rectification of such crude spirit. Br. 
Syn. Hydrated Oxide of Amyl. Grain Oil. Potato Spirit Oil. 
This was an officinal of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, which directed it to 
be prepared in the following manner. “Takeof the light liquid, which may be 
obtained at any large distillery by continuing the distillation for some time after 
the pure spirit has been drawn off, any convenient quantity. Introduce it into 
a small still or retort connected with a condenser, and apply heat so as to cause 
distillation. As soon as the oil begins to come over unmixed with water, the 
receiver should be changed, and, the distillation being resumed and carried 
nearly to dryness, the desired product will be obtained. The liquid drawn over 
during the first part of the distillation will consist of an aqueous fluid, sur- 
mounted by a stratum of the Fusel Oil. This latter, though impregnated with 
a minute quantity of water, should be separated and preserved, as being suffi- 
ciently pure for use.” 
This oil is always present in the products of alcoholic fermentation. It is an 
ingredient in the ardent spirit obtained from various grains, but is most abund- 
i.nt in that procured from fermented potatoes. In grain spirit it is present in 
the proportion of about one part in five hundred by measure. When grain or 
potato whisky is distilled for the purpose of obtaining alcohol, the pure spirit 
will continue to come over for a certain time, after which, if the distillation be 
continued, a milky liquid will be obtained, which, upon standing, will be cov- 
ered with a stratum of this peculiar oil. Subjected to distillation, the milky 
liquid will at first boil at a comparatively low temperature, and yield water and 
u little of the oil; but after a time the boiling point will rise to 269°, when the 
oil will come over pure. By changing the receiver when the oil begins to distil 
free from Water, the oil is collected separate from the watery part. 
Properties. Amylie alcohol is an oily, colourless liquid, of a strong, offensive 
odour, and acrid, burning taste. As usually prepared it has a pale-yellow colour. 
Its sp.gr. is 0 818; that of its vapour 3 15. It boils at 269° (270° Br.), and 
congeals at 4° below zero, in the form of crystalline leaves It is very sparingly 
soluble in water, but unites in all proportions with alcohol, ether, and essen- 
tial oils. It dissolves iodine, sulphur, and phosphorus, and is a good solvent 
for fats, resins, and camphor. When dropped upon paper it does not leave a 
greasy stain. It does not take fire like alcohol by the contact of flame, but _e- 
quires to be heated to a temperature of about 130° before it begins to burn. 
According to M. Pasteur, there are two amylie alcohols, chemically the :-ame, 
but optically distinct. Amylie alcohol consists of ten eqs. of carbon 60, twelve 
of hydrogen 12, and two of oxygen 16=88. It is generally considered to be a 
hvdratod oxide of the compound radical amyl (C,nIIu); and on this view its 
formula wdl be C10IIuO-(-HO. Heated with anhydrous phosphoric acid, it 
loses the elements of two eqs. of water, and forms a carbohydrogen, C10H10, 
homologous with ethylen, called amylen or valeren, which has been proposed as 
an anaesthetic. (See Amylen in Part III.) When subjected to oxidizing agents, 86 
Alcohol Amylicum.—Aletris. 
PART I. 
it loses two eqs. of hydrogen and gains two of oxygen, and becomes Cinll,03 
+ 110, or amylic acid, which is identical with valerianic acid, the acid found 
in valerian. Hence the test given in the Br. Pharmacopoeia; “exposed to the 
air in contact with platinum-black, it is slowly oxidized, yielding valerianic 
acid.” Br. This acid bears the same relation to amylic alcohol that acetic acid 
does to ethylic alcohol, and formic acid to methylic alcohol. Amyl has been 
isolated by Dr. E. Frankland. It is a colourless pellucid liquid, of the sp. gr. 
U1704. (Chem. Gaz., March 15, 1850 ) Its hydruret (hydride), C10IInII, has 
been discovered to be an energetic anaesthetic by Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh. 
Crude fusel oil may be obtained from the alcohol distillers Mr. Kent, of 
New York, found in it, as impurities, water, alcohol, acetic and amylic acids, 
oxide of iron, and an amyl compound, analogous to oenanthie ether. According 
to Messrs. T. and H. Smith, the crude oil is a mixture of propylic, butylic, and 
amylic alcohols, and of other alcohols much higher in the series 
Fusel oil was made officinal by the Dublin College, in its Pharmacopoeia of 
1850, as an artificial source of valerianic acid, to be used in forming valerianate 
of soda, from which, by double decomposition, three other valerianates, namely, 
those of iron, zinc, and quinia, were directed by the College to be prepared. It 
was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia for a similar purpose. 
Amylic alcohol is an active irritant poison. 
Off. Prep. Sodae Yalerianas. B 
' ALETRIS. U. S. Secondary. 
Star Grass. 
The root of Aletris farinosa. U. S. 
Aletris. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Liliacese. 
Gen. Cli. Corolla tubular, six-cleft, wrinkled, persistent. Stamens inserted 
into the base of the segments. Style triangular, separable into three. Capsule 
opening at the top, three-celled, many-seeded. Bigelow. 
Aletris farinosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 183; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 32. 
This is an indigenous perennial plant, the leaves of which spring immediately 
from the root, and spread on the ground in the form of a star. Hence have 
originated the popular names of star grass, blazing star, and mealy starwort, 
by which it is known in different parts of the country. The leaves are sessile, 
lanceolate, entire, pointed, very smooth, longitudinally veined, and of unequal 
size, the largest being about four inches in length. From the midst of them a 
(lower-stem rises, one or two feet in height, nearly naked, with remote scales, 
which sometimes become leaves. It terminates in a slender scattered spike, the 
flowers of which stand on very short pedicles, and have minute bractes at the 
base. The calyx is wanting. The corolla is tubular, oblong, divided at the sum- 
mit into six spreading segments, of a white colour, and when old, of a mealy 
or rugose appearance on the outside. The plant is found in almost all parts of 
the United States, growing in fields and about the borders of woods, and flow- 
ering in June and July. 
Properties. The root,which is the officinal portion, is small, crooked, branched, 
blackish externally, brown within, and intensely bitter. The bitterness is ex- 
tracted by alcohol, and the tincture becomes turbid upon the addition of water. 
The decoction is moderately bitter; but much less so than the tincture. If 
affords no precipitate with the salts of iron. {Bigelow.) 
Medical Properties. In small doses the root appears to be simply tonic, and 
maybe employed advantageously for similar purposes with other bitters of the 
same class. When freely given, it is apt to occasion nausea. In very large doses, 
it is said to be cathartic and emetic, and to produce some narcotic effect. It has 
been employed, with asserted benefit, in colic, dropsy, and chronic rheumatism 
The powder maybe administered as a tonic in the dose of ten grains. W PART r. 
Allium. 
87 
ALLIUM. U.S. 
Garlic. 
The bulb of Allium sativum U. S. 
Ail, Fr.; Knoblauch, Germ.; Aglio, ltal.; Ajo, Span. 
Allium. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Liliaceae. 
Gen Ch. Corolla six-parted, spreading. Spathe many-flowered. Umbel 
crowded. Capsule superior. Willd. 
This is a very extensive genus, including more than sixty species, most of 
which are European. Of the nine or ten indigenous in this country, none are 
officinal. I)r. Griffith states that the bulb of A. Canadense has been substituted 
for the cultivated garlic, and found equally efficient. {Med. JJot. p. 653.) Of the 
European species several have been used from a very early period, both as food 
and medicine. A. sativum, or garlic, is the only one now officinal; and to this 
we shall here confine our observations, simply stating that there are few genera, 
of which the several species resemble one another more closely insensible and 
medical properties than the present. For an account of A. Cepa, or onion, and 
A. Porrum, or leek, see Part III. of this work 
Allium sativum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 68; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 749, t. 256. 
This is a perennial plant, arid, like all its congeners, bulbous. The bulbs are 
numerous, and enclosed in a common membranous covering, from the base of 
which the fibres that constitute the proper root descend The stem is simple, 
and rises about two feet. The leaves are long, flat, and grass-like, and sheathe 
the lower half of the stem. At the termination of the stem is a cluster of flow- 
ers and bulbs mingled together, and enclosed in a pointed spathe, which opem 
on one side and withers. The flowers are small and white, and make their ap 
pearance in July. This species of garlic grows wild in Sicily, Italy, and the 
south of France; and is cultivated in all civilized countries. 
The part employed, as well for culinary purposes as in medicine, is the bulb 
The bulbs are dug up with a portion of the stem attached, and, having been 
dried in the sun, are tied together in bunches, and thus brought to market. 
They are said to lose, by drying, nine parts of their weight out of fifteen, with 
little diminution of their sensible properties. This species of Allium is commonly 
called English garlic, to distinguish it from those which grow wild in our fields 
and meadows. Garlic bulbs are apt to germinate and thus to undergo serious 
injury. Mr. A P. Sharp preserves them by placing them in a bottle, pouring 
on them a little alcohol, about two fluidounces to a quart, and securely closing 
the bottle by a stopper of glass or cork. All tendency to germinate is thus de- 
stroyed, and the bulbs will retain their peculiar smell and taste unchanged for 
years. {Proceed, of the Amer. Pharm. Assoc, for 1864.) 
Properties. Garlic, as found in the shops, is somewhat spherical, flattened at 
the bottom, and drawn towards a point at the summit, where a portion of the 
stem several inches in length projects. It is covered with a white, dry, mem- 
branous envelope, consisting of several delicate laminae, within which the small 
bulbs are arranged around the stem, having each a distinct coat These small 
bulbs, commonly called cloves of garlic, are usually five or six in number, of an 
oblong shape, somewhat curved, and in their interior are whitish, moist, and 
fleshy.* They have a disagreeable pungent odour, so peculiar as to have re 
ceived the name of alliaceous. Their taste is bitter and acrid. The peculiai 
smell and taste, though strongest in the bulb, are found to a greater or less 
* In a note, in the preceding edition of the Dispensatory, it was stated that a variety 
of garlic had been introduced into this market, having larger and fewer cloves or small 
bulbs than the officinal, and supposed to be the product of a hybrid between the common 
garlic and the leek. It was also said to be much inferior to the genuine drug. In the 
Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association for 1860, is a paper by Prof. Bo- 
oert P. Thomas, which satisfactorily shows that this is really, as supposed, the product 
of a hybrid, probably between A. sativum and A. Porrum. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 88 
Allium. 
PART r. 
extent in all parts of the plant. They depend on an essential oil, which is very 
volatile, and maybe obtained by distillation, passing over with the first portions 
of water. As first obtained, the oil is of a dark brownish-yellow colour, heavier 
than water, and decomposed at its boiling temperature. It may be purified by 
repeated distillation in a salt-water bath, and is then lighter than water, of a 
pale-yellow colour, and not decomposed by boiling. According to Wertheim, it 
consists of a peculiar organic radical, called allyl (CS1I5), combined with one 
equivalent of sulphur, and is therefore sulphuret of allyl. From one hundred 
weight oi garlic AVertheim obtained from three to four ounces of the impure 
oil, and about two-thirds as much of the rectified. (Ghem. Gaz., iii. ITT.) The im- 
pure oil has an exceedingly pungent odour, and strong acrid taste; and, when ap- 
plied to the skin, produces much irritation, and sometimes even blisters. The 
pure oil combines with nitrate of silver, forming a precipitate soluble in heated 
alcohol and afterwards separating in crystals. This compound consists of one 
t'q. of the oil and two eqs. of the salt, and on the addition of ammonia gives up 
the oil unchanged. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., v. 23T, A.I). 186T.) 
Besides this oil, fresh garlic, according to Cadet-Gassicourt, contains, in 1406 
parts, 520 of mucilage, 3T of albumen, 48 of fibrous matter, and 801 of water. 
Bouillon-Lagrange mentions, among its constituents, sulphur, a saccharine mat- 
ter, and a small quantity of fecula. The fresh bulbs yield upon pressure nearly a 
fourth part of juice, which is highly viscid, and so tenacious as to require dilu- 
tion with water before it can be easily filtered. When dried, it serves as a lute 
fur porcelain. It has the medical properties of the bulbs. Water, alcohol, and 
»inegar extract the virtues of garlic Boiling, however, if continued for some 
time, renders it inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The use of garlic as a medicine and condi- 
ment, ascends to the highest antiquity. When it is taken internally, the oil is 
speedily absorbed, and, pervading the system, becomes sensible in the breath 
and various secretions Even externally applied, as to the soles of the feet, it 
imparts its odour to the breath, urine, and perspiration, and, according to some 
v Titers, may be tasted in the mouth. Its effects on the system are those of a 
general stimulant. It quickens the circulation, excites the nervous system, pro- 
motes expectoration in debility of the lungs, produces diaphoresis or diuresis 
according as the patient is kept warm or cool, and acts upon the stomach as a 
tonic and carminative It is said also to be emmenagogue. Applied to the skin, 
it. is irritant and rubefacient, and moreover exercises, in some degree, its pecu- 
liar influence upon the system, in consequence of absorption. Moderately em- 
ployed, it is beneficial in enfeebled digestion and flatulence ; and by many it is 
habitually used as a condiment. It has been given with advantage in chronic 
i'atarrh, and other pectoral affections in which the symptoms of inflammation 
t ave been subdued, and a relaxed state of the vessel remains. \ATe have used it 
habitually, and with great benefit, in such affections in children, as well as in 
i he nervous and spasmodic coughs to which the very young are peculiarly liable. 
Borne have recommended it in old atonic dropsies and calculous disorders; and 
ihas been employed in the treatment of intermittents. It is thought also to be 
mi excellent anthelmintic, especially in cases of ascarides, in which it is given 
both by the mouth and the rectum. The juice is said sometimes to check ner- 
vous vomiting in the dose of a few drops. If taken too largely, or in excited 
states of the system, garlic is apt to occasion gastric irritation, flatulence, he- 
morrhoids, headache, and fever. As a medicine, it is at present more used ex- 
ternally than inwardly. Bruised, and applied to the feet, it acts very beneficially, 
as a revulsive, in disorders of the head; and is especially useful in the febrile 
complaints of children, by quieting restlessness and producing sleep. Its juice 
mixed with oil, or the garlic itself bruised and steeped in spirit, is frequently 
used as a liniment in infantile convulsions, and other spasmodic or nervous 
affections in children. The same application has been made in cutaneous erup- 
tions. A clove of garlic, or a few drops of the juice, introduced into the ear, 
are said to prove efficacious in atonic deafness ; and the bulb, bruised, and an- PAltT I. 
Allium.—Aloe. 
89 
plied in the shape of a poultice above the pubes, has sometimes restored action 
to the bladder, in retention of urine from debility of that organ. In the same 
shape, it has been used to resolve indolent tumours. 
Garlic may be taken in the form of a pill; or the clove may be swallowed 
either whole, or cut into pieces of a convenient size. Its juice is also fre- 
quently administered mixed with sugar. The infusion in milk was at one time 
highly recommended, and the syrup is officinal. The dose in substance is from 
half a drachm to a drachm, or even two drachms, of the fresh bulb. That of 
the juice is half a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Allii, U. S. W. 
ALOE. 
Aloes. 
ALOE BARBADENSIS. U. S., Br. Barbadoes Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe vulgaris {Lamarck). TJ. S., Br. 
ALOE CAPENSIS. U.S. Cape Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe spicata (Thunberg), and of other 
species of Aloe. TJ. S. 
ALOE SOCOTRINA. U.S.,Br. Socotrine Aloes. 
The inspissated juice of the leaves of Aloe Socotrina (Lamarck). U.S. 
The inspissated juice of the leaf of one or more undetermined species of Aloe. 
Produced chiefly in Socotra. Br. 
Sue d’aloes, Fr.; Aloe, Germ., Ital.; Aloe, Span.; Musebber, Arab. 
Most of the species belonging to the genus Aloe are said to yield a bitter 
juice, which has all the properties of the officinal aloes. It is impossible, from 
the various and sometimes conflicting accounts of writers, to determine exactly 
from which of the species the drug is in all instances actually derived. Aloe 
spicata, however, is generally acknowledged to be an abundant source of it; 
and A. vulgaris and A. Socotrina are usually ranked among the medicinal 
species. In Lindley’s Flora Medica, A. purpurascens, A. arborescens, A. Com- 
melyni, and A. multiformis, all natives of the Cape of Good Hope, are enu- 
merated as yielding aloes; and others are, without doubt, occasionally resorted 
to. We shall confine ourselves to a description of the three following species, 
which probably yield most of the aloes of commerce. 
Aloe. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Liliacese. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla erect, mouth spreading, bottom nectariferous. Filaments 
inserted into the receptacle. Willd. 
Aloespicata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 185. This species of Aloe was first described 
by Thunberg. The stem is round, three or four feet high, about four inches in 
diameter, and leafy at the summit. The leaves are spreading, subverticillate, 
about two feet long, broad at the base, gradually narrowing to the point, chan- 
neled upon their upper surface, and with remote teeth upon their edges The 
flowers are bell-shaped, and spread horizontally in very close spikes. Beneath 
each flower is a broad, ovate, acute bracte, white, with three green streaks, 
und nearly as long as the corolla. Of the six petals, the three inner are ovate, 
obtuse, white, with three green lines, and broader than the outer, which other- 
wise resemble them. The stamens are much longer than the corolla. The 
spiked aloe is a native of Southern Africa, growing near the Cape of Good 
Hope, and, like all the other species, preferring a sandy soil. In some districts 
of the colony it is found in great abundance, particularly at Zwellendam, near 
Mossel Bay, where it almost covers the surface of the country. Much of the 
Cape aloes is said to be derived from this species. 
A. Socotrina. Lamarck, Encycl. i. 85; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig. 85; 
Curtis’s Bot. Mag. pi 472; Carson’s Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 48, pi. 92. — A.vera. 
Miller, Diet., ed 8, no. 55. The stem of this species is erect, eighteen inches 
or more in height, woody, and leafless below, where it is very rough from the 
remains of former leaves. At top it is embraced by green, sword-shaped, 90 
Aloe. 
PART I. 
ascending leaves, somewhat concave on their upper surface, convex beneath, 
curved inward at the point, with numerous small white serratures at their 
edges. The flowers, which are in a cylindrical, simple raceme, are scarlet near 
the base, pale in the centre, and greenish at the summit, and have unequal 
stamens, of which three are longer than the corolla. The plant received its 
name from the Island of Socotra, of which it is said to be a native; and is 
supposed to be the source of the Socotrine aloes. 
A. vulgaris. Lamarck, Encycl. i. 86; De Cand. Plantes Grasses, fig. 27; 
Carson’s lllust. of Med. Bot. ii. 46, pi. 90. This species has a very short 
woody stem, and lanceolate embracing leaves, which are first spreading, then 
ascending, of a glaucous-green colour, somewhat mottled with darker spots, 
flat on the upper surface, convex beneath, and armed with hard reddish spines, 
distant from each other, and perpendicular to the margin. The flower-stem is 
axillary, of a glaucous-reddish colour, and branched, with a cvlindrical-ovate 
spike of yellow flowers, which are at first erect, then spreading, and finally 
pendulous, and do not exceed the stamens in length. A. vulgaris is a native 
of south-eastern Europe and the north of Africa, and is cultivated in Italy, 
Sicily, Malta, and especially in the West Indies, where it contributes largely 
to furnish the Barbadoes aloes. 
The proper aloetic juice was formerly thought to exist in longitudinal vessels 
beneath the epidermis of the leaves, and readily flows out when these are cut 
transversely; but, according to M. Edmond Ilobiquet, who has made elaborate 
researches in relation to this drug, these vessels are air-ducts, and the juice 
flows in the inter-cellular passages between them. The liquid obtained by ex- 
pression from the parenchyma is mucilaginous, and possessed of little medi- 
cinal virtue. The quality of the drug depends much upon the mode of preparing 
it. The finest kind is that obtained by exudation, and subsequent inspissation 
in the sun. Most of the better sorts, however, are prepared by artificially 
heating the juice which has spontaneously exuded from the cut leaves. The 
chief disadvantage of this process is the cooversion of a portion of the soluble 
active principle into an insoluble and comparatively inert substance, through 
the influence of an elevated temperature. The plan of bruising and expressing 
the leaves, and boiling down the resulting liquor, yields a much inferior pro- 
duct; as a large portion of it must be derived from the mucilaginous juice of 
the parenchyma. The worst plan of all is to boil the leaves themselves in 
water, and evaporate the decoction. The quality of the drug is also affected by 
the careless or fraudulent mixture of foreign matters with the juice, and the 
unskilful management of the inspissation. 
Commercial History and Varieties. Four chief varieties of aloes are known 
in commerce; the Cape aloes, the Socotrine, the hepatic, and the Barbadoes, 
of which the first two are most used in this country. 
1 Cape Aloes is imported from the Cape of Good Hope, either directly, 
or through the medium of English commerce. It is collected by the Hottentots 
and Dutch boors indiscriminately from A. spicata and other species, which 
grow wild in great abundance. Dr. L. Pappe, of Cape Town, states that the best 
aloes is derived from Aloe ferox {Lam.) growing at Zwellendam, and a weaker 
product from A. Africana and A.plicatilis of Miller. (Flor. Capens. 28.) The 
process is very simple. According to Hallbeck, a Moravian missionary who re- 
sided at the Cape, a hole is made in the ground, in which a sheep skin is spread 
with the smooth side upward. The leaves are then cut off near the stem, and 
arranged around the hole, so that the juice which runs out may be received into 
the skin. The juice flows most freely in hot weather. ( United Breth. Mission. 
Intelligencer, N. Y., vi. 436.) When a sufficient quantity of the liquor has been 
collected, it is inspissated by artificial heat in iron cauldrons, care being taken, 
by constant stirring, to prevent its burning. When sufficiently concentrated, 
it is poured into boxes or skins, where it concretes upon cooling. The finest 
kind is collected at the Missionary Institution at Bethelsdorp, and hence called 
Bethelsdorp aloes. Its superiority is owing exclusively to the greater care ob- PART I 
Aloe, 
91 
served in conducting the evaporation, and in avoiding the intermixture of earth, 
stones, and other impurities. 
Cape aloes has sometimes been confounded with the Socotrine, from which, 
however, it differs very considerably in appearance. By the German writers it 
is called shining aloes. When freshly broken, it has a very dark-olive or green- 
ish colour approaching to black, presents a smooth bright almost glassy sur- 
face, and, if held up to the light, appears translucent at its edges. The small 
fragments also are semi-transparent, and have a tinge of yellow or red, mixed 
with the deep olive of the opaque mass. The same tinge is sometimes observa- 
ble in the larger pieces The powder is of a fine greenish-yellow colour, and, 
being generally more or loss sprinkled over the surface of the pieces as they 
are kept in the shops, gives them a somewhat yellowish appearance. Its odour 
is strong and disagreeable, but not nauseous, and in no degree aromatic. In 
mass, the drug has little or no smell. Cape aloes, when quite hard is very 
brittle, and readily powdered; but, in very hot weather, it is apt to become 
somewhat soft and tenacious, and the interior of the pieces is occasionally more 
or less so even in winter. It is usually imported in casks or boxes. Dr. Pe- 
reira says that a variety is sometimes imported into England from the Cape, 
of a reddish-brown colour like hepatic aloes. 
2. Socotrine Aloes. The genuine Socotrine aloes is produced in the Island 
of Socotra, which lies in the Straits of Babelmandel, about forty leagues to the 
east of Cape Guardafui; but we are told by Ainslie that the greater part of 
what is sold under that name is prepared in the kingdom of Melinda, upon tho 
eastern coast of Africa; and Wellsted states that the aloes of the neighbour- 
ing parts of Arabia is the same as that of Socotra. The commerce in this va- 
riety of aloes is carried on chiefly by the maritime Arabs, who convey it eithei 
to India, or up the lied Sea by the same channel through which it reached 
Europe before the discovery of the southern passage into the Indian Ocean 
Mr. V aughan states that nearly the whole product of the island is carried to 
Maculla, on the southern coast of Arabia, and thence transhipped to Bombay. 
(Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xii. 263.) The species of Aloe which yields it is 
not certainly known, but is probably A. Socotrina. According to Wellsted, the 
plant grows on tho sides and summits of mountains, from five hundred to three 
thousand feet above the level of the plains. It is found in all parts of the island, 
but most abundantly on the western portion, where the surface is thickly covered 
with it for miles. It appears to thrive best in parched and barren places. Much 
less of the drug is collected than formerly, and in the year 1833 only two tons 
were exported. The whole produce was formerly monopolized by the Arabian 
Sultan of Ivisseen; but at present the business of collecting the drug is en- 
tirely free to the inhabitants. The leaves are plucked at any period of the year, 
and are placed in skins into which the juice is allowed to exude. In what way 
the inspissation is effected we are not informed by Wellsted; but, according 
to Hermann, it is by exposure to the heat of the sun. The aloes is exported in 
skins. Its quality differs much according to the care taken in its preparation. 
( Wellsted’s Voyage, &c.) A portion ascends the Red Sea, and through Egypt 
reaches the Mediterranean ports, whence it is sent to London. Another por- 
tion is carried to Bombay, and thence transmitted to various parts of the world. 
That which reaches this country either comes by special order from London, 
or is brought by our India traders. We have known of two arrivals directly 
into the United States, said to be from Socotra, and have in our possession 
parcels of aloes brought by both. They are identical in character, and corre- 
spond with the following description. 
Socotrine aloes is in pieces of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour, wholly 
different from that of the former variety. Sometimes the colour is very light, 
especially in the fresh and not fully hardened parcels; sometimes it is a deep 
brownish-red like that of garnets. It is rendered much darker by exposure to 
the air; and the interior of the masses is consequently much lighter-coloured 
than the exterior. Its surface is somewhat glossy, and its fracture smooth and 92 
Aloe, 
PART I 
conchoidal, with sharp and semi-transparent edges. The colour of its powder 
is a bright golden yellow. It has a peculiar, not unpleasant odour, and a taste, 
which, though bitter and disagreeable, is accompanied with an aromatic fla- 
vour. Though hard and pulverulent in cold weather, it is somewhat tenacious 
in summer, and softens by the heat of the hand. “ It dissolves entirely in proof 
spirit, and during solution exhibits under the microscope numerous min.te 
crystals.” Br. 
Under the name of Socotrine aloes, are occasionally to be met with in the 
market small parcels beautifully semi-transparent, shining, and of a yellowish, 
reddish, or brownish-red colour. These, however, are very rare, and do not 
deserve to be considered as a distinct variety. They are probably portions of 
1 he juice carefully inspissated in the sun, and may accompany the packages 
brought from any of the commercial sources of aloes. 
When in mass, as imported from the East, Socotrine aloes is soft and plastic, 
and of a very light yellowish-brown colour in the interior. It becomes hard 
and brittle when broken into pieces; and the London dealers hasten the result 
by exposing it to a very gentie heat, so as to evaporate the moisture. 
Pereira tells us that impure and dirty pieces of the drug are melted and 
strained, and that the skins from which the best portions have been removed 
are washed with water, which is then evaporated. 
Occasionally the juice has been imported into London in casks, not thor- 
oughly inspissated. In this state it is of the consistence of molasses, of an 
orange or yellowish colour, and of a strong fragrant odour. It separates, upon 
standing, into a transparent liquid, and an opaque, lighter-coloured, granular 
portion which subsides. Pereira found the latter portion to consist of innumer- 
able minute prismatic crystals, and believed it to be identical with or closely 
analogous to the aloin of the Messrs. Smith. When the juice is heated, the 
deposit dissolves, and the whole being evaporated yields a solid, transparent 
product, having the properties of fine Socotrine aloes (Pharm. Journ., xi. 439.) 
Much of the aloes sold as Socotrine has never seen the Island of Socotra, nor 
even the Indian seas. It has been customary to affix this title, as a mark of 
superior value, to those parcels of the drug, from whatever source they may 
have been derived, which have been prepared with unusual care, and are sup- 
posed to be of the best quality. Thus, both in Spain and the West Indies, the 
juice which is obtained without expression, and inspissated in the sun without 
artificial heat, has been called Socotrine aloes; and is probably little inferior 
to the genuine drug. 
Socotrine aloes has been very long known under this name, and in former 
tunes held the same superiority, in the estimation of the profession, which it 
still to a certain degree retains. 
3. Hepatic Aloes. Much confusion and uncertainty have prevailed in rela- 
tion to this kind of aloes. The name was originally applied to a product from 
the East Indies, of a reddish-brown or liver-colour, which gave origin to the 
designation. From a supposed resemblance between this and the aloes from 
the West Indies, the name was very commonly applied also to the latter va- 
riety, and was even extended to portions of the drug collected in Spain and 
other parts of the South of Europe. But the West India aloes is decidedly dif- 
ferent from any now brought from the East, and deserves the rank of a distinct 
variety, with the name of Barbadoes aloes. In this country, we seldom meet 
with aloes bearing the name of the hepatic, although much that is sold as So- 
cotrine probably deserves it. In the drug commerce of London, it is still recog- 
nised as a distinct variety. It is imported into England chiefly from Bombay; 
but, according to Ainslie, is not produced in Hindostan, being taken thither from 
Yemen in Arabia. It is probably obtained from the same plants which yield the 
Socotrine, but prepared with less care, or by a different process.* In relation 
* Dr. Pereira inferred, we think somewhat prematurely, from his observations on the 
juiee of aloes before referred to, that the Socotrine is prepared by evaporation by artifi- PART I 
Aloe, 
93 
to the Socotrine and hepatic aloes, we should probably not be far \\ rong in con- 
sidering the former as embracing the finest, and the latter the inferior parcels 
of the same variety; and it is in fact stated that they sometimes come together, 
a large mass of the hepatic being crossed by a vein of the Socotrine. 
Hepatic aloes is reddish-brown, but darker and less glossy than the Socotrine. 
Its odour is somewhat like that of the Socotrine, but less agreeable; its taste 
nauseous, and intensely bitter. The fracture is not so smooth, nor the edges so 
sharp and transparent as in either of the first-mentioned varieties. It softens 
in the hand, and becomes adhesive. The powder is of a dull-yellow colour. 
4. Baubvdoes Aloes. This is the name by which the aloes produced in the 
West Indies is generally designated. The aloes plants are largely cultivated 
in the poorer soils of Jamaica and Barbadoes, especially of the latter island. 
The species from which most of the drug is procured is A. vulgaris; but A. 
Socotrina, A. purpurascens, and A. arborescens are also said to be cultivated. 
The process employed appears to be somewhat different in different places, ot 
at least as described by different authors. A fine kind was formerly prepared 
by the spontaneous inspissation of the juice, placed in bladders or shallow ves- 
sels, and exposed to the sun. The common Barbadoes aloes, however, is now 
made, either by boiling the juice to a proper consistence, or by first forming a 
decoction of the leaves, chopped and suspended in water in nets or baskets, 
and then evaporating the decoction. In either case, when the liquor has attained 
such a consistence that it will harden on cooling, it is poured into calabashes 
and allowed to concrete. A gentleman from Barbadoes, who had seen the aloes 
prepared, recently informed Mr. Squire that the leaves are cut transversely, 
and so placed that the juice flows from the incised surfaces into a trough, 
which inclines to the boiler. {Med. T. and Gaz., Jan. 1868, p. 75.) It is im- 
ported into England in gourds weighing from 60 to 70 pounds, or even more. 
In consequence of the great demand for it in veterinary practice, it commands 
a high price in Great Britain. 
The colour of Barbadoes aloes is not uniform. Sometimes it is dark-brown 
or almost black, sometimes of a reddish-brown or liver colour, and again of 
some intermediate shade. It has usually a dull fracture, and is almost perfectly 
opaque, even at the edges, and in thin layers. It is also distinguishable by its 
odour, which is disagreeable and even nauseous. The powder is of a dull olive- 
yellow. According to Mr. Giles, it yields 80 per cent, of aqueous extract, and 
is even more active than the Socotrine. {Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1860, p. 301.) 
“It dissolves almost entirely in proof spirit, and during solution exhibits under 
the microscope numerous crystals.” Br. According to M. Marais, Barbadoes 
aloes, from whatever part of the W. Indies derived, and however differing 
in colour, when dissolved in distilled water in the proportion of one part to 
100,000 parts, has, in a high degree, the property of giving rise to a fine rose- 
colour on the addition of chloride of gold or tincture of iodine; while all othei 
varieties, whether coming from Africa or India, with the exception of the he 
patic, produce with these reagents either a feeble colour, slow in occurring, oi 
no change of colour whatever. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., v. 326.) 
Besides these varieties of aloes, others are mentioned by authors. A very 
inferior kind, supposed to consist of the dregs of the juice which furnished the 
better sorts, almost black, quite opaque, hard, of a rough fracture and very fetid 
odour, and full of various impurities, was formerly sold under the name of fetid, 
caballine, or horse aloes. It was used exclusively for horses ; but, in consequence 
of the cheapness of better kinds, has been banished from veterinary practice, 
and is not now found in the market. Aloes has been imported from Muscat, 
and a considerable quantity came over in a vessel sent by the Sultan to the 
United States. Some of a similar origin has been called Mocha aloes in Lon- 
cial heat, to which it owes its transparency; while the hepatic is opaque, because drie . 
in the sun. If this were the case, Barbadoes aloes, which is wholly opaque, more so even 
than the hepatic, should have been dried in the sun, instead of being inspissated by heal, 
as it really is. {Note to the tenth edition.) 94 
Aloe. 
PART 1 
don ; but it is nothing more than an inferior sort of hepatic. Several inferior 
kinds, produced in different parts of Ilindostan, have been described by Pereira 
under the name of India aloes; but they are not brought, unless accidentally, 
into the markets of Europe or this country. 
General Properties. The odour of aloes is different in the different varieties. 
The taste is in all of them intensely bitter and very tenacious. The colour and 
other sensible properties have been sufficiently described. Several distinguished 
chemists have investigated the nature and composition of aloes. Braconnot 
found it to consist of a.bitter principle, soluble in water, and in alcohol of 38° 
B., which he considered peculiar, and named resino-amer (resinous bitter); and 
of another substance, in smaller proportion, inodorous and nearly tasteless, 
very soluble in alcohol, and scarcely soluble in boiling water, which he desig- 
nated by the name of Jlea-coloured principle. These results were essentially 
confirmed by Trommsdorff, Bouillon-Lagrange, and Vogel, who considered the 
former substance as extractive matter, and the latter as a kind of resin. Besides 
these principles, Trommsdorff discovered, in a variety of hepatic aloes, a pro- 
portion of insoluble matter which he considered as albumen; and Bouillon-La- 
grange and Vogel found that the Soeotrine also yielded, by distillation, a small 
quantity of volatile oil, which they could not obtain from the hepatic. The pro- 
portions of the ingredients were found to vary greatly in the different varieties 
of the drug; and the probability is, that scarcely any two specimens would 
afford precisely the same results. Braconnot found about 73 per cent, of the 
hitter, and 26 of the Jlea-coloured principle. Trommsdorf obtained from Soco- 
trine aloes about 75 parts of extractive and 25 of resin; and from the hepatic, 
8L25 of extractive, 6‘25 of resin, and 12-50 of albumen, in 100 parts. The 
former variety, according to Bouillon-Lagrange and Vogel, contains 68 per 
cent, of extractive and 32 of resin; the latter 52 of extractive, 42 of resin, and 
6 of the albuminous matter of Trommsdorff. We are not aware that any analysis 
has been published of the Cape aloes as a distinct variety. 
Berzelius considers the resin of Trommsdorff and others to belong to that 
form of matter which he calls apotheme (see Extracts), and which is nothing 
more than extractive, altered by the action of the air. It may be obtained sepa- 
rate by treating aloes with water, and digesting the undissolved portion with 
oxide of lead, which unites with the apotheme forming an insoluble compound, 
and leaves a portion of the unaltered extractive, which had adhered to it, dis- 
solved in the water. The oxide of lead may be separated by nitric acid very 
much diluted; and the apotheme remains in the form of a brown powder, in- 
soluble in cold water, very slightly soluble in boiling water, to which it im- 
parts a yellowish-brown colour, soluble in alcohol, ether, and alkaline solutions, 
and burning like tinder without flame, and without being melted. The bitter 
extractive, which constitutes the remainder of the aloes, may be obtained by 
treating the watery infusion with oxide of lead, to separate a portion of the 
apotheme which adheres to it, and evaporating the liquor. It is a yellowish, 
translucent, gum-like substance, fusible by a gentle heat, of a bitter taste, solu- 
ble in ordinary alcohol, but insoluble in anhydrous alcohol, and in ether. 
A subsequent analysis of aloes by M. Edmond Robiquet yielded the following 
results. A portion of hyacinthine, transparent aloes, considered as genuine iSo- 
eotrine, was found to consist, in 100 parts, of 85 of aloetin, 2 of ulmate of potassa, 
2 of sulphate of lime, 0 25 of gallic acid, 8 of albumen, and traces of carbonate 
of potassa, carbonate of lime, and phosphate of lime. To get pure aloetin. M. 
Robiquet exhausted aloes in powder with cold water; concentrated the infusion; 
added an excess of acetate of lead, which precipitated the gallate, ulmate, and 
albuminate of that metal; poured into the clear liquor solution of ammonia; 
separated the yellowish-orange coloured precipitate, consisting of oxide of lead 
combined with aloetin, washed it with boiling water, and then decomposed it 
by a current of sulphuretted hydrogen with the exclusion of atmospheric air. 
Sulphuret of lead was deposited, and a colourless liquid floated above it, which 
being decanted, and evaporated in vacuo, yielded aloetin in slightly yellowish PART I. 
Aloe. 
95 
Beales. Thus procured, aloetin is uncrystallizable, very soluble in water and 
alcohol, but slightly soluble in ether, and quite insoluble in the fixed and vola- 
tile oils. It is entirely dissipated at a red heat. If exposed to the air during 
desiccation, it becomes intensely red, in consequence of the absorption of a 
minute proportion of oxygen, which, however, scarcely affects its properties 
in other respects. It possesses in a high degree the bitter taste and purgative 
property of aloes, and might be used as a substitute; 8 parts of it representing 
10 of Socotrine and 50 of Cape aloes. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 173.)* 
Aloin. The bitter substances noticed above, viz., the resino-amer of Bracon- 
not, the hitter extractive of Berzelius and others, and the aloetin of Robiquet, 
probably contain the active principle of aloes, but combined with impurities 
which render it insusceptible of crystallization. Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of 
Edinburgh, have succeeded in obtaining it quite pure and in crystals, and name 
it aloin. This has been examined by Mr. Stenhouse, and found, when quite free 
from water, to have a definite composition, represented by the formula CS1H180U. 
There can be no doubt that it is the active principle of aloes; as it has been 
found to operate invariably as a cathartic in the dose of one or two grains, and 
occasionally in that of half a grain. 
It is obtained most readily from Barbadoes aloes. The process consists of 
mixing this, previously powdered, with sand, exhausting it with cold water, 
evaporating the infusion in vacuo to the consistence of syrup, and allowing the 
residue to rest in a cool place. In two or three days the concentrated liquid 
becomes filled with a brownish-yellow granular mass of minute crystals, which 
is impure aloin. This is separated, by pressure between folds of bibulous paper, 
from a greenish-brown matter that contaminates it, and then repeatedly crys- 
tallized from hot water, the temperature of which should not exceed 150°, as 
aloin is rapidly oxidized at the boiling point. By dissolving it in hot alcohol, 
and allowing the solution to cool, it is obtained in the shape of minute needle- 
shaped crystals, arranged in a star-like form. These are pale-yellow, at first 
sweetish to the taste, but soon intensely bitter; combustible without residue; 
* Aloetic acid. Aloes treated with nitric acid yields three distinct acids ; the aloetic, 
chrysammic, and picric, separable by the difterent solubilities of their potassa salts. If 
these salts he dissolved in boiling water, the chrysammate is first deposited, then, espe- 
cially after a little evaporation, the picrate, while the aloctate remains. To separate 
the aloetic acid, the residuary solution is treated with acetate of baryta, and evapo- 
rated on a water-bath. The aloetate is deposited in warty crystals, which are washed 
with cold water, then dissolved by hot water, and decomposed by dilute nitric acid. 
Aloetic acid separates, in the state of a yellow, amorphous powder, which melts at 248° 
F., losing one eq. of water. It has a bitter and acrid taste, detonates when heated on a 
plate of platinum, is freely soluble in alcohol, slightly in cold water, but is dissolved by 
not water, to which it imparts a purple colour, which is changed to yellow by acid and 
to red by alkalies. The aloetate of potassa and of soda are very soluble in water. Aloetic 
acid was called by Scheele and Braconnot, “ the artificial bitter of aloes." (Finckh, Ann. 
Ch.em. Pharm., cxxiv. p. 236; J. de Pharm., 4e ser., ii. 77.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
For certain views of M. Edmond Robiquot, contradictory in some respects of the state- 
ment of the Messrs. Smith, but which, having been shown to bo incorrect, it seems 
hardly necessary to retain, the reader is referred to former editions of this work. 
Mr. T. B. Groves has obtained aloin largely from Socotrine aloes. In the process of 
the Messrs. Smith, cold water was used in the extraction of the principle. But aloin is 
feebly soluble in cold water, while readily so in the same liquid heated. Mr. Groves 
availed himself of this fact. Ho exhausted the aloes by means of boiling water, acidu- 
lated the decoction slightly with muriatic acid, separated the precipitated matter by 
filtration, evaporated the liquor to the consistence of syrup, and set it aside to crystal- 
lize. In a fortnight the liquid had become a mass of crystals, which Avere separated by 
draining and compression, and purified by repeated solution in boiling water, and crys- 
tallization. The pure aloin obtained amounted to 10 per cent, of the aloes used. {Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 7 *29.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
A more recent view of the constitution of aloes, resulting from the experiments of M. 
Kosmann, an apothecary at Thann, in France, is that it belongs to the family of gluco- 
sides; consisting of two electronegative resins, having acid properties in difterent de- 
grees, and a carbohydrogen, which is converted into glucose or grape sugar by the action 
either of acids, or strong alkalies. {Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1861, p. 177.)—Note to the 
twelfth edition. 96 
Aloe, 
PART I 
slightly soluble in cold water or alcohol, but readily dissolved by these liquids 
when moderately heated; soluble also readily in alkaline solutions, which are 
rendered of an orange-yellow colour, and become rapidly darker, especially when 
heated, in consequence of the oxidation of the aloin, and its conversion into 
resin. By the action of strong nitric acid it is converted into chrysammie acid. 
It is neither acid nor alkaline; but, with strong solution of subacetate of lead, 
is precipitated in combination with the oxide of that metal. (See Ed. Monthly 
Journ. of Med. Sci., xii. 127, Feb. 1851, and Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xi. 
458.) There can be no doubt that aloin exists also in Socotrine and Cape 
aloes; and the Messrs. Smith, though they at first failed in obtaining it from 
these varieties, have subsequently succeeded with the Socotrine. 
Aloes yields its active matter to cold water, and when good is almost wholly 
dissolved by boiling water; but the inert portion, or apotheme of Berzelius, in 
deposited as the solution cools. It is also soluble in alcohol, rectified or diluted 
Long boiling impairs its purgative properties by oxidizing the aloin, and ren- 
dering it insoluble. The alkalies, their carbonates, and soap alter in some 
measure its chemical nature, and render it of easier solution. It is inflammable, 
swelling up and decrepitating when it burns, and giving out a thick smoke which 
has the odour of the drug. 
Those substances only are incompatible with aloes which alter or precipitate 
the soluble matter; as the insoluble portion is without action upon the system. 
Among these is the infusion of galls, which we have found, probably through 
its tannic acid, to afford a copious precipitate with an aqueous solution of aloes. 
It is said that such a solution will keep a long time, even for several months, 
without exhibiting mouldiness or putrescency, though it becomes ropy. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Aloes was known to the ancients. It is men- 
tioned in the works of Dioscorides and Celsus, the former of whom speaks of 
two kinds. The varieties are similar in their mode of action. They are all 
cathartic, operating very slowly but certainly, and having a peculiar affinity 
for the large intestines. Their action, moreover, appears to be directed rather 
to the muscular coat than to the exhalant vessels; and the discharges which 
they produce are, therefore, seldom very thin or watery. In a full dose they 
quicken the circulation, and produce general warmth. When frequently re- 
peated, they are apt to irritate the rectum, giving rise, in some instances, to 
hemorrhoids, and aggravating them when already existing. Aloes has also a 
decided tendency to the uterine system. Its emmenagogue effect, which is often 
very considerable, is generally attributed to a sympathetic extension of irrita- 
tion from the rectum to the uterus; but we can see no reason why the medi- 
cine should not act specifically upon this organ ; and its influence in promoting 
menstruation is by no means confined to cases in which its action upon the 
neighbouring intestine is most conspicuous. A peculiarity in the action of this 
cathartic is, that an increase of the quantity administered, beyond the medium 
dose, is not attended by a corresponding increase of effect. Its tendency to 
irritate the rectum may be obviated, in some measure, by combining with it 
soap or an alkaline carbonate; but it docs not follow, as supposed by some, 
that this modification of its operation is the result of increased solubility; for 
aloes given in a liquid state produces the same effect as when taken in pill or 
powder, except that it acts somewhat more speedily. Besides, when externally 
applied to a blistered surface, it operates exactly in the same manner as when 
internally administered, thus proving that its peculiarities are not dependent 
upon the particular form in which it may be given, but on specific tendencies 
to particular parts. (Gerhard, N. Am. Med. and Surg. Journ., x. 155.) With 
its other powers, aloes combines the property of slightly stimulating the 
stomach. It is, therefoie, in minute doses, an excellent remedy in habitual 
costiveness attended with torpor of the digestive organs. It has been supposed 
to stimulate the hepatic secretion, and certainly acts sometimes very happily 
in jaundice, producing bilious stools even after calomel has failed. From its 
special direction to the rectum, it has been found peculiarly useful in the F ART I. 
Aloe.—Althsea. 
97 
treatment of ascarides. In amenorrhoea it is perhaps more frequently employed 
than any other remedy, entering into almost all the numerous empirical pre- 
parations habitually resorted to by females in that complaint, and enjoying a 
no less favourable reputation in regular practice. It is frequently combined 
with more irritating cathartics, in order to regulate their liability to excessive 
action. In amenorrhoea, it is said to be peculiarly efficacious, when given, in 
the form of enema, about the period when the menses should appear. Aloes 
is contraindicated by hemorrhoids, and is unsuitable, unless modified by com- 
bination, to the treatment of inflammatory diseases. 
The medium dose is 10 grains; but as a laxative it will often operate in the 
quantity of 2 or 3 grains.; and, when a decided impression is required, the dose 
may be augmented to 20 grains. In consequence of its excessively bitter and 
somewhat nauseous taste, it is most conveniently administered in pills.* 
Off. Prep. Aloe Purificata, U. S ; Enema Aloes, Br.; Extractum Aloes Bar- 
badensis, Br.; Ext. Aloes Socotrinae, Br.; Ext. Colocynth. Comp., U. S.; Pilulae 
Aloes, U. S.; Pil. Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Assafcetidae ; Pil Aloes 
et Ferri, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Mastiches, U S.; Pil. Aloes et Myrrhae ; Pil. Aloes 
Socotrinae, Br.; Pil. Cambogiae Comp.,i*V./ Pil. Colocynth. Comp., Br.; Pil. 
Colocynthidis et Hyoscvami, Br ; Pil. Rhei Comp.; Pulvis Aloes et Canellae, 
U. S.; Tinctura Aloes; Tinct. Aloes et Myrrhae, U. S.; Tinct. Benzoini Comp.; 
Vinum Aloes. W. 
ALTHAEA. U.S. 
Marshmallow. 
The root of Althaea officinalis. U. S. 
Guimauve, Fr.; Eibisch, Germ.; Altea, Ital.; Altea, Malvavisco, Span. 
Althaea. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria. •—Nat. Ord. Malvaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx double, the exterior six or nine-cleft. Capsules numerous, 
one-seeded. Willd. 
Althaea officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 770; Woodv. Med. Boh p. 552, t. 
198. Marshmallow is an herbaceous perennial, with a perpendicular branching 
root, and erect woolly stems, from two to four feet or more in height, branched 
and leafy towards the summit. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, nearly cord- 
ate on the lower part of the stem, oblong-ovate and obscurely three-lobed above, 
somewhat angular, irregularly serrate, pointed, and covered on both sides with 
a soft down. The flowers are terminal and axillary, with short peduncles, each 
bearing one, two, or three flowers. The corolla has five spreading, obcordate 
petals, of a pale-purplish colour. The fruit consists of numerous capsules united 
in a compact circular form, each containing a single seed. The plant grows 
throughout Europe, inhabiting salt marshes, the banks of rivers, and other moist 
places. It is found also in this country on the borders of salt marshes. In some 
parts of the Continent of Europe, it is largely cultivated for medical use The 
whole plant abounds in mucilage. The flowers, leaves, and root are mucilagi- 
nous, and were formerly officinal; but the last only is employed to any con- 
siderable extent in this country. 
The roots should be collected in autumn from plants at least two years old. 
They are cylindrical, branched, as thick as the finger or thicker, from a foot to 
* Dr. Paris enumerates the following empirical preparations, containing aloes as a 
leading ingredient:—Anderson’s pills, consisting of aloes, jalap, and oil of aniseed; 
Hooper’s pills, of aloes, myrrh, sulphate of iron, canella, and ivory-black; Dixon’s 
antibilious pills, of aloes, scammony, rhubarb, and tartarized antimony; Speedi- 
man's pills, of aloes, myrrh, rhubarb, extract of chamomile, and essential oil of chamo- 
mne; Dinner pills, of aloes, mastich, red roses, and syrup of wormwood; Pother- 
gill’s pills, of aloes, scammony, colocynth, and oxide of antimony; Peter’s pills, 
of aloes, jalap, scammony, gamboge, and calomel; and Radcliff’s Elixir, of aloes, 
cinnamon, zedoary, rhubarb, cochineal, syrup of buckthorn, and spirit and water as the 
solvent; to which may be added Lee’s Windham pills, consisting of gamboge, aloes, 
soap, and nitrate of potassa; and Lee’s New London pills, of aloes, scammony, gam* 
boge, calomel, jalap, soap, and syrup of buckthorn. 98 
Althaea.—Alumen. 
PART I. 
a toot and a half long, externally of a yellowish colour, which becomes grayish 
by drying, within white and fleshy They are usually prepared for the market 
by removing the epidermis. Our shops are supplied from Europe. 
Properties. Marshmallow root comes to us in pieces three or four inches or 
more in length, usually not so thick as the tinger, generally round, but sometimes 
split, white externally and downy from the mode in which the epidermis is re- 
moved, light and easily broken with a short somewhat fibrous fracture, of a pecu- 
liar faint smell, and a mild, mucilaginous, sweetish taste. Those pieces are to 
be preferred which are plump and but slightly fibrous. The root contains a 
large proportion of mucilage, besides starch and saccharine matter, which it 
yields readily to boiling water. The mucilage, without the starch, is extracted 
by cold water, which thus becomes ropy. A principle was discovered in the 
root by M. Bacon, which he supposed to be peculiar to the marshmallow, bui 
which has been ascertained to be identical with the asparagin of Robiquet 
MM. Boutron-Charlard and Pelouze found it to belong to that class of organic 
principles, which are convertible by strong acids, and other agencies, into am- 
monia and peculiar acids, and which are designated by the termination amide. 
Thus asparagin, which in this view should be called asparamide, is converted 
into ammonia and asparmic, or, as it was formerly named, aspartic acid; and 
one ecj. of the resulting asparmate of ammonia corresponds with one cq. of as- 
paramide and one of water. (Journ. de Pharm., xix. 208.) Asparagin, being 
now considered as a derivative from malate of ammonia, has received the name 
of malamide, and asparmic acid is called, by a corresponding change, mala- 
midic acid. {Gregory's Chemistry.) It is found in various other plants besides 
the marshmallow, as in the shoots of asparagus, in vetches grown in the dark, 
in all the varieties of the potato, and in the roots of the comfrey and liquorice 
plant. According to Professor Piria, asparagin has acid properties. It has no 
therapeutical value. Marshmallow is said to become somewhat acid by decoc- 
tion. Those pieces should be rejected which are woody, discoloured, mouldy, 
of a sour or musty smell, or a sourish taste. 
The roots of other Malvaceae are sometimes substituted for that of marsh- 
mallow, without disadvantage, as they possess similar properties. Such are 
those of Althaea rosea or hollyhock, and Malva Alcea. The dark purple flowers 
of a variety of A. rosea are proposed by Prof Atkins, of the Univ. of Md., as 
a test for acids and alkalies. A strong infusion of these flowers imparts to 
slips of Avhite filtering paper immersed in it a permanent purplish-blue colour, 
which is reddened by acids, and rendered bluish-green by alkalies. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The virtues of marshmallow are exclusively 
(hose of a demulcent. The decoction of the root is much used in Europe in ir- 
ritation and inflammation of the mucous membranes. The roots themselves, 
boiled and bruised, are sometimes emplo}Ted as a poultice. The leaves and 
flowers are applied to similar uses. In France, the powdered root is much used 
in the preparation of pills and electuaries. Some prefer it to powdered liquorice 
root in the preparation of the mercurial pill. 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, U. S. W. 
ALUMEN. U. Br. 
Alum. 
Sulphate of alumina and potassa. U. S. A sulphate of ammonia and alumina 
crystallized from solution in water, NH 0,S03, Al203,3S03-f 24HO. Br. 
Alun, Fr., Dan., Swed'.; Alaun, Germ.; Allume, Ital.; Alumbre, Span. 
The U. S. officinal alum is a double salt, consisting of tersulphate of alumina, 
united with sulphate of potassa; the British salt differs in the substitution of 
sulphate of ammonia for that of potassa. 
Alum is manufactured occasionally from earths which contain it ready formed, 
but most generally from minerals which, from the fact of their containing most PART i 
Alumen 
99 
or all of its constituents, are called alum ores The principal alum ores are 
the alum stone, which is a native mixture of sulphate of alumina and sulphate 
of potassa, found in large quantities at Tolfa and Piombino in Italy; and cer- 
tain natural mixtures of bisulphuret of iron with alumina, silica, and bitumi- 
nous matter, called aluminous schist or alum-slate. 
At the Solfaterra, and other places in Southern Italy, alum was formerly ex- 
tracted from earths containing it ready formed. The ground being of volcanic 
origin, and having a temperature of about 104°, an efflorescence of pure alum 
formed upon its surface. This was collected and lixiviated, and the solution 
crystallized by slow evaporation in leaden vessels sunk in the ground. 
The alum stone is manufactured into alum by calcination, and subsequent 
exposure to the air for three months; the mineral being frequently sprinkled 
with water, in order that it may be brought to the state of a soft mass. This is 
lixiviated, and the solution obtained crystallized by evaporation. The alum stone 
may be considered as consisting of alum, united with a certain quantity of hy- 
drate of alumina. The latter, by the calcination, loses its water, and becomes 
incapable of remaining united with the alum of the mineral, which is conse- 
quently set free. Alum of the greatest purity is obtained from this ore. 
Alum slate, when compact, is first exposed to the air for a month. It is then 
stratified with wood, which is set on fire. The combustion which ensues is slow 
and protracted. The sulphur is in part converted into sulphuric acid, which 
unites with the alumina ; and the sulphate of alumina thus formed generates a 
portion of alum with the potassa derived from the ashes of the wood. The iron, 
in the mean time, is almost wholly converted into sesquioxide, and thus be- 
comes insoluble. The matter is lixiviated, and the solution crystallized into alum 
by evaporation. The mother-waters, containing sulphate of alumina, are then 
drawn off, and made to yield a further portion of alum by the addition of sul- 
phate of potassa or chloride of potassium; the latter being obtained usually 
from the soap boilers. 
When the alum-slate is easily disintegrated, it is not subjected to combustion, 
but merely placed in heaps, and occasionally sprinkled with water. The bisul- 
phuret of iron gradually absorbs oxygen, and passes into sulphate of the pro- 
toxide, which effloresces on the surface of the heap. Part of the sulphuric acid 
formed unites with the alumina; so that, after the chemical changes are com- 
pleted, the heap contains both the sulphate of iron and the sulphate of alumina. 
At the end of about a year, the matter is lixiviated, and the solution of the 
two sulphates produced is concentrated to the proper degree in leaden boilers. 
The sulphate of iron crystallizes, while the sulphate of alumina, being a deli- 
quescent salt, remains in the mother-waters. These are drawn off, and treated 
with sulphate of potassa in powder, heat being at the same time applied. The 
whole is then allowed to cool, that the alum may crystallize. The crystals are 
then separated from the solution, and purified by a second solution and crystal- 
lization. They are next treated with water, just sufficient to dissolve them at 
the boiling temperature; and the saturated solution is run into casks or tubs, 
so constructed as to be easily taken to pieces, and set up again. In the course 
of ten or fifteen days, the alum concretes into a crystalline mass, from which 
the mother-liquor is let off. The vessel is then taken to pieces, and the salt, 
having been broken up, is packed in barrels for sale. This process for forming 
the alum in large masses is called rocking. 
Alum is now largely manufactured bv the direct combination of its consti- 
tuents. With this view, clays are selected as free from iron and carbonate of 
lime as possible, and calcined to sesquioxidize the iron, and render them more 
easily pulverizable ; after which they are dissolved, by the assistance of heat, in 
weak sulphuric acid. Advantage has been found from mixing the clay, pre- 
viously to calcination, with powdered charcoal, coke, or other carbonaceous mat- 
ter, in the proportion of about one to six of the clay, and then applying heat 
by a reverberatory furnace till all the carbon is consumed. It is asserted that 
thf alumina is thus rendered more soluble in the acid. (Pharm. Journ. and 100 
Alumen. 
part I. 
Trans., Dec. 1857, p. 328.) The sulphate of alumina, thus generated, is next 
crystallized into alum by the addition of sulphate of potassa in the usual man- 
ner. Alum is made in this way from the ashes of the Boghead cannel-coal, 
which occurs near Edinburgh. These ashes, which form the residue of the 
combustion of the coke derived from the coal used for making gas, contain a 
considerable quantity of alumina in a state readily soluble in acids. 
Alumina et Ammonl* Sulphas, U. S.; Alumen, Br. Sulphate of Alu- 
mina and Ammonia. Ammonia-alum. Besides the potassa-alum, which was 
formerly the only officinal variety of this salt, there are several others, in which 
the potassa is replaced by some other base, as, for example, ammonia or soda. 
Of these, ammonia-alum, or the sulphate of alumina and ammonia, was intro- 
duced into the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia at its late revision, under the name at the 
head of this paragraph, and in the present Br. Pharmacopoeia has been adopted 
to the exclusion of the potassa alum. It is made by adding sulphate of ammo- 
nia to the solution of sulphate of alumina. This kind of alum has come into 
very general use, owing to the rise in value of potassa, and to the comparative 
cheapness of ammonia, obtained in the process for ferroeyanide of potassium, 
or derived from the liquor of gas-works. Ammonia-alum is extensively manu- 
factured by Powers & Weightman of this city. Scotch alum, made near Pais- 
ley, generally contains both potassa and ammonia. Ammonia-alum resembles 
potassa-alum so exactly that it cannot be distinguished by simple inspection ; 
and in composition it is perfectly analogous to the potassa-salt. It may, how- 
ever, be distinguished by subjecting it to a strong calcining heat, after which 
alumina will be the sole residue; or by rubbing it with potassa or lime and a 
little water, when the smell of ammonia will be perceived. 
Properties. Alum is a white, slightly efflorescent salt, crystallizing in regular 
oetohedrons, and possessing an acid, sweetish, astringent taste.* It dissolves 
in between fourteen and fifteen times its weight of cold, and three-fourths of its 
weight of boiling water. Its solution is precipitated by ammonia and potassa 
and their carbonates, which throw down a gelatinous subsulphate of alumina, 
of variable composition, dependent upon the proportion of the precipitant em- 
ployed. Alum is insoluble in alcohol and brandy. Its sp. gr. is l-71. It reddens 
litmus, but changes the blue tinctures of the petals of plants to green. When 
heated a little above 212°, it undergoes the aqueous fusion ; and, if the heat be 
continued, it loses its water, swells up, becomes a white, opaque, porous mass, 
and is converted into the officinal dried alum. (See Alumen Exsiccatum.) Ex- 
posed to a red heat, it gives off oxygen, together with sulphurous and anhy- 
drous sulphuric acids; and the residue consists of alumina and sulphate of po- 
tassa. When calcined with finely divided charcoal, it forms a spontaneously 
inflammable substance, called Romberg's pyrophorus, which consists of a mix- 
ture of sulphuret of potassium, alumina, and charcoal. 
The characters of the ammonia-alum, as stated in the British Pharmacopoeia, 
are that its solution gives with caustic potassa or- soda a white precipitate, 
soluble in an excess of the reagent, with the evolution of ammonia, especially 
when heated; and an immediate precipitate with chloride of barium; and doe9 
not acquire a blue colour from the addition of yellow or red prussiate of potassa, 
proving the absence of iron. 
Several varieties of alum are known in commerce, 1Jdoclie alum, so called 
from its having come originally from Rocca, in Syria, is a sort which occurs 
in fragments about the size of an almond, and of a pale-rose colour, which is 
given to it, according to Pereira, by bole or rose-pink. Roman alum, which is 
the purest variety found in commerce, also occurs in small fragments, covered 
with a reddish-brown powder, resembling ochre, which is put on by the manu- 
facturers. It has been supposed that the powder contains iron; but this is prob 
ably a mistake. Roman alum crystallizes in cubes, from the fact that the crys- 
* It may be made to crystallize in cubes by carefully evaporating a solution, to which 
ammonia has been added in as large quantities as possible without making the solution 
turbid. (M. de Hauer, Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iii. 309.)—Note to the thir- 
teenth edition. PART i. 
Alumen. 
101 
tals are deposited from a solution always containing an excess of alumina, 
which decomposes any iron salt that may be present. This crystalline form of 
alum is, therefore, an index of its freedom from iron. 
All the alums of commerce contain more or less sulphate of iron, varying 
from five to seven parts in the thousand. The iron is readily detected by adding 
to a solution of the suspected alum a few drops of the ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium, which will cause a greenish-blue tint, if iron be present. It may be de- 
tected also by precipitating the alumina as a subsulphate with a solution of 
potassa, and afterwards adding the alkali in excess. This will redissolve the 
precipitate, with the exception of any iron, which will be left in the state of 
sesquioxide. The proportion of iron usually present, though small, is an inju- 
rious impurity when the salt is used in dyeing. It mav, however, be purified, 
either by dissolving it in the smallest quantity of boiling water, and stirring 
the solution as it cools, or by repeated solutions and crystallizations. 
Incompatibles. Alum is incompatible with the alkalies and their carbonates, 
lime and lime-water, magnesia and its carbonate, tartrate of potassa, and ace- 
tate of lead. 
Comjjosition. Alum was regarded as a sulphate of alumina, until it was 
proved by Deseroizilles, Vauquelin, and Chaptal to contain also sulphate of 
potassa, sulphate of ammonia, or both these salts. When its second base is 
potassa, it consists of one equivalent of tersulphate of alumina 17 T4, one of sul- 
phate of potassa 87'2, and twenty-four of water 216=474 6. In the ammonia- 
alum, the equivalent of sulphate of potassa is replaced by one of the sulphate of 
oxide of ammonium, that is, sulphate of ammonia and water. Alumina is classed 
as an earth, and may be obtained by subjecting ammonia-alum to a strong 
calcining heat. It consists of two eqs. of a metal called aluminium 27-4, and 
three of oxygen 24=514. It is, therefore, a sesquioxide. The existence of this 
metal was rendered probable by Sir H. Davy in 1808; but it was not fairly 
obtained until 1828, when Wohler procured it in an impure state, in globules 
of the size of a pin’s head, by the action of potassium on chloride of aluminium. 
In 1854 Deville succeeded in obtaining the pure metal in ingots by decompos- 
ing the same chloride with sodium. Aluminium is silver-white, sonorous, un- 
alterable in the air, and lighter than glass, having the sp. gr. 2-56 only. Its 
fusing point is somewhat lower than that of silver. It is not attacked by sul- 
phuric or nitric acid, nor tarnished by sulphuretted hydrogen. Its proper solvent 
is muriatic acid. After silver, gold, and platinum, it is the least alterable of 
the metals. According to Mr. A. Monier, of Camden, N. J., who first obtained 
the metal in this country, it is not in the least oxidized by fusion with nitre, 
a property which affords a ready means of purifying it from other metals. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1857.) By reason of its valuable properties, 
it will be applied to many purposes in the arts, if obtainable in sufficient quan- 
tities, and at a moderate cost. 
Medical Properties, &c. Alum, in ordinary doses, is astringent and anti- 
spasmodic ; in large doses, purgative and emetic. It is employed as an astring- 
ent in passive hemorrhages, colliquative sweats, diabetes, and chronic dysen- 
tery and diarrhoea; also in gleet and leucorrhoea, in which diseases it is some- 
times combined with cubebs. In connection with ice, it has been found effectual 
by Dr. de Ricci in a very bad case of haematemesis. (Dub. Quart. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., Aug. 1860.) It has been recommended in dilatation of the heart, 
and in aortic aneurism, and as an antispasmodic in hooping-cough. As a pur- 
gative, it has been employed in colica pictonuin. This practice was introduced 
by Grashuis, a Dutch physician, in 1752, was imitated by Dr. Percival with 
great success, and has been revived in recent times with the happiest results. 
It allays nausea and vomiting, relieves flatulence, mitigates the pain, and opens 
the bowels with more certainty than any other medicine. Sometimes it is advan- 
tageously conjoined with opium and camphor. It is also efficacious in nervous 
colic. Sir James Murray found it a useful remedy in the peculiar affection of 
the stomach, characterized by the frequent vomiting of a large quantity of glairy 102 
Alumen. 
PART r. 
fluid. He gave it in doses of ten or twelve grains three or four times a day, 
mixed with an equal quantity of cream of tartar to prevent constipation, and 
a little ginger to obviate flatulence. By Dr. C. D. Meigs alum has been strongly 
recommended, after an experience of more than twenty years, as an excellent 
emetic in pseudomembranous croup. In these cases, it has the merit of acting 
with promptness and certainty, and without producing that extreme prostra- 
tion which often follows the use of antimonials. IIis son, Dr. J. F. Meigs, has 
also borne testimony to its value in this disease. In a case in which an ounce 
of opium had been swallowed, Dr. C D. Meigs found alum an efficient emetic. 
After 30 grains of sulphate of zinc had been given without effect, half an ounce 
of alum was administered, followed by copious vomiting Soon afterward, a 
second half ounce was given, with the same effect; and the result was that the 
pa ,ient recovered. 
In various anginose affections, alum is found highly useful, applied topically 
either in powder or solution. When the affection is attended with membranous 
exudation, its efficacy has been particularly insisted on by Bretonneau, applied 
in solution prepared with vinegar and honey for adults, and in powder, by in- 
sufflation, in the cases of children. When used in the latter way, a drachm of 
finely powdered alum may be placed in one end of a tube, and then blown by 
means of the breath into the throat of the child. Yelpeau. in 1835, extended 
the observations of Bretonneau, and has used alum successfully, not only in 
simple inflammatory sorethroat, but in those forms of angina dependent on 
small-pox, scarlatina, &c. In these cases, the powdered alum may be applied 
several times a day to the fauces, by means of the index finger. In relaxation of 
the uvula, and in the beginning of sorethroat, a solution of alum is one of our 
best gargles. It forms also a useful astringent wash in mercurial sore-mouth. 
In the form of lozenge, made with sugar and tragacanth, and allowed slowly 
to dissolve in the mouth, it is peculiarly applicable to chronic throat affections. 
In gleet and leucorrhoea the solution is an approved remedy, either alone or 
conjoined with sulphate of zinc. It is frequently applied as a styptic, in epis- 
taxis, by means of a plug soaked in a saturated solution, and pressed up the 
nostril, and in menorrhagia, by the aid of a sponge soaked in a similar solution, 
and introduced into the vagina. It may be applied also by injection both in 
these hemorrhages and in that from the rectum. In the latter stages of con- 
junctivitis it is often useful, and in the purulent ophthalmia of infants is our 
most efficacious remedy. In these cases, it is usually applied in the form of cata- 
plasm, made by coagulating the whites of two eggs with a drachm of alum. 
The ordinary dose of alum is from ten to twenty grains, repeated every two 
or three hours, mixed with syrup or molasses Sir James Murray objects to its 
administration in solution, and greatly prefers the form of an impalpable powder, 
mixed with molasses,ns furnishing the means of presenting the remedy slowly to 
the surfaces intended to be acted upon. In hooping-cough the dose is from two 
to ten grains, according to the age of the.child, repeated three times a day; in 
colica pictonum, from half a drachm to two drachms every three or four hours. 
In croup the dose, as an emetic, is a teaspoonful of the powder, mixed with 
honey, syrup, or molasses, and repeated every ten or fifteen minutes, until free 
vomiting is induced. An elegant mode of giving alum in solution is in the form 
of alum-whey, made by boiling two drachms of alum with a pint of milk, and 
then straining to separate the curd. The dose is a wineglassful, containing about 
fifteen grains of alum. As a collyrium, the solution is made of various strengths; 
as four, six, or eight grains to the fluidounee of water. A solution, containing 
from half an ounce to an ounce in a pint of water, and sweetened with honey, is 
a convenient gargle. Solutions for gleet, leucorrhoea, ulcers, Ac., must vary in 
strength according to the state of the parts to which they are applied. 
Alum is sometimes used to adulterate bread, with the view to increase its 
whiteness, and to conceal the defects of the flour. 
Off. Prep of Alum. Alumen Exsiccatum, U.S. 
Off. Prep, of Ammonia-alum. Alumen Exsiccatum, Br.; Aluminae Sulphas, 
U. S B. PART I. 
Ammonia. 
103 
AMMONIA. 
All the ammoniacal compounds owe their distinctive properties to the pre- 
sence of a peculiar gaseous substance, composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, called 
ammonia. This is most easily obtained by the action of lime on muriate of am- 
monia or sal ammoniac; when the lime unites with the muriatic acid, so as to 
form chloride of calcium and water, and expels the ammonia. It is transparent 
and colourless, like common air, but possesses an acrid taste, and exceedingly 
pungent smell. It has a powerful alkaline reaction, and, from this property and 
its gaseous nature, was called the volatile alkali by the earlier chemists. Its sp. 
gr. is 0 59. It is irrespirable, the glottis closing spasmodically when the attempt 
is made to breathe it. It consists of one eq. of nitrogen 14, and three of hydro- 
gen 3 = 17 ; or, in volumes, of one volume of nitrogen and three volumes of 
hydrogen, condensed into two. Its symbol is NIIS. 
The salts of ammonia may be divided into hydracid salts and oxacid salts. 
Thus, when muriatic acid unites with ammonia, we have the hydracid salt called 
muriate of ammonia, with the symbol NH3,HC1. But Berzelius supposed that, 
in the act of uniting, the hydrogen of the muriatic acid is transferred to the ele- 
ments of the ammonia, and that the compound thus formed, uniting with the 
chlorine, gives rise to a salt, represented by jStII4CI. To this hypothetical com- 
pound (NH4) Berzelius gave the name of ammonium, and consequently to 
muriate of ammonia the appellation of chloride of ammonium. 
Applying the same view to the oxacid salts of ammonia, Berzelius conceived 
that they are compounds of oxide of ammonium (NH40) with their several 
acids. It is found that the true oxacid salts of ammonia always contain one eq. 
of water,which cannot be separated from them withoutdestroying their identity; 
and it is supposed that the elements of this eq. of water, united with the elements 
of oneeq. of ammonia, form oxide of ammonium. To apply Berzelius’s view to 
sulphate of ammonia, this salt is usually considered a monohydra ted sulphate of 
ammonia (NH3,S03-fH0) ; but he made it the sulphate of oxide of ammonium 
without water (NH40,S03). 
The atmosphere contains a minute proportion of ammonia, probably in the 
state of carbonate. 
Ozonized oxygen oxidizes the elements of ammonia, producing water and 
nitric acid, which latter, by uniting with undecomposed ammonia, generates 
nitrate of ammonia. Ordinary oxygen, under the influence of platinum-black, or 
finely divided copper, likewise oxidizes the elements of ammonia, the nitrogen to 
the extent only of forming nitrous acid, with the result of producing nitrite of 
ammonia. (Scbonbein, Chem. Gaz., March 16, 1857.) 
Medical Properties. The compounds of ammonia are stimulant, antispasmo- 
dic, antacid, and alexipharmic. According to Dr. Ogier Ward, they possess the 
property of dissolving the protein principles of the blood; and, while their pri- 
mary action is stimulant, their remote operation is sedative, resolvent, and at- 
renuant, implying the power of carrying the products of inflammation out of the 
system. (Am. Journ. of the Med. Sci., April, 1857, from the Lancet.) 
The following table contains a list of the principal officinal preparations of 
ammonia, with their synonymes. 
I. In Aqueous Solution. 
Aqua Ammonise Fortior, U.S.; Liquor Ammonite Fortior, Br.— 
Stronger Water of Ammonia. Stronger Solution of Ammonia. 
Linimentum Camphone Compositum, Br. — Compound Liniment oj 
Camphor. 
Aqua Ammonite, U.S.; Liquor Ammonite, Br. — Water of Ammonia. 
Solution of Ammonia. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U. S., Br. — Ammoniated Mercury. 
White Precipitate. 
Ammonia. 104 
Ammonia.—Aqua Ammoniae Fortior. 
PART 1. 
Linimentum Ammoniae, U. S., Br. —Liniment of Ammonia. Volatile 
Liniment. 
Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br.—Liniment of Mercury. 
II In Spirituous Solution. 
Spiritus Ammoniae, U. S. — Spirit of Ammonia. 
Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus, U.S., Br.—Aromatic Spirit of Am? 
monia. 
Tinctura Guaiaci Ammoniata, U. S., Br. — Ammoniated Tincture of 
Guaiac. 
Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata, XJ.S.,Br.—Ammoniated Tincture 
of Valerian. 
Spiritus Ammoniae Foetidus, Br. — Fetid Spirit of Ammonia. 
Tinctura Opii Ammoniata, Br.—Ammoniated Tincture of Opium. 
III. In Saline Combination. 
Aluminae et Ammoniae Sulphas, TJ. S ; Alumen, Br.—Sutyhate of Altv- 
mina and Ammonia. Ammonia-Alum. 
Ammoniae Benzoas, Br.—Benzoate of Ammonia. 
Ammoniae Carbonas, U.S., Br.—Carbonate of Ammonia. Mild Volar 
tile Alkali. 
Cuprum Ammoniatum, U.S. — Ammoniated Copper. 
Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis, U.S., Br.—Solution of Acetate of Am- 
monia. Spirit of Mir dererue. 
Ammoniae Murias, U.S.; Ammoniae Hydrochloras, Br. 1864; Am- 
monii Chloridum, Br—Muriate of Ammonia. Hydrochlorate of 
Ammonia. Chloride of Ammonium. Sal Ammoniac. 
Ammoniae Phosphas, Br.—Phosphate of Ammonia. 
Ammoniae Sulphas, U. S. — Sulphate of Ammonia. 
Ammonia} Valerianas, U.S. — Valerianate of Ammonia. 
Ammonii Bromidum, Br.—Bromide of Ammonium. Hy dr obr ornate of 
Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Citras, U. S., Br. — Citrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Sulphas, U.S. — Sulphate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Tartras, U. S.— Tartrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, U.S.,Br. — Ammoniated Mercury. 
Liquor Ammoniae Citratis, Br. — Solution of Citrate of Ammonia. 
Liquor Bismuthi et Ammoniae Citratis, Br. — Solution of Bismuth and 
Ammonia. B. 
AQUA AMMONLE FORTIOR. U.S. 
An aqueous solution of ammonia of the specific gravity 0 900, and con- 
taining 26 per cent, of the gas. U.S. 
Off. Syn. LIQUOll AMMONIAS FORTIOR. Strong Solution of Am- 
monia. Ammoniacal gas, NH3, dissolved in water, and constituting 32 5 per 
cent, of the solution. Br. 
This preparation is too strong for internal exhibition, but forms a convenient 
ammoniacal solution for reduction, with distilled water, to the strength of or- 
dinary officinal water of ammonia (Aqua Ammoniae), or for preparing strong 
rubefacient and vesicating lotions and liniments. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia includes this solution in the list of the Materia 
Medica; but in the British, the following formula is given for its preparation. 
“Take of Chloride of Ammonium, in coarse powder, three pounds [avoir- 
dupois]; Slaked Lime four pounds [avoird.]; Distilled Water thirty-two 
fluidounces. Mix the Lime with the chloride of ammonium, and introduce 
the mixture into an iron bottle, placed in a metal pot surrounded by sand. Con- 
nect the iron tube, which screws air-tight into the bottle, in the usual manner, 
Stronger Water of Ammonia. PART i. 
Aqua Ammonias Fortior. 
105 
by corks, glass tubes, and caoutchouc collars, with a Woulf’s bottle capable of 
holding a pint [Imperial measure]; connect this with a second Woulfs bottle 
of the same size, the second bottle with a matrass of the capacity of three 
pints [Imp. meas.j, in which twenty-two [fluid]ounces of the Distilled Water 
are placed, and the matrass, by means of a tube bent twice at right angles, 
with an ordinary bottle containing the remaining ten [fluidjounces of Distilled 
Water. Bottles 1 and 2 are empty, and the latter and the matrass which con- 
tains the twenty-two ounces of distilled water are furnished each with a siphon 
safety tube, charged with a very short column of mercury. The heat of a fire, 
which should be very gradually raised, is now to be applied to the metal pot, and 
continued until bubbles of condensible gas cease to escape from the extremity 
of the glass tube which dips into the water of the matrass. The process being 
terminated, the matrass will contain about forty-three iluidounces of Strong 
Solution of Ammonia. 
“ Bottles 1 and 2 will now include, the first about sixteen, the second about 
ten Iluidounces of a coloured ammoniacal liquid. Place this in a flask closed 
by a cork, which should be perforated by a siphon safety tube c--.'tabling a little 
mercury, and also by a second tube bent twice at right angles, and made to 
pass to the bottom of the terminal bottle used in the preceding process. Apply 
heat to the flask until the coloured liquid it contains is reduced to three-fourths 
of its original bulk. The product now contained in the terminal bottle will be 
nearly of the strength of Solution of Ammonia, and may be made exactly so 
by the addition of the proper quantity of Distilled Water, or of Strong Solu- 
tion of Ammonia.” Br. 
In this process the ammonia is disengaged in the usual manner from muriate 
of ammonia by the action of lime, as explained under the head of Aqua Am- 
moniai. But it is perceived, by the details of the process, that the purpose is 
to obtain both the stronger and ordinary solution of ammonia at one opera- 
tion. This is done by connecting the iron bottle containing the materials with 
a series of four receivers, the first two being empty Woulfe’s bottles, the third 
a matrass containing twenty-two fluidounces of distilled water, and the fourth 
an ordinary bottle containing the remainder of the distilled water. In the first 
two bottles, impurities are condensed with a considerable portion of ammonia; 
in the matrass, the officinal Strong Solution of Ammonia (Br.) has been formed 
by the absorption of the gas; and, in the fourth, is a weaker ammoniacal liquid 
formed by the absorption of a portion of the gas which has passed through the 
matrass unabsorbed. This last liquid is raised to the strength of the officinal 
Solution of Ammonia (Br.) by forcing into it a portion of ammoniacal gas from 
the impure contents of the first two bottles. We presume that the receivers are 
to be kept cool by means of cold water or ice, though no such direction is given 
in the process. If the solution in the fourth bottle be not of the required officinal 
strength (sp. gr. 0959), it may be made so by the addition of stronger solution 
from the matrass if too weak, or of distilled water, if too strong. 
Water of ammonia is seldom made by the formula of the Pharmacopoeia, 
but is prepared on a large scale, from one of the products of the coal gas manu- 
facture, bv the following more economical process. Gas liquor is distilled, and 
the distillate, which is principally hydrosulphuret of ammonia, is converted into 
sulphate of ammonia by sulphuric acid. The rough sulphate is then gently dis- 
tilled with milk of lime, the still being connected with a series of glass carboys, 
arranged like Woulfe’s bottles, and three-fourths filled with distilled water. In 
this way solution of ammonia may be obtained of maximum strength. (See a 
paper by Mr. W. Lawson, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1855, p. 362, 
from the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for April, 1855.) 
Properties of Aqueous Ammonia of Maximum Strength. This is a colour- 
less liquid, of an acrid taste, and very pungent smell. It is strongly alkaline, 
and immediately changes turmeric, when held over its fumes, to reddish-brown. 
Cooled to 40° below zero, it concretes into a gelatinous mass, and at 130° boils, 
owing to the rapid disengagement of the gas. Its sp. gr. is 0'815 at 50°. 106 
A qua A mmoniae Fortior. 
PART L 
Properties of the Officinal Stronger Water of Ammonia.. This has similar 
properties to those above mentioned. Its sp. gr. is Off 00, U. S., 0891, P>r. When 
of the former density, it contains 2(5 per cent, of the gas, when of ihe latter 32 5 
percent. “ By weight, 52 3 grains require for neutralization 1000 grain-mea- 
sures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. One fluidrachm contains 15 83 
grains of Ammonia, NH3.” Br. The stronger water of ammonia of the shops 
usually ranges in density from O'hOO to 0 920. Even when of proper oflieinal 
strength at first, it generally becomes weaker by the escape of ammonia. To 
prevent its deteriorating, it should be kept in closely stopped bottles in a cool 
place. If precipitated by lime-water, it contains carbonic acid. After having been 
saturated with nitric acid, a precipitate by carbonate of ammonia indicates 
earthy impurity, by nitrate of silver, a chloride, and by chloride of barium, a 
sulphate. “ When diluted with four times its volume of distilled water, it does 
not give precipitates with solution of lime, oxalate of ammonia, sulphide of 
ammonium, or ammonio-sulphate of copper” (Br.); indicating the absence of 
carbonates, lime, metals, and sulphurets. 
Aqua Ammoniac Fortior is a convenient preparation for making Aqua Am- 
monite (sp.gr. 0960, U.S., 0959, Br.) by dilution with distilled water. To effect 
this reduction, the U. S. stronger solution requires to be diluted with about one 
and a half measures of distilled water; the British, with two measures. 
When purchasing the Stronger Solution of ammonia, the apothecary should 
not trust to its being of the officinal strength; but should ascertain the point 
by taking its density, either by the specific gravity bottle or the hydrometer. 
Another method of ascertaining its density is by the ammonia-meter of Mr. J. 
J. Griffin, of London, described and figured in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. 
(x. 413). In reducing it to make Liquor Ammonite, the same precaution should 
be taken ; and, if the mixture should not have the sp. gr. 0-900, it should be 
brought to that density by the addition either of the stronger solution or of dis- 
tilled water, as the case may require. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This solution is too strong for medical use 
in its unmixed state. Sufficiently diluted with spirit of camphor and rosemary, 
it has been much employed as a prompt and powerful rubefacient, ves'eatory, or 
escharotic, in various neuralgic, gouty, rheumatic, spasmodic, and inflammatory 
affections, in which strong and speedy counter-irritation is indicated. When 
mere rubefaction is desired, a mixture maybe used composed of five fluidounces 
of the ammoniacal liquid and eight of the diluent liquids; and this will answer 
even for blistering or cauterizing, unless a very prompt effect is necessary. In 
the latter case, a lotion may be resorted to consisting of five measures of the am- 
moniacal to three of the diluent liquid. These mixtures are applied by means 
of linen folded several times, or a thick piece of flannel saturated with the lini- 
ment. A convenient mode is to fill the wrnoden cover of a large pill or ointment 
box, an inch or two in diameter, with patent lint, saturate this with the liquid, 
and press it upon the part. The ammonia is thus prevented from escaping, and 
a definite boundary given to the inflammation. The application will generally 
produce rubefaction in from one to six or eight minutes, vesication in from three 
to ten minutes, and a caustic effect in a somewhat longer period. 
When a solution of ammonia of 25° (sp. gr. 0’905) is mixed with fatty mattter, 
the mixture forms the vesicating ammoniacal ointment of Dr. Gondret. The 
amended formula of this ointment is as follows. Take of lard 32 parts, oil of 
sweet almonds 2 parts. Melt them together by the gentle heat of a candle or 
lamp and pour the melted mixture into a bottle with a wide mouth. Then add 
17 parts of solution of ammonia of 25°, and mix, with continued agitation, until 
the whole is cold. The ointment must be preserved in a bottle with a ground 
stopper, and kept in a cool place. When well prepared, it vesicates in ten minutes 
A case of poisoning by stronger solution of ammonia, successfully treated by 
Dr. II. W. Reed, in which the stomach-pump, dilute acetic acid, olive oil, milk, 
hot fomentations, and strong purgative enemata were used, is related in the 
London Med. Times and Gaz. (xi. 59). The subsequent irritation and iniiam- BART I. 
Aqua Ammoniae Fortior.—Ammoniae Carbonas. 
107 
mation were combated chiefly by morphia, and by leeches to the stomach ana 
throat. The immediate effects, after swallowing the ammonia, were those of 
the strong corrosive poisons. There may be danger of excessive irritation and 
inflammation of the nostrils, mouth, and air-passages, from the inadvertent in- 
halation of the gas escaping from a bottle of the stronger water of ammonia, 
when freshly opened. The best antidote, under these circumstances, would be 
the inhalation of the vapours of vinegar or acetic acid. 
Pharm. Use. In the preparation of Aconitia, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Ammonite Phosphas, Br.; Linimentum Camphoric Compositum, 
Br.; Liquor Ammonite, Br.; Liquor Ammonite Citratis, Br.; Liquor Bismuthi 
et Ammoniae Citratis, Br.; Spiritus Ammonite Aromaticus, Br.; Spiritus Am- 
monite Foetidus, Br.; Tinctura Opii Ammoniata, Br. B. 
AMMONIiE CARBON AS. U.S.,Br. 
Carbonate of Ammonia. 
Sj/n. Ammonite Sesquicaubonas, Lond., Dub. 2NH40,3C02. Br. 
This was transferred, in the last revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from 
the Preparations to the Materia Medica, certainly the proper place for it, as it 
is prepared only by the manufacturing chemist. 
There have been many methods of obtaining carbonate of ammonia, in all of 
which the ammonia originated in organic decomposition. It was probably origin- 
ally prepared from putrid urine. A patent was taken out in England for manu- 
facturing it from guano, and another for making it by the direct combination of 
its constituents; the carbonic acid and ammoniacal gases being introduced simul- 
taneously into leaden chambers. ( Ghem. News, Dec. 29, 18G5.) But at present 
the salt is manufactured by subliming a mixture of either the muriate or sulphate 
with chalk. Muriate of ammonia and chalk (carbonate of lime) are heated to- 
gether in iron pots or retorts, and sublimed into large earthen or leaden receivers, 
By the reciprocal action of the salts employed, the carbonic acid of the chalk 
unites with the ammonia of the muriate, generating carbonate of ammonia, and 
the muriatic acid with the lime, forming water and chloride of calcium. The 
carbonate and water sublime together as hydrated carbonate of ammonia, and 
the residue is chloride of calcium. The relative quantities of chalk and muriate 
of ammonia, for mutual decomposition, are 50 of the former, and 53 5 of the 
latter, or one eq. of each. But a great excess of chalk is usually taken, in order 
to ensure the perfect decomposition of the muriate of ammonia, any redun- 
dancy of which would sublime with the carbonate and render it impure. 
Sulphate of ammonia may be substituted for the muriate with much economy, 
as was shown by Payen. This double decomposition between sulphate of am- 
monia and carbonate of lime takes place in the dry way only, that is, by sub- 
limation. In the wet way, the double decomposition is reversed; carbonate of 
ammonia and sulphate of lime reacting so as to form sulphate of ammonia and 
carbonate of lime. Large quantities of this carbonate are manufactured indi- 
rect!}'from coal-gas liquor and bone spirit; the ammoniacal products in the-e 
liquors being converted successively into sulphate, muriate, and carbonate of 
ammonia. (See Ammonise Marias.) The salt as first obtained has a slight 
odour of tar, and leaves a blackish carbonaceous matter when dissolved in 
acids. Hence it requires to be purified, which is effected in iron pots, sur- 
mounted with leaden heads. 
Properties. Carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammonia, recently prepared, is 
in white, moderately hard, translucent masses, of a fibrous and crystalline ap- 
pearance, a pungent ammoniacal smell, and a sharp penetrating taste. It pos- 
sesses an alkaline reaction, and, when held under a piece of turmeric paper, 
changes it to brown, owing to the escape of monocarbonate of ammonia. When 
long or insecurely kept, it gradually passes into the state of bicarbonate, becom- 
ing opaque and friable, and falling into powder. It is soluble without residue 108 
Ammonix Carbonas. 
PART I. 
in about four times its weight of cold water, but is decomposed by boiling 
water into two eqs. of monocarbonate which dissolve, and one eq of carbonic 
acid, which escapes with effervescence. According to Dr. Barker (Observations 
on the Dublin Pharmacopoeia), it dissolves abundantly in diluted alcohol, as 
also in heated alcohol of the sp.gr 0‘836, with effervescence of carbonic acid. 
The Br. Pharmacopoeia states that it is more soluble in spirit than water. 
When heated on a piece of glass, it should evaporate without residue, aiid, if 
turmeric paper held over it undergoes no change, it has passed into bicarbonate. 
As now prepared from coal-gas liquor, it sometimes contains traces of tarry 
matter, which gives a dark colour to its solution in acids. When it is saturated 
with nitric acid, neither chloride of barium nor nitrate of silver causes a pre- 
cipitate. The non-action of these tests shows the absence of sulphate and 
muriate of ammonia. It is decomposed by acids, the fixed alkalies and their 
carbonates, lime-water and magnesia, solution of chloride of calcium, alum, acid 
salts, such as bitartrate and bisulphate of potassa, solutions of iron (except the 
tartrate of iron and potassa and analogous preparations), corrosive sublimate, 
the acetate and subacetate of lead, and the sulphates of iron and zinc. “ Fifty- 
nine grains dissolved in one [fluid]ounce of distilled water, will be neutralized 
by 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of acetic acid. Twenty 
grains neutralize 23-5 grains of citric acid and 255 grains of tartaric acid.” Br. 
Composition The salt consists of three eqs of carbonic acid 66, two of am- 
monia 34, and two of water 18=118 ; or, which comes to the same thing, of one 
eq. of bicarbonate 61, and one of monocarbonate 39, combined with the same 
quantity of water. The medicinal carbonate of ammonia is, therefore, when 
perfect, a sesquicarbonate, as it is defined in the British Pharmacopoeia On 
the ammonium theory, the two eqs. of water disappear, and the salt becomes a 
sesquicarbonate of oxide of ammonium. Dalton and Scanlan have rendered it 
probable that it really consists of the two salts above mentioned; for, when 
treated with a small quantity of cold water, monocarbonate is dissolved and bi- 
carbonate left. When converted into bicarbonate by exposure to the air, each 
eq. of the medicinal salt loses one eq of monocarbonate, a change which leaves 
the acid and base in the proper proportion to form the bisalt. The mutual de- 
composition of the salts, employed in its preparation, would generate, if no loss 
occurred, the monocarbonate, and not the sesquicarbonate. The way in which 
the latter salt is formed maybe thus explained. Bv the mutual decomposition 
of three eqs. of muriate of ammonia and three of chalk, three eqs. of monocar- 
bonate of ammonia, three of water, and three of chloride of calcium are generated. 
During the operation, however, one eq. of ammonia, and one of water, forming 
together oxide of ammonium, are lost; so that there remain to be sublimed, 
three eqs. of carbonic acid, two of ammonia, and two of water; or, in other 
words, the constituents in the proper proportion for forming the hydrated ses- 
quicarbonate of ammonia, or sesquicarbonate of oxide of ammonium. When the 
salt is re-sublimed in the process of purification, two eqs. are said to lose one 
eq. of carbonic acid, and to become.one eq ot the 5-4 carbonate. Accordingly, 
the medicinal carbonate, after having been submitted to a second sublimation 
is not a perfect sesquicarbonate. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of ammonia is stimulant, diapho- 
retic, antispasmodic, powerfully antacid, and in large doses emetic. Under cer- 
tain circumstances it may prove expectorant; as when, in the last stages of 
phthisis, it facilitates the excretion of the sputa by increasing the muscular 
power. As a stimulant, it is exhibited principally in typhus fever, and very fre- 
quently in connection with wine-whey. Its principal advantage, in this disease, 
is its power to increase the action of the heart and arteries without unduly ex- 
citing the brain. It is employed, with a view to the same effect, and as an antacid, 
in certain stages of atonic gout, and in the gastric derangement supervening cn 
habits of irregularity and debauchery. As a diaphoretic, it is resorted to in 
gout and chronic rheumatism, particularly the latter, in conjunction with guaiac. 
Dr. Pereira has employed it in many cases of epilepsy with benefit. In diabetes PART I. 
Ammonix Carbonas.—Ammonix Murias. 
109 
it has been recommended by Dr. Barlow in England, and Bouchardat in France. 
In cases of scrofula attended with languid circulation and dry skin, it is said tc 
produce excellent effects. It is veiy seldom used as an emetic; but is supposed 
to act with advantage, in this way, in some cases of paralysis. In psoriasis and 
lepra vulgaris, Cazenave has used it with remarkable success. Two cases of 
glanders, successfully treated chiefly with five-grain doses of carbonate of am- 
monia, repeated every hour or two hours, are reported by Dr. Mackenzie, of 
London. {Banking's Abstract, no. 18, p. 280.) As an external application, it is 
rubefacient, and may be employed in several ways. Reduced to fine powder, and 
mixed with some mild ointment, it is useful in local rheumatism. One part of it, 
incorporated with three parts of extract of belladonna, forms a plaster very effi- 
cacious in relieving local and spasmodic pains. Coarsely bruised, and scented 
with oil of lavender, it constitutes the common smelling salts, so much used as a 
nasal stimulant in syncope and hysteria * The ordinary dose is five grains, every 
two, three, or four hours, given in the form of pill or mixture. The dose as an 
emetic is thirty grains, repeated if necessary, and assisted by free dilution. It 
should never be given in powder, on account of its volatile nature. Pills of it 
may be made with a vegetable extract, as of gentian, and should be dispensed 
in a wide-mouthed vial, and not in a box. Carbonate of ammonia is sometimes 
directed to be made into pills with sulphate of quinia. According to Mr. J. M. 
Maisch, these salts are incompatible; and, unless the physician wishes to give 
sulphate of ammonia and free quinia, they should not be ordered together. If so 
ordered, Mr. Maisch suggests that they should be rubbed up with a little strong 
alcohol, in oi’der that the whole of the carbonic acid may be evolved, before they 
are made into pills. If this be not done, each pill will swell and burst from the 
gradual extrication of the acid. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 309.) 
Carbonate of ammonia is sometimes employed to make effervescing draughts, 
20 grains of the salt requiring for this purpose 6 fluidrachms of lemon-juice, 24 
grains of citric acid, or 25| grains of tartaric acid. 
Off. Prep. Cuprum Ammoniatum, U.S.; Ferri et Ammoniae Tartras, U.S., 
Liquor Ammoniae Acetatis; Spiritus Ammoniae Aromaticus. B. 
AMMONLE MURIAS. U.S. 
Muriate of Ammonia. 
Off. Syn. AMMOXII CHLORIDUM. Chloride of Ammonium. NH4C1. Br 
Ammonia Hydrochloras, Hydrochlorate of Ammonia. Br. 18G4. 
Sal ammoniac, Hydrochlorate of ammonia; Hydrochlorate d’ammoniaque, Sel am. 
moniac, Fry Salmiak, Germ.; Sale ammoniaco, Ital.; Sal ammoniaco, Span. 
This salt is placed in the Materia Medica list of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
It originally came from Egypt, where it was obtained by sublimation from the 
soot resulting from the burning of camels’ dung, which is used in that country 
for fuel. It has also long been known in China, where it is obtained from the 
water of certain volcanic springs, and exists in commerce in various states of 
purity. (Hanbury, Pharm. J. and Trans., April, 1865, p. 514.) 
Preparation. At present muriate of ammonia is derived from two principal 
sources; the ammoniacal liquor, called gas liquor, found in the condensing ves- 
sels of coal gas-works, and the brown, fetid ammoniacal liquor, known under 
the name of bone-spirit, which is a secondary product, obtained from the de- 
structive distillation of bones, in the manufacture of bone-black. These two 
liquors are the chief sources of ammoniacal compounds; for they are both 
used to procure muriate of ammonia, and this salt is employed, directly or in- 
* In Mounseys recipe for the English preparation, called Preston salts, the essence to be 
added to the carbonate is made as follows. Take of oil of cloves zss; oil of lavender zj: 
oil of bergamot giiss ; stronger solution of ammonia (sp. gr. 0-880) Mix. The bottles 
are to he tilled with carbonate of ammonia, half with the salt coarsely bruised, and the 
remainder with it in fine powder; and then as much of the above essences as the salt will 
absorb is to be added. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiii. 628.) 110 
Ammonias Murias. 
TAItT L 
directly, for obtaining all the other salts of ammonia. Other sources are stale 
urine, coal soot, guano, peat, and bituminous schist. 
Gras liquor contains carbonate, hydrocyanate, hydrosulphate, and sulphate of 
ammonia, but principally the carbonate It is saturated with sulphuric acid, and 
the solution obtained, after due evaporation, furnishes brown crystals of sulphate 
of ammonia. These are then sublimed with chloride of sodium in iron pots, lined 
with clay, and furnished with a leaden dome or head. By the mutual action of 
the sulphate, water, and chloride, there are formed muriate of ammonia which 
sublimes, and sulphate of soda which remains behind. Thus NH3,H0,S03 and 
Na01 become NII3HC1 and NaO,S03. Sometimes, instead of the ammonia of 
the gas liquor being first converted into the sulphate, it is made at once into 
muriate by the addition of muriatic acid or chloride of calcium. When chloride 
of calcium is employed, the chief reaction takes place between carbonate of am- 
monia and the chloride, whereby muriate of ammonia is formed in solution, and 
carbonate of lime precipitated. The solution is duly evaporated, whereby brown 
crystals of the muriate are obtained These, after having been dried, are purifled 
by sublimation in an iron subliming pot, coated with a composition of clay, sand, 
and charcoal, and covered with a dome of lead. These pots are sometimes suf- 
ficiently large to hold 500 pounds. “A gentle fire is kept up under the subliming 
pot for seven or eight days, when, the dome having cooled down, and the sal am- 
moniac somewhat contracted, so as to loosen from the sides, the dome is thrown 
off from the iron pot, and about two or three hundred weight of white, semi-trans- 
parentsal ammoniac are knocked offincakes.” (Pereira,Mai.Med.,3d ed.,p 446 ) 
In the destructive distillation of bones for making bone-black, the distilled 
products are the bone-spirit already mentioned, being chiefly an aqueous solu- 
tion of carbonate of ammonia, and an empyreumatic oil called animal oil. 
These products all result from a new arrangement of the ultimate constituents 
of the animal matter. Thus, hydrogen and oxygen form the water; carbon and 
oxygen, the carbonic acid ; nitrogen and hydrogen, the ammonia; and carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen, the animal oil. 
Muriate of ammonia maybe obtained from bone-spirit in the manner just de- 
scribed for procuring it from gas liquor. Sometimes, however, the sulphate of 
ammonia is not made by direct combination, but by digesting the bone-spirit 
with ground plaster of Paris (sulphate of lime). By double decomposition, sul- 
phate of ammonia and carbonate of lime are formed The sulphate of ammonia 
is then converted into the muriate by sublimation with common salt, in the 
manner just explained. The muriate “ may be formed by neutralizing hydro- 
chloric acid with ammonia, and evaporating to dryness.” Br. 
Other processes have been proposed or practised for obtaining muriate of 
ammonia. For an account of the manufacture of ammoniacal salts, and for a 
list of the patents issued in Great Britain, since 1827, for their preparation, the 
reader is referred to the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xii. 29, 63, and 113). 
Commercial History. All the muriate of ammonia consumed in the United 
States is obtained from abroad. Its commercial varieties are known under the 
names of the crude and refined. The crude is imported from Calcutta in chests 
containing from 350 to 400 pounds; and is consumed almost exclusively by cop- 
persmithsand other artisans in brass and copper, being employed for the purpose 
of keeping the metallic surfaces bright, preparatory to brazing. The refined comes 
to us exclusively from England, packed in casks containing from 5 to 10 cvvt. 
Properties. Muriate of ammonia is a white, translucent, tough, fibrous salt, 
occurring in large cakes, about two inches thick, convex on one side and concave 
on the other. It has a pungent, saline taste, but no smell. Its sp. gr. is 1 45. It 
dissolves in three parts of cold, and one of boiling water, and cold is produced 
during its solution. It is less soluble in rectified spirit than in water, and spar- 
ingly so in absolute alcohol. This salt is very difficult to powder in the ordinary 
way. Its pulverization, however, may be readily effected by making a boiling 
saturated solution of the salt, and stirring it as it cools. The salt is thus made 
to granulate, and in this state, after having been drained from the remaining PART I. 
Ammonix Murias. 
111 
solution and dried, may be easily powdered. At a red heat it sublimes without 
decomposition, and without residue. Exposed to a damp atmosphere it becomes 
slightly moist, it has the property of increasing the solubility of corrosive 
sublimate in water. It is decomposed by the strong mineral acids, and by the 
alkalies and alkaline earths; the former disengaging muriatic acid, the latter, 
ammonia, both sensible to the smell. Muriate of ammonia is usually emploj ed 
for obtaining gaseous ammonia, which is conveniently disengaged by lime. It 
is incompatible with acetate of lead and nitrate of silver, producing a precipi- 
tate with the former of chloride of lead, with the latter of chloride of silver. 
M uriate of ammonia is little subject to adulteration. If not entirely volatil- 
ized by heat and soluble in water, it contains impurity. Still, as ordinarily 
prepared, it contains iron in the state of protochloride. This metal may be de- 
tected by boiling a small portion of a saturated solution of the salt with a drop 
or two of nitric acid, and then adding ferrocyanidc of potassium, when the 
characteristic blue colour occasioned bv iron will be produced. If the salt is 
entirely volatilized by heat, and yet produces a precipitate with chloride of 
barium, the presence of sulphate of ammonia is indicated. 
Composition. Muriate of ammonia is composed of one eq. of muriatic acid 
36 5, and one of ammonia 17 = 53’5. Viewed as chloride of ammonium, it 
consists of one eq. of chlorine and one of ammonium (NII4C1). 
Medical Properties. Muriate of ammonia acts primarily as a stimulant, 
purging in large doses, but rather constipating in small ones. Its secondary 
action is that of a resolvent, conjoined with a tonic power, derived probably 
from the presence of chlorine. By reason of these properties, it forms, accord- 
ing to Dr. 0. Ward, an excellent substitute for mercury, in cases where that 
medicine, on account of its debilitating effect, is inadmissible. It has been 
recommended in chronic rheumatism; in pleuritis, chronic bronchitis, peri- 
tonitis, dysentery, and other inflammations of the serous and mucous mem- 
branes, after the first violence of the disease has abated; in chronic inflamma- 
tion and enlargement of the thoracic and abdominal viscera; in scrofulous and 
syphilitic enlargements of the lymphatic glands; and in amenorrheea, when 
dependent on deficient action of the uterus. Several cases of pectoral disease 
simulating incipient phthisis are reported, in Otto’s Bibliothek for 1834, to 
have been cured by this salt. According to Dr. Watson, it is a very efficacious 
remedy in liemicrania. In the opinion of Dr. Ebden, of the Bengal medical 
service, it is a powerful remedy for neuralgic affections generally; such as tic 
douloureux, nervous headache, toothache, sciatica, and neuralgic dysmenor- 
rhoea. He gives it in the amount of from twenty-five to thirty five grains in a 
fluidounce of camphor mixture, or of mint-water,' every twenty minutes, for 
three doses. Usually, after the second dose, the immediate pain is relieved. 
(Banking’s Abstract, no. xx. 55.) In 1851, Dr. Aran reported his success with 
this remedy in intermittent fever to the Academy of Medicine, of Paris, having 
cured eleven out of thirteen cases. M. Marrotte has used it advantageously, 
as a substitute for sulphate of quinia, in the treatment of affections assuming a 
remittent or intermittent character. (Arcli. Gen., 5e ser , ix. 734.) M. Fischer, 
of Dresden, in 1821, recommended it in chronic enlargement of the prostate; 
and, since then, several German practitioners have confirmed his statement. 
Dr. A. Lindsay, of Glasgow, has investigated the physiological and therapeu- 
tical effects of muriate of ammonia Taken in health he found it to improve 
the appetite, and to give a certain buoyancy to the spirits. In his hands it 
proved particularly efficacious in chronic rheumatism, and chronic bronchitis. 
In the latter disease, when the sputa were tough and tenacious, it speedily 
improved their quality. (Med. Exam, for Jan. 1856, from the Glasgow Med 
Journ.) Similar testimony is borne to its value in chronic bronchitis by M. 
Delvaux, of Brussels, who found it to diminish dyspnoea, mitigate cough, and 
facilitate and lessen expectoration. (Ann. de Tlierap., 1855, p. 99.) 
The dose of muriate of ammonia is from five to thirty grains, repeated every 
two or three hours, and given in sweetened water or mucilage. When given in 112 
Ammonise Sulphas.—Ammonii Bromidum. 
pakt r. 
enlarged prostate, the dose recommended is fifteen grains every two hours, 
gradually increased until nearly half an ounce is taken daily. When the dose 
is greater than the system can safely bear, it produces disordered digestion, a 
miliary eruption, profuse sweats, and scorbutic symptoms. 
Externally, muriate of ammonia is used in solution, as a stimulant, and re- 
solvent, in contusions, indolent tumours, &c. Au ounce of the salt, dissolved in 
nine fluidounces of water and one of alcohol, forms a solution of convenient 
strength. When the solution is to be used as a wash for ulcers, or an injec- 
tion in leucorrhcea, it should not contain more than from one to four drachms 
of the salt to a pint of water. Such a solution, with addition of wine of opium, 
had been advantageously employed by M. Guinau de Mossy in milky engorge- 
ment and scrofulous swellings of the breast, being applied upon cataplasms. 
The vapour of muriate of ammonia has been administered by inhalation, 
employed several times a day, in chronic catarrh, with marked advantage, by 
Dr. Gieseler, of Germany. Dr. Herman Beigel, of London, strongly recom- 
mends its inhalation in the nascent state, resulting from a mixture of the two 
gases composing it. Three bottles are used, one containing water of ammonia, 
the second an equivalent quantity of liquid muriatic acid, and the third half 
filled with water, connected with the first two by tubes, and supplied itself with 
a tube for inhalation. By inhalation the patient draws the two gases from their 
respective bottles into the third, where they combine to form the muriate of 
ammonia, which is freed from any excess of either gas by the water. The 
greater or less force of the inspiration will determine the depth to which the 
medicine will penetrate; and this will depend on the part of the respiratory 
passages specially affected. (Lanoet, Oct. 1807, p. 512.) Another mode of in- 
haling- muriate of ammonia, is in the form of .spray, by means of the atomizer; 
from 10 to 20 grains being dissolved for the purpose in a fluidounce of water. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ammonite Valerianas, U. S.; Aqua Ammonise, 
U.S.; Liquor Ammoniae Fortior, Hr.; Spiritus Ammonias, U. S. B. 
AMMONITE SULPHAS. U. S. 
Sulphate of Ammonia. 
This salt has been introduced into the Materia Medica list of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, as a substance employed in the preparation of other medicines. 
It is usually obtained as one of the steos ir the preparation of muriate of am- 
monia. (See Ammonias Murias.) The impure salt resulting- from the sublima- 
tion of gas liquor or fetid bone-spirit, saturated with sulphuric acid, is sub- 
mitted repeatedly to solution and crystallization until obtained pure. It is in 
colourless rhombic prisms, unalterable in the air at common temperatures, but 
efflorescing in heated air with the loss of half its water, soluble in twice its 
weight of cold and its own weight of boiling water, fusible by heat, and wholly 
volatilizable, but, according to Berzelius, with partial decomposition. It con- 
tains 243 per cent, of water. It is known to be a sulphate by giving a white 
precipitate with chloride of barium, and scarcely any with a dilute solution of 
nitrate of silver, and to contain ammonia by emitting the smell of that gas 
when rubbed with hydrate of lime or of potassa. It is not used as a medicine, 
but enters into the composition, of two officinals; ammonia-alum and the sul- 
phate of iron and ammonia. 
Off. Prep. Ferri et Ammonias Sulphas, U. S. B. 
AMMONII BROMIDUM. Br. 
Bromide of A mmonium. 
This is a new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, not yet introduced into 
ours. By those who consider the ammoniacal salts as compounds of acids with 
ammonia, it is called hydrobromale of ammonia (Ts ; but by the British PART I. 
Ammonii Bromidum.—Ammoniacum. 
113 
authorities, the claims of ammonium as a compound radical being- now admit- 
ted, the salt is recognised as a bromide of ammonium (NH Br). 
P? eparation. Bromide of ammonium may be prepared by dissolving bromine 
in water of ammonia. The liquid becomes heated, nitrogen escapes with effer- 
vescence, and the solution assumes a yellow colour in consequence of a slight 
excess of bromine after saturation. By evaporation the bromide is obtained'' in 
the form of four-sided prisms, which sometimes cross one another at right 
angles (Berzelius.) A better mode, according to Prof. Procter, of obtaining 
the salt is by acting on bromide of iron with carbonate of ammonia, as in the 
U. S. officinal process for bromide of potassium ; and a still better, by adding 
to bromine and water sufficient solution of hydrosulphate of ammonia (sulphu- 
ret of ammonium) fo discharge the colour, filtering to separate the sulphur, and 
then evaporating to dryness. 
Properties. Bromide of ammonium is in colourless crystals, which on expo- 
sure to the air gradually become yellowish, in consequence of a partial decom- 
position, by which hvdrobromic acid appears to be liberated, as they now 
change litmus red. The salt has a saline, pungent taste. Exposed to heat, it 
sublimes unchanged. It is soluble in 15 parts of water, and in 13 parts’of 
alcohol. (Squire ) The British Pharmacopoeia requires that it should not give 
rise to a blue colour with mucilage of starch and chlorine, thus proving the ab- 
sence of an iodide. It is incompatible with acids, acid salts, and spirit of nitrous 
ether. (Squire.) 
Medical Uses. This bromide probably produces on the system effects analo- 
gous to those of bromide of potassium, and has been thought by some practi- 
tioners preferable in certain cases. Attention was called by Dr. Gibb to its value 
as a therapeutic agent, lie has found it peculiarly applicable to functional ner- 
vous diseases, more espccialty those of the ganglionic system, and considers it 
also as having some influence over affections of the mucous membranes and the 
skin. In epilepsy he has experienced decided advantage from it; and in the 
milder forms of ovaritis it sometimes acts almost as if bv magic. He has also 
found it remarkably beneficial in strumous ophthalmia in the young, and believes 
that it tends to promote the absorption of fatty matter. He gave it in doses 
varying from two to ten grains three times a day. (Lancet, Jan. 3, 1863, p. 12.) 
Others have borne testimony to its efficiency in epilepsy; and it has been 
recommended in sleeplessness when dependent on nervous disorder. Good 
might be expected from it in various forms of hysteria. The dose is from two 
to twenty grains. A solution containing five grains in a fluidounce of water 
may be used as a gargle in relaxation of the larynx. W. 
AMMONIACUM. U.S.,Br. 
The concrete juice of Dorema Ammoniacum. U. S. A gum-resinous exuda- 
tion from Dorema Ammoniacum. Br. 
Gomme ammoniaque, Fr.; Ammoniak, Germ.; Gomma ammoniaco, Gomma amo- 
niaeo, Span.; Usbek, Arab.; Semugh belsheren, Persian. 
Much uncertainty long existed as to the ammoniac plant. It was generally 
believed to be a Ferula till Willdenow raised, from some seeds mixed with the 
gum-resin found in the shops, a plant which he ascertained to be a Heracleum, 
and named H. gummiferum, under the impression that it must be the source 
of the medicine. On this authority, the plant was adopted by the British Col- 
leges, and recognised in former editions of our national Pharmacopoeia. Will- 
denow expressly acknowledged that he could not procure from it anv gum- 
resin, but ascribed the result to the influence of climate. The Heracleum, how- 
ever, did not correspond exactly with the representations given of the ammo- 
nine plant by travellers; and Sprengel ascertained that it was a native of the 
Pyrenees, and never produced gum. Mr. Jackson, in his account of Morocco, 
imperfectly described a plant of that country, supposed to be a Ferula, from 
Ammoniac. 114 
Ammoniacum. 
PART I. 
which gum-ammoniac is procured by the natives. This plant was ascertained 
by Dr. Falconer to be Ferula Tingitana (Hoyle’s Mat Med ), and its product 
is thought to be the ammoniacum of the ancients, which was obtained from 
Africa; but this is not the drug now used under that name, which comes ex- 
from Persia. M. Fontanier, who resided many years in Persia, saw 
the ammoniac plant growing in the province of Fars, and sent a drawing of it 
with specimens to Paris. From these it was inferred to be a species of Ferula; 
and Merat and De Lens proposed for it the name, originally given to it by 
Lcmery, of F. ammonifera. It was subsequently, however, ascertained, from 
specimens obtained in Persia by Colonel Wright, and examined by Dr. David 
Don, that it belonged to a genus allied to Ferula, but essentially different, which 
was named, by Dr. Don, Dorema. It is described in the 16th vol of the Linn. 
Transactions, under the name of Dorema Ammoniacum. This is now aeknowl-' 
edged by the officinal authorities. The same plant was described and iigured 
by Jaubert and Spach in their “Illustrations of Oriental Plants'1'1 (Paris, 1842, 
t. 40, p 78), by the name of Diserneston gummiferum, under the erroneous 
impression that it belonged to a previously undescribed genus. 
The ammoniac plant is umbelliferous, and belongs to the class and order 
Pentandria Digynia of Linngeus. It grows spontaneously in Farsistan, Irauk, 
Chorassan, and other Persian provinces. Dr. Grant found it abundantly in 
Syghan near Bameean, on the northwest slope of the Hindoo Coosh mountains. 
It attains the height of six or seven feet, and in the spring and early part of 
summer abounds in a milky juice, which flows out upon the slightest puncture. 
From the accounts of travellers, it appears that, in the month of May, the plant 
is pierced in innumerable places by an insect of the beetle kind. The juice, 
exuding through the punctures, concretes upon the stem, and when quite dry 
is collected by the natives. M. Fontanier states that the juice exudes sponta- 
neously, and that the harvest is about the middle of June. According to Dr. 
Grant, the drug is collected in Syghan, like assafetida, from the root of the 
plant. The gum-resin is sent to Bushire, whence it is transmitted to India, 
chiefly to Bombay. A small portion is said to be taken to the ports of the Le- 
vant, and thence distributed. The name of the drug is thought to have been 
derived from the temple of Jupiter Ammon in the Libyan desert, where the 
ammoniac of the ancients is said to have been collected ; but Dr. Don considers 
it a corruption of Armeniacum, originating in the circumstance that the gum- 
resin was formerly imported into Europe through Armenia. 
Properties. Ammoniac comes either in the state of tears, or in aggregate 
masses, and in both forms is frequently mixed with impurities. That of the 
tears, however, is preferable, as the purest may be conveniently picked out and 
kept for use. These are of an irregular shape, usually more or less globular, 
from two to eight lines in diameter, opaque, yellowish on the outside, whitish 
within, compact, homogeneous, brittle when cold, and breaking with a con- 
choidal, shining fracture. The masses are of a darker colour and less uniform 
structure, appearing, when broken, as if composed of numerous white or whitish 
tears, embedded in a dirty-gray or brownish substance, and frequently mingled 
with foreign matters, such as seeds, fragments of vegetables, and sand or other 
earth. We have seen masses composed of agglutinated tears alone. 
The smell of ammoniac is peculiar, and stronger in the mass than in the tears. 
The taste is slightly sweetish, bitter, and somewhat acrid. The sp. gr. is 1 207. 
When heated, the gum-resin softens and becomes adhesive, but does not melt. 
It burns with a white flame, swelling up, and emitting a smoke of a strong, 
resinous, slightly alliaceous odour. It is partly soluble in water, alcohol, ether, 
vinegar, and alkaline solutions. Triturated with water, it forms an opaque 
milky emulsion, which becomes clear upon standing. The alcoholic solutionis 
transparent, but is rendered milky by the addition of water. Bucholz obtained 
from 100 parts of ammoniac, 22 4 parts of gum, 72 0 of resin, 16 of bassorin, 
and 4 0 of water including volatile oil and loss. Braconnot obtained 18 4 per 
cent, of gum, 70 0 of resin, 4 4 of a gluten-like substance (bassorin), and 6‘0 ot PART I. 
Ammoniacum.—Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis. 
115 
water, with 1*2 per cent, of loss. Hagen succeeded in procuring the volatile off 
in a separate state by repeated distillation with water. It has a penetrating 
disagreeable odour, and a taste at first mild, but afterwards bitter and nauseous. 
The resin of ammoniac is dissolved by alcohol, and by the fixed and volatile 
oils; but it is divided by ether into two resins, of which one is soluble, the other 
insoluble in that menstruum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This gum-resin is stimulant and expectorant, 
in large doses cathartic, and, like many other stimulants, may be so given as 
occasionally to prove diaphoretic, diuretic, or emmenagogue. It has been em- 
ployed in medicine from the highest antiquity, being mentioned in the writings 
of Hippocrates. The complaints in which it is most frequently used are chronic 
catarrh, asthma, and other pectoral affections attended with deficient expecto- 
ration without acute inflammation, or with a too copious secretion from the 
bronchial mucous membrane, dependent upon debility of the vessels. It is 
thought to have been useful in some cases of atnenorrhoea, and in chlorotic and 
hysterical conditions of the system arising out of that complaint. It has also 
been prescribed in obstructions or chronic engorgements of the abdominal vis- 
cera, under the vague notion of its deobstruent power. Any good which it may 
do in these affections, is more probably ascribable to its revulsive action upon 
the alimentary iuucous membrane. Authors speak of its utility in long and ob- 
stinate colics dependent on mucous matter lodged in the intestines; but it would 
be difficult to ascertain in what cases such mucous matter existed, and, even 
admitting its presence, to decide whether it was a cause or a result of the dis- 
eased action. Ammoniac is usually administered in combination with other 
expectorants, with tonics, or emmenagogues. It is much less used than formerly. 
Externally applied, in the shape of a plaster, it is thought to be useful as a dis- 
cutient or resolvent in white swellings of the joints, and other indolent tumours. 
(See Emplastrum Ammoniaci.) It is given in substance, in the shape of pill 
or emulsion. The latter form is preferable. (See Mistura Ammoniaci.) The 
dose is from ten to thirty grains 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Ammoniaci, U.S.; Emplast. Ammoniaci cum Hy- 
drargyro; Emplast. Galbani, Br.; Mistura Ammoniaci; Pilula Ipecacuanhae 
cum Scilla, Br.; Pil. Scillae Compositae. W. 
AMYGDALA AMARA. U.S.,Br. 
Bitter Almond 
The kernel of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, variety amara. U. S. The 
seed of the bitter almond tree, Amygdalus communis, var. amara. Br. 
Amande amere, Fr.; Bittere Mandeln, Germ.; Mandorle amare, Ital.; Almendra 
amarga, Span. 
AMYGDALA DULCIS. U S., Br. 
Sweet Almond. 
The kernel of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, variety dulcis. U. S. The 
seed of the sweet almond tree. Br. 
Amande douce, Fr.; Stisse Mandeln, Germ.; Mandorle dolci, Ital.; Almendra dulce, 
Span. 
Amygdalus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Amygdaleae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, inferior. Petals live. Drupe with a nut perforated 
with pores. Wilhl. 
Amygdalus communis. Willd. Sp.Plant, ii. 982; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 50?, 
t. 183. The almond-tree rises usually from fifteen to twenty feet in height, and 
divides into numerous spreading branches. The leaves stand upon short foot- 
stalks, are about three inches long, and three-quarters of an inch broad, ellipti- 
cal, pointed at both ends, veined, minutely serrated, with the lower serraturea 
and petioles glandular, and are of a bright-green colour. The flowers are large, 116 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala, Dulcis. 
PART I. 
of a pale-red colour varying to white, with very short peduncles, and petals 
longer than the calyx, and usually stand in pairs upon the branches. The fruit 
is of the peach kind, with the outer covering thin, tough, dry, and marked with 
a longitudinal furrow, where it opens when fully ripe. Within this covering is a 
rough shell, containing the kernel or almond. 
There are several varieties of this species of Amygdalus, differing chiefly in 
the size and shape of the fruit, the thickness of the shell, and the taste of the 
kernel. The two most important are Amygdalus (communis) dulcis and Amyg- 
dalus (communis) amara, the former bearing sweet, the latter bitter almonds. 
Another variety is the fragilis of De Candolle, which yields the soft-shelled, 
almonds. 
The almond-tree is a native of Persia, Syria, and Barbary, and is very exten- 
sively cultivated in various parts of the south of Europe. It has been introduced 
into the United States; but in the northern and middle sections the fruit does 
not usually come to perfection. We are supplied with sweet almonds chiefly from 
Spain and the south of France. They are distinguished into the soft shelled 
and hard-shelled, the former of which come from Marseilles and Bordeaux, the 
latter from Malaga. From the latter port they are sometimes brought to us with- 
out the shell. In British commerce, the two chief varieties are the Jordan and 
Valencia almonds, the former imported from Malaga, the latter from Yalencia. * 
The former are longer, narrower, more pointed, and more highly esteemed than 
the latter. The bitter almonds are obtained chiefly from Morocco, and are 
exported from Mogador. 
Properties. The shape and appearance of almonds are too well known to re- 
quire description. Each kernel consists of two white cotyledons, enclosed in a 
thin, yellowish-brown, bitter skin, which is easily separable after immersion in 
boiling water. Deprived of this covering, they are called blanched almonds. 
On exposure to the air, they are apt to become rancid; bnt, if thoroughly dried, 
and kept in well closed glass vessels, they may be preserved unaltered for many 
years. The two varieties require each a separate notice. 
1. Amygdala Dulcis. Sweet Almonds. These are without smell when blanch- 
ed, and have a sweet, very pleasant taste, which has rendered them a favourite 
article of diet in all countries where they are readily attainable. They are, how- 
ever, generally considered of difficult digestion. By the analysis of M. Boullav, 
it appears that they contain, in 100 parts, 5 parts of pellicle, 54 of fixed oil, 24 of 
albumen, 6 of uncrystallizable sugar, 3 of gum, 4 of fibrous matter, 3-5 of water, 
and 0 5 of acetic acid comprising loss. The albumen is somewhat peculiar, and 
is called emulsin. It may be obtained separate by treating the emulsion of 
almonds with ether, allowing the mixture, after frequent agitation, to stand until 
a clear fluid separates at the bottom of the vessel, drawing this off by a syphon, 
adding alcohol to it so as to precipitate the emulsin, then washing the precipi- 
tate with fresh alcohol, and drying it under the receiver of an air-pump. In this 
state it is a white powder, inodorous and tasteless, soluble in water, and insolu- 
ble in ether and alcohol. Its solution has an acid reaction, and, if heated to 
212°, becomes opaque and milky, and gradually deposits a snow-white precipi- 
tate, amounting to about 10 per cent, of the emulsin employed. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxi. 354, from Liebig's Annalen.) Its distinguishing property is that 
of producing certain changes, presently to be noticed, in amygdalin, which prop- 
erty it loses when its solution is boiled, though not by exposure in the solid state 
to a heat of 212°. (Ibid., 357.) It consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and 
oxygen, with a minute proportion of sulphur, and is probably identical with the 
* Upon a visit to Spain, in the winter of 1860-61, the author was informed, when at 
Valencia, that the thin, paper-shelled almonds, exported from that town, were produced, 
not in the immediate neighbourhood of Valencia, but chiefly in the Balearic Islands, and 
the Province of Alicante, whence they are sent to that port; and, in a journey through 
the interior from Valencia to Alicante, he noticed that the almond-tree, then in full 
bloom, was very abundant in the region hack of the latter city, while there were com- 
paratively few near the former. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART i. 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis. 
117 
synaptase of Ilobiquet. The fixed oil is described under the head of Oleum 
Amygdalae, to which the reader is referred. Almonds, when rubbed with water, 
form a milky emulsion, the insoluble matters being suspended by the agency of 
the albuminous, mucilaginous, and saccharine principles. 
2. Amygdala Amara. Bitter Almonds. These are smaller than the preced- 
ing variety. They have the bitter taste of the peach kernel, and, though when 
dry inodorous or nearly so, have, when triturated with water, the fragrance of the 
peach blossom. They contain the same ingredients as sweet almonds, and like 
them form a milky emulsion with water. It was formerly supposed that they 
also contained hydrocyanic acid and volatile oil, to which their peculiar taste 
and smell, and their peculiar operation upon the system were ascribed. It was, 
however, ascertained by MM. Robiquet and Boutron that these principles do 
not pre-exist in the almond, but result from the reaction of water; and Wohler 
and Liebig proved, what was suspected by Robiquet, that they are formed out 
of a peculiar substance denominated amygdalin, which is the characteristic 
constituent of bitter almonds. This substance, which was discovered by Ro- 
biquet and Boutron, is white, erystallizable, inodorous, of a sweetish-bitter 
taste, unalterable in the air, freely soluble in water and hot alcohol, very slightly 
soluble in cold alcohol, and insoluble in ether. Its elementary constituents are 
nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and it is supposed to be an amide; as, 
when treated with an alkali, it yields ammonia, and a peculiar acid which has 
been named amygdalic acid. Liebig and Wohler recommend the following pro- 
cess for procuring it, in which the object of the fermentation is to destroy the 
sugar with which it is associated. Bitter almonds, previously deprived of their 
fixed oil by pressure, are to be boiled in successive portions of alcohol till ex- 
hausted. From the liquors thus obtained all the alcohol is to be drawn off bv 
distillation; care being taken, near the end of the process, not to expose the 
syrupy residue to too great a heat. This residue is then to be diluted with water, 
mixed with good yeast, and placed in a warm situation. After the fermentation 
which ensues has ceased, the liquor is to be filtered, evaporated to the consist- 
ence of syrup, and mixed with alcohol. The amygdalin is thus precipitated in 
connection with a portion of gum, from which it may be separated by solution in 
boiling alcohol, which will deposit it upon cooling. If pure, it will form a per- 
fectly transparent solution with water. Any oil which it tnay contain may be 
separated by washing it with ether. One pound of almonds yields at least 120 
grains of amygdalin. (Annalen der Pharm., xxii. and xxiii. 329 )* 
Amygdalin, mixed with emulsion of sweet almonds, gives rise, among other 
products, to the volatile oil of bitter almonds and hydrocyanic acid—the emulsiu 
of the sweet almonds acting the part of a ferment, by causing a reaction between 
the amygdalin and water; and the same result is obtained when pure emulsin 
is added to a solution of amygdalin. It appears then that the volatile oil and 
hydrocyanic acid, developed in bitter almonds when moistened, result from the 
mutual reaction of amygdalin, water, and emulsin. Certain substances have 
the effect of preventing this reaction, as, for example, alcohol and acetic acid. 
It is asserted that emulsin procured from other seeds, as those of the poppy, 
hemp, and mustard, is capable of producing the same reaction between water 
and amygdalin, though in a less degree. (Annal. der Pharm., xxviii. 290.) 
Amygdalin appears not to be poisonous when taken pure into the stomach ; as 
there is nothing in the system capable of acting the part of emulsin. Never- 
theless, large quantities given to a dog have produced narcotic effects. 
Bitter almonds yield their fixed oil by pressure; and the volatile oil, impreg- 
* Amygdalin appears to be extensively diffused in plants, having been noticed not only 
in the different genera of the Amygdaleae, as Amygdalus, Cerasus, and Prunus, but also 
by Wicke in various Pomaceae, as Pyrus Malus, Sorbus Aucuparia, Sorbus hybrida, Sorbus 
torminalis, Amclanchier vulgaris, Cotoneaster vulgaris) and Cratsegus Oxycantha. (Ann. der 
Chem. und Pharm., lxxix. 79.) It maybe advantageously procured from peach kernels, 
which have been found to yield 80 grains for each avoirdupois pound, or more than 1 
per cent. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 227.) 118 
Amygdala Amara.—Amygdala Dulcis.—Amylnm. 
i»Ai?T r. 
nated with hydrocyanic acid, may be obtained from the residue by distillation 
with water. (See Oleum Amygdalae Amaree.) 
Confectioners employ bitter almonds for communicating flavour to the syrup 
of orgeat. (See Syrupus Amygdalae.) The kernel of the peach possesses similar 
properties, and is frequently used as a substitute. It has been ascertained that 
bitter almond paste, and other substances which yield the same volatile oil, 
such as bruised cherry-laurel leaves, peach leaves, &c., have the property of 
destroying the odour of musk, camphor, most of the volatile oils, creasote, cod- 
liver oil, the balsams, &c.; and M Mahier, a French pharmaceutist, has em- 
ployed them successfully to free mortars and bottles from the odour of assa- 
fetida, and other substances of disagreeable smell. All that is necessary is first 
to remove any oily substance by means of an alkali, and then to apply the 
paste or bruised leaves. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 209.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sweet almonds have no other influence on 
the system than that of a nutrient and demulcent. The emulsion formed by tritu- 
rating them with water is a pleasant vehicle for the administration of other medi- 
cines, and is itself useful in catarrhal affections. From their nutritive properties, 
and the absence of starch in their composition, they have been recommended by 
Dr. Davy as an ingredient in the diet of diabetic patients. {Guy's Hasp. Pep., 
1862, p. 213.) Bitter almonds are more active, and might be employed with 
advantage in cases to which hydrocyanic acid is applicable. An emulsion made 
with them has proved useful in pectoral affections with cough, and is said to 
have cured intermittents. It probably operates by diminishing the excitability 
of the nervous centres. Dr. A T. Thomson found it useful as a lotion in acne 
rosea and impetigo. Bitter almonds are said by Hufeland to have been success- 
fully employed for the expulsion of the tape-worm. In some persons they pro- 
duce urticaria, in the smallest quantities. Largely taken, they have sometimes 
proved deleterious. Landerer mentions the case of a lady, who was alarmingly 
affected by a bath, made from the residue of bitter almonds after expression of 
the fixed oil. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii 321.) 
Wohler and Liebig propose, as a substitute for cherry-laurel water, which 
owes its effects to the hydrocyanic acid it contains, but is objectionable from 
its unequal strength, an extemporaneous mixture, consisting of seventeen grains 
of amygdalin, and one fluidounce of an emulsion made with two drachms of 
sweet almonds, and a sufficient quantity of water. This mixture contains, ac- 
cording to the above named chemists, one grain of anhydrous hydrocyanic 
acid, and is equivalent to two fluidounces of fresh cherry-laurel water, if found 
to answer in practice, it will have the advantage of certainty in relation to the 
dose; as amygdalin maybe kept any length of time unaltered. If the calcula- 
tion of Wohler and Liebig is correct as to the quantity of acid it contains, not 
more than a fluidrachm should be given as a commencing dose. 
Off. Prep, of Sweet Almonds. Mistura Amygdalae, U.S.; Fulvis Amygdalae 
Compositus, Br.; Syrupus Amygdalae, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Bitter Almonds. Syrupus Amygdalae, U. S. W. 
AMYLUM. U.S.,Br. 
Starch. 
The fecula of the seed of Triticum vulgare. U. S. The starch procured from 
the seeds of common wheat, Triticum vulgare. Br. 
Amidon, Fr.; Starkmehl, Germ.; Amido, Iial.; Almidon, Span. 
Starch is a proximate vegetable principle contained in most plants, and espe- 
cially abundant in the various grains, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, 
maize, &c.; in other seeds, as peas, beans, chestnuts, acorns, &c.; and in nu- 
merous tuberous roots, as those of the potato (Solarium tuberosum), the sweet 
potato (Convolvulus Batatus), the arrow-root, the cassava plant, and different 
species of Curcuma. The process for obtaining it consists essentially in reducing PART i. 
Amylwm. 
119 
the substances in which it exists to a state of minute division, agitating or 
washing them with cold water, straining or pouring off the liquid, and allowing 
it to stand till the fine fecula which it holds in suspension has subsided. This, 
when dried, is starch, more or less pure, according to the care taken in con- 
ducting the process. The starch of commerce is procured chiefly from wheat, 
sometimes also from potatoes. Our space will not allow us to enter into details 
in relation to the particular steps of the operation to which those substances are 
subjected; and the omission is of less consequence, as starch is never prepared 
by the apothecary. 
Starch is white, pulverulent, opaque, and, as found in the shops, is usually in 
columnar masses, having a somewhat crystalline aspect, and producing a pecu- 
liar sound when pressed between the fingers. Its specific gravity is 1505 at 
67° F. (Payen.) When exposed to a moist air, it absorbs a considerable quan- 
tity of water, which may be driven off by a gentle heat. It is insoluble in alco- 
hol, ether, and cold water; but unites with boiling water, which, on cooling, 
forms witli it a soft semi-transparent paste, or a gelatinous opaline solution, 
according to the proportion of starch employed. The paste placed on folds of 
blotting paper, renewed as they become wet, abandons its water, contracts, and 
assumes the appearance of horn. If the proportion of starch be very small, the 
solution, after slowly depositing a very minute quantity of insoluble matter, 
continues permanent, and upon being evaporated yields a semi-transparent 
mass, which is partially soluble in cold water. The starch has, therefore, been 
modified by the combined agency of water and heat; nor can it be restored to 
its original condition. Exposed, in the dry state, to a temperature somewhat 
above ‘212°, it undergoes, according to Caventou, a similar modification; and 
a degree of heat sufficient to roast it slightly converts it into a substance solu- 
ble in cold water, called British gum, and applicable to the same purposes as 
gum in the arts.* The same change in regard to solubility is, to a certain ex- 
tent, produced by mechanical means, as by trituration in a mortar; and that 
the effect is not the result of heat evolved by friction is evinced by the fact, 
that it takes place when the starch is triturated with water. 
Iodine forms with starch, whether in its original state or in solution, a blue 
compound; and the tincture of iodine is the most delicate test of its presence 
in any mixture. The colour varies somewhat according to the proportions em- 
ployed. When the two substances are about equal, the compound is of a beau- 
tiful indigo-blue; if the iodine is in excess, it is blackish-blue; if the starch, 
violet-blue. A singular property of the iodide of starch is that its solution be- 
comes colourless if heated to about 200°, and afterwards recovers its blue 
colour upon cooling. By boiling, the colour is permanently lost. Alkalies unite 
with starch, forming soluble compounds, which are decomposed by acids, the 
starch being precipitated. It is thrown down from its solution by lime-water 
and baryta-water, forming insoluble compounds with these earths. The solution 
of subacetate of lead precipitates it in combination with the oxide of the metal. 
Starch may be made to unite with tannin bv boiling their solutions together; 
and a compound results, which, though retained by the water while hot, is de- 
posited when it cools. By long boiling with diluted sulphuric, muriatic, or 
oxalic acid, it is converted into and glucose or grape sugar. A simi- 
*The chief constituent of this substance is dextrin; hut there is also produced another 
substance to which it owes its brown colour, and for which M. Gelis proposes the name 
pyrodextrin. This is solid, black, insipid, inodorous, insoluble in alcohol or ether, but 
readily dissolved by water, with which it forms a viscid solution. It is always produced 
when substances containing much starch are exposed to a high heat. (Journ. de Pharm 
3e ser., xxxiii. 405.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Dextrin is a substance resembling gum in appearance and properties, but differing 
from it in not affording rnucic acid by the action of nitric acid. It is largely dissolved by 
water, hot or cold, and forms a mucilaginous solution, from which it is precipitated by 
alcohol. This fluid has no action on dextrin. Large quantities of dextrin are now manu- 
factured in England, and employed for various purposes in the arts, under the name of 
artificial gum It is found in he market in the form of mucilage, in that of a white bril- 120 
Amylurn. 
PART I. 
lar conversion into dextrin and glucose is effected by means of a principle called 
diastase, discovered by MM Payen and Persoz in the seeds of barley, oats, and 
wheat, after germination. (See Hordeum.) Strong muriatic and nitric acids 
dissolve it; and the latter, by the aid of heat, converts it into oxalic and malic 
acids. By the action of strong nitric, sulphuric, or crystallizable acetic acid, 
used with certain precautions, the starch is rendered soluble, and may be ob- 
tained in this state by separating the acid by means of alcohol. (Chem. Gaz., 
Dec I, 1854, p. 450.) By the continued action of concentrated sulphuric acid 
it is decomposed. When it is dissolved in strong nitric acid, and precipitated 
by water, a white powder is thrown down, called xyloidin, in which one equiva- 
lent of the hydrogen of the starch is replaced by one eq. of hyponitric acid 
(N04); the formula of xyloidin being, according to Bechamp and Laurent, 
C12II9NOu. Mixed with hot water, and exposed to a temperature of 70° or 80°, 
it undergoes chemical changes, which result in the formation of several dis- 
tinct principles, among which are sugar, a gummy substance (perhaps dextrin), 
and a modification of starch which De Saussure called amidine. With yeast 
starch undergoes the vinous fermentation, being, however, first converted into 
sugar. Mixed with cheese and chalk it is said to yield alcohol without the pre- 
vious saccharine conversion. (Berthe lot, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser.,xxxii. 260.) 
Nature of Starch. The views now generally entertained in relation to starch, 
by which the above-mentioned phenomena may be most conveniently explained, 
are those originally presented by Raspail, and subsequently confirmed and ex- 
tended bv Guibourt, Guerin, and others. According to these views, starch con- 
sists of organized granules, which, examined by the microscope, appear to be 
of various form and size. Different opinions have been held as to the precise 
structure of the granules. The one first adopted is that they consist of a thin 
exterior coating, and of an interior substance; the former wholly insoluble, the 
latter soluble in water. The former constitutes, according to M. Payen, only 4 
or 5 thousandths of the weight of starch. In relation to the interior portion, 
there is not an exact coincidence of opinion. M. Guerin supposed that it con- 
sisted of two distinct substances, one soluble in cold water, the other soluble 
at first in boiling water, but becoming insoluble by evaporation. Thus, when 
one part of starch is boiled for fifteen minutes in one hundred parts of water, 
and the liquid is allowed to stand, a small portion, consisting of the broken teg- 
uments, is gradually deposited. If the solution be now filtered and evaporated, 
another portion is deposited which cannot afterwards be dissolved. When 
wholly deprived of this portion, and evaporated to dryness, the solution yields 
the part soluble in cold water. According to MM. Payen and Persoz, the in- 
terior portion of the globules consists only of a single substance, which is con- 
verted into the two just mentioned by the agency of water; and Thenard is 
inclined to the same opinion. An appropriate name for the interior soluble por- 
tion of starch is amidin, which has been adopted by some chemists. Starch, in 
its perfect state, is not affected by cold water, because the exterior insoluble 
teguments prevent the access of the liquid to the interior portion; but, when 
the pellicle is broken by the agency of heat, or by mechanical means, the fluid 
is admitted, and the starch partially dissolved. 
Another view of the structure of the starch granule, founded on microscopic 
observation, has been advanced by Schleiden. According to this view, it con- 
sists of concentric layers, all of which have the same chemical composition; 
liant powder, and in small masses or fragments resembling natural gum. According to 
M. Emile Thomas, it may he distinguished from gum arahic hy the taste and smell of 
potato oil which it always possesses. It is made by the action either of acids or of dias- 
tase on starch. For particulars as to the manufacture, the reader is referred to a paper 
by M. Thomas, republished in the American Journal of Pharmacy (vol. xix. p. 284) 
Dextrin, according to Payen, is converted into glucose, through the action of diastase; 
but the glucose impedes the action unless removed; as, however, during the alcoholic 
fermentation, the glucose is consumed, no obstacle prevents the influence of diastase. 
Hence dextrin by conversion into sugar may contribute to the alcoholic product. {Jourit 
dc Pharm., 4e ser., i. 363.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Amyium. 
121 
but the outer layers, having been first formed, have more cohesion than the 
inner, and are consequently more difficult of solubility. The rings observed 
upon the surface of the granules, in some varieties, are merely the edges of 
these layers; and the point or hylum about which the rings are concentrically 
placed, is a minute hole, through which probably the substance of the interior 
layers was introduced. (Pharm. Central Platt, 1844, p. 401.) 
Mr. J. J. Field thinks he has demonstrated that the granule consists, as at 
first supposed, of an interior matter surrounded by a distinct membranous en- 
velope. Having saturated some canna starch with glycerin, and then added a 
little water, an endosmose of the thinner outer liquid took place into the gran- 
ules, distending them so as to rupture their investing membrane, which was 
distinctly visible, under the microscope, in longitudinal wrinkles The concen- 
tric rings he thinks nothing more than folds of the membrane, produced proba- 
bly by the contraction of the granules. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 253.) The idea has 
been advanced that the starch granule is a true vegetable cell with a nucleus, 
which surrounds itself by a cell-wall, which then secretes the contents of the 
cell in successive layers. This view combines that of Schleiden with that of 
Raspail. (Grundy, Ibid., p. 447.) In accordance with it, the hylum may be 
considered as the effete nucleus in the cell-wall. The cell-wall has been sup- 
posed to have a different composition from the interior; as, when separated, as 
above stated, by the action of boiling water, which leaves it alone undissolved, 
it is not coloured blue by iodine. (Ibid., p. 448.) If the granule be really a 
cell, it probably contains nitrogenous matter; and this may exist in the en- 
velope This idea is supported by the fact that, when treated with boiling 
solution of potassa, starch gives out a little nitrogen in the state of ammonia. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1855, p. 409.) 
The tegumentary portion of starch, for which the name of amylin has been 
proposed, is, when entirely freed from the interior soluble matter, wholly insol- 
uble in water even by prolonged boiling, insoluble in alcohol, and said to suffer 
no change by the action of diastase. The acids, however, act upon it as they do 
upon starch. It is thought to approach nearer in properties to lignin than to 
any other principle. 
Varieties. Starch, as obtained from different substances, is somewhat different 
in its characters. IVheat starch, when examined with a microscope, is found to 
consist of granules of various sizes, the smaller being spheroidal, the larger 
rounded and flattened, with the hylum in the centre of the flattened surface, and 
surrounded by concentric rings, which often extend to the edge. The granules 
are mixed with loose integuments, resulting from the process of grinding. This 
variety of starch has a certain degree of hardness and adhesiveness, owing, ac- 
cording to Guibourt, to the escape of a portion of the interior substance of the 
broken granules, which attracts some moisture from the air, and, thus becoming 
glutinous, acts as a bond between those which remain unbroken. Another opin- 
ion attributes this peculiar consistence to the retention of a portion of the gluten 
of the wheat flour, which causes the granules to cohere. Under the name of corn 
starch, a variety of fecula obtained from the meal of maize or Indian corn, is 
much used for nutritive purposes in the U. States. It is an excellent preparation. 
The granules of maize starch are very small, with a diameter not exceeding, ac- 
cording to Payen, one-sixth of that of the potato, and little more than one-half 
that of the wheat granules. (Gmelin, xv. 79.) Potato starch is emplo}Ted in 
various forms, being prepared so as to imitate more costly amylaceous substances, 
such as arrow-root and sago. In its ordinary state, it is more pulverulent than 
wheat starch, has a somewhat glistening appearance, and may be distinguished, 
with the aid of the microscope, by the size of its granules, which are larger than 
those of any other known fecula, except canna or tous les mois. They are ex- 
ceedingly diversified in size and shape, though their regular form is thought to 
be ovate. They are characterized by concentric rings or rugae, which are most 
readily distinguishable in the fresh starch, and are said by Raspail to disappear 
upon desiccation. These surround a minute circular hole or hylum upon the 122 
Amylum.—Anethi Fruclus.—Oleum Anethi. 
PART L 
surface of the granule. In some instances there are two of these boles, one at 
each end, or both at the same end. The characters of other kinds of fecula will 
be given under the beads of the several officinal substances of which they con- 
stitute the whole or a part. Starch consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; 
its formula, from whatever source it may be derived, being, according to the 
latest opinions, C12II10O]0, or, doubling the numbers, C24HMO20. 
According to Chevallier, starch is sometimes adulterated with carbonate and 
sulphate of lime; and the fraud is also practised of saturating it with moisture, 
of which it will absorb 12 per cent, without any obvious change. 
Medical Properties, &c. Starch is nutritive and demulcent, but in its ordi- 
nary form is seldom administered internally. Powdered and dusted upon the 
skin, it is sometimes used to absorb irritating secretions, and prevent excoria- 
tion. Dissolved in hot water and allowed to cool, it is often employed in ene- 
mata, either as a vehicle of other substances, or as a demulcent application in 
irritated states of the rectum. It may be used as an antidote to iodine taken in 
poisonous quantities.* 
Off. Prep. Glycerinum Amyli, Br.; Mucilago Amyli, Br.; Pulvis Tragiv 
canthae Compositus, Br. W 
ANETHI FRUCTUS. Br. 
Dill Fruit. 
The fruit of Anethum graveolens. Br. 
OLEUM ANETHI. Br. 
Oil of Dill 
The oil distilled in Britain from dill fruit. 
Aneth a odeur forte, Fr.; Dill, Germ.; Aneto, Hal.; Eneldo, Span. 
Anethum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferse or Api- 
aeeae. 
Gen. Ch. Fruit nearly ovate, compressed, striated. Petals involuted, entire. 
Willd. 
Aneth um graveolens. Willd. Sp. Plant i. 1469; Woodv. J/eeZ. Pot. p. 125, t. 
48. Dill is an annual plant, three or four feet high, with a long spindle-shaped 
root; an erect, striated, jointed branching stem; and bipinnate or tripinnate, 
glaucous leaves, which stand on sheathing footstalks, and have linear and pointed 
leaflets The flowers are yellow, and in large, flat, terminal umbels, destitute ol 
involucre. The plant is a native of Spain, Portugal, and the south of France; 
and is found growing wild in various parts of Africa and Asia. It is cultivated 
in all the countries of Europe, and has been introduced into our gardens. The 
seeds, as the fruit is commonly called, are the only part used. They are usually 
rather more than a line in length, and less than a line in breadth, of an oval 
shape, thin, concave on one side, convex and striated on the other, of a brown 
colour, and surrounded by a yellowish membranous expansion. Their smell is 
strong and aromatic, but less agreeable than that of fennel seed; their taste, 
moderately warm and pungent. These properties depend on a volatile oil, which 
may be obtained separate by distillation. The bruised seeds impart their virtues 
to alcohol and to boiling water. 
*Glycerate of Starch. A preparation which may he thus denominated (Glycerole d'Amide n 
Fr.) has been recommended as a substitute for unctuous preparations, whether as a de- 
mulcent application, or as an excipient of other substances, such as sulphate of copper, 
corrosive sublimate,red oxide of mercury, &c., intended for external use; its advantage 
being that it is not likely to become irritant to the surface through chemical change. It 
may he prepared by heating together, 15 parts of glycerin and one of starch, with con- 
stant stirring until the mixture becomes clear. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1862, p. 363.) 
"We propose the word glycerate for the title of solutions in which glycerin is the men- 
struum, as preferable to glycerole, perverted from the French glycerole, and inappro- 
priate, as words with this termination are used to designate a class of organic proximate 
principles, as benzole, &c. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Angelica. 
123 
Oil of dill is of a pale-yellow colour, with the odour of the fruit, and a hot, 
sweetish, acrid taste. Its sp. gr. is said to be 0'881. The fruit yields about 3'5 
per cent, of it. The oil is sometimes used for preparing dill water. 
Medical Properties. Dill seeds have the properties common to the aromatics, 
but are very seldom used in this country. They may be given in powder or in- 
fusion. The dose of the fruit is from fifteen grains to a drachm, of the oil three 
or four drops. 
Off. Prep, of Bill. Aqua Anethi, Br. W. 
ANGELICA. U. S. Secondary. 
Angelica. 
The root of Angelica Archangelica. U. S. 
Angelique, Fr.; Engelwurzel, Germ.; Areangeliea, Hal.; Angelica, Span. 
Angelica. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—-Nat. Ord. Umbelliferse or Api 
aceae. 
Gen. Ch. Fruit elliptic, compressed, somewhat solid and corticate, ridges 3, 
dorsal acute, intorvalsgrooved, margin alated. Gen. involucre none. (Sprengel.) 
Umbel large, many-rayed, spreading; umbellet dense, subhemispheric; involu• 
cell about eight-leaved. Calyx five-toothed. Petals inflected. (Nuttall.) 
In former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it was our indigenous species, 
Angelica atropurpurea, which was recognised under the name of angelica, in 
the secondary list. In the present edition this species has been rejected, and 
the root of the European A. Archangelica substituted. It nevertheless deserves 
a brief notice here. Angelica atropurpurea, sometimes called masterwort, has a 
perennial purplish root, and a smooth herbaceous stem, the dark colour of which 
has given rise to its specific name. The leaves are ternate, and supported by 
very large inflated petioles. The partitions of the leaf are nearly quinate, with 
ovate, acute, deeply serrate, somewhat lobed leaflets, of which the three terminal 
are confluent. The flowers are greenish-white. The purple angelica extends 
throughout the United States from Canada to Carolina, growing in meadows 
and marshy woods, and flowering in June and July. It is smaller than A. 
Archangelica, with a less succulent stem. The whole plant was officinal. It 
has a strong odour, and a warm aromatic taste. The juice of the recent root 
is acrid, and is said to be poisonous; but the acrimony is dissipated by drying. 
The medical virtues of the plant are similar to those of the garden angelica ol 
Europe, for which it has been proposed as a substitute. It is, however, little 
employed. An infusion is occasionally used in flatulent colic; and we are told 
that the stems are sometimes candied by the country people. 
Angelica Archangelica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1428; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 86, 
t. 35. —Archangelica officinalis. Iloch, De Cand., &c. Garden Angelica has a 
long, thick, fleshy, biennial root, furnished with many fibres, and sending up 
annually a hollow, jointed, round, channeled, smooth, purplish stem, which rises 
five feet or more in height, and divides into numerous branches. The leaves, 
which stand upon round fistulous footstalks, are very large, doubly pinnate, with 
ovate-lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate leaflets, the terminal being three-lobed. 
The flowers are small, greenish-white, and disposed in very large, many-rayed, 
terminal umbels, composed of numerous dense, hemispherical umbellets. 
This plant is a native of the north of Europe, and is found in the high moun- 
tainous regions in the southern section of that continent, as in Switzerland and 
among the Pyrenees. It is cultivated in various parts of Europe, and may be 
occasionally met with in the gardens of this country. It flowers during the sum- 
mer. The whole plant his a fragrant odour and aromatic properties; but the 
root and fruit only are officinal. 
1. The root should be dug up in the autumn of the first year, as it is then 
least liable to become mouldy and worm-eaten. It is spindle-shaped, an inch or 
more thick at top, and beset with long descending radicles. The fresh root haa 124 
Angelica.—Angustura. 
PART I. 
a yellowish-gray epidermis, a fleshy yellow parenchyma, and when wounded 
yields a honey-coloured juice, having all the aromatic properties of the plant. 
The dried root is grayish-brown and much wrinkled externally, whitish and 
spongy within, and breaks with a starchy fracture, exhibiting shining resinous 
points. It is very apt to be attacked by worms, and is said to keep best, in the 
state of powder, in full and well-closed vessels. The smell is strong and fragrant, 
and the taste at first sweetish, afterwards warm, aromatic, bitterish, and some- 
what musky. These properties are extracted by alcohol, and less perfectly by 
water. The constituents of the root, according to the younger Buchner, are 
volatile oil, a volatile acid which he calls angelicic acid, a wax-like substance, 
a crystallizable sub-resin, a brittle amorphous resin, a bitter principle, tannic 
acid, malic acid, sugar, starch, albumen, pectic acid, fibrin, and various salts 
Five hundred parts yield nearly four parts of volatile oil. 
2. The seeds, as the fruit is commonly called, are two or three lines long, 
oval, obtuse or somewhat notched at the ends, flat, with a longitudinal furrow 
on one side, convex with three angular ridges on the other. They are ash-col- 
oured, and have the smell and taste of the root. They are said to keep well. 
Medical Properties. Garden angelica is an elegant aromatic tonic, but is 
little employed in the United States. The Laplanders, in whose country it 
flourishes, esteem it highly as a condiment and medicine. In Europe, the stems 
are frequently made into a preserve, and used in desserts in order to excite the 
6tomach. The dose of the root or seeds is from thirty grains to a drachm. W. 
ANGUSTURA. U.S. 
Angustura. 
The bark of Galipea officinalis (Hancock). U.S. 
Off. Syn. CUSPARI2E CORTEX. The bark of Galipea Cusparia. Br. 
Angusture, Fry Angusturarinde, Germ.; Corteccia dell’ Angustura, Italy Corteza de 
Angostura, Span. 
The subject of Angustura bark, in its botanical relations, has been involved 
in some confusion. The drug was at first supposed to be derived from a species 
of Magnolia, and was referred by some to Magnolia glauca of this country. 
Humboldt and Bonpland were the first to throw light upon its true source. 
When at Angustura, a South American city on the Orinoco, they received speci- 
mens of the foliage of the plant from which the bark was obtained ; and after- 
wards believed that they had found the same plant in a tree growing in the vi- 
cinity of Cumana. This latter they had the opportunity of personally inspecting, 
and were therefore enabled to describe accurately. Unable to attach it to any 
known genus, they erected it into anew one, with the title of Cusparia, a name 
of Indian origin, to which they added the specific appellation of febrifuga. On 
their authority, Cusparia febrifuga was generally believed to be the true source 
of the medicine, and was recognised as such by the London College. A speci- 
men having in the mean time been sent by them to Willdenow, the name of 
Bonplandia was imposed on the new genus by that celebrated botanist; and it 
was subsequently adopted by Humboldt and Bonpland themselves, in their 
great work on equinoctial plants. Hence the title of Bonplandia trifoliate, by 
which the tree is described in many works on Materia Medica. De Candolle, 
however, having found in the description all the characters of the genus Galipea 
of Aublet. rejected both these titles, and substituted that of Galipea Cusparia, 
which was adopted by the London College, and has been retained in the Brit- 
ish Pharmacopoeia, But, after all these commutations, it appears from the re- 
searches of Dr. Hancock, who resided for several months in the country of the 
Angustura bark tree, that the plant described by Humboldt and Bonpland is 
not that which yields the medicine, but probably another species of the same 
genus. Among other striking differences between them is that of their size; 
the tree described by Humboldt and Bonpland being not less than sixty or 
eighty feet in height, while that from which the bark is obtained is never more PART i. 
A nyustura. 
125 
than twenty feet. Hancock proposes for the latter the title of Galipea offici- 
nalis, which has been adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Galipea. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Rutaceae 
Gen. Gh. Corolla inferior, irregular, four or live cleft, hypocrateriform. Sta- 
mens four; two sterile. Loudon's Encyc. 
Galipea officinalis. Hancock, Trans. Lond. Medico-bot. Soc. This is a small 
tree, irregularly branched, rising to the medium height of twelve or fifteen feet, 
with an erect stem from three to five inches in diameter, and covered with a 
smooth gray bark. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and composed of three 
leaflets, which are oblong, pointed at each extremity, from six to ten inches in 
length, from two to four in breadth, and supported upon the common petiole by 
short leafstalks. They are very smooth and glossy, of a vivid green colour, 
marked occasionally with small whitish round spots, and, when fresh, of a strong 
odour resembling that of tobacco. The flowers are numerous, white, arranged 
in axillary and terminal peduncled racemes, and of a peculiar unpleasant odour. 
The fruit consists of five bivalve capsules, of which two or three are commonly 
abortive. The seeds, two of which are contained in each capsule, one often abor- 
tive, are round, black, and of the size of a pea. The tree grows abundantly on 
the mountains of Carony, between the Tth and 8th degrees of X. latitude; and 
is well known in the missions, near the Orinoco, upwards of two hundred miles 
from the ocean. It flourishes at the height of from six hundred to one thousand 
feet above the level of the sea. Its elegant white blossoms, which appear in vast 
profusion in August and September, add greatly to the beauty of the scenery. 
The bark is generally brought from the West Indies, packed in casks; but, 
according to Mr. Brande, the original package, as it comes from Angustura, 
consists of the leaves of a species of palm, surrounded by a network of sticks. 
Properties. The pieces are of various lengths, for the most part slightly 
curved, rarely quilled, sometimes nearly flat, from half a line to a line or more 
in thickness, pared away towards the edges, covered externally with a light 
yellowish-gray or whitish wrinkled epidermis, easily scraped by the nail, and 
internally of a yellowish-fawn colour. They are very fragile, breaking with a 
short, resinous fracture, and yield, on being pulverized, a pale-yellow powder; 
but, when macerated for a short time in water, they become soft and tenacious, 
and may be cut into strips with scissors. The cut surface usually exhibits under 
the microscope numerous white points or minute lines. Br. The smell of An- 
gustura bark is peculiar and disagreeable when fresh, but becomes fainter with 
age; the taste is bitter and slightly aromatic, leaving a sense of pungency at 
the end of the tongue. According to Fischer, it contains volatile oil, bitter ex- 
tractive, a hard and bitter resin, a soft resin, a substance analogous to caout- 
chouc, gum, lignin, and various salts. The volatile oil, which may be obtained 
by distillation with water, is of a pale-yellowish colour1, lighter than water, of 
an acrid taste, and with the odour of the bark. Its formula is given as C13II120 
by Dr. C. Herzog, who states that its boiling point is 511° F., probably one of 
the highest of the volatile oils. (Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1858.) Gusparin is the 
name given by Saladin to a principle, deposited in tetrahedral crystals, when an 
infusion of the bark is treated with absolute alcohol, at common temperatures, 
and allowed to evaporate spontaneously. It is neutral, fusible at a gentle heat, 
by which it loses 23 09 per cent, of its weight, soluble in 200 parts of cold and 
100 parts of boiling water, soluble in the concentrated acids and in the alkalies, 
and precipitated by the infusion of galls. (Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 662.) Her- 
zog was unable to isolate this principle. The virtues of the bark reside in the 
volatile oil and bitter constituent, and are extracted by water and alcohol. 
Dr. A. T. Thomson states that precipitates are produced with the infusion 
by the solutions of sulphate of iron, tartrate of antimony and potassa, sulphate 
of copper, acetate and subacetate of lead, bichloride of mercury, nitrate of silver, 
and pure potassa; by nitric and sulphuric acids; and by the infusions of galls 
and yellow cinchona; but how far these substances are medicinally incompat- 
ible with the bark, it would be difficult to determine. 126 
Angustura.—Anisum. 
PART I. 
False Angustura. Under this title, European writers describe a bark which 
was introduced on the continent mixed with true Angustura bark, and, being 
possessed of poisonous properties, produced in some instancesunpleasant effects, 
when dispensed by mistake for that medicine. It is distinguished by its greater 
thickness, hardness, weight, and compactness; by its resinous fracture; by the 
appearance of its epidermis, which is sometimes covered with a ferruginous 
efflorescence, sometimes is yellowish-gray, and marked with prominent white 
spots; by the brownish colour and smoothness of its internal surface, which is 
not, like that of the genuine bark, separable into laminae; by the white slightly 
yellow powder which it yields; by its total want of odour, and its intense tena- 
cious bitterness. When steeped in water, it does not become soft like the true 
Angustura. Analyzed by Pelletier and Caventou, it was found to contain a pecu- 
liar alkaline principle which they called brucia, and upon which its poisonous 
operation depends. (See Nux Vomica.) In consequence of the presence of this 
principle, a drop of nitric acid upon the internal surface of the bark produces a 
deep-red spot. The same acid, applied to the external surface, renders it emerald- 
green. In true Angustura bark, a dull-red colour is produced by the acid on 
both surfaces. The false Angustura was at first supposed to be derived from 
Brucea antidysenterica; and was afterwards referred to some unknown species 
of Strychnos, in consequence of containing brucia, which is a characteristic in- 
gredient of that genus of plants. At present, it is ascribed to Strychnos Nux 
Vomica, the bark of which, according to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, exactly corresponds 
with the description of false Angustura, and like it contains brucia. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Angustura bark had been long used by the 
nativesof the countries where it grows, before it became known elsewhere. From 
the continent its employment extended to the West Indies, where it acquired 
considerable reputation. It was first taken to Europe about eighty years since. 
It is now ranked among the officinal remedies throughout Europe and America; 
but it has not sustained its early reputation, and in the United States is not 
much prescribed. Its operation is that of a stimulant tonic. In large doses it 
also evacuates the stomach and bowels, and is often employed for this purpose 
in South America. It was at one time considerably used as a febrifuge in the 
place of Peruvian bark; but has not been found generally successful in the in- 
termittents of northern latitudes. It is said to be peculiarly efficacious in bilious 
diarrhoeas and dysenteries; and has been recommended in dyspepsia and other 
diseases requiring a tonic treatment. The testimony, however, of practitioners 
in Europe and the United States is not strongly in its favour; and it is prob- 
ably better adapted to tropical diseases than to those of temperate climates. 
Hancock employed it extensively in the malignant bilious intermittent fevers, 
d}rsenteries, and dropsies of Angustura and Demarara; and speaks in strong 
terms of its efficacy in these complaints. He used it in the form of fermented 
infusion, as recommended by the native practitioners. 
It may be given in powder, infusion, tincture, or extract. The dose in sub- 
stance is from ten to thirty grains. In larger quantities it is apt to produce 
nausea. From five to fifteen grains is the dose of the extract, which, however, 
according to Dr. Hancock, is inferior to the powder or infusion. To obviate 
nausea, it is frequently combined with aromatics. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Angusturse, U.S.; Infusum Cuspari®, Br. W 
ANISUM. U.S. 
Anise, 
The fruit of Pimpinella Anisum. JJ. S. 
Graines cl’an is, Fr.; Anissame, Germ,.; Semi d’aniso, Ttal.; Simiente de anis, Span., 
Anison, Arab. 
Pimpinella. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae or 
Apiaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Fruit ovate oblong. Petals inferior. Stigma nearly globular. Willd PART I. 
Anisum.—Anthemis. 
127 
Pimpinella Anisum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1413; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 135, t. 
52. This is an annual plant, about a foot in height, with an erect, smooth, 
and branching stem. The leaves are petiolate, the lower roundish-cordate, 
lobed, incised-serrate, the middle pinnate-lobed with cuneate or lanceolate lobes, 
the upper trifid, undivided, linear. The flowers are white, and in terminal com- 
pound umbels, destitute of involucres. 
The anise plant is a native of Egypt and the Levant, but has been introduced 
in1o the south of Europe, and is cultivated in various parts of that continent. 
It is also cultivated occasionally in the gardens of this country. The fruit is 
abundantly produced in Malta and Spain, and especially so in Romagna, in 
Italy, whence it is largely exported through Leghorn. The Spanish is smaller 
than the German or French, and is usually preferred. 
Anise seeds (botanically fruit) are about a line in length, oval, striated, some- 
what downy, attached to their footstalks,- and of a light greenish-brown colour, 
with a shade of yellow. Their odour is fragrant, and increased by friction; tlieir 
taste, warm, sweet, and aromatic. These properties, which depend upon a peculiar 
volatile oil, are imparted sparingly to boiling water, freely to alcohol. The vola- 
tile oil exists in the envelope of the seeds, and is obtained separate bv distilla- 
tion. (See Oleum Anisi.) Their internal substance contains a bland fixed oil. 
By expression, a greenish oil is obtained, which is a mixture of the two. The 
seeds are sometimes adulterated with small fragments of argillaceous earth, 
which resembles them in colour; and their aromatic qualities are occasionally 
impaired by a slight fermentation, which they are apt to undergo in the mass, 
when collected before maturity. 
A case of poisoning is on record from the accidental admixture of the fruits 
of Conium maculatum, which bear some resemblance to those of anise, but may 
be distinguished by their crenate or notched ridges They are, moreover, broader 
in proportion to their length, and are generally separated into half-fruits, while 
those of anise are whole. 
Star aniseed, the badiane of the French writers, though analogous in sensible 
properties to the common aniseed, is derived from a different plant, being the 
fruit of Illicium anisatum. an evergreen tree growing in China, Japan, and 
Tartarv. The fruit consists of from five to ten brownish ligneous capsules, four 
or five lines long, united together in the form of a star, each containing a browm 
shining seed. It is much used in France to flavour liquors; and the volatile oil, 
upon which its aromatic properties depend, and of which it is said to yield about 
2-3 per cent., is imported into this country from the East Indies, and sold as com- 
mon oil of anise, to which, however, it is thought by some to be much superior. 
Dr. Ruschenberger, U. S. N., has shown that oil of anise has a remarkable 
power of deodorizing sulphuret of potassium; a drop of the oil having entirely 
deprived of offensive odour a drachm of lard with which five grains of the sul- 
phuret had been incorporated. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xlviii. 419.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Anise is a grateful aromatic carminative; and 
is supposed to have the property of increasing the secretion of milk. It has been 
in use from the earliest times. In Europe it is much employed in flatulent colic, 
and as a corrigent of griping or unpleasant medicines; but in this country fen- 
nel-seed is preferred. Anise may be given bruised, or in powder, in the dose of 
twenty or thirty grains or more. The infusion is less efficient. The volatile oil 
ma v be substituted for the seeds in substance. Much use is made of this aromatic 
for imparting flavour to liquors. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Anisi. W 
ANTHEMIS. US. 
Chamomile. 
The flowers of Anthemis nobilis. U. S. 
' Off. Syn. ANTHEMIDIS FLORES. Chamomile Flowers. The dried 
single and double flower heads of the common chamomile, Anthemis nobilis; 
wild and cultivated Br. 128 
Anthemis. 
PART I. 
Camomille Romaino, Fr.; Romische Kamille, Germ.; Camomilla Romana, Ital.; Man- 
zanilla Romana, Span. 
Anthemis. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Compositse Sene- 
cionideae. De Cand. Asteraceae Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy. Seed-down none or a membranaceous margin. 
Calyx hemispherical, nearly equal. Florets of the ray more than five. Willd. 
Several species of Anthemis have been employed in medicine. A. nobilis, 
which is the subject of the present article, is by far the most important. A. Co• 
tula, or mayweed, is also recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Cotula.) 
A. Pyrethrum, which affords the pellitory root, is among the officinal plants. 
(See Pyrethrum.) A. arvensis, a native of this country and of Europe, bears 
flowers which have an acrid bitter taste, and possess medical properties anal- 
ogous though much inferior to those of common chamomile. They may be 
distinguished by their want of smell.* A. tinctoria is occasionally employed 
as a tonic and vermifuge in Europe. 
Anthemis nobilis. Willd. Sp Plant, iii. 2180; Woodv. Med. Pol. p. 47, t. 19 
This is an herbaceous plant with a perennial root. The stems are from six inches 
to a foot long, round, slender, downy, trailing, and divided into branches, which 
turn upwards at their extremities. The leaves are bipinnate, the leaflets small, 
thread-like, somewhat pubescent, acute, and generally divided into three seg- 
ments. The flowers are solitary, with a yellow convex disk, and white rays. The 
calyx is common to all the florets, of a hemispherical form, and composed of 
several small imbricated hairy scales. The receptacle is convex, prominent, and 
furnished with rigid bristle-like palese The florets of the ray are numerous, 
narrow, and terminated with three small teeth. The whole herb has a peculiar 
fragrant odour, and a bitter aromatic taste. The flowers only are officinal. 
This plant is a native of Europe, and grows wild in all the temperate parts 
of that continent. It is also largely cultivated for medicinal purposes. I n France, 
Germany, and Italy, it is generally known by the name of Roman chamomile 
By cultivation the yellow disk florets are often converted into the white ray 
florets. Thus altered, the flowers are said to be double, while those which remain 
unchanged are called single; but, as the conversion may be more or less com- 
plete, it generally happens that with each of the varieties there are intermingled 
some flowers of the other kind, or in different stages of the change. The double 
flowers are generally preferred; though, as the sensible properties are found in 
the greatest degree in the disk, the single are the most powerful. It is rather, 
however, in aromatic flavour than in bitterness that the radial florets are sur- 
passed by those of the disk. If not well and quickly dried, the flowers lose 
their beautiful white colour, and are less efficient. Those which are whitest 
should be preferred. The seeds yield by expression a fixed oil, which is said 
to be applied in Europe to various economical uses.f 
* M. Pattone, an apothecary in the civil hospital of Alexandria, has announced tbe 
discovery in Anthemis arvensis of a new alkaloid, and a new organic acid, which he pro- 
poses to call, respectively, anthemine (anthemia) and anthemic acid. The former he pro- 
cured by subjecting the flowers to distillation with water so as to separate all the volatile 
oil, expressing the residue, filtering the expressed liquor, evaporating this to the con- 
sistence of an extract, exhausting the extract by boiling alcohol of 85°, which dissolves 
the resinous matter and the peculiar acid, treating the residue with boiling distilled 
water, filtering the liquor and allowing it to cool, and then dropping in solution of am- 
monia until the liquid became decidedly alkaline. After a short time, beautiful, shining, 
prismatic crystals were deposited. To complete the process, the liquor was allowed to 
stand for 24 hours, after which the mother-water was decanted, and the crystals washed 
repeatedly with cold distilled water. Anthemia is inodorous and tasteless, very slightly 
soluble in cold wrater, somewhat more soluble in boiling water, insoluble in alcohol and 
ether, hut freely dissolved by acetic acid. It is carbonized by a high heat. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Mars, 1859, p. 198.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
j- To those who may be disposed to cultivate the flowers for the shops, the following 
statements made by Mr. Jacob Bell, from observations at the flower gardens at Mitcham, 
in Surrey, England, may.not be without interest. The plant is usually propagated by 
dividing the root, though the seeds are employed when it is desired to introduce new 
varieties. Each root will serve as the source of thirty or forty plants. They are set in PART I. 
Anthemis. —Antimonium. 
129 
Though not«, native of America, chamomile grows wild in some parts of this 
country, and is occasionally cultivated in our gardens for family use, the whole 
herb being employed. The medicine, as found in our shops, consists chiefly of 
the double flowers, and is imported from Germany and England. From the 
former country the flowers of Matricaria Chamomilla are also occasionally 
imported, under the name of chamomile. (See Matricaria.) in France, the 
flowers of two other plants are sold in the shops, indiscriminately with those of 
Anthe.mis nobilis; viz. those of Pyrethrum Parthenium (the Chrysanthemum 
Parthenium of Persoon) or feverfew, and those of Anthemis parthenoides, De 
Cand., or the Matricaria parthenoides, Desf. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1859, p. 
347.) For the peculiar character by which these two flowers may be distin- 
guished from the Chamomile, see Pyrethrum Parthenium in Part III. 
Properties. Chamomile flowers, as usually 'found in the shops, are large, 
almost spherical, of a dull-white colour, a fragrant odour, and a warmish, bit- 
ter, aromatic taste. When fresh, their smell is much stronger, and was fancied 
by the ancients to resemble that of the apple. Hence the name chamst.melum 
('/a/iat on the ground, and p.t]Mv an apple); and it is somewhat singular that the 
Spanish name manzanilla (a little apple) has a similar signification. The flowers 
impart their odour and taste to water and alcohol, the former of which, at the 
boiling temperature, extracts nearly one-fourth of their weight. They contain 
a volatile oil, a bitter principle, resin, gum, a small quantity of tannin, and 
various salts. The first two are probably their active ingredients. (See Oleum 
Anthemidis.) A volatile acid, in minute proportion, has been obtained from 
them by Schendler, said to resemble, if it be not identical with valerianic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chamomile is a mild tonic, in small doses ac- 
ceptable and corroborant to the stomach, in larger quantities capable of acting 
as an emetic. In cold infusion it is often advantageously used in cases of en- 
feebled digestion, whether occurring as an original affection, or consequent upon 
some acute disease. It is especially applicable to that condition of general de- 
bility, with languid appetite, which often attends convalescence from idiopathic 
fevers. As a febrifuge it formerly enjoyed much reputation, and was employed 
in intermittents and remittents; but we have remedies so much more efficient, 
that it is now seldom used in this capacity. The tepid infusion is very often 
given to promote the operation of emetics, or to assist the stomach in relieving 
itself when oppressed by its contents. The flowers are sometimes applied ex- 
ternally in the form of fomentation, in cases of irritation or inflammation of the 
abdominal viscera, and as a gentle incitantin flabby, ill-conditioned ulcers. The 
dose of the powder as a tonic is from half a drachm to a drachm three or four 
times a day, or more frequently. The infusion is usually preferred. The decoc- 
tion and extract cannot exert the full influence of the medicine ; as the volatile 
oil is driven off at the boiling temperature. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Anthemidis, Br.; Infusum Anthemidis; Oleum An- 
themidis, Br. W 
ANTIMONIUM. 
Antimony. 
Stibium, Lat.; Antimoine, Fr.; Antrmon, Spiessglanz, GermAntimonio, Span., Itai 
Metallic antimony, sometimes called regulus of antimony, is not officinal in 
the British or United States Pharmacopoeias; but, as it enters into the compo- 
rows a yard apart, at intervals of about eighteen inches. The proper period for planting 
is March; and the flowers are in perfection in July, but continue to appear throughout 
the season. Extremely wet or extremely dry weather is injurious to the crop. It is more 
productive in a rather heavy loam, than either in light sandy soil, or in stiff clay. It re- 
quires little manure, but attention to weeding is necessary. Over-manuring increases the 
leaves at the expense of the flowers. "When gathered, the flowers are dried upon canvass 
trays in a drying room, artificially warmed, where they remain about a day. The crop 
var:es from three to ten hundred weight per acre. The single flowers are more productive 
than the double by weight; but, as they command a less price, the value of the crop is 
about the same. (Pharin. Journ. and Trans., x. 118.)—Note to the ninth edition. 130 
Antimomum. 
PART I. 
sition of a number of important pharmaceutical preparations, wb have thought 
it proper to notice it under a distinct head. 
Antimony exists in nature, 1. uncombined; 2. as an oxide; 3. as a tersul- 
phuret; and 4. as a sulphuretted oxide. It is found principally in France and 
Germany; but has recently been discovered in the British province of New 
Brunswick. 
Extraction. All the antimony of commerce is extracted from the native ter- 
sulphuret. The ore is first separated from its gangue by fusion. It is then re- 
duced to powder, and placed on the floor of a reverberatory furnace, where it 
is subjected to a gentle heat, being constantly stirred with an iron rake. This 
process of roasting is known to be completed, when the matter is brought to 
the state of a dull grayish-white powder, called antimony ash. By this treat- 
ment the antimony is partly teroxidized, and partly converted into antimonious 
acid; while nearly all the sulphur is dissipated in the form of sulphurous acid 
gas: a portion of tersulphuret, however, remains undecomposed. The matter 
is then mixed with charcoal impregnated with a concentrated solution of car- 
bonate of soda, and the mixture heated in crucibles, placed in a melting fur- 
nace. The charcoal reduces the teroxide of antimony, while the alkali unites 
with the undecomposed tersulphuret, and forms with it melted scoriae, which 
cover the reduced metal, and diminish its loss by volatilization. 
The purest commercial antimony is not entirely free from foreign metals, 
chiefly iron, lead, and arsenic. M. Lefort purifies it for the purposes of phar- 
macy, by gradually adding twenty-five parts of the metal, in fine powder, to 
fifty parts of nitric acid, by the action of which the antimony is precipitated 
as antimonious acid, while the foreign metals remain in solution. The precipi- 
tate is then thoroughly washed with water, containing a hundredth part of 
nitric acid, drained completely, mixed with three or four parts of powdered 
sugar, and reduced to the metallic state by being heated to redness in a Hes- 
sian crucible. (Journ. de Pharm., Aoiit, 1855, p. 93.) 
Antimony is imported into the United States principally from France, packed 
in casks. A portion is also shipped from Trieste, from Holland, and occasion- 
ally from Cadiz. The Spanish antimony is generally in the form of pigs; the 
French, in circular cakes of about ten inches in diameter, flat on one side and 
convex on the other; the English, in cones. The French is most esteemed. 
Properties, &c. The time of the discovery of antimony is not known; but 
Basil Valentine was the first to describe the method of obtaining it, in his work 
entitled Gurrus Triumphalis Antimonii, published towards the end of the fif- 
teenth century. It is a brittle, brilliant metal, ordinarily of a lamellated texture, 
of a silver-white colour when pure, but bluish-white as it occurs in commerce. 
When rubbed between the fingers, it imparts a sensible odour. Its equivalent 
number is 129, symbol Sb, sp. gr. 6'7, and fusing point 810°, or about a red heat. 
Recent experiments of Schneider, confirmed by Weber, make the eq. of anti- 
mony 120’2; but we shall adhere to 129, until the new number is fully con- 
firmed. On cooling after fusion, antimony assumes an appearance on the sur- 
face bearing some resemblance to a fern leaf. When strongly heated, it burns 
with the emission of white vapours, consisting of teroxide, formerly called ar- 
gentine flowers of antimony. A small portion, being fused, and then thrown 
upon a flat surface, divides into numerous globules, which burn rapidly as they 
move along. It forms three combinations with one oxide—teroxide 
of antimony, and two acids—antimonious and antimonic acids. The teroxide 
contains three, antimonious acid four, and antimonic acid five eqs. of oxygen, 
combined with one of the metal. In addition to these, a suboxide is said to 
exist, which, according to Marchand, has a composition represented by the 
formula Sb,04. The teroxide will be noticed under the head of Antimonii Oxi- 
dum. Antimonic acid is a lemon-coloured powder, which may be prepared by 
oxidizing the metal by digestion in nitric acid, and then driving off the excess 
of the acid by a heat not exceeding 600°. When exposed to a red heat, it 
parts with oxygen, and is converted into antimonious acid. This is a white PART I. 
Antimonium:—Antimonii Sulphuretum. 
131 
powder, and, th'ough medicinally inert, frequently forms a large proportion of 
the preparation called antimonial powder. (See Pulvis Antimonialis.) 
Antimony is officinal in the following states of combination. 
I. Sulphuretted. 
Antimonii Sulphuretum, TJ.S.; Antimonium Nigrum, Br. — Sulphuret 
of Antimony; Black Antimony. (Prepared Sulphuret of Anti- 
mony, Br. 1864.) 
Antimonium Sulphuratum, U.S.,Br. — Sulphurated Antimony. 
Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, TJ.S.—Oxy sulphuret of Antimony. Ker- 
mes Mineral. 
II. Oxidized. 
Peroxide. Antimonii Oxidum, U. S., Br. — Oxide of Antimony. 
Peroxide mixed with phosphate of lime. Pulvis Antimonialis, Br.— 
Antimonial Powder. 
III. Combined with chlorine. 
Liquor Antimonii Chloridi, Br. — Solution of Chloride of Antimony. 
IV. In saline combination. 
Antimonii et Potassae Tartras, U. S.; Antimonium Tartaratum, Br.— 
Partrate of Antimony and Potassa. Partarated Antimony. Par- 
tar Emetic. 
Unguentum Antimonii, TJ.S.; Unguentum Antimonii Tartarati, Br. 
—Ointment of Antimony. Ointment of Partarated Antimony. 
Vinum Antimonii, TJ.S.; Vinum Antimoniale, Br. — Wine of Anti- 
mony. Antimonial Wine. 
The antimonial preparations are active in proportion to their solubility in the 
gastric juice. According to Mialhe, those antimonials which contain the hydrated 
teroxide, or are easily converted into it, are most active. Hence metallic anti- 
mony in fine powder, and tartar emetic act with energy. The teroxide is much 
more active when prepared in the moist than in the dry way. According to 
Serullas, all the antimonial preparations, except tartar emetic and butter or ter- 
chloride of antimony, contain a minute proportion of arsenic. Tartar emetic is 
an exception, because it separates entirely, in the act of crystallizing, from any 
minute portion of arsenic in the materials from which it is prepared; the pois- 
onous metal being left behind in the mother-water of the process. B 
ANTIMONII SULPHURETUM. U.S 
Native tersulphuret of antimony, purified by fusion. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ANTIMONIUM NIGRUM. Black Antimony. (Prepared Sul- 
phuret of Antimony. Br. 1864.) Native sulphide of antimony, SbS3, purified 
from siliceous matter by fusion, and afterwards reduced to fine powder. Br. 
Artificial sulphuret of antimony; Antimoinesulfure, Fr.; Schwefelantimon, Schwefel- 
spiessglanz, Germ.; Solfuro d’antimonio, Ital.; Antimonio crudo, Span. 
Preparation, &c. The sulphuret of antimony of the Pharmacopoeias is ob- 
tained from the native sulphuret, called antimony ore. by different processes of 
purification; the following being an outline of that generally pursued. The ore 
is placed in melting pots in a circular reverberatory furnace, and these are made 
to connect, by means of curved earthen tubes, with the receiving pots, situated 
jutside the furnace. This arrangement affords facilities for removing the residue 
of the operation, and allows of the collection of the melted sulphuret without 
interrupting the fire, and, consequently, without loss of time or fuel. In the U. 
S. Pharmacopoeia it is directed to be melted in order to purify it from infusible 
substances; in the British to be reduced to fine powder, to fit it for pharma- 
ceutic use. In order to bring it to this state, it should be submitted to the pro- 
cess of levigation. (See Greta Prseparata.) 
Properties, &c. Sulphuret of antimony is mostly prepared in France and 
Germany. It is called, in commerce, antimony, or crude antimony, and occurs 
Sulphuret of Antimony. 132 
Antimonii Sulphuretum.—Aporynum Androsxmfolium. 
PART 1 
in fused conical masses, denominated loaves. These are dark-gray externally, 
and exhibit internally, when broken, a brilliant steel-gray colour, and a striated 
crystalline texture. Their goodness depends upon their compactness and weight, 
and the largeness and distinctness of the fibres. The quality of the sulphuret 
cannot well be judged of, except in mass; hence it ought never to be bought 
in powder. It is entirely soluble in muriatic acid, by the aid of heat, with the 
evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen. The muriatic solution, when added to 
water, is decomposed with the production of a white powder (oxychloride of 
antimony). If the muriatic acid should have dissolved some lead or copper, 
the filtered solution, after the precipitation of the white powder, will give a 
dark-coloured precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen; but if these metals should 
be absent, it will yield, with the same test, an orange-coloured precipitate, de- 
rived from a small quantity of antimony, not thrown down by the water. Ar- 
senic, which is often present in considerable quantities, may be detected by the 
usual tests for that metal. (See Acidum Arseniosum.) 
Composition. The officinal sulphuret of antimony is a tersulphuret, consisting 
of one eq. of antimony 129, and three of sulphur 48=117. 
When prepared by pulverization and levigation, it is in the form of an insol 
uble powder, without taste or smell, usually of a dull blackish colour, but red- 
dish-brown, when perfectly pure. By exposure to the air, it absorbs, according 
to Buchner, a portion of oxygen, and becomes partially converted into teroxide. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This preparation is very uncertain in its ope- 
ration ; being sometimes without effect, at other times, if it meet with acid in 
the stomach, acting with violence by vomiting and purging. The effects attrib- 
uted to it are those of a diaphoretic and alterative; and the principal diseases 
in which it has been used are scrofula, glandular obstructions, cutaneous dis- 
eases, and chronic rheumatism. It is not employed by physicians in the United 
States; its use in this country being confined to veterinary practice. The dose 
is from ten to thirty grains, given in powder or bolus. 
Off. Prep. Antimonii Oxidum, U. S ; Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, U. S.; An 
timonium Sulphuratum; Liquor Antimonii Chloridi, Br. B. 
APOCYNUM ANDROSSEMIFOLIUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Dog s-Bane. 
The root of Apocynum androsaBraifolium. U. S. 
Apocynum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae. 
Gen. Gli. Calyx very small, five-eleft, persistent. Corolla campanulatc, half 
five-cleft, lobes revolute, furnished at the base with five dentoid glands alterna- 
ting with the stamens. Anthers connivent, sagittate, cohering to the stigma 
by the middle. Style obsolete. Stigma thick and acute. Follicles long and linear. 
Seed comose. Nuttall. 
Apocynum androssemifodium. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1259; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. ii. 148. Dog’s-bane is an indigenous, perennial, herbaceous plant, from three 
to six feet in height, and abounding in a milky juice, which exudes when the 
plant is wounded. The stem is erect, smooth, simple below, branched above, 
usually red on the side exposed to the sun, and covered with a tough fibrous 
bark. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, ovate, acute, entire, smooth on both 
sides, and two or three inches long. The flowers are white, tinged with red, 
and grow in loose, nodding, terminal or axillary cymes. The peduncles have 
very small acute bractes. The tube of the corolla is longer than the calyx, and 
its border spreading. The fruit consists of a pair of long, linear, acute follicles, 
containing numerous imbricated seeds, attached to a central receptacle, and 
each furnished with a long seed-down. 
The plant flourishes in all parts of the United States from Canada to the 
Carolinas. Jt is found along fences and the skirts of woods, and flowers in J une 
and July. The root is the part employed. PART I. 
Apocynum Androscemifolium.—Apocynum Cannabinum. 
133 
This is large, and, like other parts of the plant, contains a milky juice. Its 
taste is unpleasant and intensely bitter. Dr. Bigelow inferred from his experi- 
ments that it contained bitter extractive, a red colouring matter soluble in water 
and not in alcohol, caoutchouc, and volatile oil. He states that its activity is 
diminished and eventually destroyed by keeping. 
Medical Properties. The powder of the recently dried root acts as an emetic 
in the dose of thirty grains, and is said to be sometimes employed by practi- 
tioners in the country for this purpose. By Dr. Zollickoffer it is considered a 
useful tonic, in doses of from ten to twenty grains. Dr. Lannon, of Ohio, has 
found it useful in dyspepsia, and states that in small doses it is laxative, and 
in large probably cathartic. He recommends the recently dried root in the form 
of infusion or decoction. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A.D. 1858, p. 
72.) It is among the remedies employed by the Indians in lues venerea. Dr. 
John F. Mettauer, of Virginia, has found it, in scrofula, the safest and most 
valuable aperient in our possession; having given it in the form of tincture in 
cases attended with debility, and in that of infusion, when the strength is not 
materially impaired. The tincture he prepares in the proportion of four ounces 
of the bruised root and a drachm and a half of coriander to half a pint of diluted 
alcohol, and gives in the dose of from one to three fluidrachms night and morn- 
ing; the infusion, by macerating for an hour four ounces of the root in a pint of 
boiling water, to be given in the dose of from two to four fluidrachms, repeated 
as often. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Oct. 17, 1867, p. 281.) W. 
APOCYNUM CANNABINUM. U.S Secondary. 
The root of Apocynum cannabinum. U. S. 
Apocynum. See APOCYNUM ANDROSJ3MIFOLIUM. 
Apocynum cannabinum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1259; Knapp, Am. Med. Rev. 
iii. 197. In general appearance and character, this species bears a close resem- 
blance to the preceding. The steins are herbaceous, erect, branching, of a brown 
colour, and two or three feet in height; the leaves are opposite, oblong-ovate, 
acute at both ends, and somewhat downy beneath ; the cymes are paniculate, 
many-flowered, and pubescent; the corolla is small and greenish, with a tube 
not longer than the calyx, arid an erect border; the internal parts of the flower 
are pinkish or purple. The plant grows in similar situations with A. androsaz- 
mifolium, flowers about the same period, and bears a similar fruit. It abounds 
in a milky juice, and has a tough fibrous bark, which, by maceration, affords a 
substitute for hemp. From this circumstance its common name was derived. 
The root, which is the officinal part, is horizontal, five or six feet in length, 
about one-third of an inch thick, dividing near the end into branches which 
terminate abruptly, of a yellowish-brown colour when young, but dark-chestnut 
when old, of a strong odour, and a nauseous, somewhat acrid, permanently 
bitter taste. The internal or ligneous portion is yellowish-white, and less bitter 
than the exterior or cortical part. The fresh root, when wounded, emits a milky 
juice, which concretes into a substance resembling caoutchouc. In the dried 
state, it is brittle and readily pulverized, affording a powder like that of ipeca- 
cuanha. Dr. Knapp found it to contain a bitter principle, extractive, tannin, 
gallic acid, resin, wax, caoutchouc, fecula, lignin, and a peculiar active prim 
ciple which he proposed to call apocynin. (Am. Med. Review, iii. 197.) Dr. 
Griscom, by a subsequent analysis, obtained similar results, with the addition 
of gum. The root yields its virtues to water and alcohol, but, according to Dr. 
Griscom, most readily to the former. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Indian hemp is powerfully emetic and cathar- 
tic, sometimes diuretic, and, like other emetic substances, promotes diaphoresis 
and expectoration. It produces much nausea, diminishes the frequency of the 
pulse, and appears to induce drowsiness independently of the exhaustion con- 
Indian Hemp. 134 
Apocynum Cannahinum.—Aqua. 
part I. 
sequeat upon vomiting. The disease in which it has been found most beneficial 
is dropsy. An aggravated case of ascites, under the care of the late Dr. Joseph 
Parrish, was completely cured by the decoction of the plant, which acted as a 
powerful hydragogue cathartic. Dr. Knapp also found it useful in a case of 
dropsy. Other instances of its efficacy in this complaint have been published 
by Dr. Griscom, of New York. (Am. Journ. Med. Sciences, xii. 55.) Dr. II. 
S. Cauthorn, of Richmond, Va., has employed the bark of the root successfully 
in several cases of intermittent fever, and considers it scarcely inferior in an- 
tiperiodic power to quinla. He gave from four to six grains, in the form of pill, 
every two or three hours, augmenting the dose to three times the quantity.* 
From fifteen to thirty grains of the powdered root will generally produce co- 
pious vomiting and purging. The decoction is a more convenient form for ad- 
ministration. It may be prepared by boiling half an ounce of the dried root in 
a pint and a half of water to a pint, of which from one to two fluidounces may 
be given two or three times a day, or more frequently if requisite. The watery 
extract, in doses of three or four grains three times a day, will generally act 
on the bowels. W. 
AQUA. U.S.,Br. 
Water. 
Natural water in the purest attainable state. U. S. Natural water, the purest 
that can be obtained, cleared, if necessary, by filtration. Br. 
c'rJ ag. Gr.; Eau, Fr.; Wasser, Germ.; Acqua, Ital.; Agua, Span. 
Water has always been included in the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, on account of its great importance as a medical and pharmaceutical 
agent. It was not admitted into the officinal lists of the British Pharmacopoeias 
until 1839, when it was first recognised by the Edinburgh College. It is more 
or less concerned in almost all the changes which take place in inorganic matter, 
and is essential to the growth and existence of living beings, whether animal 
or vegetable. In treating of a substance of such diversified agency, our limits 
will allow of a sketch only of its properties and modifications We shall speak 
of it under the several heads of pure water, common water, and mineral waters. 
Pure Water. Water, in a pure state, is a transparent liquid, without colour, 
taste, or smell. Its sp. gr. is assumed to be unity, and forms the term of com- 
parison for that of solids and liquids. A cubic inch of it, at the temp, of 60°, 
weighs very nearly 252 5 grains It is compressible to a small extent, as was 
proved first by Canton, and afterwards, in an incontestable manner, by Perkins. 
Reduced in temp, to 32°, it becomes a solid or ice, with the sp. gr. 0 9175 (Du- 
four, Gomptes Rendus, Juin, 1860); and raised to 212°, an elastic fluid called 
steam. In the latter state its bulk is increased nearly 1700 fold, and its sp.gr. 
so far lessened as not to be much more than half that of atmospheric air. At the 
temp, of about 39° its density is at the maximum; and consequently, setting 
out from that point, it is increased in bulk by being either heated or cooled. It 
has the power of dissolving more or less of all gases, including common air, the 
constituents of which are always present in natural wTater. It uniformly exists 
in the atmosphere, in the form of invisible vapour, even in the driest weather. 
Wa„er consists of one eq. of hydrogen 1, and one of oxygen 8 = 9; or, in 
volumes, of one volume of hydrogen and half a volume of oxygen condensed 
into one volume of aqueous vapour or steam. On these data, it is easy to cal- 
culate the sp. gr. of steam; for its density will be 0‘0689 (sp. gr. of hydrogen) 
-f 0-5512 (half the sp. gr. of oxygen) = 0-6201. 
Common Water. By reason of its extensive solvent powers, water, in its 
natural state, must be more or less contaminated with foreign matter. Thus, it 
* Iii a paper published in the Va. Monthly Stethoscope and Med. Reporter (i. 7), Dr. 
Cauthorn ascribes these effects to Asclepias Syriaca; hut, in a subsequent communica 
tion to the Va. Med. Journ. (ix. 425), he informs us that the plant employed was really 
the Apocynum cannahinum, and that he had been led into the error by the common name 
of milk-weed attached to both plants. (Note to the ticelfth edition.) PART I, 
Aqua, 
135 
becomes variously impregnated, according to the nature of the strata thiough 
which it percolates. When the foreign substances present are in so small an 
amount as not materially to alter its taste and other sensible qualities, it con- 
stitutes the different varieties of common water. 
There are almost innumerable shades of difference in common water, as ob- 
tained from different localities and sources; but all its varieties may be con- 
veniently arranged under the two heads of soft and hard. A soft water is one 
which contains but inconsiderable impurities, and which, when used in wash- 
ing, forms a lather with soap. By a hard water is understood a variety of water 
which contains calcareous or magnesian salts, or other impurities, through which 
it curdles soap, and is unfit for domestic purposes. Tincture of soap is a conve- 
nient test for ascertaining the quality of water. In distilled water it produces 
no effect; in soft water, only a slight opalescence; but in hard water, a milky 
appearance. The milkiness is due to the formation of an insoluble compound 
between the oily acids of the soap and the lime or magnesia of the foreign salt. 
The most usual foreign substances in common water, besides oxygen and 
nitrogen, and matters held in a state of mechanical suspension, are carbonic 
acid, sulphate and carbonate of lime, and chloride of sodium (common salt). 
Carbonic acid is detected by lime-water, which produces a precipitate before 
the water is boiled, but not afterwards, as ebullition drives otf this acid. The 
presence of sulphate of lime is shown by precipitates being produced by ni- 
trate of baryta, and, after ebullition, by oxalate of ammonia. The former test 
shows the presence of sulphuric acid, and the latter, after boiling the water, 
indicates lime not held in solution by carbonic acid. Carbonate of lime, when 
held in solution by an excess of carbonic acid, may be detected by boiling the 
water, which causes it to precipitate; but, even after ebullition and filtration, 
the water will retain enough carbonate of lime to give a precipitate with ace- 
tate of lead ; carbonate of lime being itself to a minute extent soluble in water. 
Nitrate of silver will produce a precipitate, if any soluble chloride be present; 
and, ordinarily, the one present may be assumed to be common salt. Arsenic 
in minute quantity has been found in w'ater used as drink. At Whitbeck, in 
Cumberland, England, the inhabitants employ, both as drink and for culinary 
purposes, a water holding enough arsenic in solution to be quite sensible to tests, 
without any known injurious consequences. (Ghem. News, Aug.25,1860, p 128.) 
Dr. Clark has proposed to purify hard water, when the hardness arises from 
bicarbonate of lime, by a process which he calls liming. This consists in add- 
ing to the water sufficient lime-water to convert the bicarbonate into the very 
sparingly soluble carbonate. This procedure renders the water soft, and gets 
rid of all the lime, except that in the minute portion of carbonate dissolved. The 
merit of this process consists chiefly, not in the removal of lime, but in prevent- 
ing the formation of organic matters, principally confervae, the decomposition of 
which renders the water offensive and unwholesome. Dr. Clark’s process has 
been for some time in successful operation on the water obtained by boring, at 
the Plumstead water-works near Woolwich. (Pharm. Journ. and 1Vans., June, 
1856.) River water containing the usual amount of calcareous matter, if al- 
lowed to stagnate in open reservoirs, in the summer, will become contaminated 
with myriads of microscopic plants and animals. Now this change is prevented, 
according to Dr. Clark, by his peculiar treatment, which deprives the living 
organism of the nutriment, derived from loosely combined carbonic acid. 
The oxygen and nitrogen present in natural waters are not usually in the 
same proportion as in atmospheric air; the oxygen in atmospheric air amount- 
ing to about 20 per cent, in volume, while the usual gaseous mixture, expelled 
from fresh water by boiling, contains about 32 per cent. 
Common water is also divided into varieties according to its source. Thus 
we have rain, snow, spring, river, well, lake, and marsh water. 
Bain and snowwaters are the purest kinds of natural water. Rain water, to 
be obtained as pure as possible, must be collected in large vessels in the open 
fields, at a distance from houses, and some time after the rain has commenced 136 
Aqua. 
PART I. 
falling; otherwise it will be contaminated with the dust which floats in the at- 
mosphere, and with other impurities derived from roofs. The rain water of 
large cities contains nitrogenized organic matter, as shown by the odour pro- 
duced by burning the residue left after the water has been evaporated. 
Rain water ordinarily contains atmospheric air, and, according to Liebig, a 
little nitric acid, the amount of which is increased when the rain descends dur- 
ing a storm. According to an analysis, made by M. Martin, of rain water which 
fell at Marseilles during a violent storm, 1000 parts by weight contained 0 004 
of chlorine and 0‘003 of ammonia. Not a trace of iodine or of nitric acid was 
discovered. Boussingault has ascertained that the rain which falls in towns 
contains considerably more ammonia than that which falls in the country. 
Thus, the rain of Paris was found by him to contain three or four parts of am- 
monia per million; while that collected in a mountainous region contained about 
four-fifths of one part only in a million The average results of Mr. J. B. Lawes 
and Dr. J. H. Gilbert give one part of ammonia to the million of rain water. 
(Chem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1854.) Snow water has a peculiar taste, which was sup- 
posed to depend on the presence of air more oxygenous than that of the atmo- 
sphere; but in point of fact it contains no air, and this accounts for its vapid 
taste. Both rain and snow water are sufficiently pure for employment in most 
chemical operations. 
Spring water (aqua fontana) depends entirely for its quality on the strata 
through which it flows ; being purest when it passes through sand or gravel. It 
almost always contains a trace of common salt, and generally other impurities, 
which vary according to the locality of the spring. 
River water {aqua fluvialis) is, generally speaking, less impregnated with sa- 
line matter than spring water, because made up in considerable part of rains; 
while its volume bears a larger proportion to the surface of its bed. It is, how- 
ever, much more apt to have mechanically suspended in it insoluble matters, 
of a vegetable and earthy nature, which impair its transparency. 
Well water, like that from springs, is liable to contain various impurities. As 
a general rule, the purity of the water of a well will be in proportion to its depth 
and the constancy with which it is used. Well water in large cities always con- 
tains a large amount of impurity, both organic and inorganic. Dr R D. Thom- 
son found 147'6 grs., per Imperial gallon, ofimpurity in a well in London. From 
the organic matter he extracted much nitric acid and ammonia, evidently the pro- 
duct of animal excretions. (Pliarm. Journ. and Trans., July, 1856, p. 27.) The 
presence of nitrates in water prevents the formation of organic beings, which 
cannot be detected by the microscope, even after it has been long kept. Artesian- 
ox overflowing wells, from their great depth, generally afford a pure water. 
Lake water cannot be characterized as having any invariable qualities. That 
of most of the lakes in the United States is pure and wholesome. 
Marsh water is generally stagnant, and contains vegetable remains undergo- 
ing decomposition. It is an unwholesome water, and ought never to be used 
for medicinal purposes. 
Common waters are apt to contain various organic matters in solution, not 
only substances of the nature of ulmin or gein, but many others, both solid and 
gaseous, which have not been well determined. Among them are living organ- 
ized microscopic beings, both vegetable and animal, which often have an inju- 
rious influence on the health, and sometimes give rise to special diseases. 
As an example may be mentioned the extremely pernicious effects of swamp 
water on the health of the troops, encamped in its vicinity, during the late 
war; a severe and obstinate diarrhoea, which often resisted ti'eatment for 
months, being among the most frequent. From the researches of Prof. Aug. 
Yogel, of Munich, it appears that when inorganic and organic matters exist at 
the same time in Water, the proportion of the two jointly increases with the 
depth of the water, while that of the organic matters by themselves diminishes 
with the depth; so that the deeper the water the purer it will be in reference to 
these substances. (Neues Reperlorium fur Pharm., xv. 488, A.D. 1866.) In PART i, 
Aqua 
137 
order to ascertain whether the amount of organic matter exceeds the minute 
quantity usually present in good water, Dupasquier has proposed chloride of gold 
as a test. From one to two fluidounces of the water to be tested is put into a 
small flask, and a few drops of solution of chloride of gold, free from excess of 
muriatic acid, are added, so as to give the water a slightly yellow tint. The liquid 
is then boiled. If the water contain the ordinary proportion of organic matter, 
the yellow tint will remain unchanged; but if its quantity be greater than this, 
the liquid will at first become brownish, and afterwards violet or bluish, in con- 
sequence of the reduction of the gold. Organic matter is also detected by its 
decolorizing effect on a solution of permanganate of potassa.* Water rendered 
impure and discoloured by organic impregnation, or the presence of animalcula, 
is freed from its impurities, partially at least, by the presence of a coil of bright 
iron wire, or admixture with sesquioxide of iron, and subsequent filtration. It is 
proposed by M. Scheerer that such waters should be treated with solution of 
sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, which precipitates the organic matter; but care 
must be taken to use only so much of the salt as is strictly necessary for the 
purpose. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Cliim., 4e ser., i. 394.) Another method has 
been patented by Mr. Alfred Bird, of Birmingham, consisting in the use of neu- 
tral sulphate of alumina, by which the carbonate of lime, the presence of which 
favours the growth of organized beings through the food afforded by its car- 
bonic acid,,is converted into sulphate of lime; while the organic matter sub- 
sides, combined with alumina. (Ghem. News, Aug. 3, I860.) The boiling of 
water contaminated with organic ferments, or other microscopic living bodies, 
before using it for drink or mixed with food, should always be carried into 
effect, when the use of such water is unavoidable. Filtration no doubt is to a 
certain degree effectual in ridding water of these poisonous agents, and will 
prove still more advantageous if in connection with charcoal, magnesia, &c. 
For an account of different filters for this purpose, consult the London Lancet 
(Jan. 12, March 23, April 13 and 27, 1867, pp. 58, 371, 473, and 526). 
The term Aqua, in the TJ. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, may bo considered as 
designating any natural water of good quality. A good water may bo known by 
its being limpid and inodorous. It answers well for cooking, and does not curdle 
soap. Upon the addition of nitrate of baryta, nitrate of silver, or oxalate of am- 
monia, its transparency is but slightly affected; and, upon being evaporated to 
dryness, it leaves but an inconsiderable residue. 
Water should never be kept in leaden cisterns, on account of the risk of its 
dissolving a small portion of lead. This risk is greater in proportion to the soft- 
ness and purity of the water; for it is found that the presence of a minute pro- 
portion of saline matter, as for example of sulphate of lime, protects the water 
from the slightest metallic impregnation. According to Mr. R. Phillips, jun., 
the chlorides are not protective; as they give rise to chloride of lead, which is 
slightly soluble. The protection has been ascribed to an insoluble film on the 
* It may become desirable in certain cases to determine the quantity of these organic 
matters in solution; and various modes of accomplishing this object have been propused, 
but as yet none perfectly satisfactory. One of the readiest of these methods is the use 
of permanganate of potassa referred to in the text. By adding gradually a solution of 
permanganate of potassa, of known strength, to the contaminated liquid until the solu- 
tion ceases to he decolorized, the quantity of that salt consumed in the process maybe 
determined, and thus the quantity of oxygen, and approximatively the amount of or- 
ganic matter oxidized. Various other methods have been proposed ; as 1. by incineration; 
2. the process of Messrs. Wankyn, Chapman, and Smith, which determines the product 
of ammonia during distillation with caustic potassa, by which the quantity of nitrogen- 
ous matter is approximatively ascertained; especially important, as it is this kind of im- 
purity that is most noxious; and 3. the more complicated processes of Dr. Frankland, 
which determine the quantity of nitrogen of immediate organic origin, as distinct from 
that which may result from any nitrates or nitrites that may be present, and with this 
also the quantity of carbon exclusive of that derived from the mineral carbonates. From 
the want of space, we must content ourselves with referring to articles on the subject in 
the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (Dec. 1867, p. 293, and Jan. 1868, p 335); and the Chern. 
News (Nov. 29,1867, p. 280).—Note to the thirteenth edition. 138 
Aqua. 
PART L 
surface of the lead, formed by the decomposition of the saline matter. Upon 
this principle is based apian of protection by Dr. Schwartz, of Breslau, who pro- 
poses to fill leaden pipes through which water is conducted with a strong solu- 
tion of an alkaline sulphide, which forms a perfectly insoluble coating of sulphide 
(sulphuret) of lead, said to be quite impermeable by the water afterwards intro- 
duced. (Chem. News, Sept. 26, 1863, p. 157.) A coating of zinc has been em- 
ployed for protecting the surface of iron pipes and reservoirs against the action 
of water, but has failed. Experiment has shown that the water becomes impreg- 
nated with the salts of both metals. (Ibid., Ap. 5, 1862, p. 188. )* 
The Schuylkill water, introduced into Philadelphia, possesses all the charac- 
teristics of a good water, except that it is occasionally turbid after heavy rains. 
It contains, on an average, in a wine gallon, according to an analysis by Prof. 
M. H. Boye, of Philadelphia, 4-42 grains of solid matter, nearly one-half of which 
is carbonate of lime, with only a trace of organic matter. It is perfectly free 
from lead, even after standing in leaden pipes for thirty-six hours. (Prof. E. 
N. Horsford.) The solid matter in the same quantity of the Delaware wader at 
Philadelphia, is 3 53 grains, a little over one-third of which is carbonate of lime. 
(Henry Wurtz.) The Groton water of New York is also a good water. It con- 
tains 1093 grs. of solid matter to the gallon Brackish or hard water ought 
never to be employed in compounding prescriptions. For some pharmaceutical 
purposes, no natural water is sufficiently pure; and hence the necessity of resort- 
ing to distillation. (See Aqua Destillata.) 
Matters mechanically suspended in a natural water may be removed by fil- 
tration through sand. On a large scale they may be separated by causing the 
water to percolate a bed of gravel and sand. Rest, causing subsidence, effects 
the same purpose, but in a less perfect manner, and requires time. 
Mineral Waters. When natural spring waters are so far impregnated with 
foreign substances as to have a decided taste, and a peculiar operation on the 
economy, they are called mineral waters. These are conveniently arranged 
under the heads of carbonated, sulphuretted, chalybeate, and saline. 
1. Carbonated waters are characterized by containing an excess of carbonic 
acid, which gives them a sparkling appearance, and the power of reddening lit- 
mus paper. These waters frequently contain the carbonates of lime, magnesia, 
and iron, which are held in solution by the excess of carbonic acid. The waters 
of Seltzer, Spa, and Pyrmont in Europe, and of the sweet springs in Virginia, 
belong to this class. 
2. Sulphuretted waters are such as contain sulphui’etted hydrogen, and are 
distinguished by the peculiar fetid smell of that gas, and by yielding a brown 
precipitate with the salts of lead or silver. Examples of this kind are the waters 
of Aix la Chapelle and Harrogate in Europe, and those of the white, red, and 
salt sulphur springs in Virginia. 
3. Chalybeate waters are characterized by a strong inky taste, and by strik- 
ing a black colour with the infusion of galls, and a blue one with ferrocyanide of 
potassium. The iron is generally in the state of carbonate of the protoxide, held 
in solution by excess of carbonic acid. By standing, the carbonic acid is given 
off; and the protoxide, by absorbing oxygen, is precipitated as a hydrated ses- 
quioxide of an ochreous colour. The principal chalybeate waters are those of 
Tunbridge and Brighton in England, of Wiesbaden in Germany, and of Bed- 
* Experiments by M. Roux, pharmaceutist of the marine at Rochefort, made by order 
of the naval authorities, have satisfactorily shown that reservoirs of iron coated with 
sine are attacked with great facility by water contained in them, which becomes more 
or less impregnated with both metals in the state of oxides and salts, and especially with 
those of zinc, to such a degree as to render such vessels improper, as recipients of water 
for drinking. Of the different kinds of water tried, distilled water deprived as far as 
possible of atmospheric air produced least effect; next in degree of action was spring 
water; still more energetic was distilled water containing carbonic acid furnished by the 
earthy bicarbonates of the water submitted to distillation; and more powerful than all 
was river water containing a certain proportion of common salt. (Jour i. de PI arm. et 
de 4e s6r., i. 99, A.D. 1865.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I 
Aqua 
139 
ford, Pittsburg, and Brandywine in the United States. The sediments of many 
of the chalybeate springs of Germany have been ascertained by Walchner to 
contain both arsenic and copper in minute quantities. These results have been 
confirmed by Dr. H. Will, who finds in some of these springs a minute propor- 
tion of tin, lead, and antimony, in addition to the arsenic and copper. In three 
springs Will found the ratio of the sesquioxide of iron to the other metals to 
be, on an average, as 48 to 1. According to M. Lassaigne, the arsenical impreg- 
nation exerts no poisonous action on the inferior animals, a result which he as- 
cribes to the antidotal power of the iron. The mineral water of Mont Dore, in 
France, was found by Thenard to contain arseniate of soda, in the proportion 
of about one-fifteen thousandth of a grain to two pints. 
4. Saline waters are those, the predominant properties of which depend upon 
saline impregnation. The salts most usually present are sulphates and carbo- 
nates of soda, lime, and magnesia, and the chlorides of sodium, calcium, and 
magnesium. Potassa is occasionally present, and lithia has been detected by 
Berzelius in the spring of Carlsbad, and other salt springs of Germany. Caesia 
and rubidia have also been detected in certain mineral waters. Bromine is found 
in the saline at Theodorshalle, in Germany, as also in the salt wells of western 
Pennsylvania. The mineral springs at Saratoga contain a small proportion of 
iodine and bromine. The principal saline waters are those of Seidlitz in Bohe- 
mia, Cheltenham and Bath in England, and Harrodsburg and Saratoga in the 
United States. To these may be added the water of the ocean. 
We subjoin a summary view of the composition of most of the mineral 
waters enumerated under the foregoing heads. 
1. Carbonated. Seltzer. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 11 cubic inches. 
Soiid contents ;—carbonate of soda 4 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 5; carbonate 
of lime 3; chloride of sodium 17. Total 29 grs. (Bergmann.) 
Spa. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 13 cubic inches. Solid contents;—car 
bonate of soda 1*5 grs; carbonate of magnesia 4*5; carbonate of lime 1*5; 
chloride of sodium 0 2; oxide of iron 0 6. Total 8 3 grs. {Bergmann.) 
Pyrmont. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 26 cubic inches. Solid contents;— 
carbonate of magnesia 10 grs.; carbonate of lime 4*5; sulphate of magnesia 
5*5; sulphate of lime 8 5; chloi’ide of sodium 15; oxide of iron 0*6. Total 
30 6 grs. (Bergmann.) 
Vichy. Grand-Grille spring. In 1000 parts by weight. Water 992*572; 
carbonic acid 0*983; carbonate of soda 4*971; carbonate of lime 0 349; car 
bonate of magnesia 0*084; carbonate of iron 0*012; chloride of sodium 0*570; 
sulphate of soda 0*472; silica 0'073. (Longchamp.) 
Gettysburg Mineral Spring. This spring, situated near the town of Gettys- 
burg, Pa., is distinguished by containing lithia among its constituents. Ana- 
lyzed by Prof. Mayer, it was found to contain, in an Imperial gallon, the fol- 
lowing solid contents; viz. of bicarbonate of soda and bicarbonate of lithia, 
jointly, 45*05 Troy grains; bicarbonate of potassa a trace; bicarbonate of mag- 
nesia 76 05 grs.; bicarbonate of lime 81*00; bicarbonate of iron a trace; sul- 
phate of lime 53*20 grs.; silica 10*00 grs.; and traces of chlorides and phos- 
phates. (Dr. J. Bell, Med. and Surg. Reporter, Sept. 28, 1867, p 262.) 
2. Sulphuretted. Aix la Chapelle. In a wine pint. Sulphuretted hydro- 
gen 5 5 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 12 grs.; carbonate 
of lime 4*75; chloride of sodium 5. Total 21*75 grs. (Bergmann.) 
Harrogate old sulphur well. Sp. gr. 1*01113; temp. 48*2°. In an Imperial 
gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic acid 22*03 cubic inches; carburetted hy- 
drogen 5*84; sulphuretted hydrogen 5*31; nitrogen 2 91. Total 36 09 cubic 
inches. Solid contents ;—sulphate of lime 0*181 grs.; carbonate of lime 12*365; 
chloride of calcium 81*735; chloride of magnesium 55*693; chloride of potas- 
sium 64*701; chloride of sodium 866 180; sulphuret of sodium 15*479; silica 
0 *246; with traces of fluoride of calcium, bromide and iodide of sodium, am- 
monia, carbonate of iron, carbonate of manganese, and organic matter. Total 
1096*580 grs. (Hofmann. Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiv. 123.) 140 
Aqua. 
PART I, 
In one of the springs of Harrogate, which he distinguishes as the strong 
chalybeate, Dr. Muspratt found 16011 grains of protochloride of iron and 7"71 7 
of chloride of barium in the Imp. gallon; whereas in another well within the 
distance of a yard, which he calls the mild chalybeate, there is not a trace of 
either. The protochloride of iron of the former spring renders it, according to 
Dr. Muspratt, without a parallel. (Cliem. News, April 27, 1866, p. 203.) 
White Sulphur. Gaseous contents in a wine gallon;—sulphuretted hydrogen 
25 cubic inches; carbonic acid 2; oxygen I 448; nitrogen 3 552. Total 9‘5. 
Solid contents in a pint;—sulphate of magnesia 5-588 grs.; sulphate of lime 
7'744; carbonate of lime 1T50; chloride of calcium 0-204; chloride of sod'ura 
0T80; oxide of iron a trace; loss 0 410. Total 15-276 grs. (W. B. Rogers ) 
3. Chalybeate. Tunbridge. In a wine gallon. Solid contents;—chloride 
of sodium 2-46 grs.; chloride of calcium 0 39; chloride of magnesium 0*29; 
sulphate of lime 141; carbonate of lime 0 27; oxide of iron 2*22; manganese, 
vegetable fibre, silica, &c. 0 44; loss 0T3. Total 7*61 grs. (Scudamore.) 
Brighton. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid 2 5 cubic inches. Solid contents ;— 
sulphate of iron 1*80 grs.; sulphate of lime 4'09; chloride of sodium 1’53; chlo- 
ride of magnesium 0*75; silica 0-14; loss 0 19. Total 8 5 grs. (Marcet.) 
Cheltenham {chalybeate). In a wine pint. Gaseous contents;—carbonic acid 
2-5 cubic inches. Solid contents;—carbonate of soda 05 grs.; sulphate of soda 
22*7 ; sulphate of magnesia 6; sulphate of lime 2*5; chloride of sodium 41 3; 
oxide of iron 0 8. Total 73*8 grs. (Brande and Parkes.) 
Bedford. In a wine pint. Carbonic acid not estimated. Solid contents ;—car- 
bonate of lime 2-120 grs.; sulphate of lime 11 274; sulphate of magnesia 3*974 ; 
sulphates of alumina and sesquioxide of iron 1 *280 ; sulphate of soda 3 092; 
chloride of sodium 0 343 ; free sulphuric acid [?] 0*128; silica and organic mat- 
ter a trace. Total 22-211 grs. (J. Gheston Morris. Med. Exam., June, 1852.) 
Sharon {chalybeate). Gaseous contents in a wine gallon;—sulphhydric acid 
gas [sulphuretted hydrogen] 0-7702 cubic inches. Solid contents in a gallon;— 
bicarbonate of magnesia 15*1148 grains; sulphate of lime 63-8024; sulphate of 
magnesia 8-1546; protosulphate of iron T4040; sulphate of soda 3’7401; sul- 
phate of potassa a trace; organic matter 28 48. This analysis was of water 
which had been kept several months, and there was a precipitate of sulphide 
(sulphuret) of iron in the vessel, showing that the fresh water must have con- 
tained more of this metal than that obtained upon analysis. {Maisch. Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1861, p. 105.) 
Rockbridge alum spring. In a wine gallon. Carbonic acid 7 536 grs. Solid 
contents;—sulphate of potassa l-765 grs.; sulphate of lime 3*263; sulphate of 
magnesia 1*763; protoxide of iron 4-863; alumina 17 905; crenate of ammo- 
nia 0 700; chloride of sodium 1 008; silica 2-840; free sulphuric acid 15-224. 
Total 49-331. {Hayes.) A free acid and free bases are here made to coexist. 
Church Hill alum water, Richmond, Va. Sp. gr. 1 0069. In a wine gallon. 
Solid contents;—sulphate of potassa 2-444 grs.; sulphate of sodal-943; chlo- 
ride of sodium 4 627; sulphate of ammonia 0 643; sulphate of lime 88 836; 
sulphate of magnesia 86-064; tersulphate of alumina 72 928; sulphate of pro- 
toxide of iron 24*991; tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron 51*270; bisulphato 
of sesquioxide of iron 83 355; silica 10-429; phosphoric acid a trace. Total 
427"530 grs {J. C. Booth. Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1854.) 
4. Saline. Seidlitz. In a wine pint. Solid contents;—carbonate of magne- 
sia 2’5 grs.; carbonate of lime 0‘8; sulphate of magnesia 180; sulphate of lime 
5; chloride of magnesium 4-5. Total 192 8 grs. {Bergmann.) 
Cheltenham {pure saline). In a wine pint. Solid contents;—sulphate of 
soda 15 grs.; sulphate of magnesia 11; sulphate of lime 4 5 ; chloride of sodium 
50. Total 80-5 grs. {Parkes and Brande.) 
Bath. King'swell. Sp. gr. 1-0025 ; temp. 115°. In an Imperial gallon. Solid 
contents;—carbonate of lime 8*820 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 0*329; car- 
bonate of iron 1'064; sulphate of lime 80-052; sulphate of potassa 4*641; 
sulphate of soda 19 229; chloride of sodium 12*642; chloride of magnesium PART I 
Aqua 
141 
14-581; silica 2 982; with traces of iodine and oxide of manganese. Total 
144-34 grs. (Merck and Galloway. Chem. Gaz., 1 846, p. 496.) 
Balston Spa. Sans Souci spring. In a wine gallon. Solid contents;—chlo- 
ride of sodium 143 733 grs.; bicarbonate of soda 12 66; bicarbonate of mag- 
nesia 391; carbonate of lime 43-407 ; carbonate of iron 5'95; iodide of sodium 
I *3; silica 1. Total 247 15 grs. {Steel.) 
Saratoga. Iodine spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic 
acid 336 cubic inches; atmospheric air 4. Total 340 cubic inches. Solid con- 
tents;—chloride of sodium 187 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 75; carbonate of 
lime 26; carbonate of soda 2; carbonate of iron 1; iodine 3 5. Total 294 5 
grs. {Emmons.) 
Saratoga. Pavilion spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic 
acid 359 05 cubic inches; atmospheric air 5-03. Total 364-08 cubic inches. 
Solid contents;—chloride of sodium 187'68 grs.; carbonate of soda 4-92; car- 
bonate of lime 52*84; carbonate of magnesia 56-92; carbonate of iron 3 51; sul- 
phate of soda 1-48; iodide of sodium 2-59; alumina 0 42; silica 1*16; posphate 
of lime 019; bromide of potassium a trace. Total 311 71 grs. {Chilton.) 
Saratoga. Union spring. In a wine gallon. Gaseous contents;—carbonic 
acid 314-16 cubic inches; atmospheric air 4-62. Total 318'78 cubic inches. Solid 
contents;—chloride of sodium 243-620 grs.; carbonate of magnesia 84-265; 
carbonate of lime 41600; carbonate of soda 12 800; carbonate of iron 5 452; 
iodide of sodium and iodine 3-600 ; silica and alumina T570; bromide of potas- 
sium a trace. Total 392 907 grs. {J. R. Chilton.) This spring is now called 
Excelsior Rock spring, having been re-tubed to the depth of 56 feet, of which 
II feet are in the solid rock. The following are given by Messrs. Booth and Gar- 
rett, of Philadelphia, as the solid contents in grains of a gallon of the water; of 
chloride of sodium 375-8996 grs., carbonate of lime 7 6'0160, carbonate of magne- 
sia 30-4437, carbonate of soda 10-3520, silicate of potassa 6*9829, silicate of soda 
3*7672, carbonate of iron 2 8086, sulphate of soda 1*5563, total 507-8263 grains. 
Saratoga. Congress spring. Gaseous contents in 100 cubic inches;—carbonic 
acid 114 cubic inches. Solid contents in a pound Troy;—chloride of ammonium 
0*0326 grs.; chloride of potassium 1 6256; chloride of sodium 19 6653; iodide 
of sodium 0 0046; bromide of sodium 0*1613; carbonate of soda 0 8261; car- 
bonate of lime 5 8531; carbonate of magnesia 4T155; carbonate of strontia 
0 0672; carbonate of protoxide of iron 0 0173 ; carbonate of protoxide of man- 
ganese 0 0202; sulphate of potassa 0-1379; nitrate of magnesia 0T004 ; alumina 
0*0069; silica 0-1112. Total 32 7452 grs. {Schweitzer.) 
Sea Water. English Channel. In a thousand grains. Water 964*744 grs., 
chloride of sodium 27 059; chloride of potassium 0*765; chloride of magnesium 
3*667; bromide of magnesium 0 029; sulphate of magnesia 2-296; sulphate of 
lime 1-407 ; carbonate of lime 0 033. Total 1000 grs. {Schweitzer.) The pro- 
portion of chloride of sodium is from 36 to 37 parts in 1000 in the ocean, at a 
distance from land. Its amount is small in the interior of the Baltic. It is per- 
ceived that bromine is present in very minute amount; 100 pounds of sea water 
yielding only 3£ grs. of this element. According to Balard, iodine exists in the 
water of the Mediterranean; but it has not been detected in the water of the 
ocean, the bromine being supposed to mask its presence. Besides these ingredi- 
ents, others ai*e alleged to exist in minute proportion in sea water; as fluorine by 
Dr. G. Wilson; lead, copper, and silver, by MM. Malaguti, Durocher, and Sar- 
zeau ; and iron and manganese by M. Uziglio. Anterior to Wilson’s researches, 
Mr. Middleton and Prof. Silliman, jun. had inferred the existence of fluorine in 
sea water, from its presence in marine animals. The lead and copper above men- 
tioned, were found in certain fuci only; the silver, in the sea water itself. The 
presence of silver in sea water has been rendered probable by Mr. F. Field, by a 
comparative analysis of the same copper sheathing, when new, and after having 
been on a vessel for many years. The old sheathing was always found to contain 
more silver than the new ( Chem. Gaz., March 2, 1857); and the observations of 
Mr. Field have been subsequently confirmed by others. Schweitzer’s analysis 142 
Aqua, 
PART I. 
gives a small proportion of carbonate of lime; but Bibra could not detect any. 
Dr. John Davy’s examinations of sea water show that carbonate of lime does 
not exist at a great distance from land, except in very minute proportion; but 
becomes quite evident in water, taken at a distance of from fifty to a hundred 
miles from coasts. Boracic acid has been found by Mr. Veatch in the sea water 
on the coast of California. (See Am Journ. of Pharm., July, 1860, p. 330.)* 
Sea water, filtered, and charged with five times its volume of carbonic acid, 
forms, according to Pasquier, a gentle purgative, which keeps very well, and is 
not disagreeable to take. The dose is from half a pint to a pint. 
By freezing, sea water is almost entirely freed from saline matter, the ice 
being nearly pure water. It is obvious that the unfrozen water contains much 
more than its ordinary proportion of salts; and this is one of the methods of 
concentrating this and other saline solutions. 
Medical Properties of Water. Water is a remedy of great importance. 
When taken into the stomach, it acts by its temperature, by its bulk, and by 
being absorbed. When of the temperature of about 60°, it gives no positive 
sensation either of heat or cold; between 60° and 45°, it creates a cool sensa- 
tion; and below 45°, a decidedly cold one. Between 60° and 100°, it relaxes 
the fibres of the stomach, and is apt to produce nausea, particularly if the eifect 
of bulk be added to that of temperature. By its bulk and solvent powers, it 
allays irritation by diluting the acrid contents of the stomach and bowels, and 
favouring their final expulsion ; and by its absorption, it promotes the secretion 
of urine and cutaneous transpiration. Indeed, its influence is so great in the 
latter way, that it may be safely affirmed that sudorifics and diuretics will not 
produce their proper eifect, unless assisted by copious dilution. 
Water, externally applied as a bath, is also an important remedy. It may act 
by its own specific effect as a liquid, or as a means of modifying the heat of the 
body. It acts in the latter way differently, according to the temperature at which 
it may be applied. When this is above 97 °, it constitutes the vapour or hot bath ; 
when between 970 and 85°, the warm bath; between 85° and 65°, the tepid bath; 
and between 65° and 32°, the cold bath. 
The general action of the vapour bath is to accelerate the circulation, and 
produce profuse sweating. It acts locally on the skin, by softening and relax- 
ing its texture. In stiffness of the joints, and in various diseases of the skin, 
it has often proved beneficial. 
The hot bath, like the vapour bath, is decidedly stimulant. By its use the pulse 
becomes full and frequent, the veins turgid, the face flushed, the skin red, and the 
respiration quickened. If the temperature be high, and the constitution pecu- 
liar, its use is not without danger; as it is apt to produce a feeling of suffoca- 
tion, violent throbbing in the temples, and vertigo with tendency to apoplexy. 
When it acts favourably, it produces profuse perspiration. 
* The following analysis of sea water, taken at 2 leagues from Fecamp, on the coast 
of France, merits special notice from the care with which it was made, and the large 
quantity operated on. The sp. gr. was 1-026, at 57° F. 
Gaseous Contents. 
In one kilog. 
In one litre. 
litres. 
litres. 
Atmospheric air 
...0-0120 
00123 
Free carbonic acid 
traces 
“ sulphhydric acid... 
traces 
Solid Contents. 
grs. 
grs. 
Chloride of potassium..., 
....0-09763 
0-10019 
“ sodium 
..26-09300 
26-78913 
“ lithium 
...0-00042 
0-00043 
“ ammonium. 
...000178 
000183 
“ magnesium. 
...3-19300 
3-27700 
Iodide of sodium 
...000920 
0 00944 
Bromide of sodium 
...0-10605 
0-10882 
“ magnesium 
...0-03084 
0 03163 
Sulphate of lime 
...0-90170 
0-92540 
“ potassa 
...0-00919 
0-00943 
Solid Contents. In one, kilog. 
In one lit/(, 
grs. 
grs. 
Sulphate of soda 2-57250 
2-64012 
“ magnesia. .0-32736 
0-33597 
Phosphate of magnesia..0 00046 
0-00047 
“ , ammoniaco-I . 
’ . > signs 
magnesian / ° 
signs 
Carbonate of lime 0 13600 
0-13959 
“ magnesia.... traces 
traces 
“ iron 0-00021 
0-00021 
“ manganese., signs 
signs 
Silicic acid 0-01420 
0-01457 
Organic matter signs 
signs 
Pure water 966-50646 
991-91577 
Total 1000 00000 
1026-30000 
(Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., i. 381, A.D. 1865.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Aqua.—Aralia Nudicaulis. 
143 
The warm bath, though below the animal heat, nevertheless produces a sen- 
sation of warmth; as its temperature is above that of the surface. It diminishes 
the frequency of the pulse, renders the respiration slower, lessens the heat of the 
body, and relaxes the skin. It cannot, therefore, be deemed a stimulant. By re- 
lieving certain diseased actions and states, accompanied by morbid irritability, 
it often acts as a soothing remedy, producing a disposition to sleep. It is proper 
in febrile exanthematous diseases, in which the pulse is frequent, the skin hot 
and dry, and the general condition characterized by restlessness. It is contra- 
indicated in diseases of the head and chest. 
The tepid bath is not calculated to have much modifying influence on the 
heat of the body. Its peculiar effects are to soften and cleanse the skin, and to 
promote insensible perspiration. 
The cold bath acts differently according to its temperature and manner of ap- 
plication, and the condition of the system to which it is applied. When of low 
temperature and suddenly applied, it acts primarily as a stimulant, by the sudden 
and rapid manner in which the caloric is abstracted; next as a tonic, by con- 
densing the living fibres; and finally as a sedative. It is often useful in diseases 
of relaxation and debility, when practised by affusion or plunging. But it is 
essential to its efficacy and safety, that the stock of vitality should be sufficient 
to create, immediately after its use, those feelings of warmth and invigoration, 
included under the term reaction. Currie used it with advantage, by affusion, 
in certain febrile diseases, especially typhus and scarlatina. To make it safe, 
the heat must be steadily above the natural standard, and the patient free from 
all sense of chilliness, and not in a state of profuse perspiration. 
Cold water is frequently applied as a sedative in local inflammations, and as 
a means of restraining hemorrhage. Its use, however, is inadmissible in in- 
flammations of the chest. 
Pharm. Uses. Water is used in a vast number of preparations, either as a 
menstruum, or as a means for promoting chemical action by its solvent power. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Destillata. B. 
ARALIA NUDICAULIS. U. S. Secondary. 
False Sarsaparilla. 
The root of Aralia nudicaulis. U. S. 
Aralia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.— Nat. Ord. Araliaceas. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers umbelled. Calyx five-toothed, superior. Petals five. Stig- 
ma sessile, subglobose. Perry five-celled, five-seeded. Torrey. 
Aralia nudicaulis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1521; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. i. 53. 
False sarsaparilla, wild sarsaparilla, or small spikenard, as this plant is 
variously called, is an indigenous perennial, with one leaf and one flower-stem, 
springing together from the root, or from a very short stalk, and seldom rising 
two feet in height. The leaf, which stands upon a long footstalk, is twice ter- 
nate, or once and quinate, with oblong-oval, acuminate leaflets, rounded at the 
base, serrate on the margin, and smooth on both surfaces. The scape or flower- 
stem is naked, shorter than the leaf, and terminated by three small umbels, each 
consisting of from twelve to thirty small yellowish or greenish flowers. The fruit 
consists of small round berries, about as large as those of the common elder. 
The plant grows throughout the United States, from Canada to the Carolinas, 
inhabiting shady and rocky woods, and delighting in a rich soil. It flowers in 
May and June. 
The root, which is the officinal portion, is horizontal, creeping, sometimes 
several feet in length, about as thick as the little finger, more or less twisted, 
of a yellowish-brown colour externally, of a fragrant odour, and a warm, aro- 
matic, sweetish taste. It has not been analyzed. 
Medical Properties and Uses. False sarsaparilla is a gentle stimulant and 
diaphoretic, and is thought to have an alterative influence, analogous to that of 144 
Aralia Spinosa.—Argentum 
PART I 
the root from which it derived its name. It is used h* domestic practice, and, 
by some practitioners in the country, in rheumatic, syphilitic, and cutaneous 
affections, in the same manner and dose as genuine sarsaparilla. A strong 
decoction has proved useful as a stimulant to old ulcers. 
The root of Aralia racemosa, or American spikenard, though not officinal, 
is used for the same purposes as A. nudicaulis, which it is said to resemble in 
medical properties. Dr. Peck strongly recommends the root of Aralia hispida, 
called in Massachusetts dwarf elder, as a diuretic in dropsy. He uses it in 
the form of decoction, and finds it pleasanter to the taste and more acceptable 
to the stomach than most other medicines of the same class. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., xix. 117.) W. 
ARALIA SPINOSA. U.S. Secondary. 
Aralia Bark. 
The bark of Aralia spinosa. U. S. 
Aralia. See ARALIA NUDICAULIS. 
Aralia spinosa. Willd. Sp. plant, i. 1520. This is an indigenous arborescent 
shrub, variously called angelica-tree toothache-tree, and prickly ash. The last 
name, however, should be dropped ; as it belongs properly to Xantlioxylum 
fraxineum, and if retained might lead to confusion. The stem is erect, simple, 
from eight to twelve feet high, armed with numerous prickles, and furnished 
near the top with very large bipinnate or tripinnate leaves, which are also 
prickly, and are composed of oval, pointed, slightly serrate leaflets. It termi- 
nates in an ample panicle, very much branched, and bearing numerous small 
hemispherical umbels, in each of which are about thirty white flowers. 
This species of Aralia is found most abundantly and of the largest growth 
in the Southern States, where it is said sometimes to attain a height of from 
thirty to sixty feet. It grows also in the Western States, and as far north as 
New York. It is sometimes cultivated in the gardens of the North as a curious 
or ornamental plant. It flourishes in low, fertile woods, and flowers in August 
and September. The bark, root, and berries are medicinal; but the first only is 
directed by the Pharmacopoeia. 
The bark, as in the shops, is usually in small quills or half quills, from two 
or three lines to half an inch in diameter, thin, fibrous, grayish externally, and 
armed with prickles or the remains of them, yellowish within, of an odour some- 
what aromatic, and a bitterish taste, which becomes slightly acrid on chewing, 
and leaves a lasting sense of pungency upon the tongue. It yields its virtues 
to boiling water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The virtues of Aralia spinosa are those of a 
stimulant diaphoretic. According to Elliot, an infusion of the recent bark of the 
root is emetic and cathartic. The remedy is used in chronic rheumatism and 
cutaneous eruptions; and in some parts of the South has been employed in 
syphilis. Pursh states that a vinous or spirituous infusion of the berries is re- 
markable for relieving rheumatic pains; and a similar tincture is said to be em- 
ployed in Virginia with advantage in violent colic. The pungency of this tinc- 
ture has also been found useful in relieving toothache. The bark is most con- 
veniently administered in decoction. W. 
ARGENTUM. US. 
Silver. 
Off. Syn. ARGENTUM PURIFICATUM. Refined Silver. Pure metallic 
silver. Br. 
Argent, Fr.; Silber, Germ.; Argento, Ital.; Plata, Span. 
Silver is occasionally found in the metallic state, sometimes crystallized, at 
other times combined with gold, antimony, arsenic, or mercury; but usually it PART I. 
Argentum. 
145 
occurs in the state of sulphnret, either pure, or mixed with other sulphurtas, as 
those of copper, lead, and antimony. It is sometimes found as a chloride. 
The most productive mines of silver are found on this continent, being those 
of Mexico and Peru ; the richest in Europe are those of Norway, Hungary, and 
Transylvania. Mines have been opened and profitably worked in California and 
Nevada, and there can be little doubt that vast deposits of silver ores exist in 
the mountainous regions of our country, extending northward from Arizona 
and New Mexico. The principal ore is the sulphuret. The mineral containing 
silver, which is most disseminated, is argentiferous galena, which is sulphuret 
of lead, containing a little sulphuret of silver. Argentiferous galena exists in 
several localities in the United States A mine of silver was opened, about the 
year 1841, in Davidson county, N. C. The ore is an argentiferous carbonate of 
lead, yielding about one-third of its weight of lead, from which from 100 to 400 
ounces of silver are extracted per ton. (Eckfeldt and Du Bois. Manual of Goins.) 
Native silver is associated, in small quantities, with the native copper of the 
Lake Superior region; and a little of it has come into the market. The two 
metals, though more or less mixed, are yet quite distinct, seldom being alloyed 
to any considerable extent. 
Extraction. Silver is extracted from its ores by two principal processes, 
amalgamation and cupellation. At Freyberg, in Saxony, the ore, which is prin- 
cipally the sulphuret, is mixed with a tenth of chloride of sodium, and roasted 
in a reverberatory furnace. The sulphur becomes acidified, and combines with 
sodium and oxygen, so as to form sulphate of soda, while the chlorine forms a 
chloride with the silver. The roasted mass is then reduced to very fine powder, 
mixed with half its weight of mercury, one-third of its weight of water, and 
about a seventeenth of iron in flat pieces, and subjected for sixteen or eighteen 
hours, to constant agitation in barrels turned by machinery. The chlorine com- 
bines with the iron, and remains in solution as chloride of iron; while the silver 
forms an amalgam with the mercury. The amalgam is then subjected to pres- 
sure in leathern bags, through the pores of which the excess of mercury passes, 
a solid amalgam being left behind. This is then subjected to heat in a distilla- 
tory apparatus, by means of which the mercury is separated from the silver, 
which is left in a porous mass. In Peru and Mexico the process is similar to 
that above given, common salt and mercury being used; but slaked lime and 
sulphuret of iron are also employed, with an effect which is not very obvious. 
When argentiferous galenas are worked for the silver they contain, they are 
first reduced, and the argentiferous lead obtained is fused on a large, oval, shal- 
low vessel called a test, and exposed to the blast of a bellows, whereby the lead 
is oxidized, half vitrified, and driven off the test in scales, in the form of litharge. 
The operation being continued on successive portions of argentiferous lead, the 
whole of the lead is separated, and the silver, not being oxidizable, accumulates 
on the test as a brilliant fused mass, until its amount is sufficient to be removed. 
The time required for the separation is much abridged by the process of Mr. 
Pattinson, of Newcastle, England. This consists in allowing the melted alloy 
to cool slowly, and separating the crystals which first form, consisting mainly 
of lead, by means of a perforated ladle. The residue is a very fusible alloy of 
lead and silver, in which the latter metal is in large proportion, and from which 
it can be easily separated by cupellation or other means. (Brande and Taylor.) 
Properties Silver is a white metal, very brilliant, tenacious, malleable, and 
ductile. In malleability and ductility, it is inferior only to gold. It is harder 
than gold, but softer than copper. Its equivalent number is 108, symbol Ag, 
and sp. gr. about 10 4. It forms but one well characterized oxide, which is a 
protoxide. Exposed to a full i’ed heat, it enters into fusion, and exhibits a 
brilliant appearance. It is not oxidized in the air, but contracts a superficial 
tarnish of sulphuret of silver by the action of sulphuretted hydrogen in the 
atmosphere ; from which it may be freed by washing it with a strong solution 
of cyanide of potassium, and, as soon as it becomes bright, washing it with 
water and drying it. ( Chenx. Neivs, Jan. 5, 186(1, p. 12.) It is entirely soluble 146 
Argenturn. —Armoracise Radix. 
PART i. 
in diluted nitric acid. If any gold be present, it will remain undissolved as a 
dark-coloured powder. From the nitric solution, the whole of the silver may 
be thrown dowrn by chloride of sodium, as a white precipitate of chloride of 
silver, characterized by being completely soluble in ammonia. If the remain- 
ing solution contain copper or lead, it will be precipitated or discoloured by 
sulphuretted hydrogen. “If ammonia be added in excess to a solution of the 
metal in nitric acid, the resulting fluid exhibits neither colour nor turbidity” 
(Br.)-, proving the absence of copper, lead, and other metals. 
Pharm. Uses. The only officinal preparations containing silver are the oxide, 
nitrate, and cyanide. The chloride will be noticed in the third part of this work. 
Off. Prep. Argenti Nitras. B. 
ARMORACLE RADIX. Br. 
The fresh root of Cochlearia Armoracia. Br. 
Armoracia, Br. 1864; Baifort sauvage, Fr.; Meerrettig, Germ.; Rafano rusticano, 
Ital.; Rabano rusticano, Span. 
Cochlearia. Sex. Syst. Tetradynamia Silliculosa,— Nat. Ord. Brassicaeeae 
or Cruciferae. 
Gen. Ch. Silicula emarginate, turgid, scabrous, with gibbous, obtuse valves. 
Willd. 
Cochlearia Armoracia. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 451; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 400, 
t. 145. The root of this plant is perennial, sending up numerous very large 
leaves, from the midst of which a round, smooth, erect, branching stem rises two 
or three feet in height. The radical leaves are lance-shaped, waved, scalloped 
on the edges, sometimes pinnatifid, and stand upon strong footstalks. Those of 
the stem are much smaller, without footstalks, sometimes divided at the edges, 
sometimes almost entire. The flowers are numerous, white, peduncled, and form 
thick terminal clusters. The calyx has four ovate, deciduous leaves, and the co- 
rolla an equal number of obovate petals, twice as long as the calyx, and inserted 
by narrow cla ws. The pod is small, elliptical, crowned with the persistent stigma, 
and divided into two cells, each containing from four to six seeds. 
The horse-radish is a native of western Europe, growing wild on the sides of 
ditches, and in other moist situations. It is cultivated for culinary purposes in 
most civilized countries, and is said to have become naturalized in some parts 
of the United States. Its flowers appear in June. 
The root, which is officinal in its fresh state, is long, conical at top, then nearl}1- 
cylindrical for some inches, at last tapering, whitish externally, very white w ithin, 
fleshy, of a strong pungent odour when scraped or bruised, and of a hot, biting, 
somewhat sweetish and sometimes bitterish taste. Its virtues are imparted to 
wTater and alcohol. They depend upon a volatile oil, which is dissipated by dry- 
ing ; the root becoming at first sweetish, and ultimately insipid and quite inert. 
Its acrimony is also destroyed by boiling. The oil maybe obtained by distilla- 
tion with water. It is colourless or pale-yellow, heavier than water, very volatile, 
excessively pungent, acrid, and corrosive, exciting inflammation and even vesi- 
cation when applied to the skin. Hubatka considers it as identical with the vola- 
tile oil of mustard. (Journ. dr Pharm.. 3e ser., v. 42 ) According to Gutret, 
only six parts of it are obtained from 10,000 of the root. Besides this principle, 
the fresh root contains, according to the same chemist, a bitter resin in minute 
quantity, sugar, extractive, gum, starch, albumen, acetic acid, acetate and sul 
phate of lime, water, and lignin. From observations made by F. L. Winckler, it 
may be inferred that myronic acid exists in the root combined with potassa, and 
that it is from the reaction between this acid, myrosine, also existing in the root, 
and water, that the volatile oil is produced, in the same manner as oil of mustard 
from mustard seed. (See Sinapis.) Horse-radish, wdien distilled with alcohol, 
yields none of the oil. (Journ. fur Pralct. Pharm., xviii. 89.) The root may be 
kept for some time without material injury, if buried in sand in a cool place. 
Horse-radish Root. PART T. 
Armoracise Radix.—Arnica. 
147 
It is said that if, to the powder of the dried root, which has become appa- 
rently inert, the emulsion of white mustard seed containing myrosine be added, 
it reacquires its original irritant properties ; so that it is the myrosine and not 
the myronate of potassa which is injured by drying. Hence, the powdered roct 
may be added with advantage to mustard in preparing cataplasms, pediluvia, 
&c. (Journ. de Pliarm. et de Chim., xxvii. 268.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horse-radish is highly stimulant, exciting the 
stomach when swallowed, and promoting the secretions, especially that of urine. 
Externally it is rubefacient. Its chief use is as a condiment to promote appetite 
and invigorate digestion; but it is also occasionally employed as a medicine, 
particularly in dropsy attended with enfeebled digestion and general debility. 
It has, moreover, been recommended in palsy and chronic rheumatism, both as 
an internal and external remedy; and in scorbutic affections is highly esteemed. 
Cullen found advantage in cases of hoarseness, from the use of a syrup pre- 
pared from an infusion of horse-radish and sugar, and slowly swallowed in the 
quantity of one or two teaspoonfuls, repeated occasionally. The root may be 
given in the dose of half a drachm or more, grated, or cut into small pieces. 
Off. Prep Spiritus Armoraciae Compositus, Br. W. 
ARNICA. U.S. 
Arnica. 
The flowers of Arnica montana. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ARNICJE RADIX. Arnica Root. The dried rhizome and root- 
lets of Arnica montana, Br. 
Leopard’s-bane, U. S. 1850; Arnique, Fry Berg Wolverly, Gemeines achtes Pallkraut, 
Germ..; Arnica montana, Ital., Span. 
Arnica. Sex. Syst Syngenesia Superflua.— Nat. Ord. Composite Senecio- 
nideae. Be Cand. Asteracese. Bindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx with equal leaflets, in a double row. Seed-down hairy, sessile. 
Seeds of the disk and ray furnished with seed-down. Receptacle hairy. Hayne. 
Arnica montana. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2106 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 41, t. 17. 
This is a perennial, herbaceous plant, having a woody, brownish, horizontal root, 
from one to three inches long, and two'or three lines thick, ending abruptly, and 
sending forth numerous slender fibres of the same colour. The stem is about a 
foot high, cylindrical, striated, hairy, and terminating in one, two, or three pe- 
duncles, each bearing a flower. The radical leaves are ovate, entire, ciliated, 
and obtuse; those of the stem, which usually consist of two opposite pairs, are 
lance-shaped. Both are of a bright-green colour, and somewhat pubescent on 
their upper surface. The flowers are very large, and of a fine orange-yellow 
colour. The calyx is greenish, imbricated, with lanceolate scales. The ray con- 
sists of about fourteen ligulate florets, twice as long as the calyx, striated, three- 
toothed, and hairy at the base; the disk,of tubular florets, with a five-lobed margin. 
This plant is a native of the mountainous districts of Europe and Siberia, and 
is found, according to Nuttall, in the northern regions of this continent, west of 
the Mississippi. It has been introduced into England, and might no doubt be 
cultivated in this country. Its transference from the secondary to the primary 
catalogue, in the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, indicates that it is 
more used with us than formerly The flowers, leaves, and root Are employed; 
but the flowers are usually preferred. 
Properties. The whole plant, when fresh, has a strong, disagreeable odour, 
which is apt to excite sneezing, and is diminished by drying. The taste is acrid, 
bitterish, and durable. The dried root is cylindrical, contorted, and marked 
by scars from the insertion of the leaves. Water extracts its virtues. Chevallier 
and Lassaigne discovered, in the flowers, gallic acid, gum, albumen, yellow co- 
louring matter, an odorous resin, and a bittet principle which they considered 
identical with cytisin, discovered by them in the seeds of the laburnum tree 
( Cytisus Laburnum), which are possessed of poisonous properties. (See Bond. 148 
Arnica. 
PAltr r. 
Med. Times and Gaz., Nov. 1856, p. 446.) Cytisin is yellow, of a bitter and 
nauseous taste, deliquescent, readily soluble in water and diluted alcohol, but 
with difficulty in strong alcohol, and insoluble in ether. In the dose of five 
grains it is powerfully emetic and cathartic ; and it has been supposed to be 
the active principle of the plant. The flowers also contain a small proportion 
of a blue volatile oil. Pfaff obtained from the root a volatile oil, an acrid resin, 
extractive, gum, and lignin. Mr. Wm. Bastick, of London, has separated an 
organic alkali from the flowers, and names it arnicina. It is solid, slightly bit- 
ter, but not acrid, of the odour of castor, slightly soluble in water, and much 
more soluble in alcohol and ether. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., x. 389.)* The 
alkaloid, however, appears to have been previously obtained by M. Lebourdais 
by the charcoal process. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. p. 243.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Leopard’s-bane is a stimulant, directed with 
peculiar energy to the brain and whole nervous as manifested by the re- 
sulting headache, spasmodic contractions of the limbs, and difficulty of respira- 
tion. It acts also as an irritant to the stomach and bowels, often producing an 
emetic and cathartic effect, and is said by Bergius to be diuretic, diaphoretic, 
and emmenagogue. It is capable of acting as a poison in overdoses, causing 
burning in the stomach, violent abdominal pains, intense headache, and great 
nervous disturbance. A case of tetanic spasm of one side, and ultimate death 
under its use, is on record; but there is reason to doubt whether arnica was the 
real cause of the fatal issue. (Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 46.) It is much used 
by the Germans, who prescribe the flowers and root with advantage in amau- 
rosis, paralysis, and other nervous affections. It is said to prove useful in 
that disordered condition which succeeds concussion of the brain from falls, 
blows, &c.; and from this circumstance has received the title of panacea lapso- 
rum. It has also been recommended in chronic catarrh of the old, intermittent 
fever and its sequelae, dysentery, diarrhoea, nephritis, gout, rheumatism, passive 
hemorrhages, dropsy, chlorosis, amenorrhoea, and various other complaints, in 
most of which it seems to have been empirically prescribed. It is peculiarly 
useful in diseases attended with a debilitated or typhoid state of the system. 
Dr. T. C. Miller has found it a very valuable remedy in enteric or typhoid fever. 
(Penins. Med. Journ , Sept. 1859, p. 382.) The powdered flowers and leaves 
are employed as a sternutatory; and the inhabitants of Savoy and the Yosges 
are said to substitute them for tobacco. They maybe given in substance or in- 
fusion. The dose of the powder is from five to twenty grains frequently repeated. 
The infusion may be prepared by digesting an ounce in a pint of water, of which 
from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce may be given every two or three hours. It 
should always be strained through linen, in order to separate the fine fibres, 
which might irritate the throat. The poisonous properties of the plant are said 
to be best counteracted by the free use of vinegar or other dilute vegetable acid; 
but this is very doubtful; and, at all events, the stomach should be first thor- 
oughly emptied. A tincture prepared from the flowers has come into use in 
this country as a domestic remedy in sprains, bruises, &c., and is n nv among 
the U. S. officinals. It is employed externally. 
Of'. Prep, of the Flowers. Extractum Arnicae Alcoholicum, U.S.; Tinctura 
Arnicas, U.S. 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Tinctura Arnicae, Br. W 
* Mr. Bastick obtained the alkaloid by the following process. The flowers were mace- 
rated with alcohol acidulated with sulphuric acid; the tincture was filtered, and treated 
with lime until it evinced an alkaline reaction; the liquid was then filtered, and the fil- 
trate treated with sulphuric acid in slight excess; the acid solution was filtered and con- 
centrated by evaporation; to the residue a little water was added, the liquid was evapo- 
rated until all the alcohol was driven oflf, and was then again filtered ; the filtered liquor 
■was saturated with carbonate of potassa, and, after filtration, was mixed with a consider- 
able excess of that salt; finally, the liquid was agitated with successive portions of ether 
until this fluid ceased to dissolve anything, and the ethereal solution obtained was left 
to spontaneous evaporation. Arnicina remained. (Note to the ninth edition.) PART I. 
Arsenicum. 
149 
ARSENICUM. U.S. 
Arsenic, Fr.; Arsenik, Germ,.;' Arsenico, Ital., Span. 
This metal was introduced into the IT. S. and Dublin Pharmacopoeias of 1850, 
for the purpose of being used to form the iodide of arsenic, and the solution of 
iodide of arsenic and mercury, two new officinals of those works. It has been re- 
tained in the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, but was rejected by 
the compilers of the British. The Dublin College gave the following formula. 
“ Take of White Oxide of Arsenic of Commerce two drachms \_Dub. weight]. 
Place the Oxide at the sealed end of a hard German glass tube, of about half an 
inch in diameter and eighteen inches long, and, having covered it with about 
eight inches of dry and coarsely pulverized charcoal, and raised the portion of 
the tube containing the charcoal to a red heat, let a few ignited coals be placed 
beneath the Oxide, so as to effect its slow sublimation. When this has been 
accomplished, the metallic arsenic will be found attached to the interior of the 
tube at its distant or cool extremity. 
“ In conducting this process, the furnace used in the performance of an organic 
analysis should be employed, and the fuel should be ignited charcoal. It will 
be proper also to connect the open extremity of the tube with a flue, for the 
purpose of preventing the possible escape into the apartment of arsenical va- 
pours; and, with the view of keeping it from being plugged by the metal, to 
introduce occasionally into it, as the sublimation proceeds, an iron wire through 
a cork, fixed (but not air-tight) in its open extremity.” 
In the above process, the white oxide (arsenious acid) is reduced by the agency 
of ignited charcoal, which attracts the oxygen of the acid, and revives the metal. 
On the large scale, metallic arsenic is generally obtained by heating arsenical 
pyrites (FeAs,FeS2) in earthen tubes; when the metal sublimes, and two eqs. 
of protosulphuret of iron are left. 
Properties. Arsenic is a brittle, crystalline metal, of a steel-gray colour, and 
possessing much brilliancy when recently broken or sublimed. Exposed to the 
air, its surface becomes dull and blackish. Its texture is granular, and sometimes 
a little scaly. Rubbed on the hands, it communicates a peculiar odour ; but it 
is devoid of taste. Its sp. gr. is about 5-8. When heated to about 356°, it sub- 
limes without fusing, giving rise to white vapours having a garlicky odour. Its 
equivalent number is 75. It forms two co mbinations with oxygen, both having 
acid properties, called arsenious and arsenic acids, and three with sulphur, 
namely, bisulphuret of arsenic or realgar; tersulphuret or orpiment, corre- 
sponding in composition with arsenious acid; and quintosulphuret, correspond- 
ing with arsenic acid. (See Aciduni Arseniosum; also realgar and orpiment 
in the third part of this work.) Arsenic acid is obtained by distilling a mix- 
ture of twelve parts of nitric and one of muriatic acid off from four parts of 
arsenious acid, until the whole acquires the consistence of a thin syrup. The 
liquid is then poured into a porcelain dish, and evaporated at a moderate heat. 
Suddenly the arsenic acid, in the anhydrous state, concretes into an opaque 
white mass, which should be transferred, while warm, to a well-stopped bottle. 
Arsenic acid is white, solid, deliquescent, and soluble in six parts of cold and 
two of boiling water. It forms several hydrates, corresponding to those of 
phosphoric acid, to which it bears a close analogy. With nitrate of silver it gives 
a brick-red precipitate of arseniate of silver. As a poison it is even more virulent 
than arsenious acid. It consists of one eq of arsenic and five of oxygen (As05). 
Arsenic is much diffused. Besides being present in a great many minerals, it 
has been detected, in minute proportion, in the earth of graveyards by Orfila; in 
certain soils and mineral waters by M. Walchner; in the ashes of various plants 
by M. Stein; and in various kinds of mineral coal, as also in the incrustation 
formed in the boiler of a sea-going steamer, by M. Daubree. 
Arsenic is officinal:— 
Arsenic. 150 
Arsenicum.—Arum. 
PART I. 
I In the metallic state. 
Arsenicum, U.S.— Arsenic. 
II. Combined with oxygen. 
Acidum Arseniosum, U.S., Br. — Arsenious Acid. 
Ill COMBINED WITH IODINE. 
Arsenici Iodidum, U.S. — Iodide of Arsenic. 
IV. Combined with iodine and mercury. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, U.S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan's Solution. 
V. In saline combination. 
Ferri Arsenias, Br. — Arseniate of Iron. 
Liquor Arsenici Hydrochloricus, Br. — Hydrochloric Solution of 
Arsenic. 
Liquor Potass® Arsenitis, U.S.; Liquor Arsenicalis, Br. — Solution 
of Arsenite of Potassa. Arsenical Solution. Fowler's Solution. 
Sod® Arsenias, Br. —■ Arseniate of Soda. 
Liquor Sod® Arseniatis, Br. — Solution of Arseniate of soda. B. 
ARUM. U.S Secondary. 
The cormus of Arum triphyllum. U.S. 
Arum. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Polyandria. — Nat.Ord. Arace®. 
Gen. Gh. Spathe one-leafed, cowled. Spadix naked above, female below, 
stamineous in the middle. Willd. 
The root or cormus of Arum maculatum is occasionally used as a medicine 
in Europe, and formerly held a place in the Dublin Pharmacopoeia. Its prop- 
erties so closely resemble those of our A. triphyllum, that the substitution of 
the latter in our Pharmacopoeia was obviously proper, independently of the 
consideration that the root is efficient only in the recent state. Its constituents, 
according to Enz, are a neuter acrid volatile principle soluble in ether, starch, 
gum, mucilage, sugar, lignin, albumen, saponin, fixed oil, resin, and phosphate 
of lime; the fresh cormus containing 58-4 per cent of water, 52 of lignin, 
and 2P2 of starch. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxi. 352.) In overdoses it is 
capable of producing fatal effects, through the violent inflammation caused by 
it in the mouth, fauces, oesophagus, and stomach. A fatal case, occurring in a 
child three years old, is recorded in the Annuaire de Tlierapeutique (A.D. 1862, 
p. 16), in which, besides the effects mentioned, profound torpor occurred at the 
end of three hours, followed by intense febrile reaction, and subsequent pros- 
tration. It is no doubt the acrid volatile principle to which these effects are to 
be ascribed. The root of A. esculentum, which abounds in starch, is much 
by the natives of the Sandwich and other islands of the Pacific, as an article 
of food, having been previously deprived of its acrimony by heat>- 
Arum triphyllum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 480; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 52. 
The dragon-root, Indian turnip, or wake-robin, as this plant is variously called, 
has a perennial root or cormus, which, early in spring, sends up a large, ovate, 
acuminate, variously coloured spathe, convoluted at bottom, flattened and bent 
over at top like a hood, and supported by an erect, round, green or purplish 
scape. Within the spathe is a club-shaped spadix, green, purple, black, or va- 
riegated, rounded at the end, and contracted near the base, where it is sur- 
rounded by the stamens or germs in the dimeious plants, and by both in the 
monoecious, the female organs being below the male. The spathe and upper 
portions of the spadix gradually decay, while the germs are converted into a 
compact bunch of shining scarlet berries. The leaves, usually one or two in 
number, and upon long sheathing footstalks, are composed of three ovate acu- 
minate leaflets, paler on their under than their upper surface, and becoming 
glaucous as the plant advances. There are three varieties of this species, dis- 
tinguished by the colour of the spathe, which in oue is green, in another dark- 
Indian Turnip. PART I. 
Arum.—Asarum. 
151 
purple, and in a third white. The plant is a native of North and South America, 
and is common in all parts of the United States, growing in damp woods, in 
swamps, along ditches, and in other moist shady places. All parts of it are 
highly acrid, but the root only is officinal. 
This is roundish, flattened, an inch or two in diameter, covered with a brown, 
loose, wrinkled epidermis, and internally white, fleshy, and solid. In the recent 
state, it has a peculiar odour, and is violently acrid, producing, when chewed, 
an insupportable burning and biting sensation in the mouth and throat, which 
continues for a long time, and leaves an unpleasant soreness behind. Accord- 
ing to Dr. Bigelow, its action does not readily extend through the cuticle, as 
the bruised root may lie upon the skin till it becomes dry, without producing 
pain or redness. The acrid principle is extremely volatile, and is entirely driven 
off by heat. It is not imparted to water, alcohol, or olive oil, but is probably 
soluble in ether, as may be inferred from the experiments of Enz, before re- 
ferred to, on A. maculatum. The root loses nearly all its acrimony by drying, 
and in a short time becomes quite inert. It was found by Mr. D. S. Jones, be- 
sides the acrid principle, and from 10 to 11 per cent, of starch, to contain albu- 
men, gum, sugar, extractive, lignin, and salts of potassa and lime. {Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xv. 83.) The starch may be obtained from it as white and delicate 
as from the potato. In Europe, the dried root of A. maculatum is said some- 
times to be employed by the country people, in periods of great scarcity, as a 
substitute for bread; and an amylaceous substance is prepared from it, in 
small quantities, in the Isle of Portland, on the south coast of England, and 
called Portland arrow-root, or Portland sago. The Indian turnip may be pre- 
served fresh for a year, if buried in sand. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Arum in its recent state is a powerful local 
irritant, possessing the property of stimulating the secretions, particularly those 
of the skin and lungs. It has been advantageously given in asthma, pertussis, 
chronic catarrh, chronic rheumatism, and various affections connected with a 
cachectic state of the system. As immediately taken from the ground, it is too 
acrid for use. The recently dried root, which retains a portion of the acrimony, 
but not sufficient to prevent its convenient administration, is usually preferred. 
It may be given in the dose of ten grains, mixed with gum arabic, sugar, and 
water, in the form of emulsion, repeated two or three times a day, and gradu- 
ally increased to half a drachm or more. The powder, made into a paste with 
honey or syrup, and placed in small quantities upon the tongue, so as to be 
gradually diffused over the mouth and throat, is said to have proved useful in 
the aphthous sore-mouth of children. W. 
AS ARUM. U.S. Secondary. 
Wild Ginger. Canada Snakeroot. 
The Asarum Canadense. U. S 
Asarum. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Alonogynia.—Nat. Ord. Aristolochiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three or four cleft, sitting on the germen. Corolla none. 
Capsule coriaceous, crowned. Willd. 
Asarum Canadense. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 838; Bigelow, Am. Med Bot. i. 149; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 85. This species of Asarum very closely resembles A. Enro- 
pseum or asarabacca, in appearance and botanical character. It has a long, 
creeping, jointed, fleshy, yellowish root or rhizoma, furnished with radicles of 
a similar colour. The stem is very short, dividing, before it emerges from the 
ground, into two long round hairy leafstalks, each of which bears a broad kid- 
ney-shaped leaf, pubescent on both surfaces, of a rich shining light-green above, 
veined and pale or bluish beneath. A single flower stands in the fork of the 
stem, upon a hairy pendulous peduncle. The flower is often concealed by the 
loose soil or decayed vegetable matter ; so that the leaves with their petioles 
are the only parts that appear. There is no corolla. The calyx is very woolly, 
divided into three broad, concave, acuminate segments, with the ends reflexed, 152 
Asarum..—. isclepias. 
PART I. 
of a deep brownish-purple colour on the inside, and of a dull-purple inclining 
to greenish externally. The filaments, which are twelve in number, and of un- 
equal length, stand upon the germ, and rise with a slender point above the 
anthers attached to them. Near the divisions of the calyx are three filamentous 
bodies, which may be considered as nectaries. The pistil consists of a somewhat 
hexagonal germ, and a conical grooved style, surmounted by six revolute stigmas. 
The capsule is six-celled, coriaceous, and crowned with the adhering calyx. 
Canada snakeroot, or wild ginger, is an indigenous plant, inhabiting woods 
and shady places from Canada to the Carolinas. Its flowering period is from 
April to July. All parts of the plant have a grateful aromatic odour, which is 
most powerful in the root. This is the officinal portion. 
As we have seen it in the shops, it is in long more or less contorted pieces, 
from the thickness of a straw to that of a goose-quill, brownish and wrinkled 
externally, whitish within, hard and brittle, and frequently furnished with short 
fibres. Its taste is agreeably aromatic and slightly bitter, said to be intermediate 
between that of ginger and serpentaria, but in our opinion bearing a closer 
resemblance to that of cardamom. The taste of the petioles, which usually ac- 
company the root, is more bitter and less aromatic. 
Among its constituents, according to Dr. Bigelow, are a light-coloured, pun- 
gent, and fragrant volatile oil, a reddish bitter resinous matter, starch, and 
gum; in addition to which Mr. Rushton found fatty matter, chlorophyll, and 
salts of potassa, lime, and iron. Mr. Procter found the resin to be acrid as well 
as bitter, and without aromatic properties. The root imparts its virtues to 
alcohol, and less perfectly to water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canada snakeroot is an aromatic stimulant 
tonic, with diaphoretic properties, applicable to similar cases with serpentaria, 
which it resembles in its effects. It is said to be sometimes used by the country 
people as a substitute for ginger. Dr. J. R. Black, of Indiana, has found it to be 
diuretic, and has used it with extraordinary success in two cases of dropsy with 
albuminous urine. He gave it in decoction, made with four ounces of the root 
and two pints of water, in the dose of a fluidounce every four hours, till its 
effect was produced. (N. Y. Journ.of Med., xxxii. 289.) From the close botan- 
ical analogy of the plant with the European Asarum, it might be supposed, 
like that, to possess emetic and cathartic properties; but such does not appear 
to be the case, at least with the dried root. It would form an elegant adjuvant 
to tonic infusions and decoctions. It may be given in powder or tincture. The 
dose in substance is twenty or thirty grains. W. 
ASCLEPIAS. U. S. Secondary. 
Butterfly-weed. 
The root of Asclepias tuberosa. U. S. 
Syn. Asclepias Tuberosa. U. S. 1850. 
Asclepias. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Asclepiadaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx small, five-parted. Corolla rotate, five-parted, mostly reflexed. 
Staminal crown (or nectary) simple, five leaved; leaflets opposite the anthers, 
with a subulate averted process at the base. Stigmas with the five angles (cor- 
puscles) opening by longitudinal chinks. Pollinia five distinct pairs. Torrey. 
Several species of Asclepias, besides A. tuberosa, have been employed me- 
dicinally; and two of these, A. Syriaca and A. incarnata, were recognised in 
the Secondary Catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, from which, however, they 
were discharged, perhaps not altogether judiciously, at the late revision of that 
work. They will be noticed particularly in the third part of the Dispensatory. 
Asclepias tuberosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1273; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. ii. 59; 
Barton, Med. Pot. i. 239. The root of the butterfly-weed or pleurisy-root is 
perennial, and gives origin to numerous stems, which are erect, ascending, or pro- 
cumbent, round, hairy, of a green or reddish colour, branching at the top, and PART I. 
A sclepias.—Assafoetida. 
153 
about three feet in height. The leaves are scattered, oblong-lanceolate, very 
hairy, of a rich, deep-green colour on their upper surface, paler beneath, and 
supported usually on short footstalks They differ, however, somewhat in 
shape according to the variety of the plant. In the variety with decumbent 
stems, they are almost linear, and in another variety cordate. The flowers 
are of a beautiful reddish-orange colour, and disposed in terminal or lateral 
corymbose umbels. The fruit is an erect lanceolate follicle, with flat ovate 
seeds connected to a longitudinal receptacle by long silky hairs. 
This plant differs from other species of Asclepias in not emitting a milky juice 
when wounded. It is indigenous, growing throughout the United States from 
Massachusetts to Georgia, and as far west a.s Texas, and, when in full bloom, in 
June and July, having a splendid appearance. It is most abundant in the South- 
ern States. The root is the only part used in medicine. 
This is large, irregularly tuberous, branched, often somewhat fusiform, fleshy, 
externally brown, internally white and striated, and, in the recent state, of a 
sub-acrid, nauseous taste. When dried it is easily pulverized; and its taste is 
bitter, but not otherwise unpleasant. Mr. E. Rhoads discovered in it a pecu- 
liar principle, which he obtained by treating the cold infusion with tannic acid, 
mixing the precipitate, previously washed and expressed, with litharge, drying 
the mixture and exhausting it with hot alcohol, and finally decolorizing and eva- 
porating the alcoholic liquor. The product was a yellowish-white powder, 
having the taste of the root, soluble in ether, and much less readily so in water, 
from which it was precipitated by tannic acid. Mr. Rhoads also found evi- 
dence of the existence in the root of tannic and gallic acids, albumen, pectin, 
gum, starch, a resin soluble and another insoluble in ether, fixed oil, a volatile 
odorous fatty matter, and various salts, besides from 30 to 35 per cent, of lig- 
nin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm , xxxiii. 492.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root of Asclepias tuberosa is diaphoretic 
and expectorant, without being stimulant. In large doses it is often also cathar- 
tic. Dr. Pawling, of Norristown, Pa., found it always, when freely given, to 
diminish the volume and activity of the pulse, while it produced copious dia- 
phoresis (Am. Journ. ofPharm.,xxxiii. 496); and Dr Goodrake, of Clinton, 
Illin., considers it, from his experience, slightly sedative and astringent. ( Trans, 
of Illinois State Med. Soc., A.D. 1857.) In the Southern States it has long 
been employed by regular practitioners in catarrh, pneumonia, pleurisy,consump- 
tion, and other pectoral affections; and appears to be decidedly useful, if ap- 
plied in the early stage, or, after sufficient depletion, when the complaint is already 
formed. Its popular name of pleurisy-root expresses the estimation in which it 
is held as a remedy in that disease. It has also been useful in diarrhoea, dysen- 
tery, and acute and chronic rheumatism. Dr. Lockwood speaks highly of its 
efficacy in promoting the eruption in exanthematous fevers. (Buffalo Med. 
Journ., March, 1848.) Much testimony might be advanced in proof of its pos- 
sessing considerable diaphoretic powers. It is said to be gently tonic, and has 
been popularly used in pains of the stomach from flatulence and indigestion. 
From twenty grains to a drachm of the root in powder may be given several 
times a day; but as a diaphoretic it is best administered in decoction or infu- 
sion, made in the proportion of an ounce to a quart of water, and given in the 
dose of a teacupful every two or three hours till it operates.* W. 
ASSAFOETIDA. U. 8, Br. 
Assafetida. 
The concrete juice of the root of Narthex Assafoetida. U.S. A gum-resin 
obtained by incision from the living root of Narthex Assafoetida. Br. 
Assafoetida, Fr.; Stinkasant, Teufelsdreck, Germ.; Assafetida, Ital.; Asafetida, Span.; 
Ungoozeh, Persian; Hilteet, Arab. 
* Fluid Extract of Asclepias. Mr. E. Rhoads prepares a fluid extract by moistening 
sixteen ounces of the powdered root with four fluidounces of a menstruum consisting of 154 
Assafoetida. 
PART I, 
Narthex. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat.Ord. Apiaceae or Umbelli- 
feraB. 
Gen. Ch. Umbels compound. Involucres none. Calyx obsolete. Fruit thin, 
compressed at the back, with a dilated border. Ilidges three only, dorsal. Vittac 
one to each dorsal furrow, and two to the laterals. Albumen thin. flat. Lindley. 
Narthex Assafoetida. Falconer, Boyle's Mat. Med , Am. ed , p. 407.—Ferula 
Assafoetida. Willd. Sp. PlantA 1413; Koempfer, Amoenitat. Exotic. n35, t. 536. 
This plant was first described by Koempfer, who wrote from actual observation. 
By him and others after him it was considered as belonging to the genus Ferula; 
but Dr. Falconer, from a careful examination of the plant in its native site, as 
well as of specimens cultivated in the Saharunpore Botanic Garden, came to 
the conclusion that it belongs to a distinct genus, which he denominated Nar- 
thex, and which is now generally admitted. The root is perennial, fleshy, ta- 
pering, simple or divided, a foot or more in length, about three inches thick at 
top, where it is invested above the soil with numerous small fibres, dark-gray 
and transversely corrugated on the outside, internally white, and abounding in 
an excessively fetid, opaque, milky juice. The leaves, which spring from the 
root, are numerous, large and spreading, nearly two feet long, light-green above, 
paler beneath, and of a leathery texture. They are three-parted, with bipinna- 
tifid segments, and oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, entire or variously sinuate, decur- 
rent lobes, forming a narrow winged channel on the divisions of the petiole. 
From the midst of the leaves rises a luxuriant, herbaceous stem, from six to nine 
feet high, two inches in diameter at the base, simple, erect, round, smooth, 
striated, solid, and terminating in a large head of compound umbels, with from 
ten to twenty rays, each surmounted by a roundish partial umbel. The flowers 
are pale-yellow, and the fruit oval, thin, flat, foliaceous, and reddish-brown. 
The plant is said to differ, in its leaves and product, in different situations. 
It is a native of Persia, Affghanistan, and other neighbouring regions; and 
flourishes abundantly in the mountainous provinces of Laar and Chorassan, 
where its juice is collected. Burns, in his travels into Bokhara, states that the 
young plant is eaten with relish by the people, and that sheep crop it greedily. 
Some have erroneously supposed that certain species of Ferula contribute to 
the production of the assafetida of commerce; and F. Persica was admitted 
among its probable sources in the last edition of the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. 
This plant grows also in Persia, and has a strong odour of the drug.* 
The oldest plants are most productive, and those under four years old are 
not considered worth cutting. At the season when the leaves begin to fade, the 
earth is removed from about the top of the root, and the leaves and stem, being 
twisted off near their base, are thrown with other vegetable matters over the 
root, in order to protect it from the sun. After some time the summit of the root 
is cut off transversely, and, the juice which exudes having been scraped off, 
another thin slice is removed, in order to obtain a fresh surface for exudation. 
This process is repeated at intervals till the root ceases to afford juice, and per- 
ishes. During the whole period of collection, which occupies nearly six weeks, 
the solar heat is as much as possible excluded. The juice collected from numer- 
ous plants is put together, and allowed to harden in the sun. The fruit is said 
in be sent to India, where it is highly esteemed as a medicine. 
Assafetida is brought to this country either from India, whither it is conveyed 
from Bushire, and down the Indus, or by the route of Great Britain. It some- 
three pints of alcohol and a pint and a half of water, packing the mixture into a conical 
glass percolator, pouring on it the remainder of the menstruum, reserving the twelve 
Huidounces which first pass, evaporating the residue of the filtered liquor by means of a 
water-bath to four fluidounces, mixing this with the reserved liquor, and filtering at the 
end of twenty-four hours. This preparation was found effective by Dr. Pawling, in the 
dose of a fluidrachm every four hours. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
* The assafetida plant has been introduced into the European conservatories. On a 
visit by the author to the Edinburgh Botanical Garden, in September, 1860, in company 
with Drs. Christison and Balfour, the latter the Superintendent of the garden, an as- 
safetida plant was shown to him which had flowered and borne fruit, bi t not until i* 
was 14 years old. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Assafoetida. 
155 
times comes in mats, but more frequently in cases, the former containing eighty 
or ninety, the latter from two hundred to four hundred pounds. It is sometimes 
also imported in casks. 
Properties. As found in the shops, assafetida is in irregular masses, softish 
when not long exposed, of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour externally, ex- 
hibiting when broken an irregular, whitish, somewhat shining surface, which 
soon becomes red on exposure, and ultimately passes into a dull yellowish-brown. 
This change of colour is characteristic of assafetida, and is ascribed to the influ- 
ence of air and light upon its resinous ingredient. The masses appear as if 
composed of distinct portions agglutinated together, sometimes of white, almost 
pearly tears, embedded in a darker, softer, and more fetid paste. Occasionally 
the tears are separate, though rarely in the commerce of this country.* They are 
roundish, oval, or irregular, and generally flattened, from the size of a pea to that 
of a large almond, sometimes larger, yellowish or brownish externally and whito 
within, and not unlike ammoniac tears, for which they might be mistaken ex- 
cept for their odour, which, however, is weaker than that of the masses. 
The odour of assafetida is alliaceous, extremely fetid, and tenacious; tho 
taste, bitter, acrid, and durable. The effect of time and exposure is to render 
it more hard and brittle, and to diminish the intensity of its smell and taste, 
particularly the former. Koempfer assures us that one drachm of the fresh juice 
diffuses a more powerful odour, through a close room, than one hundred pounds 
of the drug as usually kept in the stores. Assafetida softens by heat without 
melting, and is of difficult pulverization, f Its sp. gr. is 1327. (Berzelius.) It is 
inflammable, burning with a clear, lively flame. It yields all its virtues to alco- 
hol, and forms a clear tincture, which becomes milky on the addition of water. 
Macerated in water it produces a turbid red solution, and, triturated with that 
fluid, gives a white or pink-coloured milky emulsion of considerable permanence 
In 100 parts, Pelletier found 65 parts of resin, 19 44 of gum, 1166 of bassorin, 
3'60 of volatile oil, with traces of supermalate of lime. Brandes obtained 46 
parts of volatile oil, 47'25 of a bitter resin soluble in ether, l'6 of a tasteless 
resin insoluble in ether, 10 of extractive, 19 4 of gum containing traces of po- 
tassa and lime united with sulphuric, phosphoric, acetic, and malic acids, 6'4 ol 
bassorin, 6'2 of sulphate of lime, 3'5 of carbonate of lime, 0'4 of oxide of iron 
and alumina, 0 4 of malate of lime with resin, 6'0 of water, and 4'6 of impuri- 
ties consisting chiefly of sand and woody fibre. The odour of the gum-resin 
depends on the volatile oil, which may be procured by distillation with water 
or alcohol. It is lighter than water, colourless when first distilled, but becoming 
yellow with age, of an exceedingly offensive odour, and of a taste at first flat, 
but afterwards bitter and acrid. It contains, according to Stenhouse, from 15 • 75 
to 23 per cent, of sulphur. Hlasiwetz considers it a mixture, in variable pro- 
portions, of the sulphuret and bisulphuret of a compound radical, consisting of 
carbon and hydrogen (CUHU). A persulphide (persulphuret) of allyl, which is 
sublimed when oil of mustard is heated with persulphide (persulphuret) of po- 
tassium, is said by Wertheim to have an extremely intense odour of assafetida; 
a fact which justifies the supposition that it may be identical with the oil of that 
gum-resin. (Gmelin, ix. 377.) The oil boils at about 280°, but suffers decom- 
* From the account given by Dr. Bellew, who was officially present in the assafetida 
regicr and had the opportunity of making personal observation, the tears are produced 
by the concretion of the juice which issues by drops from circular incisions at the top of 
the root, before this has been removed, while the lumps are from the juice which exudes 
from the cut surface after the removal of the top. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., May, 1804.) 
-—Note to the, thirteenth edition. 
f In the pharmaceutical preparation of assafetida, it is sometimes very desirabl 1 to re- 
duce it to powder. Mr. B. S. Proctor has found that this, and other gum-rosins, when 
incorporated with from 4 to 10 per cent, of magnesia, by first softening them bv mean s 
of a water-bath, and then stirring them with the earth, become readily pulverizable; 
and the powder is without the tendency to agglutination which it has when procured 
without this preliminary Dreparation. (Lond. Chem. and Druggist, April 13, 1863.)—N da 
to the twelfth edition. 156 
Assafoetida. 
PART I. 
position, yielding sulphuretted hydrogen. When long exposed to the air it be- 
comes slightly acid, and acquires a somewhat different odour. (Ghem. Gaz., 
no. 178, p. 108.) The volatile oil and bitter resin are the active principles. 
Impurities and Adulterations. Assafetida is probably not often purposely 
adulterated; but it frequently comes of inferior quality, and mixed with various 
impurities, such as sand and stones. Portions which are very soft, dark-brown 
or blackish, with few or no tears, and indisposed to assume a red colour when 
fresmy broken, should be rejected. We have been informed that a case seldom 
comes without more or less of this inferior assafetida, and of many it forms the 
larger portion. It is sold chiefly for horses A factitious substance, made of 
garlic juice and white pitch with a little assafetida, has occurred in commerce.* 
Assafetida is sometimes kept in the powdered state; but this is objections 
ble; as the drug is thus necessarily weakened by the loss of volatile oil, and is 
besides rendered more liable to adulteration. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of assafetida on the system are 
those of a moderate stimulant, powerful antispasmodic, efficient expectorant, 
and feeble laxative. Some consider it also emmenagogue and anthelmintic. Its 
volatile oil is undoubtedly absorbed; as its peculiar odour may be detected in 
the breath and the secretions. As an antispasmodic simply, it is employed in 
the treatment of hysteria, hypochondriasis, convulsions of various kinds, spasm 
of the stomach and bowels unconnected with inflammation, and in numerous 
other nervous disorders of a merely functional character. From the union of 
expectorant with antispasmodic powers, it is highly useful in spasmodic pecto- 
ral affections, such as hooping-cough and asthma, and in certain infantile coughs 
and catarrhs, complicated with nervous disorder, or with a disposition of the 
system to sink. In catarrhus senilis; in the secondary stages of peripneumonia 
notha, croup, measles, and catarrh; in pulmonary consumption; in fact, in all 
cases of disease of the chest in which there is want of due nervous energy, and 
in which inflammation is absent or has been sufficiently subdued, assafetida may 
be occasionally prescribed with advantage. In the form of enema, it is useful in 
cases of inordinate accumulation of air in the bowels, and, in the same form, is 
most conveniently administered in the hysteric paroxysm, and other kinds of 
convulsion. Its laxative tendency is generally advantageous, but must some- 
times be counteracted by opium. It may often be usefully combined with ca- 
thartics in constipation with flatulence. 
It appears to have been known in the East from very early ages, and, not- 
withstanding its repulsive odour, is at present much used in India and Persia 
as a condiment. Persons soon habituate themselves to its smell, which they 
even learn to associate pleasantly with the agreeable effects experienced from 
its internal use. Children with hooping-cough sometimes become fond of it. 
The medium dose is ten grains, which may be given in pill or emulsion. (See 
Mistnra Assafoetidse.) The tincture is officinal, and is much used. When given 
by injection, the gum-resin should be triturated with warm water. From half a 
drachm to two drachms may be administered at once in this way. It may also 
sometimes be conveniently given in the form of a suppository.f As assafetida 
* The statement made in the text that assafetida is probably not often purposely adul- 
terated applies only to the drug after it has entered the market. From the accounts given 
by Dr. Bellew it appears that, at the place of its production, the drug is generally adul- 
terated; the pure juice being mixed, to the extent of from one-fifth to one-third, usually 
with the flour of wheat or barley, or powdered gypsum. It is only the juice proceeding 
from the centre of the root top of the newly sprouting plant that is never adulterated; 
and this is much more costly than the common kind. (Phann. J. and Trans., May, 
1864.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
f Mr. B.. F. Fairthorne recommends that, in the preparation of the suppository, an 
ethereal fluid extract should first be made, that 9 drachms of this, after having been de- 
prived of its ether by evaporation over a water-bath, should be incorporated while still 
hot, with 12 drachms of cacao butter, and that the liquid mixture shouia oe poured 
into moulds; the whole being divided into 24 suppositories, each of which will be equiv- 
alent to about 5 grains of the gum-resin. (Am. Joarn. of Pharm., March, 1868, p. 115.) 
—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART 1. 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
157 
is not apt to affect the brain injuriously, it may be given very freely when not 
contraindicated by the existence of inflammatory action. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetidae, U.S.; Enema Assafoetidae, Br.; Mis- 
tura Assafoetidae, U. S.; Pilulae Aloes et Assafoetidae; Pilulae Assafoetidae, U. S ; 
Pilula Assafoetidae Composite, Br.; Pilulae Galbani Compositae, U.S.; Spiritus 
Ammoniae Foetidus, Br.; Tinctura Assafoetidae. W. 
AURANTII AMARI CORTEX. U.S. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus vulgaris. U. S. 
Off. Syn. AURANTII CORTEX. Bitter Orange Peel. The dried outei 
part of the rind of the bitter orange, Citrus Bigaradia. Br. 
Bitter Orange Peel. 
AURANTII DULCIS CORTEX. U.S. 
Sweet Orange Peel. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus Aurantium. TJ. S. 
AURANTII FLORES. U.S. 
Orange Flowers. 
The flowers of Citrus Aurantium and of Citrus vulgaris. 
Ecorce d’orange, Fr.; Pomeranzenschale, Germ.; Scorze del frutto dell’arancio, Jtal.j 
Corteza de naranja, Span. 
Citrus. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphia Icosandria. — Nat. Ord. Aurantiaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five, oblong. Anthers twenty, the filaments 
united into different parcels. Berry nine-celled. Willd. 
This very interesting genus is composed of small evergreen trees, with ovate 
or oval-lanceolate, and shining leaves, odoriferous flowers, and fruits which usu- 
ally combine beauty of colour with a fragrant odour and grateful taste. They 
are all natives of warm climates. Though the species are not numerous, great 
diversity exists in the character of the fruit; and many varieties, founded upon 
this circumstance, are noticed by writers. In the splendid work on the Datura! 
history of the Citrus by Risso and Poiteau, 169 varieties are described under 
the eight following heads:—1. sweet oranges, 2. bitter and sour oranges, 3. 
bergamots, 4. limes, 5. shaddocks, 6. lumes, 7. lemons, and 8 citrons, of these 
it is difficult to decide which have just claims to the rank of distinct species, and 
which must be considered merely as varieties. Those employed in medicine may 
be arranged in two sets of which the orange, C. Aurantium, and the lemon, C. 
Medica, are respectively the t3rpes; the former characterized by a winged, the 
latter by a naked or nearly naked petiole. The form and character of the fruit, 
though not entirely constant, serve as the basis of subdivisions. C. Decumana, 
which yields the shaddock, agrees with C. Aurantium in the form of its petiole. 
Citrus Aurantium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1427; Woodv Med. Bot. p. 532,1.188. 
The orange-tree grows to the height of about fifteen feet. Its stem is rounded, 
much branched, and covered with a smooth, shining, greenish-brown bark. In 
the wild state, and before inoculation, it is often furnished with axillary spines. 
The leaves are ovate, pointed, entire, smooth, and of a shining pale-green colour 
When held between the eye and the light, they exhibit numerous small trans 
parent vesicles, filled with volatile oil; and, when rubbed between the fingers, 
are highly fragrant. Their footstalks are about an inch long, and have wings 
or lateral appendages. The flowers, which have a delightful odour, are large, 
white, and attached by short peduncles, singly or in clusters, to the smallest 
branches. The calyx is saucer-shaped, with pointed teeth. The petals are ob- 
long, concave, white, and beset with numerous small glands. The filaments are 
united at their base in three or more distinct, portions, and support yellow 
anthers. The germen is roundish, and bears a cylindrical style, terminated by a 158 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
PART I. 
globular stigma. The fruit is a spherical berry, often somewhat flattened at its 
oase and apex, rough, of a yellow or orange colour, and divided internally into 
nine vertical cells, each containing from two to four seeds, surrounded by a 
pulpy matter. The rind of the fruit consists of a thin exterior layer, abounding 
in vesicles filled with a fragrant volatile oil, and of an interior one, which is 
thick, white, fungous, insipid, and inodorous. There are two varieties of G. 
Aurantium, considered by some as distinct species. They differ chiefly in the 
fruit, which in one is sweet, in the other sour and bitterish. The first retains 
the original title, the second is called Citrus vulgaris by De Candolle, and C. 
Bigaradia by Risso. The Seville orange is the product of the latter.* 
This beautiful evergreen, in which the fruit is mingled, in every stage of its 
growth, with the blossoms and foliage, has been applied to numerous purposes 
of utility and ornament A native of China and India, it was introduced into 
Europe at a very early period, was transplanted to America soon after its first 
settlement, and is now found in every civilized country where the climate is 
favourable. In colder countries, it is one of the most cherished ornaments of 
the hot-house, though in this situation its beauties are not fully devoloped, and 
its fruit does not attain perfection. It flourishes in the most southern portions 
of our own country, especially near St. Augustine in Florida, where very fine 
oranges are produced. The tree also grows in the gardens about New Orleans, 
but is sometimes destroyed by frosty winters. The fruit is brought to us chiefly 
from the south of Europe and the West Indies. The Havana oranges have 
the sweetest and most agreeable flavour. 
Various parts of the plant are used in medicine. The leaves, which are bitter 
and aromatic, are employed in some places in the form of infusion as a gently 
stimulant diaphoretic They yield by distillation with water a volatile oil, which 
is said to be often mixed by the distillers with the oils obtained from the flowers 
and unripe fruit. In regard to polarized light, it has a rotatory power to the 
left, which is considerably weakened by the prolonged action of heat. (Chautard, 
Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xliv. 28.) The fresh flowers impart to water distilled 
from them their peculiar fragrance; and the preparation thus obtained is much 
esteemed in the south of Europe for antispasmodic virtues (See Aqua Aurantii 
Plorum, among the Preparations.) The dried flowers are used on the conti- 
nent of Europe as a gentle nervous stimulant, in the form of infusion, which 
may be made in the proportion of two drachms to the pint of boiling water, and 
taken in the dose of a teacupful. The flowers should be dried in the shade, at a 
temperature between 75° and 95° F. (Annuaire de Therap., A D. 1861, p. 59.) 
An oil is also obtained from the flowers by distillation which is called neroli 
in France, and is much used in perfumery, and in the composition of liqueurs. 
It is an ingredient of the famous Cologne water. That obtained from the flowers 
of the Seville or bitter orange ( G. mlgaris) is deemed the sweetest. It was in- 
troduced into the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia, with the title of Aurantii Oleum, 
to serve for the preparation of orange-flower water. Soubeiran considers this 
oil rather as a product of the distillation than as pre-existing in the flowers. 
The fact may thus be explained, that orange-flower water, made by dissolving 
even the finest neroli in water, has not the precise odour of that procured by 
distillation from the flowers. Pure neroli has a rotating power to the right, in 
this respect differing from the oil of the leaves. (Chautard.) 
The fruit is applied to several purposes. Small unripe oranges, about the size 
of a cherry or less, previously dried, and rendered smooth by a turning lathe, are 
* A variety of the orange, called the Mandarin Orange (Citrus Bigaradia Sinensis or 
C. Bigaradia myrtifolia), which is probably a native of China, but cultivated largely in 
Sicily and the south of Italy, bears a fruit much smaller than the common orange, round 
but flattened above and below, with a smooth, thin, delicate rind, and a very sweet 
delicious pulp. A volatile oil is obtained from the rind by expression, of a yellow 
colour, a very bland agreeable odour, diiferent from that of the orange or lemon, and a 
not unpleasant taste, like that of the rind. When freed from colouring matter by distil- 
lation, it was found by M. S. de Luca to be a pure carbohydrogen, with the formula 
(Jourde Pharm., 3e ser., xxxiii. 52.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores. 
159 
sometimes employed to maintain the discharge from issues. They are preferred 
to peas on account of their agreeable odour, and by some are thought to swell 
less with the moisture; but this is denied by others, and it is asserted that they 
require to be renewed at the end of twenty-four hours. These fruits are some- 
times kept in the shops under the name of orange berriesThey are of a gray- 
ish or greenish-brown colour, fragrant odour, and bitter taste, and are said to be 
used for flavouring cordials. A volatile oil is obtained from them by distillation, 
known to the French by the name of essence de petit grain, and employed for 
similar purposes with that of the flowers. The oil, however, which now goes by 
this name, is said to be distilled from the leaves, and those of the bitter orange 
yield the best. The oils from the unripe and the ripe fruit have a rotating 
power to the right, the latter much greater than the former; and this property 
might serve to distinguish them from the oil of the leaves.* Several of the oils 
from the Aurantiaceae deposit a crystalline substance, differing from camphor. 
(Chautard.) The juice of the Seville orange is sour and bitterish, and forms 
with water a refreshing and grateful drink in febrile diseases. It is employed 
in the same manner as lemon-juice, which it resembles in containing citric acid, 
though in much smaller proportion. The sweet orange is more pleasant to the 
taste, and is extensively used as a light refrigerant article of diet in inflam- 
matory diseases, care being taken to reject the membranous portion. The rind 
both of the sweet and bitter varieties is directed by the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
the bitter only by the British. With the latter, the outer portion is that con- 
sidered officinal; as the inner is destitute of activity, and by its affinity for 
moisture renders the peel liable to become mouldy. The best mode of separat- 
ing the outer rind, when its desiccation and preservation are desired, is to pare 
it from the orange in narrow strips with a sharp knife, as we pare an apple. 
When the object is to apply the fresh rind to certain pharmaceutic purposes, 
as to the preparation of the confection of orange peel, it is best separated by 
a grater. The dried peel, sold in the shops, is usually that of the Seville orange, 
and is brought chiefly from the Mediterranean. 
Properties. Orange peel has a grateful aromatic odour, and a warm bitter 
taste, which depend upon the volatile oil contained in its vesicles. The rind 
of the Seville orange is much more bitter than that of the other variety. Both 
yield their sensible properties to water and alcohol. The oil may be obtained 
by expression from the fresh grated rind, or by distillation with water. It is 
imported into the United States in tinned copper cans. It has properties re- 
sembling those of the oil of lemons, but spoils more rapidly on exposure to the 
air, acquiring a terebinthinate odour. The perfumers use it in the preparation 
of Cologne water, and for other purposes ; and it is also employed by the con- 
fectioners. According to Dr. Imbert-Gourbeyrre, they who are much exposed to 
the inhalation of the oil of bitter oranges are apt to be affected with cutaneous 
eruptions, and various nervous disorders; as headache, tinnitus aurium. oppres- 
sion of the chest, gastralgia, want of sleep, and. even muscular spasm. He thinks 
that the oils of the Aurantiaceae have much resemblance to camphor in their 
effects. ( Ghent. Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Feb. 1854, p. 128.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bitter orange peel is a mild tonic, carmina- 
tive, and stomachic; the sweet is simply aromatic; but neither is much used alone. 
They are chiefly employed to communicate a pleasant flavour to other medicines, 
to correct their nauseating properties, and to assist their stimulant impression 
upon the stomach. They are a frequent and useful addition to bitter infusions 
and decoctions, as those of gentian, quassia, columbo, and especially Peruvian 
* Prof. Procter, while in Italy, was informed that the oils of oranges and lemons were 
prepared in Calabria and Sicily in three ways: 1. hy scraping off the exterior part of the 
rind and submitting it to expression; 2. hy putting the scrapings into hot water, depressing 
the pulp beneath, and skimming off the oil as it rises; 3. by distillation. Prof. Procter 
also states, on the authority of Mr. John A. Dix, of New York, that the best Sicily 
orange oil is procured by dexterous compression, within a cask, of the fresh rind b* tin? 
hand, the oil being driven out in jets. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1808, p. 27.) — Note U 
the thirteenth edition. 160 
Aurantii Cortex.—Aurantii Flores.—Arenas Farina. 
PART 1. 
bark. It is obviously improper to subject orange peel to long boiling ; as the 
volatile oil, on which its virtues chiefly depend, is thus driven off. The dose in 
substance is from half a drachm to a drachm three times a day. Large quanti- 
ties are sometimes productive of mischief, especially in children, in whom violent 
colic and even convulsions are sometimes induced by it. We have known the 
case of a child, in which death resulted from eating the rind of an orange. 
When orange peel is used simply for its agreeable flavour, the rind of the 
sweet orange is preferable; as a tonic, that of the Seville orange. 
Off. Prep, of Bitter Orange Peel. Infusum Aurantii, Br.; Infusum Aurantii 
Compositum, Br.; Infusum Gentian® Comp ; Mistura Gentian®, Br.; Spiri- 
tus Armoraci® Comp., Br.; Tinctura Aurantii, Br.; Tinct. Cinchon® Comp.; 
Tinct. Gentian® Comp. 
Off Prep, of Sweet Orange Peel. Confectio Aurantii Corticis, U.S.; Syrr • 
pus Aurantii Corticis, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Flowers. Aqua Aurantii Florum, U. S. W. 
AVENGE FARINA. U.S. 
Oatmeal. 
The meal prepared from the seeds of Avena sativa. U. S. 
Farine d’avoine, Fr.; Hafermehl, Germ.; Farina dell’avena, Italy Harina de avena, 
Span. 
Avena. Sex.Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Graminacese. 
Gen. Gli. Calyx two-valved, many-flowered, with a twisted awn on the back 
Willd. 
Avena sativa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 416. The common oat is so well known 
that a minute description would be superfluous. It is specifically distinguished 
by its “ loose panicle, its two-seeded glumes, and its smooth seeds, one of which 
is awned.” It was known to the ancients, and is now cultivated in all civilized 
countries; but its original locality has not been satisfactorily ascertained It 
grows wild in Sicily, and is said to have been seen by Anson in the Island ot 
Juan Fernandez on the coast of Chili. 
This grain, though cultivated chiefly for horses, is very nourishing, and is 
largely consumed as food by the inhabitants of Scotland, the North of Ireland, 
Brittany, and some other countries. A decoction is said to possess decided 
diuretic properties, and to be useful in dropsy. (Land. Med. Times and Gaz., 
Sept 1854, p. 263.) The seeds deprived of their husks are called groats, but 
are little used in this country. It is only the meal, prepared by grinding the 
seeds, that is kept in our shops. 
Oatmeal contains, according to Vogel, in 100 parts, 59 of starch, 4-30 of a 
grayish substance resembling rather coagulated albumen than gluten, 8-25 of 
sugar and a bitter principle, 2'50 of gum, 2 of fixed oil, and 23-95 of fibrous 
matter including loss. An elaborate analysis of oats deprived of the husk, 
made by Professor J. P. Norton, of Yale College, gave as the average of four 
varieties of the grain, 65’11 per cent, of starch, 2’24 of sugar, 223 of gum, 
6-55 of oil, 16-51 of a nitrogenous body analogous to casein, though differing 
from it in some respects, 1-42 of albumen, P68 of gluten, 217 of epidermis, 
and 2-09 of alkaline salts, with allowance for loss and error. Professor Nor- 
ton thinks there may have been some error in the proportion of the nitrogenous 
compounds, in consequence of the difficulty of separating them from starch ; and 
concludes, from the quantity of nitrogen obtained by ultimate analysis, that 
these compounds must amount to at least 8 per cent. {Am. Journ. of Sci. and 
Arts, 2d ser., iii. 330.) Oatmeal has no smell, is very slightly but not unpleas- 
antly bitter, and yields most of its nutritive matter with facility to boiling water. 
Gruel made with oatmeal affords a nutritious, bland, and easily digested ali- 
ment, admirably adapted to inflammatory diseases; and, from its somewhat 
laxative tendency, preferable in certain cases to the purely mucilaginous or 
amylaceous preparations. It is often administered after brisk cathartics, in order PART I. 
Azedarach.—Balsamum Peruvianum. 
161 
to render them easier, and at the same time more efficient in their action. It 
is sometimes also used in the form of enema ; and the meal, boiled with water 
into a thick paste, forms an excellent emollient cataplasm. Oatmeal gruel may 
be prepared by boiling an ounce of the meal with three pints of W'ater to a 
quart, straining the decoction, allowing it to stand till it cools, and then 
pouring off the clear liquor from the sediment. Sugar and lemon-juice may be 
added to improve its flavour ; and raisins are not unfrequently boiled with 
tho meal and water for the same purpose. W. 
AZEDARACII. U. A. Secondary. 
Azedarach. 
The bark of the root of Melia Azedarach. U. S. 
Melia. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Meliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-toothed. Petals five. Nectary cylindrical, toothed, 
bearing the anthers in the throat. Drupe with a five-celled nut. Willd. 
Melia Azedarach. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 558; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 4 
This is a beautiful tree, thirty or forty feet high, with a trunk fifteen or twenty 
inches in diameter. When alone, it attains less elevation, and spreads out into 
a capacious summit. Its leaves are large and doubly pinnate, consisting of 
smooth, acuminate, denticulate, dark-green leaflets, disposed in pairs with an 
odd one at the end. The flowers are of a lilac colour, delightfully fragrant, 
and in beautiful axillary clusters near the ends of the branches. The frui; is 
a round drupe, about as large as a cherry, and yellowish w'hen ripe. 
This species of Melia is variously called pride of India, pride of China, 
and common head-tree. It is a native of Syria, Persia, and the north of India, 
and is cultivated as an ornament in different pai;ts of the world. It is abundant 
in our Southern States, where it adorns the streets of cities, and the environs 
of dwellings, and has even become naturalized. North of Virginia it does not 
flourish, though small trees may sometimes be seen in sheltered situations. It 
flowers early in the spring. The fruit is sweetish, and, though said by some to 
be poisonous, is eaten by children without inconvenience, and is reputed to 
be powerfully vermifuge. But the bark of the root is chiefly employed. It is 
preferred recent, and is scarcely to be found in the shops at the North. It has 
a bitter, nauseous taste, and yields its virtues to boiling -water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is cathartic and emetic, and in 
large doses is said to produce narcotic effects similar to those of spigelia, espe- 
cially if gathered at the season when the sap is mounting. It is considered in 
the Southern States an efficient anthelmintic, and appears to enjoy, in some 
places, an equal degree of confidence with the pinkroot. It is thought also to 
be useful in those infantile remittents which resemble verminose fevers, without 
being dependent on the presence of worms. The form of decoction is usually 
preferred. A quart of water is boiled with four ounces of the fresh bark to a 
pint, of which the dose for a child is a tablespoonful every two or three hours, 
till it affects the stomach or bowels. Another plan is to give a dose morning and 
evening for several successive days, and then to administer an active cathartic. 
W. 
BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM. U. S., Br. 
Balsam of Peru. 
The prepared juice of Myrospermum Peruiferum (De Candolle). U.8. A 
balsam obtained from Myroxvlon Pereirae, Klotzsch. Br. 
Baumo de Peru, Fr.; Peruvianischer Balsam, Germ.; Balsamo del Peru, Hal.; Bal- 
samo negro, Span. 
Myrospermum. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Leguminosae. 
De Cand. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx campanulate, five-toothed, persistent. Petals five, the upper 162 
Balsamum. Peruvianum. 
PART I. 
one largest. Stamens ten, free. Ovary stipitate, oblong, membranous, with 
from two to six ovules; the style originating near the apex, filiform, lateral. Le- 
gume with the stalk naked at the base, broadly winged above, samaroid, inde- 
hiscent, one-celled, one or two seeded, laterally somewhat pointed by the styla 
Seed covered over with balsamic juice. Cotyledons thick, flat. Be Candolle. 
Most botanists agree in uniting the genera Myroxylon and Toluifera of 
Linnaeus, and Myrospermum of Jaequin, into one, and follow' I)e Candolle in 
adopting the last-mentioned title. Klotzsch, of Berlin, however, asserts the 
distinctness of the genera Myroxylon and Myrospermum, and attaches the 
Peru balsam tree to the former. (Bonplandia, Sept. 15, 1857, p. 274.) Be- 
sides the officinal species, there are others which possess medical virtues, and 
have been more or less employed. The pod of M. frutescens (Jacq.). growing 
in Trinidad, is popularly used in that island as a carminative, and externally, in 
the form of tincture, as a lotion in rheumatic pains: and a small quantity of 
balsamic juice is obtained by incisions in the stem, not distinguishable from bal- 
sam of Tolu. (Pharrn. Journ. and Trans., Sept. 1862, p. 108.) Another spe- 
cies is known in Paraguay under the name of quino-quino, the bark of w hich 
is used, in powder and decoction, as a remedy in wounds and ulcers; arid from 
the trunk of which a juice is obtained, which in its concrete state closely re- 
sembles dried balsam of Peru. {Ibid., Oct. 1862, p. 183.) In relation to the 
particular species which yields the balsam now under consideration, there has 
been much uncertainty. After the death of Linnaeus, specimens of a plant 
were sent to the younger Linnaeus by Mutis, from New Granada, which was 
said by this botanist to yield the balsam of Peru. A description of the plant 
was published in the Supplementuni Plantarum with the name of Myroxylon 
Peruiferum; and pharmacologists have generally referred the balsam to it. 
But considerable doubt has existed as to the identity of the species; nor have 
these doubts been satisfactorily settled up to the present time. Specimens of a 
plant were received by Dr. Pereira from Central America, which, there is no 
reason to doubt, is the real source of Peruvian balsam. Upon comparing these 
with the specimen of Mutis’s plant, preserved in the Herbarium of the Linnsean 
Society, he found a sufficiently close resemblance in the leaves; but unfortu- 
nately this specimen is not perfect, and a certain conclusion did not seem to 
be attainable. A species of Myrospermum was described by Ruiz, in his Qui- 
nologia, as the true Peruvian balsam plant, which he believed to be identical 
with Myroxylon Peruiferum of Linn., and named accordingly. But this identity 
is denied by Kunth and De Candolle, who consider Ruiz’s plant to be the My- 
rospermum pubescens. (Prodrom. ii. 95.) Lambert, in his Illustrations of the 
genus Cinchona, translated the description of Ruiz, and gave a figure of the 
plant (p. 97); but, according to Dr. Pereira, he drew the figure from Pavon’s 
specimens contained in the British Museum, which were not those of Ruiz’s 
plant, and were marked in Pavon’s own handwriting Myroxylon balsamif erum. 
With this figure the real plant corresponds most closely; and it would appear, 
therefore, not to be the M Peruiferum of Ruiz, the M. pubescens of Ivunth 
and De Candolle. More recently, Prof. Carson, of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania, received from Central America a specimen, in leaf and flower, of the 
true Peruvian balsam tree, which he described and figured in the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm for July, 1860 (p. 297). From a comparison of this specimen with 
the description of Pereira’s plant, and with that by Willdenow, in the 4th edi- 
tion of the Species Plantarum, of the M. Peruiferum of the younger Linnaeus, 
he concluded that the three plants were identical, and that the balsam is in fact, 
as originally supposed, the product of the Myroxylon Peruiferum of Linn., the 
Myrospermum Peruiferum of Kunth and De Candolle. In the uncertainty which 
exists upon this subject, we shall give a brief account of the plant described 
and figured by Pereira, with the designation of “ Myrospermum of Sonsonatef 
leaving its proper botanical place to be determined by further observation. 
The Myrospermum of Sonsonate, for which Dr. Royle proposes the name cf 
Myrospermum Pcreirse, in honour of the late Dr. Pereira {Manual of Mat. Med., part T. 
Balsamum Peruvianum. 
163 
2d ed., p. 414), the Myroxylon Pereirse of Klotzsch (Br.), is a handsome tree 
with a straight, round, lofty stem, a smooth ash-coloured bark, and spreading 
branches at the top. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, and unequally pinnate. 
The leaflets are from five to eleven, shortly petiolate, oblong, oval-oblong, or 
ovate, about three inches long by somewhat less than an inch and a half in 
breadth, rounded at the base, and contracting abruptly at top into an emargin- 
ate point. When held up to the light, they exhibit, in lines parallel with the 
primary veins, beautiful rounded and linear pellucid spots. The common and 
partial petioles and midribs are smooth to the naked eye, but, when examined 
with a microscope, are found to be furnished with short hairs. The fruit, in- 
cluding the winged footstalks, varies from two to four inches in length. At its 
peduncular extremity it is rounded or slightly tapering; at the top enlarged, 
rounded, and swollen, with a small point at the side. The mesocarp, or main 
investment of the fruit, is fibrous, and contains in distinct receptacles a balsamic 
juice, which is most abundant in two long receptacles or vittse, one upon each 
side. A gum-resin exudes spontaneously in small quantities from the trunk of 
the tree, which, though containing, besides gum and resin, a small proportion 
of volatile oil, is wholly distinct from the proper balsam, and yields no cinnamic 
acid. (Attfield, Pharm. Journ.,T)ec. 1863, p. 248.) 
This tree grows in Central America, in the State of Saint Salvador, upon the 
Pacific Coast. Dr. Charles Dorat, in a letter to Professor Carson, states that it 
is never found at a greater height on the mountains than one thousand feet, 
that it begins to be productive after five years, and continues to yield for thirty 
years or more, and that the aroma of its flowers is perceived at the distance of 
one hundred yards. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxii. 303.) The balsam is col- 
lected from it exclusively by the aborigines, within a small district denomi- 
nated the Balsam Coast, extending from Acajutla to Port Libertad. Incisions 
are made into the bark, which is slightly burned, so as to cause the juice to flow. 
Previous to the incisions, according to Dr. Dorat, the bark is beaten on four 
sides of the trunk, so as to separate it from the wood without breaking it; in- 
termediate strips being left sound, in order not to destroy the life of the tree. 
Cuts arc then made in the bruised bark, and the exuding balsam set on fire. 
Fifteen days after this operation the juice begins to flow freely. It is received 
on cotton or woollen rags inserted into the apertures, which, after saturation, 
are removed and replaced by others. When sufficient is collected, the rags are 
boiled in water in large jars, and the liquid allowed to stand; whereupon the 
water rises to the top, and is poured off, leaving the balsam, which is put into 
calabashes or bladders. (Pharm. Journ, and Trans., xi. 205.)* It is then taken 
for sale to the neighbouring town of Sonsonate, where it is purified by sub- 
sidence and straining, and put into jars for exportation. The annual average 
produce is said to be about 25,000 pounds. 
Seeds of the Peru balsam tree, sent to Ceylon and the W. India islands of 
Jamaica and Trinidad, have proved fruitful, and young plants derived from 
them are growing vigorously; so that at no great distance in the future com- 
merce will cease to depend for its supplies upon Central America. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., vi. 441, Feb. 1865.) 
A substance called white balsam is procured from the fruit by expression. 
This has been confounded by some with the balsam of Tolu, but is wholly dis- 
tinct. It is of a semifluid or soft-solid consistence, somewhat granular, and, 
on standing, separates into a white resinous crystalline deposit, and a superior 
translucent more fluid portion. The smell, though quite distinct from that of 
the balsam of Tolu and Peru, is not disagreeable. Dr. Stenhouse has obtained 
from it a peculiar resinous body, readily crystallizable, and remarkably indif- 
* In a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal (Dec. 1863, p. 241), Mr. Daniel 
Hanbury published an extract of a letter from Dr. Dorat, giving an account of a somewhat 
modified process for collecting the balsam. After the bruising of the bark as described in 
the text, fire is applied to the beaten bark, which becomes charred, and, after eight days, 
falls of!' in places, or is removed ; and the rags are spread on the bare wood, and allowed 
to remain till saturated. They are then treated as above stated. (Note to the twelfth edition ) 164 
Balsamum Peruvianum. 
PART I. 
ferent in its chemical affinities, which he denominates myroxocarpin. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., x. 290.) Dr. Dorat, however, denies that the white balsam 
is produced by the same tree, or in the same vicinity. 
Another substance obtained from the same tree, and much used in Central 
America, is a tincture of the fruit, made by digesting it in rum. It is called 
balsamito by the inhabitants, and is said to be stimulant, anthelmintic, and di- 
uretic. It is also used as an external application to gangrenous or indolent 
ulcers, and as a wash to the face to remove freckles. According to Dr. Dorat, 
the balsamito is not the tincture, but an alcoholic extract of the young fruit. 
Neither this nor the white balsam reaches the markets of this country. 
The balsam of Peru was named from its place of exportation; and it was 
long thought to be a product of Peru. It is now shipped partly from the Pa- 
cific Coast, and partly from the Balize or other ports on the Atlantic side, 
whither it is brought across the country. It was Guibourt who first made 
known the fact of its exclusive production in Central America. As imported 
it is usually in tin canisters, with a whitish scum upon its surface, and more 
or less deposit, which is dissolved with the aid of heat. 
The balsam is said to be adulterated in Europe with castor oil, copaiba, &c. 
(Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xii. 549) ; and a factitious substance has been sold 
in this country for the genuine balsam, prepared by dissolving balsam of Tolu 
in alcohol. This maybe distinguished by taking fire readily, and burning with 
a blue flame. (N.Y. Journ. of Pharm., i. 133.) It would, moreover, undeigo 
diminution in volume when mixed with water, which is not the case with the 
genuine balsam. (Br.) A method of detecting castor oil, proposed by Dr. Wag- 
ner, is to expose a small portion of the suspected balsam to distillation u itil 
somewhat more than one-half has passed, to shake the distillate with baryta- 
water, to remove by means of a pipette the layer of oil floating on the surface, 
and to shake this with a concentrated solution of bisulphite of soda. If castor 
oil be present, the liquid will immediately become a crystalline mass. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 570, from Annal der Chem. und Pharm.) 
Properties. Balsam of Peru is viscid like syrup or honey, of a dark reddish- 
brown colour, a fragrant odour, and a warm bitterish taste, leaving when swal- 
lowed a burning or prickling sensation in the throat. Its sp. gr. is from 114 to 
1 16. When exposed to flame it takes fire, diffusing a white smoke and fragrant 
odour. Containing resin, volatile oil, and either benzoic or cinnamic acid, it is 
properly considered a balsam, though probably somewhat altered by heat. Al- 
cohol entirely dissolves it, taking up one part in five. (Br.) Boiling water ex- 
tracts the acid. From 1000 parts of the balsam, Stolze obtained 24 parts of a 
brown nearly insoluble resinous matter, 207 of resin readily soluble, 690 of oil, 
64 of benzoic acid, 6 of extractive matter, and a small proportion of water. The 
oil he considers to be of a peculiar nature, differing from the volatile, the fixed, 
and the empyreumatic oils. Frdmy gives the following views of the composi- 
tion of the balsam. The acid is cinnamic and not benzoic acid. The oily sub- 
stance is named by him cinnamein. It is decomposed by caustic potassa into 
cinnamic acid, which unites with the alkali, and a light oily fluid calledperuvin. 
The resin is a hydrate of cinnamein, and increases at the expense of the lat- 
ter principle as the balsam hardens. Cinnamein often holds in solution a crys- 
talline substance called metacinnamein, isomeric with hydruret of cinnamyl, 
and by its oxidation producing cinnamic acid. When none exists in the balsam, 
it is presumed to have been wholly converted into that acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This balsam is a warm stimulating tonic and 
expectorant, and has been recommended in chronic catarrhs, certain forms of 
asthma, phthisis, and other pectoral complaints attended with debility. It has 
also been used in gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, chronic rheumatism, 
and palsy. At present, however, it is little employed by American physicians. 
As an external application it has been found beneficial in chronic indolent ul- 
cers. The dose is half a fluidrachm. It is best administered diffused in water by 
means of sugar and the yolk of eggs or gum arabic. W. PART i. 
Balsamum Tolutanum. 
165 
BALSAMUM TOLUTANUM. U.S.,Br. 
The juice of Myrospermum Toluiferum (Be Candolle). U. S. A balsam ob- 
tained from Myroxylon Toluifera. Br. 
BaumedeTolu,.Fr.; Tolubalsam,(?erm.; Balsamo del Tolu, Ttal.; Balsamode Tolu, Span. 
Myrospermum. See BALSAMUM PERUVIANUM. 
For a long time the tree from which this balsam is derived retained the name 
of Toluifera Balsamum, given to it by Linnseus; but it is now admitted that 
the genus Toluifera was formed upon insufficient grounds; and botanists agree 
in referring the Tolu balsam tree to the genus Myroxylon, or, as it was after- 
wards named, Myrospermum. Ruiz, one of the authors of the Flora Peruviana, 
considered it identical with Myroxylon Peruiferum; but M. Achille Richard 
determined that it was a distinct species, and gave it the appropriate specific 
name of Toluiferum, which is now recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. Sprengel 
and Humboldt also consider it a distinct species of Myroxylon. According to 
Richard, who had an opportunity of examining specimens brought from South 
America by Humboldt, the leaflets of M. Peruiferum are thick, coriaceous, 
acute, blunt at the apex, and all equal in size; while those of M. Toluiferum 
are thin, membranous, obovate, with a lengthened and acuminate apex, and the 
terminal one is longest. M. Peruiferum is found in Peru and the southern 
parts of New Granada; M. Toluiferum grows in New Granada, and abounds 
especially in the neighbourhood of Tolu. The wood of the latter species, ac- 
cording to Humboldt, is of a deep-red colour, has a delightful balsamic odour, 
and is much used for building. Mr. John Weir, who visited the country of the 
Tolu balsam tree, found it growing abundantly in the mountainous region on 
the Magdalena river, near the towns of Plato and Las Mercedes, but at a con- 
siderable distance from the stream. The average height of the trees is seventy 
feet, the trunk sometimes more than two feet in diameter at a yard from the 
ground, and the height to the first branches 40 feet, so that it was necessary 
to fell the tree in order to obtain the leaves and fruit. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., July, 18G4, p. 61.) 
The balsam is procured by making incisions in the trunk quite through the 
bark. The juice is received in small calabash cups, which are inserted in slight 
excavations beneath the point of two vertical incisions meeting at the lower 
end; and Mr. Weir has seen as many as twenty cups at a time on one tree. 
The collectors go from tree to tree emptying the cups into flasks of raw hide. 
In these skin vessels the juice is taken to the different ports on the river, where 
it is transferred to tin cans. (Weir, Ibid.) It is brought from Carthagena in 
calabashes or baked earthen jars, or in tin or glass vessels. G. L. Ulex gives as 
a test of the purity of the balsam, that, if heated in sulphuric acid, it dissolves 
without disengagement of sulphurous acid, and yields a cherry-red liquid. (Ar- 
chie. der Pliarm., Jan. 1853 ) 
' Properties. As first imported, balsam of Tolu has a soft, tenacious consist- 
ence, which varies considerably with the temperature. By age it becomes hard 
and brittle like resin. It is shining, translucent, of a reddish or yellowish-brown 
colour, a highly fragrant odour, and a warm, somewhat sweetish and pungent, 
but not disagreeable taste. Exposed to heat, it melts, inflames, and diffuses an 
agreeable odour while burning. It is entirely dissolved by alcohol and the vola- 
tile oils. Boiling water extracts its acid. Distilled with water it affords a small 
proportion of volatile oil; and, if the heat be continued, an acid matter sub- 
limes. Mr. Hatchett states that, when dissolved in the smallest quantity of solu- 
tion of of potassa, it loses its own characteristic odour, and acquires that of the 
clove pink. Its ingredients are resin, cinnamic acid, and volatile oil, the pro- 
portions of which vary in different specimens. The acid was formerly thought 
to be benzoic; but was proved by Fremy to be the cinnamic. The existence of 
the former acid in the balsam was denied by that chemist; and, though Deville 
Balsam of Tolu. 166 
Balsamum Tolutanum.—Barium. 
PART I. 
subsequently obtained benzoic acid from it, yet, according to Kopp, this did not 
pre-exist in the balsam, but resulted from changes produced in the resin by heat, 
or the reaction of strong alkaline solutions. The pure volatile oil is a carbo- 
hydrogen (C10Hg), which is denominated by Kopp tolene. According to the same 
chemist, the I’esinous matter is of two kinds, one very soluble in alcohol, the 
other but slightly so. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xi. 426.) Guibourt observed 
that the balsam contains more acid, and is less odorous in the solid form ; and 
thinks that the acid is increased at the expense of the oil. Trommsdorff obtained 
88 per cent, of resin, 12 of acid, and only 02 of volatile oil. According to Mr. 
Heaver, the balsam yields by distillation about one-eighth of its weight of pure 
cinnamic acid. The acid distils over in the form of a heavy oil, which condenses 
into a white crystalline mass. It may be freed from empyreumatic oil by press- 
ure in bibulous paper, and subsequent solution in boiling water, which deposits 
it in minute colourless crystals, upon cooling. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 77.) 
According to Fremy, this balsam is closely analogous in constitution to the 
balsam of Peru, being composed of cinnamein, cinnamic acid, and resin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Balsam of Tolu is a stimulant tonic, with a 
peculiar tendency to the pulmonary organs. It is given with some advantage 
in chronic catarrh and other pectoral complaints, in which a gently stimulating 
expectorant is demanded; but should not be prescribed until after the reduction 
of inflammatory action. Independently of its medical virtues, its agreeable 
flavour renders it a popular ingredient in expectorant mixtures. Old and ob- 
stinate coughs are said to be sometimes greatly relieved by the inhalation of 
the vapour, proceeding from an ethereal solution of this balsam. From ten to 
thirty grains may be given at a dose, and frequently repeated. The best form 
of administration is that of emulsion, made by triturating the balsam with mu- 
cilage of gum arabio and loaf sugar, and afterwards with water. 
Of. Prep. Syrupus Tolutanus, Br ; Tinctura Benzoini Composita; Tinetura 
Tolutana. W. 
BARIUM. 
Barium. 
This is the metallic radical of the earth baryta, and the basis of two officinal 
compounds. It was first obtained in 1808 by Sir H. Davy, who describes it as a 
difficultly fusible metal, of a dark-gray colour, effervescing violently with water, 
and considerably heavier than sulphuric acid. Its eq. is 68*7, and symbol Ba. 
When exposed to the air, it instantly becomes covered with a crust of baryta, 
and when gently heated, burns with a deep-red light. The only officinal com- 
pounds of barium are the chloride, and the carbonate of the protoxide (baryta). 
Baryta may be obtained from the native carbonate by intense ignition with 
carbonaceous matter; or from the native sulphate, by ignition with charcoal, 
which converts it into sulphuret of barium, subsequent solution of the sulphuret 
in nitric acid, and strong ignition of the nitrate formed to dissipate the acid. 
As thus obtained, it is an anhydrous solid, caustic, alkaline, difficultly fusible, 
and of a grayish-white colour. Its sp. gr. is about 4. It acts on the animal 
economy as a poison. When sprinkled with water it slakes like lime, becomes 
hot, and is reduced to the state of a white pulverulent hydrate, containing one 
eq. of water. The same hydrate is formed in mass, when the anhydrous earth is 
made into a paste with water, and exposed to a red heat in a platinum crucible. 
The excess of water is expelled, and the hydrate, undergoing fusion, may be 
poured out and allowed to congeal. Baryta dissolves in water, and forms the 
reagent called baryta-water. A boiling saturated solution, as it cools, yields 
crystals of baryta, containing much water of crystallization. 
An economical process for obtaining baryta in crystals has been published 
by Dr. Mohr, of Coblentz. It consists in adding to a boiling solution of caustic 
soda an equivalent quantity of chloride of barium and nitrate of barvta. In con- 
sequence of the usual impurities in caustic soda, a precipitate is tormed of som& l’ART 1. 
Barytas Carbonas.—Barytas Sulphas. 
167 
carbonate and sulphate of baryta, which is easily separated by subsidence from 
the solution of caustic baryta, kept hot. This, when clear, is drawn off by a 
syphon, and put in a suitable covered vessel to cool and crystallize; when the 
whole liquid is often converted into a mass of acicular crystals. (Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., Dec. 1856.) 
Baryta consists of one eq. of barium 68*7, and one of oxygen 8 = 767. Its 
symbol is, therefore, BaO. B. 
BARYTVE CARBONAS. U.S. 
Carbonate of Baryta 
Carbonate de baryte, Fr.; Kohlensaurer Baryt, Germ.; Barite carbonate, Ital.; Carbo- 
nato de barito, Span. 
The officinal carbonate of baryta is the native carbonate, a rare mineral, dis- 
covered in 17»3 by Dr. Withering, in honour of whom it is called Witherite. 
It is found in Sweden and Scotland, but most abundantly in the lead mines of 
the north of England. It occurs usually in grayish, or pale yellowish-gray, 
fibrous masses, but sometimes crystallized. Its sp. gr. varies from 4 2 to 4-4. 
It is generally translucent, but sometimes opaque. It effervesces with acids, 
and, before the blowpipe, melts into a white enamel without losing its carbonic 
acid. It consists of one eq. of acid 22, and one of baryta 76’7 — 98-7. It is dis- 
tinguished from the carbonate of strontia, with which it is most liable to be 
confounded, by its greater specific gravity, and by the absence of a reddish 
flame upon the burning of alcohol impregnated with its muriatic solution If 
strontia be present, the reddish flame will detect it. 
When pure, carbonate of baryta is entirely soluble in muriatic sul- 
phate of baryta present is left undissolved. If neither ammonia nor sulphuretted 
hydrogen produces discoloration or a precipitate in the muriatic solution, the 
absence of alumina, iron, copper, and lead is shown. Lime may be detected by 
adding an excess of sulphuric acid, which will throw down the baryta as a sul- 
phate, and afterwards testing the clear liquid with carbonate of soda, which, if 
lime be present, will produce a precipitate of carbonate of lime. 
Carbonate of baryta acts as a poison on the animal economy. Its only offici 
nal use is to prepare chloride of barium. 
Off. Prep. Barii Chloriclutn, 77. S. B. 
BARYTiE SULPHAS. 
Sulphate of Baryta. 
Heavy spar, Baroselenite; Sulfate de baryte, Fr.; Schwefelsaurer Bary t, Germ.; Barite 
sulfata, Ital. 
The native sulphate of baryta is used in pharmacy with the same view as the 
native carbonate; namely, to obtain chloride of barium. The TJ. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia directs for this purpose the carbonate; but, as the sulphate may be used 
more economically, and is, in fact, generally employed in the preparation of 
chloride of barium, we retain it here, though not recognised as otficinal. 
Sulphate of baryta is a heavy, lamellar, brittle mineral, varying in sp. gr. from 
4 4 to 4-6. It is generally translucent, but sometimes transparent or opaque, and 
its ordinary colour is tvhite or flesh-red. When crystallized, it is usually in very 
flat rhombic prisms. Before the blowpipe it strongly decrepitates, and melts into 
a white enamel, which, in the course of ten or twelve hours, falls to powder. It 
is thus partially converted into sulphate of barium, and, if applied to the tongue, 
will give a taste like that of putrid eggs, arising from the formation of sulphuret- 
ted hydrogen. It consists of one eq. of acid 40, and one of baryta 76 7 = 116*7. 
This salt, on account of its great insolubility, is not poisonous. Ground to 
fine powder, it is sometimes mixed with white lead, but impairs the quality of 
that pigment. The artificial sulphate of baryta, under the name of permanent 
white or blancfix, is much used in the arts as a water colour. It is made from 168 
Belse Fructus. 
PART I. 
both the native sulphate and native carbonate. It forms a dazzling white colour, 
unalterable by light, heat, air, or sulphuretted hydrogen. It is used by the manu- 
facturers of paper hangings, and for mixing with other colours, the tone of which 
it does not impair. ( Chem. Gaz., Feb. 1,1857.) 
B. 
BELiE FRUCTUS. Br. 
Bael Fruit. 
The dried half-ripe fruit of JEgle Marmelos. Br. 
This is a newly introduced officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia, little known 
as yet in Great Britain, and scarcely at all in the United States; and probably 
sanctioned by the British Council out of complaisance to practitioners in the 
E. Indies, who are said to have used it with advantage. It is the unripe fruit of 
the AEgle Marmelos of De Candolle, belonging to the Aurantiacese, and with 
the following generic character. “Flowers bi-sexual. Petals 4-5, patent. Sta- 
mens 30-40, with distinct filaments, and linear-oblong anthers. Ovary 8-15 
celled, with numerous ovules in each cell. Style very short and thick. Stigma 
capitate. Fruit baccate, with a hard rind, 8-15 celled, the cells 6-10 seeded. 
Seed with a woolly coat, covered with a slimy liquid.” ( Wight & Arnott.) 
This species of JEgle, sometimes called the Bengal quince, is a rather large 
tree, with an erect stem, and few and irregular branches, covered with an ash- 
coloured bark, and furnished in general with strong, very shai'p, axillary thorns, 
single or in pairs. The leaves are ternale, with oblong-lanceolate, crenulated, 
slightly dotted leaflets, of which the terminal is largest. Tin flowers are large, 
white, and in small, terminal or axillary panicles. The frup .s a berry, of about 
the size of a large orange, somewhat spherical, but flattened at t> e base, and de- 
pressed at the insertion of the stem, with a hard smooth shell, and from 10 to 
15 cells, containing besides the seeds a large quantity of exceedingly tenacious 
mucilage, which, when dried, is hard and transparent. The tree is a native of 
Hindostan and of further India. It is figured in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. 
(Octob. 1850, p. 166), from which we have taken the foregoing account. 
Several parts of the tree are used in India. The ripe fruit is described as 
fragrant, and of a delicious flavour; and a sort of sherbet prepared from it is 
deemed useful in febrile affections. The mucilage about the seeds is applied to 
various purposes in the arts, in connection with its viscid properties. The rind 
is used in dyeing. The flowers are deemed refrigerant by the native physicians. 
The fresh leaves yield by expression a bitterish and somewhat pungent juice, 
which, diluted with water, is occasionally used in the early stage of catarrhal 
and other fevers. The bark of the stem and root is thought to possess febrifuge 
properties. But it is the unripe or half-ripe fruit which is chiefly employed, and 
is the part recognised by the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Properties. The dried fruit is imported into England in vertical slices, or in 
broken pieces consisting of a part of the rind with the adherent pulp and seeds. 
The “rind is about a line and a half thick, covered with a smooth pale-brown 
nr grayish epidermis, and internally, as well as the dried pulp, brownish-orange, 
or cherry-red.” (Br.) When moistened, the pulp becomes mucilaginous. The 
fruit is astringent to the taste, and yields its virtues to water by maceration or 
decoction. It was found by Mr. Pollock to contain tannic acid, a concrete 
essential oil, and a vegetable acid. (Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1864, p. 199.) 
The difficulty of obtaining bael in England, is said of late to have led to the 
substitution for it of mangosteen, the fruit of Garcinia Mangosta-na. This is in 
irregular fragments of the rind, without any adhering pulp. The pieces are 
convex, three or four lines or more in thickness, externally covered with a 
smooth, deep reddish-brown, easily separable coating, and internally pale red- 
dish-brown or reddish-yellow, smooth, but with projecting vertical lines. (Prof 
Bentley, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., May, 1867, p. 654.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bael, as the medicine is called in India, or PART i. 
Belie Frudus.—Belladonna. 
169 
bela, as it has been officinally named, is said to possess astringent properties 
xhich render it useful in diarrhoea, dysentery with debility of the mucous 
membrane, and other diseases of the bowels with relaxation, which it relieves 
without inducing constipation. It is much used by some practitioners in India, 
generally in the form of decoction, made by slowly boiling down a pint of water 
with two ounces of the dried fruit to four fluidounces. Of this one or two fluid 
ounces are given in acute cases every two or three hours, in chronic cases two 
or three times a day. A liquid extract is directed in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
the dose of \\ hich may be one or two fluidrachms. Mr. Waring, of the East 
India medical service, recommends an extract in the dose of half a drachm or 
a drachm. (Med. Times and Gaz.) 
Off. Prep. Uxtractum Belse Liquidum, Br. W. 
BELLADONNA FOLIUM. US. 
Belladonna Leaf. 
The leaves of AJropa Belladonna. U. S. 
Off. Syn. BELLADONNJE FOLIA. The fresh leaves, with the branches 
n, which they are attached, of Deadly Nightshade, Atropa Belladonna; also 
the leaves separated from the branches and carefully dried ; gathered from the 
wilu or cultivated British plants when the fruit has begun to form. Br. 
BELLADONNA RADIX. U.S.,Br. 
Belladonna Root. 
The root of Atropa Belladonna from plants more than two years old. U. S. 
The ciried root of Atropa Belladonna. Br. 
Belffidone, Fr.; Gemeine Tollkirsche, Wolfskirsche, Germ.; Belladonna, Ital.; Bel- 
ladona, Belladama, Span. 
Atropa. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Solanaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla bell-shaped. Stamens distant. Berry globular, two-celled. 
mud. 
Atropa Belladonna. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 10H; Woodv. Med Bot. p. 230, t. 82; 
Carson, Blast, of Med. Bot. ii. 19, pi. lxv. The belladonna, or deadly nightshade, 
is an herbaceous perennial, with a fleshy creeping root, from which rise sev- 
eral erect, round, purplish, branching stems, to the height of about three feet. 
The leaves, which are attached by short footstalks to the stem, are in pairs of 
unequal size, oval, pointed, entire, of a dusky green on their upper surface, and 
paler beneath. The flowers are large, bell-shaped, pendent, of a dull-reddish 
colour, with solitary peduncles, rising from the axils of the leaves. The fruit is 
a roundish berry with a longitudinal furrow on each side, at first green, after- 
wards red, ultimately deep purple, bearing considerable resemblance to a 
cherry, and containing, in two distinct cells, numerous seeds, and a sweetish 
violet-coloured juice. The calyx adheres to the base of the fruit. 
The plant is a native of Europe, where it grows in shady places, along walls, 
and amidst rubbish, flowering in June and July, and ripening its fruit in Sep- 
tember. It grows vigorously under cultivation in this country, and retains all 
its activity, as shown by the observations of Mr. Alfred Jones. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxiv. 106.) All parts of it are active. The leaves and roots are directed 
by the United States and British Pharmacopoeias; the latter including the young 
branches, which are probably not less efficient. The leaves should be collected 
in June or July, when the plant is in flower, the roots in the autumn or early in 
the spring, arid from plants three years old or more. Leaves which have been 
kept long should not be used, as they undergo change through absorption of 
atmospheric moisture, emitting ammonia, and probably losing a portion of 
their active nitrogenous matter. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 455.) 
Properties. The dried leaves axe, of a dull-greenish colour, with a very faint, 170 
Belladonna. 
PAIIT T. 
narcotic odour,and a sweetish,subacrid,slightly nauseous taste. The root is long, 
round, from one to several inches in thickness, branched and fibrous, externally 
when dried of a reddish-brown colour, internally whitish, of little odour, and a 
feeble sweetish taste. As to the relative strength of these two parts, M. Hirtz, 
of Strasburg, has inferred from his experiments that the root yields an extract 
five times stronger than that obtained from the leaves; but, to determine accu- 
rately the point referred to, another element in the calculation is necessary ; the 
relative quantity, namely, of the extracts from the two sources; and this is un- 
certain. (Annuaire de Therap., A.D. 1862, p. 22.) Both the leaves and root, as 
well as all other parts of the plant, impart their active properties to water and 
alcohol. Brandes rendered it probable that these properties reside in a peculiar 
alkaline principle, which he supposed to exist in the plant combined with an ex- 
cess of malic acid, and appropriately named atropia. Besides malate of atropia, 
Brandes found in the dried herb two azotized principles, a green resin (chloro- 
phyll), wax, gum, starch, albumen, lignin, and various salts. The alkaline prin- 
ciple was afterwards detected by M. Runge; and the fact of its existence was 
established beyond question by Geiger and Hesse, who obtained it from an ex- 
tract prepared from the stems and leaves of the plant. It was first, however, 
procured in a state of purity by Mein, a German apothecary, who extracted it 
from the root. Liibekind has described, under the name of belladonnin, a vola- 
tile alkaline principle,wholly distinct from atropia, which he obtained from bella- 
donna ; but it yet remains to be seen whether this was not a product of the 
process. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xui. 127.) For the mode of preparing atro- 
pia and its properties, see the article Atropia in the second part of this work. 
The imported belladonna, especially that from Germany, is occasionally adul- 
terated. Prof. J. M. Maisch, in a communication to the American Journal of 
Pharmacy (xxxiv. 126), states that, in different packages of the German drug, 
he has met with the leaves of Digitalis purpurea, Solanum nigrum and villo- 
sum, and Verbascum-Thapsus, the leaves, stem, and capsules of llyoscyamus 
niger, and various other impurities, not to speak of the flowers and fruit and 
immature leaves of the belladonna plant itself. The apothecary can have no 
difficulty in detecting these adulterations, if acquainted with the characters of 
the genuine leaves. One of the most distinctive of these is the unequal size of the 
two leaves constituting each pair. But the plant is so easily cultivated, and 
grows so vigorously in this country, that all the demand for it might be readily 
supplied from our own gardens, without the need of recourse to Europe, were a 
little attention paid to the subject. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The action of belladonna is that of a power- 
ful narcotic, possessing also diaphoretic and diuretic properties, and somewhat 
disposed to operate upon the bowels. Among its first obvious effects, when 
taken in the usual dose, and continued for some time, are dryness and stricture 
of the fauces and neighbouring parts,with slight uneasiness and giddiness of the 
head, and more or less dimness of vision. In medicinal doses, it may also occar 
sion dilatation of the pupil, decided frontal headache, slight delirium, colicky 
pains and purging, and a scarlet efflorescence on the skin ; but this last effect is 
rare. The practitioner should watch for these symptoms as signs of the activity 
of the medicine, and should gradually increase the dose till some one of them 
is experienced in a slight degree, unless the object at which he aims should be 
previously attained; but so soon as they occur, the dose should be diminished, 
or the use of the narcotic suspended for a time. 
In large quantities, belladonna produces the most deleterious effects. It is in 
fact a powerful poison; and many instances are recorded in which it has been 
taken with fatal consequences. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It is not 
uncommon, in countries where it grows wild, for children to pick and eat the 
berries, allured bv their fine colour and sweet taste. Soon after the poison has 
been swallowed, its peculiar influence is experienced in dryness of the mouth 
and fauces, burning in the throat and stomach, great thirst, difficult deglutition, 
nausea and ineffectual retching, loss of vision, vertigo, and intoxication or de PART i. 
Belladonna. 
171 
lirium, with violent gestures and sometimes fits of laughter, and followed 
by coma. The pupil is dilated and insensible to light, the face red and tumid, 
the mouth and jaws spasmodically affected, the stomach and bowels insuscepti- 
ble of impressions, in fact the whole nervous system prostrated and paralyzed. 
A feeble pulse, cold extremities, subsultus tendinum, deep coma or delirium, and 
sometimes convulsions precede death. Dissection discloses appearances of in- 
flammation in the stomach and intestines; and it is said that the body soon 
begins to putrefy, swells, and becomes covered with livid spots, while dark blood 
flows from the mouth, nose, and ears. To obviate the poisonous influence of 
belladonna, the most effectual method is to evacuate the stomach as speedily as 
possible, by means of emetics or the stomach-pump, and afterwards to cleanse 
the bowels by purgatives and enemata. The shocks of an electro-magnetic bat- 
tery have been found useful in the comatose state. (N. Y. Journ. of Med., N. S., 
v. 172.) The infusion of galls may be serviceable as an antidote; and, if the 
experiments of M. Runge can be relied on, lime-water or the alkaline solutions 
would render the poisonous matter remaining in the stomach inert. Bouchardat 
recommends the ioduretted solution of iodide of potassium; and a case is re- 
corded in which it seems to have been useful. (Ann. de Therap., 1854, p. 14.)* 
Dr. Garrod, of London, infers from his experiments that the caustic alkalies 
have the effect of destroying the activity of the poisonous principle of bella- 
donna, and, consequently, that solution of potassa should never be used, even 
though very dilute, in prescriptions with this medicine, but may be employed 
with the hope of some benefit as an antidote, though its influence in this respect 
would be much limited by the necessity of giving it in small quantities, in con- 
sequence of its caustic properties. 
It has been satisfactorily ascertained that the physiological effects of opium 
are to some extent antagonistic to those of belladonna; and that the prepara- 
tions of the former may be advantageously employed in poisoning by the latter; 
especially where there is great nervous excitement. But,- in the present state 
of medical experience on the subject, it would be unsafe to rely on this expe- 
dient, to the exclusion of other measures, and especially of a thorough prelimi- 
nary evacuation of the stomach. 
Belladonna has been used as a medicine from early times. The leaves wero 
first employed externally to discuss scirrhous tumours, and heal cancerous and 
other ill-conditioned ulcers; and were afterwards administered internally for 
the same purpose. Much evidence of their usefulness in these affections is on 
record, and even Dr. Cullen spoke in their favour; but this application of the 
medicine has fallen into disuse. It is now more esteemed in nervous diseases. 
It has been highly recommended in hooping-cough, in the advanced stages of 
which it is undoubtedly sometimes beneficial. In neuralgia it is one of the most 
effectual remedies in our possession; and it may be employed to give relief in 
other painful affections. Hufeland recommends it in the convulsions dependent 
on scrofulous irritation It has been prescribed also in nervous colic, strangu- 
lated hernia, chorea, epilepsy, hydrophobia, tetanus, mania, delirium tremens, 
paralysis, amaurosis, incontinence of urine, rheumatism, gout, dysmenovrhoea, 
obstinate intermittents, scarlatina, dropsy, and jaundice; and, in such of these 
affections as have their seat chiefly in the nervous system, it may sometimes do 
good. Bretonneau has employed it usefully in the- treatment of constipation. 
It has been recommended as an antaphrodisiac, and is said to have been effect 
* There has been some difference of opinion as to the effect of belladonna on certain of 
the lower animals. Dr. W. Ogle states, as the result of his experiments on rabbits, 1. that 
a middle aged rabbit may live for at least 6 days exclusively on belladonna; 2. that the 
animal will tolerate enormous doses of atropia, whether swallowed or injected into the 
areolar tissue, and that this tolerance is not owing to the non-absorption of the alkaloid; 
3. that the tolerance increases with the age; 4. but that dilatation of the pupil is pro- 
duced at least as readily in the old as in the young. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1867, 
p. 249.) These conclusions are important, as qualifying materially any inference from 
experiments on these animals as to the effects of belladonna on the human system. (Note 
to the thirteenth edition.) 172 
Belladonna.—Benzoinum. 
PART I. 
uaily employed in several cases of strangulated hernia. It has acquired con- 
siderable credit as a preventive of scarlatina; an application of the remedy first 
suggested by the author of the homoeopathic doctrine; but its efficiency in this 
way is at best doubtful. Much has been said of it as an antidote to the poison- 
ous effects of opium; and there is no doubt that some of the symptoms are 
relieved by its use; but it should not be relied on to the exclusion of measures 
for evacuating the stomach ; nor should it be so administered that its greatest 
stimulant and depressing influences on the brain should coincide with the 
similar influences of opium. 
Applied to the eye, belladonna has the property of dilating the pupil exceed- 
ingly, and for this purpose it is employed by oculists previously to the operation 
for cataract. Dilatation usually comes on in about an hour, is at its greatest 
height in three or four hours, and continues often for one or two days, or even 
longer. In cases of partial opacity of the crystalline lens, confined to the cen- 
tre of that body, vision is temporarily improved by a similar use of the remedy; 
and it may also be beneficially employed, when, from inflammation of the iris, 
there is danger of a permanent closure of the pupil. For these purposes, a 
strong infusion of the plant, or a solution of the extract, may be dropped into 
the eye, or a little of the extract itself rubbed upon the eyelids. The same ap- 
plication has been recommended in morbid sensibility of the eye. The extract, 
rubbed upon the areola of the breast, has been found quickly to arrest the secre- 
tion of milk; and, upon the abdomen, to relieve the vomiting of pregnancy, and 
other irritations sympathetic with the gravid uterus. Applied, in the form of a 
large plaster, above the pubes, it has been found very useful in relieving dysen- 
teric tenesmus, and, as a dressing to a blistered surface over the abdomen, has 
been known to effect a cure in epidemic cholera; but in such a case much care 
would be required to prevent its poisonous effects. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 
I860, p 49.) The decoction or extract, applied to the neck of the uterus, is 
asserted to have hastened tedious labour dependent on rigidity of the os tincae; 
and spasmodic stricture of the urethra, neck of the bladder, and sphincter ani, 
anal fissures, and painful uterine affections, have been relieved by the local use 
of Ihe extract, either smeared upon bougies, or administered by injection. In 
the latter mode it has relieved strangulated hernia It is asserted also to be 
use'ul in paraphimosis. The inhalation of the vapour from a decoction of the 
leases or extract has been recommended in spasmodic asthma. For this purpose, 
two drachms of the leaves, or fifteen grains of the aqueous extract are employed 
to t he pint of water. Relief is said to have been obtained in phthisis by smoking 
the leaves, infused when fresh in a strong solution of opium, and then dried. 
Belladonna may be given in substance, infusion, or extract. The dose of the 
powdered leaves is for children from the eighth to the fourth of a grain, for 
adults one or two grains, repeated daily, or twice a day, and gradually increased 
till the characteristic effects are experienced. An infusion may be prepared by 
adding a scruple of the dried leaves to ten fluidounces of boiling water, of which 
from one to two fluidounces is the dose for an adult. The extract is generally 
preferred in the United States. (See Extraction Belladonnse.) 
From its quicker action, more uniform strength, and greater cleanliness, 
atropia has been largely substituted for extract of belladonna for local use; 
and it is also much employed internally. (See Atropia in Part II.) 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Extractum Belladonnas; Extract. Belladonnas Al- 
coholieura, U. S.; Tinctura Bclladonnae. 
Off. Prep, of the Boot. Atropia; Linimentum Belladonnae, Br. W. 
BENZOINUM. U.S.,Br. 
Benzoin. 
The concrete juice of Styrax Benzoin. U. S. A balsamic resin obtained from 
Styrax Benzoin. Br. 
Benjoin, Fr.; Benzoe,Germ.; Belzoino, Ital.; Benjui, Span. 
The botanical source of benzoin was long uncertain. At one time it was PART I. 
Benzomum. 
173 
generally supposed in Europe to be derived from the Laurus Benzoin of this 
country. This error was corrected by Linnseus, who, however, committed an- 
other, in ascribing the drug to Croton Benzoe, a shrub which he afterwards 
described under the name of Terminalia Benzoin. Mr. Dryander was the first 
who ascertained the true benzoin-tree to be a Styrax; and his description, pub- 
lished in the 71th vol. of the London Philosophical Transactions, has been 
copied by most subsequent writers. 
Styrax. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogvnia.—Nat. Ord. Styracese. 
Gen. Ck. Calyx inferior. Corolla funnel-shaped. Drupe two-seeded. Willd. 
Styrax Benzoin. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 623; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 294, t. 102. 
This is a tall tree of quick growth, sending off many strong round branches, 
covered with a whitish downy bark. Its leaves are alternate, entire, oblong, 
pointed, smooth above, and downy beneath. The flowers are in compound, 
axillary clusters, nearly as long as the leaves, and usually hang, all on the same 
side, upon short slender pedicels. 
The benzoin, or benjamin-tree, is a native of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Laos, 
and Siam By wounding the bark near the origin of the lower branches, a juice 
exudes, which hardens upon exposure, and forms the benzoin of commerce. A 
tree is deemed of a proper age to be wounded at six years, when its trunk is 
about seven or eight inches in diameter. The operation is performed annually, 
and the product on each occasion from one tree never exceeds three pounds. 
The juice which first flows is the purest, and affords the whitest and most fra- 
grant benzoin. It is exported chiefly from Bangkok in Siam, and Admen in 
Sumatra, and comes into the western markets in large masses packed in chests 
and casks, and showing externally the impression of the reed mats in which 
the}T were originally contained. 
Two kinds of benzoin are distinguishable in the market; one consisting chiefly 
of whitish tears united by a reddish-brown connecting medium, the other of 
brown or blackish masses, without tears. The first is the most valuable, and has 
been called benzoe amygdaloides, from the resemblance of the white grains to 
fragments of blanched almonds; the second is sometimes called benzoe in sortis 
—.benzoin in sorts—and usually contains numerous impurities. Between these 
two kinds there is every gradation. We have seen specimens consisting exclu- 
sively of yellowish-white homogeneous fragments, which when broken presented 
a smooth, white, shining surface. These were no doubt identical in constitution 
with the tears of the larger masses. 
A factitious substance has been sold in our markets for benzoin, consisting of 
chips of wood agglutinated by a resinous substance, with no benzoic acid, and 
only a trace of the cinnamic. (J. M. Maisch, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 494.) 
Properties. Benzoin has a fragrant odour, with very little taste; but, when 
chewed for some time, leaves a sense of irritation in the mouth and fauces. It 
breaks with a resinous fracture, and presents a mottled surface of white and 
brown or reddish-brown; the white spots being smooth and shining, while the 
remainder, though sometimes shining and even translucent, is usually more or 
less rough and porous, and often exhibits impurities. In the inferior kinds, the 
white spots are very few, or entirely wanting. Benzoin is easily pulverized, and, 
in the process of being powdered, is apt to excite sneezing. Its sp. gr. is from 
1 083 to l-092. When heated it melts, and emits thick, white, pungent fumes, 
which excite cough when inhaled, and consist chiefly of benzoic acid. It is 
wholly soluble, with the exception of impurities, in alcohol, and is precipitated 
by water from the solution, rendering the liquor milky. It imparts to boiling 
water a notable proportion of benzoic acid. Lime-water and the alkaline solu- 
tions partially dissolve it, forming benzoates, from which the acid may be pre- 
cipitated by the addition of other acids. Its chief constituents are resin and 
benzoic acid; and it therefore belongs to the balsams. The white tears and the 
brownish connecting medium are said by Stolze to contain nearly the same pro- 
portion of acid, which, according to Bucholz, is 12*5 per cent., to Stolze, lfl’S 
per cent. In a more recent examination by Kopp, the white tears were found 174 
Benzomum.—Berberis. 
PART I. 
to contain from 8 to 10 per cent, of acid, and the brown 15 per cent. (Journ 
de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 46.) The resin is of three kinds, one extracted from the 
balsam with the benzoic acid by a boiling solution of carbonate of potassa in 
excess, another dissolved by ether from the residue, and the third affected by 
neither of these solvents. Besides benzoic acid and resin, the balsam contains 
a minute proportion of extractive, and traces of volatile oil. Benzoin retards 
the oxidation of fatty matters, and thus tends to prevent rancidity. 
It appears from recent researches that benzoin, besides its own characteristic 
acid, often also contains the cinnamic, which is found more especially in the 
white tears. Indeed, Hermann Aschoff obtained from some benzoin of Sumatra 
a pure cinnamic acid, without any benzoic; and Messrs. Kolbe and Lautermann, 
upon examining a specimen of the tears, discovered what they at first supposed 
to be a peculiar acid, but which, on further investigation, proved to be a mix- 
ture of the cinnamic and benzoic acids. Aschoff recommends the following method 
of detecting cinnamic acid. Boil the benzoin with milk of lime, filter, decompose 
with muriatic acid, and add either bichromate of potassa with sulphuric acid, or 
permanganate of potassa, when, if cinnamic acid be present, the odour of oil of 
bitter almonds will be perceived. (Anna!. der Chem. und Pharm., cxix. 136.) 
The two acids which, when they occur together in benzoin, are said to be always 
mixed in the same proportion, may be at least partially separated by simple 
crystallization; their melting points being very different, that of benzoic acid 
249° F., and that of the mixed acid, consisting of one part of the cinnamic and 
two of the benzoic, only 18° F. {Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1863, p. 77.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoin is stimulant and expectorant, and 
was formerly employed in pectoral affections; but, except as an ingredient of 
the compound tincture of benzoin, it has fallen into disuse. Trousseau and Pi- 
doux recommend strongly its inhalation in chronic laryngitis. Either the air of 
the chamber may be impregnated with its vapour by placing a small portion 
upon some live coals, or the patient may inhale the vapour of boiling water to 
which the balsam has been added. It is employed in pharmacy for the prepara- 
tion of benzoic acid (see Acidum Benzoicum); and the milky liquor resulting 
from the addition of water to its alcoholic solution is sometimes used as a cos- 
metic, under the impression that it renders the skin soft. A tincture has been 
strongly recommended in fissures of the anus. In the East Indies the balsam 
is burnt by the Hindoos as a perfume in their temples.* 
Off. Prep. Acidum Benzoicum; Adeps Benzoatus, Br.; Tinctura Benzoini 
Composite; Unguentuin Benzoini, U. S. 
w 
BERBERIS. U. S. Secondary, 
Barberry. 
The bark of the root of Berberis vulgaris. U. S. 
Epine-vinette, Vinettier, Fr.; Fauerach,gemeiner Sauerdorn, Berberitze,(?er?tt.; Ber- 
bero, Ital., Span. 
Berberis. Sex.Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Berberaceai, Lindley. 
* A styptic liquid, prepared by a Roman pharmaceutist named Pagliari, and kept secret 
for a time, has acquired some reputation among the French army surgeons. It is made by 
boiling, for six hours, eight ounces of tincture of benzoin (containing about two ounces of 
the balsam), a pound of alum, and ten pounds of water, in a glazed earthen vessel, stirring 
constantly, and supplying the loss with hot water. The liquor is then strained and kept 
in stopped bottles. It is limpid, styptic, of an aromatic smell, and said to have the pro- 
perty of causing an instantaneous coagulation of the blood. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
N. S., xxv. 199.) — Note to the tenth edition. 
M. Meyer, believing that the long boiling in the foregoing process is injurious, if in 
no other way, by dissipating the benzoic acid, proposes to dispense with it, and has sub- 
stituted the following formula, which furnishes a product always identical. Take tears 
of benzoin, 6 grammes (about giss), alcohol at 90° C. 15 grammes; dissolve and add of 
water 300 grammes, alum 30 grammes; mix and boil till the liquid becomes clear. The 
liquid should mark 6° on the hydrometer. [Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., v. 123.) 
Fumigating pastiles are made from 16 parts of benzoin, 4 of balsam of Tolu, 4 of yellow PART I. 
Berberis. 
175 
Gen. Ch. Sepals 6, with interior scales. Petals 6, with 2 glands at the base. 
Stamens 6, without denticulations. Pericarp fleshy, oblong, 2 to 3 seeded. Seeds 
erect, oblong, with a crustaceous skin. Bindley. 
The plants belonging to this genus are shrubs, with the inner bark and wood 
yellow, and with leaves and berries of a sour taste. Besides the officinal Berberis 
vulgaris, there are other species of which the products have been medicinally 
employed. The Lycium, or Auxtov of the ancients, highly valued as a local ap- 
plication in affections of the eye and eyelids, and used for various other pur- 
poses, is supposed to be the medicine still used in India for the same affections, 
under the name of rusot or ruswut. This, according to Dr. Royle, is an extract 
from the wood or roots of different species of Berberis, as P>. Lyciu m, P. aristata, 
<fec , growing in Upper India, especially near Lahore. Combined with opium 
and alum, it is much used, and with great asserted benefit, in both incipient and 
chronic ophthalmia. It has been employed also by European practitioners for 
the same purpose, and especially by Mr. Walker, of Edinburgh, who found it 
very efficient. The preparation used by him consisted of equal parts of lycium 
and burnt alum, with half the quantity of opium, and was applied, mixed with 
lemon-juice to the consistence of cream, over the eyelids and eyebrows. (J.Y. 
Simpson, Pharm. Journ., xiii. 415.) More recently the remedy has been used 
by Mr. L. W. Stewart, Surgeon in the Madras army, with highly favourable 
results, in the treatment of intermittent, remittent, and typhoid fevers, diar- 
rhoea, and dyspepsia. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Dec. 1865, p. 303.) 
Berberis vulgaris. Gray’s Manual of Botany, p. 19; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
618, t. 219. This is a native of Europe, but grows wild in waste grounds in the 
eastern parts of New England, and is sometimes cultivated in gardens on ac- 
count of its berries. It is a spreading shrub, from 4 to 6 feet or more in height, 
with thorny branches, a light-gray bark, and a fine yellow wood. The leaves 
ore somewhat obovate, with ciliated teeth on their edges, and upon the young 
shoots three-parted and spiny. The flowers, which are in drooping many-flow- 
ered racemes, have yellow entire petals, and are succeeded by oblong scarlet 
berries. It is a vulgar error to suppose that the vicinity of this plant is inju- 
rious to wheat. Under the name of Berberis Canadensis, Pursh described an 
American plant, which grows in hilly districts, from the borders of Canada 
to the Carolinas, and which is characterized, according to Gray, by its re- 
pandly-toothed leaves, with the teeth less bristly pointed, by its few-flowered 
racemes, its petals notched at the apex, and its oval berries. By Dr. Hooker, 
however, it is considei-ed a variety of B. vulgaris, from which it differs only in 
the points mentioned. It is from 1 to 3 feet high. 
Properties. The berries, which grow in loose bunches, are oblong, and of 
a red colour, have a grateful, sour, astringent taste, and contain malic and citric 
acids. They are refrigerant, astringent, and antiscorbutic, and are used in Eu- 
rope, in the form of drink, in febrile diseases and diarrhoeas. An agreeable syrup 
is prepared from the juice; and the berries are sometimes preserved for the 
table. The root and inner bark have been used for dyeing yellow. The bark of 
the root is the officinal portion. This is grayish on the outside, yellow within, 
very bitter, and stains the saliva when chewed. Brandes found in 100 parts of 
the root 6 63 of bitter, yellow extractive, 1 55 of brown colouring matter, 0 35 
of gum, 0-20 of starch, 0T0 of cerin, 0'07 of stearin, 0-03 of chlorophyll, 055 of 
a subresin, 55 40 of lignin, and 35 00 of water. The active properties reside in 
the extractive matter of Brandes, which, however, has subsequently been found 
to owe its virtues, as well as colouring properties, to a peculiar crystallizable 
principle, possessed of alkaline properties, and named berberin, or more properly 
berberina. This alkaloid appears to have been first discovered, in 1826, in a 
species of Xanthoxylum, by Chevallier and Pelletan, who, from its colour and 
saunders, 1 of labdanum, 48 of charcoal, 2 of nitre, 1 of tragacanth, 2 of gum arabic, and 
12 of cinnamon-water, by reducing the solid ingredients to powder, and mixing the whole 
into a plastic mass, which is to be formed into cones, flattened at the base, and dried first 
in the air, and then in a stcn e. (Soubeiran, Trait, de Pharm., 3e ed., i. 463.) 176 
Berberis. 
PART I. 
taste, named it xanlhopicrite. Buchner and Ilerberger, in 1835, found it in Ber 
beris vulgaris, and named it berberin; but none of these chemists were aware 
of its alkaline properties. Indeed, the substance obtained by them, at least the 
berberin of Buchner, must have been a native salt of the proper alkaloid, which 
was not, therefore, procured in a pure state. Subsequently Fleitmann demon- 
strated its basic character, and published an account of several of its salts. It 
is not confined to the barberry, but has been found, by various chemists, in 
several other plants, particularly those combining bitterness and a yellow colour, 
as in various products of Cocculus palmatus, Hydrastis Canadensis, Xanthor- 
rhiza apiifolia, Coptis Teeta, Xanthoxylum Clava, Ilerculis, Coscinium fenestra- 
tum, and others belonging to the natural families of Berberacese, Menisper- 
viacese, and Banunculacese.. Indeed, few if any of the known alkaloids are so 
widely diffused as this appears to be in the vegetable kingdom.* 
Berberina maybe obtained most readily from its sulphate. Prof. Procter has 
given the following process for preparing it, based upon a suggestion of Mr. 
Merrill, of Cincinnati. The coarsely powdered root is to be exhausted b}r re- 
peated decoction with boiling water, and the mixed liquids, after filtration, are 
to be evaporated to a soft extract. This is to be digested several times with 
stronger alcohol, in the proportion of a pint to half a pound of the root, until 
exhausted, one-fourth of its bulk of water is to be added to the tincture, and 
five-sixths of the alcohol to be distilled off. To the residue, while still hot, sul- 
phuric acid is to be added in excess, and the liquid allowed to cool. The sul- 
phate of berberin is deposited in crystals, and, having been purified by reervs- 
tallization, is to be decomposed by the addition, in excess, to its solution in 
boiling water, of freshly precipitated protoxide of lead, the solution being kept 
hot until the decomposition is completed. This may be known by the absence 
of a precipitate when acetate of lead is added to a drop of the clear liquid. The 
liquid is then to be filtered, and set aside to crystallize. Thus obtained, berbe- 
rina is in the form of a yellow powder which, under the microscope, appears to 
consist of groups of minute acicular crystals. It has a bitter taste, is soluble in 
about 100 parts of cold water, still less soluble in cold alcohol, freely soluble in 
both these liquids when hot, and insoluble in ether. It forms salts of difficult sol- 
ubility with muriatic and sulphuric acids, and is distinguished by being copiously 
precipitated by the former acid from its cold watery solution in the form of crys- 
tals of the muriate. It is freely dissolved by acetic acid, which forms with it a 
readily soluble salt. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1864, p. 10.) Its formula is, 
according to Fleitmann, C42H18N()9, but, on the more recent authority of Perrins, 
C40HnNO8. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1863, p. 464.) The muriate of berberina., 
which is the salt that has attracted most notice, may be readily obtained by using 
muriatic instead of sulphuric acid in the above process, and purifying the pre- 
cipitate by solution in hot alcohol, and subsequent refrigeration. It is in fine 
acicular crystals,of a bright-yellow colour, and intensely bitter taste, very slightly 
soluble in cold water, to which, however, it imparts a deep-yellow colour, slightly 
soluble also in cold alcohol, but dissolved in large proportion by both liquids 
when hot. By concentrated nitric acid both this salt and its base are decom- 
posed, with the production of a dark-red colour, and the escape of nitrous fumes. 
Besides berberina, another alkaloid has been discovered in the root of the 
barberry, for which the name of vinetina, derived from the French name of the 
plant, has been proposed. Oxycanthin and berbina are other, though less appro- 
priate names, which have been applied to this principle. To procure it, the 
mother-liquor of berberina is precipitated by carbonate of soda, the precipitate 
treated with dilute muriatic acid, and the liquid filtered, and precipitated by 
ammonia. The impure alkaloid thus obtained may be purified by washing with 
water, drying, exhausting with ether, evaporating, dissolving the residue in di- 
lute muriatic acid, and finally precipitating by ammonia. Vinetina is a white 
amorphous powder, crystallizable from its alcoholic and ethereal solutions, 
* For a list of all plants from which it liar been obtained, see a paper by J. Dyson Per- 
rins, contained in the Am. Journ. ofPharm (Sept. 1803, p. 456). PART I. 
Berberis.—Bismuthum. 
177 
purely bitter, fusible unchanged at 283° F., insoluble or but slightly soluble in 
water, sparingly dissolved by cold but freely by hot alcohol and ether, and 
freely soluble in alcohol. It forms soluble salts with the acids, and its muriate 
is white. When deprived of one eq. of water at 212°, it has the formula 
C32H23NOn. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 455.) 
Medical Properties. Barberry is in small doses tonic, in larger cathartic, and 
was formerly given in jaundice, in which, though probably originally employed 
on account of its yellow colour, it may be useful, when the influence of a gentle 
tonic and laxative is required. It may be used in the form of decoction. There 
can be little doubt that its alkaloid berbei’ina, from its extensive diffusion in 
plants used in medicine, is possessed of valuable remedial properties, and capa- 
ble of advantageous application in many diseases. It would be desirable to 
test thoroughly its antiperiodic properties. It may be used in the form of the 
muriate, of which the dose is stated at from one to ten grains, according to the 
effect desired. Should it come into extensive use, it would be more conveni- 
ently obtained from the root of our native Hydrastis Canadensis, which yields 
it very copiously. W. 
BISMUTIIUM. U. S., Br. 
Bismuth 
A crystalline metal. As met with in commerce it is generally impure. Br. 
Etain dc glace, Bismuth, Fr.; Wissmuth, Germ,.; Bismutte, ItaL; Bismut, Span. 
Bismuth occurs usually in the metallic state, occasionally as a sulphuret, and 
rarely as an oxide. It is found principally in Saxony. It occurs also in Corn- 
wall, and has been found at Monroe, in Connecticut. It has recently been dis- 
covered largely in South Australia, whence a quantity of it has been sent into 
commerce. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Aug. 1867, p. 95.) It is obtained almost 
entirely from native bismuth, which is heated by means of wood or charcoal, 
whereby the metal is fused and separated from its gangue. Nearly all the 
bismuth of commerce comes from Saxony. 
Bismuth was first distinguished as a metal by Agricola in 1520. Before that 
period it was confounded with lead. It is a brittle, pulverizable, brilliant metal, 
of a crystalline texture, and of a white colour with a slight reddish tint. Its 
crystals are in the form of cubes. It undergoes but a slight tarnish in the air. 
Its sp. gr. is 9'8, melting point 501° (Brande and Taylor), eq. number 213, 
and symbol Bi. When impure bismuth solidifies after fusion, globules of the 
metal, nearly pure, are thrown up from the mass. This takes place when the 
metal contains as much as 50 per cent, of impurity. The same phenomenon 
does not occur when pure bismuth is melted. (B. Schneider.) At a high tem- 
perature, in close vessels, bismuth volatilizes, and may be distilled over. When 
heated in the open air to a full red heat, it takes fire, and burns with a faint 
blue flame, forming an oxide of a yellow colour. This is the teroxide, and con- 
sists of one eq. of bismuth 213, and three of oxygen 24 = 237. There is another 
compound of bismuth and oxygen, consisting of one eq. of the former and five 
eqs. of the latter, which, having acid properties, is called bismuthicacid, Bi05. 
It is obtained in the form of a hydrate by boiling nitrate of bismuth in solution 
of potassa, washing the precipitate, and mixing it while moist with solution ofpo- 
tassa into which chlorine is passed. A mixture of teroxide and bismuthic acid 
is precipitated, from which the former is separated by digestion with nitric acid. 
The hydrated acid remaining, when washed and dried, is in the form of a red 
powder, which gives up its water at 266°, and at a higher heat loses oxygen. 
Bismuth is acted on feebly by muriatic acid, but violently by nitric acid, which 
dissolves it with a copious extrication of red fumes. Sulphuric acid, when cold, 
nas no action on it, but at a boiling heat effects its solution with the extrication 
of sulphurous acid. As it occurs in commerce, it is generally contaminated with 
other metals, among which is arsenic in minute quantity, and sometimes a very 
small proportion of thallium. It may be purified from all contaminating metals 
12 178 
Bismuthum.—Brayera. 
PART T. 
by dissolving the bismuth of commerce in diluted nitric acid, precipitating the 
clear solution by adding it to water, and reducing the white powder thus ob- 
tained with black flux. The same precipitate is obtained by adding ammonia 
to the nitric solution ; and, if the supernatant liquor is blue, the presence ol 
copper is indicated. If the precipitate is yellowish, iron is present. 
Pharmaceutical Uses, die. Bismuth is not used in medicine in an uncombined 
state, but is employed pharmaceutically to obtain the subcarbonate andsubri- 
trate of bismuth, the only medicinal preparations formed from this metal. In 
the arts it is used to form a white paint for the complexion, called pearl white; 
and as an ingredient of the best pewter. 
Off. Prep. Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U.S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Bis- 
muthum Purificatum, Br. B. L 
BRAYERA. U. S. Secondary 
Koosso. 
The flowers and unripe fruit of Brayera anthelmintica. U. S. 
Off.Syn. CUSSO. Kousso. The flowers and tops of Brayera anthelmintica.77r. 
Brayera. Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. 
Gen. Ch. “ Calyx with the tube bibraeteolate at the base, turbinate; throat 
internally constricted by a membranous ring: the limb with two series of seg- 
ments, each five in number, the outer much larger. Petals five, inserted in the 
throat of the calyx, small, linear. Stamens from 15 to 20, inserted with the 
petals. Filaments free, unequal. Anthers bilocular, dehiscing longitudinally. 
Carpels two at the bottom of the calyx, free, unilocular, containing one or two 
pendulous ovules. Styles terminal, exserted from the throat of the calyx, thick- 
ened upward. Stigmas subpeltate, dilated, crenate, oblong.” The flowers are 
said to be dioecious ; though the male have well-developed carpels. 
Brayera anthelmintica. Kunth ; De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 580 ; Pereira, Mat. 
Med., 3d ed., ii. 1818.—Eagenia Abyssinica. Lamarck.—Banc/csia Abyssinica. 
Bruce. This is a tree about 20 feet high, growing on the table-land of Abys- 
sinia, at an elevation of not less than six or seven thousand feet. The branches 
exhibit circular cicatrices, left by the fallen leaves. These are crowded near 
the ends of the branches, large, pinnate, sheathing at the base, with opposite, 
lanceolate, serrate leaflets, villose atthe margin, and nerved beneath. The flowers 
are tinged with purple, pedicelled, with an involucre of four roundish, oblong, ob- 
tuse, membranous bractes, and are arranged in fours, upon hairy, flexuous, brac- 
teate peduncles, with alternate branches. They are small and of a greenish 
colour, becoming purple. These and the unripe fruit are the parts of the plant 
employed. The petals are apt to be wanting in the dried flowers. They are 
brought from Abyssinia packed in boxes. The Abyssinian name of the medicine 
has been variously spelled by European writers kosso, kousso, cusso, cosso, &e.; 
but that at the head of this article is deemed the most appropriate English title, 
as it indicates the proper pronunciation of the word. 
Properties. The dried flowers are in unbroken though compressed clusters. 
The general colour of the mass is greenish-yellow. As the medicine, from its 
high price, is apt to be adulterated, it should be procured in the unpowdered 
state, in which the botanical characters of the flower will sufficiently test its 
genuineness. It has a fragrant balsamic odour; and the taste, little perceptible 
at first, becomes in a short time somewhat acrid and disagreeable. Analyzed by 
Wittstein, it was found to contain, in 100 parts, 1’44 of fatty matter and chloro- 
phyll, 2'02 of wax, 6-25 of bitter acrid resin, 0'77 of tasteless resin, L08 of 
sugar, 7-22 of gum, 24 40 of tannic acid, 40 97 of lignin, 15 71 of ashes, with 
014 parts loss. To Clemens Willing it yielded a small quantity of volatile oil, 
having the odour of the flowers, much extractive, tannic acid colouring iron 
green, a crystallizable acid, and a resin with a bitter and astringent taste and 
the odour of the oil. ( Chem. Cent. Blatt, Marz 31, 1855, p. 224.) In which ol PART I. 
Brayera.—Bronimium. 
179 
these constituents the virtues of the medicine reside has not been determined. 
The claims of the koossine of Signor Pavesi, of Mortara, in Piedmont, to be 
considered the active principle, cannot be admitted until experimentally deter- 
mined; and indeed it is by no means certain that it is n.'t a complex substance. 
In the present state of knowledge on the subject, it appears to us premature 
even to give it the name of koossine, much less that of teniine, which has also 
been proposed for it, from its supposed relation to the tapeworm. (See Journ. 
de Pharm., Avril, 1849, p. 2T4.) 
Medical Properties. Koosso is highly valued in Abyssinia as a vermifuge. 
Bruce speaks of it in his travels, and gives a figure of the plant. Dr. Brayer, a 
French physician, practising in Constantinople, employed the medicine effects 
ively, and published a treatise on it at Paris, so long ago as 1823. It was in 
his honour that Kunth adopted his generic title of the plant. Much attention 
has recently been attracted to this medicine; and trials made with it have proved 
that it has extraordinary efficacy in the destruction and expulsion of the tape- 
worm. Its effects, when taken internally, are not very striking. In the ordinary 
dose it sometimes produces heat of stomach, nausea, and even vomiting, and 
shows a tendency to act on the bowels, though this effect is not always produced. 
It appears to operate exclusively as a poison to the worms; and has been found 
equally effectual in both kinds of tapeworm. The high price demanded for it 
has tended very much to restrict the use of the remedy; but, should the demand 
continue, it will no doubt be supplied at a l’easonable cost, as it is brought by 
caravans from Abyssinia into Egypt; and the monopoly which was at first the 
cause of its expensiveness cannot be long maintained. The medicine is taken in 
the morning upon an empty stomach, a light meal having been made the pre- 
ceding evening. A previous evacuation of the bowelsis also recommended. The 
flowers are given in the form of powder, mixed with half a pint of warm water ; 
the mixture being allowed to stand for fifteen minutes, then stirred up, and taken 
in two or three draughts at short intervals. The medicine maybe preceded and fol- 
lowed by lemonade. The medium dose for an adult is half an ounce, which may 
be diminished one-third for a child of 12 years, one-half for one of 6, and two- 
thirds for one of 3. Should the medicine not act on the bowels in three or four 
hours, a brisk cathartic should be administered. One dose is said to be sufficient 
to destroy the worm. Should the quantity mentioned not prove effectual, it may 
be increased to an ounce or more. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cusso, Br. W. 
BROMINIUM. U.S. 
Off. Syn. BROMUM. Bromine. A liquid non-metallic element, obtained 
from sea-water, and from saline springs. Br. 
Brome, Fr.; Brom, Germ.; Bromo, Ital. 
Bromine is an elementary body, possessing many analogies to chlorine and 
iodine. It was discovered in 1826 by M. Balard, of Montpellier, in the bittern 
of sea-salt works, in which it exists as a bromide of magnesium. Since then it 
has been found in the waters of the ocean, in certain marine animals and vege- 
tables, in various aquatic plants, as the water-cress, in numerous salt springs, 
and, in two instances, in the mineral kingdom—in an ore of zinc, and in the 
cadmium of Silesia. It has also been detected by M. Mhne in the coal-gas liquor 
of the Paris gas works. In the United States it was first obtained by Professor 
Silliman, who found it in the bittern of the salt works at Salina, in the State of 
New York. It was discovered in the salt wells, near Freeport, Pa., by Dr. David 
Alter, who has been engaged for several years in manufacturing it on a large 
scale. The bittern of the salt wells of that locality contains the bromine com- 
bined with sodium and magnesium, and affords an average product of nine 
drachms of bromine to the gallon; though the yield of different wells varies 
greatly. Bromine has been detected also in the waters of the Saratoga springs. 
Bromine. 180 
Brominium. 
PART I. 
Minute quantities of this, as well as of chlorine and iodine, may be detected in 
any mixture by means of spectrum analysis. For the method employed for 
this purpose by Alex. Mitscherlicb, see Chem. News (Nov. 24, 1865, p. 243). 
Preparation. Bromine is obtained from bittern, rich in this element, on the 
same principle that chlorine is procured from chloride of sodium; that is, by 
the action of diluted sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese. As manufac- 
tured near Freeport, the reaction takes place with the bromides of sodium and 
magnesium, with the result of forming a residue, consisting of the sulphates of 
soda and magnesia, mixed with sulphate of deutoxide of manganese. The dis- 
tillation should be performed at a gentle heat, by means of a water-bath, into a 
refrigerated receiver containing water. We are informed by Dr. Thomas»Ma- 
gill, of Allegheny Co., Pa., that Dr. Alter first heats the bittern in an iron 
boiler, and then introduces it hot into the retort, thus facilitating the process. 
The bittern of the salt works of Schoenbeck, in Germany, which contains 
only seven-tenths of one part of bromine in 1000 parts, is subjected to several 
successive operations, whereby the solution is reduced in bulk, and so far puri- 
fied as to contain chiefly the bromide and chloride of magnesium. The chlorine 
is separated in the form of muriatic acid gas, by heating the liquid with sul- 
phuric acid, at a temperature not exceeding 259°; the sulphates are crystallized 
out; and the bromine is evolved in the usual manner by sulphuric acid and deut- 
oxide of manganese. The last operation, occupjdng six hours, is performed 
in a leaden still, of sufficient capacity to contain a charge of 84 pounds of the 
concentrated bittern, 60 or 70 pounds of weak sulphuric acid from the leaden 
chambers, and 40 pounds of deutoxide of manganese. The product is 4 pounds 
of bromine. (Moritz Herman, Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1854.) 
Bromine has also been obtained from sea-weeds by carbonizing them, lix- 
iviating the carbonaceous residue, and then separating the ingredients, among 
which are iodine and bromine. For the particulars of the process, see Chem. 
News (July 6, 1866, p. 2). 
Properties. Bromine is a volatile liquid, of a dark-red colour wThen viewed 
in mass, but hyacinth-red in thin layers. Its taste is very caustic, and its smell 
strong and disagreeable, having some resemblance to that of chlorine.* Its den 
sity is very nearly 3 (2 966, Br.). At 4° below zero it becomes a hard, brittle, 
crystalline solid, having a dark leaden colour, and a lustre nearly metallic. It 
boils at about 117°, forming a reddish vapour resembling that of nitrous acid, 
and of the sp. gr. 5 39. It evaporates readily, a single drop being sufficient 
to fill a large flask with its peculiar vapour. Shaken with solution of soda in 
slight excess it becomes colourless, and, if now coloured again by a little bro- 
mine, does not assume a blue colour on the addition of a cold solution of starch 
(Br.); thus showing the absence of iodine. 
Bromine is sparingly soluble in water, to which it communicates an orange 
colour, more soluble in alcohol, and still more so in ether. By the aid, however, 
of bromide of potassium, it may be dissolved to any desirable extent in water. 
Its alcoholic and ethereal solutions lose their colour in a few days, and become 
acid from the generation of hydrobromic acid. It bleaches vegetable substances 
like chlorine, destroys the colour of sulphate of indigo, and decomposes organic 
matters. Its combination with starch has a yellow colour. It corrodes the skin 
and gives it a deep-yellow stain. Bromine is intermediate in its affinities between 
chlorine and iodine ; since its combinations are decomposed by chlorine, while, 
in its turn, it decomposes those of iodine. Its eq. number is 78-4 (80, Dumas), 
and its symbol Br. It forms acids with both oxygen and hydrogen, called bromic 
and hydrobromic acids, which are analogous in properties and composition to 
the corresponding acids of chlorine and iodine. It combines also with chlorine, 
* Inhaled in the form of vapour it produces intense irritation, and endangers asphyxia 
through spasm of the glottis. A case which had nearly proved fatal occurred under the 
notice of G. P.Duffield, Ph.D., of Detroit, and was apparently saved by throwing steam 
sufficiently cooled into the larynx. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1868, p. 288.)—Note to 
the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Brominium. 
181 
forming chloride of bromine, which probably has the formula BrCl5. This is 
prepared by passing chlorine through bromine, and condensing the resulting 
vapours at a low temperature. It is a reddish-yellow liquid, very fluid and vola- 
tile, soluble in water, and having a penetrating odour and disagreeable taste. 
Commercial bromine sometimes contains as much as 6 or 8 per cent, of bro- 
mide of carbon, as ascertained by M. Poselger. He discovered the impurity 
by submitting some bromine to distillation, during the progress of which the 
boiling point rose to 248°. The residuary liquid at this temperature was colour- 
less, and, when freed from a little bromine, proved to be the bromide of carbon 
in the form of an oily, aromatic liquid. 
In testing for bromine in mineral or saline waters, the water is evaporated in 
order to crystallize most of the salts. The solution, after having been Altered, 
is placed in a narrow tube, and a few drops of strong chlorine water are added. 
If this addition produces an orange colour, bromine is present. The water ex- 
amined, in order that the test may succeed, must be free from organic matter, 
and the chlorine not be added in excess. Bromine may be detected in marine 
vegetables by carbonizing them in a covered crucible, exhausting the charcoal, 
previously pulverized, with boiling distilled water, precipitating any alkaline 
sulphuret present in the solution by sulphate of zinc, and then adding succes- 
sively a few drops of nitric acid and a portion of ether, shaking the whole to- 
gether. If bromine be present, it will be set free and dissolve in the ether, to 
which it will communicate an orange colour. (Dupasquier.) According to 
Reynoso, a more delicate test is furnished by oxidized water, which liberates 
bromine from its compounds, without reacting on it when free. The mode of 
proceeding is as follows. Put a piece of the deutoxide of barium in a test tube, 
and add successively distilled water, pure muriatic acid, and ether. The mate- 
rials are here present for generating oxidized water; and so soon as bubbles 
are seen to rise to the surface, the substance suspected to contain bromine is 
added, and the whole shaken together. If a bromide be present, the muriatic 
will give rise to hydrobromic acid; and the oxidized water, acting on this, will 
set free the bromine, which will dissolve in the ether, and give it a yellow tint. 
Medical Properties. Bromine, from its analogy to iodine, was early tried as 
a remedy, and the result has demonstrated its value as a therapeutic agent. It 
acts like iodine as an alterative, and probably also as a stimulant to the lym- 
phatic system, thereby promoting absorption. It has been employed in bron- 
chocele, scrofulous tumours and ulcers, secondary and tertiary syphilis, amen- 
orrhcea, diphtheric affections, chronic diseases of the skin, and hypertrophy of 
the ventricles. Magendi recommends it in cases in which iodine does not 
operate with sufficient activity, or has lost its effect by habit. The form in 
which it is employed is aqueous solution, the dose of which, containing one 
part of bromine to forty of distilled water, is about six drops taken several times 
a day.* Locally it is powerfully irritant, and in its concentrated state even caus- 
tic. When used as a wash for ulcers, from ten to forty minims may be added 
to a pint of water. Bromine has recently been found by Dr. Goldsmith, Sur- 
geon of the U. S. Volunteers, extremely efficacious as a local remedy in hospital 
gangrene, being applied either pure or dissolved in water; and the same remedy, 
dissolved in water, with the aid of bromide of potassium, in the proportion of 
from 15 to 40 drops to the fluidounce, has produced very good effects in erysip- 
elas. (See Am. Med. Times, June 20, 1863.) Of the compounds of bromine, the 
bromides of potassium, ammonium, iron, and mercury have been chiefly used. 
Some of them have been found to exercise a remarkable influence in allaying 
nervous irritation, and are now much employed for that purpose. See these 
titles respectively in the different parts of this work. The chloride of bromine 
* This is a very small dose, originally taken from Pereira’s Materia Medica; and much 
more has been given with impunity. M. Pourche, of Montpellier, gave six drops of bro- 
mine in three ounces of distilled water three times in 24 hours. (Trousseau and Pidoux.) 
A safe and efficient dose would probably be two or three drops, largely diluted with dis- 
tilled water, and gradually increased if necessary. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 182 
Brominium.—Buchu. 
PART I. 
has been used in cancer by Landolfi, of Naples, both externally as a caustic and in- 
ternally. The caustic was usually formed of equal parts of the chlorides of bro- 
mine, zinc, gold, and antimony, made into a paste with flour. To assist the local 
treatment, he gave a pill, composed of the tenth of a drop of chloride of bromine, 
half a grain of extract of hemlock, and a grain of phellandrium seed, daily, f'oi 
two months, and twice a day for two months more. {Arch. Gen., Mai, 1855, p. 
609.) A committee of the Paris Academy of Sciences, consisting of M. Broca 
and others, having practically examined the method of Landolfi in the hospi- 
tals, reported decidedly against it, not only as inefficacious, but as sometimes 
positively injurious. (Gaz. Hebdom. de Med. et Chir., Mai 9, 1856.) 
Dr. J. Lawrence Smith, of Louisville, Ky., proposes the following as a con- 
venient formula for a solution of bromine. Dissolve 160 grains of bromide of po- 
tassium in two liuidounces of water, add one troyounee of bromine, and, stirring 
diligently, pour in sufficient water to make the solution measure four liuidounces. 
The solution should be kept in accurately stopped bottles. This is a suitable 
preparation for application to hospital gangrene, and may be diluted to any 
desirable extent with water. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1863, p. 202.) 
Bromine, in an overdose, acts as an irritant poison. The best antidote, ac- 
cording to Mr. Alfred Since, is ammonia. A case of poisoning by this substance, 
which proved fatal in seven hours and a half, is related by Dr. J. R. Snell, of 
Long Island, N. Y. The amount swallowed was about an ounce, and the symp- 
toms generally were those produced by the irritant poisons: such as violent 
inflammation of the lips, mouth, tongue, and oesophagus, with incessant burn- 
ing pain, followed, in two hours and a half, by prostration, which soon ended 
in death. {New York Journ. of Med., Sept. 1850.) 
Bromine is extensively used in the art of the daguerreotypist. 
Off. Prep. Ammonii Bromidum, Br.; Potassii Bromidum. B. 
BUCHU. U.S. 
Buchu. 
The leaves of Barosma crenata, and of other species of Barosma. U. S. 
Off. Syn. BUCHU FOLIA. The dried leaves of Barosma betulina, Ba- 
rosma crenulata, and Barosma serratifolia. Br. 
This medicine consists of the leaves of different plants growing at the Cape of 
Good Hope, formerly ranked in the genus Diosma, but transferred by botanists 
to Barosma, so named from the strong odour of the leaves {papoq and oap-y). 
B. crenata {B. betulina, Br.), B. crenulata, and B. serratifolia are described by 
Lindley as medicinal species. The leaves of these and other Barosmas, and of 
some Agathosmas, are collected by the Hottentots, who value them on account 
of their odour, and, under the name of boolcoo or buchu, rub them, in the state 
of powder, upon their greasy bodies. 
Barosma. Sex. Syst. Fentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rutaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft or five-parted. Disk lining the bottom of the calyx, 
generally with a short scarcely prominent rim. Petals five, with short claws. 
Filaments ten; the five opposite the petals sterile, petaloid; the other five 
longer, subulate. Style as long as the petals. Stigma minute, five-lobed. Fruit 
composed of five cocci, covered with glandular dots at the back. These plants 
are small shrubs, with opposite leaves and peduncled flowers. {Lindley.) 
Barosma crenata. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 213. —Diosma crenata. De Cnnd. 
Prodrom. i. 714 ; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., v. 52. This is a slender shrub, with 
smooth, somewhat angular branches, of a purplish colour. The leaves are op- 
posite, ovate or obovate, acute, serrated and glandular at the edge, coriaceous, 
and full of small pellucid dots on the under surface. The flowers are white or 
of a reddish tint, and stand solitarily at the end of short, lateral, leafy shoots. 
Properties. The leaves, as found in the shops, are from three-quarters of an 
inch to an inch long, from three to five lines broad, elliptical, lanceolate-ovate PART i. 
jBuchu.— Cadmium 
183 
or obovate, sometimes slightly pointed, sometimes blunt at the apex, very finely 
notched and glandular at the edges, smooth and of a green colour on the upper 
surface, dotted and paler beneath, and of a firm consistence. Their odour is 
strong, diffusive, and somewhat aromatic; their taste bitterish, and analogous to 
that of mint. These properties will distinguish them from senna, with which they 
might be confounded upon a careless inspection. They are sometimes mixed with 
portions of the stalks and fruit. Cadet de Gassicourt found them to contain, in 
1000 parts, 6‘65 parts of a light, brownish-yellow, aiid highly odorous volatile oil, 
211 '7 of gum, 51 "7 of extractive, 11 of chlorophyll, and 2T51 of resin. Water 
and alcohol extract their virtues, which probably depend on the volatile oil an 
extractive. The latter is precipitated by infusion of galls. 
The foregoing description of buchu leaves applies to the drug, as first seen by 
the author many years ago, when the chief product imported was probably that 
of B. crenulata, more or less mixed with the leaves of B. crenata. The first of 
these has now in great measure disappeared from our market, the importations 
consisting either of the leaves of B. crenata or B. serratifolia, in distinct parcels. 
The following is a concise description of the three different kinds of leaf. The 
leaves of B. crenata {short buchu or round buchu, as it is called in commerce) 
are “about three-quarters of an inch long, obovate, with a recurved truncated 
apex, and sharp, cartilaginous, spreading teeth;” those of B. crenulata, of me- 
dium size, “are about an inch long, oval-lanceolate, obtuse, minutely crenated, 
and five-nerved;” those of B. serratifolia, or long buchu, “ are from an inch to 
an inch and a half long, linear-lanceolate, tapering to each end, sharply and 
firmly serrated, three-nerved.” (Br.). The last-mentioned leaves are also of 
more delicate structure than the others. Of the three species, the short-leaved 
was found by Mr. P. W. Bedford to yield an average of 1'21 per cent, of vola- 
tile oil; while the long-leaved, though more highly valued in the market, gave 
only 0 66 per cent., showing their great inferiority in strength. (Proceed. of 
the Am Pharm. Association, A.D. 1863, p. 211 ) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Buchu is gently stimulant, with a peculiar 
tendency to the urinary organs, producing diuresis, and, like all similar medi- 
cines, exciting diaphoresis when circumstances favour this effect. The Hotten- 
tots have long used it in a variety of diseases. From these rude practitioners 
the remedy was borrowed by the resident English and Dutch physicians, by 
whose recommendation it was employed in Europe, and has come into genera] 
use. It is given chiefly in complaints of the urinary organs, such as gravel, 
chronic catarrh of the bladder, morbid irritation of the bladder and urethra, 
disease of the prostate, and retention or incontinence of urine from a loss of 
tone in the parts concerned in its evacuation. It has also been recommended 
in dyspepsia, chronic rheumatism, cutaneous affections, and dropsy. From 
twenty to thirty grains of the powder may be given two or three times a day. 
The leaves are also used in infusion, in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of 
boiling water, of which the dose is one or two fluidounces. A tincture has 
been employed as a stimulant embrocation in local pains. There is an officinal 
fluid extract, of which the dose is half a fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Buchu Fluidum, U.S.; Infusum Buchu; Tinctura 
Buchu, Br. W. 
CADMIUM. U.S. 
Cadmium. 
This metal was introduced into the present U. S. Pharmacopoeia, because 
used in the preparation of sulphate of cadmium. It is associated with zinc 
in its ores, and, being more volatile than that metal, comes over with the 
first portions of it distilled in the process for obtaining it. (See Zincum.) The 
cadmium is separated by dissolving the mixed metal in dilute sulphuric acid, 
precipitating the sulphuret by sulphuretted hydrogen, treating the precipitate 
vith muriatic acid, and again precipitating with carbonate of ammonia. The 184 
Cadmium.— Cadmii Iodidum. 
FA RI L 
carbonate of cadmium thus obtained, after being washed and dried, is mixed 
with charcoal, and exposed to a dull-red heat in an earthen retort, when the 
reduced metal distils over. 
Properties. Cadmium is a white metal, resembling tin, but somewhat heavier 
and more tenacious. Like that metal, it crackles when bent. Its sp. gr. is 8 7, 
melting point about 440°, point of volatilization 480° (Guy), equivalent 55 8, 
and symbol Cd. It is little affected by the air, but, when heated, combines with 
an eq. of oxygen, forming a reddish-brown or orange coloured oxide, CaO, 
which combines with the acids to form salts. From its saline solutions the 
oxide is precipitated by the alkalies in the form of a white hydrate. Cadmium 
also combines with chlorine, iodine, bromine, and sulphur, in equivalent pro- 
portions. It is distinguished by forming a colourless solution with nitric acid, 
from which sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphate of ammonia precipitates 
a lemon-yellow sulphuret, insoluble in an excess of the reagent, or in potassa 
or ammonia, and not volatilized at a red heat. Potassa produces a white pre- 
cipitate insoluble in an excess, and ammonia a similar precipitate soluble in an 
excess of the precipitant. Zinc precipitates cadmium in the metallic state. “A 
neutral solution of the.metal in nitric acid, after having been full}" precipitated 
by carbonate of soda in slight excess, yields a filtrate which is not affected by 
hydrosulphate of ammonia,” ( U.S.) This proves the absence of arsenic. 
Medical Uses. According to Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, cadmium resem- 
bles antimony in its effects on the system. Dr. Garrod considers the metal, 
in this respect, more closely allied to zinc. In overdoses its salts appear 
to act as corrosive poisons. Three cases are recorded in which serious conse- 
quences resulted from inhaling the powTdered carbonate, while used in polish- 
ing silver. The chief symptoms were constriction of the throat, embarrassed 
respiration, vomiting and purging, giddiness, and painful spasms. (Annuaire 
de Therap., A.D. 1859, p. 229.) Experiments by Dr. Wilh. Marme demonstrate 
that the sulphuret of cadmium is not poisonous, but that all its compounds 
soluble in water or in diluted acids at the heat of the body are so; and they 
all operate in an analogous manner, locally as powerful irritants, and intern- 
ally producing giddiness, vomiting, purging, slowness of pulse and respiration, 
prostration, loss of consciousness, and spasms. (Neues Repertorium, A.D. 1867, 
xvi. 303.) It is chiefly, if not exclusively, for external application that the 
preparations of this metal are used. Two of them have especially engaged 
attention; the iodide arid sulphate. The latter is among the Preparations in 
the U. S. Pharmacopeia, and will be treated of in the second part of this work. 
(See Cadmii Sulphas.) The former will be noticed here. 
Off. Prep. Cadmii Iodidum, Br.; Cadmii Sulphas, U. S.; Unguentum Cad- 
mii lodidi, Br. 13. 
CADMII IODIDUM. Br. 
Iodide of cadmium (Cdl) may be prepared by mixing' iodine and filings of 
cadmium in a moist state. It is soluble in water and alcohol, and may be 
crystallized from either solution in large, white, transparent crystals, in the form 
of six-sided tables, of a pearly lustre. These are permanent in the air, melt at 
about 600° F. forming an amber-coloured liquid, and give off violet vapours at 
a dull-red heat. The salt is freely soluble in water and in alcohol, and the so- 
lution has an acid reaction. The Br. Pharmacopoeia gives the following tests. 
The aqueous solution gives a yellow precipitate with sulphuretted hydrogen 
or sulphide of ammonium, insoluble in excess of the sulphide; and a white ge- 
latinous precipitate with excess of solution of potash, the filtrate from which 
is unaffected bv sulphide of ammonium. Ten grains dissolved in water gives 
with an excess of nitrate of silver a precipitate which, washed with water and af- 
terwards with half an ounce of water of ammonia, and dried, weighs 12'5 grains. 
Iodide of cadmium was introduced as an external remedy by Dr. A. B. Gar- 
Iodide of Cadmium. PART i. 
Cadmii Iodidum.— Caffea. 
185 
rod, of London. He has employed it, with good effects, in the form of ointment, 
made of one part of the iodide to eight of lard, as a local application by friction 
to enlarged scrofulous glands, nodes, chronic inflammations of joints, certain 
cutaneous diseases, and chilblains. The ointment is soft and white, readily 
yields its iodine for absorption, and is preferable to the corresponding ointment 
of iodide of lead, the use of which endangers lead poisoning. (Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., Nov. 1857, p. 260.) B. 
CAFFEA. U.jS. 
Coffee 
The seed of Caffea Arabioa. U. S. 
Cafe, Fr.; Kaffee, Germ.] Caffe Hal.; Cafe, Span.; Bun, Arabic; Copi cotta, Cinga- 
ie.se; Kaeva, Malay. 
Coffea. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Cinchonacese.Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. “ Calyx with a small, 4-5 toothed limb. Corolla tubular, funnel- 
shaped, with a 4-5 parted spreading limb. Stamens 4-5, inserted in the middle 
of the upper part of the tube, exserted or enclosed. Style bifid at the apex. 
Berry umbilicate, naked, or crowned with the calyx, containing two seeds 
enclosed in a parchment-like putamen.” Lindley. 
Cojfea Arabic a. Linn Sp. 245; Bot. Mag., 1.1303. The coffee plant is a small 
tree, from fifteen to thirty feet in height. The branches are opposite, the lower 
spreading, the upper somewhat declining, and gradually diminishing in length 
as they ascend, so as to form a pyramidal summit, which is covered with green 
foliage throughout the yeai\ The leaves are opposite, upon short footstalks, 
oblong-ovate, acuminate, entire, wavy, four or five inches long, smooth and 
shining, of a dark-green colour on their upper surface, paler beneath, and ac- 
companied with a pair of small pointed stipules. The flowers are white, with 
an odour not unlike that of the jasmine, and stand in groups in the axils of the 
upper leaves. The calyx is very small, the corolla salverform, with a nearly 
cylindrical tube, and a flat border divided into five lanceolate, pointed seg- 
ments. The stamens project above the tube. The fruit, which is inferior, is a 
roundish berry, umbilicate at top, at first green, then red, and ultimately dark 
purple. It is about as large as a cherry, and contains two seeds surrounded 
by a paper-like membrane, and enclosed in a yellowish pulpy matter. These 
seeds, divested of their coverings, constitute coffee. 
This tree is a native of Southern Arabia and Abyssinia, and probably per- 
vades Africa about the same parallel of latitude, as it is found growing wild 
at Liberia, on the western coast of the continent. It is cultivated in various 
parts of the world where the temperature is sufficiently elevated and uniform. 
Considerable attention has long been paid to its culture in its native country, 
particularly in Yemen, in the vicinity of Mocha, from which the demands of 
commerce were at first almost exclusively supplied. About the year 1690, it 
was introduced by the Dutch into Java, and in 1718, into their colony of Su- 
rinam. Soon after this latter period, the French succeeded in introducing it 
into their West India Islands, Cayenne, and the Isles of France and Bourbon; 
and it has subsequently made its way into the other West India Islands, various 
parts of tropical America, Hindostan, and Ceylon. 
The tree is raised from the seeds, which are sown in a soil properly prepared, 
and, germinating in less than a month, produce plants which, at the end of the 
year, are large enough to be transplanted. These ai’e then set out in rows at 
suitable distances, and in three or four years begin to bear fruit. It is customary 
to top the trees at this age, in order to prevent their attaining an inconvenient 
height, and to increase the number of the fruit-bearing branches. It is said that 
they continue productive for 30 or 40 years. Though almost always covered with 
flowers and fruit, they yield most largely at two seasons, and thus afford two 
harvests during the year. Various methods are employed for freeing the seeds 
from their coverings; but that considered the best is, by means of machinery 186 
Caffea, 
PART I, 
to remove the fleshy portion of the fruit, leaving the seeds surrounded only by 
their papyraceous envelope, from which they are afterwards separated by dry- 
ing, and by the action of peeling and winnowing mills. 
The character of coffee varies considerably with the climate and mode of cul- 
ture. Consequently, several varieties exist in commerce, named usually from the 
sources from which they are derived. The Mocha Coffee, which is in small round- 
ish grains, takes precedence of all others. The Java Coffee is highly esteemed 
in this country; but our chief supplies are derived from the West Indies and 
South America. Some good coffee has been brought from Liberia. Coflee im- 
proves by age, losing a portion of its strength, and acquiring a more agreeable 
flavour. It is said to be much better when allowed to ripen perfectly on the tree, 
than as usually collected. The grains should be hard, and should readily sink 
in water. When soft, light, black or dark-coloured, or musty, they are inferior. 
Properties. Coffee has a faint, peculiar odour, and a slightly sweetish, some- 
what austere taste. An analysis by M. Payen gives for its constituents, in 100 
pavts, 34 of cellulose, 12 of hygroscopic water, 10 to 13 of fatty matter, 15-5 
of glucose, with dextrin and. a vegetable acid, 10 of legumin, 35 of chlorogenate 
of polassa and caffein, 3 of a nitrogenous body, 0 8 of free caffein, O'OOl of 
concrete volatile oil, 0 002 of fluid volatile oil, and 6'697 of mineral substances. 
(Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 266.) Pfaff recognised, in the precipitate pro- 
duced by acetate of lead with the decoction of coffee, two peculiar principles, 
one resembling tannin, called caffeo-tannic acid, and the other an acid, called by 
him caffeic acid. The latter is thought to be identical with the ehlorogenic acid 
of Payen. When strongly heated, it emits the odour of roasted coffee, and is 
supposed to be the principle to which the flavour of coffee as a drink is owing. 
A remarkable property of caffeic acid is that, when acted on by sulphuric acid 
and binoxide of manganese, it is converted into kinone, being In this respect 
analogous to kinic acid. The sugar of coffee is probably neither glucose as sup- 
posed by Payen, nor cane-sugar as stated by Rochleder, but peculiar; for, when 
the coffee is roasted, it does not answer to Trommer’s test for glucose. (Pharm. 
Journ., xvi 526-8.) Caffeo-tannic acid has been ascertained by Klasiwetz to 
be a glucoside, resolvable into glucose and a peculiar crystallizable acid, 
C18H808, named by him caffeic acid (Journ. de Pharm. et de Cliim., Oct. 1867, 
p. 3077, and which may be obtained from coffee, by boiling a solution of 
the extract with caustic potassa, treating the resulting liquid with sulphuric 
acid in excess, and extracting the caffeic acid with ether, which yields it some- 
what impure by evaporation. (Ibid., J anuary, 1868, p. 75.) Another acid, named 
viridic acid, has been obtained by M. Cecil from coffee, by bruising the grains, 
removing the fat by boiling etherized alcohol, and exposing the residue, mois- 
tened from time to time, to the air. In a few days the matter assumes a green 
colour from the formation of viridiate of lime, which will yield the acid to 
alcohol mixed with acetic acid. (Ibid., Oct. 1867, p. 318.) 
Caffein (Caffeia) was first discovered by Runge, and afterwards by Robi- 
quet. According to Payen, it exists in coffee partly free, partly as a double 
salt, consisting of ehlorogenic acid, combined with potassa and caffein. It may 
be obtained in the following manner. Exhaust bruised coffee by two succes- 
sive portions of boiling water, unite the infusions, add acetate of lead in 
to precipitate various principles accompanying the caffein, filter, decompose the 
excess of acetate of lead in the filtered liquor by sulphuretted hydrogen, concen- 
trate by evaporation, and neutralize with ammonia. The caffein is deposited in 
crystals upon cooling, and may be purified by redissolving in water, treating 
with animal charcoal, and evaporating. H. J. Versmann, of Lubeck, recom- 
mends the following process as more economical. Powdered coffee, mixed with 
one fifth of its weight of slaked caustic lime, is exhausted, bv means of percola- 
tion, with alcohol of 0‘863 ; the tincture is distilled to separate the alcohol; the 
residue is rinsed out of the still with warm water, and the supernatant oil sepa- 
rated; the liquid is evaporated so as to solidify on cooling; and the crystal! ae 
mass thus obtained, having been expressed and dried by pressure in bibuh \s PART I, 
Caffea. 
paper, is purified by solution in water with animal charcoal, and recrystalliza- 
tion. (Ghem. Gaz., Feb. 1852, p 67.) H. Leuchsenring obtains caffcin by avail- 
ing himself of its property of subliming unchanged by heat. He precipitates a 
concentrated decoction of coffee by a weak solution of acetate of lead, filters, 
evaporates to dryness, mixes the residue with sand, and sublimes as in Mohr’s 
process for procuring benzoic acid. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxii. 25.) Still an- 
other method, proposed by Yogel, is to treat coffee, ground to powder, with ben- 
zine, which dissolves the calfein and an oily substance, to separate the benzine 
by distillation, to treat the residue with boiling waterwhich dissolves the calfein, 
and deposits it in a crystalline form, after filtration and concentration. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxv. 436.) The proportion of calfein in coffee maybe stated 
at from 0-75 to 1-0 per cent. (Pliarm. Journ., xvi. 527.) Calfein crystallizes, by 
the cooling of its concentrated solution, in opaque, silky, flexible needles, by slow 
and spontaneous evaporation, in long transparent prisms. It has a feebly bitter 
and disagreeable taste, is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, melts when exposed 
to heat, and at a higher temperature sublimes, without residue, in needles anal- 
ogous to those formed by benzoic acid. It is precipitated from its aqueous solu- 
tion by no reagent except tannic acid and solution of iodide of potassium and 
mercury. When this solution, made by saturating iodide of potassium with red 
oxide of mercury, is added to a solution of calfein, a precipitate is produced, 
which soon takes the form of white, shining, acicular crystals. This reaction is 
proposed as a test of calfein by Prof. Dellfs; for, though the same solution will 
precipitate the other alkaloids, the product is always amorphous. ( Ghem. Gaz., 
Feb. 15, 1855.) It is stated by M. Schwazenback that, if chlorine water with 
calfein is evaporated, a red residue is obtained, which becomes yellow at a highef 
temperature, and is restored to its original red colour by a drop of solution of 
ammonia. This is proposed as a delicate test of calfein. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., xxxix. 232.) Calfein is remarkable for containing a larger proportion of 
nitrogen than almost any other proximate vegetable principle, in this respect 
equalling some of the most highly animalized products. The present views of its 
composition are represented by the formula C16H10N4O4; and it is believed to be 
identical with tliein, or the peculiar principle of tea. Notwithstanding its large 
proportion of nitrogen, caffe in is indisposed to putrefaction. 
Coffee undergoes considerable change during the roasting process. It swells 
up very much, acquiring almost double its original volume, while it loses from 
15 to 20 percent, of its weight. (Pharm. Cent. Platt, Oct. 1850, p. 687.) It ac- 
quires, at the same time, a peculiar odour entirely different from that of the un- 
roasted grains, and a decidedly bitter taste. A volatile oil is developed during 
the process, and, according to Chenevix, a portion of tannin. The caffein does 
not appear to undergo material change, as, according to Garot, it may be ex- 
tracted unaltered from the roasted coffee. The excellence of the flavour of roasted 
coffee depends much upon the manner in which the process is conducted, and 
the extent to which it is carried. It should be performed in a covered vessel, 
over a moderate fire, and the grains should be kept in constant motion. When 
they have acquired a chestnut-brown colour, the process should cease. If too 
long continued, it renders the coffee bitter and acrid, or, by reducing it to char- 
coal, deprives it entirely of flavour. The coffee should not be burnt long before 
it is used, and should not be kept in the ground state. 
Medical and Economical Uses. More attention has been paid to the effects 
of coffee on the system in the roasted than in the crude state. Unroasted coffee 
has been employed by Pr. Grindel, of Russia, in intermittent fever; and the 
practice has been followed by others; but the success, though considerable, has 
not been such as to lead to the conclusion that this medicine would answer as 
a substitute for quinia. It was given in powder, in the dose of a scruple every 
hour; in decoction prepared by boiling an ounce with eighteen ounces of water 
down to six; or in extract in the dose of from four to eight grains. 
The action of coffee is directed chiefly to the nervous system. When swal- 
lowed it produces a warming cordial impression on the stomach, quickly followed 188 
Caffca. 
PART 1, 
by a diffused agreeable nervous excitement, which extends itself to the cerebral 
functions, giving rise to increased vigour of imagination and intellect, without 
any subsequent confusion or stupor such as characterizes the action of narcotic 
medicines. Indeed, one of its most extraordinary effects is a disposition to wake- 
fulness, which continues for several hours after it has been taken. It is even 
capable of resisting, to a certain extent, the intoxicating and soporific influence 
of alcohol and opium, and may sometimes be advantageously employed for this 
purpose. It also moderately excites the circulatory system, and stimulates the 
digestive function. A cup of coffee, taken after a hearty meal, will often relieve 
the sense of oppression so apt to be experienced, and enable the stomach to 
perform its office with comparative facility. The exhilarating effects of coffee, 
united with its delicious flavour when suitably qualified by cream and sugar,have 
given rise to its habitual employment as an article of diet. Its use for this pur- 
pose has prevailed from time immemorial in Persia and Arabia. In 1517 it was 
introduced by the Turks into Constantinople, whence it was carried to France 
and England about the middle of the succeeding century, and has since gra- 
dually made its way into almost universal use. It cannot be supposed that a 
substance, capable of acting so energetically upon the system, should be entirely 
destitute of deleterious properties. Accordingly, if taken in large quantities, it 
leaves, after its first effects, a degree of nervous derangement or depression equi- 
valent to the previous excitement; and its habitual immoderate employment is 
well known very greatly to injure the tone of the stomach, and frequently to 
occasion troublesome dyspeptic and nervous affections. This result is peculiarly 
apt to take place in individuals of susceptible nervous systems, and in those of 
sedentary habits. We have repeatedly known patients, who have long suffered 
with headache and vertigo, to get rid of them by abstaining from coffee. 
In the treatment of disease, coffee has been less employed than might have 
been expected from its effects upon the system. There can be no doubt that it 
may be advantageously used in various nervous disorders. In a tendency to 
stupor or lethargy dependent on deficient energy of the brain, without conges- 
tion or inflammation, it would be found useful by stimulating the cerebral func- 
tions. In light nervous headaches, and even in sick headache not caused by the 
presence of offending matter in the stomach, it often proves temporarily useful. 
It has acquired much reputation as a palliative in the paroxysms of spasmodic 
asthma, and has been recommended in hooping-cough, and in hysterical affec- 
tions The Egyptians are said to have formerly employed it as a remedy in 
amenorrhoea. Hayne informs us that, in a case of violent spasmodic disease, at- 
tended with short breath, palpitation of the heart, and a pulse so much increased 
in frequency that it could scarcely be counted, immediate relief was obtained 
from a cup of coffee, after the most powerful antispasmodics had been used in 
vain for several hours. It has been given, with supposed advantage, in strangu- 
lated hernia. By the late Dr. Dewees it was highly recommended in cholera 
infantum. It is said also to have been used successfully in obstinate chronic 
diarrhoea; and the late Dr. Chapman, of Philadelphia, found it highly useful in 
calculous nephritis. Under the impression of its diuretic powers, it has been 
recommended in dropsy. We have heard of its effectual use in croup. Dr. Wal- 
lace, of Belfast, Ireland, has found it, in strong decoction, successful in many cases 
of cholera. (Ann.de Therap., 1867, p. 60.) In acute inflammatory affections it is 
contraindicated. It should be given in cases of poisoning from opium, after the 
evacuation of the stomach,or when from any cause such evacuation is not effected. 
Roasted coffee is said to have the effect of destro}nng offensive and noxious 
effluvia from decomposing animal and vegetable substances, and therefore to be 
capable of beneficial application as a disinfecting and deodorizing agent. The 
powder of the grains should be roasted until it becomes dark-brown, and then 
sprinkled, or placed in plates, in the infected place. 
Coffee is usually prepared in this country by boiling the roasted grains, pre- 
viously ground into a coarse powder, in water for a short time, and then clarify- 
ing by the white of an egg. Some prefer the infusion, made by a process similar PART 1. 
Caffea.— Calamus. 
189 
to that of displacement. It has more of the aroma of the coffee than the decoc- 
tion, with less of its bitterness. The proper proportion for forming the infusion 
for medical use is an ounce to a pint of boiling water, of which a cupful may be 
given warm for a dose, and repeated, if necessary. A syrup of coffee is prepared 
by Dorvault in the following manner. Treat a pound of ground roasted coffee 
by percolation with boiling water until two pints have passed. Evaporate eight 
pounds of simple syrup to six, add the infusion, and strain Two tablespoon- 
fuls of this syrup may be added to a cup of hot water or milk. It is also used 
with carbonic acid water. 
Caffein, though undoubtedly one of the active principles of coffee, is not ex- 
actly identical with it in effects. Precise and reliable information as to its phy- 
siological action and therapeutic application is yet wanting. Lehmann found it, 
in doses of from two to ten grains, to produce great disturbance of the nervous 
and circulatory systems. Introduced directly into the circulation, in the lower 
animals, such as cats, rabbits, and dogs, in doses of three-quarters of a grain 
or more, by Drs. Stuhlmann and Falek, it caused death, preceded by purging, 
vomiting of food, tonic and clonic spasm, and prostration; but no useful relia- 
ble inference can be drawn from these results. (Ranking's Abstract, xxix. 286.) 
By Botkin it is said to diminish the frequency of the cardiac contractions, and 
rapidly to increase the quantity of the urine, while the desire to urinate is aug- 
mented, and heat is felt in the passage of it. Patients, however, soon become 
habituated to it. {Ann. de Tfierap., 1867, p. 60.) It has been used remedially 
both uncombined, and in the state of salt. Prof. H. P. Campbell, of Georgia, 
found it apparently very useful, given by enema, in a case of poisoning by opium, 
in the advanced stage, when the patient could no longer swallow. He injected 
twenty grains in infusion of coffee. The patient recovered; but in a second 
case, though some favourable effects seemed to be produced, the patient ulti- 
mately succumbed. (See Am. J. of Med. Sci., July and Oct. 1860, pp. 282 and 
570.) In the form of citrate of caffein, made by dissolving caffein in a solution 
of citric acid with a gentle heat, and evaporating carefully, it has been recom- 
mended, as a remedy and preventive in sick headache, in the dose of a grain 
every hour, before and during the paroxysm. Two or three grains during the 
twenty-four hours is recommended under ordinary circumstances. {Botkin.) 
The arseniate has been given as an antiperiodic; but the arsenic is no doubt 
the main therapeutic agent in this case. 
The leaves of the coffee plant possess properties analogous to those of the 
fruit, and are extensively used, in the form of infusion, as a beverage, in the 
vicinity of Padang, in the island of Sumatra. An account of their employment 
was published in the Singapore Free Press by Mr. N. M. Ward, of Padang. 
Previously to this, Dr. John Gardener, of London, had proposed to introduce 
them into use in Europe, and is stated to have taken out a patent for the mode 
of preparing them. A specimen examined by Dr. Stenhouse has been found to 
contain caffein in larger proportion than the coffee-bean, and also caffeic acid. 
Mr. Ward states that, in Sumatra, the leaves are prepared for use by moderately 
roasting them, and then powdering them coarsel}” by rubbing in the hands. The 
powder is made into an infusion like common tea. The taste is said to be like 
that of tea and coffee combined. {Pharm. Journ., xii. 443, and xiii 207 and 382.) 
CALAMUS. U.S. Secondary. 
Sweet Flag. 
The rhizoma of Acorus Calamus. TJ. 8. 
Acorus vrai, Acorus Kalmuswurzel,Germ,.; Calamo aromatico,/ial.,Span. 
Acorus. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Acoraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Spadix cylindrical, covered with florets. Corolla six-petaled, na- 
ked. Style none. Capsule three-celled. Willd. 
Acorus Calamus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 199; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 63. The 190 
Calamus. 
PART I. 
sweet flag, or calamus, has a perennial, horizontal, jointed, somewhat com- 
pressed root (rhizome), from half an inch to an inch thick, sometimes several 
feet in length, sending off numerous round and yellowish or whitish radicles 
from its base, and bunches of brown fibres resembling coarse hair from its joints, 
internally white and spongy, whitish with a tinge of green, varie- 
gated with triangular stains of light brown and rose colour. The leaves are 
all radical, sheathing at the base, long, sworcl-shaped, smooth, green above, but, 
near their origin from the root, of a red colour variegated with green and 
white. The scape or flower-stem resembles the leaves, but is longer, and from 
one side, near the middle of its length, sends out a cylindrical spadix, tapering 
at each end, about two inches in length, and crowded with greenish-yellow 
flowers. These are without calyx, and have six small, concave, membranous, 
truncated petals. The fruit is an oblong capsule, divided into three cells, and 
containing numerous oval seeds. 
This is an indigenous plant, growing throughout the United States, in low, 
wet, swampy places, and along the sides of ditches and streams, and flowering 
in May and June. It is also a native of Europe and Western Asia; and a va- 
riety is found in India. The European plant differs slightly from the American. 
The leaves as well as root have an aromatic odour; but the latter only is em- 
ployed. It should be collected late in the autumn, or in the spring. After re- 
moval from the ground, the roots are washed, freed from their fibres, and dried 
with a moderate heat. By the process of drying they lose nearly one-half their 
diameter, but are improved in odour and taste. 
Properties. The roots, as kept in the shops, are in pieces of various length, 
somewhat flattened, externally wrinkled and of a yellowish-brown colour, and 
presenting ou their under surface numerous minute circular spots, indicating 
the points at which the radicles were inserted. Their texture is light and 
spongy, their colour internally whitish or yellowish-white, and their fracture 
short and rough. A variety imported from Germany consists exclusively of 
the interior portion of the root. The pieces are usually long, slender, irregu- 
larly quadrangular, and of a grayish-white colour. 
The odour of calamus is strong and fragrant; its taste warm, bitterish, pun- 
gent, and aromatic. Its active principles are taken up by boiling water. From 
100 parts of the fresh root of the European plant, Trommsdorff obtained 0T 
of volatile oil, 2 3 of soft resin, 3 3 of extractive with a little chloride of po- 
tassium, 5-5 of gum with some phosphate of potassa, 1-6 of starch analogous 
to inulin, 21'5 of lignin, and 651 of water. Sixteen ounces of the dried root 
afforded to Neumann about two scruples of volatile oil. The oil is at first yel- 
low, but ultimately becomes red, and has the smell and taste of calamus. The 
extractive matter has an acrid and sweetish taste. The root is sometimes at- 
tacked by worms, and deteriorates by keeping. The India variety is more 
slender than the European, and has a stronger and more pleasant flavour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Calamus is a stimulant tonic, possessing the 
ordinary virtues of the aromatics. It may be taken with advantage in pain or 
uneasiness of the stomach or bowels arising from flatulence, and is a useful 
adjuvant to tonic or purgative medicines, in cases of torpor or debility of the 
alimentary canal. It was probably known to the ancients, and is supposed to 
have been the dxopov of the Greeks; but the calamus aromaticus of Dioscorides 
was a different product, having been derived, according to Dr. Boyle, from a 
species of Andropogon. The medicine is at present much neglected, though 
well calculated to answer as a substitute for more costly aromatics. The dose 
in substance is from a scruple to a drachm.* An infusion, made in thepropor- 
* A fluid, extract of calamus may be prepared in the same manner as fluid extract of gin- 
fer, and given in the dose of from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm. From this Prof. 
laisch prepares a syrup by rubbing f5i of the fluid extract with about Jviii of sugar, 
exposing the mixture to a moderate heat until all the alcohol has been evaporated, 
then adding gvii of sugar, and half a pint of water, heating to 212°, and straining 
(Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxxii. 113.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Calcium.— Calcii Cliloridum. 
191 
tion of an ounce of the root to a pint of boiling water, is sometimes given in 
the dose of a wineglassful or more. W 
CALCIUM. 
This is the peculiar metal of lime, and consequently of all calcareous sub- 
stances. It was obtained by Dr. Matthiessen, in 1855, in masses of the size of 
a pea, by the electrolysis, with a Bunsen battery, of chloride of calcium. It is 
a pale-yellow metal, remarkably glittering when freshly filed. Its fracture is 
jagged, becoming granular. It is malleable and very ductile. In a dry air it 
remains unaltered; but it soon tarnishes in a moist one. It melts at a red heat, 
and afterwards burns with splendour, forming lime. Itseq. number is 20, and 
symbol Ca. (See Chem. Gaz., June 15, 1855.) 
Calcium is a very abundant element in nature, existing in the mineral king- 
dom chiefly as a carbonate, in the form of limestone, marble, chalk, and calca- 
reous spar; and as a phosphate and carbonate in the bones and shells of animals. 
It is the peculiar metal in the officinals, lime, chloride of calcium, and carbo- 
nate, phosphate, and hypochlorite of lime. B. 
Calcium. 
CALCII CHLORIDUM. U.S.,Br. 
Chloride of Calcium. 
Fused chloride of calcium. U. S. CaCl. Br. 
Muriate of lime, Hydrochlorate of lime; Chlorure de calcium, Hydrochlorate de chaux, 
Fr.; Chlorcalcium, Salzsauror Kalk, Germ. 
Chloride of calcium consists of chlorine, united with calcium, the metallic 
radical of lime. It may be readily formed by saturating muriatic acid with chalk 
or marble, evaporating to dryness, and heating to redness. The muriatic acid, 
by reacting with the lime, forms chloride of calcium and water, the latter of 
which is dissipated at a red heat. The Br. Pharmacopoeia, after the neutrali- 
sation of the acid with carbonate of lime, adds a little solution of chlorinated 
lime and -slaked lime, filters, evaporates till the chloride becomes solid, and, in- 
stead of igniting the residue, dries it at about 400°. 
Properties. In the fused or anhydrous state, as it is directed or understood 
to be in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, chloride of calcium is a colourless, 
slightly translucent, hard and friable solid, of an acrid, bitter, saline taste, ex- 
tremely deliquescent, very soluble in water, and readily soluble in rectified spirit. 
On account of its avidity for water, the fused salt is used for drying gases, and 
for bringing alcohol to its highest degree of concentration. The crystallized 
salt is also very deliquescent, and has the form of colourless, transparent, stri- 
ated, six-sided prisms. The crystals, on exposure to heat, first dissolve in their 
water of crystallization, and after this has evaporated, undergo the igneous fu- 
sion. With ice or snow they form a powerful frigorific mixture. Solution of 
chloride of calcium, when pure, yields no precipitate with ammonia, chloride of 
barium, or ferrocyanide of potassium dissolved in a large quantity of water; 
evincing the absence of magnesia, sulphuric acid, and iron. The salt evolves no 
chlorine or hypochlorous acid on the addition of hydrochloric acid, is entirely 
soluble in twice its weight of water, and is not precipitated by lime-water. Br 
Chloride of calcium exists in the water of the ocean and of many springs. It 
is usually associated with common salt and chloride of magnesium, from which 
it is separated with difficulty. It consists of one eq. of chlorine 35 5, and one 
of calcium 20 = 55-5. When crystallized, it contains six eqs. of water = 54.* 
* Various useful applications of chloride of calcium, independently of its employment 
in chemical operations, have been proposed, or carried into effect, of which one is the 
substitution of its solution for water alone in sprinkling the streets of towns in dry weather; 
its affinity for moisture being such that much less sprinkling is necessary in order to ob- 
tain the desired result; another, its application to the surface of combustible substances, 192 
Calx, 
PART I. 
Chloride of calcium is used medicinally in solution only. In this state it 
forms the officinal Liquor Calcii Chloridi, under which title its medicinal pro- 
perties are given. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; Aether, Br.; AEther 
Fortior, U. S.; AEther Purus, Br.; Chloroformum, Br.; Ferrum Redactum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Calcis Carbon as Praecipitata, Br.; Morphiae Hydrochloras, Br. 
B. 
CALX. U.S.,Br. 
Lime. 
Lime recently prepared by calcination. U. S. An alkaline earth, CaO, with 
some impurities, obtained by calcining chalk or limestone so as to expel car- 
bonic acid. Br. 
Quicklime; Chaux, Chaux vive, Fr.; Kalk, Germ.; Calce, Ital.; Calviva, Span. 
Lime, which is ranked among the alkaline earths, is a very important phar- 
maceutical agent, and forms the principal ingredient in several standard prepa- 
rations. It is a very abundant natural production. It is never found pure, but 
mostly combined with acids; as with carbonic acid in chalk, marble, calcareous 
spar, limestone, and shells; with sulphuric acid in the different kinds of gyp- 
sum; with phosphoric acid in the bones of animals; and with silica in a great 
variety of minerals. 
Preparation. Lime is prepared by calcining, by a strong heat, some form of 
the native carbonate. The carbonic acid is thus expelled, and the lime remains 
behind. When the lime is intended for nice chemical operations, it should be 
obtained from pure white marble, or from oyster shells. For the purpose of the 
arts it is procured from common limestone, by calcining it in kilns of peculiar 
construction. When obtained in this way it is generally impure, being of a 
grayish colour, and containing alumina, silica, sesquioxide of iron, and occa- 
sionally a little magnesia and oxide of manganese. 
The officinal lime of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias is the 
lime of commerce, and therefore impure. It may be obtained purer by exposing 
pure white marble, broken into small fragments, in a covered crucible, to a full 
red heat for three hours, or till the residuum, when slaked and suspended in 
water, no longer effervesces on the addition of muriatic acid. 
Properties. Lime is a grayish-white solid, having a strong caustic, alkaline 
taste, and the sp. gr. 2 3. It is very refractory in the fire, having been fused 
only by the compound blowpipe of Dr. Hare. Exposed to the air, it absorbs 
moisture and carbonic acid, and falls into a white powder. On account of its 
liability to change by being kept, lime intended for pharmaceutical purposes 
should be recently prepared. It acts upon vegetable colours like an alkali. 
Upon the addition of water, it cracks and falls into powder, with the evolution 
of heat, forming hydrate of lime. In this state lime dissolves freely in syrup. 
(See Syrup of Lime.) If it dissolve in muriatic acid without effervescence, the 
fact shows the absence of carbonic acid, and that the lime has been well calcined. 
If any silica be present, it will remain undissolved. If the solution give no 
precipitate with ammonia, the absence of iron and alumina is shown. 
Lime is but sparingly soluble in water, requiring at 60° about seven hundred 
times its weight of that liquid for complete solution. Contrary to the general 
law, it is less soluble in hot than in cold water. The solution is called lime- 
water. (See Liquor Calcis.) When lime in excess is mixed with water, so as 
to form a thick liquid, the mixture is called mil/c of lime. 
Lime is the protoxide of calcium, and consists of one eq. of calcium 20, and 
one of oxygen 8=28. (See Calcium.) It is distinguished from the other alka- 
line earths by forming a very deliquescent salt {chloride of calcium) by reac- 
such as wood, by which they are in a considerable degree protected against fire. Tor the 
latter purpose it is recommended to add to the solution a portion of milk of lime, which 
prevents the unpleasant dampness which it would tend to maintain in the surfaces covered 
with it. (Nenes Repertorium, xvi. 597.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Calx.— Calx Chlprinata. 
193 
tion with muriatic acid, and a sparingly soluble one with sulphuric acid. All 
acids, acidulous, ammoniacal, and metallic salts, borates, alkaline carbonates, 
and astringent vegetable infusions are incompatible with it. 
Medical Properties. Lime acts externally as an escharotic, and was formerly 
applied to ill conditioned ulcers. The lime ointment of Spender is made by in- 
corporating four parts of washed slaked lime with one part of fresh lard and 
three parts of olive oil, previously warmed together. Mixed with potassa, lime 
forms an officinal caustic. (See Potassa cum Calce.) As an internal remedy, 
it is always administered in solution. (See Liquor Calcis.) 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing JBther Fortior, U. S.; Ammoniae Valerianas, 
U. S.; Aqua Ammoniae, U.S.; Liquor Potassae, U S.; Liquor S}dae, U.S.; 
Quiniae Sulphas, U.S.; Santoninum, U. S.; Spiritus Ammoniae, U. S.; Strychnia, 
U. S.; Sulphur Praecipitatum, U. S. 
Off. Prev. Calcis Hvdras. Br.; Liauor Calcis. U.S.; Potassa cum Calce. 
U.S. 
B 
CALX CHLORINATA. U.S. 
Chlorinated Lime. 
A compound resulting from the action of chlorine on hydrate of lime, and 
containing at least twenty-five per cent, of Chlorine. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CALX CIILORATA. Chlorinated Lime. A product obtained 
by exposing slaked lime to the action of chlorine gas so long as the latter is ab- 
sorbed. Br. 
Chloride of lime, Hypochlorite of lime, Oxymuriate of Lime, Bleaching powder; Calcis 
chloridum, Calcis hypochloris, Lat.; Chlorure de chaux, Fr.; Chlorkalk, Germ,.; Cloruro 
di calce, Ital. 
This compound was originally prepared and brought into notice as a bleach- 
ing agent, in 1798, by Tennant of Glasgow. Subsequently it was found to have 
valuable properties as a medicine and disinfectant; and, accordingly, it has been 
introduced into the United States and British Pharmacopoeias. 
The following is an outline of the process for preparing chlorinated lime on 
the large scale. An oblong square chamber is constructed, generally of silice- 
ous sandstone, the joints being secured by a cement of pitch, rosin, and dry gyp- 
sum. At one end it is furnished with an air-tight door, and on each side with 
a glass window, to enable the operator to inspect the process during its pro- 
gress. The slaked or hydrated lime is sifted, and placed on wooden trays eight 
or ten feet long, two broad, and one inch deep. These are piled within the cham- 
ber to a height of five or six feet on cross-bars, by which they are kept about 
an inch asunder, in order to favour the circulation of the gas over the lime. 
The chlorine is generated in a leaden vessel nearly spherical, the lower portion 
of which is surrounded with an iron case, leaving an interstice two inches wide, 
intended to receive the steam for the purpose of producing the requisite heat. 
In the leaden vessel are five apertures. The first is in the centre of the top, and 
receives a tube which descends nearly to the bottom, and through which a ver- 
tical stirrer passes, intended to mix the materials, and furnished, at the lower 
end, with horizontal cross-bars of iron, or of wood sheathed with lead. The 
second is for the introduction of the common salt and manganese. The third 
admits a syphon-shaped funnel, through which the sulphuric acid is introduced. 
The fourth is connected with a pipe to lead off the chlorine. The fifth, which 
is near the bottom, receives a discharge pipe, passing through the iron case, and 
intended for drawing off the residuum of the operation. The pipe leading off 
the chlorine terminates, under water, in a leaden chest or cylinder, where the 
gas is washed from muriatic acid. From this intermediate vessel the chlorine 
finally passes, by means of a pretty large leaden pipe, through the ceiling of the 
chamber containing the lime. The process of impregnation generally lasts four 
days, this time being necessary to form a good bleaching powder. If it be hast- 
ened, heat will be generated, which will favour the production of chloride of 
calcium, w:th a proportional diminution of chloride of lime. 194 
CalJt Cklorinata. 
PART L 
The proportions of the materials generally adopted are 10 cwt. of common 
salt, mixed with from 10 to 14 cwt. of dentoxide of manganese: to which are 
added, in successive portions, from 12 to 14 cwt. of strong sulphuric acid, dilu- 
ted before being used until its sp. gr. is about 1 '65, which is accomplished by 
adding about one-third of its weight of water. In manufactories in which 
sulphuric acid is also made, the acid intended for this process is brought to 
the sp.gr. 1 65 only, whereby the expense of further concentration is saved. 
Properties. Chlorinated lime is a dry, or but slightly moist, grayish-white, 
pulverulent substance, having an acrid, hot, bitter, astringent taste, and an 
odour resembling that of chlorine. It possesses powerful bleaching properties. 
When perfectly saturated with chlorine, it dissolves almost enlirely in water; 
but, as ordinarily prepared, a large proportion is insoluble, consisting of hydrate 
of lime. When exposed to heat, it gives off' oxygen, and some chlorine, and is 
converted into«chloride of calcium. It is incompatible with the mineral acids, 
carbonic acid, and the alkaline carbonates. The acids evolve chlorine copiously, 
and the alkaline carbonates cause a precipitate of carbonate of lime. (See 
Liquor Sodse Chlorinatae.)* 
Chlorinated lime is an oxidizing agent, the oxygen being derived from 
water, the hydrogen of which unites with the chlorine to form muriatic 
acid. It has a powerful action on organic matter, converting sugar, starch, 
cotton, linen, and similar substances into formic acid, which unites with the 
lime. ( W. Bastick.) It also acts energetically on the volatile oils, including oil of 
turpentine, producing chloroform. (J. Chautart, Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1855.) 
Composition. According to Dr. Ure, bleaching powder consists of hydrate of 
lime and chlorine, united in variable proportions, not correspondent to equiva- 
lent quantities. According to Brande, Grouvelle, and Phillips, the compound 
obtained when chlorine ceases to be absorbed consists of one eq. of chlorine 
and two of hydrate of lime, resolvable, by water, into one eq. of hydrated chlo- 
ride of lime which dissolves, and one of hydrate of lime which is left. Dr. Thom- 
son, however, assents that the compound has been so much improved in quality, 
that good samples consist of single equivalents of lime and chlorine, and are 
almost entirely soluble in water. Its ultimate constituents, exclusive of the ele- 
ments of water, may, therefore, be considered to be one eq. of calcium, one of 
oxygen, and one of chlorine. Three views may be taken of the manner in which 
these elements are united to form the bleaching powder. The first makes it a 
chloride of lime, CaO,Cl; the second, oxychloride of calcium, Ca and the 
third hypochlorite of lime with chloride of calcium, Ca0,C10-f- CaCl, formed 
by doubling the equivalents of the elements present. 
The simplest view of the nature of bleaching powder is that which supposes 
it to be a compound of chlorine and lime. The view which makes it a hypo- 
chlorite with chloride of calcium is that of Balard, and is supported by the 
* Chlorinated lime is constantly becoming weaker on exposure, giving off chlorine or 
hypochlorous acid, probably through the influence of the atmospheric carbonic acid, 
which sets them free by combining with the lime. But it would seem that, even when 
closely confined, it sometimes at least gives oflf gaseous matter, as we have an account of 
a well-stopped bottle containing it having been broken by a violent explosion, without 
any peculiar exposure to heat. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 72.) M. Barreswii 
has found that the subjection of chlorinated lime to strong pressure greatly diminishes 
the tendency to decomposition. It is rendered in this way as hard as a stone, and may 
be kept long without undergoing change. (Chem. News, no. 58, p. 33.) 
Under the following conditions, it is stated by C. Schrader that good chlorinated lime 
may be prepared which will long retain its strength. 1. The lime used must be free from 
iron and alumina ; but the hydrate may contain from 6 to 12 per cent, of moisture with- 
out injury. 2. The chlorine must be brought slowly in contact with the hydrate. 3. When 
the hydrate of lime is oversaturated with chlorine, decomposition speedily ensues. Hence 
the hydrate and the muriatic acid employed must be in due proportion, to be determined 
by practice. 4. To ensure complete saturation, there should be free chlorine in the appa- 
ratus at the close of the process. By attending to these precautions, it is said that a pro- 
duct may be obtained, with from 33 to 35 per cent, of chlorine, and losing its strength only 
at the rate of 3 or 4 per cent, a year. {Ibid,., Aug. 15,1863, p. 78.)—Note to the twelfth edition. part i. 
Calx Chlorinata. 
195 
fact that the compound smells of hypochlorous acid But, if it contain chloride 
of calcium, it ought to deliquesce; unless it can be shown that the metallic chlo- 
ride is in such a state of combination as to prevent this result. The second view, 
that it is an oxychloride, which assimilates its nature to that of the deutoxide 
of calcium, is held by Millon. According to this chemist, the quantity of chlo- 
rine, taken up by a metallic protoxide, is regulated by the nature of its perox- 
ide. The peroxide of calcium is a deutoxide (CaOa); and Millon contends that, 
in forming bleaching powder, the lime takes up but one eq. of chlorine, corre- 
sponding to the second eq. of oxygen in the deutoxide, thus generating the 
compound Ca Again, the peroxide of potassium is represented by KOs, 
and Millon states that the bleaching compound which potassa (KO) forms with 
chlorine is K-|qj If further observation should show that the number of 
equivalents of chlorine, necessary to convert a protoxide into a bleaching com- 
pound, is always equal to the number of eqs. of oxygen required to convert it 
into a peroxide, the fact will go far to prove the correctness of Millon’s views. 
On the supposition that the bleaching powder is a hypochlorite of lime with 
chloride of calcium, the mode of its formation is thus explained. Two eqs. of 
chlorine, by uniting separately with the elements of one eq. of lime, form one 
eq. of chloride of calcium, and one of hypocblorous acid; the latter of which 
combines with an additional eq. of lime, to form hypochlorite of lime. 
M. Fresenius, having submitted chlorinated lime to the action of successive 
portions of water, noticed that the first portions dissolved out nearly all the free 
chloride of calcium, with very little hypochlorite of lime, while in the subsequent 
operations the two salts were dissolved in regular proportion. From this fact he 
inferred that either the chloride of calcium and hypochlorite of lime were com- 
bined, or that water decomposed the chlorinated lime into them. His views as 
to the composition of the bleaching powder, deduced from this observation and 
from various experiments, are that it consists of hypochlorite of lime, combined 
with chloride of calcium Ca0,C10-l-CaCl, of free chloride of calcium Cad, of 
hydrated lime CaO.HO, and of combined water. (Ghem. Gaz , Aug. 30, 1862.) 
Impurities and Tests. Chlorinated lime may contain a great excess of lime, 
from imperfect impregnation with the gas. This defect will be shown by the 
large proportion insoluble in water. If it contain much chloride of calcium, it 
will be quite moist, which is always a sign of inferior quality. When long and 
insecurely kept, it deteriorates from the gradual formation of chloride of calcium 
and carbonate of lime. Several methods have been proposed for determining its 
bleaching power, which depends solely on the proportion of loosely combined 
chlorine. Walter proposed to add a solution of the bleaching powder to a stand- 
ard solution of sulphate of indigo, in order to ascertain its decolorizing power; 
but the objection to this test is that the indigo of commerce is very variable in 
its amount of colouring matter. Dr. Ure has proposed muriatic acid to disen- 
gage the chlorine over mercury; but this test is liable to the fallacy that it will 
disengage carbonic acid as well as chlorine; and it has been shown, by some un- 
published experiments of Prof.Procter of this city, that the amount of disengaged 
gaseous matter is not in proportion to the decolorizing power. Dalton recom- 
mended, as a test, to add a solution of the bleaching powder to one of the sul- 
phate of protoxide of iron, slightly acidulated with muriatic or sulphuric acid, 
until the odour of chlorine is perceived. Chlorine is not disengaged until the 
iron is sesquioxidized, and the stronger the bleaching powder, the sooner will 
this be accomplished. A more delicate way of ascertaining when all the iron is 
sesquioxidized, is to test a drop of the liquid with one of a solution of ferridey- 
anide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa). So long as any protoxide of iron 
remains in the liquid, this salt will occasion a blue precipitate (Turnbull's Prus- 
sian blue), but not afterwards. This test for chlorinated lime was adopted in 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and is applied as follows. “ When 40 grains 
of it, triturated with a fluidouuce of distilled water, are well shaken with a solu- 196 
Calx Clilorinata. 
PART r. 
tion of 78 grains of crystallized sulphate of protoxide of iron, and 10 drops of 
sulphuric acid in two fluidounces of distilled water, a liquid is formed which 
does not yield a blue precipitate with ferridcyanide of potassium (red prussiate 
of potassa).” The chlorinated lime of the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia is directed to con- 
tain at least 25 per cent, of chlorine. If it be to this extent chlorinated, 40 grains 
will contain enough chlorine to cause the sesquioxidation of all the protoxide of 
’ron in 78 grains of crystallized sulphate of iron; but, if impregnated with chlo* 
rine to a less extent, some of the protoxide will remain unchanged, and, conse- 
quently, a blue precipitate will be formed with the ferridcyanide. According to 
Wittstein and Claude, however, the test of sulphate of iron is not reliable. 
The following is the test given in the British Pharmacopoeia. “Ten grains 
mixed with thirty grains of iodide of potassium, anddissolved in four fluidounces 
of water, produce, when acidulated with two fluidrachms of hydrochloric acid, a 
reddish solution, which requires for the discharge of its colour at least 850 grain- 
measures of the volumetric solution of hyposulphite of soda, corresponding to 
30 per cent, of chlorine liberated by hydrochloric acid.” In this process iodine 
is separated by the chlorine in equivalent quantity, and imparts colour to tho 
liquid, which is removed by the hyposulphite of soda, by forming colourless 
compounds with the iodine; and the quantity required for this purpose mea- 
sures the quantity of iodine, and consequently that of chlorine present in the 
chlorinated solution. (See Hyposulphite of Soda.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chlorinated lime, externally applied, is a de- 
siccant and disinfectant, and has been used with advantage in solution, as an 
application to ill-conditioned ulcers, burns, chilblains, and cutaneous eruptions, 
especially itch; as a, gargle in putrid sorethroat; and as a wash for the mouth 
to disinfect the breath, and for ulcerated gums. Internally, it is stimulant and 
astringent. It has been employed by Dr. Reid in the epidemic typhoid fever of 
Ireland; by the same practitioner in dysentery, both by the mouth and injection, 
with the effect of correcting the fetor, and improving the appearance of the 
stools; by Cima, both internally and externally, in scrofula; and by Dr.Varlez, 
of Brussels, in ophthalmia. Dr. Pereira has used a weak solution very success- 
fully in the purulent ophthalmia of infants. In the febrile cases, Dr Reid found 
it to render the tongue cleaner and moister, to check diarrhoea, and induce 
sleep. The dose internally is from three to six grains, dissolved in one or two 
fluidounces of water, filtered and sweetened with syrup. It should never be given 
in pills. As it occurs of variable quality, and must be used in solution more or 
less dilute, according to the particular purpose to which it is to be applied, it is 
impossible to give any very precise directions for its strength as an external 
remedy. From one to four drachms of the powder added to a pint of water, 
and the solution filtered, will form a liquid within the limits of strength ordina- 
rily required. For the cure of itch, M. Derheims has recommended a much 
stronger solution—three ounces of the chloride to a pint of water, the solution 
being filtered, and applied several times a day as a lotion, or constantly by wet 
cloths. When applied to ulcers, their surface may be covered with lint dipped in 
the solution. When used as an ointment, to be rubbed upon scrofulous enlarge- 
ments of the lymphatic glands, this may be made of a drachm of the chloride to 
an ounce of lard. Chlorinated lime is less eligible for some purposes than the 
solution of chlorinated soda. (See Liquor Sodas Chlorinatse.) 
In consequence of its powers as a disinfectant, chlorinated lime is a very im- 
portant compound in its application to medical police. It possesses the property 
of preventing or arresting animal and vegetable putrefaction, and, perhaps, of 
destroying pestilential and infectious miasms. It may be used with advantage 
for preserving bodies from exhaling an unpleasant odour, before interment, in 
the summer season. In juridical exhumations its use is indispensable; as it effect- 
ually removes the disgusting and insupportable fetor of the corpse. The mode in 
which it is applied, in these cases, is to envelop the body with a sheet completely 
wet .with a solution, made by adding about a pound of the chloride to a bucket- 
ful of water. It is employed also for disinfecting dissecting rooms, privies, com PART L. 
Calx Chlorinata.— Calumba. 
197 
mon sewers, docks, and other places which exhale offensive effluvia. In destroy- 
ing contagion and infection, it appears to be highly useful. Hence hospitals, 
alms-houses, jails, ships, &c. may be purified by its means. In short, all places 
deemed infectious from having been the receptacle of disease, may be more or less 
disinfected by its use, after having undergone the ordinary cleansing. 
Chlorinated lime acts exclusively by its chlorine, which, being loosely com- 
bined, is disengaged by the slightest affinities. All acids, even the carbonic, dis- 
engage it; and, as this acid is a product of animal and vegetable decomposition, 
noxious effluvia furnish the means, to a certain extent, of their own disinfection. 
But the stronger acids disengage the chlorine far more readily, and, among these, 
sulphuric acid is the most convenient. Accordingly, the powder may be dis- 
solved in a very dilute solution of this acid; or a small quantity of the acid may 
be added to an aqueous solution ready formed, if a more copious evolution of 
chlorine be desired than that which takes place from the mere action of the car- 
bonic acid of the atmosphere. 
Chlorinated lime may be advantageously applied to the purpose of purifying 
offensive water, a property which makes it invaluable on long voyages. When 
used for this purpose, from one to two ounces of the chloride may be mixed Avith 
about sixty-five gallons of the water. The Avater must afterwards be exposed for 
some time to the air, and allowed to settle, before it is fit to drink. 
Strong insecticide properties have been ascribed to chlorinated lime. Hence 
it is recommended to sprinkle it on vegetables, floAvers, fruit-trees, &c., which 
are apt to be attacked by worms and insects. 
Off. Prep. Chloroformum, Br.; Liquor Calcis Chloratae, Br.; Liquor Sodae 
Chlorinatae, U.S.; Vapor Chlori, Br. B. 
CALUMBA. U. S. 
Col umbo. 
The root of Cocculus palmatus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CALUMBJ3 RADIX. Calumba Root. The root, cut transversely 
and dried, of Jateorrhiza. Calumba, Miers; Cocculus palmatus, non DC.; 
Steph. and Church. Med. Rot., plate 160. Br. 
Colomba, U. S. 185); Colombo, Fr.; Columbowurzel, Germ.; Columba, Ital.; Kaiz de 
Columbo, Span.; Kalumbo, Port.; Calumb, Mozambique. 
The columbo plant Avas long but imperfectly known. Flowering specimens of 
a plant gathered by Commerson, about the year 17TO, in the garden of M. 
Poivre in the Isle of France, and sent to Europe with that botanist’s collection, 
were examined by Lamarck, and described under the name of Menispermum 
palmatum. But its original locality was unknown, and it was only conjectured 
to be the source of columbo. In the year 1805, M. Forten, while engaged in 
purchasing the drug in Mozambique, obtained possession of a living offset of the 
root. Avhich, being taken to Madras, and planted in the garden of Dr. Anderson, 
produced a male plant, which was figured and described by Dr. Berry. From 
the drawing thus made, the plant was referred to the natural family of the 
Menispermese ; but, as the female flowers were wanting, some difficulty was ex- 
perienced in fixing its precise botanical position. De Candolle, who probably 
had the opportunity of examining Commerson’s specimens, gave its generic and 
specific character ; but confessed that he was not acquainted with the structure 
of the female flower and fruit. This desideratum, however, was supplied by 
ample drawings sent to England by Mr. Telfair, of Mauritius, made from plants 
which were propagated from roots obtained by Captain Owen in 1825, while 
prosecuting his survey of the eastern coast of Africa. The genus Cocculus, in 
which the plant is now placed, was separated by De Candolle from Menisper- 
mum, and includes those species which have six stamens, while the Menisper- 
mum is limited to those with twelve or more. 
More recently, Mr. J. Miers, on examination of the male and female flowers 
as well as of the seeds, came to the conclusion that they presented peculiarities 198 
Calumba. 
PART r. 
which justified the establishment of a new genus, which he named Jateor- 
rhiza, from the medicinal properties of the root. “ The plants of this genus, 
natives of intertropical Africa, are all climbers, distinguished by a very pecu- 
liar habit, having very large deeply-lobed leaves, upon very long petioles, 
and clothed with long strigose hairs ; their inflorescence is in long slender 
racemes; the fruit is a drupe containing a putamen covered with a dense hairy 
coating imbedded in the fleshy mesoderm.”* (Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., Feb. 
18154.) From the statements of Mr. Miers it appears, moreover, that the species 
described by De Candolle under the name of Cocculus palmatus, is different 
from that cultivated in the Botanical Garden at Calcutta, which appears in 
Wallich’s Catalogue under the same name of Cocculus palmatus; two species 
having, as appears, been confounded together. This new species is described 
by Mr. Miers under the name of Jateorrhiza Calumba, and is asserted bv him 
to be the true columbo plant. The claim is admitted by Prof. Bentley, of Lon- 
don, and the species is recognised in the last edition of the British Pharma- 
copoeia. But upon what grounds it is assumed to be the exclusive source of the 
drug has not been satisfactorily shown. Both species grow in the same neigh- 
bourhood, and both are described from specimens originating in that neighbour- 
hood, and asserted to have been derived from plants yielding the columbo of 
commerce. Why, therefore, the root should be ascribed exclusively to either is 
not obvious. It is by no means improbable that the drug is obtained indiffer- 
ently from both ; and it is not, therefore, needful, while admitting the claims of 
the new species, to reject the old one. The French Codex, recently published, 
still ascribes the root to the Cocculus palmatus of De Candolle. 
Cocculus. Sex. Syst. Picecia Hexandria.— Nat. Ord. Menispermaceae. 
Gen. Gli. Sepals and Petals ternate, usually in 2, rarely in 3 rows Stamens 
six, distinct, opposite the petals. Drupes berried, 1-6, generally oblique, reni- 
form,.somewhat compressed, one seeded. Cotyledons distant. De Cand. 
Cocculus palmatus. I)e Cand., Syst. Veg. i. 523; Woodv Med. Bot., 3d ed., 
v. 21.; Hooker, Curtis's Bot. Mag., nos. 2970, 2971. Jateorrhiza palmata. 
Miers, Annal. and Mag of Nat. Hist., Feb. 1864, p. 183. This is a climb- 
ing plant, with a perennial root, consisting of several fasciculated, fusiform, 
somewhat curved, and descending tubers, as thick as an infant’s arm. The 
stems, of which one or two proceed from the same root, are twining, simple in 
the male plant, branched in the female, round, hairy, and about as thick as the 
little finger. The leaves, which stand on rounded, glandular hairy footstalks, 
are alternate, distant, cordate, with three, five, or seven entire, acuminate, wavy, 
somewhat hairy lobes, and as many nerves, each running into one of the lobes. 
The flowers are small and inconspicuous, and arranged in solitary axillary ra- 
cemes, which, in the male plant, are compound, in the female, simple, and in 
both, shorter than the leaves. 
Jateorrhiza Calumba. Miers. Br. Pharm.—Cocculus palmatus. Wallich, 
non De Cand.—Menispermum Columba. Roxb. Flor Ind. This species is char- 
acterized by “rounded, angularly striate, roughly pilose branches; broadly or- 
bicular, sinuously lobed leaves, with rounded sinuses ; the lobes being 5 in 
number, broadly ovate, acute, mucronately acuminate ; the basal deeply divari- 
cate and hence broadly cordate ; 7 to 9 nerved, opaque above, on both sides 
*The following is the generic character given by Mr. Miers of his Jateorrhiza abbre- 
viated. “Flores dioici. Masc. Sepala, 6, ovata,2-seriata,exteriora paulo minora. Petala 
6, ovata, sepalis paulo breviora, apice truncata, lateribus introflexis stamina tegentia. 
Stamina 6, petalis opposita et subaequilonga •, filamenta, carnosa, apice valde tumida, ru- 
gulosa punctata, subito refracta, et extrorsum antherifera; antheras globoso 41obie, rima 
liorizontali 2-valvatim hiantes. Fcem. Sepala ut in masc. Petala cuneato-obovata, cras- 
siuscula, apice emarginata, lateribus introflexis stamina volventia. Stamina 6, sterilia, 
petalis dimidio breviora. Ovaria 3, libera, erecta, oblonga, gibba, extus dense glandu- 
loso-pilosa, gynsecio sub 3-gono imposita, 1-locularia ; ovulo unico. Stylus brevis, crassus, 
subexcentricus. Stigma 3-partitum, laciniis 2-3 fidis, reflexis. Drupse 3, abortu pau- 
ciores, ovatue, carnosae, 1-spermae; putam.en ovatum, dorso convexum, tuberculatum, pilis 
fibrillosis creberrime indutum, ventre lasve.” (Annals and Magaz. of Nat. Hist., Feb. 
1864, p. 132.)—Note the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Calumba 
199 
furnished with short, adpressed, somewhat curved, reddish hairs, beneath, pale, 
strongly reticulate with prominent nerves and veins; the petiole somewhat 
slender, striate, tortuous, and roughly glandular ; the racemes axillary, soli- 
tary or many; the rachis greatly elongated, striate, bristly, with elongated, 
smooth, divaricate, almost capillary, subflexuous, few-flowered branches ; the 
flowers sessile, and almost without bractes.” (Miers.) 
These plants are natives of Mozambique, on the south-eastern coast of Africa, 
where they grow wild in great abundance in the thick forests extending from 
the sea many miles into the interior They are not cultivated. The root is dug 
up in March, when dry weather prevails. From the base of the root numerous 
fusiform offsets proceed, less fibrous and woody than the parent stock. These 
offsets are separated and cut into transverse slices, which are dried in the shade. 
The old root is rejected. 
Columbo is a staple export of the Portuguese from their dominions in the 
south-east of Africa. It is taken to India, and thence distributed. It was for- 
merly supposed to be a product of Ceylon, and to have derived its name from 
Colombo, a city of that island, from which it was thought to be exported. It 
is possible that, when the Portuguese were in possession of Ceylon, Colombo 
may have been the entrepot for the drug brought from Africa, and thus have 
given origin to its name. Some, however, consider a more probable derivation 
to be from the word calumb, which is said to be the Mozambique name for the 
root. Dr. Christison has been misinformed in relation to the cultivation of the 
true columbo plant in this country. (Dispensatory, Am. ed., p. 304.) 
Properties. The root, as it reaches us, is in flat circular or oval pieces, from 
the eighth of an inch to near an inch in thickness, and from one to two inches 
in diameter. Along with these are sometimes a few cylindrical pieces an inch 
or two in length. The cortical portion is thick, of a bright-yellow, slightly 
greenish colour internally, but covered with a brownish, wrinkled epidermis. 
The interior or medullary portion, which is readily distinguishable from the 
cortical, is light, spongy, yellowish, usually more or less shrunk, so that the 
pieces are thinnest in the centre; and is often marked with concentric circles 
and radiating lines. Those pieces are to be preferred which have the brightest 
colour, are most compact and uniform, and least worm-eaten. The odour ol 
columbo is slightly aromatic. The taste is very bitter, that of the cortical much 
more so than that of the central portion, which is somewhat mucilaginous. The 
root is easily pulverized. The powder is greenish, becoming browner with age, 
and deepening when moistened. As it attracts moisture from the air, and is apt 
to undergo decomposition, it should be prepared in small quantities. 
M. Planche analyzed columbo in 1811, and found it to contain an azotized 
substance, probably albumen, in large quantity, a bitter yellow substance not 
precipitated by metallic salts, and one-third of its weight of starch. He ob- 
tained also a small proportion of volatile oil, salts of lime and potassa, oxide of 
iron, and silica. Wittstock, of Berlin, afterwards isolated a peculiar crystalliz- 
able principle, which he called colombin. This crystallizes in beautiful trans- 
parent quadrilateral prisms, is without smell, and is extremely bitter. It is but 
very slightly soluble in water, alcohol, or ether, at ordinary temperatures, and 
yet imparts to these fluids a strongly bitter taste. It is more soluble in boiling 
alcohol, which deposits it upon cooling. The best solvent is dilute acetic acid. 
It is taken up by alkaline solutions, from which it is precipitated by acids. It 
has neither acid nor alkaline properties, and its alcoholic and acetic solutions 
are not affected by the metallic salts, or the infusion of galls. It is obtained by 
exhausting columbo by means of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-835, distilling off three- 
quarters of the alcohol, allowing the residue to stand for some days till crystals 
are deposited, and lastly treating these crystals with alcohol and animal char- 
coal. The mother waters still contain a considerable quantity of colombin, 
which may be separated by evaporating with coarsely powdered glass to dryness, 
exhausting the residue with ether, distilling off the ether, treating the residue 
with boiling acetic acid, and evaporating the solution to crystallization. 200 
Calumha. 
PART r. 
From the researches of Dr. Bodeker it appears that another bitter principle 
exists in columbo, which corresponds in composition and chemical relations 
with berberina, the active principle of Berberis vulgaris, and is assumed to be 
identical with that substance. It was obtained by exhausting columbo with 
alcohol of 0*889, distilling off the alcohol, allowing the residual liquor to stand 
for three days so as to deposit the colombin, evaporating the supernatant liquid 
together with the aqueous washings of the colombin to dryness, exhausting the 
residue with boiling alcohol of 0 863, treating the solution thus obtained as the 
former one, submitting the residue to the action of boiling water, filtering and 
adding muriatic acid, collecting the precipitate thus formed on a filter, drying 
it with bibulous paper, and finally, in order to separate adhering acid, dissolv- 
ing it in alcohol, and precipitating with ether. The result was an imperfectly 
crystalline, bright-yellow powder, of a disagreeable, bitter taste, supposed to be 
muriate of berberina. It is stated that berberina is present in columbo in much 
larger proportion than colombin, and, being freely soluble in hot water and alco- 
hol, while colombin is but slightly so, is probably more largely extracted in the 
ordinary liquid preparations of the root. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xx. 322.) It 
is thought that berberina exists in columbo combined with a peculiar acid de- 
nominated columbic acid; and that, while the colombin occurs in the cells of 
the root in a crystalline state, the columbate of berberina is deposited in the 
thickening layers of the cell-membranes. (Chem. Gaz., vii. 150.) It is probable 
that the bitter yellow principle of Blanche either was berberina or contained it. 
There can be little doubt that both colombin and berberina contribute to the 
remedial effects of columbo. The virtues of the root are extracted by boiling 
water and by alcohol. Precipitates are produced with the infusion and tinc- 
ture by infusion of galls, and solutions of acetate and subacetate of lead; but 
the bitterness is not affected. 
Adulterations. It is said that the root of white bryony, tinged yellow with 
the tincture of columbo, has sometimes been fraudulently substituted for the 
genuine root; but the adulteration is too gross to deceive those acquainted with 
the characters of either of these drugs. American columbo, which is the root 
of Frasera Walteri, is said to have been sold in some parts of Europe for the 
genuine. Independently of the sensible differences between the two roots (see 
Frasera), M. Stolze of Halle states that, while the tincture of columbo remains 
unaffected by the sulphate or sesquichloride of iron, and gives a dirty-gray pre- 
cipitate with tincture of galls, the tincture of frasera acquires a dark-green 
colour with the former reagent, and is not affected by the latter. (Duncan.) 
Under the name of columbo wood, or false columbo, the wood of Coscinium 
fenestratum, a plant of the family of Menispermaceae, growing in Ceylon, has 
been imported into England, and offered for sale in the drug market. (Pharm. 
Journ., x. 321, and xii. 185.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Columbo is among the most useful of the 
mild tonics. Without astringency, with very little stimulating power, and 
generally acceptable to the stomach, it answers admirably as a remedy in 
simple dyspepsia, and in the debility of convalescence, especially when the 
alimentary canal is left enfeebled. Hence, it is often prescribed in the declin- 
ing stages of remittent fever, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera morbus, and cholera 
infantum. The absence of irritating properties renders it also an appropriate 
tonic in the hectic fever of phthisis, and kindred affections. It has been highly 
recommended in vomiting, unconnected with inflammation of the stomach, as 
in the sickness of pregnant women. It is frequently administered in combina- 
tion with other tonics, aromatics, mild cathartics, and antacids. The remedy 
which we have found most effectual in the permanent cure of a disposition to 
the accumulation of flatus in the bowels, is an infusion made with half an 
ounce of columbo, half an ounce of ginger, a drachm of senna, and a pint of 
boiling water, and given in the dose of a wineglassful three times a day. Co- 
lumbo is much used by the natives of Mozambique in dysentery and other dis- 
eases. (Berry.) It was first introduced to the notice of the profession in Europe PART I. 
Calumha.—Camphora. 
201 
by Francis Redi, in the year 1685. It is most commonly prescribed in the 
state of infusion. (See Infusum Calumboe.) The dose of the powder is from 
ten to thirty grains, and may be repeated three or four times a day. It is fre- 
quently combined with powdered ginger, subcarbonate of iron, and rhubarb. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Calumbae, Br.; Infusum Calumbae; Mistura Eerri 
Aromatica, Br.; Tinctura Calumbae. W. 
CAMPHORA. US.,Br. 
Camphor. 
A peculiar concrete substance derived from Camphora officinarum, and 
purified by sublimation. U. S. A concrete volatile oil, obtained from the 
wood of Camphora officinarum; imported in the crude state from China and 
Japan, and purified by sublimation. Br. 
Campfire, Fr.; Kampher, Germ.; Canfora, Ital.; Alcanfor, Span. 
The name of camphor has been applied to various concrete, white, odorous, 
volatile products, found in different aromatic plants, and resulting probably from 
chemical change in their volatile oil, But commercial camphor is derived ex- 
clusively from two plants, the Camphora officinarum of JSTees or Laurus Cam- 
phora of Linnaeus, and the Dryobalanops Camphora ; the former of which yields 
our officinal camphor, the latter a product much valued in the East, but unknown 
in the commerce of this country and of Europe. A considerable quantity of cam- 
phor, said to be identical with the officinal, was a few years since obtained upon 
the Tenasserim Coast, in further India, by subliming the tops of an annual plant, 
abundant in that region, and thought to be a species of Blumia. This pro- 
duct, however, has not been introduced into general commerce. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xvi. 56.) The Rev. Mr. Mason, an American missionary in Burmah, 
states, in a letter to Mr. Yaux, of Philadelphia, that the Chinese settlers in- 
formed him that the same plant abounds in China, and that camphor is pro- 
cured from it there. (Proceed. of the Acad of Nat. Sci. of Phil., May 13th, 
1851, p. 201.) The following observations apply to the officinal camphor. 
Camphora. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers hermaphrodite, panicled, naked. Calyx six-cleft, papery, 
with a deciduous limb. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows; the inner with two- 
stalked, compressed glands at the base; anthers four-celled; the outer turned 
inwards, the inner outwards. Three sterile stamens shaped like the first, placed 
in a whorl alternating with the stamens of the second row; three others stalked, 
with an ovate glandular head. Fruit, placed on the obconical base of the calyx. 
Leaves triple-nerved, glandular in the axils of the principal veins. Leaf buds 
scaly. (Lindley, Flora Medica, 332.) 
Among the species composing the genus Laurus of Linn., such striking dif- 
ferences have been observed in the structure of the flower and fruit, that bota- 
nists have been induced to arrange them in new genera. The camphor, cinna- 
mon, and sassafras trees have been separated from the proper laurels by Nees, 
and made the types of distinct genera, which have been adopted by most recent 
writers, and may be considered as well established. 
Camphora officinarum. Nees, Laurin. 88; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 29, 
pi. Ixxiv. — Laurus Camphora. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 478; Woodv. Med. Bot. 
p. 681, t. 236. The camphor-tree is an evergreen of considerable size, having the 
aspect of the linden, with a trunk straight below, but divided above into many 
branches, which are covered with a smooth, greenish bark. Its leaves, which 
stand alternately upon long footstalks, are ovate-lanceolate, entire, smooth and 
shining, ribbed, of a bright yellowish-green colour on their upper surface, paler 
on the under, and two or three inches in length. The flowers are small, white, 
pediceled, and collected in clusters, which are supported by long axillary pe- 
duncles. The fruit is a red berry resembling that of the cinnamon. The tree 
is a native of China, Japan, and other parts of eastern Asia. It has been in- 202 
Camphora. 
PART I. 
troduced into the botanical gardens of Europe, and is occasionally met with 
in our own conservatories.* 
The leaves have when bruised the odour of camphor, which is diffused 
through all parts of the plant, and is obtained from the root, trunk, and branches 
by sublimation. The process is not precisely the same in all places. The fol- 
lowing is said to be the one pursued in Japan. The parts mentioned, particu- 
larly the roots and smaller branches, are cut into chips, which are placed with 
a little water in large iron vessels, surmounted by earthen capitals, furnished 
with a lining of rice-straw. A moderate heat is then applied, and the camphor, 
volatilized by the steam, rises into the capital, where it is condensed upon the 
straw. In China, the comminuted plant is said to be first boiled with water 
until the camphor adheres to the stick used in stirring, when the strained liquor 
is allowed to cool; and the camphor which concretes, being alternated with 
layers of earth, is submitted to sublimation. In the Island of Formosa, where 
the camphor-tree abounds, the chips are heated in an iron pot, surmounted by 
another, and the product of the sublimation is introduced into large vats, with 
holes in the bottom, through which an oil escapes called camphor-oil, much 
used by the Chinese for medical purposes, and samples of which have been 
sent to Europe. The camphor, thus drained, is packed in bags and exported. 
(Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1863, p. 280.) 
Commercial History. Camphor, in the crude state, is brought to this coun- 
try chiefly from Canton. It comes also from Batavia, Singapore, Calcutta, and 
frequently from London. All of it is probably derived originally from China 
and Japan. Two commercial varieties are found in the market. The cheapest 
and most abundant is the Chinese camphor, most of which is produced in the 
Island of Formosa, and thence taken to Canton. It comes in chests lined with 
lead, each containing about 130 pounds. It is in small grains or granular masses, 
of a dirty-white colour, and frequently mixed with impurities. It has occurred 
in commerce adulterated with muriate of ammonia The other variety is va- 
riously called Japan, Dutch, or tub camphor, the first name being derived from 
the place of its origin, the second from the people through whom it was intro- 
duced into commerce, and the third from the recipient in which it is often con- 
tained. It has usually come from Batavia, to which port it was taken from Ja- 
pan. Like the former variety, it is in grains or granular masses; but the grains 
are larger and of a pinkish colour, and there are fewer impurities, so that it 
yields a larger product when refined. • 
Crude camphor, as brought from the East, is never found in the shop of the 
apothecary. It must be refined before it can be used for medicinal purposes. 
The process for refining camphor was first practised in Europe by the Vene- 
tians, who probably derived it from the Chinese. It was afterwards transfer- 
red to the Dutch, who long enjoyed a monopoly of this business; and it is only 
within afewyears that the process has been generally known. It is now practised 
largely in this country, and the camphor refined in our domestic establishments 
is equal to any formerly imported. Crude camphor is mixed with about one- 
fiftieth of quicklime, and exposed, in an iron vessel placed in a sand-bath, to a 
gradually increasing heat, by which it is melted, and ultimately converted into 
vapour, which condenses in a suitable recipient.f Refined in this manner, it is 
usually in the form of large circular cakes, one or two inches thick, slightly 
convex on one side and concave on the other, and perforated in the centre. 
Properties. Camphor has a peculiar, strong, penetrating, fragrant odour; and 
* The camphor-tree sometimes attains a great age and an enormous size. A tree seen 
by Kampfer, in Japan, in 1691, with a trunk 36 feet in circumference, was in the year 
1816 described by Siebold as having a circumference of 50 feet. (Japan as it was and is, 
by E. Hildreth. Boston, 1855, p. 337.) The author has seen a large tree growing in the 
open air at Naples, and has no doubt that it might be readily, and perhaps profitably cul- 
tivated in the southern parts of our own country, and especially in California. 
f We are informed that the process is conducted in the following manner in ihe labo- 
ratories of Philadelphia. The vessels in which the camphor is put are of cast-iron, cir- 
cular, from 12 to 15 inches or more in diameter, and 4 inches deep, with perpendicular PART I. 
Camphora. 
203 
a bitter, pungent taste, with a slight sense of coolness. It is beautilally white 
and pellucid, somewhat unctuous to the touch, brittle, and yet possessed of a 
tenacity which renders its reduction to a fine powder very difficult, unless its co- 
hesion be overcome by the addition of a minute proportion of alcohol, or other 
volatile liquid for which it has an affinity. It may be obtained in powder also 
by precipitating the tincture with water, or by grating and afterwards sifting it. 
The fracture of camphor is shining, and its texture crystalline. Its sp. gr. varies 
from 0-9857 to 0'996. When thrown in small fragments upon water, it assumes 
singular circulatory movements, which cease upon the addition of a drop of oil; 
and this property has been applied to the detection of grease in liquids, a very 
small proportion of which is sufficient to prevent the movements. Its volatility 
is so great that, even at ordinary temperatures, it is wholly dissipated if left 
exposed to the air. When it is confined in bottles, the vapour condenses on the 
inner surface, and, in large bottles partially filled, sometimes forms, after long 
standing, large and beautiful crystals. It melts at 288° F., boils at 400°, 
and, in close vessels, sublimes unchanged. When allowed to concrete slowly 
from the state of vapour, it assumes the form of hexagonal plates. It is not 
altered by air and light. It readily takes fire, burning with a brilliant flame, with 
much smoke, and without residue. Water triturated with camphor dissolves, 
according to Berzelius, not more than 1000th part; which, however, is suf- 
ficient to impart a decided odour and taste to the solvent. By the intervention 
of sugar or magnesia, a much larger proportion is dissolved. (See Aqua Cam- 
pliorse.) Carbonic acid increases the solvent power of water, as also does the 
spirit of nitrous ether. Ordinary alcohol will take up 75 per cent of its weight 
of camphor, which is precipitated upon the addition of water. Berzelius states 
that 100 parts of alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0-806, dissolve 120 parts at 50° F It 
is soluble without change in ether, the volatile and fixed oils, strong acetic acid, 
and diluted mineral acids, and is extremely soluble in chloroform. By strong 
sulphuric and nitric acids it is decomposed; the former carbonizing and convert- 
ing it into artificial tannin, the latter, with the aid of repeated distillation, into 
camphoric acid. Alkalies produce very little effect upon it. Resins unite with 
it, forming a soft tenacious mass, in which the odour of the camphor is some- 
times almost extinguished, and frequently diminished ; and a similar softening 
effect results when it is triturated with the concrete oils.* Exposed to a strong 
heat, in close vessels, camphor is resolved into a volatile oil and charcoal. It is 
closely analogous in character to the essential oils; and is thought to consist of 
a radical called camphene united with oxygen. Camphene, which is represented 
sides, and a ledge at top on which the cover rests. This consists of sheet iron, with a 
hole through the centre about an inch in diameter, over which a small hollow cone of 
sheet-iron is placed loosely. The crude camphor mixed with the lime, the object of which 
is said to be to combine with the moisture present, which interferes with the due solidi- 
fication of the camphor vapour, is placed in the iron vessels described, of which from 
20 to 50 are arranged in a long sand-bath. Heat is then applied until the camphor melts, 
after which it is kept as nearly uniform as possible, so that the vaporization may take 
place regularly, without violent ebullition. The vapour condenses on the lower surface 
of the lid; and care is taken, by the occasional removal of the iron cone, and clearing ol 
the opening by means of a knife, to allow the escape of any accidental excess of the 
vapour. They who desire to see minute details as to the mode of refining camphor prac- 
tised in France, are referred to an article, by M. Emile Perret, pharmacian at Moret, in 
the Journ.de Pharm. et de Chimie (Fev. 1868, p. 124).—Note to the ninth and thirteenth 
editions. 
* As this property of camphor may have a bearing, injuriously or otherwise, on phar- 
maceutical processes, it is desirable that the operator, as well as prescriber, should be aware 
of the degree of effect produced by different resinous substances which may he mixed 
with it. M. Planche has found that mixtures, formed by triturating powdered camphor 
with powdered dragon's blood, guaiac, assafetida, and galbanum, assume, and preserve in- 
definitely the pilular consistence; with benzoin, tolu, ammoniac, and mastic, though at 
first of a pilular consistence, afterwards become soft by exposure to the air; with saga- 
penum and anime, assume a permanently semi-liquid form; with olibanum, opopanax, gam- 
boge, euphorbium, bdellium, myrrh, and amber, remain pulverulent though somewhat gru- 
mous; and with tacamahac, resin of jalap, sandarac,and. resinoid matter of cinchona, preserve 
the form of powder indefinitely. The same experimenter observed that camphor loses its 204 
Camphora. 
PART I. 
by pure oil of turpentine, is composed of twenty eqs. of carbon and sixteen of 
hydrogen (C>:H16). With two eqs. of oxygen it forms camphor, with eight eqs 
of the same element, hydrated camphoric acid, and with one eq. of hydrochloric 
acid, artificial camphor.* Camphor, dehydrated by means of chloride of zinc) 
odour entirely, when mixed with assafetida, galbanum, sagapenum, anime, and tolu; retains 
a feeble odour with dragon's blood, olibanum, mastic, benzoin, opopanax, tacamahac, guaiac, 
and ammoniac; while with the other resinous substances above mentioned, it either has its 
odour increased, or retains it without material change. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 226.) 
In mixing camphor with other substances in the form of powder, it is best first to pul- 
verize the camphor with the aid of a little alcohol, then to pulverize the other substances 
together, and lastly to mix the two powders gently; much rubbing with the pestle having 
the effect of consolidating the granules of the camphor. [Procter.) 
* Sumatra Camphor. Borneo Camphor. Dryobalanops Camphor. Camphol. It has long been 
known that a variety of camphor is produced in the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, by 
a forest tree, which remained until a recent period undetermined. It was at length, how- 
ever, described by Colebrook, and is now recognised in systematic works as Dryobalanops 
Camphor a, or D. aromatica. It is a very large tree, often exceeding one hundred feet in 
height, with a trunk six or seven feet in diameter, and ranking among the tallest and 
largest trees in India.* It is found in Sumatra and Borneo, and is abundant on the N. W. 
coast of the former island. The camphor exists in concrete masses, which occupy longi- 
tudinal cavities or fissures in the heart of the tree, from a foot to a foot and a half long, 
at certain distances apart. The younger trees are generally less productive than the old. 
The only method of ascertaining whether a tree contains camphor is by incision. A party 
proceeds through the forest, wounding the trees, till they find one which will answer their 
purpose; and hundreds may be examined before this object is attained. When discovered, 
the tree is felled and cut into logs, which are then split, and the camphor removed by 
means of sharp-pointed instruments. It is stated that the masses are sometimes as thick 
as a man’s arm; and that the product of a middling-sized tree is nearly eleven pounds; 
of a large one, double that quantity. The trees which have been wounded, and left stand- 
ing often produce camphor seven or eight years afterwards. Mrs. Ida Pfeiffer states, in 
her Second Journey round the World (Am. ed. p. 183), that the camphor is also found in a 
concrete state under the bark, and is swept down with long brooms. The Dryobalanops 
yields also a fragrant straw-coloured liquid, called in the East Indies oil of camphor, and 
highly valued as an external application in rheumatism and other painful affections. It 
is said to be found in trees too young to produce camphor, and is supposed to constitute 
the first stage in the development of this substance; as it occupies the cavities in the 
trunk which are afterwards filled with the camphor. It has been stated to hold a large 
portion of this principle in solution, and to yield an inferior variety by artificial concre- 
tion ; but this was not true of a specimen in the possession of Dr. Christison. A specimen 
examined by Professor Procter deposited a small quantity of the camphor at a tempera- 
ture near the zero of Fahrenheit. By the action of nitric acid, it may be combined with 
oxygen, and converted into camphor of the same character as that deposited by refrigera- 
tion. The whole tree is pervaded more or less by the camphor or the oil. The wood re- 
tains a fragrant smell, and, being on this account less liable to the attacks of insects, is 
highly esteemed for carpenter’s work. The camphor wood-chests, occasionally brought to 
this country from the East Indies, are probably made out of the wood of the Dryobalanops. 
It has been supposed that this variety of camphor is occasionally brought into the mar- 
kets of Europe and America. But this is a mistake; as the whole produce of the islands 
is engrossed by the Chinese, by whom it is so highly valued that it commands at Canton, 
according to Mr. Crawford, seventy-eight times, according to Mr. lteeves, one hundred 
times the price of ordinary camphor. A specimen in our possession, which was sent to 
this country from Canton as a curiosity, and kindly presented to us by Dr. Joseph Carson, 
is in tabular plates of the size of a finger nail or smaller, of a foliaceous crystalline tex- 
ture, white, somewhat translucent, of an odour analogous to that of common camphor, 
and yet decidedly distinct, and less agreeable. It has also a camphorous taste. It is more 
compact and brittle than ordinary camphor; and, though the pieces will often float fora 
time when thrown on water, yet they sink when thoroughly moistened, and deprived of 
adhering air. According to Dr. Christison, its sp. gr. is 1009. It is easily pulverized with- 
out the addition of alcohol. It is, moreover, much less disposed to rise in vapour, and to 
condense on the inside of the bottle containing it. Like ordinary camphor, it is fusibib, 
volatilizable, very slightly soluble in water, and freely soluble in alcohol and in ether 
Dr. Gregory considers it as the bihydrate of campherie (C20H18O2). 
* For a particular description of this tree, see a paper by Dr W. H. De Vriese, of Leyden, in the American 
Journal of Pharm. (xxiv. 329), taken from Hooker’s Journal of Botany. In this paper it is stated, on the au- 
thority ot' Dr. Junghuhn, who witnessed the process of collection, that the camphor is deposited in very small 
quantities 11. minute fissures between the fibres, from which it is scraped off by small splinters of wood, or by the 
nail: and the thickest and oldest trees seldom yield more than two ounces. This account as to the productiveness 
of the tree differs greatly from that of Colebrook. as stated in the note above. (Note to the tenth edition J PART I. 
Camphora. 
205 
is said to yield a hydrocarbon C20H14, at first considered identical with the 
cynxene obtained from the oil of chamomile, but determined by Fittig and 
Ferber to be not identical though isomeric with that principle. (Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser.,iii. 157.) 
Genuine camphor is said to be sometimes adulterated with the artificial, which 
may be detected by the action of ammonia upon its alcoholic solution, causing 
a flocculent precipitate, which does not redissolve, and the quantity of which 
is proportionate to that of the artificial product in any mixture of the two. (Am. 
Journ. of Plxarm., xxxiv. 189.) As a means of distinguishing natural from the 
artificial camphor resulting from the reaction between oil of turpentine and 
muriatic acid, Mr. J. W. Bailey recommends that a drop of alcohol, holding a 
little of the camphor to be tested in solution, be allowed to evaporate on the 
slide of a miscroscope. The crystals then formed produce with polarized 
light beautiful colours, when of natural camphor, but not when of the artificial. 
(Neues Pepertorium, xvi. 763, A.D. 1867.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Camphor does not seem to have been known 
to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Europe probably derived it from the Ara- 
bians, by whom it was employed as a refrigerant. Much difference of opinion 
has prevailed as to its mode of action ; some maintaining its immediate sedative 
influence, others considering it as a direct and decided stimulant. Its operation 
appears to be primarily and chiefly directed to the cerebral and nervous sys- 
tems; and the circulation, though usually affected to a greater or less extent, is 
probably involved, for the most part, through the brain. It acts, also, to a cer- 
tain extent, as a direct irritant of the mucous membranes with which it is 
brought into contact, and may thus in some measure secondarily excite the pulse. 
The effects of the medicine vary with the quantity administered. In moderate 
doses it produces, in health, mental exhilaration, increased heat of skin, and oc- 
casional diaphoresis. The pulse is usually increased in fulness, but little, if at 
all, in force or frequency. Acccording to the experiments of certain Italian 
physicians, it has a tendency to the urinary and genital organs, produemg a 
burning sensation along the urethra, and exciting voluptuous dreams (N. Am. 
Med. and Surg. Journ., ix 442); and these experiments have been confirmed 
by the observations of Dr. Reynolds in a case of poisoning by camphor (Brit. 
Am. Journ. of Med., Jane, 1846). Cullen, however, states that he has employed 
it fifty times, even in large doses, without having ever observed any effect upon 
the urinary passages. By many it is believed to calm irritation of the urinary 
and genital apparatus, and to possess antaphrodisiac properties. In its primary 
operation, it allays nervous disorder, quiets restlessness, and produces a genera] 
placidity of feeling, and is thus highly useful in certain forms of disease attended 
with derangement of the nervous functions. In larger doses, it displays a more 
decided action on the brain, producing more or less giddiness and mental con- 
fusion, with a disposition to sleep; and, in morbid states of the system, relieving 
pain and allaying spasmodic action. In immoderate doses it occasions nausea, 
vomiting, anxiety, faintness, vertigo, delirium, insensibility, coma, and convul- 
sions, which may end in death. The pulse, under these circumstances, is at first 
reduced in frequency and force (Alexander, Experimental Essays, p. 227); but, 
as the action advances, it sometimes happens that symptoms of strong sangui- 
neous determination to the head become evident in the flushed countenance, 
inflamed and fiery eyes, and highly excited pulse. (Quarin.) In three cases of 
poisoning by camphor, reported by Schaaf, of Strasburg, the symptoms pro- 
duced were violent and incessant convulsions, paleness and coolness of the sur- 
face, vomiting and frequent micturition, and finally stupor or coma. The patients 
were children, and the youngest, a girl of about eighteen months, died from the 
effects of the poison, of which she took about ten grains. (Monthly Journ. of 
Med. Sci., Oct. 1850, p. 377.) There can be no doubt that camphor is absorbed; 
as its odour is observed in the breath and perspiration, and according to Dr. 
Reynolds, in the urine also, though the contrary has been asserted. 
By its moderately stimulating powers, its diaphoretic tendency, and its influ- 206 
Camphora. 
PART I. 
ence over the nervous system, camphor is admirably adapted to the treatment 
of diseases of a typhoid character, which combine, with the enfeebled condition 
of the system, a frequent irritated pulse, a dry skin, and much nervous derange- 
ment, indicated by restlessness, watchfulness, tremors, subsuit us, and low mut- 
tering delirium. With a view to its anodyne and narcotic influence, it is also 
used in diseases of an inflammatory character; as in our ordinary remittents, 
and the phlegmasiae, particularly rheumatism, when the increased vascular ac- 
tion is complicated with derangement of the nervous system. In such cases, 
however, it should not be given until after proper depletion, and even then 
should be combined with such medicines as may obviate the slight stimulation 
it produces, and increase its tendency to the skin; as, for instance, tartarized 
antimony, ipecacuanha, or nitre. In a great number of spasmodic and nervous 
disorders, and complaints of irritation, camphor has been extensively employed. 
The cases of this nature to which experience has proved it to be best adapted, 
are dysmenorrhoea, puerperal convulsions and other nervous affections of the 
puerperal state, and certain forms of mania, particularly nymphomania, and 
that arising from the abuse of spirituous liquors. In some of these cases, ad 
vantage may be derived from combining it with opium. Camphor has also been 
employed internally to allay the strangury produced by cantharides. 
It is much used locally as an anodyne, dissolved in alcohol, oil, or acetic acid, 
and frequently combined with laudanum.* In rheumatic and gouty affections, 
and various internal spasmodic and inflammatory complaints, it often yields re- 
lief in this way. The ardor urinae of gonorrhoea may be alleviated by injecting 
an oleaginous solution of camphor into the urethra; and the tenesmus from as- 
carides and dysentery, by administering the same solution in the form of enema. 
Twenty or thirty grains of camphor, added to a poultice, and applied to the 
perineum, allay the chordee which is a painful attendant upon gonorrhoea. Its 
vapour has been inhaled into the lungs with benefit in asthma and spasmodic 
cough; and a lump of it held to the nose is said to relieve coryza. It has been 
employed for the same purpose, and for nervous headache, in the form of powder 
snuffed up the nostrils. It enters into the composition of certain tooth-powders; 
but is asserted, when employed in this wa}r, to injure the enamel of the teeth. 
Camphor maybe given in substance, in the form of bolus or pill, or diffused 
in water by trituration with various substances. The form of pill is objectiona- 
ble ; as in this state the camphor is with difficulty dissolved in the gastric liquor, 
and, floating on the top, is apt to excite nausea, or pain and uneasiness at the 
upper orifice of the stomach. Orfila states that, when given in the solid form, 
it is capable of producing ulceration in the gastric mucous membrane.f The 
emulsion is almost always preferred. This is made by rubbing up the camphor 
with loaf sugar, gum arabic, and water; and the suspension will be rendered 
more complete and permanent by the addition of a little myrrh. Milk is some- 
times used as a vehicle, but is objectionable, from its liability to become speedily 
sour. The aqueous solution is often employed where only a slight impression 
is desired. For this purpose, the Aqua Camphor se of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
is preferable to the solution made by simply pouring boiling water upon a lump 
of camphor, which is sometimes prescribed under the name of camphor tea. 
When chloroform is not inadmissible, an elegant preparation may be made by 
dissolving camphor in that liquid, in the proportion of two drachms of the 
* An ointment of camphor may bo made by heating three parts, in powder, by means 
of a water-bath, with twelve parts of prepared lard, and stirring the solution thoroughly 
when it begins to thicken on cooling. (Pharm. Journ., July, 1860, p. 41.) M. Parisel re- 
commends, as affording a better product, that the powdered camphor and the lard should 
be mixed, at ordinary temperatures, in a thin well-glazed earthen vessel, and allowed to 
stand for twelve hours, with occasional agitation. The solution of the camphor is effected 
without apparent liquefaction, each molecule being dissolved in the sumranding mole- 
cules of the lard. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1860, p. 362.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f There is some difficulty in making a good pilular mass with powdered camphor. Mr. 
W. H. Githens states that this difficulty may be obviated by using soap and honey as ex- 
cipients. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 206.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART r. 
Camphora.— Canella. 
207 
former to a fluidrachm of the latter, and then mixing the solution with water 
by the intervention of the yolk of an egg. 
The medium dose of camphor is from five to ten grains ; but, to meet va- 
rious indications, it may be diminished to a single grain, or increased to a 
scruple. The injurious effects of an overdose are said to be best counteracted, 
after clearing out the stomach, by the use of opium. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Camphor®; Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Linimcn 
turn Aconiti, Br.; Linimentum Belladonme, Br.; Linimentum Camphor®; Lini> 
mentum Camphor® Comp., Br.; Linimentum Iodi, Br ; Linimentum Saponis; 
Linimentum Sinapis Comp., Br.; Linimentum Terebinthin®, Br.; Mistura 
Chloroformi, U.S.; Spiritus Camphor®; Tinctura Camphor® Composita, Br.; 
Tinct. Opii Camphorata, U. S.; Unguentum Hydrargyri Comp., Br.; Un- 
guentum Plumbi Subacetatis Comp., Br. W. 
CANELLA. US. 
Canella. 
The bark of Canella alba. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CANELLuE ALBA3 CORTEX. Canella Alba Bark. The bark 
of Canella alba. Br. 
Canelle blanche, Fr.; Weisser Zimmt, Canell, Germ.; Canella bianca, Ital.; Canela 
blanca, Span. 
Canella. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Meliacese. Be 
Cand. Candle®. Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-lobed. Petals five. Anthers sixteen, adhering to an ur- 
ceolate nectary. Berry one-celled with two or four seeds. Willd. 
Canella alba Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 851; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 694, t. 231; Car- 
son, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 24, pi. 16. This is the only species of the genus. It is 
an erect tree, rising sometimes to the height of fifty feet, branching only at the 
top, and covered with a whitish bark, by which it is easily distinguished from 
other trees in the woods where it grows. The leaves are alternate, petiolate, 
oblong, obtuse, entire, of a dark-green colour, thick and shining like those of 
the laurel, and of a similar odour. The flowers are small, of a violet-colour, 
and grow in clusters upon divided footstalks, at the extremities of the branches. 
The fruit is an oblong berry, containing one, two, or three black shining seeds. 
Canella alba is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands. The bark 
of the branches, which is the part employed in medicine, having been removed 
by an iron instrument, is deprived of its epidermis, and dried in the shade. It 
comes to us in pieces partially or completely quilled, occasionally somewhat 
twisted, of various sizes, from a few inches to two feet in length, from half a 
line to two or even three lines in thickness, and, in the quill, from half an inch 
to an inch and a half in diameter. 
Properties. Canella is of a pale orange-yellowr colour externally, yellowish- 
white on the inner surface, with an aromatic odour somewhat resembling that 
of cloves, and a warm, bitterish, very pungent taste. It is brittle, breaking with 
a short fracture, and yielding, when pulverized, a yellowish-white powder. Boil- 
ing water extracts nearly one-fourth of its weight; but the infusion, though 
bitter, has comparatively little of the warmth and pungency of the bark. It 
yields all its virtues to alcohol, forming a bright-yellow tincture, which is ren- 
dered milky by the addition of water. By distillation with water it affords a 
large proportion of a yellow or reddish, fragrant, and very acrid volatile oil. 
It contains, moreover, according to the analysis of MM. Petroz and Robinet, 
mannite, a peculiar very bitter extractive, resin, gum, starch, albumen, and va- 
rious saline substances. Meyers and Reiche obtained twelve drachms of the 
volatile oil from ten pounds of the bark. They found it to consist of two dis- 
tinct oils, one lighter and the other heavier than water. According to the same 
chemists, the bark contains 8 per cent, of mannite, and yields 6 per cent, of 
ashes. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 15.) Canella has been sometimes con- 208 
Canna.— Cannabis Indica. 
PART 1. 
founded with Winter’s bark, from which, however, it differs both in sensible 
properties and composition. (See Wintera.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canella is possessed of the ordinary properties 
of the aromatics, acting as a local stimulant and gentle tonic, and producing 
upon the stomach a warming cordial effect, which renders it useful as an addi- 
tion to tonic or purgative medicines, in debilitated states of the digestive or- 
gans. It is scarcely ever prescribed except in combination. In the West Indies 
it is employed by the negroes as a condiment, and has some reputation as an 
antiscorbutic. 
Off. Prep. Tulvis Aloes et Canellae, U. S.; Yinum Rhei. W. 
CANNA. U.S. 
Canna. 
The fecula from the rhizoma of an undetermined species of Canna. U. S. 
Canna. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.— Nat.Ord. Marantaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla unequal, scarcely lip-shaped in any segment. Stamens peta. 
loid, one with half an anther on the edge. Style straight, flat, nearly free. 
Ovary three-celled, many-seeded, granular. Fruit membranous, three-valved, 
with a deciduous granular surface. Lindley. 
It is yet somewhat uncertain from what species of Canna the fecula com- 
monly known by the French name tous les mois, and officinally designated 
canna, is derived, though it is generally believed to be C. edulis. The tubers of 
Canna Achiras (Gillies), growing in Central and South America, are said to 
be used as food in Peru and Chili (Lindley, Med. and Econom. Bot. p. 50); and 
a root or rhizoma, closely resembling turmeric, and used by the native Africans 
at Sierra Leone for dyeing yellow, was found by Dr. Wm. F. Daniell to be the 
product of a species of Canna, believed to be the C.speciosa of Roscoe. (Pharm 
Journ., Nov. 1859, p. 258.) 
Canna edulis. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 569, figured in FI. Med. and Econ. of 
the same author, p. 49. This is a tuberous plant, with erect, smooth, purplish 
stems, from four to six feet high, and invested with sheathing leaves, which are 
ovate-oblong, tapering towards each end, smooth, and of a deep glaucous green, 
with purplish edges. The flowers are few, and in compact racemes, of a red and 
yellow colour. The plant is a native of the West Indies, and is cultivated in the 
islands of St. Kitts, Trinidad, and perhaps others. The tubers, which are said to 
be three times larger than the fist, are first rasped, by means of a machine, into 
a pulp, from which the starch is extracted in the usual manner, by washing and 
straining, and, after the washings have been allowed to stand, so as to deposit 
the fecula, decanting the clear liquid. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
Properties. Canna starch is in the form of a light, beautifully wrhite powder, 
of a shining appearance, very unlike the ordinary forms of fecula. Its granules 
are said to be larger than those of any other variety of starch in use, being 
from the 300th to the 200th of an inch in length. Under the microscope they 
appear ovate or oblong, with numerous regular unequally distant rings; and 
the circular hylum, which is sometimes double, is usually situated at the smaller 
extremity. {Pereira.) Thisfecula has the ordinary chemical properties of starch, 
and forms, when prepared with boiling water, a nutritious and wholesome food 
for infants and invalids. It may be prepared in the same manner as arrow-root, 
and is said to form even a stitfer jelly with boiling water. (See Maranta.) W. 
CANNABIS INDICA. Br. 
Indian Hemp. 
The dried flowering tops of the female plants of Cannabis sativa. That which 
is grown in India, and from which the resin has not been removed, is alone to 
be employed. Br. 
See EXTRACTUM CANNABIS. PART I. 
Cantharis. 
209 
CANTHARIS. U.S., Br. 
Cantharides. Spanish Flies. 
Oantharis vesicatoria. U. S., Br. 
Cantharide, Fr.; Spanische Fliege, Kantharide, Germ.; Cantarelie, Hal.; Canthari* 
das, Span. 
The term Oantharis was employed by the ancient Greek writers to desig- 
nate many coleopterous insects, or beetles. Linnaeus gave the title to a genus 
not including the officinal blistering insect, and placed this in the genus Meloe, 
which, however, has been since divided into several genera Geoffroy made the 
Spanish fly (beetle) the prototype of a new one called Cantharis, substituting 
Cicindela as the title of the Linnaean genus. Fabricius altered the arrangement 
of Geoffroy, and substituted Lytia for Oantharis as the generic name. The 
former was adopted by the London College, and at one time was in extensive 
use; but the latter, having been restored by Latreille, is now recognised in the 
British and American Pharmacopoeias, and is universally employed. By this 
naturalist the vesicating insects were grouped in a small tribe, corresponding 
very nearly with the Linnaean genus Meloe, and distinguished by the title Can- 
tlmridese. This tribe he divided into eleven genera, among which is Oantharis. 
Two others of these genera, Meloe properly so called, and Mylabris, have been 
employed as vesicatories. Mylabris cichorii is thought to be one of the insects 
described by Pliny and Dioscorides under the name of cantharides, and is to 
this day employed in Italy, Greece, the Levant, and Egypt; and another spe- 
cies, M. pustulata, is used for the same purpose in China Mr. W. R Warner 
has found 500 parts of M. cichorii to yield 213 parts of cantharidin, which 
somewhat exceeded the yield of Spanish flies. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 
195.) Meloe proscarab sens and M. majalis have been occasionally substituted 
for cantharides in Europe, and M. trianthemse is used in the upper provinces 
of Hindostan. Several species of Cantharis, closely analogous in medical proper- 
ties, are found in various parts of the world; but G. vesicatoria is the only one 
recognised as officinal in the United States,Great Britain, and France. A second 
species, C. vittata, was introduced into our national Pharmacopoeia, but has been 
discarded, upon insufficient grounds, we think, in the present edition. Of this, 
and some other indigenous species, notice will be taken at the end of this arti- 
cle. At present we shall confine our observations to C. vesicatoria. 
Cantharis. Class Insecta. Order Coleoptera. Linn.—Family Trachelides. 
Tribe Cantharideae. Latreille. 
Gen. Gh. Tarsi entire ; nails bifid ; head not produced into a rostrum ; ely- 
tra flexible, covering the whole abdomen, linear semicylindric; wings perfect; 
maxillae with two membranous laciniae, the external one acute within, subunci- 
nate ; antennae longer than the head and thorax, rectilinear ; first joint largest, 
the second transverse, very short; maxillary palpi larger at tip. Say. 
Cantharis vesicatoria. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect., ii. p. 220. This beetle 
is from six to ten lines in length, by two or three in breadth, and of a beauti- 
ful, shining, golden-green colour. The head is large and heart-shaped, bearing 
two thread-like, black, jointed feelers ; the thorax short and quadrilateral; the 
wing-sheaths long and flexible, covering brownish membranous wings. When 
alive, the Spanish flies have a strong, penetrating, fetid odour, compared to that 
of mice, by which swarms of them maybe detected at a considerable distance. 
They attach themselves preferably to certain trees and shrubs, such as the white 
poplar, privet, ash, elder, and lilac, upon the leaves of which they feed. They 
abound most in Spain, Italy, and the south of France; but are found also in all 
the temperate parts of Europe, and in the west of Asia. In the state of larva, 
they live in the ground and gnaw the roots of plants. They usually make their 
appearance in swarms upon the trees in May and June, when they are collected. 
The time preferred for the purpose is in the morning at sunrise, when they are 
torpid from the cold of the night, and easily let go their hold. Persons with their 210 
Cantharis. 
PART I. 
faces protected by masks, and their hands with gloves, shake the trees, or beat 
them with poles; and the insects are received as they fall upon linen cloths spread 
underneath. They are then plunged into vinegar diluted with water, or exposed 
in sieves to the vapour of boiling vinegar, and, having been thus deprived of life, 
are dried either in the sun, or in apartments heated by stoves. This mode of kill- 
ing the flies by the steam of vinegar is as ancient as the times of Dioscorides and 
Pliny. In some places they are gathered by smoking the trees with burning 
brimstone. It has been proposed by M. Lutrand to destroy them by the vapour 
of chloroform. When perfectly dry, they are introduced into casks or boxes, 
lined with paper and carefully closed, so as to exclude as much as possible the 
atmospheric moisture. 
Cantharides come chiefly from Spain, Italy, Sicily, and other parts of the 
Mediterranean. Considerable quantities are also brought from St Petersburg, 
derived originally, in all probability, from the southern provinces of Russia, 
where the insect is very abundant. The Russian flies are more esteemed than 
those from other sources. They maybe distinguished by their greater size, and 
their colour approaching to that of copper. 
Properties. Dried Spanish flies preserve the form and colour, and, to a cer- 
tain extent, the disagreeable odour of the living insect. They have an acrid, 
burning, and urinous taste. Their powder is of a grayish-brown colour, inter- 
spersed with shining green particles, which are the fragments of the feet, head, 
and wing-cases. If kept perfectly dr}y in well-stopped glass bottles, they retain 
their activity for a great length of time. A portion which had been preserved 
by Van Swieten for thirty years, in a glass vessel, was found still to possess 
vesicating properties. But, exposed to a damp air, they quickly undergo putre- 
faction ; and this change takes place more speedily in the powder. Hence, the 
insects should either be kept whole, and powdered as they are wanted for use, 
or, if kept in powder, should be well dried immediately after pulverization, and 
preserved in air-tight vessels. They should never be purchased in powder, as, 
independently of the consideration just mentioned, they may in this state be 
more easily adulterated. But, however carefully managed, cantharides are apt to 
be attacked by mites, which feed on the interior soft parts of the body, reducing 
them to powder, while the harder exterior parts are not affected. An idea was 
at one time prevalent, that the vesicating property of the insect was not injured 
by the worm, which was supposed to devour only the inactive portion. But this 
has been proved to be a mistake. M. Farines, an apothecary of Perpignan, has 
satisfactorily shown that, though the hard parts left by these mites possess some 
vesicating power, and the powder produced by them still more, yet the sound 
flies are much stronger than either. Camphor, which has been recommended as 
a preservative, does not prevent the destructive agency of the worm.* It is 
stated by M. Farines that, when the flies are destroyed by the vapour of pyro- 
ligneous acid, instead of common vinegar, they acquire an odour which contri- 
butes to their preservation. Cantharides will bear a very considerable heat 
without losing the brilliant colour of their elytra; nor is this colour extracted 
by water, alcohol, ether, or the oils ; so that the powder might be deprived of 
all its active principles, and yet retain the exterior characters unaltered. The 
* It appears from the experiments of M. Nlvet that, though camphor does not preserve 
the entire fly from the attacks of the larvae of the Anthrenus, it actually destroys the mites 
of the Cantharis so often found in the powder, and may, therefore, he introduced with ad- 
vantage, in small lumps,into bottles containing powdered cantharides. (Journ. dc Pharm 
xix. 604.) Carbonate of ammonia has also been recommended as a preservative. Pereira 
has found that a few drops of strong acetic acid, added to the flies, are very effectual. 
Among the best means of preserving them, whether whole or in powder, is the applica- 
tion of the process of Apert, which consists in exposing them, for half an ho’.r, confined 
in glass bottles, to the heat of boiling water, which destroys the eggs of the insect, with- 
out impairing the virtues of the flies. (Ibid., xxii. 246.) Of course the access of water to 
the flies should be carefully avoided. Lutrand recommends chloroform as the best pre- 
servative that he has tried. (Journ. de Pharm., xviii. 214.) We have little doubt that 
exposure, in a confined vessel, to the vapour of carbolic acid, would ue a perfect protec- 
tion against all forms of insect life. PART I. 
Cantharis. 
211 
wing-cases resist putrefaction for a long time, and the shining particles have 
been detected in the human stomach months after interment. 
So early as It78, Thouvenel attempted to analyze cantharides, and the at- 
tempt was repeated by Dr. Beaupoil in 1803; but no very interesting or valu- 
able result was obtained till 1810, when Ilobiquet discovered in them a crys- 
talline substance, which proved to be the vesicating principle of the insect, and 
received the name of cantharidin. The constituents, according to Robiquet, 
are, 1. a green oil, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol, and inert as a vesi- 
catory; 2. a black matter, soluble in water, insoluble in alcohol, and inert; 3. 
a yellow viscid matter, soluble in water and alcohol, and without vesicating 
powers; 4. cantharidin; 5. a fatty matter insoluble in alcohol; 6. phosphates 
of lime and magnesia, acetic acid, and in the fresh insect a small quantity of 
uric acid. Orfila afterwards discovered a volatile principle, upon which the 
fetid odour of the fly depends. It is separable by distillation with water. Prof. 
Dragendorff has found a volatile principle which acts on the system in the same 
manner as cantharidin. When powdered flies are moistened with water and 
distilled, the part which passes over, at or below 212°, contains this principle. 
(Ghent. News, May 31, 1867.) If, however, the statement of Mr. Guv is cor- 
rect, that cantharidin sublimes at 212°, there can, we think, be little doubt 
that the new volatile principle of Dragendorff is cantharidin itself. 
Cantharidin is a white substance, in the form of crystalline scales, of a shin- 
ing micaceous appearance, inodorous, tasteless, insoluble in water, nearly so in 
cold alcohol, but soluble in ether, chloroform, benzole, the oils, and in hot alcohol 
and acetic acid, which deposit it upon cooling.* It is fusible and volatilizablef 
by heat without decomposition, and its vapour condenses in acicular crystals. 
According to MM. Massing and Dragendorff, cantharidin, with the composi- 
tion CinIIfi04, is capable of combining with 2 eqs. of water, and thus becomes 
cantharidic acid C10H8Ofi, and in this state forms definite compounds with bases. 
These may be obtained by heatingcantharidin with an alkaline solution. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chim., Janv. 1868, p. 79.) The most satisfactory test of it 
is its vesicating property. It may be obtained by macerating powdered flies 
in ether for several days ; introducing the mixture into a percolation apparatus; 
adding, after the liquid has ceased to pass, fresh portions of ether, till it comes 
away nearly colourless ; displacing the whole of the menstruum still remaining 
tn the mass by pouring water upon it; distilling the filtered liquor so as to re- 
cover the ether; then allowing the residue to cool; and, finally, purifying the 
cantharidin which is deposited by treating it with boiling alcohol and animal 
charcoal. Alcohol of 34°, or a mixture of alcohol and ether, maybe substituted 
for the ether itself; but the last-mentioned fluid is preferable, as it dissolves 
less of the green oil, the separation of which from the cantharidin is the most 
difficult part of the process. By this plan, M. Thierry obtained, from 1000 parts 
of powdered flies, 4 parts of pure cantharidin. Notwithstanding the insolubility 
of this principle in water and cold alcohol, the decoction and tincture of can- 
tharides have the medicinal properties of the insect; and Lewis ascertained 
that both the aqueous and alcoholic extracts acted as effectually in exciting 
vesication as the flies themselves, while the residue was in each case inert. 
Cantharidin consequently exists in the insect, so combined with the yellow mat- 
* The solubilities of cantharidin have been examined with great care by Professor Proc- 
ter, with the following results. It is insoluble in water. Cold alcohol dissolves it slightl 
hot alcohol freely. It is more soluble in ether, which also dissolves it more freely hot than 
cold. Chloroform, cold or hot, is its best solvent; and acetone ranks next to it in this re- 
spect. Olive oil, at 250° F., dissolves one-twentieth of its weight, and oil of turpentine, boil •• 
ing hot, one-seventieth; and both deposit the greater portion on cooling. The olive oil solu- 
tion after deposition vesicates, the terebinthinate does not. Strong acetic, sulphuric, and 
nitric acids dissolve it, with the aid of heat, and deposit it unchanged on cooling. It is also 
dissolved by solutions of potassa and soda, and to a small extent by strong solution of am- 
monia. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 296.)—Note to ttie tenth edition. 
(- As determined by the experiments of Mr. Vm. A. Guy, the subliming heat of isolated 
cantharidin is 212° F., or the temperature of boiling water. [Pharm. J. and Trans., Feb 
1868, p. 373.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 212 
Cantharis. 
PART I. 
ter as 1o be rendered soluble in water and cold alcohol. It has been found in 
Cantharis vittata, Mylabris cichorii, and dilferent species of Meloe.* M Ferrer 
found cantharidin in all parts of the fly, but somewhat more largely in the soft 
than the hard parts. (Journ. de Pliarm., Oct 1859, p. 219 ) 
Adulterations. These are not common. Occasionally other insects are added, 
pu ’posely, or through carelessness These may be readily distinguished by their 
different shape or colour. Flies exhausted of their cantharidin by ether are said 
to have been substituted for the genuine. An account has been published of 
considerable quantities of variously coloured glass beads having been found in a 
parcel of the drug; but this would be too coarse a fraud to be extensively practised. 
Pereira states that powdered flies are sometimes adulterated with euphorbium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Internally administered, cantharides are a 
powerful stimulant, with a peculiar direction to the urinary and genital organs. 
In moderate doses, this medicine sometimes acts as a diuretic, and generally 
excites some irritation in the urinary passages, which, if its use be persevered 
in, or the dose increased, often amounts to violent strangury, attended with ex- 
cruciating pain, and the discharge of bloody urine. In still larger quantities, it 
produces, in addition to these effects, obstinate and painful priapism, vomiting, 
bloody stools, severe pains in the whole abdominal region, excessive salivation 
Avith a fetief cadaverous breath, hurried respiration, a hard and frequent pul-e, 
burning thirst, exceeding difficulty of deglutition, sometimes a dread of liquids, 
frightful convulsions, tetanus, delirium, and death. Orfila has known twen v- 
four grains of the powder to prove fatal. Dissection reveals inflammation and 
ulceration of the mucous coat of the whole intestinal canal. According to M. 
Poumet, if the intestines be inflated, dried, cut into pieces, and examined in : he 
sun between two pieces of glass, they will exhibit small shining yellow or green 
points, strongly contrasting with the matter around them. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., iii. 167 ) The poisonous effects are to be counteracted by emetics, ca- 
thartics, bleeding, and opiates by the stomach and reCtum. Dr.Mulock,of Dublin, 
recommends the officinal solution of potassa as an antidote, having found thirty 
drops given every hour an effectual remedy in strangury from blisters. (Dub. 
Quart. Journ. of Med. Set., N. S., vi. 222.) From the experiments of Schroff it 
seems that oils somewhat accelerate the poisonous action, probably by dissolv- 
ing the cantharidin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xxviii, 365.) By experiments 
upon dogs, M. Thouery, a French apothecary, has satisfied himself that animal 
charcoal possesses a real antidotal power. (Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1858, p. 65.) 
Notwithstanding their exceeding violence, cantharides have been long and bene- 
ficially used in medicine. Either these or other vesicating insects appear to have 
been given by Hippocrates in dropsy and amenorrhoea, in the latter of which com- 
plaints, when properly prescribed, they are a highly valuable remedy. In dropsy 
* Professor Procter informs us that he has succeeded, by means of chloroform, in isola- 
ting cantharidin with great facility. He treats the flies with chloroform by percolation, 
displacing the last portions by means of alcohol, and allows the resulting solution to evapo- 
rate spontaneously. Cantharidin is thus obtained in crystals mixed with the green oil, the 
greater portion of which may be removed by bibulous paper. The residuary crystals are 
dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol, which, by the spontaneous evaporation of the 
ether, yields the cantharidin nearly pure. (Note to the ninth edition.) 
M. Mortreux, having ascertained that cantharidin is insoluble in sulphuret of carbon, 
proposes to use this fluid for removing the fatty matter associated with the cantharidin 
crystals obtained by the use of chloroform, as in the foregoing process of Prof. Procter. 
He employs the same liquid in estimating the proportion of cantharidin, which he has 
found to be about 20 centigrammes for 40 grammes of the flies, or the half of one per cent. 
(Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 3e ser., xlvi. 33, A.I). 1804.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
AVittstein obtains it by digesting coarsely powdered flies repeatedly with water, strain- 
ing through linen and expressing, allowing the liquid to settle fora day, separating the 
supernatant oil, adding a little wood charcoal, evaporating to dryness, treating the residue 
with sulphuric ether so long as the solution affords a laminated substance on evaporaPon, 
evaporating the ethereal solution, treating the residue with cold alcohol of 80 per cent, for 
one day with frequent shaking, and finally drying the scales. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxviii. 231.) Mr. Williams has obtained it bymeans of benzole. (Ibid., xxvi. 340.)- -Note 
to the eleventh, edition. PART I. 
Cantharis. 
213 
they sometimes prove useful when the system is in an atonic state, and the ves- 
sels of the kidneys feeble. They are also useful in obstinate gleet, leucorrhoea, 
and seminal weakness; and afford one of the most certain means of relief in 
incontinence of urine, arising from debility or partial paralysis of the sphincter 
of the bladder. A case of diabetes is recorded in the N. Am. Archives (vol.ii. p. 
175), in which recovery took place under the tincture of cantharides They are 
used also in certain cutaneous eruptions, especially those of a scaly character, 
audin chronic eczema. Dr Erven has employed them inscurvy( Ann. deTherap., 
1845); and they have been found useful, internally administered, in obstinate 
ulcers. Their unpleasant effects upon the urinary passages are best obviated by 
the free use of diluent drinks; and, when not consequent upon great abuse of the 
medicine, may almost always be relieved by an anodyne injection, composed of 
laudanum with a small quantity of mucilaginous fluid. The dose of Spanish flies 
is one or two grains of the powder, which may be given twice a day, in the form 
of pill. The tincture, however, is more frequently employed. 
Externally applied, cantharides excite inflammation in the skin, which termi- 
nates in a copious secretion of serum under the cuticle. Even thus employed, 
they not unfrequently give rise to strangury or tenesmus; and this is one of 
the most troublesome attendants upon their operation It probably results from 
the absorption of the active principle of the fly. For various methods employed 
for obviating strangury from blisters, see Geratum Cantharidis. 
The blistering fly may be used either as a rubefacient, or to produce a blister. 
Tn the former capacity it is seldom employed, except in low states of disease, 
where external stimulation is required to support the system; but as an epis- 
pastic it is preferred to all other substances. 
Misters are calculated to answer numerous indications. Their local effect is 
attended with a general excitement, which renders them valuable auxiliaries 
to internal stimulants in low conditions of disease; and they may sometimes be 
safely resorted to with this view, when the latter remedies are inadmissible. The 
powerful impression they make on the system is sufficient, in many instances, to 
subvert morbid associations, and thus to allow the re-establishment of healthy 
action. Hence their application to the cure of remittent and intermittent fevers, 
in which they often prove effectual, when so employed as to be in full operation 
at the period for the recurrence of the paroxysm. On the principle of revulsion, 
they are useful in a vast variety of complaints. Drawing both the nervous en- 
ergy and the circulating fluid to the seat of their immediate action, they relieve 
irritations and inflammations of internal parts; and are employed for this pur- 
pose in every disease attended with these derangements. In such cases, how- 
ever, arterial excitement should be reduced before the remedy is resorted to. 
lilisters are also capable of substituting their own action for one of a morbid 
nature, existing in the part to which they are directly applied. Hence their 
use in tinea capitis, obstinate herpes, and various cutaneous eruptions. Their 
local stimulation renders them useful in some cases of threatened gangrene, 
and in partial paralysis. From the serous discharge they occasion, much good 
results in erysipelas and various other local inflammations, in the immediate 
vicinity of which their action can be established; and the effects of an issue 
may be obtained by the continued application of irritants to the blistered sur- 
face. Perhaps the pain produced by blisters may be useful in some cases of 
nervous excitement or derangement, in which it is desirable to withdraw the 
attention of the patient from subjects of agitating reflection. On some consti- 
tutions they produce a poisonous impression, attended with frequent pulse, 
dryness of the mouth and fauces, heat of skin, subsultus tendinum, and even 
convulsions. What is the precise condition of system in which these effects 
result, it is impossible to determine. They probably arise from the absorption 
of the active principle, and depend on individual peculiarities of constitution. 
In this respect Spanish flies are analogous to mercury; and any argument drawn 
from this source against the use of the one would equally apply to the other. 
The general good resulting from their use far overbalances any partial and uu- 214 
Cantharis. 
PART I. 
certain evil. For sonic rules relative to the application of blisters, the reader 
is referred to the article Ceratum Cantharidis, where also will be noticed 
other blistering preparations from cantharides. 
In the United States are several species of Cantharis, which have been em- 
ployed as substitutes for C. vesicatoria, and found equally efficient. Of these, 
only G. vittata has been adopted as officinal; but, as others may be more abund- 
ant in particular districts, or in certain seasons, and are not inferior in powers, 
we shall briefly notice all that have been submitted to experiment. 
1 Cantharis vittata. Latreille, (7en. Crust, et Insect.; Durand Journ.of Phil. 
Col. of Pharm., ii. 274, fig. 4. The potato fly is rather smaller than C. vesica- 
toria, which it resembles in shape. Its length is about six lines. The head is 
light-red, with dark spots upon the top; the feelers are black ; the elytra or wing- 
cases are black, with a yellow longitudinal stripe in the centre, and with a yellow 
margin ; the thorax is also black, with three yellow lines; and the abdomen and 
legs, which have the same colour, are covered with a cinereous down. It inha- 
bits chiefly the potato plant, and appears about the end of July or beginning 
of August, in some seasons very abundantly. It is found on the plant in the 
morning and evening, but during the heat of the day descends into the soil. 
The insects are collected by shaking them from the plant into h'ot water; and 
are afterwards carefully dried in the sun. They are natives of the Middle and 
Southern States. This species of Cantharis was first described by Fabricius 
in the year 1781 ; and was introduced to the notice of the profession by Dr. 
Isaac Chapman, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, who found it equal if not 
superior to the Spanish fly as a vesicatory. The testimony of Dr. Chapman 
has been corroborated by that of many other practitioners, some of whom have 
even gone so far as to assert that the potato fly is not attended with the incon- 
venience of producing strangury. But this statement has been ascertained to 
be incorrect; and, as the vesicating property of all these insects probably de- 
pends on the same proximate principle, their operation may be considered as 
identical in other respects. If the potato fly has been found more speedy in its 
effects than the Cantharis of Spain, the result is perhaps owing to the greater 
freshness of the former. It may be applied to the same purposes, treated in 
the same manner, and given in the same dose as the foreign insect. Professor 
Procter obtained cantharidin from this species; and Mr. W. R. Warner has 
shown that the proportion of this ingredient is but slightly less than in Spanish 
flies, the former yielding P99, the latter 2 03 parts in 500. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxviii. 195.) Professor Leidy, of the University of Pennsylvania, 
ascertained, by experiment, that the vesicating property of this insect resides 
in the blood, the eggs, and a peculiar fatty matter of certain accessory glands 
of the generative apparatus. (Am Journ. of Med. Sci., Jam I860, p. 60.) 
2. Cantharis cinerea Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of 
the Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 274, fig. 5. The ash-coloured cantharis closely 
resembles the preceding species in figure and size; but differs from it in colour. 
The elytra and body are black, without the yellow stripes that characterize C 
vittata, and are entirely covered with a short and dense ash-coloured down, 
which conceals the proper colour of the insect. The feelers are black, and the 
first and second joints are very large in the male. This species also inhabits 
the potato plant, and is occasionally found on other plants, as the English bean 
and wild indigo. It is a native of the Northern and Middle States. Illiger 
in 1801 discovered its vesicating properties; but Dr. Gorham was the first to 
call public attention particularly to the subject, and to the fact of its equality 
in nil respects with the potato fly, in a communication addressed, in the year 
1808, to the Medical Society of Massachusetts. 
3. Cantharis marginata. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of 
the Phil. Col. of Pharm , ii. 274, fig. 6 This is somewhat larger than C. vittata, 
and of a different shape. The elytra are black with the suture and margin ash- 
coloured. The head, thorax, and abdomen are black, but nearly covered with 
an ash-coloured down; and, on the upper part of the abdomen, under the wiuga PART I. 
Cantharis.— Capsicum. 
215 
are two longitudinal lines of a bright clay-colour. The insect is usually found, 
in the latter part of summer, upon different species of Clematis, and frequents 
especially the lower branches which trail along the ground Professor Wood- 
house, of Philadelphia, first ascertained its vesicating properties; but it had pre- 
viously been described by Fabricius as a native of the Cape of Good Hope. Dr. 
Harris, of Massachusetts, found it as efficient as any other species. 
4 Canlharis atrata. Latreille, Gen. Crust, et Insect.; Durand, Journ. of the 
Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 214, fig. 7. The black cantliaris is smaller than the in- 
digenous species already described ; but resembles C. marginata in figure. Its 
length is only four or five lines. It is distinguished by its size, and its uniform 
black colour. It frequents more especially the different species of Aster and 
Solidago, though it is found also on Prunella vulgaris, Ambrosia trifida, and 
some other plants. Mr. Durand met with considerable numbers of this insect 
near Philadelphia, in the month of September; and they continued to appear 
till the middle of October. They are common in the Northern and Middle 
States, but are not confined exclusively to this country, being found also in 
Barbary. Drs. Oswood and Harris, of New England, satisfactorily ascertained 
their vesicating powers. They are probably identical with the insect noticed 
as vesicatory*by Prof. Woodhouse, under the nan e of Meloe niger. 
Several other species have been discovered in the United States, but not yet 
practically employed. Among these are C. seneas, a native of Pennsylvania, 
discovered by Mr. Say; C. politus and C. aszelianus, inhabiting the Southern 
Slates; G. Nuttalli, a large and beautiful insect of Missouri, first noticed by 
Mr. Nuttall, and said to surpass the Spanish fly in magnitude and splendour; 
and C. albida, another large species, found by Mr. Say near the Rocky Moun- 
tains. Of these, C. Nuttalli (Lytta Nuttalli, Say, Am. Entomol., i 9) bids fair, 
at some future period, to be an object of importance in the western section of 
this country. The head is of a deep-greenish colour, with a red spot in front; 
the thorax is of a golden green; the elytra, red or golden purple and somewhat 
rugose on their outer surface, green and polished beneath; the feet black; the 
thighs, blue or purplish. The exploring party under Colonel Long ascertained 
the vesicating powers of this insect. It was found in the plains of the Missouri, 
feeding on a scanty grass. In one spot it was so numerous as to be swept away 
by bushels, in order that a place might be cleared for encamping. Dr. Geo. H. 
Horn, in a contribution to the Medical Zoology of Dr. Allen, just published 
(p. 150), mentions two species as inhabiting California, C. vulnerata (Lytta 
vulnerata, Horn), and C. melcena (Lytta melcena, Horn), which have been 
proved by many trials, internally and externally, to have all the virtues of 
the officinal Cantharis. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Cantharidis, Br.; Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.; Ceratum 
Extracti Cantharidis, U.S.; ChartaEpispastica, Br.; Collodium cum Canthar- 
ide, U.S.; Emplastrum Calefaciens, Br.; Emplastrum Cantharidis, Br.; Lini- 
mentum Cantharidis, U. S.; Liquor Epispasticus, Br.; Tinctura Cantharidis; 
Unguentum Cantharidis, Br. . W. 
Capsicum. Cayenne Pepper. 
capsicUxm:. u.s. 
The fruit of Capsicum annuura, and of other species of Capsicum. U.S. 
Off. Syn. CAPSICI FRUCTUS. Capsicum Fruit. The dried fruit of 
Capsicum fastigiatum. Imported from Zanzibar, and distinguished in commerce 
as Guinea Pepper and Pod Pepper. Br. 
Poivre de Guinee, Poivre d’lnde, Fr.; Spanischcr Pfeffer, Germ..; Pepperone, Hal.' 
Pimiento, Span. 
Capsicum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Orel. Solanaceas. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla wheel-shaped. Berry without juice. Willd. 
Numerous species of Capsicum, inhabiting the East Indies and tropical Amer- 
ica, are -numerated by botanists, the fruit of which, differing simply in the 
degree of pungency, may be indiscriminately used. C. baccalum or bird pep. 216 
Capsicum. 
PART I 
per, and C. frulescens, are said to yield most of the Cayenne pepper brought 
from the West Indies and South America; and Ainslie informs us that the lat- 
ter is chiefly employed in the East Indies. The Br. Pharmacopoeia recognises, as 
the source of capsicum, C fastigiatum, a species growing in the East Indies, 
and on the coast of Guinea. The one most extensively cultivated in Europe 
and this country is that recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, namely, C an- 
nuum. The first three are shrubby plants, the last is annual and herbaceous. 
Capsicum annuum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052; Woodv. filed Pot,, p. 226, t. 80. 
The stem of the annual capsicum is thick,roundish,smooth,and branching; rises 
cwo or three feet in height; and supports ovate, pointed, smooth, entire leaves, 
which are placed without regular order on long footstalks. The flowers are soli- 
tary, white, and stand on long peduncles at the axils of the leaves The calyx 
is persistent, tubular, and five-cleft; the corolla, monopetalousand wheel-shaped, 
with the limb divided into five spreading, pointed, and plaited segments; the fila- 
ments, short,tapering,and furnished with oblong ant hers; the germen, ovate, sup- 
porting a slender style which is longer than the filaments, and terminates in a 
blunt stigma. The fruit is a pendulous, pod-like berry, light, smooth and shining, 
of a bright scarlet, orange, or sometimes yellow colour, with two or three cells, 
containing a dry, loose pulp, and numerous flat, kidney-shaped, whitish seeds. 
The plant is a native of the warmer regions of Asia and America, and is 
cultivated in almost all parts of the world. It is abundantly produced in this 
country, both for culinary and medicinal purposes. The flowers appear in July 
and August, and the fruit ripens in October. Several varieties are cultivated 
in our gardens, differing in the shape of the f ruit, The most abundant is probably 
that with a large irregularly ovate berry, depressed at the extremity, which is 
much used in the green state for pickling. The medicinal variety is that with 
(ong, conical, generally pointed, recurved fruit, usually not thicker than the 
finger. Sometimes we meet with small, spherical, slightly compressed berries, 
not greatly exceeding a large cherry in size. When perfectly ripe and dry, the 
fruit is ground into powder, and brought into market under the name of red or 
Cayenne pepper. Our markets are also partly supplied from the West Indies. 
A variety of capsicum, consisting of very small, conical, pointed, exceedingly 
pungent berries, less than an inch in length, is imported from Liberia. It is prob- 
ably the same that the British Pharmacopoeia refers to Capsicum fastigiatum. 
In England, the fruit of C. annuum is frequently called chillies. 
Powdered capsicum is usually of a more or less bright-red colour, which fades 
upon exposure to light, and ultimately disappears. The colour of the Liberia 
or African pepper, in powder, is a light-brownish yellow. The odour is pecu- 
liar and somewhat aromatic, stronger in the recent than in the dried fruit. The 
taste is bitterish, acrid, and burning, producing a fiery sensation in the mouth, 
which continues fora long time. The pungency appears to depend on a pecu- 
liar principle, which was obtained, though notin a perfectly isolated state, by 
Braconnot, and named capsicin. The fruit, freed from the seeds, was submitted 
to the action of alcohol, and the resulting tincture evaporated. During the 
evaporation a red-coloured wax separated, and the residuary liquor by further 
evaporation afforded an extract, from which ether dissolved the capsicin. This 
was obtained by evaporating the ether. It resembles an oil or soft resin, is of a 
yellowish-brown or reddish-brown colour, and, when tasted, though at first bal- 
samic, soon causes an insupportably hot and pungent impression over the whole 
interior of the mouth. Exposed to heat it melts, and at a higher temperature 
emits fumes, which, even in very small quantity,excite coughing and sneezing. 
It is slightly soluble in water and vinegar, and very soluble in alcohol, ether, 
oil of turpentine, and the caustic alkalies, which it renders reddish-brown. It 
constitutes, according to Braconnot, 1*9 per cent, of the fruit.* The other in- 
* Thecapsicin of Braconnot, though containing the active principle of capsicum, was 
shown by Professor Procter to be itself a complex substance. By treating its alcoholic 
solution with subacetate of lead, he obtained an abundant precipitate, which, when washed 
with alcohol, proved to be quite tasteless, while the liquid from which it had been prooipi- PART I. 
Capsicum. 
217 
gredients, us ascertained by the same chemist, are colouring matter, an azotized 
substance, gum, pectic acid (probably pectin), and saline matters. Red oxide 
of lead is sometimes added to the powdered capsicum sold in Europe. It may 
be detected by digesting the suspected powder in diluted nitric acid, filtering, 
and adding a solution of sulphate of soda, which will throw down a white pre- 
cipitate if there be any oxide of lead present. Capsicum is said to be sometimes 
adulterated with coloured sawdust. It is occasionally attacked by insects. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cayenne pepper is a powerful stimulant, 
producing when swallowed a sense of heat in the stomach, and a general glow 
over the body, without any narcotic effect. Its influence over the circulation, 
though considerable, is not in proportion to its local action. It is much em- 
ployed as a condiment, and proves highly useful in correcting the flatulent ten- 
dency of certain vegetables, and aiding their digestion, lienee the advantage 
derived from it by the natives of tropical climates, who live chiefly on vegetable 
food. In the East Indies it has been used from time immemorial. From a 
passage in the works of Pliny, it appears to have been known to the Romans. 
As a medicine it is useful in cases of enfeebled and languid stomach, and is oc- 
casionally prescribed in dyspepsia and atonic gout, particularly when attended 
with much flatulence, or occurring in persons of intemperate habits. It has 
also been given as a stimulant in palsy and certain lethargic affections. To the 
sulphate of quinia it forms an excellent addition in some cases of inlermittents, 
in which there is a great want of gastric susceptibility. Upon the same principle 
of rousing the susceptibility of the stomach, it may prove useful in low forms of 
fever, as an adjuvant to tonic or stimulant medicines. Its most important ap- 
plication, however, is to the treatment of malignant sorethroat and scarlet fever, 
in which it is used both internally and as a gargle. The following formula was 
employed in malignant scarlatina, with great advantage, in the West Indies, 
where this application of the remedy originated. Two tablespoon fills of the 
powdered pepper, with a teaspoonful of common salt, are infused for an hour in 
a pint of boiling liquid, composed of equal parts of water and vinegar. This is 
strained when cool through a tine linen cloth, and given in the dose of a table- 
spoonful every half hour. The same preparation is also used as a gargle. It is, 
however, only to the worst cases that the remedy is applied so energetically. 
In milder cases of scarlatina, with inflamed or ulcerated throat, much relief and 
positive advantage often follow the employment of the pepper in a more diluted 
state. Capsicum has been advantageously used in sea-sickness, in the dose of a 
teaspoonful, given in some convenient vehicle on the first occurrence of nausea. 
It is thought also to have been beneficial in hemorrhoidal affections. It has 
long been used as a stomachic stimulant in the enfeebled digestion of drunk- 
ards, and has recently been recommended in delirium tremens, in which, when 
taken early it is said sometimes to produce sleep, and thus to cut short the 
disease. (Dr. Lyons, Med. Press and Giro., April 18, and June 20, 1866.) 
tated yielded, on evaporation, a brownish substance much more pungent than the capsioin 
itself. Mr. F. V. Heydenreich, bjr treating the liquid just referred to with hydrosulphuric 
acid to separate the lead, filtering, and boiling to drive oflf the acetic and hydrosulpliuric 
acids, obtained an amber-coloured oily substance, which, when purified by solution in alco- 
hol, treatment with animal charcoal, filtration, and exposure to spontaneous evaporation, 
became of a light lemon-yellow colour, and presented the following properties. It had the 
aspect of an oil, rather more viscid than olive oil, was lighter than water, with the 
odour and intensely hot taste of capsicum, became nearly solid at 0°F., and very fluid 
when heated, without any tendency to crystallize in the former case, and at a high heat 
gave off very irritating fumes. It was very soluble in ether, chloroform, and alcohol of 
b-809, and soluble in 80 parts of officinal alcohol, and appeared to be saponifiable. Fro.n 
his experiments, Mr. Heydenreich concluded that the capsicin, thus purified, consists of 
two oils, differing in colour and solubility in alcohol, and represents the virtues of < ap- 
sicum in their most concentrated state. Mr. David Preston has subsequently examined 
into the subject, and concludes that the pungency of capsicum resides in a fixed oil; but, 
as nitric acid destroys the pungency of the oil, without otherwise affecting it, is disposed 
to think that the active principle is not the oil itself, but a distinct substance contained 
in it, which has not been isolated, and the nature of which remains undetermined. (Am. 
Juurn of Pharm., May, 18G5, p. 165.)—Note to the twelfth and thirteenth editions. 218 
Capsicum.— Cur bo. 
PARI I. 
Applied externally, Cayenne pepper is a powerful rubefacient, very useful 
in local 1 heumatism, and in low forms of disease, where a stimulant impression 
upon the surface is demanded. It-has the advantage of acting speedily with- 
out endangering vesication. It may be applied in the form of cataplasm, or 
more conveniently and efficiently as a lotion, mixed with heated spirit. The 
powder or tincture, brought into contact with a relaxed uvula, often acts very 
beneficially. The tincture has also been used advantageously in chilblain. 
The ethereal extract (Oleoresina Capsid, U. S ) is powerfully rubefacient 
The dose of the powder is from five to ten grains, which is most convenient- 
ly given in the form of pill Of an infusion prepared by adding two drachms to 
half a pint of boiling water, the dose is half a fiuidounce. A gargle may be pre- 
pared by infusing half a drachm of the powder in a pint of boiling water, or by 
adding half a fiuidounce of the tincture to eight fiuidounces of rose-water. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Capsici, U. S.; Oleoresina Capsici, U. S.; Tinctura 
Capsid. W. 
CARBO. 
Carbon. 
Pure charcoal; Carbone, Fr., Ital.; Kohlenstoff, Germ.; Carbon, Span. 
Carbon is an element of great importance, and very extensively diffused in 
nature. It exists in large quantity in the mineral kingdom, and is the most 
abundant constituent of animal and vegetable matter. In the crystallized state 
it constitutes the diamond ; and, more or less pure it forms the substances called 
plumbago, graphite, or black lead, anthracite, bituminous coal, coke, animal 
charcoal, and vegetable charcoal. Combined with oxygen it forms carbonic acid, 
which is a constituent of the atmosphere, and present in many natural waters, 
especially those which have an effervescing quality. United with oxygen and a 
base it forms the carbonates, among others carbonate of lime, which is one of 
the most abundant minerals. There are three allotropic conditions of carbon, 
represented respectively by the diamond, graphite, and charcoal. 
The diamond is found principally in India and Brazil. Several diamonds 
have been found in the gold region of Georgia. This gem is perfectly trans- 
parent, and the hardest and most brilliant substance in nature. Its sp.gr. is 
about 3 5. It is lixed and unalterable in the fire, provided air be excluded; but 
is combustible in air or oxygen, the product being the same as when charcoal 
is burned, namely, carbonic acid. 
Is ext to diamond, plumbago and anthracite are the purest natural forms ol 
carbon. Plumbago is the substance of which black-lead crucibles and pencils 
are made. It is found in greatest purity in the mine of Borrowdale, in Eng- 
land ; but it also occurs very pure in this country, especially near Bustleton, in 
Pennsylvania It was formerly supposed to be a carburet of iron ; but, in very 
pure specimens, it is nearly free from iron, which must, therefore, be deemed an 
accidental impurity. Anthracite oceurs in different parts of the world, but par- 
ticularly in the United States. Bituminous coal is a form of the carbonaceous 
principle, in which the carbon is associated with volatile matter of a bituminous 
nature. When this is driven off by the process of charring, as in the manufac- 
ture of coal gas, a kind of mineral charcoal, called coke, is obtained, very useful 
in the arts as a fuel. When peat is charred, it is converted into peat charcoal, 
which forms a cheap disinfectant and deodorizer, applicable to the purification 
of hospitals, dissecting rooms, factories, privies, &c. 
Carbon may be obtained in a state approaching to purity by several pro- 
cesses One method is to expose lampblack to a full red heat in a close vessel. 
It may also be obtained, in a very pure state, bypassing the vapour of volatile 
oils through an ignited porcelain tube; whereby the hydrogen and oxygen of 
the Oil will be dissipated, and the charcoal left in the tube. A pure ch :rcoal is 
procured by exposing sugar, or other vegetable substances which leave no 
ashes when burnt, to ignition in close vessels. 
Properties. Carbon, in its uncrystallized state, is an insoluble, infusible solid, PART I. 
Carlo.— Carlo Animalis. 
219 
generally of a black colour, and without taste or smell. It burns when suffi- 
ciently heated, uniting with the oxygen of the air, and generating carbonic acid 
gas. Its sp.gr. in the solid state, apart from its pores when in mass, is 3 5 ; 
but with the pores included, it is only 044. It is a very unalterable and inde- 
structible substance, and has great power in resisting and correcting putrefac- 
tion in other bodies. When properly prepared, it possesses the property of 
destroying the colouring and odorous principles of most liquids. (See Garbo 
Animalis.) Its other physical properties differ according to its source, and pe- 
culiar state of aggregation. Its equivalent number is 6, and its cymbol C. As 
a chemical element it enjoys a very extensive range of combination. It forms 
several compounds with oxygen, the principal of which are carbonic oxide, and 
carbonic and oxalic acids. With hydrogen it forms a number of compounds, 
called carbohydrogens, of which the most interesting, excluding hypothetical 
radicals, are light carburetted hydrogen or fire-damp, olefiant gas, the light 
and concrete oils of wine, and certain non-oxygenous volatile oils. With nitro- 
gen it constitutes cyanogen, the compound radical of hydrocyanic or prussic 
acid; and united in minute proportion with iron it forms steel. 
In the form of anthracite, carbon has recently been used, with great sup- 
posed success, by Dr. A. Dyes, in diseases attended with a disordered state of 
the alimentary canal, as intestinal worms, catarrhal spasm of the stomach and 
gastric pains from affections of the liver and spleen, in chlorosis, in the splenic 
enlargement of intermittents, in scurvy, and scrofulous complaints. (B. and F 
Med.-chir. Rev., Jan. 1866, p 239; from Schmidt's Jahrbuch.) 
To notice all the forms of the carbonaceous principle would be out of place 
in this work. We shall, therefore, restrict ourselves to the consideration of 
those which are officinal, namely, animal charcoal and wood charcoal. B. 
CARBO ANIMALIS. U.S.,Br. 
Animal Charcoal. 
Charcoal prepared from bone. U. S. The residue of bones, which have been 
exposed to a red heat without access of the air. Br. 
Bone black, Br.; Charbon animal, Fr.; Thierische Kohle, Germ.; Carbone Animals, 
Ttal.; Carbon animal, Span. 
The animal charcoal employed in pharmacy and the arts, is usually obtained 
from bones, by subjecting them to a red heat in close vessels. The residue of 
the ignition is a black matter, which, when reduced to powder, forms bone- 
black, sometimes incorrectly called ivory-black. Ivory by carbonization will 
furnish a black, which, on account of its fineness and intensely black colour, is 
more esteemed than the ordinary bone-black; but it is much more expensive, 
In manufacturing bone-black, the bones, first boiled in water to separate the 
fat, are subjected to destructive distillation in iron cylinders, connected with 
vessels which receive the ammoniacal liquor, called bone-spirit; this being a 
secondary product of the operation. When the bone-spirit ceases to come over, 
the residue is charred bone, or bone-black. Bone consists of animal matter with 
phosphate and carbonate of lime. From a new arrangement of the elements of 
the animal matter, the nitrogen and hydrogen, united as ammonia, and a part 
of the charcoal, in the form of carbonic acid, distil over; while the remainder of 
the charcoal is left in the cylinder, intermingled with the calcareous salts. M. 
Deiss, of Paris, proposes bisulphuret of carbon as a solvent for the fat of bones; 
as it furnishes a larger and better product of fat, and renders the bones fitter for 
producing a good bone-black. ( Chem. Gaz., April 1, 1856.) This form of animal 
charcoal necessarily contains phosphate and carbonate of lime. 
Properties. Animal charcoal, in the form of bone-black, is a black powder, 
possessing a slightly alkaline and bitterish taste, and having a general resem- 
blance to powdered vegetable charcoal. It is, however, more dense and less 
combustible than vegetable charcoal; from which, moreover, it may be distin- 
guished by burning a small portion of it on a red-hot iron, when it will leave 220 
Carbo Animalis. 
PART I 
a residuum imperfectly acted on by sulphuric acid; whereas the ashes from 
vegetable charcoal readily dissolve in this acid, formiug a bitterish solution. 
Animal charcoal by no means necessarily possesses the decolorizing properly ; 
as this depends upon its peculiar state of aggregation. If a piece of pure animal 
matter is carbonized, it usually enters into fusion, and, from the gaseous matter 
which is extricated, becomes porous and cellular. The charcoal formed has 
generally a metallic lustre, and a colour resembling that of black lead. It has, 
however, little or no decolorizing power, even though finely pulverized. 
The decolorizing power of vegetable charcoal was first noticed by Lowitz, of 
St. Petersburg; and that of animal charcoal, by Figuier, of Montpellier, in 
1811. In 1822 the subject was ably investigated by Bussy, Payen, and Des- 
fosses. The power is generally communicated to charcoal by igniting it in close 
vessels, but not always. The kind of charcoal, for example, obtained from sub- 
stances which undergo fusion during carbonization scarcely possesses the pro- 
perty, even though it may be afterwards finely pulverized. The property in 
question is possessed to a certain extent by wood charcoal; but is developed in 
it in a much greater degree by burning it with some chemical substance, which 
may have the effect of reducing it to an extreme degree of fineness. The most 
powerful of all the charcoals for discharging colours are those obtained from 
certain animal matters, such as dried blood, hair, &c., by first carbonizing them 
in connection with carbonate of potassa, and then washing the product with 
water Charcoal, thus prepared, seems to be reduced to a state of extremely 
minute division, and is, therefore, very porous. The next most powerful de- 
colorizing charcoal is bone-black, in which the separation of the carbonaceous 
particles is effected by the phosphate of lime present in the bone. Vegetable 
substances also may be made to yield a good charcoal for destroying colour, 
provided, before carbonization, they be well comminuted, and mixed with 
pumice stone, chalk, flint, or other similar substance in a pulverized state. 
It results from the foregoing facts that the decolorizing power of charcoal 
depends upon a peculiar mode of aggregation of its particles, the leading char- 
acter of which is that they are isolated from one another, and thus enabled to 
present a greater extent of surface. It is on this principle that certain chemi- 
cal substances act in developing the property in question, when they are ignited, 
in a state of intimate mixture, with the substance to be charred. Thus, it is 
perceived that there is no necessary connection between the animal charcoal 
and the decolorizing power. Bone-black, for instance, has this property, not 
because it is an animal charcoal, but because, in consequence of the phosphate 
of lime present in the bone, the favourable state of aggregation is imparted * 
The following table, abridged from one drawn up by Bussy, denotes the 
relative decolorizing power of different charcoals. 
KINDS OF CHARCOAL. 
Decoloriz- 
ing power 
on Syrup. 
Decoloriz- j 
ing power 
on Indigo. 
Bone-black, - -- -- -- -- - 
1 
i 
Bone charcoal treated with an acid, ------ 
1-6 
1 8 
Lampblack, not ignited, - -- -- -- - 
3-3 
4 
Charcoal from acetate of potassa, ------ 
4-4 
5-0 
Blood ignited with phosphate of lime, - 
Lampblack ignited with carbonate of potassa, - - - - 
10 
12 
10-6 
12 2 
Blood ignited with chalk, -------- 
11 
18 
White of egg ignited with carbonate of potassa, - 
15-5 
"1 
Glue ignited witli carbonate of potassa, ----- 
Bone charcoal, formed from bone deprived of phosphate of lime by 
an acid, and subsequently ignited with carbonate of potassa, - 
15-5 
30 
20 
45 
Blood ignited with carbonate of potassa, ----- 
20 
50 
j 
* Dr. Stenhouse divides decolorizing charcoals into three classes. First, pure charcoals, 
which, being in a state of minute division, decolorize by their porosity alone. Second, 
those which, like aluminized charcoal and artificial bone-black, decolorize solely by the 
bases they contain, acting as mordants. Third, those which, like bone-black, decolor ize, 
partly by the mineral matter, and partly by the minutely divided charcoal they contain, 
(I'hurm Journ., Jan. 1857, p. 366.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART i. 
Carbo Animalis. 
221 
E. Filhol has shown that charcoal is not the only decolorizing agent; but 
that many substances, such as iron reduced by hydrogen, sulphur, arsenic, 
deutoxide of manganese, sulphate and artificial sulphuret of lead, possess the 
same property. The property varies not only in different substances in rela- 
tion to the same colouring matter, but in the same substance in respect to dif- 
ferent colouring matters. (Chem Gaz., April 15, 1852.) 
In order to determine the commercial value of animal charcoal, M. Coren- 
winder has proposed to ascertain its power of absorbing lime from a solution of 
saccharate of lime of determinate strength. The value is in proportion to the 
absorbing power of the charcoal. A given weight of the charcoal to be tested 
is left in contact, for an hour, with a given volume of the solution of the sac- 
charate, taken in excess. The liquid is then filtered, and a small measure of it 
saturated with dilute sulphuric acid of known strength. The less the acid 
necessary for this purpose, the greater the amount of lime absorbed, and the 
better the animal charcoal. (See Chem. Gaz., Jan 1, 1854, p. 16.) 
Spent animal charcoal, which has been used by the sugar reliners, may have 
its decolorizing power restored by calcination, which destroys the organic mat- 
ters that have become fixed in it; and it is stated that it may be submitted to this 
process twenty times before becoming unfit for use. According to Pelouze, the 
same object may be accomplished by subjecting it to a weak solution of carbo- 
nate of potassa or of soda. In removing the colouring matter, the alkaline solu- 
tion becomes yellow. After its action the animal charcoal must be carefully 
washed, first with boiling water, and afterwards with acidulated water But a 
process devised by MM. Leplay and Cuisinier is probably more effectual. The 
charcoal, without being removed from the cylinders, is thoroughly washed, 
treated by steam to remove viscous substances, and then percolated successively. 
1. bv a weak alkaline solution, which removes salts and some colouring matters, 
2. by weak muriatic acid, which, in removing a certain amount of salts of lime, 
liberates colouring matter, 8. again with a weak alkaline solution to carry of! 
the remaining colouring matter; and 4. lastly by a solution of biphosphate of 
lime, by which the decolorizing power of the charcoal is restored. (Dr. F. C. 
Calvert, Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1865, p. 263; from Chem. News.) 
Animal charcoal is capable of taking the bitter principles from infusions and 
tinctures, and iodine from liquids which contain it in solution. Its power, how- 
ever, of acting on solutions and chemical compounds is much more decided in 
its purified state, as shown by both Warington and Weppen. In this state, it 
takes a number of salts from their aqueous solutions, and even converts chro- 
mate of potassa into the carbonate. (See Garbo Animalis Purificatus.) 
Bone-black consists of about 90 percent, of phosphate and carbonate of lime 
and 10 per cent, of charcoal. 
Pharmaceutical Uses, &c. Animal charcoal is used in pharmacy for decolor- 
izing vegetable principles, such as gallic acid, quinia, morphia, veratria, &c., and 
in the arts, principally for clarifying syrups in sugar refining, and for depriving 
spirits distilled from grain of the peculiar volatile oil, called fusel oil, which 
imparts to them an unpleasant smell and taste, as first distilled. (See page 85.) 
The manner in which it is used as adecolorizer is to mix it with the substance 
to be decolorized, and to allow the mixture to stand for some time. The char- 
coal unites with the colouring matter, and the solution by filtration is obtained 
white and transparent Its use, however, in decolorizing the organic alkalies 
and other vegetable principles, no doubt causes a loss by absorption ; since it 
has been shown by the experiments of M. Lebourdais, mentioned under the 
head of purified animal charcoal, that several of these principles maybe obtained 
by the sole action of charcoal For most pharmaceutical operations, and for use 
as an antidote, animal charcoal must be purified by muriatic acid from phosphate 
and carbonate of lime. (See Carbo Animalis Purificatus ) In the U. S. for- 
mula for sulphate of quinia, however, it is employed without purification. (See 
Quiniee Sulphas.) According to Guthe, a German chemist, bone charcoal, with- 
out purification, is to be preferred as a dccolorizer, in all cases in which the 
calcareous salts exert no injurious effect. 222 
Carbo Ligni. 
PART I. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Cincboniae Sulphas, U. S.; Morphia, U. S.; 
Quiniae Sulphas, U. S.; Santoninum, U. S. 
Of. Prep. Carbo Animalis Purificatus. B. 
CARBO LIGNI. U. S., Br. 
Charcoal. 
Charcoal prepared from wood. U. S. Wood charred by exposure to a red heat 
without access of air. Br. 
Vegetable charcoal; Charbon de bois, Fr.; Ilolzkohle, Germ.; Carbone di legno, 
Ital.; Carbon de lena, Span. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. Billets of wood are piled in a conical 
form, and covered with earth and sod to prevent the free access of air; several 
holes being left at the bottom, and one at the top of the pile, in order to pro- 
duce a draught to commence the combustion. The wood is then kindled from 
the bottom. In a little while the hole at the top is closed, and, after the igni- 
tion is found to have pervaded the whole pile, those at the bottom are stopped 
also. The combustion taking place with a smothered flame, the volatile portions 
of the wood, consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, are dissipated ; while the car- 
bon, in the form of charcoal, is left. 
In this process for the carbonization of wood, all the volatile products are 
dissipated; and a portion of the charcoal itself is lost bv combustion. Wood, 
thus carbonized, yields not more than II or 18 per cent, of charcoal. A better 
method is to char the wood in iron cylinders, when it yields from 22 to 23 parts 
in 100 of excellent charcoal; and, at the same time, the means are afforded for 
collecting the volatile products, consisting of pyroligneous acid, empyreumatic 
oil, and tar. This process for obtaining charcoal has been described under 
another head. (See Acidum Aceticum.) A method of preparing charcoal by 
subjecting wood to over-heated steam has been invented by M. Violette. When 
the temperature of the steam is 572°, the wood is converted into a peculiar 
charcoal, called red charcoal, which is intermediate in its qualities between 
wood and ordinary charcoal. When the temperature is lower, the carbonization 
is incomplete; when higher, the product is black charcoal. The steam process 
yields a uniform charcoal for a given temperature, which may be easily regu- 
lated, and a product about double that obtained in closed cylinders. Charcoal, 
prepared in closed cylinders, contains ten times as much ash as that ordinarily 
made. Charcoal contains carbon, in proportion to the temperature at which it 
is formed ; varying from G5 per cent, when made at 482°, to 80 per cent, at 
752°. The gaseous matter present is always inversely as the temperature of 
carbonization. Thus, for charcoal made at 572°, it is one-third of its wreight; 
at 6(52°, one-fourth. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1851, p. 35.) 
Mr. E. C. C. Stanford has called attention to a of vegetable charcoal, 
obtained by charring a species of sea-weed, Laminaria digitata, gathered on the 
shores of the Hebrides, which, although, on account of the large proportion of 
carbonate of lime contained in it (20 per cent.), unfit for use in refining sugar, 
possesses more of the deodorizing and decolorizing power than animal charcoal 
itself, which, with the exception referred to, it closely resembles in chemical 
composition. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1807, p. 18(5.) 
Preparation for Medicinal Use. M. Belloc recommends chareoal for this 
purpose to be obtained from poplar shoots, cut at the time the sap rises, and 
deprived of their bark. The carbonization should be performed in cast-iron 
vessels at a red-white heat. The product is a light and brilliant charcoal, which 
must be purified by being macerated for three or four days in wrater, frequently 
renewed. It is then dried, powdered, and placed in bottles, should be 
well stopped. The charcoal most esteemed in Philadelphia, for medicinal pur- 
poses, is that prepared by the Messrs. Dupont, near Wilmington, Delaware, 
for the manufacture of gunpowder. It is made from young willow shoots of 
two or three years’ growffh. PART I. 
Carho IJgni. 
223 
Properties. Charcoal is a black, shining, brittle, porous substance, tasteless 
and inodorous, and insoluble in water. It is a good conductor of electricity, 
but a bad one of heat. It possesses the remarkable property of absorbing many 
times its own bulk of certain gases. When exposed to the air after ignition, it 
increases rapidly in weight, absorbing from 12 to 14 percent, of moisture. As 
ordinarily prepared.it contains the incombustible part of the wood amounting 
to 1 or 2 per cent., which is left as ashes when the charcoal is burned. These 
may be removed by digesting the charcoal in diluted muriatic acid, and after- 
wards washing it thoroughly with boiling water. 
Medical Properties, &c. Powdered charcoal is disinfectant and absorbent. 
It is employed with advantage in diarrhoea as an absorbent, and in dyspepsia 
with fetid breath and eructations. It was given in dysentery by the late Dr„ 
Robert Jackson, who found it to have the effect of soothing the patient, and 
improving the character and consistence of the stools. It is also useful, in the 
form of injection, in putrid discharges from the uterus. M. Belloc recommends 
it strongly in gastralgia, and especially pyrosis, in which, if it fails to remove 
the disease, it abates the pain, nausea, and vomiting; and his observations have 
been confirmed by a committee of the French Academy of Medicine. As a rem- 
edy in obstinate constipation, Dr. Daniel, of Savannah, speaks of it in high 
terms. He also found it useful in the nausea and constipation of pregnancy. On 
the other hand, some practitioners have found charcoal to confine the bowels. 
Dr. Wilson, of New Zealand, speaks highly of it in the diarrhoea of measles, 
and in epidemic cholera Dr. Newman recommends it as a dressing to wounds 
and ulcers. Mr. Wormald, of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, has made a useful 
application of the disinfecting power of dry charcoal, in what he calls the char- 
coal quilt. This consists of two sheets of cotton wadding, quilted together in 
small segments, with a tolerably thick layer of powdered charcoal between them. 
The quilts, thus prepared, may be of any size, so as to fit a gangrenous sore or 
stump. Its use as an ingredient of poultices is noticed under Cataplasma Car'- 
bonis. Several of its varieties are used as tooth-powder. Those generally pre- 
ferred are the charcoals of the cocoa-nut shell and of bread. It is said that char- 
coal proves useful in preserving the teeth by absorbing the acid sometimes mor- 
bidly present in the mucus of the mouth. The dose of charcoal varies from one 
to four teaspoonfuls or more. Dr. Daniel gave it in his case of constipation in 
doses of a tablespoonful, repeated every half hour 
For internal use charcoal is preferred bv some in the granular form. Mr. 
W. Lascelles Scott employs the following method of preparing it. He prefers 
the wood of the box, willow, or linden, which, after being charred, should be 
allowed to cool out of contact with air, then boiled for some time in dilute mu- 
riatic acid, and afterwards, having been thoroughly washed with pure water, 
in a little weak ammonia. The fragments are again ignited, and then quickly 
powdered, and passed through a sieve of 80 or 100 apertures to the inch. Nine 
pounds of this powder are mixed with one pound of pure sugar passed through 
a 30 sieve, and 4 ounces of gum arabic in impalpable powder. The whole is 
then moistened with a few ounces of warm distilled water, to which have been 
added an ounce and a quarter of tincture of benzoin, and a little mucilage. The 
mass is now granulated on flat steam pans, in the usual manner, at a tempera- 
ture of 215° or 225°. When perfectly dry it is sifted, and secured in well- 
stopped bottles. (Ghem. Neivs, Oct. 18, 18(>7, p 204.) 
Schonbein has observed the power of charcoal to absorb chlorine, iodine, and 
both in the gaseous or vaporous state, and in aqueous solution. He has 
also noticed its deoxidizing effects, when shaken with certain salts of peroxides, 
reducing them to salts of protoxides. The power of charcoal to precipitate 
gold and other metals on its surface has long been known. 
Charcoal has been employed with good effect, as a deodorizer, in dissecting 
rooms, placed in open pans through the room. It has the advantage over the 
chlorides that it has no smell. When it loses its effect, it requires merely to be 
recalcined. Water for long voyages is kept sweet by having a little powdered 
charcoal added to each cask. 224 
Carlo Ligni.— Cardamomum. 
PART i. 
Dr. Stenhouse has devised a process for combining alumina with common 
vegetable charcoal, forming what he calls aluminized charcoal, which is an 
economical substitute for purified animal charcoal, and equally efficacious as a 
decolorizer. It is prepared by digesting finely powdered charcoal with sufficient 
of the solution of sulphate of alumina to give an impregnation of 7'5 per cent 
of alumina. The whole is evaporated to dryness, and ignited in a covered Hes- 
sian crucible, until the water and acid have been dissipated. Aluminized char- 
coal is perfectly black, though thoroughly impregnated with anhydrous alumina, 
and only requires to be carefully pulverized to be ready for use. (Pharm. Journ., 
Jan. 1857. p. 3G4.) On similar principles, I)r. Stenhouse prepares what he calls 
artificial bone black, by impregnating powdered wood charcoal with 7'5 per 
cent, of phosphate of lime, by digesting it in a solution of this salt in muriatic 
acid, evaporating to dryness, and igniting in covered vessels. This charcoal 
decolorizes well, but can be used only for neutral solutions. 
Charcoal may act either as an oxidizer or deoxidizer ; and these contrary 
powers seem to depend upon its having for oxygen a medium affinity, which 
enables it to take that element from some bodies, and to yield it to others. 
Thus, it is known to reduce several oxides; while, on the other hand, it power- 
fully oxidizes animal matter. The bodies of two dogs having been laid in an 
open box on a bed of charcoal, a few inches deep, and covered by the same 
material, were kept by Mr. John Turnbull, of Glasgow, for six months in his 
laboratory, without emitting any perceptible effluvium; and, when they were 
examined at the end of this time, scarcely anything remained but the bones. 
Dr. Stenhouse, who relates this experiment, has confirmed it by observations 
of his own, and believes that the animal matter thm treated, undergoes putre- 
faction; though the products, bv their rapid oxidation, are prevented from 
contaminating the air. He, therefore, considers charcoal not to be antiseptic, 
but the very opposite. (Chem Gaz., April, 1854, p. 132.) 
The study of the absorbent and oxidizing properties of charcoal has led Dr 
Stenhouse to apply it to the purpose of preventing the access of noxious efflu- 
•Ha to the lungs in respiration. This object he proposes to effect by covering 
the nose and mouth with what he calls the charcoal respirator. The instrument 
consists of a layer of coarsely powdered charcoal, a quarter of an inch thick, 
between two sheets of silvered wire gauze, covered with thin woollen cloth, by 
means of which the temperature of the inspired air is greatly increased. The 
frame is made of thin sheet copper; but the edges, of lead padded and lined 
with velvet so as to fit the lower part of the face Dr. Stenhouse considers his 
respirator to act as an air filter, and to be peculiarly adapted to protect the 
wearer against infectious diseases (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1855, p. 3-8.) This 
instrument must not be confounded with Jeffrey’s wire ventilator, which is 
intended solely to warm the air before entering the lungs. 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Acidum Sulphurosum; Totassii Bromi- 
dum, Br.; Potassii Iodidum. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Carbonis, Br. B. 
CARDAMOMUM. U.S..Br. 
Cardamom. 
The fruit of Elettaria Cardamomum. U. S. Cardamoms. The dried capsules 
of the Malabar Cardamom, Elettaria Cardamomum. The seeds are best kept 
in their pericarps, from which they should be separated when required for use, 
the pericarpial coats being rejected. Hr. 
Petit cardamomc, Fr.; Kleine Cardamomen, Germ.; Cardamomo minore, ltd.; Can* 
dnmomo menor, Span.; Ebil, Arab.; Kakelahseghar, Persian; Capalaga, Malay; Gujaratii 
elachi, Hindoost. 
The subject of Cardamom has been involved in some confusion and uncer- 
tainty, both in its commercial and botanical relations. The name has been ap- 
plied to the aromatic capsules of various Indian plants belonging to the family PART i. 
Cardamomum.« 
225 
of Scitamineae. Three varieties have long been designated by the several titles 
of the lesser, middle, and larger—cardamomum minus, medium, and majus; 
but these terms have been used differently by different writers, so that their pre- 
cise signification remains doubtful. To the late Dr. Pereira we are mainly in- 
debted for the clearing up of this confusion. It is well known that the lesser 
cardamom of most writers is the variety recognised by the Pharmacopoeias, 
and generally kept in the shops. The other varieties, though circulating to a 
greater or less extent in European and Indian commerce, are little known in 
this country.* The following remarks have reference exclusively to the genu- 
ine Malabar or officinal cardamom. 
* The following is a sketch of the non-officinal cardamoms, chiefly from Pereira. 
1. Ceylon Cardamom. This has been denominated variously cardamomum medium,carda- 
momum majus, and cardamomum longum, and is sometimes termed in English commerce 
wild cardamom. It is the large cardamom of Guibourt. In the East it is sometimes called 
grains of Paradise; but it is distinct from the product known with us by that name. It is 
derived from a plant cultivated in Candy, in the Island of Ceylon, which belongs to the 
same genus as that producing the officinal cardamom, and is designated by Sir James 
Edward Smith Elettaria major. This plant was described by Pereira in the Pharmaceutical 
Journal and Transactions (ii. 388). The fruit is a lanceolate-oblong, acutely triangular 
capsule, somewhat curved, about an inch and a half long and four lines broad, with flat 
and ribbed sides,tough and coriaceous, brownish or yellow ash-coloured, having frequently 
at one end the long, cylindrical, three-lobed calyx, and at the other the fruit-stalk. It is 
three-celled, and contains angular, rugged, yellowish-red seeds, of a peculiar fragrant 
odour, and spicy taste. Its effects are analogous to those of the officinal cardamom. 
2. Round Cardamom. This is probably the vAy.uy.ov of Dioscorides, and the Amomi uva 
of Pliny, and is believed to be the fruit of Amomum Cardamomum (Willd.), growing in 
Sumatra, Java, and other East India islands. The capsules are usually smaller than a 
cherry, roundish or somewhat ovate, with three convex sides, more or less striated lon- 
gitudinally, yellowish or brownish-white, and sometimes reddish, with brown, angular, 
cuneiform, shrivelled seeds, which have a spicy campliorous flavour. They are sometimes, 
though rarely, met with connected in their native clusters, constituting the amomum 
racemosum, or amome en grappes of the French. They are similar in medicinal prop- 
erties to the officinal, but are seldom used except in the southern parts of Europe. 
3. Ja.va Cardamom. The plant producing this variety is supposed to be the Amomum maxi- 
mum of Roxburgh, growing in Java and other Malay islands, andsaid to be cultivated in 
the mountains of Nepaul. The product of the latter site is called Nepaul or Bengal carda- 
moms in the East. The capsules are oval, or oval-oblong, often somewhat ovate, from eight 
to fifteen lines long, and from four to eight broad, usually flattened on one side and con- 
vex on the other,sometimes curved,three-valved,and occasionally imperfectly three-lobed, 
of a dirty grayish brown colour, and coarse fibrous appearance. They are strongly ribbed, 
and, when soaked in water, exhibit from nine to thirteen ragged membranous wings,which 
distinguish themfrom all other varieties. The seeds have a feebly aromatic taste and smell. 
This variety of cardamom affords but a very small proportion of volatile oil, is altogether 
of inferior quality, and, when imported into London, is usually sent to the continent. 
4. Madagascar Cardamom. This is the Cardamomum majus of Geiger and some others, 
and is thought to be the fruit of Amomum angustifolium of Sonnerat, growing in marshy 
grounds, in Madagascar. The capsule is ovate, pointed, flattened on one side, striated, 
with a broad circular scar at the bottom surrounded by an elevated, notched, corrugated 
margin. The seeds have an aromatic flavour analogous to that of officinal cardamom. 
5. Grains of Paradise. Grana Paradlsi. Under this name and that of Guinea grains, and 
Malegueta or Mallaguettapepper, are kept in the shops small seeds of a round or ovate form, 
often angular and somewhat cuneiform, minutely rough, brown externally, white within, 
of a feebly aromatic odour when rubbed between the fingers, and of a strongly hot and 
peppery taste. Two kinds of them are known in the English market, one, larger, plumper, 
and more warty, with a short conical projecting tuft of pale fibres on the umbilicus; the 
other, smaller and smoother, and without the fibrous tuft. The latter are the most com- 
mon. 11 is probable that one of the varieties is produced by Amomum Grana Paradlsi of 
Sir J. E. Smith, and the other by Roscoe’s Amomum Melegueta. (Pereira’s Mat. Med., Sd 
ed., p. 1134.) Dr. W. F. Daniell, who has published (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiv. 312 
and 35(1) an elaborate paper on the Amoma of Western Africa, states that the true Malla- 
guetta pepper is obtained exclusively from varieties of the same species, to which belong 
the Amomum Grana Paradlsi of Afzelius, and the A. Melegueta of Roscoe; while the A. 
Grana Paradlsi of Sir J. E. Smith is a different plant, and yields a different product. These 
grains are imported from Guinea, and other parts of the western coast of Africa. Similar 
grains are taken to England from Demarara, where they are obtained from a plant culti- 
vated by the negroes, supposed to have been brought from Africa, and believed by Dr. 
Pereira to bo the Amomum Melegueta of Roscoe. [Ibid., vi. 412.) At the international ex- 226 
Cardamomum. 
PART I. 
Linnaeus confounded, under the name of Amomum Cardamomum, two dif- 
ferent vegetables—the genuine plant of Malabar, and another growing in Java. 
These were separated by Willdenow, who conferred on the former iSonnerat’s 
title of Amomum repens, while he retained the original name for the latter, 
though not the true cardamom plant. In the tenth volume of the Linn. Trans- 
actions, A.D 1811, Mr. White, a British Army Surgeon in India, published a 
very minute description of the Malabar plant, which he had frequent 
opportunities of examining in its native state. From this description, Dr. Maton 
inferred that the plant, according to Roscoe’s arrangement of the Scitamineae, 
could not be considered an Amomum; and, as he was unable to attach it to any 
other known genus, he proposed to construct a new one with the name of Elet- 
taria, derived from eletlari, or elatari, the Malabar name of this vegetable. Sir 
James Smith afterwards suggested the propriety of naming the new genus il/a- 
tonia, in honour of Dr. Maton; and the latter title, having been adopted by 
Roscoe, obtained a place in former editions of the London and U. S. Pharma- 
copaeias. The celebrated Dr. Roxburgh described the Malabar cardamom plant 
as an Alpinia, with the specific name Cardamomum. As doubts were enter- 
tained of the necessity for the new genus proposed by Maton, Roxburgh was 
followed in the London and U. S. Pharmacopoeias, and the fruit was referred 
to Alpinia Cardamomum. This decision, however, has been revised in the 
latest editions of the U S. and British Pharmacopoeias, in which the plant 
is entitled Elettaria Cardamomum. Finally, Roscoe has arranged it with the 
abandoned genus Renealmia of Linnaeus, which he has restored. 
Elettaria. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scitamineae. 
Brown. Zingiberaceae. Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla with the tube filiform and the inner limb one-lipped. An- 
ther naked. Capsule often berried, three-celled, three-valved. Seeds numerous, 
arillate. Blume. 
Elettaria Cardamomum. Maton. — Alpinia Cardamomum. Roxburgh.— 
Amomum Repens. Sonnerat; Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 9.—Renealmia Cardamo- 
mum. Roscoe, Monandrous Plants. Figured in Linn. Trans, x. 248, and 
Carson’s Illust. of Med. Rot. ii. 55. The Cardamom plant has a tuberous hori- 
zontal root or rhizoma, furnished with numerous fibres, and sending up from 
eight to twenty erect, simple, smooth, green and shining, perennial stems, which 
rise from six to twelve feet in height, and bear alternate sheathing leaves. 
These are from nine inches to two feet long, from one to five inches broad, 
elliptical-lanceolate, pointed, entire, smooth and dark-green on the upper sur- 
face, glossy and pale sea-green beneath, with strong midribs, and short foot- 
stalks. The flower-stalk proceeds from the base of the stem, and lies upon the 
ground, with the flowers arranged in a panicle. The calyx is monophyllous, 
tubular, and toothed at the margin; the corolla monophyllous and funnel- 
shaped, with the inferior border unilabiate, three-lobed, and spurred at the base. 
The fruit is a three-celled capsule, containing many seeds. 
hibition of 1862, at London, the author noticed a specimen of similar grains, under the 
name of grains of Paradise, sent from the island of Trinidad. Their effects on the system 
are analogous to those of pepper; hut they are seldom used except in veterinary practice, 
and to give artificial strength to spirits, wine, beer, and vinegar. In the same journal 
(ii. 443), Dr. Pereira points out seven distinct scitamineous fruits, to which the name of 
grains of Paradise has been applied by different authors. 
Other products of different Scitamine®, which have received the name of cardamom, 
are described by Pereira; but the above are all thatare known in commerce, or likely to 
bo brought into our drug markets. 
In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xiv. 352), and in the same journal for October, 1861 
(p. 207), and for September, 1862 (p. 110), are papers by Mr. Daniel Hanbury on some 
rare kinds of cardamom of Siam, Cochin-China, Tonquin, and China, in which new in- 
formation is given on varieties already known, and others are noticed which appear 
hitherto to have escaped the attention of European writers; but as these arc of little prac- 
tical interest to American pharmaceutists, we must content ourselves with referring those 
who wish to investigate especially the subject of the cardamoms and analogous products 
to the soui 'es of information alluded to. PART I. 
Cardamomum.— Carota. 
227 
This valuable plant is a native of the mountains of Malabar, where it springs 
up spontaneously in the forests after the removal of the undergrowth. From 
time immemorial, great numbers of the natives have derived a livelihood from 
its cultivation. It begins to yield fruit at the end of the fourth year, and con- 
tinues to bear for several years afterwards. The capsules when ripe are picked 
from the fruit stems, dried over a gentle lire, and separated by rubbing with 
the hands from the footstalks and adhering calyx. 
Thus prepared, they are ovate-oblong, from three to ten lines long, from 
two to four thick, three-sided with rounded angles, obtusely pointed at both 
ends, longitudinally wrinkled, and of a yellowish white colour. The seeds which 
they contain are small, angular, irregular, rough as if embossed upon their sur- 
face, of a brown colour, easily reduced to powder, and thus separable from the 
capsular covering, which, though slightly aromatic, is much less so than the seeds, 
and should be rejected when the medicine is administered. The seeds constitute 
about 74 parts per cent, by weight. According to Pereira, three varieties are 
distinguished in commerce:—1. the shorts, from three to six lines long, from two 
to three broad, browner and more coarsely ribbed, and more highly esteemed 
than the others; 2. the long-longs, from seven lines to an inch in length by two 
or three lines in breadth, elongated, and somewhat acuminate; and 3. the short- 
longs, which are somewhat shorter and less pointed than the second variety. 
The odour of cardamom is fragrant, the taste warm, slightly pungent, and highly 
aromatic. These properties are extracted by water and alcohol, but more readily 
by the latter. They depend on a volatile oil, which rises with water in distilla- 
tion. The seeds contain, according to Trommsdorf, 4-6 per cent, of volatile 
oil, 10-4 of fixed oil, 25 of a salt of potassa mixed with a colouring principle, 
3-0 of starch, 1'8 of azotized mucilage, 0 4 of yellow colouring matter, and 77-3 
of ligneous fibre. The volatile oil is colourless, of an agreeable and very pene- 
trating odour, and of a strong, aromatic, burning, camphorous, and bitterish 
taste. Its sp.gr. is 0'945. It cannot be kept long without undergoing change, 
and finally, even though excluded from the air, loses its peculiar odour and taste. 
If ether be made to percolate through the powdered seeds, and the liquor ob- 
tained be deprived of the ether, a light greenish-brown fluid remains, consist- 
ing almost exclusively of the volatile and fixed oils. It has the odour of carda- 
mom, and keeps better than the oil obtained by distillation. (Am. Journ.of 
Pharm., xxi. 116.) The seeds should be powdered only when wanted for use; 
as they retain their aromatic properties best while in the capsules. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cardamom is a warm and grateful aromatic, 
less heating and stimulating than some others belonging to the class, and very 
useful as an adjuvant or corrective of cordial, tonic, and purgative medicines. 
Throughout the East Indies it is largely consumed as a condiment. It was 
known to the ancients, and derived its name from the Greek language. In this 
country it is employed chiefly as an ingredient in compound preparations. 
OJf. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum; Pulvis Aromatieus, U. S.; 
Pulvis Cinnamomi Comp., Br.; Pulvis Cretae Aromatieus, Br.; Tinctura Car- 
damomi, U. S.; Tinct. Cardamomi Comp.; Tinct. Gentians) Comp.; Tinct. 
Rhei; Yinum Aloes. W. 
CAROTA. U. S. Secondary. 
Carrot Seed. 
The fruit of Daucus Carota. U. S. 
Carotte, Fr.; Gemeine Mohro, Gelbe Rube, Germ.; Carota, Ital.; Lanaboria, Span. 
Daucus. Sex. Si/st. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. TJmbelli ferae or A pi aceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla, somewhat rayed. Florets of the disk abortive. Fruit his- 
pid with hairs. Willd. 
Daucus Carota. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1389; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 130, t. 50. 
The wild carrot has a biennial spindle-shaped root, and an annual, round, fur- 228 
Carota 
PART I, 
rowed, hairv stem, which divides into long, erect, flower-bearing branches, and 
rises two or three feet in height. The leaves are hairy, and stand on footstalks 
nerved on their under side. The lower are large and tripinnate, the upper, 
smaller and less compound ; in both, the leaflets are divided into narrow pointed 
segments. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in many-rayed compound 
umbels, which are at first flat on the top and spreading, but, when the seeds are 
formed, contract so as to present a concave cup-like surface. A sterile flower, of 
a deep-purple colour, is often observable in the centre of the umbel. The general 
involucrum is composed of several leaves, divided into long narrow segments; 
the partial is more simple. The petals are five, unequal, and cordate. The fruit 
consists of two plano-convex hispid portions, connected by their flat surfaces. 
Daucus Carota is exceedingly common in this country, growing along fences, 
and in neglected fields, which, in the months of June and July, are sometimes 
white over their whole surface with its flowers. It grows wild also in Europe, 
from which it is supposed by some botanists to have been introduced into the 
United States. The well-known garden carrot is the same plant, somewhat 
altered by cultivation. The officinal portions are the fruit of the wild, and the 
root of the cultivated variety. 
1. Carrot Seed. Strictly speaking, these should be called the fruit. They 
are very light, of a brownish colour, of an oval shape, flat on one side, and con- 
vex on the other, and on their convex surface present four longitudinal ridges, 
to which stiff, whitish hairs or bristles are attached They have an aromatic 
odour, and a warm, pungent, and bitterish taste. By distillation they yield a 
pale-yellow volatile oil, upon which their virtues chiefly depend. Boiling water 
extracts their active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carrot seeds are moderately excitant and 
diuretic, and are employed in chronic nephritic affections, and in dropsy. As 
they possess the cordial properties of the aromatics, they are especially adapted 
to cases in which the stomach is enfeebled. They-are said to afford relief in the 
strangury from blisters. From thirty grains to a drachm of the bruised seeds 
may be given at a dose, or a pint of the infusion, containing the virtues of half 
an ounce or an ounce of the seeds, may be taken during the day. The whole 
umbel is often used instead of the seeds alone. 
2. Carrot Root. The root of the wild carrot is whitish, hard, coriaceous, 
branched, of a strong smell, and an acrid, disagreeable taste; that of the culti- 
vated is reddish, fleshy, thick, conical, rarely branched, of a pleasant odour, 
and a peculiar, sweet, mucilaginous taste. The constituents of the root are crys- 
tallizable and uncrystallizable sugar, a little starch, extractive, gluten, albumen, 
volatile oil, vegetable jelly or pectin, malic acid, saline matters, lignin, and a 
peculiar crystallizable, ruby-red, neuter principle, without odour or taste, called 
carotin. According, however, to MM. Frorde and Soeauer, carotin, as well as a 
modification which has been named hydrocarotin, is in fact cholesterin coloured 
by a red pigment. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1866, p. 505.) The substance 
called vegetable jelly was by some considered a modification of gum or mucil- 
age, combined with a vegetable acid Braconnot found it to be a peculiar prin- 
ciple, and named it pectin from the Greek expressive of its charac- 
teiistic property of gelatinizing. It exists more or less in all vegetables, 
and is abundant in certain fruits and roots from which jellies are prepared. It 
may be separated from the juice of fruits by alcohol, which precipitates it in 
the form of a jelly. This being washed with weak alcohol and dried, yields a 
semi-transparent substance bearing some resemblance to ichthyocolla. Im- 
mersed in 100 parts of cold water, it swells like bassorin, and ultimately forms 
a homogeneous jelly. With a larger proportion it exhibits a mucilaginous con- 
sistence. It is less acted on by boiling than by cold water. When perfectly 
pure it is tasteless, and has no effect on vegetable blues. A striking peculiarity 
is that, by the agency of a fixed alkali or alkaline earthy base, it is instantly 
converted into pectic acid, which unites with the base to form a pectate. This 
may be decomposed by the addition of an acid, which unites with the base, and PART i. 
Carota.—Carthamus. 
229 
separates the pectic acid. Pectic acid thus obtained is in the form of a colour- 
less jelly, slightly acidulous, with the property of reddening litmus paper, 
scarcely soluble in cold water, more soluble in boiling water, and forming with 
the latter a solution, which, though it does not become solid on cooling, is co- 
agulated by alcohol, lime-water, acids, or salts, and even by sugar if allowed to 
stand for some time. With the alkalies it forms salts, capable of gelatinizing; 
with the earths and metallic oxides, insoluble salts. Braconnot thinks that pectic 
acid exists in many plants already formed. M. Fremy found that pectin results, 
in fruits, from the reaction of acids upon a peculiar insoluble substance they con- 
tain when immature, called by him pectose ; and that pectin is changed into 
pectic acid not only by alkalies, but also by vegetable albumen. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The wild root possesses the same properties 
as the seeds, and may be used for the same purposes. That of the garden 
plant has acquired much reputation as an external application to phagedenic, 
sloughing, and cancerous ulcers, the fetor of which it is supposed to correct, 
while it sometimes changes the character of the diseased action. It is also use- 
ful in the ulcers which follow fevers. The root is brought to the proper con- 
sistence by scraping. In this state it retains a portion of the active principles 
of the plant, which render it somewhat stimulant. Boiled and mashed, as usu- 
ally recommended, the root is perfectly mild, and fit only to form emollient 
cataplasms.* W. 
CARTHAMUS. U. S Secondary, 
Safflower. 
The flowers of Carthamus tinctorius. U. S. 
Fleurs de cartharne, Safran batard, Fr.; Farber Saffor, Germ.; Cartamo, Ital., Span. 
Carthamus. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia JEqualis.—Nat.Ord. Composite Cyna- 
reas. De Cand. Cynaraceae. Lindley. 
Gen. Gli. Receptacle paleaceous, setose. Calyx ovate, imbricated, with ovate 
scales, leafy at the end. Seed-doivn paleaceous, hairy, or none. Willd. 
Carthamus tinctorius. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1706. The dyers’ saffron or 
safflower is an annual plant, with a smooth, erect stem, somewhat branched at 
top, and a foot or two in height. The leaves are alternate, sessile, ovate, acute, 
entire, and furnished with spiny teeth. The flowers are compound, in large 
terminal, solitary heads. The florets are of an orange-red colour, with a funnel- 
shaped corolla, of which the tube is long, slender, and cylindrical, and the bor- 
der divided into five equal, lanceolate, narrow segments. 
The plant is a native of India, the Levant, and Egypt, and is cultivated in 
those countries, as well as in various parts of Europe and America. The florets 
are the part employed. They are brought to us chiefly from the ports of the 
Mediterranean Considerable quantities are produced in this country, and sold 
as American saffron. 
Safflower in mass is of a red colour, diversified by the yellowness of the fila- 
ments contained within the floret. It has a peculiar slightly aromatic odour, 
and a scarcely perceptible bitterness. Among its ingredients are two colouring 
substances—one red, insoluble in water, slightly soluble in alcohol, very soluble 
in alkaline liquids, and called carthamine or cartliamic acid by Dobereiner, 
who found it to possess acid properties; the other yellow, and soluble in water. 
It is the former which renders safflower useful as a dye-stuff. Cartharmine mixed 
with finely powdered talc, forms the cosmetic powder called rouge. For m we 
detailed information in relation to these principles, the reader is referred to the 
Journal de Pharmacie (3e ser., iii. 203). 
These flowers are sometimes fraudulently mixed with saffron, which they re^ 
* Carrot Ointment. The following formula for this ointment has been handed to us by 
Professor Procter, who has long been in the habit of preparing it. Take of grated carrot 
root half a pound, lard a pound, wax four ounces. Melt the lard and wax, add the carrot 
root, evaporate with a moderate heat the moisture of the root, and strain. It may be used 
in excoi iated or ulcerated surfaces, requiring gentle stimulation. (Note to the tenth edition.) 230 
Carum.— Caryophyllus. 
PART I. 
semble in colour, but from which they may be distinguished by their tubular 
form, and the yellowish style and filaments which they enclose. 
Medical Properties. In large doses carthamus is said to be laxative ; and, 
administered in the state of warm infusion, it proves somewhat diaphoretic. It 
is used in domestic practice, as a substitute for saffron, in measles, scarlatina, 
ail other exanthematous diseases, in order to promote the eruption. An infu- 
sion, made in the proportion of two drachms to a pint of boiling water, is 
usually employed, and given without restriction as to quantity. W. 
CARUM. US. 
The fruit of Carum Carui. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CARUI FRUCTUS. Caraway Fruit. The dried fruit of Carum 
Carui. Br. 
Carvi,Fr.,Ital.; Gcmeincr Ivummel, Germ.] Alcaravea, Span. 
Carum. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat.Ord. Umbelliferae or Apiacea;. 
Gen. Ch. Fruit ovate-oblong, striated. Involucre one-leafed. Petals keeled, 
in fie xed - em argi n ate. Willd. 
Carum Carui. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1470; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 102, t. 41. 
This plant is biennial and umbelliferous, with a spindle-shaped, fleshy, whitish 
root, and an erect stem, about two feet in height, branching above, and furnished 
with doubly pinnate, deeply incised leaves, the segments of which are linear and 
pointed. The flowers are small and white, and in erect terminal umbels, which 
are accompanied with an involucre, consisting sometimes of three or four leaf- 
lets, sometimes of one only, and are destitute of partial involucre. 
The caraway plant is a native of Europe, growing wild in meadows and pas- 
tures, and cultivated in many places. It has been introduced into this country. 
The flowers appear in May and June, and the seeds, which are not perfected till 
the second year, ripen in August. The root, when improved by culture, resembles 
the parsnep, and is used as food in the north of Europe. The seeds arc the part 
used in medicine. They are collected by cutting down the plant, and threshing 
it on a cloth. Our markets are supplied partly from Europe, partly from our 
own gardens. The American seeds are usually rather smaller than the German. 
Caraway seeds (half-fruits) are about two lines in length, slightly curved, 
with five longitudinal ridges, which are of a light-yellowish colour, while the in 
tervening spaces are dark-brown. They have an agreeable aromatic smell, and 
a sweetish, warm, spicy taste. These properties depend on an essential oil, 
which they afford largely by distillation. The residue is insipid. They yield 
their virtues readily to alcohol, and more slowly to water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Caraway is a pleasant stomachic and car- 
minative, occasionally used in flatulent colic, and as an adjuvant or corrective 
of other medicines. The dose in substance is from a scruple to a drachm. An 
infusion may be prepared by adding two drachms of the seeds to a pint of boil- 
ing water. The volatile oil, however, is most employed. (See Oleum Cari.) 
The seeds are baked in cakes, to which they communicate an agreeable flavour, 
while they stimulate the digestive organs. j 
Off. Prep. Aqua Carui, Br.; Confectio Pi peris, Br.; Oleum Cari; Pulvis' 
Opii Compositus, Br.; Tinctura Cardamomi Composita ; Tinct. Sennae, Br. W. 
Caraivay. 
CARYOPHYLLUS. U. S. 
Gloves. 
The unexpanded flowers of Caryophyllus aromaticus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CARYOPIIYLLUM. The dried unexpanded flower-buds of 
Caryophyllus aromaticus. Br. 
Girofle, Clous de Girofles, Fr.; Gewurznelken, Germ,.; Garofaui, Italy Clavos de es- 
picia, Span.; Cravo da India, Portuguese; Kruidnagel, Dutch; Kerunfel, Arab. PART I. 
Caryophyllus. 
231 
Caryophyllus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Tube of the calyx cylindrical; limb, four-parted. Petals four, ad- 
hering by their ends in a sort of calyptra. Stamens distinct, arranged in tour 
parcels in a quadrangular fleshy hollow, near the teeth of the calyx. Ovary 
two-celled, with about twenty ovules in each cell. Berry one or two-celled, one 
or two seeded. Seeds cylindrical, or half-ovate. Cotyledons thick, fleshy, convex 
externally, sinuous in various ways internally. Bindley. Ue Cand. 
Caryophyllus aromaticus. Linn. Sp. 735; De Cand. Prodrom. iii. 262; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 43, pi. 37 —Eugenia caryophyllata. Willd. 
Sp. Plant, ii. 965 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.538, t. 193. This small tree is one of 
the most elegant of those inhabiting the islands of India It has a pyramidal 
form, is always green, and is adorned throughout the year with a succession of 
beautiful rosy flowers. The stem is of hard wood, and covered with a smooth, 
grayish bark. The leaves are about four inches in length by two in breadth, 
obovate-oblong, acuminate at both ends, entire, sinuated, with many parallel 
veins on each side of the midrib, supported on long footstalks, and opposite. 
They have a firm consistence, and a shining green colour, and when bruised 
are highly fragrant. The flowers are disposed in terminal corymbose panicles, 
and exhale a strong, penetrating, and grateful odour. 
The natural geographical range of the clove is extremely limited. It was 
formerly confined to the Molucca Islands, in most of which it grew abundantly 
before their conquest by the Dutch. By the monopolizing policy of that com- 
mercial people, the trees were extirpated in nearly all the islands except Am- 
boyna and Ternate, which were under their immediate inspection. Notwith- 
standing, however, their jealous vigilance, a French governor of the Isles of 
France and Bourbon, named Poivre, succeeded, in the year 1770, in obtaining 
plants from the Moluccas, and introducing them into the colonies under his 
control. Five years afterwards, the clove-tree was introduced into Cayenne 
and the West Indies, in 1803 into Sumatra, and in 1818 into Zanzibar. It is 
now cultivated largely in these and other places ; and commerce has ceased to 
depend on the Moluccas for supplies of this spice.* 
The unexpanded flower-buds are the part of the plant employed under the 
ordinary name of cloves.'}' They are first gathered when the tree is about six 
years old. The fruit has similar aromatic properties, but much weaker. The 
buds are picked by the hand, or separated from the tree by long reeds, and 
are then quickly dried. In the Moluccas they are said to be sometimes im- 
mersed in boiling water, and afterwards exposed to smoke and artificial heat, 
before being spread out in the sun. In Cayenne and the West Indies they are 
dried simply by solar heat. 
Cloves appear to have been unknown to the ancients. They were introduced 
into Europe by the Arabians, and were distributed by the Venetians. After 
the discovery of the southern passage to India, the trade in this spice passed 
into the hands of the Portuguese; but was subsequently wrested from them 
by the Dutch, by whom it was long monopolized. Within a few years, however, 
the extended culture of the plant has thrown open the commerce in cloves to 
all nations. The United States derive much of their supply from the West In- 
dies and Guiana. The Molucca cloves are said to be thicker, darker, heavier, 
more oily, and more highly aromatic than those cultivated elsewhere. They 
are known by the name of Amboyna cloves. The Bencoolen cloves, from Su- 
matra, are deemed equal if not superior by the English druggists. 
Properties. Cloves resemble a nail in shape, are usually rather more than 
* Cloves from Cayenne, and from various West India islands, as Martinique, Guada- 
loupe, and Trinidad, have been for everal years circulating in commerce. The author saw 
a specimen from Para, in Brazil, <t the international exhibition at London (A.D. 1862b 
They were lighter coloured than tnose from the E. Indies. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
f The peduncles of the flowers have been sometimes employed. They possess the odour 
and taste of the cloves, though in a less degree, and furnish a considerable quantity of 
essential oil. The French call them griffes de girof.es. 232 
Cary ophy lilts. 
PART I. 
half an inch long, and have a round head with four spreading points beneath it. 
Their colour is externally deep-brown, internally reddish; their odour strong 
and fragrant; their taste hot, pungent, aromatic, and very permanent. The 
best cloves are large, heavy, brittle, and exude a small quantity of oil on being 
pressed or scraped with the nail. When light, soft, wrinkled, pale, and of fbeble 
taste and smell, they are inferior. Those from which the essential oil has been 
distilled are sometimes fraudulently mixed with the genuine. 
Trommsdorff obtained from 1000 parts of cloves 180 of volatile oil, HO of 
a peculiar tannin, 180 of gum, 60 of resin, 280 of vegetable fibre, and 180 of 
water. M. Lodibert afterwards discovered a fixed oil, aromatic and of a green 
colour, and a white resinous substance which crystallizes in fasciculi, composed 
of very fine diverging silky needles, without taste or smell, soluble in ether and 
boiling alcohol, and exhibiting neither alkaline nor acid reaction. This sub- 
stance, called by M. Bonastre caryophyllin, was found in the cloves of the 
Moluccas, of Bourbon, and of Barbadoes, but not in those of Cayenne, from 
which, however, it has since been procured. Berzelius considers it a stearoptene, 
and probably identical with that deposited by the oil of cloves when long kept. 
To obtain it, the ethereal extract of cloves is treated with water, and the white 
substance thrown down is separated by filtration, and treated repeatedly with 
ammonia to deprive it of impurities. Thus procured, Dr. Muspratt found it to 
consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in the proportion represented by the 
formula C10HsO, or (Pharm. Journ., x. 343.) Dr. Theod. Martius ob- 
tains it cheaply by exposing cloves, previously deprived as far as possible of oil 
by distillation with water, to distillation at a higher temperature, redistilling the 
brown liquid obtained until the distillate nearly ceases to have the taste or smell 
of cloves, and then purifying the residue by washing with water, and treating it 
with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal repeatedly, until the caryophyllin,which 
is deposited by the alcohol on cooling, is perfectly white. (See Am Journ. of 
Pharm., xxxii. 65.) It is an oxide of the neutral oil of cloves. M. Dumas has 
discovered another crystalline principle, which forms in the water distilled from 
cloves, and is gradually deposited. Like caryophyllin, it is soluble in alcohol and 
ether, but differs from that substance in becoming red when touched with nitric 
acid. M. Bonastre proposes for it the name of eugenin. {Journ. de Pharm., xx. 
565.) It is said to be isomeric with eugenic acid, or the acid constituent of oil 
of cloves. {Gregory.) Water extracts the odour of cloves with comparatively 
little of their taste. All their sensible properties are imparted to alcohol; and 
the tincture when evaporated leaves an excessively fiery extract, which becomes 
insipid if deprived of the oil by distillation with water, while the oil which 
comes over is mild. Hence it has been inferred that the pungency of this aro- 
matic depends on a union of the essential oil with the resin. For an account of 
the oil, see Oleum Caryophylli. The infusion and oil of cloves are reddened 
by nitric acid, and rendered blue by tincture of chloride of iron; facts of some 
interest, as morphia yields the same results with these reagents. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cloves are among the most stimulant of the 
aromatics; but, like others of this class, act less upon the system at large than 
on the part to which they are immediately applied. They are sometimes ad- 
ministered in substance or infusion to relieve nausea and vomiting, correct flatu- 
lence, and excite languid digestion; but their chief use is to assist or modify 
the action of other medicines. They enter into several officinal preparations. 
Their dose in substance is from five to ten grains. 
The French Codex directs a tincture of cloves to be prepared by digesting 
for six days, and afterwards filtering, a mixture of four ounces of powdered 
cloves and sixteen of alcohol of 31° Cartier. Three ounces to the pint of alco' 
hoi is a sufficiently near approximation. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Aurantii Compositum, Br ; Infusum Caryophylli; Mis- 
tura Ferri Aromatica, Hr ; Oleum Caryophylli; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, 
Br.; Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U. S.; Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S., 
Vinum Opii. W PART 1. 
Cascarilla. 
233 
CASCARILLA. US. 
Cascarilla. 
The bark of Croton Eleuteria. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CASCARILLA3 CORTEX. Cascarilia Bark. The bark of Cro- 
ton Eluteria. Br. 
Cascarille, Fr.; Cascarillrinde, Cascariglia, Hal.; Chacarila, Span. 
Croton. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia—Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceas. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx cylindrical, five-toothed. Corolla five-petaled. Star 
mens ten to fifteen. Female. Calyx many-leaved. Corolla none. Styles three 
bifid Capsule three-celled. Seed one. Willd. 
There has been much confusion in relation to the different species of Croton 
growing in the West Indies, and as to which of them the Cascarilla of the shops 
is to be ascribed At present, however, it is generally admitted that this bark, 
which is brought exclusively from the Bahama Islands, is the product of Croton 
Eluteria; and, though it is probable that the proper C. Cascarilla may at one 
time have yielded a portion of its bark to commerce, at present little or none 
is derived from that species. The London College committed the error, which 
it afterwards corrected, of recognising C. Cascarilla of Don as the source of 
it. This botanist mistook the Copalchi bark of Mexico, which is produced by 
Croton Pseudo-China of Schiede, and somewhat resembles cascarilla, for the 
genuine bark, and hence proposed to transfer the specific name of Cascarilla 
to the Mexican plant. No fact is better ascertained than that the proper cas- 
carilla bark is a West India product, and is never brought from Mexico.* 
In relation to the botany of this subject, the former intricacy has been in 
great measure if not entirely removed by the researches of Mr. John J. Ben- 
nett, who, having received specimens of the different species of Croton growing 
in the "Bahamas from Dr. W. F. Daniell, by whom they were collected during 
a residence in those islands, was enabled, by a comparison of them with former 
specimens and descriptions, to discriminate accurately the species previously 
confounded. (Journ. of Linn. Soc., iv. 29.) 
Croton Eluteria. Bennett, Journ. Linn. Soc., iv. 29 ; Daniell, Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., 2d ser., iv. 145, figured at p. 150. — Clutia Eluteria. Woodv. Med. 
Bot., 3d ed., iv. 633, t. 223. As described by Dr. Daniell, this, though commonly 
a shrub of from three to five feet high, sometimes appears in the form of a small 
* Copalchi bark has been mistaken not only for cascarilla, but also for a variety of cin- 
chona. Portions of it, having been taken to Europe, attracted the attention both of phar- 
macologists and physicians. Two kinds were noticed; one, in small slender quills, of an 
ash colour, bearing some resemblance to a variety of pale cinchona, but having the flavour 
of cascarilla, and burning with a similar odour; the other, in larger quills, with a thick 
cork-like epidermis, very bitter, and yielding an aromatic odour when hutnt. The former 
is the product of Croton Pseudo-China; the latter is of unknown origin, but conjectur- 
ally referred to C. suberosum. Mr. J. E. Howard states that the quilled copalchi bark 
contains a bitter alkaloid, soluble in ether, and precipitable as a white hydrate from its 
acid solution. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 319.) Copalchi bark is an aromatic tonic, employed 
in Mexico in intermittents, and capable of useful application in all cases requiring a mild 
aromatic bitter. Dr. Stark has employed it advantageously in feeble states of digestion 
with irritable bowels, and found it, in one or two cases, to exhibit antiperiodic proper- 
ties. It may he given in infusion, made with half an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, 
in the dose of one or two fluidounces three times a day. (Ed. Med. andSurg. Journ., April, 
1849, p. 410.)—Note to the ninth and eleventh editions. 
After the publication of the tenth edition of this work, we received from Dr. Pleasants, 
U. S. Consul at Minatitlan, Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, a box of bark which it was 
thought might prove to be Peruvian bark, and had some reputation as an antiperiodic. 
It is in large quills, or partially rolled pieces, sometimes nearly flat, with a white or 
whitish epidermis, and a dark-brown colour of the proper bark, the outer surface of which 
appears irregularly striated on the removal of the epidermis. It has a bitter, aromatic 
taste, gives out when burnt the musk-like odour of cascarilla similarly treated, and, though 
much larger than the specimens we have seen of copalchi bark, is probably derived either 
from the same tree, or from another species of Croton. (Note to the eleventh edition.) 234 
Cascarilla. 
TART I. 
tree with a stem from four to eight inches in diameter.* The stem is straight, 
and marked at intervals with white or grayish stains. The leaves are petiolate, 
from two to three inches in length by an inch or more in breadth, often some- 
what. cordate at the base, obtusely acuminate, pale or grayish-green above, and 
densely covered beneath with shining silvery scales, appearing white at a dis- 
tance. They are smaller and narrower in the plants of arborescent growth. The 
flowers, which have a delicious odour, are monoecious, small, white, petiolate, 
and closely set, in simple terminal or axillary spikes. The shrub is a native of 
the Bahamas, scarce at present in the island of New Providence, but still abun- 
dant in Andros, Long, and Eleutheria islands, from the latter of which it derived 
its botanical title. Daniell calls the plant sweet-wood. The name of seaside 
balsam belongs to another species, G. Balsamiferum of Linnteus, which grows 
in the Bahamas and other W. India islands, and owes its name to the circum- 
stance that a balsamic juice exudes from its young branches when wounded. 
Grolon Cascarilla. Bennett, Journ. of the Linn. Soc. iv. 30. — Clutia Casca 
villa. Linn. Sp. Plant, ed. I, p. 1042. — Ricinoides elseagnifolio. Catesby, Hist 
Carolin. ii. t. 46. As described by Daniell, this is a shrub of from four to six 
feet, much branched, with a pale grayish-green stem, without the white stains of 
the former species. The leaves are petiolate, long, narrow, lanceolate, tapering 
towards each end, pointed, with flat or somewhat undular margins, above smooth 
and green, beneath pale and very hairv. The flowers are monoecious, in simple 
terminal spikes, with small white petals tinged with yellow. They are very fra- 
grant. The plant is a native of the Bahamas, and is said also to grow in llayti. 
In the Bahamas it is much scarcer than formerly, and is said by Dr. Daniell to 
yield at present none of the Cascarilla of commerce, of which much was formerly 
derived from it. This species seems to have been confounded by some with Croton 
lineareof Jacquin, which grows in the Bahamas and mostofthe W. Indiaislands, 
where it is known by thename of wild rosemary, owing probablyin part to its fra- 
grant smell, but still more to its narrow linear leaves with reflected margins. 
Cascarilla is brought to this market from the West Indies, and chiefly, as we 
have been informed, from the Bahamas. It comes in bags or casks. We have ob- 
served it in the shops in two forms, so distinct as to merit the title of varieties. 
In one, the bark is in rolled pieces of every size, from three or four inches in 
length and half an inch in diameter to the smallest fragments, covered exter- 
nally with a dull-whitish or grayish-white epidermis, which in many portions 
is partially, sometimes wholly removed, leaving a dark-brown surface, while 
the inner surface has a chocolate colour, and the fracture is a reddish-brown. 
The small pieces are sometimes curled, but have a distinct abrupt edge as if 
broken front the branches. The second variety consists entirely of very small 
pieces, not more than an inch or two in length, very thin, without the white 
epidermis, not regularly quilled, but curved more or less in the direction of 
their length, often having a small portion of woody fibre attached to their inner 
surface, and presenting an appearance precisely as if shaved by a knife from the 
stem or branches. Whether these two varieties are derived from distinct spe- 
cies, or differ only from the mode of collection, it is difficult to determine.f 
* The plant referred to in former editions of this work, as having been seen by Dr. 
Wright in Jamaica, and called by him C. Eluteria, is, according to Mr. Bennett, a distinct 
species, G. Sloanei, which was confounded by Linnaeus with the genuine cascarilla plant, 
under the name of Clutia Eluteria. The genuine plant was first described by him in his 
Hortus Cliffortianus (pp. 486-7), from a specimen in Cliftbrt’s herbarium in the British 
Museum, and afterwards apparently confused with a Jamaica specimen sent to him by 
Patrick Brown, from the latter of which the description of his Clutia Eluteria was drawn 
up, which is quite inapplicable to the original plant. It is the C. Sloanei also that was 
described by Swartz in his Flora Indise Occidentalis (p. 1183), under the name of Croton 
Eluteria, and probably the same that was figured by Dr. Carson in his Must, of Med. 
Bot. ii. 34, pi. 78. (See Pharm. Journ., Aug. 1859, pp. 132-3.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f We have little doubt that the latter variety, which we have not seen for many years, 
was the product of C. Cascarilla. The fact that it has ceased to appear in our markets 
corresponds with the fact, stated by Dr. Daniell, that the bark of this species is not now 
collected; and the want of a white epidermis, by which the bark of C. Cascarilla is also 
characterized, tends to confirm this view of its origin. (Note to the twelfth edition.\ PART i. 
Cascarilla.— Cassia Fistula. 
235 
Properties. Cascarilla has an aromatic odour, rendered much more distinct 
by friction, and a warm, spicy, bitter taste. It is brittle, breaking with a short 
fracture. When burnt it emits a pleasant odour, closely resembling that of musk, 
but weaker and more agreeable. This property serves to distinguish it from 
other barks. It was analyzed by Troinmsdortf, and more recently by M. Duval, 
of Liseux, in France. The constituents found by the latter were albumen, a 
peculiar kind of tannin, a bitter crystallizable principle called cascarillin, a 
red colouring matter, fatty matter of a nauseous odour, wax, gum, volatile oil, 
resin, starch, pectic acid, chloride of potassium, a salt of lime, and lignin. The 
oil, according to Trommsdorff, constitutes 16 per cent., is of a greenish-yellow 
colour, a penetrating odour analogous to that of the bark, and of the sp.gr. 
0 938. To obtain cascarillin, M. Duval treated the powdered bark with water, 
added acetate of lead to the solution, separated the lead by sulphuretted hydro- 
gen, filtered, evaporated with the addition of animal charcoal, filtered again, 
evaporated at a low temperature to a syrupy consistence, and, having allowed 
the semi liquid substance thus obtained to harden by cooling, purified it by twice 
successively treating it, first with a little cold alcohol, to separate the colouring 
and fatty matters, and afterwards with boiling alcohol and animal charcoal. The 
last alcoholic solution was allowed to evaporate spontaneously. Thus obtained, 
cascarillin is white, crystalline, inodorous, bitter, very slightly soluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, neuter, and destitute of nitrogen. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., viii. 96.) Either alcohol or water will partially extract the 
active matters of cascarilla; but diluted alcohol is the proper menstruum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is aromatic and tonic. It was known 
in Germany so early as the year 1690, and was much used as a substitute for 
Peruvian bark by those who were prejudiced against that febrifuge in the treat- 
ment of remittent and intermittent fevers. It has, however, lost much of its 
reputation, and is now employed only where a pleasant and gently stimulant 
tonic is desirable ; as in dyspepsia, chronic diarrhoea and d}rsentery, flatulent 
colic, and other cases of debility of the stomach or bowels. It is said to pro- 
mote the flow of milk in the lower animals, and has been proposed with a view 
to the same effect in the human subject. It is sometimes advantageously com- 
bined with the more powerful bitters. It may be given in powder or infusion. 
The dose of the former is from a scruple to half a drachm, which may be re- 
peated several times a day. Prof. Procter has published a formula for a fluid 
extract, which contains the virtues of a troyounce of the bark in a fluidounee. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 113.) In consequence of its pleasant 
odour when burnt, some smokers mix it in small quantity with their tobacco; 
but it is said, when thus employed, to occasion vertigo and intoxication. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cascarillse ; Tinctura Cascarillse, Br. W. 
CASSIA FISTULA. U. JS. 
Purging Cassia 
The fruit of Cassia Fistula. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CASSIAS PULPA. Cassia Palp. The pulp obtained from the 
pods of the Purging Cassia, Cassia Fistula. Br. 
Casso, Fr.; Eohrenkassie, Germ.; Cassia, Jtal.; Cana Fistula, Span. 
Cassia. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Fabacese or Legumi- 
nosse. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Anthers, three upper sterile, three 
lower beaked. Lomentum. Willd. 
The tree which yields the purging cassia is ranked by some botanists as a 
distinct genus, separated from the Cassia, and denominated Cathartocarpus. 
(See Lindlefs Flor. Med., 262.) 
Cassia Fistula. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 518; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 445, t. 160; 
Carson, Flust. of Med. Bot. i. 24, pi. 26. — Cathartocarpus Fistula. Persoon, 236 
Cassia Fistula. 
PART I. 
Synops., i. 459. This is a large tree, rising to the height of forty or fifty feet, 
with a trunk of hard, heavy wood, dividing towards the top into numerous 
spreading branches, and covered with a smooth ash-coloured bark. The leaves 
are commonly composed of five or six pairs of opposite leaflets, which are ovate, 
pointed, undulated, smooth, of a pale-green colour, from three to five inches long, 
and supported upon short petioles. The flowers are large, of a golden-yellow 
colour, and arranged in long, pendent, axillary racemes. The fruit consists of 
long, cylindrical, woody, dark-brown, pendulous pods, which, when agitated by 
the wind, strike against each other, and produce a sound that may be heard 
at a considerable distance. 
This species of Cassia is a native of Upper Egypt and India, whence it is 
generally supposed to have been transplanted to other parts of the world. It is 
at present very extensively diffused through the tropical regions of the old and 
new continents, being found in Insular and Continental India, Cochin-China, 
Egypt, Nubia, the West Indies, and the warmer parts of America. The fruit is 
the officinal portion of the plant. It is imported from the East and West Indies, 
chiefly the latter, and from South America. 
Properties. Cassia pods are a foot or more in length, straight or but slightly 
curved, cylindrical, less than an inch in diameter, with a woody shell, externally 
of a dark-brown colour, and marked with three longitudinal shining bands, ex 
tending from one end to the other, two of which are in close proximity, appear- 
ing to constitute a single band, and the third is on the opposite side of the pod. 
These bands mark the place of junction of the valves of the legume, and are 
represented as sometimes excavated in the form of furrows. There are also cir- 
cular depressions at unequal distances. Internally the pod is divided into nu- 
merous cells by thin transverse plates, which are covered with a soft, black 
pulp. Each cell contains a single, oval, shining seed. The pods brought from 
the East Indies are smaller, smoother, have a blacker pulp, and are more es- 
teemed than those from the West Indies. 
We have seen a quantity of pods in this market sold as cassia pods, which 
were an inch and a half in diameter, flattened on the sides, exceedingly rough on 
the outer surface, and marked by three longitudinal very elevated ridges, cor- 
responding to the bands or furrows of the common cassia. The pulp was rather 
nauseous, but in other respects seemed to have the properties of the officinal 
purging cassia. They corresponded exactly with a specimen of the fruit of 
Cassia Brasilliana brought from the West Indies, and were probably derived 
from that plant. 
The heaviest pods, and those which do not make a rattling noise when shaken, 
are to be preferred; as they contain a larger portion of the pulp, which is the 
part employed. This should be black and shining, and have a sweet taste. It 
is apt to become sour if long exposed to the air, or mouldy if kept in a damp 
place. The pulp is extracted from the pods by first bruising them, then boiling 
them in water, and afterwards evaporating the decoction ; or, when the pods 
are fresh, by opening them at the sutures, and removing the pulp by a spatula. 
Cassia pulp has a slight rather sickly odour, and a sweet mucilaginous taste. 
From the analysis of M. Henry it appears to contain sugar, gum, a substance 
analogous to tannin, a colouring matter soluble in ether, traces of a principle 
resembling gluten, and a small quantity of water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cassia pulp is laxative, and maybe advanta- 
geously given in small doses in cases of habitual costiveness. In quantities suffi- 
cient to purge, it occasions nausea, flatulence, and griping. In this country it 
is rarely prescribed, except as an ingredient in the confection of senna, which is 
a pleasant and useful laxative preparation. The dose of the pulp as a laxative 
is one or two drachms, as a purge one or two ounces. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae. W. PART I. 
Cassia Marilandica.— Castoreum. 
237 
CASSIA MARILANDICA. U. S. 
American Senna. 
The leaves of Cassia Marilandica. U. S. 
Cassia. See CASSIA FISTULA. 
Cassia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 524 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii 
116; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 137. This is an indigenous perennial plant, of vigor- 
ous growth, sending up annually numerous round, erect, nearly smooth stems, 
which are usually simple, and rise from three to six feet in height. The leaves 
are alternate, and composed of from eight to ten pairs of oblong-lanceolate, 
smooth, mucronate leaflets, green on their upper surface, pale beneath, and con- 
nected by short petioles with the common footstalk, which is compressed, chan- 
neled above, and furnished near its base with an ovate, stipitate gland. The 
flowers, which are of a beautiful golden-yellow colour, grow in short axillary 
racemes at the upper part of the stem. The calyx is composed of five oval, ob- 
tuse, unequal, yellow leaves; the corolla of the same number of spatulate, con- 
cave petals, of which three are ascending, and two descending and larger than the 
others. The stamens are ten, with yellow filaments and brown anthers, which 
open by a terminal pore. The three upper stamens bear short abortive anthers; 
the three lowermost are long, curved, and tapering into a beak. The germ, which 
descends with the latter, bears an erect style terminating in a hairy stigma. The 
fruit is a pendulous legume, from two to four inches long, linear, curved, swell- 
ing at the seeds, somewhat hairy, and of a blackish colour. 
The American senna, ovwild senna as it is sometimes called, is very com- 
mon in all parts of the United States south of New York, and grows as far 
northward as the southern boundary of Massachusetts. It prefers a low, moist, 
rich soil, in the vicinity of water, and, though frequently found in dryer and 
more elevated places, is most abundant and luxuriant in the flat ground on the 
borders of rivers and ponds. It is sometimes cultivated in gardens for medi- 
cal use. In the months of July and August, when in full bloom, it has a rich 
and beautiful appearance. The leaves should be collected in August or the 
beginning of September, and carefully dried. 
They are sometimes brought into the market, compressed into oblong cakes, 
like those prepared by the Shakers from most herbaceous medicinal plants. The 
leaflets are from an inch and a half to two inches long, from one quarter to half 
an inch in breadth, thin, pliable, and of a pale-green colour. They have a feeble 
odour, and a nauseous taste, somewhat analogous to that of senna. Water and 
alcohol extract their virtues. They were analyzed by Mr. Martin, of Philadel- 
phia, and found to contain a principle analogous to cathartin, albumen, muci- 
lage, starch, chlorophyll, yellow colouring matter, volatile oil, fatty matter,resin, 
and lignin, besides salts of potassa and lime. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., i. 22.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. American senna is an efficient and safe cathar- 
tic, closely resembling the imported senna in its action, and capable of being sub- 
stituted for it in all cases in which the latter is employed. It is, however, less 
active; and, to produce an equal effect, must be administered in a dose at least 
one-third larger. It is habitually used by many practitioners in the country. 
Like senna it is most conveniently given in the form of infusion, and should be 
similarly combined in order to obviate its tendency to produce griping. W. 
CASTOREUM. U.S.,Br 
Castor 
A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Castor fiber. U. S. The dried 
preputial follicles and their secretion, obtained from the Beaver, Castor Fiber, 
and separated from the somewhat shorter and smaller oil-sacs which are fre- 
quently attached to them. Br. 238 
Castoreum. 
PART I 
Castoreum, Fr.; Bibergeil, Germ.; Castoro, Ital.; Castoreo, Span. 
In the beaver, Cantor fiber of naturalists, between the anus and external gen- 
itals of both sexes, are two pairs of membranous follicles, of which the lower and 
larger are pear-shaped, and contain an oily, viscid, highly odorous substance, 
secreted by glands which lie externally to the sac. This substance is called cas- 
tor. Afier the death of the animal, the follicles containing it are removed, and 
dried either by smoke orinthesun; and in this state are brought into the market. 
This drug is derived either from the northern and northwestern parts of 
America, or from Russia; and is distinguished, according to its source, into the 
Canadian or American, and Russian castor. It is supposed by some that the 
American and Russian beavers are distinct species, the former being a building, 
the latter a burrowing animal; and additional ground for the supposition is 
afforded by the fact, that the products of the two differ considerably. Of the 
Russian but a very small portion reaches this country That which is brought 
to Philadelphia is derived chiefly from Missouri; but large quantities are col- 
lected in the northwestern regions of British America * 
Castor comes to us in the form of solid unctuous masses, contained in sacs 
about two inches in length, larger at one end than at the other, much flattened 
and wrinkled, of a brown or blackish colour externally, and united in pairs by 
the excretory ducts which connect them in the living animal. In each pair, one 
sac is generally larger than the other. They are divided internally into numer- 
ous cells containing the castor, which, when the sacs are cut or torn open, is ex- 
hibited of a brown or reddish-brown colour, intermingled more or less with the 
whitish membrane forming the cells. Those brought from Russia are larger, 
fuller, heavier, and less tenacious than the American; and their contents, which 
are of a rusty or liver colour, have a stronger taste and smell, and are considered 
more valuable as a medicine. A variety of Russian castor, described by Pereira 
under the name of chalky Russian castor, is in smaller and rounder sacs than 
the American, has a peculiar empyreumatic odour very different from that of the 
other varieties, breaks like starch under the teeth, and is characterized by effer- 
vescing with dilute muriatic acid. In a specimen examined by Muller, 40646 
per cent, of carbonate of lime was found. In the castor from Missouri, the con- 
tents of the sac are sometimes almost white, and evidently inferior. According 
to Jannarch, castor varies with the time of year at which it is collected, being 
lighter coloured, more fluid, and less copious in the follicles from February to 
July than in the remainder of the year. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Mai, 1847, p. 318.) 
It is said by M. Kohli that the Canadian castor, treated with distilled water and 
ammonia, affords an orange precipitate, while the matter thrown down from the 
Russian under similar treatment is white. 
Properties. Good castor has a strong, fetid, peculiar odour; a bitter, acrid, 
and nauseous taste; and a colour more or less tinged with red. It is of a softer 
or harder consistence, according as it is more or less thoroughly dried. When 
perfectly desiccated, though still somewhat unctuous, it is hard, britfle, and 
of a resinous fracture. Its chemical constituents, according to Brandos, are 
volatile oil; a resinous matter; albumen; a substance resembling osmazome; 
mucus; urate,carbonate, benzoate, phosphate, and sulphate of lime; acetate and 
* The statement in the text, that the lower of the two pairs of sacs is the one contain- 
ing the castor, was made on the authority of Cuvier. In an appendix by Dr. W. W. 
Ely, in a treatise recently published on the “American Beaver and his Works,” by 
Lewis H. Morgan, it is stated by Dr. Ely, who appears to have thoroughly studied the 
anatomy of the animal, at least in reference to this particular subject, that the upper 
pair are the real castor sacs, the lower containing an oily secretion, with very little 
dark-coloured castor. (Pages 300 and 303.) 
In the same communication by Dr. Ely, the question is discussed as to the identity of 
the Russian and American beavers; and the conclusion arrived at, that, though there 
are striking differences between the skulls of the two, as also in some respects in the 
contents of the castor sacs, yet these are nothing more than can be accounted for by the 
different circumstances in which they are placed, and by their long separation on the 
two xmtinents; and consequently the Russian and American beavers should be consid- 
ered merely as varieties of the same species. (Note to the thirteenth edition.1 PART i. 
Castoreum. 
239 
muriate of soda; muriate, sulphate, and benzoate of potassa; carbonate of am- 
monia; membranous matter; and a peculiar proximate principle discovered by 
M. Bizio, an Italian chemist, and called by him castorin. This principle crys- 
tallizes in long, diaphanous, fasciculated prisms, has the smell of castor, and a 
copperish taste. It is insoluble in cold water and cold alcohol; but isdissolved 
by 100 parts of the latter liquid at the boiling temperature, and by the essential 
oils. It possesses neither alkaline nor acid properties. It may be obtained by 
treating castor, minutely divided, with six times its weight of boiling alcohol, 
filtering the liquor while hot, and allowing it to cool. The castorin is slowly de- 
posited, and may be purified by means of cold alcohol. M. Valenciennes, who 
could not obtain the crystals white and pure by simple treatment with alcohol, 
succeeded by first boiling a mixture of equal parts of castor and hydrated lime 
with water, and acting upon the residue, separated and dried, with boiling alco- 
hol of the sp. gr. 0-823. The product exceeded 1 per cent. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 
1861, p. 329.) It has been thought to be the active principle; but its claims 
are doubtful. The volatile oil may be obtained by repeated distillation with the 
same portion of water. It is pale-yellow, and has the smell and taste of castor. 
F. Wohler has ascertained the existence of salicin in castor; also that it con- 
tains a small quantity of carbolic acid, one of the products of the distillation 
of coal-tar, to wThich he ascribes its odour. (See Chem. Gaz., Jan. 1, 1849.) 
Dr. Pereira found that a portion of water distilled from American castor gra- 
dually lost its peculiar odour, and acquired that of the flowers of Spirasa ul- 
maria, and afterwards presented no trace of the presence of oil of castor. Upon 
testing it, he ascertained the existence in it of hydruret of salicyl (oil of Spi- 
raea ulmaria), and concluded that the oil of castor had been converted into that 
principle. He further inferred that the oil is probably a volatile product of the 
salicin of the castor, and ascribes the carbolic acid to the same source. {Pharm. 
Journ., xi. 200.) The salicin of the castor probably proceeds from the willow 
and poplar on which the beaver feeds. 
Alcohol and ether extract the virtues of castoi'. An infusion made with 
boiling water has its sensible properties in a slight degree; but the odorous 
principle of the drug is dissipated by decoction. 
The virtues of castor are impaired by age ; and the change is more rapid in 
proportion to the elevation of temperature. Moisture promotes its speedy de- 
composition. It should not, therefore, be kept in damp cellars. In a dry cool 
place it maybe kept for along time without material deterioration. When quite 
black, with little taste or smell, it is unfit for use. The castor follicles are some- 
times partly deprived of the castor, and its place supplied with sawdust. A fac- 
titious preparation has been sold,consisting of a mixture of various drugs,scented 
with genuine castor, intermingled with membrane, and stuffed into the scrotum 
of a goat. The fraud may be detected by the comparatively feeble odour, the 
absence of other characteristic sensible properties, and the want of the smaller 
follicles containing fatty matter, often attached to the bags of castor. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Castor is moderately stimulant and antispas- 
modic. The experiments of Thouvenel prove that, in large doses, it quickens 
the pulse, increases the heat of the skin, and produces other symptoms of general 
excitement; but its force is directed chiefly to the nervous system, and in small 
doses it scarcely disturbs the circulation. It has also enjoyed a high reputation 
as an emmenagogue. It was employed by the ancients. Pliny and Dioscorides 
speak of it as useful in hysteria and amenorrheea. In Europe, especially on the 
continent, it is still frequently prescribed in low forms of fever attended with 
nervous symptoms, in spasmodic diseases, such as hysteria and epilepsy, in 
many anomalous nervous affections, and in diseases dependent on or connected 
with suppression or retention of the menses. It is less used in this country. 
The dose in substance is from ten to thirty grains, which maybe given in bolus 
or emulsion. The tincture is sometimes employed. 
Of. Prep. Tinctura Castorci. W. 240 
Cataria.— Catechu. 
PART I. 
CATARIA. U.S. 
Catnep. 
The leaves of Nepeta Cataria. U. S. 
Cataire, Fr.; Katzenmiinze, Germ.; Cattara, Ital.; Gatera, Span. 
Nepeta. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia. — Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or 
Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx dry, striate, five-toothed. Corolla with the upper lip undi- 
vided, the under lip three-parted, the middle division crenate. Stamens ap- 
proximate. 
Nepeta Cataria. Catnep or catmint is a perennial herbaceous plant, with a 
quadrangular, branching, somewhat hoary stem, from one to three feet high, 
and furnished with opposite, petiolate, cordate, dentate, pubescent leaves, which 
are green above and whitish on their under surface. The flowers are whitish 
or slightly purple, are arranged in whorled spikes, and appear in July and Au- 
gust. The plant is abundant in the United States, but is supposed to have been 
introduced from Europe. 
The whole herb is used; but the leaves only are recognised in the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. They have a strong, peculiar, rather disagreeable odour, and 
a pungent, aromatic, bitterish, camphorous taste. They yield their virtues to 
water. The active constituents are volatile oil, and tannin of the kind which 
produces a greenish colour with the salts of iron. 
In its operation upon the system, catnep is tonic and excitant, bearing con- 
siderable resemblance to the mints. It has had the reputation also of being an- 
tispasmodic and emmenagogue. Cats are said to be very fond of it, and it has 
been asserted to act as an aphrodisiac in these animals. It is employed as a 
domestic remedy, in the form of infusion, in amenorrhcea, chlorosis, hysteria, 
the flatulent colic of infants, &c.; but is little known in regular practice. Some 
of the older writers speak favourably of its powers. The leaves are said to relieve 
toothache if chewed,or held for a few minutes in contact with the diseased tooth 
Two drachms of the dried leaves or herb may be given as a dose in infusion. 
W. 
CATECHU. U.S. 
An extract prepared principally from the wood of Acacia Catechu. U.S 
Off. Syn. CATECHU PALLIDUM. Pale Catechu. An extract of the 
leaves and young shoots of LTncaria Gambir (Nauclea Gambir). Br. 
Cachou, Fr.; Catechu, Germ.; Catecu, Catciu, Catto, ItaL; Catecu, Span.; Cutt, Hin- 
ioostanee. 
The British Pharmacopoeia has entirely rejected the proper catechu, which, in 
the former edition, was recognised under the inappropriate name of Catechu 
Nigrum, retaining, by the name of Catechu Pallidum, a product which, though 
analogous to catechu, is entirely distinct, being derived from a different plant, 
and known commonly by a different name, that, namely, of gambir. We treat 
in the text of the proper catechu, and, in a note, of gambir among the cate- 
chus not recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Acacia. See ACACIA. 
Acacia Catechu. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1079; Woodv.Med. Bot. p. 433, t. 157; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 32, pi. 24. According to Mr. Kerr, whose descrip- 
tion has been followed by most subsequent writers, Acacia Catechu is a small 
tree, seldom more than twelve feet in height, with a trunk one foot in diameter, 
dividing towards the top into many close branches, and covered with a thick, 
rough, brown bark. The leaves, which stand alternately upon the younger 
branches, are composed of from fifteen to thirty pairs of pinnae nearly two inches 
long, each of which is furnished with about forty pairs of linear leaflets, beset 
with short hairs. At the base of each pair of pinnae is a small gland upon the 
Catechu. PART i. 
Catech u. 
241 
common footstalk. Two short recurved spines are attached to the stem at the 
base of each leaf. The flowers are in close spikes, which arise from the axils of 
the leaves, and are about four or five inches long. The fruit is a lanceolate, com- 
pressed, smooth, brown pod, with an undulated thin margin, and contains six or 
eight roundish flattened seeds, which when chewed emit a nauseous odour. 
This species of Acacia is a native of the East Indies, growing abundantly in 
various provinces of Hindostan, and in the Burmese Empire. Pereira says that 
it is now common in Jamaica. Like most others of the same genus, it abounds 
in astringent matter, which may be extracted by decoction. Catechu is an ex- 
tract from the wood of the tree. 
This drug had been long known before its source was discovered. It was at 
first called terra Japoniva, under the erroneous impression that it was an earthy 
substance derived from Japan. When ascertained by analysis to be of vegetable 
origin, it was generally considered by writers on the Materia Medica to bean 
extract of the betel nut, which is the fruit of a species of palm, denominated 
Areca Catechu. Its true origin was made known by Mr. Kerr, assistant surgeon 
of the civil hospital in Bengal, who had an opportunity of examining the tree 
from which it was obtained, and observing the process of extraction. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Kerr, the manufacturer, having cut off the exterior white part of the 
wood, reduces the interior brown or reddish-coloured portion into chips, which 
he then boils in water in unglazed earthen vessels, till all the soluble matter is 
dissolved. The decoction thus obtained is evaporated first by artificial heat, and 
afterwards in the sun, till it has assumed a thick consistence, when it is spread 
out to dry upon a mat or cloth, being, while yet soft, divided by means of a 
string into square or quadrangular pieces. The account subsequently given by 
Dr. Royle, of the preparation of the extract in Northern India, is essentially the 
same The process, as he observed it, was completed by the pouring of the ex- 
tract into quadrangular earthen moulds. Our countryman, the Rev. Howard 
Malcolm, states, in his “Travels in South Eastern Asia,” that catechu is largely 
prepared from the wood of Acacia Catechu near Prome, in Burmah. Two kinds, 
he observes, are prepared from the same tree ; one black, which is preferred in 
China, and the other red, which is most esteemed in Bengal. It is said that 
the unripe fruit and leaves are also sometimes submitted to decoction. 
The name catechu in the native language signifies the juice of a tree, and 
appears to have been applied to astringent extracts obtained from various 
plants. According to the IT. S. Pharmacopoeia, however, the term is properly 
restricted to the extract of Acacia Catechu; as it was not intended to recog- 
nise all the astringent products which are floating in Asiatic commerce ; and 
those from other sources than the Acacia, though they may occasionally find 
their way into our shops, do so as an exception to the general rule. A minute 
account of the diversified forms and exterior characters which officinal catechu 
presents as produced in different localities, would rather tend to perplex the 
reader than to serve any good practical purpose. These'characters are, more- 
over, frequently changing, as the drug is procured from new sources, or as slight 
variations may occur in the mode of its preparation. Commerce is chiefly sup- 
plied with catechu from Bahar, Northern India, and Nepaul through Calcutta, 
from Canara through Bombay, and from the Burmese dominions. We derive it 
directly from Calcutta, or by orders from London, and it is sold in our markets 
without reference to its origin. It is frequently called cutch by the English 
traders, a name derived, no doubt, from the Hindoostanee word cult* 
* In order not to embarrass the text unnecessarily, we have thrown together, in the 
form of a note, the following observations upon the varieties of catechu ; those being 
first considered which are probably derived from Acacia Catechu, and, therefore, recog- 
nised as officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Tho following, so far as Ave have been able to distinguish them, are the varieties of offi- 
cinal catechu to be found in the markets of Philadelphia. 
1. Plano-convex Catechu. Cuke Catechu. This is in the form of circular cakes, flat on one 
1. Officinal Catechu. U. S. 242 
Catechu. 
PART I. 
Properties. Catechu, as it comes to us, is in masses of different shapes, some 
in balls more or less flattened, some in circular cakes, some saucer-shaped, others 
side, convex on the other, and usually somewhat rounded at the edge, as if the soft extract 
had been placed in saucers, or vessels of a similar shape, to harden. As found in the retail 
shops, it is generally in fragments, most of which, however, exhibit some e vidences of the 
original form. The cakes are of various size, from two or three to six inches or more in 
diameter, and weighing from a few ounces to nearly two pounds. Their exterior is usually 
smooth and dark-brown; but we have seen a specimen in which the flat surface exhibited 
impressions as if produced by coarse matting. The colour internally is always brown, 
sometimes of a light yellowish-brown or chocolate colour, but more frequently dark red- 
dish-brown, and sometimes almost black. The cakes are almost always more or less cellular 
in their interior; but in this respect great diversity exists. Sometimes they are very porous, 
so as almost to present a spongy appearance, sometimes compact and nearly uniform ; and 
this difference may be observed even in the same piece. The fracture is sometimes rough' 
and dull, but in the more compact parts is usually smooth and somewhat shining; and oc- 
casionally a piece split in one direction will exhibit a spongy fracture, while in another it 
will be shining and resinous, indicating the consolidation of the extract in layers. This 
variety of catechu is often of good quality. It is common at present in our market, but we 
have been unable to trace its origin accurately. There can be little doubt, from its inter- 
nal character, that it comes from the East Indies, and is the product of A. Catechu: but no 
accounts that we have seen of the preparation of the drug, in particular geographical 
sites, indicate this particular shape; and it is not impossible that portions of it may be 
formed out of other varieties of catechu by a new solution and evaporation. 
2. Pegu Catechu. This is the product derived from the Burmese dominions, and named 
from that section of the country whence it is exported. It enters commerce, probably in 
general through Calcutta, in large masses, sometimes of one cwt., consisting of layers of 
flat cakes, each wrapped in leaves, said to be those of the Nauclea Brunonis. In this form, 
however, we do not see it in tiie shops; but almost always in angular, irregular fragments, 
in which portions of two layers sometimes cohere with leaves between them, indicating 
their origin. It is characterized by its compactness, shining fracture, and blackish-brown 
or dark Portwine colour, so that when finely broken it bears considerable resemblance 
to kino. This is an excellent variety of catechu, and is not unfrequent in the shops. 
3. Catechu in Quad/ angular Cakes. This is scarcely ever found in the shops in its com- 
plete form, and the fi j gments are often such that it would be impossible to infer from them 
the original shape of the caKe. This is usually between two and three inches in length 
and breadth, and somewhat less in thickness, of a rusty-brown colour externally, and 
dark-brown or brownish-gray within, with a somewhat rough and dull fracture, but, when 
broken across the layers in which it is sometimes disposed, exhibiting a smoother and more 
shining surface. Guibourt speaks of the layers as being blackish externally and grayish 
within, and bearing some resemblance to the bark of a tree, a resemblance, however, which 
has not struck us in the specimens which have fallen under our notice. There is little 
doubt that this variety comes from the provinces of Bahar and Northern India, where 
the preparation of the drug was witnessed by Mr. Kerr and Dr. Boyle, who both speak 
of it as being brought, when drying, into the quadrangular form. It has been called 
Bengal Catechu, because exported from that province. 
Pale catechu, so far as the term is not applied to gambir, maybe considered as belonging 
to this variety. A specimen with this name, which was sent from India to the great Lon- 
don exhibition, and which we had an opportunity of examining, was in oblong rectan- 
gular pieces, or fragments of such pieces, about three and a half inches long by an inch 
and a half in breadth, of a dirty yellowish colour within, and an earthy fracture, quite free 
from gloss, and bearing a much stronger resemblance to gambir than to ordinary catechu. 
4. Catechu in Balls. We have seen this in two forms—one consisting of globular balls 
about as large as an orange, very hard, and heavy, of a ferruginous aspect externally, 
very rough when broken, and so full of sand as to be gritty under the teeth; the other in 
cakes, originally, in all probability, globular, and of about the same dimensions, but flat- 
tened and otherwise pressed out of shape before being perfectly dried, sometimes adhering 
two together, as happens with the lumps of Smyrna opium, and closely resembling in ex- 
ternal and internal colour, and in the character of their fracture, the quadrangular variety 
last described. The former kind is rare, and the specimens we have seen had been twenty 
years in the shop, and had very much the appearance of a factitious product. The latter 
is in all probability the kind known formerly as the Bombay catechu; as I)r. Hamilton, 
and, more recently, Major Mackintosh, in describing the mode of preparing catechu on 
the Malabar coast, of which Bombay is the entrepot, say that, while the extract is soft, 
it is shaped into balls about the size of an orange. 
2. Catechus not recognised as officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.. 
1. Oambir. Terra Japonica. Catechu Pallidum, Pale Catechu. Br. An astringent extract is 
abundantly prepared in certain parts of the East Indies, under the name of gambir or gam- 
beer, and imported into Europe and America under that of terra Japonica. The plant from PART i. 
Gitechu. 
243 
cubical or oblong, or quite irregular, and of every grade in size, from small an- 
gular pieces, which are evidently fragments of the original cakes, to lumps 
which it is obtained, called by Mr. Hunter, who first minutely described it, NaucleaGambir, 
hut by Roxburgh, De Candolle, and others, Uncaria Gambir, is a climbing shrub, of the 
class and order Pentandria Monogynia, and natural order Rubiacese of J ussieu, Cine hone ex of 
Lindley. It is a native of Malacca, Sumatra, Cochin-China, and other parts of Eastern Asia, 
and is largely cultivated in the Islands of Bintang, Singapore, and Prince of Wales. 
The gambir is prepared by boiling the leaves and young shoots in water, and evaporating 
the decoction either by artificial or solar heat. When of a proper consistence, it is spread 
out into flat cakes in moulds or otherwise, and then cut into small cubes, which are dried 
in the sun. Sometimes these cohere into a mass when packed before being quite dry. 
Gambir is in cubes, with sides about an inch square, is light and porous, so that it floats 
when thrown in water, is deep-yellowish or reddish-brown externally, but pale-yellow- 
ish within, presents a dull earthy surface when broken, is inodorous, and has a strongly 
astringent, bitter, and subsequently sweetish taste. It softens and swells up when heated, 
and leaves a minute proportion of ashes when burnt. It is partially soluble in cold water, 
and almost wholly so in boiling water, which deposits a portion upon cooling. Duhainel, 
Eeky, and Procter dissolved 87-5 per cent, of it in cold water by means of percolation. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 166.) Nees von Esenbock found it to consist of from 36 to 
46 per cent, of tannic acid, a peculiar principle called catechuin or catcchuic acid, gum 
or gummy extractive, a deposit like the cinclionic red, and 2-5 per cent, of lignin. Cate- 
chuic acid, when perfectly pure, is snow-white, of a silky appearance, crystallizable in 
fine needles, unalterable if dry in the air, fusible by heat, very slightly soluble in cold 
water with which it softens and swells up, soluble in boiling water which deposits it on 
cooling, and soluble also in alcohol and ether. It very slightly reddens litmus paper, 
and, though colouring the solution of chloride of iron green, and producing with it a 
grayish green precipitate, differs from tannic acid in not affecting a solution of gelatin. 
It bears considerable analogy to gallic acid in its relations to the metallic salts, but does 
not, according to Neubauer, bear the same relation to the tannic acid of catechu that gal- 
lic acid does to that of galls. On the contrary, instead of resulting from the oxidation of 
tannic acid, it is by heat converted into a substance analogous to tannin. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxviii. 329 and 331; from Liebig’s Annalen, xevi. 337.) M. Barthe has stated 
facts tending to show that the acid is tribasic, and that it is capable of being converted 
into gallic acid. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Oct. 1867, p. 309.) Neubauer gives the 
composition as C17H.,2O10, with the loss of one eq. of water at 212° P. According to MM. 
Kraut and Van Delden, who are said to confirm the results of Neubauer, the composi- 
tion is (Chem. News, March 17, 1865, p. 125); but the difference in the proportion 
of carbon would seem to be altogether incompatible with this statement; and the proba- 
bility is that there has been some mistake in giving the number of eqs. of this ingredient. 
To prepare it, the precipitate which falls upon the cooling of the decoction of gambir is 
well washed upon a filter with cold water, and again dissolved in boiling water with a little 
purified animal charcoal. The solution being filtered and allowed to stand, gradually de- 
posits the acid, of a snow-white colour. To obtain it perfectly white in the dry state, it 
must be dried under an exhausted receiver with sulphuric acid. ( Wackenroder, Annul, der 
Pharm., xxxi. 72.) The sweet taste of gambir is thought to depend on this constituent. 
Several varieties of gambir are described. Sometimes it is in oblong instead of cubical 
pieces, without differing in other respects from the ordinary kind; sometimes in small cir- 
cular cakes, or short cylindrical pieces, heavier than water, of a pale reddish-yellow colour, 
moderately astringent, gritty under the teeth, and quite impure; sometimes in very small 
cubes, distinguishable by the black colour they afford with tincture of iodine, indicating 
the admixture of sago, or other amylaceous matter; and. finally, in circular cakes of the 
size of a small lozenge flat on one side, and somewhat convex on the other, of a pale 
pinkish yellowish-white colour, and a chalky feel. This is most highly esteemed by the 
natives in India. (Pereira.) None of these varieties occur to any extent in our commerce. 
Gambir was probably the substance first brought from the East under the name of 
terra Japonica. It is largely consumed in the East by the betel-chewers. Great quantities 
are imported into Europe, where it is used for tanning, calico-printing, dyeing, &c. In 
this country it is also largely consumed by the calico-printer. It is a strong astringent, 
and applicable to the same purposes as the officinal catechu. 
2. Areca Catechu. This is obtained from the areca 'nut, or betel nut, which is the seed 
of Areca Catechu, a palm cultivated in all parts of India. (See Part Third.) It is prepared 
by boiling the nuts in water, and evaporating the decoction. There are two varieties; one 
of a black colour, very astringent, mixed with paddy husks and other impurities, andob- 
tained by evaporating the first decoction ; the other, yellowish-brown,of an earthy frac- 
ture, and pure, resulting from the evaporation of a decoction of the nuts which had been 
submitted to the previous boiling. The first is called kassu, the other coury. (Heyne, 
Tracts, $c. on India.) They are prepared in Mysore, and Ainslie states that both varie- 
ties are sold in the bazaars of Lower India, and used for the same purpose as the officinal 
catechu by the native and European practitioners. They are also much used for' hewing 244 
Catechu. 
PART I. 
which weigh one or two pounds. The colour is externally of a rusty brown 
more or less dark, internally varying from a pale-reddish or yellowish-brown 
to a dark liver colour. In some specimens it is almost black, in others somewhat 
like the colour of Port wine, and in others again, though rarely, dull-red like 
annotta. The extract has been distinguished into the pale and dark varieties; 
but there does not appear to be sufficient ground for retaining this distinction, 
at least in relation to the proper catechu obtained from the wood of A. Catechu. 
Under the name, however, of pale catechu, an astringent product has been re- 
cognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, the proper name of which is gambir, 
and which has a wholly different origin. This is described in a note, among the 
catechus not recognised by our officinal standard. (Seepage 242.) Catechu is 
inodorous, with an astringent and bitter taste, followed by a sense of sweetness. 
It is brittle, and breaks with a fracture which is rough in some specimens, in 
others uniform, resinous, and shining. That which is preferred in our market 
is of a dark colour, easily broken into small angular fragments, with a smooth 
glossy surface, bearing some resemblance to kino. Catechu is often mixed 
with sand, sticks, and other impurities. From 200 parts of Bombay catechu, Sir 
H. Davy obtained 109 parts of tannic acid, G8 of extractive, 13 of mucilage, and 
10 of insoluble residue. The same quantity of Bengal catechu yielded 97 of tan 
nic acid, 73 of extractive, 16 of mucilage, and 14 of insoluble residue. Other ex- 
perimenters have obtained results somewhat different. The proportion of tannic 
acid, which may be considered the efficient principle, varies from about 30 to 55 
per cent, in the different varieties of the drug. The portion designated by Davy 
as extractive is said to contain, if it do not chiefly consist of a principle dis- 
covered by Buchner, and now called catechuin or catechuic acid. For a par- 
ticular account of this principle, the reader is referred to the note (page 243), 
on the subject of gambir (palecatechu, Br.), of which it is a characteristic in- 
gredient. The tannic acid is of the variety which precipitates iron of a greenish- 
black colour, and differs from most of the other varieties in not yielding grape- 
sugar when digested with dilute sulphuric acid. It is not, therefore, a glucoside. 
It precipitates gelatin, but not tartar emetic (Kane), and is not, like the tannic 
acid of galls, converted into gallic acid by exposure to the air. It may be distin- 
guished by the name of catechu-tannic acid, or, as proposed by Berzelius, mimo- 
tannic acid, from its source in one of the Mimosese. Catechu is almost wholly 
soluble in a large quantity of water, to which it imparts a brown colour. The 
extractive or catechuic acid is much less soluble than the astringent principle, 
which may be almost entirely separated from it by the frequent application of 
small quantities of cold water. Boiling water dissolves it much more readily 
thau cold, and deposits it of a reddish-brown colour upon cooling. Both prin- 
ciples are readily dissolved by alcohol or proof spirit, and are soluble also in 
ether. For the important reactions of catechu, see Acidum Tannicum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Catechu is gently tonic, and powerfully as- 
by the natives. But they are seldom exported, and it is uncertain whether they find their 
way into European or American commerce. Pereira thought he had identified the kassu 
with a variety of catechu derived from Ceylon, where he had been informed that an ex- 
tract of the areca nut is prepared. It was in circular fiat cakes, from two to three inches 
in diameter, scarcely an inch thick, covered on one side with paddy husks, and inter- 
nally blackish-brown and shining, like Pegu catechu. 
Guibourt and Pereira describe other varieties, which we have not met with, and which 
are probably rare. One of these is the Siam catechu, in conical masses shaped like a betel 
nut, and weighing about a pound and a half. Its fracture is shining and liver-coloured, 
like that of hepatic aloes; in other respects it resembles Pegu catechu. Another is the black 
mucilaginous catechu of Guibourt, in parallelopipeds, an inch and*a half in length by an 
inch in breadth. Internally it is black and shining, and its taste is mucilaginous and 
feebly astringent. A third is the dull-recldish catechu of Guibourt, in somewhat flattened 
balls, weighing three or four ounces, of a dull-reddish, wavy, and often marbled frac- 
ture. We saw something like this many years since, which had been brought upoft spec- 
ulation by a merchant from Calcutta, but it is not now in the market. Lastly, there is a 
jgale or whitish catechu, in small roundish or oval lumps, with an irregular surface, chirk 
or blackish-brown externally, very pale and dull internally, and of a bitter, astringent, 
and sweetish taste, with a smoky flavour. It is unknown in commerce. PART I. 
Catechu.—Cera Aiha.— Cera Flava. 
245 
tringent. The dark-coloured has the latter property in a somewhat greater de- 
gree than the light, and is therefore usually preferred. The latter, being rather 
sweeter, is preferred by the Malays, Hindoos, and other Indians, who consume 
vast quantities of this extract by chewing it, mixed with aromatics and a small 
proportion of lime, and wrapped in the leaf of the Piper Betel. Catechu may be 
advantageously used in most cases where astringents are indicated, and. though 
less employed in this country than kino, is not inferior to it in virtues. The com- 
plaints to which it is best adapted are diarrhoea dependent on debility or relaxa- 
tion of the intestinal exhalants, and passive hemorrhages, particularly that from 
the uterus. A small piece, held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve, is 
an excellent remedy in relaxation of the uvula, and the irritation of the fauces 
and troublesome cough which depend upon it. Applied to spongy gums, in the 
state of powder, it sometimes proves useful; and it has been recommended as 
a dentifrice in combination with powdered charcoal, Peruvian bark, myrrh, &c. 
Sprinkled upon the surface of indolent ulcers, it is occasionally beneficial, and 
is much used in India for the same purpose, in the form of an ointment. An in- 
fusion of catechu may be used as an injection in obstinate gonorrhoea, gleet, and 
leucorrhoea, and we have found it highly beneficial, when thrown up the nostrils, 
in arresting epistaxis. The dose is from ten grains to half adrachiu,which should 
be frequently repeated, and is best given with sugar, gum arabic, and water.* 
Off. Prep. Infusum Catechu Compositum, U. S.; Tinctura Catechu, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Pale Catechu (Gambir). Infusum Catechu, Br.; Pulvis Cate- 
chu Compositus, Br.; Tinctura Catechu, Br.; Trochisci Catechu, Br. W. 
CERA ALBA. U. S., Br. 
White Wax. 
Yellow wax, bleached. TJ. S. Bleached by exposure to moisture, air, and 
light. Br. 
Cire blanche, Fr.; Weisses Wachs, Germ.; Cera bianca, Ital.; Cere blanca, Span. 
CERA FLAVA. U. S., Br. 
Yellow Wax. 
A peculiar concrete substance prepared by Apis mellifica. U. S. The pre- 
pared honeycomb of the Hive Bee, Apis mellifica. Br. 
Cire Jaune, Fr.; Gelbes Wadis, Germ.; Cera gialla, Ital.; Cera amarilla, Span. 
Wax is a product of the common bee, Apis mellifica of naturalists, which 
constructs with it the cells of the comb in which the honey and larvae are depo- 
sited. It was at one time doubted whether the insect elaborated the wax by its 
own organs, or merely gathered it from vegetables. The question was set at 
rest by Huber, who fed a swarm of bees exclusively on honey and water, and 
found that they formed a comb consisting of wax. This, therefore, is a proper 
secretion of the insect. It is produced in the form of scales under the rings of 
the belly. But wax also exists in plants, bearing in this, as in other respects, a 
close analogy to the fixed oils. It is, however, the product of the bee only that 
is recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. This is directed in two forms : 1. that of 
yellow wax procured immediately from the comb; and 2. that of white wax 
prepared by bleaching the former. We shall consider these separately, and 
afterwards give an account of vegetable wax. 
1. Cjsua Flava or Yellow wax. This is obtained by slicing the comb taken 
* Fluid Extract of Catechu. Prof. Proctor has suggested the following formula for a fluid 
extract of catechu based on the solvent power of glycerin over this extract. Eight troyounces 
of pure catechu, in moderately coarse powder, are mixed in a mortar with four fluid,ounces 
of glycerin so as to form a paste, to which enough diluted alcohol is added to make a pint 
The,liquid is poured into a bottle, shaken occasionally for twenty-four hours, and then 
strained through muslin. Each fluidrachm of the fluid extract represents thirty grains 
of catechu. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., A.D.1863, p. 241.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 246 
Cera.: Alba.— Cera Flava. 
PART r. 
from the hive, draining and afterwards expressing the honey, and melting the 
residue in boiling water, which is kept hot for some time in order to allow the 
impurities to separate, and either subside or be dissolved by the water. When 
the liquid cools the wax concretes, and, having been removed and again melted 
in boiling water, is strained and poured into pans or other suitable vessels. It 
is usually brought to market in round flat cakes of considerable thickness The 
druggists of Philadelphia are supplied chiefly from the Western States and 
North Carolina, especially the latter, and from Cuba. Some of inferior quality 
is imported from Africa. 
In this state, wax has a yellowish colour, an agreeable somewhat aromatic 
odour, and a slight peculiar taste. To the touch it is rather soft and unctuous, 
though of a firm solid consistence and brittle. It has a granular fracture; but 
when cut with a knife presents a smooth glossy surface, the lustre of which is 
«o peculiar as, when met with in other bodies, to be called waxy. It does not 
adhere tc the fingers, nor to the teeth when chewed, but is softened and ren- 
dered tenacious by a moderate heat. Its point of fusion is 142° F.; its specific 
gravity from 0 960 to 0965. The colour, odour, and taste of yellow wax de- 
pend upon some associated principle or principles. 
Various adulterations have been practised, most of which may be readily 
detected. Meal, earth, and other insoluble substances are at the same time 
discovered and separated by melting and straining the wax. When the frac- 
ture is smooth and shining instead of being granular, the presence of resin may 
be suspected. This is dissolved by cold alcohol, while the wax is left untouched. 
For other adulterating substances used, and the modes of detecting them, see 
the remarks which follow on white wax. 
Yellow wax is used in medicine chiefly as an ingredient of plasters and cerates. 
2. Cera Alba or White Wax. The colour of yellow wax is discharged by 
exposing it, with an extended surface, to the combined influence of air, light, 
and moisture. The process of bleaching is carried on to a considerable extent 
in Philadelphia. The wax, previously melted, is made to fall in streams upon 
a revolving cylinder, kept constantly wet, upon which it concretes, forming 
thin riband-like layers. These, having been removed, are spread upon linen 
cloths stretched on frames, and exposed to the air and light; care being taken 
to water and occasionally turn them. In a few da\rs they are partially bleached ; 
but, to deprive the wax completely of colour, it is necessary to repeat the 
whole process once, if not oftener. When sufficiently white, it is melted and cast 
into small circular cakes. The colour may also be discharged by chlorine; but the 
wax is said to be somewhat altered.* White wax sometimes contains one or 
more free fatty acids, consequent probably upon the employment of alkalies in 
bleaching it, which render it an unfit ingredient in the unctuous preparations of 
certain salts. Of these acids it may be deprived by means of alcohol. 
Perfectly pure wax is white, shining, diaphanous in thin layers, inodorous, in- 
sipid, harder and less unctuous to the touch than the yellow, soft and ductile at 
95° F., and fusible at about 155°, retaining its fluidity at a lower temperature. 
According to Saussure, its sp. gr. in the solid state is 0-966, at 178° F. 
0-834, and at 201° 0 8217. By a great heat it is partly volatilized, partly de- 
composed; and, when flame is applied to its vapour, it takes fire and burns with 
a clear bright light. It is insoluble in water, and in cold alcohol or ether, but is 
* The following process for purifying wax by steam has been patented by M. Cass- 
grand, in France, and is said to have been employed advantageously. Wax melted by 
steam is passed along with the steam through a coiled tube or worm, is received inio a 
double bottom heated by steam, where it is washed with water, and is then raised by a 
pump into another pan, also heated by steam, where it is again washed with water; and 
the whole operation is repeated three or four times ; the wax being allowed to rest for 
about four or five minutes in the upper pan after each operation, and, after the last one, 
an hour or two for the subsidence of impurities. The wax is then granulated by means 
of cold water, allowed to dry for two or three days, and then exposed to light and air. 
The whole process is completed in a few days. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 525; 
from Dub. Journ. of Industrial Progress.) —Note to t he eleventh edition. PART i. 
Cera jdba.— Cera Flam. 
247 
slightly soluble in boiling- alcohol and ether, which deposit it in a great measure 
upon cooling. The volatile and lixed oils dissolve it with facility, resin readily 
unites with it by fusion, and soaps are formed by the action of soda and potassa 
in solution. It is not affected by the acids at ordinary temperatures, but is con- 
verted into a black mass when boiled with concentrated sulphuric acid. Its ulti- 
mate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Dr. John found it to con- 
sist of two distinct principles, one of which he called cerin, the other myricin. 
According to MM. Boudet and Boissenot, the former constitutes at least 70 per 
cent, of wax. melts at about 143°, dissolves in 16 parts of boiling alcohol, and 
is saponifiable with potassa, yielding margaric acid, a little oleic acid, and a fatty 
matter insusceptible of saponification called cerain; the latter melts at 149°, is 
dissolved by 200 parts of boiling alcohol, and is not saponifiable by potassa. M. 
Lewy inferred from his experiments that cerin and myricin are isomeric with 
each other and with wax; that by a boiling solution of potassa wax is wholly 
saponified, without the formation of glycerin ; that both wax and cerin are con- 
verted into stearic acid by saponification ; and that this, by a further oxidation, 
is changed into margaric acid. (Journ. de Pharm , 3e ser., iii. 315.) Messrs. 
Warington and Francis, however, have found that the substance supposed to 
be stearic acid, though similar to that body in appearance, is wholly different 
from i’t in properties and composition, and is isomeric, if not identical, with the 
cerain above referred to. (Philos. Mag., Jan. 1844, p. 20.)* 
White wax has been variously adulterated. White lead sinks to the bottom 
of the vessel when the wax is melted. Starch, meal, and other insoluble sub- 
stances remain behind when the wax is dissolved in oil of turpentine or ben- 
zine; and the starch is known by producing a blue colour with iodine added to 
water in which the wax has been boiled. Water, which is said to be sometimes 
* New views have been put forth as to the constitution of wax, in communications 
from B. Collins Brodie to the Boyal Society of London. Cerin,,when quite pure, he con- 
siders as a peculiar acid, having the constitution C54H6404, which he names cerotic acid. 
This he procures by precipitating a boiling alcoholic solution of cerin by means of an 
alcoholic solution of acetate of lead, treating the precipitated cerotate of lead by hot 
alcohol and ether until everything soluble is removed, then decomposing it with con- 
centrated acetic acid, washing the separated cerotic acid with boiling water, and still 
further purifying it by solution in boiling absolute alcohol and refrigeration. The acid 
is deposited pure. It melts at 172° F., and on cooling concretes into a crystalline 
mass. When distilled alone, the greater portion of it passes unchanged; whereas, if 
mixed with the other constituents of wax, it is wholly decomposed; and it is, conse- 
quently, not found in the results of the distillation of wux itself. It is a singular fact 
that cerotic acid was not found in some beeswax brought from Ceylon, showing that 
wax varies much according to the circumstances under which it is produced. Myricin, 
when entirely separated from the cerotic acid, is saponifiable, but with difficulty; and 
from the results of saponification palmitic acid (C3.,H3.,04) was isolated, and a peculiar 
body, called by Mr. Brodie melissine, having the composition (C60H62O2), and considered 
by him as a wax-alcohol, convertible by the loss of two eqs. of hydrogen and the gain of 
two of oxygen, into melissic acid, as alcohol is converted into acetic acid. (See Acetum.) 
In the examination of a variety of wax from China, Mr. Brodie found a substance 
called by him cerotine (C54II5602), which he regards as the alcohol of cerotic acid, into 
which it was convertible by loss of hydrogen and gain of oxygen as above; that is, by 
oxidation, two eqs. of the hydrogen being converted into water. 
According to these views, the varieties of wax are composed of substances having to 
each other similar relations to those which characterize alcohol and acetic acid resulting 
from fermentation. (Chem. Gaz., vi. 225, and vii. 46'.) 
The China wax, above referred to, called pe-la by the Chinese, resembles spermaceti 
in whiteness and crystalline appearance, but is distinguished by greater hardness and 
friability, and a somewhat fibrous fracture. It melts at about 181° F., is very slightly 
soiublc in alcohol or ether, is insoluble in cold oil of turpentine and rectified petroleum, 
but is dissolved by these fluids with the aid of heat. These solubilities distinguish it from 
spermaceti. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 9.) It was formerly supposed to be of vegetable origin; 
but has been ascertained to be the product of an insect belonging to the genus Coccus, 
which fixes itself to the branches of a certain tree, and, investing them closely, becomes 
embedded in a waxy material, which is scraped off with the insects, and constitutes the 
crude wax. It is purified by melting and straining. (Hanbury, Pharm. Journ., xii. 476.) 
The tree from which the wax is obtained has been ascertained to be the Fraxinus Chi- 
uensis of Roxburgh. [Ibid., Sept. 1, 1859, p. 176.) 248 
Cera Alba.— Cera Flam. 
PART I. 
fraudulently incorporated with it, by agitation when partially melted, is driven 
off by heat Fatty substances render lime-water turbid, when agitated with it 
and allowed to stand. For the detection of stearin and stearic acid, M. Lebel 
dissolves the suspected wax in two parts of oil, beats the cerate thus formed 
with its weight of pure water, and then adds a few drops of solution of sub- 
acetate of lead. If stearin is present, there is an immediate decomposition, and 
the mixture acquires an extraordinary solidity from the formation of stearate 
of lead. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xv. 302.) Vogel proposes chloroform as a 
means of detecting the adulteration with fatty matters. That liquid dissolves 
onlv 25 per cent, of wax, but stearin and stearic acid completely. If, therefore, 
wax, treated with G or 8 parts of chloroform, loses more than one-quarter of 
its weight, it may be considered as impure. {Ibid., xvii. 37 4.) Overbeck detects 
stearic acid by the abundant effervescence produced from the escape of carbonic 
acid, when a small portion of the suspected wax is boiled in a solution, composed 
of one part of carbonate of soda and fifty of distilled water. {Pliarm. Journ., 
xi 128.) Fehling detects stearic acid and resin by boiling one part of the wax 
in twenty of alcohol, filtering the solution when cool, and then adding water. 
If either of these substances be present, there will be a fiocculent precipitate, 
whereas if the wax be pure there will scarcely be an observable turbidness. 
The natural fats, as tallow, suet, lard, &e., are not amenable to this test; but 
it may be applied by first saponifying them, and thus converting them into the 
fatty acids, as the stearic. But, as wax itself is somewhat liable to be affected, 
it is necessary to avoid too strong an alkaline solution, and too long boiling in 
the process. To obviate such a result, 30 grains of the wax are to be boiled, 
with two or three fluidounces of water containing 6 grains of pure hydrate of 
soda, and the mass saturated with a very dilute acid, and heated. The wax 
is then to be separated, dried between folds of blotting paper, and treated 
as above for stearic acid. {Neues Pepert. fur Pliarm., viii. 78) To detect 
paraffin, which is another adulteration said to be frequent, Prof. Landolt, of 
Bonn, heats the wax with fuming sulphuric acid (Nordhausen), which de- 
stroys the wax, converting it into a black jelly-like mass, while the paraffin is 
left as a transparent layer on the surface. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiv. 
35.) M. Lies Bodart detects the same impurity by a somewhat complex pro- 
cess, based on the etherification of the wax; the paraffin being left sufficiently 
pure to enable its proportion to be estimated. For the particulars of the pro- 
cess, the reader is referred to the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chiyn. (4e ser., iii. 
281, A.D. 1866). A simpler method is that of M. Hullo, who treats the adul- 
terated wax with ether. If this dissolves more than 50 per cent., the presence 
of paraffin is indicated. M. Payen resorts to the point of fusion as a means of 
detecting paraffin. This substance melts at a lower temperature than wax, 
and lowers the melting point of wax with which it is mixed. {Ibid., 4e ser. ii. 
233 ) White wax should not melt below 150°; yellow not below 140°. {Br.) 
Japan wax is said also to be largely employed for adulterating beeswax; so 
that sometimes but little of the product of the bee is to be found in the mix- 
ture. To detect Japan wax, M. Dullo boils together for a minute 10 grammes 
(150 grains) of wax, 120 grammes of water, and 1 of soda. If there bo 
Japan wax present, a soap will immediately form, which will slowly solidify 
on cooling. Beeswax does not saponify under these circumstances. {Ibid., 4e 
ser., i. 448.) There are other less precise methods of detecting adulterations. 
Thus, spermaceti and lard render wax softer and less cohesive, of a smoother 
and less granular fracture, and of a different odour when heated. The melting 
point and specific gravity are lowered by tallow, suet, and lard. Legrip’s cereo- 
meter is based upon the altered specific gravity of wax when adulterated-. Any 
one may apply this principle by making a mixture of alcohol and water such 
that pure wax will neither sink nor rise in it, but remain wherever placed. 
Adulterated wax would either swim or sink in this liquid. Pereira says that 
pure wax is yellowish-white; and that the white wax in circular cakes always 
contains spermaceti, added to improve its colour. PART i. 
Cera Alba.— Cera Flava. 
249 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wax has little effect upon the system. Under 
the impression that it sheathes the inflamed mucous membrane of the bowels, it 
has been occasionally prescribed in diarrhoea and dysentery; and it is mentioned 
by Dioscorides as a remedy in the latter complaint. By Poerner it is highly re- 
commended in excoriations of the bowels, attended with pain and obstinate diar- 
rhoea. His mode of using it is to melt the wax with oil of almonds or olive oil, 
and, while the mixture is still hot, to incorporate it by means of the yolk of an 
egg with some mucilaginous fluid. The dose is half a drachm three or four times 
a day. Another method is to form an emulsion by means of soap; but it is evi- 
dent that the soap would be the most energetic ingredient. Wax is also used to 
Mil cavities in carious teeth. Its chief employment, however, is in the formation 
of ointments, cerates, plasters, and suppositories. It is an ingredient in almost 
all the officinal cerates, which owe to it their general title. 
3. Vegetable Wax. Many vegetable products contain wax. It exists in the 
pollen of numerous plants, and forms the bloom or glaucous powder which covers 
certain fruits, and the coating of varnish with which leaves are sometimes sup- 
plied. In some plants it is so abundant as to be profitably extracted for use. 
Such is the Ceroxylon Andicola, a lofty palm growing in the South American 
Andes. Upon the trunk of this tree, in the rings left by the fall of the leaves, is 
a coating of wax-like matter, about one sixth of an inch thick, which is removed 
by the natives, and employed in the manufacture of tapers It contains, according 
to Vauquelin, two-thirds of a resinous substance, and one-third of pure wax. Two 
kinds of wax are collected in Brazil, one called carnauba,* from the leaves of a 
palm growing in the province of Ceara, the other ocuba, from the fruit of a shrub 
of the province of Para. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser , v. 154.)f But the form of 
vegetable wax best known in this country is that derived from Myrica, cerifera, 
and commonly called myrtle wax. The wax myrtle is an aromatic shrub, from one 
to twelve feet high, growing in the United States from New England to Louisi- 
ana, and flourishing especially on the sea-coast. The fruit, which grows in clus- 
ters closely attached to the stems and branches, is small, globular, and covered 
with a whitish coat of wax, which may be separated for use. Other parts of the 
plant are said to possess medical virtues. The bark of the root is acrid and astring- 
ent, and in large doses emetic, and has been popularly employed in jaundice. The 
process for collecting the Avax is simple. The berries are boiled in Avater, and the 
wax, melting and floating on the surface, is either skimmed off and strained, or 
allowed to concrete as the liquor cools, and then removed. To render it pure, it 
is again melted and strained, and cast into large cakes. It is collected in New 
Jersey, North Carolina, and Ncav England, and particularly in Rhode Island. 
Myrtle wax is of a pale grayish-green colour, somewhat diaphanous, more 
brittle and unctuous to the touch than beesAvax, of a feeble odour, and a slightly 
* This is obtained from Ceroxylon earnauba and other palms of Brazil, being found on 
the under surface of the leaves. It is hard, brittle, and buff-coloured, resembling the 
resins more than wax, and melts at 192° T., which is much higher than the fusing point 
of other kinds of vegetable wax. “ It takes a fine polish when rubbed with any soft ma- 
terial,” does not receive impressions from the finger at the natural temperature of the 
hand, and is adapted for polishing furniture, either alone or mixed with wax. (B. S. 
Proctor. See Am. J. ofPharm., xxxv. 527.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Japan Wax. A substance under this name has been imported into Europe in consid- 
erable quantities, either directly from Japan, or through the Chinese ports. It is obtained 
from the berries of the Rhus succedaneum of Lin mens. It has come in two forms, the one, 
as originally distinguished by Mr. Hanburv, of circular cakes, about four inches in di- 
ameter, and an inch thick, flat on one side and somewhat convex on the other ; the second, 
as brought directly from Japan, of large rectangular blocks, which are packed in chests. 
It bears a considerable resemblance to purified beeswax, but is not quite so white, having 
a slightly yellowish tint, is softer, more friable, and has a somewhat rancid smell ana 
taste. Its melting point is below that of wax, varying from 120°, as stated by Prof. Proc- 
ter, to 125°, 126°, and even 131°, as observed indifferent specimens by Mr. Hanburv. It 
is much more soluble in alcohol than beeswax, is saponifiable Avith the alkalies, and is 
6aid to consist of palmitic acid and glycerin. It has been employed in the preparation of 
candles, which yield as brilliant light as those made of common wax. It is possible that 
i* may be found useful in the preparation of cerates, &c. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 250 
Cera Alba.— Cera Flava.— Cerii Oxalas. 
part r. 
bitterish taste. It is about as heavy as water, and melts, according to Mr. 0. E. 
Moore, at from 116° to 120°. It is insoluble in water, scarcely soluble in cold 
alcohol, soluble, excepting about 13 per cent., in twenty parts of boiling alcohol, 
which deposits the greater portion on cooling, soluble also in boilingether, and 
slightly so in oil of turpentine. It is readily saponifiable with the alkalies. By 
Dr. John it was found to consist, like beeswax, of cerin and myricin, containing 
81 per cent, of the former and 13 of the latter; but a more accurate analysis by 
Mr. Moore gives as its constituents one part of palmitin and four of palmitic acid, 
withalittlelaurinorlauricacid. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, May, 1852, p.319.) 
The green colour and bitterness depend upon distinct principles, which may be 
separated by boiling with ether. On cooling,the wax is deposited colourless,while 
the ether remains green. The colour is ascribed by Mr. Moore to chlorophyll. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This variety of wax has been popularly em- 
ployed in the United States as a remedy for dysentery; and we are told by Dr. 
Eahnestock that he found great advantage from its use in numerous cases, during 
an epidemic prevalence of that complaint. He gave the powdered wax in doses 
of a teaspoonful frequently repeated, mixed with mucilage or syrup. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. $ci.,ii. 313.) It is occasionally substituted by apothecaries for beeswax 
in the formation of plasters, and is used in the preparation of tapers and candles. 
It is somewhat fragrant when burning, but emits a less brilliant light than 
common lamp oil. AY. 
CERII OXALAS. Br 
Oxalate of Cerium. 
Formula “ 2Ce0,C406-f-6H0. A salt which may be obtained as a precipitate 
by adding solution of oxalate of ammonia to a soluble salt of cerium.” Br. 
Cerium is a metal, which was discovered in 1803 by Berzelius and Hisinger, 
and about the same time by Klaproth, who, however, described it as an earth. 
By the two former chemists it was recognised as a metal, and named cerium 
in honour of the goddess Ceres. It was obtained from a Swedish mineral, for- 
merly from its great weight called heavy stone of Bastnas (Bastnas Schwer- 
stein), but now named cerile, after the metal extracted from it. Besides cerite, 
it has been found in several other minerals, as gadalonite, orthite, Ac. in 
the North of Europe, a number of different minerals from Greenland, and allan- 
ite near Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. It is not easy to obtain it pure in the 
metallic state, as its oxides and salts are difficult of reduction. Berzelius de- 
scribes it as in the form of pulverulent masses, of a deep chocolate-brown, 
which exhibit, however, under the burnisher a metallic appearance, and a dark 
gray colour. It is a bad conductor of electricity. Heated in the air it takes fire 
before the point of ignition, and burns vividly, passing to the state of peroxide. 
At ordinary temperatures it is oxidized in a moist atmosphere, giving out a 
strong and disagreeable smell of hydrogen. In water, especially when moder- 
ately heated, it rapidly oxidizes writh the evolution of hydrogen, and the water 
does not become alkaline. There are two oxides of cerium, the protoxide and 
sesquioxide, which form salts with the acids. Sulphur and phosphorus com- 
bine with it. Of its compounds two only have been introduced into medicine, 
the nitrate aud oxalate, of which the latter is recognised for the first time offi- 
cinally in the present edition of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Oxalate of cerium may be obtained from cerite, and Prof. F. F. Mayer, of 
.New York, gives a process for the purpose of which the following is an outline. 
The mineral consists of silicates of cerium, lanthanium, and didymium, with 
numerous substances in smaller proportion, the oxide of cerium constituting 
about 39 per cent, of the whole. The powdered mineral is made into a paste 
with sulphuric acid, and then heated over a lamp until the mass ceases to swell 
up, and no longer absorbs sulphuric acid very cautiously added. Upon the 
cooling of the mass, it is powdered, and exposed in a crucible to the heat of an 
anthracite fire until it assumes a pale brownish-red colour. It is now lixiviated PART i. 
Cerii Oxalas. 
251 
first with hot water and then with nitric acid, and the solution treated with 
sulphuretted hydrogen in order to get rid of various metals by precipitation. To 
the clear liquid some muriatic acid is first added, and then a solution of oxalic 
acid, the former of which holds in solution the oxalate of lime produced, the 
latter throws down oxalates of cerium and other metals. The precipitate having 
been washed with warm water, is formed into a paste with a quantity of car- 
bonate of magnesia equal to half that of the mineral employed; and the paste 
is dried on porous fire brick, finely powdered, and calcined till it becomes of a 
cinnamon colour. It now contains all of the cerium in the form of peroxide. 
To separate this the mass is treated with an excess of nitric acid, the solution 
evaporated to get rid of the excess of acid, then diluted with warm water, and 
lastly poured into a vessel containing boiling water acidulated with a little more 
than half of one per cent, of sulphuric acid. A yellow precipitate of basic sul- 
phate of peroxide of cerium is formed, while a little of the neutral sulphate, and 
all the lanthanium and didymium, remain dissolved. The precipitate is now 
dissolved in stronger sulphuric acid, the solution digested with a few crystals 
of hyposulphite of soda in order to reduce the peroxide of cerium to protoxide, 
and the liquid, having been filtered, is treated with solution of oxalic acid, which 
causes a precipitate of oxalate of protoxide of cerium. This is washed with 
warm water, and dried. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1860, p. 4.) 
Thus obtained, oxalate of cerium is a snow-white granular powder, with- 
out smell or taste, the composition of which is represented by the-formula 
2Ce0,C408-f-6H0, as stated in the British Pharmacopoeia. It is insoluble 
in water, alcohol, or ether, but is dissolved by sulphuric acid. According to 
Prof. Mayer, its solution yields a precipitate with caustic alkalies, even in the 
presence of chloride of ammonium, which is not soluble in an excess of the pre- 
cipitant. The British Pharmacopoeia states that “ if the salt be boiled with 
solution of potash and filtered, the filtrate is not affected by solution of chloride 
of ammonium, but, when supersaturated with acetic acid, it gives with chloride 
of calcium a white precipitate soluble in hydrochloric acid ” When heated to 
dull redness it yields a reddish-brown powder, which is wholly soluble without 
effervescence in boiling muriatic acid, and the resulting solution gives with so- 
lution of sulphate of potassa a white crystalline precipitate. Br. 
Medical Properties. The salts of cerium are supposed to act as a tonic, with 
a special influence over the nervous centres, as those of nitrate of silver, sub- 
nitrate of bismuth, sulphate of zinc, &c But it is chiefly as a remedy in the 
sick stomach of pregnant women that the oxalate has been employed. Sir J. 
Y. Simpson, of Edinburgh, through whose authority the remedy has been 
brought into use, considers it the most successful remedy in that complaint 
that he has employed. {Med. Times and Gaz., Sept. 1859, p. 280.) It is re- 
commended also by Dr. Charles Lee, of New York, who has used it advan- 
tageously not only in the vomiting of pregnancy, but in that also of various 
other affections, as phthisis, hysteria, pyrosis, and atonic dyspepsia. {Am. 
Journ of Med. Sci., Oct. 1860, p. 393.) When in Edinburgh, in the autumn 
of i860, we were informed by Prof. Simpson, that he considered oxalate of 
cerium as a good nervine tonic, and almost a specific in chorea. Dr. Thos. J. 
McKee, of Woodlawn, S C., has employed oxalate of cerium with the happiest 
effects in a case of obstinate vomiting connected with uterine disease, and has, 
besides, found it a safe, pleasant, and highly useful remedy in the derangement 
of stomach and bowels to which children of a certain age are so liable. He has 
also seen it used, with the happiest effects, in the case of a young woman af- 
fected with incessant nausea and vomiting in an attack of fever. {N. 0. Med. 
and Surg. Journ., May, 1867, p. 146.) The dose is a grain, doubled if necessary, 
and repeated three times a day, or more frequently if a return of the vomiting 
should seem to require it. It may be given in pill or suspended in water. 
Nitrate of cerium has also been employed, though not officinal. Dr. Simpson 
believes it to act as a nervine tonic, and has seen it useful in chronic intestinal 
eruption, irritable dyspepsia with gastrodynia and pyrosis, and chronic vomit- 252 
Cetaeeum. 
pa nr I. 
ing generally, as well as in that of pregnancy. The dose is the same as that of 
the oxalate, though it would be prudent to begin with a smaller quantity, as, 
being a soluble salt, it might be more disposed to irritate in overdoses. W. 
CETACEUM. U.S.,Br. 
Spermaceti. 
A psculiar concrete substance obtained from Physeter macrocephalus. U. S. 
.Nearly pure cetine, obtained, mixed with oil, from the head of the Sperm Whale, 
Physeter macrocephalus; separated from the oil by filtration and pressure, and 
afterwards purified. Br. 
Blancdebaleine, Spermaceti, Cetine, Fr.; Wallrath, Germ.; Spermaceti, Ital.; Esperma 
de bellena, Span. 
The spermaceti whale is from sixty to eighty feet long, with an enormous 
head, not less in its largest part than thirty feet in circumference, and constitut- 
ing one-third of the whole length of the body. The upper part of the head is 
occupied by large cavities, separated by cartilaginous partitions, and containing 
an oily liquid, which, after the death of the animal, concretes into a white spongy 
mass consisting of spermaceti mixed with oil. This mass is removed, and the oil 
allowed to separate by draining. The crude spermaceti, obtained from a whale 
of the ordinary size, is more than sufficient to fill twelve large barrels. It still 
contains much oil and other impurities, from which it is freed by expression, 
washing with hot water, melting, straining, and repeated washing with a weak 
boiling ley of potash. Common whale oil and the oil of other cetaceous animals 
contain small quantities of spermaceti, which they slowly deposit on standing. 
Spermaceti is in white, pearly, semitransparent masses, of a crystalline folia- 
ceous texture; friable, soft, and somewhat unctuous to the touch; slightly odor- 
ous; insipid; of the sp.gr. 0 943; fusible atll2° F. (Bostock), not under 100° 
(Br.); vo’atilizable at a high temperature without change, in vacuo, but par- 
tially decomposed if the air is admitted; inflammable; insoluble in water; solu- 
ble in small proportion in boiling alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine, but de- 
posited as the liquids cool; readily soluble in chloroform* and in the fixed oils; 
not affected by the mineral acids, except the sulphuric, which decomposes and 
dissolves it; rendered yellowish and rancid by long exposure to hot air, but 
capable of being again purified by washing with a warm ley of potash. As 
found in the shops it is not chemically pure, containing a fixed oil, and often a 
peculiar colouring principle. From these it is separated by boiling in alcohol, 
which on cooling deposits it in crystalline scales Thus purified, it does not 
melt under 120° F., is soluble in 40 parts of boiling alcohol of the sp gr. 0’821 
( Thenard), and is harder, more shining, and less unctuous than ordinary sper- 
maceti. The name of cetin was proposed for pure spermaceti by Chevreul. Its 
ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. I3v the agency of the 
alkalies, it is with difficulty saponified, yielding an acid, called by MM. Dumas 
and Stass ethalic acid, and a peculiar principle named ethal by Chevreul. From 
a more recent analysis, however, by Dr. Ileintz, it would appear that the ethalic 
acid is complex, consisting of not less than five distinct acids, viz. the margaric, 
palmitic, cetic, myristic, and cocinic, and that consequently pure spermaceti is 
a mixture of the salts of these acids with ethal. (Ghem. Gaz.,x. 321.) Ethal 
is considered as bearing to a hypothetical carbohydrogen cetyl (C32H33) the 
same relation that alcohol bears to ethyl; that is, to be a hydrated oxide of 
cetvl, and is accordingly denominated cetylic alcohol (C32HmO,HO). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Like the fixed oils, spermaceti has been given 
as a demulcent in irritations of the pulmonary and intestinal mucous membranes; 
but it possesses no peculiar virtues, and its internal use has been generally aban- 
doned. It may be reduced to powder by the addition of a little alcohol or almond 
* In consequence of its solubility in chloroform, stains made by dropping it on cloth 
may be quickly removed by this liquid. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Cetraria, 
253 
oil, or suspended in water by means of mucilage, or the yolk of eggs and sugar. 
A convenient mode of forming an emulsion with spermaceti, is to mix it first 
with half its weight of olive oil, then with powdered gum arabic, and lastly 
with water gradually added. Externally it is much employed as an ingredient 
of ointments and cerates. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cetacei, U.S.; Charta Epispastica, Br.; Unguentum 
.AquaRosae, U. S.; Unguentum Cetacei, Br. W. 
CETRARIA. U.S.,Br. 
Iceland Moss. 
Cetraria Islandica. U. S. The entire Lichen. Br. 
Lichen cl’Islande, Fr.; Islandischcs Moos, Germ.; Lichcne Islandico, Italy Liquen 
Islandico, Span. 
Cetraria. Sex.Syst. Cryptogamia Lichenes.— Nat. Ord. Lichenaccae. 
Gen. Ch. Plant cartilagino-membranous, ascending or spreading, lobed, 
smooth, and naked on both sides. Apothecia shield-like, obliquely adnate with 
the margin, the disk coloured, plano-concave; border indexed, derived from the 
frond. Loudon's Encyc. 
The genus Lichen of Linnaeus has been divided by subsequent botanists into 
numerous genera, which have btfen raised to the dignity of a distinct order, both 
in the natural and artificial systems of arrangement. The name Cetraria has 
been conferred on the genus to which the Iceland moss belongs. 
Cetraria Islandica. Acharius, Lichenog. Univ. 512.—Lichen Islandicus. 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 803, t. 211. Iceland moss is foliaceous, erect, from two to 
four inches high, with a dry, coriaceous, smooth, shining, laciniatcd frond or 
leaf, the lobes of which are irregularly subdivided, channeled, and fringed at theii 
edges with rigid hairs. Those divisions upon which the fruit is borne are dilated. 
The colour is olive-brown or greenish-gray above, reddish at the base, and 
lighter on the under than the upper surface. The fructification is in flat, shield- 
like, reddish-brown receptacles, with elevated entire edges, placed upon the 
surface of the frond near its border. The plant is found in the northern latitudes 
of the old and new continents, and on the elevated mountains further south. 
It received its name from the abundance in which it prevails in Iceland. It is 
also abundant on the mountains and in the sandy plains of New England. 
The dried moss is of diversified colour, grayish-white, brown, and red, in dif- 
ferent parts, with less of the green tint than in the recent state. It is inodorous, 
and has a mucilaginous, bitter taste. Macerated in water, it absorbs rather more 
than its own weight of the fluid, and, if the water be warm, renders it bitter. 
Boiling water extracts all its soluble principles. The decoction thickens upon 
cooling, and acquires a gelatinous consistence, resembling that of starch in ap- 
pearance, but without its viscidity. After some time the dissolved matter sepa- 
rates, and when dried forms semitransparent masses, insoluble in cold water, 
alcohol, or ether, but soluble in boiling water, and in solution forming a blue 
compound with iodine. This principle resembles starch in its general characters, 
but differs from it in some respects, and has received the distinctive name of 
lichenin. Berzelius found in 100 parts of Iceland moss 1-6 of chlorophyll, 3-0 
of a peculiar bitter principle, 3'6 of uncrystallizable sugar, 3'7 of gum, 7 0 of 
the apotheme of extractive, 44-G of the peculiar starch-like principle, l-9 of the 
bilicheuates of potassa and lime mixed with phosphate of lime, and 36 2 of 
amylaceous fibrin—the excess being 16 parts. 
The name of cetrarin has been conferred on the bitter principle. The follow- 
ing process for obtaining it is that of Dr. Herberger. The moss, coarsely pow- 
dered, is boiled for half an hour in four times its weight of alcohol of 0'883. 
The liquid when cool is expressed and filtered, and treated with dilute muriatic 
acid, in the proportion of three drachms to every pound of moss employed 
Water is then added in the quantity of about four times the bulk of the liquid, 
and the mixture left for a night in a closed matrass. The deposit which forms is 254 
Cetraria. 
PART I. 
collected on a filter, allowed to drain as much as possible, and submitted to the 
press. To purify it, the mass, while still moist, is broken into small pieces, washed 
with alcohol or ether, arid treated with two hundred times its weight of boiling 
alcohol, which dissolves the cetrarin, leaving the other organic principles by 
which it has hitherto been accompanied. The greater part is deposited as the 
liquor cools, and the remainder may be obtained by evaporation. By this process 
one pound of moss yielded to Dr. Herberger 133 grains of cetrarin. This prin- 
ciple is white, not crystalline, light, unalterable in the air, inodorous, and ex- 
ceedingly bitter, especially in alcoholic solution. Its best solvent is absolute 
alcohol, of which 100 parts dissolve 1-T of cetrarin at the boiling temperature. 
Ether also dissolves it, and it is slightly soluble in water. Its solutions are quite 
neutral to test paper. It is precipitated by the acids, and rendered much more 
soluble by the alkalies. Concentrated muriatic acid changes its colour to a bright 
blue. It precipitates the salts of iron, copper, lead, and silver. In the dose of 
two grains, every two hours, it has been used successfully in intermittent fever. 
(Journ. de Pliarm., xxiii. 505.) Drs. Schnedermann and Knopp have ascertained 
that the cetrarin above referred to consists of three distinct substances; 1. ce- 
traric acid, which is the true bitter principle, crystallizable, and intensely bitter; 
2. a substance resembling the fatty acids, called lichstearic acid; and 3. a green 
colouring substance, which they name thallochlor. These principles are obtained 
perfectly pure with great difficulty. (Ann. der Pliarm., Iv. 144.) 
The gum and starch contained in the moss render it sufficiently nutritive to 
serve as food for the inhabitants of Iceland and Lapland, who employ it pow- 
dered and made into bread, or boiled with milk, having first partially freed it 
from the bitter principle by repeated maceration in water. The bitterness may 
be entirely extracted by macerating the powdered moss, for 24 hours, in twenty- 
four times its weight of a solution formed with 1 part of an alkaline carbonate 
and 315 parts of water, then decanting the liquid, and repeating the process 
with an equal quantity of the solution. The powder, being now dried, is per- 
fectly sweet and highly nutritious. This process was suggested by Berzelius. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Iceland moss is demulcent, nutritious, and 
tonic, and well calculated for affections of the mucous membrane of the lungs 
and bowels, with debility of the digestive organs, or of the system generally. 
Hence it has been found useful in chronic catarrhs, and other chronic pulmonary 
affections attended with copious puruloid expectoration, in dyspepsia, in chronic 
dysentery and diarrhoea, and in the debility succeeding acute disease, or depend- 
ent on copious purulent discharge from external ulcers. At one time it pos- 
sessed much reputation as a remedy in pulmonary consumption. It had long 
been employed in this disease, and in hremoptysis, by the Danish physicians, 
before it became generally known. In the latter half of the last century it came 
into extensive use, and numerous cures supposed to have been effected by it are 
on record. But now that the pathology of phthisis is better understood, physi- 
cians have ceased to expect material advantage from it in that disease; and 
there is reason to believe that the cases which have recovered under its use, 
were simply chronic bronchitis. It acts only as a mild, nutritious, demulcent 
tonic; and can exercise no specific influence over the tuberculous affection. 
It is usually employed in the form of decoction. (See Decoctum Cetrariee.) 
By some writers it is recommended to deprive it of the bitter principle by ma- 
ceration in water or a weak alkaline solution, before preparing the decoction: 
but we thus reduce it to the state of a simple demulcent, or mild article of diet, 
in which respect it is not superior to the ordinary farinaceous or gummy sub- 
stances used in medicine. The powder is sometimes given in the dose of thirty 
grains or a drachm; and a preparation at one time obtained some repute, in 
which the ground moss was incorporated with chocolate, and used at the morn- 
ing and evening meal as an ordinary beverage. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Cetrariae. W. PART I. 
Chenopodium. 
CHENOPODIUM. U.S. 
The fruit of Chenopodium anthelminticum. U. S. 
Chenopodiitm. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat.Ord. Chcnopodiacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved, four-cornered. Corolla none. Seed one, lenticu- 
lar, superior. Willd. 
Chenopodium antheljninticum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1304 ; Barton, Med. Hot. 
ii. 183. This is an indigenous perennial plant, with an herbaceous, erect, branch- 
ing, furrowed stem, which rises from two to five feet in height. The leaves are 
alternate or scattered, sessile, oblong-lanceolate, attenuated at both ends, sinu- 
ated and toothed on the margin, conspicuously veined, of a yellowish-green 
colour, and dotted on their under surface. The flowers are very numerous, 
small, of the same colour with the leaves, and arranged in long, leafless, ter- 
minal panicles, composed of slender, dense, glomerate, alternating spikes. 
This species of Chenopodium, known commonly by the names of wormseed 
and Jerusalem oak, grows in almost all parts of the United States, but most 
vigorously and abundantly in the southern section. It is usually found in the 
vicinity of rubbish, along fences, in the streets of villages, and in open grounds 
about the larger towns. It flowers from July to September, and ripens its seeds 
successively through the autumn. The whole herb has a strong, peculiar, offen- 
sive, yet somewhat aromatic odour, which it retains when dried. All parts of 
the plant aro occasionally employed; but the fruit only is strictly officinal. 
This should be collected in October.* 
Wormseed, as found in the shops, is in small grains, not larger than the 
head of a pin, irregularly spherical, very light, of a dull, greenish-yellow, or 
brownish colour, a bitterish, somewhat aromatic, pungent taste, and possessed 
in a high degree of the peculiar smell of the plant. These grains, when de- 
prived, by rubbing them in the hand, of a capsular covering which invests the 
proper seed, exhibit a shining surface of a very dark colour. They abound in 
a volatile oil, upon which their sensible properties and medical virtues depend, 
and which is obtained by distillation. (See Oleum Chenopodii.) The same oil 
impregnates to a greater or less extent the whole plant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wormseed is one of our most efficient indige- 
nous anthelmintics, and is thought to be particularly adapted to the expulsion 
of the round worms in children. A dose of it is usually given before breakfast 
in the morning, and at bedtime in the evening, for three or four days succes- 
sively, and then followed by calomel or some other brisk cathartic. If the worms 
are not expelled, the same plan is repeated. The medicine is most conveniently 
administered in powder, mixed with syrup, in the form of an electuary. The 
dose for a child two or three years old is from one to two scruples. The vola- 
tile oil is more frequently given than the fruit in substance; though its offensive 
odour and taste sometimes render it of difficult administration. The dose for a 
child is from five to ten drops, mixed with sugar, or in the form of emulsion. A 
tablespoonful of the expressed juice of the leaves, or a wineglassful of the de- 
coction prepared by boiling an ounce of the fresh plant in a pint of milk, with 
the addition of orange-peel or other aromatic, is sometimes substituted in do- 
mestic practice for the ordinary dose of the fruit and oil. 
The fruit of Chenopodium ambrosioides, which is also an indigenous plant, 
Wormseed. 
* C. anthelminticum is cultivated to a considerable extent in Maryland, twenty or thirty 
miles north of Baltimore. The seeds are sown in small beds of rich mould early in spring, 
and during the month of June the young plants are pulled up, and set out in ridges three 
feet apart, with intervals of from six to ten inches. The plants do not require to be re- 
newed oftener than once in four or five years. The crop of the second year is more pro- 
ductive than the first. The plant is fit for distillation during the first half of September. 
The distillation is carried on in the same neighbourhood. The whole herbaceous part of 
the plant is used. It is said to yield from 1-6 to 2 per cent, of the oil, and the produce 
of an acre will yield 20 pounds. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm. xxii. 304.) 256 
Clienopodiam.— Chimaphila. 
PART I. 
and very prevalent in the Middle States, is said to be used indiscriminately with 
that of C. anthelminticum. It may be distinguished by its odour, which is 
weaker and less offensive, and to some persons agreeable. The plant itself is 
often confounded with the true wormseed, from which it differs in having its 
flowers in leafy racemes. This species of Chenopodium has been employed in 
Europe as a remedy in nervous affections, particularly chorea. Five or six 
cases of this disease, reported by Plenk, after having resisted the ordinary 
means, yielded to the daily use of an infusion of two drachms of the plant in 
ten ounces of water, taken in the dose of a cupful morning and evening, and 
associated with the employment of peppermint. 
C. Potrys, known by the vulgar name of Jerusalem oak, is another indige- 
nous species, possessing anthelmintic virtues. It is said to have been used in 
France with advantage in catarrh and humoral asthma. 
Of. Prep. Oleum Chenopodii, U. S. W 
CHIMAPHILA. US. 
Pipsissewa. 
The leaves of Chimaphila umbellata. U. S. 
Chimapiiila. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Pyrolacese. 
Gen. Cli. Calyx five-toothed. Petals five. Style very short, immersed in the 
germ. Stigma, annular, orbicular, with a five-lobed disk. Filaments stipitate; 
stipe discoid, ciliate. Capsules five-celled, opening from the summits, margins 
unconnected. Nuttall. 
This genus was separated from Pyrola by Pursh. It embraces two species, C. 
umbellata and C. macula,ta, which are both indigenous, and known by the com- 
mon title of winter-green. The generic title is formed of two Greek words, /eifxa 
winter, and <pdoq a friend. C. umbellata only is officinal. 
Chimaphila umbellata. Barton, Med. Pot. i. 17 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Pot. 
i. 62, pi. 53. — Pyrola umbellata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 622 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Pot. ii. 15. The pipsissewa is a small evergreen plant, with a perennial, creep- 
ing, yellowish root (rhizoma), which gives rise to several simple, erect or semi- 
procumbent stems, from four to eight inches in height, and ligneous at their base. 
The leaves are wedge-shaped, somewhat lanceolate, serrate, coriaceous, smooth, 
of a shining, sap-green colour on the upper surface, paler beneath, and supported 
upon short footstalks, in irregular whorls, of which there are usually two on the 
same stem. The flowers are disposed in a small terminal corymb, and stand upon 
nodding peduncles. The calyx is small and divided at its border into five teeth 
or segments. The corolla is composed of five roundish, concave, spreading petals, 
which are of a white colour tinged with red, and exhale an agreeable odour. The 
stamens are ten, with filaments shorter than the petals, and with large, nodding, 
bifurcated, purple anthers. The germ is globular and depressed, supporting a 
thick and apparently sessile stigma, the style being short and immersed in the 
germ. The seeds are numerous, linear, chaffy, and enclosed in a roundish, de- 
pressed, five-celled, five-valved capsule, having the persistent calyx at the base. 
This humble but beautiful evergreen is a native of the northern latitudes of 
America, Europe, and Asia. It is found in all parts of the United States, ex- 
tending even to the Pacific Ocean. It grows under the shade of woods, and 
prefers a loose sandy soil, enriched by decaying leaves. The flowers appear 
in June and July. All parts of the plant are endowed with active properties. 
The leaves and stems are kept in the shops. 
C. maculata, or sgjotted winter-green, probably possesses similar virtues. 
The character of the leaves of the two plants will serve to distinguish them. 
Those of C. maculata are lanceolate, rounded at the base, where they are 
broader than near the summit, and of a deep olive-green, veined with greenish- 
white; those of the officinal species are broadest near the summit, gradually 
narrowing to the base, and of a uniform shining green. PAliT I. 
Chimaphila. 
257 
Properties. Pipsissewa, when fresh and bruised, exhales a peculiar odour. The 
taste of the leaves is pleasantly bitter, astringent, and sweetish; that of the stems 
and root unites with these qualities a considerable degree of pungency. Boiling 
water extracts the active properties of the plant, which are also imparted to 
alcohol. The leaves have been examined by Mr. Samuel Fairbank, who found 
in them gum, starch, sugar, extractive, pectic acid, tannic acid, resin, fatty mat- 
ter, chlorophyll, yellow colouring matter, lignin, a peculiar whitish substance 
which he calls chimaphilin, and various inorganic substances, as potassa, lime, 
magnesia, chloride of sodium, and sulphuric, phosphoric, and silicic acids. The 
chimaphilin was obtained by agitating a tincture with chloroform, allowing the 
nrxture to stand, removing the lighter liquid, and allowing the chloroformic 
solution to evaporate. A yellow crystalline substance was left, which, purified 
by solution in alcohol, filtration, and spontaneous evaporation, constituted the 
substance in question. It was also obtained by simply distilling the stems with 
water. It is in beautiful, golden-yellow, acicular crystals, inodorous, tasteless, 
fusible, volatilizable unchanged, insoluble or nearly so in water, soluble in alco- 
hol, ether, chloroform, and the fixed and volatile oils, and possessed of neither 
acid nor alkaline properties. (Journ. and Trans, of the Md. Col. of Pharm., 
March, 1860.) The active principle of the leaves does not appear to have been 
isolated, though probably contained in the substance called bitter extractive. 
The so-named chimaphilin has no claims to this character, nor, we think, to the 
name given to it, which should be reserved for the active principle when discov- 
ered. The pungency of the stems is said by Mr. Fairbank to reside in the resin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plant is diuretic, tonic, and astringent. 
It was employed by the aborigines in various complaints, especially scrofula, 
rheumatism, and nephritic affections. From their hands it passed into those of 
the European settlers, and was long a popular remedy in certain parts of the 
country, before it was adopted by the profession. The first regular treatise in 
relation to it that has come to our knowledge, was the thesis of Dr. Mitchell, 
published in the year 1803; but it was little thought of till the appearance of 
the paper of Dr. Sommerville, in the 5th volume of the London Medico-chirur- 
gical Transactions. By this writer it was highly recommended as a remedy in 
dropsy; and his favourable report has been sustained by the subsequent state- 
ments of many practitioners. It is particularly useful in cases attended with 
disordered digestion and general debility, in which its tonic properties and 
usual acceptability to the stomach prove highly useful auxiliaries to its diuretic 
powers. Nevertheless, it cannot be relied on exclusively in the treatment of the 
complaint; for, though it generally produces an increased flow of urine, it has 
seldom effected cures. Other disorders, in which it is said to have proved useful, 
are calculous and nephritic affections, and in general all those complaints of the 
urinary passages for which uva ursi is prescribed. It is much esteemed by some 
practitioner's as a remedy in scrofula, both before and after the occurrence of 
ulceration; and it has certainly proved highly advantageous in obstinate ill-con- 
ditioned ulcers and cutaneous eruptions, supposed to be connected with the stru- 
mous diathesis. In these cases it is used both internally, and locally as awash. 
The decoction is the preparation usually preferred, and may be taken to the 
amount of a pint in twenty-four hours. The watery extract may be given in the 
dose of twenty or thirty grains four times a day. Prof. Procter prepares a syrup 
by macerating four ounces of the leaves, finely bruised, in eight fluidounces of 
water for thirty-six hours, and then subjecting the mass to percolation till a 
pint of fluid is obtained, which is reduced one-half by evaporation, and incor- 
porated with twelve ounces of sugar. One or two tablespoonfuls may be given 
for a dose. Prof. Procter has suggested also a fluid extract, prepared in the 
same manner as the saccharine fluid extracts of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, espe- 
cially that of uva ursi. A fluidrachm of it would represent a drachm of pipsis- 
sewa. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Chimaphilae, U. S. W. 258 
Chiretta.— Chloroformum. 
PART L 
CHIRETTA. U. S. 
The herb and root of Agathotes Chirayta. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CHIRATA. Ghiretta. The entire plant, Ophelia Chirata. Br. 
Agathotes. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla withering, rotate, in aestivation twisted to the right; with 
glandular hollows protected by a fringed scale upon the segments. Anthers 
not changing. Stigmas sessile. Capsules conical; one-celled, with spongy pla- 
centae upon the sutures. Seeds indefinite, minute. (Bindley.) 
Agathotes Chirayta. Don, Bond. Philos. Mag. 1836, p. 76. — Gentiana Chi» 
rayta. Fleming, Asiat. Research, xi. 167.— Ophelia Chirata. Grisbach. The 
chirayta or chiretta is an annual plant, about three feet high, with a branching 
root, and an erect, smooth, round stem, branching into an elegant leafy panicle, 
and furnished with opposite, embracing, lanceolate, very acute, entire, smooth, 
three or five-nerved leaves. The flowers are numerous, peduncled, yellow, with 
a four-cleft calyx having linear acute divisions, the limb of the corolla spread- 
ing and four-parted, four stamens, a single style, and a two-lobed stigma. The 
capsules are shorter than the permanent calyx and corolla. The plant is a 
native of Nepaul, and other parts of northern India. The whole of it is offi- 
cinal. It is gathered when the flowers begin to decay. 
The dried plant is imported into Europe in bundles, consisting mainly of the 
stems, with portions of the root attached. The stems, which have been already 
described, contain a yellowish pith. All parts of the plant have a very bitter 
taste, which is strongest in the root. It is without odour. It imparts its virtues 
to water and alcohol; and they are retained in the extract. Accordingto Las- 
saigne and Boissel, the stems contain resin, a yellow bitter substance, brown 
colouring matter, gum, and various salts. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chiretta has long been used in India. It has 
been introduced into Europe, and appears to be highly esteemed; but has not 
been employed to any considerable extent in this country. Its properties are 
those of the pure bitters, and probably do not differ from those of the other 
members of the family of Gentianaceae. (See Gentiana.) Like these, in over- 
doses it nauseates and oppresses the stomach. Some have supposed that, in ad- 
dition to its tonic properties, it exerts a peculiar influence over the liver, pro- 
moting the secretion of bile and correcting it when deranged, and restoring 
healthy evacuations in cases of habitual costiveness. But it may well be doubted 
whether it produces any other effects of this kind than such as are incident to 
its tonic power. It has been used in dyspepsia, and in the debility of convales- 
cence, and generally in cases in which corroborant measures are indicated. In 
India it has been successfully employed in intermittents and remittents, com- 
bined with the seeds of Guilandina Bonduc. It may be given in powder, in- 
fusion, tincture, or extract. The dose in substance is twenty grains. A fluid 
extract may be made in the same manner as that of gentian. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Chiratae, Br.; Tinctura Chiratae, Br. W 
Chiretta. 
CHLOROFORMUM YEN ALE. U.S. 
Commercial Chloroform. 
In the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for the preparation 
of chloroform ; in the present edition, the drug, in its impure commercial form, 
has been placed in the Materia Medica Catalogue, while a process is given in 
the second part of the work for its purification. Thinking it expedient that what 
is to be said on the subject should all be included under the same head, we 
refer the reader to the article Chloroformum Purificatum in Part II. 
Off. Prep. Chloroformum Purificatum, U. S. B. PART I, 
Chondrus, 
259 
CHONDRUS. U.S. 
Irish Moss. 
Chondrus crispus. U. S. 
Chondrus. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Algae. — Nat.Ord.A\ga,ce&. 
Gen. Ch. Frond cartilaginous, dilating upwards into a flat, nerveless dmho- 
tomously divided expansion, of a purplish or livid-red colour. Fructification, 
subspherical capsules in the substance of the frond, rarely supported on little 
stalks, and containing a mass of minute free seeds. Greville. 
Chondrus crispus. Greville, Alg. Brit. 129, t. 15.—Spliserococcus crispus. 
Agardh.—Fucus crispus. Linn. The Irish moss, or carrageen as it is fre- 
quently called, consists of a flat, slender, cartilaginous frond, from two to twelve 
inches in length, dilated as it ascends until it becomes two or three lines in width, 
then repeatedly and dichotomously divided, with linear, wedge-shaped segments, 
and more or less curled up so as to diminish the apparent length. The capsules 
are somewhat hemispherical, and are embedded in the disk of the frond. The 
plant grows upon rocks and stones on the coast of Europe, and is especially 
abundant on the southern and western coasts of Ireland, where it is collected. 
It is also a native of the United States, and is said to be gathered largely on the 
southern sea-coast of Massachusetts, where it is partly torn from the rocks, and 
partly collected upon the beach, on which it is thrown up during storms. It 
is prepared for market by spreading it out high on the beach, to dry and bleach 
in the sun. (Aug. P. Melzar, Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., A.D. 1860.) 
When collected, it is washed and dried. In the fresh state it is of a purplish 
colour, but, as found in the shops, is yellowish or yellowish-white, with occasion- 
ally purplish portions. It is translucent, of a feeble odour, and nearly tasteless. 
It swells in cold water but does not dissolve. Boiling water dissolves a large 
proportion of it, and the solution, if sufficiently concentrated, gelatinizes on 
cooling. According to Feuchtwanger, it contains starch and pectin, with com- 
pounds of sulphur, chlorine, and bromine, and some oxalate of lime. Herberger 
found 79 1 per cent, of pectin, and 9’5 of mucus, with fatty matter, free acids, 
chlorides, &c , but neither iodine nor bromine. M. Dupasquier discovered in it 
both of these elements, which had generally escaped attention in consequence of 
their reaction, as soon as liberated, upon the sulphurot of sodium resulting from 
the decomposition of the sulphate of soda of the moss when charred. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 113.) The pectin Pereira thinks peculiar, and proposes 
to call carrageenin. It is distinguished from gum by affording, when dissolved 
in water, no precipitate with alcohol; from starch, by not becoming blue with 
tincture of iodine; from pectin, by yielding no precipitate with acetate of lead, 
and no mucic acid by the action of nitric acid. M. Ch. Blondeau gives the 
name of goemine to a substance obtained by boiling carrageen (goernon, Fr.) 
for several hours in distilled water, and precipitating the mucilaginous liquid by 
alcohol. The precipitate, being redissolved in water, yields on evaporation thin, 
transparent, elastic plates, resembling ichthyocolla, which soften and swell 
up on contact with cold water. This substance, which is probably complex, is 
without smell or taste, neutral to test-paper, and dissolves completely in alka- 
line liquids. Upon analysis.it gave 21-80 per cent, of carbon, 4-87 of hydrogen, 
21 36 of nitrogen, 2*51 of sulphur, and 49’46 of oxygen. The most noteworthy 
point is the large proportion of nitrogen, exceeding that of most albuminoid 
substances, and probably giving highly nutritious properties to the Irish moss. 
{Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., ii. 159, A.D. 1865.) 
Carrageen is nutritive and demulcent, and, being easy of digestion and not 
unpleasant to the taste, forms a useful article of diet in cases in which the fari- 
naceous preparations, such as tapioca, sago, barley, &c., are usually employed. 
It has been particularly recommended in chronic pectoral affections, scrofulous 
complaints, dysentery, diarrhoea, and disorders of the kidneys and bladder. It 260 
Chondrus.— Cimicifuga. 
PART I. 
may be used in the form of decoction, made by boiling a pint and a half of 
water with half an ounce of the moss down to a pint. Sugar and lemon-juice 
may usually be added to improve the flavour. Milk may be substituted tor 
water, when a more nutritious preparation is required. It is recommended to 
macerate the moss for about ten minutes in cold water before submitting it to 
decoction. Any unpleasant flavour that it may have acquired from the contact 
of foreign substances is thus removed. W. 
CIMICIFUGA. US. 
Cimicifuga. Black Snakeroot. 
The root of Cimicifuga racemosa. U. S. 
Cimicifuga. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Di-Pentagvnia. —Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx four or five-leaved. Petals four to eight, deformed, thickish, 
sometimes wanting. Capsules one to five, oblong, many-seeded. Seeds sqna- 
mose. Nuttall. 
Cimicifuga racemosa. Torrey, Flor. 219; Carson, Tllust.of Med. Pot. i. 9, 
pi. 3. — C. Serpentaria. Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept. p. 372.—Actaea racemosa. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1139.—Macrotys racemosa. Eaton’s Manual, p. 288. 
This is a tall stately plant, having a perennial root, and a simple herbaceous 
stem, which rises from four to eight feet in height. The leaves are large, and 
ternately decomposed, having oblong-ovate leaflets, incised and toothed at their 
edges. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in along, terminal, wand-like 
raceme, with occasionally one or two shorter racemes near its base. The calyx 
is white, four-leaved, and deciduous; the petals are minute, and shorter than 
the stamens ; the pistil consists of an oval germ and sessile stigma. The fruit 
is an ovate capsule containing numerous flat seeds. 
The black snakeroot, or cohosh as this plant is sometimes called, is a native 
of the United States, growing in shady or rocky woods from Canada to 
Florida, and flowering in June and July. The root is the part employed. 
Properties. The dried root consists of a thick, irregularly bent or contorted 
body or caudex, from one-third of an inch to an inch in thickness, often several 
inches in length, furnished with many slender radicles, and rendered exceedingly 
rough and jagged in appearance by the remains of the stems of successive years, 
which to the length of an inch or more are frequently attached to the root. 
The colour is externally dark-brown, almost black, internally whitish; the odour, 
though not strong, is peculiar and rather disagreeable, and is gradually lost by 
keeping; the taste is bitter, herbaceous, and somewhat astringent, leaving a 
slight sense of acrimony. The root yields its virtues to boiling water. It was 
found by Mr. Tilghman, of Philadelphia, to contain gum, starch, sugar, resin, 
wax, fatty matter, tannic and gallic acids, a black colouring matter, a green 
colouring matter, lignin, and salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, and iron. (Journ. 
of Phil. Col. of Pharm., vi. 20.) It no doubt also contains, when fresh, a vola- 
tile principle, with which its virtues may be in some degree associated; as we are 
confident that it is more efficacious in the recent state, than when long kept. In 
fact, Mr Geo. H. Davis, in a more recent analysis, has separated by distillation 
a small proportion of volatile oil, having decidedly the peculiar odour of the 
root. Mr. Davis also found, in addition to the principles above mentioned, albu- 
men and extractive among the organic, and silica among the inorganic constitu- 
ents. The sugar, moreover, noticed by him was of the uncrystallizable variety, 
and the resin of two kinds, one soluble in alcohol but not in ether, the other 
soluble in both these menstrua. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 396.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of cimicifuga in health have not 
been fully investigated. It was at one time considered a mild tonic, with the 
property of stimulating the secretions, particularly those of the skin, kidneys, 
and bronchial mucous membrane; and has been thought by some to have an 
especial affinity for the uterus. It undoubtedly exercises considerable influence 
over the nervous system, probably of a sedative character; but this influence, so PART i. 
Cimicifuga. 
261 
far as our observation has gone, is shown more in morbid states of that system 
than in health. Dr. Hildreth, of Ohio, found it, in large doses, to produce ver- 
tigo, impaired vision, nausea and vomiting, and a reduction of the circulation ; 
but from very large quantities he observed no alarming narcotic effects. Dr. 
N. S. Davis uniformly found it to lessen the force and frequency of the pulse, 
to soothe pain, and allay irritability. ( Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., i. 352.) Its 
common name was probably derived from its supposed power as an antidote to 
the bite of the rattlesnake. It was originally employed in domestic practice in 
rheumatism, dropsy, hysteria, and various affections of the lungs, particularly 
those resembling consumption. The first published notice of its use in phthisis 
was by Dr. Thomas J. Garden, of Charlotte, Virginia. (Am. Med. Recorder, Oc- 
tober, 1823.) Several cases of chorea were recorded by Dr. Jesse Young, in 
which it effected cures; and the editor of the Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences 
stated that he had been informed by Dr. Physick that he had known it, in the 
dose of ten grains every two hours, to prove successful in the cure of that com- 
plaint in several instances. Dr. Young gave a teaspoonful of the powdered root 
three times a day. (Am. Journ of Med. Sci., ix. 310.) We have administered the 
medicine in chorea with complete success, and have derived the happiest effects 
from it in a case of periodical convulsions connected with uterine disorder. Dr. 
Hildreth has found it, in combination with iodine, very advantageous in the 
early stages of phthisis. (Ibid.,N. S., iv. 281.) Dr. F. N. Johnson has employed 
it with extraordinary success in acute rheumatism; the disease generally yield- 
ing completely within eight or ten days. (Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., i. 352.) 
It may be given in substance, decoction, tincture, or extract. The dose of the 
powder is from a scruple to a drachm. The decoction has been much used, but 
is thought by some not to contain all the virtues of the root. An ounce of the 
bruised root may be boiled for a short time in a pint of water, and one or two 
fluidounces given for a dose. From half a pint to a pint of the decoction may 
be taken without inconvenience during the day. The tincture may be made in 
the proportion of four ounces to the pint of diluted alcohol, and given in the 
dose of one or two fluidrachms. In acute rheumatism, the remedy is recom- 
mended by Dr. Davis, in the dose of from thirty1" to sixty drops of the tincture, 
or twenty grains of the powder, i*epeated every two hours till its effects are ob- 
served. (Ibid., p. 356.) Dr. Brundige speaks, in the strongest terms, of the effi- 
cacy of a saturated tincture of the dried root, as an application about the eye, 
and to the outer surface of the eyelids in ophthalmia. (Med. Exam., N. S., vii. 
809; from the N. Y. Med. Gaz.) Dr. Koehler, of Schuylkill Haven, Pa , after 
failing with the decoction and simple tincture in the treatment of chorea, suc- 
ceeded satisfactorily with an acetous tincture, made by digesting, for fourteen 
days, five ounces of the root with a menstruum consisting of one fluidounce of 
diluted acetic acid, eight of alcohol, and eleven of water. The dose is the same 
as that of the simple tincture. (N. Am. Med.-clur. Rev., iii. 189.) A ffuid ex- 
tract is now officinal; and a dry extract has been prepared by Professor Proc- 
ter. The dose of the former is from 30 to 60 minims, of the latter from 4 to 8 
grains.* The practitioners calling themselves eclectics use, under the name of 
cimicifugin, an impure resin obtained by precipitating a saturated tincture of 
the root with water. It is given in the dose of a grain or two. The name, how- 
ever, is inappropriate, as it should be reserved for the pure active principle 
when discovered. (See N. J. Med. Reporter, viiL 241.) 
Off Prep. Extractum Cimicifug® Fluidum, U. S. W„ 
* Tlie dry extract is prepared in the following manner. Sixteen ounces of the recently 
dried root, in powder, are put into a percolator for volatile liquids, and a mixture of & 
pint of alcohol and half a pint of ether is gradually added. After the liquid has ceased to 
pass, diluted alcohol is poured in until the filtered liquid equals a pint and a half, which 
is set aside in a warm place, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously until reduced to 
half a pint. The percolation is continued with diluted alcohol until two pints of tincture 
are obtained. The two tinctures are evaporated separately to the consistence of syrup, 
then mixed, and carefully evaporated to dryness by means of a water-bath. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvi. 107.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 262 
Cinchona. 
P.A RT I. 
CINCHONA. 
Peruvian Bark. Cinchona Bark. 
Varieties. 
CINCHONA FLAVA. U. S. Yellow Cinchona. The bark of Cinchona 
Calisaya, called in commerce Calisaya Baric, and containing not less than 
two per cent, of alkaloids yielding crystallizable salts. U. S. CINCHONAS 
FLAVAS CORTEX. Yellow Cinchona Bark. The bark of Cinchona Cali- 
saya. Br. 
CINCHONA PALLIDA. XJ. S. Pale Cinchona. The bark of Cinchona 
Condaminea and of Cinchona micrantha. U. S. CINCHONAS PALLIDAS 
CORTEX. Pale Cinchona Bark. The bark of Cinchona Condaminea, ears. 
chahuarguera Paeon, and crispa Tafalla. Br. 
CINCHONA RUBRA. U. S. Bed Cinchona. The bark of an undeter- 
mined species of Cinchona, called in commerce red baric, and containing not 
less than two per cent, of alkaloids yielding crystallizable salts. U. S. CIN- 
CHONAS RUBRAS CORTEX. Bed Cinchona Bark. The bark of Cinchona 
succirubra Paeon. Br* 
Quinquina, Fr.; China, Peruvianische Einde, Germ.; China, Ital.; Quina, Span. 
Botanical History 
Though the Peruvian bark was introduced into Europe so early as 1640, it 
was not till the year 1737 that the plant producing it was known to naturalists. 
In that year La Condamine, on a journey to Lima, through the province of 
Loxa, had an opportunity of examining the tree, of which, upon his return, he 
published a description in the Memoirs of the French Academy. Soon after- 
wards Linnaeus gave it the name of Cinchona officinalis, in honour of the 
Countess of Cinchon, who is said to have first taken the bark to Europe; but, 
in his description of the plant, be united the species discovered by La Condamine 
with C.pubescens, a specimen of which had been sent to him from Santa Fe de 
Bogota. For a long time it was not known that more than one species existed ; 
and C. officinalis continued, till a comparatively recent period, to be recognised 
bv the Pharmacopoeias as the only source of the Peruvian bark of commerce. 
But a vast number of plants belonging to the Linnaean genus Cinchona were in 
the course of time discovered; and the list became at length so unwieldy and 
heterogeneous, that botanists were compelled to distribute the species into seve- 
* The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following methods of testing these varieties. 
1. “ Test of Yellow Cinchona. Boil 100 grains of the bark, reduced to very fine powder, 
for a quarter of an hour, in a fluidounce of distilled water acidulated with ten minims 
of hydrochloric acid; and allow it to macerate for twenty-four hours. Transfer the 
whole to a small percolator, and, after the fluid has ceased to percolate, add at intervals 
about an ounce and a half of similarly acidulated water, or until the fluid which passes 
through is free from colour. Add to the percolated fluid solution of subacetate of lead 
until the whole of the colouring matter has been removed, taking care that the fluid re- 
mains acid in reaction. Filter, and wash with a little distilled water. To the filtrate add 
about thirty-five grains of caustic potash, or so much as will cause the precipitate which 
is at first formed to be nearly redissolved, and afterwards six fluidrachms of pure ether. 
Then shake briskly, and, having removed the ether, repeat the process twice with three 
fluidrachms of ether, or until a drop of the ether employed leaves on evaporation scarcely 
any perceptible residue. Lastly, evaporate the mixed ethereal solutions in a capsule. The 
residue, which consists of nearly pure quinia, when dry, should weigh not less than two 
grains, and should be readily soluble in diluted sulphuric acid. 
2. “Test for Pale Cinchona. Two hundred grains of the bark, treated in the manner di- 
rected in the test for yellow cinchona bark, with the substitution of chloroform for ether, 
should yield not less than one grain of alkaloids. 
3. “Test for Red Cinchona. One hundred grains of the bark, treated in the manner di- 
rected in the test for yellow cinchona, with the substitution of chloroform for ether 
should yield not less than 1-5 grain of alkaloids.” Br. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART i. 
Cinchona. 
263 
ral groups, each constituting a distinct genus, and all associated in the natural 
family of Cinchonacese. Among these genera, the Cinchona is that which em- 
braces the true Peruvian bark trees, characterized by the production of the alka- 
loids, quinia, cinchonia, &c., as well as by certain botanical peculiarities, among 
which the most distinctive is probably the dehiscence of the capsule from the base 
towards the apex, or from below upward. The new genera Exostemma and 
Buena embrace species which have been, perhaps, most frequently referred to as 
Cinchonas; but they are sufficiently characterized, the former by the projection 
of the stamens beyond the corolla, a peculiarity which has given name to the 
genus, the latter by the different shape of the corolla, the separation of the calyx 
from the fruit at maturity, and the opening of the capsule from above downward. 
More recently Weddell has separated several generally admitted species from 
Cinchona, and instituted a new genus, which he proposes to name Cascarilla. 
This includes the former Cinchona magnifolia of lluiz and Pavon ( C. oblongi- 
folia of Mutis), the C. stenocarpa of Lambert, the C. acutifolia of Ruiz and 
Pavon, the C. oblongifolia of Lambert, the C. macrocarpa of Yahl, and the 
C. cava of Pavon, which differ from the true Cinchona in having the dehiscence 
of the capsules from the apex towards the base, or from above downward, and 
the barks of which contain neither of the alkaloids above referred to. (Weddell, 
Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 77.) With this brief preliminary notice, we shall 
proceed to consider the true Cinchonas. It may be proper, however, first to 
say, that the botanists who have personally observed these plants, besides La 
Condamine, of whom we have before spoken, are chiefly Joseph de Jussieu, who 
in the year 1139 explored the country about Loxa, and gathered specimens still 
existing in the cabinets of Europe; Mutis, who in 1772 discovered Cinchona 
trees in Xew Granada, and afterwards, aided by his pupil Zea, made further 
investigations and discoveries in the same region; Ruiz and Pavon, who in 
1777 began a course of botanical inquiries in the central portions of Lower 
Peru, and discovered several new species; Humboldt and Bonpland, who 
visited several of the Peruvian bark districts, and published the results of their 
observations after 1792; Poppig, who travelled in Peru so late as 1832, and 
published an account of his journey about the year 1835; and finally Weddell, 
w'hose researches in Bolivia are so well known, and have been so productive 
of valuable information in relation to the Calisaya bark. 
Cinchona. Sex. Sgst. Pentaiidria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Cinchonacese'. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx with a turbinate tube, and a persistent five-toothed limb. 
Corolla with a round tube, a five-parted limb, and oblong lobes valvate in aesti- 
vation. Stamens with short filaments inserted into the middle of the tube, and 
linear anthers entirely closed. Stigma bifid, subclavate. Capsule ovate or ob- 
long, somewhat furrowed on each side, bilocular, crowned with the calyx, 
septicidal-dehiscent, with the mericarps loosened from the base towards the 
apex, the introflexed part disjoined. Placentae elongated. Seeds numerous, 
erect, imbricated upward, compressed, winged, with a membranous margin, and 
a fleshy albumen.—The plants composing this genus are trees or shrubs. The 
leaves are opposite, upon short petioles with flat margins, and are attended with 
ovate or oblong, foliaceous, free, deciduous stipules. The flowers are terminal, in 
corymbose panicles, and of a white or purplish rose colour. (De Candolle.) 
The genuine Cinchona trees are natives exclusively of South America.* In 
that continent, however, they are widely diffused, extending from the 19th degree 
of south latitude, considerably south of La Paz, in Bolivia, to the mountains of 
Santa Martha, or, according to Weddell, to the vicinity of Caracas, on the north- 
ern coast, in about the 10th degree of north latitude. They follow, in this dis- 
tance, the circuitous course of the great mountain ranges, and for the most part 
* Transplantation of the Cinchona trees. For a long time after the discovery of the vir- 
tues of Peruvian hark,no attempt appears to have been made to transplant to other countries 
the trees which produced it. In 1737, La Condamine collected a large number of young 
plants, with a view of conveying them to Europe; but, after having descended the Ama- 
zon in safety for more than a thousand leagues, they were washed overboard, near the 264 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
occupy the eastern slope of the second range of the Cordilleras. Those which 
yield the bark of commerce grow at various elevations upon the Andes, seldom 
less than 4000 feet above the sea; and require a temperature considerably lower 
than that which usually prevails in tropical countries. 
mouth of that river, from the boat containing them, and were all lost. After this failure, 
though the idea of transplanting the Cinchonas was occasionally suggested, nothing was 
done until 1846-7, when Dr. Weddell, now celebrated for his successful exploration of the 
region of the Calisaya bark, sent some seeds to France, which were planted with success 
in the Jardin des Plantes, and thus supplied some of the conservatories of Europe with 
specimens of the plant. But the first successful effort, with a view to great practical re- 
sults, was made in 1853, by the Dutch Government, by whom Mr. Ilasskurl, formerly 
superintendent of the botanical garden in Java, was sent to South America on this im- 
portant mission. A number of young Cinchona plants were sent by him directly across 
the Pacific to Batavia, which they reached before the close of 1854. From these, and from 
seeds obtained from other sources, which were planted in the mountains of Java, in sites 
selected for their supposed conformity in climate with the native locality of the Cinchona, 
have sprung plantations, which in 1860 contained nearly a million of trees, of which 15,000 
or 16,000 were of the C. Calisaya. Dr. De Yry obtained from the hark of one of the Cin- 
chona plants of Java, not five years old, 3-12 per cent, of quinia, which is equal to the 
product of the Bolivian trees. Many of the trees, at the end of 1861, were thirty feet 
high. Unfortunately, however, most of the plants in Java are comparatively valueless 
species; and the success of the Dutch has thus been retarded. 
The English East India Government has been more successful. Stimulated by the sug- 
gestions of Dr. Boyle, and by the partial success of the Dutch, they engaged, in 1859, the 
services of Mr. Clements B. Markham, who proceeded to Bolivia, in South America, and, 
after almost incredible hardships, arising partly from the nature of the country and partly 
from the jealousy of the native authorities, succeeded in collecting and transmitting to 
England upwardsof 400 Calisaya plants. Most of these, however, were so much injured, 
on their way from England to India, by the excessive heat of the Bed Sea, that very few, 
on their arrival in Hindostan, had sufficient life remaining to grow when planted. Hap- 
pily, the deficiency was supplied by seeds of C. Calisaya sent from Java, where they were 
produced, to Calcutta, at the request of the English Governor General. (De Yry, Pharm. 
Journ., April, 1863, p. 440.) Whilst Mr. Markham was in Bolivia, other agents were col- 
lecting other species in Peru and Ecuador, whence seeds of the pale and red bark Cinchonas 
reached India, and, being planted in the selected sites, proved to be very productive. 
The sites selected for the Cinchona plantations were in the Neilgherry Hills, in Southern 
India, in the Presidency of Madras, at the junction of the East and West Ghauts, near the 
Sanitary Station of Ootacamund, at heights varying from 5000 to 7450 feet above the sea. 
These positions unite the peculiar characters of the native region of the Cinchonas in the 
Andes, not only as regards elevation and latitude, but also as to atmospheric moisture, an 
excess of which, for the greater portion of the year, seems essential to the perfection of 
these trees. But, though a certain excess of atmospheric moisture is necessary, yet the 
trees do not grow well in a wet soil, as Mr. Cross, who personally inspected the region in 
the Andes where the best barks are obtained, found the Cinchona plants only on the dry 
slopes, and never on wet ground. He remarked, moreover, that constant dampness of the 
atmosphere is unfavourable, as a certain amount of dry weather is necessary for the 
ripening of the capsules. In regard to the temperature, which is about the same through- 
out the year, he observed that during the hottest days the thermometer rose to 59° or 
60°, falling to 46° or 48° at night; but at the upper limit it ranged, during the day, from 
46° to 48°, and at night fell to 35° or 36°. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 161.) 
Besides the Neilgherry Hills, other sites were selected for experimental plantations; 
and, since the first introduction of the Cinchona trees, their culture has been extended to 
various points from Hakgalla, in the Island of Ceylon, to the Himalaya Mountains; as 
in the Wynaad, the Coorg, the hills of Travancore, and especially at Peermede in the 
Presidency of Madras; in Sikhim and Darjeeling in the Presidency of Bengal; at Ling- 
mulla in the Presidency of Bombay; and in the valley of Kangra in the Punjab; from 
the southern to the northern extremity of British India. As stated in the twelfth edition 
of the Dispensatory, the success of the enterprise was at that time secure. In April, 1863, 
there were in the Neilghcrry plantations alone 120,000 Cinchona trees, of which 45,000 
were of the C. succirubra, which yields the genuine red bark, 1500 of the C. Calisaya, and 
others of less valuable, but still productive species. It had also at that time been deter- 
mined, that the bark of the young cultivated trees was quite as productive in alkaloids 
ns that of the same species in their native country of the Andes. Under the fostering care 
of the British Government, and the wise and energetic management of Mr. W. G. Mac 
Ivor, to whom the superintendence of the government plantations has been entrusted, the 
undertaking has been prosecuted with great, indeed with astonishing success; so that a 
new source of Cinchona bark has been opened to meet the demands of the world, which 
is capable of indefinite extension, and which will ere long rival in productiveness, if it PART 1. 
Cinchona. 
265 
There has been much difficulty in properly arranging the species of Cinchona. 
One source of the difficulty is the varying shape of the leaves of the same 
species, according to the degree of elevation upon the mountainous declivities, 
to the severity or mildness of the climate, the greater or less humidity of the 
soil, and to various circumstances in the growth of individual plants. Even 
the same tree often produces foliage of a diversified character; and a person, 
not aware of this fact, might be led to imagine that he had discovered different 
species from an examination of the leaves from one and the same branch. The 
do not exceed, the South American Andes. In the various localities above indicated, 
the government has favoured the extension of the enterprise among the native chiefs and 
private individuals, thus securing the cultivation of the Cinchonas as one of the permanent 
industries of that great region. Already, in April, 1866, the number of these trees cul- 
tivated in British India much exceeded two millions ; and the hark is now obtained in 
such quantities as to he actually delivered for consumption in the London market. (Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chim., Dec. 1867, p. 433.) 
Besides the general fact of the success of the culture, other results, as unexpected as 
they are important, have been obtained within the last few years. It wTas ascertained at 
•in early period, that the productiveness of these plants in alkaloids had not been dimin- 
ished by the transplantation; it is now known that this productiveness has in fact been very 
considerably increased. Another highly important result is the discovery by Mr. Mac- 
Ivor, that the yield in alkaloids is greatly augmented by a certain treatment of the trees. 
It had been noticed that the cinchona alkaloids, especially in any other form than that 
of sulphate, were apt, on exposure to the direct light of the sun, to become reddened by 
the generation of colouring matter, at the expense of the alkaloid. It was a very natural 
inference that a similar change might take place in the lh'ing plant, as a consequence 
of which the proportion of alkaloids they were capable of producing might be greatly 
diminished. To obviate this presumed effect, Mr. Maclvor was induced to make the 
experiment of covering the stems of the growing trees with a layer of moss, so as 
completely to protect the bark against the influence of sunlight. The result was fa- 
vourable beyond all expectation; and the yield of the bark thus protected in alkaloids is 
said to be doubled, tripled, or increased even in larger proportion. Another highly im- 
portant fact has been ascertained, that the South American plan of cutting down the trees, 
end then decorticating them is not only unnecessary, but is greatly wasteful. For, 
though shoots are often put forth from the stump, which in time will become fruitful 
troot, yet a much more economical plan is to make the old tree continuously productive. 
For lhis purpose, nothing more is necessary than to treat them as the cork-bearing oak 
of the south of Europe is treated by the cork gatherers. If a slip is removed longitudi- 
nally from the trunk, L-mi top to bottom, by covering the decorticated portion with 
moss, the bark is renewed, at least as rich as previously in the alkaloids, while from 
‘ime to time other strips may be taken, till the whole of the old hark is removed, and 
the new ready for removal by a repetition of the same process; and the tree is thus pre- 
served indefinitely, probably for the wdrnle normal length of its life. 
It will be remembered that the first successful effort towards the transplantation of the 
Cinchona trees, on a large scale, was made by the Dutch in the Island of Java. Unfor- 
tunately, as before stated, the plants first introduced were mostly of inferior species ; and 
moreover, the system of cultivation first adopted, of planting the Cinchonas in the thick 
shade of the original forest, was not the one most favourable to their growth. From these 
causes the progress of the culture towards useful practical results was less rapid than in 
British India; but a supply of seeds from the valuable species has been obtained from 
Hindustan ; and a better method of cultivation has been adopted, so that the enterprise 
is advancing more favourably; and there is no doubt that Java, like British India, will in 
future times be an important source of supply, to meet the increasing demand. 
Attempts have also been made to introduce the new culture into the West India island 
of Jamaica ; and the Cinchonas which were planted in the mountains, at an elevation of 
4000 feet, are said to be growing luxuriantly; so that there is every reason to believe 
that the great work may ultimately succeed in this locality also. 
The French have been less successful than the Dutch and English. The first plants 
taken by Weddell from Peru to Paris have all perished. Subsequently trials have been 
made in the Isle of Bourbon, and at Guadaloupe, but these are yet only at the com- 
mencement. In Algiers, where situations believed to be suitable were selected for planta- 
tions among the mountains, no satisfactory results have yet been attained. The Brazilians 
have had somewhat better success near Bio Janeiro, though the plantations are yet recent; 
and it is said that plants have been introduced into the Azores, which are growing well. 
(Soubeiran, Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Feb. 1868, p. 139.) 
It is somewhat doubtful whether, within the limits of the United States, there are 
conditions of climate essential to the profitable cultivation of these trees; but the question 
is one of great interest, and well worth the attention of our government. (Note to the 
twelfth and thirteenth editions.) 266 
Cinchona. 
PAlrT I. 
fructification partakes, to a certain extent, of the same varying character. Lam- 
bert, in his “ Illustration of the genus Cinchona,,” published in 1821, after ad- 
mitting with Humboldt the identity of several varieties which had received 
specific names from other botanists, described nineteen species. De Candolle 
enumerated only sixteen. Lindley admits twenty-one known species, and five 
doubtful. Weddell describes twenty-one species, including eight new ones of 
his own, and two doubtful, and excluding several before admitted by other 
writers, which he joins to his new genus Casearilla. 
Until very recently, it was impossible to decide from which speciesof Cinchona 
the several varieties of bark were respectively derived. The former references of 
the yellow bark to C. cordifolia, of the pale to C. lancifolia, and of the red to C. 
oblongifolia, have been very properly abandoned in all the Pharmacopoeias. It 
is now universally admitted that the officinal barks, known in the market by these 
titles, are not the product of the species mentioned. It is stated by Humboldt, 
that the property of curing agues belongs to the barks of all the Cinchonas with 
hairy and woolly blossoms, and to these alone. All those with smooth corollas 
belong to the genus Casearilla of Weddell. Within a few years much light has 
been thrown upon the botanical history of the different varieties of bark, and at 
present most if not all of the valuable varieties can be traced to their sources. 
The following species are acknowledged by the Pharmacopoeia of the U. States. 
1. Cinchona Calisaya. Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 30, t. 3 This 
is a lofty tree, with a trunk often two feet or more in diameter, and a summit 
usually rising above the other trees of the forest. The leaves are petiolate, 
oblong or lanceolate-obovate, from three to six inches long and one or two in 
breadth, obtuse, acute or slightly attenuated at the base, softish, above smooth, 
of a velvety aspect, and obscurely green, beneath smooth and of a pale emerald 
hue, with scrobiculi at the axils of the veins, but scarcely visible on the uppei 
surface. The stipules are about as long as the petioles, oblong, very obtuse, and 
very smooth. The flowers are in ovate or subcorymbose panicles. The calyx is 
pubescent, with a cup-shaped limb, and short triangular teeth; the corolla is 
rose-coloured, with a cylindrical tube about four lines long, and a laciniate limb 
fringed at the edges; the stamina are concealed in the tube, with anthers more 
than twice as long as the filaments. The fruit is an ovate capsule scarcely as 
long as the flower, enclosing elliptical lanceolate seeds, the margin of which is 
irregularly toothed, with a fimbriated appearance. The tree grows in the forests, 
upon the declivities of the Andes, at the height of 6000 or 7000 feet above the 
ocean, in Bolivia and the southernmost part of Peru.* 
A variety of this species, described by Weddell under the name of Josephiana, 
is a mere shrub,not more than twelve feet high,with a slender stem,erect branches, 
and a strongly adherent bark. This variety is found in some places covering ex- 
tensive surfaces destitute of forest trees. Weddell supposes that these tracts had 
once been covered with forests, which, having been destroyed by fires, have 
* The cultivation of the C. Calisaya, which in its native mountains is said to be the 
most beautiful, as well as the richest in quinia of all the species, has been less successful 
than that of the C. succirubra, micrantha, &c., in the E. Indies. Though great pains had 
been taken to secure proper seeds and young plants for transplantation, from some un- 
known cause, probably from ignorance of the precise circumstances of climate and soil 
best adapted to this species, the attempts made for its introduction have not met with 
satisfactory success. The plants are of stunted growth, with the appearance of shrubs 
rather than of trees, and a sombre aspect of the leaves, the furthest possible from the mag- 
nificent Calisaya trees in their native forest of Bolivia; Nor has the chemical examina- 
tion of the bark of the young trees been more satisfactory. According to Mr. Markham, 
the Calisajui avoids the banks of a river, never being found within several hundred feet 
of it. and prefers the steepest declivities of the mountain sides, and a great deal of shade, 
though not too much of it; and he considers the best locality for the young trees, one in 
which they may receive shade from taller trees, while they receive sunshine through the 
spreading branches. Nor is it certain that the best variety of the Calisaya is that which 
has been introduced into India. It is hoped, therefore, that better success may reward 
further efforts for the naturalization of this species, by due attention, to the circ .mstanc.ej 
referred to. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Juillet, 1867, p. 22; also Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
Sept. 1860, p. 421.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Cinchona. 
267 
been succeeded by this stunted growth springing from the roots, and prevented 
from receiving its full development by the want of protection from other trees. 
Mr. Markham states that the natives recognise three varieties of the Calisaya; 
1. Calisaya amarilla or fina [a. vera of Weddell); 2. C. morada (C. Bolivi- 
ana, Wedd.), and 3. G. verde or alta, a very large tree, growing lower in the 
valley than the other varieties, and distinguished by having the veins of the 
leaves never purple, but always green {Am. J. of Pharm., 18G6, p. 422.) 
By the discovery of this species, the long unsettled point of the botanical 
source of Calisaya bark has been determined. The immense consumption of 
that bark, and the wasteful methods pursued by the bark gatherers have caused 
the rapid destruction of the tree; and already it has disappeared from the 
neighbourhood of inhabited places, except in the form of a shrub. Weddell was 
compelled to make long journeys on foot through the forests, by paths scarcely 
opened, before he could get a sight of the tree in its full vigour. 
2. Cinchona Condaminea. Humb. andBonpl. Plant. Equin. i. p. 33, t. 10; 
Bindley, Flor. Med. 414; Carson, Illust. of Med. Pot. i. 53, pi. 45.—Cinchona 
officinalis. Linn.; Hooker, Pot. May. t. 53G4. This tree, when full grown, has 
a stem about eighteen feet high and a foot in thickness, with opposite branches, 
of which the lower are horizontal, and the higher rise at their extremities. The 
bark of the trunk yields when wounded a bitter astringent juice. The leaves are 
of variable shape, but generally ovate-lanceolate, about four inches in length by 
less than two in breadth, smooth, and scrobiculate at the axils of the veins be- 
neath. The flowers are in axillary, downy, corymbose panicles The tree grows 
on the declivities of the mountains, at an elevation of from about a mile to a 
mile and a half, and in a mean temperature of 67° F. It was seen by Humboldt 
and Bonpland in the neighbourhood of Loxa, and is said also to grow near 
Guancabamba and Ayavaca in Peru It is now admitted to be the source of the 
crown bark of Loxa. Weddell considers as varieties of this species, though 
with some hesitation, as he has never seen them alive, the following: 1. Can• 
dolli (C. macrocalyx of Pavon and De Candolle); 2. lucumsefolia (C. lucu- 
msefolia of Pavon and Bindley); 3. lancifolia (C. lancifolia of Mutis), here- 
after referred to as a distinct species; and 4. Pitayensis, growing in New 
Granada.* The last mentioned variety has subsequently been raised by Wed- 
dell to the rank of a distinct species. 
3. C. micranlha. Ruiz and Pavon, FI. Peruv. ii. 52, t. 194; Lindley, Flor. 
Med. 412 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Pot. i. 52, pi. 44. This is a large tree, forty 
* Botanists seem disposed to return to the old Linnsean designation of this species 
Cinchona officinalis, of which three varieties are recognised, under the names of Bon- 
plandiana, Uritusinga, and Crespilla, all yielding the crown barks. Of these the Bon- 
plandiana seems to have been most successfully transplanted, as upwards of 750,000 are 
now growing in the plantations of British India. (Broughton.) The varieties of this spe- 
cies seem to flourish best at a greater elevation than the C. suecirubra, growing at heights 
from 5500 or 6000 feet even to 8350 feet above the level of the sea. The effect of the 
moss in increasing the productiveness of this species in alkaloids has been highly satis- 
factory. [Markham.) Instead, however, of cinchonia being the prominent alkaloid of 
this species, as in the pale barks of Loxa, the quinia has been found most abundant in 
the Indian bark, and, though the former alkaloid is generally present, yet it is usually 
in small proportion. Indeed, Mr. Broughton states that the trees of the variety Bon- 
plandiana yield a bark nearly equal to the fine Calisaya bark of Bolivia, and superior in 
some respects for manufacturing purposes to the richer red barks, as it yields its alka- 
loids more readily in a free state, in consequence of the smaller amount of rosin and 
colouring matter contained in it. 
The following results were obtained by Mr. Broughton in the chemical examination 
of the bark of this species. The dried bark of the trunk yielded altogether in alkaloids 
(hydrated) 3-6 per cent., of which 2-8 per cent, was quinia (or of alkaloid soluble in 
ether), and only 0-8 per cent, was of cinchonia and cinchonidia jointly; and 2-8 per cent, 
of crystallized sulphate of quinia was obtained. Another specimen was oven more pro- 
ductive, yielding 3 0 per cent, of quinia. The bark of the same species, which had been 
renewed in six months under the mossing process, gave a total of alkaloids (hydrated) 
6 8 per cent., of which 4-8 was of quinia, and 20 of cinchonia and cinchonidia jointly; 
and 4T per cent, of crystallized sulphate of quinia was obtained. [Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., Nov. 1867, p. 241.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 268 
Cinchona. 
PART I 
feet high, with oblong leaves, from four to twelve inches in length and from two 
to six in breadth, scarcely acute, smooth, shining on the upper surface, and scro- 
biculate at the axils of the veins beneath. The flowers are in terminal, loose, 
leafless panicles, and are smaller than those of any other species except C. lanci- 
folia. (Lindley.) The tree grows, according to Ruiz and Pavon, in the moun- 
tains near Chicoplaya, Monzon, and Puebla de San Antonio, according to Pop- 
pig, at Cuchero, and, according to Weddell, in the Peruvian province of Cara- 
baya, and in Bolivia. Ruiz states that its bark is always mixed with that sent 
into the market from the provinces of Panatahuas, Huamilies, and Huanuco. 
The Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges ascribed to it the cinchona cinerea, the 
gray or silver bark of British commerce; and the U. S Pharmacopoeia recog- 
nises it as one of the sources of pale bark, as it undoubtedly is.* 
Though not recognised in our officinal code, there is another species, recently 
determined, which, as the source of the genuine red bark, is scarcely less im- 
portant than either of the preceding, and has, within a few years, acquired 
additional value from the great success with which it has been transplanted, 
and propagated in the Highlands of Hindostan. We refer to the species de- 
nominated, after Pavon, Cinchona succirubra. 
4. G. succirubra. Pavon, MS.; Howard, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Octob. 
1856, p. 209, with a figure. — C.ovata, var. erythroderma. Weddell, Hist. Nat. 
des Quinquin. p. 60. This species has been satisfactorily ascertained to produce 
the proper officinal red bark, the origin of which remained so long unknown, or 
at least undetermined. The name of C. succirubra originated with Pavon, hav- 
ing been applied by him, in an unpublished manuscript, to an undescribed species 
yielding the bark called cinchona colorada de Huaranda, which has been shown 
to be identical with officinal red bark; while a specimen of the plant itself, in the 
collection of Ruiz and Pavon at Kew, upon examination by Mr. J. E. Howard, 
of London, proved to correspond exactly with a specimen of the red-bark tree 
which that gentleman had received from South America. The same plant was 
described by Weddell, in his Natural History of the Cinchonas, as a variety 
of C. ovata, under the designation of Cinchona ovata, var. erythroderma, and 
was conjectured by him to be the source of red bark, though he did not at the 
time feel justified in giving a decided opinion. This point, however, having been 
subsequently determined, and the plant elevated to the dignity of a new species, 
Mr. Howard proposed at first to name it Cinchona erythroderma, not only from 
courtesy to Dr. Weddell, but also from the appropriateness of the name itself, 
implying the redness of the bark; but Pavon’s name of succirubra was after- 
wards preferred on the ground of priority, being itself also (red-juiced) expressive 
of a quality of the tree. This species is, when full grown, of great magnitude ; 
but almost all the older trees have been destroyed, and few now remain with a 
* The C. micrantha, which is the source of the Lima or Huanuco pale bark, is among 
the species which have been most successfully cultivated in India. The successful intro- 
duction of this species into Hindostan is ascribed to the sagacious and prompt measures 
of Mrs. Markham, who, having accompanied her husband Mr. Markham to Arequipa, 
during his absence in the forests, engaged an agent, furnishing him with necessary 
instructions, to collect and send to the coast the young plants of this species. The C. 
micrantha is cultivated along with C. succirubra, at an elevation less than 0000 feet, 
and attains a similar magnitude. It is a most singular fact that, though in its native 
country of Huanuco and Huamilies, the C. micrantha yields barks which contain cin- 
chonia, almost to the exclusion of all other alkaloids, yet, when transplanted to India, it 
undergoes a great change in this respect, and, as there cultivated, has been found by Mr. 
Howard to yield a large proportion of quinidia. The effect of mossing the stem in this 
species is equal to that produced on the succirubra. Thus, the bark of a tree two and a 
half years old, with its stem unprotected, furnished only 1-86 of alkaloids altogether; 
while a bark of the same age which had been covered with moss for a year, gave 7-52 
per cent, of alkaloids, of which 5-82 were of the more valuable kinds. (Markham, Journ. 
de Pharm. et de Chirm., .Tuillet, 1807, p. 21.) But it appears that this change in the micran- 
tha bark does not always take place; for Mr. Broughton gives, as the result of an analysis 
of this bark, taken from a tree four and a half years old, 7T per cent, as the total yield 
of alkaloids, of which cinchonia constituted 6-8 per cent., and quinia only 0 3. {Pharm. 
J. and Trans., Nov. 1867, p. 242.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
269 
stem so much as a foot in diameter. The branches have a silvery epidermis, cor- 
responding with that of the red bark in quills as often seen in the market. The 
leaves are ovate, varying greatly in size, often as much as nine inches by six, nar- 
rowing towards the base, somewhat membranaceous, pubescent beneath, and 
green on both sides. The tree inhabits a region, in the present republic of Ecua- 
dor, on the western slope of Chimborazo, the sea-port of which is the town of 
Guayaquil.* 
Besides the foregoing species, several others deserve a brief notice, either as 
contributing to furnish the bark of commerce, or on account of the attention 
they have received from pharmacologists. 
5. C. scrobiculata. Humb. and Bonpl. Plant. Equin. i. p. 165, t. 47; Weddell, 
Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 42, t. 7. This species was united by Lindlev with 
C. micrantha; but YVeddell, who has had ample opportunities of forming a just 
* This species is that which has, up to the present time, been most successfully culti- 
vated in British India. The following account of it, as cultivated in the East, is taken 
from a letter from Mr. Markham, who has done so much for the introduction of the 
Cinchonas, dated at Ootacamund, January 16, 1866. The finest trees, under favourable 
circumstances, attain in two years an average height of 6 feet, and diameter of stem of 
6 inches, and in the third year a height of 15 feet and a diameter of 15 inches. This 
species grows most perfectly at a height of from 4000 to 5000 feet above the sea. At a 
lower elevation the bark is much thinner, and less rich in alkaloids. This species is 
peculiarly disposed to send up shoots from its stump when cut down; and, if these are 
treated with moss to the stem, they will, if cut at the end of three years, yield a consider- 
able product of alkaloids, so that a periodical harvest may be obtained from them; and 
though this is less successful than the method of removing strips of the bark, as practised 
in the government gardens, yet, as it requires less care, it may probably be advantage- 
ously practised among native cultivators, should these engage largely in the work Mr, 
Markham has noticed two varieties of the C. succirubra growing in India, one with rose- 
coloured flowers and beautifully green leaves, the other with flowers nearly white, and 
pale leaves; and the difference in this and other analogous cases may be connected with 
the proportion or variety of the alkaloid. 
As to the yield of the G. succirubra in alkaloids, Mr. Markham states that, while the 
bark of a tree two years and a half old gives 2-43 per cent, when not treated with moss, 
it will yield 5-20 per cent, if kept covered with moss for one year; and that the alkaloid 
product, under the treatment with moss, has gradually increased from 2-80 per cent, 
after continuance of the treatment for only 6 months, to 11*34 per cent, when it had 
extended to 18 months. The yield of the reserved bark, after partial decortication, obeys 
a similar rule, being 2*72 per cent, after one year, and 5-85 at the end of 18 months 
Much the largest proportion of alkaloid product of this species consists of quinia; but it 
also yields a considerable proportion of cinchonia, and is less easily treated for extraction 
of the quinia than Calisaya bark, in consequence of the large proportion of red colouring 
matter contained in it. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Juillet, 1867, p. 17.) 
In the month of April, 1867, it was estimated that the number of this species growing 
in British India was about 800,000; the whole number of all the species being nearly 
2,500,000. (Ibid., Mars, 1868, p. 208.) 
From an official report by Mr. J. Broughton, Quinologist to the Indian Government, 
made April 1,1867, the following table is extracted, containing the product in alkaloids 
of 4 different specimens of C. succirubra bark, obtained from the government plantations. 
VARIETIES. 
I. 
II. 
III. 
IV. 
Total alkaloids (hydrated), 
4-85 
7-00 
6-40 
6-4 
Soluble in ether (quinia), ------ 
3-25 
4-25 
4-75 
1-7 
Cinchonia and cinchonidia, ------ 
1-60 
2-75 
1-65 
4-7 
Sulphate of quinia crystallized, ----- 
3-00 
4-00 
4-65 
1-7 
It appears that these harks give a considerably larger product than the average of the 
genuine red barks of S. America, though, so far as stated, not favoured by the mossing 
process. Another interesting point is the difference of the yield of the different speci- 
mens, not only in relation to the whole alkaloid product, but also to the alkaloids seve- 
rally; the quinia largely predominating except in the 4th sample, in which it is greatly 
exceeded by the two others jointly. The result is probably connected with natural 
diversities in the tree, such, for example, as that noticed by Markham, referred to above 
in this note; and it will no doubt be important to study these varieties in regard to prac- 
tical results. The root-bark of this species was also examined, and found to contain the 
alkaloids in proportion, not very different from the hark of the stem. (Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., Nov. 1867, p. 239.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 270 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
conclusion, considers it as one of the best characterized species of the genus. 
According to this author, the scrobiculi at the axils of the veins on the under 
surface of the leaf, which are one of the most prominent of its peculiarities, are 
not usually found in C. micrantha, as stated in its description; but what have 
been taken for them, in the latter species, are simply small bundles of hairs. The 
tree was seen by Humboldt and Bonpland, forming large forests near the city of 
Jaende Bracomoros; and Weddell states that it is met with also in the Peruvian 
provinces of Cuzco and Carabaya. Large quantities of the bark were formerly 
collected at Jaen, and sent to the coast to be shipped for Lima. At present the 
traders in this bark are said by Weddell to be chiefly at Cuzco. The bark of the 
younger branches has been ranked with the pale or gray barks; that of the 
larger branches has been sometimes employed to adulterate the Calisaya. 
6. C. lancifolia. Mutis, Period, de Santa Fe, p. 465; Lindley, Flor. Med. 415. 
This is one of the species discovered by Mutis in New Granada, and by the dis- 
ciples of that botanist was considered as embracing many trees which had re- 
ceived distinct specific designations. By the London College it was long recog- 
nised as the source of one of the officinal barks, under the impression, proba- 
bly, that it was identical with G. Gondaminea, which was known to yield one 
of the most highly valued varieties. It is, however, a native of New Granada; 
and, as none of the barks recognised by the Pharmacopoeias come from Cartha- 
gena, its product, which must be shipped from that port, cannot be considered 
as ranking among them. It yields the orange bark of Mutis, or fibrous Cartha- 
gena bark of present pharmacologists. This bark, at one time much neglected, 
has within a few years come into extensive use, having been found to yield 
the alkaloids in very large proportion. 
7. G. cordifolia. Mutis, in Hu mb. Magaz. Berlin, 1807, p. 117 ; Lindley, 
Flor. Med. 839; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 51, pi. 43. This is a spreading 
tree, fifteen or twenty feet high, with a single, erect, round stem, covered with 
a smooth bark, of a brownish-gray colour. It was first discovered by Mutis in the 
mountains about Santa Fe de Bogota, in New Granada, and grows at elevations 
varying from 5800 to 9500 feet. It was formerly considered by the British Col- 
leges as the source of their yellow bark; but has been ascertained not to pro- 
duce the officinal bark, which never comes from the region where it is known to 
grow. Guibourt found that the quina amarilla or yellow bark of Santa Fe, 
which is probably produced by C. cordifolia, is identical with hard Carlhagena 
bark. Weddell states that the tree grows also in Peru, and yields the white 
and ash-coloured barks of Loxa. 
8. G. Boliviana. Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, p. 50, t. 9. This tree 
was discovered and named by Weddell, who found it growing in Bolivia and 
Peru, extending somewhat further northward than C. Calisaya, but not so far 
towards the south. In the northern parts of Bolivia the two species frequently 
grow together. The bark of C. Boliviana is generally mixed in commerce with 
the proper Calisaya, from which it cannot always be easily distinguished. This 
is less to be regretted, as, according to Weddell, the properties of the two barks 
are not essentially different. It is said that this botanist now considers his C. 
Boliviana as scarcely more than a variety of C. Calisaya; and Mr. Markham, 
who joins in this opinion, proposes to designate the plant Cinchona Calisaya, 
var. Morada. (Pharm. Journ., Sept. 1863, p. 108.) The close resemblance of 
the products of the two trees is a strong evidence of their specific identity. 
9. G.ovala. Ruiz and Pavon, FI. Peruv.; Weddell, Hist. Nat. des Quinquin. 
p. 42, t. xi. and xii. This species grows in close groves, in warm places at the 
foot of the Andes, near Pozuzo and Panao, about ten leagues from Huanuco. 
Lindley considers it quite distinct from C.pubescens of Vahl, and G. cordifolia 
of Mutis, with both of which it has been confounded. Ruiz calls its bark casca- 
rillopallido or pale bark, and states that it was not to be found in commerce. 
Yon Bergen, however, upon comparing a specimen of the cascarillo pallido in 
the collection of Ruiz with the Jaen bark, found them identical. From Wed- 
dell’s statements it would seem that this species is widely diffused in Peru and PART I. 
Cinchona. 
271 
Bolivia, and varies extremely in the character of its bark in different situations. 
In the parts visited by him, the finer qualities pass for Calisava bark; and in the 
Peruvian province of Carabaya, bordering on Bolivia, it is habitually employed 
to sophisticate that bark. He believes also that much of the quilled bark of Loxa 
and Huanuco must be referred to this species. The G.ovata, var. erythroderma, 
is now known to be the source of the officinal red bark, and has been raised to 
the position of a species, under the name of C. succirubra. (See p. 268 ) 
10. G. Pitayensis. Weddell. For figures of the leaves, flowers, and fruit of 
this species, the reader is referred to a paper by Mr. J. E. Howard, in the 
Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (Aug. 1864, p. 48). They were drawn from speci- 
mens collected by Mr. Jervise. From specimens of the bark gathered by Mr. 
Robert Cross in the lofty mountain ridges near Popayan, where the temper- 
ature varies from 30° to 60° F., there can be no doubt that this tree is the 
source of the finest red-coloured Pitaya bark, which is among the most valuable 
now collected, having yielded as high a percentage as 8 6 of alkaloids. As de- 
scribed by Mr. Cross, the tree, though 60 or 70 feet high, is relatively very 
slender, having a diameter of the stem rarely exceeding 18 inches or 2 feet. 
The branches are also slender, and the leaves small and lanceolate, and always, 
before falling, of a deep-red or purple colour. The range of the tree is rather 
limited, being confined to a few square miles of the steep forest-covered slopes, 
northward of the volcano Purace, belongingto the central Cordillera. The bark 
of the root is more valuable than that of the trunk and branches ; the former 
yielding 5 per cent, of quinia, the latter only 4 per cent. Its produce is already 
becoming scarce ; but, as the tree is easily cultivated, and grows very rapidly, 
there is reason to believe that it may hereafter become more abundant. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1865, p. 473.) 
In addition to the species above mentioned, the following, for a description of 
which we refer to Lindley’s Flora Medica, yield barks possessing febrifuge pro- 
perties.—11. G. nitida of the Flora Peruviana, incorrectly confounded, accord- 
ing to Lindley, with C. lanceolata by De Candolle, and C. Condaminea by 
Lambert, grows in groves, in cold situations upon the Andes, in the Peruvian 
provinces of Huanuco, Tarma, Huamilies, and Xuaxa, and is probably the source 
of the finest variety of commercial Lima bark. —12. G. lucumsefolia of Pavon, 
confounded by Lambert with C. Condaminea, grows near Loxa, and probably 
contributes to the Loxa or pale barks. —13. G. lanceolata of the Flora Peruviana 
is found at Cuchero, and various other places fifteen or twenty leagues distant 
from Huanuco, where it forms groves in lofty cold situations upon the Andes. 
Its bark is said by Ruiz and Pavon to be called yellow bark, from the colour of 
its inner surface, and to resemble Callisayabark in flavour. —14. G. ovalifolia 
of Humboldt and Bonpland, the G. Ilumboldtiana of Romer and Shultes, and 
of De Candolle, is a shrub from six to nine feet high, inhabiting the province of 
Cuen9a, where it forms considerable forests. It probably contributes to the Loxa 
barks, although its product is said to be of inferior quality. — 15. C. pubescens 
of Yaid, considered by Lindley as identical with G. purpurea of the FI. Peruv., 
is a tree of considerable magnitude, distinguished by the violet tint of its large 
leaves, and the purple colour of its flowers. It occurs in groves on the lower 
mountain ridges in the provinces of Loxa, Jaen, Pantahuas, &c., was seen by 
Poppig at Cuchuo, and is stated to grow also in New Granada. The bark is 
inferior, and is said to be employed for adulterating the better kinds. A speci- 
men taken to Europe by Poppig was found by Reichel to be identical with the 
Huamilies bark. By Weddell it is stated to be the bark known in French com- 
merce as Cusco bark, and closely to resemble that of C. cordifolia. —16. G. hir- 
suta of the FI. Peruv. grows on wooded mountains in the province of Panata- 
huas near Huanuco, and is said to yield a good bark, called formerly quina 
delgadilla or delgada, now scarcely collected. —17. G. glandulifera of the FI. 
Peruv. is a shrub of about twelve feet, flourishing on the mountains N. W. of 
Huanuco, and yielding an excellent bark, unknown in commerce, called by the 
inhabitants cascarillo negrillo from its blackish epidermis. In its flowering 272 
Cinchona. 
part r. 
season, it perfumes the forest by the scent of its blossoms. —18. G. Mutisii of 
Lambert ( C. glandulifera of Lindley) is considered among the best character- 
ized species. It grows in Loxa, but its bark is unknown. 
Besides the above species, Lindley enumerates, 19. C. rotundifolia of Ruiz 
and Pavon, growing in the province of Loxa ; 20. G. villosa of Pavon (0. Hum- 
boldtiana of Lambert), growing at Jaen of Loxa; and 21. G. caducijlora of 
Bonpland, growing near Jaen de Bracomoros; not to mention the species joined 
by Weddell to his now admitted genus of Oascarilla. None of the species re- 
ferred to in this paragraph are known to yield bark to commerce. To these must 
now be added, 22. G. amygdalifolia of Bolivia and Peru; 23. C. australis of 
Bolivia, the most southern of all the known species, growing as far south as the 
19th degree of latitude; 24 C. purpurascens; 25. G. Ghomeliana; 26. G. a$- 
perifolia, also of Bolivia ; and 27. G. Garabayensis of Carabaya; all of which 
were discovered and described by Weddell; but from none of which is commer- 
cial bark procured. G. dichotoma of the FI. Peruv., G. macrocalyx of De Can- 
dolle, C. crassifolia of Pavon, in De Candolle’s Prodromus, C. pelalba of the 
same authority, and G. Muzonensis of Goudot in De Candolle’s Prodromus, 
are considered by Lindley as uncertain species.* 
Perhaps too much importance has been attached to the study of particular 
species of Cinchona. The character of the product of any one species varies 
much according to the part of the plant decorticated, and the circumstances of 
its growth. Weddell has made some observations on this point, which, if con- 
firmed, may lead to important practical results, f 
Commercial History. 
For more than a century after Peruvian bark came into use, it was procured 
almost exclusively from the neighbourhood of Loxa. In a memoir published 
* The addition of C. Pahudiana, of Howard, must now be made; as this species, so 
nearly valueless in its native country, and when first taken to India, where it was exten- 
sively planted, found so unproductive as greatly to disappoint the hopes that had been 
entertained, has, under the process of mossing the trunk, so far improved as to give hope 
that it may yet take rank among the valuable species. Mr. Howard has extracted from a 
specimen of the bark recently sent to him 1 -60 per cent, of crystallized sulphates. (Pharm. 
J. and Trans., Nov. 1867, p. 243.) — Note to the thirteenth edition. 
f The fundamental idea is, that the chemical character of the bark is connected with 
peculiarities in its intimate structure, and that by knowing the latter we may ascertain, 
with an approach to certainty, the former also; and thus, as the virtues of the bark de- 
pend on its chemical constitution, we may have reliable criteria of its value. Now in the 
different barks there are three varieties of structure; the dead exterior layers being left 
out of the question. First, as in the Calisaya bark, which consists of the inner bark or 
liber, the whole substance is filled with short fusiform fibres, which, whether viewed in 
a longitudinal or transverse section, arc seen, with the aid of the microscope, to be isola- 
ted by a cellular tissue, in the midst of which they are regularly disposed in parallel 
lines, lying end to end without absolute junction. It is known that this bark abounds in 
quinia, and owes its virtue to that constituent. 
In the second variety, such as the flat bark of C. scrobiculata, a cellular coat exists out- 
side of the liber. In this, under the microscope, the inner layer is seen to consist of fibres 
more closely arranged, more numerous and much larger than in the preceding, and firmly 
attached at their extremities; and they suddenly diminish in number as we approach the 
outer surface, where the bark consists solely of cells. 
The third variety, of which the bark of C. pubescens is an example, consists chiefly of 
cellular tissue, with a few irregular series of fibres in the inner half; and these fibres are 
three or four times as large as in the other varieties. In the two latter barks einchonia is 
the predominant alkali; but it is not very abundant in either, and least so in the one last 
mentioned. The inference is, that quinia is most largely developed in those barks in whh h 
the fibres are short and intimately mixed with cells; while the einchonia is more espe- 
cially deposited in the tissue exclusively cellular. The fracture in the first variety is, from 
its structure, fibrous, but short-fibrous throughout; that of the second and third is smooth 
where cells exist exclusively, and with long fibres where fibres exist. A short, smooth 
fracture, therefore, as in the young barks, or a fracture partly smooth and partly long- 
fibrous, as in the older barks which have not thrown off their cellular layer, indicates a 
cinchona bark, and one comparatively feeble ; while a fracture uniformly short-fibrous 
indicates a variety abounding in quinia and energetic; and, in proportion as a bark ap- 
proaches this latter condition, will it prove to be efficacious. (Note to the ninth edition ) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
273 
A.D. 1738, La Condaraine speaks of the bark of Rhiobambo, Ayavaea, 
and Jaen de Bracomoros. Of these places, the first two, together with Loxa, 
lie within the ancient kingdom of Quito, at the southern extremity; the others 
are in the same vicinity, within the bordei’s of Peru. The drug was shipped 
chiefly at Payta, whence it was carried to Spain, and thence spread over Europe. 
Beyond the limits above mentioned, the Cinchona was not supposed to exist, 
till, in the year 1153, a gentleman of Loxa discovered it, while on a journey to 
Santa Fe de Bogota, in numerous situations along his route, wherever, in fact, 
the elevation of the country was equal to that of Loxa, or about 6500 feet above 
the level of the sea. This discovery extended through Quito into New Granada, 
so far as two degrees and a half north of the equator. But no practical advan- 
tage was derived from it; and the information lay buried in the archives of the 
vice-royalty, till subsequent events brought it to light. To Mutis belongs the 
credit of making known the existence of the Cinchona in New Granada. He 
first discovered it in the neighbourhood of Bogota, in 1712. A botanical ex- 
pedition was afterwards organized by the Spanish government, with the view 
of exploring this part of their dominions, and the direction was given to Mu- 
tis. Its researches eventuated in the discovery of several species of Cinchona 
in New Granada; and a commerce in the bark soon commenced, which was 
carried on through the ports of Carthagena and Santa Martha. 
To these sources another was added about the same time, A.D. 1776, by the 
discovery of the Cinchona in the centre of Peru, in the mountainous region 
about the city of Huanuco, which lies on the eastern declivity of the Andes, 
northeast of Lima, at least six degrees south of the province of Loxa. To ex- 
plore this new locality, another botanical expedition was set on foot, at the 
liead of which were Ruiz and Pavon, the distinguished authors of the Flora 
Peruviana. These botanists spent several years in that region, during which 
time they discovered numerous species. Lima became the entrepot for the barks 
collected around Huanuco; and hence probably originated the name of Lima 
bark, so often conferred, in common language, not only upon the varieties re- 
ceived through that city, but also upon the medicine generally. 
Soon after the last-mentioned discovery, two additional localities of the Cin- 
chona were found; one at the northern extremity of the continent near Santa 
Martha, the other very far to the south, in the provinces of La Paz and Cocha- 
bamba, then within the vice-royalty of Buenos Ayres, now in the republic of 
Bolivia These latter places became the source of an abundant supply of ex- 
cellent bark, which received the name of Calisaya. It was sent partly to the 
ports on the Pacific, partly to Buenos Ayres. 
The consequence of these discoveries was a vast increase in the supply of 
bark, which was now shipped from the ports of Guayaquil, Payta, Lima, Arica, 
Buenos Ayres, Carthagena, and Santa Martha. At the same time the average 
quality was probably deteriorated ; for, though many of the new varieties were 
possessed of excellent properties, yet equal care in superintending the collection 
and assorting of the bark could scarcely be exercised in a field so much more 
extended. The varieties now poured into the market soon became so numerous 
as to burden the memory, if not to defy the discrimination of the druggist; and 
the best pharmacologists found themselves at a loss to discover any permanent 
peculiarities which might serve as the basis of a proper and useful classification. 
This perplexity has continued more or less to the present time; though the dis- 
covery of the alkaline principles has presented a ground of distinction before 
unknown. The restrictions upon the commerce of South America, by direct- 
ing the trade into irregular channels, had also a tendency to deteriorate the 
character of the drug. Little attention was paid to a proper assortment of the 
several varieties; and not only were the best barks mixed with those of inferioi 
species and less careful preparation, but the products of other trees, bearing no 
resemblance to the Cinchona, were sometimes added, having been artificially 
prepared so as to deceive a careless observer. The markets of this country were 
peculiarly ill furnished. The supplies, being derived chiefly, by means of a con- 274 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
traband trade, from Carthagena and other ports on the Spanish Main, or indi- 
rectly through the Havana, were necessarily of an inferior character; and most 
of the good bark which reached us was imported by our druggists from London, 
whither it was sent from Cadiz. A great change, however, in this respect, took 
place, after the ports on the Pacific were opened to our commerce. The best 
kinds of bark were thus rendered directly accessible to us; and the trash 
which formerly glutted our markets is now in great measure excluded. Our 
ships trading to the Pacific run along the American coast from Valparaiso to 
Guayaquil, stopping at the intermediate ports of Coquimbo, Copiapo, Arica, 
Callao, Truxillo, &c , from all which they probably receive supplies. Much 
good bark has of late also been imported from Carthagena, and other ports of the 
Caribbean Sea, being brought down the Magdalena river from the mountainous 
regions of New Granada; and, since the completion of the railroad across the' 
Isthmus, large quantities reach this country by way of Panama, to which place 
they are brought chiefly from the Pacific Ports of Buenaventura and Guay- 
aquil. An additional source of supply has recently been opened through the 
Amazon; a considerable quantity of bark having been taken to the London 
market from the port of Para, in Brazil, brought down that river, probably 
from the Peruvian province of Huanuco. According to Mr. Howard, the bark 
thus obtained is of inferior quality, yielding but a small proportion of alkaloids. 
{Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1863, p, 248.)* 
The persons who collect the bark are called in South America Cascarilleros. 
Considerable experience and judgment are requisite to render an individual 
well qualified for this business. He must not only be able to distinguish the 
trees which produce good bark from those less esteemed, but must also know the 
proper season and age at which a branch should be decorticated, and the marks 
bv which the efficiency or inefficiency of any particular product is indicated. 
The bark gatherers begin their work with the setting in of the dry season in 
May. Sometimes they first cut down the tree, and afterwards strip off the bark 
from the branches; in other instances they decorticate the tree while standing. 
The former plan is said to be the most economical; as, "when the tree is cut 
down, the stump pushes up shoots which in the course of time become fit for 
decortication, while, if deprived of its bark, the whole plant perishes. The ope- 
rator separates the bark by making a longitudinal incision with a sharp knife 
through its whole thickness, and then forcing it off from the branch with the back 
of the instrument. Other means are resorted to, when the trunk or larger limbs 
are decorticated. According to Poppig, the bark is not separated until three or 
four days after the tree is felled. It must then be speedily dried, as otherwise 
it becomes deteriorated. For this purpose it is taken out of the woods into some 
open place, where it is exposed to the sun. In drying it rolls up, or becomes 
quilled ; and the degree to which this effect takes place is proportionate directly 
to the thinness of the bark, and inversely to the age of the branch from which 
it was derived. In packing the bark for exportation, it often happens that several 
different kinds are introduced into the same case. The packages are, in com- 
mercial language, called seroons. As found in this market they are usually co- 
vered with a case of thick and stiff ox-hide, lined within by a very coarse cloth, 
apparently woven out of some kind of grass. 
The Cinchona forests, being in very thinly inhabited districts, do not, for the 
most part, belong to individuals, but are open to the enterprise of all who choose 
to engage in the collection of the bark. The consequence is, that the operations 
are carried on without reference to the future condition of this important in- 
terest; and the most wasteful modes of proceeding are often adopted. Never- 
theless, the great extent to which the Cinchona forests prevail, spreading, as 
they do, with some interruptions, over thirty degrees of latitude, and occupy- 
ing regions which can never be applied to agricultural purposes, almost pre- 
cludes the idea of their even remote extinction. 
* An interesting history of the commerce in the Cinchona harks, by Dr. H. A. Weddell, 
will be found in the American Journ. of Pharm- (xxvi. 539, Nov. 1854), originally from 
his Voyages dans le Nord de La Bolivie, Paris, 1853. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
275 
The bitterness of the Cinchona is not confined to its bark. The leaves and 
flowers also have this property, which in the former is associated with acidity, 
in the latter with a delicious aroma, which renders the air fragrant in neighbour- 
hoods where the trees abound. The wood is nearly tasteless; but the bark of 
the root has the same virtues as that of the trunk-, and rich mines of under- 
ground treasure may await future explorers, in regions which have been stripped 
of their trees either by fire or the axe. 
It was at one time supposed that the leaves might have sufficient of the 
active principles of the bark to justify their use in medicine; but, though they 
have proved useful as a tonic, experiment has not shown them to be possessed 
of decided antiperiodic powers, and, on chemical examination, they have yielded 
but a small proportion of the characteristic alkaloids. 
Glassification. 
To form a correct and lucid system of classification is the most difficult part 
of the subject of bark. An arrangement founded on the botanical basis is liable 
to the objection, that the product of the same species may vary according to the 
age of the bark and the situation of the tree; and, besides, is at present scarcely 
practicable; as, though our knowledge of the source of the several varieties has 
very much extended, it is still defective on some points. 
The Spanish merchants adopted a classification, dependent partly on the 
place of growth or shipment, and partly on the inherent properties, or supposed 
relative value of the bark. So long as the sources of the drug were very con- 
fined, and the varieties few, this plan answered the purposes of trade; but at pre- 
sent it is quite inadequate; and, though some of the names originally conferred 
upon this principle are still retained, they are often uncertain or misapplied. 
Perhaps, on the whole, the best arrangement for pharmaceutical and medicinal 
purposes is that founded upon difference of colour. It is true that dependence 
cannot be placed upon this property alone; as barks of a similar colour have been 
found to possess very different virtues; and, between the various colours con- 
sidered characteristic, there is an insensible gradation, so that it is not always 
possible to decide where one ends and the other begins. Still it has been found 
that most of the valuable barks may be arranged, according to their colour, in 
three divisions, which, though mingling at their extremes, are very distinctly cha- 
racterized, in certain specimens, by peculiarity not only in colour, but also in other 
sensible properties, and even in chemical constitution. The three divisions al- 
luded to arethepale, the yellow, and the red. This arrangement has been adopted 
in the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias; and as, until recently, almost all the 
highly esteemed barks were brought from the Pacific coast of South America, and 
those from the northern coast were deemed inferior, it is only the former that are 
recognised under the three divisions referred to. Tn describing, therefore, the dif- 
ferent kinds of bark, we shall treat first, under the officinal titles of pale, yellow, 
and red,of those originally brought only from the ports of the Pacific; while those 
comingto us from the northern ports of NewGranada and Venezuela will be sub- 
sequently considered under the heading of non-o fficinal or Garlhagena barks, by 
the latter of which names they have been generally known in commerce. The com- 
mercial name will be given whenever a kno wledge of it can be useful. It is proper 
to state that the different barks are often mingled in the same package, and that, 
in deciding upon the character of a seroon, the druggist is guided rather by the 
predominance than the exclusive existence of certain distinctive properties. 
1. Pale Bark. 
The epithet pale, applied to the barks of this division, is derived from the 
colour of the powder. The French call them quinquinas gris, or gray barks, 
from the colour of the epidermis. They come into the market in cylindrical 
pieces, of variable length from a few inches to a foot and a half, sometimes singly, 
sometimes doubly quilled, from two lines to an inch in diameter, and from half 276 
Cinchona. 
PART I 
a line to two or three lines in thickness. The kinds which were formerly deemed 
the finest are about the size of u goosequill; but experience has shown that the 
young barks are not the most efficient Their exterior surface is usually more 
or less rough, marked with transverse and sometimes with longitudinal fissures, 
and of a grayish colour, owing to adhering lichens. The shade is different in 
different samples. Sometimes it is a light gray, approaching to white, sometimes 
dull and brown, sometimes a grayish fawn, and frequently diversified by the in- 
termixture of the proper colour of the epidermis with that of the patches of 
lichens. The interior surface, in the finer kinds, is smooth; in the coarser, oc- 
casionally rough and somewhat ligneous. Its colour is a brownish-orange,some- 
times inclining to red, sometimes to yellow, and, in some inferior specimens, of 
a dusky hue. The fracture is usually smooth, with some short filaments on the 
internal part only. In the coarser barks it is more fibrous. The colour of the 
powder is a pale fawn, which is of a darker hue in the inferior kinds. The taste 
is moderately bitter and somewhat astringent, without being disagreeable or nau- 
seous. Authors speak also of an acidulous and aromatic flavour. The better 
kinds have a feeble odour, which is distinct and agreeably aromatic in powder 
and decoction. The pale barks are chemically characterized by containing a much 
larger proportion of cinchonia and quinidia or cinchonidia than of quinia; 
and their infusion does not yield a precipitate with solution of sulphate of soda. 
Their appearance generally indicates that they were derived from the smaller 
branches. They are collected in the provinces about Loxa, or in the country 
which surrounds the city of Huanuco, northeast of Lima, and are probably de- 
rived chiefly from Cinchona Condaminea, C. nitida, and C. micrantha. 
There are several commercial varieties of pale bark, obtained from different 
sources, and differing more or less in properties. The most highly esteemed of 
these is theLoxa bark, the finest specimens of which are sometimes called crown 
bark of Loxa, from the impression that they have the same origin and charactei 
with the bark, formerly selected with great care for the use of the King of Spain 
and the royal family. The pale bark collected about Huanuco is named either 
Lima bark, because taken to that city for commercial distribution, or Huanuco 
bark, from its place of collection. The former name has been more common in 
this country, where, indeed, this commercial variety has not unfrequently been 
confounded with the Loxa bark. Other pale barks are the Jaen and Huamilies 
barks, which are scarcely known as distinct varieties in the United States.* 
* The following description of the several varieties of pale bark has been derived mainly 
from the works of Von Bergen, Guibourt, and Pereira, probably the highest European 
authorities on this subject; the first in Germany, the second in France, and the third in 
England. We have consulted also other pharmacological writers, and have derived ad- 
vantage from the recent observations of Dr. Weddell and M. Delondre, and of Mr. J. E. 
Howard, of London, who has carefully examined the rich collection of Pavon deposited 
in the British Museum, and compared the specimens with the harks of commerce. Our 
remarks are put in the form of a note; as the information in relation to these varieties 
can be of little use to the student, though it may aid the druggist. 
For a proper understanding of the subject, the reader should have some idea of the 
general structure of the bark. In the young barks there are four layers, viz.: 1. the epi- 
dermis or outer coat, often covered or incorporated with lichens; 2. the periderm or su- 
bercus coat, sometimes of a cork-like character; 3. the cellular coat or green layer, often 
containing resin; and 4. the liber, or inner coat, which is more or less fibrous. 
1. Loxa Bark. Crown Bark.—Quinquina de Loxa,~Fr.—Loxa China, Kron-China, Germ. 
—The following is Von Bergen’s description of this variety, contained in his splendid 
work upon bark, entitled Versuch einer Monographic der China, published in Hamburg in 
the year 1826. This bark is in cylindrical tubes, strongly rolled, from six to fifteen inches 
long, from two lines to an inch in diameter, and from half a line to two lines thick. The 
outer surface is more or less rough, seldom much wrinkled longitudinally, hut marked 
with numerous transverse fissures, which usually run round the hark, and divide it into 
rings, the edges of which are somewhat elevated. In the smallest quills these fissures are 
not very obvious; in the larger, they are distant and apt to be interrupted. In the largest 
the surface is sometimes very rough and even warty. The proper colour of the epidermis 
is dark-gray, sometimes almost black, sometimes ash-coloured, and occasionally inclining 
to fawn; hut frequently diversified by whitish lichens, which are in some instances so 
numerous as to cover almost the whole exterior of the bark, and to give it a light-gray PART i. 
Cinchona. 
277 
In this country, the pale bark has fallen into disuse. As it yields little quinia, 
it is not employed in the manufacture of the sulphate of that alkaloid, which has 
appearance. The inner surface is smooth and uniform, and of the colour of cinnamon, 
with occasionally a reddish tinge. The fracture in the smaller quills is quite smooth, in 
the larger somewhat fibrous. The bark is of a rather firm consistence, and when cut 
transversely exhibits a resinous character. Its odour is compared by G-uibourt to that 
perceived in damp woods, by Yon Bergen to that of tan. Its taste is acidulous, astringent, 
and bitterish. The powder is of a dull cinnamon colour. 
Guibourt, in the edition of his Histoire des Drogues published in 1850, describes four 
chief varieties of Loxa bark, under the names severally of 1. Quinquina de Loxa gris com- 
pacte, 2. Quinquina de Loxa brun compacte, 3. Quinquina de Loxa rouge fibreux de roi 
d'Espagne, and 4. Quinquina de Loxa jaune fibreux. Of these the first two appear to be 
embraced in the description above given from Yon Bergen. The third is distinguished 
from the common Loxa bark by its eminently fibrous texture, and its slight astringency 
to the taste. It is scarcely to be found in commerce. The fourth was almost the only 
variety of Loxa bark known in the French market. It is in quills, very thin, and usually 
very much rolled, but slightly rough externally, with minute transverse fissures, generally 
covered with a thin whitish coat which gives it a light-gray colour, reddish and very 
smooth internally, and of a very finely fibrous fracture. Its taste is astringent and bitter, 
and its odour sufficiently marked. The pieces from the trunk are much larger, and may 
even have a thickness of two lines, with some resemblance to the Calisaya; but its outer 
surface, scarcely rough, and often longitudinally wrinkled, the fineness of its texture, and 
the smoothness of its inner surface readily distinguish it. Guibourt has no hesitation in 
referring it to C. macrocalyx. 
English druggists distinguish Loxa bark into 1. the picked crown bark, which consists of 
the finest, thinnest, and longest quills; 2. the silvery crown bark, somewhat larger in size, 
and characterized by a whitish silvery appearance of the epidermis, derived from adhering 
lichens; and 3. the leopard crown bark, named from its speckled appearance, depending on 
whitish lichens alternating with the dark-brown epidermis. Dr. Pereira, in the last edition 
of his work on Materia Medica, the publication of which was completed after his death 
(A.D. 1853), distinguishes the following varieties of Loxa bark.—1. Original or old Loxa 
Bark. This is the original crown bark, and derived its name from the circumstance, that 
j arcels of it were found on board a captured Spanish vessel returning from S. America, put 
up with peculiar care, and marked as for the royal family. It was in slender quills, thirteen 
inches long, tied up in bundles about three inches in diameter. Similar bundles were after- 
wards imported, and still occasionally come in the seroons of commercial crown bark. This 
bark is believed to have been derived from C.Condaminea, variety veraof Weddell; but, as 
the tree is nearly exhausted, little is obtained from it at present; and what is commonly 
called Loxa, or crown bark, is derived from other varieties of C. Condaminea, or from other 
species.—2. White Crown Bark. This is in small and large quills; the former having a sil- 
very appearance from the presence of crustaceous lichens, and exhibiting numerous trans- 
verse cracks; the latter without these transverse fissures, but ragged externally from longi- 
tudinal rents in the epidermis, with a satin-like lustre of the surface thus exposed. It is 
the produce of C. Condaminea, var. lucumcefolia of Weddell, C. lucumsefolia of Pavon.—3. 
H.O. Crown Bark. This is the variety usually found in commerce, and has been named 
from the brand H.O. with a crown, adopted in the time of the Spanish government in S. 
America. It is in quills from six to fifteen inches long, from two lines to an inch in 
diameter, and from one-third of a line to two lines thick. Some of the quills are without 
lichens, thin, externally brown and shrivelled, with numerous longitudinal wrinkles, but 
with few transverse fissures. The internal surface is cinnamon-coloured, and the fracture 
pale-yellow. Others are larger, coarser, grayish externally from lichens, with many trans- 
verse fissures, some of which quite surround the quills. Others again are twisted, and have 
a patchy black and white appearance from the adhering lichens. The botanical origin of 
this hark is not certainly known; though Howard ascribes it to C. glandulifera. (Pharm. 
Journ., xii. 128.) It comes from the port of Payta.—4. Ashy Crown Bark. This is in quills 
about the size of the fingers, having an external surface mottled with white, gray, and 
black or soot-like patches of powdery and crustaceous lichens, sometimes also marked with 
rusty fungoid warts. The epidermis has longitudinal wrinkles and transverse fissures; 
the internal surface is of an orange or cinnamon colour. Mr. Howard found it identical 
with the bark, in Pavon’s collection, ascribed to C. rotundifolia of that botanist, C. cordi- 
folia, var. rotundifolia of Weddell. It is stated to be imported from Lima; and, accord- 
ing ti Mr. Howard, large quantities are used for pharmaceutical purposes. (Ibid., 126.)— 
5. Wiry Loxa Bark. This is in very slender, wire-like quills, internally smoothish and 
brown, in some places slightly gray, without lichens, and almost destitute of transverse 
fissures. Many of the quills are lined within with a thin shaving of pale-yellow wood. 
The fracture is short and resinous. The taste is very astringent and but slightly bitter, 
and, as the hark is almost destitute of alkaloids, it is very nearly worthless. It is brought 
from Payta; but its botanical source is unknown. 
The earlier analyses gave as constituents of the Loxa barks cinchonia and quinia, gene- 278 
Cinchona. 
PART t 
almost superseded the bark as a remedy in intermittents ; and the red or yellow 
bark is preferred by physicians when it is necessary to resort to the medicine in 
rally with a predominance of the former alkaloid. Since the discovery of quinidia and cin- 
chonidia, these also have been found, sometimes in considerable proportion. The different 
varieties vary much in their yield of alkaloids; the larger barks, in all the varieties af- 
fording more than the smaller. An average of several results, stated by Geiger, gives about 
048 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-06 of quinia. In the thickest pieces, Thiel found 1-0 per 
cent, of cinchonia, and 0-03 of quinia. According to Soubeiran, one pound of Loxa bark 
yields from a drachm and a half to two drachms of sulphate of cinchonia. From some fine 
old Loxa bark, not now in the market, Mr. Howard obtained 0-714 per cent, of quinia, 
0-514 of quinidia (dr cinchonidia), and 0-04 of cinchonia. From the H.O. crown bark, which 
is at present the variety usually found in commerce, he got from small quills 0-57 per cent, 
of quinidia and 0-6 of cinchonia, and from larger 1-05 of the former and 0-8 of the latter, 
a t:d no quinia from either. (Pereira, Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 1639.) From the ashy crown bark 
the same chemist got 0-418 per cent, of quinia and quinidia jointly, and 0-914 of cinchonia. 
(Pha.rm. Journ., xii. 126.) From these results it would appear either that the older Loxa 
barks contained much more quinia than the modern, or that what was supposed to be quinia 
was really the then unknown alkaloid quinidia or cinchonidia. The strong reaction of a solu- 
tion of gelatin with the infusion of Loxa bark indicates the presence of much tannic acid. 
2. Lima or Huanuco Bark. Cinchona Cinerea, Gray Bark, Silver Bark, Ed.—Quinquina de 
Lima, Fr.—China Huanuco, Graue China., Germ.—Lima or Huanuco bark was introduced 
into notice about the year 1779, after the discovery of Cinchona trees in the central regions 
of Peru; but Pcippig says that the trade in it began in 1785. The first name originated 
from the circumstance that the bark entered into commerce through the city of Lima; 
the second was derived from the name of the city (Huanuco or Guanuco) in the more 
immediate neighbourhood of which the trees were found. There would seem to be two 
varieties of this bark, which come either in separate packages, or mixed together in the 
same. They are distinguished in England as fine and coarse gray barks, and have a dif- 
ferent botanical origin; the former having been ascertained by Mr. Howrard to belong 
to C. nitida, and the latter being ascribed to C. micraniha, probably with justice. 
Fine Gray Bark.—Quinquina Rouge de Lima. Guibourt. The dimensions of this variety 
do not materially differ from those of the preceding, although in the largest pieces the 
diameter is somewhat greater. Many of the smaller quills have a more or less spiral form. 
At the edge of most of the complete quills, a sharp oblique cut with a knife is observable. 
The epidermis is usually adherent. The exterior surface is marked with longitudinal 
wrinkles or furrows, which in the thick pieces often penetrate quite through the outer 
coating of the bark. Transverse fissures are also generally observable; but they never 
run wholly round the quill, often not more than a quarter or half round, and do not ex- 
hibit elevated borders. In some pieces the epidermis is rubbed ofi’, either wholly or in 
spots; and in a few the entire thickness of the external layers is here and there removed, 
exhibiting the proper bark in patches. The colour externally is very light-gray, almost 
milk-white, with occasionally bluish-gray and darkish spots intermingled. Where the 
outer crust which imparts this whitish colour is wanting, the surface is grayish-fawn or 
reddish-gray, and in the thicker pieces of a dark cinnamon colour. The inner surface, 
though in the smaller quills sometimes tolerably uniform, is generally more or less uneven, 
fibrous, or splintery, especially in the larger pieces, in which may often be observed ad- 
hering yellowish-white splinters of wood. The colour is usually a rusty brown inclining 
somewhat to red, with occasionally a purplish tinge. The transverse fracture is smooth 
exteriorly, fibrous or splintery interiorly. The longitudinal fracture is generally some- 
what uneven, without being splintery, and exhibits here and there minute shining spots. 
The inner layers of the bark are usually soft and friable. The colour of the powder is a 
full cinnamon-brown. The odour of the bark is like that of clay, and in this respect 
different from that of all other varieties. The taste is at first acidulous, astringent, and 
slightly aromatic, and ultimately bitter and adhesive. 
Coarse or Inferior Gray Bark. The characters of this bark as a distinct variety were 
first given by Guibourt, who calls it quinquina de Lima gris brun. The following is his 
description. “ It is in the form of long tubes, well-rolled, from the size of a quill to that 
of the little finger, offering very often longitudinal wrinkles, formed by desiccation. The 
exterior surface is, moreover, moderately rugose, often nearly destitute of transverse 
fissures, having a general deep-gray tint, but with black or white spots, and bearing here 
and there the same lichens as the Loxa barks. The inner bark is of a deep-brownish 
yellow, and formed as it were of agglutinated fibres.” (Hist, des Drogues, 4e ed.,iii. 108.) 
Mr. Howard says of this bark that its predominant feature is its general woody texture, 
a feature very observable on reducing it to powder, while the only hard portion of the 
former variety is a resinous circle existing between the inner and outer coats. He further 
states, as distinctions between the two varieties, that the one now described is thinner 
than the former; that its prevailing superficial colour, independently of the white liche- 
nous covering, is glaucous green, and the colour of its substance rusty yellow, while the 
fine gray, as regards the inner surface, varies superficially from a maroon colour to rust PART I. 
Cinchona. 
279 
substance. There is no doubt, however, that, cinchonia possesses febrifuge pro 
perties little inferior to those of quinia; and the same is probably the case with 
and as regards the outer is brown, the substance of the hark being red; that a decoction 
of the former is pale, and gives a small llocculent deposit on cooling, while one of the 
latter is brown, and lets fall a copious sediment. (Pharrn. Journ., xii. pp. 15 and 16.) 
The Edinburgh College referred the Lima bark, which it denominated cinchona cinerca 
or gray bark, to C. micrantha. There is at present little room to doubt, from the observa- 
tions of Guibourt, Pereira, and Howard, that it is only the coarse or inferior variety that 
belongs to that species; while the fine gray bark must be ascribed to C. nitida, which also 
grows in the neighbourhood of Huanuco. 
The Lima or Huanuco barks contain a considerable proportion of the alkaloids, though 
cinchonia predominates over quinia, and the latter is said to exist in a form in which it is 
difficultly crystallized, at least in the tine variety. Howard gives, as the result of his anal- 
ysis ( f the fine gray bark (C. nitida), 1-4 per cent, of cinchonia, 0-571 of quinia, and 0-142 of 
quinidia (or cinchonidia), amounting altogether to 2-113 per cent. [Pharm. Journ., xii. 12.) 
It also contains much tannic acid. (Ibid., p. 161.) In the inferior kind [C. micrantha) he 
found 1-25 of cinchonia, 0-243 of quinia, 0 28 of quinidia (or cinchonidia), together 1-773 
per cent. [Ibid., p. 14.) Geiger gives as the average of several results, in relation to Lima 
or Huanuco bark, 1-72 per cent, of cinchonia and 0-29 of quinia. Yon Santengot from the 
best specimens, as the maximum, 2-73 per cent, of cinchonia, and no quinia. Delondre ob- 
tained from the different varieties from 0-2 to 0-6 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and from 
0-8 to 1-2 of sulphate of cinchonia. (Quinologie, pp. 27, 28.) It would, therefore, appear 
that this variety of bark must become valuable, if cinchonia should come into general use. 
3. Jaen Bark. Ash Bark. — China Jaen, Blasse Ten-China, Germ. — Quinquina de Loxa 
cendre of Guibourt. This variety probably derives its name from the province of Jaen 
de Bracomoros, near Loxa, where large quantities of bark have been collected. The 
Jaen bark is always in quills, which do not differ much in size from those of the Loxa 
bark, but are distinguishable by being frequently curved longitudinally, or bent in differ- 
ent directions, and somewhat spiral. The outer coat is often partially or entirely rubbed 
off, leaving the surface smooth and soft to the touch. When the epidermis is perfect, it 
exhibits small, irregular, transverse fissures, with sometimes faint longitudinal fissures 
and wavy wrinkles, and here and there a few warts, but no deep furrows. The colour va- 
ries from light or ash-gray to light yellow, diversified with blackish and brownish spots. 
When the outer coat is rubbed off, it inclines still more to yellow. Considered in mass, T,he 
bark always appears somewhat yellowish or straw-coloured. The exterior layers are soft 
and rather spongy, and may be readily scraped by the nail. The inner sm-faee is exceed- 
ingly diversified, sometimes smooth, sometimes uneven and splintery. It is usually of a 
dull-cinnamon colour. The bark is very brittle, and the fracture smooth in the smaller 
quills, more or less uneven and sometimes splintery in the larger, and in neither having 
a resinous appearance. The odour is sweetish, and is compared to that of tan. The taste 
is acidulous, slightly astringent, and bitter, without being disagreeable. The colour of the 
powder is cinnamon-brown. The bark is very deficient in alkaloids. Some experimenters 
have found none, or only traces, while the highest product obtained was 80 grains of qui- 
nia and 13 grains of cinchonia from a pound. M. Munzini, of Paris, extracted from it an 
alkaline principle which he believed to be peculiar, and named cinchovatin; but others be- 
lieve that it is identical with the aricina of Pelletier; and Mr. Howard can discover no 
difference between it and quinidia. [Pharm. Journ., xii. 127.) Mr. Howard does not 
coincide in the general opinion of the great poverty of the ash bark in alkaloids. He 
found in a mean-looking specimen 0-86 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-61 of quinidia (or 
cinchonidia). [Ibid., p. 127.) Delondre obtained, on the large scale, 0-4 of sulphate of 
cinchonia and l-0of sulphate of quinia. [Quinologie, p. 29.) Yon Bergen believes this 
bark to be the product of C. ovata; and Mr. Howard confirms this reference. 
Yon Bergen describes a variety of pale bark, under the name of dark Jaen bark [dunkele 
Ten -China), or pseudo Loxa, which resembles the Loxa, but may be distinguished by the 
oblique or bent shape of the quills, and the uneven, fibrous, or splintery appearance of 
the inner surface. It seldom comes in large pieces. Pereira considers it identical with the 
ashy crown bark already described. (See page 277.) 
4. Huamilies Bark. — China Huamilies, Germ. This bark is little known as a dis- 
tix;ct variety. Its commercial name was derived from the province of Huamilies, in 
the interior of Peru, northward of Huanuco, and a part of- the region explored by the 
botanical expedition under Ruiz and Pavon. It came into notice in Germany about the 
beginning of the present century. It is in quills and flat pieces. The quills are from three 
lines to an inch and a half in diameter, from five to sixteen inches long, and from half a 
line to three lines thick. The flat pieces, which are usually only fragments of the largest 
quills, are from one to two inches broad, and six to twelve inches long. In general all the 
layers of the bark are present, but sometimes the outer coat, and even the whole of that 
part usually called the epidermis in our descriptions of bark (including those outer layers 
which in the tree are- destitute of vitality, having been thrown outward by the annually 
renewed layers beneath them), are wanting in spots, though very seldom entirely absent 280 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
quinidia and cinchonidia; so that, should the source of quinia begin to fail, 
the pale bark may come into more extensive use for the preparation of the other 
alkaloids. 
2. Yellow Bark. 
The officinal term yellow bark is applicable only to the valuable variety of the 
drug called commercially Galisaya, a name which has been said, though erro- 
neously, to be derived from a province in Bolivia, near the city of La Paz, 
where the bark is collected.* By the druggists Calisaya bark is arranged in 
two sub-varieties, the quilled and the flat, which sometimes come mixed to- 
gether in the same seroon, sometimes separate. It is called by the French 
quinquina jaune royal (royal yellow bark), from its resemblance to a variety 
of bark formerly collected for the Spanish king. 
The quilled Calisaya (Calisaya arrolada of the Spanish Americans) is in 
pieces from three inches to two feet long, from a quarter of an inch to two or 
three inches in diameter, and of equally variable thickness. The epidermis is of 
a brownish colour, diversified or concealed by silvery-white, whitish, or yellow- 
ish lichens, is marked by longitudinal wrinkles and transverse fissures, and. is 
often partially separated, and generally easily separable from the proper bark. 
In the larger kinds, it is thick, rough, deeply indented by the transverse fissures, 
which often surround the quills, and is composed of several layers, separated 
from each other by a reddish-brown membrane. The epidermis yields a dark- 
red powder, and is tasteless and inert. It is desirable, therefore, to get rid of it 
before the bark is powdered, as the medicine is thus procured of greater strength. 
The bark itself, without the epidermis, is from one to two lines in thickness, 
compact, of a short-fibrous texture, and when broken presents shining points, 
apparently the termination of small fibres running longitudinally, which, ex- 
amined by the microscope, are found, when freed from a salmon-coloured pow- 
der that surrounds them, to be yellow7 and transparent. When the bark is pow- 
dered, they readily separate, in the form of spicula, which, like those of cowhage, 
insinuate themselves into the skin and produce a disagreeable itching and irri- 
tation. The colour of the bark is brownish-yellow with a tinge of orange, the 
taste less astringent than that of the pale bark, but much more bitter; and the 
The epidermis is comparatively thin, very brittle, soft, and spongy. The outer surface, in 
the small and middling quills, is sometimes nearly smooth, but usually marked with wavy 
longitudinal wrinkles, and beset here and there with warts. These warts are abundant 
upon the thick pieces, which they sometimes almost entirely cover. Transverse fissures 
are seldom found, and only in the thick pieces. The colour of the epidermis is usuallv 
grayish-fawn, here and there passing into a rusty brown; hut in the thicker pieces, in 
which the warts are abundant, it is between a liver and chestnut colour, often mixed with 
a tinge of purple. When the epidermis is wanting, the colour is often a full ochre-vellow. 
The inner surface is sometimes uniform and almost smooth, sometimes slightly fibrous, 
rarely splintery. The colour of this surface is rusty-brown, occasionally reddish and in 
the fibrous or splintery pieces of an ochre-yellow. The fracture in the smaller quills is 
rather even, in the larger presents short fibres, and is sometimes even splintery. The odour 
of the hark is feeble hut agreeable, the taste somewhat aromatic, bitterish, and slightly 
astringent. The powder is of a full-cinnamon colour. The average product of cinchonia 
and quinia, as stated by Geiger, is 0-67 per cent, of the former, and 0-25 of the latter; so 
that the hark, though dissimilar in appearance to the other varieties of pale hark, agrees 
with them in containing more cinchonia than quinia. Yon Santen obtained, as the maxi- 
mum, 1-2 per cent, of cinchonia, and littleor no quinia. Huamilies bark, on the authority 
of Keichel, has been referred to C. pubescens (C. purpurea of the Flor. Peruv.); hut Dr. 
Pereira and Mr. Howard agree in believing it to be the product of C. Condaminea, variety 
Chahuargueraoi De Candolle, considered by Weddell as identical with his C. Condaminea, 
variety vera. The bark here described is noticed by Guibourt, who names it quinquina Hua- 
miliesferrugineux. The same author makes four other varieties of Huamilies hark; viz. 
the gris terne, mince ei rougedtre, blanc, and jaune de Cuenca. (Note to the tenth edition.) 
* No such province exists in Bolivia. According to M. Laubert, the name is a corruption 
of eolisalla, said to be derived from colla, a remedy, and salla, a rocky country. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xxii. 614.) Weddell refers the origin of the name to the words colli and saga, 
which in the Quichua language signify red and sort, and have probably been applied from 
the redness which the outer denuded surface of the bark assumes in drying, or from the 
red colour which the leaves sometimes exhibit. PART i. 
Cinchona. 
281 
bitterness is somewhat peculiar. The external part of the proper bark is more 
bitter and astringent, and consequently stronger in medicinal power, than the 
internal. The odour is faint, but, when the bark is boiled, resembles that of the 
pale varieties. The small quills closely resemble sonie of the pale barks, but 
may be distinguished by their very bitter taste. 
The flat Calisaya (Calisaya plancha of the Spaniards), which is derived 
from the large branches and trunk, is in pieces of various lengths, either quite 
flat, or but slightly curved, and generally destitute of the epidermis, which has 
been obviously removed through its own want of adhesiveness to the proper 
bark, and not by a knife, as is the case with some inferior barks in other respects 
resembling the Calisaya. The inner surface is like that of the quilled pieces; 
the outer is irregular, marked with confluent longitudinal furrows and ridges, 
and somewhat darker coloured than the inner, being of a brownish fawn, 
frequently diversified with darker stains. The bark is of uniform fracture 
throughout, generally thicker than the quilled, more fibrous in its texture, less 
compact, less bitter, and possessed of less medicinal power. Though weaker 
than the proper bark of the quills, it is usually, in equal weight, more valua- 
ble than that variety, because free from the useless epidermis. 
The officinal yellow bark is characterized by its strongly bitter taste, with 
little astringency; by its fine brownish-yellow, somewhat orange colour, which 
is still brighter in the powder; and by containing a large proportion of quinia 
with, very little cinchonia. The salts of quinia and lime are so abundant, that 
a strong infusion of it instantly affords a precipitate when crystals of sulphate 
of soda are added. (Guibourt, Hist, des Drogues, 4bme ed., iii. 131.)* 
* Calisaya bark is described by Von Bergen, under the name of China Regia or Konig’s 
China. We present a brief abstract of bis description, omitting the form and dimensions, 
which are given in the text. The epidermis,! which in many of the small quills is partly 
wanting, in the flat pieces usually quite wanting, is very thick and brittle, constituting 
from a third to one-half of the bark, and, in some of the largest quills or partially quilled 
pieces, even two-thirds. In the latter case, it often consists of six or eight different layers. 
The quills are generally marked with longitudinal wrinkles and furrows, and always with 
transverse fissures. These fissures, which often form complete circles round the quills, 
have usually an elevated border, and sink so deeply in many of the larger pieces, that 
they are observable upon the proper bark. In the smaller pieces they are often faint, but 
usually crowded. The colour of the epidermis varies from whitish-gray to bluish-gray; 
but it is very much diversified by lichens, so as to present yellowish-white, ash-gray, and 
blackish spots. When the outer layer of the epidermis is wanting, as is not unfrequently 
the case to a greater or less extent, the colour is somewhat sooty-brown or almost liver- 
brown. The outer surface of the pieces without epidermis is of a colour between cinna- 
mon-brown and dark rusty-brown. The inner surface, in the pieces of all dimensions, is 
uniform and almost smooth, but exhibits fine longitudinal fibres closely compressed. 
Splinters of wood are never found adhering to the inner surface. The prevailing colour 
of this surface is a rather dark or full-cinnamon brown, passing sometimes into a rusty 
brown, but seldom reddish. This bark breaks more easily in the longitudinal direction 
than any other variety, exhibiting a chestnut-brown colour in the part answering to the 
epidermis, a more or less dark cinnamon-brown in that answering to the proper bark. 
The transverse fracture of the epidermis is rather even, that of the inner bark fibrous or 
splintery. A resinous layer may be seen beneath the epidermis, which usually remains 
when the latter is removed,.and communicates to the fiat pieces the dark colour which 
distinguishes their external surface. Small sharp splinters, which in the longitudinal 
fracture appear like shining points, are apt to insinuate themselves into the skin when the 
bark is handled. The odour is feebly tan-like; the taste slightly acidulous, strongly but 
not disagreeably bitter, somewhat aromatic, feebly astringent, and rather durable. The 
powder is of a fine cinnamon hue. 
Weddell speaks of a variety of Calisaya bark having a dark-coloured external surface, 
which is often wholly of a vinous black, and of another which has a less uneven surface, 
sometimes semi-cellular, and of a paler colour. The former, he says, is denominated in 
Bolivia Calisaya zamba, C. negra, or C. macha; the latter Calisaya blanca. 
Thiel obtained from the flat Calisaya 2-3 per cent, of quinia, and 0-08 of cinchonia; 
f By the epidermis is here understood the whole of the external layers which are accumulated upon the outer 
surface of the bark by the annual renewal of the cortical layers, and the consequent separation of those of former 
years, which remain, but without life, attached to the external surface. A different meaning is attached to the 
term by Von Bergen; but, as we have taken pains to make the description in every instance correspond with our 
tlefluitiou, we do not misrepresent his meaning. 282 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
TTruil the recent most valuable researches of Weddell, nothing was known 
with certainty as to the particular species which yields Calisaya bark. At present 
Michaelis from the flat 3-7 per cent., and from the quill 2-0 per cent, of quinia, but noein- 
chonia; Von Santen from the flat, an average of 2-0 per cent, of quinia, and little or no 
cinchonia ; Wittstock, on an average, 3-0 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 0T2 of cin- 
chonia. (Geiger.) Riegel obtained as the lowest product 2T8 per cent., and the highest 
3-8 per cent, of quinia. (Pharni. Journ., xii. 249.) MM. Delondre and Bouchardat have 
obtained from the fiat Calisaya, without epidermis, from 3-0 to 3-2 per cent, of sulphate 
of quinia, and 06 to 0-8 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia; and from the quilled with 
epidermis 1-5 to 2-0 per cent, of the former, and from 0-8 to 1-0 per cent, of the latter, 
(l'fuinologie, pp. 23 and 26.) M. Guilliermond has recently obtained the very large pro- 
duct of 6 per cent, of quinia from a specimen of quilled Calisaya, without epidermis 
(Journ. de Pharm., Janvier, 1862, p. 42); and still more recently, Mr. Howard has, in 
one or two selected specimens, obtained 7 or 8 per cent, of sulphate of quinia. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., Sept. 1866, p. 420.) Calisaya bark without epidermis should yield from 3 to 
3 -5 per cent, of officinal sulphate of quinia. 
The great value of Calisaya bark has led to the substitution for it, or fraudulent admix- 
ture with it, of other varieties hearing a more or less close resemblance to it in character 
or appearance. Some of these are not much inferior to the genuine hark, others of little 
value ; and it is highly important that they should be distinguished. We give below a brief 
notice of such as are described in pharmacological works, or have come under our own 
observation. Weddell states that the characters by which the true Calisaya bark may he 
best distinguished from all others are, 1. the shortness of the fibres in the whole surface 
of its transverse fi'acture, 2. the facility with which these may be separated, 3. the uni- 
form fawn colour, without any white marking in its thickness, 4. the great density of the 
bark, which is such that, when the nail is drawn across it, a shining track is often left, 5. 
the depth of the depressions on its outer surface, and the prominence of the ridges that 
separate them. These remarks refer to the fiat variety. The quills are not so easily distin- 
guished, as they closely resemble certain other varieties, especially the bark of C. scrobi- 
culata and C. rufinervis, and the fracture does not give signs so precise as in the older barks. 
The surest test is the greater bitterness of the genuine. From their deficiency in compact- 
ness, spurious Calisaya barks are called by the French Calisaya leg ere, or light Calisaya. 
1. Bark of C. Calisaya, variety Josephiana of Weddell. This is not known as a distinct 
variety in Europe or this country; but it is very probably mingled more or less with the 
genuine, as it is collected in Bolivia. It is in quills, of a brown, grayish-black, or slate 
colour on the outer surface, which is also covered with pale lichens. The inner surface is 
irregular, in consequence of the difficulty with which it is separated from the wood. From 
the roots of the same variety, which are probably the remains of former forest trees, is 
obtained another kind of bark, in short pieces, flattish, undular, or more or less contorted, 
destitute of epidermis, internally fibrous or almost smooth, slightly cellular externally, of 
a uniform ochreous yellow, and of a decided bitterness, though not so strong as that of 
good Calisaya, which it resembles in its internal structure. The Peruvians call it ichu- 
cascarilla. (Weddell.) These harks can scarcely be considered as adulterations, as they 
have the virtues of the genuine. 
2. Bark of C. Boliviana. Weddell states that this is almost always mixed in commerce 
with genuine Calisaya, from which it is often difficult to distinguish it. This is of the less 
consequence, as it is probably not much inferior in virtue. The following is Weddell’s de- 
scription. The quilled is in all points similar to the quilled Calisaya. The fiat consists ex- 
clusively of the inner bark. It is generally not so thick as the Calisaya, but of equal den- 
sity. The furrows on the outer surface are not so deep, and the ridges which separate them 
more rounded. The colour of this surface is a brownish-yellow fawn, with here and there 
greenish shades, of the inner, a somewhat reddish or orange fawn. The fracture is like 
that of the Calisaya, but exhibits spots of a light almost white colour, which are never 
seen in that variety. The taste is a strong and agreeable bitter, which is developed more 
quickly than that of the Calisaya. 
3. Bark of C. ovata var. rufinervis of AVeddell. This variety of C. ovata inhabits Bolivia 
and the southern province of Peru called Carabaya, where the bark is said by Weddell 
to be largely employed for adulterating the Calisaya. It is known in Peru by the name 
of Cascarilla Carabaya. It sometimes so closely resembles Calisaya as to be with difficulty 
distinguished. In the quilled, the outer coating sometimes differs only in being somewhat 
less thick. In other instances it has but a few annular fissures, is finely Avrinkled longi- 
tudinally, and varies in colour from alight gray to a deep brown, being often completely 
covered with mosses and lichens. It is generally easily separable from the inner coat, 
the uncovered surface of which is of a light-brownish fawn, and smooth, or marked with 
longitudinal depressions corresponding to rents in the outer coat. The inner surface is 
grayish or reddish-yellow, and finely fibrous; the transverse fracture fibrous; the resinous 
circle scarcely observable; the taste quickly bitter and astringent. The flat kind is of 
False or Spurious Calisaya Barks. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
283 
there is no variety of which, in this respect, we have more accurate knowledge 
The genuine bark is derived from the newly described species, named G. Cali- 
variable form, often closely resembling the Calisaya, but generally much lighter. Some- 
times it consists solely of the inner bark, but more frequently has a portion greater or 
less of the cellular coat attached. The outer surface is sometimes smooth, with a few 
linear transverse depressions, and wholly cellular; in other instances, uneven, with round- 
ish depressions, fibrous at bottom; and is of a grayish-fawn or reddish colour, sometimes 
marbled with darker shades. The inner surface is of a dull grayish-yellow, or brilliant 
orange, with fine parallel fibres. The transverse fracture is more or less corky exteriorly, 
and fibrous-stringy within, or of the latter character in the whole thickness. It has con- 
siderable bitterness, which is rapidly developed in the recent barks. 
Carahaya Bark. Under this name a bark has within a few years been introduced into the 
commerce of this country and Europe, derived from the province of Carabaya, through 
the port of Islay, or that of Arica. Dr. Pereira describes it as follows. — It is thin and 
flimsy, of a more or less rusty colour, and in some of the pieces very similar to the llu- 
atnilies. The quills are about as thick as the finger, and of variable length, sometimes 
even two feet, coated, or uncoated; the coated having a dull-rusty, or grayish-rusty, warty 
surface, marked by longitudinal furrows, but rarely by transverse; the uncoated some- 
times presenting a dark or more or less tea-green tint. Thq flat pieces consist of the liber 
alone, or of this with a portion of the cellular coat. The outer surface of the liber, in some 
of the uncoated pieces, is blackish, with rusty, round, flattish warts. Sometimes it looks 
as if dusted over with a yellowish powder. The liber itself is more or less orange; but 
some pieces resemble red bark in colour. Whether this is the product of C. ovata is un- 
certain; but, taking its source into consideration, and the fact stated by Weddell that 
the bark of that species is gathered largely in Carabaya, and known by the same name 
in Peru, the probabilities seem to be greatly in favour of this opinion. Pereira states that 
its total yield of alkaloids, including quinia, cinchonia, and quinidia, is from 3 to 4 per 
cent. In the Quinologie of MM. Delondre and Bouchardat (p. 26), the product of the 
better specimens is stated to be from 1-5 to 1-8 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 0-4 to 
0-5 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia. It is, therefore, a valuable bark. 
A variety of flat bark, imported into th§ IT. States as Carabaya, is in irregular pieces, 
some very small, the largest about 9 inches in length, generally very thin; for the most 
part destitute of epidermis, but sometimes with portions of the outer coat attached; on 
the outer surface, when uncoated, of a dull-cinnamon hue, with spots of a different colour 
sometimes much darker, more or less irregular from slight elevations and shallow de- 
pressions, somewhat furrowed longitudinally, seldom so transversely; on the inner sur- 
face, of a lighter hue than on the outer, smooth and somewhat shining when viewed 
obliquely, with fine compact straight fibres; with a decided fibrous fracture, sometimes 
smooth toward the outer edge; and, when handled, readily yielding spicula, which pene- 
trate the fingers like those of Calisaya. In one specimen shown us by Messrs. Powers and 
Weightman, the outer surface was almost completely covered with the subepidermic 
layer, with little or none of the epidermis itself, and was remarkably uniform in its as- 
pect, though sometimes presenting numerous slight longitudinal wrinkles from drying, 
and a few shallow transverse impressions. We are informed that this variety contains 
more cinchonia than quinia, and have little doubt that it is the bark referred toby Wed- 
dell as the product of C. ovata, var. rufinervis. 
4. Bark of C. scrobiculata. The younger bark of this tree has, we think, undoubtedly 
been imported among the pale or gray barks. The larger or flat pieces have been fraudu- 
lently substituted for Calisaya. Of these, according to Pereira, there are two varieties, 
derived from different varieties of the tree. 
a. Cusco Bark. Red Bark of Cusco. (Delondre and Bouchardat, Quinologie, p. 26.) Bark 
of St. Ann. Bark of C. scrobiculata, var. Delondriana. This is collected in the province of 
Cusco, in the south of Peru; and the town of Cusco is said by Weddell to be the centre 
of its commerce. It is the kind to which Guibourt has attached the name of light 
Calisaya. Weddell thus describes it: “ Less dense than the Calisaya; consisting gerterally 
of the liber and a thin layer of the cellulo-resinous tissue; thickness from 5 to 10 milli- 
metres (2 to 4 lines). Outer surface obscurely red, smooth, with some linear transverse 
impressions, or more or less irregular; exhibiting often superficial cavities filled with 
fungous detritus; raised in other instances into asperities or irregular warts, or more rarely 
presenting an exfoliation of the cellular coat, as complete as in the Calisaya, with digital 
confluent furrows fibrous at bottom, and the ridges which separate them. Interior surf ace 
uniform, of fine and straight grain, and of a handsome reddish-orange colour. Transverse 
fracture more or less cork-like on the outside, according to the thickness of the cellular 
portion; on the inside very fibrous, with long, pliable, stringy fibres, and of a lighter 
colour than the outer part. Longitudinal fracture presenting numerous splinters with 
shining points, less marked than in the Calisaya, and medullary rays more numerous and 
visible. Taste bitter, strong and quickly developed in the middling sized barks, with 
perceptible astringency. This bark yields from 0-7 to 0-8 per cent, of sulphate of cin- 
chonia, and from 0-3 to 0 4 of sulphate of quinia.” (Hist. Nat. des Quinquinas, pp. 44, 45.) 284 
Cinchona. 
PART L 
saya ; but the bark of G. Boliviano,, another of the species discovered by Wed- 
dell, is sometimes mixed with it in the same seroons. It is produced exclusively 
b. Peruvian Calisaya. Bark of C. scrobiculata, var. genuina, Weddell. This is imported 
from Lima. Pereira describes it as occurring in flat pieces, closely resembling the gen- 
uine Calisaya in colour, for which it is often sold. They are thicker and denser than the 
last-mentioned variety, from which they also differ in colour. Externally the bark is 
smoother than the Calisaya; and the ridges between the furrows are more rounded. The 
fracture is fibrous, and the taste, in the larger pieces, less bitter than that of Calisaya. 
[Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 1629.) 
This bark is probably the same with that referred to in the eighth and ninth editions of 
this Dispensatory (p. 236 of the 9th), as having been imported into the United States about 
the year 1848; having been consigned to a manufacturing chemist of this city by a com- 
mercial house in Valparaiso, with the information that it had been sent to them by Dr. J. 
Villamil, and had been gathered in the forests of Huanuco in Peru. The pieces are gene- 
rally without the epidermis, which appears to have separated spontaneously, and, when 
retained, has the transverse fissures and longitudinal furrows characteristic of the Cali- 
saya. The colour and consistence of the bark are the same as in the genuine; and it even 
presents the shining spicula which characterize the latter, though they are less numerous, 
and do not so readily penetrate the fingers. The taste is very bitter. Examined chemically 
by Professor Procter, it was found to afford a precipitate with sulphate of soda, in con- 
sequence of containing kinate of lime, and thus in another point approaches the Calisaya; 
but he could not detect in it a trace of quinia. The only alkaloid it was found to contain 
was cinchonia, of which there was- the large proportion of 2-8 per cent.; so that this must 
rank with the valuable barks. For a more particular account of it, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Prof. Procter in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xix. 178). 
5. Bark of Cinchona pubescent, var. Pelleieriana of Weddell. Cusco Bark. AHca Bark. 
This was first known in France by the name of Aricabark, from the port at which it was 
shipped ; but, both in French and English commerce, this name has given way to the more 
appropriate one of Cusco Bark, derived from the Peruvian province in which it is collected. 
Dr. Pereira says that it was first introduced into Europe in 1829 as yellow or Calisaya 
bark. From the statements of Weddell, there seems to be little doubt that it is the pro- 
duct of the tree referred to at the heading of this paragraph ; as specimens collected by 
himself in the mountains of Cusco were found identical with the bark as known in Europe. 
The following is his description condensed. — In tha quilled, the outer coat is thin, very 
adherent, almost smooth, sometimes with traces of annular fissures, of a uniform dirty- 
gray colour, or marbled with darker shades. The proper bark is, without, of an obscure 
yellow, sprinkled with little brown spots when artificially denuded, and marked with some 
superficial longitudinal wrinkles; within, is obscurely yellow and a little reddish, coarsely 
fibrous, and often rough to the touch. The transverse fracture is exteriorly corky and quite 
short, without a resinous circle, and inwardly with a few short thick fibres. The fiat pieces 
are very dense, and consist about equally of cellular coat and liber. The outer surface is 
smoothish, sometimes slightly wrinkled longitudinally, of an ochre-yellow more or less 
brownish, and frequently marbled with grayish or silvery spots, which are the remains 
of the epidermis. The inner surface is brownish or reddish, thick, and fibrous. The trans- 
verse fracture is cork-like outwardly, of short woody fibres inwardly. A fresh cut sur- 
face in the same direction shows inwardly rows of large isolated semitranslucent points, 
corresponding to the section of the cortical fibres, agglutinated in bundles. The longitu- 
dinal fracture is almost without splinters. The epidermis, when it remains on the large 
barks, is thin, unequal, sometimes warty, of an obscure gray, and more or less brownish 
or even greenish in some spots. When it has been scraped, the bark sometimes presents 
deep-brown spots, which are the points where the prominences in the cellular coat had 
raised the epidermis so as to form the little warts referred to. These are sometimes de- 
cayed, and upon falling leave roundish depressions. The taste of the bark is bitter, as- 
tringent, and somewhat pungent. [Hist. Nat. des Qubiquin., p. 56.) 
Von Bergen says that this bark somewhat resembles the fibrous Carthagena. Inexperi- 
enced persons might mistake it for the Calisaya. Guibourt says that it may be readily dis- 
tinguished by a more regularly cylindrical form, its smoother outer surface, the remains 
of the white and fungous layer, by its two shades of colour, orange or brownish externally, 
and whitish or very pale internally, and by not yielding a precipitate with sulphate of soda. 
Pelletier supposed that he had found a new alkaloid in this bark, which he named 
ariema; but the substance he obtained is now thought to have been some modification of 
one of the other alkaloids. The chief alkaloid in the bark is cinchonia. Frank obtained 
48 ounces of it from 100 lbs. of the bark, and only a trace of quinia; Winckler, 256 grains 
from 16 ounces of a good specimen, and only 77 grains from the same quantity of an in- 
ferior one. Guibourt estimates the proportion at a drachm for every pound, and observes 
that the bark is rich in einchonic red. 
6. Bark of C. micrantha, var. rotundifolia of Weddell. As this variety grows in 
Bolivia, and the flat bark derived from it simulates Calisaya, it is very probable that 
its product has been sometimes used t adulterate the latter bark. Wedde'll says of it that PART I. 
Cinchona. 
285 
in Bolivia, formerly upper Peru, and in the southern portion of the adjoining 
Peruvian province of Carabaya. Before these countries were separated from 
Spain,it was shipped as well from Buenos Ayres as from the ports on the Pacific; 
but at present it comes only from the latter. As first announced in this work, 
from information derived from merchants long personally engaged in commercial 
transactions on the Pacific coast of South America, the bark is brought from the 
interior to the port of Arica, whence it is sent to various other ports on the coast. 
The interior commerce in the drug has its centre chiefly in the town of La Paz. 
The trade in this bark has been much diminished, in consequence partly of its 
greater scarcity, partly of restrictions by the Bolivian government. 
It is generally supposed to have been first introduced into commerce towards 
the end of the last century, and it was probably not known by its present name 
till that period; but La Condamine states that the Jesuits of La Paz, at a pe- 
riod anterior to the discovery of the febrifuge of Loxa, sent to Home a very 
bitter bark by the name of quinaquina, which, though supposed by that travel- 
ler to have been derived from the Peruvian balsam tree, was very probably, as 
conjectured by Guibourt, the true cinchona. Besides, Pomet, in his History of 
Drugs, published in 1694, speaks of a bark more bitter than that of Loxa, ob- 
tained from the province of Potosi, which borders upon that of La Paz; and 
Chomel also states that the cinchona tree inhabited the mountains of Potosi, 
and produced a bark more esteemed than that which grew in the province of 
Quito. (Guibourt, Journ. de Pliarm., xvi. 235.) It is possible that, though 
known at this early period, it may have gone out of use; and its reintroduc- 
tion into notice, towards the end of the last century, may have been mistaken 
for an original discovery.* 
i. 
it has little density, and consists of the liber alone, or of this and the cellular coating, 
which is generally semi-fungous and imperfectly exfoliated. The external surface is un- 
equal, presenting superficial concavities similar to those of Calisaya, and separated by ir- 
regular corky eminences, but sometimes though rarely smooth from the persistence of 
the whole cellular coating, and is of a bright and grayish orange-yellow. The internal 
surface is considerably fibrous, of the same colour as the external, but of a more lively 
tint. The transverse fracture is stringy; the longitudinal but slightly splintery, and of a 
dull surface. The taste is decidedly bitter and quickly developed, a little pungent, scarcely 
astringent. (Hist. Nat. des Quinquin., p. 53.) 
7. Bark of C. amygdalifolia. This species also inhabits Bolivia, and its bark may pos- 
sibly sometimes contaminate the Calisaya, as it has been largely collected. Pereira states 
that it is imported alone or mixed with other Bolivian barks, both quilled and flat. Ac- 
cording to the same author, it is distinguished from the Calisaya by its lightness, its more 
orange colour, the presence of the cellular coat in the pieces deprived of epidermis, the 
stringy transverse fracture, the splintery longitudinal fracture, the want of marked annu- 
lar fissures in the epidermis, and the astringent and but slightly bittertaste. Mr. Howard 
obtained from a portion of the quills 0-7 per cent, of quinidia and a trace of cinchonia; 
from the flat 0-23 of quinidia and the same of cinchonia. (Pereira’s Mat. Med., 3d ed., p. 
1629.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
Yellow Bark of Guayaquil. Under this name MM. Delondre and Bouchardat describe a 
bark, occurring in very long rolls, of a colour like that of Chinese cinnamon, with the outer 
surface marked by rather close but shallow longitudinal furrows, with traces of a very 
thin, white epidermis; the inner surface browner, uniform, and compact; the fracture 
resinous exteriorly, and shortly fibrous interiorly. The bitterness is strong, without astrin- 
gency. Delondre obtained from it 3-0 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia, and 0-3 to 0-4 of 
sulphate of quinia. (Quinologie, p. 32.) This bark is scarce in commerce; but we have 
been told that portions have been brought from Guayaquil, across the Isthmus of Panama. 
It will be very valuable, should cinchonia come, as it ought to do, into general use. 
A false bark has been sometimes mixed with the genuine Calisaya, which it resembles 
so closely as not to be easily distinguished by the eye. According to Weddell, it is the 
bark of Gomphosia chlorantha, a lofty tree, growing in the same forests where the Cali- 
saya is found. It is distinguished by a peculiar odour, and by exhibiting in its transverse 
section, under the microscope, “ a peculiar fasciculate disposition of the cortical fibres, 
and some vessels gorged with a ruby-coloured juice.” It does not contain a particle of 
alkaloid, but yields a volatile oil on which its odour depends. (Howard, Pharm. Journ., 
x: v. 318.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
* The great value of Calisaya bark will justify us in giving a brief account of its mode 
jf collection, as described by Weddell from personal observation. The tree producing it 
g’-ows in the Bolivian provinces Enquisivi, Yungos, Larecaja, and Caupolican. At present 286 
Cinchona. 
part i. 
3. Red Bark. 
The name of this variety is very appropriately applied; as the colour is usu- 
ally distinct both in the bark and the powder. In South America it is called 
cascarilla roxa and Colorado.;. Some writers have divided it into several sub- 
varieties; but, in relation to the true red bark, there does not seem to be ground 
for such division in any essential difference of properties. Like the Galisaya, 
it comes in quills and flat pieces, which are probably derived from different 
parts of the same tree. It is imported in chests. 
Some of the pieces are entirely rolled, some partially so, as if they had been 
taken from half the circumference of the branch ; others are nearly or quite flat. 
They vary greatly in size, the quill being sometimes less than half an inch in 
diameter, sometimes as much as two inches; while the flat pieces are occasion- 
ally very large and thick, as if derived from the trunk of a tree. They are 
covered with a reddish-brown or gray, sometimes whitish epidermis, which is 
rugged, wrinkled longitudinally, and in the thicker pieces marked with furrows, 
which in some places penetrate to the surface of the proper bark. In many 
specimens, numerous small roundish or oblong eminences, called warts, maybe 
observed upon the outer surface. Beneath the epidermis is a layer, dark-red, 
brittle and compact, which possesses some bitterness and astringency, but much 
less than the interior parts. These are woody and fibrous, of a more or less 
lively brownish-red colour, which is usually very distinct, but in some speci- 
mens passes into orange and even yellowish-brown ; so that it is not 
possible to distinguish the variety by this property alone. The taste is bitter 
and astringent, and the odour similar to that of other good barks. Red bark is 
chemically distinguished by containing considerable quantities of both quinia 
and cinchonia. It yields a turbid salmon-coloured decoction with water. Mr. 
Howard, in examining slender sections of a fine specimen of red bark under 
the microscope, noticed numerous stellate groups of crystals diffused irregu 
it is necessary to travel for eight or ten days from the nearest inhabited place, in order to 
reach the forests where it is found of a size and in numbers which will repay the trouble 
of gathering the hark. The Cascarilleros are persons educated from infancy to the busi- 
ness. Several of them are engaged in the service of a merchant or small company, by 
whom they are sent, at any period of the year except during the rains, upon an expedi- 
tion under the charge of a leader called a Mayordomo. Having previously received in- 
formation which governs the direction of their journey, they proceed to the vicinity of 
their intended operations, and establish a camp in a convenient position. Henceforward 
the neighbourhood is considered as belonging exclusively to the party, and no other bark- 
gatherers pretend to interfere. From the camp the Cascarilleros are despatched singly or 
in small hands, in different directions into the forests, through which they have to make 
their way, often with great labour and fatigue. Each man carries with him provisions for 
a long absence. The trees do not form forests of themselves, but are scattered singly or 
in groups more or less close. From some convenient point of view the explorer scans the 
top of the forest, and is able to recognise, at a great distance, from the peculiarity of its 
aspect, not only one of the Cinchonas, hut the particular species of which he is in search. 
Sometimes he is directed by the appearance of the dry leaves upon the ground. Having 
found a suitable tree, he first fells it, cutting as near the soil as possible, then lops off 
the branches, and detaches by blows with a wooden mallet, or the back of his axe, the 
outer or dead layers of the bark, which easily separate. He next makes incisions through 
the bark, so as to isolate pieces usually fifteen to twenty inches long by three or four 
broad, which he removes by means of a knife or other instrument. The branches are de- 
corticated without separating the epidermis. The pieces obtained from these are simply 
allowed to dry in the sun, and, rolling themselves up, form the quilled variety. The 
pieces from the trunk are disposed in square piles, one being placed over the other, and 
the whole kept down by some heavy body. They are thus prevented from rolling as they 
dry. When sufficiently dried they are carried- to the camp on the back of the gatherer, 
who often consumes several days in his returning journey, and undergoes incredible fa- 
tigue. At the camp, the bark is assorted, and the portion deemed fit for commerce is sent 
to the town, on the backs of men or of mules, where it is packed in bales or seroons, cov- 
ered with fresh hides. The most wasteful methods of collecting the bark prevail, the only 
object being present convenience. Not only is the tree felled, but the bark is frequently 
removed from the stump down into the very earth, so as to prevent the growth of sprouts, 
which would otherwise spring up from the old roots, and in the course of time afford an- 
other crop (Note to the ninth edition.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
287 
lady throughout its substance, which he believed to consist of kinovate of 
quinia, formed during the drying of the bark He also noticed other crystalline 
forms which he ascribed to the kinovates severally of cinchonia, quinidia, and 
cinehorddia. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., May, 1865, p. 584.)* 
The species of Cinchona which produces red bark has been unknowm until 
very recently. The notion derived from Mutis, and once generally prevalent, 
that it was obtained from the G oblongifolia of that botanist, was long since 
demonstrated to be incorrect. For the proofs upon this point, which have now 
* The redbark is described by Yon Bergen under the name of China rubra or rothe China. 
The following is an abstract of his description. The quills are from two lines to an inch 
and a quarter in diameter, from one-third of a line to two lines thick, and from two to 
twelve inches or more in length. The smaller quills are often spiral. The flat pieces are 
from one to two inches broad, from three-eighths to a quarter of an inch thick, and of the 
same length as the quills. In the smaller and middling-sized quills, the external surface 
exhibits longitudinal wavy wrinkles. In the thicker pieces, these wrinkles, between which 
are here and there longitudinal furrows, often elevate themselves into roundish or oblong 
warts, which are of a somewhat friable and granular consistence. The longitudinal fur- 
rows sometimes penetrate to the bark. Transverse fissures seldom occur. The colour in 
the smaller quills varies from a fawn-gray to a dull reddish-brown, in the larger is reddish- 
brown or chestnut-brown with a tinge of purple. When the wrinkles and warts are rubbed 
off, the peculiar brownish-red colour of the bark appears. The pieces are often in part or 
almost wholly covered with a whitish-gray or yellowish-white coat, either belonging to 
tbe epidermis or consisting of lichens. In some of the quills the epidermis is wanting in 
spots, which exhibit a dirty reddish-cinnamon colour. The inner surface is delicately 
fibrous arid almost uniform in the small quills, but becomes more fibrous and uneven in 
the larger, and in the flat pieces is splintery and very irregular. Its colour varies with 
the size of the pieces, being a reddish-rusty brown in the least, redder in the larger, and 
a full brownish-red in the largest. The inner surface is also sometimes yellowish, or 
brownish, or of a dirty appearance. It becomes darker when scraped with the nail. The 
fracture exhibits the different colours of the epidermis, the inner bark, and a resinous 
layer between the two. It is usually smooth in the smaller quills, fibrous in the larger, and 
at the same time fibrous and splintery in the largest pieces. The fracture of the epidermis, 
however, is in all either smooth, or only here and there somewhat granular. The odour 
is like that of tan, and earthy; the taste strongly but not disagreeably bitter, somewhat 
aromatic, and not lasting. The powder is of a dull brownish-red colour. 
Experiments upon many different specimens of red bark, as stated by Pfaff, give as an 
average product 1-7 per cent, of pure cinchonia, and 0-44 of sulphate of quinia. The highest 
product obtained was 3-17 per cent, of cinchonia,and 0-15of sulphate of quinia. Another 
specimen yielded 1-21 percent, of the former, and 1-33 of the latter. Pelletier and Caventou 
obtained 0-8 per cent, of cinchonia, and T7 of quinia. [Geiger.) Dr. E. Biegcl, of Carls- 
ruhe, obtained from one specimen of the best red bark4-16 per cent, of alkaloids (2-65 of 
quinia and 1-51 of cinchonia), and from another 3-85 per cent. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 250.) 
Delondre obtained from the genuine red bark, “ bright red," 2-0 to 2-5 per cent, of sulphate 
of qui nia, and 1 -0 to 1 -2 of sulphate of cinchonia; from the “ pale red" 1 -5 to 1 -8 of the former, 
and 0-5 to 0-6 of the latter. (Quinologie, p. 80.) It appears, therefore, that the proportion 
of the alkalies is exceedingly different in dift'erent specimens ; and it is highly probable 
that some of the barks experimented upon were inferior red barks, not properly belong- 
ing to this variety. The degree of bitterness is, perhaps, the best criterion of their efficacy. 
Guibourt divides the red bark into two principal varieties, which he distinguishes by the 
names of quinquina rouge verruqueux,and quinquina rouge non verruqueux, from the presence 
or absence of the warts upon the outer surface. There is, however, no real distinction be- 
tween the varieties, as they possess the same virtues, and differ only in being derived from 
different parts of the same tree; the warty, it is asserted, being derived from the root and 
trunk, the non-warty from the branches. (Howard, Pharm. Journ., xvi. 210.) He describes 
also four other red barks; 1. Rouge orange verruqueux, differing from the true warty kind 
by its more orange colour, its very thin epidermis, its finer fibres, and the less thickness 
of the large barks; 2. Rouge blanchissant dVair, characterized by the whitening of its 
fracture in the air, and by its little bitterness; 3. Rouge de Lima, with a whitish epidermis, 
an ochreous reddish liber, and of excellent qualities (see Fine Gray Bark, p. 278); and 4. 
Rouge pale a, surf ace blanche, resembling the first of these varieties, but distinguishable by 
its whiter epidermis, and generally lighter colour. Under the same head may be ranked 
his quinquina de Jaen oude Loxa rougeatre, which has a dark-gray epidermis, and a uni- 
form fibrous proper bark, reddish or deep-brown, and of a very astringent taste with 
little bitterness. [Note to the second, fourth, ninth, and twelfth editions.) 
A specimen of bark in our possession, brought by Dr. Dillard, of the U. S. Navy, from 
the Pacific, and labelled red bark of Cuenca, bas a thick epidermis like that of the ordi- 
nary red bark, is of a very deep dark-red colour, and possesses little bitterness. 288 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
ceased to have any practical importance, the reader is referred to the article 
Cinchona, section Red Bark, in early editions of this work. It has been sup- 
posed that red bark may be derived from the same species with one or more of 
the pale barks, but taken from the larger branches of the trunk. This opinion 
received some support from a statement made by La Condamine, in his memoir 
upon cinchona. We are told by this author that three kinds of bark were known 
at Loxa; the white, the yellow, and the red. The white, so named from the 
colour of the epidermis, scarcely possessed any medicinal virtue, and was ob- 
tained from a tree entirely distinct from that which yielded the two other va- 
rieties The red was superior to the yellow; but he was assured, on the very best 
authority, that the trees producing them grew together, and were not distin- 
guishable by the eye. Of the three varieties mentioned by La Condamine, the 
white, which was probably one of the inferior barks with micaceous epidermis, 
does not reach us; and that which he calls yellow is probably identical with the 
pale variety of the Pharmacopoeias, as this grows abundantly about Loxa. At 
the date of the publication of the last edition of this work it had been rendered 
extremely probable by Mr. Howard, that the genuine red bark is derived from 
the trunk and larger branches of the Cinchona ovata, var. erythroderma of 
Weddell, growing on the western slopes of the mountains Assuay and Chimbo- 
razo, eastward of Guayaquil, in about 2° of south latitude. (Pharm. Journ., 
xvi. 207.) Since that period, this ascription has been found to be correct, though 
the variety referred to has been raised to the lignity of a species, C. succirubra, 
which is now generally admitted to be the source of the officinal red bark. 
Under this head maybe classed all the Cinchonabarks brought from the north- 
ern Atlantic ports of South America. In commerce, they are variously called 
Pitaya, Bogota, Carthagena, Maracaybo, and Santa Martha barks, according to 
the placein the vicinity of which they are collected,ortheparticularportat which 
they may be shipped. Formerly these barks were for the most part of inferior 
quality, and were therefore not recognised in the Pharmacopoeias; but the defi- 
cient supply and consequent high price of Calisaya have directed enterprise into 
other quarters; and within a few years large quantities of very good bark have 
been imported from New Granada, derived chiefly from the neighbourhood of 
Bogota and Popayan, and brought down the river Magdalena. Since the com- 
pletion of the railroad across the Isthmus of Panama, considerable quantities 
have been brought to us by that route, being shipped from the port of Buenaven- 
tura, on the Pacific coast. There can be little doubt that the commerce in these 
barks will continue and increase; as some of them are inferior in their yield of 
alkaloids only to the Calisaya, if even to that variety, and the region from which 
they are procured is almost virgin soil. It has appeared to us, from an exami- 
nation of such of them as have come under our notice, that they may all, at least 
with one exception, be referred without violence to some one or another of the 
varieties of Carthagena bark already recognised ; but these better kinds formerly 
seldom reached the market; because, partaking of the general reputation of the 
inferior barks from the same region, it was feared that they might not pay the 
cost of importation. Most of the Carthagena barks are characterized by a soft, 
whitish or yellowish-white epidermis, which may be easily scraped by the nail, 
and which, though often more or less completely removed, almost always leaves 
behind traces sufficient to indicate its character. Those of them which may, in 
other respects, bear some resemblance to Calisaya, are in general readily dis- 
tinguishable by this character of the epidermis when it remains, and, when it is 
wanting, by the peculiar appearance of the outer surface, showing that the ex- 
terior coating has been scraped off, or shaved off with a knife. They all contain 
the alkaloids in greater or less proportion, though they differ much in this re- 
spect. In reference to the relative proportion of the different alkaloids, they have 
nothing in common, except perhaps that they yield proportionably more cin- 
chonia. cinchonidia, andquinidia than the Calisaya, resembling, in this respect, 
Non-officinal or Carthagena Barks. ?ART i. 
Cinchona. 
289 
tbo pale and red barks. Inferior barks, with the soft, white epidermis, are found 
on the western coast of South America, where they are known as white barks; 
tut they seldom reach us. In the state of powder, the inferior Carthagena barks 
were formerly, and are still, to a certain extent, kept in the shops, and sold for 
tooth-powder, &c., under the name of common bark. They have not unfre- 
■juently been substituted, either fraudulently or by mistake, for the better kinds. 
The Carthagena barks were formerly classified, according to their colour, into 
the yellow, orange, red, and brown; but this mode of distinction must now be 
abandoned; for these varieties of colour may be found in barks identical in other 
respects, and derived from the same species of Cinchona. The well characterized 
Carthagena barks may all be referred to one of the three following varieties. 
1. Hard Carthagena Bark. Hard Yellow Carthagena Bark. Yellow Bark 
of Santa Fe. Common Yellow Carthagena Bark. — China /lava dura. Yon 
Bergen. — Quinquina de Cartliagene jaunepale. Guibourt. This is in pieces 
of various size and form, sometimes wholly or partially quilled, and sometimes 
fiat; and the fiat pieces present the appearance of having been warped in 
drying, being frequently curved longitudinally backward, and sometimes also 
in the transverse direction or spirally. The quills are from three to eight lines 
in diameter, from half a line to a line and a half thick, and from five to nine 
and rarely fifteen inches long. The flat pieces are thicker, from half an inch to 
two inches broad, and from four to eight and sometimes twelve inches in length. 
As found in this market, the bark is sometimes in small, irregularly square or 
oblong, flattish, and variously warped pieces, from one to four inches long, and 
from one to three lines in thickness, mixed with small quills or fragments ol 
quills; the former appearing as if chipped from the trunk or large branches, 
the latter evidently derived from the small branches. In this shape it was 
treated of in some former editions of this work, as a distinct variety, under the 
name of Santa Martha Bark, which it at one time held in the market; but a 
closer examination has convinced us that it is the same bark as the one above 
described, though collected in a different manner. The quills are generally more 
covered with the whitish epidermis than the flat pieces, in which it is often 
nearly or quite removed. The inner surface of the latter, though sometimes 
smooth, is often rough and splintery, as if forcibly separated from the wood. 
The colour of the proper bark is a pale, dull, brownish-yellow, darker in parcels 
which have been long kept; and the surface often appears as if rubbed over with 
powdered bark. The texture is rather firm and compact, and the fracture abrupt, 
without being smooth or presenting long splinters. The taste is bitter and nau- 
seous This variety of bark is now universally ascribed to C. cordifolia.* 
2. Fibrous Carthagena Bark. Fibrous Yellow Carthagena Bark. Spongy 
Carthagena Bark. Bogota Bark. Coquetta Bark. — Quinia naranjanda. 
Mutis.— Quinquina orange. Humboldt. — China fiava fibrosa. Yon Bergen. 
— Quinquina Carthagene spongieux. Guibourt. This is in quills or half-quills, 
or is slightly rolled ; and there are comparatively few pieces which are quite flat, 
even among the largest barks. The quills are from half an inch to an inch and 
a half in diameter, and of extremely variable length, with a'yellowisli-brown 
* We introduce, in the form of a note, more detailed and precise information on the 
subject of the Carthagena harks than our space allows in the text; because, in the present 
condition of the manufacture of the cinchona alkaloids, it is important to be able to dis- 
tinguish the several varieties, and estimate their value. 
Hard Carthagena Bark. The following is a somewhat precise description of this variety, 
taker, from Yon Bergen. The account of the dimensions and shape of the pieces, given in 
the text, is sufficiently particular. The epidermis is in many pieces partially or almost 
wholly wanting. The outer surface is on the whole rather smooth, though it usually ex- 
hibits a few faint longitudinal furrows and transverse fissures, and pieces are occasionally 
Found with hard warts or protuberances. In the flat pieces, the epidermis, when present, 
has somewhat the consistence of cork, and is composed of several layers. The colour of 
the epidermis varies from yellowish-white to ash-gray, and is sometimes diversified by 
bluish-gray or blackish lichens. When it is wanting, the colour is between a dark cinna- 
mon and hrownisli-yellow. These shades, however, are seldom clear, and the flat pieces 
have usually a somewhat dusty aspect. The inner surface of the quills is tolerably uniform, 290 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
epidermis, often covered with crustaeeous lichens so as to render the surface of 
the bark whitish and smooth, and exhibiting not unfrequently longitudinal and 
transverse fissures. The larger barks, which are much the most frequent in com- 
merce, are usually from six to twelve inches long, from one to two inches broad, 
and from two to five lines in thickness; but they often vary much from these 
dimensions, being sometimes in the smallest fragments, and sometimes forming 
semi-cylinders four or five inches in diameter, a foot and a half long, and nine 
lines thick. They are usually without epidermis, which has been scraped off, 
or pared off with a knife, leaving the surface smooth and uniform in the former 
case, and somewhat angular in the latter. Sometimes, however, the epidermis 
either partially or wholly remains, when it generally exhibits the soft whitish 
surface characteristic of most of the Carthagena barks. The bark is very 
fibrous, presenting generally, when broken, long, sometimes stringy splinters, 
though the outer edge of the fracture is occasionally short from the cellular, or 
remains of the suberous coat. Its texture is loose, soft, and spongy under the 
teeth, and the bark itself is usually light. The colour both of the trimmed 
outer surface, and the inner, and of the bark itself, varies from an ochreous or 
light brownish-yellow, to orange, and red; but, for the most part, it presents 
more or less of the orange tint, which induced Mutis to give it the title of 
orange bark. The red colour is found especially in the largest barks. The 
larger pieces are sometimes marked on the outside with a deep spiral impres- 
sion, produced probably by a climbing plant winding around the stem of the 
tree. The colour of the powder is yellowish, with not unfrequently an orange 
tint. The taste is more or less bitter; but varies in this respect extremely; 
some barks being almost insipid, while others have a very decided taste. There 
can be little doubt that these barks are all derived from the Cinchona lancifolia 
of Mutis. It is asserted that the red variety of the bark is obtained from trees 
which grow side by side with those which yield the yellow or orange. 
The productiveness of the fibrous bark in alkaloids varies greatly in the dif- 
ferent specimens. Thus, while some have scarcely yielded any product, others 
have been found to afford more than three per cent. They probably contain all 
the cinchona alkaloids; but some have been found more abundant in one, and 
others in another Thus, the red is said to be especially rich in quinidia (cin- 
chonidia) ; a Pitaya bark, which we believe to belong to the fibrous Cartha- 
gena, has yielded a very large product of quinia; while, in not a few specimens 
which have been examined, the cinehonia predominates. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxv. 308.) It is probable that the richness in these principles depends 
in some degree on the natural position of the plants; those growing in low 
situations being less productive than those higher on the mountains.* 
A specimen labelled yellow bark of Loxa, brought from South America 
several years since by I)r. Dillard, of the U. S. Navy, and said to be used in 
Loxa for making extract of bark, presents characters closely analogous to those 
of fibrous Carthagena bark, sufficiently so to justify the supposition that it was 
derived from the same species of Cinchona; and we have seen a specimen sent 
that of the flat pieces uneven or faintly furrowed and even splintery, the points of the 
splinters often projecting. Its colour, which is almost always dull, as if the surface were 
dusty, varies between a light cinnamon and a dull ochre-yellow, and in some pieces is 
rusty-brown, or fawn-gray, or even whitish-yellow. The bark does not readily break in 
the longitudinal direction. The transverse fracture presents short splinters, and is some- 
times fibrous. When cut transversely, the bark obscurely exhibits a very small darker- 
coloured resinous layer beneath the epidermis. The odour is feeble, the taste astringent 
and bitter, but not strongly so. The powder is of the colour of cinnamon. This bark 
yielded, according to Von Bergen, on an average of two experiments, 0 57 per cent, ol 
cinehonia, and of sulphate of quinia. Goebel and Kirst found in a pound 56 grains 
of quinia and 43 of cinehonia. Dr. Pereira states that it contains quinidia (cinchonidia). 
* Karsten states that the bark of C. lancifolia, which on the average yields 2-5 per cent, 
of sulphate of quinia and from 1-0 to 1-5 per cent, of sulphate of cinehonia, often yields 
neither, and sometimes 4-5 per cent, of the two. The bark of the young branches yields 
much less than that of the trunk. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 534.) PART i. 
Cinchona. 
291 
hither from Guayaquil, which has the same character, and is so rich in alka- 
loids as to be worked with advantage.* 
* Fibrous Carthagena Bark. The following is an abbreviation of Von Bergen’s descrip- 
tion of this variety. In shape and dimensions, it does not materially differ from the pre- 
ceding; but the flatter pieces are almost always a little rolled, or curved laterally. The 
epidermis is in general either in part or wholly rubbed off. When it is present, the outer 
surface is nearly smooth, only marked here and there with faint irregular transverse fis- 
sures and longitudinal furrows. Its colour varies from a dirty-whitish gray to yellowish, 
but is sometimes more or less dark. When the outer surface is rubbed off, as is almost 
always the case in the flat pieces, the colour is nearly pure ochre-yellow. Where the whole 
thickness of the outer coat is wanting, as happens here and there in spots, the surface is 
dark-cinnamon, or dark ochre-yellow, and commonly dull or powdery. The inner surface is 
usually even, but sometimes irregular and splintery, and always harsh to the fingers, leav- 
ing small splinters sticking in the skin when drawn over it. It is of a nearly pure ochre- 
vellow colour, and is very powdery. The fracture distinguishes this variety from the pre- 
ceding, and from all othei’s. The longitudinal fracture is strikingly fibrous, and in the flat 
pieces the fragments still hang together by connecting fibres. The bark, moreover, breaks 
obliquely, and the fracture even of the outer coat, which in other varieties is almost 
always smooth, is here uneven or rough-grained. The transverse fracture exhibits very 
long and thin splinters or fibres, which are very flexible, and may almost be said to be 
soft. No traces of a resinous appearance are observable in the fracture. The odour is fee- 
ble, the taste at first woody and flat, afterwards slightly bitter and astringent, and weaker 
in this than in any other variety of bark. The colour of the powder is intermediate be- 
tween that of cinnamon and yellow ochre. The highest product of this bark in alkaloids 
was about 0-59 per cent, of cinchonia, and 0-52 of sulphate of quinia. 
The iibove description does not embrace all the varieties of this bark which have since 
been introduced into commerce: nor does it by any means represent the finest specimens. 
The highly fibrous character of the bark,its looseness of texture, relative lightness, and spongi- 
ness under the teeth, are properties common to all the specimens; hut in appearance and 
virtues they vary considerably; so much so, indeed, that it is only of late that they have 
been united under one name, and traced to one source. 
In the edition of this work of 1843, we described a kind of bark of which large quan- 
tities had then recently been imported in a vessel from Maracaybo, and which, from its 
possession in a high degree of the properties just referred to, we were disposed to rank 
with this variety ; and subsequent observation has tended to prove the correctness of this 
reference. In general aspect it bore some resemblance to the flat Calisaya, particularly 
in the appearance of its inner surface ; but it differed in being thicker, less hard, com- 
pact, and heavy, and much more fibrous, and especially in the character of its outer sur- 
face, which had the appearance as though the exterior coating had been removed by 
scraping or cutting with a knife, and not spontaneously separated at the natural junc- 
ture, as in the Calisaya. The pieces were considerably larger than those we had previ- 
ously seen of the fibrous Carthagena, and differed somewhat in colour, having much more 
of the orange tint, especially in the outer portion, where it was decidedly reddish in some 
of the pieces. Though less bitter than the Calisaya, and without the property of precipi- 
tating sulphate of soda, it nevertheless had a decided bitterness ; and its infusion afforded 
a copious precipitate with infusion of galls, indicating the presence of no inconsiderable 
portion of the alkaline principles. 
Recently we have had opportunities, through the kindness of Messrs. Powers & Weight 
man, of examining several varieties of the fibrous bark brought from Bogota and Popa- 
yan, which have proved of great value as sources of the cinchona alkaloids, and which 
we propose briefly to describe, in connection with a statement, derived from the same 
highly respectable source, of their yield of these valuable principles. 
Bogota Bark. Fusagasuga Bark. Coquetta Bark. The first of these names is derived from 
the entrepot of the trade in this bark; the second, from the particular district where it is 
collected. Of the origin of the third, by which it is known in English commerce, we are 
not informed. The bark is in pieces of various lengths, often exceeding a foot, sometimes 
nearly flat,, but generally .more or less rolled, and occasionally forming semi-cylinders 
more than an inch in diameter. It is often either partially or wholly covered with the 
whitish, soft, micaceous epidermis characteristic of Carthagena barks. In other instances 
this has been removed by scraping, or sometimes by chipping, and the deep strokes of the 
knife or hatchet are not unfrequently observable. The pieces are often of considerable 
thickness, usually rather firm, though very fibrous, and spongy under the teeth. The 
colour is brownish-yellow with a tinge of red. Mr. Weightman obtained from it from 1 to 
T3 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and from 0 3 to 0-4 per cent, of sulphate of cinchonia. 
An inferior variety of Bogota bark, not designated as Fusagasuga, yielded him only 0-4 
of sulphate of quinia. In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 308) is a statement of results 
obtained in the examination of the Bogota (Fusagasuga) bark, which were, on the aver- 
age of four specimens, 0-95 per cent, of cinchonia or quinidia or both, 1-45 of sulphate 
of quinia (equivalent to about 1-09 of the uncombined alkaloid), and l-0of extractive 292 
Cinchona. 
rART f 
3 Hard Pitaya Bark.—Pitaya Condaminea Bark. Pereira. — Quinquina 
brun de Garth,ayene. Quinquina Pitaya, ou de la Colombia, ou d'Antioquia. 
Guibourt. This bark, though seen by Guibourt so long since as 1830, has come 
into general notice only within the last ten or twelve years. Much of it has been 
imported into Philadelphia, coming sometimes through Carthagena, and some- 
times over the Isthmus of Panama, whither it is brought from Buenaventura. 
The following description is drawn from an examination of the bark contained 
in several seroons that have come under our notice. It is in small irregular 
pieces, from less than an inch to about four inches long, which are obviously 
the fragments of larger pieces both quilled and flat. Dr. Pereira states that he 
had pieces more than a foot in length. In thickness it varies from less than a 
line to four or five lines. Most of the fragments are covered with the whitish, 
soft epidermis, characteristic of the Carthagena barks; but some of them have 
a dark-brown epidermis, rugose with innumerable cracks in all directions; and 
others are partially or wholly destitute of the outer covering, presenting gene- 
rally, in the denuded part, a dark uniform or somewhat wrinkled surface. The 
inner surface is finely and compactly fibrous, and of a dull yellowish-brown 
colour with a reddish tinge; and the whole of the liber or true bark has the 
same colour and texture. But outside of the liber there is in many pieces a very 
distinct resinous layer, which is sometimes of considerable thickness, and, when 
cut across by a knife, exhibits a dark reddish-brown, shining surface. The re- 
sinous layer is the most striking peculiarity of the bark, though not present in 
all of the pieces, which sometimes consist of the liber alone. The fracture is 
towards the interior shortly fibrous, towards the exterior often smooth, in con- 
sequence of the layer just referred to. The whole bark is rather hard, compact, 
and heavy; differing in this respect very decidedly from the last mentioned va- 
riety. It has more resemblance to the bard Carthagena, from which, however, 
it differs by its deeper and redder colour, its much more developed resinous 
coat, and its occasional grater-like epidermis. The taste is very bitter, and the 
yield in alkaloids considerable. Mr. Weightman informed us that he had ob- 
tained from it an average product of 16 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 
0‘34 of sulphate of cinchonia, independently of the amorphous or uncrystal- 
lizable alkaline matter. It must, therefore, be ranked among the efficient ba^ks, 
residue, which is presumed to consist mainly of amorphous quinia ; so that the whole ol 
the alkaline ingredients amounted to about 3-04 per cent. 
Soft Pitaya Bark. Calisaya of New Granada (Delondre and Bouchardat,Qmno\ogie,i). 33). 
This, though said to he brought from the Pitaya mountain near Popayan, is wholly differ- 
ent from the hard Pitaya described in the text as one of the varieties of Carthagena bark. 
It is imported from Carthagena, whither it is brought down the Magdalena river, and 
from the Pacific port of Buenaventura, whence it is sent to us by the Isthmus of Panama. 
From the specimens we have seen of the soft Pitaya, we have no hesitation in classing it 
with the fibrous Carthagena barks, though superior to the others, probably in consequence 
of the more elevated site of its growth. It comes broken up into small irregular fragments 
of larger pieces, either quilled, partially rolled or flat. Few of the fragments exceed four 
inches in length, and many are very minute. Indeed, in some of the seroons, much of 
their contents seem to be almost in the state of a very coarse powder. This condition of 
the hark no doubt depends partly on its great fragility ; hut it is probable that it is pur- 
posely broken up for the convenience of close package in the hide seroons. The fragments 
are almost all destitute of epidermis, but when portions of it remain, it has the usual 
whitish, soft, micaceous character, common to all these barks. The outer surface, which 
consists of a thin sub-epidermic suberous layer, is remarkably uniform and smooth, ap- 
parently from the careful scraping to which it has been subjected. By for the greater part 
of the bark consists of the liber, which is highly fibrous, though very soft, easily broken, 
and yielding with great facility under the teeth. The colour is externally and internally 
ft uniform fine brownish-yellow, with an orange tint, and is brighter than in most others 
of the analogous barks. The taste is very bitter. Mr. Weigh tman obtained from ordinary 
specimens of this bark 2-0 per cent, of sulphate of quinia, and 0 05 of sulphate of cineho- 
nia; from a very fine specimen, 3 0 per cent, of the former, and but a trace of the latter. 
It is, therefore, one of the most valuable varieties of bark, scarcely yielding in produc- 
tiveness to Calisaya. The results stated in tbe Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 308) even ex- 
ceed these. The average yield of four different specimens, including the uncrystallizable 
product, was 4-42 of alkaloids, probably in the state of sulphates, and, without the un- 
crystallizable matter, about 3 4 per cent. (Note to the tenth and eleventh editions.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
293 
though not so productive as the fine variety of fibrous bark denominated soft 
Pitaya. It contains also a large proportion of resin. 
This bark comes from the mountain of Pitaya near Popayan, and the partic- 
ular srroons examined by ourselves were said to have been brought down the 
Magdalena river from the town of Honda. It is referred by Dr. Pereira and Mr. 
Howard to the Cinchona Gondaminea, var. Pitayensis of Weddell, of which 
that author has more recently made a distinct species, under the name of Giro- 
chona Pitayensis. (Ann. des Sci. Nat., May, 1849.)* 
False Barks. 
Before dismissing the subject of the varieties of cinchona, it is proper to ob- 
serve that numerous barks have at various times been introduced into the mar- 
ket, and sold as closely resembling or identical with the febrifuge of Peru, which 
experience has proved to dilfer from it materially, both in chemical composition 
and medical virtues. These barks are generally procured from trees formerly 
ranked among the Cinchonas, but now arranged in other genera They are dis- 
tinguished from the true Peruvian bark by the absence of its peculiar alkaloids. 
Among them are 1. a bark known to the French pharmaceutists by the name of 
quinquina nova or new bark, which, though at one time thought to be possessed 
of some virtues,has been proved to be worthless,and was ascertained by Guibourt 
to be the produce of the C. oblongifolia of Mutis, now ranked in Weddell’s genus 
Cascarillajf 2. the Garibwanbark, from Exostemma Caribaea ; 3. the St. Lucia 
* Hard Pita,ya Bark. The following is Guibourt’s description of this bark. “ In the young 
barks,the crust is fine, whitish externally, fissured,almost like the young red Lima barks. In 
the large barks, and in the parts not worn by rubbing, the crust is always whitish exteriorly, 
but interiorly it is rust-coloured and fungous. The liber presents a very fine fibrous tex- 
ture, joined to a considerable density and hardness; the internal surface is smooth and red- 
dish ; its taste is very bitter and disagreeable, and its watery infusion strongly precipitates 
with sulphate of soda. It yields largely of the alkalies, butproportionably morecinchonia 
than quinia.” Guibourtobtained 2-3 per cent, of cinchonia, and lT5of sulphateof quinia; 
or about 3T6 per cent, of pure alkaloids. (Hist. Nat. des Drogues, 3ume ed., iii. 141.) 
Under the title of Pitaya-Condaminea Bark, Pereira describes this variety as follows. 
“ Bark consisting of single or double quills, or half-rolled pieces. I have specimens which 
are more than a foot in length. Some samples, however, which I have received, consist of 
pieces not more than two or three inches in length, sometimes entirely, at others only par- 
tially coated; the partially coated pieces consist of the suberous and cellular coats and 
liber. Epidermis, when present, dark-brown, frequently coated by crustaceous lichens, 
marked by numerous, closely set, transverse cracks,with prominent or slightly everted bor- 
ders, which give the bark a grater-like feel; and bere and there presenting round or oval 
warts, or fungoid rusty tubercles, varying in size from a grain of wheat to a seed of cotfee, 
and usually marked like the latter with a longitudinal, sometimes also with a transverse 
fissure. The suberous coat in some pieces much developed, spongy or fungous, fawn-yellow, 
sometimes brown in the interior, and yellow externally and internally. Resinous tissue on 
the inside of the suberous coat, from which it is definitely separated, shining, of a dark- 
reddish colour. Liber gradually passing into the resinous coat, hard, dense, dark, reddish- 
brown : cortical fibres small and short. Pitaya-Condaminea bark is firm and heavy, and has 
a very bitter, rather disagreeable taste, which is slowly developed.” It contains cinchonia, 
quinidia (cinchonidia), and quinia. (Mat. Med., 3ded., p. 1643.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
j- This was formerly called redCarthagena bark, but must not be confounded with the 
genuine red Carthagena bark, which belongs to the fibrous Carthagena, already noticed. 
As described by Guibourt, it is in pieces a foot or more long, rolled when small, open or 
nearly flat when larger, in general perfectly cylindrical, with a whitish, thin, uniform epi- 
dermis, showing scarcely any fungi, and but a few transverse fissures, which are some- 
times quite wanting; one to three lines thick without the epidermis ; of a pale carnation, 
becoming deeper in the air, especially upon the outer surface, which, when destitute of 
epidermis, is always reddish-brown ; of a fracture which is foliaceous in the outer part, 
andshort-fibrousin the inner; and exhibiting under the micro-scope, between its fibres, ana 
especially between the laminae, a great abundance of two granular matters, of which one 
is red and the other whitish. In some pieces the fracture exhibits, nearer the external than 
the internal surface, a yellow, transparent, resinous or gummy exudation. The taste is flat 
and astringent like that of tan, the odour feeble, between that of tan and of the pale barks. 
The powder is decidedly red. It contains neither quinia nor cinchonia. Its most interesting 
constituents are a peculiar tannic acid, kinicacid, kinovic acid discovered by Winckler, and 
a peculiar red colouring matter called kinovic red. (Hlasiwetz, Chem. Gaz., ix. 421 and 441.) 294 
Cinchona. 
PAET I. 
bark, or quinquina piton of the French, derived from Exostemma floribunda; 
and 4 a bark of uncertain botanical origin, called in France quinquina bicolore, 
and in Italy china bicolorata, and sometimes erroneously named Pitaya bark. 
Of these the last only is known in this country. A considerable quantity of it 
was some time since imported into New Orleans, whence a portion reached this 
city. The specimen in our possession is in quills, for the most part singly, but in 
some instances doubly rolled, from eight or ten inches to more than two feet 
in length, and from a quarter of an inch to an inch or more in diameter. The 
outer surface is of a dull grayish-olive colour,with numerous large oval or irregu- 
lar spots, much lighter coloured, sometimes even whitish and slightly depressed 
beneath the general surface, as if a layer of the epidermis had fallen off within 
their limits. It is to this appearance that the bark owes the name of bicolorata. 
The colour of the internal surface is deep-brown or almost blackish; that of the 
fresh fracture, brownish-red. The bark is hard, compact, and thin, seldom as 
much as a line thick, and breaks with a short rough fracture. It is inodorous, and 
has a very bitter taste, not unlike that of some of the inferior kinds of cinchona.* 
The inner bark of an India species of Hymenodictyon, formerly considered 
as a Cinchona, and named C. excelsa, has been supposed to possess properties 
analogous to those of genuine cinchona. It has been chemically examined by 
Mr. Broughton, who succeeded in obtaining from itapure crystalline principle, 
ascertained to be identical with sesculin, the characteristic principle of JEsculus 
Hippocastanum, or common horsechestnut. He could find no trace of anv of 
the cinchona alkaloids. (Pharm. J.and Trans , March, 1868, p. 418.) 
Chemical History. 
In the analysis of Peruvian bark, the attention of chemists was at first di- 
rected exclusively to the action of water and alcohol upon it, and to the deter- 
mination of the relative proportions of its gummy or extractive and resinous 
matter. The presence of tannin and of various alkaline or earthy salts in minute 
quantities was afterwards demonstrated. Fourcroy made an elaborate analysis, 
which proved the existence of other principles in the bark besides those previ- 
ously ascertained. Dr. Westring was the first who attempted the discovery of 
an active principle in the bark, on which its febrifuge virtues might depend ; but 
he was not successful. Seguin afterwards pursued the same track, and endeav- 
•oured, by observing the effects of various reagents, to discover the relative value 
of different varieties of the drug; but his conclusions have not been supported 
by subsequent experiment. M.Deschamps, an apothecary of Lyons,obtained from 
bark a crystallizable salt of lime, the acid of which Vauqueliu afterwards sepa- 
rated, and called kinic acid. The latter chemist also pushed to a much further 
extent the researches of Seguin as to the influence of reagents, and arrived at 
the conclusion that those barks were most efficient which gave precipitates with 
tannin or the infusion of galls. Reuss, of Moscow, succeeded in isolating a pecu- 
liar colouring matter from red bark, which he designated by the name of cincho- 
nic red, and obtained a bitter substance which probably consisted in part of the 
peculiar alkaline principles subsequently discovered. The first step, however, 
towards the discovery of cinchonia and quinia appears to have been taken by the 
late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, so early as 1803. He believed the precipitate, 
afforded by the infusion of cinchona with that of galls, to be a peculiar vegetable 
principle, and accordingly denominated it cinchonine. Dr. Gomez, a Portuguese 
physician, convinced that the active principle of bark resided in this cinchonine, 
but mixed with impurities, instituted experiments upon some pale bark, which 
* In previous editions of this work, it was stated that this hark had been employed in 
Italy successfully in intermittents; and that Folchi and Peretti had discovered in it a new 
alkaloid, which they namedpitayna. But there is reason to believe that this was a mistake, 
caused by the confused use of the name Pitaya bark; and that the bark employed in Italy, 
and analyzed by the chemists mentioned, was that described as hard pitaya in a preceding 
page. It is conjectured that the alkaloid pitayna may have been either quinidia or cin- 
thonidia, or a mixture of the two. (Note to the tenth and eleventh editions.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
295 
resulted in the separation of a white crystalline substance, considered by him to 
be the pure cinchonine of Dr. Duncan. It was obtained by the action of potassa 
upon an aqueous infusion of the alcoholic extract of the bark, and was undoubt- 
edly the principle now universally known by the name of cinchonine or cin- 
chonia. But Dr. Gomez was ignorant of its precise nature, considering it to be 
analogous to resin. M. Laubert afterwards obtained the same principle by a dif- 
ferent process, and described it under the name of white matter, or pure white 
resin. To Pelletier and Caventou was reserved the honour of crowning all these 
experiments, and applying the results which they obtained to important practical 
purposes. In 1820, they demonstrated the alkaline character of the principle dis- 
covered by Gomez and Laubert, and gave it definitively the name of cinchonine. 
They discovered in the yellow or Calisaya bark another alkaline principle, which 
they denominated quinine. Both these bases they proved to exist in the barks, 
combined with kinic acid, in the state of kinate of cinchonine and of qui- 
nine. It was, moreover, established by their labours that the febrifuge property 
of bark depends upon the presence of these two principles. In 1833, MM. O. 
Henry and Delondre discovered a new alkaloid, but afterwards, finding its com- 
position in its anhydrous state the same as that of quinia, concluded that it was 
a hydrate of that base. About 1844, Winckler announced anew the existence of 
the same principle, which he considered distinct, and named chinidine; and, 
under the similar title of quinidine, it is now generally admitted to a place among 
the cinchona alkaloids. In 1853, M Pasteur found that what had been considered 
as quinidine consisted in fact of two alkaloids, for one of which he retained the 
name of quinidine, and called the other cinchonidine; and, on pushing his inves- 
tigations further, he ascertained that no less than six alkaloids may be obtained 
from different varieties of Peruvian bark; namely quinine and quinidine isome- 
ric with each other, cinchonine and cinchonidine also isomeric, and two others, 
derivatives from the preceding through the agency of heat, viz., quinicine from 
quinine, and cinchonicine from cinchonine, each being isomeric with the alka- 
loid from which it is derived. As the termination a or ia has been generally 
adopted by American and English chemists to distinguish the organic alkaloids 
from other organic proximate principles, the names of which terminate in in or 
ine, the terms quinine and cinchonine of the Erench writers have been changed 
with us into quinia and cinchonia. On the same principle, quinidine, quinicine, 
cinchonidine, and cinchonicine should be called respectively quinidia, quini- 
cia, cinchonidia, and cinchonicia. This method of designating the vegetable 
alkaloids is uniformly followed in the present work.* 
It has before been stated, on more than one occasion, that the three officinal 
varieties of bark are distinguished by peculiarities of composition. We give 
the result of the analysis of each variety, as obtained by Pelletier and Caven- 
tou. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 70, 89, 92.) 
Pale bark of Loxa contains, 1. a fatty matter; 2. an insoluble red colouring 
* Keference has been made in a note to the discovery, by Pelletier and Coriol, of an 
alkaloid called aricina in the Arica or Cusco bark. It was obtained by the same process 
as that employed in the extraction of quinia from yellow bark. It is white, crystalliz- 
able, and distinguisable from cinchonia, which it in many respects resembles, by exhibit- 
ing a green colour under the action of nitric acid, and by the property, possessed by its 
sulphate, of forming a tremulous jelly when a saturated boiling solution of the salt is al- 
lowed to cool. Manzini obtained from Jaen bark an alkaline substance which he sup- 
posed to be peculiar, and named cinchovatin ; but the same bad been obtained by Bouchar- 
dat, and considered by him, as well as by Pelletier, to be identical with aricina ; and 
Winckler, having extracted a portion from the bark, and examined it with great care, 
comcided in this conclusion. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 95 et 313; Central Blatt, 
A D. 1844, p. 126.) Much doubt, however, exists on the subject of this supposed alkaloid, 
and by Mr. Howard it is thought most probably to have been quinidia. 
Besides the alkaloids mentioned in the text, the claims of which as characteristic con- 
stituents of Peruvian bark are admitted, and besides the aricina of Pelletier, there are 
others, the discovery of which has been from time to time announced, hut of which the 
pretensions to this rank have not been so satisfactorily determined. Of these mention 
will be made in notes, as the opportunity otfers; our limits not permitting that they 
should be introduced into the text of the work. 296 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
matter ; 3. a yellow colouring matter; 4. tannin, or soluble red colouring mat- 
ter; 5. gum ; 6. starch ; 7. lignin; 8. kinate of lime ; 9. Jcinate of cinchonia, 
with a very minute proportion of kinate of quinia. 
Yellow Calisaya bark contains the fatty matter, the cinchonic red, the yel- 
low colouring matter, tannin, starch, lignin, kinate of lime, and kinate of qui- 
nia, with a comparatively small proportion of kinate of cinchonia. 
Red bark contains the fatty matter, a large quantity of the cinchonic red, 
the yellow colouring matter, tannin, starch, lignin, kinate of lime, and a large 
proportion both of kinate of quinia and of kinate of cinchonia. 
Garthagena bark generally contains the same ingredients with the red 
bark, but in different proportions. It has less of the alkaline matter, which it 
also yields with much greater difficulty to water, in consequence of the abun- 
dance of insoluble cinchonic red which it contains, and which either involves 
the salts of quinia and cinchonia so as to prevent the full contact of water, or 
retains these alkaloids in combination. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 105.) 
Besides quinia and cinchonia, there can be little doubt that two other alka- 
loids, quinidia and cinchonidia as they are denominated in this wrork, exist in 
Peruvian bark; and it is highly probable that, though found most abundantly 
in the pale, and some of the Garthagena barks, they are contained at least 
occasionally, to a greater or less extent, in all; while two others quinicia and 
cinchonicia, if they do not pre-exist in the barks, result from the processes 
employed in the separation of the alkaloids just mentioned. 
Another bitter principle was extracted from Calisaya bark by Winckler. He 
named it kinovic bitter ; but, having been supposed to possess acid properties, 
it was afterwards denominated kinovic acid,. It is thought to exist in the bark 
in a free state (Schwartz, Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1852, p. 194), as well as com- 
bined with one or more of the alkaloids. The nauseous taste of some of the 
barks has been ascribed to this principle. 
By the experiments of Henry jun. and Plisson, it may be considered as 
established, that the alkaloids of the different varieties of bark are combined 
at the same time with kinic acid, and with one or more of the colouring mat- 
ters, which, in relation to these substances, appear to act the part of acids. 
This idea was originally suggested by Robiquet. (Journ. de Pharm , xii. 282, 
369.) The compounds of quinia, cinchonia, &c. with the colouring matter, are 
scarcely soluble in water, while their kinates are very soluble. 
From these statements it appears that the three officinal varieties of bark 
differ little except in the proportion of their constituents. All contain quinia 
and cinchonia; the yellow bark most of the first, the pale of the second, and 
the red a considerable quantity of both. All probably contain, occasionally at 
least, the other characteristic alkaloids. Gum was found in the pale, but not 
in the red or yellow. Kinovic bitter, though first discovered in the yellow, 
probably exists in others. 
The odour of bark appears to depend on a volatile oil, which Fabroni and 
Trommsdorf obtained by distillation with water. The oil floated on the sur- 
face of the water, was of a thick consistence, and had a bitterish, acrid taste, 
with the odour of bark.* 
The fatty matter, which was first obtained pure by M. Laubert, is of a 
greenish colour as obtained from the pale bark, orange-yellow from the yellow. 
It is insoluble in water, soluble in boiling alcohol, which deposits a part of it 
on cooling, very soluble in ether even cold, and saponifiable with the alkalies. 
The cinchonic red of lleuss, the insoluble red colouring matter of Pelletier 
* A very careful chemical examination of several varieties of Peruvian hark has been 
made by Dr. E. Reichardt, the results of which are given in a paper, which received a 
f>rize from the Philosophical Society of Jena. The following are the constituents of the 
barks examined. 1. Oi'ganic constituents; quinia, cinchonia, ammonia, kinic acid, kinovic 
acid, cincho-tannic acid, oxalic acid, sugar, wax, cinchonic red, humic acid, and cellulose. 
2. Inorganic constituents; chloride of potassium, carbonates of potassa, magnesia, and lime, 
phosphates of lime, alumina, and iron, silicate of lime, sulphate of lime, and oxide of 
manganese. (Chem. Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Sept. 12,1855, p. 637.)—Note to the eleventh editiort- PART i. 
Cinchona. 
297 
and Caventou, is reddish-brown, insipid, inodorous, largely soluble in alcohol 
especially when hot, and almost insoluble in ether or water, though the latter 
dissolves a little at the boiling temperature. The acids promote its solubility 
in water. It precipitates tartar emetic, but not gelatin; but if treated with a 
cold solution of potassa or soda, or by ammonia, lime, or baryta, with heat, 
and then precipitated by an acid, it acquires the property of forming an inso- 
luble compound with gelatin, and seems to be converted into tannin. It is pre- 
cipitated by subacetate of lead. It is most abundant in the red bark, and least 
so in the pale. Berzelius supposed it to be formed from tannin by the action 
of the air. According to Schwartz, it results from the absorption by the tannin 
of three eqs. of oxygen, and the elimination of two eqs. of carbonic acid and one 
eq. of water. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, 1852, p. 194.) There is reason to believe 
that it is also produced by changes in the alkaloids under the influence of light. 
The yellow colouring matter has little taste, is soluble in water, alcohol, and 
ether, precipitates neither gelatin nor tartar emetic, and is itself precipitated 
by subaeetate of lead. 
The tannic acid, tannin, cincho-tannic acid, or soluble red colouring matter 
of Pelletier and Caventou, has been considered as possessing all the proper- 
ties which characterize the proximate vegetable principles associated together 
under the name of tannic acid. It has a brownish-red colour and austere taste, 
is soluble in water and alcohol, combines with metallic oxides, and produces 
precipitates with the salts of iron, which vary in colour according to the va- 
riety of bark, being deep-green with the pale bark, blackish-brown with the 
yellow, and reddish-brown with the red. It also forms white precipitates with 
tartar emetic and gelatin, and readily combines with atmospheric oxygen, be- 
coming insoluble. It must, however, differ materially from the tannic acid of 
galls, which could not exist in aqueous solutions containing cinchonia and 
quinia without forming insoluble compounds with them. 
But the most interesting and important constituents of Peruvian bark are 
the alkaline and active principles quinia, cinchonia, &c., and thekinicand kinovic 
acids, with the former of which the latter principles are combined. In relation 
to these, therefore, we shall be more minute in our details. 
Quinia. As usually prepared, quinia is whitish, rather flocculent, and not 
crystalline; but it may with care be crystallized from its alcoholic solution in 
silky needles; and Liebig obtained it from a somewhat ammoniacal watery 
solution in the same form. It is inodorous and very bitter. At about 300° F. 
it melts without chemical change, and on cooling becomes brittle. By carefully 
regulated heat, it may be sublimed unchanged, assuming a crystalline form. 
(Waddington, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., March, 1868, p. 413 ) It is soluble 
in about 400 parts of cold and 250 of boiling water, is very soluble in alcohol 
and ether, and dissolved by the fixed and volatile oils. The alcoholic solution 
is intensely bitter. Quinia is unalterable in the air. It forms salts with the 
acids which readily crystallize. The tannate, tartrate, and oxalate are said to 
be insoluble or nearly so, but are dissolved by an excess of acid. The acetate, 
according to Prof. J.M. Maisch, is so slightly soluble that it is precipitated from 
a solution of the sulphate by the acetates of magnesia and the alkalies. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm , xxx 38(5.) When recently precipitated quinia, diffused in 
water, is exposed to the action of a stream of carbonic acid gas, the quinia is dis- 
solved ; and, if the solution be exposed, acicular crystals of carbonate of quinia 
are deposited, which effloresce in the air, are soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in 
ether, have an alkaline reaction, and effervesce with acids. After the deposition 
of the crystals has ceased, the solution yields quinia on evaporation. (Langlois, 
Comptes Pendus, Nov. 7, 1853, p. 727.) Freshly precipitated quinia is scarcely 
soluble to an appreciable extent in an excess of potassa, but is more readily dis- 
solved by ammonia. (Wadgymar, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept, 1866, p. 451.1 
Quinia and its salts may be distinguished from all other vegetable alkalies 
and their salts, excepting only quinidia, by the beautiful emerald-green colour 
which results, when their solution is treated first with solution of chlorine and 298 
Cinchona. 
PART L 
then with ammonia, and which changes to a white or violet upon saturation 
with a dilute acid The least quantity of quinia may be detected by powder- 
ing the substance supposed to contain it, then shaking it with ether, and adding 
successively the tests just mentioned. Its salts are precipitated by the bichlo- 
rides of mercury and platinum, and of a buff colour by the terchloride of gold. 
In relation to the property, possessed by quinia, of imparting fluorescence to 
its watery solution, which is possessed also, though in less degree, by other 
cinchona alkaloids, there will be occasion to speak under Sulphate of Quinia, 
in Part II. of this work; in connection with the singular discovery, by Dr. 
Bence Jones, of London, of a substance normally present in the animal system 
having analogous properties, and therefore named by him “animal quinoidinef 
The composition of quinia is differently given. According to Liebig, it con- 
sists of twenty eqs. of carbon, twelve of hydrogen, one of nitrogen, and two of 
oxygen (C20H12N(J2), and its combining number is 162. This formula is based 
on the supposition that, of the two salts which quinia forms with most acids, 
the one containing the smallest proportion of acid is a di-salt, consisting of two 
eqs. of base and one of acid, and the other neutral, consisting of one eq. of each. 
Another view is, that the first of these salts is neutral, and the second a bi-salt; 
and, if this be admitted, the above combining number must be doubled. Upon 
the latter supposition, the formula, according to Laurent, is C38II22N204 and the 
combining number 310; according to Regnault and Strecker, the former is 
C40H24N2O4 and the latter 324, being just double the number of Liebig, and 
probably correct, at least so far as concerns the relative proportion of the seve- 
ral ingredients.* 
There is reason to believe that quinia may become uncrystallizable without 
change of composition, and impart to its salts the same uncrystallizable char- 
acter. In this state it is called amorphous quinia. This is always among the 
substances left in the mother-waters after the crystallization of sulphate of 
quinia, in its preparation from Calisaya bark. More will be said of this under 
sulphate of quinia in the second part of this work. 
Quinia is obtained by treating its sulphate with the solution of an alkali, 
collecting the precipitate, washing it till the water comes away tasteless, then 
drying it, dissolving it in alcohol, and slowly evaporating the solution. 
The most important artificial salt of quinia is the sulphate, the process for 
procuring which, as well as its properties, will be hereafter described. The 
valerianate has been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and the citrate 
of iron and quinia both into this and the British, which give processes for their 
preparation. The phosphate, acetate, citrate, lactate, camphor ate,ferrocyanale, 
tannate, arsenite, antimoniate, urate, hypophosphite, and chlorate, have also 
been employed or recommended; but none of them has yet gained admittance 
* Langlois found the carbonate of quinia, deposited from a solution in carbonic acid 
water, to contain one eq. of acid and one of base, admitting the combining number of 
the latter to be 162; and, if this salt be considered neutral, the result will tend to confirm 
the view of Liebig. [Comptes Rendus, Nov. 7, 1858, p. 727.) On the contrary, Adolphus 
Strecker, who has made an elaborate analysis of quinia and its compounds, has adopted 
the formula C40H24N2O4 (eq. 324), basing his opinion chiefly on the composition of the 
double chloride of platinum and quinia, and on the fact, that the only crystallizable 
nitrate he could obtain coincides with the officinal sulphate, and that in this compound one 
eq, of oxide of silver may be made to replace one eq. of water, so as to form a nitrate of 
silver and quinia. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 241 and 321.) To the same point 
tends the fact, that the officinal sulphate of quinia is the more permanent of the two sul- 
phates. Upon the whole, we are inclined to the view which considers the formula to be 
C40H24N2O4, and the combining number 324. (Note to the eleventh edition.) 
Oxyquinia. Schutzenberger has ascertained that when sulphate of quinia is boiled with 
a solution of nitrite of potassa, nitrogen escapes with effervescence, and the liquid, after 
cooling, deposits, on the addition of ammonia, a white, granular substance, which, when 
dissolved in alcohol, and obtained in a dry state by the evaporation of the menstruum, 
assumes a transparent, resinous appearance. By contact with water it becomes crystalline. 
This substance has alkaline properties, and differs from quinia only in containing two ad- 
ditional eqs. of oxygen. It has, therefore, been named oxyquinia. (Comptes Rendus, Juillet 
12, 1858, p. 81.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Cinchona. 
299 
• 
into the Pharmacopoeias, and none probably is superior to the officinal sul- 
phate. The first five may be prepared by saturating a solution of the acids re- 
spectively with quinia, and evaporating the solutions. The camphorate is re- 
commended as a substitute for the valerianate. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1865, p. 254.) The ferrocyanateis directed to be made by boiling together two 
parts of sulphate of quinia and three of ferrocyanide of potassium in a very little 
water, pouring off the liquor from a greenish-yellow substance of an oily con- 
sistence which is precipitated, washing the latter with distilled water, then dis- 
solving it in strong alcohol at 100° F., filtering immediately, and afterwards 
evaporating the solution. {Am. Journ of Pharm., xii. 351.) M. Pelouze, how- 
ever, found this preparation to be pure quinia, mixed with a little Prussian 
blue. {Archives Gen., 3e ser , xv. 236.) The tannate may be prepared by pre- 
cipitating the infusion of bark, or solution of sulphate of quinia, by the infusion 
of galls or solution of tannic acid, and then washing and drying the precipi- 
tate. It has the advantage of possessing little taste, while experience has shown 
that it is little if at all inferior in antiperiodic powers to the sulphate; but its 
amorphous condition renders it more liable to adulteration. Either of these salts 
may be given in the same dose as the sulphate. Arsenite of quinia has been 
recommended by Dr. Ringdon, especially in chronic cutaneous affections, lie 
prepares it by boiling 64 grains of arsenious acid, with half the quantity of car- 
bonate of potassa, in four fluidounces of distilled water until dissolved, adding 
water enough to make the solution measure four fluidounces, and then mixing 
five drachms of this solution with two scruples of sulphate of quinia, previ- 
ously dissolved in boiling distilled water. The arsenite of quinia is thrown 
down in the form of a white curdy precipitate, which is to be washed on a filter 
and dried. It is uncrystallizable, insoluble in water, and soluble in alcohol. The 
dose is one-third of a grain, given at first twice a day, and afterwards three and 
four times a day. {Prov. Med. and Surg. Journ., Aug. 25, 1841.) Antimoniate 
of quinia has been recommended by Dr. La Camera, of Naples, as a febrifuge, 
being especially applicable to cases of doubtful periodicity. It unites, he thinks, 
the evacuant properties of the antimouials with the antiperiodic property of qui- 
nia. The dose is two or three grains, four times a day. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
xxv. 471.) The urate of quinia is thought by Dr. Perayre, of Bordeaux, to be 
peculiarly efficacious in obstinate intermittents. It is prepared by boiling 10 
parts of crude quinia in water, adding gradually 20 parts of crystallized uric acid, 
and, after sufficient ebullition, filtering and evaporating. A yellow salt is ob- 
tained, sometimes amorphous, more frequently crystalline, soluble in hot and less 
so in cold water, and, according to the author, capable of curing intermittent 
fever in smaller doses than the sulphate, with less cerebral disturbance, less 
bitterness, and easier tolerance by the stomach. {Journ. de Pharm., 3eser., 
xxxvii. 139.) The hypophosphite of quinia has been brought into notice by Dr. 
J. Lawrence Smith, of the University of Louisville, who prepares it by mixing, 
in a large porcelain capsule, 50 ounces of sulphate of quinia, 2 gallons of dis- 
tilled water, and 2 ounces of hypophosphorous acid, heating the mixture to 200°, 
and then adding a solution of hypophosphite of baryta sufficient to produce com- 
plete decomposition, an excess of the latter salt being scrupulously avoided. 
Sulphate of baryta and hypophosphite of quinia are formed, the latter in solu- 
tion. The solution is filtered while hot, and on cooling deposits the salt in crys- 
tals. If the sulphate of baryta be washed, the washings added to the mother- 
waters of the first crystallization, and the mixed liquors carefully evaporated, a 
fresh crop of crystals will be obtained. The salt consists of one eq. of quinia 
(admitting the double numbers) and one of hypophosphorous acid, with two eqs. 
of water of crystallization. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1860, p. 410.)* 
* The chlorate of quinia is best prepared, according to Mr. C. E. C. Tichborne, from 
chlorate of baryta. He mixes in a porcelain dish 310 grains of chlorate of baryta dis- 
solved in a little boiling water with 2 ounces avoird. of sulphate of quinia, and 12 ounces 
of hot water, at 194° F.; a slight excess of the sulphate being used to ensure the precipi- 
tation cf all the barium. Owing to this excess, a slight pellicle of sulphate of quinia lloats 
m the surface. Apply heat, and gradually add a very little precipitated carbonate of 300 
Cinchona, 
PART I. 
Cinchonia. This, when pure, is white, crystallizable from its alcoholic solu- 
tion in four-sided prisms with oblique terminal facets, soluble in 2500 parts of 
boiling water, almost insoluble in cold water, soluble in boiling alcohol which 
deposits a portion upon cooling, and slightly soluble in ether and in the fixed 
and volatile oils.* Its bitter taste, at first not very obvious in consequence of 
its difficult solubility, is developed after a short time by the solution of a minute 
portion in the saliva. Its alcoholic, ethereal, and oleaginous solutions are very 
bitter. By heat it is melted and partially changed, and, if the heat be cautiously 
increased, sublimes into a matted tissue of fine crystals, which have the same 
formula as the pure alkaloid. (Hlasiwetz, Chem.Gaz., ix. 90.) Waddington 
found it to sublime readily, without change, and in perfectly characteristic crys- 
tals. [Pharm. J. and Trans., March, 1868, p. 414.)f Its alkaline character is 
very decided, as it neutralizes the strongest acids. Of the salts of cinchonia, the 
sulphate, nitrate, muriate, phosphate, and acetate are soluble in water. The neu- 
tral tartrate, oxalate, and gallate are insoluble in cold water, but soluble in hot 
water, alcohol, or an excess of acid. Winckler has shown that cinchonia is ren- 
dered uncrystallizable or amorphous by sulphuric acid in excess, aided by heat; 
a fact of importance in the preparation of the sulphate of this alkaloid. ( Chem. 
Gaz., March 15,1848.) Cinchonia is but little more soluble in carbonic acid water 
than in pure water, and does not, like quinia, yield crystals of the carbonate on 
exposure of its carbonic acid solution. [Comptes Rendus, Nov. 1, 1853, p. 121.) 
Several processes have been employed for the preparation of cinchonia. One 
of the simplest is the following. Powdered pale bark is submitted to the action 
of sulphuric or muriatic acid very much diluted, and the solution obtained is 
precipitated by an excess of lime. The precipitate is collected on a filter, washed 
with water, and treated with boiling alcohol. The alcoholic solution is filtered 
while hot, and deposits the cinchonia when it cools. A further quantity is ob- 
tained by evaporation. If not perfectly white, it may be made so by converting 
it into a sulphate with dilute sulphuric acid, then treating the solution with ani- 
mal charcoal, filtering, precipitating by an alkali, and redissolving by alcohol in 
the manner already mentioned. It may also be obtained from the mother-waters 
of sulphate of quinia by diluting them with water, precipitating with ammonia, 
collecting the precipitate on a filter, washing and drying it, and then dissolving 
it in boiling alcohol, which deposits the cinchonia in a crystalline form upon cool- 
ing. It maybe still further purified by a second solution and crystallization. 
The same remarks in relation to equivalent composition apply to cinchonia as 
those already made in reference to quinia. According to the view which con- 
siders the salts as basic and neutral, cinchonia consists of twenty eqs. of carbon, 
twelve of hydrogen, one of nitrogen, and one of oxygen (CMII]2NO); and its 
combining number is 154. This is the formula of Liebig. The other view would 
double these numbers; the formula being C4l)II24N202, and the eq. 308. 
Exposed to the air, cinchonia does not suffer decomposition, but very slowly 
baryta till the coating of sulphate is replaced by a slight oily pellicle of alkaloid. The 
chlorate of quinia is now obtained by evaporation and crystallization. For a mode of 
preparing the chlorate of baryta, see a communication from Dr. C. Lewis Diehl, in tho 
Amer. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1868, p. 101). 
The chlorate crystallizes from its solution in fungoid tufts, consisting of filiform, snow- 
white crystals, radiating from a centre. It melts with heat, and in the air at length takes 
fire, burning vividly, and if dry sometimes with explosion, leaving a carbonaceous residue. 
It is very soluble in boiling water, but sparingly in cold, and is deposited from its hot 
solution on cooling. Gently warmed with muriatic acid, it emits chlorine copiously; 
and ammonia now added in excess occasions an emerald-green colour; thus showing that 
it is a compound of chloric acid and quinia. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., viii. 
135.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* According to Hesse, cinchonia is soluble at 68° F. in 3670 parts of water, in 1257 
parts of alcohol of 0-852, and in 371 parts of ether of 0-7305. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxxv. 54.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f It is asserted that the muriates of quinia, cinchonia, and quinidia, heated on a slip 
of platinum, short of combustion, emit a purple vapour like iodine. Neither the alka- 
loids nor their sulphates have this property; but the addition of one-tenth of murhite will 
cause the evolution of the coloured vapour. [J. de Phar?n. et de Chim., 4e ser, iii. 397).-- 
Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Cinchona. 
301 
absorbs carbonic acid, and acquires the property of effervescing slightly with 
acids. It is precipitated of a sulphur-yellow by the terchloride of gold. Chlorine 
water dissolves it or any of its salts without change; but if ammonia be now 
added, a white precipitate is produced. It is thus distinguishable from quinia. 
Dr. J.W. Bill, U. S. A., proposes ferrocyanide of potassium as a very delicate 
test, of cinchonia. If added to the solution of a salt of this alkaloid, it produces 
a yellowish-white curdy precipitate, which is dissolved upon the application of 
a gentle heat, but is again deposited, when the liquid cools, as an abundant 
crop of golden-yellow crystals. No other alkaloid exhibits the same reaction. 
A cloudy precipitate is produced by the same reagent with a salt of quinia, but 
this does not happen when the ferrocyanide is in excess, and, if the precipitate 
is dissoved by heat, no subsidence takes place on cooling. Hence, in the appli- 
cation of this test to cinchonia, a slight excess of the ferrocyanide should be 
added. {Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, July, 1858, p. 108 ) 
Sulphate of cinchonia {disulphate of Liebig), the only salt of this base which 
has been employed in a separate state, is now one of the U. S. officinals, and will 
be treated of in the second part of this work among the Preparations. 
Quinidia {quinidine) and Cinchonidia {cinchonidine). It has been already 
stated that the substance, at one time considered as a peculiar alkaloid, and 
denominated quinidia or quinidine, has been ascertained to be generally com- 
plex, and to consist of two distinct alkaloids in variable proportions. For one 
of these, in consequence of its similarity in chemical constitution to quinia, Pas- 
teur retained the name of quinidine (quinidia), while he called the other, from a 
similar resemblance to cinchonia, cinchonidine (cinchonidia). It is unfortunate 
that Pasteur’s quinidine is the alkaloid which in general constitutes the smaller 
proportion of the complex substance formerly so named; his cinchonidine ex- 
isting in it much more largely, and sometimes, there is reason to believe, con- 
stituting almost the whole of it. Nevertheless, it is necessary to adopt the 
nomenclature of Pasteur, as corresponding strictly with the chemical relations 
of the several substances concerned. The student will, therefore, take care not 
to confound the quinidia as formerly described with the pure alkaloid of the 
same name, and to recollect that the former substance corresponds more closely 
with cinchonidia (the cinchonidine of Pasteur), and sometimes probably consists 
of it exclusively, or nearly so. 
Quinidia {quinidine, Pasteur) is isomeric with quinia, having the constitu- 
tion C40H24N2O4, or C20H12N02. It crystallizes readily in rhombic prisms, which 
contain four eqs. of water, and effloresce on exposure to the air. It is sublima- 
ble by heat without change, and is condensed in a crystalline form. ( Wadding- 
ton.) It resembles quinia not only in composition, but also in its chemical re- 
lations with chlorine and ammonia, being rendered green by the successive action 
of those agents. According to Dr. Herapath, it resembles quinia also in causing 
a fluorescent appearance when dissolved in water, which is not the case with 
either cinchonia or cinchonidia, or is so at least in a much less degree. (See 
Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxix. 245.) It differs, however, in its greater facility 
of crystallization, in its much less solubility in ether, and in its influence on 
pohrized light, quinidia producing deviation to the right, and quinia to the left. 
De Vry, of Rotterdam, states, as the result of his observation, that quinidia (of 
Pasteur) forms a salt of very difficult solubility with hydriodic acid; and, con- 
sequently, when a solution of iodide of potassium is added to a solution of sul- 
phate of quinidia, a white precipitate takes place. By this test quinidia may 
be distinguished from the other cinchona alkaloids, and detected when mixed 
with them in solution; no other yielding a precipitate with iodide of potas- 
sium. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 233.) Dr. Herapath proposes another 
test to distinguish this alkaloid from quinia. If to a solution of sulphate of 
quinia in acetic acid tincture of iodine be added, and the mixture heated and 
then allowed to cool, a beautiful emerald-green compound is formed ; while sul- 
phate of quinidia treated in the same way, yields a brown precipitate. When 
the mixture of this alkaloid with cinchonidia is exposed to hot air, the crystals 302 
Cinchona. 
PART I. 
of quinidia effloresce, and may be distinguished from the others bj their opaque 
whiteness. For practical purposes this separation is unnecessary; for there is 
probably no appreciable difference in their effects as remedial agents.* 
Cinchonidia (cinchonidine, Pasteur) is isomeric with cinchonia, having the 
constitution or and agrees also with that alkaloid in 
forming anhydrous crystals, and in not producing the green colour with chlorine 
and ammonia. Jt differs in being more soluble in ether, and in producing de- 
viation to the left in its influence on polarized light; cinchonia producing de- 
viation to the right. (Regnault, Cours Element, de Chim., 4e ed.,iv. 314.) If, 
on exposure to hot air, white effloresced crystals show themselves, it may be 
taken for granted that there is an admixture of quinidia. It sublimes readily 
unchanged, assuming a more or less crystalline form, and, with a carefully 
regulated heat, perfect crystals may be obtained. ( Waddington.) 
As the two preceding alkaloids have not been thoroughly investigated, in their 
perfectly pure and isolated state, in reference either to their chemical or practi- 
cal relations, it will be proper to state what has been made known of the com- 
mercial quinidia, in which they are believed to exist, in general conjointly. 
Commercial quinidia, consisting generally of proper quinidia with a much 
larger proportion of cinchonidia, and sometimes, there is reason to believe, ex- 
clusively, or nearly so, of the latter alkaloid, was, carefully examined by H. Gf. 
Leers, from whose paper, published originally in the Ann. der Chem. und 
Pliarm. (May, 1852), the following account of its properties has been chiefly 
derived. It readily crystallizes from its alcoholic solution, by spontaneous 
evaporation, in hard, shining, colourless crystals, which are easily pulverized, 
and yield a snow-white powder. They melt without decomposition or loss of 
water at 341° F., and on cooling concrete into a grayish-white crystalline mass. 
At a higher heat they take fire, and burn with the odour of kinole, and volatile 
oil of bitter almonds. Their taste is bitter, but less intensely so than that of 
quinia Quinidia is soluble, according to Leers, in 2580 parts of water at 62°, 
and in 1858 parts at 212°, in 143 (169 Winckler) of ether, and 12 of alcohol 
of 0 835, both at 62° F.; but its solubilities must, of course, vary more or less 
according to the quantities of its two components, quinidia proper and cincho- 
nidia, contained in it. With the acids it forms salts, most of which are beauti- 
fully crystallizable, and much more soluble than those of quinia. There are, as 
of quinia and cinchonia, two sets of the salts of quinidia, which may be con- 
sidered either as neutral and acid, or as basic and neutral. When treated first 
with chlorine and then with ammonia, it does not like quinia yield a green 
colour, nor like cinchonia a white one, but remains unaffected. It differs from 
quinia also by its much less solubility in ether. From the aqueous solution of 
its salts, the alkalies, their carbonates, and bicarbonates throw down pulveru- 
lent precipitates not soluble in an excess of the precipitant. With phosphate 
of soda, nitrate of silver, and bichloride of mercury it forms white, with ter- 
chloride of gold light-yellow, and with bichloride of platinum orange-yellow 
'* Cinchonia, quinia, quinidia, and strychnia, when heated with caustic potassa, yield 
acrid vapours, which condense into an oily liquid having alkaline properties, for which 
the name of quinolein was proposed by its discoverer Mr. Gerhardt, and which is also called 
cincholin. It has a peculiar odour, not unlike that of the bean of St. Ignatius, and an ex- 
tremely acrid and bitter taste ; is slightly soluble in water, and freely so in alcohol, ether, 
and the volatile oils; forms crystallizable salts with the acids ; and is characterized by 
producing a yellow crystalline precipitate with chromic acid. It results also from the dry 
distillation of quinia. (Journ. de Pha.rm.,Se ser.,ii. 341.) Dr. A. W. Hofmann has found 
that the substance called leucol, existing in coal-gas naphtha, is identical with cincholin. 
(Chem. Gazette, June, 1845, p. 251.) More recently Mr. C. Greville Williams has shown 
that the alkaline matter called cincholin is complex, and that several volatile alkaloids 
result from the decomposition of cinchonia by potassa with heat, analogous to those found 
in coal-gas tar. [Ibid., Aug. 15, 1855, p. 301. See also Gregory’• Chemistry, 4th ed., Lond., 
p. 400.) Dr. Stenhouse proposes, as a test of the presence of alkaline principles in bark, 
to macerate with dilute sulphuric acid, precipitate with solution of carbonate of potassa 
or soda in excess, and distil the precipitate with a great excess of caustic potassa or soda. 
Cincholin will distil over in oily drops, recognisable by its peculiar odour and strong al 
kaline properties. [Philos. Mag., xxvi 199.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
303 
precipitates. It may be obtained by first precipitating it from the solution of 
one of its salts by an alkali, and then repeatedly dissolving in alcohol and crys- 
tallizing, until it is entirely freed from a greenish-yellow resinous substance 
which is apt to attend it From quinia it may be separated by repeated washing 
with ether, until the ethereal solution no longer affords evidence of the presence 
of quinia by the test of chlorine and ammonia. In this state it must be looked 
on as unmixed einchonidia. One of the distinctive characters of this complex 
alkaloid is, according to Guibourt, that, while oxalate of quinia is quite insoluble 
in water, oxalate of quinidia {commercial) is very soluble, and easily crystal- 
lizable by refrigeration or evaporation. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxii. 414.) 
Sulphate of quinidia {commercial) is, according to one view, neutral, con- 
sisting of one eq., each, of quinidia, sulphuric acid, and water ; according to 
another, basic, containing two eqs. of base, one of acid, and one of water, and 
therefore a disulphate. It is in long, shining, silky acicular crystals, soluble in 
130 parts of water at 62° F., in 16 parts at 212°, readily soluble in alcohol, but 
almost insoluble in ether. It is obtained from the quinidia (strictly, einchonidia) 
barks by the same process as that by which sulphate of quinia is procured from 
the Calisava. When the two alkaloids are contained in the same bark, the sul- 
phate of quinidia (commercial) remains in the mother-waters in consequence of 
its greater solubility. By the addition to its solution of a quantity of sulphuric 
acid equal to that which it contains, it is converted into the bisulphate (sul- 
phate on the basic view), crystallizable in fine acicular crystals like asbestos. 
Quinicia (quinicine) and Cinchonicia {cinchonicine). When quinia and cin- 
chonia, or quinidia and einchonidia, or their salts, are exposed to heat, these alka- 
loids have been found by Pasteur to be changed into other but isomeric alkaloids; 
quinia and quinidia into quinicia, isomeric with themselves; and cinchonia and 
cinchonicliainto cinchonicia, isomeric with itsown antecedents. These new alka- 
loids are, therefore, products rather than educts, and generally result, in greater 
or less proportion, from the processes employed in extractingthe other alkaloids 
from bark; though it is not impossible that they may pre-exist in bark to a certain 
extent, being formed by a natural process, from the same original alkaloids, either 
in the living tree, or in the barks while drying, after separation from the tree. 
Quinicia is almost insoluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol, and differs 
from quinia in causing deviation of the plane of polarization to the right in- 
stead of the left (Begnault ), and in being apparently uncrystallizable. 
Cinchonicia is also insoluble in water and soluble in alcohol. It agrees 
with cinchonia, from which it is derived, in producing deviation of the plane 
of polarization to the right; but differs from einchonidia in this respect; and 
differs from both of these alkaloids in being amorphous or uncrystallizable. 
The amorphous quinia of Liebig {quinoidine or quinoidia) is probably 
when pure identical with quinicia; but, as it occurs in commerce, it is generally 
a mixture of this with cinchonicia. For a particular account of it, see Sul- 
phate of Quinia, in the second part of this work. * 
Kinic Acid {called also Cinchonic or Quinic Acid), and the Kinates of 
* Cinchonidia of Wittstein. Wittstein has announced the discovery of a new alkaloid 
ui a variety of hark belonging probably to the division of harks here considered under 
the name of fibrous Carthagena barks. He calls the alkaloid cinchonidine ; but it must 
not be confounded with the cinchonidine of Pasteur. [Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxix. 115.) 
E'rom the researches of Dr. Herapath it appears that its claims to he considered as a dis- 
tinct alkaloid are well founded; its iodo-sulphate being readily distinguishable by the 
eye from the other iodo-sulphates examined by him. [Pharm. Journ., xvii. 468.) Itought, 
therefore, to receive another designation, in order to prevent confusion. 
/S. cinchonine of Schioabe. Still another cinchona alkaloid has been brought into notice 
bySchwabe, who extracted it from quinoidine. He calls it /3. cinchonine (0. cinchonia), 
and obtained it by dissolving quinoidine in dilute muriatic acid, precipitating with am- 
monia, washing the precipitate successively with cold and hot water and drying it, treat- 
ing it with cold alcohol for 24 hours, then exhausting it successively with alcohol and 
water, and finally dissolving it in dilute sulphuric acid. The solution was heated, and, 
carbonate of soda being added till a pellicle began to form, was set aside to cool. Sul- 
phate of cinchonia was now deposited in crystals, from which the pure alkaloid was ob- 
tained by precipitating an acidulated solution with ammonia. It differs from the other 304 
Cinchona. 
PART 1. 
Cinchonia and Quinia. It may be desirable to procure the alkaline principles 
in the state of saline combination in which they exist in the bark; as it is possi- 
ble that they may exert an influence over the system in this state, somewhat 
different from that produced by their combinations with the sulphuric or other 
mineral acid. As it is impossible to procure the kinates immediately from the 
bark in a pure state, it becomes necessary first to obtain the kinic acid separately, 
which may thus become of some practical importance. We shall, therefore, 
briefly describe the mode of procuring it, and its characteristic properties. By 
evaporating the infusion of bark to a solid consistence, and treating the extract 
with alcohol, we have in the residue a viscid matter consisting chiefly of muci- 
lage with kinate of lime, which is insoluble in alcohol. If an aqueous solution 
of this substance be formed, and allowed to evaporate at a gentle heat, crys- 
tals of the kinate will be deposited, which may be purified by a second crys- 
tallization. The salt thus obtained, being dissolved in water, is decomposed by 
means of oxalic acid, which precipitates the lime, and leaves the kinic acid iu 
solution. This may be procured in the crystalline state by spontaneous evapora- 
tion, though as usually prepared, it is in the form of a thick syrupy liquid. The 
crystals are transparent and colourless, sour to the taste, and readily soluble in al- 
cohol and in water. The kinates of cinchonia and quinia may be obtained either 
by the direct combination of their constituents, or by the mutual decomposition 
of the sulphates of those alkalies and kinate of lime. Kinate of cinchonia has a 
bitter and astringent taste, is very soluble in water, is soluble also in alcohol, and 
is crystallized with difficulty. Kinate of quinia is also very soluble in water, but 
less so in rectified alcohol. Its taste is very bitter, resembling exactly that of yel- 
low bark. It crystallizes in crusts of a mammillated form, and opaque or semi- 
transparent. The salt is with difficulty obtained free from colour, and only by 
employing the ingredients in a state of extreme purity. (Ann. de Chim. et de 
Phys., Juillet, 1829.)* Lauteman found, in experiments upon himself, that 
cinchona alkaloids in the shape of its crystals, solubilities, and chemical properties. For an 
account of some of these properties, see Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1861, p. 174). O. 
Hesse, however, having compared the cinchonia of Schwahe with cinchonia obtained 
directly from hark, believes them to he identical. (Ibid,., Jan. 1863,p. 54.) There seems also 
to he a discrepancy in the account of the alkaloid given in the journal from which this 
sketch is extracted, which tends to invalidate the conclusions of the paper. Thus, the ah 
kaloid is said to be soluble in 173 parts of cold alcohol; yet is also said to be procured 
from the quinoidine after having been completely exhausted by water and cold alcohol. 
Iluanochine. This was extracted by Erdmann from a variety of bark imported into 
Bremen, seventeen or eighteen years since, supposed to be flat Huanuco bark, derived from 
Cinchona nitida. He obtained it by boiling the hark with water acidulated with muriatic 
acid, treating the decoction with caustic soda in slight excess, washing the precipitate thus 
obtained and dissolving it in diluted acetic acid, again precipitating with caustic soda, 
digesting the precipitate with alcohol, decolorizing with animal charcoal, filtering, evapo- 
rating and crystallizing. The substance obtained was found to he an alkaloid, isomeric 
with quinia, yet differing from this and all the other cinchona alkaloids in properties. It 
crystallized in small prisms, which were tasteless, almost insoluble in water, soluble in 
400 parts of alcohol of 80 per cent, at 62° F. and in 110 parts at the boiling point, in 600 
parts of ether at 62° and 470 parts of boiling ether, readily fusible and volatilizable, and 
inflammable, burning with a smoky flame, and without residue. Though tasteless itself, 
its salts were very bitter. The alkaloid was found efficient as an antiperiodic. To us, 
however, it seems most probable, from the method of obtaining the alkaloid, that it is a 
mixture of cinchonia with one or more of the other known cinchona alkaloids. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 553.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* When kinic acid is mixed with sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manganese, and dis- 
tilled, a neuter substance called kinoile or kinone is obtained, in crystalline needles, of a 
beautiful golden-yellow colour and high lustre, fusible and volatilizable without change, 
and having a peculiar odour. The production of this substance, when a concentrated de- 
coction of a bark is distilled with half its weight of sulphuric acid and deutoxide of man- 
ganese, has been proposed as a test of the presence of kinic acid in the bark, and conse- 
quently of its belonging to the cinchona barks. If there be the least quantity of that acid, 
the first portion of liquid distilled will have a yellow colour and the odour of kinone, and 
will become bright-green on the addition of chlorine water. (Philos. Mag., xxvi. 108.1 
The test, however, cannot be fully relied on ; as it has been ascertained that cafl'eic acic! 
also yields kinone, when treated as above with sulphuric acid and deutoxide of manga- 
nese. (Stenhouse, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 249, from Ihilos. Mag.) PART I. 
Cinchona. 
305 
kinic acid, when taken into the system, undergoes a conversion into hippuric 
acid, and in this state escapes with the urine. {Ann. der Ghem. und Pharm., 
cxxv. 9.) Kinic acid is said by Zwenger to have been found in the leaves of 
Vaccinium Myrtillus. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1861, p. 128.) 
Kinovic Bitter. Kinovin. Kinovic Acid. Originally discovered in the false 
bark called quinquina nova or new bark, this substance has since been found in 
the Calisaya bark, and probably exists, in greater or less proportion, in all the 
Cinchona barks. It was detected by Dr. De Vry not only in the bark, but also 
in the wood and leaves of C. Calisaya and C. lucumaefolia. {Journ. de Pharm., 
A rril, 1860, pp. 225 and 258.) It is white, uncrystallizable, almost insoluble 
in water, but readily dissolved by alcohol and ether. It is very bitter, and, as 
it is asserted to have no febrifuge virtues, may on this account mislead the 
judgment in relation to the activity of the bark in which it may be found. 
Some barks are said to owe their bitterness mainly to this ingredient. It con- 
sists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; its formula being, according to ffiasi- 
wetz and Gilm, CB0H48O1B It has been supposed to possess acid properties, and 
a solution of its combination with magnesia is said to precipitate solutions of 
acetate of lead, bichloride of mercury, and the salts of cinchonia. Winckler 
gives, as a certain test of its presence in any bark, the sulphate of copper, 
which is indifferent to infusion of bark containing none of this principle, but 
detects the smallest proportion of it by producing a dirty-green colour, soon 
followed by the deposition of a fine similarly coloured powder. This is a salt 
of copper, and has a very bitter and metallic taste. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxv. 343.) Hlasiwetz and Gilm deny the acid properties of this substance, con- 
sidering it a glucoside, capable of being resolved, through the action of mu- 
riatic acid on its alcoholic solution, into a peculiar acid, and a kind of sugar 
which they consider as identical with the mannitan of Berthelot. This acid they 
propose to call kinovic acid, adopting the name which has been given to the 
kinovic bitter under the impression of its acid character. Its formula is C48II38Ot. 
It is white, in rhomboidal crystals, insoluble in water, but slightly soluble in 
ether, somewhat more so in boiling alcohol, but very soluble in ammonia and 
the fixed alkalies. All its solutions are decidedly bitter. Its acid properties 
are feeble, yet it is capable of decomposing the alkaline carbonates. {Journ. 
de Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 386 ) These results have been confirmed by Dr. De 
Vry, who proposes the following method of isolating the kinovic hitter. Mace- 
rate powdered cinchona with a very weak solution of caustic potassa or soda, 
precipitate the filtered liquid with an acid, redissolve the precipitate in milk ol 
lime to separate the cinchonic red, fdter and precipitate the solution boiling 
hot with muriatic acid, separate the precipitate, wash it, express as much as 
possible, and lastly dry it on porous stones, and powder it. Thus prepared, 
the kinovic bitter forms soluble compounds with magnesia and lime, and has 
been employed, in this mode of combination, as a tonic, in the hospital of Ba- 
tavia, with encouraging success. {Ibid., Avril, 1860, p. 258.) 
Incompatibles. Of the relations of bark to the several solvents employed in 
pharmacy we shall speak hereafter, under the heads of its infusion, decoction, 
and tincture; where we shall also have an opportunity of mentioning some of 
the more prominent substances which afford precipitates with its liquid pre- 
parations. It is sufficient at present to state that all the substances which pre- 
cipitate the infusion of bark do not by any means necessarily affect its virtues; 
as it contains several inert ingredients which form insoluble compounds with 
bodies that do not disturb its active principles. As tannic acid forms with the 
alkaloids compounds insoluble in water, it is desirable that substances contain- 
ing this acid, in a free state, should not be prescribed in connection with the 
infusion or decoction of bark; for, though these insoluble tannates might be 
found efficacious if administered, yet, being precipitated from the liquid, they 
would be apt to be thrown away as dregs, or at any rate would communicate, 
if agitated, an unpleasant turbidness. The same may be said of the tincture 
and compound solution of iodine, which form insoluble compounds with all 306 
Cinchona. 
PART L 
the cinchona alkaloids, and of the alkalies, alkaline carbonates, and alkaline 
earths, which precipitate these alkaloids from their aqueous solution. 
Estimation of Value. It is evident, from what has been said, that an infusion 
of bark, on account of the tannin-like principle which it contains, may precipi- 
tate gelatin, tartar emetic, and the salts of iron, without having a particle of 
cinchonia, quinia, or other alkaloid in its composition; and that consequently 
any inference as to its value, drawn from these chemical properties, would be 
fallacious; but, as the active principles are thrown down by the tannic acid of 
galls, no bark can be considered good which does not afford a precipitate with 
the infusion of this substance.* 
It is impossible to determine, with accuracy, the relative proportion of the 
active ingredients in the different varieties of cinchona ; as the quantity is by no 
means uniform in different specimens of the same variety. The results of the1 
most recent experiments have been already stated under the head of the several 
varieties of bark described. But it is highly important, in relation to any particu- 
lar sample of bark, to be able to ascertain its medicinal efficiency, which is mea- 
sured by the quantity of the peculiar cinchona alkaloids it may contain. The fol- 
lowing is Winckler’s process, which he prefers to all others. In determining the 
value of a large quantity of bark, it is necessary first to ascertain whether it may 
not consist of more than one variety, and if it do, to assort it, and act on each 
kind separately. The pieces are to be reduced to a fine powder, of which 1000 
grains are to be digested with six ounces of alcohol of 80 per cent., by means of a 
water-bath, until completely exhausted. The tincture, when cold, is to be strained 
t hrough thin but close linen; and the residue to be again digested with 3 ounces 
of alcohol, and strained as before. The residue now obtained is to be once more 
treated in like manner with alcohol. The tinctures are then to be united, filtered, 
and treated, at common temperatures, with a mixture of equal parts of fresh- 
slaked lime and crude well-burnt animal charcoal, of w7hich about 500 grains will 
be required. The mixture is to be frequently shaken, and the maceration to be 
continued until the supernatant liquid is rendered colourless. In most of the 
genuine barks the decolorization is soon effected; but in those containing kinovic 
acid it is imperfect. The decolorized liquid is to be separated, and the residue 
to be repeatedly shaken with small quantities of alcohol, washed on a filter with 
the same liquor, and dried. The alcoholic liquids are to be mixed, and the alco- 
hol distilled off. The w7hole of the alkaloids is contained in the residue, with a 
peculiar fatty matter, cinchonic red, and any kinovic acid which may have ex- 
isted in the bark. To remove these, the matter is to be transferred to a small 
evaporating basin from the distilling vessel, wdiich is to be washed with a little 
water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and the liquid thus obtained to be added 
to the rest. A slight excess of sulphuric acid is now to be dropped into the mix- 
ture, which is to be heated, allowed to cool, and then filtered, so as to remove 
the precipitated kinovic acid and other impurities. From the filtered acidulated 
solution, the alkaloids are to be precipitated by a slight excess of ammonia, and 
the mixture evaporated by a gentle heat to dryness. The sulphate of ammonia 
is to be removed by a small quantity of very cold water, and the residual alka- 
loid matter dried and weighed. Though not absolutely pure, it is sufficiently 
* A test of the cinchona harks, containing one or more of their characteristic alkaloids, 
has been proposed by Grahe. It is founded on the fact, that, when these barks are exposed 
to destructive distillation, a product is obtained of a bright carmine colour, which is 
yielded by no other bark under the same circumstances, and not by cinchona unless it 
contain one or more of its peculiar alkaloids. Nor do the pure alkaloids afford it; but, if 
mixed with a little acetic, kinic, tannic, citric, or tartaric acid, they exhibit the reaction, 
showing that in the bark it takes place between the alkaloids and organic acids contained 
in it. Grahe applies the test by heating a piece of the bark weighing from five to ten 
grains in an ordinary test-tube, and gradually increasing the heat to redness. Whitish 
smoke, and watery vapour condensing on the surface of the tube, are first given off, which 
arc soon followed by the appearance of redness in the fumes, and by the deposition, an 
inch above the heated part, of a red pulverulent film, which is gradually changed into & 
thick, oily liquid, running down the glass in drops or streaks of a fine carmine colour 
( ■.emisches Central Blatt, Feb. 17, 1858, p. 97.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Cinchona. 
307 
so for the purposes of the investigation. (Am. Joarn. of Pharm., xxv. 343.) 
Winckler states that the barks will yield to the manufacturer quite as much as 
is obtained in this way, and generally from one-eighth to one-quarter of one per 
cent, more, in consequence of the loss in working being less on a large scale.* 
The quantity of alkaloid matter obtained by the above process will measure 
the efficacy of the bark; for all the organic alkaline principles contained in it 
are efficient as medicines, and in all probability in a nearly equal degree. But, 
for manufacturingpurposes, it is necessary to push the investigation further, and 
ascertain the proportion of the several alkaloids in the mixture. This is most 
conveniently done by means of ether. Cinchonia is scarcely soluble in ether, 
quinidia is soluble in small proportion, quinia is freely soluble. When, therefore, 
a mixture of these alkaloids is treated with that menstruum, quinia and quinidia 
are dissolved, and cinchonia left. The two former may be separated by allowing 
the ethereal solution to evaporate. Quinidia crystallizes from the solution, and 
quinia is obtained uncrystallized, as the last product of the evaporation of the 
ether. These remarks apply to quinidia, as it was understood before the inves- 
tigations of Pasteur, f 
* M. Rabourdin has proposed chloroform as an agent for testing the alkaloid richness 
of barks. The following is the method applied to the Calisaya. Five drachms of the pow- 
der, previously passed through a fine hair sieve, are to be exhausted by water, acidulated 
with hydrochloric acid (2 drachms of acid to a pound of water), in a percolation apparatus, 
the liquid being added until it passes colourless and tasteless. Five or six ounces of liquid 
are thus obtained, to which a drachm and a half of caustic potassa and five drachms of chlo- 
roform are to be added. These are to he agitated for a short time, and then allowed to 
stand. A dense whitish deposit forms, consisting of the alkaloids and chloroform. Some- 
times the separation is complete and effected in an instant, leaving a red transparent 
liquid floating on the surface, which is to be immediately poured off The chloroformic 
solution is then washed with water, put into a capsule, and allowed to evaporate. The 
alkaloids remain behind in a pure state. 
Red bark is to be treated as the Calisaya; but for the pale or cinchonia barks the process 
ts to be carried further. The matter left after the evaporation of the chloroform contains 
cinchonic red as well as cinchonia. It is to be treated with water acidulated with hydro- 
chloric acid, which dissolves all the alkaloid, and a portion of the cinchonic red. The liquid 
is to be filtered, and solution of ammonia, diluted with 15 or 20 parts of water, added drop 
by drop, with constant stirring, until a white cloud appears which is not removed by the 
agitation. The cinchonic red is thus precipitated without the alkaloid. It is easy to know 
when to stop this part of the process; as the cinchonic red is precipitated in reddish-brown 
flakes, the cinchonia in white curdled flakes. The liquid is now to be filtered, the filter 
washed with a little distilled water, and the united liquors precipitated by an excess of 
ammonia. The precipitate is the pure alkaloid. (See A m. Journ.of Pharm., xxiii. 249.) 
M. G-uillermond employs another test, which, as last improved by himself, is as follows. 
Take 20 grammes (about zv) of yellow bark, powder it without residue, pour on the poAvder 
sutficient alcohol of 76° (sp. gr. 0-872) to form a soft paste, which is to be heated for some 
minutes on a salt-water bath, so that the particles may be thoroughly penetrated by the 
liquid; then add 10 grammes of hydrated lime, finely powdered, mix it thoroughly with 
the paste, and dry the mixture on a plate till quite free from moisture. Introduce the 
resulting powder into a percolator, pack it firmly, and pour upon it 100 grammes of rectified 
ether. This, in passing, carries with it all the quinia. The filtered liquid, rapidly evapo- 
rated at the temperature of boiling water, leaves a residue consisting of quinia, with a 
little colouring matter, which is altogether insignificant. The weight of this residue, when 
entirely dried, will represent the quinia strength of the bark employed. By afterwards 
passing alcohol through the mass remaining in the percolator, the cinchonia may also be 
obtained. (Annuaire de Thercvp., A.D. 1859, p. 149.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f Mr. Robert Howard employs the following method of ascertaining the presence or ab- 
sence of these alkaloids, severally, in any mixture of their sulphates, founded on the fact, 
that ten grains of sulphate of quinia dissolve in sixty drops of ether, but only one grain 
of sulphate of quinidia. Ten grains of the salt are put into a strong test-tube, ten drops 
of dilute sulphuric acid (one of acid and five of water) with fifteen drops of water are 
added, and a moderate heat applied till the salt is dissolved. When the solution has quite 
cooled, sixty drops of officinal ether with twenty of spirit of ammonia are added, and the 
mixture is well shaken, the tube being closed by the thumb. After this the tube is closely 
stopped with a well-fitting cork, and gently shaken from time to time. If the salt contain 
only quinia, or not more than 10 per cent, of quinidia, it will be completely dissolved, while, 
at the surface of contact of the two clear liquids, only mechanical impurities will be seen. 
After some time the layer of ether becomes gelatinous, and then no further observation can 
be made. Ten g'ains of the salt examined may contain one grain of quinidia, and yet be 308 
Cinchona. 
PART 1 
From the most recent and carefully conducted experiments, it appears that 
the best officinal yellow Calisaya bark, the finest red bark, and the finest fibrous 
Carthagena bark (soft Pitaya) are about equal in their amount of alkaloids, 
each containing from 3 to 4 per cent.; while between these and the barks of 
lowest value there is every grade of productiveness, down to a mere trace of 
alkaline matter.* 
completely dissolved by tbe ether and ammonia; but in this case the quinidia will soon 
begin to crystallize in the layer of ether. The least trace of quinidia may be detected by 
employing, instead of ordinary ether, the same fluid previously saturated with quinidia, 
in which case all the quinidia must remain undissolved. It is necessary, in the last experi- 
ment, to observe, after the shaking, whether or not all has dissolved; for, owing to the 
great tendency of quinidia to crystallize, it may again separate, and thus become a source 
of error. If more than a tenth of quinidia, or if cinchonia be present in the salt, an insol- 
uble precipitate will be seen between the layers of the two fluids. If it be quinidia, it will 
be dissolved on the addition of proportionately more ether; while, if cinchonia, it will 
remain unaffected. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 394.) 
Dr. J. E. De Yry uses the following method of ascertaining the alkaloid strength of 
cinchona, and of obtaining the several alkaloids separate. Having dried a portion of 
Eowdered bark at 212° E., and" weighed it, mix with it one-fourth of slaked lime, and 
oil for five minutes with ten times its weight of alcohol of sp. gr. 0-85. Put the whole 
on a filter, and exhaust by adding successively portions of boiling alcohol, until the whole 
weight of the spirit used equals twenty times that of the bark. Acidulate the tincture with 
dilute acetic acid so that it shall redden litmus, and then evaporate on a water-bath 
till all the alcohol is expelled. Treat the residue separately with water till the filtered 
liquid is no longer made turbid by an alkali. The solution thus obtained contains all the 
alkaloids; the kinovic acid, resin, fat, and other impurities remaining on the filter. If 
the filter and its contents be treated with milk of lime, the quantity of kinovic acid can 
be determined. The watery solution is now to be reduced by evaporation on a water-bath 
to a small bulk, and then mixed with an excess of slaked lime, by which the alkaloids 
are precipitated. How throw the whole on the smallest possible filter, and wash with 
the minimum of cold water. If proper care be taken, the amount of water necessary to 
remove the colouring matter is so small, that the loss of alkaloids through their slight 
solubility in lime-water may be disregarded. After the filter has been duly washed, and 
dried, boil it repeatedly with alcohol of 0-82, till this will dissolve nothing more; then 
filter, evaporate the slightly coloured alcoholic solution in a weighed platinum vessel, and 
heat the residue on a water-bath till it ceases to lose weight. The amount of alkaloids is 
now known. Sometimes a trace of colouring matter is left undissolved. If this is sufficient 
to be weighed, it must be deducted from the amount of the alkaloids; but generally the 
quantity is insufficient to merit notice. 
To ascertain their character, dissolve in the smallest quantity of very dilute acetic acid. 
Put the solution in a closed funnel, provided with a cork, agitate with a slight excess 
of caustic soda, and a quantity of ether equal to fifteen times the weight of the alkaloids, 
and let the mixture stand for six hours; for though cinchonidia and quinidia are sparingly 
soluble in ether, a considerable amount is dissolved on tbe first agitation, which separates 
in crystals in a few hours. Now evaporate the ethereal solution, and dry the residue on 
a water-bath till the weight remains constant. The residue is quinia, with traces of cin- 
chonidia, quinidia, and cinchonia; and in many cases a large amount of a still unknown 
fusible alkaloid. By the known reactions of chlorine and ammonia, and by the prepa- 
ration of Herapathite, the real nature of this residue can be ascertained. 
The alkaloids which have not been dissolved by the ether are now again to be dis- 
solved in the smallest quantity of dilute acetic acid, and the solution mixed with a few 
diops of a concentrated solution of iodide of potassium. After stirring with a glass rod, 
a sandy crystalline precipitate will occur if quinidia is present. In such a case, the hy- 
driodate of quinidia is collected on a filter, dried at 212°, and weighed, and the quan- 
tity of quinidia ascertained by calculation; 100 grains of the hydriodate being equivalent 
to 71-68 of quinidia, according to the formula C40H.MN204,HI. 
The liquid separated by filtration from the hydriodate is precipitated by caustic soda, 
and tbe precipitate will be either cinchonia, or a mixture of this with cinchonidia. 
The presence of cinchonia or quinidia among the alkaloids may be conjectured at the 
time of the treatment with ether; for, if one of these is present, it is partially deposited 
in a crystalline state after some time. 
While the presence of quinidia can easily be ascertained by iodide of potassium even 
in small quantities, that of cinchonidia can be determined with certainty only by the 
polarizing apparatus, by which Dr. De Vry lias detected the cinchonidia of Pasteur 
even in the bark of the C. paludiana of Java. [Pharm. Journ. and. Trans., vi. 51, July', 
1864.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* To obviate the disadvantages arising from the variable strength of bark, M. Guiller- 
mond recommends to fix on an appropriate strength, as indicated by the percentage of 
quinia, below the highest yet much above the lowest, and either to select bark of thii PART I. 
Cinchona. 
309 
Medical Properties and Uses. 
This valuable remedy was unknown to the civilized world till about the raid- 
die of the seventeenth century, though the natives of Peru are generally supposed 
to have been long previously acquainted with its febrifuge powers. Humboldt, 
however, is of a different opinion. In his Memoir on the Cinchona forests, he 
states that it is unknown as a remedy to the Indians inhabiting the country 
where it grows; and, as these people adhere pertinaciously to the habits of their 
ancestors, he concludes that it never was employed by them. They have gene- 
rally the most violent prejudices against it, considering it poisonous, and in the 
treatment of fever prefer the milder indigenous remedies. Humboldt is disposed 
to ascribe the discovery of the febrifuge powers of the bark to the Jesuits, who 
were sent to Peru as missionaries. As bitters had been chiefly relied on in the 
treatment of intermittent fevers, and as bitterness was observed to be a pre- 
dominant property in the bark of certain trees which were felled in clearing the 
forests, the missionaries were naturally led to give it a trial in the same com- 
plaint. They accordingly administered an infusion of the bark in the tertian 
ague, then prevalent in Peru, and soon ascertained its extraordinary powers 
A tradition to this effect is said by Humboldt to be current at Loxa. Ruiz and 
Pavon, however, ascribe the discovery to the Indians; and Tschudi states, in his 
Travels in Peru (Am ed., ii. 280), that the inhabitants of the Peruvian forests 
drink an infusion of the green bark as a remedy in intermittent fever.* The 
Countess of Cinchon, wife of the Viceroy of Peru, having in her own person 
experienced the beneficial effects of the bark, is said, on her return to Spain in 
the year 1640, to have first introduced the remedy into Europe. Hence the 
name of pul vis Gommitissae, by which it was first known. After its introduc- 
tion, it was distributed and sold by the Jesuits, who are said to have obtained for 
it the price of its weight in silver. From this circumstance it was called Jesuits’ 
powder, a title which it long retained. It had acquired some reputation in Eng- 
land so early as the year 1658, but, from its high price, and from the prejudice 
excited against it, was at first little used. At this early period, however, its 
origin and nature do not seem to have been generally known; for we are told 
that Sir John Talbot (Sir Robert Talbor, Pereira), an Englishman, having 
employed it with great success in France, in the treatment of intermittents, under 
the name of the English powder, at length, in the year 1679, sold the secret of 
its origin and preparation to Louis XIV., by whom it was divulged. 
When taken into the stomach, bark usually excites in a short time a sense of 
warmth in the epigastrium, which often diffuses itself over the abdomen and even 
the breast, and is sometimes attended with considerable gastric and intestinal 
irritation. Nausea and vomiting are sometimes produced, especially if the sto- 
mach was previously in an inflamed or irritated state. Purging, moreover, is 
notan unfrequent attendant upon its action. After some time has elapsed, the 
circulation often experiences its influence, as exhibited in the somewhat increased 
frequency of pulse; and, if the dose be repeated, the whole system becomes more 
or less affected, and all the functions undergo a moderate degree of excitement. 
Its action upon the nervous system is often evinced by a sense of tension, or 
fulness, or slight pain in the head, singing in the ears, and partial deafness, which 
are always experienced by many individuals when brought completely under its 
influence. The effects above mentioned entitle bark to a place among the tonics, 
and it is usually ranked at the very head of this class of medicines. Rut, besides 
strength, or to bring that employed to the medium strength, by adding a stronger or 
weaker bark, as the ease may require, in due proportion. He recommends as this standard 
the yield of 3-2 per cent, of sulphate of quinia. This is to be treated by alcohol till entirely 
exhausted, and the tincture evaporated so as to yield an extract which shall exactly re- 
present the virtues of the bark, and shall always have the same strength. From this ex- 
tract all the preparations of bark are to be made, which will thus always be uniform in 
strength. (Journ.de Pharm., Aout, 1863, p. 124.) 
* Tschudi also observes that he has found the fresh bark more efficacious than the dried; 
as, in less than half the usual dose, it not only effects cures in a short time, but ensures 
the patient against the return of the disease. 310 
Cinchona. 
PART I 
the mere excitation of the ordinary functions of health, it produces other effects 
upon the system, which must be considered peculiar, and independent of its mere 
tonic operation. The power by which, when administered in the intervals be- 
tween the paroxysms of intermittent disorders, it interrupts the progress of the 
disease, is something more than what is usually understood by the tonic pro- 
perty ; for no other substance belonging to the class, however powerful or per- 
manent may be the excitement which it produces, exercises a control over inter- 
mittents at all comparable to that of the medicine under consideration. As it is 
probable that, in the intervals of these complaints, a train of morbid actions is 
going on out of our sight, within the recesses of the nervous system ; so it is 
also probable that bark produces, in the same system, an action equally mys- 
terious, which supersedes that of the malady, and thus accomplishes the re- 
storation of the patient. When taken very largely, especially in the form of its 
active principles, in which its effects on the system can be obtained with less 
of the direct irritant influence on the stomach, cinchona has been found, while 
it produces the effects already adverted to upon the brain, at the same time to 
lessen considerably the force and frequency of the pulse. This sedative effect is 
probably secondary, and dependent on an influence upon the nervous centres in 
the encephalon, interfering with the due performance of their functions, and con- 
sequently of the in some degree dependent function of the heart From the pos- 
session of tonic, anti-intermittent, and indirect sedative properties, bark is ca- 
pable of being usefully employed in the treatment of numerous diseases. 
It may usually be employed with benefit in all morbid conditions of the system, 
whatever may be the peculiar modifications, in which a permanent corroborant 
effect is desirable, provided the stomach be in a proper state for its reception. 
In low or typhoid forms of disease, in which either no inflammation exists, or 
that which does exist has been moderated by proper measures, or has passed 
into the suppurative or the gangrenous stage, this remedy is often of the greatest 
advantage in supporting the system till the morbid action ceases. Hence its use 
in the latter stages of typhus gravior; in malignant scarlatina, measles, and 
smallpox; in carbuncle and gangrenous erysipelas; and in all cases in which 
the system is exhausted under large purulent discharges, and the tendency of 
the affection is towards recovery. As a tonic, bark is also advantageously em- 
ployed in chronic diseases connected with debility; as, for example, in scrofula, 
dropsy, passive hemorrhages, certain forms of dyspepsia, obstinate cutaneous 
affections, amenorrhoea, chorea, hysteria; in fact, whenever a corroborant influ- 
ence is desired, and no contraindicating symptoms exist. But in all these cases 
it greatly behooves the physician to examine well the condition of the system, 
and, before resorting to the tonic, to ascertain t.he real existence of an enfeebled 
condition of the functions, and the absence of such local irritations or inflam- 
mations, especially of the stomach or bowels, as might be aggravated by its use. 
In doubtful cases, we have been in the habit of considering the occurrence of 
profuse sweating during sleep as an indication for its use, and, under these cir- 
cumstances, have prescribed it very advantageously, in the form of sulphate of 
quinia, in acute rheumatism, and in the advanced stages of protracted fevers. 
But it is in the cure of intermittent diseases that bark displays its most ex- 
traordinary powers It was originally introduced into notice as a remedy in 
fever and ague, and the reputation which it acquired at an early period it has 
ever since retained. Yery few cases of this disease will be found to resist the 
judicious use of bark, or someone of its preparations. This is not the place to 
speak of the precise circumstances under which it is best administered. It will 
be sufficient to say that physicians generally concur in recommending its early 
employment, in divided doses, to the extent of one or two ounces, during the 
intermission, and the repetition of this plan till the disease is subdued, or the 
remedy is found insufficient for its cure. Other intermittent diseases have been, 
found to yield with almost equal certainty to the remedy, particularly those of 
a neuralgic character. Hemicrania and violent pains in the eyes, face, and 
other parts of the body, occurring periodically, are often almost immediately PART I. 
Cinchona. 
311 
relieved by the use of bark. Some cases of epilepsy, in which the convulsions 
recurred at regular intervals, have also been cured by it; and even the hectic 
intermittent is frequently arrested, though, as the cause still generally con- 
tinues to operate, the relief is too often only temporary. Diarrhoea and dysen- 
tery sometimes put on the intermittent form, especially in miasmatic districts; 
and under these circumstances may often be cured by bark. Nor is it necessary 
that, in the various diseases which have been mentioned, the intermission should 
always be complete, in order to justify a resort to the remedy. Remittent fe- 
vers, in which the remission is very decided, not unfrequently yield to the use 
of bark, if preceded by proper deplet ing measures. But, as a general rule, the less 
of the diseased action there is in the interval, the better is the chance of success. 
In reference to its indirect sedative effects, bark or its alkaloids have been of 
late considerably used, in large doses, in various febrile and inflammatory affec- 
tions, as in the early stage of remittent and yellow fevers, typhoid and typhus 
fevers, and acute rheumatism; but, in this use of the medicine, caution is re- 
quired lest, in suppressing the general arterial excitement, injurious congestion 
or inflammation of the brain may be induced. In the form of sulphate of quinia, 
it has of late been recommended, in large doses, in puerperal fever. 
Some observations are requisite as to the choice of the bark, and the forms 
of administration. In the treatment of intermittents, either the best red or the 
yellow (Calisaya) bark is decidedly preferable to the pale. The pale bark may, 
in its finest forms, be superior for the purposes of a general tonic; as it is less 
liable to offend the stomach, and perhaps to irritate the bowels. 
Where the object is to obtain the full influence of the bark, it may in some 
instances be advisable to administer it in substance. We are not absolutely 
certain that the alkaloids are the only active ingredients; and, even supposing 
them to be so, we are equally uncertain whether they may not be somewhat 
modified in their properties, even by the therapeutically inert principles with 
which they are associated. In fact, bark in substance has been repeatedly 
known to cure intermittents when sulphate of quinia has failed. It is best ad- 
ministered diffused in water or some aromatic infusion. Experience has proved 
that its efficacy in intermittents is often greatly promoted by admixture with 
other substances. A mixture of powdered bark, Virginia snakeroot, and car- 
bonate of soda was at one time highly esteemed in this city; and another, con- 
sisting of bark, confection of opium, lemon-juice, and port wine, has proved 
highly efficacious in obstinate cases of fever and ague.* 
But, notwithstanding the supposed superior efficacy of the bark in substance, 
in the same relative dose, it is in the great majority of instances sufficient to 
resort to some one of its preparations; and in many cases we are compelled 
to this resort by the inability of the stomach to support the powder, or the 
unwillingness of the patient to encounter its disagreeable taste. The best sub- 
stitutes, in intermittent diseases, are the sulphates of its alkaloids. Sulphate 
of quinia has until recently been used almost to the exclusion of the others; 
but sulphate of cinchonia is now considerably employed, and with nearly equal 
effect; and there is every reason to believe that the sulphates of quinidia and 
cinchonidia will be found not less efficient. In fact any one, or any combina- 
tion of the cinchona alkaloids, may be used with propriety for obtaining the 
therapeutic effects of bark. The advantage of these preparations is their facility 
of administration, and the possibility, by their employment, of introducing a 
large quantity of the active matter, with less risk of offending the stomach. (See 
Quinise Sulphas.) 
Though the alkaloids possess the anti-intermittent power of bark, they have 
not been certainly ascertained to exert all the peculiar influence of that medi- 
cine as a tonic; but, as bark in powder can seldom be supported, by a delicate 
* The following are the formulas for these mixtures.—1. R. Cinchon. Pulv. Ser- 
pentarise pulv. gj ; Sodse Carhonat. gss. Misce et in pulveres quatuor divide, una tertia 
vel quarta quaque hora sumenda. 2. R. Cinchon. Rub. Pulv. 25 ss; Confect. Opii ; Sue 
Limon. recentis £313 ; Yin. Eub. f§iv. Misce. Tertia pars tertia quaque hora sumenda. 312 
Cinchona.— Cinnamomum. 
PART r. 
stomach, for a sufficient period to ensure the necessary influence of the medi- 
cine in chronic disease, it is customary to resort, in this case, to some one of 
its preparations in which the alkaloids are extracted in connection with the 
other principles; as the infusion, decoction, tincture, extract, and fluid extract. 
Each of these will be particularly treated of among the Preparations. It is here 
only necessary to say that their use is mostly confined to chronic cases, or 
those of a malignant character, as typhus gravior, &c., in which the whole 
virtues of the bark are desired, but the stomach is unable to bear the powder. 
Should bark or its preparations produce purging, as they occasionally do, they 
ought to be combined with a small portion of laudanum. 
It is sometimes desirable to introduce bark into the system by other avenues 
than the stomach; as it exercises its peculiar influence to whatever part it is 
applied. Injected into the rectum, in connection Avitli opium to prevent purg- 
ing, it has been employed successfully in the cure of intermittents; and the use 
of bark jackets, made by quilting the powder between two pieces of flannel or 
muslin, and worn next the skin, and of bark baths made by infusing the medi- 
cine in water, has proved serviceable in cases of children. But the best pre- 
paration of bark for injection, or external use, is sulphate of quinia, which, 
thrown with a little laudanum into the rectum, or applied to a blistered sur- 
face denuded of the cuticle, produces on the system effects scarcely less de- 
cided than those which result from it when swallowed. 
The medium dose of bark, as administered in intermittents, is a drachm, to 
be repeated more or less frequently according to circumstances. When given 
as a tonic in chronic complaints, the dose is usually smaller; from ten to thirty 
grains being sufficient to commence with. 
Off. Prep, of Yellow Bark. Decoctum Cinchonae Flavae; Extractum Cin- 
chonas, U. S.; Extractum Cinchonae Fluidum, U. S.; Extractum Cinchonae 
Flavae Liquidum, Br.; Infusum Cinchonae Flavae; Quiniae Sulphas; Tinctura 
Cinchonae, U. S.; Tinctura Cinchonae Flavae, Br. 
Off. Prep.of Pale Bark. Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Br.; Tinctura Cinchonae 
Composita, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Red Bark. Decoctum Cinchonae Rubrae, U. S.; Infusum Cin- 
chonas Rubrae, U. S.; Tinctura Cinchonae Composita, U. S. W. 
CINNAMOMUM. U.S. 
Cinnamon. 
Thebark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum and of Cinnamomum aromaticum. U.S. 
Off. Syn. CINNAMOMI CORTEX. Cinnamon Bark. The inner bark of 
shoots from the truncated stocks of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. Br. 
Cinnamon.—Canelle, Fr.; Brauner Canel, Zimmt, Germ.-, Canella,Italy Canela,Span.; 
Kurilndu, Cingalese; Karua puttay, Tamul. 
Cassia.—Cassia lignea; Casse, Fr.; Cassienzimmt, Germ.; Cannellina,/tah; Casia, Span. 
The U. S Pharmacopoeia embraces, under the title of cinnamon, not only the 
bark of that name obtained from the island of Ceylon, which is the only variety 
recognised in the new British Pharmacopoeia, but also the commercial cassia, 
which is imported from China; and, as the two products, though very different 
in price, and somewhat in flavour, possess identical medical properties, and are 
used for the same purposes, there seems to be no necessity for giving them dis- 
tinct officinal designations. Indeed, the barks of all the species of the genus Cin- 
namomum, possessing analogous properties, areas much entitled to the common 
name of cinnamon, as the barks of the Cinchonas are to the name of cinchona, 
and the juice of different species of Aloe to that of aloes. Varieties may be suffi- 
ciently distinguished by an appropriate epithet. Both cinnamomum and cassia 
were terms employed by the ancients, but whether exactly as now understood, 
it is impossible to determine. The term cassia, or cassia lignea, has been gen- 
erally used in modern times to designate the coarser barks analogous to cinna- 
mon It was probably first applied to the barks from Malabar, and afterwards PART I. 
Cinnamomum. 
313 
extended to those of China and other parts of Eastern Asia. It has been cus- 
tomary to ascribe cassia lignea to the Laurus Cassia of Linnaeus ; but the 
specific character given by that botanist was so indefinite, and based on such 
imperfect information, that the species has been almost unanimously abandoned 
by botanists. The fact appears to be, that the barks sold as cinnamon and 
cassia in different parts of the world are derived from various species of Cin- 
namomum. Dr. Wight,who was commissioned by the British Indian Govern- 
ment to inquire into the botanical source of “ the common cassia bark of the 
markets of the world,” expresses his belief, that the list of plants yielding this 
product extends to nearly every species of the genus, including not less than 
six plants on the Malabar Coast and in Ceylon, and nearly twice as many 
more in the eastern part of Asia, and in the islands of the Eastern Archipel- 
ago. (Madras Journ. of Literal, and Sci., 1839, no. 22.) We shall describe 
only the two species recognised in the U S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Crnnamomum. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia. —Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers hermaphrodite or polygamous, panicled or fascicled, naked. 
Calyx six-cleft, with the limb deciduous. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows; 
the inner three with two sessile glands at the base; anthers four-celled, the three 
inner turned outwards. Three capitate abortive stamens next the centre. Fruit 
seated in a cup like calyx. Leaves ribbed. Leaf-buds not scaly. Lindley. 
1. Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. Nees, Laurinese., 52; Lindley, Flor. Med. 329; 
Hayne, Darstel.und Beschreib. &c. xii. 263. — Laurus Cinnamomum. Linn. 
This is a tree about twenty or thirty feet high, with a trunk from twelve to eigh- 
teen inches in diameter, and covered with a thick, scabrous bark. The branches 
are numerous, strong, horizontal, and declining; and the young shoots are beau- 
tifully speckled with dark green and light orange colours. The leaves are oppo- 
site for the most part, coriaceous, entire, ovate, or ovate-oblong,obtusely pointed, 
and three-nerved, with the lateral nerves vanishing as they approach the point. 
There are also two less obvious nerves, one on each side, arising from the base, 
proceeding towards the border of the leaf, and then quickly vanishing. The foot- 
stalks are short and slightly channeled, and, together with the extreme twigs, are 
smooth and without the least appearance of down. In one variety, the leaves are 
very broad and somewhat cordate. When mature, they are of a shining green 
upon their upper surface, and lighter coloured beneath. The flowers are small, 
white, and arranged in axillary and terminal panicles The fruitis an oval berry, 
which adheres like the acorn to the receptacle, is larger than the black currant, 
and when ripe has a bluish-brown surface, diversified with numerous white spots. 
The tree emits no smell perceptible at any distance. The bark of the root has 
the odour of cinnamon with the pungency of camphor, and yields this principle 
upon distillation. The leaves have a spicy odour when rubbed, and a hot taste. 
A volatile oil distilled from them has been introduced into commerce.* The 
petiole has the flavour of cinnamon. It is a singular fact, that the odour of the 
flowers is to people in general disagreeable, being compared by some to the 
scent exhaled from newly sawn bones. The fruit has a terebinthinate odour when 
opened, and a taste in some degree like that of Juniper berries. A fatty sub- 
stance, called cinnamon-suet, is obtained from it when ripe, by bruising and 
then boiling it in water, and removingthe oleaginous matter which rises to the 
surface, and concretes upon cooling. It is the prepared bark that constitutes 
the genuine cinnamon. 
This species is a native of Ceylon, where it has long been cultivated. It is 
said also to be a native of the Malabar Coast, and has at various periods been 
* The cinnamon leaf oil, as imported into Great Britain, is of two kinds, one containing 
a considerable quantity of a fatty fixed oil, perhaps cinnamon suet from the fruit, the other 
a pure volatile oil. The oil is said to be obtained by distilling the leaves after maceration 
in sea-water. It resembles the oil of cloves and pimento in sensible properties, having a 
brownish colour, a penetrating, fragrant odour, and a very pungent taste. According to 
Stenhouse, it is of thesp. gr. 1-053, has an acid reaction, and consists essentially of eugenic 
acid and a neuter substance with the formula C20H16, but contains also a minute proportion 
of benzoic ac I. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 319.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 314 
Cinnamomum. 
PART I. 
introduced into Java, the Isle of France, Bourbon, the Cape de Verds, Brazil, 
Cayenne, several of the West India islands, and Egypt; and in some of these 
places is at this time highly productive, especially in Cayenne, where the plant 
was flourishing so early as 1755. It is exceedingly influenced, as regards the 
aromatic character of its bark, by the circumstances of soil, climate, and mode 
of culture. Thus we are told by Marshall that in Ceylon, beyond the limits of 
Negombo and Matura, in the western and southern aspect of the island, the bark 
is never of good quality, being greatly deficient in the aromatic flavour of the 
cinnamon; and that even within these limits it is of unequal value, from the 
various influence of exposure, soil, shade, and other circumstances. 
2. C. aromaticum. Nees, Laurinese, 52; Lindley, Flor. Med. 330. — C. Cas- 
sia. Blume, Ed. Ph.; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &c. xii. 23.— Laurus Cas- 
sia. Aiton, Hort. Kew. ii. 427. — Not Laurus Cassia of Linn. This is of about 
the same magnitude as the former species, and like it has nearly opposite, shortly 
petiolate, coriaceous, entire leaves, of a shining green upon the upper surface, 
lighter-coloured beneath, and furnished with three nerves of which the two lat- 
eral vanish towards the point. The leaves, however, differ in being oblong-lance- 
olate and pointed, and in exhibiting, under the microscope, a very fine down upon 
the under surface. The footstalks and extreme twigs are also downy. The flow- 
ers are in narrow, silky panicles. The plant grows in China, Sumatra, and other 
parts of Eastern Asia, and is said to be cultivated in Java. It is believed to be 
the species which furnishes, wholly or in part, the Chinese cinnamon or cassia 
brought from Canton, and is supposed to be the source of the cassia buds. 
Besides the two species above described, others have been thought to contri- 
bute to the cinnamon and cassia of commerce. The opinion of Dr. Wight has 
been already stated. C. Loureirii of Nees, growing in the mountains of Cochin- 
China near Laos, and in Japan, affords, according to Loureiro, a cinnamon of 
which the finest kind is superior to that of Ceylon. C.nitidum, growing in 
Ceylon, Java, and on the continent of India, is said to have been the chief source 
of the drug known formerly by the name of Folia Malabathri, and consisting 
of the leaves of different species of Cinnamomum mixed together. The leaves 
of C. Tamala of Hindostan have been sold under the same name. G. Culi- 
lawan of the Moluccas yields the aromatic bark called culilawan, noticed in the 
third part of this work; and similar barks are obtained from another species 
of the same region, named C. rubrum, and from C. Sintoc of Java. Massoy- 
bark, from which an aromatic volatile oil is obtained called oil of massoy, is 
the product of C. Kiamis. (Gmelin, Hand-book, xiv. 380.) 
Culture, Collection, Commerce, &c. Our remarks under this head will first 
be directed to the cinnamon of Ceylon, in relation to which we have more pre- 
cise information than concerning the aromatic obtained from other sources. 
The bark was originally collected exclusively from the tree in a wild state; 
but the Dutch introduced the practice of cultivating it, which has been con- 
tinued since the British came into possession of the island. The principal cin- 
namon gardens are in the vicinity of Columbo. The seeds are planted in a 
prepared soil at certain distances; and, as four or five are placed in a spot, the 
plants usually grow in clusters like the hazel bush. In favourable situations 
they attain the height of five or six feet in six or seven years; and a healthy 
bush will then afford two or three shoots fit for peeling, and every second year 
afterwards from four to seven shoots in a good soil. The cinnamon harvest 
commences in May, and continues till late in October. The first object is to 
select shoots proper for decortication, and those are seldom cut which are less 
than half an inch, or more than two or three inches in diameter. The bark is 
divided by longitudinal incisions, of which two are made in the smaller shoots, 
several in the larger, and is then removed in strips by means of a suitable in- 
strument. The pieces are next collected in bundles, and allowed to remain in 
this state for a short time, so as to undergo a degree of fermentation, which 
facilitates the separation of the epidermis. This, with the green matter beneath 
it, is removed by placing the strip of bark upon a convex piece of wood, and PART i. 
Cinnamomum. 
315 
scraping its external surface with a curved knife. The bark now dries and 
contracts, assuming the appearance of a quill. The peeler introduces the smaller 
tubes into the larger, and connects them also endwise, thus forming a congeries 
of quills which is about forty inches long. When sufficiently dry, these cylinders 
are collected into bundles weighing about thirty pounds, and bound together 
by pieces of split bamboo. The commerce in Ceylon cinnamon was formerly 
monopolized by the East India Company; but the cultivation is now unre- 
stricted, and the bark may be freely exported upon the payment of a fixed duty. 
It is assorted in the island into three qualities, distinguished by the designa- 
tions of first, second, and third. The inferior kinds, which are of insufficient 
value to pay the duty, are used for the preparation of oil of cinnamon. 
Immense quantities of cinnamon are exported from China, the finest of which 
is little inferior to that of Ceylon, though the mass of it is much coarser. It 
passes in commerce under the name of cassia, and is said by Mr. Reeves to be 
brought to Canton from the province of Kwangse, where the tree producing it 
grows very abundantly. (Trans. Medico-bot. Soc., 1828, p. 26 ) It has already 
been stated that this tree is supposed to be the Ginnamomum aromaticum ; 
but we have no positive proof of the fact. Travellers inform us that cinnamon 
is also collected in Cochin-China; but that the best of it is monopolized by the 
sovereign of the country. It is supposed to be obtained from the Ginnamomum 
Loureirii of Nees, the Laurus Ginnamomum of Loureiro. According to Sie- 
bold, the bark of the large branches is of inferior quality and is rejected; that 
from the smallest branches resembles the Ceylon cinnamon in thickness, but 
has a very pungent taste and smell, and is little esteemed; while the inter- 
mediate branches yield an excellent bark, about a line in thickness, which is 
even more highly valued than the cinnamon of Ceylon, and yields a sweeter 
and less pungent oil. (Annal. der Pharm., xx. 28u.) Cinnamon of good quality 
is said to be collected in Java, and considerable quantities of inferior quality 
have been thrown into commerce, as cassia lignea, from the Malabar Coast. 
Manilla and the Isle of France are also mentioned as sources whence this drug 
is supplied. Little, however, reaches the United States from these places. 
Cayenne, and several of the West India islands, yield to commerce consider- 
able quantities of cinnamon of various qualities. That of Cayenne is of two 
kinds, one of which closely resembles, though it does not quite equal, the aro- 
matic of Ceylon, the other resembles the Chinese. The former is supposed to 
be derived from plants propagated from a Ceylonese stock, the latter from 
those which have sprung from a tree introduced from Sumatra.* 
By far the greater proportion of cinnamon brought to this country is im- 
ported from China. It is entered as cassia at the custom house, while the 
same article brought from other sources is almost uniformly entered as cinna- 
mon. Much of it is afterwards exported. 
From what source the ancients derived their cinnamon and cassia is not 
certainly known. Neither the plants nor their localities, as described by Dios- 
corides, Pliny, and Theophrastus, correspond precisely with our present know- 
ledge;. but in this respect much allowance must be made for the inaccurate 
geography of the ancients. It is not improbable that the Arabian navigators, 
at a very early period, conveyed this spice within the limits of Phoenician and 
Grecian, and subsequently of Roman commerce. 
* While on a visit, Nov. 1860, to the Palais d' Industrie, in Paris, where is kept a noble 
collection of industrial and natural products from the various French colonies, we noticed 
specimens of the Ceylon cinnamon (C. Zeylanicum), from the W. India island of Mar- 
tinique. It was apparently of fine quality, consisting of pieces, singly and doubly quilled, 
and bearing a close resemblance to the product of Ceylon, except that the quills were 
single, and not, like the Ceylonese, introduced one into the other, forming a sort of com- 
Eact cylinder. There were, besides, large flat pieces of the bark from the same source, 
earing, in their general aspect, some resemblance to the flat Calisaya bark. These were, 
no doubt, from the trunk or larger branches. How far they possessed the aromatic proper- 
ties of the true cinnamon could not be determined; for they were enclosed in cases in such 
a manner that, though they could be seen, they could not be submitted to the test of taste 
and smell. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 316 
Cinnamomum. 
PART I. 
Properties. Ceylon cinnamon is in long cylindrical fasciculi, composed of 
numerous quills, the larger enclosing the smaller. In the original sticks, which 
are somewhat more than three feet in length, two or three fasciculi are neatly 
joined at the end, so as to appear as if the whole were one continuous piece. 
The finest is of a light brownish-yellow colour, almost as thin as paper, smooth, 
often somewhat shining, pliable to a considerable extent, with a splintery frac- 
ture when broken. It has a pleasant fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, 
pungent, sweetish, slightly astringent, and highly agreeable taste. When dis- 
tilled it affords but a small quantity of essential oil, which, however, has an 
exceedingly grateful flavour. It is brought to this country from England ; but 
is very costly, and is not generally kept in the shops. The inferior sorts are 
browner, thicker, less splintery, and of a less agreeable flavour, and are little 
if at all superior to the best Chinese. The finer variety of Cayenne cinnamon 
approaches in character to that above described, but is paler and in thicker 
pieces, neing usually collected from older branches. That which is gathered 
very young is scarcely distinguishable from the cinnamon of Ceylon. 
Chinese cinnamon, or cassia, is in tubes from the eighth of an inch to an 
inch in diameter, usually single, sometimes double, but very rarely more than 
double. In some instances the bark is rolled very much upon itself, in ethers is 
not even completely quilled, forming segments more or less extensive of a hollow 
cylinder. It is of a redder or darker colour than the finest Ceylon cinnamon, 
thicker, rougher, denser, and breaks with a shorter fracture. It has a stronger, 
more pungent and astringent, but less sweet and grateful taste ; and, though of 
a similar odour, is less agreeably fragrant. It is the kind almost universally kept 
in our shops. Of a similar character is the cinnamon imported directly from 
various parts of the East Indies. But under the name of cassia have also been 
brought to us very inferior kinds of cinnamon, collected from the trunks or large 
branches of the trees, or injured by want of care in keeping, or perhaps derived 
from inferior species. It is said that cinnamon from which the mi has been dis- 
tilled, is sometimes fraudulently mixed with the genuine. These inferior kinds 
are detected, independently of their greater thickness, and coarseness of frac- 
ture, by their deficiency in the peculiar sensible properties of the spice. 
According to the analysis of Vauquelin, cinnamon contains a peculiar vola- 
tile oil, tannin, mucilage, a colouring matter, an acid, and lignin. The tannin 
is of the variety which yields a greenish-black precipitate with the salts of iron. 
The oil obtained from the Cayenne cinnamon, he found to be more biting than 
that from the Ceylonese, and at the same time to be somewhat peppery. Bu- 
eholz found in 100 parts of cassia lignea, 0'8 of volatile oil, 4-0 of resin, 14 6 of 
gummy extractive (probably including tannin), 64'3of lignin and bassorin, and 
163 of water including loss. This aromatic yields its virtues wholly to alcohol, 
and less readily to water. At the temperature of boiling alcohol very little of the 
oil rises, and an extract prepared from the tincture retains, therefore, the aro- 
matic properties. For an account of the volatile oil, see Oleum Cinnamomi. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cinnamon is among the most grateful and 
efficient of the aromatics. It is warm and cordial to the stomach, carminative, 
astringent, and, like most other substances of this class, more powerful as a local 
than general stimulant. It is seldom prescribed alone, though, when given in 
powder or infusion, it will sometimes allay nausea, check vomiting, and relieve 
flatulence. It is chiefly used as an adjuvant to other less pleasant medicines, 
and enters into a great number of officinal preparations. It is often employed 
in diarrhoea, in connection with chalk and astringents; and has recently been 
recommended as peculiarly efficacious in uterine hemorrhage. The dose of the 
powder is from ten grains to a scruple. 
Cassia Buds. This spice consists of the calyx of one or more species of Cin- 
namomum, surrounding the young germ, aud, as stated by Dr. Martius, on the 
authority of the elder Nees, about one-quarter of the normal size. It is pro- 
duced in China; and Mr. Reeves states that great quantities of it are brought 
to Canton from the province which alfords cassia. The species which yields it PART I. 
Cinnamomum.—Coccus. 
317 
is in all probability the same with that which yields the bark, though it has been 
ascribed by Nees to Cinnamomum Loureirii. In favour of the former opinion 
is the statement of Dr. Christison, that C. aromaticum, cultivated in the hot- 
houses of Europe, bears a flower-bud which closely resembles the cassia bud 
when at the same period of advancement. Cassia buds have some resemblance 
to cloves, and are compared to small nails with round heads. The enclosed 
germen is sometimes removed, and they are then cup-shaped at top. They 
have a brown colour, with the flavour of cinnamon, and yield an essential oil 
upon distillation. They may be used for the same purposes as the bark. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum; Aqua Cinnamomi, Br.; De- 
coctum Haematoxyli, Br.; Infusum Catechu, Br.; Infus. Catechu Comp., U. S ; 
Pulvis Aromaticus, U.S.; Pulvis Catechu Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Cinna- 
momi Comp., Br.; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, Br.; Pulvis Kino Comp., Br., 
Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., TJ. S.; Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, U. S.; Tinctura 
Cardamomi Comp.; Tinctura Catechu; Tinctura Cinnamomi; Tinctura La- 
vandulae Comp., Br.; Yinum Opii, U. S. W. 
COCCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Cochineal. 
Coccus Cacti. U. S. The dried female insect, Coccus Cacti. Br. 
Cochenille, Fr., Germ.; Cocciniglia, ItaL.; Cochinilla, Span. 
The coccus is a genus of hemipterous insects, having the snout or rostrum 
in the breast, the antennae filiform, and the posterior part of the abdomen fur- 
nished with bristles. The male has two erect wings, the female is wingless. The 
G. Cacti is characterized by its depressed, downy, transversely wrinkled body, its 
purplish abdomen, its short and black legs, and its subulate antennae, which are 
about one-third of the length of the body. (Bees’s Cyclopaedia.) Another spe- 
cies, C. Ilicis, which inhabits a species of oak, is collected in the mountainous 
parts of the Morea, in Greece, and used as a dye-stulf in the East. (Landerer.) 
The Coccus Cacti is found wild in Mexico and Central America, inhabiting 
different species of Cactus and allied genera of plants; and is said to have been 
discovered also in some of the West India islands, and the southern parts of the 
United States. In Mexico, particularly in the provinces of Oaxaca and Guaxaca, 
it is an important object of culture. The Indians form plantations of the nopal 
(Opuntia cochinillifera), upon which the insect feeds and propagates. During 
the rainy season, a number of the females are preserved under cover upon the 
branches of the plant, and, after the cessation of the rains, are distributed upon 
the plants without. They perish quickly after havingdeposited their eggs. These, 
hatched by the heat of the sun, give origin to innumerable minute insects, which 
spread themselves over the plant. The males, of which, according to Mr. Ellis, 
the proportion is not greater than one to one hundred or two hundred females, 
being provided with wings and very active, approach and fecundate the latter. 
After this period, the females, which before moved about, attach themselves to 
the leaves, and increase rapidly in size ; so that, in the end, their legs, antennae, 
and proboscis are scarcely discoverable, and they appear more like excrescences 
on the plant than distinct animated beings. They are now gathered for use, by 
detaching them by means of a blunt knife, a quill, or a feather; a few being left 
to continue the race. They are destroyed either by dipping them enclosed in a 
bag into boiling water, or by the heat of a stove. In the former case they are 
subsequently dried in the sun. The males, which are much smaller than the full- 
grown females, are not collected. It is said that of the wild insect there are six 
generations every year, furnishing an equal number of crops ; but the domestic 
is collected only three times annually, the propagation being suspended during 
the rainy season, in consequence of its inability to support the inclemency of the 
weather. The insect has been taken from Mexico to the Canary Islands; and 
very large quantities of cochineal have been delivered to commerce from the 318 
Coccus, 
PART I, 
Island of Teneriffe.* The culture has also been successfully introduced into Java; 
and attempts have been made to introduce it into Spain, Corsica, and Algiers.-)- 
As kept in the shops, the finer cochineal, grana fina of Spanish commerce, is 
in irregularly circular or oval, somewhat angular grains, about one-eighth of an 
inch in diameter, convex on one side, concave or flat on the other, and marked 
with several transverse wrinkles. Two varieties of this kind of cochineal are 
known to the druggist, distinguished by their external appearance. One is of a 
reddish-gray colour, formed by an intermixture of the dark colour of the insect 
with the whiteness of a powder by which it is almost covered, and with patches 
of a rosy tinge irregularly interspersed. From its diversified appearance, it is 
called by the Spaniards cochinillajaspeada. It is the variety commonly kept in 
our shops. The other, cochinilla renegrida, or grana nigra, is dark-coloured, 
almost black, with only a minute quantity of the whitish powder between the 
wrinkles. The two are distinguished in our markets by the names of silver grains 
and black grains. Some suppose the difference to arise from the mode of prepa- 
ration ; the gray cochineal consisting of the insects destroyed by a dry heat; the 
black, of those destroyed by hot water, which removes the external whitish pow- 
der. According to Mr. Faber, who derived his information from a merchant 
residing in the neighbourhood where the cochineal is collected, the silver grains 
consist of the impregnated female just before she has laid her eggs ; the black, of 
the female after the eggs have beenlaid and hatched. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xviii. 47.) There is little or no difference in their quality. $ Another and much 
inferior variety is the grana sylvestra, or wild cochineal, consisting partly of 
very small separate insects, partly of roundish or oval masses, which exhibit, 
under the microscope, minute and apparently new born insects, enclosed in a 
white or reddish cotton-like substance. It is scarcely known in our drug market. 
Cochineal has a faint heavy odour, and a bitter slightly acidulous taste. Its 
powder is of a purplish-carmine colour, tinging the saliva intensely red. Ac- 
cording to Pelletier and Caventou, it consists of a peculiar colouring principle, 
a peculiar animal matter constituting the skeleton of the insect, stearin, olein, an 
odorous fatty acid, and various salts. Tyrosin, a crystallizable animal prin- 
ciple, has been found by Pe la Rue. (Gmelin, xiii. 358.) It was also analyzed 
by John, who called the colouring principle cochinilin. This is of a brilliant 
purple-red colour, unalterable in dry air, fusible at 122° F., very soluble in water, 
soluble in cold, and more so in boiling alcohol, insoluble in ether, and without 
nitrogen. It is obtained by macerating cochineal in ether, and treating the 
residue with successive portions of boiling alcohol, which on cooling deposits 
a part of the cochinilin, and yields the remainder by spontaneous evaporation. 
It may be freed from a small proportion of adhering fatty matter, by dissolving 
it in alcohol of 40° Baume, and then adding an equal quantity of sulphuric 
* Various species of Opuntia are adapted to the support of the cochineal insect, espe- 
cially those which are very juicy, with few thorns and a thick skin. It is the 0. Ficus 
Indica which is chiefly cultivated in Teneriffe, the dry hut hot climate of which is pecu- 
liarly adapted to the growth both of the plant and the insect. In the year 1856, the pro- 
duct of the Canaries is stated to have amounted to more than one and a half millions of 
pounds, having increased to that amount from eight pounds in 1831. (Neues Repertorium 
fur Pharm., viii. 195.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
f At the Palais d’Industrie, in Paris, in Nov. 1860, the author noticed considerable 
quantities of apparently good cochineal, said to be the product of Algiers. In Spain, the 
cultivation seems to have proved unprofitable. The author observed a small field near 
Malaga, in 1861, still appropriated to the culture; but was informed that it was now 
neglected. In Asia Minor, in the vicinity of Oushak, are great quantities of an insect, 
closely resembling the Coccus Cacti, which feed on a species of cistus; but it is unknown 
whether any portion has been introduced into general commerce. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxxv. 455.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
J Cake cochineal is the name given to a variety of this drug, produced in the Argentine 
Eepublic, in South America, a specimen of which was sent by Mr. Black from Cordova, 
in that country, to London, and was examined by Dr. Stark. It was in flat cakes about 
a quarter of an inch thick, and, under the microscope, was seen to consist chiefly of 
the cochineal insect, mixed with small portions of the thorns and epidermis of the cactus, 
in consequence of careless gathering. It is inferior for dyeing purposes to the ordinary 
variety. (Pharm. Journ., xix. 346.) PART I. 
Coccus.— Colchici Radix.— Colchici Semen. 
319 
ether. The pure cochinilin is deposited in the course of a few days. The watery 
infusion of cochineal is of a violet-crimson colour, which is brightened by the 
acids, and deepened by the alkalies. The colouring matter is readily precipi- 
tated. The salts of zinc, bismuth, and nickel produce a lilac precipitate, and 
those of iron a dark-purple approaching to black. The salts of tin, especially 
the nitrate and chloride, -precipitate the colouring matter of a brilliant scarlet, 
and form the basis of those splendid scarlet and crimson dyes, which have ren- 
dered cochineal so valuable in the arts. With alumina the colouring matter 
forms the pigment called lake. The finest lakes are obtained by mixing the de- 
coction of cochineal with freshly prepared gelatinous alumina. The pigment 
called carmine is the colouring matter of cochineal precipitated from the decoc- 
tion by acids, the salts of tin, &c., or by animal gelatin, and when properly 
made is of the most intense and brilliant scarlet. The colouring principle has 
been named carminic acid,, in consequence of its possession of acid properties. 
Cochineal has been adulterated by causing certain heavy substances, such as 
powdered talc and carbonate of lead, by shaking in a bag or otherwise, to ad- 
here to the surface of the insects, and thus increase their weight. The fraud may 
be detected by the absence, under the microscope, of a woolly appearance, which 
characterizes the white powder upon the surface of the unadulterated insect. 
Metallic lead, which is said frequently to exist in fine particles in the artificial 
coating, may be discovered by powdering the cochineal, and suspending it in 
water, when the metal will remain behind. Grains of a substance artificially pre- 
pared to imitate the dried insect have been mixed with the genuine in France. 
A close inspection will serve to detect the difference. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., ix. 110.) Vermilion and chromic-red (dichromate of lead) are said also to 
have been largely used in the adulteration of carmine, to the extent sometimes 
of 60 or even 70 per cent. {Pharm. Journ., May, I860, p. 547.) There can be 
no difficulty in detecting them by the appropriate tests Starch has been used, 
according to Prof. Maisch, for the same purpose in the U. States, and in one 
specimen he found 57 T 4 per cent. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 18.) 
Medical Properties, &c. Cochineal is supposed by some to possess anodyne 
properties, and has been highly recommended in hooping-cough and neuralgic 
affections. It is frequently associated, in prescription, with carbonate of potassa, 
especially in the treatment of hooping-cough. In pharmacy it is employed to 
colour tinctures and ointments. To infants with hooping-cough, cochineal in 
substance is given in the dose of about one third of a grain three times a day 
The dose of a tincture, prepared by macerating one part of the medicine in 
eight parts of diluted alcohol, is for an adult from twenty to thirty drops twice 
a day. In neuralgic paroxysms, Sauter gave half a tablespoonful, with the as- 
serted effect of curing the disease. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Cardamomi Composita; Tinct. Cinchonae Comp., Br.; 
Tinct. Cocci, Br. W. 
COLCHICI RADIX. U.S. 
Colchicum Root 
The Cormus of Colchicum autumnale. U. S. 
Off. Syn. COLCHICI CORMUS. Golchicum Gorm. The fresh corm of Col- 
chicum autumnale, collected about the end of June; and the same stripped of its 
coats, sliced transversely, and dried at a temperature not exceeding 150°. Br. 
COLCHICI SEMEN. U.S. 
Colchicum Seed. 
The seed of Colchicum autumnale. U. S. 
Of. Syn. COLOHICI SEMINA. Golchicum Seeds. The fully ripe seeds of 
Colchicum autumnale. Br. 
Colchique, Fr.; Zeitlose, Herbst-Zeitlose, Germ.; Colchico, Ital., Span. 
Colchicum. Sex.Syst Hexandria Trigynia.— Nat. Ord. Melanthacese. 320 
Colchici Radix. — Colc-hici Semen. 
PART I. 
Gen.Ch. A spathe. Corolla six-parted, with a tube proceeding directly from 
the root. Capsules three, connected, inflated. Willd. 
Colchicum autumnale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 272; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 759, t. 
258. This species of Colchicum, often called meadow-saffron, is a perennial 
bulbous plant, the leaves of which appear in spring, and the flowers in autumn. 
Its manner of growth is peculiar, and deserves notice as connected in some 
measure with its medicinal efficac}r. In the latter part of summer, a new bulb, 
or cormus as the part is now called, begins to form at the lateral inferior por- 
tion of the old one, which receives the young offshoot in its bosom, and embraces 
it half round. The new plant sends out fibres from its base, and is furnished 
with a radical spathe, which is cylindrical, tubular, cloven at top on one side, 
and half under ground. In September, from two to six flowers, of a lilac or pale- 
purple colour, emerge from the spathe, unaccompanied with leaves. The corolla 
consists of a tube five inches long, concealed for two-thirds of its length in the 
ground, and of a limb divided into six segments. The flowers perish by the end 
/of October, and the rudiments of the fruit remain under ground till the follow- 
ing spring, when they rise upon a stem above the surface, in the form of a three- 
lobed, three-celled capsule. The leaves of the new plant appear at the same 
time; so that in fact they follow the flower instead of preceding it, as might be 
inferred from the order of the seasons in which they respectively show them- 
selves. The leaves are radical, spear shaped, erect, numerous, about five inches 
long, and one inch broad at the base. In the mean time, the new bulb has been 
increasing at the expense of the old one, which, having performed its appointed 
office, perishes; while the former, after attaining its full growth, sends forth 
shoots, and in its turn decays. The old bulb, in its second spring, and a little 
before it perishes, sometimes puts forth one or more small bulbs, which sepa- 
rate from the parent, and are supposed to be sources of new plants. 
C. autumnale is a native of the temperate parts of Europe, where it grows 
wild in moist meadows Attempts have been made to introduce its culture 
into this country, but with no great success; though small quantities of the 
bulb, of apparently good quality, have been brought into the market. The 
officinal portions are the bulb or cormus, and the seeds. The root, botanically 
speaking, consists of the fibres attached to the base of the bulb. The flowers 
possess similar virtues with the bulb and seeds. 
I. Colciiici Radix. 
The medicinal virtue of the bulb depends much upon the season at which it 
is collected. Early in the spring, it is too }roung to have fully developed its 
peculiar properties; and, late in the fall, it has become exhausted by the nour- 
ishment afforded to the new plant. The proper period for its collection is from 
the early part of June, when it has usually attained perfection, to the middle 
of August, when the offset appears.* It may be owing, in part, to this ine- 
quality at different seasons, that entirely opposite reports have been given of 
its powers. Krapf ate whole bulbs without inconvenience; Haller found the 
bulbs entirely void of taste and acrimony; and we are told that in Carniola 
the peasants use it as food with impunity in the autumn. On the other hand, 
there can be no doubt of its highly irritating and poisonous nature, when fully 
developed, under ordinary circumstances. Perhaps soil and climate may have 
some influence in modifying its character. 
The bulb is often used in the fresh state in the countries where it grows; as 
it is apt to be injured in drying, unless the process is carefully conducted. The 
usual plan is to cut the bulb, as soon after it has been dug up as possible, into 
thin transverse slices, which are spread out separately upon paper or perforated 
* Dr. Christison, however, has found the roots collected in April, though shrivelled and 
less abundant in starch than those gathered in July, to be even more bitter; and conjec- 
tures, therefore, that the common opinion of their superior efficacy at the latter season may 
not he well founded. Prof. Schroff states, as the result of his observation, that the autumn 
root is much stronger than that dug in summer. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 324.) PART I. 
Colchici Radix. 
321 
trays, and dried with a moderate heat. The reason for drying it quickly, after 
removal from the ground, is that it otherwise begins to vegetate, and a change 
in its chemical nature takes place; and such is its retentiveness of life, that, if 
not cut in slices, it is liable to undergo a partial vegetation even during the dry- 
ing process. Dr. Houlton recommends that the bulb should be stripped of its dry 
coating, carefully deprived of the bud or young bulb, and then dried whole. It 
is owing to the high vitality of the bud that the bulb is so apt to vegetate. Much 
loss of weight is sustained by exsiccation. Mr. Bainbridge obtained only two 
pounds fifteen ounces of dried bulb from eight pounds of the fresh. 
Properties. The recent bulb or cormus of G. autumnale resembles that of the 
tulip in shape and size, and is covered with a brown membranous coat. Inter- 
nally it is solid, white, and fleshy; and, when cut transversely, yields, if mature, 
an acrid milky juice. There is often a small lateral projection from its base, 
particularly noticed by Dr. J. II. Coxe, which appears to be merely a connecting 
process between it and the new plant, and is not always present. When dried, 
and deprived of its external membranous covering, the bulb is of an ash-brown 
colour, convex on one side, and somewhat flattened on the other, where it is 
marked by a deep groove, extending from the base to the summit. As found in 
our shops it is always in the dried state, sometimes in segments made by ver- 
tical sections of the bulb, but generally in transverse circular slices, about the 
eighth or tenth of an inch in thickness, with a notch at one part of their circum- 
ference. The cut surface is white, and of an amylaceous aspect. The odour of 
the recent bulb is said to be liircine. It is diminished but not lost by drying. 
The taste is bitter, hot, and acrid. Its constituents, according to Pelletier and 
Caventou, are a vegetable alkali combined with an excess of gallic acid; a fatty 
matter composed of olein, stearin, and a peculiar volatile acid analogous to the 
cevadic; a yellow colouring matter; gum; starch; inulin in large quantity; and 
lignin. The active properties are ascribed to the alkaline principle, which was 
believed by its discoverers to be identical with veratria,hut has been subsequently 
found to be peculiar, and has received the appropriate name of colchicine, or 
colchicia * Wine and vinegar extract all the virtues of the bulb. Dr. A. T 
* Colchicia or Colchicine, and Colchiceine. The alkaloid of colchicum has been a subject 
of some controversy. According to Geiger and Hesse, to whom has been ascribed the 
credit of determining its precise nature, colchicine (colchicia) is crystallizable, and has 
a very hitter and sharp taste, but is destitute of the extreme acrimony of veratria, and 
does not, like that principle, excite violent sneezing when applied to the nostrils. It 
differs also in being more soluble in water, and less poisonous. To a kitten eight weeks 
old, one-tenth of a grain was given dissolved in dilute alcohol. Violent .purging and 
vomiting were produced, with apparently severe pain and convulsions, and the animal 
died at the end of twelve hours. The stomach and bowels were found violently inflamed, 
with effusion of blood through their whole extent. A kitten somewhat younger was de- 
stroyed in ten minutes by only the twentieth of a grain of veratria ; and, on examination 
after death, marks of inflammation were found only in the upper part of the oesophagus. 
The alkaloid was obtained from the seeds by a process similar to that employed in the 
preparation of hyoscyamia from liyoscyamus. (See Hyoscyamus.) A simpler process is to 
digest the seeds of meadow-saffron in boiling alcohol, precipitate with magnesia, treat 
the precipitated matter with boiling alcohol, and finally filter and evaporate. 
The nature of the active principle of colchicum subsequently engaged the attention of 
L. Oberlin. Upon repeating the process of Geiger and Hesse, he was unable to obtain a 
crystallizable product, and came to the conclusion that the substance obtained by them 
was complex, lly acidifying its watery solution by sulphuric or muriatic acid, and con- 
centrating until the liquid became intensely yellow, he obtained, upon the addition of 
water, a yellowish-white precipitate, which, when well washed and freed from colouring 
matter, dissolved readily in alcohol or ether, and crystallized with facility. The crys- 
talline product thus obtained he proposed to call colchiceine. It is a neuter substance, 
contains no acid, and is therefore not a salt, crystallizes in pearly lamellae, is almost in- 
soluble in cold water, to which, however, it imparts a slight bitterness, is more soluble 
in boiling water, and readily dissolves in alcohol, ether, methylic alcohol, and chloro- 
form. It is dissolved by concentrated sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric acids, becoming 
yellow, by acetic acid without change of colour, and by ammonia and potassa. It is not 
altered nor precipitated by acetate or subacetate of lead, nitrate of silver, bichloride of 
mercury, or infusion of galls, but is rendered green by sesquiehloride of iron. It con- 
sists of carbon, hj'drogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. It was found to be very poisonous to 322 
Colchici Radix. 
TART I. 
Thomson states that the milky juice of fresh colchicum produces a fine blue 
colour, if rubbed with the tincture of guaiac; and that the same effect is obtained 
rabbits, killing an animal in 12 hours in the dose of about one-seventh of a grain, and in 
a few minutes by five times that quantity. [ComptesRendus, Dee. 1856, p. 1199. See also 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 235.) 
More recently, Mr. J. E. Carter, of Philadelphia, has made some experiments v hick 
appear to invalidate the conclusions of Oherlin as to the nature of colchicia, and to con- 
firm the previous opinion of its alkaloid character. Mr. Carter used the bulb, instead of 
the seeds, which had previously in general been made the subject of experiment. He 
employed two processes for the extraction of the alkaloid, hut found the following most 
productive. The dried and powdered bulb was exhausted by alcohol of 0-835 by means 
of percolation; the tincture thus obtained was evaporated to the consistence of syrup; 
water acidulated with acetic acid was added, and the liquor, after filtration, was nearly 
neutralized with ammonia, and then precipitated by solution of tannic acid; the pro-, 
cipitated tannate, after being well washed, was rubbed with five times its weight of 
freshly prepared hydrated oxide of lead, small quantities of alcohol being added from 
time to time during the trituration; the whole was then filtered, and the filtered liquid 
evaporated at a gentle heat. Twenty grains were thus obtained from three pounds of 
the dried root. Thus obtained colchicia was yellowish in mass, nearly white in powder, 
inodorous, bitter without being acrid, not sternutatory, soluble in water hot or cold, 
still more so in dilute acids and alkaline solutions, very soluble in alcohol and chloro- 
form, sparingly so in pure ether, and insoluble in benzole. Mr. Carter did not succeed 
in crystallizing it. It was alkaline to test-paper, neutralized the acids, and with sul- 
phuric acid formed a crystallizable salt. The most delicate test appeared to be that of 
sulphuric acid and nitre. A piece of nitre, added to its solution in sulphuric acid, pro- 
duced a beautiful blue colour, changing to green, dark-brown or purple, and finally 
reddish-yellow. (For a further account of Mr. Carter’s experiments, see Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1858, p. 209.)—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 
Since Mr. Carter’s experiments, others have engaged in the same inquiry. Ludwig 
confirms the statements of Oberlin. Hubler, operating on the unbruised seeds by a pro- 
cess similar to that of Mr. Carter with the cormus, for the details of which we refer to 
the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1866, p. 105), obtained an amorphous substance, 
soluble without residue in water and in alcohol, of an odour like that of hay, and very 
bitter. It had no effect on test-paper; its solution was precipitated yellow by chloride 
of gold, and white by corrosive sublimate; mineral acids and alkalies turned it yellow; 
at 284° F. it melted, with no other observable change except in colour, which became 
brown; and its composition was represented by the formula C34II19NO10. When treated 
with acids it yielded crystallizable bodies, but these, instead of salts, were a new product, 
isomeric with colchicia, but in character resembling if not identical with the colchi- 
ceine of Oberlin, which is therefore a result of change in the colchicia. Both these sub- 
stances are poisonous. Between the substance obtained by Hubler and the one by Car- 
ter, there is this apparently irreconcilable difference, that the latter is decidedly though 
feebly alkaline, while the former is entirely neuter. Either there is some error on the 
part of one of these experimenters, or the alkaloid obtained from the cormus is different 
from the active principle of the seeds. 
That Mr. Carter’s statement was correct has been fully confirmed by Prof. J. M. Maisch, 
who made a very careful examination of a portion of the colchicia obtained by Mr. Carter, 
and kept as a specimen, with the following results. It was an amorphous powder; of a 
light-yellow colour, a faint odour, and intense bitterness; sparingly soluble in ether, and 
readily in water and alcohol. The aqueous solution was slightly turbid, probably from 
t he decomposition by time and exposure of a portion of the colchicia into resin and col 
chiceine. Heated on platinum foil, it melted, and at a higher temperature took fire, and 
burned without residue. It restored the blue colour of reddened litmus, and even neu- 
tralized sulphuric acid in very minute proportion. It answered to the best tests of col- 
chicia, namely, 1. the effect on its solution of both acids and alkalies, which cause it to 
assume a yellow colour, and 2. the violet and blue colour produced by oxidizing agents 
on the dry colchicia. When treated first with concentrated sulphuric acid, and then with 
nitric acid or a fragment of a nitrate, it went through a series of changes of colour, ending 
in yellow. The same effect resulted from sulphuric acid with a trace of chromate or bi- 
chromate of potassa, sesquicliloride of iron, or binoxide of lead; the first two causing a 
green colour with the solution, through the intermixture of their yellowness with the blue 
developed. The colchicia also answered to the following tests of the alkaloids, giving 
precipitates with iodohydrargyrate of potassium, phosphomolybdic acid, and tannic acid. 
Colchiceine was produced by treating colchicia with diluted sulphuric and muriatic acids, 
evaporating the solution to dryness, repeating this operation once and again, then dis- 
solving the residue in water, filtering tne solution to separate the resin formed, evapo- 
rating with an excess of carbonate of lead to remove acid, treating with strong alcohol, 
and slowly evaporating. Colchiceine was deposited in yellow crystals, the solution of 
which precipitated, like colchicia, tannic and phosphomolybdic acids, and iodohydrargv- 
’•ate of mercury, but exercised no reaction on litmus paper whether red or blue. PAItT I 
Colchici Radix. 
323 
from an acetic solution of the dried £ulb. He considers the appearance of this 
colour, when the slices are rubbed with a little distilled vinegar and tincture of 
guaiac, as a proof that the drug is good and has been well dried. Dr. J. M. 
Maclagan has shown that this change of colour is produced with the albumen, 
which is not affected if previously coagulated; so that the value of the test con- 
sists simply in proving that the drying has not been effected at a heat above 
180°, or the temperature at which albumen coagulates. A very deep or large 
notch in the circumference of the slices is considered an unfavourable sign; as 
it indicates that the bulb has been somewhat exhausted in the nourishment of 
the offset. The decoction yields a deep-blue precipitate with solution of iodine, 
white precipitates with acetate and subacetate of lead, nitrate of protoxide of 
mercury, and nitrate of silver, and a slight precipitate with tincture of galls. 
The value of colchicum is best tested by its bitterness. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Colchicum root is believed to act upon the 
nervous system, allaying pain and producing other sedative effects, even when 
it exerts no obvious influence over the secretions. Generally speaking, when 
taken in doses sufficiently large to affect the system, it gives rise to more or less 
disorder of the stomach or bowels, and sometimes occasions active vomiting and 
purging, with the most distressing nausea. When not carried off by the bowels, 
it often produces copious diaphoresis, and occasionally acts as a diuretic and 
expectorant; and a case is on record of violent salivation, supposed to have re- 
sulted from its use. It appears in fact to have the property of stimulating all 
the secretions, while it somewhat diminishes the action of the heart. In an over- 
dose, it may produce dangerous and even fatal effects. Excessive nausea and 
vomiting, abdominal pains, purging and tenesmus, great thirst, sinking of the 
pulse, coldness of the extremities, and general prostration, with occasional symp- 
toms of nervous derangement, such as headache,delirium, and stupor, are among 
the results of its poisonous action. It was well known to the ancients as a poi- 
6on, and is said to have been employed by them as a remedy in gout and other 
diseases. Storck revived its use among the moderns. He gave it as a diuretic 
and expectorant in dropsy and humoral asthma; and on the continent of Europe 
it acquired considerable reputation in these complaints; but the uncertainty of 
its operation led to its general abandonment, and it had fallen into almost entire 
neglect, when Dr. Want, of London, again brought it into notice by attempting 
to prove its identity with the active ingredient of the eau medicinale d’Husson, 
so highly celebrated as a cure for gout. In James’s Dispensatory, printed in 
1747, it is said to be used in gout as an external application. The chief em- 
ployment of the meadow-saffron is at present in the treatment of gout and rheu- 
matism, in which experience has abundantly proved it to be a highly valuable 
remedy. We have, within our own observation, found it especially useful in 
these affections, when of a shifting or neuralgic character. It sometimes pro- 
duces relief without obviously affecting the system ; but is more efficient when it 
evinces its influence upon the skin or alimentary canal. Professor Chelius states 
that it changes the chemical constitution of the urine in arthritic patients, pro- 
ducing an evident increase of the uric acid. Dr. Maclagan has found it greatly 
to increase the proportion both of urea and uric acid in the urine, and, where 
The inference from these experiments is that the active principle of colchicum, known 
by the name of colchicia, is an alkaloid, but that its salts in solution, on being kept, or 
evaporated, especially if heat is used, are decomposed, and converted into resin and col- 
chiceine, the latter of which crystallizes; and, as this is isomeric with colchicia, the prob- 
ability is that the resin has the same composition. In preparing colchicum pharmaceu- 
tically, if it be desired to retain the colchicia unchanged, both acids and alkalies should 
be avoided, especially when heat is employed. Of the officinal preparations, the two fluid 
extracts contain the colchicia as in nature; the acetic extract has a portion at least of 
colchiceine in its composition. In the wines, when kept, the colchicia probably passes 
gradually into colchiceine. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 97.) But it has not 
been proved that these latter preparations are in any degree less efficacious remedialiy ; 
and, in the absence of all experience to the contrary, the inference is that colchiceine 
aiay have all the powers of colchicia; for the acetic extract, and the wines after being 
long kept, have often been used in practice, without having been found less effectual 
than other preparations of colchicum. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 324 
Colchici Radix.— Colchici Semen.— Colocynthis. 
PART L 
these previously existed in the blood, to separate them from it. (Ed. Monthly 
Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., v. 23.) Dr. Elliotson successfully treated a case of 
prurigo with the wine of colehicum, given in the dose of half a drachm three 
times a day, and continued for three weeks ; and it has been found useful in urti- 
caria and other cutaneous affections. Dr. Smith, of Port au Prince, employed 
it advantageously in tetanus both traumatic and idiopathic. He gave it in full 
doses, repeated every half hour till it produced an emetic or cathartic effect. (Am. 
Journ. of the Med. Sci., xvii. 66.) Mr. Ritton found the powdered bulb an effect- 
ual remedy in numerous cases of leucorrhoea. (Ibid., vi. 527.) Colehicum has 
also been recommended in inflammatory and febrile diseases as an adjuvant to 
the lancet, in diseases of the heart with excessive action, in various nervous 
complaints, as chorea, hysteria, and hypochondriasis, and in chronic bron- 
chial affections. It is generally given in the state of vinous tincture (see Vinum 
Colchici Badicis); but there are various other officinal preparations, any one 
of which may be used efficiently. The wine has been employed externally 
in rheumatism. The dose of the dried bulb is from two to eight grains, which 
may be repeated every four or six hours till its effects are obtained. 
2. Colchici Semen. 
The seeds of the meadow-saffron ripen in summer, and should be collected 
about the end of July or beginning of August. They never arrive at maturity 
in plants cultivated in a dry soil, or in confined gardens. {Williams.) They are 
nearly spherical, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, of a reddish-brown 
colour externally, white within,, and of a bitter acrid taste. Dr. Williams, of 
Ipswich, England, who first brought them into notice, recommends them in the 
warmest terms in chronic rheumatism, and considers them superior to the bulb, 
both in the certainty of their effects, and the mildness of their operation. Prof. 
Schroff, however, has found that their activity is inferior to that of the dried bulb, 
dug in autumn. (Avi. Journ. of Pharm.,xx\x. 324.) There is no doubt that they 
possess virtues analogous to those of the bulb, and have this advantage, that they 
are not liable to become injured by drying; an advantage of peculiar value in 
a country where the plant is not cultivated, and a fresh bulb cannot be readily 
procured. A wine, fluid extract, and tincture of the seeds are directed in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Their dose is about the same with that of the bulb.* 
Of. Prep, of the Boot. Acetum Colchici, U S ; Extractum Colchici, Br.; 
Extractum Colchici Aceticum; Extractum Colchici Radicis Fluidum, U. S. 
Vinum Colchici, Br.; Vinum Colchici Radicis, U. S. 
Off. Prep of the Seed. Extractum Colchici Seminis Fluidum, U. S.; Tine 
tura Colchici, U. S.; Tinct. Colchici Seminum, Br.; Vinum Colchici Seminis, 
u. s. w. 
COLOCYNTHIS. US. 
The fruit, deprived of its rind, of Citrullus Colocynthis. U. S. 
Off. Syn. COLOCYNTHIDIS PULPA. Colocynlh Pulp. The dried de- 
corticated fruit, freed from seeds, of Citrullus Colocynthis. Br. 
Colocyntli. 
* The following description of the seeds is given by Mr. Gray in the Lond. Med. Re- 
pcsitory for April, 1821. “Seeds, ovate, globose, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter. 
Integuments, simple, soft, spongy, membranaceous, thin, reddish-brown, closely adherent 
to the perisperm. Perisperm or albumen, hard, rather cartilaginous, pellucid, pale, not 
in the least divided, of the same shape as the seed. Corculum or embryo, very small, ovate- 
globose, not in the least divided, whitish, placed nearly opposite to the hylum, or that part 
where the seed is affixed to the parent plant, hut out of the axis of the seed. Base point- 
ing to the hylum, slender. Apex very obtuse.” An acquaintance with the characters of 
these seeds is the more necessary, as the seeds of other plants have been sold for them. 
T1 flowers have been repeatedly employed as a substitute for the root or s.ecds, and 
by some have been thought more uniform in their effects, and at the same time less irri- 
tating. M. Luskind, of Geneva, Switzerland, prepares them in the following manner. 
The flowers having been gathered when in full perfection, on a sunny day, are submitted 
to expression in a silk bag. A dark-brown juice is obtained, which is to be mingled with 
an equal measure of strong alcohol, allowed to stand for a month, and then Altered. (Sed 
Va. Med. a?id Surg. Journ., March. 1854, p. 486.1 PART I. 
Colocynthis. 
325 
Ooloquintida; Coloquinte, Fr.; Coloquinte, Coloquintenapfel, Germ.; Coloquintida, 
Ital., Span. 
Cucumis. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Cucurbitacese. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-parted. Filaments three. 
Female. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla five-parted. Pistil three-cleft. Seeds of 
the gourd with a sharp edge. Willd. 
Cucumis Colocynthis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 611; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 189, t. 
71.—Citrullus Colocynthis, Royle’s Mat. Med. The hitter cucumber is an an- 
nual plant, bearing considerable resemblance to the common watermelon The 
stems, which are herbaceous and beset with rough hairs, trail upon the ground, 
or rise upon neighbouring bodies, to which they attach themselves by their nu- 
merous tendrils. The leaves, which stand alternately on long petioles, are trian- 
gular, many-cleft, variously sinuated, obtuse, hairy, of a fine green colour on 
the upper surface, rough and pale on the under. The flowers are yellow, and 
appear singly at the axils of the leaves. The fruit is a globular pepo, of the 
size of a small orange, yellow and smooth when ripe; and contains, within a 
hard, coriaceous rind, a white spongy medullary matter, enclosing numerous 
ovate, compressed, white or brownish seeds. 
The plant is a native of Turkey, and abounds in the islands of the Archipe- 
lago. It grows also in various parts of Africa and Asia. Burkhardt, in his 
travels across Nubia, found the country covered with it; Thunberg met with 
it at the Cape of Good Hope; and Ainslie says that it grows in many parts of 
Lower India, particularly in sandy places near the sea. It is said to be culti- 
vated in Spain. The fruit is gathered in autumn, when it begins to become 
yellow, and, having been peeled, is dried quickly in a stove or by the sun. 
Thus prepared, it is imported from the Levant. Small quantities are said to 
be imported into England from Mogador unpeeled.* 
Properties. As kept in the shops, colocynth is in the shape of whitish balls 
about the size of an orange, very light and spongy, and abounding in seeds which 
constitute three-fourths of their weight. The seeds are somewhat bitter; but 
possess little activity, and, according to Captain Lyon, are even used as food in 
the north of Africa. When the medicine is prepared for use, they are separated 
and rejected, the pulpy or medullary matter only being employed. This has a 
very feeble odour, but a nauseous and intensely bitter taste. Water and alcohol 
extract its virtues. Yauquelin obtained the bitter principle in a separate state, 
and called it colocynthin. According to Meissner, 100 parts of the dry pulp 
of colocynth contain 14 4 parts of colocynthin, 10 0 of extractive, 42 of fixed oil, 
13-2 of a resinous substance insoluble in ether, 9 5 of gum, 3 0 of pectic acid 
(pectin), 17‘6 of gummy extract derived from the lignin by means of potassa, 2-7 
of phosphate of lime, 3 0 of phosphate of magnesia, and 19 0 of lignin, besides 
water.f Colocynthin is obtained by boiling the pulp in water, evaporating the 
decoction, treating the extract thus procured with alcohol, evaporating the alco- 
holic solution, and submitting the residue, which consists of the bitter principle 
and acetate of potassa, to the action of a little cold water, which dissolves the 
* In a letter from Mr. R.W. Pelham, of the Shaker?’ Village, near New Lebanon, Ohio, 
the author was informed that a hybrid plant between the colocynth and watermelon had 
been successfully cultivated in that place, and yielded a bitter fruit having the nodical 
virtues of colocynth. With the letter came also some seeds of the plant, and a portion 
of extract prepared from the pulp of the fruit. This was found, upon trial, to be actively 
cathartic. The seeds, planted in the garden of the author, produced vigorous plants, 
which perfected their fruit. The plant appeared intermediate between the colocynth and 
watermelon. The fruit was globular, about four inches in diameter, greer like the'wator- 
melon externally, having the same odour when cut, but of an extremely kilter taste. A 
portion of the pulp was dried; and an extract prepared from it was found to have the 
cathartic properties of the extract of colocynth. 
f Dr. Waltz supposes that he has found another peculiar principle in colocynth to which 
he gives the name of colocynthitin. It was obtained by treating with ether the alcoholic 
extract previously exhausted by water, decolorizing the ethereal solution with animal 
charcoal, evaporating to dryness, and dissolving the residue in anhydrous alcohol, which 
deposited it in crystals on spontaneous evaporation. It is white and tasteless, and is pro 
bably a resin. (N. Jahrbuch der Pharm., xvi. 10.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 326 
Colocynthis. 
PART I 
latter, and leaves the greater part of the former untouched. Mr. Bastick obtained 
it by exhausting the pulp with cold water, heating the solution to ebullition, 
adding subacetate of lead so long as a precipitate was produced, filtering the 
liquor when cold, adding dilute sulphuric acid gradually until it no longer occa- 
sioned a precipitate, boiling to expel free acetic acid, filtering to separate sul- 
phate of lead,evaporating cautiously nearly to dry ness,extractingthe colocy nthin 
from the residuum by strong alcohol, which left the salts, and finally evaporating 
the aicoholic solution. The following process, employed by Dr. Waltz, probably 
yields it in a purer state. Colocynth is exhausted by alcohol of 0 84, the tinc- 
ture evaporated to dryness, the residue treated with water, and the solution pre- 
cipitated first with acetate and afterwards with subacetate of lead. The yellow 
filtered liquor is then treated with sulphuretted hydrogen to separate the lead, 
and, after filtration,with solution of tannic acid, which throws down a compound 
of tannic acid and colocynthin. This is dissolved in alcohol, the tannin thrown 
down by subacetate of lead, the excess of lead separated, and the liquid digested 
with animal charcoal, filtered, and evaporated. The residue, washed with anhy- 
drous ether, is pure colocynthin. This is yellowish, somewhat translucent, brit- 
tle and friable, fusible by a heat below 212°, inflammable, more soluble in alcohol 
than in water, but capable of rendering the latter intensely bitter M. Mouchon 
states that it is insoluble in ether. It is neither acid nor alkaline; but its aque- 
ous solution gives with infusion of galls a copious white precipitate. It consists 
of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and its formula, according to Dr. Waltz, is 
Upon the same authority it is a glucoside, being resolved, by the 
action of sulphuric acid, into sugar and a peculiar resinous substance. An in- 
fusion of colocynth, made with boiling water, gelatinizes upon cooling. Xeu- 
raann obtained from 768 parts of the pulp, treated first with alcohol and then 
with water, 168 parts of alcoholic and 216 of aqueous extract. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The pulp of colocynth is a powerful drastic, 
hydragogue cathartic, producing, when given in large doses, violent griping, and 
sometimes bloody discharges, with dangerous inflammation of the bowels. Death 
has resulted from a teaspoonful and a half of the powder. (Christison.) Even 
in moderate doses, it sometimes acts with much harshness, and is, therefore, sel- 
dom prescribed alone. By some writers it is said to be diuretic. It was frequently 
employed by the ancient Greeks and the Arabians, though its drastic nature was 
not unknown to them. Among the moderns it is occasionally used in obstinate 
dropsy, and in various affections depending on disordered action of the brain. In 
combination with other cathartics it loses much of its violence, but retains its 
purgative energy; and in this state is extensively employed. The compound ex- 
tract of colocynth is a favourite preparation with many practitioners; and, com- 
bined with calomel, extract of jalap, and gamboge, it forms a highly efficient 
and safe cathartic, especially useful in congestion of the portal circle and torpid- 
ity of the liver. (See Pilulse Gatharticse Composite.) The dose of colocynth 
is from five to ten grains. It is best administered in minute division, effected by 
trituration with gum or farinaceous matter. The active principle has sometimes 
been employed ; and, in the impure state in which it is prepared by the pro- 
<ess of M. Emile Mouchon, may be given in the dose of a grain.* 
Thunberg states that the fruit of G. Colocynthis, at the Cape of Good Hope, 
is rendered so mild by being properly pickled, that it is eaten both by the na- 
* The following is the simple process of M. Mouchon. Take 125 parts of colocynth in very 
{me powder, and 60 parts of purified animal charcoal. Mix the colocynth intimately with 
half tha charcoal; introduce the mixture into a percolator containing the other half of the 
charcoal; and percolate first with strong alcohol, then with dilute alcohol, and finally with 
water so as to displace the previous liquid, until 250 parts of concentrated alcoholic tinc- 
ture are obtained. Allow this to evaporate spontaneously on flat dishes to dryness. A 
garnet-coloured pulverizahle product is thus obtained, of insupportable bitterness, and 
powerfully cathartic in the dose of a grain and a half. In this state it is sufficiently pure 
for use. It maybe further purified by dissolving in strong alcohol, and treating with a 
little animal charcoal. One part of colocvnthin is obtained from 32 of the entire fruit. 
[Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 166 ; from Repert. der PharmNov. 1855.) For a process 
by Prof. Procter, see Ibid., March, 1863, p. 116.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Conii Fructus.— Conium. 
327 
tives and colonists; but, as it is thus employed before attaining perfect matu- 
rity, it is possible that the drastic principle may not have been developed. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Alcoholicum, U. S.; Extractum Colo- 
cyntlndis Compositum, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis Composita, Br.; Pilula 
Colocynthidis et Hyoscyami, Br. W. 
CONII FRUCTUS. Br. 
Hemlock Fruit. 
The dried ripe fruit of Conium maculatum, Spotted Hemlock. Br. 
CONIUM. U.S. 
Hemlock. 
The leaves of Conium maculatum. U.S. 
Off. Syn. CONII FOLIA. Hemlock Leaves. The fresh leaves and young 
branches of Spotted Hemlock, Conium maculatum ; also the leaves separated 
from the branches and carefully dried ; gathered from wild British plants when 
the fruit begins to form. Br. 
Cigue ordinaire, Grande cigue,Fr.; Gefleckter Schierling, Germ,.; Cicuta, Ital., Span. 
Conium. Sex. Syst. PentandriaDigynia.—Nat.Ord. Umbelliferaeor Apiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Partial involucre halved, usually three-leaved. Fruit nearly globu- 
lar, five-streaked, notched on both sides. Willd. 
Conium maculatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1395; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 
113 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 104, t. 42. This is an umbelliferous plant, having a 
biennial spindle-shaped whitish root, and an herbaceous branching stem, from 
three to six feet high, round, hollow, smooth, shining, slightly striated, and 
marked with brownish-purple spots. The lower leaves are tripinnate, more than 
a foot in length, shining, and attached to the joints of the stem by sheathing 
petioles; the upper are smaller, bipinnate, and inserted at the division of the 
branches ; both have channeled footstalks, and incised leaflets, which are deep- 
green on their upper surface and paler beneath. The flowers are very small, 
white, and disposed in compound terminal umbels. The general involucre con- 
sists of from three to seven lanceolate, reflected leaflets, whitish at their edges; 
the partial involucre, of three or four, oval, pointed, spreading, and on one side 
only. There are five petals, cordate, with their points inflected, and nearly equal. 
The stamens are spreading, and about as long as the corolla; the styles diverging. 
The fruit, commonly called seeds, is roundish-ovate, a line and a half or rather 
less in length by a line in breadth, striated, and composed of two piano-con vex, 
easily separable parts, which have on their outer surface five crenated ribs. 
Hemlock is a native of Europe, and has become naturalized in the United 
States, where it is also cultivated for medicinal purposes. It grows usually in 
clusters along the road-sides, or in waste grounds, and is found most abund- 
antly near old settlements. It flowers in June and July. The whole plant, 
especially at this period, exhales a fetid odour, compared by some to that of 
mice, by others to that of the urine of cats; and narcotic effects result from 
breathing for a long time air loaded with the effluvia. The plant varies in nar- 
colic power according to the weather and climate, being most active in hot and 
dry seasons, and in warm countries. The hemlock of Greece, Italy, and Spain 
is said to be much more energetic than that of the north of Europe. As a gen- 
eral rule, those plants are most active which grow in a sunny exposure. The 
term cicuta, which has often been applied to this plant, belongs to a different 
genus. The leaves and fruit are officinal. 
The proper season for gathering the leaves is when the plant is in flower; and 
Dr. Fothergill asserts, from experiment, that they are most active about the time 
when the flowers begin to fade. The footstalks should be rejected, and the leaf- 
lets quickly dried, either in the hot sun, on tin plates before a fire, or by a stove- 328 
Conium, 
PART I 
heat net exceeding 120° F. They should be kept in boxes or tin cases, excluded 
from the air and light, by exposure to which they lose their fine green colour, 
and become deteriorated. The same end is answered by pulverizing them, and 
preserving the powder in opaque and well-stopped bottles. But little reliance 
can be placed on the dried leaves ; as, even when possessed of a strong odour 
and a fine green colour, they may be destitute of the narcotic principle. When 
rubbed with caustic potassa they should exhale the odour of conia. The fruit 
retains its activity much longer than the leaves. Dr. Christison found it to 
have sustained no diminution of power, after having been kept eight years. 
Ilirtz inferred from experiment that the relative strength of extracts of the seeds 
and the leaves was as ten to one in favour of the former. 
Properties. The dried leaves of the hemlock have a strong, heavy, narcotic 
odour, less disagreeable than that of the recent plant. Their taste is bitterish 
and nauseous; their colour a dark green, which is retained in the powder. A 
slight degree of acrimony possessed by the fresh leaves is said to be dissipated 
by drying. The seeds have a yellowish-gray colour, a feeble odour, and a bit- 
terish taste. Their form has already been described. Water distilled from the 
fresh leaves has the odour of hemlock, and a nauseous taste, but does not pro- 
duce narcotic effects. The decoction has little taste, and the extract resulting 
from its evaporation is nearly inert. From these facts it is inferrible that the 
active principle, as it exists in the plant, is not volatile at 212°, and, if soluble 
in water, is injured by a boiling heat. Alcohol and ether take up the narcotic 
properties of the leaves; and the ethereal extract, which is of a rich dark-green 
colour, is stated by Dr. A. T. Thomson to have the smell and taste of the plant 
in perfection, and in the dose of half a grain to produce headache and vertigo. 
Upon destructive distillation, the leaves yield a very poisonousempyreumatic 
oil. We have no satisfactory analysis of hemlock. Schrader found in the juice 
of the leaves, resin, extractive, gum, albumen, a green fecula, and various sa- 
line substances. Brandes obtained from the plant a very odorous oil, albumen, 
resin, colouring matter, and salts. 
So long ago as 1827, Giseke obtained an alkaline liquid by distilling hem- 
lock leaves with water and caustic lime; but he did not succeed in isolating 
the substance in which the alkalinity resided. Geiger was the first who obtained 
the active principle in a separate state, and proved it to be alkaline. It appears 
that there are two volatile substances in hemlock; one of them an oil, which 
comes over by simple distillation, and upon which the odour of the plant de- 
pends, and the other an alkaline principle, which, as it exists in the plant, is 
bo combined as not to be volatilizable, but which, when separated by one of the 
mineral alkalies from its native combination, rises readily in distillation, and 
may thus be procured separate. The latter substance is the active principle, 
and has received the name of conia or coniine. It probably exists in the plant 
united with an acid, as it is separated by the alkalies. This acid Peschier be- 
lieved to be peculiar, and named coniic acid. Geiger obtained conia by the 
following process. He distilled fresh hemlock with caustic potassa and water, 
neutralized with sulphuric acid the alkaline liquid which came over, evaporated 
this liquid to the consistence of syrup, added anhydrous alcohol so long as a 
precipitate of sulphate of ammonia was afforded, separated this salt by filtra- 
tion, distilled off the alcohol, mixed the residue with a strong solution of caus- 
tic potassa, and distilled anew. The conia passed over with, the water, from 
which it separated, floating on the surface in the form of a yellowish oil. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Christison, an easier process is to distil cautiously a mixture of 
a strong solution of potassa and the alcoholic extract of the unripe fruit. As 
obtained by the above process, conia is in the state of a hydrate, containirg 
one-fourth of its weight of water and a little ammonia. From the forrm r, it 
may be freed by chloride of calcium ; from the latter, by exposing it under an 
exhausted receiver till it ceases to emit bubbles of gas. 
The fresh leaves or seeds should be employed in the preparation of conia; as 
the alkali undergoes decomposition by time and exposure. The seeds contaip part i. 
Conium. 
329 
most of this principle; but even in these it exists in very small proportion 
From 6 pounds of the fresh and 9 of the dried seeds, Geiger obtained about 
an ounce of conia; while from 100 pounds of the fresh herb he got only a drachm, 
and from the dried leaves none. Christison recommends the full-grown fruit 
while yet green, and states that 8 pounds will yield half an ounce of hydrate 
of conia, and contains much more.* 
Conia is in the form of a yellowish oily liquid, lighter than water, of a very 
acrid taste, and a strong penetrating odour, compared to that of the urine of 
mice, and recalling the smell of fresh hemlock, though not identical with it. In 
volatility it resembles the essential oils, readily rising with the vapour of boil- 
ing water, but, when unmixed, requiring for ebullition, according to Christison, 
a temperature of 370°. It is freely soluble in alcohol, ether, the fixed and volatile 
oils, and slightly so in water. It unites with about one-fourth of its weight of 
water to form a hydrate. It reddens turmeric, and neutralizes the acids, forming 
with them soluble salts, some of which are crystallizable. With tannic acid it 
forms an insoluble compound Like ammonia it occasions a white cloud, when 
approached by a rod moistened with muriatic acid; and the resulting muriate, 
contrary to previous statements, is asserted by Prof. Wertheim to be crystalli- 
zable, and not in the least deliquescent. It coagulates albumen, and precipitates 
the salts of aluminium, copper, zinc, manganese, and iron. It also precipitates 
nitrate of silver, but in excess redissolves the precipitate. Most of its salts are 
decomposed by evaporation. When exposed to the air, it speedily assumes a 
deep-brown colour, and is ultimately converted into a resinous matter, and into 
ammonia which escapes. Under the influence of heat this change takes place 
with much greater rapidity. The presence of conia may be detected in an ex- 
tract, or other preparation of hemlock, by rubbing it with potassa, which instantly 
developes its peculiar odour. It consists of nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen ; its 
admitted formula being C1BII,-N.f In its effects on the system it closely re- 
sembles hemlock itself. Dr. Christison found it, contrary to the experience of 
Geiger, more active in the saline state than when uncombined. It is a most 
energetic poison ; one drop of it injected into the eye of a rabbit killing the 
animal in nine minutes, and three drops killing a stout cat in a minute and a 
half when similarly applied. Dr. Christison ( Trans. Roy. Soc.Ed., 1836) thinks 
that it acts upon the spinal marrow, directly prostrating the nervous power, 
* Methylconia. Ethylconia. From a communication by Drs. A. von Planta and Aug. 
Kekule to the Annal.der Chem. und Pharm. (lxxxix., s. 129-156), it would appear that 
commercial conia consists most commonly of at least two homologous bases ; one being the 
proper conia (CjgHjjN), which contains one eq. of hydrogen capable of being replaced by 
radicals, and the other, named methylconia (C18H,,N), having no hydrogen which can be 
replaced by radicals. A third, ethylconia. (C20H19N), was obtained from a specimen of 
commercial conia containing no methylconia. In relation to the modes of separating these 
alkaloids and their distinctive properties, we must content ourselves with referring to the 
original paper; as no practical advantage has yet accrued from the investigation, and it 
may be doubted whether the new alkaloids may not bo products of the operation, as they 
are obtained by the action respectively of iodide of methyl, and iodide of ethyl on conia. 
Conhydria. Prof. T. Wertheim has also found a new alkaloid mixed with the cmda 
obtained by distillation from fresh hemlock flowers. It is crystallizable, fusible at a tem- 
perature below 212° F., and volatilizable at a higher temperature, diffusing the peculiar 
odour of conia, or one very much like it. Water dissolves it considerably, other and al- 
cohol freely; and the solution has a strong alkaline reaction. Its formula is given as 
ClfiH]5H,H202, or conia with two eqs. of water. Hence it has been named conhydrine 
[conhydria). (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 321.) It may be separated from conia by ex- 
posing the mixed alkaloids to a freezing mixture, expressing, and then repeated y crys- 
tallizing from ether. (Omelin, xiii. 169.)—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 
f Oriila gives the following additional chemical characters of conia. Heated in a cap* 
sule, it forms white vapours, having a strong smell of celery and of the urine of mice Weak 
tincture of iodine gives a white precipitate, becoming olive with excess of the tincture. 
Pure concentrated sulphuric acid does not alter it] but when the mixture is heated, it becomes 
first brown,then blood-red,and finally black. Nitric acid imparts a topaz colour,not changed 
by heat. The chlorides of platinum and of gold give yellow precipitates, and corrosive 
sublimate a white one. Red permanganate of potassa is immediately decolorized. Neutral 
acetate of lead gives no precipitate, nor does the subacetate. The parts of this note in Italics 
indicate the means of distinguishing this alkaloid from nicotia. (See Pharm. Journ., xi. 89.) 330 
Conium. 
PAftT 1. 
producing paralysis of the voluntary muscles, and destroying life by arresting 
respiration. The brain does not seem to be especially attacked; as the animal, 
when it dies slowly, preserves its senses unimpaired so long as it breathes. In 
cases of sudden death from the poison, the heart does not cease to act till after 
apparent death; and its action may be sustained after the animal has ceased to 
breathe, by keeping up artificial respiration. A recently prepared extract of 
hemlock acted precisely as conia. Locally the alkali appears to act as an irritant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Hemlock is narcotic, and somewhat sedative 
to the circulation. Mr. Judd inferred from his experiments that it directly di- 
minishes the action of the heart; and when it produces death, contrary to the 
results obtained by Christison, exhausts the contractility of that organ. (Medico- 
bot. Trans., vol. i pt. 4.) When given so as fully to affect the system, it produces 
more or less vertigo, dimness of vision, nausea, faintness, sensations of numbness, 
and general muscular debility. In larger doses it occasions dilated pupils, diffi- 
culty of speech, delirium or stupor, tremors and paralysis, and ultimately con- 
vulsions and death. Sometimes it produces fatal effects through paralysis alone, 
without coma or convulsions. Its operation usually commences in less than half 
an hour, and if moderate, seldom continues longer than twenty-four hours. • It 
is supposed to be the narcotic used by the Athenians to destroy the life of con- 
demned individuals, and by which Socrates and Phocion died. It was also used 
by the ancients as a medicine, but fell into entire neglect, and did not again 
come into notice till the time of Storck, by whom it was much employed and 
extravagantly praised Since that time it has been submitted to ample trial, 
and, though its original reputation has not been fully sustained, it still retains a 
place in the catalogue of useful medicines. Anodyne, soporific, antispasmodic, 
antaphrodisiac, deobstruent, and diuretic properties have been ascribed to it. It 
was highly recommended by Storck as a remedy in scirrhus and cancerous ulcers, 
but at present is considered only a useful palliative in those affections. In mam- 
mary tumours and chronic enlargements of the liver and other abdominal vis- 
cera; in painful scrofulous tumours and ulcers; in various diseases of the skin, 
as lichen, prurigo, acne, eczema, psoriasis, leprosy, and elephantiasis; in the com- 
plicated derangements of health attendant upon secondary syphilis; in chronic 
rheumatism and neuralgic affections; in excessive secretion of milk; in per- 
tussis, asthma, chronic catarrh, and consumption; and in various other dis- 
orders connected with nervous derangement, or a general depraved state of the 
health, it is occasionally employed with the effect of relieving or palliating the 
symptoms, or favourably modifying the action of other remedies. The late 
Prof. Gibson considered it efficacious in the cure of goitre. 
The powdered leaves, and the inspissated juice (the extract of the Pharma- 
copoeias) are the forms in which conium has been usually administered; but the 
juice of the fresh leaves, prepared by the addition of one-third of its measure of 
alcohol, has been adopted in the British Pharmacopoeia, and is one of the most 
efficient of the preparations. Either the leaves or extract may be given in the 
dose of three or four grains twice a day, gradually increased till the occurrence of 
slight vertigo or nausea indicates that it has taken effect. To maintain a given 
impression, it is necessary to increase the dose even more rapidly than is custo- 
mary with most other narcotics; as the system becomes very speedily habitu- 
ated to its influence. In some instances, the quantity administered in one day 
has been augmented to more than two ounces. The strength of the preparations 
of hemlock is exceedingly unequal; and caution is therefore necessary, when 
the medicine is given in very large quantities, to employ the same parcel, or, 
if a chauge be made, to commence with the new parcel in small doses, so as to 
obviate any danger which might result from its greater power. Unpleasant 
consequences have followed a neglect of this precaution. There are also an 
officinal tincture and alcoholic extract, both of which, when properly made, 
have been considered as efficient preparations. But some doubt has been 
thrown upon this point, particularly in reference to the tin7ture, by Dr. John 
Harley of London, whose experiments seem to show that this preparation ia PART i. 
Coniurn.— Copaiba. 
331 
medically inert. (See Tinctura and Extraction Conii.) The fresh juice of the 
plant has been recommended by Hufeland in the dose of from twelve to forty 
drops. The powdered seeds should be given in a dose considerably smaller than 
that of the leaves.* The fresh leaves are sometimes used externally as an anodyne 
cataplasm ; and the extract, and an ointment prepared from the leaves, are applied 
to the same purpose. A plaster made from the extract has also been employed.f 
Conia has been occasionally employed, both internally and externally, with 
asserted advantage, for the same purposes as hemlock itself, or the extract. It 
has been particularly recommended in hooping-cough. Dr. Spengler, of Her- 
born, gave it to an infant a year old in the dose of one-sixteenth of a grain 
every six hours, with the effect of curing the disease in ten days. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1853, p. 73.) According to the formula of Fronmiiller, two drops are 
dissolved in twenty-four drops of alcohol, and three drops of the solution are 
given, each on a piece of sugar. (Arch. Gen., 4e ser., xxiii. 226.) From one- 
quarter of a drop to a drop may be given to an adult, and one or two drops 
by enema in emulsion of starch. A solution of one part in one hundred of very 
dilute alcohol has been used with advantage in certain cases of scrofulous oph- 
thalmia with photophobia, applied several times daily by friction about the 
eyelids (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser.,xix. 219.) Prof. Mauthner, of Vienna, re- 
commends it especially in the spasmodic contraction of the orbicularis in scro- 
fulous children, using a solution containing half a grain of conia in a drachm 
of almond oil, which he applies by a pencil to the eyelids twice or thrice daily. 
As a collyrium, from one to three drops may be added to six drachms of pure 
water, and two drachms of mucilage of quince seeds. Introduced into the cavity 
of a carious tooth, it is said to be very effectual in toothache. For this purpose 
it should be diluted with ten parts of tincture of cinnamon, and applied by means 
of a camel’s-hair pencil. In diseases of the skin it may be used as an ointment, 
made with three drops to a drachm of simple ointment. In neuralgia, three or 
four drops may be applied on linen to the skin, and confined by oiled silk. 
Though fatal to some animals, hemlock is eaten with impunity by others, 
as horses, goats, and sheep. The best method of relieving its poisonous effects 
is the speedy evacuation of the stomach. 
Off. Prep of the Fruit. Tinctura Conii, Br. 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Cataplasma Conii, Br.; Extractum Conii; Ex 
tractum Conii Alcoholicum, U. S.; Extractum Conii Fluidum, U. S.; Succua 
Conii, Br.; Tinctura Conii, U. S. W 
COPAIBA. U. S., Br. 
Copaiba. 
The juice of Copaifera multijuga and of other species of Copaifera. U. S. 
The oleo-resin obtained from incisions made in the trunk of Copaifera mul 
tijuga and other species of Copaifera. Br. 
* From their greater strength, permanency, and uniformity, the seeds might well super- 
sede the leaves for internal use. They should be pulverized, made into pills with syrup, 
and given in the commencing dose of half a grain, to be gradually increased till theii 
effects are experienced. MM. Devay and Guillermond prepare a syrup from the seeds 
made by exhausting 10 parts of them with 60 parts of alcohol of 28°, and adding the 
tincture to 8000 parts of syrup “ aromatised ad libitum.” One or two fluidraehms may bf 
taken at first. (Ann. de Therap., 1853, p. 54.)—Note to the tenth edition. 
The root, while containing a small proportion of conia, is too feeble, according to the 
experiments of Dr. John Harley of London, to be used practically with advantage. Dr. 
Harley has found in the root three new proximate principles, one a very bitter resin 
which he names conamarine, and the two others crystallizable bodies, named, respectively 
rhizoconin and rhizoconolein. They are all neuter, and so far as known medicinally inert 
For further particulars, the reader is referred to the Pharm. Jcurn. and Trans. (Aug. 
1867, p. 53).—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
f The following formula of Planche has been approved by the Society of Pharmacy, 
of Paris. Take of extract of hemlock 90 parts, of purified elemi 20 parts, of white waj 
10 parts. Melt the resin and wax with a gentle heat, and incorporate the extract witl 
the mixture. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1862, p. 46.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 332 
Copaiba. 
PART L 
0 paiva, Br.; Balsam of copaiva; Baume de copahu, Fr.; Copaiva-Balsam, Germ. • 
Balsamo di copaiba, Ital.; Balsamo de copayva, Span. 
Copaifera. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Leguminos®, 
Jussieu. Amyridaceae, Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Petals four. Legume ovate. Seed one, with an ovate 
arillus. Willd. 
The first notice to be found of the copaiba plant is by Marcgrav and Piso in 
the year 1648 Jacquin in 1763 described a species of Copaifera, growing in 
Martinique, which he named G. officinalis. As this was believed to be the same 
plant with the one observed by Marcgrav in Brazil, it was adopted in the Phar- 
macopoeias; but their identity is now denied; and Desfontaines has proposed 
for Jacquin’s species the title of G. Jacquini, in honour of that botanist. It is 
now known that many species of Copaifera exist in Brazil and other parts of 
South America; and all of them, according to Martius, yield copaiba. Besides 
C. officinalis or C. Jacquini, the following are described by Ilayne ;—G. Guia- 
nensis, G. Langsdorffii, G. coriacea, G. Beyrichii, G. Martii, G. bijuga, G. nitida, 
G. laxa, G. cordifolia, G. Jussieui, C. Sellowii, G. oblongifolia, and G.multi- 
juga. Havne believed that C. bijuga was the plant seen by Marcgrav and Piso. 
Copaifera officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 630; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 609. t. 
216. — G. Jacquini. Desfont. Mem. du Mus. vii. 376; Hayne, Darstel. und Be- 
schreib. &c. x. 14. This is an elegant tree, with a lofty stem, much branched at 
the top, and crowned by a thick canopy of foliage. The leaves are alternate, 
large, and pinnate, composed of from two to five pairs of ovate, entire, obtusely 
acuminate leaflets, two or three inches in length, rather narrower on one side 
than the other, smooth, pellucidly punctate, somewhat shining, and on short 
footstalks. The flowers are whitish, and in terminal branched spikes. The fruit 
is an oval, two-valved pod, containing a single seed. 
This species of Copaifera is a native of Venezuela, and grows in the province 
of Carthagena, mingled with the trees which afford the balsam of Tolu. It 
grows also in some of the West India islands, particularly Trinidad and Mar- 
tinique. Though recognised in former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as 
a source of copaiba, it probably yields little of that now in use. According 
to Ilayne, the species from which most of the copaiba of commerce is derived 
is G. multijuga, growing in the province of Para; and this is now the one spe- 
cially recognised by our national standard. Like many other species it was dis- 
covered by Martius; and a leaf of it is figured by Hayne (x. t. 17 f. c.). It is 
specifically characterized by its pinnate leaves, with from six to ten pairs of 
leaflets, which are somewhat incurved, with unequal sides, acuminate, with 
pellucid spots, the lower ovate-oblong, the upper lanceolate, and all supported 
by slightly pubescent petioles. It is probable tliat G. Guianensis, which in- 
habits the neighbouring province of Guiana, especially in the vicinity of the 
Rio Negro, affords also considerable quantities; and C. Langsdorffii and G. cori- 
acea, which are natives of Santo Paulo, are thought to yield most of the juice col- 
lected in the latter province. G. nitida, inhabiting the province of Minas-Geraes, 
probably also contributes to the commercial supplies, through Rio Janeiro. 
The juice is obtained by making deep incisions into the stems of the trees; and 
the operation is said to be repeated several times in the same season. As it flows 
from the wound, it is clear, colourless, and very thin, but soon acquires a thicker 
consistence, and a yellowish tinge. It is most largely collected in the provinces 
of Para and Maranham, in Brazil, and is brought to this country from the port 
of Para, in small casks or barrels. Large quantities of it come from Maracaybo, 
in Venezuela, and from other ports on the Caribbean sea, whence it is brought 
in casks, demijohns, cans, jugs, &c. The drug is also exported from Angustura, 
Cayenne, Rio Janeiro, and some of the West India islands. 
Properties. Copaiba is a clear, transparent liquid, usually of the consistence 
of olive oil, of a pale-yellow colour, a peculiar not unpleasant odour, and a bit- 
terish, hot, nauseous taste. Its sp. gr. varies ordinarily from 0-950 to L000; but PART I. 
Copaiba. 
333 
has been known to be as low as 0-916. (Procter, Am. J. ofPharm., xxii. 292 )* 
It is insoluble in water, but entirely soluble in absolute alcohol, ether, and the 
fixed and volatile oils. Strong alkaline solutions dissolve it perfectlv; but the 
resulting solution becomes turbid when largely diluted with water. With the 
alkalies and alkaline earths it forms saponaceous compounds, in which the resin 
of the copaiba acts the part of an acid. It dissolves magnesia, especially with 
the aid of heat, and even disengages carbonic acid from the carbonate of that 
earth. If triturated with a sixteenth of its weight of magnesia and set aside, 
it gradually assumes a solid consistence ; and a similar change is produced with 
hydrate of lime. (See Pilulse Copaibse.) Its essential constituents are volatile 
oil and resin, with a minute proportion of an acid which appears to be the acetic. 
{Durand.) As it contains no benzoic acid, it cannot with propriety retain its 
old title of balsam of copaiva. The substances which it most closely resembles, 
Doth in composition and properties, are the turpentines. The volatile oil will 
be treated of among the preparations. (See Oleum Copaibse.) 
The resinous mass which remains after the distillation of the oil is hard, brit- 
tle, translucent, greenish-brown, and nearly destitute of smell and taste. By 
mixing it with the oil in proper proportion, we may obtain a liquid identical or 
nearly so with the original juice. When treated with the oil of petroleum, it is 
separated into two distinct resins, one of which is dissolved, and may be obtained 
separate by evaporation, the other is left behind. The first is yellowish, hard, and 
brittle, and constitutes by far the largest proportion of the residuum of the dis- 
tillation. It forms definite compounds with the alkalies; and its alcoholic solution 
reddens litmus. It is therefore an acid, and has been named copaivic acid. The 
second resin is yellowish-brown, soft, unctuous, and without acid reaction ; and 
is believed to result from the resinification of the volatile oil. Recent copaiba, ex- 
amined by Gerber, yielded 41 per cent, of volatile oil, 51'38 of the hard and brittle 
resin, 2'18 of the soft resin, and 5-44 of water; while an older specimen gave 
3T07 per cent, of oil, 53-68of hard resin, 11 15 of soft resin, and4T0of water. 
Copaiba, upon exposure to the air, acquires a deeper colour, a thicker con- 
sistence, and greater density, and, if spread out upon an extended surface, ulti- 
mately becomes dry and brittle. This change is owing partly to the volatiliza- 
tion, partly to the oxidation of the essential oil. As it is the soft resin that 
results from the oxidation of the oil, it follows that the proportion of this resin 
increases with age. Considerable diversity must, therefore, exist in the drug, 
both in physical properties and the proportion of its ingredients, according to 
its age and degree of exposure. Similar differences also exist in the copaiba pro- 
cured from different sources. Thus, that of the West Indies, when compared with 
the Brazilian, which is the variety above described, and in common use, is of a 
thicker consistence, of a deeper or darker yellow colour, less transparent, and of 
a less agreeable, more terebinthinate odour; and specimens obtained from the 
ports of Venezuela or new Granada were found, upon examination by M. Vigne, 
to differ from each other not only in physical properties, but also in their chemi- 
cal relations. {Journ. de Pharm., N. S., i. 52.) The same is true, as observed by 
M. Buignet, in their action on polarized light, in which they differ not only in 
degree, but sometimes also even in direction. {Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1861, p. 
266-7.) It is not impossible that differences may exist in the juice according to 
the circumstances of its collection. The species of Copaifera from which the juice 
is collected, as well as the age of the tree, its position, and the season of collection 
must also have influence over the product. It is highly probable that the resin- 
* The variety of copaiba found by Prof. Procter to have this low sp. gr. was of uncer- 
taiu origin, but supposed to be from Para. It was of a light straw colour, very fluid, 
and possessed of the pure copaiba odour. It contained 80 per cent, of volatile oil and 20 
of resin, and was not affected by recently calcined magnesia. It appears to be the same 
with a variety described by Dr. L. Posselt, of which an account is contained in the 
Chemical Gazette for May 1st, 1849. The view of Prof. Procter that it is the product 
of young trees, in which the juice has not become fully elaborated, is highly probable 
As the virtues of copaiba depend mainly on the oil, this variety should be more eflioa> 
cious than the copaiba in common use. (Note to the ninth edition.) 334 
Copaiba. 
PART I. 
ous matter results from oxidation of the oil in the cells of the plant, and that 
the less elaborated the juice may be, the larger proportion it will contain of the 
oil. It is said that a volatile oil flows abundantly from a tree near Bogota, 
which is employed to adulterate the copaiba collected in that vicinity, and 
shipped from Maracaybo and other neighbouring ports. 
Adulterations. Copaiba is said to be frequently adulterated; but the remark 
is applicable rat her to the markets of Europe than to those of the United States.* 
The fixed oils are the most frequent addition, especially castor oil,which, in con- 
sequence of its solubility in alcohol, cannot, like the others, be detected by the 
agency of that fluid. Various plans have been proposed for detecting the pre- 
sence of castor oil. The simplest is to boil a drachm of the copaiba in a pint of 
water, till the liquid is wholly evaporated. If the copaiba contain a fixed oil, the 
residue will be more or less soft, according to the quantity present; otherwise 
it will be hard. Another mode, proposed by M. Blanche, consists in shaking to- 
gether in a bottle one part of solution of ammonia of the sp. gr. 0-9212 (22° 
Baume) with two and a half parts of copaiba, at a temperature of from 50° to 
60° F. The mixture, at first cloudy, quickly becomes transparent if the copaiba 
is pure, but remains more or less opaque if it is adulterated with castor oil. Ac- 
cording to J. E. Simon, however, a variety of genuine copaiba occurs in com- 
merce, in which this test fails {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 236) ; and it does not 
apply to the variety containing 80 per cent, of volatile oil, described by Prof. 
Procter. (See note. p. 333.) Carbonate of magnesia, caustic potassa, and sul- 
phuric acid have afso been proposed as tests. In the late Edinburgh Pharma- 
copoeia, it was stated that copaiba “dissolves a fourth part of its weight of car- 
bonate of magnesia, with the aid of a gentle heat, and continues translucent.” 
The presence of a small proportion of any fixed oil renders the mixture opaque. 
One part of potassa dissolved in two of water forms a clear solution with nine 
parts of pure copaiba, and the liquid continues clear when moderately diluted 
witjb water or alcohol; but the presence of one-sixth of fixed oil in the copaiba 
occasions more or less opacity in the liquid, and half the quantity causes the 
precipitation of white flakes in a few hours. (Stolze.) Turpentine, which is 
said to be sometimes added to copaiba, maybe detected by its smell, especially 
if the copaiba be heated. According to Mr. Redwood, most of the proposed 
tests of the purity of copaiba are liable to fallacy; and the best measure 
of its activity is the quantity of volatile oil it affords by distillation.f 
* We have a specimen of a substance imported into New York, under the name of red 
copaiba, which has not a single character of the genuine drug. It is of a thick, semifluid 
consistence, not unlike that of balsam of Tolu, as it often reaches us, a brown colour 
similar to that of the same balsam, though darker, and an unpleasant yet somewhat aro- 
matic odour, recalling that of liquidamber, hut less agreeable. Its origin is unknown. 
(Note to the ninth edition.') 
f Wood Oil. Ourjun Balsam. In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for August, 1854 (p. 65), 
appeared an account, by Mr. Charles Lowe, of Manchester, of a “new variety of bal- 
sam of copaiba,” derived from the East Indies. In a subsequent communication to the 
same journal (Jan. 1856, p. 321) from Mr. Daniel Hanbury, it appears that this pro- 
duct, though offered for sale in the London market as balsam of copaiba, is known in India 
under the names of wood oil and Gurjun balsam. Considerable quantities had been im- 
ported from Moulmein, in Burmah; and specimens of a similar drug had been received 
from Canara and Tenasserim; and it appears to be widely diffused in the Indian markets. 
According to Roxburgh, this liquid is obtained from Dipterocarpus turbinatus, a very 
large tree, growing in Pegu, and other parts of further India. A large notch is cut in the 
trunk of the tree, between two and three feet from the ground, and a fire made so as to 
char the wound. The juice then begins to flow, and is received in suitable vessels. Every 
3 or 4 weeks, the charred surface is cut off and burned anew. A single tree sometimes 
yields 40 gallons during the season. Other species of Dipterocarpus afford a similar pro- 
duct; and hence probably the difference which has been observed in the specimens ex- 
amined. It is at first turbid, but maybe clarified either by filtration or deposition. After 
filtration, wood oil is a clear, dark-brown liquid, of the sp. gr. 0-964 {Hanbury), and, in 
consistence, smell, and taste, bears a close resemblance to copaiba. It is soluble in two 
parts of alcohol of the sp. gr. 0-796, with the exception of a very small proportion of darkish 
flocculent matter, which subsides on standing. According to Lowe, it contains 65 per 
cent < f volatile oil, 34 of resin, and 1 of acetic acid and water. A characteristic property PART I. 
Copaiba. 
335 
Medical Properties and Uses. Copaiba is gently stimulant, diuretic, laxa* 
tive, and in very large doses often actively purgative. It produces, when swal- 
lowed, a sense of heat in the throat and stomach, and extends an irritant action, 
not only throughout the alimentary canal, but also to the urinary passages, and 
in fact, in a greater or less degree, to all the mucous membranes, for which it 
appears to have a strong affinity. The urine acquires a peculiar odour during 
its use, and its smell may be detected in the breath. It sometimes occasions an 
eruption upon the skin, resembling that of measles, and attended with disagree- 
able itching and tingling. Nausea and vomiting, painful purgation, strangury 
and bloody urine, and a general state of fever are among the morbid results of 
its excessive action. Asa remedy it has been found most efficient in diseases 
of the mucous membranes, particularly those of a chronic character. Thus, it is 
given with occasional advantage in leucorrhcea, gleet, chronic dysentery and 
diarrhoea, painful hemorrhoidal affections, and chronic bronchitis, and has re- 
cently been used, with great asserted success, in diphtheria and pseudomem- 
branous croup. By Dr. La Roche, of Philadelphia, it is highly recommended 
in catarrh of the bladder, and in chronic irritation of the same organ. (Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., xiv. 13 ) It has been given in psoriasis and dropsy, and 
is said to be used as a vermifuge in Brazil. The complaint, however, in which 
it is most employed is gonorrhoea. It is given in all stages of the disorder; but 
caution is requisite when the inflammatory symptoms are high. Even in health, 
if taken largely, it sometimes produces very unpleasant irritation of the urinary 
passages, and, by sympathy, of the testicles. It was formerly much esteemed 
as a vulnerary, and as an application to ulcers; but it is now seldom used ex- 
ternally. Dr. Ruschenberger recommends it locally in chilblains. (Med. Ex- 
aminer, i. 77.) Prof Marehal, of Strasburg, has employed it with great success 
in gonorrhoea and leucorrhcea, injecting it in the form of an emulsion made 
with 5 parts of copaiba, 8 of gum arabic, and 100 of water, and applying it 
also by means of catheters or tampons smeared with the emulsion. 
The dose of copaiba is from twenty drops to a fluidrachm three times a day, 
or a smaller quantity repeated more frequently. It may be given dropped on 
sugar; but in this form is often so exceedingly offenshm as to render some 
concealment of its nauseous qualities necessary. It is sometimes given floating 
on the surface of an aromatic water, or mixed with an equal measure of spirit 
of nitrous ether. A less disagreeable form is that of emulsion, prepared by rub- 
bing the copaiba first Avith mucilage or the yolk of an egg, and sugar, and af- 
tenvards with some aromatic Avater, as that of mint or cinnamon. The volatile 
oil, which is the active ingredient of copaiba, may be given in the dose of ten or 
fifteen drops, either upon sugar, or in emulsion. The resin, which has been pro- 
noticed first by Mr. Lowe, by which it may be distinguished from copaiba, is that, when 
heated in a closed vial to 266° (230°, Lowe), it becomes slightly turbid and coagulates, 
so that the vial may be inverted without changing the position of its contents; and this 
consistence is retained when the liquid cools. By a gentle heat with agitation the fluidity 
returns; but the liquid again coagulates if heated to 266°. Guibourt states that it does 
not solidify, like copaiba, with one-sixteenth of magnesia; and the two separate on 
standing. (Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 192.) De Try, of Rotterdam, proposes the reaction 
of benzole with wood oil and copaiba respectively as a test to distinguish them. With 
an equal volume of the wood oil, benzole forms a turbid mixture, from which, after a long 
time, a resinous matter is deposited in flocculi; with copaiba it forms a transparent solu- 
tion. [Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1857, p. 374.) According to De Vry, the volatile oil obtained 
by distillation has the sp. gr. 0-928, and boils at 255°. [Ibid.) 
Roxburgh states that this liquid is much employed in India for painting ships, houses, 
&c. According to Dr. O’Shaughnessy, it is little inferior to copaiba in the diseases for 
which that medicine is employed. Dr. T. B. Henderson has found it very successful in 
gonorrhoea, given in the dose of a teaspoonful two or three times a day, uncombined. He 
has used it only in cases where copaiba had failed; and in every case it was successful 
within a Aveek, and no inconvenience occurred in any instance. [Med. T. $ Qaz., June, 
1865, p. 571.) It probably has a similar remedial influence on diseased mucous membranes 
with the different turpentines, which it appears to resemble in composition. The juice 
may be given in emulsion, in doses of from fifteen to forty drops; the volatile oil, from 
ten to thirty drops. [Note to the eleventh and thirteenth editions.) 336 
Copaiba.—Coptis. 
PART I. 
posed as a substitute, is nearly inert. The pills made with magnesia may some- 
times be resorted to with advantage; and it is customary to administer copaiba, 
enclosed in capsules of gelatin, which cover the taste, while they readily dis- 
solve in the stomach. (See Glue, in Part III ) Velpeau has found the best 
effects from copaiba in the form of enema. He gives two drachms made into an 
emulsion with the yolk of an egg, twenty or thirty drops of laudanum, and eight 
fluidounces of water. A distilled water of copaiba has recently been recom- 
mended by Dr. E. Langlebert both for internal use, in the dose of one or two 
fluidounces three or four times a day, and as a vehicle in urethral injections. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Copaibae; Pilulae Copaibae, U. S. W 
COPTIS. IT.S. 
Goldthread. 
The root of Coptis trifolia. U. S. 
Copt is. Sex.Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.— Nat.Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five or six, caducous. Nectaries five or six, 
cucullate. Capsules five to eight, stipitate, stellately diverging, and rostrate, 
many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Coptis trifolia. Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 60; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 97. This 
little evergreen has a perennial creeping root, the slenderness and bright-yellow 
colour of which have given rise to the common name of goldthread. The caudex, 
from which the petioles and flower-steins proceed, is invested with ovate, acu- 
minate, yellowish, imbricated scales. The leaves, which stand on long slender 
footstalks, are ternate, with firm, rounded or obovate, sessile leaflets, having an 
acute base, a lobed and acuminately crenate margin, and a smooth veined sur- 
face. The flower-stem is slender, rouild, rather longer than the leaves, and sur. 
mounted by one small white flower, with a minute mucronate bracte beneath it. 
The petals are oblong, concave, and white; the nectaries inversely conical, 
hollow, and yellow at the top. The stamens have capillary filaments and glo- 
bose anthers. The germs are from five to eight, stipitate, oblong, compressed, 
and support short recurved styles, with acute stigmas. The capsules, which 
diverge in a star-like form, are pedicelled, compressed, beaked, and contain 
numerous black seeds attached to the inner side. 
The goldthread inhabits the northern regions of this continent and of Asia, 
and is found in Greenland and Iceland. It delights in the dark shady swamps 
and cold morasses of northern latitudes and Alpine regions, and abounds in 
Canada, and in the hilly districts of New England. We have seen it growing 
abundantly in the forests of N. Western Pennsylvania. Its blossoms appear 
in May. All parts of the plant possess more or less bitterness; but this property 
is most intense in the root, which is the only officinal portion. 
Dried goldthread, as brought into the market, is in loosely matted masses, 
consisting of the long, thread-like, orange-yellow roots, frequently interlaced, 
and mingled with the leaves and stems of the plant. It is without smell and 
has a purely bitter taste, unattended with aroma or astringency. It imparts a 
bitterness and yellow colour to water and alcohol, but most perfectly to the 
latter, with which it forms a bright-yellow tincture. The infusion is precipitated 
by nitrate of silver and acetate of lead. {Bigelow.) It affords no evidence of 
containing either resin, gum, or tannin. 
The fact of the presence of the alkaloid berberina in several plants, char- 
acterized by bitterness and a yellow colour, naturally suggested its existence in 
this root; and Professors Maisch and Procter have satisfied themselves of the 
truth of this conjecture. According to Prof. F. F. Mayer, the berberina is here, 
as in Hydrastis, associated with a colourless alkaloid, which is not precipitated 
by muriatic or nitric acid, but the precise nature of which does not yet appear 
to have been demonstrated. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 97.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Goldthread is a simple tonic bitter, bearing a PART I. 
Coptis.— Coriandrum. 
337 
close resemblance to quassia in its mode of action, and applicable to all cases 
in which that medicine is prescribed, though from its higher price, not likely 
to come into general use as a substitute. In New England it is employed as a 
local application in aphthous ulcerations of the mouth; but it probably has no 
other virtues in this complaint than such as are common to the simple bitters. 
It may be given in substance, infusion, or tincture. The dose of the powder is 
from ten to thirty grains, of a tincture made with an ounce of the root to a pint 
of diluted alcohol, one fluidrachm. 
Another species of Coptis has been described by Dr. Wallich, under the name 
of Coptis Teeta, which grows in the mountainous regions bordering on Assam, 
and is much used as a tonic by the natives, and by the Chinese. It appears to 
he closely analogous in properties to C trifolia, and like it contains berberina. 
W. 
CORIANDRUM. U.S. 
Coriander. 
The fruit of Coriandrum sativum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. CORIANDRI FRUCTUS. Coriander Fruit. The dried ripe 
fruit of Coriandrum sativum, cultivated in Britain. Br. 
Cornndre, Fr.; Koriander, Germ.; Coriandro, Ital.; Cilantro, Span. 
Coriandrum Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat.Ord. Apiacese or Urn- 
belliferae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla radiate. Petals inflex-emarginate. Universal involucre 
one-leafed. Partial involucres halved. Fruit spherical. Willd. 
Coriandrum sativum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1448; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 187, t. 
53. This is an annual plant, with an erect, round, smooth, branching stem, rising 
about two feet, and furnished with compound leaves,of which the upper are thrice 
ternate, with linear pointed leaflets, the lower pinnate, with the pinnae cut into 
irregular serrated lobes like those of parsley. The flowers are white or rose- 
coloured, and in compound terminal umbels; the fruit globular, and composed 
of two concave hemispherical portions. 
C. sativum is a native of Italy, but at present grows wild in most parts of 
Europe, having become naturalized in consequence of its extended cultivation. 
The flowers appear in June, and the fruit ripens in August. It is a singular 
fact, that all parts of the fresh plant are extremely fetid when bruised, while 
the fruit becomes fragrant by drying. This is the officinal portion. It is brought 
to us from Europe. 
The fruit of the coriander is globular, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, 
obscurely ribbed, of a grayish or brownish-yellow colour, and separable into the 
two portions (half-fruits) of which it consists. It has the persistent calyx at its 
base, and is sometimes surmounted by the adhering style. The smell and taste 
are gratefully aromatic, and depend on a volatile oil, which may be obtained 
separate by distillation, and is said to belong to the camphene family. One pound 
of the seeds yields forty-two grains of the oil. (Zeller.) It is colourless or pale- 
yellow, with an agreeable odour of coriander, a mild aromatic taste, and a sp gr. 
varying from 0 859 to 0 871. It is recognised among the officinals in the Br. 
Pharmacopoeia, which employs it in the Syrup of Senna. The virtues of the 
fruit are imparted to alcohol by maceration, and less readily to water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Coriander has, in a moderate degree, the or- 
dinary medicinal virtues of the aromatics. It is almost exclusively employed 
in combination with other medicines, either to cover their taste, to render them 
acceptable to the stomach, or to correct their griping qualities. It was well 
known to the ancients. The dose is from a scruple to a drachm. 
Off.Prep. Confectio Sennas; Infusum Gentianae Compositum, U.S.; Infusum 
Sen me, U. S.; Oleum Coriandri, Br.; Syrupus Rhei, Br.; Tinctura Rhei, Br.; 
Tinetura Rhei et Sennae, U.S.; Tinctura Sennae, Br. W. 338 
Cornus Circinata.— Cornus Florida. 
PART I. 
CORNOS CIRCINATA. U.S. Secondary. 
Round-Leaved Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus circinata. U. S. 
Cornus. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Cornaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Involucre usually four-leaved. Petals superior, four. Drupe with 
a two-celled nut. Willd. 
We have ten indigenous species of Cornus, all supposed to possess similar 
medical properties; and three—C. Florida, C. circinata, and C.sericea — are 
noticed in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. The last two are placed in 
the secondary list, not because they are esteemed less efficient than the first, but, 
because they have hitherto attracted less attention. 
Cornus circinata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 663. This is a shrub from six to ten 
feet high, with warty branches, large, roundish, pointed leaves, waved on their 
edges and downy beneath, and white flowers disposed in depressed cymes. The 
fruit is blue. The plant is a native of the United States, extending from Canada 
to Virginia, and growing on hill-sides and the banks of rivers. It flowers in 
June and July. 
The bark, when dried, is in quills of a whitish or ash colour, and affords a 
powder resembling that of ipecacuanha. Its taste is bitter, astringent, and 
aromatic. In chemical composition, so far as this has been ascertained, it is 
analogous to Cornus Florida. It possesses also similar medical virtues, and 
may be employed in the same doses. It has been much used as a tonic and 
astringent in Connecticut, and was highly extolled by the late Dr. Ives, of 
New York, who recommended, as the most eligible preparation, an infusion 
made by pouring a pint of boiling water on an ounce of the coarsely powdered 
bark. The dose of this is from one to two fluidounces. W. 
CORNUS FLORIDA. U.S. 
Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus Florida. U. S. 
Cornus. See CORNUS CIRCINATA. 
Cornus Florida. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 661; Bigelow, Am. Med Pot. ii. 73; 
Barton, Med. Pot. i. 44. This is a small indigenous tree, usually about fifteen 
or twenty feet in height, though sometimes not less than thirty or thirty-five 
feet. It is of slow growth; and the stem, which generally attains a diameter of 
four or five inches, is compact, and covered with a brownish bark, the epidermis 
of which is minutely divided by numerous superficial cracks or fissures. The 
branches are spreading, and regularly disposed, sometimes opposite, sometimes 
in fours nearly in the form of crosses. The leaves are opposite, oval, about 
three inches long, pointed, dark-green and sulcated on the upper surface, glau- 
cous or whitish beneath, and marked with strong parallel veins. Towards the 
close of summer they are speckled with black spots, and on the approach of 
cold weather become red. The proper flowers are small, yellowish, and collected 
in heads, which are surrounded by a large conspicuous involucre, consisting of 
four white obcordate leaves, having the notch at their summit tinged with red 
or purple. This involucre constitutes the chief beauty of the tree when in flower. 
The calyx is four toothed, and the corolla composed of four obtuse reflexed 
petals. The fruit is an oval drupe, of a vivid glossy redness, containing a 
two celled and two-seeded nucleus. The drupes are usually associated to 
gether to the number of three or four, and remain on the tree till after the 
early frosts. They ripen in September. 
The dogwood is found in all parts of the United States, from Massachusetts 
to the Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico; but is most abundant in the Middle 
States. In the month of May, it is clothed with a profusion of large white blos- ?AltT I. 
Cornus Florida.—Cornus Sericea. 
339 
soms, which render it one of the most conspicuous ornaments of the American 
forests. The bark is the officinal portion, and is derived for use both from the 
stem and branches, and from the root. That from the root is preferred. 
As brought into market, the bark is in pieces of various size, usually more or 
less rolled, sometimes invested with a fawn coloured epidermis, sometimes par- 
tially or wholly deprived of it, of a reddish-gray colour, very brittle, and afford- 
ing, when pulverized, a grayish powder tinged with red. The odour of dogwood 
is feeble, its taste bitter, astringent, and slightly aromatic. Water and alcohol 
extract its virtues. It has not been accurately analyzed; but, from the experi- 
ments of Dr. Walker and Mr. James Cockburn (Am. Journ. of Pharm., vii. 
109), appears to contain bitter extractive, gum, resin, tannin, gallic acid, 
fixed oil, wax, red colouring matter, lignin, and salts of potassa and iron. Mr. 
Cockburn also obtained a crystallized substance, without taste, the characters 
of which, however, were not sufficiently investigated to authorize an opinion 
as to its nature. A peculiar bitter principle, for which the name of cornine was 
proposed, was announced as an ingredient by Mr. Carpenter; but his results 
have not been confirmed. More recently, an examination of the bark, with a 
view to the isolation of its active principle, has been made by Prof. John M. 
Maisch, who appears to have obtained the bitter principle pure in solution, 
but, in consequence of its extreme facility of decomposition, could not succeed 
in isolating it in the solid state. He inferred, however, that it is a neuter, col- 
ourless substance, very soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, not 
capable of precipitation by chemical reagents, but very easily destroyed on ex- 
posure to the air. (Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1859, p. 315.) The flowers 
of C. Florida have the same bitter taste as the bark, and, though not officinal, 
are sometimes employed for the same purposes. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cornus Florida is tonic and astringent. By 
Dr. Walker it was found, when taken internally, to increase the force and fre- 
quency of the pulse, and the heat of the body. It is thought to possess re- 
medial properties analogous to those of Peruvian bark, for which it has occa- 
sionally been successfully substituted in the treatment of intermittent fevers; 
but the introduction of sulphate of quinia into use has nearly banished this, 
as well as many other substitutes for cinchona, from regular practice. The 
dogwood has also been employed in low fevers, and other complaints for which 
Peruvian bark is usually prescribed. 
It may be given in powder, decoction, or extract. The dose of the powder is 
from a scruple to a drachm, repeated, in cases of intermittent fever, so that from 
one to two ounces may be taken in the interval between the paroxysms. The 
decoction is officinal. (See Decoctum Cornus Floridse.) The dried bark is said 
to be preferable to the fresh; as it possesses all the activity of the latter, with- 
out being equally liable to offend the stomach and bowels. An extract might 
probably be used with advantage in intermittents in large doses. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Cornus Floridse, U. S. W 
CORNUS SERICEA. U. S. Secondary. 
Swamp Dogwood. 
The bark of Cornus sericea U. S. 
Corntjs. See CORNUS CIRCINATA. 
Cornus sericea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 663; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 115. This 
species of Cornus is usually six or eight feet in height, with numerous erect 
stems, which are covered with a shining reddish bark, and send out opposite 
spreading branches. The young shoots are more or less pubescent. The leaves 
are opposite, petiolate, ovate, pointed, entire, and on the under surface co- 
vered with soft'brownish hairs. The flowers are small, white, and disposed 
in terminal cymes, which are depressed and woolly. The fruit consists of glo- 
bular, berry-formed drupes, of a cerulean blue colour, and collected in bunches. 340 
Cotula.— Creasotum. 
PART L 
The swamp dogwood inhabits the United States from Canada to Carolina, 
and is found in moist woods, in swamps, and on the borders of streams. It 
flowers in June and July. The bark was ascertained by Dr. Walker to have 
the same medical properties as that of Cornus Florida. It may be given in the 
same doses, and administered in a similar manner. W. 
COTULA. U.S. Secondary. 
Mayweed. 
The herb of Anthemis Cotula, Maruta Cotula (Be Candolle). U. S. 
Camomille puante, Maroute, Fr.; Hunds-Kamille, Stinkende-Kamille, Germ.; Ca- 
momilla fetida, Cotula, Ital.; Manzanilla loca, Span. 
Anthemis. See ANTHEMIS. 
Anthemis Cotula. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2181; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 161 — 
Maruta Cotula. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 13. The mayweed is an annual plant, 
with a fibrous root, and an erect, striated stem, very much branched even to the 
bottom, from one to two feet in height, and supporting alternate, sessile, flat, 
doubly pinnated, somewhat hairy leaves, with pointed linear leaflets. The flow- 
ers stand singly upon the summits of the branches, and consist of a central, con- 
vex, golden-yellow disk, with white radial florets, which spread horizontally 
during the day, but arc reflexed, or bent towards the stem at night. The calyx, 
which is common to all the florets, is hemispherical, and composed of imbricated 
hairy scales. The receptacle is conical or nearly cylindrical, and surmounted by 
rigid, bristle-shaped pale®, shorter than the florets. The seeds are naked. 
This plant grows abundantly both in the United States and Europe. In this 
country it is found in the vicinity of inhabited places, growing among rubbish, 
along the sides of roads, and in waste grounds. Notwithstanding its extensive 
diffusion, it is generally believed to be a naturalized and not an indigenous 
plant. It is frequently called wild chamomile. It flowers from the middle ol 
summer till late in autumn. 
Mr. W. H. Warner, from a chemical examination of the flowers, concluded 
that they contain volatile oil, oxalic, valerianic, and tannic acids, colouring mat- 
ter, acrid fatty matter, bitter extractive, and salts of potassa, lime, magnesia, 
and iron. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 390.) 
The whole plant has a strong, disagreeable smell, and a warm, bitter taste, 
and imparts these properties to water. 
The medical properties of this species of Anthemis are essentially the same 
as those of chamomile, for which it may be substituted; but its disagreeable 
odour is an obstacle to its general use. On the continent of Europe, it has been 
given in nervous diseases, especially in hysteria, under the impression, probably 
derived from its peculiar smell, that it possesses antispasmodic powers. It has 
also been thought to be emmenagogue. It is said to have the property of vesi- 
cating, if applied to the surface fresh and bruised. In this country it is scarcely 
employed, except as a domestic remedy. The whole plant is active; but the 
flowers, being less disagreeable than the leaves, are preferred foi internal use. 
The remedy is best administered in the state of infusion. W. 
CREASOTUM. U.S., Br. 
Creasote. 
A peculiar substance obtained from wood-tar. U. S. A product of the dis- 
tillation of wood-tar. Br. 
This is a substance of the nature of the volatile oils, discovered in 1830 by 
Reichenbach in the products of the distillation of wood. M. Deville conceives 
that it is a volatile oil, derived by heat from the resin of wood, and isomeric 
with the original volatile oil, from which the resin is supposed to have been 
formed by a slow alteration occurring in the vegetable. It may, therefore, be 
classed with the volatile oils which are regenerated by distillation. PART i. 
Creasotum. 
341 
In the products of the distillation of organic substances generally, whether 
vegetable or animal, Reichenbach also discovered five other principles, called 
paraffin, eupion, picamar, capnomor, and pittacal, which, as being associated 
with creasote, will be here described. Paraffin is a solid carbohydrogen, most 
abundantly obtained by distilling cannel-coal, when it comes over with certain 
isomeric oils, several of the least volatile of which, appearing towards the close 
of the distillation, form a mixture called paraffin oil. Mr. Young, an English 
manufacturing chemist, has succeeded in obtaining paraffin from this coal in the 
proportion of thirteen pounds to the ton. Crude paraffin, as first obtained, is 
recommended to be purified by R. Reichenbach, the son of the discoverer, by dis- 
tillation from fuming sulphuric acid, which destroys an empyreumatic substance 
by which it is contaminated. Paraffin is a white crystalline solid, resembling 
white wax, for which it has been proposed as a substitute in the composition of 
cerates. It is devoid of taste and smell, and is characterized by its feeble affinity 
for other bodies, as indicated by its name, from parum affinis. It resists the 
action of concentrated acids and alkalies. It burns with a bright, white flame, 
without smoke. At present it is much used in England as a lubricating sub- 
stance for machinery, and to a considerable extent as a material for candles. It 
is also prepared in this country for practical purposes. A rich bituminous coal, 
rivaling the Boghead cannel-coal of England, has been discovered in Western 
Virginia, and is the source of the American paraffin. (Proceedings of the Am. 
Pharm. Assoc., Sept 1856.) The product of paraffin oil from a ton of English 
cannel-coal, as manufactured bv Mr Young, is about thirty gallons. This also is 
a good lubricating substance. The empirical formula of paraffin is CH in equal 
equivalents, but how many of each element is not known. Eupion is an inodor- 
ous, insipid, limpid, and colourless liquid, of the sp.gr. 0 740, obtained most 
abundantly from animal tar and Dippel’s animal oil. It likewise consists exclu- 
sively of carbon and hydrogen. Picamar is a colourless, oily liquid, heavier than 
water, of a peculiar odour and very bitter taste. It is present in the heaviest 
portion of the rectified oil of tar, and constitutes the bitter principle of that sub- 
stance Capnomor, so called from being an ingredient of smoke, is a colourless 
liquid, lighter than water, having a pleasant odour and pungent taste, and oc- 
curring in the heavy oil of tar, and in coal naphtha It has the property of dis- 
solving caoutchouc. Pittacal, also obtained from the heavy oil of tar, is a solid 
of a beautiful blue colour, differing from the substances above noticed in con- 
taining nitrogen as one of its elements. 
Preparation. Creasote is obtained either from wood tar or from crude pyro- 
ligneous acid. When wood tar is used, it is distilled until it has attained the 
consistence of pitch. The distilled liquid divides itself into three layers, an 
aqueous between two oily layers. The inferior oily layer, which alone contains 
the creasote, is separated, and saturated with carbonate of potassa to remove 
acetic acid. The liquid is allowed to rest, and the new oil which separates is 
decanted from it. This oil is distilled, and yields products lighter than water, 
and a liquid heavier. The latter alone is preserved, and, after having been agi- 
tated repeatedly with weak phosphoric acid to neutralize ammonia, is allowed to 
remain at rest for some time. It is next washed as long as acidity is removed, 
and then distilled with a fresh portion of weak phosphoric acid; care being taken 
tocohobate from time to time. The oily liquid thus rectified is colourless, and 
contains much creasote, but also a portion of eupion. To separate the latter, 
the liquid is mixed with a solution of caustic potassa of the density 1-12, which 
dissolves the creasote, but not the eupion. The eupion, which swims above from 
its levity, is then separated; and the alkaline solution of the creasote is exposed 
to the air, until it becomes brown in consequence of the decomposition of a 
foreign matter, and is then saturated with sulphuric acid This sets free the 
creasote, which is decanted and again distilled. The treatment by solution of 
potassa, sulphuric acid,&c. is to be repeated until the creasote no longer becomes 
brown by exposure to the air, but only slightly reddish. It is then dissolved in 
a stronger solution of potassa and distilled again, and finally redistilled for the 342 
(Jreasotum. 
PAKT I 
las’; time, rejecting the first portion which comes over on account of its contain- 
ing much water, collecting the next portion, and avoiding to push the distilla- 
tion too far. The product collected in this distillation is creasote. 
When creasote is extracted from pyroligneous acid, the first step is to dissolve 
sulphate of soda in it to saturation. The oil which separates and swims above 
is decanted, and, having been allowed to remain at rest for a few days, is satu- 
rated by carbonate of potassa with the assistance of heat, and distilled with 
water. The oleaginous liquid obtained is of a pale-yellow colour, and is to be 
treated with phosphoric acid, &c., as above detailed, iu relation to the treat- 
ment of the corresponding oil obtained from wood tar. 
According to M Koene, the tar of the pine furnishes but little pure creasote; 
while coal tar yields nearly five drachms to the pint. This, however, is not 
properly creasote, but a liquid having analogous properties, consisting chiefly 
of carbolic or phenylic and of cresvlic acid. 
At present there is very little genuine creasote in our market, the impure 
n ixture of carbolic and cresylic acids just referred to, as being obtained from 
coal tar, having been substituted for it, and often sold under its name. 
Properties. Creasote, when pure, is a colourless oleaginous liquid, of the con- 
sistence of oil of almonds, slightly greasy to the touch, volatilizable by heat, and 
having a caustic, burning taste, and a penetrating, disagreeable odour, like that 
of smoked meat, and analogous to, yet different from that of phenylic acid. 
As met with in the shops, it has frequently a brownish tinge. It burns with a 
sooty flame. Applied in a concentrated state to the skin, it corrugates and then 
destroys the cuticle, causing a white spot. On paper it leaves a greasy stain, 
which disappears in a few hours, or in ten minutes when heated to about 212°. 
Its sp. gr. is 1 '057 at 55° (Gorup-Besanez), 1 046 ( U. S.), 1071 (Br.) It boils 
at 397°, and remains fluid at 17° below zero. It is a non conductor of elec- 
tricity, and a powerful refractor of light. It is devoid of acid or alkaline reaction. 
Mixed with water, it forms two solutions; one consisting of one part of crea- 
sote and about 80 of water, the other, of 1 part of water and 10 of creasote. 
(Berzelius.) It unites in all proportions with alcohol, ether, naphtha, and bi* 
sulphuret of carbon, and is dissolved freely by acetic acid. It dissolves a largo 
proportion of iodine and phosphorus, and a considerable amount of sulphur, espe- 
cially when assisted by heat. 
Creasote forms two combinations with potassa; one anhydrous, of an oleagi- 
nous consistence, the other hydrated, and in the form of small, white, pearly 
scales. It forms similar compounds with soda. Its formula is C28ll]604 (Beg- 
nault), or CuII802 (Fownes); but it is differently given by other authorities; 
and the probability is that creasote, as ordinarily obtained at least, is not a 
definite principle. Creasote instantly dissolves ammonia, and retains it with 
great force. Strong nitric and sulphuric acids decompose it; the former giving 
rise to reddish vapours, the latter to a red colour, which becomes black on the 
addition of more of the acid. Dilute nitric acid converts it into a brown resin, 
which, treated with ammonia, and then dissolved in boiling alcohol, gives, by 
evaporation, certain salts of ammonia, two of which contain new acids, dis- 
covered by Laurent. Muriatic acid produces no change in it. The following 
tests will distinguish it from carbolic or phenylic acid from coal tar, which 
in some respects strongly resembles it. A splinter of pine wood, dipped first 
into an alkaline solution of carbolic acid and allowed to dry, and subsequently 
into muriatic acid,will after a time assume a deep blue colour. Creasote does 
not produce the same effect. The British Pharmacopoeia gives, as one of the 
characters of its creasote, that a “slip of deal dipped into it, and afterwards 
into hydrochloric acid, and then allowed to dry in the air, acquires a greenish- 
blue colour;” and consequently does not consider the presence of phenylic 
acid as a contamination. The probability is that the creasote upon which the 
description in the British Pharmacopoeia was prepared was not really derived 
from wood, but from coal tar. The true creasote differs from carbolic acid in 
not coagulating collodion. M. Gorup states that with a neutral solution of PART i. 
Creasotum. 
343 
perchloride of iron, beech-wood creasote, dissolved in alcohol, gives a greeD 
colour, whilst a similar solution of the product of coal tar causes a brown 
colour; but, dissolved in water, the true creasote produces no change, while 
coal tar creasote produces a blue. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1868, p. 257.1 
Creasote dissolves a large number of metallic salts, and reduces a few to the 
metallic state; as, for example, nitrate and acetate of silver. It powerfully 
coagulates albumen, and in this way is supposed to act as a hemostatic. 
Of all the properties of creasote, the most remarkable is its power of pre- 
serving meat. It is this property which has suggested its name, derived from 
xpcaq flesh, and I preserve. 
Impurities and Adulterations Creasote is apt to contain eupion, picamar, 
and capnomor, and is sometimes adulterated with rectified oil of tar, and the 
fixed and volatile oils. All these substances are detected by strong acetic acid, 
which dissolves the creasote, and leaves them behind, floating above the creasote 
solution. Creasote, however, from beech-wood tar, is only partially dissolved by 
hot acetic acid of ordinary strength. Fixed oils are also discovered by a stain 
on paper, not discharged by heat. Any trace of the matter which produces the 
brownish tinge (see page 341) is detected by the liquid becoming discoloured 
by exposure to sunshine 
Commercial creasote almost always contains carbolic and cresylic acids, from 
coal tar; and, indeed, there is reason to believe that what is now sold for crea- 
sote, is generally nothing more than impure carbolic or phenylic acid. (See 
Acidum Carbolicum.) It has been already stated that this acid strongly re- 
sembles creasote; and this resemblance probably extends also to their thera- 
peutical effects; so that the substitution is less to be regretted than might 
otherwise be the case. But as the effects of the two on the system may not be 
identical, and those from creasote have been verified by a long experience, it 
is highly desirable to be able to distinguish bet ween them. Tests for this pur- 
pose have been given above; and the following observations are to the same 
effect. The substitution of phenylic acid may be discovered by its lower 
boiling point (368° F.). Its presence in creasote is detected by the addition ol 
sesquichloride of iron, which causes a violet-blue colour, and afterwards a whitish 
turbidness, if this impurity is present. According to Mr. E. N. Kent, of New 
York, phenylic acid from the oil of coaltar, and creasote from wood tar are essen- 
tially the same ; the former being a purer state of the latter. {N.Y. Journ. of 
Pharm., Oct. 1853 ) This view is contradicted by the results of Gorup-Besanez, 
who obtained creasote which did not respond to the tests of phenylic acid. Still 
he admits that creasote, as pure as he could get it with a boiling point between 
398° and 406°, is not a chemically definite compound. Gmelin considers the 
creasote from wood tar, and the carbolic acid from coal tar, as differing from 
each other only in the degree of purity; but this opinion is irreconcilable with 
facts at present known. 
Medical Properties, &c. Creasote is irritant, narcotic, styptic, antiseptic, and 
moderately escharotic. Internally, it has been employed in a number of diseases; 
externally, for the most part, as an application to eruptions, wounds, and ulcers, 
and as an injection and gargle. Dr. R. Dick, of Glasgow, recommends it as an 
internal remedy in chronic gonorrhoea and gleet. Dr. Elliotson, of London, con- 
siders it an efficacious remedy in arresting nausea and vomiting, when not de- 
pendent on inflammation or structural disease of the stomach, as in hysteria, 
pregnancy, and sea-sickness. Mr. Kesteven, of England, found it a very useful 
remedy in diarrhoea; and others have confirmed this statement. Dr. D. J. Cain, 
of Charleston, used it with advantage in cholera morbus and cholera infantum, 
either alone, or conjoined with charcoal, chalk, or bicarbonate of soda. It has 
also been used with benefit in dysentery and malignant cholera ; and has been 
recommended in pectoral affections with purulent expectoration. 
The eruptions, to the treatment of which creasote has been supposed to be 
best suited, are those of a scaly character. In burns its efficacy has been insisted 
on, especially in tnose attended with excessive suppuration and fungous granu- 344 
Creasotum. 
PART L 
latio s. In chilblains also it is stated tobeauseful application. Mixed with four 
parti of lard, it is said to have proved very serviceable in erysipelas. When ap- 
plied m wounds it acts as a hemostatic, stopping the capillary hemorrhage, but 
posst ,jses no power to arrest the bleeding from large vessels. Accordingly, crea- 
sote water has been applied locally in menorrhagia, and to arrest uterine hemor- 
rhage~,and the bleeding from leech-bites. The ulcers, in the treatment of which 
it has been found most useful, are those of an indolent and gangrenous character, 
in which its several properties of escharotic, stimulant, and antiseptic are use- 
fully brought into play. It is also praised as an application to syphilitic, scrofu- 
lous, and cancerous ulcers, and to malignant pustule In all these cases, should 
the remedy cause irritation, it must be suspended, or alternated with emollient 
and soothing applications. Injected into fistulous ulcers, it proves a useful re- 
source, by exciting the callous surfaces, and disposing them to unite. Dr. Hil- 
dreth, of Zanesville, Ohio, found it efficacious, mixed with mercurial ointment, in 
the proportion of from ten to thirty drops to the ounce, in scrofulous ophthalmia., 
and scrofulous ulceration of the cornea. A small portion of the ointment is in- 
troduced under the upper eyelid, morning and evening, and rubbed over the 
whole globe. The application should be strong enough to produce a smarting 
pain for about five minutes. The local must of course be combined with consti- 
tutional treatment. In chronic varicose ophthalmia it is a valuable remedy, in 
the foim of collyrium, of the strength of from one to three drops to the fluidounce 
of water. In putrid sorethroat, requiring the use of a stimulant and antiseptic, 
a gargle of creasote acts beneficially; and in chronic suppuration of the external 
meatus of the ear, it is valuable as an injection. It has been much used topically 
in diphtheria, in which it corrects the fetor, and is said to cure the local affec- 
tion. In deafness from deficient cerumen, Mr. Curtis has found it useful. The 
meatus is first well cleansed, and afterwards brushed over, night and morning, 
by means of a camel’s-hair brush, with a mixture formed of a drachm of creasote 
and four drachms of oil of almonds. The meatus may be cleansed by dropping 
into the ear at night a few drops of olive oil, and syringing it out the next morn- 
ing with a weak and warm solution of castile soap, to which a sixth of Cologne 
water has been added. This may be repeated for five or six days, if required. In 
leucorrhoea M. Arendt has found creasote very useful in the form of injection, 
made with two drops to the fluidounce of water, used several times a day. Dr. 
Mackenzie has derived advantage from it as a vaginal injection in puerperal fever, 
arising from the absorption of vitiated secretions. It is also efficacious in the de- 
struction of warts, applied freely every day or two, and kept on by adhesive plas- 
ter. In toothache, depending on caries of the tooth and exposure of the nerve, 
creasote often acts promptly and radically in the removal of the pain. One or 
two drops of the pure substance must be carefully introduced into the hollow of 
the tooth, on a little cotton, avoiding contact with the tongue or cheek. To ren- 
der it effectual, the hollow of the tooth must be well cleansed before it is applied. 
A mixture of 15 parts of creasote and ten of collodion is said to have a jelly-like 
consistence, and to be usefully applied to carious teeth, which it protects from the 
air; but as proper creasote does not coagulate collodion, this remark applies to 
the impure carbolic acid, before stated to be commonly sold under the same name. 
Creasote is employed in the pure state, in mixture or solution, and in the form 
of ointment. (See Mistura Creasoti and Unguentum Creasoti.) In the pure 
state, it may be brushed over indolent or ill-conditioned ulcers, or applied to them 
by means of lint. Internally it is given in the dose of from one to two drops or 
more, repeated several times a day, diluted with weak mucilage in the propor- 
tion of half a fluidounce to the drop. When used as a lotion for eruptions, ul- 
cers, or burns, or as a gargle or injection, it is employed in solution, containing 
two, four, or six drops to the fluidounce of water; the strength being determined 
by the circumstances of each particular case. In some cases the solution of crea- 
sote is used externally, mixed with poultices. 
Under the name of VAPOR CREASOTI (Inhalation of Creasote), the 
British Pharmacopoeia directs a preparation consisting of 12 minims of crea- FART i. 
Creasotum.— Creta. 
345 
sote and 8 fluidounces of boiling water, which are to be mixed in an inhaling 
apparatus, so arranged that the air shall be made to pass through the solution 
and then inhaled. It may be used in chronic inflammation of the air-passages. 
Creasote, in an overdose, acts as a poison. It produces giddiness, obscurity 
of vision, depressed action of the heart, convulsions, and coma. No antidote is 
known. The medical treatment consists in the evacuation of the poison, and 
the administration of ammonia and other stimulants. 
The addition of three or four drops of creasote to a pint of ink elfectually 
prevents it from becoming mouldy. Dr. Christison finds that creasote water 
is as good a preservative of some anatomical preparations as spirit, with the 
advantage of not hardening the parts. It is probably to creasote that the anti- 
septic properties of wood-smoke and of pyroligneous acid are owing. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Creasoti, U. S.; Mistura Creasoti, Br.; Unguentum Crea- 
soti; Yapor Creasoti, Br. B. 
CRETA. U. S., Br 
Chalk. 
Native friable carbonate of lime. XJ. S., Br. 
Craie, Fr.; Kreide, Germ,.; Creta, Hal.; Greda, Span., Port. 
Carbonate of lime, in the extended meaning of the term, is the most abund- 
ant of simple minerals, constituting, according to its state of aggregation and 
other peculiarities, the different varieties of calcareous spar, common and shell 
limestone, marble, marl, and chalk. It occurs also in the animal kingdom, form- 
ing the principal part of shells, and a small proportion of the bones of the higher 
orders of animals. It is present in small quantity in most natural waters, being 
held in solution bv the carbonic acid which they contain. In the waters of lime- 
stone districts it is a very common impregnation, and causes purging in those 
not accustomed to their use. In all such cases, boiling the water by expelling 
the carbonic acid, causes the carbonate to be deposited. It has been shown, 
however, that carbonate of lilne is itself in a slight degree soluble in water ; 
so that a small proportion remains in limestone water, which has been long ex- 
posed to boiling. Hofmann estimated the quantity remaining in solution at 34 
thousandths of a gramme in a litre. That the carbonate is not held in solution 
by free carbonic acid is shown by the fact that lime-water causes no precipita- 
tion. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Cliim., 4e ser., iii. 147'.) Besides being officinal 
in the state of chalk, carbonate of lime is also ordered as it exists in marble 
and oyster-shell, and as obtained by precipitation. (See Marmor, Testa, and 
Calais Carbonas Prsecipitata.) In the present article we shall confine our ob- 
servations to chalk. This occurs abundantly in the south of England and 
north of France. It exists massive in beds, and very frequently contains 
nodules of flint, and fossil remains of land and marine animals. Until recently 
it was not known to exist in the United States; but Prof. F. Y. Hayden states 
that he observed it in great abundance in Dakota Territory, constituting beds 
which extend for 400 miles along the Missouri river. He considers this deposit 
as identical in character with the chalk beds of Europe, and applicable to the 
same useful purposes. {Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, xliii. 16, A.D. 1867.) 
Properties. Chalk is an insipid, inodorous, insoluble, opaque, soft solid, gene- 
rally white, but grayish-white when impure. It is rough to the touch, easily 
pulverized, and breaks with an earthy fracture. It soils the fingers, yields a 
white trace when drawn across an unyielding surface, and when applied to the 
tongue adheres slightly. Its sp. gr. varies from 2-3 to 2‘6. It is never a per- 
pure carbonate of lime ; but contains, besides gritty silicious parti* 1(3, 
small portions of alumina and of oxidized iron. If pure it is entirely soluble in 
muriatic acid; but usually a little silica is left. If the muriatic solution is not 
precipitated by ammonia, it is free from alumina and iron. Like all carbonates, 
it effervesces with acids. Though insoluble in water, it dissolves in an excess 
of carbonic acid. It consists, like the other varieties of carbonate of lime, of 
one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of lime 23 = 50. 346 
Crocus. 
PART r. 
Chalk, on account of the gritty particles which it contains, is unfit for medi- 
cinal use, until it has undergone levigation, when it is called prepared chalk. 
(See Greta Pr separata.)* 
Pliarm. Use. In preparing carbonic acid gas, Br. 
Off. Prep. Creta Praeparata. B 
CROCUS. U.S.,Br. 
Saffron. 
The stigmas of Crocus sativus. U. S. The dried stigma, and part of the 
style, of Crocus sativus. Br. 
Safran, Fr., Germ.; Zafferano, Italy Azafran, Span. 
Ottocus. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Iridaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla six-parted, equal. Stigmas convoluted. Willd. 
Crocus sativus. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 194; AVoodv. Med. Bot. p. 763, t. 259. 
The common cultivated saffron is a perennial plant, with a rounded and depressed 
bulb or cornius, from which the flower rises a little above the ground, upon a 
long, slender, white, and succulent tube. The flower is large, of a beautiful lilac 
or bluish-purple colour, and appears in September or October. The leaves are 
radical, linear, slightly revolute, dark-green upon their upper surface with a white 
longitudinal furrow in the centre, paler underneath with a prominent flattened 
midrib, and enclosed at their base, together with the tube of the corolla, in a 
membranous sheath, from which they emerge soon after the appearance of the 
flower. The style bangs out on one side between the two segments of the corolla, 
and terminates in three long convoluted stigmas, which are of a rich orange co- 
lour, highly odorous, rolled in at the edges, and notched at the summit. These 
stigmas are the officinal part of the plant. 
* Chalk as a ferment. That chalk consists mainly of the mineral remains of extremely 
minute organized beings has been for years a recognised fact. M. A. Bechamp states 
that these were so minute that the remains of more than two millions of them are con- 
tained in 100 grammes of chalk. Another important fact in relation to chalk, familial 
to chemists, is that it has the power, under certain circumstances, of promoting fer- 
mentation. In relation to this point, M. Bechamp has recently made some highly in- 
teresting statements in a communication to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, reported 
in the Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie (4e ser., iv. 279, A.D. 1866), from which the fol- 
lowing abstract has been made. 
According to M. Bechamp, there are in chalk, besides the remains of former organized 
beings, innumerable organisms, smaller than any hitherto known, smaller than any of 
the infusoria or microphytes now studied in connection with fermentation. Ihese are 
still living, though doubtless very old. They act powerfully as fermenting agents, the 
most powerful thatM. Bechamp has ever met with, and capable of nourishing themselves 
on the most diversified organic substances. Powdered chalk, taken from the centre of 
masses immediately from the quarry far beneath the surface, so that it could have de- 
rived nothing from the air, and rubbed with distilled water, exhibits, under a powerful 
microscope, numerous shining points, agitated with a lively movement of trepidation. 
M. Bechamp considers them as living organisms, the smallest yet known; and in sup- 
port of this opinion advances these two proofs; first, that chalk acts as a ferment with- 
out the presence of albuminoid matter, and, secondly, that these bodies can be isolated, 
and shown by analysis to consist of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. If chalk is 
mixed with starch and a little creasote, and another mixture of a similar kind be made with 
pure carbonate of lime, on the second day no change will have occurred in the latter 
mixture, while the former will show evident signs of fermentation, notwithstanding 
the repressive force of the creasote, which checks other fermentations. The results of 
the fermentation thus produced are alcohol, butyric acid, acetic acid largely, and signs 
of lactic acid; and sugar, under similar circumstances, undergoes similar changes. To 
prevent the chalk from thus acting, its temperature must be raised to 300° Cent. With 
due precaution, assurance may be had that no other ferment is present; while that of the 
chalk is increased in quantity. To prove by analysis the organic nature of these bodies, if 
chalk be treated with dilute muriatic acid, 1T5 per cent, will be left undissolved, of which 
7-17 per cent, may be shown to be organic, by yielding on decomposition, carbon, hydro- 
gen, and nitrogen. M. Bechamp proposes for these newly discovered beings the name of 
Microzyma cretse. The Microzyma is found everywhere, accompanying several other fer- 
ments, in certain mineral waters, and in cultivated earth. [Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART I 
Crocus, 
347 
C. sativus, or autumnal crocus, is a native of Greece and Asia Minor, where 
it has been cultivated from the earliest ages. It is also cultivated for medicinal 
use in Sicily, Spain, France, England, and other temperate countries of Europe. 
Large quantities of saffron are raised in Egypt, Persia, and Cashmere, whence 
it is sent to India. Much of the drug reaches the market of Constantinople from 
the neighbourhood of Tifflis and the Caucasus. We cultivate the plant in this 
country chiefly, if not solely, as a garden flower. It is liable to two diseases, 
which interfere with its culture; one dependent on a parasitic fungus which 
attaches itself to the bulb, the other called by the cultivators in France tacon, by 
which thebulb is converted into a blackish powder. (Journ. de Pharm.,xv iii. 41.) 
In England the flowers appear in October, and the leaves continue green 
through the winter; but the plaDt does notripen its seed, and is propagated by 
offsets from the bulb. These are planted in grounds prepared for the purpose, 
and are arranged either in rows, or in small patches at certain distances. The 
flowers are gathered soon after they show themselves, as the period of flowering 
is very short. The stigmas, or summits of the pistils, together with a portion 
of the style, are separated from the remainder of the flower, and carefully dried 
by artificial heat, or in the sun. During this process, they are sometimes made 
to assume the form of a cake by pressure; but the finest saffron is that which 
has been dried loosely. The two forms are distinguished by the names of cake- 
saffron and hay-saffron. Five pounds of the fresh stigmas are said to yield 
one pound of the dried. 
The English saffron, formerly most highly esteemed in this country, has dis- 
appeared from our market. What may be sold under the name is probably 
derived from other sources. Much of the drug is imported from Gibraltar, 
packed in canisters. Parcels of it are also brought from Trieste, and other porta 
of the Mediterranean. The Spanish saffron is generally considered the best. 
Genuine cake-saffron is at present seldom found in commerce. According to 
Landerer, the stigmas of several other species besides those of C. sativus are 
gathered and sold as saffron in Greece and Turkey.* 
Properties. Saffron has a peculiar, sweetish, aromatic odour, a warm, pun* 
gent, bitter taste, and a rich deep-orange colour, which it imparts to the saliva 
when chewed. The stigmas of which it consists are an inch or more in length, 
expanded and notched at the upper extremity, and narrowingtowards the lower, 
where they terminate in a slender, capillary, yellowish portion, forming a part 
of the style. Analyzed by Vogel and Bouillon-Lagrange, it afforded 65-0 per 
* At the International Exhibition, in London, in the year 1862, the author noticed a 
specimen of satfron, from the island of Ceylon, closely resembling that of the Crocus sa- 
tivus. It consisted of the stigmas of the Crocus orientalis. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
In a communication by Mr. Charles A. Heinitsh, to the American Pharmaceutical 
Association, A.D. 1866, it is stated that until within a few years,'satfron was cultivated 
to a considerable extent in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. The plant requires a rich soil, 
which should he deeply dug and heavily manured. The bulbs are planted in August, 
eight inches apart, and the growing plant should be kept free from weeds. The flower- 
ing period begins about the middle of September, and continues till the beginning of Oc- 
tober. The flowers are picked early in the morning, and the stigmas separated and dried 
in the shade. This is done every day during the period of flowering. He thinks the cul- 
tivation can he profitably conducted. A plot of 72 square feet will produce 9000 stigmas, 
weighing 420 grains, or from 33 to 36 lbs. to the acre; and at present prices this would 
be remunerative to the grower. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1867, p. 38.) 
M. Monthus, an experienced cultivator in France, prefers a dry calcareous soil; plants 
the bulbs 3 or 4 inches deep ; after the harvest in October manures the ground, and re- 
news the planting every three years. He thus prevents the diseases peculiar to the plant. 
M. Monthus recommends the petals of the flower as applicable to the same purposes 
as the stigmas, having found them to be possessed of aromatic properties. They demand 
no peculiar caution in drying; but to preserve them it is necessary to exclude light and 
moisture. Acids redden them with extreme facility, and alkalies turn them green. 
He, therefore, recommends a tincture to be made from them, as a substitute for syrup 
of violets. He prepares the tincture by macerating 10 parts of the dried flowers in 100 
parts of alcohol of 40°, for 48 hours. A longer maceration would destroy the colour. 
Paper may be stained with the tincture, and kept green or red, the former for acids, the 
latter for alkalies. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1867, p. 54.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 348 
Crocus, 
P.A RT I, 
cent, of a peculiar extractive matter, and 7'5 of an odorous volatile oil, together 
with wax, gum, albumen, saline matter, water, and lignin. The extractive was 
namedpolychroite, from the changes of colour which it undergoes by the action 
of reagents. They prepared it by evaporating the watery infusion to the con- 
sistence of honey, digesting the residue in alcohol, filtering the tincture, and 
evaporating it to di’yness. Thus obtained, it is in the form of a reddish-yellow 
mass, of an agreeable smell, slightly bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, and 
somewhat deliquescent. Its solution becomes grass-green by the action of nitric 
acid, blue and then violet by that of sulphuric acid, and loses its colour alto- 
gether on exposure to light, and by chlorine. M. Henry, sen., found it to contain 
about 20 per cent, of volatile oil, which could be separated only by an alkali. 
M. Quadrat obtained it pure by exhausting saffron with ether, then treating it 
with boiling water, precipitating with subacetate of lead, decomposing the com- 
pound of oxide of lead and colouring matter thus obtained with sulphuretted 
hydrogen, treating the precipitate with boiling alcohol, evaporating the solu- 
tion, dissolving the residue in water, and lastly Evaporating by means of a water- 
bath. Thus procured, it is of a brilliant red colour, inodorous, slightly soluble 
in water which it renders yellow, much more soluble by the least addition of an 
alkali, readily soluble in alcohol, but sparingly in ether. Its formula is 
M. Quadrat found also, in saffron, a fatty matter, glucose, and a peculiar acid. 
{Ann. der Chem. und Pharm., Ixxx. 340.) According to M. Henry, the colour- 
ing principle constitutes 42per cent, of saffron, and the essential oil 10 percent. 
It is to the latter that the medicine owes its activity. It may be partially sepa- 
rated by distillation. It is yellow, of a hot, acrid, bitterish taste, and heavier 
than water, in which it is slightly soluble. According to B. Huss, polychroite 
appears to be aglucoside, splitting, when treated with sulphuric acid, into sugar, 
a volatile oil, and a secondary colouring matter, which he calls crocin. {Chem. 
News, Jan. 3, 1868, p. 9.) 
Adulterations. The high price of this medicine gives rise to frequent adul- 
terations. Water is said to be very often added in order to increase its weight. 
Oil is also added for the same purpose, or to improve the appearance. Some- 
times the flowers of other plants, particularly Carthanius tinctorius or safflower, 
Calendula o fficinalis or officinal marygold, and arnica, are fraudulently mixed 
with the genuine stigmas. They may be known by their shape', which is rendered 
obvious by throwing a portion of the suspected mass into hot water, which causes 
them to expand. (See Carthanius.) Other adulterations are the fibres of dried 
beef, the stamens of the Crocus distinguishable by their yellow colour, the stig- 
mas previously exhausted in the preparation of the infusion or tincture, and 
various mineral substances easily detected upon close examination. The flowers 
of a Brazilian plant, named Fuminella, have, according to M. J. L. Soubeiran, 
been recently employed for the adulteration of saffron. They may be detected 
by shaking gently but repeatedly a large pinch of the suspected saffron over a 
piece of paper. The flowers of Fuminella being smaller and heavier, separate 
and fall, and may be seen to consist of very short fragments, with a colour like 
that of saffron, but a rusty tint which the latter does not possess. {Journ. de 
Pharm., Avril, 1855, p. 267 ) J Muller recommends concentrated sulphuric 
acid as the most certain test of saffron- It instantly changes the colour of pure 
saffron to indigo blue. {Chem. Gaz., May, 1845, p. 197.) 
Attention has been called to a product of the Cape of Good Hope, named 
Cape saffron, which has a remarkable resemblance to genuine saffron, having 
a similar odour, and yielding a similar colour to water, though the flowers 
themselves are differently coloured. It is the flower of a small plant very abund- 
ant at the Cape, belonging to the family of Scrophulariaceas, and is said by 
Dr. Pappe, of Cape Town, to possess medical virtues closely resembling those 
of the proper saffron. The flowers have been used successfully in the convul- 
sions of children {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., N. S., vi. 462, A.D. 1865 ) 
Choice of Saffron. Saffron should not be very moist, nor very dry, nor easily 
pulverized; nor should it emit an offensive smell when thrown upon live coals. PART I. 
Crocus.— Cubeba. 
349 
The freshest is the best, and that which is less than a year old should, if possible, 
be selected. It should possess in a high degree the characteristic properties of 
colour, taste, and smell. If it do not colour the fingers when rubbed between 
them, or if it have an oily feel, or a musty flavour, or a black, yellow, or whitish 
colour, it should be rejected. In the purchase of this medicine in cakes, those 
should be selected which are close, tough, and firm in tearing; and care should 
be taken to avoid cakes of safflower. 
As its activity depends, partly at least, on a volatile ingredient, saffron should 
be kept in well-stopped vessels. Some recommend that it should be enclosed 
in a bladder, and introduced into a tin case. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Saffron was formerly considered highly stimu- 
lant and antispasmodic. It has been alleged that, in small doses, it moderately 
excites the different functions, exhilarates the spirits, relieves pain, and produces 
sleep; in large doses, gives rise to headache, intoxication, delirium, stupor, and 
other alarming symptoms; and Shroder asserts that, in the quantity of two or 
three drachms, it proves fatal. It was thought also to act powerfully on the 
uterine system, promoting menstruation. The ancients employed it extensively, 
both as a medicine and condiment, under the name of crocus. It was also highly 
esteemed by the Arabians, and enjoyed considerable reputation among the phy- 
sicians of modern Europe till within a comparatively recent period. On the 
continent it is still much used as a stimulant and emmenagogue. But the ex- 
periments of Dr. Alexander have proved it to possess little activity; and in 
Great Britain and the United States it is seldom prescribed. In domestic prac- 
tice saffron tea is occasionally used in exanthematous diseases, to promote the 
eruption. At present the chief use of the drug is to impart colour and flavour 
to officinal tinctures. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Opii, U.S.; Decoctum Aloes (Jompositum, Br.; Pilulas 
Aloes et Myrrhae ; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, Br.; Tinctura Aloes etMyrrhae, 
U. S.; Tinct. Cinchonae Comp.; Tinct. Croci, Br.; Tinet. Opii Ammoniata, 
Br.; Tinct. Rhei, Br.; Tinct. Rhei et Senna, U. S. W. 
CUBEBA. U. S., Br. 
Cubeb. 
The berries of Piper Cubeba. U.S. The dried unripe fruit of Cubeba offici 
nalis. Br. 
Cubebs,Br.; Cubebe, i*V.;Kubeben,Germ./Cubebe, JtaZ.; Cubebas,Span.;Kebabeh, Arah 
Piper. Sex. Syst. Diandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Piperaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Corolla none. Berry one-seeded. Willd. 
Piper Cubeba. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3ded.,y. 95.— 
Cubeba officinalis. Miquel. This is a climbing perennial plant, with a smooth, 
flexuous, jointed stem, and entire, petiolate, oblong or ovate-oblong, acuminate 
leaves, rounded or obliquely cordate at the base, strongly nerved, coriaceous, 
and very smooth. The flowers are dioecious and in spikes, with peduncles 
about as long as the petioles. The fruit is a globose, pedicelled berry. 
This species of Piper is a native of Java, Penang, and probably other parts 
of the East Indies. It grows wild in the woods, and does not appear to be cul- 
tivated. The dried unripe fruit is the officinal portion. Dr. Blume thinks it 
probable that the drug is derived chiefly from another species, the P. caninum, 
inhabiting the same countries; but Dr. Lindley could discover no difference 
betwe°~ the fruit of P. Cubeba and ordinary cubebs.* 
* (Jt jebs were exhibited, at the great London Exhibition of 1862, among the products 
of Ce\ ion. It was at one time supposed that cubebs were also produced in Western Africa; 
but this was a mistake, originating probably in the fact, that a peculiar pepper growing 
in that region has, like cubebs, the stalk attached. It is, however, a different product, 
being, as shown by Dr. W. E. Daniell, the fruit of a distinct species, the Piper Afzelii 
of Lindley, Cubeba Clusiiof Miquel, figured in the Pharm. Journ. (xiv. 201). This Guinea 
pepper, or African black pepper, was formerly taken to Europe inconsiderable quantities 350 
Cubeba. 
PART I. 
Properties. Cubebs are round, about the size of a small pea, of a blackish or 
grayish-brown colour, and furnished with a short stalk, which is continuous 
with raised veins that run over the surface of the berry, and embrace it like a 
net-work. The shell is hard, almost ligneous, and contains within it a single 
loose seed, covered with a blackish coat, and internally white and oleaginous. 
The odour of the berry is agreeably aromatic; the taste warm, bitterish, and 
camphorous, leaving in the mouth a peculiar sensation of coolness, like that 
produced by oil of peppermint. The powder is dark-coloured and of an oily 
aspect. From 1000 parts of cubebs M. Monheim obtained 30 parts of a ceru- 
minous substance, 25 of a green volatile oil, 10 of a yellow volatile oil, 45 of 
cubebin, 15 of a balsamic resin, 10 of chloride of sodium, 60 of extractive, and 
650 of lignin, with 155 parts lost. Yauquelin found two resins, the hard and the 
soft, the former of which is left behind when cubebs are treated with ether, 
the latter is dissolved by that liquid, and yielded upon the separation of the 
volatile oil. It is green, liquid, acrid, and analogous in smell and taste to co- 
paiba. From the experiments of Bernatzike, made in 1863, it appears that this 
soft resin is possessed of acid properties; and it is therefore called by him 
cubebic acid. Like copaivic acid, though itself amorphous, it forms crystalliza- 
ble salts with baryta. (Lehrb. der Pharmak. des Pfianzenreiches.) By prac- 
tical trial Bernatzike has satisfied himself that the peculiar virtues of cubebs, 
as a remedy in gonorrhoea, depend not on the cubebin or the volatile oil, but on 
the cubebic acid. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1867, p. 534 ) According 
to MM. Capitaine and Soubeiran, cubebin is best obtained by expressing cubebs 
from which the oil has been distilled, preparing with them an alcoholic extract, 
treating this with a solution of potassa, washing the residue with water, and 
purifying it by repeated crystallizations in alcohol. Thus prepared, it is white, 
inodorous, and insipid, not volatilizable by heat, almost insoluble in water, 
slightly soluble in cold alcohol, freely so in that liquid when hot, and soluble 
also in ether, acetic acid, and the fixed and volatile oils. It bears a close resem- 
blance to piperin, but materially differs from it in composition, as it contains 
no nitrogen. [Journ. de Pliarm., xxv. 355.) In the officinal oleoresin of cubebs 
a deposit takes place consisting chiefly of cubebin, which maybe obtained by 
washing the deposit with a small quantity of cold alcohol to remove adhering 
resin and oil, and then dissolving repeatedly in boiling alcohol, and crystalliz- 
ing until the product is white. The volatile oil is officinal. (See Oleum Cu- 
bebse.) When the ethereal extract of cubebs is deprived of its volatile oil 
by evaporation on a water-bath, and of cubebin and wax by deposition, a soft 
resin is left, the cubebic acid of Bernatzike, in which, according to Mr. F. 
Y. Heydenreich, who experimented with it as a physiological agent, the 
by the Portuguese, but has been superseded by the more agreeable products of the E. 
Indies. The fruit is one-third smaller than the officinal cubebs, is more compact, and 
has a taste more analogous to that of ordinary black pepper. Dr. Stenhouse has also 
shown that it is chemically more analogous to black pepper than to cubebs, as it contains 
piperin and not cubebin. (Ibid., xiv. 364.) 
Under the name of cubebs, a product has been introduced into commerce from the 
Dutch E. Indies, which is probably the fruit of a different species of Piper, as it differs 
essentially from genuine cubebs, being somewhat larger, with less distinct veins and 
somewhat flattened footstalks, of a less agreeable odour, and a less hot and pungent taste. 
It has been ascribed to Piper anisatum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxv. 611 ; from 
Journ. de Chim. Med.)—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 
African Cubebs. Prom French Africa, a variety of cubebs is said to have been received 
in France, which it is thought might replace the Indian, as it has similar properties. 
It is only about half as large as the common, and has long footstalks attached. Its com- 
position is said to be nearly the same. [Ann. de Therap., 1866, p. 88.) It is possibly the 
same as that described in the preceding note as the product of P. Afzelii. A product with 
the name of African cubebs has recently been sent to London, from Cape Coast Castle, 
in Africa, which, however, has no botanical relation to Cubeba, nor to the fruit of any 
other Piperacea ; the plant producing it belonging to the Xanthoxylacese, and is probably 
either a Toddalia or Vepris. According to Prof. Archer, it is simply aromatic and stimu- 
lant, without any of the special virtues of cubebs. [Pharm. Jnurn. f Trans., March, 1865, 
p. 463.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Cubcba.—Cuprum. 
351 
diuretic properties reside, the cubebin being without apparent effect, and the 
volatile oil, though stimulant and carminative, having no diuretic action. The 
soft resin, which was of the consistence of honey, of a dark olive-green colour, 
and some remaining odour of cubebs, when taken in the dose of 10 grains every 
two hours, for six hours, acted as a laxative, and gave the urine a peculiar odour, 
without increasing its quantity; but in the dose of a drachm, once repeated at 
an interval of three hours, while it produced the same effects as the smaller 
dose, considerably augmented the urine. In still larger doses it produced de- 
cided irritation of the urinary passages. {Am. Journ. of. Pharm., Jan. 1808.) 
Mr. Hevdenreich’s experiments are confirmatory of Bernatzike’s conclusion as to 
the peculiar active principles of cubebs. Cubebs gradually deteriorate by age, 
and in powder become rapidly weaker, in consequence of the escape of their 
volatile oil. They should be kept whole, and pulverized when dispensed. The 
powder is said to be sometimes adulterated with that of pimento. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cubebs are gently stimulant, with a special 
direction to the urinary organs. In considerable quantities they excite the cir- 
culation, increase the heat of the body, and sometimes occasion headache and 
giddiness. At the same time they frequently produce an augmented flow of 
the urine, to which they impart a peculiar odour. Among their effects are also 
occasionally nausea and moderate purging ; and they are said to cause a sense 
of coolness in the rectum during the passage of the feces. We have no evidence 
that they were known to the ancients. They were probably first brought into 
Europe by the Arabians, and were formerly employed for similar purposes with 
black pepper; but they were found much less powerful and fell into disuse. 
Some years since they were again brought into notice in England as a remedy 
in gonorrhoea. This application of cubebs was derived from India, where they 
have long been used in gonorrhoea and gleet, and as a grateful stomachic and 
carminative in disorders of the digestive organs. They are said to have some- 
times produced swelled testicles, when given in gonorrhoea ; and, though re- 
commended in all its stages, will probably be found most safe and effectual in 
cases where the inflammation is confined to the mucous membrane of the ure- 
thra. If not speedily useful, they should be discontinued. They have been 
given also in leucorrhoea, cystirrhoea, the urethritis of women and female chil- 
dren, abscess of the prostate gland, piles, chronic bronchial inflammation, and, 
with great asserted advantage, in connection with copaiba, in pseudomembra- 
nous croup, and diphtheric affections of the fauces. In connection with copaiba 
they have been especially recommended in affections of the neck of the bladder 
and the prostatic portion of the urethra. They have also been found very effect- 
ual in tympanites. They are best administered in powder, of which the dose 
in gonorrhoea is from one to three drachms three or four times a day. For 
other affections, the dose is sometimes reduced to ten grains. The volatile oil 
may be substituted, in the dose of ten or twelve drops, suspended in water by 
means of sugar; though, if the experiments of Bernatzike and Heydenrcich are 
to be relied on, the oil is much less efficient than the soft resin as a remedy in 
gonorrhoea, and diseases of the urinary passages generally. An ethereal extract 
is directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and considerably used; and, as it con- 
tains the soft resin or cubebic acid, it is no doubt a very efficient preparation. 
(See Oleoresina Cubebae.) An infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce 
of cubebs to a pint of water, has been employed as an injection in discharges 
from the vagina, with asserted advantage. 
Off. Prep. Oleoresina Cubebae, U. S.; Oleum Cubebae; Tinctura Cubebae. 
W. 
CUPRUM. Br. 
Copper. 
Fine Copper wire, about No. 25. Br. 
Cuivre, Fr.; Kupfer, Germ.; Eame, Hal.; Cobre, Span. 
This metal is very generally diffused in nature, and exists principally in four 352 
Cuprum. 
PART I. 
states ; as native copper, as an oxide, as a sulphuret, and as a salt. Its princi- 
pal native salts are the sulphate, carbonate, arseniate, and phosphate. In the 
United States it occurs in various localities, but especially in the neighbour- 
hood of Lake Superior. The principal copper mines of Europe are those of 
the Pyrenees in France, Cornwall in England, and Fahlun in Sweden. 
Properties. Copper is a brilliant, sonorous metal, of a reddish colour, and 
reiy ductile, malleable, and tenacious. It has a slightly nauseous taste, and 
emits a disagreeable smell when rubbed. Its texture is granular, and its fracture 
hackly. Its sp. gr. is 8<89, and its fusing point 1996°, according to Daniell, being 
intermediate between the fusing points of silver and gold. Its equivalent 
number is 31T5. Exposed to the air it undergoes a slight tarnish. Its combina- 
tions are numerous and important. With oxygen it forms two well characterized 
oxides, a red suboxide or dioxide, consisting of two eqs. of copper and one o 1 
oxygen, and a black protoxide formed of one eq. of metal and one of oxygen. 
The latter oxide, which alone is salifiable, forms with acids several salts, import- 
ant in medicine and the arts. With metals, copper forms numerous alloys, ol 
which that with zinc, called brass, is the most useful. 
Characteristics. Copper is recognised by its colour, and the effects of tests on 
its nitric solution. This solution, with potassa, soda, and ammonia, yields a 
blue precipitate, soluble in excess of the latter alkali, with which it forms a 
deep-blue liquid. Ferroc}’anide of potassium occasions a brown precipitate of 
ferrocyanide of copper; and a bright plate of iron, immersed in the solution, 
immediately becomes covered with a film of metallic copper. The ferrocyanide 
of potassium is a very delicate test for minute portions of copper in solution. An- 
other test, proposed by M. Yerguin, is to precipitate the copper in the metallic 
state on platinum by electro-chemical action. For this purpose a drop of the 
liquid to be examined is placed on a slip of platinum foil, and a slip of bright 
iron is brought in contact with the platinum and the liquid. If copper be present 
it will be instantly precipitated on the surface of the platinum. 
Action on the Animal Economy. Copper, in its pure state, is perfectly 
but in combination is highly deleterious. Nevertheless a minute portion of the 
metal has been found in the human body. According to Millon, copper, when 
it exists in the blood, is, like the iron, attached to the red corpuscles. To bring 
the copper into a state favourable for ready detection, he advises that the blood, 
as it escapes from a vein, be received in about three times its bulk of water, and 
the mixture poured into a bottle of chlorine and agitated. The whole, upon being 
rapidly filtered, furnishes a liquid in which copper is readily detected. Wacken- 
roder found copper in the blood of man, but does not consider it a constant and 
normal constituent. He also detected this metal in the blood of domestic ani- 
mals living on a mixed diet, but notin their blood when nourished on vegetable 
food only. (Chem. Gaz., May I, 1854.) The combinations of copper, when taken 
in poisonous doses, produce a coppery taste in the mouth ; nausea and vomiting; 
violent pain in the stomach and bowels; frequent black and bloody stools; small, 
irregular, sharp, and frequent pulse; faintings; burning thirst; difficulty of breath- 
ing; cold sweats; paucity of urine, and burning pain in voiding it; violent head- 
ache ; cramps, convulsions, and finally death. The best antidote, accordingto Dr. 
Schrader,of Gottingen, is the ferrocyanide of potassium, given freely,which forms, 
with the poison, the very insoluble ferrocyanide of copper. Before the antidote 
can be procured, large quantities should be given of milk, and white of eggs 
mixed with water, which act favourably by forming the caseate and albuminate 
of copper; but these compounds should be evacuated as soon as possible by 
vomiting and purging Should vomiting not take place, the stomach-pump may 
be employed. Magnesia was proposed as an antidote by M. Boucher; but Dr. 
Schrader says it is not to be depended on. {Med. Times and Gaz., May, 1855.) 
The symptoms of slow poisoning by copper are, according to Dr. Corrigan, of 
Dublin, a cachectic appearance, emaciation, loss of muscular strength, colicky 
pains, cough without physical signs, and retraction of the gum, with a persistent 
purple edge, quite distinct from the blue edge produced by lead. (Jlraithwaite's 
Jletrospect, Am. ed., xxx. 303.) PART i. 
Cuprum.— Cupri Subacetas. 
353 
Dr. Horsley has detected sulphate of copper in bread and flour used in Londonv 
and presumes that it was added with the view of improving the appearance of 
the flour. (Chem. News, no. 63, p. Ill, and no. 65, p. 142.) 
In medico-legal examinations, where cupreous poisoning is suspected, Orfila 
recommends that the viscera be boiled in distilled water for an hour, and that 
the matter obtained by evaporating the filtered decoction to dryness be car- 
bonized by nitric acid. The carbonized product will contain the copper. By 
preceding in this wav, there is no risk of obtaining the copper which may 
happen to pre-exist in the animal tissues. This method of search is preferable 
to that of examining the contents of the stomach and intestines, from which 
copper may be absent; while it may have penetrated the different organs by 
absorption, especially the abdominal viscera. 
Vessels of copper should be discontinued in all operations connected with 
pharmacy and domestic economy; for, although the metal uncombined is inert, 
yet the risk is great that the vessels may be acted on ; in which event, whatever 
may be contained in them would be rendered deleterious. 
The Br. Pharmacopoeia uses copper in preparing Spiritus JStheris Nitrosi. 
The following is a list of the preparations containing copper in the U. S 
and Br Pharmacopoeias. 
Cupri Subacetas, U. S. — Subacetate of Copper. 
Cupri Sulphas, U. S., Br. — Sulphateof Copper. Blue Vitriol. 
Cuprum Ammoniatum, U. S. — Ammoniated Copper. B 
CUPRI SUBACETAS. U.S. 
Subacetate of Copper. 
Impure subacetate of copper. U. S. 
Verdigris; JErugo, Lat.; Acetate de cuivre brut, Vert-de-gris, Fr.; Grunspan, Germ.', 
Verde rame, Ital.; Cardenillo, Span. 
Preparation. Verdigris is prepared in large quantities in the south of France, 
more particularly in the neighbourhood of Montpellier. It is also manufactured 
in Great Britain and Sweden. In France the process is conducted in the follow- 
ing manner. Sheets of copper are stratified with the residue of the grape after 
the expression of the juice in making wine, and are allowed to remain in this 
state for a month or six weeks. At the end of this time, the plates are found 
coated with a considerable quantity of verdigris. This is scraped off, and the 
plates are then replaced as at first,-to be further acted on. The scrapings thus 
obtained form a paste, which is afterwards well beaten with wooden mallets, 
and packed in oblong leathern sacks, about ten inches in length by eight in 
breadth, in which it is dried in the sun, until the loaf of verdigris, as it is called, 
attains the proper degree of hardness. The rationale of the process is easily 
understood. The grape-refuse contains a considerable quantity of juice, which, 
by contact with the air, undergoes the acetous fermentation. The copper be- 
comes oxidized, and the resulting oxide, by combination with the acetic acid 
generated during the fermentation, forms the subacetate of copper, or verdigris. 
In England a purer verdigris is prepared bv.alternating copper plates with pieces 
of woollen cloth, steeped in pyroligneous acid 
Verdigris comes to this country exclusively from. France, being imported 
principally from Bordeaux and Marseilles. The leathern packages in which it 
is put up, called sacks of verdigris, weigh generally from twenty-five to thirty 
pounds, and arrive in casks, each containing from thirty to forty sacks. 
Properties. Verdigris is in masses of a pale-green colour, and composed of a 
multitude of minute silky crystals. Sometimes, however,it occurs of a bright-blue 
colour. Its taste is coppery. It is insoluble in alcohol, and, by the action of 
water, a portion of it is resolved into the neutral acetate which dissolves, and 
the trisacetate which remains behind in the form of a dark-green powder, gradu- 
ally becoming black. It is hence evident that, when verdigris is prepared by 
levigation with water, it is altered in its nature. The neutral acetate is the 354 
Capri Subacetas.—Capri Sulphas. 
PART I. 
crystallized acetate of copper, or Crystals of Venus. (See Part Third.) When 
verdigris is acted on by sulphuric acid, it is decomposed, vapours of acetic acid 
being evolved, easily recognised by their vinegar odour. It is soluble almost 
entirely in ammonia, and dissolves in muriatic and dilute sulphuric acid with 
the exception of impurities, which should not exceed 5 per cent. When of good 
quality, it has a lively green colour, is free from black or white spots, and is 
dry and difficult to break. The green rust, called in popular language verdigris, 
which copper vessels are apt to contract when not kept clean, is a carbonate 
of copper, and should not be confounded with true verdigris. 
Composition. Verdigris, apart from its impurities, is a variable mixture of 
the subacetates of copper; the basic sesquiacetate predominating in the green 
variety, the diacetate in the blue. When acted on by water, two eqs. of the 
portion consisting of diacetate are converted into one eq. of soluble neutral' 
acetate, and one of insoluble trisacetate. 
Medical Properties. Verdigris is used externally as a detergent and eschar 
rotic, and is occasionally applied to chronic eruptions, foul and indolent ulcers, 
and venereal warts. For its effects as a poison, see Cuprum * B. 
CUPRI SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Copper. 
“ Cn0,S03-f5H0. May be obtained by heating sulphuric acid and copper 
together, dissolving the soluble product in hot water, and evaporating the 
solution until crystallization takes place on cooling.” Br. 
Blue vitriol, Roman vitriol, Blue stone; Sulfate de cuivre,Vitriol bleu, Couperose blue, 
Pr.; Schwefelsaures Kupfer, Kupfervitriol, Blauervitriol, Blauer Galitzenstein, Germ.; 
Rame solfato, Vitriolo di rame, Hal.; Sulfato de cobre, Vitriolo azul, Span. 
Preparation, &c. Sulphate of copper occasionally exists in nature, in solu- 
tion in the water which flows through copper mines. 1'n this case the salt is pro- 
cured by merely evaporating the waters which naturally contain it. Another 
method for obtaining it is to roast the native sulphuret in a reverberatory fur- 
nace, whereby it is made to pass, by absorbing oxygen, into the state of sulphate. 
The roasted mass is lixiviated, and the solution obtained evaporated that crys- 
tals may form. The salt, procured by either of these methods, contains a little 
tersulphate of the sesquioxide of iron, from which it may be freed by adding 
either an excess of protoxide of copper, which precipitates the sesquioxide of 
iron, or recently precipitated subcarbonate of copper, which causes the deposi- 
tion of the iron as a carbonate. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiv. 507.) A third 
method consists in wetting, and then sprinkling with sulphur, sheets of copper, 
which are next heated to redness, and while hot plunged into water. The same 
* Linimentum jEruginis. This is a very old preparation, formerly recognised as offi- 
cinal in Great Britain, though abandoned in the British Pharmacopoeia. The following 
is the process for it given in the late London Pharmacopoeia. “Take of Verdigris (Sub- 
acetate of Copper), in powder, an ounce; Vinegar seven fluidounces; Honey fourteen 
ounces. Dissolve the Verdigris in the Vinegar, and strain through linen ; then gradually 
add the Honey, and boil down to a proper consistence.” The ounces used here are Troy- 
ounces. It sometimes happens during the boiling of the acetic solution of the verdigris, 
that a red deposit rapidly forms, consisting of the red or suboxide of copper; and that, 
at the end of the process, little or none of the metallic salt remains in the preparation. 
This happens especially when granular honey is employed. (Harley, Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., xi. 357.) The change is owing to the decomposition of the protoxide of copper 
by the grape sugar of the honey, converting it into the suboxide. The inference h that, 
in making the preparation, so as to fulfil the objects of the original prescription, fresh 
liquid honey should be used, which contains comparatively little glucose. 
This is an external stimulant and escharotic, and was formerly called Mel JEgyptL 
acum. It is employed, either undiluted, or mixed with some mild ointment, to destroy 
fungous granulations, or to repress their growth. In the latter state, it is a useful 
stimulant to flabby, indolent, and ill-conditioned ulcers; and, largely diluted with water, 
it has been used as a gargle in venereal ulcerations of the mouth and throat. It is some- 
times also applied undiluted to such ulcers in the fauces, by means of a camel’s-hair 
brush. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART I. 
Cupri Sulphas. 
355 
operation is repeated until the sheets are entirely corroded. At first a sulphuret 
of the metal is formed, which, by the action of heat and air, gradually passes 
into the state of sulphate of the oxide. Thi» is dissolved by the water, and ob- 
tained in crystals by evaporation. A fourth method is to dissolve copper scales 
to saturation in sulphuric acid, contained in a wooden vessel, lined with sheet 
lead. The scales consist of metallic copper, mixed with oxide, and are produced 
in the process for annealing sheet copper. 
Sometimes sulphate of copper is obtained in pursuing one of the methods for 
separating silver from gold. The silver is dissolved by boiling the alloy in sul- 
phuric acid. The sulphate of silver formed is then decomposed by the immersion 
of copper plates in its solution, with the effect of forming sulphate of copper 
and precipitating the silver. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, sulphate of copper is presumed to be obtained 
pure from the manufacturer; the British suggests the method in which it may 
be prepared, without entering into the details of the process. 
Properties. Sulphate of copper has deep-blue colour, and strong me- 
tallic styptic taste. It reddens vegetable blues, and crystallizes in large, trans- 
parent, rhomboidal prisms, which effloresce slightly in the air, and are soluble 
in four parts of cold, and two of boiling water, but insoluble in alcohol. When 
heated it first melts in its water of crystallization, and then dries and becomes 
white. If the heat is increased, it next undergoes the igneous fusion, and 
finally, at a high temperature, loses its acid, protoxide of copper being left. 
Potassa, soda, and ammonia throw down from it a bluish-white precipitate of 
hydrated protoxide of copper, which is immediately dissolved by an excess of 
the last-mentioned alkali, forming a rich deep-blue solution, called aqua sap- 
phirina. It.is decomposed by the alkaline carbonates, and by borax, acetate 
and subacetate of lead, acetate of iron, nitrate of silver, corrosive chloride of mer- 
cury, tartrate of potassa, and chloride of calciupj; and it is precipitated by all 
astringent vegetable infusions. If it becomes very green on the surface by the 
action of the air, it contains sesquioxide of iron. This oxide may also be de- 
tected by ammonia, which will throw it down along with the oxide of copper, 
without taking it up when added in excess. When sulphate of copper is ob- 
tained from the dipping liquid of manufacturers of brass or German silver ware, 
it is always contaminated with sulphate of zinc, as pointed out by Mr. S. Piesse. 
This liquid is at first a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids, but becomes, at 
last, nearly saturated with copper. When zinc is present in sulphate of copper, 
it will be taken up by solution of potassa, added in excess, from which it may 
be thrown down, in white flocks, by a solution of bicarbonated alkali. 
Sulphate of copper consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid 40, one of protoxide 
of copper 39‘75, and five of water 45 = 124 75. 
Medical Properties. Sulphate of copper, in small doses, is astringent and 
tonic; in large ones a prompt emetic. VVith a view to its tonic effect, it has been 
given in intermittent fever, as well as in epilepsy and other spasmodic diseases; 
and as an emetic, for discharging poisons from the stomach, especially opium. 
In croup it has been employed as an emetic with encouraging success. M. 
Honerkopf, a German practitioner, speaks warmly of his success with it in this 
disease. He uses the salt freely, especially in severe cases, in which great in- 
sensibility of the stomach is usually manifested. Out of ninety cases, half of 
which he estimates to have been pseudomembranous croup, he reports the 
cure of seventy-seven. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1855.) Sulphate of copper 
has also been highly recommended in chronic diarrhoea, and is said to have 
been very successfully used in cholera.* Externally it is employed in solu- 
* M. Lisle, of Marseilles, having been induced by representations from M. Burq as to 
the extraordinary efficiency of acetate of copper in cholera, gave the sulphate a trial in 
that disease, with very satisfactory results. Of a solution of 5 parts of sulphate of cop- 
per in 100 parts of water, he added 1-5 grammes to 10 drops of Sydenham’s laudanum 
and 150 grammes of sweetened water, and of this potion gave, as near the commence- 
ment of the attack as possible, a teaspoonful every 15 minutes in the severest cases, a 356 
Capri Sulphas.— Curcuma. 
part r 
tion as a stimulant to ill-conditioned ulcers, as an escharotic for destroying 
warts, fungous granulations, and callous edges, and as a styptic to bleeding sur- 
faces. It is found, in not a few instances, to promote the cicatrization of ulcers, 
and is not unfrequently employed, with that view, as a wash for chancres. In 
weak solution, either alone or associated with other substances, it forms a useful 
collyrium in the chronic stages of some forms of ophthalmia. Eight grains of 
it with an equal weight of Armenian bole, and two grains of camphor, added to 
half a pint of boiling water, form, after becoming limpid by rest, a collyrium 
strongly recommended by Mr. Ware in the purulent ophthalmia of infants. The 
preparation called cuprum aluminatum (lapis divinus—pierre divine) is 
made, according to the French Codex, by mixing, in powder, three ounces, each, 
of sulphate of copper, nitrate of potassa, and alum, heating the mixture in a 
crucible, so as to produce watery fusion, then mixing in a drachm of pow- 
dered camphor, and, finally, pouring out the whole on an oiled stone to congeal. 
The mass, when cold, is broken into pieces, and kept in a well-stopped bottle. 
When this preparation is used as a collyrium, a filtered solution is made of the 
average strength of thirty grains to the pint of water. It is employed in various 
affections of the eyes, in which astringent applications are admissible. It is 
often desirable to employ sulphate of copper, as a caustic, in the form of pencil. 
Its tendency to effloresce interferes with its use in this way in the pure state. 
M. Llovet recommends for the purpose a mixture of one part of potassa-alum 
and two of sulphate of copper, which are to be first powdered, and then gradu- 
ally melted together in a porcelain vessel, and poured into moulds made of 
bronze. (Gaz. des Hop., Juillet 28,1863.) Another mode of preparing pencils 
of sulphate of copper is to rub briskly together four parts of that salt and one 
of borax, and to mould the plastic mass which results into the desired form 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 106.) 
The dose of sulphate of copper, as an astringent or tonic, is a quarter of a 
grain, gradually increased ; as an emetic, from two to five grains. As a stimu- 
lant wash, the solution may be made of the strength of two, four, or eight 
grains to the fluidounce of water. Orfila cautions against giving large doses of 
this salt as an emetic in cases of poisoning; as it is apt, from its poisonous 
effects, to increase the mischief when not expelled by vomiting. Upon the whole, 
such is the activity of sulphate of copper, that it should always be exhibited 
with caution. For its effects as a poison, see Cuprum. 
Off. Prep. Cuprum Ammoniatum, TJ. S. B. 
CURCUMA. U.S. Secondary, 
Turmeric. 
The rhizoma of Curcuma longa. U. S. 
Safran des Indes, Fr.; Kurkuma, G-elbwurz, Germ.; Curcuma, Ital., Span.; Zirsood, 
Arab.; Huldie, Hindoo. 
Curcuma. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Zingiberacese. 
Gen.Ch. Both limbs of the corolla three-partite. Anther with two spurs at 
the wdse. Seeds with an arillus. Loudon’s Encyc. 
Curcuma longa. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 14; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 737, t. 252. 
The root of this plant is perennial, tuberous, palmate, and internally of a deep- 
yellow or orange colour. The leaves are radical, large, lanceolate, obliquely 
nerved, sheathing at their base, and closely embrace each other. The scape or 
ilower-stem, which rises from the midst of the leaves, is short, thick, smooth, 
dessertspoonful every half hour in the cases of mean severity, and the same quantity 
every hour in the lighter cases. With these doses he continued till the skin and tongue 
began to become warm, and the pulse a little raised, when he repeated the dose only 
every 3 or 5 hours, ceasing altogether when the algid period had passed. Of 68 case-} 
under his notice, 36 were treated in the ordinary mode, and of these 28 proved fatal; 
while of 31 treated with sulphate of copper only 7 died. {Ann. de Therap., 1866, p. 271. j 
—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Curcuma. 
357 
and con stitutes a spike of numerous imbricated bracteal scales, between which 
the flowers successively make their appearance. The plant is a native of the 
East Indies and Cochin-China, and is cultivated in various parts of southern 
Asia, particularly in China, Bengal, and Java, whence the root is exported. 
The best is said to come from China. 
The dried root is in cylindrical or oblong pieces, about as thick but not as 
long as the linger, tuberculated, somewhat contorted, externally yellowish-brown 
or greenish-yellow, internally deep orange-yellow, hard, compact, breaking with 
a fracture like that of wax, and yielding a yellow or orange-yellow powder. 
Another variety, comparatively rare, is round or oval, about the size of a 
pigeon’s egg, and marked externally with numerous annular wrinkles. Some- 
tiaies it comes cut into two transverse segments. Itis distinguished by the name 
of curcuma rotunda, the former being called curcuma longa. The two varie- 
ties have a close resemblance in sensible properties, and are thought to be de- 
rived from the same plant, though formerly ascribed to dilferent species of Cur- 
cuma. The odour of turmeric is peculiar; the taste warm, bitterish, and feebly 
aromatic. It tinges the saliva yellow. Analyzed by Pelletier and Vogel, it was 
found to contain lignin, starch, a peculiar yellow colouring matter called cur- 
cumin, a brown colouring matter, gum, an odorous and very acrid volatile oil, 
and a small quantity of chloride of calcium. Curcumin is obtained, mixed with 
a little volatile oil, by digestingthe alcoholic extract of turmeric in ether, and 
evaporating the ethereal tincture. It may be procured perfectly pure by separa- 
ting it from its combination with oxide of lead. M. Lepage procures it by ex- 
hausting turmeric with sulphuret of carbon, which does not dissolve curcumin, 
drying the residue, and treating it with 8 times its weight of distilled water, 
containing 2 or 3 per cent, of caustic potassa or soda, then filtering, and pre- 
cipitating with a slight excess of dilute muriatic acid, which takes the alkali, 
and throws down the curcumin. To obtain it quite pure, the precipitate is 
washed, dried and treated with ether, which dissolves only the curcumin, and 
vields it by spontaneous evaporation. (Pev. Pliarmaceut., A.D. 1857, p. 8.) 
Ir. is brown in mass, but yellow in the state of powder, without odour or taste, 
insoluble in benzine, scarcely soluble in water, but very soluble in alcohol, ether, 
and the oils. The alkalies rapidly change its colour to a reddish-brown; and 
paper tinged with tincture of turmeric is employed as a test of their presence. 
Berzelius, however, states that its colour is changed to red or brownish-red by 
the concentrated mineral acids, by pure boracic acid, especially when dissolved 
in alcohol, and by numerous metallic salts; so that its indications cannot be 
certainly relied on. Its alcoholic solution produces coloured precipitates with 
acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and other salts. Turmeric is used for dyeing 
yellow; but the colour is not permanent.* 
Medical Properties, <&c. This root is a stimulant aromatic, bearing some re- 
semblance to ginger in its operation, and is much used in India as a condi- 
ment. It is a constant ingredient in the curries so generally employed in the 
East. In former times it had some reputation in Europe as a remedy in jaun- 
dice and other visceral diseases; but at present it is employed only to impart 
colour to ointments, and other pharmaceutic preparations. 
Turmeric paper, used as a test, is prepared by tinging white unsized paper 
with a tincture or decoction of turmeric. The tincture may be made with one 
part of turmeric to six parts of proof spirit; the decoction, with one part of the 
root to ten or twelve of water. The access of acid or alkaline vapours should 
be carefully avoided. W. 
* African Turmeric. Dr. Wm. F. Daniell has brought into notice a product, much 
used by the native Africans of Sierra Leone in dyeing, consisting of rhizomas, closely 
resembling the E. Indian turmeric, having a similar odour and taste, and in like manner 
tinging the saliva yellow, and imparting their colouring matter readily to alcohol and 
water. He found it to be derived from a species of Canna, supposed to be the C. speciosa 
of Eoscoe. (Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1859, p. 258.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 358 
Cydonium.— Cypnpedium. 
PAET I 
CYDvJNlUM. U.S. Secondary. 
The seed of Cydonia vulgaris. U. S. 
Semences de coings, Fr.; Quittenkerne, Germ.; Semi di cotogno, Ital.; Semiente de 
membrillo, Span. 
The quince-tree has been separated from the genus Pyrus, and erected into 
a new one called Cydonia, which differs in the circumstance that the cells of 
its fruit contain many seeds, instead of two only as in Pyrus. 
0i'DONiA. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.—Nat. Ord. Pomacese. 
Gcn.Ch. Calyx five-parted, with leafy divisions. Apple closed, many-seeded. 
Testa mucilaginous. Loudon's Encyc. 
Cydonia vulgaris. Persoon, Enchir. ii. 40. — Pyrus Cydonia. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, ii. 1020; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 505, t. 182. The common quince-tree is 
characterized as a species by its downy deciduous leaves It is supposed to be 
a native of Crete, but grows wild in Austria, on the banks of the Danube. It 
is abundantly cultivated in this country. The fruit is about the size of a pear, 
yellow, downy, of an agreeable odour, and a rough, astringent, acidulous taste : 
and in each of its five cells contains from eight to fourteen seeds. Though not 
eaten raw, it forms a very pleasant confection; and a syrup prepared from it 
inay be used as a grateful addition to drinks in sickness, especially in looseness 
of the bowels, which it is supposed to restrain by its astringency. The seeds 
are the officinal portion. 
They are ovate, angled, reddish-brown externally, white within, inodorous, 
and nearly insipid, being slightly bitter when long chewed. Their coriaceous en- 
velope abounds in mucilage, which is extracted by boiling water. Two drachms 
of the seeds will render a pint of water thick and ropy. It has been proposed 
to evaporate the decoction to dryness, and powder the residue. Three grains of 
this powder form a sufficiently consistent mucilage with an ounce of water. 
According to M. Garot, one part communicates to a thousand parts of water 
a semi-syrupy consistence. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 298.) Dr. Pereira 
considers the mucilage as peculiar, and proposes to call it cydonin. It differs 
from arabin in not yielding a precipitate with silicate of potassa, and from bas- 
sorin and cerasin, in being soluble in water both hot and cold. 
Medical Properties, &c. The mucilage of quince seeds may be used for the 
same purposes as other mucilaginous liquids. It is preferred by some practi- 
tioners as a local application in conjunctival ophthalmia, but in this-country is 
less used for that purpose thau the infusion of sassafras pith. W. 
Quince Seed. 
CYPRIPEDIUM. US. Secondary. 
Cypripedium. 
The root of Cypripedium pubescens. U. S. 
Cypripedium. Sex. Syst. Gynandria Diandria.— Nat. Ord. Orchidacese. 
Gen. Gh. Sepals spreading; the two anterior generally united into one under 
the lip. Petals similar but usually narrower, spreading. Lip a large inflated sac, 
somewhat slipper-shaped. Column short, three-lobed; the lateral lobes bearing 
an anther under each, the middle dilated and petal-like. Gray. 
Under the common name of ladies' slipper, or moccasin plant, several spe 
cies of Cypripedium inhabit the woods in different parts of the United States 
They are small plants, with large many-nerved, plaited leaves, sheathing at the 
base, and large often beautiful flowers, of a shape not unlike the Indian moccasin, 
whence they derive one of their common names. Their generic name of Cypri- 
pedium (K'jitpiq, Venus, and xodiov, sock) had a similar origin. Several of them 
have been used by American physicians, the root being the part employed. Dr. 
R. I’. Stevens, of Ceres, Pennsylvania, says of them, that he has found the PART I. 
Cypripedium.—Delphinium. 
359 
C. spectabile and C.acaule, especially when growing in dark swamps, to be 
possessed of narcotic properties, and to be less safe than the C.parmjlorum, 
which is gently stimulant with a tendency to the nervous system, and is quite 
equal to valerian. He has employed it advantageously in hysteria, and in the 
pains of the joints following scarlet fever. (N’. Y. Journ. of Med., iv. 359.) Dr 
E. Ives considers C. pubescens, spectabile, and humile identical in their effects, 
but C. pubescens the most powerful {Trans, of Am. Med. Assoc., iii. 312.) C. 
pubescens is the only one designated in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Cypripedium pubescens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 142; Darlington, Flor. Ces- 
tric. p. 514. The yellow ladies'1 slipper, as this plant is called from the colour 
of its flowers, has a simple often flexuous, pubescent, leafy stem, from one to 
two feet high The leaves are pubescent, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, narrowing 
at the base, about four or five inches long by two in breadth, alternate, sessile, 
and sheathing. The flower is usually solitary and terminal; with four divisions 
of the perianth, the two outer cohering nearly to the apex, the inner longer, nar- 
rower, undulatory or twisted, and the lip an inch or two in length, swelling sac- 
like, and of a yellow colour. The fruit is an oblong capsule, tapering at each end, 
recurved, pubescent, and peduncled. (Darlington.) The plant is indigenous, 
growing abundantly in rich, moist woods throughout the United States. The 
root is the part used. 
Properties. The dried root, as brought to the shops, has a small, knotted 
head or caudex, with numerous somewhat contorted fibres or radicles, consider- 
ably thicker than those of serpentaria, from four to six inches long, of a yellow- 
ish-brown colour, which is darker in the caudex, of a somewhat aromatic odour 
which diminishes by time, and a bitter, sweetish, peculiar, and in the end some- 
what pungent taste. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The root has 
been analyzed by Mr. Henry C. Blair, who found it to contain a volatile oil, a 
volatile acid, tannic and gallic acids, two resins, gum, glucose, starch, and 
lignin. (Am Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1866, p. 494.) The so-called eclectics pre- 
pare what they improperly call cypripedin by precipitating with water a con- 
centrated tincture of the root. The substance thus obtained is complex, and has 
no claim to the name given it, which ought to be reserved for the active princi- 
ple when discovered. It is probable that the virtues of the root reside in a vola- 
tile oil and bitter principle. 
Medical Uses. Cypripedium appears to be a gentle nervous stimulant or 
antispasmodic, and has been used for the same purposes as valerian, though less 
powerful. Dr. E. Ives, of New Haven, Conn., has employed the remedy in a 
variety of nervous diseases with advantage, and has known it even to cure epi- 
lepsy. The other complaints mentioned by him are hypochondriasis, neuralgia, 
and morbid sensitiveness of the nervous system generally, and especially ol 
the eye. The medicine may be used in powder, infusion, or tincture. The dose 
of the powder given by Dr. Ives was fifteen grains three times a day. The 
oleoresin obtained by precipitating the tincture has been given in doses vary- 
ing from half a grain to three grains. W. 
DELPHINIUM. US. Secondary. 
Larkspur. 
The root of Delphinium Consolida. U. S. 
Pied d’allouette, Fry Feld Kittersporn, Germ. 
Delphinium. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Petals five. Nectary bifid, horned behind. Pods three 
or one. Willd. 
Delphinium Consolida Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1226; Loudon’s Encyc. of 
Plants, p. 473, 7832. The larkspur is a showy annual plant, with an erect, 
branched, slightly pubescent stem. Its leaves are divided into linear segments, 
widely separated, and forked at the summit. The flowers are usually of a beau- 
tiful azure-blue colour, and disposed in loose terminal racemes, with peduncles 360 
Delphinium.—Digitalis. 
PART I* 
longer than the bractes. The nectary is one-leaved, with an ascending horn 
nearly equalling the corolla. The seeds are contained in smooth, solitary cap- 
sules. This species of larkspur has been introduced from Europe into the United 
States, where it has become naturalized, growing in the woods and fields, and 
flowering in June and July. 
Various parts of the larkspur have been employed in medicine; and the plant 
is said to have properties closely analogous to those of Delphinium Staphisa- 
gria. (See Staphisagria.) The flowers are bitter and acrid, and, having formerly 
been supposed to possess the power of healing wounds, gave the name of con- 
solida to the species. Aconitic acid has been obtained from the expressed juice 
by W. Wicke. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1854, p. 79.) The seeds were ana- 
lyzed by Mr. Thomas C. Hopkins, of Baltimore, and found to contain delphinia, 
volatile oil, fixed oil, gum, resin, chlorophyll, gallic acid, and salts of potassa, 
lime, andiron. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xi. 8.) 
The flowers were formerly considered diuretic, emmenagogue, and vermi- 
fuge ; but are not now used. The seeds are very acrid, are esteemed diuretic, 
and in large doses produce vomiting and purging. A tincture, prepared by 
macerating an ounce of them in a pint of diluted alcohol, has been found use- 
ful in spasmodic asthma and dropsy. The dose is ten drops, to be gradually 
increased till some effect upon the system is evinced. The remedy has been em- 
ployed both in America and England; and the seeds of an indigenous species, 
D. exaltatum, have been applied to a similar purpose. The root probably pos- 
sesses the same properties, as other parts of the plant; but, though designated 
• n the Pharmacopoeia, is little if at all used. W. 
DIGITALIS. US. 
Digitalis. Foxglove. 
The leaves of Digitalis purpurea, from plants of the second year’s growth. U. S. 
Off. Syn. DIGITALIS FOLIA. Digitalis Leaf. The dried leaf of Digitalis 
purpurea, Purple Foxglove. Collected from the wild indigenous plant, when 
about two-thirds of the flowers are expanded. Br. 
Digitate pourpree, Doightier, Fr.; Purpurrother Fingerhut, Germ.; Digitate pur- 
purea, Ital.; Dedalera, Span. 
Digitalis. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Angiospermia.—Nat.Ord. Scrophulari- 
aceae. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx five-parted. Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, ventricose. Cap- 
sule ovate, two-celled. Willd. 
Digitalis purpurea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 383; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 218, t. 
18. The foxglove is a beautiful plant, with a biennial or perennial fibrous root, 
which, in the first year, sends forth large tufted leaves, and in the following 
summer, a single erect, downy, and leafy stem, rising from two to five feet, and 
terminating in an elegant spike of purple flowers. The lower leaves are ovate, 
pointed, about eight inches in length and three in breadth, and stand upon short, 
winged footstalks; the upper are alternate, sparse, and lanceolate; both are 
obtusely serrate, and have wrinkled velvety surfaces, of which the upper is of 
a fine deep green, the under paler and more downy. The flowers are numerous, 
and attached to the upper part of the stem by short peduncles, in such a man- 
ner as generally to hang down upon one side. At the base of each peduncle is 
a floral leaf, which is sessile, ovate, and pointed. The calyx is divided into five 
segments, of which the uppermost is narrower than the others. The corolla is 
monopetalous, bell-form, swelling on the lower side, irregularly divided at the 
margin into short obtuse lobes, and in shape and size not unlike the end of the 
finger of a glove, a circumstance which has suggested most of the names by 
which the plant is designated in different languages. Its mouth is guarded by 
long soft hairs. Externally, it is in general of a bright purple; internally, is 
sprinkled with black spots upon a white ground. There is a variety with white 
flowers. The filaments are white, curved, and surmounted by large yellow an- PART i 
Digitalis. 
361 
thers. The style is simple, and supports a bifid stigma. The seeds are numerous, 
very small, grayish-brown, and contained in a pyramidal two-celled capsule. 
The foxglove grows wild in the temperate parts of Europe, where it flowers 
in the middle of summer. In this country it is cultivated both for ornament and 
for medical use. The leaves are the part generally employed. Much care is re- 
quisite in selecting, preparing, and preserving them, in order to ensure their 
activity. They should be gathered in the second year, immediately before or 
during the period of inflorescence, and those only chosen which are full-grown 
and perfectly fresh. (Geiger.) It is said that those plants are preferable which 
grow spontaneously in elevated places, exposed to the sun (Duncan.) As the 
leafstalk and midrib are comparatively inactive, they may be rejected. Wither- 
ing recommends that the leaves should be dried either in the sunshine, or by 
a gentle heat before the fire ; and care should be taken to keep them separate 
while drying. Pereira states that a more common, and, in his opinion, a pre- 
ferable mode, is to dry them in a basket, in a dark place, in a drying stove. 
Tt is probably owing, in part, to the want of proper attention in preparing 
digitalis for the market, that it is so often inefficient. Much of the medicine kept 
in our shops is obtained from the Shakers, and is in oblong compact masses, 
into which the leaves have been compressed. In some of these cakes the digi- 
talis is of good quality; but we have seen others in which it was quite the re- 
verse, and some which were mouldy in the interior; and, upon the whole, can- 
not but consider this mode of preparing the drug as objectionable. The dried 
leaves should be kept in tin canisters, well closed so as to exclude light and 
moisture ; or they may be pulverized, and the powder preserved in well-stopped 
and opaque bottles. As foxglove deteriorates by time, it should be frequently 
renewed, as often, if possible, as once a year. Its quality must be judged of by 
the degree in which it possesses the characteristic properties of colour, smell, 
and especially taste. It is said to be sometimes adulterated; but if it be bought 
in leaf, there can be little difficulty with one acquainted with the characters of 
the genuine leaves in detecting the sophistication. 
The seeds contain more of the active principle than the leaves, are less apt 
to suffer in drying, and keep better; but are little used. So far as the relative 
strength of these two parts can be determined from that of their alcoholic ex- 
tracts, it would appear, from the experiments of Prof. Hirtz, that the seeds are 
ten times stronger than the leaves. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 414.) 
Properties. Foxglove is without smell in the recent state, but acquires a faint 
narcotic odour when dried. Its taste is bitter and nauseous. The colour of the 
dried leaf is a dull pale green, modified by the whitish down upon the under sur- 
face; that of the powder is a fine deep green. Digitalis yields its virtues both 
to water and alcohol. These virtues reside in a peculiar bitter principle,, which 
was first isolated by M. Homolle. In the extraction of this principle, called digi- 
laline, he employed the agency of tannic acid, as originally proposed b*y M. O. 
Henry. The latter chemist has somewhat simplified the process of M. Homolle. 
An alcoholic extract is first prepared. This is treated with distilled water acidu- 
lated with acetic acid, and heated to about 110° F., a little animal charcoal being 
added. To the liquor, filtered, and partially neutralized by ammonia, afresh con- 
centrated infusion of galls is gradually added, so long as a precipitate is produced. 
This precipitate, which is tannate of digitaline, is obtained separate by decanting 
the liquid, is washed with pure water mixed with a little alcohol, and then rubbed 
in a mortar with one-third of its weight of very finely powdered litharge. The 
mixture is heated gently, and submitted to the action of twice its volume of alco- 
hol at about C0°. The alcoholic solution is treated with a little animal charcoal, 
filtered, and evaporated at a very gentle heat. The residue is acted on twice or 
three times with cold and very pure sulphuric ether, which removes impurities, 
and leaves the digitaline. This may be powdered, or obtained in small scales by 
dissolving it in the least quantity of alcohol, and allowing the concentrated solu- 
tion to evaporate in a stove upon plates of glass. From 1000 parts of the leaves, 
M. Henry obtained between 9 and 10 parts of digitaline. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e 362 
Digitalis. 
PART r. 
ser., vii. 4(52.) This substance is white, inodorous, crvstallizable with difficulty, 
intensely bitter, sternutatory when powdered, slightly decomposed at a boiling 
heat, soluble in about 2000 parts of cold water, more soluble in boiling water, 
which retains one part in 1000 when it cools, very soluble in alcohol cold* or hot, 
very slightly soluble in ether, incapable of precipitating salts, without alkaline or 
acid reaction, and destitute of nitrogen. According to Mr. Guy, it is fusible at 
310° F.,and volatilizable at the same temperature. {Pharm. Journ and Trans., 
Feb. 1868, p. 374.) It forms an insoluble compound with tannic acid. It has 
the characteristic property of giving a fine emerald-green colour to concentrated 
muriatic acid. In the plant, it is rendered soluble in water by means of saline or 
extractive matters. It has all the effects of digitalis on the system, at least upon 
the heart. Besides the bitter principle, digitalis contains a volatile oil, a fatty 
matter, a red colouring substance analogous to extractive, chlorophyll, albumen, 
starch, sugar, gum, lignin, and salts of potassa and lime, among which, accord- 
ing to Rein and Haase, is superoxalate of potassa. M. Morin, of Geneva, has 
discovered in the leaves two acids; one fixed, called digitalic acid, the other 
volatile and resembling valerianic acid, which he proposes to name antirrhinic 
acid. {Ibid., vii. 294.) Dr. Morries obtained a narcotic empyreumatic oil by the 
destructive distillation of the leaves. 
It appears, from the experiments of M. Kosmann, that digitaline must be 
ranked among the glucosides; as, when boiled with dilute sulphuric acid, it is 
resolved into glucose (grape sugar) and a peculiar substance to which he gives 
the name of digitaliretin, a compound of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, having 
feeble acid properties, and somewhat bitter in solution, though much less so than 
digitaline itself Under the influence of caustic soda digitaline is converted into 
a substance decidedly acid, which M. Kosmann names digitalinicacid. The same 
chemist has shown that digitaline exists in two states, hydrous and anhydrous, 
the former being converted into the latter at 212° F.,with the loss of eight eqs. of 
water; the formula of the hydrous being, according to Kosmann,C.4IL,03H=681, 
that of the anhydrous CMH4-OM=609. it is always the anhydrous which is used 
in medicine. Digitalinic acid is somewhat bitter, but less so than its original. 
Like digitaline, it is converted by diluted sulphuric acid and heat into glucose and 
digitaliretin. {Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1860, p. 6, and A out, p. 87 ) 
From more recent researches by Waltz, and by MM. Homolle and Quevenne 
themselves, it has been determined that the digitaline of Homolle, though suf- 
ficiently pure for practical use, yet contains more or less of two other principles, 
from which it may be separated by the agency of ether and alcohol.* 
* The following are the results of the chemical examination of digitalis, as given by 
MM. Homolle and Quevenne, in Bouchardat’s Archives, tie Physiologic, tfv., for January, 
1854. Unfortunately these authors employ the very similar names digitaline and digitalin 
to designate different substances; the former being applied by them to the hitter active 
the latter to a tasteless and probably inert constituent. In conformity with 
their example, and to prevent confusion, we employ the term digitaline as the name ol 
the active principle, though digitalin would he in accordance with our general usage. 
Besides the proper active constituent, digitalis contains, according to MM. Homolle and 
Quevenne, three peculiar neuter principles, digitalin, digitalose, and digitalide; four or- 
ganic acids, the digitalic, antirrhinic, digitaleic, and tannic; various other neuter organic 
substances, viz., starch, sugar, pectin, an albuminoid substance, an orange-red crystal- 
lizable colouring matter, chlorophyll, volatile oil, and lignin ; and, lastly, various inor- 
ganic salts and earthy matters. It is to the digitaleic acid, which is a fatty substance, 
that M. Homolle ascribes the nauseating and emetic properties and effects on vision, 
from which pure digitaline is exempt. (Ann. de Therap., A D. 1862, p. 71.) 
Digitalin (digitasolin of Waltz) is a white, imperfectly crystalline powder, tasteless 
or very slightly acrid, soluble in water and alcohol, and insoluble in ether. Digitalose 
(digitalierin of Waltz) is of a white, crystalline, almost micaceous appearance, tasteless, 
insoluble in water, and soluble in alcohol and ether. These two principles are often con- 
tained in the digitaline procured as directed in the text. To separate them, advantage 
may be taken of the fact, that, though but slightly soluble in perfectly pure ether, digita- 
line is readily dissolved by that liquid containing but a very small proportion of alcohol. 
If the impure digitaline be submitted to the action of ether, brought by the addition ot 
ahohol to the sp. gr. 0-780, the digitaline and digitalose will be dissolved, and digitalin 
left; and, by a repetition of the treatment, almost the whole of the bitter principle may PART I. 
jDigitalis. 
363 
About four years since it was announced that a volatile alkaloid had been 
obtained by W. Englehardt from the leaves of digitalis, by a process similar to 
that by which conia is extracted from hemlock. It is described as an exceed- 
ingly volatile liquid, of an oily consistence, a very penetrating odour, an alka- 
line reaction, soluble with difficulty in water, readily dissolved by alcohol, solu- 
ble in pure ether, and but slightly so in chloroform. Should this discovery be 
confirmed, and the alkaloid prove to be one of the active principles of digitalis, 
it should receive the name of digitalia. In the mean time, the discoverer calls 
it digitalinum jluidum. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , March, 18G4, p. 126.) 
From recent observations of M. Homolle and of M. Lefort, there would ap- 
pear to be two forms of digitaline, or perhaps two principles to which the 
same name is attached, differing from each other as the several cinchona alka- 
loids differ, and probably one a derivative of the other. The chief difference be- 
tween them is in their degree of solubility in water; one being almost insoluble, 
the other freely soluble. The former is represented in the market by the French 
digitaline, the latter by the German. More will be said on this subject under 
the head of Digitalinum, in Part II. of this work. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Digitalis is narcotic, sedative, and diuretic. 
Administered in quantities sufficient to bring the system decidedly under its in- 
fluence, it is apt to produce a sense of tightness or weight with dull pain in the 
head, vertigo, dimness or other disorder of vision, and more or less confusion of 
thought. At the same time it occasionally gives rise to irritation in the pharynx 
and oesophagus, which extends to the larynx and trachea, producing hoarseness; 
and, in more than one instance, ptyalism has been observed to result. It some- 
times also disturbs the bowels, and excites nausea, or even vomiting. Another 
and highly important effect is an augmented flow of urine. This has been as- 
cribed by some to increased absorption; and, in support of this opinion, it is 
stated that its diuretic operation is observable only when dropsical effusion ex- 
ists; but the fact seems to be, that it is capable of augmenting the quantity of 
urine in health, and it probably exerts a directly stimulating influence upon the 
secretory function of the kidneys. This influence is said sometimes to extend to 
the genital organs. Besides the effects above detailed, digitalis has a remarka- 
bly sedative action upon the heart. This is exhibited in the reduction both of 
the force and frequency of the pulse, which sometimes sinks to 50, 40, or even 
30 strokes in the minute. In some instances, however, it undergoes little 
change; in others only becomes irregular ; and we are told that it is even occa- 
sionally increased in frequency. It was observed by Dr. Baildon that the effects 
of digitalis upon the circulation were much influenced by posture. Thus, in his 
own case, the pulse, which had been reduced from 110 to 40 in the recumbent po- 
sition, was increased to 72 when he sat, and to 100 when he stood. We do not dis- 
cover anything remarkable in this circumstance. It is well known that the pulse 
is always more frequent in the erect than in the horizontal posture, and the differ- 
ence is greater in a state of debility than in health. Digitalis diminishes the 
frequency of the pulsations of the heart by a directly depressing power; and 
be extracted. If the ethereal solutions thus obtained be mixed, the ether distilled otf until 
the residue has a pap-like consistence, and this residue be treated with boiling alcohol of 
6C°, the digitaline will be taken up, and most of the digitalose remain undissolved. The 
former may now be obtained by a gentle evaporation of the alcohol; and by repetitions 
of the process, may be rendered very nearly free from digitalose, though not perfectly so. 
In its purest state, digitaline, instead of being white, has a pale-yellow tint, and is erys- 
tallizable with even greater difficulty than in its ordinary condition. Indeed, MM. 
Homolle and Quevenne are disposed to consider it quite uncrystallizable when perfectly 
pure. One of its peculiarities is a disposition to assume a globular form when deposited 
from its solution. If its alcoholic or ethereal solution be concentrated until it becomes 
turbid, and then examined with a microscope, innumerable globules will be seen of vari- 
able size, closely resembling those of milk. These coalesce, and, when deposited, adhere 
to the bottom of the vessel in grains or masses of a resinoid appearance. (Op. cit., pp. 
21 and 22.) As a test of the sufficient purity of digitaline, the authors state that its bit- 
terness should be such as to require, in order to be rendered imperceptible, the addition 
of 10 litres (about 21 pints) of water to 5 centigrammes (about 0-77 gr.) of the digitaline. 
(Ibid., p. 126.)—Note to the eleventh and twelfth editions. 364 
Digitalis. 
• PART I. 
tli is very depression, when any exertion is made which calls for increased action 
in that organ, causes it to attempt, by an increase in the number of its contrac- 
tions, to meet the demand which it is unable to supply by an increase in their 
force. According to Dr. Traube, it directly diminishes animal temperature in 
febrile and inflammatory diseases, without antecedent effect on the circulation. 
(See Archives Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 338.) It is said also to have a powerful 
sedative influence on the generative organs. This statement is not altogether 
incompatible with that already made, that the medicine sometimes stimulates 
these organs. The normal depressing effect may be experienced through the 
nervous centres; while the occasional irritation may proceed, either from the 
direct action of the medicine through the blood on the tissues affected, or a sym- 
pathetic influence extended from the urinary organs. Dr. A. Buchner states 
that digitaline arrests vinous fermentation, and consequently poisons the yeast 
plant. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 154.) 
The effects above detailed may result from digitalis given in remediate doses. 
In larger quantities its operation is more violent. Nausea and vomiting, stupor 
or delirium, cold sweats, extreme prostration of strength, hiccough, convulsions, 
and syncope are among the alarming symptoms which indicate its poisonous 
character. These effects are best counteracted by stimulants, such as brandy, 
the volatile alkali, opium, and strong coffee. Should any of the poison be sus- 
pected to remain, it would be proper, before employing other measures, to 
evacuate the stomach by the free use of warm liquids. From the experiments 
of M. Bonjean, it appears that powdered digitalis may be given to fowls, in 
large quantities, with entire impunity. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iv. 21.) 
A peculiarity of digitalis is that, after having been given in moderate doses 
for several days without apparent effect, it sometimes acts suddenly with an 
accumulated influence, even endangering life. It is, moreover, very permanent 
in its operation,which, having once commenced, is maintained for a considerable 
period without fresh accessions of the medicine. The practical inferences de- 
ducible from these properties of digitalis are, first, that, after it has been given 
for some time without effect, care should be taken not to increase the dose too 
greatly; and, secondly, that, after its effects have begun to appear, it should 
be suspended for a time, or exhibited in smaller doses, lest a dangerous accu- 
mulation should be experienced. In numerous instances death has resulted 
from its incautious employment. 
Digitalis has been long known to possess medicinal powers; but it was never 
regarded as a standard remedy till after its application by Withering to the 
treatment of dropsy, about the year 1775. It is at present employed very ex- 
tensively, both for its diuretic power, and for its sedative influence over the 
circulation. The former renders it highly useful in dropsical diseases, though 
like all other remedies it frequently fails; the latter adapts it to cases in which 
the action of the heart requires to be controlled. The idea was at one period 
entertained, that it might serve as a substitute for the lancet in febrile and in- 
flammatory complaints; and it has been much employed for this purpose by 
the advocates of the contra-stimulant doctrine in Italy; but experience has 
proved that it is a very frail support where the symptoms of inflammation are 
such as to call for the loss of blood. Nevertheless, it is even at present highly 
valued by some practitioners in febrile diseases, and in acute inflammatory 
rheumatism has been recommended as a most efficient remedy, being itself 
capable of effecting cures in many cases, sometimes as early as in five or six 
days, but more frequently by the twelfth or fifteenth. {Arch. Gen.. 6e ser , ix. 
733.) As an adjuvant to the lancet, and when circumstances forbid the employ- 
ment of that remedy, it is often useful. Good may be expected from it in all 
fevers where one of the chief indications is to reduce the frequency of the pulse. 
We have ourselves employed it with this view in scarlet fever with apparent 
advantage. Though it certainly has not the power, at one time ascribed to it 
by some, of curing phthisis, it acts beneficially as a palliative in that complaint 
by depressing the excited movements of the heart. In the same way it proves PART I. 
Digitalis. 
365 
advantageous in aneurism, hypertrophy and dilatation of the heart, palpitations 
from rneumatic or gouty irritation, and in various forms of hemorrhage, after 
action has been sufficiently reduced by the lancet. Some consider it especially 
efficient in menorrhagia. It has also been prescribed in nervous headache, 
mania, epilepsy, pertussis, and spasmodic asthma; and highly respectable 
testimony can be adduced in favour of its occasional efficacy in these com- 
plaints. In delirium tremens it has been recommended as a specific, given in 
infision, in the full dose, repeated every two hours till symptoms of narcotism 
are induced; but the practice is somewhat hazardous, unless the patient is 
carefully watched. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xvii. 501.) Much testimony has 
recently been given in favour of large doses of digitalis in this affection; the 
tincture having been taken in doses of from half a fluidrachm to half a fluid- 
ounce, and repeated afterwards in smaller quantities, at intervals of two, four, 
or six hours till sleep was obtained. (Ibid., Jan. 1861, p. 257.) The same prac- 
tice has been recommended in acute mania. But we would reiterate the neces- 
sity of caution; for, though the tincture, as found in the shops, may no doubt 
often be administered safely in large doses, yet, if the medicine is of good 
quality, they cannot but be hazardous. Digitalis is said to be a very efficient 
remedy in spermatorrhoea. Externally applied, it sometimes acts speedily and 
powerfully as a diuretic, and has proved useful in dropsy. For this purpose 
the fresh leaves bruised, or the tincture, maybe rubbed over the abdomen and 
on the inside of the thighs. (Revue Medicate, May, 1834.) Ch Hoffman has 
shown by experiments on himself that the active matter of digitalis is capable 
of being absorbed through the skin, and that its effects on the system may be 
obtained by means of baths.* A case is recorded in which a cataplasm of the 
leaves applied to the abdomen for the relief of obstinate and dangerous sup 
pression of urine, and repeated in six hours, brought oil excessive diuresis, 
with a discharge amounting to probably 8 gallons in less than 24 hours, pro 
ducing fatal exhaustion. (Med. 'Times and Gaz., Jan. 1868, p. 86.) 
Digitalis is administered in substance. The dose of the powder is one grain, 
repeated twice or three times a day, and gradually increased till some effect is 
produced upon the head, stomach, pulse, or kidneys, when it should be omitted 
or reduced. The infusion and tincture are officinal preparations often resorted 
to. (See Infusum Digitalis and Tinctura Digitalis.) The extract has also been 
employed; and Orfila found it, whether prepared with water or alcohol, more 
powerful than the powder. Enormous doses of this medicine have been given 
with asserted impunity; and, when they occasion full vomiting, it is possible 
that they may sometimes prove harmless; but, when the alarming effects 
sometimes experienced from comparatively moderate doses are considered, the 
practice must be condemned as exceedingly hazardous. 
Digitaline has been used internally, but its employment requires caution. With 
all the powers of digitalis, it possesses the advantage of more equable strength, 
and consequently greater precision and certainty in regard to the dose. It may 
be used for any of the purposes to which the leaves are applicable; and may be 
administered in pill, or alcoholic solution. The dose to begin with should not 
exceed the fiftieth or sixtieth of a grain, and should not be carried beyond the 
twelfth. It is much administered in the form of granules, made by saturating 
small globules of sugar with an alcoholic solution of digitaline. The granules 
of Homolle, which are commonly used in Europe, contain each a milligramme, 
or about the seventieth of a grain ; equivalent, on the average, to perhaps a grain 
and a half of digitalis of medium strength. One of these globules may be given 
as a commencing dose. Forty of them taken with a view to suicide, though 
* M. Hoffman, during a period of 44 days, took 16 baths prepared with 300 litres of 
water and 250 grammes of digitalis leaves. After the third bath he began to feel the 
effects of the medicine; a peculiar uneasiness, namely, and a reduction of the pulse 4 or 
6 pulsations per minute; and this condition persisted several hours. At the eighth hath 
the uneasiness was increased, and the pulse decreased from 68 to 51. After the sixteenth 
bath, the pulse fell to 48. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Juillet, 1867, p. 37.)—Note to the 
thirteenth edition. 366 
Diospyros.—Dracontium. 
PART I. 
followed by copious vomiting, so that most of the poison was probably dis- 
charged, produced the most alarming prostration, with a pulse weak 16 to 48 
in a minute, intermittent, and sometimes scarcely perceptible. The patient, 
however, ultimately recovered. (Ann. de Therap., A.D. 1858, p. 103.) 
Off. Prep. Digitalinum, Br.; Extractum Digitalis Alcoholicum, U.S.; Infu- 
sum Digitalis; Tinctura Digitalis W. 
D10SPYR0S. U. S. Secondary. 
Persimmon. 
The unripe fruit of Diospyros Virginiana. TJ. S. 
Dtospyros. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Octandria. — Nat. Ord. Ebenacese. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx four to six-cleft. Corolla urceolate, four to six-cleft. 
Stamens eight to sixteen ; filaments often producing two anthers. Female. 
Flowerasthe male. Stigmas four to five. Berry eight to twelve-seeded. Nuttall. 
Diospyros Virginiana Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1107 ; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. 
ii 219. The persimmon is an indigenous tree, rising sometimes in the Southern 
States to the height of sixty feet, with a trunk twenty inches in diameter; but 
seldom attaining more than half that size near its northern limits, and often not 
higher than fifteen or twenty feet. The stem is straight, and in the old tree 
covered with a furrowed blackish bark. The branches are spreading; the leaves 
ovate-oblong, acuminate, entire, smooth, reticulately veined, alternate, and sup- 
ported on pubescent footstalks. The buds are smooth The male and female 
flowers are on different trees. They are lateral, axillary, solitary, nearly sessile, 
of a pale-orange colour, and not conspicuous. The fruit is a globular berry, dark- 
yellow when ripe, and containing numerous seeds in a soft yellow pulp. 
This tree is very common in the Middle and Southern States, but, according 
to Michaux, does not flourish beyond the forty-second degree of north latitude. 
The flowers appear in May or June; but the fruit is not ripe till the middle of 
autumn. While green, the fruit is excessively astringent, and, we presume, will 
retain its astringency if carefully sliced and dried in this state; but, when per- 
fectly mature, and after having been touched by the frost, it is sweet and palat- 
able. Michaux states that, in the Southern and Western States, it is made into 
cakes with bran, and used for preparing beer with the addition of water, hops, 
and yeast. A spirituous liquor may be obtained by the distillation of the fer- 
mented infusion. The unripe fruit was examined by Mr. B. R. Smith, of Phila- 
delphia, and found to contain tannic acid, sugar, malic acid, colouring matter, 
and lignin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm,, xviii. 167.) The tannic acid has been as- 
certained by Mr. John E. Bryan not to be of the kind existing in galls and oak- 
bark. (Ibid., xxxii. 215.) The fact that tannin is a glucoside may throw some 
light on the rapid and complete change which the fruit undergoes from astrin- 
gency to sweetness during maturation. It has been used by Dr. Mettauer, of 
Virginia, in diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, and uterine hemorrhage. He gave it 
in infusion, syrup, and vinous tincture, prepared in the proportion of about an 
ounce of the bruised fresh fruit to two fluidounces of the vehicle, and adminis- 
tered in the dose of a fluidrachm or more for infants, and half a fluidounce or 
more for adults. The bark is astringent and very bitter, and is said to have 
been used advantageously in intermittents, and in the form of a gargle in ul- 
cerated sorethroat. W. 
DRACONTIUM. VS. Secondary. 
Skunk Cabbage. 
The root of Dracontium foetidum, Ictodes foetidus (Bigelow), Symplocarpus 
foetidus (Salisbury). U. S. 
Botanists have had some difficulty in arranging this plant. It was attached 
'oy Willdenow to the genus Dracontium, by Michaux and Pursh was considered PA3.T I. 
Dracontiam. 
367 
a Pofhos, and by American botanists has been erected into a new genus, which 
Nuttall calls Symplocarpus after Salisbury, and Dr. Bigelow proposes to name 
Ictodes, expressive of the odour of the plant. The term Symplocarpus, though 
erroneous in its origin, was first proposed, and, having been adopted by several 
botanists, should be retained. 
Symplocahpus. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. A race*. 
Gen. Ch. Spathe hooded. Spadix covered with perfect flowers. Calyx with 
four segments. Petals none. Style pyramidal. Seeds immersed in the spadix. 
Symplocarpus foetid a. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 123. — Tctodes fcetidus Bigelow, 
Am Med. Bot. ii. 41. The skunk cabbage is a very curious plant, and the only 
one of the genus. The root is perennial, large, abrupt, and furnished with nu- 
merous fleshy fibres, which penetrate to the depth of two feet or more. The 
spathe which first appears, is ovate, acuminate, obliquely depressed at the apex, 
auriculated at the base, folded inwards at the edges, and of a brownish-purple 
colour, varied with spots of red, yellow, and green. Within the spathe, the 
flowers, which resemble it in colour, are placed in great numbers upon a globose 
peduncled spadix, for which they form a compact covering. After the spathe 
has decayed, the spadix continues to grow, and when the fruit is mature, has 
attained a size exceeding several times its original dimensions. At the base of 
each style is a roundish seed, immersed in the spadix, about the size of a pea, 
and speckled with purple and yellow. The leaves, which appear after the flowers, 
are numerous and crowded, oblong-cordate, acute, smooth, strongly veined, and 
attached to the root by long petioles, which are hollowed in front, and furnished 
with coloured sheathing stipules. At the beginning of May, when the leaves are 
fully developed, they are very large, being from one to two feet in length, and 
from nine inches to a foot in breadth. 
The plant is indigenous, growing abundantly in meadows, swamps, and other 
<vet places throughout the northern and middle sections of the Union. Its 
flowers appear in March and April, and in the lower latitudes often so early 
as February. The fruit is usually quite ripe, and the leaves are decayed before 
the end of August. The plant is very conspicuous from its abundance, and the 
magnitude of its leaves. All parts of it have a fetid odour, thought to resemble 
that of the offensive animal after which it is named. This odour resides in an 
extremely volatile principle, which is rapidly dissipated by heat, and diminished 
by desiccation. The root is the part employed. It should be collected in autumn, 
or early in spring, and dried with care. 
The root, as found in the shops, consists of two portions ; the body either 
whole or in transverse slices, and the separated radicles. The former, when entire, 
is cylindrical or in the shape of a truncated cone, two or three inches long by 
about an inch in thickness, externally dark-brown and very rough from the in- 
sertion of the radicles, internally white and amylaceous. The latter are of various 
lengths, about as thick as a hen’s quill, very much flattened and wrinkled, white 
within, and covered by a yellowish reddish-brown epidermis, considerably lighter 
coloured than the body of the root. More or less of the fetid odour remains for 
a considerable period in the dried root. The taste, though less decided than in 
the fresh, is still acrid, manifesting itself, after the root has been chewed for a 
short time, by a pricking and smarting sensation in the mouth and throat. The 
acrimony, however, is dissipated by heat, and is quite lost in decoction It is 
also diminished by time and exposure; and the root should not be kept longer 
than a single season. The radicles are said to have less acrimony than the caudex. 
'The seeds are very acrid, and, though inodorous when whole, give out strongly, 
when bruised, the peculiar odour of the plant. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root is stimulant, antispasmodic, and 
narcotic. In large doses it occasions nausea and vomiting, with headache, ver- 
tigo, and dimness of vision. Dr. Bigelow has witnessed these effects from thirty 
grains of the recently dried root. The medicine was introduced into notice by 
the Rev. Dr. Cutler, who recommended it highly in asthma; and it has been 
subsequently employed with apparent advantage in chronic catarrh, chronic 368 
Draeontium.—Dulcamara. 
PART 1. 
rheumatism, hysteria, and dropsy. Dr. Heintzelman thinks it expectorant as 
well as antispasmodic, and has used it beneficially in hooping-cough and pul- 
monary consumption. (N. J. Med. Reporter, iv. 310 ) 
It is best given in powder, of which the dose is from ten to twenty grains, to 
be repeated three or four times a day, and gradually increased till some evidence 
of its action is afforded. A strong infusion is sometimes employed, and the people 
in the country prepare a syrup from the fresh root; but the latter preparation 
is very unequal. The root itself, as kept in the shops, is of uncertain strength, 
in consequence of its deterioration by age. W 
DULCAMARA. U. S., Br. 
Bittersweet. 
The stalks of Solanum Dulcamara. U. S. The dried young branches of Solar 
num Dulcamara, Bittersweet, from indigenous plants which have shed their 
leaves. Br. 
Douce-amere, Fr.; Bittersiiss, Alpranken, Germ.; Dulcamara, Ital., Span. 
Solanum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Solanacese. 
Gen. Gli. Corolla wheel-shaped. Anthers somewhat coalescing, opening by 
two pores at the apex. Berry two-celled. Willd. 
This genus includes numerous species, of which several have been used in 
medicine. Besides S. Dulcamara, which is the only officinal species, a few others 
merit notice. 1. Solanum nigrum, the common garden or black nightshade, 
is an annual plant from one to two feet high, with an unarmed herbaceous stem, 
ovate, angular-dentate leaves, and white or pale-violet flowers, arranged in 
peduncled nodding umbel-like racemes, and followed by clusters of spherical 
black berries, about the size of peas. There are numerous varieties of this spe- 
cies, one of which is a native of the United States. The leaves are the part em- 
ployed. They are said to produce diaphoresis, sometimes diuresis and moderate 
purging, and in large doses nausea and giddiness. As a medicine they have 
been used in cancerous, scrofulous, and scorbutic diseases, and other painful 
ulcerous affections, being given internally, and applied at the same time to the 
parts affected in the form of poultice, ointment, or decoction. A grain of the 
dried leaves may be given every night, and gradually increased to ten or twelve 
grains, or till some sensible effect is experienced. The medicine, however, is 
scarcely used at present. By some persons the poisonous properties ascribed to 
the common nightshade are doubted. M. Dunal, of Montpellier, states, as the 
result of numerous experiments, that the berries are not poisonous to man or 
the inferior animals; and the leaves are said to be consumed in large quantities 
in the Isles of France and Bourbon as food, having been previously boiled in 
water. In the latter case, the active principle of the plant must have been ex- 
tracted by decoction. 2. The leaves, stalks, and unripe berries of Solanum 
tuberosum, or the common potato, are asserted to be narcotic ; and an extract 
prepared from the leaves has been employed in cough and spasmodic affections, 
in which it is said to act like opium. {Geiger.) From half a grain to two grains 
may be given as a dose. Dr. Latham, of London, found the extract to produce 
favourable effects in protracted cough, chronic rheumatism, angina pectoris, 
cancer of the uterus, &c. Its influence upon the nervous system was strongly 
marked, and, in many instances, the dose could not be increased above a few 
grains without givingrise to threatening symptoms. It appeared to Dr Latham 
to be analogous in its operation to digitalis. His experiments were repeated in 
Philadelphia by Dr. Worsham with different results. The extract was found, in 
the quantity of nearly one hundred grains, to produce no sensible effect. (Philad. 
Journ. of the Med. and Ph.ys. Sciences, vi. 22.) We can reconcile these opposite 
statements only upon the supposition, that the properties of the plant vary with 
the season, or with the place and circumstances of culture. Dr. Julius Otto 
found solania in the germs of the potato. He was induced to make the in vestiga- 
tion by observing that cattle were destroyed by feeding on the residue of germi- part I. 
Dulcamara. 
369 
nated potatoes, used for the manufacture of brandy. A case of death in a girl of 
fourteen, from eating the unripe fruit of the potato, is recorded in the British 
Med. Journ. for Sept. 3d, 1859. The prominent symptoms were partial stupor, 
speechlessness, jactitation, hurried breathing, lividness of the skin, cold sweats, 
very frequent and feeble pulse, and a constant spitting through the closed teeth 
of viscid frothy phlegm. Death occurred on the second day. C. Haaf has found 
the same alkaloid in old potatoes which had begun to germinate, in the pro- 
portion of O'16 to 500 parts; and in very young potatoes, deprived of their 
coating, precisely the same quantity. Fully ripe potatoes, which had not be- 
gun to sprout, gave a negative result. (Neues Repert. fur Pharm., A.D. 1864, 
p. 559.) 3. The well-known tornado, so much used as a vegetable at the table, 
and so advantageous through its nutritive, laxative, and antiscorbutic pro- 
perties, is the fruit of a species of Solanum, denominated S Lycopersicum. 
Though the juice of the fruit is free from solania, the seeds probably contain 
it, as their alcoholic extract has a bitter, pungent taste. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxxiv. 519.) 4. Several instances of poisoning are on record from the 
fruit of S. pseudocapsicum, or Jerusalem cherry, which, from its resemblance 
to the common cherry, is liable to be eaten by children. 5. in the Edin. 
Med. Journ. (Nov. 1867, p. 398), several cases are recorded by Dr. Manners, 
of Jamaica, W. I., of poisoning by the susumber berries, of which one proved 
fatal, and several others recovered, probably in consequence of the early evacua- 
tion of the stomach by a mustard emetic. The symptoms recorded were anxious 
countenance, dilated pupil, cold skin, and difficult articulation. The fatal case 
was not seen by Dr. Manners till after death. The susumber berries are the 
fruit of a species of Solanum, denominated by Lunnan, in his “ Hortus Jamai- 
censis,” S bacciferum, of which there are two varieties, one relatively innocent, 
as its fruit is habitually used by the natives, the other poisonous, as would be 
inferred from the cases here noticed. 6. Idle Solanum paniculatum, called 
jurubeba in Brazil, is said to be largely used in S. America, in affections ot 
the liver and spleen, catarrh of the bladder, anaemia, and amenorrhoea. The 
plant is thought to be one of the most powerful deobstruents. The leaves, fruit, 
and root are used, externally in the form of a plaster, internally in the form of 
syrup, wine, and extract. (London Lancet, Feb. 1866, p. 158.) 
Solanum Dulcamara Willd. Sp. Plant, i 1028; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 237, 
t. 84 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 169. The bittersweet or woody nightshade is 
a climbing shrub, with a slender, roundish, branching, woody stem, which, in 
favourable situations, rises six or eight feet in height. The leaves are alternate, 
petiolate, ovate, pointed, veined, soft, smooth, and of a dull-green colour. Many 
near the top of the stem are furnished with lateral projections at their base, 
giving them a hastate form. Some have the projection only on one side. Most 
of them are quite entire, some cordate at the base. The flowers are disposed in 
elegant clusters, somewhat analogous to cymes, and standing opposite to the 
leaves. The calyx is very small, purplish, and divided into five blunt persistent 
segments. The corolla is wheel-shaped, with five pointed, reflected segments, 
which are of a violet-blue colour, with a darker purple vein running longitudi- 
nally through their centre, and two shining greenish spots at the base of each. 
The filaments are very short, and support large, erect, lemon-yellow anthers, 
which cohere in the form of a cone around the style. The berries are of an 
oval shape and a bright scarlet colour, and continue to hang in beautiful 
bunches after the leaves have fallen. 
This plant is common to Europe and North America. It flourishes most luxu- 
riantly in damp and sheltered places, as on the banks of rivulets, and among 
the thickets which border our natural meadows. It is also found in higher and 
more exposed situations, and is frequently cultivated in gardens. In the United 
States it extends from New England to Ohio, and is in bloom from June to 
August. The root and stalk have medicinal properties, though the latter only 
is officinal. The berries,, which were formerly esteemed poisonous, and thought 
to act with great severity on the stomach and bowels, have of late been said to 370 
Dulcamara. 
PART I. 
be innoxious. A case, however, of death from their use in a child has been re- 
corded. (See Pharm. Journ., Feb. 18(51, p. 436.) Bittersweet should be gath- 
ered in autumn, after the fall of the leaf; and the extreme twigs should be 
selected. That grown in high and dry situations is said to be the best. 
The dried twigs, as brought to the shops, are of various lengths, cylindrical, 
about as thick as a goose-quill, externally wrinkled, and of a grayish-ash colour, 
consisting of a thin bark, an interior ligneous portion, and a central pith. They 
are inodorous, though the stalk in the recent state emits, when bruised, a pecu- 
liar, rather nauseous smell. Their taste, which is at first bitter and afterwards 
sweetish, has given origin to the name of the plant. Boiling water extracts all 
their virtues. These are supposed to depend, at least in part, upon a peculiar 
alkaline principle called solanin or solania, which was originally discovered bv 
M. Desfosses, of in the berries of Solanum nigrum, and has subse-' 
quently been found in the stalks, leaves, and berries of S. Dulcamara and S. 
tuberosum. It is supposed to exist in the bittersweet combined with malic acid.* 
Solania is ift the form of a white opaque powder, or of delicate acicular crys- 
tals somewhat like those of sulphate of quinia, though finer and shorter It is 
inodorous, of a bitter taste, fusible at a little above 212°, scarcely soluble in 
water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and capable of neutralizing the acids. It is 
distinguished by the deep-brown, or brownish-yellow colour which iodine imparts 
* Solania is most conveniently obtained from the sprouts of the common potato. The fol- 
lowing is Wackenroder’s process for extractingit. The sprouts,collected in the beginning 
of June, and pressed down in a suitable vessel by means of pebbles, are macerated lor 
twelve or eighteen hours in water enough to cover them, previously acidulated with sul- 
phuric acid, so as to have a strongly acid reaction during the maceration. They are then 
expressed by the hand; and the liquor, with the addition of fresh portions of sulphuric 
acid, is added twice successively, as at first, to fresh portions of sprouts, and in like man- 
ner separated by expression. After standing for some days, it is filtered, and treated with 
powdered hydrate of lime in slight excess. The precipitate which forms is separated by 
straining, dried in a warm air, and boiled several times with alcohol. The alcoholic solu- 
tion, having been filtered while hot, will, upon cooling, deposit the solania in fiocculent 
crystals. An additional quantity of the alkaloid may be obtained by evaporating the 
mother-liquor to one-quarter, and then allowing it to cool. The whole residuary liquor 
will assume a gelatinous consistence, and, upon being dried, will leave the solania in the 
form of a translucent, horny, amorphous mass. (Pharm. Central Matt, 1843, p. 174.) 
Opinion at present seems to be unsettled as to the nature of solanin or solania ; and the 
results obtained by different chemists vary so much as almost to necessitate the con- 
clusion that they have operated on different substances. Indeed, M. Moitessier states 
expressly that the alkaloids obtained from different species cf Solanum differ perceptibly 
in their physical properties. By this chemist the alkaloid, as obtained from dulcamara, 
was found, after a careful examination, to have the formula C4.2H35NOh, though M. Blan- 
chet had previously given it as It appears to have very feeble alkaline pro- 
perties, and forms amorphous compounds with the acids. (Comptes Rendus, Nov. 17, 
1856.) Mr. Guy found it to have the same point of fusion and volatilization, which he 
states to be 350° F. [Pharm. Journ. Trans., Feb. 1868, p. 374.) As obtained from the 
potato and black nightshade, Dr. Fronmuller describes it as a white crystalline substance, 
having when moist an acrid smell like that of potatoes, and a nauseous taste. With sul- 
phuric acid it gives a blood-red colour passing into brown. In doses of from one to four 
grammes, it caused a slight burning in the throat and eructation, and the pupil was di- 
lated in one instance. In larger doses it caused vomiting, loss of appetite, giddiness, &c., 
but produced no decided soporific effect. (B. $ F. Med.-chir. Rev., April, 1867, p. 527.) 
It would, we think, be hazardous to begin with any specimen of solania which maybe 
under observation, in doses so large as the smallest of those mentioned. 
Zwenger and Kind ascertained that, when boiled with sulphuric or muriatic acid, 
solania is resolved into grape sugar and a much stronger alkaloid, which they name sola- 
nidin (solanidia). This has a decided alkaline reaction and a bitter taste, and forms crys- 
tallizable salts. According to this statement, solania ranks among the glucosides. (Liebig's 
Annalen, cix.) The reaction between solania and sulphuric acid, resulting in the pro- 
duction of a red colour, is said by these chemists actually to take place between the 
acid and solanidin, which has been first produced by it. 
Still more recently, the astonishing information is given, on the basis of experiments 
by OttoGmelin, that not only are solanin and solanidin glucosides,but that neither of them 
contains nitrogen, the formula of the former being that of the latter C52H4,04. 
(Ibid.,cx. p. 167.) To us it seems impossible that the many experienced chemists who have 
found nitrogen in solania should have been mistaken ; and the inference is that Gmelin haft 
probably operated on a different substance. (Note to the twelfth and thirteenth editions.) PART i 
Dulcamara. 
371 
tc its solution, and by its reaction with sulphuric acid, which becomes first red- 
dish-yellow, then purplish-violet, then brown, and lastly, again colourless, with 
the deposition of a brown powder. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A.D. 1843, p 177. ' 
Given to a cat, it was found by M. Desfosses to operate at first as an emetic, 
and afterwards as a narcotic. Dr. J. Otto observed, among its most striking 
effects, a paralytic condition of the posterior limbs of animals. One grain of the 
sulphate of solania was sufficient to destroy a rabbit in six hours. Dr. Frass did 
not observe paralysis of the lower limbs of animals as one of its effects. Given 
to different animals, he found it to occasion loss of appetite, vomiting, sometimes 
diarrhoea, excitement of the circulation, dilatation of the pupils, and, in large 
doses, heaviness, apathy, slowness of movement, and sometimes convulsions. In- 
jected into the jugular vein, it caused accelerated circulation, difficult and even 
spasmodic respiration, convulsions, tetanic spasms, and death Two grains of 
the acetate, injected into the rectum of a rabbit, killed it in six hours. Ten 
grains given to a dog, and confined by a ligature round the oesophagus, though 
it occasioned great disturbance, did not prove fatal. Twenty grammes (3v) 
produced no effect on a hog. (B. & F. Medico chirurg. Bev., Am. ed., July, 
1854, p. 189.) Besides solania, the stalks of S. Dulcamara contain, according 
to Pfaff, a peculiar principle to which he gave the name of picroglgcion, indi- 
cative of the taste, at once bitter and sweet, which it is said to possess. This 
was obtained by Blitz, in the following manner. The watery extract was 
treated with alcohol, the tincture evaporated, the residue dissolved in water, 
the solution precipitated with subacetate of lead, the excess of this salt decom- 
posed by sulphuretted hydrogen, the liquor then evaporated to dryness, and 
the residue treated with acetic ether, which yielded the principle in small iso- 
lated crystals by spontaneous evaporation. Pfaff found also in dulcamara a 
vegeto-animal substance, gummy extractive, gluten, green wax, resin, benzoic 
acid, starch, lignin, and various salts of lime. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dulcamara possesses feeble narcotic proper- 
ties, with the power of increasing the secretions, particularly those of the kidneys 
and skin. We have observed, in several instances, when the system was under 
its influence, a dark-purplish colour of the face and hands, and at the same time 
considerable languor of the circulation. Its narcotic effects do not become ob- 
vious, unless when it is taken in large quantities. In overdoses it produces nau- 
sea, vomiting, faintness, vertigo, and convulsive muscular movements. A case is 
recorded in Casper’s Wochenschrift, in which a man took, in one forenoon, from 
three to four quarts of a decoction made from a peck of the stalks, and was 
attacked with pain in the joints, numbness of the limbs, dryness of the mouth, 
and palsy of the tongue, with consciousness unimpaired,the pulse quiet, but small 
and rather hard, and the skin cool. The symptoms disappeared under the use of 
stimulants. {Bond. Med.Gaz., Sept. 1850, p. 548.)* Dulcamara has been recora- 
* Prof. Caylus, of Leipsick, has made numerous experiments upon man and animals, in 
relation to the physiological etfects and relative strength of dulcamara, and its prepara- 
tions, including solania, with the following results. 1. They are poisonous, and may prove 
fatal in overdoses. 2. In the character of their operation they are identical. 3. The extract 
of the twigs is from five to ten times stronger than the twigs themselves, that of solania 
30 times stronger than the extract. 4. They produce congestion of the kidneys, and some- 
times an increased flow of urine, which, in that case, is always albuminous. 5. They cause a 
constant and remarkable diminution in the frequency of respiration, and death from their 
action is ascribed to a paralyzing influence on the respiratory nerve-centres. 6. In the last 
period of their operation, they weaken while they accelerate the action of the heart 7. 
Prof. Caylus thinks that they act especially on the spinal marrow and medulla oblongata, 
as evinced not only by their influence on the breathing, but also by the tetanic contraction 
they occasioned in the muscles of the chest and extremities. 8. They produce little direct 
effect on the brain, and cause but a feeble contraction of the pupil. 9. They increase the 
sensibility of the skin, and have no direct irritant influence on the stomach and bowels. 
They are applicable, the Professor thinks, to spasmodic and irritative affections of the 
respiratory organs; and inflammation either of the lungs or bowels constitutes no contra- 
indication to them. He recommends solania in the form of acetate, in the dose of from 
one-sixth of a grain to a grain. He prefers the alcoholic extract to the aqueous. (Ann. de 
Therap., A.D.1859, p. 24, and Arch. Gen., Mars, 1859, p. 350.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 372 
Dulcamara.—Elaterium. 
part I. 
mended in various diseases, but is now chiefly employed in the treatment of cuta- 
neous eruptions, particularly those of a scaly character, as lepra, psoriasis, and 
pityriasis. In these complaints it is often beneficial, especially in combination 
with minute doses of the antimonials. Its influence upon the secretions is insuf- 
ficient to account for its favourable effects. Perhaps they may be ascribed to its 
sedative influence on the capillary circulation. It is said to have been beneficially 
employed in chronic rheumatism and chronic catarrh. Antaphrodisiac proper- 
ties have been ascribed to it. We have seen it apparently useful in mania con- 
nected with strong venereal propensities. The usual form of administration is 
that of decoction, of which two fluidounces maybe taken four times a day, and 
gradually increased till some slight disorder of the head indicates the activity of 
the medicine. (See Decoctum Dulcamarae.) An extract and fluid extract are 
officinal. The dose of the former is from five to ten grains, of the latter from thirty 
minims to a fluidrachm. That of the powder would be from thirty grains to a 
drachm. In cutaneous affections, a strong decoction is often applied to the skin, 
at the same time that the medicine is taken internally. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Dulcamane, U.S.; Extractum Dulcamarae, U. S.; Ex- 
tractum Dulcamarae Fluidum, U. S.; Iufusum Dulcamarae, Br. W. 
ELATERIUM. U.S., Br. 
Elaterium. 
A substance deposited by the juice of the fruit of Momordica Elaterium, Eo- 
balium agreste {Richard). U. S. A sediment from the juice of the Squirting 
Cucumber fruit. Br. 
The British Pharmacopoeia recognises the fruit under the name of Ecbalii 
Fructus, Squirting Cucumber Fruit, and defines it as the fruit, very near])' 
ripe, of Ecbalium Officinarum. 
Elaterion, Fr.; Elaterium, Germ.; Elaterio, ltal., Span. 
Momordica. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Cucurbitaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla five-parted. Filaments three. Fe- 
male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla five-parted. Style trifid. Gourd bursting elas- 
tically. Willd. 
Momordica Elaterium, Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 605; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 192, 
t. 72. — Ecbalium agreste. Richard; Lindley, Med. and Qdcon. Bot. p. 95.— 
Ecbalium officinarum. Br. — Ecbalium Elaterium. French Codex, A.I). 1837. 
The wild or squirting cucumber is a perennial plant, with a large fleshy root, 
from which rise several round, thick, rough stems, branching and trailing like 
the common cucumber, but without tendrils. The leaves are petiolate, large, 
rough, irregularly cordate, and of a grayish-green colour. The flowers are yel- 
low, and proceed from the axils of the leaves. The fruit has the shape of a 
small oval cucumber, about an inch and a half long, an inch thick, of a greenish 
or grayish colour, and covered with stiff hairs or prickles. When fully ripe, it 
separates from the peduncle, and throws out its juice and seeds with considerable 
force through an opening at the base, where it was attached to the footstalk. The 
name ofsquirting cucumber was derived from this circumstance,and the scientific 
officinal title is supposed to have had a similar origin; though some authors 
maintain that the term elaterium was applied to the medicine,rather from the mode 
of its operation upon the bowels, than from the projectile property of the fruit.* 
This species of Momordica is a native of the south of Europe, and is culti- 
vated in Great Britain, where, however, it perishes in the winter.f Elaterium is 
the substance spontaneously deposited by the juice of the fruit, when separated 
* From the Greek t\e*ova> I drive, or thu.driver. The word elaterium was used bv Hip- 
pocrates to signify any active purge. Dioscorides applied it to the medicir e of which we 
are treating. 
fOn a visit to Spain, in the year 1861, the author noticed the plant growing abundantly 
in different localities upon the Eock of Gibraltar, especially on its southern declivity, 
which faces Africa, wherein some spots it almost covered the ground. (Note to the twelfth 
edition.) PART i. 
Elaterium. 
373 
and allowed to stand. From the experiments of Dr. Olutterbuck, it has been 
supposed that only the free juice about the seeds, which is obtained without ex- 
pression, affords the product. The substance of the fruit itself, the seeds, as well 
as other parts of the plant, have been thought to be nearly or quite inert. From 
the statements made by Mr. Bell (see note below), these opinions must bo 
somewhat modified ; but there is no doubt that strong expression injures the 
product. When the fruit is sliced and placed upon a sieve, a perfectly limpid 
and colourless juice flows out, which soon becomes turbid, and in the course of 
a few hours begins to deposit a sediment. This, when collected and carefully 
dried, is very light and pulverulent, of a yellowish-white colour, slightly tinged 
with green. It is the genuine elaterium, and was found by Olutterbuck to purge 
violently in the dose of one-eighth of a grain. But the quantity contained in 
the fruit is very small. Olutterbuck obtained only six grains from forty cucum- 
bers. Commercial elaterium is often a weaker medicine, owing in part, perhaps, 
to adulteration, but much more to the mode in which it is prepared. In order 
to increase the product, the juice of the fruit is often expressed with great force; 
and there is reason to believe that it is sometimes evaporated so as to form an 
extract, instead of being allowed to deposit the active matter. The French 
elaterium is prepared by expressing the juice, clarifying it by rest and filtration, 
and then evaporating to a suitable consistence. As the liquid remaining after 
the deposition of the sediment is comparatively inert, it will be perceived that 
the preparation of the French Codex must be relatively feeble. The following 
are the directions of the British Pharmacopoeia. “ Cut the fruit length wise, and 
lightly press out the juice. Strain it through a hair sieve, and set aside to de- 
posit. Carefully pour olf the supernatant liquor; pour the sediment on a linen 
filter, and dry it on porous tiles, with a gentle heat. The decanted fluid may 
deposit a second portion of sediment, which can be dried in the same way.” The 
latter portion deposited is of a lighter colour. {Pereira.) The slight pressure 
directed is necessary for the separation of the juice from the somewhat immature 
fruit employed. The perfectly ripe fruit is not used; as, in consequence of its 
disposition to part with its contents, it cannot be carried to market. In the 
British Pharmacopoeia, the former name of Extractum Elaterii of the London 
College has been very properly abandoned; as the preparation is in no correct 
sense of the word an extract. As the plant is not cultivated in this country for 
medicinal purposes, our Pharmacopoeia very properly adopts, as officinal, the 
medicine as found in commerce. It is brought chiefly from England; but it is 
probable that a portion of the elaterium, of which Dr. Pereira speaks as coming 
from Malta, reaches our market also.* 
* The following notice of the cultivation of the elaterium plant, and the preparation of 
the drug at Mitcham, in Surrey, England, condensed from a paper by Mr. Jacob Bell in 
the Pharm. Journ. for October, 1850, may have some interest for the American reader. 
The seeds are sown in March, and the seedlings plantedin June. In the luxuriant plants 
the stem sometimes acquires an extraordinary breadth. In one instance, though not 
thicker than the forefinger where it issued from the earth, it was in its broadest part four 
inches wide and half an inch thick. A wet season interferes with the productiveness of 
the plant. At the spontaneous separation of the fruit, it throws out its juice sometimes to 
the distance of twenty yards; and hazard of injury to the eyes is incurred by walking 
among the plants at their period of maturity. A bushel of the fruit weighs 40 pounds, and 
the price varies from 7 to 10 shillings sterling. In the manufacture of elaterium, which 
begins early in September, the frviit, having been washed, if necessary, to cleanse it from 
earthy matters, is sliced longitudinally into halves, and then submitted to expression, 
wrapped in a hempen cloth, in a common screw-press. Considerable force is used in the 
expression The juice is then strained through hair, cypress, or wire sieves, and set aside 
for deposition. The deposit usually takes place in three or four hours. When this part of 
the process is completed, the supernatant liquor is carefully poured off, the deposit is 
placed on calico cloths resting on hair sieves, and allowed to drain for about twelve hours, 
after which it is removed by a knife, spread over small cloths, and dried on canvas frames 
in the drying stove. About half an ounce of fine elaterium is obtained from a bushel of 
fruit. Some obtain more: but the product is inferior, in consequence of the use of too 
much force in the expression. Good elaterium has a pale pea-green tint; that of inferior 
quality is of a duller hue. The juice expelled in bursting is said to undergo very little 
change in the air, while that expressed from the ripe fruit immediately afterwards becomes 374 
Elaterium. 
I’aiit r. 
Properties. The best elaterium is in thin flat or slightly curled cakes or 
fragments, often bearing the impression of the muslin upon which it was dried, 
of a greenish-gray colour becoming yellowish by exposure, of a feeble odour, and 
a bitter somewhat acrid taste. It is pulverulent and inflammable, and so light 
that it swims when thrown upon water. When of inferior quality, it is some- 
times dark-coloured, much curled, and rather hard, breaking with difficulty, or 
presenting a resinous fracture. The Maltese elaterium is in larger pieces, of 
a pale colour, sometimes without the least tinge of green, destitute of odour, 
soft, and friable ; and not unfrequently gives evidence of having been mixed 
with chalk or starch. It sinks in water. 
Dr. Clutterbuck first observed that the activity of elaterium resided in the 
portion of it soluble in alcohol and not in water. This fact was afterwards con- 
firmed by Dr. Paris, who found that the alcoholic extract, treated with boiling 
distilled water, and afterwards dried, had the property of purging in minute doses, 
while the remaining portion of the elaterium was inactive. The subsequent ex- 
periments of Mr. Hennell, of London, and Mr. Morries, of Edinburgh, which were 
nearly simultaneous, demonstrated the existence of a crystallizable matter in 
elaterium, which is the active principle, and has been named elaterin. Accord- 
ing to Mr. Hennell, 100 parts of elaterium contain 44 of elaterin, 17 of a green 
resin (chlorophyll), 6 of starch, 27 of lignin, and six of saline matters. The alco- 
holic extract which Dr. Paris called elatin, is probably a mixture of elaterin 
and the green resin or chlorophyll.* 
milky, and deposits elaterium. The recently hurst fruit, therefore, is nearly if not quite 
as good for the preparation of the drug as that collected before perfect maturity. For a 
paper on the cultivation of the elaterium plant at Hitchin, Herts, England, taken from 
the Pharmaceutical Journal, see the American Journal of Pharmacy, March, 1860, p. 163. 
(Note to the ninth and twelfth editions.) 
* Chlorophyll. The substance to which Pelletier gave this name, under the impression 
that it was a peculiar proximate principle, was subsequently supposed by that chemist to 
be a mixture of wax and a green tixed oil. (Journ. de Pharm., xix. 109.) Afterwards, 
M. Fremy succeeded, by the joint action of a menstruum composed of two parts of ether 
and one of muriatic acid diluted with a little water, in separating chlorophyll into 
two colouring principles, one yellow and the other blue ; the former being dissolved by 
the ether, and the latter by the muriatic acid. The yellow, M. Fremy proposed to name 
phylloxanthin, the blue phyllocyanin. (Ibid., Avril, 1860, p. 241.) More recently MM. 
Fremy and Filhol have separately made further very interesting investigations into the 
subject. The following is a brief abstract of the proceedings of the former of these chem- 
ists. Those of the latter, which do not differ materially in their results, may be seen in 
the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chun. (4e ser., ii. 304). Chlorophyll, treated either with the 
alkaline bases or acids, is resolved into the two principles above mentioned, which, 
however, cannot be readily separated. The bases act in three different modes, according 
to the nature of the base itself. 1. The earthy bases, and especially alumina, shaken 
with an alcoholic solution of chlorophyll, form true lakes; being thrown down in combina- 
tion with the green matter, and leaving a little yellow matter, and a fixed oii which always 
accompanies chlorophyll, and renders it so difficult to be obtained pure. But this lake 
with baryta is easily decomposed, and yields the green principle readily to boiling alcohol, 
from which it may be obtained by evaporation ; and this is the easiest mode of preparing 
pure chlorophyll. 2. The alkalies, as potassa and soda, if boiled with chlorophyll, saponify 
the fatty matter, and resolve the pure chlorophyll into the two principles already referred 
to ; but these cannot be separated. 3. The alkaline earths, as lime and baryta, and es- 
f>ecially the latter, act in a very remarkable manner. By long boiling with chlorophyll, 
jaryta resolves it into ph}dloxanthin and phyllocyanin. The former being insoluble in 
water is precipitated; and along with it is also precipitated an insoluble compound of the 
latter with baryta, constituting a true salt, in which the phyllocyanin acts the part of 
an acid; and, as it acts in like manner with other bases, Fremy considers it as a true acid, 
and changes its name accordingly to phyllocyanic acid. Chlorophyll may, therefore, be 
considered as a peculiar principle analogous to the natural fats, which, under the action 
of energetic bases, undergoes a kind of saponification; the phylloxanthin representing 
the glycerin, and the phyllocyanic acid a fatty acid coloured bluish-green. By treating 
the mass thus obtained with alcohol, we obtain a solution of the phylloxanthin, which, 
ns the alcohol evaporates, separates in a crystalline form. By treating with sulphuric acid 
the phylloeyanate of baryta left behind, we obtain the phyllocyanic acid, which is solu- 
ble in alcohol and ether. Thus the two principles may be isolated. 
Phylloxanthin is neuter, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and crystal- 
lizable, sometimes in yellow plates, sometimes in reddish prisms, resembling bichromate 
of potassa, and possessing dyeing powers analogous to those of chromic acid part I. 
Elaterium. 
375 
Elaterin, according to Mr. Monies, crystallizes when pure in colourless 
microscopic rhombic prisms, having a silky appearance when in mass. It is 
extremely bitter and somewhat acrid, insoluble in water and alkaline solu- 
tions, soluble in alcohol, ether, and hot olive oil, and sparingly soluble in di- 
lute acids. At a temperature between 300° and 400° it melts, and at a higher 
heat is dissipated in thick, whitish, pungent vapour, of an ammoniacal odour. It 
has no alkaline reaction. It may be procured bv evaporating an alcoholic tinc- 
ture of elaterium to the consistence of thin oil, and throwing the residue while yet 
warm into a weak boiling solution of potassa. The potassa. holds the green resin 
in solution, and the elaterin crystallizes as the liquor cools. Mr. Hennell obtained 
it by treating with ether the alcoholic extract procured by the spontaneous evapo- 
ration of the tincture. This consists of elaterin and the green resin, the latter of 
which, being much more soluble in ether than the former, is completely extracted 
by this fluid, leaving the elaterin pure. But, as elaterin is also slightly soluble 
in ether, a portion of this principle is wasted b\ Mr. Hennell’s method. By 
evaporating the ethereal solution, the green resin is obtained separate. Mr. 
Hennell says that this was found to possess the purgative property of elaterium, 
as it acted powerfully in a dose less than one-third of a grain But the effect 
was probably owing to the presence of a portion of elaterin which had been 
dissolved by the ether. The late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, ascertained that the 
crystalline principle or elaterin produced, in the quantity of TL or of a grain, 
all the effects of a dose of elaterium. The proportion of elaterin varies exceed- 
ingly in different parcels of the drug. Mr. Murries obtained 26 per cent, from 
the best British elaterium, 15 per cent, from the worst, and only 5 or 6 per cent, 
from the French; while a portion, procured according to the directions of the 
London College, yielded to Mr. Hennell upwards of 40 per cent. The Br. Phar- 
macopoeia directs that the proportion of elaterin should not be less than 20 per 
cent. Experiments by Mr. John Williams satisfactorily prove that the fruit, 
exhausted of the free juice from which elaterium is obtained, contains very 
little if any elaterin, certainly not enough to compensate for the cost of its ex- 
traction. (Ghem. News, Feb. 18, 1860, p. 124.) Mr. Williams substitutes the 
name of ecbalin for that of elaterin; a change which, we think, is uncalled for, 
at least so long as that of elaterium is retained for the medicine. 
Choice of Elaterium. The inequality of elaterium depends probably more 
on diversities in the mode of preparation than on adulteration. Sometimes, 
however, it is greatly sophisticated ; and large quantities are said to have been 
imported into this country, consisting mainly of chalk, and coloured green arti- 
ficially. (B. Canavan, N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., iii 385.) It should possess the 
sensible properties above indicated as characterizing good elaterium, should not 
effervesce with acids, and should yield from one-sixth to one-fourth of elaterin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elaterium is a powerful hydragogue cathartic, 
and in a large dose generally excites nausea and vomiting. If too freely admin- 
istered, it operates with great violence both upon the stomach and bowels, pro- 
ducing inflammation of these organs, which has in some instances eventuated 
fatally. It also increases the flow of urine. The fruit was employed by the an- 
cients, and is recommended in the writings of Dioscorides as a remedy in mania 
and melancholy. Sydenham and his contemporaries considered elaterium highly 
useful in dropsy; but, in consequence of some fatal results from its incautious 
Phyllocyanic acid is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, giving to these an olive-like 
colour, with hronzed-red, or violet reflections. All its salts are brown or green; but 
anly the alkaline are soluble in water. This acid dissolves in sulphuric and muriatic 
acid, giving rise to solutions which, according to their strength, are green, reddish, vio- 
laceous, or beautifully blue. This M. Fremy considers the important fact of the investi- 
gation, as it explains the various tints which chlorophyll offers in vegetation. 
It follows, from all that has been said, that chlorophyll is an immediate proximate 
principle, of great motility, which undergoes diversified changes of colour in the progress 
of vegetation, and other changes, such as have been mentioned, under the influence of 
different reagents. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., ii. 185, A.D. 1865.1—Note to the 
twelfth and thirteenth editions. 376 
Elaterium.—Elemi. 
PART I. 
employment, it fell into disrepute, and was generally neglected till again brought 
into notice by Dr. Ferriar. It io now considered one of the most efficient hydra- 
gogue cathartics in the treatment of dropsical diseases, in which it has some- 
times proved successful after all other remedies have failed. The full dose of com- 
mercial elaterium is often from one to two grains; but, as in this quantity it 
generally vomits, if of good quality, the best plan is to give it in the dose of a 
quarter or half of a grain, repeated every hour till it operates. The dose of 
Clutterbuck’s elaterium is the eighth of a grain. That of elaterin is from the 
sixteenth to the twelfth of a grain, and is best given in solution. One grain 
may be dissolved in a fluidounce of alcohol with four drops of nitric acid, and 
from 30 to 40 minims may be given diluted with water. W. 
Elemi. 
ELEMI. Br. 
Botanical source undetermined, probably from Canarium commune. A con- 
crete resinous exudation. Br. 
Resine elemi, Fr.; Oelbaumharz, Elemi, Germ.; Elemi, Hal.; Goma de limon, Span. 
Amyris. Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Terebintaceae, Juss.; 
Amyridese, R. Brown, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx four-toothed. Petals four, oblong. Stigma four-cornered. 
Berry drupaceous. Willd. 
Some botanists separate from this genus the species which have their fruit in 
the form of a capsule instead of a nut, and associate them together in a distinct 
genus with the name of Idea. This is recognised by De Candolle. 
Most of the trees belonging to these two genera yield, when wounded, a resi- 
nous juice analogous to the turpentines. It is not improbable that the drug, 
usually known by the name of elemi, is derived from several different trees. 
That known to the ancients is said to have been obtained from Ethiopia, and all 
the elemi of commerce was originally brought from the Levant. The tree which 
afforded it was not accurately known, but was supposed to be a species of 
Amyris. At present the drug is said to be derived from three sources, namely, 
Brazil, Mexico, and Manilla. The Brazilian is believed to be the product of a 
plant mentioned by Marcgrav under the name of icicariba, and called by I)e Can- 
dolle Idea Icicariba. It is a lofty tree, with pinnate leaves, consisting of three or 
five pointed, perforated leaflets, smooth on their upper surface and woolly be- 
neath. It is erroneously stated in some works to be a native of Carolina. The 
elemi is obtained by incisions into the trees, through which the juice flows and 
concretes upon the bark. The Mexican is said by Dr. Hoyle to be obtained from 
a species of Elaphrium, which that author has described from dried specimens, 
and proposes to name E. elemiferum. {Mat. Med., Am. ed., p. 339.) The Ma- 
nilla elemi is conjecturally referred to Canarium commune. {Ibid., p. 340.) 
Elemi is in masses of various consistence, sometimes solid and heavy like wax, 
sometimes light and porous; unctuous to the touch ; diaphanous; of diversified 
colours, generally greenish with intermingled points of white or yellow, some- 
times greenish-white with brown stains, sometimes yellow like, sulphur; fragile 
and friable when cold; softening by the heat of the hand; of a terebinthinate 
somewhat aromatic odour, diminishing with age, and said, in some varieties, to 
resemble that of fennel; of a warm, slightly bitter, disagreeable taste; entirely 
soluble, with the exception of impurities, in boiling alcohol; and affording a 
volatile oil by distillation. A variety examined by M. Bonastre was found to con- 
sist of 60 parts of resin, 24 of a resinous matter soluble in boiling alcohol, but 
deposited when the liquid cools, 125 of volatile oil, 2 of extractive, and L5 of 
acid and impurities. M. Baup found the resin to be of two kinds, one amorphous, 
the other crystallizable; the latter of which he proposes to call elernin. {Journ. 
de Pliarm., 3e ser., xx. 331.) Elemi is sometimes adulterated with colophony 
and turpentine. The Manilla elemi is in masses of a light-yellowish colour, in- 
ternally soft, and of a strong odour of fennel. (Boyle.) We have been told that PART I. 
Elemi.—Ergota. 
377 
a considerable amount of elemi is used in this country by the hatters. Dr. Emil 
Mannkoff obtained from Brazilian elemi about 6 per cent, of a colourless volatile 
oil, insoluble in water, but easily dissolved both by alcohol and ether, of a not 
unpleasant odour, and a somewhat acrid and bitter taste, and of a composition 
represented, according to Stenhouse and Deville, by the formula C5II6. Dr. Mann- 
koff considers the oil as coinciding in medical properties with oil of turpentine, 
for which it may be substituted, with the advantage of a less disagreeable taste. 
(B. and F. Medico-chir. Rev., July, 1859, p. 170, from Virchow's Archie.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elemi has properties analogous to those of the 
turpentines; but is exclusively applied to external use. In the United States it 
is rarely employed even in this way. In the Pharmacy of Europe it enters into 
the composition of numerous plasters and ointments. We are told that it is oc- 
casionally brought to this country in small fragments, mixed with the coarser 
kinds of gum arabic from the Levant and India. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Elemi, Br. W. 
ERGOT A. U./S.j Br. 
Eryot. 
The diseased seed of Secale cereale. U. S. The sclerotium (compact myce- 
lium or spawn of Claviceps purpurea, Tulasne), produced within the pale* of 
the common rye, Secale cereale. Br. 
Spurred rye; Secale cornutum; Siegle ergote, Fr.; Mutterkorn, Germ. 
In all the Graminaceee or grass tribe, and in some of the Gyperacese, the 
place of the seeds is sometimes occupied by a morbid growth, which, from its 
resemblance to the spur of a cock, has received the name of ergot, adopted from 
the French. This product is most frequent in the rye, Secale cereale, and, hav- 
ing been found, as occurring in that plant, to possess valuable medicinal pro- 
perties, was adopted in the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, under the 
name of secale cornutum or spurred rye. In the edition of 1840, this name 
was changed for ergota, in conformity with the nomenclature of the London and 
Edinburgh Colleges. It is probable that this morbid growth has similar pro- 
perties from whatever plant derived; and the fact has been proved in relation 
to the ergot of wheat. (See Am. Journ. of Med Sci., N. S., xxxii. 479.) Indeed, 
in a case reported by Dr. D. L. McGugin (Iowa Med Journ., iv. 93), this variety 
of ergot is said to have succeeded promptly, when that of rye, previously tried, 
had failed.* 
Different opinions have been held in relation to the nature of this singular sub- 
stance. In a note on the next page are contained the observations made on the 
subject in former editions of the dispensatory. More recent investigations by M. 
L.-R. Tulasne, while they confirm the opinion of De Candolle that the ergot 
is a new product, altogether distinct from the grain of the rye, have developed, 
in an apparently quite satisfactory manner, the whole history of this mush- 
room, which, if only for the curious and highly interesting stages of its progress, 
* Ergot of Wheat. M. Leperdriel, jun., of Montpellier, in France, recommends this 
product as preferable to the ergot of rye, on the grounds that it is destitute of the poison- 
ous properties of the latter, and is more certain as a remedy, in consequence of being 
less liable to change. The former point is, to say the least, very uncertain; but in rela- 
tion to the latter there is some reason to think that M. Leperdriel is right; for Prof. 
Bentley, of London, found that of two specimens, one of the ergot of rye, the other of 
wheat, which had been kept under similar circumstances for ten years, the former was 
quite destroyed, while the latter was apparently unchanged. Ergot is rarer in wheat 
than in rye; and in the head of the former there is generally but one and very rarely 
more than two of the diseased grains. It is produced usually in wheat in wet seasons, 
and on that side of the head most exposed to the dampness. It is shorter and much 
thicker than the ergot of rye, being about half an inch long and three-quarters of an 
inch or more in circumference, and cleft into two or three divisions. In colour and 
smell it resembles the spurred rye. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., March and April, 1863, 
pp. 423 and 442.)—Note to the twelfth edition 378 
Ergota. 
PART I. 
merits a brief notice here.* The chief source of failure in the investigation of 
this subject has been, that observers have fixed their attention on some one stage 
in the development of the fungus, and ceased to push their inquiries further. 
There are three successive stages, in each of which the plant presents a pecu- 
liar form. It has already been largely developed, when it begins to project be- 
yond the glume, which has protected its early growth; but there are usually 
other flowers at the same time which present it in a rudimentary state. It be- 
gins with a structure which M. Tulasne calls the aphacelia. This appears on 
the outside of the ovary of the flower, and is intimately attached to it. Its 
development commences with that of the pistil, which serves as a soil for it. 
The ovary of the rye consists of a cellular membrane of two coats, the outei 
of which has a thick parenchyma, white and gorged with juice, the inner is very 
delicate and green. Thesphacelia, when it takes possession of the ovary, iden- 
tifies itself with the outer parenchyma, and in some measure replaces ii, being 
as it were borne by the inner membrane. It rapidly increases, taking the form 
of the ovary, and almost obliterating its cavity. The ovule is either entirely 
wanting, or may be seen, on a careful examination, in an imperfect form Ful- 
some time the parasite is represented entirely by the which is an 
oblong, fungous mass, almost homogeneous, soft and tender, marked on its sur- 
face by numerous sinuous furrows, and having within many irregular cavities, 
* Ergot was at one time thought to be merely the seed altered by disease; the morbid 
condition being ascribed by some to the agency of an insect, by others to excess of beat 
and moisture. A second opinion considered it a parasitic fungus, occupying the place of 
the seed. This was entertained by De Candolle, who called the fungus Sclerotium Claims. 
According to a third and intermediate opinion, the ergot is the seed, diseased and en- 
tirely perverted in its nature by the influence of a parasitic fungus, attached to it from 
the very beginning of its development. This view was put forth by M. Leveille, in a 
memoir published in the Annals of the Linnxan Society of Paris for the year 1826. He 
gave to the supposed fungus the name of Sphacelia segetum; but his observations as to its 
characters have not been sustained. Until within a very few years, the credit was ascribed 
to the late Mr. E. J. Quekett, of London, of having fully investigated this subject, and 
established the last-mentioned view of the nature of ergot. According to Mr. Quekett, the 
beginning of the growth of the ergot is marked by the appearance, about the young grain 
and its appendages, of multitudes of minute filaments like cobwebs, which run over all its 
parts, cementing anthers and stigmas together, and of a white coating upon the surface of 
the grain, from which, upon immersion in water, innumerable minute particles separate, 
which after a time sink in the fluid. These particles, when examined by the microscope, 
prove to be the germs or sporidia of a species of fungus, and may be observed to sprout and 
propagate in various ways under favourable circumstances. Their length, upon the aver- 
age, is about the four-thousandth of an inch. The filaments are the results of the growth 
of these singular germs. The sporidia and filaments do not increase with the increase <>f 
the ergot; and, when this has projected beyond the palese and become visible, it has lost 
a portion of its white coating, and presents a dark-violet colour. It now increases with 
great rapidity, and attains its full size in a few days. When completely developed, it ex- 
hibits very few of the filaments or sporidia upon its surface. But Mr. Quekett believed 
that the germs of the fungus emit their filaments through the tissue of the ergot when 
young and tender, and that, as this increases, it is made up partly of the diseased struc- 
ture of the grain, and partly of the fungus. The plant was named by Mr. Quekett 
Ergotxtia abortifaciens; for which title Dr. Pereira, at the suggestion of the Rev. M. J. 
Berkeley, substituted that of Oidiurn abortifaciens. This view of the nature and cause of 
ergot is supported by the asserted facts, that the microscopic fungus has an existence in- 
dependent of the morbid grain, being found in various other parts of the plant, and grow- 
ing even when entirely separated from it; and that the sporidia or white dust upon the 
surface of ergot, if applied to the seeds of certain Graminaceae before germination, or 
sprinkled on the soil at the roots of the plants after they have begun to grow, will give 
rise to ergotized fruit. That the ergot is not itself a peculiar fungus, but the perverted 
grain, was supposed to be evinced by the frequent remains of the stigma upon its sum- 
mit, by the scales at its base, and by the circumstance that in some instances only a 
portion of the seed is ergotized. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xi. 116 and 237.) It is a 
curious fact, that the observations of Mr. Quekett were generally correct, and have been 
verified by M. Tulasne himself; yet the plant is only accidentally present, and is whollv 
distinct from the true ergot fungus. The fact noted that the sporidia of Mr. Quekett's 
fungus are apparently capable, if applied to the seeds of certain Graminacese, or sprinkled 
on the soil where they grow, of giving rise to ergot in these plants, is readily explic able on 
the supposition, that the sporidia might have been mixed with those of the proper ergot PART I, 
E'rgota. 
379 
which, as well as the outer coat, are uniformly covered with linear parallel cells 
From the summits of these peripheric cells, internal as well as external, issue 
oval corpuscles, from the 5 to the 7 thousandths of a millimeter in length, which 
spread upon neighbouring objects, and especially the glumes of the flowers 
they inhabit. They are a kind of reproductive cells, called conidia, which are 
produced by many fungi, long before the perfect plant is developed. M. Tu- 
insiie calls them “spermatic.” In the early stage, the sphacelia respects the top 
of the ovary and the stigmas attached. The stamens often abort; but the fila- 
ments and anthers may sometimes be seen buried in the tissue of the sphacelia, 
and altered by its action. Sometimes the ovule is not completely aborted, but is 
certainly never developed into a monster grain. In all ergotted plants, the top 
of the pistils and stigmas, when they remain, are often covered with a mouldi- 
ness, consisting of spores and entangled filaments, which end by covering the 
parts with an abundant ashy or sooty powder. This is a different fungus, and was 
confounded by Mr, Quekett with the ergot plant. It is found as well in the non* 
ergotted as the ergotted flowers, and in those of plants which do not bear ergot. 
At a somewhat advanced period of the development of the sphacelia, there ex- 
udes, especially from the summit, a very adhesive juice, which spreads over that 
structure, bearing along with it an immense number of theseedlets or “sper- 
maties ” This leaves on the surface when dry an oily appearance, and afterwards 
the spots, where it remains, become brownish or blackish. But this exudation 
does not appear until the sphacelia has ceased to constitute the whole plant. 
At the base of the sphacelia is produced a compact body, violet-black without 
and white within, which is the ergot in a rudimentary state. With this com- 
mences the second stage in the development of the fungus. The young ergot is 
everywhere invested by the tissue of the sphacelia (which Tulasne calls also 
spermagonia, from its office); but, as it increases, it seems to be placed below 
the spermatopherous apparatus, and raises it steadily out of the floral bractes 
which concealed it, ending by supporting it wholly at its summit. Some- 
times are carried with it the atrophied ovary, which still shows the hairs that 
crowned it, and some remains of the stigmas. It results that the ergot, which 
is technically the sclerotium of the fungus, remains for some time concealed in 
the sphacelia, so that this seems to constitute the whole plant. But, when the 
function belonging to this has been fulfilled, which is apparently to impregnate 
the sclerotium, it begins to become dry, and is much deformed. The ergot, on 
the contrary, increases in all directions, and soon appears above the glume 
As it augments, the thin coating which it has received from the spermatophe- 
rous tissue, especially below, gradually becomes thinner, and seems to disap- 
pear; so that its surface, instead of being uniformly violet-black, is only here 
and there covered with the remains of the tissue, or by a deposit of the coni- 
dia or “spermatie.” Nevertheless, the sphacelia, deformed, shrunken, and worn 
away by rains and other causes, remains long at the top of the ergot, along with 
the abortive ovary, &c., and may even continue to adhere when the ergot is 
detached from the plant. 
The time required for the full development of the sphacelia and the ergot or 
sclerotium varies, no doubt; but a rapidity of growth has been claimed for it 
which the truth will not warrant. The period has even been estimated at three 
days; but this is much too short. In an example under the observation of M. 
Tulasne, at least a month elapsed after the appearance of the sphacelia, before 
the growth was completed. 
Apart from an obscure resemblance to the seed of the plant supporting it, 
the ergot has absolutely nothing in common with the normal grain, and it is 
surprising how it should have come, after investigation, to be considered as the 
hypertrophied seed. The anatomical structure and all the physical characters 
of ergot are those of the mushrooms, or rather of a sclerotic mycelium. The 
parenchyma, which is white, dry, and brittle, consists in all its parts of minute 
utricles, globular or polyhedric, with rather thick walls, intimately united, 
and filled with a limpid oil, but feebly coloured with iodine. The superficial 380 
Ergota, 
PART I. 
utricles, which alone are coloured, have an outer wall thicker than the inner, 
and the colour of these is what gives its characteristic hue to ergot. Not the 
least trace of starch is to be detected. 
The germination of the ergot, and the growth of a minute mushroom, are the 
last stage in the development of this fungus. About three months after ergot 
has been planted in a suitable soil, evidences of germination are seen in the 
sprouting of little globular prominences at points on its surface, which gradu- 
ally enlarge, and raise themselves from the surface upon cylindrical stems, imi- 
tating in a diminutive way the growth of ordinary mushrooms. These little 
fungi belong to the genus Sphatria. As they increase, the interior of the ergot 
becomes exhausted, no doubt by contributing to their growth; so that this pro- 
duct seems to act the part of certain tubers, in the higher forms of vegetation, con- 
taining germs, and nourishment for their development. Falling to the ground, in 
its natural course, the ergot in the soil germinates, and produces mushrooms, the 
spores of which, carried up with the juices of rye, become lodged in the ovary, 
where they begin the course of life and progress which has been delineated. 
Tulasne has given the name of Glaviceps purpurea to the whole fungus. There 
may be other species of Claviceps, giving rise to ergot in other plants. Thus M. 
Tulasne believes that the ergot of the reed is a different species ; but there is no 
reason to think that any other species is concerned in the product of any variety 
of ergot that has been in medical use. (Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 3e 
ser., xx. 5, A.D. 1853.) 
The ergot usually projects out of the glume or husk beyond the ordinary out- 
line of the spike or ear. In some spikes the place of the seeds is wholly occu- 
Died by the ergot, in others only two or three spurs are observed. It is said to 
be much more energetic when collected before than after harvest. Rye has gen- 
erally been thought to be most subject to the disease in poor and wet soils, and 
in rainy seasons; and intense heat succeeding continued rains has been said to 
favour its development, especially if these circumstances occur at the time the 
flower is forming It is now, however, asserted that moisture has little or no- 
thing to do with its production.* It should not be collected until some days 
after it has begun to form; as, according to M. Bonjean, if gathered on the first 
day of its formation, it does not possess the poisonous properties which it ex- 
hibits when taken on the sixth day. (See Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1842.) 
Properties. Ergot is in solid, brittle yet somewhat flexible grains, front a 
third of an inch to an inch and a half long, from half a line to three lines in thick- 
ness, cylindrical or obscurely triangular, tapering towards each end, obtuse at 
the extremities, usually curved like the spur of a cock, marked with one or two 
longitudinal furrows, often irregularly cracked or fissured, of a violet-brown 
colour and often somewhat glaucous externally, yellowish-white or violet-white 
within, of an unpleasant smell when in mass resembling that of putrid fish, 
and of a taste which is at first scarcely perceptible, but ultimately disagreeable 
and slightly acrid. Under the microscope the surface appears more or less cov- 
ered with sporidia, which occasion its glaucous aspect; and the interior struc- 
ture is found to be composed of minute roundish cells, containing, according 
to Quekett, particles of oil. Ergot yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The 
aqueous infusion or decoction is claret-coloured, and has an acid reaction. It 
is precipitated by acetate and subacetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and tincture 
of galls; but affords with iodine no evidence of the presence of starch. Long 
boiling impairs the virtues of the medicine. 
Ergot has been analyzed by Vauquelin, Winckler, Wiggers, Wright, Legrip, 
and several others. The analysis by M. Legrip is among the most complete. 
That chemist obtained from 100 parts of ergot 34 50 parts of a thick, fluid, 
* Mr. J. Price Wetherill informed the author that, in two seasons, he had found rye, 
sown very late, so as scarcely to come up before spring, to be almost universally ergot- 
ized; while neighbouring rye, sown at the proper season, in the same kind of soil pre- 
cisely, had nothing of the disease, though the seed was the same in both cases. (Note to 
the sixth edition. ) PART I. 
Ergola. 
381 
fixed oil, of a fine yellow colour; 2 75 of starch; 100 of albumen; 225 of 
inulin; 2'50 of gum; 125 of uncrystallizable sugar; 2'75 of a brown resin; 
3 50 offungin; 13 50 of vegeto-aniinal matter; 0'75 of osmazome; 0 50 of a 
fatty acid; 2450 of lignin; 0 50 of colouring principles; an odorous principle 
not isolated; 2 25 of fungate of potassa; 050 of chloride of sodium; 0'50 of 
sulphate of lime and magnesia; l125 of subphosphate of lime; 0 25 of oxide of 
iron; 0T5 of silica; and 2-50 of water, with 235 loss. (Ann. de Therap., 1845, 
p. 44 ) Wiggers obtained a substance which he denominated ergotin, under the 
impression that it was the active ingredient. It was reddish-brown, of a pecu- 
liar nauseous odour and bitter slightly acrid taste, soluble in alcohol, but insolu- 
ble in water or ether. It was obtained by digesting ergotin ether and afterwards 
in alcohol, evaporating the alcoholic solution, and treating the extract thus ob- 
tained with water, which left the ergotin undissolved. It was given with fatal 
effects to a hen. But, though the ergotin of Wiggers may exercise some influ- 
ence on the system, it is very obvious that it cannot be the active principle of 
ergot, which yields its virtues to water, and partial ly at least to ether. Dr. W right 
supposed the virtues of ergot to reside in the fixed oil, which he therefore recom- 
mended as a substitute for the medicine. The oil of ergot, when obtained from 
grains recently collected, is, according to Dr. Wright, often quite free from 
colour; but, as usually prepared, is reddish-brown. It has a disagreeable, some- 
what acrid taste, is lighter than water, and is soluble in alcohol and alkaline 
solutions. It is prepared by forming an ethereal tincture of ergot by the process 
of displacement, and evaporating the ether with a gentle heat. Experience has 
shown that, though the oil thus prepared with ether may have produced effects 
analogous to those of ergot, they were to be ascribed rather to some principle 
extracted along with the oil bv the menstruum than to the oil itself; for, when 
procured by expression, this has been found to be inactive. Indeed, Prof. Proc- 
ter has ascertained that it contains a little secalin, one at least of the active 
principles of ergot, which may be separated from it by washing with acidulated 
water. According to Mr. T. R. Baker, the oil has a taste and smell similar to 
those of castor oil, with which it also agrees in ultimate composition, and yields 
analogous results in saponification. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 101-2.) The 
sugar of ergot was found by Mitscherlich to be peculiar, and was named by him 
mycose. He described it as crystallizab'e, very soluble in water, almost insoluble 
in cold but dissolved by about 100 parts of boiling alcohol, quite insoluble in 
ether, and without the action of glucose on the salts of copper. Its formula is 
Ci2HnOu + 2HO. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxx. 346.) Dr. F. L. Winckler dis- 
covered a peculiar colouring matter in ergot, which he considered, if not iden- 
tical with hematin, as closely resembling it. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 86.) 
Secalia. Propylamia. By the same chemist a volatile alkaloid was detected 
in ergot, which he named secalin (secalia), and believed to exist in the drug in 
the form of ergotate of secalin, being combined with the ergotin of Wiggers, to 
which he ascribed acid properties, and therefore gave the name of ergotic acid. 
This alkaloid has been ascertained to be identical withpropylamin (propylamia), 
the odorous principle of herring pickle. Winckler obtained it by distilling the 
watery extract, of ergot with potassa. The following process, employed by Prof. 
Procter, yields it with facility. Ergot, having been exhausted by ether, is sub- 
mitted to percolation with water; the aqueous solution, after the addition of four 
times its bulk of alcohol, which precipitates the gummy and albuminous matter, 
is filtered; the liquid is concentrated and mixed with milk of lime, and the mix- 
ture distilled into a receiver containing water acidulated with sulphuric acid. 
The secalia escapes freely, and is condensed in the receiver, forming a sulphate 
with the acid present. If to a little of this liquid a drop of solution of potassa 
is added, the odour of ergot is perceived; and the presence of a rod moistened 
with muriatic acid produces visible vapours of muriate of secalia. (Proceed, of 
the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A.D. 1857.) It can scarcely be doubted that the virtues 
of ergot are connected in some degree with this alkaloid; and the conjecture of 382 
Erqota, 
PART I 
Wincklerthat the ergotate of secalia is the active principle of ergot, if wrong, 
is so probably only by its exclusiveness.* 
The odour of ergot is no doubt owing to the liberation of its volatile alkaloid, 
probably in consequence of a slow decomposition of the native salt. A method 
of detecting ergot in a mixed powder, rye Hour for example, is thus afforded. 
If, on the addition of solution of potassa, the odour of ergot is perceived, its 
presence is sufficiently proved. 
Ergot, when perfectly dry and kept in well-stopped bottles, will retain its 
virtues for a considerable time ; but, exposed to air and moisture, it speedily 
nndergoes chemical change and deteriorates. It is, moreover, apt to be attacked 
by a minute worm, which consumes the interior of the grain, leaving merely 
the exterior shell and an excrementitious powder. This insect is sometimes 
found in the ergot before removal from the plant. In the state of powder, the 
medicine still more readily deteriorates it is best, as a general rule, to renew 
it every year or two. M Viel recommends that it should be well dried at a 
gentle heat, and incorporated with double its weight of loaf sugar, by means 
of which, if protected from moisture, it will retain its virtues for many years. 
According to M. Zanon, the same result is obtained by stratifying it with well 
washed and perfectly dried sand, in a bottle from which air and light are ex- 
cluded. Camphor is said to prevent injury from worms. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Given in small doses, ergot produces, in the 
system of the male, no obvious effect; but, in the female, exhibits a strong tend- 
ency to the uterus, upon the contractile property of which it operates with great 
energy. In the quantity of half a drachm or a drachm it often occasions nausea 
* Ergotina. Ecbolina. Experiments were a few years since made on ergot by Mr. Wm- 
T.Wenzell, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, which, if confirmed hy future observation, will throw 
new and most valuable light upon the intricate subject of the composition of that drug. 
Mr. Wenzell claims to have discovered in it two new fixed alkaloids, which he proposes 
to name respectively ecbolina and ergotina, and in which, along with the volatile alka- 
loid propylamia, the virtues of the medicine reside. Mr. Wenzell claims also to have as- 
certained that ergotic acid, the peculiar acid of ergot, with which the alkaloids are prob- 
ably combined, is volatile. The acid reaction, however, which is evinced by an infusion 
of ergot, is not, he thinks, owing to this acid, but to an acid phosphate of magnesia. 
Ecbolina was obtained by precipitating a cold infusion of ergot with acetate of lead, 
throwing down the lead with sulphuretted hydrogen, filtering and concentrating the liquid, 
adding gradually bichloride of mercury so long as a precipitate was produced, washing 
»he precipitate, treating it with sulphuretted hydrogen, and filtering. The chloride (mu- 
riate) of ecbolina thus obtained was treated with an excess of phosphate of silver, the 
chloride of silver formed and the excess of the phosphate were removed by filtration, the 
phosphoric acid was separated by hydrate of lime, the liquid was again filtered, lime was 
removed by a stream of carbonic acid, and the gas expelled by a gentle heat. The liquid 
now contained the pure alkaloid, which was obtained by evaporation at a low temperature. 
Ergotina was obtained by filtering the liquid which remained after precipitation with 
bichloride of mercury, treating it with phospho-molybdic acid, washing the precipitate 
obtained, suspending it in water with an excess of carbonate of baryta, and digesting 
until the yellowish colour of the mixture was exchanged for a pure white, with the evo- 
lution of carbonic acid. Nothing now remained but to filter and carefully evaporate the 
solution, which yielded the ergotina. 
The alkaloids thus obtained are brownish, apparently uncrystallizable, slightly bitter, 
alkaline in their reaction on litmus and turmeric, soluble in alcohol and water, and in- 
soluble in pure ether and chloroform. They form salts with the acids, which are uncrys- 
tallizable and generally deliquescent. Ignited, they are entirely consumed, leaving no 
residue. As they yield ammonia when heated with lime, they contain nitrogen. 
With ecbolina in solution bichloride of platinum produces a deep orange-coloured, 
And cyanide of potassium a white precipitate, while a solution of ergotina is affected by 
neither of these reagents. 
As to their operation upon the system, ecbolina in the dose of half a grain, supposed 
to be equivalent to 30 grains of ergot, produced decided effects on the brain and spinal 
marrow, with involuntary contractions of the muscles, followed by nausea and general 
depression, with little change in the pulse, and is believed by Mr. Wenzell to be the in- 
gredient which causes uterine contraction in women. Ergotina was found less active, 
but produced some cerebral disturbance with reduction of the pulse. 
Ergotic acid was obtained by distilling ergot with sulphuric acid. It is supposed by 
Mr. Wenzell to be combined naturally with ecbolina, ergotina, and potassa; while the 
propylamia exists in ergot as a phosphate. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1864, p. 193.) 
•—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Ergota. 
383 
or vomiting, and in still larger doses produces a sense of weight and pain in the 
head, giddiness, dilatation of the pupils, delirium, and even stupor, proving that 
it possesses narcotic properties. It is said also to excite febrile symptoms; but 
our own observation coincides with that of authors who ascribe to it the power 
of reducing the frequency of the pulse. We have seen this effect produced by 
it in a remarkable degree, even without nausea. A case is recorded in which it 
produced great prostration, with an almost absent pulse, paleness and coldnesa 
of the surface, partial palsy, with pricking of the limbs, and great restlessness, 
without stupor or delirium. (Gazette Med. de Paris, Juillet25,1857.) Dr. Hardy, 
of the Dublin Lying-in Hospital, found it to diminish the pulsations of the foetal 
heart. Its long-continued and free use is highly dangerous, even when no im- 
mediate effects are perceptible. Fatal epidemics in different parts of the con- 
tinent of Europe, particularly in certain provinces of France, have long been 
ascribed to the use of bread made from rye contaminated with this fungus. 
Dry gangrene, typhus fever, and disorder of the nervous system attended with 
convulsions, are the forms of disease which have followed the use of this un- 
wholesome food. It is true that ergot has been denied to be the cause; but ac- 
curate investigations, made by competent men upon the spot where the epi- 
demics have prevailed, together with the result of experiments made upon in- 
ferior animals, leave no room for reasonable doubt that at least the gangrenous 
affection alluded to may result from it. Very large quantities are required for 
immediate poisonous effects. From two to eight drachms have been given at one 
dose to a man without very serious results; and three ounces, according to Dr. 
Wright, were required to kill a small dog. Death from single doses, in inferior 
animals, is preceded by symptoms indicating irritation of the stomach and bowels, 
great muscular prostration, loss of sensation, and sometimes slight spasms. 
A case of acute poisoning from ergot is recorded by Dr. Pratschke, in which 
uneasiness in the head, oppression of stomach, diarrhoea, urgent thirst, burning 
pains in the feet, tetanic spasms, violent convulsions, and death ensued upon 
eating freely of ergotized grain. (Lond. Med. Gaz., Oct. 1850, p. 579.) 
Ergot has been much used for promoting the contraction of the uterus. On 
the continent of Europe, in Germany, France, and Italy, it has long been empi- 
rically employed by midwives for this purpose; and its German name of mutler- 
korn implies a popular acquaintance with its peculiar powers. But the attention 
of the medical profession was first called to it by a letter from Dr. Stearns, of 
Saratoga County, N. Y., addressed to Dr. Ackerly, in 1807, and published in the 
eleventh volume of the Neiv York Medical Repository. The journals afterwards 
teemed with communications attesting its efficacy in facilitating parturition ; 
and, though it sometimes failed, the general opinion was so much in its favour, 
that it soon took a place among the established articles of the materia medica. 
When it proves wholly inefficient, the result is ascribable to peculiarity of con- 
stitution in the individual, or inferiority in the ergot used. In its operation upon 
the pregnant uterus, it produces a constant unremitting contraction and rigidity, 
rather than that alternation of spasmodic effort and relaxation which is observ- 
able in the natural process of labour. Hence, unless the os uteri and external 
parts are sufficiently relaxed, the medicine is apt to produce injury to the foetus by 
the incessant pressure wThich it maintains; and the death of the child is thought 
not unfrequently to have resulted from its injudicious employment. The cases to 
which it is thought to be especially adapted are those of lingering labour, when 
the os uteri is sufficiently dilated, and the external parts sufficiently relaxed, when 
no mechanical impediment is offered to the passage of the child, and the delay 
is ascribable solely to want of energy in the uterus. Other cases are those in 
which the death of the foetus has been ascertained and when great exhaustion, 
or dangerous constitutional irritation imperiously calls for speedy delivery. The 
medicine may also be given to promote the expulsion of the placenta, to restrain 
inordinate hemorrhage after delivery, and to hasten the discharge of the foetus 
in protracted cases of abortion. In women subject to dangerous flooding, a dose 
of ergot given immediately before delivery is 1 to have the happiest effects. 384 
Ergota, 
PART I 
It has also been recommended for the expulsion of coagula of blood, polypi, and 
hydatids from the uterine cavity. It has been accused of producing puerperal 
convulsions, hour-glass contraction of the uterus, and hydrocephalus in the new- 
born infant. In uterine hemorrhage, unconnected with pregnancy, the medi- 
cine is deemed very useful; and it has been employed in other hemorrhages 
with asserted advantage. We have seen it promptly effectual in pulmonary 
hemorrhage, after all the usual means had faile.d. May it not have the power 
of producing contraction of the capillaries in general, or of interfering in some 
other way with the circulation of the blood in these vessels, as by the exertion 
of adirect sedative or paralyzing influence upon them ? We might in this way 
account for the dry gangrene which results from its abuse, as well as for its influ- 
ence in restraining hemorrhage. It has also been employed in amenorrhoea, but 
not with encouraging success. Gonorrhoea, gleet, leucorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, 
chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, inordinate thirst, excessive sensitiveness of the 
eyes with pain upon use, paraplegia, paralysis or debility of the bladder and of 
the rectum, spermatorrhoea, hooping-cough, hysteria, intermittent fever, chorea, 
and phthisis are among the complaints in which it has been recommended. 
Ergot is usually given in substance, infusion or decoction. The dose of the 
powder to a woman in labour is fifteen or twenty grains, to be repeated every 
twenty minutes till its peculiar effects are experienced, or till the amount of a 
drachm has been taken. Of an infusion made with a drachm of ergot and four 
fluidounces of water, one-third may be given for a dose, and repeated with the 
same interval. For other purposes the dose of the medicine is ten or fifteen 
grains, repeated three times a day, and gradually increased, but not continued 
for a great length of time. In urgent cases of hemorrhage, the dose may be 
repeated every two hours, or oftener if necessary. A wine and fluid extract 
of ergot are directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Vinum Ergotse and Ex- 
tractum Ergotse Fluidum.) The oil of ergot, prepared by means of ether, aa 
already described (page 381), was given by Dr. Wright in the dose of from 
twenty to fifty drops, diffused in cold water, warm tea, or weak spirit and water. 
Under the name of ergotin, Bonjean’s purified extract is sometimes used in 
the dose of from five to ten grains. It is made by exhausting ergot with water, 
evaporating to the consistence of syrup, precipitating the albumen, gum, &c., 
by a large excess of alcohol, decanting the clear liquid, and evaporating to the 
consi tence of a soft extract. 
Ergot has been employed externally. Dr Muller found it to check the bleed- 
ing from divided arteries; and Dr. Wright states that in powder or infusion it 
acts promptly in arresting hemorrhage. It is recommended by the latter as an 
injection in uterine hemorrhage. It should be used, however, with caution, as the 
powder applied to abraded surfaces has produced sloughing in the lower animals. 
Ergot should be powdered only when wanted for use.* 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ergotae Fluidum, U.S.; Extractum Ergotae Liquidum, 
Br.; Infusum Ergotae, Br.; Tinctura Ergotae Br.; Vinum Ergotae, U.S. 
W. 
* Tt is said that, in Germany, persons sleeping upon grain which contained much 
ergot have been attacked with disease in consequence; and the case is related of a gen- 
tleman who, having gathered some fine specimens of ergot fresh from the plant, and put 
them in his trowsers-pocket, found himself, about half a day afterwards, incommoded 
by a tensive spasmodic pain on the skin of the inside of the thigh against which the 
pocket lay. Ascribing this to a long walk, he did not think of the real cause, until, the 
pain having returned on the following day, and for several days afterwards, he at length 
recalled to mind the forgotten ergot, and, supposing that this might be the source of 
inconvenience, removed it. After a time he found much, though not entire, relief, and 
did not succeed in wholly removing his trouble, until he had caused the offending pocket 
to be well washed, after which the affection ceased. He afterwards tried the experiment 
with other specimens of ergot, with the same results. Perhaps it is only the fresh ergot, 
yet moist, that is capable cf producing this effect. The skin was not reddened, but cov- 
ered with minute wrinkles, as in cholera patients. (Neues Repert., band x. p. 439, A.D 
1863.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. k'ART I. 
Erigeron. 
385 
ERIGERON. U.S. 
Fleabane. 
The herb of Erigeron heterophyllum and of Erigeron Philadelphicum. U S 
Erigeron. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat. Ord. Compositse-Asterv'i- 
dese. De Gand. Asteraceae. Lindley. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx imbricated, sub-hemispherical, in fruit often reflected. Flo- 
rets of the ray linear, very narrow, numerous. Receptacle naked. Pappus 
double, exterior minute, interior pilose, of few rays. Nuttall. 
1. Erigeron hCerophyllum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1956; Barton, Am. Med. 
Bot. i. 231. —E. annuum. Persoon, Synop. ii. 431; Torrey and Gray, Flor. of 
N. Am ii. 175. This is a biennial herbaceous plant, belonging both to North 
America and Europe. It has a branching root, with several erect, roundish, 
striated, pubescent stems, much divided near the top, and two or three feet 
high. The lower leaves are ovate, acute, deeply toothed, with long winged 
footstalks; the upper are lanceolate, acute, deeply serrate in the middle, and 
sessile; the floral leaves are lanceolate and entire; all, except the radical, are 
ciliate at the base. The flowers are in terminal corymbs. The florets of the disk 
are yellow; those of the ray numerous, very slender, and of a white, pale-blue, 
or pale-purple colour. The flowering period is from June to October. 
2. Erigeron Philadelphicum. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 227. — E. strigosum. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1956; Torrey and Gray, Flor. of N. Am. ii. 176. Tho 
Philadelphia fleabane is perennial and herbaceous, with a branching yellowish 
root, and from one to five erect stems, which rise two or three feet in height, 
and are much branched at top. The whole plant is pubescent. The lower leaves 
are ovate-lanceolate, nearly obtuse, ciliate on the margin, entire or marked with 
a few serratures, and supported on very long footstalks; the upper are narrow, 
oblong, somewhat wedge-shaped, obtuse, entire, sessile, and slightly embrace 
the stem; the floral leaves are small and lanceolate. The flowers are numerous, 
radiate, and disposed in a panieled corymb, with long peduncles bearing from 
one to three flowers. They resemble those of the preceding species in colour, 
and make their appearance about the same period. 
We include these two species under one head because they grow together, 
possess identical medical properties, and are indiscriminately employed. They 
are found in various parts of the United States, and abound in the fields about 
Philadelphia, where they are known and used under the common though inaccu- 
rate name of scabious. The whole herb is used, and should be collected while 
the plants are in flower. It has a feebly aromatic odour, and bitterish taste, 
and imparts its properties to boiling water. Mr. F. L. John, of Philadelphia, 
obtained from E. Philadelphicum a volatile oil by distillation, but in exceed- 
ingly small proportion; 45 pounds of the herb having yielded only half a 
drachm of the oil. As described by Prof. Procter, this is of a greenish-yellow 
colour, a powerful, penetrating, aromatic odour, and a bitterish, pungent, dis- 
agreeable taste. It is more viscid than the oil of E. Canadense, has a higher sp. 
gr. (0-946), and contains more oxygen. {Am. Journ. of Pliarm.. xxvii. 105.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fleabane is diuretic, without being offensive 
to the stomach. It has been a favourite remedy, with some highly respectable 
practitioners of Philadelphia, in gravel and other nephritic diseases, and has 
been used advantageously in dropsy. By the late Prof. Wistar it was recom- 
mended in hydrothorax complicated with gout. It cannot be relied on for the 
cure of dropsy; but may be employed as an adjuvant to more efficient medicines. 
It is most conveniently given in infusion or decoction, of which a pint, contain 
ing the virtues of an ounce of the herb, may be taken in twenty-four hours. 
In a communication by Ur. Wilson, of Philadelphia, to the College of Physi- 
cians, Nov. 1, 1854, it is stated that the oil of Philadelphia fleabane had been 
employed with great advantage by I)r. Bournonville and himself in uterine 
hemorrhage, in the dose of five drops two hours. {Transact, of Col. oj 386 
Erigeron Canadense.—Euonymus. 
PART I. 
Plugs., N. S.,ii. 330.) There can be little doubt, from the account of the oil at 
the same time given, that it was the oil of E. Canadense, and not that of E 
Philadelphicum, which was really used. W. 
ERIGERON CANADENSE. U.S. 
Canada Fleabane. 
The herb of Erigeron Canadense. U. S. 
Erigeron. See EEIGERON. 
Erigeron Canadense. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1954. This is an indigenous an- 
nual plant, with a stem from two to six feet high, covered with stiff hairs, and 
divided into many branches. The leaves are linear-lanceolate, and edged will1 
hairs; those at the root are dentate. The flowers are very small, numerous, 
white, and arranged in terminal panicles. They differ from those of the other 
species of Erigeron in having an oblong calyx, the rays very minute and more 
numeious than the florets of the disk, and the seed down simple. Hence by 
some botanists the plant is placed in a sub-genus with the title Csenotus. An- 
other variety of E. Canadense, which Mr. Nuttall makes a distinct species, 
with the title E. pusilum, is not more than from four to six inches high, and 
has an erect smooth stem, less branched than the preceding, with all its leaves 
entire, and scabrous on the margin. The panicle is simple, and the peduncles 
filiform, nearly naked, divaricate, each bearing two or three flowers. 
Canada fleabane is very common throughout the northern and middle sec- 
tions of the United States, and has become naturalized in many parts of Eu- 
rope. It abounds in neglected fields, and blooms in Jul}T and August. The plant, 
all parts of which are medicinal, should be collected while in flower. The leaves 
and flowers are said to possess its peculiar virtues in greatest perfection. 
This species of Erigeron has an agreeable odour, and a bitterish, acrid, some- 
what astringent taste. Among its constituents, according to Dr. I)e Puy, are 
bitter extractive, tannin, gallic acid, and volatile oil. Both alcohol and water 
extract its virtues. Its acrimony is diminished by decoction, in consequence, 
probably, of the escape of the oil, upon which its virtues in part depend. The 
oil is included among the Preparations in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, and will be 
described in Part II. of this work. (See Oleum Erigerontis Canadensis.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. From the observations of Dr. De Puy, Canada 
fleabane appears to be diuretic, tonic, and astringent; and has proved useful in 
dropsical complaints and diarrhoea. It may be given in substance, infusion, tinc- 
ture, or extract. The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm ; of 
an infusion, prepared with an ounce of the plant and a pint of boiling water, 
from two to four fluidounces; of the aqueous extract, from five to ten grains. 
The dose should be repeated every two or three hours. The oil has been em- 
ployed for arresting hemorrhage, in the dose of five drops every two hours. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Erigerontis Canadensis, U.S. W. 
EUONYMUS. US. Secondary. 
The bark of Euonymus atropurpureus. U. S. 
Euonymus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Celastraceae. 
Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx four or five-parted, flat. Corolla four or five-petaled, infe- 
rior, flat. Capsule three to five-valved, three to five-celled, coloured, each cell 
containing one or two seeds, surrounded by a red arillus. 
The plants belonging to this genus are shrubs or small trees, presenting in the 
autumn a striking appearance from the rich red colour of their fruit, which has 
obtained for them the name of burning-bush. E. Americanus and E. Europeeus 
have been cultivated in gardens is ornamental plants. Two or more of the 
Wahoo. PART I. 
Euonymus. 
387 
species have been used in medicine. Their properties are probably similar, if 
not identical. Grundner,who experimented with the fruit of E. Europaeus, found 
it to have no other effect than that of a diuretic. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A.D. 
1847, p. 873.) An oil expressed from the seeds is used in Europe for the de- 
struction of vermin in the hair, and sometimes also as an application to old 
sores (Ibid , A.D. 1851, p. 641.) Dr. Griffith says that the seeds of this and 
other species are purgative and emetic, and that the leaves are poisonous to 
sheep and other animals feeding on them. He states also that the inner bark 
of E. tingens is beautifully yellow, and used in India for dyeing, and in diseases 
of the eye. (Med. Bot., p 220.) About twenty years since, a bark was intro- 
duced into notice in this city, as a remedy for dropsy, under the name of Wahoo, 
by Mr. George W. Carpenter,who had obtained a knowledge of its virtues in the 
Western States. On a journey in the North West in the year 1845, the author 
made some inquiries into the source of this medicine, and, having had the op- 
portunity of examining the plant producing it, found it to be E. atropurpureus; 
and this is recognised in the .present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The 
name of wahoo (pronounced wawhoo) was given to it by the Indians. The same 
name has also been applied to Ulmus alata, of the Southern States, and has 
thus led to mistakes. It is probable that the product of E. Americanus has 
oeen indiscriminately used with that of the officinal species. 
Euonymus Atropurpureus. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1132; Gray’s Manual, p. 
hi; figured in Griffith’s Med. Bot. p. 219. This plant has been named variously 
wahoo, spindletree, and burning-bush. It is a tall, erect shrub, with quadran- 
gular branchlets, and opposite, petiolate, oval-oblong, pointed, serrate leaves. 
The dowers, which stand in loose cymes on axillary peduncles, are small and 
dark-purple, with sepals and petals commonly in fours. The capsule or pod 
is smooth and deeply lobed. The plant is indigenous, growing throughout the 
Northern and Western States, and sometimes cultivated for the beauty of its 
crimson fruit. The bark is the part used. 
Properties. The dried bark is in thin pieces, whitish with a darker grayish 
epidermis, brittle, of a feeble, peculiar, not disagreeable odour, and a bitterish 
slightly sweetish taste, and somewhat pungent after-taste. It imparts its virtues 
to water and alcohol. Analyzed by Mr. Wm. T.Wenzell, it was found to contain 
a bitter principle which he named euonymin, asparagin, a soft resin, a crystal- 
lizable resin, a yellow resin, a brown resin, fixed oil, wax, starch, albumen, glu- 
cose, pectin, and various salts of organic and inorganic acids. Euonymin was 
obtained by agitating with chloroform a tincture made with diluted alcohol, sepa- 
rating the chioroformic solution and allowing it to evaporate spontaneously, 
treating the residue with ether, dissolving what was left in alcohol, adding ace- 
tate of lead to the solution, filtering, precipitating the lead with hydrosulphuric 
acid, and evapoiating. The euonymin obtained was uncrystallizable, intensely 
bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, and neuter in its reactions. It was abund- 
antly precipitated from its solution by subacetate of lead and phospho-molyb- 
dic acid. (Am. Journ. of Pharm , Sept. 1862, p. 387.) Mr.W. P. Clothier found 
the bark to yield no volatile oil on distillation. According to the same writer, 
if a concentrated tincture is poured into water, a dark-yellow bitter substance 
is thrown down, containing resin and fixed oil, which is the euonymine of the 
Eclectics, very improperly so named, as, though it contains a portion of the 
active principle, it is a very complex substance. Mr. Clothier found it to purge 
actively without griping. (Ibid., Nov. 1861, p. 491.) Kubel has discovered in 
the fresh inner bark of E. Europaeus a saccharine, crystallizable substance, 
closely resembling mannite, but differing in its crystalline form, and melting 
point. He calls it euonymite. (Journ. dePharm., Dec. 1862, p. 523.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The precise virtues of wahoo have not been 
determined. Mr. C. A. Santos, in a dissertation upon the American species, pub- 
lished in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xx. 80), speaks of the bark as 
tonic, hydragogue cathartic, diuretic, and antiperiodic. Dr. Twyman, of West- 
port, Missouri, informed the author that he had found it as a cathartic rather 388 
Eaonymus.—Eupatorium. 
PART I 
to resemble rhubarb, than to possess hydragogue properties, and thought he 
had obtained useful effects from it as an alterative to the hepatic function. 
Similar information was obtained from other sources. On the whole, the char- 
acter of its action must be considered as somewhat uncertain ; and it might 
well form a subject of further examination. As a diuretic in dropsy it may be 
used in the form of decoction or infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce 
to a pint of water, and given in the dose of a wineglassful several times a day. 
A fluid extract, prepared with diluted alcohol, would no doubt be an efficient, 
and would probably be found a convenient preparation. W. 
EUPATORIUM. U.S. 
Thoroughwort. 
The topslmddgavegjof Eupatorium perfoliatum, gathered after flowering has 
commenced. U. S. 
Eupatorium. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia JSqualis.— Nat. Ord. Composite- 
Eupatoriacese. De Cand. Asteraceae. Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx simple or imbricate, oblong. Style long and semi-bilid 
Receptacle naked. Pappus pilose, or more commonly scabrous. Seed smooth 
and glandular, quinquestriate. Nuttall. 
Of this numerous genus, comprising not less than thirty species within the 
limits of the United States, most of which probably possess analogous medical 
properties, E. perfoliatum alone now holds a place in our national Pharmaco- 
poeia. E. purpureum and E. teucrifolium were originally in the Secondary 
List, but were discarded at the revision of 1840. They merit, however, a brief 
notice, if only from their former officinal rank. 
Eupatorium purpureum, or gravel root, is a perennial herbaceous plant, 
with a purple stem, live or six feet in height, and furnished with ovate-lanceo- 
late, serrate, rugosely veined, slightly scabrous, petiolate leaves, placed four 
or five together in the form of whorls. The flowers are purple, and consist ol 
numerous florets contained in an eight-leaved calyx. It grows in swamps and 
other low grounds, from Canada to Virginia, and flowers in August and Sep- 
tember. The root has, according to Ur. Bigelow, a bitter aromatic and astrin- 
gent taste, and is said to operate as a diuretic. Its vulgar name of gravel root 
indicates the popular estimation of its virtues. 
Eupatorium teucrifolium (Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1153), E. pilosum (Walt. 
Flor. Gar. 199), E. verbensefolium (Mich. Flor. Am. ii. 98), commonly called 
wild horehound, is also an indigenous perennial, with an herbaceous stem, which 
is about two feet high, and supports sessile, distinct, ovate, acute, scabrous 
leaves, of which the lower are coarsely serrate at the base, the uppermostentire. 
The flowers are small, white, composed of live florets within each calyx, and 
arranged in the form of a corymb. The plant grows in low wet places from 
New England to Georgia, and abounds in the Southern States. It is in flower 
from August to November. The whole herb is used. In sensible properties it 
corresponds with E. perfoliatum, though less bitter and disagreeable. It is 
said to be tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, and aperient; and has been employed as 
a domestic remedy in intermittent and remittent fevers. Dr. Jones, formerly 
president of the Georgia Medical Society, first made its properties known to 
the profession. It is usually given in the form of infusion, made with an ounce 
to a quart of water, the whole to be taken during the day. 
E Gannabinum, of Europe, the root of which was formerly used as a pur- 
gative, and E. Aya-pana, of Brazil, the leaves of which at one time enjo3Ted 
a very high reputation, have fallen into entire neglect. The aya-pana is an 
aromatic bitter, like E. perfoliatum, but weaker. A species of Eupatorium, 
probably E. nervosum, is said to be a favourite with the medical profession 
in Jamaica, where it is known by the name of bitter bush. It is thought to 
have proved very efficacious in cholera, and, being actively stimulant, is much 
used in typhus and typhoid fevers, and smallpox. Cholagogue properties have PART I. 
Eupalonum. 
389 
been ascribed to it. Decoction and tincture are the forms in which it is given 
{Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1866, p. 222.) 
Eupatoriumperfoliatum. Willd. Sp Plant, m. 1761; Bigelow, Am. Med 
Bot. i. 33; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 125. Thoroughwhort, or boneset, is an indige- 
nous perennial plant, with numerous herbaceous stems, which are erect, round, 
hairy, from two to five feet high, simple below, and trichotomously Iranched 
near the summit. The leaves serve to distinguish the species at the first glance. 
They may be considered either as perforated by the stem, perfoliate, or con- 
sisting each of two leaves, joined at the base, connate. In the latter point of 
view, they are opposite and in pairs, which decussate each other at regular dis- 
tances upon the stem; in other words, the direction of each pair is at right 
angles with that of the pair immediately above or beneath it. They are narrow 
iu proportion to their length, broadest at the base where they coalesce, gradu- 
ally tapering to a point, serrate, much wrinkled, paler on the under than the 
upper surface, and beset with whitish hairs, which give them a grayish-green 
colour. The uppermost pairs are sessile, not joined at the base. The flowers 
are white, numerous, supported on hairy peduncles, in dense corymbs, forming 
a flattened summit. The calyx, which is cylindrical and composed of imbricated, 
lanceolate, hairy scales, encloses from twelve to fifteen tubular florets, having 
their border divided into five spreading segments. The anthers are five, black, 
and united into a tube, through which the bifid filiform style projects. 
This species of Eupatorium inhabits meadows, the banks of streams, and other 
moist places, growing generally in bunches, and abounding in almost all parts 
of the United States. It flowers from the middle of summer to the end of Octo- 
ber. All parts of it are active; but the herb only is officinal. 
It has a faint odour, and a strongly bitter, somewhat peculiar taste. The 
virtues of the plant are readily imparted to water and alcohol. Mr. W. Peterson 
found it to contain a peculiar bitter principle, chlorophyll, resin, a crystalline 
matter of undetermined character, gum, tannin, yellow colouring matter, ex- 
tractive, lignin, and salts. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 210.) Mr. Bickley found 
also albumen, gallic acid, and signs of volatile oil. {Ibid., xxvi. 495.) Eupatorin 
will be the proper name to apply to the bitter principle, when isolated and 
satisfactorily determined; but is wholly inapplicable to any complex substance, 
consisting of different proximate principles, however concentrated, and whether 
possessing or not the virtues of the leaves. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Thoroughwort is tonic, diaphoretic, and in 
large doses emetic and aperient. It is said to have been employed by the In- 
dians in intermittent fever, and has proved successful in the hands of several 
regular practitioners. The general experience, however, is not in its favour in 
that complaint. We have seen it arrest intermittents when given freely in warm 
decoction, immediately before the expected recurrence of the paroxysm; but it 
operated in this instance by its emetic rather than its tonic power. The medi- 
cine has also been used as a tonic and diaphoretic in remittent and typhoid 
fevers, and is said to have been productive of advantage in yellow fever. Given 
in warm infusion, so as to produce vomiting or copious perspiration, at the com- 
mencement of catarrh, it will frequently arrest that complaint; and has been 
especially recommended in influenza. It has also been recommended as a diapho- 
retic in acute rheumatism; and may prove serviceable in the absence of h'gh 
arterial excitement. As a tonic it is given with advantage in dyspepsia, general 
debility, and other cases in which the simple bitters are employed. 
With a view to its tonic effects, it is best administered in substance, )r cc.a 
infusion. The dose of the powder is twenty or thirty grains, that of the infusion 
a fluidounce, frequently repeated. (See Infusum Eupatorii.) The aqueous ex- 
tract has been used with advantage. When the diaphoretic operation is required 
in addition to the tonic, the infusion should be administered warm, and the pa- 
tient remain covered in bed. As an emetic and cathartic, a strong decoction, 
prepared by boiling an ounce with three half pints of water to a pint, may be 
given in doses of one or two gills, or more. 
Off Prep. Infusum Eupatorii, U. S. W 390 
Euphorbia Corollata. 
PART I. 
EUPHORBIA COROLLATA. U. S. Secondary. 
Large-flowering Spurge. 
The root of Euphorbia corollata. U. S. 
Euphorbia. Sex. Syst. DodecandriaTrigynia, Linn.; MonceciaMonadelphia, 
Michaux.— Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Involucrum caliciform, eight to ten-toothed, exterior alternate 
dentures glanduloid or petaloid. Stamina indefinite, twelve or more, rarely 
less; filaments articulated. Receptacle squamose. Female jlower solitary, 
stipitate, naked. Capsule three-grained. Nuttall. 
Jn the flower of the Euphorbiae, the stamina are arranged two or more to- 
gether, in distinct parcels, corresponding in number with the inner segments of 
the calyx. These parcels were considered by Michaux as distinct male florets; 
while the central stipitate germ, with its three bifid styles, was considered as a 
distinct female floret, and the calyx as an involucre, lie accordingly placed the 
genus in the class and order Moncecia Monadelphia, and in this respect has 
been followed by most American botanists. The genus Euphorbia contains nu- 
merous species, having the common property of yielding a milky juice. They 
are herbaceous or shrubby, with or without leaves; and the leafless species, 
which are chiefly confined to the African deserts, have fleshy, naked, or spiny 
stems, like those of the Cactus. They nearly all afford products which act pow- 
erfully as emetics and cathartics, and in overdoses occasion dangerous if not 
fatal prostration, with symptoms of inflamed gastro-intestinal mucous mem- 
brane. Their milky juice, which concretes on exposure, usually possesses these 
properties in a high degree, and, in addition, that of powerfully irritating the 
skin when applied to it. Two species are acknowledged in our national Phar- 
macopoeia, E corollata and E. Ipecacuanha, which are both indigenous. E. 
hypericifolia., which is also indigenous, has been highly commended as a remedy 
in dysentery after due depletion, diarrhoea, menorrhagia, and leucorrhoea by Dr. 
W. Zollikoffer. He infuses half an ounce of the dried leaves in a pint of boil- 
ing water, and gives half a fluidounce every hour in dysentery till the symp- 
toms begin to yield, the same quantity after every evacuation in diarrhoea, and 
two fluidounces morning, noon, and night, in menorrhagia and fluor albus. The 
herb is at first sweetish, afterwards harsh and astringent to the taste, and ap- 
pears to contain tannin. Its effects upon the system are those of an astringent 
and feeble narcotic. It differs, therefore, considerably, both in sensible and 
medicinal properties, from most of the other species. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
xi. 22.) In a subsequent communication, it is stated that E. maculata possesses 
similar properties. (Ibid., N. S., iii 125.) Dr. B. J D. Irwin, of the U. S. Army, 
having heard much, while in New Mexico and Arizona, of the efficacy, among 
the native Mexicans, of a certain plant called by them gollindrinera, as an an- 
tidote to the poison of serpents, was induced to make trials of it, which con- 
vinced him that its reputation was not unmerited. A specimen of the plant 
having been sent to Prof. Torrey, it was pronounced by him to be Euphorbia 
prostrata, which is abundant in the Southwestern parts of the U. States and 
Mexico Dr. Irwin thinks that the virtues reside in the milky juice of the plant, 
but the liquid obtained by bruising the herb is commonly used. Like other' 
Euphorbi®, it is emetic and cathartic in large quantities, but he has heard of no 
injurious effects from its use. (Ibid., Jan. 1861, p. 89.) In Chili, the juice of the 
Euphorbia Chilensis is said to be used as a drastic purgative. (Am. Journ of 
Pharm., March, 1866,p. 102 ; from the Revista Farmaceutica, of Buenos Ayres.) 
Euphorbia corollata. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 916; Bigelow, Am. Med. Rot iii. 
119. The blooming or large-flowering spurge, frequently called milk-weed, is 
an erect plant, with a large, perennial, branching, yellowish root, which sends 
up several stems from two to five feet in height, round and generally simple. 
The leaves, which stand irregularly upon the stem, and without footstalks, are 
oblong-obovate, wedge-form or linear, flat or revolute at the maigin, smooth in PART i. 
Euphorbia Corollata.—Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. 
391 
some plants, and hairy in others. The flowers are disposed upon a large ter 
minal umbel, with a five-leaved involucrum, and five trifid and dichotomous 
rays, at each fork of which are two oblong bractes. The calyx is large, rotate, 
white, with five obtuse segments closely resembling a corolla, from which the 
species has been named. At the base of these divisions are five interior smaller 
segments, which are described as nectaries by many systematic writers, while 
the larger are considered as belonging to a real corolla. The stamens are twelve, 
evolving gradually, with double anthers. Many flowers have only stamens. 
The pistil, when existing, is stipitate, nodding, rounded, with three bifid styles. 
The fruit is a smooth, three-celled, three-seeded capsule. 
The plant grows in various parts of the United States, from Canada to Florida 
and abounds in Western Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. It prefers a 
dry, barren, and sandy soil, seldom growing in woods or on the borders of streams. 
Its flowers appear in July and August. The root is the only part used. 
This, when full grown, is sometimes an inch in thickness, and two feet in length. 
It is without unpleasant taste, producing only a sense of heat a short time after 
it has been taken. The medical virtues are said to reside in the cortical portion, 
which is thick, and constitutes two-thirds of the whole root. They are taken up 
by water and alcohol, and remain in the extract formed by the evaporation of the 
decoction or tincture. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In a full dose, the root of E. corollata ope- 
rates actively and with sufficient certainty as an emetic, producing ordinarily 
several discharges from the stomach, and sometimes acting with considerable 
energy upon the bowels. In quantities insufficient to vomit, it excites nausea, 
almost always followed by brisk purging. In still smaller doses it is diaphoretic 
and expectorant It cannot, however, like ipecacuanha, be given largely in cases 
of insensibility of stomach, without endangering hypercatharsis with inflamma- 
tion of the mucous coat of the stomach and bowels. It is in fact greatly inferior 
to this emetic in mildness, while it is no less inferior to the tartarized antimony 
in certainty. It is objectionable as a purge, in consequence of the nausea which 
it occasions when given in cathartic doses. Dr. Zollickoffer was the first to in- 
troduce it to the particular notice of the medical profession. It is little pre- 
scribed, and seldom kept in the shops. The dose of the dried root as an emetic 
is from ten to twenty grains, as a cathartic from three to ten grains. The recent 
root, bruised and applied to the skin, produces vesication. W. 
EUPHORBIA IPECACUANHA. U. S. Secondary. 
Ipecacuanha Spurge. 
The root of Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. U. S. 
Euphorbia. See EUPHORBIA COROLL AT A. 
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 900 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 211; 
Bi gelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 108. Ipecacuanha spurge, or American ipecacu- 
anha, is a singular plant, varying so much in the shape and colour of its leaves, 
and in its whole aspect, that mere individual peculiarities might without care 
be attributed to a specific difference. The root is perennial, yellowish, irregular, 
and very large, penetrating sometimes to the depth of six or seven feet in the 
sand, and in its thickest part, when full grown, from three-quarters of an inch to 
an inch and a half in diameter. The stems are numerous, herbaceous, erect or 
procumbent, smooth, dichotomous, jointed at the forks, white under the ground, 
red, pale-green, or yellow above, sometimes almost buried in the sand, usually 
forming thick low bunches upon its surface. The leaves are opposite, sessile, 
entire, smooth, generally oval, but sometimes round, obovate, or even lanceo- 
late or linear. They are small early in the spring, and increase in size with the 
age of the plant. Their colour varies from green to crimson. The flowers are 
solitary, on long axillary peduncles. The calyx is spreading, with five exterior 
obtuse segments, and the same number of inner, smaller segments. The fertile 392 
Euphorbia Ipecacuanha.—Extractum Cannabis. 
PART L 
flowers have a roundish, drooping pedicelled germ, crowned with six revolute 
stigmas. The capsule is three-celled, and contains three seeds. 
E. Ipecacuanha is indigenous, growing in pine-barrens and other sandy 
places in the Middle and Southern States, especially along the sea-board, and 
abundantly in New Jersey, on the banks of the Delaware. It blooms from May 
to August. The root, which is the officinal portion, is, according to Dr. Barton, 
equally efficacious at whatever period collected. 
The dry root is light and brittle, of a grayish colour externally, white within, 
inodorous, and of a sweetish not unpleasant taste. Its active principle has not 
been isolated. Dr. Bigelow inferred from his experiments that it contained 
caoutchouc, resin, gum, and probably starch. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ipecacuanha spurge is an active, tolerably cer- 
tain emetic, rather milder than E. corollata, but, like it, disposed to affect the 
bowels, and liable, if given in overdoses, to produce excessive nausea and vomit- 
ing, general prostration, and alarming hypercatharsis. It is, therefore, unfit to 
supersede ipecacuanha. In small doses it is diaphoretic. The specific name of 
the plant indicates that the emetic property of the root has been long known. 
The late Professor Barton alluded to it in his “Collections;” but it did not come 
into general notice till after the publication of Dr. W. P. C. Barton’s Medical 
Botany. The late Dr. Hewson, of Philadelphia, informed us that this emetic 
was the subject of an inaugural essay by Dr. Royal, and that experiments, 
conducted with it among the convicts in the Walnut Street prison, proved it 
to be advantageously available for all the purposes of an emetic; while, in con- 
sequence of its want of nauseous taste, it seemed to answer even better than 
ipecacuanha as an expectorant and diaphoretic. The dose of the powdered 
root is from ten to fifteen grains. W. 
EXTRACTUM CANNABIS. US. 
Extract of Hemp. 
An alcoholic extract of the dried tops of Cannabis saliva, var. Indica. JJ. S. 
Off. Syn. EXTRACTUM CANNABIS INDICA3. Br. 
Cannabis. Sex.Syst. Dioecia Pentandria. — Nat. Ord. Cannabinaccae. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx five-parted. Stamens five. Female. Calyx one- 
leaved. rolled up. Styles two. Bindley. 
Cannabis sativa. Linn. Sp>. Plant. 145*7; Griffith, Med. Bot. p. 512. Hemp 
is an annual plant, from four to eight feet or more in height, with an erect, 
branching, angular stem. The leaves are alternate or opposite, on long, lax 
footstalks, roughish, and digitate with linear-lanceolate, serrated segments. The 
stipules are subulate. The flowers are axillary; the male in long, branched, 
drooping racemes; the female in erect simple spikes. The stamens are five, with 
long pendulous anthers; the pistils two, with long, filiform, glandular stigmas. 
The fruit is ovate and one-seeded. The whole plant is covered with n fine pu- 
bescence, scarcely visible to the naked eye, and is somewhat viscid to the touch. 
The hemp plant of India, from which the drug is derived, has been considered 
by some as a distinct species, and named Cannabis Indica; but the mos ob- 
servant botanists, upon comparing it with our cultivated plant, have been un< ble 
to discover any specific difference. It is now, therefore, regai’ded merely as a 
variety, and is distinguished by the epithet Indica. Dr. Pereira states that, in 
the female plant, the flowers are somewhat more crowded than in the common 
hemp; but that the male plants in the two varieties are in all respects the same. 
It is unfortunate that the name of Indian hemp has been attached to the medi- 
cinal product ; as, in the United States,the same name has longbeen appropriated 
to Apocynum cannabinum; and some confusion has hence arisen. 
C. sativa is a native of the Caucasus, Persia, and the hilly regions in the north 
of India. It is cultivated in many parts of Europe and Asia, and largely in our 
Western States. It is from the Indian variety exclusively that the medicine is PART i. 
JExtractum Cannabis. 
393 
obtained; the heat of the climate in Hindostan apparently favouring the de- 
velopment of its active principle * 
The seeds, though not now officinal, have been used in medicine. They are 
about the eighth of an inch long, roundish-ovate, somewhat compressed, of a 
shining ash-gray colour, inodorous, and of a disagreeable, oily, sweetish taste. 
They yield by expression a fixed oil, which has the drying property, and is used 
in the arts. They contain also uncrystallizable sugar and albumen, and when 
rubbed with water form an emulsion, which may be used advantageously in 
inflammations of the mucous membranes, though without narcotic properties. 
They are much used as food for birds, which are fond of them. They are gene- 
rally believed to be in no degree poisonous; but M. Michaud relates the case of 
a child, in which serious symptoms of narcotic poisoning occurred after taking a 
certain quantity of them. It is probable that some of the fruit eaten by the 
child was unripe; as, in this state, it would be more likely to partake of the 
peculiar qualities of the plant itself. (Ann.de Therap., A.D. 1860, p. 159.) 
In Hindostan, Persia, and other parts of the East, hemp has long been habitu- 
ally employed as an intoxicating agent. The parts used are the tops of the plant, 
and a resinous product obtained from it. The plant is cut after flowering, and 
formed into bundles from two to four feet long by three inches in diameter, which 
are sold in the bazaars under the name of gunjah The hashish of the Arabs 
is essentially the same. The name bang is given to a mixture of the larger leaves 
and capsules without the stems. There is on the surface of the plant a resinous 
exudation to which it owes its clammy feel. Men clothed in leather run through 
the hemp fields, brushing forcibly against the plants, and thus separating the 
resin, which is subsequently scraped from their dress, and formed into balls. 
These are called churrus. In these different states of preparation, the hemp is 
smoked like tobacco, with which it is said to be frequently mixed. An infusion 
or decoction of the plant is also sometimes used as an exhilarating drink. 
The medicinal resin or extract of hemp, directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
is made by evaporating a tincture of the dried tops. Dr. O’Shaughnessy directs 
it to be prepared by boiling the tops of the gunjah in alcohol until all the resin 
is dissolved, and evaporating to dryness by means of a water-bath. Mr. Robert- 
son, of the Calcutta Medical College, prepares it by passing the vapour of boil- 
ing alcohol from the boiler of a still into the dried plant contained in a con- 
venient receptacle, and evaporating the condensed liquor by a heat notexceeding 
150° F. The Messrs. Smith, of Edinburgh, obtain a purer resin by the fol- 
lowing process. Bruised gunjah is digested, first in successive portions of warm 
water, till the expressed liquid comes away colourless; and afterwards, for two 
days with a moderate, heat, in a solution of carbonate of soda, containing one 
part of the salt for two of the dried herb. It is then expressed, washed, dried, 
and exhausted by percolation with alcohol. The tincture, after being agitated 
with milk of lime containing one part of the earth for twelve of the gunjah used, 
is filtered; the lime is precipitated by sulphuric acid ; the filtered liquor is agi- 
* On a visit to the botanical garden of Edinburgh, in the autumn of I860, the author 
saw a full-grown specimen of Cannabis sativa, and was surprised to find that it was cnly 
about 4 feet high, had little or no odour, and wan scarcely adhesive when handled. If this 
is the general character of thehemp plant in the north of Europe, it is not surprising that 
it should be destitute of the medicinal properties of the Indian plant. As cultivated in his 
own garden in Philadelphia, the plant attains a height usually of six or eight feet, has a 
decided narcotic odour, and exudes so much of its peculiar resin as to be very adhesive to 
the fingers. It is highly probable, therefore, that the hemp plant grown in this country 
might he advantageously used in medicine. On this occasion Dr. Christison informed the 
author, from information he had received from India, that the plant there cultivated in 
the hot plains, does not yield hashish satisfactorily; but that this product is chiefly if not 
exclusively obtained from it in the hilly regions. He said, moreover, that the story of the 
natives running through thehemp fields, and collecting the resin on their clothing,from 
which it is afterwards scraped, is, if not quite untrue, at least apocryphal. He had been 
informed that the real mode of gathering it is to rub the hemp-tops between the hands, 
and, when the palms and fingers are sufficiently loaded with the resin, to scrape it oil It 
is possible, however, that different methods may be followed in different localities. (Note 
to the twelfth edition.) 394 
Extractum Cannabis. 
PART I. 
tated with animal charcoal, and again filtered ; most of the alcohol is distilled 
off', and to the residue twice its weight of water is added; the liquid is ther 
allowed to evaporate gradually ; and, finally, the resin is washed* with fresh 
water until it ceases to impart a sour or bitter taste to the liquid, and is then 
dried in thin layers. Thus obtained, it retains the odour and taste of the gunjah, 
of which 100 pounds yield 6 or 7 pounds of the extract. Much of the com- 
mercial extract is very impure, and is but partially soluble in alcohol. 
Under the name of Extractum Cannabis Purijicatum, the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia directs a preparation made by evaporating a tincture of the crude ex- 
tract, which, from its greater uniformity of strength, is preferable for prescrip- 
tion. (See Part II.) The British Pharmacopoeia directs the Extract of Indian 
Hemp to be prepared by macerating an avoirdupois pound of the dried tops of 
the hemp, in coarse powder, in four Imperial pints of rectified spirit, for seven 
days, then expressing, and evaporating to the proper consistence. From this a 
tincture is ordered to be prepared. 
Properties. Fresh hemp has a peculiar narcotic odour, which is said to be 
capable of producing vertigo, headache, and a species of intoxication. It is 
much less in the dried tops, which have a feeble bitterish taste. According to 
I)r. Royle, churrus is when pure of a blackish-gray, blackish-green, or dirty 
olive colour, of a fragrant and narcotic odour, and a slightly warm, bitterish, 
and acrid taste. Schlesinger found in the leaves a bitter substance, chlorophyll, 
green resinous extractive, colouring matter, gummy extract, extractive, albu- 
men, lignin, and salts. The plant also contains volatile oil in very small pro- 
portion, which probably has narcotic properties. The resin is probably the 
active principle, and has received the name of cannabin. It is neuter, soluble 
in alcohol and ether, and separable from the alcoholic solution by water as a 
white precipitate. According to M. Laneau, of Brussels, it is insoluble in cold 
alcohol of 80 or 90 per cent., but is soluble in the same liquid heated, in cold 
absolute alcohol, ether, acetic ether, spirit of nitric ether, muriatic ether, chlo- 
roform, and bisulphuret of carbon. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 362.) 
Its taste is warm, bitterish, acrid, somewhat balsamic, and its odour fragrant, 
especially when heated.* 
Medical Properties. Extract of hemp is a powerful narcotic, causing exhila- 
ration, intoxication, delirious hallucinations, and, in its subsequent action, drow- 
siness and stupor, with little effect upon the circulation. It is asserted also to act 
as a decided aphrodisiac, to increase the appetite, and occasionally to induce 
the cataleptic state. In overdoses it may produce poisonous effects. In morbid 
states of the system, it has been found to cause sleep, to allay spasm, to com- 
pose nervous inquietude, and to relieve pain. In these respects, it resembles 
opium; but it differs from that narcotic in not diminishing the appetite, check- 
ing the secretions, or constipating the bowels. It is much less certain in its 
eflects ; but may sometimes be preferably employed, when opium is contrain- 
dicated by its nauseating or constipating effects, or its disposition to produce 
headache, and to check the bronchial secretion. The complaints in which it 
* From the effects on the system of the exhalations from fresh hemp, it was a very pro- 
bable supposition that the plant owed its medical properties, in part at least, to a volatile 
principle. By repeated distillation of the same portion of water from relatively large 
quantities of hemp renewed at each distillation, M. J. Personne obtained a volatile oil, of 
a stupefying odour, and an action on the system such as to dispose him to think that it 
was the active principle of the plant. As the water distilled was strongly alkaline, he 
supposed that this volatile principle might he a new alkaloid; hut the alkaline reaction 
was found to depend on ammonia; and the liquid obtained proved to he a volatile oil, 
lighter than water, of a deep-amber colour, a strong smell of hemp, and composed of two 
distinct oils, one colourless, with the formula the other a hydrate of the first. For 
the former M. Personne proposes the name of cannabene. "When this is inhaled, or taken 
into the stomach, a singular excitement is felt throughout the system, followed by a de- 
pression, sometimes amounting to syncope, with hallucinations which are generally dis- 
agreeable, but an action on the whole slighter and more fugitive than that of the resin. 
The pure resin of the Messrs. Smith, M. Personne considers to be complex, depending 
on volatile principles for its activity, deprived of which at a temperature of about £00° C., 
it becomes quite inert. (Journ. de Pharm., A.D. 1857, p. 4G.)—Note to the twelfth ediiiun. PART I. 
Extractum Cannabis.—Extractum Giycyrrhizx. 
395 
has been specially recommended are neuralgia, gout, rheumatism, tetanus, hy 
drophobia, epidemic cholera, convulsions, chorea, hysteria, mental depression, 
delirium tremens, insanity, and uterine hemorrhage. It has been found to cure 
obstinate intermittent fever, given before the paroxysm. Dr. Alexander Christi- 
son, of Edinburgh, has found it to have the property of hastening and increasing 
the contractions of the uterus in delivery, and has employed it with advantage 
for this purpose. It acts very quickly, and without anaesthetic effect. It ap- 
pears, however, to exert this influence only in a certain proportion of cases. (Ed. 
Month. Journ. of Med. Sci, xiii 117, and xv. 124.) The strength of the extract 
varies much as found in commerce; and therefore no definite dose can be fixed. 
When it is of good quality half a grain or a grain will affect the system. The 
Messrs. Smith found two-thirds of a grain of their extract to produce powerful 
narcotic effects. In some instances it will be necessary to give as much as ten 
or twelve grains of the extract; and half an ounce of it has been taken without 
sensible effect. The proper plan is to begin with one-quarter or half a grain, 
repeated at intervals of two, three, or four hours, and gradually increased until 
its influence is felt, and the strength of the parcel employed is thus ascertained. 
Afterwards the dose will be regulated by the ascertained strength; but, should 
a new parcel be employed, the same caution must be observed as to the com- 
mencing dose. A tincture is prepared by dissolving six drachms of the extract 
in a pint of alcohol. The dose of this, equivalent to a grain of the extract, is 
about twenty minims, or forty drops. Dr. O’Shauglmessy gave ten drops every 
half hour in cholera, and a fluidrachm every half hour in tetanus. As the resin 
is precipitated by water, the tincture should be administered in mucilage or 
sweetened water. Alarming effects have been produced by overdoses.* 
Off. Prep. Extractum Cannabis Purificatum, U. S.; Tinctura Cannabis In> 
dicae, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM GLYCYRRHIZiE. U.S.,Br. 
Liquorice. 
The extract of the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra. U. S. 
Extrait de reglisse, Fr.; Siissholzsaft, Germ.; Sugo di liquirizia, Ital.; Regaliza en 
hollos, Span. 
For an account of Glycyrrhiza glabra, see article GLYCYRRHIZA. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives directions for preparing this extract; but, 
as it is seldom made in this country by the apothecary, it is very properly 
placed, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in the catalogue of the Materia Medica. 
The British directions are to macerate an avoirdupois pound of liquorice 
root, in coarse powder, for twelve hours, in two pints of distilled water, strain 
and press; again to macerate the pressed marc with distilled water for six 
hours, strain and press; then to mix the strained liquors, heat to 212°, strain 
through flannel; and finally evaporate, by means of a water-bath, to a proper 
consistence for forming pills The object in heating the infusion to 212° is to 
coagulate the albumen, and thus exclude it from the extract. 
Liquorice is an article of export from the north of Spain, particularly Cata- 
lonia, where it is obtained in the following manner. The roots of the G glabra, 
having been dug up, thoroughly cleansed, and half dried by exposure to the air, 
are cut into small pieces, and boiled in water till the liquid is saturated. The 
decoction is then allowed to rest, and, after the dregs have subsided, is decanted, 
and evaporated to the proper consistence. The extract, thus prepared, is formed 
into rolls from five to six inches long by an inch in diameter, which are dried 
in the air, and wrapped in laurel leaves. 
Much liquorice is also prepared in Calabria, according to M. Fee, from the 
* A preparation of hemp has been recommended as an anodyne liniment in painful af- 
fections, made by heating together for five or six hours upon a salt-water hath one part 
of the bruised tops of Indian hemp and two parts of the oil of hempseed, and then ex- 
pressing and filtering. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1863, p. 239.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 396 
Extractum Glycyrrhizse. 
part i. 
O. echinata, which abounds in that country. The process is essentially the same 
as that just described, but conducted with greater care; and the Italian liquorice 
is purer and more valuable than the Spanish. We have been informed that most 
of the extract brought to this country comes from the ports of Leghorn and 
Messina. It is in cylinders, generally somewhat smaller than the Spanish, and 
sometimes stamped with the manufacturer’s name.* Perhaps in no part of the 
world is more liquorice consumed than in this country; from four to five thou- 
sand tons having been imported annually before the war. Much of it is used 
in the manufacture of tobacco. (Am. Journ. of Pharm , Sept. 1862, p. 449.) 
Crude liquorice is in cylindrical rolls, somewhat flattened, and often covered 
with bay leaves. We have seen it in the London market in large cubical masses. 
When good, it is very black, dry, brittle, breaking with a shining fracture, of a 
very sweet, peculiar, slightly acrid or bitterish taste, and almost entirely soluble 
when pure in boiling water. Neumann obtained 460 parts of aqueous extract 
from 480 parts of Spanish liquorice. It is, however, considerably less soluble 
in cold water. It is often impure from accidental or fraudulent addition, or care- 
less preparation. Starch, sand, the juice of prunes, &c. are sometimes added; 
and carbonaceous matter, and even particles of copper are found in it, the latter 
arising from the boilers in which the decoction is evaporated. Four pounds of 
the extract have yielded two drachms and a half of metallic copper. (Fee.) In 
dilferent commercial specimens examined by Chevallier, he found from 9 to 50 
per cent, of insoluble matter. (Journ. de Pharm. ,xxx 429.) This is by no means, 
however, always impurity. In the preparation of the extract by decoction, a 
portion of matter originally insoluble, or rendered so by decoction, is taken up, 
and is, in fact, necessary to the proper constitution of the liquorice. When this 
is prepared with cold water, or even with hot water by simple displacement, the 
extract attracts moisture from the air, becomes soft, and loses the character- 
istic brittleness of the drug. The additional substances taken up in decoction 
serve to protect the extract against this change. M. Delondre has obtained the 
same result by using steam as the solvent. He prepares from the root an excel- 
lent liquorice, having all the requisite qualities of colour, taste, and permanence, 
bypassing steam, in suitable vessels, through the coarse powder of the root. The 
vapour thoroughly penetrates the powder, and is drawn off as it condenses. 
With about 500 lbs of the root, this treatment is continued for 12 hours, and 
repeated at the end of 5 days. The liquors are collected, decanted, clarified with 
about 4 lbs. of gelatin, and quickly evaporated. After being put into the form 
of cylinders, the extract is kept for ten days in a drying room, at a temperature of 
7 7°. (Ibid., p. 433.) A bitter or empyreumatic taste is a sign of inferior quality 
in liquorice. As ordinarily found in commerce it requires to be purified. 
The refined liquorice, kept in the shops in small cylindrical pieces not thicker 
than a pipe stem, is prepared by dissolving the impure extract in water without 
boiling, straining the solution, and evaporating. The object of this process is 
to separate not only the insoluble impurities, but also the acrid oleo-resinous 
substance, which is extracted by long boiling from the liquorice root, and is 
necessarily mixed with the unrefined extract. It is customary to add, during 
the process, a portion of sugar, gum, flour, starch, or perhaps glue. These ad- 
ditions, or something equivalent, are necessary to obviate the deliquescent pro- 
perty of the pure liquorice. According to M. Delondre, 15 per cent, of gum is 
the proper proportion, when this substance is used; Dr. Geisler has found the 
* Much liquorice is prepared in this country, chiefly at the laboratory of the Messrs. 
Tilden, at New Lebanon, Columbia Co., New York. The best roots being selected, 
are ground into a coarse powder, which is submitted to the action of condensing steam, 
so as to make a concentrated infusion, which is then evaporated without access of air. 
The extract is prepared in three forms: 1, in boxes containing 25lbs. in which it solidifies 
in mass; 2, in small rolls of 80 to the pound; and 3, in lozenges like those of the Pontefract 
liquorice. (See the next page.) In the two latter forms, the addition of gum arabic is neces- 
sary to give the extra it a proper consistence; as, without this, it softens in warm weather, 
so as not to retain its form. It is much lighter-coloured than the imported liquorice, but 
darkens on exposure. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 811.)—Note to the eleventh edition- PART I. 
Extraction Glycyrrhizae.—Farina. 
397 
sugar of milk to lessen the disposition of the extract to absorb moisture: but 
he considers the best addition, on the whole, to be very finely powdered liquor- 
ice root, which should be used in the proportion of one part to 16 of the puri- 
fied extract. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., xxviii. 225 ) The preparation is sometimes 
attacked by small worms, probably in consequence of the farinaceous additions. 
Excellent liquorice is prepared, in some parts of England, from the root culti- 
vated in that country. The Pontefract cakes are small lozenges of liquorice of 
superior quality, made in the vicinity of Pomfret. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liquorice is a useful demulcent, much em- 
ployed in cough mixtures, and frequently added to infusions or decoctions, 
in order to cover the taste or obtund the acrimony of the principal medicine. 
A piece of it, held in the mouth and allowed slowly to dissolve, is often found to 
allay cough by sheathing the irritated membrane of the fauces. It is used in 
pharmacy to impart consistence to pills and troches, and to modify the taste of 
other medicines. Much is also used in the preparation of tobacco for chewing. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae, Br.; Deeoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; 
Mistura Glycyrrhizae Composita, U. S.; Mistura Sennae Composita, Br.; Tinc- 
tura Aloes; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, U.S.; Trochisci Glycyrrhizae et Opii, 
U. S.; Trochisci Cubebae, U. S.; Trochisci Opii, Br. W. 
FARINA. 
Wheat Flour. 
Off. Syn. FARINA TRITICI. Wheat Flour. The grain of wheat, TritI 
cum vulgare, ground and sifted. Br. 
Farine de Froment, Fr.; Waizenmehl, Germ.; Farina di frumento, Italy Flor del 
trigo, Aeemite, Span. 
Tritioum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Graminaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx two-valved, solitary, transverse, many-flowered, on a flex 
uose, toothed receptacle. Rees's Cyclopaedia 
Triticum hyhernum. Willd. Sp Plant, i. 471.— T. vulgare, var. /?. hyber- 
num. Kunth, Gramin. 438. The common winter wheat has a fibrous root and 
one or more erect, round, smooth, jointed stems, which rise from three to five 
feet in height, -and are furnished with linear, pointed, entire, flat, many-ribbed, 
rough, somewhat glaucous leaves, and jagged bearded stipules. The flowers 
are in a solitary, terminal, dense, smooth spike, two or three inches long. The 
calyx is four-flowered, tumid, imbricated, abrupt, with a short compressed 
point. In the upper part of the spike it is more elongated; and in this situation 
the corolla is more or less awned. The grain is imbricated in four rows. 
The native country of wheat is unknown ; but its cultivation is supposed to 
have spread from Sicily over Europe. It is now an object of culture in almost 
all countries having a temperate climate. Sown in the autumn, it stands the 
winter, and ripens its seeds in the following summer. Numerous varieties have 
been produced by cultivation, some of which are usually described as distinct 
species. Among these may perhaps be ranked T. aestivum, or spring wheat, 
distinguished by its long beards, and T. compositum, or Egyptian wheat, by 
its compound spikes. The seeds are too well known to need description. They 
are prepared for use by grinding and sifting, by which the interior farinaceous 
part is separated from the husk. The former is divided according to its fine- 
ness into different portions, but so far as regards its medical relations may be 
considered under one head, that of farina or four. The latter is called bran, 
and constitutes from 25 to 33 per cent. 
Flour is white, inodorous, and nearly insipid. Its chief constituents are 
starch, gluten, albumen, saccharine matter, and gum, the proportions of which 
are not constant. Yauquelin obtained, as an average product, from eight varie- 
ties of flour which he examined, 10 25 per cent, of water, 10 80 of gluten (in- 
cluding coagulated albumen), 68-08 of starch, 5'61 of sugar, and 411 of gum. 
According to Christison, subsequent experiments have given an average of 16 398 
Farina. 
PART I. 
or It per cent, of gluten and albumen. The ashes of wheat, which amount only 
to about O'15 per cent., contain, according to Henry, superphosphates of soda, 
lime, and magnesia. The gummy substance found in wheat flour is not precisely 
identical with ordinary gum ; as it contains nitrogen, and does not yield mucic 
acid by the action of nitric acid. The starch, which is by far the most abund- 
ant ingredient, is much employed in a separate state. (See Amylum.) The glu- 
ten, however, is not less important; as it is to the large proportion of this prin- 
ciple in wheat flour, that it owes its superiority over that from other grains for 
the preparation of bread. The gluten here alluded to is the substance first no- 
ticed as a distinct principle by Beccaria It is the soft, viscid, fibrous mass which 
remains, when wheat flour, enclosed in a linen bag, is exposed to the action of 
a stream of water, and at the same time pressed with the fingers till the liquor 
comes away colourless. But this has been ascertained to consist, in fact, of two 
different substances When boiled in alcohol, one portion of it is dissolved, 
while another remains unaffected. Einhof ascertained that the part of the glu- 
tinous mass left behind by alcohol is identical with vegetable albumen, while 
the dissolved portion only is strictly entitled to the name of gluten, w’hich had 
been previously applied to the whole mass. As these two principles are con- 
tained in numerous vegetable products, and as they are frequently referred to 
in this work, it is proper that they should be briefly noticed. They both contain 
nitrogen, and both, when left to themselves in a moist state, undergo putrefac- 
tion. From these circumstances, and from close resemblance to certain proxi- 
mate animal principles in chemical habitudes and relations, they are sometimes 
called, in works on chemistry, vegeto-animal substances. They are separated 
from each other by boiling the gluten of Beccaria, above referred to, with suc- 
cessive portions of alcohol, till the liquid, filtered while yet hot, ceases to be- 
come turbid on cooling. The proper gluten dissolves, and may be obtained by 
adding water to the solution, and distilling off the alcohol. Large cohering 
flakes float in the liquor, which, when removed, form a viscid elastic mass, con- 
sisting of the substance in question with slight impurity. The part left behind 
by the alcohol is coagulated albumen. 
Pure gluten, sometimes called vegetable fibrin, is a pale yellow, adhesive, 
elastic substance, which, by drying, becomes more deeply yellow and translu- 
cent. It is almost insoluble in water, and quite insoluble in ether; and in the oils 
both fixed and volatile. Hot alcohol dissolves it much more readily than cold; 
and from its solution in boiling alcohol it separates unchanged when the liquor 
cools. It is soluble in the dilute acids, and in caustic alkaline solutions, in con- 
sequence of forming soluble compounds with the acids and alkalies. With the 
earths and metallic oxides it forms nearly insoluble compounds, which are pre- 
cipitated when earthy or metallic salts are added to the solution of gluten in liquid 
potassa. Corrosive sublimate precipitates it from its acid as well as alkaline 
solutions, and, added in solution to moist gluten, forms a compound with it, 
which, when dry, is hard, opaque, and incorruptible. Gluten is precipitated by 
infusion of galls. Its name originated in its adhesive property. It exists in 
most farinaceous grains, and in the seeds of some leguminous plants. 
Vegetable albumen is destitute of adhesiveness, and, when dried, is opaque, 
and of a white, gray, or brown colour. Before coagulation, it is soluble in water, 
but insoluble in alcohol. By heat it coagulates and becomes insoluble in water. 
It is dissolved by solutions of the caustic alkalies. Most of the acids, if added 
to its solution in excess, precipitate compounds of the acids respectively with 
the albumen, which, though soluble in pure water, are insoluble in that liquid 
when acidulated. It is not, however, precipitated by an excess of phosphoric or 
acetic acid. Its relations to the earthy and metallic salts are similar to those of 
gluten. Corrosive sublimate precipitates it from its solutions, except from those 
in phosphoric and acetic acids, and, when added in a state of solution to moist 
albumen, forms with it a hard, opaque compound. It is also precipitated by infu- 
sion of galls. This principle derived its name from its very close resemblance to 
animal albumen. It is associated with gluten in most of the farinaceous grains, PART i. 
Farina. —Ferm entum. 
399 
is a constituent of all the seeds which form a milky emulsion with water, and 
exists in all the vegetable juices which coagulate by heat. 
The mixture of vegetable fibrin and albumen which constitutes the gluten of 
Beccaria, exercises an important influence over starch, which, with the presence 
of water, and the aid of a moderate heat, it converts partly into gum and partly 
into sugar. The production of saccharine matter in the germination of seeds 
and in malting, which is an example of germination, is thus explained. The 
gluten becomes acid in the process, and loses the property of reacting on starch. 
It is thought by many chemists that vegetable albumen is identical in all re- 
spects with animal albumen, and the gluten of vegetables with animal fibrin; 
and that both these principles, as well as another named casein, found also both 
in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, consist of a principle named protein, 
combined with a very small proportion of mineral substances, such as sulphur 
and phosphorus. Protein consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
and its formula, according to Liebig, is C4?IIS(,NBOu. It is procured by dissolving 
any one of the substances above named in a strong solution of potassa, keeping 
the solution for some time at a heat of 120°, and precipitating with acetic acid. 
It is scarcely necessary to state that bread is formed by making flour into a 
paste with water, with the addition of yeast, setting it aside to ferment, and 
then exposing it to the heat of an oven. The fermentation excited by the yeast 
is accompanied with the extrication of carbonic acid gas, which, being retained 
by the tenacity of the gluten, forms innumerable little cells throughout the 
mass, and thus renders the bread light. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wheat flour in its unaltered state is seldom 
used in medicine. It is sometimes sprinkled on the skin in erysipelatous inflam- 
mation, and various itching or burning eruptions, particularly the nettlerash; 
though rye flour is generally preferred for this purpose. 
Bread is more employed. An infusion of toasted bread in water is a nutritive 
drink, well adapted to febrile complaints. Within our experience, no drink has 
been found more grateful in such cases than this infusion, sweetened with a 
little molasses, and flavoured by lemon-juice. Boiled with milk, bread forms a 
good emollient poultice, which maybe improved by the addition of a little per- 
fectly fresh lard. Slices of it steeped in lead water, and the crumb mixed with 
the fluid and confined within gauze, afford convenient modes of applying this 
preparation to local inflammations The crumb (mica panis) is, moreover, fre- 
quently used to give bulk to minute doses of very active medicines, administered 
in the form of pill. It should be recollected that it always contains common salt, 
which is incompatible with certain substances, as, for example, nitrate of silver. 
Bran is sometimes used in decoction, as a demulcent in catarrhal affections 
and complaints of the bowels. When taken in substance, it is laxative, and may 
be used with advantage to prevent costiveness. Bran bread, made from the 
unsifted flour, is an excellent laxative article of diet in some dyspeptic cases. 
The action of the bran is probably mechanical, consisting in the irritation pro- 
duced upon the mucous membrane of the bowels by its coarse particles. Bran 
also forms an excellent demulcent bath. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Fermenti, Br. W. 
FERMENTUM. U.S. 
Yeast. 
Off. Syn. CEREVISIA5 FERMENTUM. Beer Yeast. The ferment oh 
tamed in brewing beer. Br. 
Levure, Fr.; Bierhefen, Germ.; Fermento di cervogia, Ital.; Espuma de cerveza, Span. 
This is the substance which rises, in the form of froth, to the surface of beer, 
and subsides, during the process of fermentation. A similar substance is pro- 
duced during the fermentation of other saccharine liquids. 
It is flocculent, frothy, somewhat viscid, semifluid, of a dirty yellowish colour, 
a sour vinous odour, and a bitter taste. At the temperature of 60° or 70°, iD 400 
Fermentum. 
PART I. 
a close vessel or damp atmosphere, it soon undergoes putrefaction Exposed 
to a moderate heat, it loses its liquid portion, becomes dry, hard, and brittle, 
and may in this state be preserved for a long time, though with the loss of much 
of its peculiar power. In France it is brought to the solid state by introducing 
it into sacks, washing it with water, then submitting it to pressure, and ulti- 
mately drying it.* 
Yeast is insoluble in alcohol or water. It was analyzed by Westrumb, and 
found to contain, in 15,142 parts, 13 of potassa, 15 of carbonic acid, 10 of acetic 
acid, 45 of malic acid, 69 of lime, 240 of alcohol, 120 of extractive, 240 of muci- 
lage, 315 of saccharine matter, 480 of gluten, 13,595 of water, besides traces of 
silica and phosphoric acid. Its bitterness is attributable to a principle derived 
from the hops. The property for which it is chiefly valued is that of exciting 
the vinous fermentation in saccharine liquids, and in various farinaceous sub- 
stances. This property it owes to its azotized ingredient; for, if separated from 
this, it loses its powers as a ferment, and reacquires them upon its subsequent 
addition. It is also rendered ineffective by strong alcohol, by several of the acids, 
as sulphuric and concentrated acetic acids, by various other substances, and by 
a heat of 212°. At a high temperature it is decomposed, affording products 
similar to those which result from the decomposition of animal matters. 
Examined with a microscope, yeast is seen to abound in minute transparent 
vesicles, which appear to contain one or more granules. These are now believed 
to be a fungous plant, which has the power of propagating itself at the expense 
of organic proximate principles with which it may be brought into contact; and 
attempts have been made to solve the mysteries of fermentation by the conjec- 
ture, that the sugar or other fermenting substance, while contributing to the 
nourishment of the fungus, undergoes a decomposition resulting in the forma- 
tion of new products. Another theory, originally put forth by Liebig, is thal 
fermentation is merely a chemical movement, excited by a movement of decom- 
position going on in the ferment. Mulder considers the cell-wall of the yeas! 
* M. C. Gutkind, of Paris, recommends the following process for preparing bakers’ veast 
Barley, having been slightly malted, is dried in a rapid current of heated air, then reduced 
to fine flour without bolting, and placed in a vat, where it is made into dough with water 
of 104° F., and afterwards brought with water at the same temperature to the consistence 
of porridge. For each pound of flour about a pint and a half of water is required (100 
kilogrammes and 2 hectolitres). The porridge is heated in a boiler to 178° F., beyond 
which degree the temperature is not to be raised, and introduced into canvas bags, in 
which it is submitted to expression. The expressed liquid is put into large vats, whore 
it cools. The solid matter is again put into a vat, mixed with 2 pints of water at 114° F 
for each pound, and stirred into a porridge, which is then heated to 201° F., and kept so 
for an hour. The mass is put into bags and expressed; and the two expressed liquids are 
mixed, and exposed to the air in large vats for a period of time varying from two to ten 
days according to the atmospheric temperature. To cause the liquid to ferment, it is 
heated to 90° F., and a little fresh yeast added. During the whole period of fermenta- 
tion, which may be conducted in vats or vessels, an exterior temperature of at least 59° 
F. must be maintained. The yeast thus obtained is free from bitterness or acidity, is ex- 
tremely white, and consequently does not require washing, and is superior in raising 
power to all others. The residuary liquid after fermentation may be used for making 
vinegar. (Lond. Pfiarm. Journ., xiv. 331.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
Dried Yeast. For keeping, and for transmission from place to place, it is often desirable 
to have yeast in the dried state. Yeast cakes have appeared in commerce. They may be 
prepared by washing the ordinary yeast with water, expressing the liquid portion, and 
spreading out the residue, in thin layers, on linen or cotton cloth, in order to dry, in the 
sun, or in heated chambers, or on porous bricks to absorb the moisture. The layers may 
be cut in pieces of convenient shape, which may be occasionally turned to facilitate drying 
The following plan is recommended in the Chemical News (Aug. 29th, 1863, p. 109). To 
©very pound of the yeast, previously washed and drained, a drachm of pure carbonate of 
potassa or soda, and three drachms of officinal alcohol are to be added, the whole to be 
thoroughly mixed by stirring, and the mass thus prepared to be allowed to stand for half 
an hour, and then put into bags and expressed. Two drachms of solution of gelatin, in 
the form of a nearly cold jelly, are now to be thoroughly incorporated by kneading with 
the mixture, which is to be exposed for twelve hours in a cold place, for the complete 
solidification of the gelatin. The mass is, finally, to be cut into slices of the desired shape 
and size, and dried on muslin at ordinary temperatures. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Fermen turn..—Fcrrurn. 
401 
plant to consist of a substance analogous to cellulose, and its contents to be a 
protein body, differing in some respects from gluten and albumen, and pvobably 
a superoxide of protein. During fermentation, this protein body makes its way 
through the vesicular coat, undergoes decomposition by the agency of heat, and, 
in the act of decomposition, sets on foot the changes in sugar which result in 
the formation of alcohol and carbonic acid. (Chem Gazette, Feb 15, 1S45.)* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Yeast has been highly extolled as a remedy 
in low fevers of a typhoid character, and is said to have been given with ad- 
vantage in hectic. It is, however, little employed; as its somewhat tonic and 
stimulating effects, ascribable to the bitter principle of hops, the alcohol, and the 
carbonic acid, which are among its constituents, may be obtained with equal 
certainty from more convenient medicines. The late Dr. Hewson, of Philadel- 
phia, informed the authors that, in a case of typhoid fever, attended with great 
irritability of the stomach, the patient was benefited and sustained by taking 
a pint of yeast daily for tive days, during which period no other remedy was 
employed. We have used it with apparent advantage in diabetes. (See Trans, 
of Col. of Ph.ys. of Phil., N. S., i. 390.) It has also been recommended inter- 
nally in boils When largely taken, it generally proves laxative; and it may 
sometimes be necessary to obviate this effect by opium Externally applied, it 
is very useful in foul and sloughing ulcers, the fetor of which it corrects while it 
affords a gentle stimulus to the debilitated tissue. It is usually employed mixed 
with farinaceous substances in the form of a cataplasm. The dose is from half 
a fluidounce to two fluidounces every two or three hours. 
Pharm. Use. In preparing Acidum Citricum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Fermenti, Br. W. 
FERRUM. U.S.,Br. 
Iron. 
Wrought iron in the form of wire or nails, free from oxide. Br. 
For, Fr.; Eisen, Germ,.; Ferro, Ital.; Hierro, Span. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, this metal is employed in different preparations, 
in the form either of wire or filings; and each of these forms, therefore, will be 
* There can, we think, scarcely be a doubt, at present, that fermentation and the repro- 
duction of yeast are best explained upon the basis of an organic process. The germs of 
various microscopic plants, mucedinex, as they are called, are always floating in the air, 
which, incorporated with certain nitrogenous substances, such as albumen, gluten, &c., 
essential to their nutrition, constitute what are called ferments. These have the property, 
when mixed with other substances, of producing certain chemical changes, accompanied 
with phenomena called fermentation, and resulting in the decomposition of these sub- 
stances, and the production of new ones. Different plants produce different results, each 
giving rise to a peculiar fermentation, characterized by its own peculiar product. The 
vinous one of these. Yeast,containing its proper plant, Torulacerevisisc, mixed 
with a solution of sugar and water at a sufficient temperature, causes a decomposition ot 
the sugar, and the generation of alcohol and carbonic acid, with the phenomena of vinous 
fermentation, while the yeast itself, instead of being destroyed, is in fact greatly increased. 
The plants, by abstracting, in the process of their growth and reproduction, a portion of the 
constituents of the sugar, decompose this substance, the remaining constituents of which 
enter into new combinations, forming alcohol and carbonic acid. Thus the yeast is aug 
mented by the growth of the old and the abundant generation of new plants; and in this 
way, much better than in any other, is explained the singular phenomenon of the gene- 
ration of the new yeast. Pasteur has given a strong evidence of the truth of this explana- 
tion by the discovery, that, though the yeast plant, when exposed to the air, will grow 
fieely, yet it has comparatively little effect on the sugar, while, with the air excluded, it 
operates on this substance energetically. In the former case, it derives the oxygen neces- 
sary to its respiration from the air, in the latter, exclusively from the sugar. Opposed to 
this view is the asserted fact, that the alcohol and carbonic acid produced exactly repre- 
sent the sugar lost, which could not be if a part of the sugar were consumed as food by the 
plant. But this difficulty is removed by the consideration, that, as the plant exposed to 
the air, while absorbing oxygen, gives out carbonic acid, so, when it derives oxygen from 
the sugar, it yields an equivalent product of carbonic acid, the surplus carbon of the sugai 
being probably appropriated in the nutritive process. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 402 
Ferrum. 
PART i. 
briefly noticed in the following article; the general properties of the metal 
having been first considered. 
Iron is the most abundant and useful of the metals, and so interwoven with 
the wants of mankind, that the extent of its consumption by a nation may be 
taken as an index of its progress in civilization. It is universally diffused in na- 
ture, not only in the mineral, but also in the vegetable and animal kingdoms. 
There are very few minerals in which traces of it are not to be found, and it 
is an essential constituent in many parts of animals, but particularly in the blood. 
It is one of the few metals which are not deleterious to the animal economy. 
Iron occurs, 1. native; 2. sulphuretted, forming magnetic and cubic pyrites; 
3. oxidized, embracing the magnetic, specular, red, brown, and argillaceous ox- 
ides of iron; 4. in saline combination, forming carbonate, sulphate, phosphate, 
and arseniate of iron. Those minerals of iron which admit of being worked to' 
advantage are called iron ores. These include the different native oxides, and 
the,carbonate (sparry iron). The best iron is obtained from varieties of the na- 
tive oxide, usually called magnetic iron ore and specular iron ore. These occur 
abundantly in Sweden, and furnish the superior iron of that country. As a gene' 
ral rule, those ores yield the best iron which occur in primitive formations. 
Extraction. The mode of extracting iron from its ores varies somewhat with 
the nature of the ore; but the general principles of the operation are the same 
for all. The ore, previously broken into small pieces and roasted, is exposed to 
the action of an intense heat, in contact with carbonaceous matter, such as char- 
coal, coke, or anthracite, and in connection with some flux, capable of fusing witn 
the impurities of the ore. The flux varies with the nature of the ore, and is 
generally either limestone or cla}r; limestone being employed when the ore is 
argillaceous, clay when it is calcareous. The flux, whatever it may be, enters into 
fusion with the impurities, and forms what is called the slag; while the carbona- 
ceous matter, acting on the oxide of iron, reduces it to the metallic state. The 
reduced metal, from its density, occupies the lower part of the furnace, and is 
protected from the action of the air by the melted slag which floats on its sur- 
face. When the reduction is completed, the slag is allowed to run out by a hole 
in the side of the furnace, and the melted metal by an aperture at the bottom, 
the latter being received into long triangular moulds, where it solidifies in masses, 
known in commerce by the name of pig or cast iron. In this state the metal is 
brittle and far from being pure; as it contains about 10 per cent, of carbon, with 
silicon, phosphorus, sulphur, calcium, aluminium, and sometimes manganese. 
It is purified, and brought to the state of malleable iron, by being fused, and 
subjected, while stirred, to the action of a current of air on its surface. By these 
means the carbon is nearly burnt out, and the other impurities are oxidized and 
made to rise to the surface as a slag. As the metal approaches to purity, it be- 
comes tough and less liqnid, and its particles agglutinate so as to form semi-fused 
lumps, though the temperature of the furnace continues the same. These lumps 
are then taken out of the furnace, and their particles, by means of ponderous 
hammers moved by steam or water power, or by great pressure, are forced to- 
gether so as to form one tenacious mass. The metal is finally rolled out into 
bars of a convenient size, when it constitutes the malleable iron of commerce 
Tory pure malleable iron is now manufactured by the new process of Mr. W 
Bessamer, from the crude metal while still in a state of fusion, by running it into 
a separate vessel, and there subjecting it to a blast of atmospheric air. The car- 
bon is thus burnt out; and by the heat generated the temperature of the fused 
metal is increased, with the effect of dissipatingthe volatile impurities, such as 
sulphur, &c., and of burning some of the iron into oxide, which, fusing with the 
earthy impurities, separates them in the form of slag. The loss of weight is 18 
per cent., against 28 per cent, by the old process. (Phann. Jonrn., Sept. 1856.) 
Iron mines occur in most countries, but more particularly in northern ones. 
In Spain, the principal mines furnish sparry iron, and the red and brown oxides. 
The chief iron ores of France are the sparry iron, and the specular brown, and 
argillaceous oxides; of Germany, the sparry iron and brown oxide. The island 
of Elba is celebrated for its rich and abundant specular iron ore. PART I. 
Ferrum. 
403 
In the United States iron is abundant. The principal ores that are worked are 
the magnetic, brown, and argillaceous oxides. They occur in the greatest abund- 
ance in the Statesof New Hampshire,Massachusetts, Rhode Island,Connecticut, 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The ores of the three last-mentioned 
States rival the best Swedish in quality. 
Properties. Iron is a hard, malleable, ductile, and tenacious metal, of a gray- 
ish-white colour and fibrous texture, a slightly styptic taste, and asensibleodour 
when rubbed. In tenacity it yields only to nickel and cobalt. (Demile.) Its sp. 
gr. is about 7 *7, and its fusing point very high. It possesses the magnetic and 
welding properties. It is combustible, and, when heated to whiteness, burns in 
atmospheric air, and with brilliant scintillations in oxygen gas. At a red heat, 
its surface is converted into black oxide, and at common temperatures, bv the 
combined agency of air and moisture, it becomes covered with a reddish mat- 
ter, called rust, which is the rated sesquioxide. It combines with all the non- 
metallic elements, except hydrogen and nitrogen, and with most of the metals. 
Its eq. is 28 and symbol Fe. It forms three principal compounds with oxygen, 
a protoxide and sesquioxide, which, by their union, form the native black oxide, 
and a teroxide, possessing acid properties, called ferric acid. The protoxide is 
of a dark-blue colour, attracted by the magnet, and spontaneously combustible 
in the air, being converted into sesquioxide. It is the base of green vitriol, and 
of the green salts of iron generally. It is very prone to absorb oxygen ; and 
hence the salts which contain it are soon partially converted, when in solution, 
into salts of the sesquioxide. It consists of one eq. of iron 28, and one of oxygen 
8 = 36. The sesquioxide is readily obtained by dissolving iron in nitromuriatic 
acid, precipitating by ammonia, and ignitingthe precipitate. It is of a red colour, 
not attracted by the magnet, and forms salts, which for the most part have a red- 
dish colour. It is composed of two eqs. of iron 56, and three of oxygen 24 = 80. 
An allotropic variety of the sesquioxide, soluble in water, and not responding to 
the ordinary tests of iron, has been discovered by M. Pean de Saint-Gilles. The 
native black oxide, the magnetic oxide of mineralogists, consists of one eq. of 
protoxide 36, and one of sesquioxide 80 = 116. Under the name of Ferri Oxi- 
dum Magneticum, the British Pharmacopoeia has a preparation consisting of 
this oxide with three eqs. of water. The teroxide or ferric acid, discovered 
by Fremy, may be obtained, in union with potassa, by passing chlorine through 
a very concentrated solution of the alkali, holding the hydrated sesquioxide 
in suspension. This acid consists of one eq. of iron 28, and three of oxygen 
24 = 52. Iron, combined with a minute proportion of carbon, and perhaps of 
silicon and aluminium, forms steel, a modification of iron formerly used in medi- 
cine. It also forms a number of important salts, several of which are officinal. 
Iron is readily detected, even in minute quantities, by bringing it to the 
state of sesquioxide in solution, and adding ferrocyanide of potassium or tinc- 
ture of galls ; the former of which will strike a deep-blue, the latter a black 
colour. The object of bringing it to the state of sesquioxide is readily effected 
by boiling the solution containing it with a little nitric acid. 
General Therapeutic Effects of Iron. The preparations of iron are pre- 
eminently tonic, and peculiarly well fitted to improve the quality of the bloo.l, 
when impoverished from any cause. Hence they are useful in diseases charac- 
terized by debility, especially when the consequence of inordinate discharges. 
The diseases in which they are usually employed are chronic anasmia or chlo- 
rosis, hysteria,fluor albus, scrofula, rickets, passive hemorrhages, dyspepsia when 
dependent on deficient energy of the digestive function, and neuralgia. .They 
are contraindicated in all inflammatory diseases, producing, when injudiciously 
employed, heat, thirst, headache, difficulty of breathing, and other symptoms 
of an excited circulation. In order to understand their effect in improving the 
blood, it must be borne in mind that this fluid always contains iron, as an es- 
sential constituent of the red corpuscles. The amount in ten thousand parts of 
blood, according to different authorities, is 2-3 parts (Le Canu), 2 4 (Denis), 
55 (Becquerel and Rodier), 87 (Poggiale), mean 47. In antemia the blood 404 
Ferrum. 
PART I. 
is deficient in iron, not because the red corpuscles contain leas of the metal, 
for they, individually considered, always contain the normal quantity; but 
because there are fewer of them. (Becquerel and Rodier.) The question here 
arises, which are the preparations of iron best adapted to promote the forma- 
tion of the red constituent of the blood, and what are the conditions of their 
administration most favourable to their efficient action ? According to M. Bou- 
chardat, the preparations most easily assimilated are metallic iron and the 
protoxide; and, when the latter is in saline combination, it should be united 
either with carbonic acid, or with some organic acid. He holds that, when the 
iron is combined with a mineral acid, such as the sulphuric or phosphoric, the 
preparation acts solely as an astringent. Quevenne did not go so far as this, 
but believed that the mineral acid salts were not well adapted for assimilation, 
and that they were less so in proportion to their astringent power. 
Quevenne laid it down as a rule, that, when the iron preparations are given 
with the view of improving the blood, they should be taken with the meals, 
and not on an empty stomach. Doses, thus given, were well borne, which often 
caused uneasiness and pain, when taken fasting. The gastric juice of the empty 
stomach is usually alkaline; and Quevenne proved thatreduced iron,introduced, 
through a fistulous opening, into the stomach of fasting dogs, was not acted on, 
and was without effect in exciting the secretion. The juice, during digestion, is 
acid, and has been shown by the experiments of Quevenne to be in a favourable 
state for dissolving iron. The ferruginous preparations, it is true, were found 
to be unequally soluble; for, while iron filings were freely soluble, the subcar- 
bonate of iron was but slightly attacked. It was observed that the acidity of 
the gastric juice was but little diminished by the solution of the iron ; which 
fact can be explained only by supposing that the presence of the metal caused a 
nearly proportional increase of the acid secretion. Assuming these observations 
to be accurate, it is easy to perceive why the ferruginous preparations should 
be taken with the food, selecting of course those most soluble in the gastric 
juice. The digested iron, being intimately blended with the digested food, is 
in a favourable state to fulfil its indispensable agency in sanguification. 
In the use of ferruginous preparations, it is often necessary to persevere for 
several months, in order to reap the fullest benefit. Even after the cure appears 
to be accomplished, it is safest to continue them, in diminishing doses, for a 
considerable time. For further information on the properties of iron, the reader 
is referred to the able memoir of the late T. A. Quevenne, entitled Memoir sur 
VAction Physiologique et Therapeutique des Ferrugineux (Paris, 1854). 
The following table embraces all the preparations of iron to be found in the 
United States and British Pharmacopoeias, together with their synouymes. 
Iron is officinal— 
I. In the metallic state. 
Ferrum, U.S.,Br. — Iron. 
Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Br.—Aromatic Mixture of Iron. 
Yinum Ferri, Br.— Wine of Iron. 
Ferrum Redactum, U. S., Br. — Reduced Iron. Powder of Iron. 
Trochisci Ferri Redacti, Br. — Reduced Iron Lozenges. 
II. Oxidized. 
Ferri Oxidum Ilydratum, U.S.; Ferri Peroxidum Humidum, Br.— Hy- 
drated Oxide of Iron. Moist Peroxide of Iron. 
Ferri Oxidum Magneticum, Br. — Magnetic Oxide of Iron. 
Ferri Peroxidum Ilydratum, Br. — Hydrated Peroxide of Iron. 
Emplastrum Ferri, Br. — Chalybeate Plaster. 
Ill Sulphuretted. 
Ferri Sulphuretum, U.S. — Sulphuret of Iron. PART i. 
Ferrum. 
405 
IYr. In saline combination. 
Tinctura Ferri Acetatis, Br.— Tincture of Acetate of Iron. 
Ferri Arsenias, Br.—Arseniate of Iron. 
Ferri Carbonas Saccharata, Br. — Saccharated Carbonate of Iron. 
Pilula Ferri Carbonatis, Br. — Pill of Carbonate of Iron. 
Pilulae Ferri Carbonatis, U.S.—Pills of Carbonate of Iron. ValleVs 
ferruginous Pills. 
Pilulae Ferri Compositae, U.S.— Compound Pills of Iron. 
Ferri Chloriclum, U.S. — Chloride of Iron. 
Tinctura Ferri Cbloridi, U. S. — Tincture of Chloride of Iron. 
Ferri Citras, U.S.— Citrate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Citratis, U.S. — Solution of Citrate of Iron. 
Yinura Ferri Citratis, Br.— Wine of Citrate of Iron. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Citras, U.S., Br. — Citrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Sulphas, U. S. — Sulphate of Iron and Ammonia 
Ammonio-ferric Alum. 
Ferri et Ammoniae Tartras, U. S.— Tartrate of Iron and Ammonia. 
Ferri et Potassae Tartras, U.S.; Ferrum Tartaratum, Br.— Tartrate of 
Iron and Potassa. Tartarated Iron. 
Ferri et Quiniae Citras, Br.— Citrate of Iron and Quinia. 
Ferri et Quiniae Sulphas, U. S. — Sulphate of Iron and Quinia. 
Ferri Ferrocyanidum, U.S —Ferrocyanide of Iron Pure Prussian Blue. 
Potassii Ferrocyanidum, U. S.; Potassae Prussias Flava, Br. — Ferro- 
cyanide of Potassium. Yellow Prussiate of Potassa. 
Pilula Ferri Iodidi, Br. — Pill of Iodide of Iron. 
Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, U.S. ■—Pills of Iodide of Iron. 
Syrupus Ferri Iodidi, U. S., Br. — Syrup of Iodide of Iron. 
Ferri Iodidum, Br. —Iodide of Iron. 
Ferri Lactas, U.S. — Lactate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U. S.; Liquor Ferri Pernitratis, Br. — Solution 
of Nitrate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Perchloridi Fortior, Br. — Strong Solution of Perchlo- 
ride of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Perchloridi, Br. — Solution of Per chloride of Iron. 
Tinctura Ferri Perchloridi, Br. — Tincture of Per chloride of Iron. 
Ferri Phosphas, U. S., Br. — Phosphate of Iron. 
Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis, Br. — Syrup of Phosphate of Iron. 
Ferri Pyrophosphas, U.S. — Pyrophosphate of Iron. 
Ferri Subcarbonas, U. S —Subcarbonate of Iron. 
Emplastrum Ferri, U.S. — Plaster of Iron. Strengthening Plaster. 
Trochisci Ferri Subcarbonatis, U. S.— Troches of Subcarbonate of 
Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.— Solution of Subsulphate of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas, U. S., Br. — Sulphate of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas Exsiccata, U. S., Br. — Dried Sulphate of Iron. 
Mistura Ferri Composita, U. S., Br.— Compound Mixture of Iron. 
Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.— Granulated Sulphate of Iron. 
Liquor Ferri Tersulphatis, U.S.; Liquor Ferri Persulphatis, Br. — So- 
lution of Tersulphate of Iron. Solution of Persulphate of Iron. 
Iron Wire. Ferri Filum. U. S. 1850. 
Fil do fer, Fr.; Eisendraht, Germ,.; Fil di Ferro, Hal.; Hilo de hierro, Span. 
Iron Filings. Ferri Ramenta. U.S. 1850. Limatura Ferri. 
Limaillesde fer, Fr.; Eisenfeilicht, Germ.; Limatura di ferro, Ital.; Limatura de hierro, 
Span. 
Iron, when employed in pharmaceutical operations, should be of the purest 
kind; and hence the Pharmacopoeias generally direct it, when wanted in small 
masses, to be in the form of iron wire, which is necessarily made from the purest, 
because the softest and most ductile iron, and is readily cut into pieces. 406 
Ferrum.—Ferri Sulphuretum. 
PART r. 
Iron filings are usually obtained from the workshops of the blacksmith ; but, 
as furnished from this source, they are generally very impure, and unfit for 
medicinal use. M. Gobley, upon examining thirty-six samples of iron filings, 
found but three exempt from copper. The rest, besides wood, sand, and oxide 
of iron, contained as high as 2 per cent, of this metal. Iron filings cannot 
be completely purified by the magnet; as they often have adhering to them bits 
of foreign matter, which are carried up with them. The only way to obtain 
them pure, is to file a piece of pure iron with a clean file. The French Codex 
directs iron in an impalpable powder, prepared by porphyrizing bright and 
clean iron filings without water. A dull black powder is formed, which must be 
carefully preserved from moisture. An impalpable powder of the metal, Fer- 
rum Redactum, obtained by reducing the sesquioxide by hydrogen, is officinal. 
Medical Uses. In the form of wire, iron is never used internally; in that of 
filings, it was formerly much employed. Though undoubtedly an efficacious 
remedy,iron filings have been entirely superseded by one of the forms of powdered 
iron which have lately been broughtinto use, and which have the great advan- 
tages of more entire purity and more ready solubility in the liquids of the sto- 
mach, while exempt, by their impalpable character, from the liability to produce 
irritation mechanically, which was objected against the filings. 
Pharm. Use. In preparing Potassii Bromidum, U. S. 
Off.Prep. Ferri Chloridum, U. S ; Ferri Iodidum, Br.; Ferri Lactas, U. S.; 
Ferri Sulphas; Ferri Sulphas Granulata, Br.; Liquor Ferri Nitratis, U.S.; 
Liquor Ferri Perchloridi Fortior, Br.; Liquor Ferri Pernitratis, Br.; Pilulaa 
Ferri lodidi; Syrupus Ferri Iodidi; Tinctura Ferri Chloridi, U. S. B. 
FERRI SULPIIURETUM. US. 
Sulphuret of Iron. 
“ Protosulphuret of Iron, prepared by melting together Iron in small pieces, 
and Sublimed Sulphur.” U. S. 
This has been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as the material from 
which sulphuretted hydrogen may be obtained, which, though not officinal, is in 
constant use as a reagent, and is often employed with great advantage in pro- 
cesses for isolating the active principles of medicinal substances. 
The officinal sulphuret of iron is best prepared by bringing iron and sulphur 
into contact at a red or white heat. The following are the processes of the 
late Dublin and Edinburgh Pharmacopoeias. 
“ Take of rods of Iron, of the size employed in the manufacture of nails, any 
convenient number. Having raised them to a strong red or white heat, apply 
them in succession by their heated extremities to sticks of Sulphur, operating 
so that the melted Sulphuret, as it is formed, may drop into a stone cistern 
filled with water, and be thus protected from oxidation. The water being poured 
off, let the product be separated from the Sulphur with which it is mixed, and, 
when dried, let it be enclosed in a well stopped bottle.” Dub. 
“An inferior sort, good enough, however, for pharmaceutic purposes, is ob- 
tained by heating one part of Sublimed Sulphur and three of Iron Filings, in a 
crucible, in a common fire till the mixture begins to glow, and then removing 
the crucible, and covering it until the action, which at first increases considera- 
bly, shall come to an end.” Ed. 
Iron and sulphur form a number of sulphurets, among which the most im- 
portant are the protosulpburetand sesquisulphuret, corresponding with the prot- 
oxide and sesquioxide of iron, the bisulphuret or cubic pyrites, and magnetic 
pyrites, which is a compound of five eqs. of protosulphuret, and one of bisul- 
phuret. When the sulphuret is obtained by the application of solid sulphur to 
white-hot iron, the product corresponds with magnetic pyrites ; but, when pro- 
cured by heating flowers of sulphur with an excess of iron filings, as directed iD 
the above Edinburgh process, a protosulphuret is formed mixed with metallic PART I. 
Ferri Sulphur etum.—Ficus. 
407 
iron. When sulphur is applied to white-hot iron over water, the metal appears 
to become hotter, burns with scintillations in the vapour of the sulphur, and 
forms instantly the sulphuret, which, being comparatively fusible, melts into 
globules, and drops into the water, which serves to extinguish them. 
Properties, &c. The officinal sulphuret of iron has a yellowish colour and tlm 
metallic lustre. When obtained over water it is in the form of brownish-yellow 
globules, having a somewhat crystalline texture. When pure it furnishes a yel- 
low powder, and dissolves in dilute sulphuric or muriatic acid without leaving 
a residue of sulphur, and with the production of bydrosulphuric acid gas (sul- 
phuretted hydrogen), free from admixture of hydrogen. As prepared, howeve1; 
by the officinal processes, it is not entirely soluble in dilute sulphuric acid, a 
portion of uncombined sulphur being left. The fused globules have the compo- 
sition 5FeS + FeS2, or, according to some, 5FeS-f-Fe2S3. This sulphuret is em- 
ployed solely as a pharmaceutical agent for the production of bydrosulphuric 
acid. It yields this gas by reaction with diluted sulphuric acid. Water is decom- 
posed; its hydrogen combines with the sulphur to form bydrosulphuric acid, 
while the oxygen converts the iron into protoxide, with which the sulphuric 
acid unites. Hydrosulpliuric acid is a colourless gas, having a smell like that 
of putrid eggs. Its sp. gr. is I T 782. It saturates bases, with which it forms 
salts called hydrosulphates, sulphohydrates, or hydrosulphurets. It consists 
of one eq. of sulphur 16, and one of hydrogen 1 = 17 13. 
FICUS. U. JS.t Br. 
Fk/. 
The dried fruit of Ficus Carica. U. S., Br. 
Figues, Fr.; Feigen, Germ.; Fichi, ItaL; Higos, Span. 
Ficus. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Uioecia.—Nat. Orel. Urticaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Common receptacle turbinate, fleshy, converging, coneenhng the 
florets in the same or distinct individuals. Male. Calyx three parted. Corolla 
none. Stamens three. Female. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Pistil one. 
Seed one, covered with the closed, persistent, somewhat fleshy calyx. Willd. 
Ficus Carica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1131; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 714, t. 244. 
The fig-tree, though often not more than twelve feet high, sometimes rises in 
warm climates twenty-five or even thirty feet. Its trunk, which seldom exceeds 
seven inches in diameter, is divided into numerous spreading branches, covered 
with a brown or ash-coloured bark. Its large, palmate leaves, usually divided 
into five obtuse lobes, are deep-green and shining above, pale-green and downy 
beneath, and stand alternately on strong, round footstalks. The flowers are 
situated within a common receptacle, placed upon a short peduncle in the axils 
of the upper leaves. This receptacle, the walls of which become thick and fleshy, 
constitutes what is commonly called the fruit; though this term is, strictly 
speaking, applicable to the small seed-like bodies found in great numbers on the 
internal surface of the receptacle, to which they are attached by fleshy pedicels. 
Cultivation has produced in the fig, as in the apple and peach, a great diversity 
in shape, size, colour, and taste. It is usually, however, turbinate,.or top-shaped, 
umbilicate at the large extremity, of the size of a small pear, of a whitish, yel- 
lowish, or reddish colour, and of a mild, mucilaginous, saccharine taste. 
The fig-tree is supposed to have come originally from the Levant. It was in- 
troduced at a very early period into various parts of the south of Europe, and is 
now very common throughout the whole basin of the Mediterranean, particu- 
larly in Italy and France. To hasten the maturation of tbe fruit, it is custom- 
ary to puncture it with a sharp-pointed instrument covered with olive oil. The 
ancient process of caprification is still practised in the Levant. It consists in 
attaching branches of the wild fig-tree to the cultivated plant. The fruit of the 
former contains great numbers of the eggs of an inseefr of the genus Cynips, 
the larvae of which, as soon as they are hatched, spread themselves over the cul- 
tivated fruit, and, by conveying the pollen of the male organs over which they 408 
Ficus.—Filix Mas. 
PillT l. 
pass to the female florets, hasten the impregnation of the latter, and cause 
the fig to come quickly to perfection, which might otherwise ripen very slowly, 
or wither and drop off before maturity. Some authors attribute the effect to 
the piercing of the fruit by the young insects. According to I.anderer, the un- 
ripe fig contains an irritant juice, which inflames the skin, and may even disor- 
ganize it. (See Am Journ. of Pharm., xxxiii. 215.) 
The figs, when perfectly ripe, are dried by the heat of the sun or in ovens. 
Those imported into this country come chiefly from Smyrna, packed in drums 
or boxes. They are more or less compressed, and are usually covered in cold 
weather with a whitish saccharine efflorescence, which melts in the middle of 
summer, and regders them moist. The best are yellowish or brownish, some- 
what translucent when held to the light, and filled with a sweet viscid pulp, in 
which are lodged numerous small yellow seeds. They are much more saccha- 
rine than the fresh fruit. Their chief constituents are sugar and mucilage. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Figs are nutritious, laxative, and demulcent. 
In the fresh state they are considered in the countries where they grow a 
wholesome and agreeable aliment, and have been employed from time imme- 
morial. They are apt, however, when eaten freely, to produce flatulence, pain 
in the bowels, and diarrhoea. Their chief medical use is as a laxative article of 
diet in constipation. They occasionally enter into demulcent decoctions; and, 
when roasted or boiled, and split open, are sometimes applied as a suppurative 
cataplasm to parts upon which an ordinary poultice cannot be conveniently 
retained, as, for example, to the gums. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae. W. 
FILIX MAS. U.S.,Br. 
Male Fern. 
The rhizoma of Aspidium Filix mas. U. S. The dried rhizome with the bases 
of the footstalks, and portions of the root fibres of Aspidium Filix mas. Br. 
Fougere male, Fr.; Johanniswurzel, Germ.; Felce maschio, Hal.; Helecho, Span. 
Aspidium. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Filiees. — Nat. Ord. Filices, Jussieu. 
Filicales, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Fructification in roundish points, scattered, not marginal. Invo- 
lucre umbilicated, open almost on every side. Smith. 
The root of a species of Aspidium, growing in South Africa, has been used 
by the Kaffirs in the vicinity of Natal, by whom it is called inkomankomo, or 
uncomocomo as the name is given by Dr. Theodore Martius. The plant is the 
A. athamanticum, and the root has received the name of panna in Europe, 
where it was lirst brought into notice in 1851. It is probably in no respect 
.superior to the European species. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 447.) 
Aspidium Filix mas. Willd. Sp Plant, v. 259; Smith, Flor. Britan.—Ne- 
•ohrodium Filix mas. Lindley, Flor. Med. 619.—Poly podium Filix mas, Linn.; 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 795, t. 267. The male fern has a perennial, horizontal root 
>r rhizoma, from which numerous annual fronds or leaves arise, forming tufts 
tom a foot to,four feet in height. The stipe or footstalk, and midrib are thickly 
beset with brown, tough, transparent scales ; the frond itself is oval-lanceolate, 
acute, pinnate, and of a bright green colour. The pinnae or leaflets are remote 
below, approach more nearly as they ascend, and run together at the summit 
of the leaf They are deeply divided into lobes, which are of an oval shape, 
crenate at the edges, and gradually diminish from the base of the pinna to the 
apex. The fructification is in small dots on the back of each lobe, placed in two 
rows near the base, and distant from the edges. The plant is a native of Eu- 
rope, Asia, and the north of Africa. It is said also to be indigenous, growing in 
shady pine forests from New York to Virginia; but it may be doubted whether 
the American plant is identical with the European. 
The proper period for collecting the root is during the summer, when, accord- 
ing to M. Feschier. of Geneva, it abounds more in the active principle than at PART i. 
Filix Alas. 
409 
any other season. The same writer informs us that it deteriorates rapidly when 
kept, and in about two years becomes entirely inert. The roots of other species 
of fern are frequently substituted for the officinal; and in the dried state it is 
difficult to distinguish them. 
Properties, &c. As taken from the ground, the root consists of a long cylin- 
drical caudex, around which are closely arranged, overlapping each other like the 
shingles of a roof, the remains of the leafstalks or stipes, which are an inch or 
two in length, from two to four lines thick, somewhat curved and directed up- 
wards, angular, brown, shining, and surrounded near their origin from the root 
with thin silky scales, of a light-brown colour. From between these remains of 
the footstalks emerge numerous small radical fibres. The whole root, thus con- 
stituted, presents a somewhat flexible, cylindrical mass, one or two inches thick, 
and a foot or more in length. In this form, however, it is not usually found in 
our shops. The wffiole is ordinarily broken up into fragments, consisting of the 
separated remains of the leafstalks before described, with a small portion of the 
substance of the root attached to their base, where they are surrounded by the 
silky scales. These fragments, as seen in the shops, often appear as if long kept, 
and are probably, in general, much deteriorated by time. The following observa- 
tions are made by Geiger in relation to the collection and preservation of the 
root. The inner parts of the fresh root, and of the portions of stalk attached to 
it, are fleshy and of a light yellowish-green colour. In collecting them, all the 
black discoloured portions should be cut away, the fibres and scales separated, 
and only the sound green parts preserved. These should be immediately but 
carefully dried, and then pulverized; and the powder should be kept in small 
well-stopped glass bottles. The powder thus prepared has a pale-yellowish 
colour with a greenish tinge. 
Dried fern root is externally of a brown colour, internally yellowish-white or 
reddish, with a peculiar but feeble odour which is most obvious in the pow'der 
and decoction, and a sweetish, bitter, astringent, nauseous taste. It has been 
analyzed by H. Bock, who gives, as its constituents, volatile oil, fixed oil, resin, 
starch, vegetable jelly, albumen, gum,sugar, tannic and gallic acids,pectin,lignin, 
and various salts. (See Am. Journ ofPharm , xxiv. 64.) Peschier ascertained 
that its active properties reside in the ethereal extract, which is the fixed oil in 
an impure state, containing volatile oil, resin, colouring matter, &e. It is a thick 
dark liquid, with the odour of the fern, and a nauseous, bitterish, somewhat acrid 
taste. Dr. E. Luck has found in it a peculiar acid, which he denominates filicic 
acid, and has extracted from the root two others named tannaspidic and pteri- 
tannic acids. ( Chem. Gaz., ix. 407 and 452.-) Theaspidin of Pavesi is not en- 
titled to the name, as, though it may contain, it does not itself constitute the 
active principle, and is probably little if at all superior to the ethereal extract. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Male fern is slightly tonic and astringent; but 
produces, when taken internally, no very obvious effects upon the system. It 
was used by the ancients as a vermifuge, and is mentioned in the works of 
Dioscorides, Theophrastus, Galen, and Pliny. Its anthelmintic powers were also 
noticed by some of the earlier modern writers, among whom was Hoffman. But 
it does not appear to have been generally known to the profession, till brought 
into notice, about the year 1775, by the publication of the mode of treating 
tsenia, employed by Madame Kouffer. This lady, who was the widow of a 
surgeon in Switzerland, had acquired great celebrity in the cure of tape-worm 
by a secret remedy. Her success was such as to attract the attention of the 
medical profession at Paris; and some of the most eminent physicians of that 
city, who were deputed to examine into the subject, having reported favourably 
of the remedy, the secret was purchased by the King of France, and published 
by his order. The outlines of her plan were to give a dose of the powdered rooi 
of the male fern, and two hours afterwards a powerful cathartic, to be followed, 
if it should not operate in due time, by some purging salt; and this process 
was to be repeated, with proper intervals, till the worm should be evacuated. A 
German physician, named Herrenschwand, had used the male fern in a manner 410 
F'dix Mas.—Foeniculum. 
PART I. 
somewhat similar, before Madame Nouffer’s secret was known. Different opin- 
ions have been held of the value of this anthelmintic; but the accounts of its 
efficacy in the treatment of tape-worm are too numerous and authentic to admit 
of reasonable doubt. Dr. Pescbier stated that, in the course of nine months, 
150 tape-worms had been expelled by the ethereal extract. Dr. Ebers found the 
same preparation completely successful in eight cases. The testimony of Brera 
is also strongly in favour of the remedy, which he found effectual even against 
the armed taenia. M. Ronzel cured with it more than 100 cases of taenia, and 
never found it to fail. {Journ. de Pliarm., 3e ser., iv. 414 ) Perhaps the differ- 
ent results obtained by different practitioners may be in part ascribed to the 
variable strength and character of the root employed. It is said that the remedy 
proves more effectual against the tape-worm of the Swiss {Bothriocephalus 
latus) than against the Tsenia solium, which is more frequent in France and 
England. {Bremser.) It appears to act as a poison to the worm. 
The medicine may be given in the form of powder or ethereal extract. The 
dose of the powder is from one to three drachms, to be administered in electuary 
or emulsion, and repeated morning and evening for one or two days. M. Ronzel 
gives half an ounce to adults, made into boluses, to be swallowed in fifteen 
minutes, in the morning, on an empty stomach. The dose of the ethereal extract 
{oil of fern) is from twelve to twenty-four grains. Dr. Mayor, of Geneva, re- 
commends it in the dose of from thirty to fifty drops, one-half to be taken at 
night, the other half in the morning, and followed, at the interval of an hour, 
by an ounce and a half of castor oil. The decoction has also been employed, 
made with an ounce of the root and a pint of water. It is customary to follow 
the medicine by some brisk cathartic, though this is not considered essential. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Filicis Liquidum, Br. W. 
FCENICULUM. U.S. 
Fennel. 
The fruit of Foeniculum vulgare. U. S. 
Off. Syn. FCENTCULI FRUCTUS. Fennel Fruit. The fruit of Foenicu. 
lum dulce, D.C. Imported from Malta. Br. 
Sweet Fennel Fruit, ifr.; Fenouil,jFV.;Fenchel, Germ.; Finnocchio, Ital.; Hinojo, Span. 
The plant producing fennel-seed was attached by Linnaeus to the genus Ane- 
thum, but was separated from it by Ue Candolle, and placed, with three or four 
others, in a new genus styled Foeniculum, which has been generally adopted by 
botanists. The Anethum Foeniculum of Linnaeus embraced two varieties, the 
common or wild Fennel, and the sweet fennel; the latter being the plant usually 
cultivated in the gardens of Europe. These are considered by De Candolle as 
distinct species, and named respectively Foeniculum vulgare and Foeniculum 
dulce. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the former of these is recognised as the 
source of the medicine ; in the British Pharmacopoeia, the latter, In the late 
Ed. Pharmacopoeia, the F. officinale of Allioni was recognised. The last-men- 
tioned plant De Candolle considers as belonging to his F. vulgare (Frodromus, 
iv. 1 42) ; while Herat treats of it as a distinct species, differing both from the 
F. vulgare and F. dulce of De Candolle {Diet, de Mat. Med.) ; and Dr. Christi- 
son, in his Dispensatory, is disposed to unite it with the last-mentioned plant. 
In this confusion it is impossible to arrive at any definite and satisfactory con- 
clusion as to the botanical history of the drug under consideration. One thing, 
however, is certain, that there are two kinds of fennel-seed found in the shops; 
and it is highly probable that these are derived, if not from distinct species ot 
fennel, at least from marked varieties of the plant. One of them corresponds 
closely with the description given of the fruit of F. vulgare, while the other is 
undoubtedly produced by the plant cultivated under the name of sweet fennel, 
whether that be the F. dulce of De Candolle, or F. officinale of Allioni and Herat. 
Fceniculum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae or 
Apiaceae. PART i. 
Fceniculum. 
411 
Gen. Gh. Calyx a tuiuid obsolete rim. Petals roundish, entire, involute, with 
a squarish blunt lobe. Fruit nearly taper. Half fruits with five prominent 
bluntly keeled ridges, of which the lateral are on the edge, and rather broadest 
Vittse single in the channels, 2 on the commissure. Involucre none. (Lindley.) 
Foeniculum vulgare. De Cand. Prodrom. iv. 142.—Anethum Fceniculum. 
Linn.; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 127, t. 49. Common fennel has a biennial or per- 
ennial tapering root, and an annual, erect, round, striated, smooth, green, and 
copiously branching stem, which usually rises three or four feet in height. The 
leaves, which stand alternately at the joints of the stem, upon membranous 
striated sheaths, are many times pinnate, with long, linear, pointed, smooth, 
deep-green leaflets. The flowers are in large, flat, terminal umbels, with from 
thirteen to twenty rays, and destitute both of general and partial involucres. 
The corolla consists of five petals, which, as well as the stamens, are golden- 
yellow. The fruit is ovate, rather less than two lines in length by about a line in 
breadth, and of a dark colour, especially in the channels. The plant is a native of 
Europe, growing wild upon sandy and chalky ground throughout the continent. 
F. officinale. Herat and De Lens, Diet, de Mat. Med, iii. 270; Allioni, Ed. 
Pharm. This, which is sometimes called sweet fennel, is also perennial, with 
shorter leaves andless elongated leaflets than the common fennel, but resembling 
it very closely except in the character of the fruit. This is twice as long as that 
of the former plant, a little curved, of a less dark colour, with prominent ridges, 
and a persistent peduncle. It is sweeter and more aromatic than common fennel- 
seed. The plant is a native of the south of Europe; but is cultivated elsewhere 
in gardens, and is probably the source of much of the fennel-seed of the shops. 
Whether it is a distinct species, or a mere variety of F. vulgare, is not deter- 
mined. Some confound it with the following. 
F. dulce. De Cand. Prodrom. iv. 142. This plant is eminently entitled to 
the name of sweet fennel. It bears a general resemblance to F. vulgare, but 
differs in having its stem somewhat compressed at the base, its radical leaves 
somewhat distichous, and the number of rays in the umbel only from G to 8. 
It is also a much smaller plant, being only about a foot high ; its flowers appear 
earlier; and its young shoots orturiones are sweeter and edible. It is a native 
of Portugal, Italy, and perhaps other parts of Southern Europe; and is culti- 
vated largely in Italy and Sicily for the sake of the shoots, which are eaten raw, 
or in salad, or boiled as potherbs. The fruit is described by Herat and De Lens 
as “being globular-ovate, twice the size of that of common fennel, and with 
prominent ridges.” This description does not answer to the character of any of 
the fennel-seed we have seen in the shops. 
In all these species or varieties, the whole plant has an aromatic odour and 
taste, dependenton a volatile oil by which itis pervaded. The roots were formerly 
employed in medicine, but are generally inferior in virtues to the fruit, which is 
now the only officinal portion. Our shops are partly supplied from our own 
gardens; but much the larger portion of the medicine is imported from Europe, 
and chiefly, as we have been informed, from Germany. The fennel-seed cultiva- 
ted here is sweeter and more aromatic than that from abroad, probably in 
consequence of its greater freshness. 
Fennel-seeds (half-fruits) are oblong oval, from one to three or four lines in 
length, flat on one side, convex on the other, not unfrequently connected by their 
flat surfaces, straight or slightly curved, of a dark grayish-green colour, with 
longitudinal yellowish ridges on the convex surface. There are two varieties; 
one of them from one to two lines long, dark-coloured, rather flat, almost always 
separate, and without footstalks; the other from three to five lines in length, 
lighter-coloured, with much more prominent ridges, often conjoined by their flat 
surface, and very frequently provided with a footstalk. They do not differ essen- 
tially in aromatic properties. The odour of fennel-seed is fragrant, its taste warm, 
sweet, and agreeably aromatic. It yields its virtues to hot water, but more freely 
to alcohol. The essential oil maybe separated by distillation with water. (See 
Oleum Fceniculi.) The seeds contain also fixed oil. From 960 parts, Neumann 
obtained 20 parts of the former and 120 of the latter. 412 
Foeniculum.—Frasera. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fennel-seed was used by the ancients, is one 
of our most grateful aromatics, and in this country is much employed as a carm- 
inative, and as a corrigent of other less pleasant medicines, particularly senna 
and rhubarb. It is recommended for these purposes by the absence of any 
highly excitant property. The infusion, prepared by introducing two or three 
drachms of the seeds into a pint of boiling water, is the form usually preferred. 
The dose of the bruised or powdered seeds is from a scruple to half a drachm. In 
infants the infusion is frequently employed as an enema for the expulsion of flatus. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Foeniculi, Br.; Oleum Fceniculi, U. S.; Tinctura Rhei et 
Sennaj, U. S. W. 
FRASER A. U.S. Secondary, 
American Columbo. 
The root of Frasera Walteri. XJ. S. 
Frasera. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx deeply four-parted. Corolla four-parted, spreading; seg- 
ments oval, with a bearded, orbicular gland in the middle of each. Capsule com- 
pressed, partly marginated, one-celled. Seeds few, imbricated, large, elliptical, 
with a membranaceous margin. Nuttall. 
Frasera Walteri. Michaux, Flor. Bor. Americ. i. 96; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 
103. — F. Carolinensis. Walter. This is among our most elegant indigenous 
plants, and the only one of its genus. From the root, which is triennial, long, 
spindle-shaped, horizontal, fleshy, and yellow, a strong, succulent, solid, smooth 
stem rises, from five to ten feet in height. The leaves are sessile, entire, glabrous, 
of a deep-green colour, and disposed in whorls, which commence at the root, and 
ascend to the summit with successively diminishing intervals. The radical leaves, 
from five to twelve in number, are elliptical, obtuse, a foot or more in length by 
about four inches in breadth, and lie upon the ground in the form of a star. Those 
constituting the whorls are successively smaller as they ascend; the lowest ob- 
long-lanceolate, the upper lanceolate and pointed. The flowers are numerous, 
large, yellowish-white, and disposed in a beautiful terminal pyramidal panicle, 
from one to five feet long, the branches of which spring from the axils of the 
upper leaves. The segments of the calyx are lanceolate, acute, and somewhat 
shorter than those of the corolla. The filaments are inserted into the base of the 
corolla, between its segments, which they do not equal in length. The anthers 
are oblong and notched at the base. The germ is oblong-ovate, compressed, and 
gradually tapers into the style, which ends in a bifid stigma, The fruit is an oval, 
acuminate, compressed, two-valved, one-celled, yellow capsule, containing from 
eight to twelve flat elliptical seeds. 
The Frasera flourishes in the southern and western portions of the United 
States, and in many situations is very abundant, especially in Arkansas and 
Missouri. It prefers rich woodlands and moist meadows. The period of flow- 
ering is from May to July; but the stems and flowers are produced only in the 
third year, the radical leaves being the only part of the plant which previously 
appears above ground. From this manner of growth, it is inferred that the 
root should be collected in the autumn of the second, or spring of the third year. 
Before being dried, it should be cut into transverse slices. 
As formerly in the market, frasera was in pieces irregularly circular, an eighth 
of an inch or more in thickness, about an inch in diameter, somewhat shrunk in 
the middle, consisting of a central medullary matter and an exterior cortical por- 
tion, of a yellowish colour on the cut surfaces, with a light reddish-brown epi- 
dermis. In appearance these pieces somewhat resembled columbo. but were easily 
distinguishable by the greater uniformity of their internal structure,the absence of 
concentric and radiating lines, and their purer yellow colour without a greenish 
tinge. We have met with a parcel of the root sliced longitudinally, so as to imi- 
tate gentian, though not likely to be confounded with it by an experienced per- 
son. It was called American gentian. The taste of frasera is bitterish and sweet- PART I. 
Frasera.— Galbanum. 
413 
ish. Water and diluted alcohol extract its virtues; and the tincture lets fall a 
precipitate upon the addition of water, but is not disturbed by tincture of galls. 
The hot infusion is not precipitated by solution of gelatin, and gives with iodine 
no signs of starch. These reactions afford additional means of distinguishing the 
root from columbo. Mr. Higinbothom, of Bermuda, found in it gum, pectin, glu- 
cose, wax, resin, fatty matter, yellow colouring matter, bitter extractive, and an 
acid which was probably peculiar. {Am. Journ. ofPharm., Jan. 1862, p. 23.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Frasera is a mild tonic, calculated to meet the 
same indications with the other simple bitters. It has been thought to resemble 
columbo in medical properties as well as in appearance, and hence has received 
the popular name of American columbo; but experience has not confirmed the 
high estimate at one time formed of its virtues; and though, perhaps, still occa- 
sionally used in some places, it has failed to supplant the tonic of Mozambique. 
It may be given in powder or infusion. The dose of the former is from thirty 
grains to a drachm ; that of an infusion, made in the proportion of an ounce of 
the bruised root to a pint of boiling water, is one or two fluidounees, to be re- 
peated several times a day. The fresh root is said to operate as an emetic and 
cathartic, and has been given with a view to the latter effect. W. 
GALBANUM. U.S.,Br. 
Galbanum. 
The concrete juice of an undetermined plant. U. S. A gum-resin, derived from 
an unascertained umbelliferous plant. Br. 
Gfalbanum, Fr.; Mutterharz, Germ.; Galbano, Ifal., Span. 
It is uncertain from what plant galbanum is derived. At one time it was sup- 
posed to be the product of Bubon Galbanum, an umbelliferous plant of the 
eastern coast of Africa. It has also been referred to the Ferula ferulago of 
Linnaeus, the Ferula galbanifera of Lobel, which inhabits the coasts of the 
Mediterranean, and is found also in Transylvania and the Caucasus. But no 
part of either of these plants has the odour of galbanum; and it is, therefore, 
scarcely probable that they yield the drug. Mr. Don, having found the seeds 
taken from a parcel of galbanum to belong to an undescribed genus of umbelli- 
ferous plants, and concluding that they came from the same source as the gum- 
resin itself, gave the title of Galbanum to the new genus, and named the species 
Galbanum officinale. Tin's was rather hastily adopted by the London College; 
as it is by no means certain that the same plant produced the seeds and the 
gum-resin. Specimens of a plant were received in England from Persia having 
a concrete juice adhering to them, which was taken by Dr. Lindley for galba- 
num ; and that botanist, finding that the plant belonged to an undescribed genus, 
named it Opoidia, with the specific name galbanifera. Dr. Pereira, however, 
found the substance not to be galbanum ; and this supposed origin of the drug, 
therefore, though admitted as probable by the Edinburgh College, and recognised 
by the Dublin, must be considered as more than doubtful. A German traveller, 
F. A. Bukse, who has resided in Persia, states that, in 1848, he met with the 
galbanum plant on the declivities of the Demawend, near the southern coast of 
the Caspian. He saw the gum-resin exuding spontaneously from the plant, and 
was informed by the natives that the drug was collected from it. The plant is a 
Ferula, and closely resembles the F. erubescens of Bossier, if not identical with 
it. (Pharm. Gent. Blatt, March IT, 1852, p. 206.) Galbanum is said to be ob- 
tained by making incisions into the stem, or cutting it off a short distance above 
the root. A cream-coloured juice exudes, which concretes upon exposure to the 
air. A portion of juice also exudes spontaneously from the joints, and hardens 
in the shape of tears. The drug is brought from India and the Levant. 
Properties. Galbanum usually appears in the form of masses composed of 
whitish, reddish, or yellowish tears, irregularly agglutinated by a darker coloured 
yellowish-brown, or greenish substance, more or less translucent, and generally 
mixed with pieces of stalk, seeds, or other foreign matters. It is also found, 414 
Galbanum.— Galla. 
PART I. 
though rarely in our markets, in the state of distinct roundish tears, about as 
large as a pea, of a yellowish-white or pale brownish-yellow colour, shining 
externally as if varnished, translucent, and often adhering together. Galbanum 
has in cool weather the consistence of firm wax; but softens in summer, and by 
the heat of the hand is rendered ductile and adhesive. At 212° F. it is suffi- 
ciently liquid to admit of straining; and it generally requires to be strained 
before it can be used. A dark-brown or blackish colour, a consistence always 
soft, the absence of whitish grains, a deficiency in the characteristic odour and 
taste, and the intermixture of earthy impurities are signs of inferiority. 
The odour of galbanum is peculiar and disagreeable; its taste bitterish, warm, 
and acrid ; its sp. gr. 1212. Triturated with water, it forms an imperfect milky 
solution, which on standing deposits the greater portion of what was taken up. 
Wine and vinegar act upon it in a similar manner. Alcohol dissolves a con- 
siderable proportion, forming a yellow tincture, which has the smell and taste of 
galbanum, and becomes milky with water, but affords no precipitate. In dilute 
alcohol it is wholly soluble, with the exception of impurities. Ether dissolves 
the greater portion. Pelletier found in 100 parts, 06-86 parts of resin, 19 28 of 
gum, 634 of volatile oil including the loss, 7‘52 of wood and impurities, with 
traces of supermalate of lime. A small proportion of bassorin was found by 
Meissner. The medicine is, therefore, a gum-resin. By distillation at the tem- 
perature of about 250° F., the volatile oil is obtained of a fine indigo-blue colour, 
which it imparts to alcohol. Procured by distillation with water, it is colourless, 
and becomes yellowish by age. It is lighter than water. 
According to Ludewig, a gum-resin, designated as Persian galbanum, is re- 
ceived in Russia by the way of Astracan or Orenburg, and is the kind used in 
that country. It comes enclosed in skins, and is in masses of a reddish-brown 
colour with whitish streaks, of a disagreeable odour, somewhat like that of 
assafetida, and of an unpleasant, bitter, resinous taste. It is so soft as to melt 
with a slight elevation of temperature. It differs from common galbanum in its 
odour, in its colour, which is never greenish, and in the absence of tears, and 
is probably derived from a different plant. It abounds in impurities. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Galbanum was known to the ancients. It is 
stimulant, expectorant, and antispasmodic; and is considered as intermediate 
in power between ammoniac and assafetida, though much less employed than 
either of these gum-resins. The complaints to which it has been thought appli- 
cable, are chiefly chronic affections of the bronchial mucous membrane, amenor- 
rhoea, and chronic rheumatism. It is occasionally applied externally as a plaster 
to indolent swellings, with the view of promoting resolution or suppuration. 
The dose is from ten to twenty grains, and may be given in pill, or triturated 
with gum arabic, sugar, and water, so as to form an emulsion. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetidae, U.S.; Emplastrum Galbani, Br.; Em- 
plastrum Galbani Compositum, U. S.; Pilula AssafcetidaComposita, Br.; Pilulae 
Galbani Composite, U. S. W. 
GALLA. U. A, Br 
Nutgall. Galls, 
A morbid excrescence upon Quercus infectoria. U. S. Excrescences on Quer- 
cus infectoria, caused by the punctures and deposited ova of Diplolepis Gall* 
tinctori*. Br. 
Noix de galle, Fr.; Gallapfel, Germ.; Galla, Ital.; Agallas de Levante, Span. 
Many vegetables, when pierced bv certain insects, particularly those of the 
genus Cynips, are affected at the points of puncture with a morbid action, re- 
sulting in excrescences, which, as they are derived from the juices of the plant, 
partake more or less of its chemical character. Most of the oaks are occasion- 
ally thus affected; and the resulting excrescences, having in a high degree the 
astringency of the plant, have been employed for various practical purposes. 
They are known by the name of galls, a term which, as well as their use in PART i 
Galla. 
415 
medicine, has been handed down from the ancients. Quercus infecloria, Q. 
JEgilops, Q. excelsa, Q. Ilex, Q. Cerris, and Q. robur have been particularized 
as affording this product; but it is now generally admitted, on the authority 
of Olivier, that the officinal galls are derived chiefly, if not exclusively, from 
Q infecloria; and this is recognised as their source in the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias.* 
Quercus. See QUERCUS ALBA. 
Quercus infecloria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 436; Olivier, Voy. Orient t. 14 et 
15; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 40, pi. 85. The dyers’ oak is a small tree 
or shrub, with a crooked stem, seldom exceeding six feet in height. The leaves 
are obtusely toothed, smooth, of a bright-green colour on both sides, and stand 
on short footstalks. The acorn is elongated, smooth, two or three times longer 
than the cup, which is sessile, somewhat downy, and scaly. This species of 
Quercus grows, according to Olivier, throughout Asia Minor, from the Archi- 
pelago to the confines of Persia. Captain M. Kinnier found it also in Armenia 
and Kurdistan; General Hardwicke observed it growing in the neighbourhood 
of Adwanie; and it probably pervades the middle latitudes of Asia. 
The gall originates from the puncture of the Cynips quercusfolii of Lin mens, 
the Diplolepis gallse tinctorial of Geoffroy, a hymenopterous insector fly, with 
a fawn-coloured body, dark antennae, and the upper part of its abdomen shining 
brown. The insect pierces the shoots and young boughs, and deposits its egg 
in the wound. This irritates the part, and a small tumour quickly rises, which 
is the result of a morbid growth, exhibiting various cells under the microscope, 
but no proper vegetable fibre. The egg grows with the gall, and is soon con- 
verted into a larva, which feeds upon the vegetable matter around it, and thus 
forms a cavity in the centre of the excrescence. The insect at length becomes 
a fly, and escapes by eating its way out. The galls are in perfection when fully 
developed, before the egg has been hatched, or the fly has escaped. Collected 
at this period, they are called, from their dark colour, blue, green, or black 
galls, and are most highly esteemed. Those which are gathered later, and 
which have been injured by the insect, are called white galls. They are usually 
larger, less heavy and compact, and of a lighter colour than the former. 
The galls collected in Syria and Asia Minor are brought to this country 
chiefly from the ports of Smyrna and Trieste, or from London. As they are 
produced abundantly near Aleppo, it has been customary to designate them 
* Under the name of Chinese galls, a product has been brought from China, supposed to 
be caused by an insect allied to the Aphis, as such an insect has been found in the interior 
of them. A specimen, which came under our notice, consisted of irregularly spindle-shaped 
bodies, often more or less bent, with obtusely pointed protuberances, about two inches long 
by an inch in diameter at the central thickest part, of an ash colour and a soft velvety 
feel, very light, hollow, with translucent walls about a line in thickness, of a slight odour 
recalling that of ipecacuanha, and a bitter astringent taste. From an examination of frag- 
ments of leaves and petioles found among these galls, Dr. Schenck concluded that the tree 
on which they are found is a species of Rhus ; but, according to M. Decaisne, professor at 
the Museum of Natural History in Paris, their true source is probably the Distylium race- 
mosum of Zuccarini (Flor. Japon., i. p. 178, t. 94), a large tree of Japan, the leaves of which 
produce a velvety gall, resembling the one in question. (Guibourt, Hist. Nat. des Drogues, 
A.D. 1850, iii. 703.) More recently, however, it has been asserted by Mr. Daniel Hanbury 
that this opinion of Decaisne is erroneous; as, in his examination of the packages impor- 
ted from China and Japan, he has found remains of ditferent parts of a species of Rhus, 
but never any of a Distylium. Besides, the form of the galls of the Distylium, as figured 
by Siebold and Zuccarini, is entirely different. The species of Rhus to which they are 
ascribed is the R. semi-alata. (Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1862, p. 421.) The Chinese make great 
use of this product both in dyeing and as a medicine. L. A. Buchner, jun., has found it 
to contain 65 per cent, of tannic acid identical with that of the officinal galls. [Pharm. 
Cent. Blatt, July, 1851, p. 526.) It is recommended byStenhouse for the manufacture of 
gallic acid, being preferable for this purpose to the officinal galls, in consequence of its 
less amount of colouring matter. (Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1862, p. 330.) 
An inferior kind of galls has been recently produced in great quantities in England, 
by the attack of another species of Cynips, the C. Kollari of Hartig, upon the common 
English oak. But they have been ascertained to contain little tannic acid, and will not, 
probably, supersede the galls of the Levant. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 416 
Galla, 
PART 1. 
by the name of that town ; though the designation, however correct it inav for- 
merly have been, is now wholly inapplicable, as they are obtained from many 
other places, and the produce of different parts of Asiatic Turkey is not capa- 
ble of being discriminated, at least in our markets. Great quantities of galls, 
very closely resembling those from the Mediterranean, have been brought to 
Jhe United States from Calcutta Dr. Royle states that they are taken to Bom- 
bay from Bussorah through the Persian Gulf. We are, nevertheless, informed 
that galls are among the products of Moultan. Those of France and other 
southern countries of Europe have a smooth, shining, reddish surface, are little 
esteemed, and are seldom or never brought to the United States. 
Properties Galls are nearly round, from the size of a pea to that of a very 
large cherry, with a surface usually studded with small tuberosities, in the in- 
tervals of which it is smooth. The best are externally of a dark-bluish or lead 
colour, sometimes with a greenish tinge, internally whitish or brownish, hard, 
solid, brittle, with a flinty fracture, a striated texture, and a small spot or cavity 
in the centre, indicating the presence of the undeveloped or decayed insect. 
Their powder is of a light yellowish-gray. Those of inferior quality aro 
of a lighter colour, sometimes reddish or nearly white, of a loose texture, with 
a large cavity in the centre, communicating externally by a small hole through 
which the fly has escaped. Galls have a bitter, very astringent taste, and 
when whole are inodorous or nearly so, but bruised or in powder, they have 
a decided and peculiar though not very strong smell. From 500 parts 
Davy obtained 185 parts of matter soluble in water, of which, according to his 
analysis, 130 were tannin, 31 gallic acid with a little extractive, 12 mucilage 
and matter rendered insoluble by evaporation, and 12 saline matter and cal- 
careous earth. Braconnot discovered the presence of a small quantity of an 
acid to which he gave the name ellagic, derived from galle, the French name 
for galls, by reversing the order of the letters. According to M. Pelouze, how- 
ever, neither gallic nor ellagic acid pre-exists in galls, being formed by the re- 
action of atmospheric oxygen upon their tannin. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 359.) 
Galls also yielded to Professor Branchi, by distillation with water, a concrete 
volatile oil. Guibourt found 65 per cent, of tannic acid, 10 5 of lignin, 5'8 of 
gum, sugar, and starch, 4 0 of gallic, ellagic, and luteo-gallic acids, and 1P5 
of water, besides extractive, chlorophyll, volatile oil, albumen, and salts. For 
some interesting views of the chemical nature of galls, see Acidum Gallicvm 
in the second part of this work. All the soluble matter of galls is taken up by 
forty times their weight of boiling water, and the residue is tasteless. Alcohol 
dissolves seven parts in ten, ether five parts. ( 21)orison's Dispeiisatory.) A 
saturated decoction deposits upon cooling a copious pale-yellow precipitate. 
The infusion or tincture affords precipitates with sulphuric and muriatic acids, 
lime-water, and the carbonates of ammonia and potassa; with solutions of ace- 
tate and subacetate of lead, the sulphates of copper and iron, the nitrates of 
silver and mercury,and tartrate of antimony and potassa; withsolution of gelatin; 
and with the infusions of Peruvian bark, columbo, opium, and many other vege- 
tables, especially those containing alkaloids, with most of which tannic acid 
forms insoluble compounds. The infusion of galls reddens litmus paper, is ren- 
dered orange by nitric acid, milky by the corrosive chloride of mercury, and 
has its colour deepened by ammonia; but yields no precipitate with either of 
these reagents. Sulphate of zinc was said by Dr. A. T. Thomson to occasion 
a slow precipitate, but this result was not obtained by Dr. Duncan. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Galls are powerfully astringent. They are little 
employed as an internal remedy, though occasionally prescribed in chronic diar- 
rhoea and chronic dysentery. They have been recommended as an antidote to 
tartar emetic, and those vegetable poisons which depend for their activity upon 
organic alkalies; but, though the insoluble compounds which these principles 
form with galls may be less active than their soluble native compounds, they 
cannot be considered as inert. In the form of infusion or decoction, made in the 
proportion of half an ounce to a pint of water, galls may be advantageously part I. 
Gambogia. 
417 
used as an astringent gargle, lotion, or injection; and, mixed with simple oint- 
ment, in the proportion of one part of galls, in very fine powder, to eight parts 
of the unguent, they are frequently applied to the anus and rectum in hemor- 
rhoidal affections. The dose of powdered galls is from ten to twenty grains, 
to be repeated several times a daj>.* 
Off. Prep. Acidum Gallicum; Acidum Tannicum; Tinctura Gallae; Un- 
guentum Gallae; Unguentum Gallae cum Opio, Br. W 
GAMBOGIA. US. 
Gamboge, 
The concrete juice of an undetermined tree. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. CAMBOGIA. Gamboge. A gum-resin obtained from Garcinia 
Morelia, Desrous. var. pedicellata. Br. 
Gomme gutte, Fr.; Gummigutt, Germ.; Gomma-gotta, Ital.; Gutta gamba, Span. 
Several plants belonging to the natural family of Gutliferse, grotving in the 
equatorial regions, yield on incision a yellow opaque juice, which hardens on 
exposure, and bears a close resemblance to gamboge; but it is only from a par- 
ticular tree, growing in Siam, that the officinal gum-resin is procured. Formerly 
the United States and all the British Pharmacopoeias ascribed it to Stalagmitis 
Cambogioides. This genus and species were established by Murray of Gottingen, 
in 1788, from dried specimens belonging to Konig, procured in Ceylon; and, 
from information derived from the same source, it was conjectured by Murray 
that the tree yielded not only the gamboge of Ceylon, but that also collected in 
Siam. On this authority, the British Colleges made the reference alluded to. 
But it was ascertained by Dr. Graham, of Edinburgh, that there is no such 
plant as Stalagmitis Cambogioides; the description of Murray having been 
drawn up from accidentally conjoined specimens of two trees belonging to differ- 
ent genera; one being the Xanthochymus ovalifolius of Roxburgh, and the 
other, the Hebradendron Cambogioides of Graham. By several botanists the 
gum-resin has been ascribed to Garcinia Cambogia, also a tree of Ceylon be- 
longing to the Guttiferse, and yielding a yellowish concrete juice; but a speci- 
men of this juice, sent to Edinburgh, was found by Dr. Christison to differ 
from gamboge both in composition and appearance, being of a pale lemon-yellow 
colour. Thus it appears that neither of these references is correct; and, besides, 
the fact seems to have been overlooked, that commercial gamboge is never ob- 
tained from Ceylon, but exclusively from Siam and Cochin-China. A gum-resin 
from Ceylon having been found similar in composition to the gamboge of com- 
merce, and the tree which produced it having been referred by Dr. Graham to a 
new genus, and named by him Hebradendron Cambogioides, the Edinburgh 
College, in the last edition of its Pharmacopoeia, was induced to adopt this Cey- 
lon gamboge as officinal, and to recognise the name proposed by Dr. Graham 
for the tree producing it. But, as this variety is never found in western com- 
merce, and exists only in cabinets, or the bazaars of India, it scarcely merited a 
place in an officinal catalogue; and the sufficiency of the grounds upon which 
the proposed genus Hebradendron was separated from Garcinia is not univer- 
sally admitted. At length, however, through the instrumentality mainly of 
Prof. Christison and Mr. Daniel Hanbury, the true gamboge plant seems to have 
been determined with considerable certainty. Several years since, Dr. Christi- 
* The following preparation has been made in ijnitation of one much used by the late 
Dr. Physiek and Dr. Jos. Parrish, of Philadelphia. Macerate for twenty-four hours half an 
ounce of powdered galls, two drachms of bruised cinnamon, and two drachms of bruised 
nutmeg, in half a pint of brandy; then percolate, and, when the liquor has ceased to pass, 
add enough diluted alcohol to yield half a pint of filtered liquor. Put this into a shallow 
capsule, suspend over it two ounces of sugar on a slip of wire-gauze, and set the tincture 
)n tire. The sugar melts with the flame, and falls into the liquid beneath. When the com- 
bustion ceases, agitate and filter. A highly astringent aromatic syrup is obtained, which 
may be gi ven in obstinate diarrhoeas in the dose of a fiuidrachm. (Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
rxvii. 410.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 418 
Gambogia. 
PART I. 
son received from Singapore specimens of the gamboge plant cultivated in that 
island, and derived from Siam, which proved to be a Garcinia, differing from 
the G. elliptica of Wallich chiefly in having its male flower upon pedicels. More 
recently Mr. Hanbury obtained from the same source numerous specimens of 
the same plant, and was enabled to confirm the statement of Dr. Christiscn ; 
but he also found that the plant approached as near to the Garcinia Morelia 
of Desrousseaux, from which it could be distinguished only by its pedicellate 
flowers. These specimens were afterwards submitted to the inspection of Mr. 
Thwaites in Ceylon, who is perfectly familiar with the Garcinias of that island, 
and were pronounced by him to belong to a variety of G. Morelia, scarcely dif- 
fering from the Ceylon plant, except in having pedicelled instead of sessile 
flowers. Hence, in the existing edition of the British Pharmacopoeia, the true 
Siam gamboge plant is recognised as the Garcinia Morelia, var. pedicellata.1 
Considering, however, the constancy of this peculiar character of the flower, and 
the fact that the gamboge of commerce is never brought from Ceylon, it ap- 
pears to the author highly probable that the plant will be ultimately admitted 
as a distinct species, with the title of Garcinia pedicellata. 
Gamboge is collected in Siam and Cochin-China. Similar products are ob- 
tained in Ceylon ; but they do not appear to be sent out of the island. Milburn 
does not mention gamboge among the exports. It is said to be procured in Siam 
by breaking off the leaves and shoots of the tree, from which the juice issues in 
drops, and, being received in suitable vessels, gradually thickens, and at length 
becomes solid. Portions of it, when of the requisite consistence, are rolled into 
cylinders,and wrapped in leaves. The juice is sometimes received into the hollow 
joints of the bamboo, which give it a cylindrical form ; and, as it contracts dur- 
ing concretion, the cylinder is often hollow in the centre. The name gummi 
gutta, by which it is generally known on the continent of Europe, probably 
originated from the circumstance that the juice escapes from the plant by drops. 
The officinal title was undoubtedly derived from the province of Cambodia, in 
which the gum-resin is collected. It was first brought to Europe by the Dutch 
about the middle of the 17th century. We import gamboge from Canton and 
Calcutta, whither it is carried by the native or resident merchants. There is no 
difference in the appearance or character of the drug as brought from these two 
ports ; an evidence that it is originally derived from the same place. 
Varieties. The best gamboge is in cylindrical rolls, from one to three inches 
in diameter, sometimes hollow in the centre, sometimes flattened, often folded 
double, or agglutinated in masses so that the original form is not always easily 
distinguishable. The pieces sometimes appear as if rolled, but are in general 
striated longitudinally from the impression made by the inner surface of the bam- 
boo. They are externally of a dull-orange colour, which is occasionally displaced 
by greenish stains,or concealed by the bright-yellow powder of the drug, slightly 
adhering to the surface. In this form the drug is sometimes called pipe gamboge. 
Another variety is imported under the name of cake or lump gamboge. It is in 
irregular masses of two or three pounds or more, often mixed with sticks and 
other impurities, containing many air cells, less dense, less uniform in texture, 
and less brittle than the former variety, and breaking with a dull and splintery, 
instead of a shining and eonchoidal fracture. The worst specimens of this variety, 
as well as of the cylindrical, are sometimes called by the druggists coarse gam- 
boge. They differ, however, from the preceding, only in containing a greater 
amount of impurities. Indeed, it would appear, from the experiments of Chris- 
tison, that all the commercial varieties of this drug have a common origin, and 
that cake or lump gamboge differs from the cylindrical, only from the circum- 
stance that the latter is the pure concrete juice ; while to the former, farinaceous 
matter and other impurities have been added for the purpose of adulteration. 
The inferior kinds of gamboge may be known by their greater hardness and 
coarser fracture ; by the brownish or grayish colour of their broken surface, 
which is often marked with black spots; by their obvious impurities; and by 
the green colour which their decoction, after having been cooled, gives with PART I. 
Gambogia. 
419 
tincture of iodine. When pure, the gum-resin is completely dissolved by the 
successive action of ether and water.* 
Properties. Gamboge, in its pure form, is brittle, with a smooth, conchoidal, 
shining fracture; and the fragments are slightly translucent at their edges. The 
colour of the mass when broken is a uniform reddish orange, which becomes a 
beautiful bright-yellow in the powder, or when the surface is rubbed with water. 
From the brilliancy of its colour, gamboge is highly esteemed as a pigment. It 
has no smell and little taste; but, after remaining a short time in the mouth, 
produces an acrid sensation in the fauces. Its sp. gr. is 1-221. Exposed to heat, 
it burns with a white flame, emitting much smoke, and leaving a light spongy 
charcoal. It is a gum-resin, without volatile oil. In 100 parts of it JBraconnot 
found 19 5 parts of gum, 80 of resin, and 0-5 of impurities. John obtained 10*5 
per cent, of gum, 89 of resin, and 0 5 of impurities. Christison has shown that 
the proportion of gum and resin varies in different specimens even of the purest 
drug. In one experiment, out of 100-8 parts he obtained 74 2 of resin, 21-8 of 
gum, and 4‘8 of water. The gum is quite soluble in water, and of the variety 
denominated arabin. In a specimen of cake gamboge he found 11-2 per cent, of 
fecula and lignin, and in a very bad one of coarse gamboge, no less than 41 per 
cent, of the same impurities. In addition to gum and resin, Ph. Buchner found 
a small and variable proportion of a peculiar reddish-yellow colouring matter, 
soluble both in alcohol and water. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 303.) Gam- 
boge is readily and entirely diffusible in water, forming a yellow opaque emul- 
sion, from which the resin is very slowly deposited. It yields its resinous in- 
gredient to alcohol, forming a golden-yellow tincture, which is rendered opaque 
and bright-yellow by the addition of water. Its solution in ammoniated alcohol 
is not disturbed by water. Sulphuric ether dissolves about four-fifths of it, tak- 
ing up only the resin. It is wholly taken up by alkaline solutions, from which 
it is partially precipitated by the acids. The strong acids dissolve it; but the 
solution when diluted with water deposits a yellow sediment. The colour, acri- 
mony, and medicinal power of gamboge reside in the resin. This has the neu- 
tralizing property of the acids, and has been named gambogic acid. It is ob- 
tained by evaporating an ethereal tincture of the gum-resin. In mass it is of a 
cherry-red colour, but becomes of a deep-orange in thin layers, and yellow when 
powdered. So intense is its colour, that one part of it communicates a percepti- 
ble yellowness to ten thousand parts of water or spirit. It is insoluble in water, 
but soluble in alcohol, and very soluble in ether, chloroform, and benzole. It 
forms with the alkalies dark-red solutions of gambogiates, from which the acids 
throw down gambogic acid of a yellow colour, and with the soluble salts of 
lead, copper, and iron, gambogiates of those metals respectively; the salt of 
lead being yellow, that of copper brown, and that of iron dark-brown. Its com- 
position is given by Johnston as {Load. Philos. Trans., 1839.) In 
the dose of five grains it is said to produce copious watery stools, with little or 
no uneasiness. If this be the case, it is probable that, as it exists in the gum- 
resin, its purgative property is somewhat modified by the other ingredients. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gamboge is a powerful, drastic, hydragogue 
cathartic, very apt to produce nausea and vomiting when given in the full dose. 
In large quantities it is capable of producing fatal effects, and death has resulted 
from a drachm. It is much employed in the treatment of dropsy attended with 
torpid bowels, generally in combination with bitartrate of potassa or jalap. It is 
also prescribed in cases of obstinate constipation, and has frequently been found 
effectual in the expulsion of the tape-worm. It is often combined with other 
and milder cathartics, the action of which it promotes and accelerates, while its 
own is moderated. The full dose is from two to six grains, which in cases 
* Ceylon gamboge, derived from the Hebradendron Cambogioides of Graham (Cambogia 
gutta, Linn., Garcinia Morelia, De Cand ), is procured by incisions, or by cutting awaj a 
portion of the bark, and scraping off the juice which exudes. The specimens sent to Dr. 
Christison were in flattish or round masses, eight or nine inches in diameter, apparently 
composed of aggregated irregular tears, with cavities which are lined with a grayish and 
brownish powdery incrustation. It resembled coarse gamboge, and was identical in com- 
position. In Ceylon it is used as a pigment and purgative. (Christison.) 420 
Gambogia.— Gaultheria. 
PART I. 
taenia has been raised to ten or fifteen grains. As it is apt to occasion much 
sickness and griping, the best plan, under ordinary circumstances, is to give it 
in small doses, repeated at short intervals till it operates. It may be given in 
pill or emulsion, or dissolved in an alkaline solution. The last method of admin- 
istration has been recommended in dropsical complaints. 
Off. Prep. Pilulse Catharticae Compositae, U. S.; Pilula Cambogiae Comp., Br. 
W. 
GAULTHERIA. U. S. 
The leaves of Gaultheria procumbens. U. S. 
Gaultheria. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Ericaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft, bibracteate at the base. Corolla ovate. Capsule 
five-celled, invested with the berried calyx. Pursh. 
Gaultheria procumbens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 616; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 27; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 171. This is a small, indigenous, shrubby, ever- 
green plant, with a long, creeping, horizontal root, which sends up at intervals 
one or two erect, slender, round, reddish stems. These are naked below, leafy 
at top, and usually less than a span in height. The leaves are ovate or obovate, 
acute, revolute at the edges with a few mucronate serratures, coriaceous, shining, 
bright-green above, paler beneath, of unequal size, and supported irregularly on 
short red petioles. The flowers, of which not more than from three to five are 
usually on each stem, stand upon curved, drooping, axillary peduncles. The 
calyx is white, five-toothed, and furnished at its base with two concave cordate 
bractes, described by some as an outer calyx. The corolla is white, ovate or 
urceolate, contracted at the mouth, and divided at the border into five small 
acute segments. The stamens have curved, plumose filaments, and oblong orange 
coloured anthers opening on the outside. The germ, which rests upon a ring 
having ten teeth alternating with the ten stamens, is roundish, depressed, and 
surmounted by an erect filiform style, ending in an obtuse stigma. The fruit is 
a small, five-celled, many-seeded capsule, with a fleshy covering, formed by the 
enlarged calyx, and presenting the appearance of a bright scarlet berry. 
The plant extends from Canada to Georgia, growing in large beds in moun- 
tainous tracts, or in dry barrens and sandy plains, beneath the shade of shrubs 
and trees, particularly of other evergreens, as the Kalmiae and Rhododendra. It 
is abundant in the pine-barrens of New Jersey. In different parts of the country, 
it is variously called partridge-berry, deer-berry, tea-berry, winter-green, and 
mountain-tea. The flowers appear from May to September, and the fruit ripens 
at corresponding periods. Though the leaves only are officinal, all parts of the 
plant are endowed with the peculiar flavour for which these are employed, and 
which is found in several other plants, particularly in the bark of Betula lenta, 
or sweet birch. The fruit possesses it in a high degree, and, being at the same 
time sweetish, is much relished by some persons, and forms a favourite article 
of food with partridges, deer, and other wild animals. To the very peculiar 
aromatic odour and taste which belong to the whole plant, the leaves add a 
marked astringcncy. The aromatic properties reside in a volatile oil, which may 
be separated by distillation. (See Oleum Gaidtherise.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gaultheria has the usual stimulant operation 
of the aromatics, united with astringcncy; and may, therefore, be used with ad- 
vantage in some forms of chronic diarrhoea. Like other substances of the same 
class, it has been employed as an emmenagoguc, and with the view of increasing 
the secretion of milk; but its chief use is to impart an agreeable flavour to mix 
lures and other preparations. It may be conveniently administered in the form 
of infusion, which, in some parts of the country, is not unfrequently used at the 
table as a substitute for common tea. The oil, however, is more used in regular 
practice than the leaves. Instances of death are on record, resulting from the 
taking of the oil, by mistake, in the quantity of about a fluidounce. On exami- 
nation after death, strong marks of gastric inflammation were discovered. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Gaultherise, U. S. W. 
Gaultheria. Partridge-berry. PART I. 
Gelsemium. 
421 
GELSEMIUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Yellow Jasmine. 
The root of Gelsemium sempervirens (Gray). TJ. S. 
Gelsemium. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Scrophulariace® 
Loganiace®. (Gray, Man. of Bot. pp. 296, 703.) 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corolla funnel-form, with a spreading border, 
five-lobed, nearly equal. Anthers oblong, sagittate. Style long and slender. 
Stigmas two, two-parted. Capsule elliptical, flat, two-valved, two-celled. Seeds 
flat, attached to the margin of the valves. 
Gelsemium sempervirens. Gray, Man. of Bot.— Gelseminum nitidum. Mi- 
chaux. — Bignonia sempervirens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 291. Figured in Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 197. The yellow or Carolina jasmine is one of the 
most beautiful climbing plants of our Southern States, ascending lofty trees, and 
forming festoons from one tree to another, and in its flowering season, in the 
early spring, scenting the atmosphere with its delicious odour. The stem is 
twining, smooth, and shining; the leaves perennial, opposite, shortly petiolate, 
lanceolate, entire, dark-green above and paler beneath; the flowers in axillary 
clusters, large, of a deep-yellow colour, and fragrant, with a very small, five- 
leaved calyx, and a funnel-shaped corolla, having a spreading, five-lobed, nearly 
equal border. The fruit is a flat, compressed capsule, divisible into two parts, 
two-celled, and furnished with flat seeds, which adhere to the margins of the 
valves. The plant grows in rich moist soils along the sea-coast from Virginia to 
the south of Florida. The root is the part employed. The flowers are said to 
be poisonous. 
Properties. As we have seen it in the shops, the root is sliced into pieces, 
about an inch in length, cylindrical or split, very light and fibrous, of a dirty yel- 
lowish-white colour, but darker where the epidermis remains, of a slight feebly 
narcotic odour, and a bitterish, not unpleasant taste. It yields its virtues to 
water, and readily to diluted alcohol. Analyzed by Mr. Henry Kollock, it was 
found to contain gum, starch, pectic acid, albumen, gallic acid, fixed oil, a fatty 
resin, a dry acrid resin, yellow colouring matter, volatile oil, extractive, lignin, 
a peculiar alkaloid called gelseminia, salts of potassa, lime, and magnesia, iron 
and silica. The alkaloid, however, was not obtained sufficiently pure to admit 
of a full investigation of its properties. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 203.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. From the accounts given by various authors 
of the effects of yellow jasmine, it appears to be a nervous and arterial sedative, 
without nauseating or purgative properties, but sometimes causing diaphoresis, 
especially in febrile diseases. In moderate doses it produces agreeable sensations 
of languor, with muscular relaxation, so that the patient finds some difficulty in 
moving the eyelids, and keeping the jaws closed. More largely taken it occa- 
sions dizziness, dimness of vision, dilated pupil, general muscular debility, and 
universal prostration; reducing the frequency and force of the pulse, and the 
frequency of respiration, and producing insensibility to pain ; but without stupor 
or delirium. After a short time these symptoms pass off. leaving no unpleasant 
effects. It usually begins to act in half an hour, and ceases to act after one or 
two hours. It is no doubt capable of causing death in overdoses. Indeed, two 
cases of poisoning by a fluid extract of gelsemium, one of which proved fatal, and 
the other ended in recovery, have been reported by Dr. R. P. Davis, of Parkers- 
burg, Va. The quantity taken was about a tablespoonful. In the case which 
ended favourably, an emetic was followed, after acting efficiently, by the free use 
of quinia and brandy In the fatal case there was no opportunity for the effect- 
ive application of remedies. (Med. and Surg. Reporter, May 11, 1867, p. 410.) 
Gelsemium is said to have been long popularly employed as a vermifuge in the 
Southern and Southwestern States; taut its more valuable properties have been 
knowu but for a few years. Their discovery was accidental. A planter of Missis- 422 
Gelsemium.— Gentiana. 
part r. 
sippi, labouring under an obstinate bilious fever, directed his servant to get a 
particular root from the garden, and prepare a tea from it. The tea was prepared 
accordingly, and drank by the invalid, who was soon afterwards affected with 
great prostration, and especially muscular debility, so that he could not raise a 
limb, but without stupor. These effects gradually passed off, and with them the 
fever. The servant had made a mistake in the root, and dug that of the Gelse- 
mium instead of the one intended. The planter, having made this discovery, 
employed the root afterwards with success upon his own plantation and in the 
neighbourhood. The remedy passed into the hands of irregular practitioners, and 
was used by the “eclectic physicians” before its virtues came to the knowledge 
of the profession * The diseases in which the medicine has been prescribed are 
intermittent, remittent, typhoid, and yellow fevers, fthe irritative fevers of child- 
hood, inflammation of the lungs and pleura, dysentery, rheumatism and other 
inflammatory affections, neuralgia, dysmenorrhcea, morbid wakefulness, Jdeli- 
rium tremens, §trismus nascentium, chorea, and epilepsy. It has been used 
also successfully in gonorrhoea by Dr. John Douglass, of Chester Dist., S. C. 
The preparation usually employed is a tincture made by macerating for two 
weeks the fresh bark of the root, well bruised, in diluted alcohol, or some form 
of ardent spirit, and then expressing and filtering. It has a dark-red colour, 
and the bitterness of the root, and is probably saturated. The dose is from 
ten to fifty drops, every hour or two ; but is of course somewhat indefinite, as 
there is no officinal formula for the tincture. A formula has been proposed 
by Dr. Mayes, according to which four ounces of the fresh root are macerated 
for fourteen days with a pint of diluted alcohol. The dose of this tincture is 
from twenty to fifty drops. Yellow jasmine would probably form a good sub- 
ject for a fluid extract. According to Dr. Cleveland, death has been caused by 
an excessive use of the tincture. W. 
GENTIANA. U.S. 
Gentian 
The root of Gentiana hitea. U.S. 
Off. Syn. GENTIANJE RADIX. Gentian Root. The dried root of Gen 
tiana lutea. Br. 
Gcntiane jaune, Fr.; Rother Enzian, Germ.; Genziana, Italy Genciana, Span. 
Gentiana. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla one-petalcd. Capsule two-valved, one-celled, with two 
longitudinal receptacles. Willd. 
Gentiana lutea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1331; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 273, t. 95; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 12, pi. 60. Yellow gentian is among the most 
remarkable of the species which compose this genus, both for its beauty and 
great comparative size. From its thick, long, branching, perennial root, an 
erect, round stem rises to the height of three or four feet, bearing opposite, 
* Attention was called to it by a paper of Prof. Procter, in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy 
tor October, 1852 (page 307), who derived most of his information from the “Eclectic Dis- 
pensatory,” and a paper by F. D. Hill, in the “Eclectic Medical Journal" of Cincinnati. 
Communications have since been published in reference to it in the Southern Journ. of Med. 
and Phys. Sciences for Jan. 1853 (page 40) by Dr. W. S. Jenkins, of Castalian Springs, 
Term.; in the Stethoscope of Nov. 1853 (page 6*36) by Dr. H. M. Nash, of Norfolk, Va.; and 
m the Iowa. Med. Journ. by Dr. Bachelor. (See Charleston Med. Journ. and Rev., March 
1854, page 243.) Confirmatory accounts have still more lately appeared by Dr. C. H 
Cleveland in the Am. Med. Caz. (vi. 154), by Dr. J. A. Mayes in the Charleston Mea. 
Journ. (xii. 180), and by Dr. F. F. Gary, of Cokesbury, S. C., in the Med. and Surg. Re- 
porter (June 11, 1859, p. 226). An abstract, by Dr. John Bell, of the various papers 
which have appeared in relation to it is contained in the N. Am. Med.-chirurg Review 
(Sept. 1858, p. 931). From those various sources we have derived the above account ol 
the medical properties and uses of the root, 
f Dr. II. Wardner, Med. and Surg. Reporter, March 30, 1867, p. 266. 
| Dr. D. L. Pliares, Ibid., May 25, 1867, p. 442. 
§ Ibid., Oct. 26, 1867, p. 369. PART I. 
Gentiana. 
423 
sessile, oval, acute, five-nerved leaves, of a bright-green colour, and somewhat 
glaucous. The lower leaves, which spring from the root, are narrowed at their 
base into the form of a petiole. The flowers are large and beautiful, of a yellow 
colour, peduncled, and placed in whorls at the axils of the upper leaves. The 
calyx is monophyllous, membranous, yellowish, and semi-transparent, splitting 
when the flower opens, and reflected when it is fully expanded; the corolla is 
rotate, and deeply divided into five or six lanceolate, acute segments; the 
stamens are five or six, and shorter than the corolla. This plant grows among 
the Apennines, the Alps, the Pyrenees, and in other mountainous or elevated 
regions of Europe. The root is the only part used in medicine. 
Several other species possess analogous virtues, and are used for similar pur- 
poses. The roots of G. purpurea and G. punctata, inhabiting the same regions 
as G. lutea, and of G. Pannonica, growing in Austria, are said to be often min- 
gled with the officinal, from which they are scarcely distinguishable. The G. 
macrophylla of Pallas is used in Siberia; one indigenous species, G. Catesboei, 
growing in the Southern States, has a place in the secondary catalogue of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia; and G. quinquijiora, growing throughout the Northern 
and Northwestern States, is said to be much used in domestic practice. 
Properties. As found in the shops, gentian is in pieces of various dimensions 
and shape, usually of considerable length, consisting sometimes of longitudinal 
slices, sometimes of the root cut transversely,twisted, wrinkled externally, some- 
times marked with close transverse rings of a grayish-brown colour on the out- 
side, yellowish or reddish within, and of a soft, spongy texture. The odour is 
feeble, but decided and peculiar. The taste is slightly sweetish and intensely 
bitter, without being nauseous. The powder is yellowish. Water and alcohol 
extract the taste and virtues of the root. Examined by MM. Henry and Caven- 
tou, it was found to contain, 1. a crystallizable principle which they supposed 
to be the chief active ingredient of the root, and therefore named gentianin, 
2. a volatile odorous principle, 3. a substance identical with birdlime (glu), 4. 
a greenish fixed oil, 5. a free organic acid, 6. uncrystallizable sugar, 7. gum, 8. 
yellow colouring matter, and 9. lignin. Mr. Denis afterwards detected pectic 
acid; and the gentianin of Henry and Caventou was proved by Trommsdorff 
and Leconte to be, when quite pure, wholly destitute both of bitterness and me- 
dicinal power; so that it would not appear to merit the name given to it. M. 
Leconte proposed, accordingly, to call it gentisin; and, as it possesses the pro- 
perty of neutralizing the alkalies, it has received also the name of gentisic acid. 
It is obtained by treating the alcoholic extract of gentian, previously exhausted 
by water, with sulphuric ether, filtering the ethereal solution, and allowing it to 
evaporate spontaneously. It is in needle-shaped crystals, pale-yellow, insoluble 
in water, and soluble in alcohol. The same chemist believes that he has ascer- 
tained the birdlime or glu of Henry and Caventou to be a mixture of wax, oil, 
and caoutchouc When distilled with water, gentian yields a minute proportion 
of a concrete oil, having a strong odour of the root. Professor Dulk, of Konigs- 
berg, gave a process for isolating the bitter principle; but the substance ob- 
tained was in all probability complex, and, therefore, not deserving of the name 
of gentianin bestowed upon it. In a note, we give the process and its results.* 
At length, Ludwig and Kromayer appear to have been successful in discover- 
* The alcoholic extract is macerated in water, and the solution, having been subjected 
to the vinous fermentation in order to separate the sugar, is treated first with acetate of 
lead, and then, after filtration, with subacetate of lead and a very little ammonia, in order 
to precipitate the combination of the bitter principle with oxide of lead; care being t aken 
not to use too much ammonia, lest by its stronger basic powers it should separate the 
vegetable principle from the oxide. The precipitate is washed with a little water, then 
mixed with a large proportion of the same fluid, and decomposed by hydrosulphuric acid. 
The liquid, having been filtered, is evaporated with a gentle heat to dryness, and the 
residue treated with alcohol of 0 820. The alcoholic solution, being evaporated, yields 
the gentianin. It is a brownish-yellow, uncrystallizable substance, having strongly the 
bitter taste of the root. It is almost insoluble in absolute alcohol, hut soluble in ordinary 
alcohol, and very soluble in water. It reddens litmus, and appears to possess acid pro- 
perties. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 638.) 424 
Gentiana.—Gentiana Catesbsei. 
PART r. 
ing the long sought for principle. They prepared an alcoholic extract of the 
fresh root, treated this with water, and the aqueous solution twice with animal 
charcoal which absorbed all the bitterness, extracted the bitterness from the 
charcoal with alcohol, evaporated the tincture, treated the residue in solution 
with oxide of lead to separate the precipitable matter, removed the lead by sul- 
phuretted hydrogen, evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and agitated the 
residue with ether, which precipitated the bitter principle. This they named 
gentiopicrin, though its proper name would be gentianin. It is crystallizable, 
very bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, neutral, and not pre- 
cipitable by tannin or subacetate of lead. It ranks with the glucosides; as it 
is resolved by the action of acids into glucose and an amorphous substance 
called genliogenin. Its formula is (See Am. J. of Pharm., xxxv. 
330.) M. Louis Magnes found in the root, when perfectly dried at 212° F., 
15 per cent, of glucose, and 12 per cent, in the root in its ordinary state. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., July, 1868, pp. 333-4.) When gentian is macerated in cold 
water, it undergoes the vinous fermentation, in consequence of the presence 
of this saccharine principle. From the fermented infusion a spirituous liquor 
is obtained by distillation, which, though bitter and unpleasant to the smell, 
is said to be relished by the Swiss and Tyrolese. Infusion of gentian is pre- 
cipitated by tannic acid and the soluble salts of lead, but is compatible with 
the salts of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gentian possesses, in a high degree, the tonic 
powers which characterize the simple bitters. It excites the appetite, invigorates 
digestion, moderately increases the temperature of the body and the force of the 
circulation, and operates in fact as a general corroborant. In very large doses, 
however, it is apt to load and oppress the stomach, to irritate the bowels, and 
even to occasion nausea and vomiting. It has been known as a medicine from 
the highest antiquity, and is said to have derived its name from Gentius, a king 
of Illyria. Many of the complex preparations handed down from the Greeks 
and Arabians contain it among their ingredients; and it enters into most of the 
stomachic combinations employed in modern practice. It may be used in all 
cases of pure debility of the digestive organs, or requiring a general tonic impres- 
sion Dyspepsia, atonic gout, amenorrhoea, hysteria, scrofula, intermittent fever, 
diarrhoea, and worms are among the many affections in which it has proved use- 
ful; but it is the condition of the stomach and of the system generally, not the 
name of the disease, which must be taken into consideration in prescribing it; 
and there is scarcely a complaint in which it can be advantageously given under 
all circumstances. Its powder has been applied externally to malignant and 
sloughing ulcers. It is usually administered in the form of infusion or tincture. 
A syrup may be pi’epared by forming a saturated infusion by means of percola- 
tion, and incorporating this at a boiling heat with simple syrup; or, perhaps 
more eligibly, bv dissolving two drachms of the extract of gentian, and after- 
wards fifteen ounces of sugar, in half a pint of water. The dose of the powder 
is from ten to forty grains. In consequence of the porous property of the root, 
which causes it to expand with moisture, it has been employed, as a substitute 
for sponge tent, in the enlargement of strictured passages. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Gentianae ; Extractum Gentian® Fluidum, U. S.; In- 
fusum Gentian® Compositum ; Mistura Gentian®, Br.; Tinctura Gentian® 
Composita. W. 
GENTIAN A CATESIEEI. US. Secondary. 
Blue Gentian 
The root of Gentiana Catesb®i. U. S. 
Genttana. See GENTIANA. 
Several indigenous species of gentian approach more or less nearly to Gen- 
tiana lutea in the bitterness of their roots; but G. Catesbsei, which resembles it 
most closely, is the only one medicinally employed. PART i. 
Gentiana Catesbsei.—Geranium. 
425 
Gentiana Catesbsei. Walter, Flor. Gar. 109; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. in 131 
The blue gentian has a perennial, branching, somewhat fleshy root, and a simple 
erect, rough stem, rising eight or ten inches in height, and bearing opposite 
leaves.which are ovate-lanceolate, acute, and rough on their margin. The flowers 
arc of a palish-blue colour, crowded, nearly sessile, and axillary or terminal. 
The divisions of the calyx are linear-lanceolate, and longer than the tube. Tho 
corolla is large, ventricose, plaited, and divided at its border into ten segments, 
of which the five outer are more or less acute, the five inner bifid and fringed. 
The number of stamens is five, and the two stigmas are seated on the germ. 
The capsule is oblong, acuminate, with two valves, and a single cell. 
G. Catesbaei grows in the grassy swamps of North and South Carolina, where 
it flowers from September to December. It was named by Walter and Elliot in 
honour of Catesby, by whom it was delineated nearly a century ago. Pursh 
confounds it with G. Saponaria, to which it is closely allied. 
Properties. By Dr. Bigelow we are told that the dried root of this plant has 
at first a mucilaginous and sweetish taste, which is soon succeeded by an intense 
bitterness, approaching nearly to that of the officinal gentian. Alcohol and 
boiling water extract its virtues, and the tincture and decoction are even more 
bitter than the root in substance. 
Medical Properties. As a medicine it is little inferior to the European gen- 
tian, and may be employed for similar purposes. In the Northern and Middle 
States it is not used ; but it is said to be occasionally prescribed by the practi- 
tioners of the South in dyspepsia, and other cases of stomachic and general 
debility. It may be given in powder in the dose of from fifteen to thirty grains, 
or in the form of extract, infusion, wine, or tincture, which may be prepared in 
the manner directed for the similar preparations of foreign gentian. W. 
GERANIUM. US. 
Cranesbill. 
The rhizoma of Geranium maculatum. U. S. 
Geranium. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Geraniaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla five-petaled, regular. Nectary five mel- 
liferous glands,united to the base of the longer filaments. Arilli five, one-seeded, 
awned, at the base of a beaked receptacle ; awns simple, naked, neither spiral 
nor bearded. Willd. 
Geranium maculatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 705; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
i. 84; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 149. This plant has a perennial, horizontal, fleshy 
root, which is furnished with short fibres, and sends up annually an herbaceous 
stem, with several radical leaves. The stem is erect, round, dichotomously 
branched, from one to two feet high, of a grayish-green colour, and thickly 
covered, in common with the petioles and peduncles, with reflexed hairs. The 
leaves are deeply divided into three, five, or seven lobes, which are variously 
incised at their extremities, hairy, and of a pale-green colour, mottled with still 
paler spots. Those which rise from the root are supported on footstalks eight 
or ten inches long; those of the stem are opposite, the lower petiolate, the upper 
nearly sessile, with lanceolate or linear stipules. The flowers are large, and 
usually of a purple colour. Tho peduncles spring from the forks of the stem, and 
severally support two flowers upon short pedicels. The calyx is composed of five 
oblong, ribbed, cuspidate leaves; the petals are five, obovate, and entire; the 
stamens ten, with oblong, deciduous anthers, the five alternate filaments being 
longer than the others, and having glands at their base ; the germ is ovate, sup- 
porting a straight style as long as the stamens, and surmounted by five stigmas. 
The fruit consists of rive aggregate, one-seeded capsules, attached by a beak to 
the persistent style, curling up and scattering the seeds when ripe. 
The cranesbill is indigenous, growing throughout the United States, in moist 
woods, thickets, and hedges, and generally in low grounds. It flowers from May 
to July. The root should be collected in autumn. 426 
Geranium.- -Geum. 
PARI I 
This, when dried, is in pieces from one to threemiches long, from a quarter 
to half an inch in thickness, somewhat flattened, contorted, wrinkled, tubercu- 
lated, and beset with slender fibres. It is externally of an umber-brown colour, 
internally reddish-gray, compact, iuodorous, and of an astringent taste, without 
bitterness or other unpleasant flavour. Water and alcohol extract its virtues. 
According to Dr. Edward Staples, it contains tannic and gallic acids, mucilage, 
red colouring matter, resin, and a crystallizable vegetable principle. (Journ. of 
Phil. Col. of Pharm., Oct. 1829, p. 171.) The Messrs. Tilden found, besides 
tannic and gallic acids, gum, pectin, sugar, starch, albumen, resin soluble in 
ether, resin soluble in alcohol, oleo-resin soluble in ether only, colouring matter, 
chlorophyll, lignin, and various salts. (Pharm. Journ., July, 1863, p. 22.) Tan- 
nic and gallic acids are probably the sole active ingredients. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Geranium is one of our best indigenous as- 
tringents, and may be employed for all the purposes to which these medicines are 
applicable. The absence of unpleasant taste, and other offensive qualities, ren- 
ders it peculiarly serviceable in the cases of infants, and persons of very delicate 
stomach. Diarrhoea, chronic dysentery, cholera infantum in the latter stages, 
and the various hemorrhages are the forms of disease in which it is most com- 
monly used, and with greatest advantage; but care should be taken, before it 
is administered, that the condition of the system and of the part affected is such 
as not to contraindicate the use of astringents. As an application to indolent 
ulcers, an injection in gleet and leucorrhcea, a gargle in relaxation of the uvula 
and aphthous ulcerations of the throat, it answers the same purpose as kino, 
catechu, and other medicines of the same class. It is a popular domestic remedy 
in various parts of the United States, and is said to be employed by the Indians. 
It may be given in substance, decoction, tincture, or extract. The dose of the 
powder is twenty or thirty grains, that of a decoction, made by boiling an ounce 
of the root in a pint and a half of water to a pint, from one to two fluidounces 
The medicine is sometimes given to children, boiled in milk. W. 
GEUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Water Avens. 
The root of Geum rivale. U. S. 
Bcnoite aquatique, Fr.; Wiesen Benediktenwurzel, Germ. 
Geum. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia.— Nat. Ord. Rosacese. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx ten-cleft. Petals five. Seeds with a bent awn. Willd. 
Several species belonging to this genus have been medicinally employed; but 
two or three only are deserving of particular notice—Geum rivale, which has 
a place in the secondary list of the United States Pharmacopoeia, G. urbanum, 
formerly recognised by the Dublin College, and perhaps G. Virginianum, an indi- 
genous species, the root of which has been recommended in dysentery by Dr. 
W. A. Gibson, of St. Louis. ( The Med. Record, Oct. 5, 1868, p. 384, from the 
St Louis Med. Reporter.) 
Geum urbanum, or avens, is a native of Europe, where it grows wild in shady 
places. The root, which is the part used, consists of a short oblong body, from 
a quarter to half an inch in thickness, externally brown, internally white towards 
the circumference and reddish at the centre, and furnished with numerous long 
descending fibres. When quite dry it is nearly inodorous; but in the recent 
state has a smell like that of cloves, whence it is sometimes called radix caryo- 
phillalee. The taste is bitterish and astringent. It imparts its virtues to water 
and alcohol, which it tinges red. Distilled with water it yields a thick, greenish- 
yellow volatile oil, and gives a pleasant flavour to the liquid. It contains, be- 
sides, according to Trommsdorff, tannic acid, which is abundant, a tasteless resin, 
gum, bassorin, and lignin. It has been much used in Europe as a tonic and 
astringent, in chronic and passive hemorrhages, chronic dysentery and diarrhoea, 
leucorrhcea, intermittent fever, &c. The dose is from thirty grains to a drachm 
of the powder three or four times a day, or an equivalent quantity in decoction. PART i. 
Geum.—Gillenia. 
427 
Geum rivale. Willcl. Sp. Plant, ii. 1115; Engl. Bot. 106. Water avens haa 
a perennial, horizontal, jointed, scaly, tapering root, about six inches long, of a 
reddish-brown colour externally, white internally, and furnished with numerous 
descending yellowish fibres. One or more stems rise from the same root, which 
also sends up numerous leaves. The stems are about a foot and a half high, 
simple, erect, pubescent, and of a purplish colour. The radical leaves are inter- 
ruptedly pinnate, with large terminal leaflets, aud long, hairy footstalks ; those 
of the stem are petiolate, and divided into three serrate, pointed segments. The 
flowers are few, solitary, nodding, yellowish-purple, and supported on axillary 
and terminal peduncles. The colour of the stems and flowers gave rise to the 
name of purple aoens, sometimes applied to the plant. The calyx is inferior, 
with ten lanceolate, pointed segments, of which the five alternate are smaller 
than the others. The petals are five, and as long as the calyx. The seeds are 
oval, with plumose awns, minutely uncinate, and nearly naked at the summit. 
This species of Geum is common to Europe and the United States ; though 
the plant of this country has smaller flowers, with petals more rounded on the 
top, and leaves more deeply incised than the European. It delights in wet, 
boggy meadows, and extends from Canada into New England, New York, and 
Pennsylvania. Its flowers appear in June aud July. The dried root is hard, 
brittle, easily pulverized, of a reddish or purplish colour, without smell, and of 
an astringent, bitterish taste Boiling water extracts its virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Water avens is tonic and powerfully astringent. 
It may be used with advantage in chronic or passive hemorrhages, leucorrhcea, 
and diarrhoea ; and is said to be beneficially employed in the Eastern States, as 
a popular remedy in the debility of phthisis pulmonalis, in simple dyspepsia, and 
in visceral diseases consequent on disorder of the stomach. In Europe it is 
sometimes substituted for the root of common avens, or Geum urbanum, but is 
less esteemed. The dose of the powdered root is from a scruple to a drachm, to 
be repeated three times a day. The decoction, which is usually preferred, may 
be made by boiling an ounce of the root in a pint of water, and given in the 
quantity of one or two fluidouuces. A weak decoction is sometimes used by 
invalids in New England as a substitute for tea and coffee. W. 
GILLENIA. US. 
Gillenia.. 
The root of Gillenia trifoliata, and of Gillenia stipulacea. U. S. 
Indian physic, American ipecacuanha. 
Gillenia. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.— Nat. Ord. Rosace®. 
Gen.Ch. Calyx tubular campanulate, border five-toothed. Corolla partly 
unequal. Petals five, lanceolate, attenuated at the base. Stamens few, included. 
Styles five. Capsules five, connate at the base, opening on the inner side, each 
two-seeded. Torrey. 
This genus was separated by Moench from Spiraea. It is exclusively North 
American, and includes only two discovered species—G. trifoliata and G. stijm- 
lacea—both of which are recognised in our Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Gillenia trifoliata. Bigelow, Am. Med Hot. iii. 10 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 
65; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 40, pi. 34. This is an herbaceous plant, with a 
perennial root, consisting of many long, slender, brown branches, proceeding 
from a thick, tuber-like head. The stems, several of which usually rise from the 
same root, are two or three feet high, erect, slender, smooth, flexuose, branched, 
and commonly of a reddish colour. The leaves are ternate, with very short 
petioles, and small linear-lanceolate stipules. The leaflets are ovate-lanceolate, 
sharply serrate, and acuminate. The flowers grow in a loose terminal nodding 
panicle, with long peduncles. The calyx is tubular campanulate, ventricose, and 
terminates in five-pointed segments. The corolla is composed of five linear- 
lanceolate, recurved petals, the two upper separated from the three lower, white, 
with a reddish tinge on their border, and of three times the length of the calyx. 428 
Gillenia. 
PART I. 
The stamens are twenty, the filaments short, the anthers small and yellow. 
Each flower is succeeded by five capsules, connate at the base, oblong, acumi- 
nate, gibbous without, acute within, two-valved, one-celled, opening inward, 
and containing each one or two oblong seeds. 
This species of Gillenia grows throughout the United States, east of the 
Alleghany ridge, and, in Pennsylvania, may also be found abundantly west of 
these mountains. Pursh found it in Florida, and it extends as far north as 
Canada. It frequents light soils, in shady and moist situations, and flowers in 
June and July. The root should be gathered in September. 
2. G. stipulacea. Barton, Med. Bot. i. 71. This species is also herbaceous and 
perennial, though much taller and more bushy than the preceding. The stems 
are brownish and branched. The upper leaves are ternate, lanceolate, serrate ; 
the lower more deeply incised, becoming towards the root pinnatifid, and of a 
reddish-brown colour at the margin. The stipules are ovate, acuminate, deeply 
serrate, resembling leaves, and marking the species at the first glance. The 
flowers are smaller than those of G. trifoliata, and grow on long slender pe- 
duncles in a lax corymb. 
In the valley of the Mississippi, this plant occupies the place of G. trifoliata, 
which is not found beyond the Muskingum. It grows as far north as the State 
of New York, extends through Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, and pro- 
bably into the States south of the Ohio, as it has been found in Western Vir- 
ginia. Its root is precisely similar to that of the eastern species, and is reputed 
to possess the same properties. 
The dried root of Gillenia is not thicker than a quill, wrinkled longitudinally 
with occasional transverse fissures, and, in the thicker pieces, presenting in some 
places an irregular, undulated, somewhat knotty appearance, arising from indent- 
ations on one side corresponding with prominences on the other. It is externally 
of a light-brown colour, and consists of a thick, somewhat reddish, brittle, corti- 
cal portion, with an interior slender, tougher, whitish, ligneous cord. The bark, 
which is easily separable, has a bitter, not disagreeable taste; the wood is nearly 
insipid and comparatively inert, and should be rejected. The powder is of a 
light-brownish colour, and possesses a feeble odour, which is scarcely perceptible 
in the root. The bitterness is extracted by boiling water, which acquires the red 
colour of wine. The root yields its bitterness also to alcohol. By various experi- 
menters it has been shown to contain gum, starch, gallo-tannic acid, fatty mat- 
ter,wax, resin, colouring matter, albumen, and lignin, besides salts. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvi. 490.) The name of gillenin has been given, by Mr. W. B. 
Stanhope, to a substance obtained by first preparing an alcoholic extract, treat- 
ing this with water, which took up various substances with a little of the active 
matter, then macerating the residue for ten days in water acidulated with sul- 
phuric acid, saturating with magnesia, evaporating to dryness, and finally treat- 
ing with alcohol, filtering, and allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate spon- 
taneously. The substance thus obtained was whitish, very bitter, slightly odor- 
ous, permanent in the air, soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and the dilute acids, 
and neutral to test-paper. Nitric acid rendered it blood-red, chromic acid green. 
Tannic acid produced no effect. It gave white precipitates with potassa, sub- 
acetate of lead, and tartar emetic. Half a grain of it produced nausea and 
retching. (Ibid., xxviii. 202.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Gillenia is a mild and efficient emetic, and, 
like most substances belonging to the same class, occasionally acts upon the 
bowels. In very small doses it has been thought to be tonic. It is much used by 
some practitioners in the country as a substitute for ipecacuanha, which it is 
said to resemble in its mode of operation. It was employed by the Indians, and 
became known as an emetic to the colonists at an early period. Linmeus was 
aware of its reputed virtues. The dose of the powdered root is from twenty 
to thirty grains, repeated at intervals of twenty minutes till it vomits. W. PART I. 
Glycerina. 
429 
GLYCERINA. U.S. 
Glycerin. 
Off. Syn. GLYCEBINUM. Glycerine. A sweet principle, C6II806, obtained 
from fats and fixed oils, and containing a small percentage of water. Br. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for the preparation 
of glycerin; but it is now so exclusively a product of wholesale manufacturing, 
that it was deemed proper, in the late revision of the work, to transfer it to the 
Materia Medica Catalogue, where it also stands in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The following is the process referred to. 
“Take of Lead Plaster, recently prepared and yet fluid, Boiling Water, each, 
a gallon. Mix them, stir briskly for fifteen minutes, then allow them to cool, and 
pour off' the supernatant liquid. Evaporate this until it has the specific gravity 
115, and pass a current of sulphohydric acid slowly through it until a black 
precipitate is no longer produced. Filter, and apply heat until the sulphohydric 
acid is driven off. Lastly, evaporate the liquid until it ceases to lose weight.” 
In the process for making lead plaster, litharge, olive oil, and water are boiled 
together, with the result of decomposing the oil, the oily acids of which unite 
with the oxide of lead to form the plaster. At the same time the sweet principle 
of the oil, called glycerin, which was previously united to the oily acids to consti- 
tute the oil, is set free, becomes hydrated, and dissolves in the water. (See Em- 
plastrum Plumbi.) It follows, therefore, that the plaster, while still hot and in 
the liquid state, contains an aqueous solution of glycerin, diffused through it. 
It was the plaster in this state that was made use of for preparing glycerin in the 
former U. S. formula. Accordingly, when the liquid plaster is mixed with an 
equal measure of boiling water, and the mixture stirred briskly, a solution of 
glycerin is obtained; which, after having been decanted, and evaporated to a 
limited extent, is freed from lead by sulphuretted hydrogen. The liquid is then 
filtered to separate sulphuret of lead, heated to free it from sulphuretted hy- 
drogen, and finally evaporated to expel the free water, which is known to be 
all removed when it ceases to lose weight. 
Glycerin was discovered in 1789 by Scheele, by whom it was called the sweet 
principle of oils. It is produced not only during the saponification of the fats 
and oils by oxide of lead in forming lead plaster, but also during the same pro- 
cess, when effected by potassa and soda inthe manufacture of soap; the alkalies 
uniting with the oily acids, and setting the glycerin free. Hence soap-makers’ 
waste is an abundant source of glycerin; but, thus originating, it is apt to have 
more or less odour, which even percolation through animal charcoal does not 
always remove. A method of purifying glycerin from soap-makers’ waste is 
given by M. Bruere-Perrin. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 549.)* The process of 
* Dr. Campbell Morfit has given the following process for making pure glycerin on the 
large scale. Melt one hundred pounds of tallow, lard, or pressed lard, in a clean iron-bound 
barrel, by the direct application of a current of steam, and add to the melted liquid fifteen 
pounds of lime, previously slaked and made into a milk with two and a half gallons of 
water. Then cover the vessel, and continue the steaming for several hours, or until the 
completion of the saponification. This is known to be completed, when a portion of the 
cooled soap gives a smooth shining surface on being scraped with the nail, and breaks 
with a cracking noise. By this treatment the fat is decomposed, the oily acids unite with 
the lime to form an insoluble lime soap, and the liberated glycerin remains in solution 
in the water, along with the excess of lime. After the liquid has been sufficiently boiled, 
it is allowed to cool and settle, and then strained through a crash cloth. The strained 
liquid, containing only the glycerin and excess of lime, is carefully concentrated by 
steam heat, treated with a current of carbonic acid to remove the lime as carbonate of 
lime, boiled again to decompose any bicarbonate of lime that may have been formed, and 
allowed to repose. The supernatant clear liquid is finally decanted or strained off from 
the precipitated carbonate of lime, and concentrated, if necessary, to expel any excess of 
water. The residue of the process, the lime soap, is sold to the stearic candle makers, or 
reconverted into saleable fat. Dr. Morfit has found his process for glycerin to combine 
the advantages of saving time, labour, and money. (Silliman’s Journal, 2d ser., xv. 429.) 
—Note to the tenth edition. 430 
Glycerina. 
PART I. 
Mr. Richard A. Tilghman, of this city, patented, Jan. 9, 1854, consists in sub- 
jecting fatty bodies to the action of water at a high temperature under pressure, 
whereby their constituents combine with water, so as to form free fatty acids, 
and solution of glycerin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1855, p. 121.) Thus 
obtained it is called distilled glycerin, and is produced at once in the purest 
form. This process is used at the great candle manufactory of Price & Co., Lon- 
don, whence our markets have been largely supplied with glycerin. Through a 
distillatory apparatus containing palm oil, heated steam between 550° and G00° 
is passed. The oil is decomposed into its oily acids and glycerin, which, together 
with water, distil over, and, condensing in the receiver, separate into two layers, 
the lower of which is glycerin. If this, as first procured, contain too much water, 
it must be concentrated; if discoloured, it must be redistilled with vapour. 
(Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1861, p. 350.) Ordinary impure glycerin may be purified 
by distillation with steam under pressure. Though, when distilled alone, it is 
partially decomposed, giving out pungent vapours of acrolein, yet, in a current 
of superheated steam, it passes over unchanged at temperatures between 400° 
and 500°. (Brande & Taylor.) Very pure glycerin is now prepared in the 
U. States. 
Properties, &c. Glycerin is a thick syrupy liquid, either colourless or of a 
slight amber colour, without smell when pure, unctuous to the touch, and of a 
very sweet taste. In properties it is intermediate between water and the oils. 
When exposed to the air it gradually absorbs moisture. As already stated, 
though decomposed by a high heat in its unmixed state, yet with water under 
pressure it is volatilizable unchanged at a temperature between 400° and 500° 
F. Cooled down in its ordinary state to zero, it only becomes more viscid, 
without congealing; but, under certain not well-understood circumstances, 
it appears to be capable of crystallization, forming hard, brilliant crystals 
of a probably octohedral form, which on melting maintain a temperature 
of 45° F.* (Amer. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 163.) Its sp.gr. is 
l 25, TJ. SBr. According to Mr G. F. Wilson, glycerin, when of the density 
1'24, contains 94 per cent, of anhydrous glycerin; when of the density 126, 
98 per cent. It is soluble in all proportions in water and alcohol, but insoluble 
in ether. Glycerin possesses extensive powers as a solvent, and is an excellent 
excipient for many medicinal substances. It dissolves bromine and iodine, the 
iodide of sulphur, the chlorides of potassium and sodium, the fixed alkalies, 
some of the alkaline earths, and a large number of neutral salts. It also dis- 
solves the vegetable acids, particularly tannic acid, and either suspends or dis- 
solves the vegetable alkalies. Many of the salts of the vegetable alkalies are 
soluble in it, forming convenient solutions for external application. Such solu- 
tions are now made for medicinal purposes with some of the salts of morphia, 
quinia, strychnia, veratria, and atropia. Prof. J. S. Blockey, of London, has 
ascertained that certain neuter vegetable substances are far more soluble in gly- 
cerin than in water. Thus, salicin dissolves in eight parts of cold glycerin, and 
santonin in eighteen parts when boiling. The latter solution, when of half this 
strength, forms on cooling an almost solid mass. Glycerin, next to alcohol, is 
the best solvent of iodine. Iodine and iodide of potassium, when dissolved in 
it, form iodized glycerin, the medical applications of which are given under 
iodine. (See Iodinium.)f Glycerin is not susceptible of becoming rancid, or of 
fermenting spontaneously; but will generate a portion of alcohol under the 
* Mr. Vm, Crookes gives an account, in the Chem. News of Jan. 18, 18G7, of 5 tons of 
glycerin imported into London from Germany in casks of 8 cwt. each, which, though 
when it left the continent it was in its ordinary state of a viscid liquid, was found, on 
reaching London, to have become solidified into a mass of very hard, brilliant crystals. 
The same result has been noticed in Vienna in a mass of glycerin which had been in an 
iron tank more than a year. (Chem. News, April 5, 1867, p. 174.) The crystalline mass 
noticed by Mr. Crookes yielded pure glycerin when melted. (Note to the thirteenth 
edition.) 
f In relation to its solvent powers the reader is referred to an elaborate papei by MM. 
Cap and Garot, published in the Journ.de Pharm. for Aug. 1854, p. 81. PART i. 
Glycerina. 
431 
combined influence of chalk, and of a ferment formed of cheese or animal tissue 
During this change there is no intermediate formation of glucose, provided car- 
bonate of lime is present. (Berthelot.) Glycerin does not evaporate when ex- 
posed to the air; nor can it be distilled without decomposition, unless in the 
presence of water or steam. When decomposed by heat, it emits extremely irri- 
tating vapours. At a full red heat it takes fire, and burns with a blue flame. Tn 
consequence of the high temperature required for its volatilization, it has been 
proposed to use it for an evaporating bath, in which a heat beyond that of boil- 
ing water is required. Glycerin is antiseptic, and has been recommended by 
Mr. Warington and M. Demarquav to preserve alimentary substances and ob- 
jects of natural history, and to inject bodies for dissection. According to Dr. 
W. F razer, it does not answer to keep pathological preparations; as they are 
completely softened by its action. M. Berthelot, of Paris, has succeeded in com- 
bining glycerin with a number of acids, both mineral and organic, forming three 
distinct series of neutral compounds. Among others he has united it with the 
fatty acids, producing, by synthesis, the organic fatty substances, stearin, mar- 
garin, olein, &c. Glycerin has been recently formed artificially, by a compli- 
cated process, by M. A.Wurtz. (See Ghem.Gaz., June 1, 1857, p. 205.) By Pas- 
teur it has been ascertained to be one of the products of the vinous fermentation. 
Glycerin consists of one eq. of the hypothetical radical glyceryl (CfiH,), five eqs. 
of oxygen, and one of water. Its formula is, therefore, C6H70.4-1I0. 
The solvent and preservative properties, as well as agreeable taste and per- 
manent consistence of glycerin, render it very useful as a menstruum in phar- 
macy; and a class of preparations consisting of medicinal substances dissolved 
in it has come into extensive use. The British Pharmacopoeia has adopted 
such a class, under the name of glycerina or glycerines. The title of glyceroles, 
adopted from the French, is objectionable, as the termination has been used as 
designative of certain proximate principles. We prefer the name of glycerates, 
suggested in a previous edition of this work; and, though this name belongs 
to the salts of glyceric acid, yet this acid is comparatively seldom referred to, 
and might readily be styled glycerinic acid, so as to leave the convenient 
name of glycerates for this large and much used class of substances. 
Impurities and Tests. Glycerin is occasionally deficient in density and con- 
sistency. According to M. Dalpiaz, it is sometimes perfectly colourless from 
being bleached by chlorine, when it is apt to contain chloride of calcium, as well 
as free chlorine. The latter may be detected by rendering the suspected sample 
slightly blue by a few drops of sulphate of indigo, and then adding a little sul- 
phuric acid, when, if free chlorine be present, the blue colour will disappear. 
Lime may be detected by oxalate of ammonia ; lead by hydrosulphate of am- 
monia, and sulphuric acid by a soluble salt of baryta. Diluted, and boiled with 
a solution of potassa, it is not altered in colour, showing the absence of glucose. 
Trommer’s test is probably still more effectual. The absence of cane sugar is 
proved by the complete solubility of the glycerin in chloroform, which does not 
dissolve sugar ( Ghem. News, no. 205, p. 217); also, if, upon the addition of two 
drops of concentrated sulphuric acid, and the application of heat, no brown dis- 
coloration is observed. (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 405.) The chloroform 
test, however, was not found satisfactory by Prof. Procter, who states that com 
mereial glycerin is not soluble in chloroform. He believes that the most satis- 
factory method of detecting cane sugar is to dilute a little glycerin with three 
parts of water, then add a few grains of tartaric acid, and boil for a short time. 
Cane sugar, if present, is thus converted into glucose, which may be detected 
by adding first a solution of sulphate of copper, and then the solution of potassa 
to the heated liquid, when the formation of the reddish suboxide of copper will 
afford the requisite proof. (Procter, Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 110.) 
Diluted with water, glycerin should give no precipitate with hydrosulphatc of 
ammonia, or ferrocyanide of potassium, showing the absence generally of me- 
tallic salts. If a drop be rubbed on the hand, no odour should be perceived. 
One volume of glycerin should dissolve completely in one volume of alcohol, 432 
Glycenna. 
PART i. 
acidulated with 1 per cent, of sulphuric acid, without affording any precipitate 
of sulphate of lime, even after standing for twelve hours. For the tests of pure 
glycerin, given more in detail, see the paper of M. Cap in the Journal de 
Pharmacie (Mars, 1856, p. 212). 
Among the most injurious impurities of glycerin are thought to be oxalic 
and formic acids, the latter of which is especially irritating to the skin, so as 
to unfit glycerin for some of the purposes for which it is most employed. The 
oxalic acid is said to result from the action of sulphuric acid employed in puri- 
fying glycerin ; the formic, from the reaction between glycerin and oxalic acid. 
The oxalic acid may be detected by boiling a very little glycerin with a solu- 
tion of chloride of calcium to which water of ammonia has been added, which 
causes a deposition of oxalate of lime; the formic acid, by a black deposit pro- 
duced by allowiug a mixture of glycerin and solution of nitrate of silver to 
stand for a long time. (Hager, Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim.)* Mr. Henry 
Bower, of Philadelphia, who manufactures very pure glycerin, says that nitrate 
of silver is the most reliable test. Glycerin, which shows no reaction with this 
salt, he considers suitable for all uses. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1868, p. 265.) 
Medical Properties, &c. The uses of glycerin as a vehicle of other medi- 
cines have been already given. Employed internally as a therapeutic agent, it is 
deemed alterative, nutrient, and demulcent. Dr. J. L. Crawcour, of New Or- 
leans, has used it with supposed advantage in phthisis, and prefers it to cod-liver 
oil. Dr. R. P. Cotton, however, has tried it in the Consumption Hospital at 
Brompton, and concluded that it has generally but little influence, and that, as a 
remedial agent, it will bear no comparison with cod-liver oil. Dr. W. Lauder 
Lindsay made experiments with it, to determine its alterative and nutrient pro- 
perties, and found it to increase the weight of the body; but his experiments 
were not made on a sufficient scale to be conclusive. It sometimes appeared 
to act beneficially in tuberculous and strumous affections, forming a useful suc- 
eedaneum for cod-liver oil, when the latter could not be borne by the stomach. 
Glycerin has come into extensive use as an external remedy. Its emollient 
virtues and undrying property adapt it to the treatment of skin diseases, in 
which a softening and soothing application is required. It appears to have been 
first employed externally, in 1846, by Mr. Thomas De la Rue, of London, whoso 
observation of its utility led Mr. Startin to try it in the Hospital for Skin Dis- 
eases, where it came into extensive use. The principal cutaneous diseases in 
which it has been found beneficial are pityriasis, lepra, herpes, eczema, psoriasis, 
prurigo, and lichen. It is a useful addition to lotions in the incrusted form of 
lupus, and in various syphilitic and strumous eruptions. It is also useful in 
chapped skin and excoriated surfaces. Added to poultices, in a proportion vary- 
ing from one-fourth to one-sixteenth, it has the effect of keeping them soft for 
a long time. To collodium it gives a plasticity which renders it often better 
suited to skin affections. Incorporated in very small proportion with extracts 
•and pills, it keeps them soft and free from mouldiness. M. Devergie, in giving 
the results of his trials of glycerin in skin diseases, thinks its virtues have been 
exaggerated, and that it is not superior to pure lard and similar fatty substances; 
though it has the advantages of liquidity and freedom from odour. In cases 
of deafness, from deficiency, accumulation, or hardness of the cerumen, and at- 
tended with dryness of the meatus, glycerin is an excellent remedy, introduced 
into the canal by means of raw cotton, saturated with it. In relation to the uses 
* As impure glycerin is often irritant to the skin, and thus unfitted for some of the 
most important uses of this principle, it is very important to have a test by which this 
kind of impurity may be detected. According to M. Hager, if equal volumes of the irri- 
tating glycerin and pure sulphuric acid be mixed in a glass tube, there will be an im- 
mediate disengagement of gas; and, after the escape of gas has ceased, and the mixture 
allowed to rest, a renewed agitation will cause a new development of gas; and this phe- 
nomenon may be repeated several times; whereas, if the glycerin be pure and unirritant, 
there is a rise of tempeiature, and there may be a slight discoloration, but no efferves- 
cence, and only the production of a few bubbles of air on agitation. (Journ. de Pharm. 
et de Chim., Nov. 1867, p. 360.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Glycerina.—Glycyrrhiza. 
433 
of glycerin in diseases of the ear, the reader is referred to a paper by Mr. Thomas 
Wakley, in the London Lancet for June, 1849. Glycerin may be prepared as an 
ointment, for which formulas are given by Mr. J. Laidley, and by Mr. J. II. 
Ecky.* (Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xxii. 118, and xxv. 27.) It is recommended, 
in its perfectly pure state, by Dr. Foucher, as a vehicle in collyria, agreeing with 
all the substances used locally in diseases of the eye, except nitrate of silver, 
which it decomposes. (Ghem. News, Dec. 8, 1860, p. 306.) Under the name 
of plasma, a preparation was brought into notice, in the year 1858, by Mr. G. F. 
Schacht, as a substitute for ointments, the emollient and demulcent properties of 
which it possesses, without their inconvenience, whether used simply, or as a ve- 
hicle for other substances to be employed locally. It is a compound of glycerin 
and starch, and is prepared, according to Mr. Schacht, by mixing 70 grains of 
starch in powder, and a fluidounce of glycerin, heating to 240° until the union 
is effected, and stirring constantly. After the vessel is removed from the fire, the 
stirring should be continued moderately, during the cooling process, to secure a 
proper consistence. As the plasma is liable to absorb moisture, it should be 
kept in well-closed vessels. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1866, p. 210.) 
Glycerin has been used by M. Demarquay, of Paris, as a dressing in hospital 
gangrene, and in wounds in general. The wound is covered with folds of linen, 
dipped in the glycerin, over which lint is applied, and secured by a bandage. 
The advantages claimed for this dressing are that it lessens suppuration, pro- 
motes cicatrization, and, when removed, leaves the wound clean. Glycerin, used 
in this way, has been tried by two London surgeons, Mr. Skey and Mr. Hutch- 
inson, and both conclude that it possesses no particular virtues. It is con- 
ceded, however, that it is an agreeable application, causes no smarting, excludes 
the air, keeps the sore moist, and does not adhere to its edges; and these are 
no small recommendations. It has the advantage over bland oils that it may be 
readily washed from the wound, on account of its solubility in water. (See Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1856, p. 253.)f The vaccine lymph and scab have 
been dissolved in glycerin with a view to the preservation of the virus, and Dr. 
Andrews, of Chicago, has successfully vaccinated with the solution; but the 
expedient, to say the least, is of doubtful advantage. 
Off. Prep. Glycerinum Acidi Carbolici, Br.; Glycerinum Aeidi Gallici, Br., 
Glycerinum Acidi Tannici, Br.; Glycerinum Amyli, Br.; Glycerinum Boracis, 
Br.; Linimentum Potassii Iodidi cum Sapone, Br. B. 
GLYCYRRHIZA. U. S. 
Liquorice Loot. 
The root of Glycyrrhiza glabra. U. S. 
Off. Syn. Glycyrrhiz* Radix. Liquorice Root. The root or underground 
stem, fresh and dried, of Glycyrrhiza glabra. Br. 
Bois de reglisse, Fr.; Su3sholzwurzel, Germ.; Liquirizia, Ital.; Regaliza, Span. 
Glycyrrhiza. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.— Nat. Ord. Leguminosse 
or Fabacese. 
* Mr. Ecky’s glycerin ointment is made as follows. Take of spermaceti half an ounce; 
white wax a drachm; oil of almonds two fluidounces; glycerin a jluidounce. Melt the 
spermaceti and wax with the oil of almonds by a moderate heat. Then, having poured 
the melted liquid into a Wedgwood mortar, add the glycerin, and rub until the ingre- 
dients are thoroughly mixed and cool. This ointment may be used with advantage in 
chaps and excoriations. 
f Glyconine. Under this name has been several years employed, in France, both for 
medical purposes and for those of the toilet, an emulsion made of glycerin and the yelk 
of eggs. When these two substances are rubbed together, they unite to form a very inti- 
mate mixture, which remains transparent. It has the consistence of honey, and forms 
an opaque emulsion with water. It may be preserved almost indefinitely. The usual 
proportions of the ingredients are four parts of the yelk of eggs, and five parts of very 
pure glycerin. It is largely used in the hospitals as a dressing for burns, and a local 
application in erysipelas, fissures of the nipples, and various cutaneous atfections. {Arch. 
General, de Med., Mai, 1808, p. 640.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 434 
Glycyrrhiza. 
PART I. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate; upper lip three-cleft, lower undivided. Legume 
ovate compressed. Willd. 
Glycyrrhiza glabra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1144; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 420, 
t. 152; Carson, Must, of Med. Bot. i. 38, pi. 32. The liquorice plant has a per- 
ennial root, which is round, succulent, tough, and pliable, furnished with sparse 
fibres, rapid in its growth, and in a sandy soil penetrates deeply into the ground. 
The stems are herbaceous, erect, and usually four or five feet in height, have few 
branches, and are garnished with alternate, pinnate leaves, consisting of several 
pairs of ovate, blunt, petiolate leaflets, with a single leaflet at the end, of a pale- 
green colour, and clammy on their under surface. The flowers are violet or 
purple, formed like those of the pea, and arranged in axillary spikes supported 
on long peduncles. The calyx is tubular and persistent. The fruit is a com- 
pressed, smooth, acute, one-cellcd legume, containing from one to four small' 
kidney-shaped seeds. 
The plant is a native of the south of Europe, Barbary, Syria, and Persia; and 
is cultivated in England, the north of France, and Germany. Much of the root 
imported into this country comes from Messina and Palermo in Sicily. It is 
also largely produced in the north of Spain, where it is an important article of 
commerce. It is not improbable that a portion of the root from Italy and Sicily 
is the product of G. echinata, which grows wild in Apulia. This species is also 
abundant in the south of Russia, where, according to Hayne, sufficient extract 
is prepared from it to supply the whole Russian empire. 
A species of Glycyrrhiza, G. lepidota, grows abundantly about St. Louis, in 
the State of Missouri, and flourishes along the banks of the Missouri river to its 
source. It is probably the same as the liquorice plant mentioned by Mackenzie 
as growing on the northern coast of this continent. Mr. Nuttall states that its 
root possesses in no inconsiderable degree the taste of liquorice. 
Properties. The liquorice root of the shops is in long pieces, varying in thick- 
ness from a few lines to more than an inch, fibrous, externally grayish-brown 
and wrinkled by desiccation, internally yellowish, without smell, and of a sweet 
mucilaginous taste, mingled with a slight degree of acrimony. It is often worm- 
eaten and more or less decayed. The best pieces are those which have the bright- 
est yellow colour internally, and of which the layers are distinct. The powder 
is of a grayish-yellow colour, when the root is pulverized without beingdeprived 
of its epidermis; of a pale sulphur yellow, when the epidermis has been removed. 
Robiquet found the following ingredients in liquorice root; 1. a peculiar trans- 
parent yellow substance, called glycyrrhizin or glycion, of a sweet taste, scarcely 
soluble in cold water, very soluble in boiling water, with which it gelatinizes on 
cooling, thrown down from its aqueous solution by acids, readily soluble in cold 
alcohol, insusceptible of the vinous fermentation, yielding no oxalic acid by the 
action of the nitric, and therefore wholly distinct from sugar; 2. a crystallizable 
principle named agedoite by Robiquet, but subsequently proved to be identical 
with asparagin; 3. starch; 4. albumen; 5. a brown acrid resin; 6. a brown 
azotized extractive matter; 7. lignin; 8. salts of lime and magnesia, with phos- 
phoric, sulphuric, and malic acids. Robiquet prepared glycyrrhizin by subject- 
ing a strong cold infusion of the root to ebullition, in order to separate the 
albumen; then filtering, precipitating with acetic acid, and washing the pre- 
cipitate with water to remove any adhering acid. It may be still further purified 
by solution in absolute alcohol, and evaporation at a very gentle heat. According 
to Dr. T. Lade, glycyrrhizin, as it exists in the root, is rendered soluble in water 
by combination with inorganic bases, such as lime and ammonia, from which it 
is separated by the addition of an acid. From the observations of Dr. Lade, it 
is to be inferred that this principle has no affinity for the acids, but combines 
with salifiable bases, forming salts of various degrees of solubility. Its sweetness 
is retained in the compounds which it forms with the alkalies. It consists of 
carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and ranks among the glucosides. Its formula, ac- 
cording toM. Gorup-Besanez,is according to Vogel, Cl6HlaOR. (Journ 
de Pharm., Juillet, 1861, p. 72.) part I. 
Glycyrrhiza.—Gossypii Radix.— Gossypium. 
435 
An extract of liquorice root is brought from Spain and Italy, and much used 
under the name of liquorice. (See Extractum Glycyrrhizse.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liquorice root is an excellent demulcent, well 
adapted to catarrhal affections, and to irritations of the mucous membrane of the 
bowels and urinary passages. It is best given in the form of decoction, either 
alone, or combined with other demulcents. It is frequently employed as an addi- 
tion to the decoctions of acrid or irritating vegetable substances, such, for ex- 
ample, as seneka and mezereon, the acrimony of which it covers, while it renders 
them more acceptable to the stomach. Before being used, it should be deprived 
of its cortical part, which is somewhat acrid, without possessing the peculiar 
virtues of the root. The decoction may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the 
bruised root, for a few minutes, in a pint of water. By long boiling, the acrid 
resinous principle is extracted. Perhaps, however, to this principle may in part 
be ascribed the therapeutical virtues of liquorice root in chronic bronchial dis- 
eases. The powder is used in the preparation of pills, either to give due con- 
sistence, or to cover their surface and prevent them from adhering together. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Terebinthinae, Br.; Decoctum Sarsae Compositum, Br.; 
Decoctum Sarsaparillae Compositum, U.S.; Extractum Glycyrrhiz®, Br.; Ex- 
tractum Sarsaparillae Fluidum Compositum, U.S.; Infusum Lini.Rr.; Infusum 
Lini Compositum, U. S.; Pilula Ferri Iodidi, Br.; Pil. Hydrargyri; Syrupus 
Sarsaparillae Compositus, U. S. W 
GOSSYPII RADIX. U. S. Secondary. 
Cotton Root. 
The root of Gossypium herbaceum, and of other species of Gossypium. U. S. 
GOSSYPIUM. U.S.,Br. 
Cotton. 
. A filamentous substance separated from tne seed of Gossypium herbaceum, 
and of other species of Gossypium. U. S. The hairs of the seed of various species 
of Gossypium, carded. Br. 
Coton, Fr.; Baumwolle, Germ.; Cotone, Hal.; Algodon, Span. 
Gossypium. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Malvaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx cup-shaped, obtusely five-toothed, surrounded by a three- 
parted involucel, with dentate-incised, cordate leaflets, cohering at the base. 
Stigmas three to five. Capsule three to five-celled, many-seeded. Seeds sur- 
rounded by a tomentose wool. De Cand. 
In consequence of changes produced in the plants of this genus by cultivation, 
botanists have found great difficulty in determining which are distinct species, 
and which merely varieties. De Candolle describes thirteen species in his Pro- 
dromus, and mentions six others; but considers them all uncertain. Royle de- 
scribes eight and admits others. Schwartz thinks they may all be referred to one 
original species. The plants inhabit different parts of tropical Asia and Africa, 
and many of them are cultivated for their cotton in climates adapted to their 
growth. The species from which most of the cotton of commerce has been 
thought to be obtained, is the one specially indicated by the U. S. Pharmaco- 
poeia. According to Dr. Royle, it is the India cotton which is produced by G. 
herbaceum, while G. Barbadense furnishes all the cotton of N. America, and 
G. Perucianum that produced in Brazil, Peru, and other parts of S. America. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 339.) Dr. A. W. Chapman, how- 
ever, in his Mora of the Southern United States (N. Y., A. D. 1860, p. 58), 
states that the numerous varieties of the cotton-plant are now referred to two 
species, the long-staple or sea-island, to G. album (Haw.), and the short-staple 
or upland, to G. nigrum (Haw.). 
Gossypium herbaceum. Linn. Sp. 975; De Cand. Prodrom. i 456. This is 436 
Gossypium. 
PART I. 
a biennial or triennial plant, with a branching stem from two to six feet high, 
and palmate hoary leaves, the lobes of which are somewhat lanceolate and acute. 
The flowers are pretty, with yellow petals, having a purple spot near the claw. 
The leaves of the involucel or outer calyx are serrate. The capsule opens when 
ripe, and displays a loose white tuft of long slender filaments, which surround 
the seeds, and adhere firmly to the outer coating. The plant is a native of Asia, 
but is cultivated in most tropical countries,. It requires a certain duration of 
warm weather to perfect its seeds, and, in the United States, cannot be culti- 
vated advantageously north of Virginia. 
The herbaceous part of the plant contains much mucilage, and has been used 
as a demulcent. The seeds yield by expression a fixed oil of the drying kind, 
which is employed for making soap and other purposes.* The root has been 
supposed to possess medical virtues, and is now recognised by the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia. Another officinal portion, and that for which the plant is cultivated, 
is the filamentous substance surrounding the seeds. This when separated con- 
stitutes the cotton of commerce. 
Cotton consists of filaments, which, under the microscope, appear to be flat- 
tened tubes, with occasional joints indicated by transverse lines. It is without 
smell or taste, insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, the oils, and vegetable acids, 
soluble in strong alkaline solutions, and decomposed by the concentrated mineral 
acids. In chemical character, it bears a close analogy to lignin. By nitric acid it 
is converted into that remarkable explosive substance denominated guncotton, 
for an account of which, as well as of a valuable adhesive preparation made by 
dissolving it in ether, the reader is referred to the articles Gun Cotton and Col- 
lodium. For medical use it should be carded into thin sheets; or the wadding 
* Cottonseed Oil. This is obtained by expression from the seeds previously deprived of 
their shells. In this state, they yield two gallons of oil to the bushel. As first obtained, 
it is thick and turbid, hut deposits a portion of its impurities on standing. Besides this 
crude oil, there are three varieties in the shops of the South, more or less purified, recog- 
nised as the clarified, the refined., and the winter-bleached. The last-mentioned is of a pale- 
straw colour, a mild peculiar odour, and a bland sweetish taste, not unlike that of almond 
oil. The oil is used in the preparation of woollen cloth and morocco leather, and for oil- 
ing machinery. There seems to be some doubt of its drying qualities. It has been fount] 
to be an excellent substitute for almond and olive oil in most pharmaceutical prepara- 
tions in which they are employed; but does not answer well in the formation of the lead 
plaster. Citrine ointment carefully prepared with it, too great heat being avoided, re- 
tains long a rich-orange colour and proper unctuous consistence. Its sp. gr. is stated at 
0-921. It is insoluble in alcohol, soluble in not less than its own bulk of ether, and dis- 
solved in all proportions by chloroform. By sulphuric acid it is made deep-red, almost 
brown; but it is not obviously affected by nitric and muriatic acids. These interesting 
facts have been extracted from a dissertation by Mr. Vm. Henry Weatherby, whose 
residence in a cotton-growing district of the South gave him peculiar opportunities. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1861, p. 208.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Since the above remarks were made, the subject of cotton-seed oil has been examined by 
Dr. A. Adriani, the results obtained by whom have been published in the London Chemi- 
cal News (Jan. 7, 1865, p. 5), to which the reader is referred. The following are among 
the more important statements contained in Dr. Adriani’s paper. The product of the 
expressed seeds is from 15 to 18 per cent. In its impure state it is dark reddish-brown, 
not quite clear, and contaminated with mucilage and albumen. In this state, its sp.gr. 
varies from 0-980 to 0-932, which is increased, by washing with boiling water, to 0-934. 
The latter sp. gr. is very nearly that of linseed oil, which this oil also closely resembles 
in taste and odour, and in its drying property. The colour is not essential to the oil, 
being dependent on the oxidation of a peculiar substance contained in the seeds. 
Ths cu is clarified by first boiling it with water to separate the mucilage, and then 
1 eating it with a weak solution of caustic potassa, by which the colouring matter is re- 
moved. As this oil is said to be much used in England for adulterating olive oil, a test 
to distinguish it is very desirable; and, according to Mr. R. Reynolds, nitrate of mercury 
will answer the purpose. Of this a test-solution may be made by dissolving, without 
heat, 6 parts of mercury in 7-5 parts of nitric acid of 1-36. This salt has the-effect, when 
mixed with olive oil, of entirely solidifying and hardening it upon standing; while under 
the same circumstances the cotton-seed oil remains fluid. If the two oils are mixed, 
an intermediate effect is produced; the oil, though possibly solidified, remaining soft and 
pasty, and not becoming hard like pure olive oil. [Pharm. Journ. and Tb'ans., 2d ser., 
vii. 226.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. part i. Gossgpium.—Granati P'ructusCortex.— GranatiRadicisCortex. 
437 
of the milliners maybe employed, consisting of sheets somewhat stiffened, and 
glazed on the surface by starch. In the latter case, the sheets should be split 
open when applied. It is said that air, passed through cotton, loses the pro- 
perty of inducing the putrefactive fermentation in animal substances. 
Medical Properties, &c. Cotton has been used from time immemorial for the 
fabrication of cloth; but it is only of late that it has entered the catalogue of 
medicines. It is chiefly employed in recent burns and scalds; an application 
of it adopted from popular practice. It is said to relieve the pain, diminish the 
inflammation, prevent vesication, and very much to hasten the cure. Whatever 
advantages result from it are probably ascribable to the absorption of effused 
liquids, and the protection of the part affected from the air. It is applied in 
thin and successive layers; and benefit is said to result from the application of 
a bandage when the skin is not too much inflamed. We have, however, seen 
cotton do much harm in burns, by becoming consolidated over a vesicated sur- 
face, and acting as a mechanical irritant. Such a result may be prevented by 
first dressing the bum with a piece of fine linen spread with simple ointment. 
Cotton is also recommended in erysipelas, and as a dressing for blisters; and we 
have found it useful, applied in a large batch over parts affected with rheuma- 
tism, especially in lumbago. 
The root of the cotton plant has been employed by Dr. Bouchelle, of Missis- 
sippi, who believes it to be an excellent emmenagogue, and not inferior to ergot 
in promoting uterine contraction. He states that it is habitually and effectually 
resorted to by the slaves of the South for producing abortion; and thinks that 
it acts in this way without injury to the general health. To assist labour, he 
employs a decoction made by boiling four ounces of the inner bark of the root 
in a quart of water to a pint, and gives a wineglassful every twenty or thirty 
minutes. ( West. Journ. of Med. and Surg., Aug. 1840.) Dr. T. J. Shaw, of Ten- 
nessee, thinks it superior, in the treatment of amenorrhcea, to any other emmena- 
gogue, and equal to ergot as a parturient, while attended with less danger. 
He uses a tincture made by macerating eight ounces of the dried bark of the 
root in two pounds of diluted alcohol for two weeks, and gives a drachm three 
or four times a day. (Nashv. Journ. of Med. and Surg., July, 1855.) Mr. Weath- 
erby denies the statement that the root is used for producing abortion among 
the slaves, at least within his observation. Dr. Bellamy, of Columbus, Geo., 
who has had much experience with the root, fully confirms the favourable state- 
ment of Dr. Bouchelle. He thinks it most effectual when collected as late in the 
autumn as possible, before frost. (Atlanta Med. and Surg. Journ., Oct. 1866.) 
Cotton seeds have been employed in our Southern States with great asserted 
success in the treatment of intermittents. In a communication from Prof. H. R. 
Frost to the Charleston Medical Journal for May, 1850, it is stated, on the 
authority of Dr. W. K. Davis, of Monticello, that this application of the cotton 
seed originated with a planter in Newberry District, S. Carolina, who had often 
used the remedy in intermittents, and never failed to effect a cure. A pint of the 
seeds is boiled in a quart of water to a pint, and a teacupful of the decoction is 
given to the patient in bed, an hour or two before the expected return of the chill. 
Off. Prep. Collodium, U. S.; Pyroxylin, Br. W. 
GRANATI FRUCTUS CORTEX. U.S. 
Pomegranate Rind. 
The rind of the fruit of Punica Granatum. U. S. 
GRANATI RADICES CORTEX. U.S., Br. 
Bark of Pomegranate Root. 
The bark of the root of Punica Granatum. U.S. The dried bark of the root Br. 
Ecorce de granade, Fr.; Granatapfel-Echalin, Germ.; Malicorio, Scorza del melogra- 
nati, Ital ; Corteza de granada, Span. 438 
Granati Radicis Cortex. 
PART I. 
Punica. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft, superior. Petals five. Pome many-celled, many- 
seeded. Willd. 
Punica Granatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii 981 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 531, t. 
190; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 45, pi. 38. The pomegranate is a small 
shrubby tree, attaining in favourable situations the height of twenty feet, with 
a very unequal trunk, and numerous branches, which sometimes bear thorns. 
The leaves are opposite, entire, oblong or lance-shaped, pointed at each end, 
smooth, shining, of a bright-green colour, and placed on short footstalks. The 
flowers are large, of a rich scarlet colour, and stand at the end of the young 
branches. The petals are roundish and wrinkled, and are inserted into the upper 
part of the tube of the calyx, which is red, thick, and fleshy. The fruit is a 
globular berry, about the size of an orange, crowned with the calyx, covered 
with a reddish-yellow, thick, coriaceous rind, and divided internally into many 
cells, which contain an acidulous pulp, and numerous oblong, angular seeds. 
This tree grows wild upon both shores of the Mediterranean, in Arabia, Persia, 
Bengal, China, and Japan, has been introduced into the East and West Indies, 
and is cultivated in all civilized countries, where the climate is sufficiently warm 
to allow the fruit to ripen. In higher latitudes, where it does not bear fruit, it 
is raised in gardens and hot-houses for the beauty of its flowers, which become 
double, and acquire increased splendour of colouring by cultivation. Doubts 
have been entertained as to its original country. The name of Punicum ma- 
lum, applied by the ancients to its fruit, implies that it was abundant at an 
early age in the vicinity of Carthage. The fruit, for which the plant is cultivated, 
varies much in size and flavour. It is said to attain greater perfection, in both 
these respects, in the West Indies than in its native country. The pulp is red, 
succulent, pleasantly acid, and sweetish, and is used for the same purposes as 
the orange. The rind of the fruit and bark of the root are the parts indicated in 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the latter only in the British. The flowers were for- 
merly recognised by the Dublin College, and the seeds are officinal in France. 
Bind of the Fruit. This is presented in commerce under the form of irregular 
fragments, hard, dry, brittle, of a yellowish or reddish-brown colour externally, 
paler within, without smell, and of an astringent, slightly bitter taste. It con- 
tains a large proportion of tannin, and in countries where the tree abounds has 
been employed for tanning leather. 
Flowers. The flowers, sometimes called balaustines, are inodorous, have a 
bitterish, astringent taste, and impart a violet-red colour to the saliva. They 
contain tannic and gallic acids, and were used by the ancients in dyeing. 
Bark of the Root. The roots of the pomegranate are hard, heavy, knotty, 
ligneous, and covered with a bark which is yellowish-gray or ash-gray on the 
outer surface, and yellow on the inner. As found in the shops, the bark is in 
quills or fragments, breaks with a short fracture, has little or no smell, colours 
the saliva yellow when chewed, and leaves in the mouth an astringent taste 
without disagreeable bitterness. It contains, according to M. Latour de Trie, 
fatty matter, tannin, gallic acid, a saccharine substance having the properties of 
mannite, resin, wax, and chlorophyll, besides insoluble matters. The name of 
pumcin has been given by Giovanni Righini to a peculiar principle which he 
extracted from the bark. It has the aspect of an oleo-resin, affects the nostrils 
somewhat like medicinal veratria, and is of an acrid taste. It may be obtained 
by rubbing a hydro-alcoholic extract of the bark with one-eighth of hydrate of 
potassa, heating the mixture with eight parts of pure water gradually added, and 
then dropping in dilute sulphuric acid to saturate the potassa. The punicin 
subsides, and may be separated by filtration. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., v 
298.) The infusion of the bark yields a deep-blue precipitate with salts of iron, 
and a yellowish-white precipitate with solution of gelatin. The inner surface 
of the bark, steeped in water and then rubbed on paper, produces a yellow staiu, 
which, by the contact of sulphate of iron, is rendered blue, and by that of nitric 
acid acquires a slight rose tint, which soon vanishes. (Ibid., xvii. 438.) These PAllT I. 
Granati lladicis Cortex.—Guaiaci Lignum. 
439 
properties serve to distinguish this bark from those of the box root and barberry, 
with which it is said to be sometimes adulterated. When used it should be 
separated from the ligneous portion of the root, as the latter is inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The rind of the fruit is astringent, and in the 
form of decoction is sometimes employed in diarrhoea and colliquative sweats, 
and, more frequently, as an injection in leucorrhcea, and a« a gargle in sorethroat 
in the earlier stages, or after the inflammatory action has in some measure sub- 
sided. The powdered rind has also been recommended in intermittent fever 
The flowers have the same medical properties, and are used for the same pur- 
poses. The bark of the root was used by the ancients as a vermifuge, and is 
recommended in the writings of Avicenna; but was unknown in modern prac- 
tice till brought into notice by Dr. F. Buchanan, who learned its powers in India. 
The Mahometan physicians of Ilindostan consider it a specific against taenia. 
One of these practitioners, having relieved an English gentleman in 1804, was 
induced to disclose his secret, which was then made public. Numerous cures 
were subsequently effected in Europe; and there can be no doubt of the occa- 
sional efficacy of the remedy. The French writers prefer the product of the wild 
pomegranate, growing on the borders of the Mediterranean, to that of the plant 
cultivated in gardens for ornamental purposes. The bark may be administered 
in powder or decoction ; but the latter form is usually preferred. The decoction 
is prepared by macerating two ounces of the bruised bark in two pints of water 
for twenty-four hours, and then boiling to a pint. Of this a wineglassful may 
be given every half hour, hour, or two hours, until the whole is taken. It often 
nauseates and vomits, and usually purges. Portions of the worm often come 
away soon after the last dose. It is recommended to give a dose of castor oil, 
and to diet the patient strictly on the day preceding the administration of the 
remedy; and, if it should not operate on the bowels, to follow it by castor oil, 
or an enema. If not successful on the first trial, it should be repeated daily for 
three or four days, until the worm is discharged. It appears to have been used 
by the negroes of St. Domingo before its introduction into Europe. 
The dose of the rind and flowers in powder is from twenty to thirty grains. 
A decoction may be prepared in the proportion of an ounce of the medicine to a 
pint of water, and given in the dose of a fluidounce. The seeds are demulcent 
Off. Prep, of the Bark of the Root. Decoctum Granati Radicis, Br. W. 
GUAIACI LIGNUM. U.S.,Br. 
The wood of Guaiacum officinale. U.S. The wood reduced by the turning 
lathe to the form of a coarse powder or small chips. Br. 
Bois de gayac, Fr.; Pockenholz, Germ.; Legno guaiaco, Hal.; Guayaco, Span. 
Guaiacum. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Zygophyllaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft, unequal. Petals five, inserted into the calyx. Cap- 
sule angular, three or five-celled. Willd. 
Guaiacum officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 538; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 557, 
t. 200 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 25, pi. 17. This is a large tree, of very 
slow growth. When of full size it is from forty to sixty feet high, with a trunk 
four or five feet in circumference. The branches are knotted, and covered with 
an ash-coloured striated bark. That of the stem is of a dark-gray colour, varie- 
gated with greenish or purplish spots. The leaves are opposite, and abruptly 
pinnate, consisting of two, three, and sometimes four pairs of leaflets, which 
are obovate, veined, smooth, shining, dark-green, from an inch to an inch and a 
half long, and almost sessile. The flowers are of a rich blue colour, stand on long 
peduncles, and grow to the number of eight or ten at the axils of the upper 
leaves. The seeds are solitary, hard, and of an oblong shape. 
G. officinale grows in the West Indies, particularly in Hayti and Jamaica, and 
is found also in the warmer parts of the neighbouring continent. All parts ol 
the tree are possessed of medicinal properties; but the wood and the concrete 
Guaiacum Wood. 440 
Guaiaci Lignum. 
PART I 
juice only are officinal. The bark, though much more efficacious than the wood, 
is not kept in the shops. It is said that other species of Guaiacum contribute to 
the supplies brought into the market. G. sanctum of Linnaeus, and G. arboreum 
of De Candolle, are particularly specified. The former, however, is said by Wood* 
ville not to be sufficiently characterized as a distinct species. Fee states that the 
wood of G. sanctum is paler, and less heavy and hard than the officinal. 
Guaiacum wood is imported from Hayti and other West India islands, in the 
shape of logs or billets, covered with a thick gray bark, which presents on its 
inner surface, and upon its edges when broken, numerous shining crystalline 
points. These were supposed by Guibourt to be benzoic acid, by others a resin- 
ous exudation from the vessels of the plant; but Dr. Otto Berg has determined 
that they are crystals of sulphate of lime. The billets are used by the turners 
for the fabrication of various instruments and utensils, for which the wood is 
well adapted by its extreme hardness and density. It is kept by the druggists 
and apothecaries in the state of shavings or raspings, which they obtain from 
the turners. It is commonly called lignum vitae, a name which obviously origi- 
nated from the supposition that the wood was possessed of extraordinary reme- 
dial powers. 
Properties. The colour of the sap-wood is yellow, that of the older and cen- 
tral layers greenish-brown, that of the shavings a mixture of the two. It is said 
that, when the wood is brought into a state of minute division, its colour is ren- 
dered green by exposure to the air, and bluish-green by the action of nitric acid 
fumes; and the latter change may be considered as a test of its genuineness. 
{Duncan.) An easier test is a solution of corrosive sublimate, which, added to 
the shavings and slightly heated, causes a bluish-green colour in the genuine 
wood. (Chem. Gaz., no. 80, Feb. 1846.) Guaiacum wood is almost without 
smell unless rubbed or heated, when it becomes odorous. When burnt it emits 
an agreeable odour. It is bitterish and slightly pungent, but requires to be 
chewed for some time before the taste is developed. It contains, according to 
Trommsdorf, 26 per cent, of resin, and 0 8 of a bitter pungent extractive, upon 
both of which, probably, though chiefly on the former, its medicinal virtues 
depend. (See Guaiaci Besina.) It yields its virtues but partially to water. One 
pound of the wood afforded to Geiger two ounces of extract. In this extract 
M. Thierry discovered a volatilizable acid, which he considered peculiar, and 
named guaiacic acid (acide gayacique). He obtained it by treating the extract 
with ether, evaporating the liquid, and carefully subliming the residue. The acid 
condenses in small, brilliant needles. If the heat be pushed too far, an oil is 
also produced which colours the crystals. He procured the same acid from the 
guaiac of the shops. (Journ. de Pharm , xxvii. 381.) According to Jahn, how- 
ever, this substance is nothing more than benzoic acid, rendered impure by 
adhering volatile oil and resin. {Pharm. Central Blatt, 1843, p. 309.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Guaiacum wood ranks among the stimulant 
diaphoretics. It is said to have been introduced to the notice of European prac- 
titioners by the natives of Hispaniola, soon after the discovery of America. It 
was used in Europe so early as 1508, and attained great celebrity as a remedy 
for lues venerea; but more extended experience has proved it to be wholly in- 
adequate to the cure of that disease; and it is now employed simply to palliate 
the secondary symptoms, or to assist the operation of other and more efficient 
remedies. It is thought to be useful also in chronic rheumatism and gout, scro- 
fula, certain cutaneous eruptions, ozaena, and other protracted diseases depend- 
ent on a depraved or vitiated condition of the system. It is usually exhibited in 
decoction, and in combination with other medicines, as in the compound decoc- 
tion of sarsaparilla. As but a small proportion of the guaiac contained in it is 
soluble in water, the probability is that its virtues have been greatty overrated, 
and that the good which has followed its employment resulted rather from the 
more active medicines with which it is associated, or from the attendant regi- 
men, than from the wood itself. The simple decoction may be prepared by boil- 
ing an ounce in a pint and a half of water down to a pint, the whole of w hich PART I. 
Guaiaci Resina. 
441 
may be administered in divided doses during the twenty-four hours. An aque- 
ous extract is directed by the French Codex. 
Off.Prep. Decoctum Sarsse Compositum, Br.; Decoctum Sarsaparillse Comp , 
U. S.; Syrupus Sarsaparillse Comp., U. S. W. 
GUAIACI RESINA. U. &, Br. 
Guaiac. 
The concrete juice of Guaiacum officinale. U. S. The resin obtained from the 
stem by natural exudation, by incisions, or by heat. Br. 
Resine de gayac, Fr.; Guajakharz, Germ.; Resina de guajaco, Ital.; Resina de guayaco, 
Span. 
For a description of Guaiacum officinale, see GUAIACI LIGNUM. 
Guaiac is the concrete juice of this tree. It is obtained in several different 
modes. The most simple is by spontaneous exudation, or by incisions made into 
the trunk. Another method is by sawing the wood into billets about three feet 
long, boring them longitudinally with an auger, then placing one end of the 
billet on the fire, and receiving in a calabash the melted guaiac, which flows out 
through the hole at the opposite extremity. But the plan most frequently pur- 
sued is probably to boil the wood, in the state of chips or sawdust, in a solu- 
tion of common salt, and skim off the matter which rises to the surface. Guaiac 
is brought to this market from the West Indies. It is usually in large irregular 
pieces of various size, in which small fragments of bark, sand, and other impu- 
rities are mixed with the genuine guaiac, so as to give to the mass a diversified 
appearance. Sometimes we find it in small roundish homogeneous portions, sepa- 
rate or agglutinated; sometimes in homogeneous masses, prepared by melting 
and straining the drug in its impure state. It is probable that the guaiac, ob- 
tained from the billets in the manner above described, is of uniform consistence. 
Properties. The masses are of a deep greenish-brown or dark-olive colour 
on their external surface, and internally wherever the air could penetrate. 
The predominant hue of those parts not exposed to the air is reddish-brown or 
hyacinthine, diversified, however, with shades of various colours. The odour is 
feeble but fragrant, and is rendered stronger by heat. The taste, which is at first 
scarcely perceptible, becomes acrid after a short period; and a permanent sense 
of heat and pungency is left in the mouth and fauces. Guaiac is brittle, and 
when broken presents a shining glass-like surface, conchoidal or splintery, with 
the smaller fragments more or less translucent. It is readily pulverized; and 
the powder, at first of a light-gray colour, becomes green on exposure to the light. 
Its sp.gr. varies from U2 to L23. It softens in the mouth, and melts with a 
moderate heat. According to Mr. Brande, it consists of 91 per cent, of a pe- 
culiar substance analogous to the resins, and 9 per cent, of extractive. Buchner 
found 79 8 parts of pure resin, and 207 of bark consisting of 16'5 of lignin, 
15 of gum, and 27 of extractive ; but he must have operated on the unstrained 
guaiac. An acid discovered by M. Thierry is asserted by Jahn to be benzoic 
acid. Water dissolves a small proportion of guaiac, not exceeding nine parts 
in 100, forming an infusion of a greenish-brown colour and sweetish taste, which, 
upon evaporation, yields a brown substance soluble in hot water and alcohol, 
but scarcely so in ether. Alcohol takes up the whole with the exception of im- 
purities. The tincture is of a deep-brown colour, is decomposed by water, and 
affords blue, green, and brown precipitates, with the mineral acids. It is coloured 
blue by nitric acid and by chlorine, and usually by spirit of nitrous ether ; and is 
similarly changed when treated successively by dilute hydrocyanic acid, and so- 
lution of sulphate of copper. Either in substance or tincture, guaiac gives a blue 
colour to gluten and substances containing it, to mucilage of gum arabic, to milk, 
and to various freshly cut roots, as the potato, carrot, and horseradish. It is 
soluble also in ether, alkaline solutions, and sulphuric acid. The solution in sul- 
phuric acid is of a rich claret colour, deposits, when diluted with water, a lilac 
precipitate, and, when heated, evolves charcoal. Exposed to air and light, 442 
Guaiaci Resina. 
PART I. 
guaiac absorbs oxygen and becomes green, and the change takes place rapidly 
in the sunshine. Tincture of guaiac has been used for the detection of blood 
stains, which it does by the blue colour produced by it, when in contact with 
the red colouring matter of blood, in connection with some ozonized substance, 
especially peroxide of hydrogen. (Guy's Hosp. Reports, 3d ser., xiii. 432.) 
Guaiacin is a name given to the pure resinoid principle of guaiac. It is in- 
soluble in water, but is dissolved readily by alcohol, and less readily by ether. It 
combines with the alkalies, forming soluble compounds, which are decomposed by 
the mineral acids and by several salts. Hence it has been called guaiacic acid. 
It has been obtained in crystals by Prof. Hlasiwetz by first forming a soap with 
potassa, dissolving this in hot solution of potassa, precipitating with muriatic 
acid, washing the precipitated resin, and then dissolving it in alcohol, which 
yields it crystallized by spontaneous evaporation. (Annal. der Chem. und 
Pharm., cxii. 183.) It differs from most of the resins in being converted by 
nitric acid into oxalic acid iustead of artificial tannin. It is also peculiar in the 
changes of colour, already alluded to, which it undergoes under the influence of 
various reagents. By nitric acid and chlorine it is made to assume successively 
a green, blue, and brown colour. These changes are ascribed by Mr. Brande to 
the absorption of oxygen, which forms variously coloured compounds according 
to the quantity absorbed. M. Kossman considers guaiacin to be a glucoside, 
having, by heating it with dilute sulphuric acid, succeeded in converting it into 
glucose, and a peculiar principle which he names gaiaretine. {Journ. de Pharm., 
Aout, 1860, p. 83.) According to Jahn, guaiac resin consists of three distinct 
bodies, viz.: 1. a soft resin soluble in ether and ammonia, and constituting 18-7 
per cent.; 2. another soft resin, soluble in ether, but with difficulty dissolved bv 
ammonia, amounting to 58‘3 per cent.; and 3. a hard resin, insoluble in ether, 
but soluble in ammonia, in the quantity of 11 3 per cent. The same chemist 
found in guaiac traces of benzoic acid, and 11‘7 per cent, of impurities. {Pharm. 
Cent. Blatt, 1843, p. 317.)* 
It will be inferred, from what has been said, that the mineral acids are incom- 
patible with the solutions of guaiac. 
This drug is sometimes adulterated with the resin of the pine. The fraud may 
be detected by the terebinthinate odour exhaled when the sophisticated guaiac 
is thrown upon burning coals, as well as by its partial solubility in hot oil of 
turpentine. This liquid dissolves resin, but leaves pure guaiac untouched. 
Amber is said to be another adulteration. Nitric acid affords an excellent 
test of guaiac. If paper moistened with the tincture be exposed to the fumes 
of this acid, it speedily becomes blue. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Guaiac is stimulant and alterative, producing, 
when swallowed, a sense of warmth in the stomach, with dryness of the mouth 
and thirst, and promoting various secretions. If given to a patient when covered 
warm in bed, especially if accompanied with opium and ipecacuanha, or the anti- 
monials, and assisted by warm drinks, it often excites profuse perspiration; and 
hence has been usually ranked among the diaphoretics. If the patient be kept 
cool during its administration, it is sometimes directed to the kidneys, the action 
of which it promotes. In large doses it purges; and it is thought by some prac- 
titioners to be possessed of emmenagogue powers. The complaint in which it 
has been found most beneficial is rheumatism. In the declining stages of the 
acute form of this disease, after due depletion, it is given in combination with 
opium, ipecacuanha, nitre, and the antimonials; and in the chronic form is fre- 
quently useful without accompaniment. It is also advantageously prescribed in 
* By the destructive distillation of guaiac, Unverdorben obtained two volatile oils; 
one heavier than water, and variously called pyrogayic acid, gayacol, and hydruret 0/ 
gayacyl, the last of which names was given by MM. Pelletier and Deville, who deter- 
mined its resemblance to creasote; the other called by Voelkel, who has particularly iD 
vestigated it, gayol, and having an odour which recalls that of hitter almonds. (Journ 
de Pharm., Mai, 1854, p. 396.) Ehermayer has obtained, by the dry distillation of the 
same resin, a crystallized product which he calls pyroguaiacine. (Chem. Gaz. Oct. 16, 
1854, p. 386.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Guaiaci Resina.—Gutta-percha. 
443 
gouty affections, and is occasionally used in secondary syphilis, scrofulous dis- 
eases, and cutaneous eruptions; though the guaiacum wood is more frequently 
resorted to in these latter complaints. It was much relied upon by the late Dr. 
Dewees in the cure of amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea. Dr. D. Lewis has found 
it useful in the hay-fever, given at bedtime, for six successive nights, in the dose 
of twenty grains, in a cup of warm tea. Dr. James Jackson, of Boston, recom- 
mends it occasionally as a laxative, in the dose of a drachm. 
The medicine is given in substance or tincture. The dose of the powder is 
from ten to thirty grains, which may be exhibited in pill or bolus, or in the shape 
of an emulsion formed with gum arabic, sugar, and water. An objection to the 
form of powder is that it quickly aggregates. Gluaiac is sometimes administered 
in combination with alkalies, with which it readily unites. Several European 
Pharmacopoeias direct a soap of guaiac, under the name of sapo guaiacinus, 
to be prepared by diluting the liquor potassae with twice its weight of water, 
boiling lightly, then adding guaiac gradually, with continued agitation, so long 
as it continues to be dissolved, and finally filtering, and evaporating to the pilular 
consistence. One scruple may be taken daily in divided doses. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Guaiaci, Br.; Pilulae Antimonii Composite, U. S.; Pilula 
Hydrargyri Subchloridi Composita, Br.; Tinctura Guaiaci, U. S.; Tinctura 
Guaiaci Ammoniata. W. 
GUTTA-PERCHA. U.S. 
Gutta-percha. 
The concrete juice of Isonandra gutta. (Hooker, Loudon’s Journal of Bot 
any, 1848.) U. S. 
This valuable product of the East Indies was first brought into notice by Dr. 
Wm. Montgomerie, a British army surgeon, who became acquainted with its 
singular properties in the year 1842, at Singapore, and in the following year 
sent specimens of it to Europe. It is the product of a large tree growing in the 
southern extremity of the Malayan Peninsula, the islands of Singapore and Bor- 
neo, and probably many other islands in the neighbourhood. This tree belongs to 
the Linnaean class and order Decandria Monogynia, natural family Sapotaceae, 
and genus Isonandra of Dr. Wight, and has received the name of Isonandra 
gutta. It is of considerable magnitude, with a trunk commonly three feet, and 
sometimes as much as six feet in diameter,having numerous ascending branches, 
which are crowded with leaves at their extremities. The flowers are small and 
white; the leaves petiolate, oblong, four or five inches long by two in breadth, 
bright-green above and brownish beneath.* 
Dr. Montgomerie states that the natives procure the gutta-percha by the very 
wasteful mode of cutting down the tree,stripping off the bark, and then collecting 
the milky juice, which is put into convenient recipients, and coagulates on expo- 
sure to the air. Twenty or thirty pounds are thus collected from each tree; but 
the probability is that the product would be much greater if obtained by tapping 
the tree, and thus preserving it for future use. In consequence of the abundance 
m which it is collected, and the wasteful methods pursued, fears are entertained 
that the tree will before long be extirpated. Large quantities of gutta-percha are 
* Bulata. In the twelfth edition of this work, allusion was made to a product analo- 
gous to gutta-percha, said to he produced by a tree, Sapota Mulleri, growing in great 
abundance in Dutch Gfuiana in S. America. Under the name of bulata, this product has 
recently attracted considerable attention, having been imported into England from De- 
marara. It is said to have properties which will render it, in some instances, a useful 
substitute for gutta-percha, which it resembles in elasticity and exceeds in ductility, while 
requiring a much higher heat to soften. Its solubilities in various menstrua do not seem 
to have been determined; but they are probably analogous to those of gutta-percha and 
caoutchouc. As above stated, it is the concrete j uice of Sapota Mulleri, or the bullet tree. 
The idea is entertained that it may serve as a good insulating material for submarine 
telegraphic wires. Another possible substitute for gutta-percha has hecn found in the 
concrete juice of an Apocynea growing in Ceylon, named Alstonia- schc'aris. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., vi. 490, A. D. 1865.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 444 
Gutta-percha. 
PART I. 
nowimported into Europe and this country. As found in commerce it is generally 
impure, containing fragments of vegetable matter and earth. From these it may 
be freed by kneading it in hot water, or by melting it with oil of turpentine, 
straining, and evaporating. It may also be purified by means of chloroform. One 
part of gutta-percha cut into small pieces, put into a flask with 20 parts of chlo- 
roform, and frequently shaken, will be fully dissolved in two or three days. To 
this solution, which cannot be readily filtered, add one-fourth of a part of water, 
shaking the mixture, and then allowing it to rest for two weeks. The impurities 
rise or sink, and the clear intervening liquid yields pure gutta-percha by the dis- 
tillation of the chloroform. (Chem. Gent. Blatt, Feb. 1857, p. 108.)* 
Properties. Gutta-percha is of a dull-white or whitish colour,of a feeble odour, 
tasteless, at ordinary temperatures hard and almost horny, somewhat flexible 
in thin pieces, having an unctuous feel under the fingers, and very tenacious. Its 
sp. gr. is 0‘9791. (Soubeiran.) At about 120° F., it becomes softer and more 
flexible, but is still elastic, resisting, and tenacious. At 150° or 160°, it is soft, 
very plastic, and capable of being welded and moulded into any form. It is thus 
softened, whether by means of hot water or by dry heat. On cooling it reas- 
sumes its former state, and retains any form which may have been given to it. In 
the softened state it is readily cut with a knife, though with some difficulty when 
cold. Exposed to a heat of 830° it loses a portion of water, and on hardening 
becomes translucent and gray; but it recovers its original characters if im- 
mersed in water. Subjected to igneous distillation, it yields volatile products, 
resembling closely the volatile oil obtained from caoutchouc by the same pro- 
cess. Heated in an open vessel, it melts, foams up, and takes fire, burning with 
a brilliant flame and smoke. A portion thus melted retains the state of a viscid 
fluid on cooling. Gutta-percha is a non-conductor of electricity. It is insoluble 
in water, alcohol, alkaline solutions, and the weak acids. Ether and the volatile 
oils soften it in the cold, and imperfectly dissolve it with the aid of heat. Oil 
of turpentine dissolves it perfectly, forming a clear colourless solution, which 
yields it unchanged by evaporation. It is also dissolved by bisulphuret of carbon, 
chloroform, and benzole. According to Soubeiran, it contains, besides pure gutta- 
percha, small portions of a vegetable acid, casein, and two resins, one soluble in 
ether and oil of turpentine, the other in alcohol. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xi. 
22.) Freed from these impurities, it has an ultimate composition closely analo- 
gous if not identical with that of caoutchouc. For a particular account of the 
distinctive properties of pure gutta-percha, and the two resins mixed with it, the 
* A more satisfactory method is probably by dissolving one part of gutta-percha in 
twenty of boiling benzole, shaking the solution frequently with sulphate of lime, which 
upon standing two or three days carries down with it the colouring matter, then decant- 
ing the clear liquid, and adding it, in small portions at a time, to alcohol, agitating con- 
tinually. During this process the gutta-percha is deposited perfectly white. To dry it 
thoroughly requires an exposure of several weeks; but the result may be hastened by 
rubbing in a mortar. (Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1863, p. 138.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Pure white gutta-percha. For dental purposes, as for filling carious hollows, it is de- 
sirable that gutta-percha should be purified, and rendered perfectly white. But what is 
sold as such in the market is said to consist largely of the white oxide of zinc, and is on 
this account badly adapted to the purpose intended. Mr. F. Baden Benger recommends 
the following method of purification for dentists’ use. He states that good crude gutta- 
percha will yield at least 75 per cent, of the purified. Four ounces of the gutta-percha, 
in small pieces, are to be digested for a few days with five pounds of methyllated chloro- 
form ; and the solution thus formed should be filtered in such a way as to permit little or 
no loss of chloroform. To the liquid thus filtered, which should be nearly colourless, an 
equal bulk of alcohol should be added, or a sufficiency to precipitate the gutta-percha, 
which will separate as a white mass. This is to be washed with alcohol, pressed in a 
cloth, and dried by exposure to the air. In this state, the gutta-percha is perfectly 
white, but too porous for use. To give it the proper consistence, it should be boiled for 
half an hour in a porcelain capsule, and rolled into cylinders while hot. The dentist 
can readily prepare this himself, and with sufficient economy if he guard against the 
loss of chloroform. This may be separated from alcohol by washing with water, and 
the alcohol from the water by distillation. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Sept. 1868, p. 
160.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART 1. 
Gutta-percha. 
445 
reader is referred to an article by M. Payen, in the Journ. de Pharm. (3e shr., 
xxii. 183), also in the Chem. Gaz. (x. 353). According to Baumhauer, pure 
gutta-percha, as it issues from the tree, is a carbohydrogen, with the formula 
which he calls gutta, and by the oxidation of which, in various degrees, the 
different bodies constituting gutta-percha are produced. This carbohydrogen can 
be separated by treating gutta-percha with dilute muriatic acid, and boiling the 
residue with ether, which deposits the gutta on cooling; but the ethereal treat 
ment must be frequently repeated to obtain it quite pure. {Journ. fur prakt. 
Chem., lxxviii. 219.) M. Arppe considers gutta-percha as a mixture of six dif- 
ferent resins, which may have been formed from a carbohydrogen C10Hg. (See 
Chem. Gaz., ix. 471.) This vegetable product resists putrefaction strongly; but 
in certain situations, as when employed to protect underground telegraph wires 
passing near the roots of the oak, it has been observed to undergo speedy de- 
composition, in consequence, as is supposed, of the action of fungi arising from 
sporules generated in such exposures. {Pliarm. Journ.,xvii. 193.) 
Gutta-percha has been applied to many useful and ornamental purposes. Its 
plasticity when moderately heated, great firmness and tenacity at ordinary tem- 
peratures, and insolubility in water and alcohol are the properties to which it 
chiefly owes its value. By immersing it in hot water, it is made susceptible 
of being formed into any desirable shape; so that utensils of various kinds, orna- 
mental impressions, casts, sheets, bands, cords, sticks, tubes, &c., applicable to 
numerous purposes in the arts, may be made from it with great facility. To 
give it greater pliability, it is sometimes mixed with the tar resulting from the 
igneous decomposition of caoutchouc, or with its own tar and lampblack. It 
may be vulcanized, in the same manner as caoutchouc, and undergoes a similar 
change of properties. (See Caoutchouc.) In the dissolved state it may be em- 
ployed as a varnish, impervious to moisture. 
Medical Uses. Gutta-percha has been introduced into surgery, in order to pre- 
serve limbs and joints in fixed positions; and has been used beneficially in club- 
foot, fractures, and diseases of the joints. It is employed for these purposes in the 
shape of bands, two or three inches broad and about a line thick, which, being 
softened in water, are applied in this state, and, when they harden, form a firm 
case for the limb. Holes should be made through the bands, for the escape of 
the vapour from the surface. It may in some cases be applied by moulding it, 
in its soft state, upon the part to be kept at rest, as to the hip and adjacent parts 
of the body and thigh, in cases of hip-joint disease, for which, when dried, it will 
form a support equal to the most accurately carved wooden splint. It is also 
used for the formation of catheters and other tubes, splints, stethoscopes, bou- 
gies, specula, pessaries, and various other instruments useful in surgery. The 
author has seen it employed, in the form of a bandage, in fracture of the thigh, 
in the hospital at Edinburgh. Being softened by immersion in warm water at 
the time, it was applied without difficulty ; and, hardening, afterwards, it acted 
as a splint to the injured limb. Yogel recommends the solution in bisulphuret 
of carbon as an application to the skin in incised wounds. The liquid speedily 
evaporates, producing a refrigerant effect; while the gutta-percha hardens, and 
holds the edges of the wound firmly together According to Mr. Acton, the 
best substance for protecting the surface from the contact of poisons, conta- 
gions, &c., is prepared by dissolving with a gentle heat a drachm of gutta-percha 
in an ounce of benzole, and ten grains of caoutchouc in the same quantity of the 
same menstruum, and mixing the solutions. It may be applied by a brush, and 
a delicate film is left bv the evaporation of the liquid. A saturated solution in 
chloroform is very useful in slight superficial injuries and in various chronic 
affections of the skin. It is applied by means of a camel’s-hair pencil, and forms, 
on the evaporation of the solvent, a thin, elastic covering, which completely ex- 
cludes the air, and acts like an artificial cuticle to the part. The crusts or scales 
should be previously removed by poultices or alkaline solutions. The affections 
in which it has been found most efficacious are the dry scaly and tubercular 
diseases of the skin, especially psoriasis. It has been used also to render the 446 
Gutta-percha.—Hsematoxylon. 
PART I, 
variolous eruption abortive. The preparation is now officinal under the name 
of Liquor Gutta-perchse. (See Part II.) Another application of gutta-percha is 
to serve as a vehicle of certain caustic substances, particularly chloride of zinc, 
and caustic potassa. The preparation is made by reducing the caustic substance 
to fine powder, and then thoroughly mixing it with its weight of gutta-percha, 
melted at the lowest possible temperature. (See Potassa, and ZinciChloridum.) 
A great advantage of the preparation is that it may be made into any desirable 
form, and will retain that form without spreading when applied. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Gutta-perchae, U. S. W. 
HAEMATOXYLON. U.S. 
Logwood. 
The wood of Haematoxylon Campechianum. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. HtEMATOXYLI LIGNUM. Loywood. The sliced heart-wood 
of Haematoxylum Campechianum. Br. 
Bois de Campeche, Fr.; Blutholz, Kampeschenholz, Germ.; Legno di Campeggio, Italy 
Palo de Campeche, Span. 
Hjematoxylon. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Fabace® or 
Leguminosae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted. Petals five. Capsule lanceolate, one-celled, 
two-valved, with the valves boat-form. Willd. 
Hsematoxylon Campechianum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 547 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. 
p. 455. t. 163; Carson, lllust. of Med. Bot. i. 33, pi. 25. This is a tree of middle 
size, usually not more than twenty-four feet high, though, under favourable cir- 
cumstances, it sometimes rises forty or fifty feet. The trunk, seldom exceeding 
twenty inches in diameter, is often very crooked, and is covered with a dark 
rough bark. The branches are also crooked, with numerous smaller ramifica- 
tions, which are beset with sharp spines The sap-wood is yellowish, but the 
interior layers are of a deep-red colour. The leaves are alternate, abruptly pin- 
nate, and composed of three or four pairs of sessile, nearly obcordate, obliquely 
nerved leaflets. The flowers, which are in axillary spikes or racemes near the 
ends of the branches, have a brownish-purple calyx and lemon-yellow petals. 
They exhale an agreeable odour, said to resemble that of the jonquil. 
The tree is a native of Campeachy, the shores of Honduras Bay, and other 
parts of tropical America ; and has become naturalized in Jamaica. The wood, 
which is the part used in medicine, is a valuable article of commerce, and largely 
employed in dyeing. It comes to us in logs deprived of the sap-wood, and 
having a blackish-brown colour externally. For medical use it is cut into chips, 
or rasped into coarse powder, and in these states is kept in the shops. 
Properties. Logwood is hard, compact, heavy, of a deep-red colour becoming 
dark by exposure, of a slight peculiar odour, and a sweet, somewhat astringent 
taste. It imparts its colour to water and to alcohol. The infusion made with 
cold water, though red, is less so than that with boiling water. It affords pre- 
cipitates with sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and acetic acids, alum, sulphate of 
copper, acetate of lead, and sulphate of iron, striking a bluish-black colour with 
the last-mentioned salt. ( Thomson's Dispensatory.) Precipitates are also pro- 
duced with it by lime-water and gelatin. Chevreul found in logwood a volatile 
oil, an oleaginous or resinous matter, a brown substance the solution of which is 
precipitated by gelatin (tannin), another brown substance soluble in alcohol but 
insoluble in water or ether, an azotized substance resembling gluten, free acetic 
acid, various salts, and a peculiar principle, called hematoxylin or hematin, on 
which the colouring properties of the wood depend. This is obtained by digest- 
ing the aqueous extract in alcohol, evaporating the tincture till it thickens, then 
adding a little water, and submitting the liquid to a new but gentle evaporation 
Upon allowing it to rest, hematoxylin is deposited in crystals, which may be 
pvrifled by washing with alcohol and drying. Thus procured, the crystals are PA.R" i. 
Hsematoxylon.—Hedeoma. 
447 
hining, of a yellowish rose colour, bitterish, acrid, and slightly astringent to 
the taste, readily soluble in boiling water, forming an orange-red solution which 
becomes yellow on cooling, and soluble also in alcohol and ether. According to 
Erdman, who obtained hematoxylin by the process of Chevreul, substituting 
ether for alcohol, its crystals, when quite pure, are yellow, without a tinge of 
redness; its taste is sweet, like that of liquorice, without bitterness or astrin- 
gency; and it is not of itself a colouring substance, but affords beautiful red, 
blue, and purple colours, by the joint action of an alkaline base and the oxygen 
of the air. It consists of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., ii. 293.) Its formula in crystals is given as C82Hu012-)-2H0, or C32H14 
012-[-6H0, according to the amount of its water of crystallization. ( Chem. Gaz., 
June 15, 1859, p. 227.) It is sometimes found in distinct crystals in the crevices 
of the wood. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Logwood is a mild astringent, devoid of irri- 
tating properties, and well adapted to the treatment of that relaxed condition 
of bowels which is apt to succeed cholera infantum. It is also occasionally used 
with advantage in ordinary chronic diarrhoea and chronic dysentery. It may be 
given in decoction or extract. 
Off. Prep. Decoetum Haematoxyli; Extractum Hsematoxyli. W. 
HEDEOMA. US. 
Hedeoma. American Pennyroyal. 
Herb of Hedeoma pulegioides. U. S. 
This herb, first attached to the genus Melissa, and afterwards to Cunila, is 
at present universally considered by botanists as belonging to the Hedeoma of 
Persoon. It has been very erroneously confounded by some with Mentha Pule- 
gium, or European pennyroyal. 
Hedeoma. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or La- 
biatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate, gibbous at the base, upper lip three-toothed, lower 
two ; dentures all subulate. Corolla ringent. Stamens two, sterile ; the two 
fertile stamens about the length of the corolla. Nuttall. 
Hedeoma pulegioides. Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 165.—Cunila pulegioides. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 122. This is an indigenous annual plant, from nine to fifteen 
inches high, with a small, branching, fibrous, yellowish root, and a pubescent 
stem, which sends off numerous slender erect branches. The leaves are opposite, 
oblong-lanceolate or oval, nearly acute, attenuated at the base, remotely serrate, 
rough or pubescent, and prominently veined on the under surface. The flowers 
are very small, pale-blue, supported on short peduncles, and arranged in axillary 
whorls along the whole length of the branches. The plant is common in all 
parts of the United States, preferring dry grounds, and, where abundant, scent- 
ing the air for a considerable distance with its grateful odour. 
Both in the recent and dried state it has a pleasant aromatic smell, and a 
warm, pungent, mint-like taste. It readily imparts its virtues to boiling water. 
The volatile oil upon which they depend may be separated by distillation, and 
employed instead of the herb itself. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pennyroyal is a gently stimulant aromatic, 
and may be given in flatulent colic and sick stomach, or to qualify the action of 
other medicines. Like most of the aromatic herbs,it possesses the property, when 
administered in warm infusion, of promoting perspiration, and of exciting the 
menstrual flux when the system is predisposed to the effort. Hence it is much 
used as an emmenagogue in popular practice, and frequently with success. A 
large draught of the warm tea is given at bedtime, in recent cases of suppres- 
sion of the menses, the feet having been previously bathed in warm water. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Hedeomae, U. S. W. 448 
Helianthemum.—Helleborus. 
PART L 
HELIANTHEMUM. US. Secondary 
Frostwort. 
The herb of Helianthemum Canadense. U. S. 
Heliantiiemum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia. — Nat.Ord. Cistacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved, the two exterior sepals bract-like, smaller, or 
wanting. Petals five, rarely three, sometimes abortive. Stigma capitate, some- 
times subsessile. Capsule triangular, three-valved, with the dissepiments in the 
middle of the valves. Seeds angular. 
Helianthemum Canadense. Michaux, Flor. i. 308 ; Torrey & Gray, Flor. of 
N. Am. i. 151. — Cistus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1199. The frost- 
wort, frost-weed, or rock rose, as this plant is variously called, is an herbaceous 
perennial, from six to eighteen inches high, with a slender, rigid, pubescent 
stem, oblong, somewhat lanceolate leaves about an inch in length, and large 
yellow flowers, the calyx and peduncles of which, as well as the branches, are 
covered with a white down. The flowers which first appear are terminal, few or 
solitary, large, on short peduncles, with erosely emarginate petals about twice 
as long as the calyx. Later in the season, or on different plants, other flowers 
appear,very small, axillary, solitary or somewhat clustered, nearly sessile, some- 
times destitute of petals, and usually wanting the two outer sepals of the calyx. 
The fruit is a capsule, smooth and shining,with brown, scabrous, punctate seeds. 
Eaton states that, in the months of November and December, he has seen hun- 
dreds of these plants sending out, near the roots, broad, thin, curved ice crys- 
tals, about an inch in breadth, which melted in the day, and were renewed in the 
morning. (Manual of Botany, 7th ed., p. 246.) 
Frostwort grows in all parts of the United States, preferring dry sandy soils, 
and flowering in June in the Middle States. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The herb has an astringent, slightly aromatic, 
and bitterish taste; and appears to possess tonic and astringent properties. 
Attention has only recently been attracted to it as a medicine. We have been 
told that it was first introduced into regular practice by Dr. Ives, of New Haven, 
Connecticut, who considered it a valuable remedy in scrofula. The late Dr. Isaac 
Parrish, of Philadelphia, informed us that he had employed it with much appa- 
rent benefit, as an internal remedy, in scrofulous affections of the eyes. In a 
pamphlet upon the frost-weed, by Dr. D. A. Tyler, published at New Haveu, 
A. D. 1846, it is stated that H. corymbosum possesses similar properties, and is 
indiscriminately employed with H. Canadense. He found both useful in scrofula, 
diarrhoea, and secondary syphilis, and locally as a gargle in scarlatina, and a 
wash in prurigo. The plant has been used in the forms of powder, decoction, 
tincture, and syrup; and may be given freely with impunity. Dr. Tyler, how- 
ever, has known the strong decoction and the extract to produce vomiting. He 
considers two grains of the latter as a full dose for an adult. W. 
HELLEBORUS. U.S. 
Black Hellebore. 
Root of Helleborus niger. U. S. 
E116bore noire, Fr.; Scliwarze Niesswurzel, Germ.; Elleboro nero, Hal.; Helebor 
negro, Span. 
Helleborus. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.—Nat.Ord. Ranunculaceae 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five or more. Nectaries bilabiate, tubular. 
Capsules many-seeded, nearly erect. Willd. 
Helleborus niger. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1336; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 473, t. 
169; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 8, pi. 1. The root or rbizomaof the black 
hellebore is perennial, knotted, blackish on the outside, white within, and sends 
off numerous long, simple, depending fibres, which are brownish-yellow when 
fresh, but become dark-brown upon drying. The leaves are pedate, of a deep- PART i. 
Helleborus. 
449 
green colour, and stand on long footstalks which spring immediately from the 
root. Each leaf is composed of five or more leaflets, one terminal, and two, 
three, or four on each side, supported on a single partial petiole. The leaflets 
are ovate-lanceolate, smooth, shining, coriaceous, and serrated in their upper 
portion. The flower-stem, which also rises from the root, is six or eight inches 
high, round, tapering, and reddish towards the base, and bears one or two large, 
pendent, rose-like flowers, accompanied with floral leaves, which supply the place 
of the calyx. The petals, five in number, are large, roundish, concave, spreading, 
and of a white or pale rose-colour, with occasionally a greenish tinge. There 
are two varieties of the plant—humilifolius and altifolius—in the former of 
which the leaves are shorter than the flower-stem, in the latter longer. It is 
a native of the mountainous regions of southern and temperate Europe, and is 
found in Greece, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Spain. It is cultivated 
in gardens for the beauty of its flowers, which expand in the middle of winter, 
and have thus given it the name of Christmas rose. 
Till the publication of Tournefort’s travels in the Levant, this plant was re- 
garded as identical with the hellebore of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Rut 
in the island of Anticyra, and various parts of continental Greece, in which it 
appears from the testimony of ancient writers that the hellebore abounded, this 
traveller discovered a species entirely distinct from those before described, and 
particularly from H. niger. He called it H. orientalis, and reasonably inferred 
that it was the true hellebore of the ancients; and botanists at present generally 
coincide in this opinion. Rut, as H. niger is also found in some parts of Greece, 
it is not impossible that the two plants were indiscriminately used. It is, indeed, 
highly probable that they possess similar properties; and a third, II. viridis, 
which grows in the west of Europe, is said to be frequently substituted for H. 
niger, which it closely resembles, if it does not equal in medicinal power. The 
roots of various other plants, not belonging to the same genus, are said to be 
frequently substituted for the black hellebore. They may usually be readily dis 
tinguished by attending to the characters of the genuine root.* 
* The following minute description of the root, which we translate from Geiger’s 
Handbuch der Pharmacie, may, perhaps, be useful in enabling the druggist to distinguish 
this from other analogous roots, mingled with or substituted for it in commerce. “ It is 
usually a many-headed root, with a caudex or body half an inch thick or less, seldom 
thicker, and several inches long, horizontal, sometimes variously contorted, uneven, 
knotty, with transverse ridges, slightly striated longitudinally, presenting on its upper 
surface the short remains of the leaf and flower stalks, and thickly beset upon the sides 
and under surface with fibres of the thickness of a straw, and from six to twelve inches 
long. These are undivided above, but, at the distance of from two to six inches from 
their origin, are furnished with small, slender branches. The colour of the root is dark- 
brown, sometimes rather light-brown, dull, and for the most part exhibiting a gray, 
earthy tinge. Internally it is whitish, with a somewhat darker pith, which, when cut 
transversely, shows lighter converging rays. Sometimes it is porous. It has a medullary 
or fleshy, not a ligneous consistence. The fibres, when dried, are wrinkled, very brittle, 
sometimes grayish internally, horny, with a white point in the centre. The odour of the 
dried root is feeble, somewhat like that of seneka, but more nauseous, especially when it 
is rubbed with water. The taste is at first sweetish, then nauseously acrid a?ad biting, 
but not very durable, and slightly bitterish.” (Handbuch, ii. s. 1181.) 
A root said to be not unfrequently substituted for or mixed with the genuine, end often 
to be met with in the shops of this country, is thought to be that of the Act sea cvicata of 
Europe. This has been particularly described by Dr. Carson in the American Journal of 
Pharmacy (xx. 163). The points of difference upon which that writer especially insists 
are the diffuse, jointed, stem-like character of the caudex of the false root, the straggling, 
separated, and horizontal arrangement of the fibres, and their dense, woody structure, and 
reddish-brown colour, contrasted with the thickness, double-headed form, and sponginess 
of the genuine caudex, the close-set, perpendicular position of its fibres, and their wrinkled 
appearance, soft texture, and grayish-brown colour. The transverse section of the fibre of 
the Actaea presents the appearance of a cross, which is not obvious in that of the black 
hellebore, though the central point of this, if closely examined, will be found to present a 
somewhat stellate appearance. In the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for Aug. 1861 (p. 112), 
Prof. Bentley states that solution of perchloride of iron produces little change of colour 
and little or no precipitation with an infusion of black hellebore, while, with a similar 
infusion of the Actaea root, it causes a deep-blue or black colour and a copious precipitate. 450 
Hdleborus. 
PART r. 
The medicine of which we are treating is sometimes called melampodium, in 
honour of Melampus, an ancient shepherd or physician, who is said to have 
cured the daughters of King Praetus by giving them the milk of goats which 
had been fed on hellebore. 
Properties. Though the whole root is kept in the shops, the fibres are the 
portion usually recommended. They are about as thick as a straw, when not 
broken from four inches to a foot in length, smooth, brittle, externally black or 
deep brown, internally white or yellowish white, with little smell, and a bitterish, 
nauseous, acrid taste. In their recent state they are extremely acrimonious, pro- 
ducing on the tongue a burning and benumbing impression, like that which re- 
sults from taking hot liquids into the mouth. This acrimony is diminished by 
drying, and still further impaired by age. MM. Feneulle and Capron obtained 
from black hellebore a volatile oil, an acrid fixed oil, a resinous substance, wax,' 
a volatile acid, bitter extractive, gum, albumen, gallate of potassa, supergallate 
of lime, a salt of ammonia, and woody fibre. Mr. William Bastick discovered 
a peculiar crystalline principle, which he proposed to call helleborin. It was 
obtained by diluting with water a strong tincture of the root, expelling the 
alcohol by heat, filtering to separate the resin, adding carbonate of potassa in 
excess, and agitating the mixture with three or four times its volume of ether. 
The ethereal solution was separated, and on evaporation yielded the helleborin, 
which was purified by solution in alcohol, and crystallization. It is in white, trans- 
lucent crystals, of a bitter taste with a tingling effect on the tongue, not vola- 
tilizable, slightly soluble in water, more so in ether and alcohol, and more readily 
in these liquids hotthan cold. Though nitrogenous, it is neither acid noralkaline. 
It probably exists uncombined in the root. (Pliarm. Journ.,xii. 274.) Water 
and alcohol extract the virtues of the root, which are impaired by long boiling. 
Some interesting results, chemical and physiological, in relation to both 
the black and green hellebore, which in these respects may be considered as 
one, have been obtained by Marine and Husemann A solution of an extract 
of the root, having been purified by precipitation with solution of subacetate of 
lead, and then freed from lead by sulphuretted hydrogen, yielded with phos- 
pho-molybdic acid a precipitate, which was found to have poisonous properties. 
Unfortunately, they gave to this principle the name of helleborin, which had 
been already appropriated by Mr. Bastick. They ascertained that it was a glu- 
coside, separable by boiling with acid into glucose and a peculiar principle which 
they propose to call helleboretin. The helleborin of these chemists exists both 
in the root and leaves. It has a taste at once sweet and bitter, is soluble in 
water and weak alcohol, and much less so in ether and absolute alcohol, and 
is crystallizable in rhomboidal prisms. It is precipitable by tannic acid arid 
the protacetate of mercury. (Journ. de Pliarm. et de Chim, 4e ser., ii. 258.) 
In the American Journ. o/Pharm. (May, 1866, p. 247), quoting from the Drug- 
gists' Circular, an account is given of a second glucoside obtained by the same 
chemists from the same source, which they distinguish by the name of helle- 
borein; but the mode of its preparation, and its precise chemical properties, are 
not given. May it not be the helleborin of Bastick? Though both the principles 
referred to by the German chemists mentioned are poisonous, the products of 
their decomposition are said to be harmless. Neither of them is volatile. Helle- 
borein is strongly irritant to the mucous membranes, causing, when applied to 
the conjunctiva, redness, swelling, and increased secretion with indirect enlarge- 
ment of the pupil, and to the nasal membrane, sneezing* though in less degree 
than veratria. The salivary secretion appears to be stimulated not only by its ap- 
plication to the mouth, but also through the system. Small doses produce litt le 
effect on the stomach; but, repeated and accumulated, they cause anorexia, 
nausea even to vomiting, pain, increased secretion, and inflammation both of 
the stomach and bowels. The kidneys and generative organs in women are 
also stimulated. In very small doses, it lessens the frequency of the pulse; but 
in large doses, it accelerates the circulation, often even fatally. Gradual paraly- 
sis and convulsions are among its poisonous effects. The helleborin of Marme PART I. 
Helleborus.—Ilemidesmi Radix. 
451 
and Husemann is a more active poison, though less irritant to the mucous 
membrane. It acts on the tongue like aconite. Its action appears to be directed 
especially to the nervous system. In the lower animals it causes quickened 
breathing, restlessness, tension and trembling of the muscles, uncertainty o. 
movement; then retardation of the breathing and pulse, irritability of the peri 
pheral nerves, dilatation of the pupil, loss of hearing, and finally almost com- 
plete anaesthesia, with cerebral and spinal congestion, even to apoplexy. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black hellebore is a drastic hydragogue ca- 
thartic, possessed of emmenagogue powers, which by some are ascribed to a 
specific tendency to the uterus, by others are supposed to depend solely on the 
purgative property. In overdoses it produces inflammation of the gastric and 
intestinal mucous membrane, with violent vomiting, hypercatharsis, vertigo, 
cramp, and convulsions, which sometimes end in death. The fresh root applied 
to the skin produces inflammation and even vesication. The medicine was very 
highly esteemed by the ancients, who employed it in mania, melancholy, amen- 
orrhoea, dropsy, epilepsy, various cutaneous affections, and verminose diseases. 
By the earlier modern physicians it was also much used. Backer's pills, cele- 
brated for the cure of dropsy, consisted chiefly of black hellebore. It is at present 
little employed except as an emmenagogue, in which capacity it is highly es- 
teemed by some practitioners. Dr. Meade considered it superior to all other 
medicines belonging to this class. It may be given in substance, extract, decoc- 
tion, or tincture. The dose of the powdered root is from ten to twenty grains 
as a drastic purge, two or three grains as an alterative. The decoction is pre- 
pared by boiling two drachms in a pint of water, of which a fluidounce may be 
given every four hours till it operates. The extract and tincture are officinal. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Hellebori Alcoholieum, U. S.; Tinctura Hellebori, U. S. 
W. 
HEMIDESMI RADIX. Br. 
Hemidesmus Root. Indian Sarsaparilla. 
The dried root of Hemidesmus indicus. Br. 
Hemidesmus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Asclepiadacese. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla rotate. Filaments connate at the base, not united above, 
inserted into the tube of the corolla. Anthers cohering1 separate from the stigma, 
with twenty pollen-masses Stigma flattish, pointless. 
Hemidesmus Indicus. R. Brown, Hort. Kew. ii. 75; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 
543.—Periploca Indica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1251. This is a climbing plant, 
with twining, woody, slender stems, and opposite petiolate leaves, which are 
entire, smooth, shining, and of a firm consistence. The leaves vary much in size 
and shape, some being linear and acute, others broad-lanceolate, and others again 
oval or ovate. The flowers are small, green on the outside, purple within, and 
disposed in axillary racemes. The calyx is five-parted, with acute divisions; the 
corolla flat, with oblong, pointed divisions. The fruit consists of two long, slen- 
der, spreading follicles. 
This plant is common over the whole peninsula of Hindostan. The officinal 
portion is the root, which has long been used in India as a substitute for sarsa- 
parilla. It is long, slender, tortuous, cylindrical, and little branched, consisting 
of a ligneous centre, and a brownish, corky bark, marked with longitudinal fur- 
rows and transverse fissures. It has an aromatic odour and bitter taste. Mr. 
Garden obtained from it a peculiar volatilizable acid principle, which he named 
smilasperic acid, under the erroneous impression that the root was derived 
from Smilax aspera. Pereira proposed to call it hemidesmic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Indian sarsaparilla is said to be tonic, diuretic, 
and alterative. It was introduced into Great Britain from India, and was em- 
ployed for some time under the name of smilax aspera. It is used for the same 
purposes as sarsaparilla. In some instances it is said to have proved successful 
in syphilis when that medicine had failed; but it cannot be relied on. The na- 452 
Hemidesmi Radix —Hepatica.—Heuchera. 
PART I. 
tive practitioners in India are said to employ it in nephritic complaints, and in 
the sore-mouth of children. It is used in the form of infusion or decoction, 
made in the proportion of two ounces of the root to a pint of water. A pint 
may be given, in wineglassful doses, in the course of the day. A syrup is directed 
in the British Pharmacopoeia. (See Syrupus Hemidesmi.) 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Hemidesmi, Br. W. 
HEPATICA. U. S. Secondary, 
Liverwort. 
The leaves of Hepatica Americana. U. S. 
Hepatica. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six to nine. Seeds naked. Nuttall. 
Hepatica Americana. De Cand.; Eaton, Manual of Botany, p. 241.—H. 
triloba. Willd. Enum,.; figured in Rafinesque’s Med. Flor. i. 238. Botanists 
generally admit but one species of Hepatica, H. triloba, and consider as acci- 
dental the difference of structure and colour observable in the plant. Pursh 
speaks of two varieties, one with the lobes of the leaf oval and acute, the other 
with the lobes rounded and obtuse. These are considered as distinct species 
by De Candolle, and the latter is the one adopted by the Pharmacopoeia, and 
popularly employed as a medicine in this country, under the name of liverwort. 
Both have a perennial fibrous root, with three-lobed leaves, cordate at their 
base, coriaceous, nearly smooth, glaucous and purplish beneath, and supported 
upon hairy footstalks from four to eight inches long, which spring directly from 
the root. The scapes or flower-stems are several in number, of the same length 
with the petioles, round, hairy, and terminating in a single white, bluish, or pur- 
plish flower. The calyx is at a little distance below the corolla, and is consid- 
ered by some an involucre, while the corolla takes the name of the calyx. In 
H. acutiloba the leaves are cordate, with from three to five entire, acute lobes; 
and the leaflets of the calyx are acute. In H. Americana the leaves are cordate- 
reniform, with three entire, roundish, obtuse lobes ; and the leaflets of the calyx 
are obtuse. Both are indigenous, growing in woods upon the sides of hills and 
mountains; the former, according to Eaton, preferring the northern, the latter 
the southern exposure. The leaves resist the cold of the winter, and the flowers 
make their appearance early in spring. The whole plant is used. 
It is without smell, and has a mucilaginous, somewhat astringent, slightly 
bitterish taste. Water extracts all its active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Liverwort is a very mild, demulcent tonic and 
astringent, supposed by some to possess diuretic and deobstruent virtues. It 
was formerly used in Europe in various complaints, especially chronic hepatic 
affections, but has fallen into entire neglect. In this country some years since, 
it acquired considerable popular reputation, which, however, it has not main- 
tained, as a remedy in haemoptysis and chronic coughs. It may be used in 
infusion, and taken ad libitum. The term liverwort properly belongs to the 
cryptogamous genus Marcliantia. W 
HEUCHERA. U. S. Secondary 
Mum-root. 
The root of Heuchera Americana. U. S. 
Heuciiera. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Saxifragaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five, small. Capsule bi-rostrate, bi-locular, 
many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Heuchera Americana. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1328; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 159. 
— H. cortusa. Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Am. i. 171. — H. viscida. Pursh, Flor. 
Am. Sept. p. 187. The alum-root or American sanicle is a perennial, herbace- 
ous plant, the leaves of which are all radical, petiolate, cordate, with rounded PART I. 
Heuchera.—Hirudo. 
453 
lobes, furnished with obtuse mucronate teeth. There is no proper stem; but 
numerous scapes or flower-stems are sent up by the same root, from one to 
three feet in height, very hairy in their upper part, and terminating in long, loose, 
pyramidal, dichotomous panicles. The calyx is small, with obtuse segments ; 
the petals lanceolate, rose-colouied, and of the same length as the calyx; the 
filaments much longer, yellowish, and surmounted by small, red, globose anthers 
The whole plant is covered with a viscid pubescence. 
It is found in shady, rocky situations, from New England to Carolina, and 
flowers in June and July. The root, which is officinal, is horizontal, somewhat 
compressed, knotty, irregular, yellowish, and of a strongly styptic taste. 
Medical Properties. Alum-root is powerfully astringent, and may be em- 
ployed in similar cases with other medicines belonging to the same class. It has 
hitherto, however, been little used. We are informed, in Dr. Barton’s “ Collec- 
tions,” that it is applied by the Indians to wounds and obstinate ulcers, and that 
it is the basis of a powder which, when the author wrote, enjoyed some reputa- 
tion as a cure for cancer. Mr. Frederick Stearns, in a report to the Am. Phar- 
maceutical Association in reference to the medicinal plants of Michigan (Pro- 
ceedings, A. D. 1858, p. 263), speaks of two other species, H. caulescens and 
H. pubescens, as having similar properties. W 
HIRUDO. Br. 
The Leech. 
Sanguisuga medicinalis, the Speckled Leech; and S. officinalis, the Green 
Leech, Br. 
Sangsue, Fr.; Blutegel, Germ.; Mignatta, Ital.; Sanguijuela, Span. 
IIirudo. Class 1, Annelides. Order 3, Abranchiatae. Family 2, Asetigerae. 
Cuvier. 
The leech belongs to that class of invertebrated articulated animals called 
Annelides. This class contains the worms with red blood, having soft retractile 
bodies composed of numerous segments or rings, breathing generally by means 
of branchiae, with a nervous system consisting in a double knotted cord, desti- 
tute of feet, and supplying their place by the contractile power of their segments 
or rings. The third order of this class—Abranchiatae—comprehends those 
worms which have no apparent external organ of respiration. This order is 
again divided into two families, to the second of which—the Asetigerae, or those 
not having setae to enable them to crawl—the leech belongs. 
It is an aquatic worm with a flattened body, tapering towards each end, and 
terminating in circular flattened disks, the hinder one being the larger of the 
two. It swims with a vertical undulating motion, and moves when out of the 
water by means of these disks or suckers, fastening itself first by one and then by 
the other, and alternately stretching out and contracting its body. The mouth 
is placed in the centre of the anterior disk, and is furnished with three cartila- 
ginous lens-shaped jaws at the entrance of the alimentary canal. These jaws are 
lined at their edges with fine sharp teeth, and meet so as to make a triangular 
incision in the flesh. The head is furnished with small raised points, supposed 
by some to be eyes. Respiration is carried on through small apertures ranged 
along the inferior surface. The nervous system consists of a cord extending 
the whole length, furnished with numerous ganglions. The intestinal canal is 
straight, and terminates in the anus, near the posterior disk. Although herma- 
phrodite, leeches mutually impregnate each other. They are oviparous, and the 
eggs, varying from six to fifteen, are contained in a sort of spongy, slimy cocoon, 
from half an inch to an inch in diameter. These are deposited near the edge of 
the water, and hatched by the heat of the sun. The leech is torpid during the 
winter, and casts off from time to time a thick slimy coating from its skin. It 
can live a considerable time in sphagnous moss, or in moistened earth, and is 
frequently transported in this manner to great distances by the dealers. 
Savigny has divided the genus Hirudo of Linnaeus into several genera. The 454 
Hirudo, 
PART I 
true leech is the Sanguisuga of this author, and is characterized by its three len- 
ticular jaws, each armed with two rows of teeth, and by having ten ocular points. 
Several species are used for medical purposes, of which the most common are 
the gray and the green leech of Europe, both of which are varieties of the Hirudo 
medicinalis of Linnaeus; and the Hirudo decora of this country. 
1. Hirudo medicinalis. Linn. Ed. Gmel. i. 3095. — Sanguisuga officinalis. 
Savigny, Mon.Hir. p. 112, t. 5, f. 1. The green leech. — Sanguisuga medicinalis. 
Savigny, Mon.Hir. p. 114, t. 5, f. 2. The gray leech. Many of the best zoolo- 
gists regard the Sanguisuga officinalis and S. medicinalis of Savigny as mere 
varieties. They are both marked with six longitudinal dorsal ferruginous stripes, 
the four lateral ones being interrupted or tesselated with black spots. The colour 
of the black varies from a blackish to a grayish-green. The belly in the first 
variety is of a yellowish-green colour, free from spots, and bordered with longi- 
tudinal black stripes. In the second it is of a green colour, bordered and macu- 
lated with black. This leech varies from two to four inches in length. It inhabits 
marshes and running streams, and is abundant throughout Europe.* 
The great use made of leeches in the modern practice of medicine has occa- 
sioned them to become a considerable article of commerce. They are collected 
in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, and Sweden, and carried in large numbers to 
London and Paris. They are also frequently brought to this country; as the 
practitioners in some of our large cities use only the foreign leech, although our 
own waters furnish an inexhaustible supply of this useful worm.f 
2. Hirudo decora. Say, Colonel Long's Second Expedition, ii. 268. The 
medicinal leech of America has been described by Say under the name of Hirudo 
decora, in the Appendix to the Second Expedition of Colonel Long. Its back 
is of a deep pistachio-green colour, with three longitudinal rows of square Spots. 
These spots are placed on every fifth ring, and are twenty-two in number. The 
lateral rows of spots are black, and the middle range, of a light brownish-orange 
colour. The belly is of the latter colour, variously and irregularly spotted with 
black. The American leech sometimes attains the length of four or five inches, 
although its usual length is from two to three. It does not make so large and 
deep an incision as the European leech, and draws less blood. 
The indigenous leech is much used in the city of Philadelphia. The practi- 
* A variety of the leech has recently come into use in Europe, called in commerce 
African leeches. They are of a beautiful light-green colour, varying to a deep-green, and 
often inclining to red, with black points on the back, and broad streaks of a bright 
orange-yellow, which are black towards the abdomen. They correspond perfectly with 
the Sanguisuga interrupta of Moquin-Tandon. These leeches draw very well. (Pharm. 
Journ., x. 38, from Buchner's Repertorium, A. D. 1850, p. 376.) The leeches from Algiers, 
called in French commerce dragons (Sanguisuga troctena of Moquin-Tandon), of which 
considerable numbers have been taken to France, are said by M. A. de Quatrefages, con- 
trary to former opinion, to be quite equal to the European. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
xxxiii. 105.) It is stated in the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions (June, 1867, p. 
735) that great numbers of leeches are collected in Australia, and sent to Melbourne, 
whence a large proportion are exported to Europe and America, chiefly to London and 
Paris in the former continent, and San Francisco, Panama, and New York in the latter. 
It is estimated that two or three millions annually pass through the hands of the Murray 
River Fishing Company. In the same journal (March, 1865, p. 481), the leech is said to 
abound in almost every river and lagoon in Australia, and to differ from the ordinary Eng- 
lish leech only, that the olive streaks are much lighter in the former. They are collected by 
throwing into the water a fresh sheep-skin, to which they attach themselves. They bear 
transportation wonderfully well. (Note to the ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth editions.) W. 
f Attempts have been made, in France, on a large scale, to propagate leeches fo~ 
sale. This is done by means of natural meadows, in which numerous small ponds are 
made, where the leeches, with certain precautions as to nourishment and preservation, 
multiply and grow so rapidly as to become a source of profit. In order that they may 
propagate, it is necessary that they should be fed on blood, which is given them either by 
causing animals, as horses, cows, &c., to be driven into the meadows, or by obtaining 
blood from slaughter-houses, and, after depriving it of fibrin by agitation, immersing the 
animals for a time in it while yet warm. For very interesting particulars in relation to 
this kind of culture, the reader is referred to papers in the Journ. de Pharm. (Jan 1854 
p. 5, and Mai, 1854, p. 336).—Note to the eleventh edition. W. PART I. 
Ilirudo. 
455 
tioners of New York and Boston are supplied chiefly from abroad. The leeches 
employed in Philadelphia are generally brought from Bucks and Berks counties, 
in Pennsylvania, and occasionally from other parts of the State. 
The proper preservation of leeches is an object of importance to the practi- 
tioner, as they are liable to a great and sudden mortality. They are usually kept 
in jars, in clear, soft water, which should be changed twice a week in winter, 
and every other day in summer. The jar must be covered with a linen cloth, and 
placed in a situation not liable to sudden changes of temperature. They will 
live a long time and continue active and healthy, without any other attention 
than that of frequently changing the water in which they are kept. M. Derheims 
has proposed the following excellent method of preserving them. In the bottom 
of a large basin or trough of marble he places a bed, six or seven inches deep, 
of a mixture of moss, turf, and fragments of wood. He strews pebbles above, 
so as to retain them in their place without compressing them too much, or pre- 
venting the water from freely penetrating them. At one end of the trough, and 
about midway of its height, is placed a thin slab of marble or earthenware, pierced 
with numerous holes, and covered with a bed of moss, which is compressed by a 
thick layer of pebbles. The reservoir being thus disposed is half tilled with water, 
so that the moss and pebbles on the shelf shall be kept constantly moist. The 
basin is protected from the light by a linen cover stretched over it. By this 
arrangement the natural habits of the leech are not counteracted. One of these 
habits, essential to its health, is that of drawing itself through the moss and roots 
to clear its body from the slimy coat wyhich forms on its skin and is a principal 
cause of its disease and death. Mr. James Banes recommends that, when kept 
in jars, they should be cleansed by means of a whisk of very fine broom or willow, 
when the water is changed. M. Lahaehe, an apothecary at Bruyeres, strongly re- 
commends the carrageen or Irish moss (Chondruscrispus), as admirably adapted 
to the habits and wants of the leech, furnishing the animal, as he supposes, with 
nutriment, as it does not die of inanition when thus kept. The water should be 
renewed in the jars daily. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Ghim., 4e ser., iii. l'_8.)* 
* M. Soubeiran considers it important that they should be kept in running water, and 
has figured an apparatus for this purpose in the second edition of his Treatise on Phar- 
macy. The addition of a solution of chlorine to the water, in the proportion of one or 
two drops to the pint, or of a little muriatic or sulphuric acid to neutralize the ammonia 
which forms, has sometimes been found a preservative against disease. (Journ. de Pharm., 
3e ser., x. 186.) M. Domine has found the following plan for preserving leeches most 
successful. He selects the greenest moss he can find, washes it perfectly clean, and puts 
alternately it and the leeches, also well washed, into a glass vessel of convenient size, 
taking care to fill the vessel completely with the loosened moss, and then to cover it with 
a piece of linen. In winter, it is sufficient merely to introduce the leeches and moss 
moistened; hut, as soon as warm weather approaches, a little water should be put at the 
bottom of the vessel. It is not necessary to change often in winter; hut in summer the 
moss should he renewed nearly every other day, and the vessel should be kept in the 
cellar. (Ibid., xvi. 110.)—Note to the ninth edition. W. 
Mr. Alfred Allchin has had great success in the preservation of leeches by the use of 
aquaria, in which the natural conditions necessary for the health of the animal are sup- 
plied, by introducing a living and growing water plant, to afford oxygen and consume 
carbonic acid, and water snails to consume the decaying vegetable matter, the confervse 
which grow on the sides of the vessel, and the slimy matter given off by the leeches 
themselves. For full particulars in relation to the structure and management of these 
aquaria, the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxviii. 222), and the Pharm. 
Journ. (xv. 453), in the latter of which journals the account was originally published. 
(Note to the eleventh edition.) W. 
An interesting account of the culture of both the Spanish and American leech (the 
latter II. decora) has been published in the “ Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association" for the year 1857, by Mr. Frederick Stearns, of which the following is an epi- 
tome. A wooden tank, eight feet in length by six in breadth and four in depth, is placed 
in the ground, near a running stream, so that a portion of the water passes through it, 
the orifices through which it enters and escapes being covered with wire-gauze to pre- 
vent the exit of the animal. A layer of cobble stones eighteen inches thick is placed in 
the bottom of the tank. The outlet is about ten inches below the top of the tank, and 
from the edge at top, all round, a ledge of boards is made to project inward. A few 
frogs are thrown in once a week for food. In winter the animal is torpid, and the tank 456 
Ilirudo 
PART I, 
Medical Uses. Leeches afford the least painful, and in many instances the 
most effectual means for the local abstraction of blood. They are often appli- 
cable to parts which, either from their situation or their great tenderness when 
inflamed, do not admit of the use of cups ; and, in the cases of infants, are under 
all circumstances preferable to that instrument. They are indeed a powerful 
therapeutic agent, and give to the physician, in many instances, a control over 
disease which he could obtain in no other way. Their use is in great measure 
restricted to the treatment of local inflammation; and, as a general rule, they 
should not be resorted to until the force of the circulation has been diminished 
by bleeding from the arm, or in the natural progress of the complaint. 
In applying leeches to the skin, care should be taken to shave off the hair, if 
there be any, and to have the part well cleansed with soap and water, and after 
wards with pure water. If the leech do not bite readily, the skin should be 
moistened with a little blood, or milk and water. It is said to bite more freely 
if the skin is previously reddened by a sinapism, and then washed perfectly 
clean. Sometimes the leech is put into a large quill open at both ends, and ap- 
plied with the head to the skin until it fastens itself, when the quill is withdrawn. 
If it be desirable that the leech shall bite in a particular spot, this end may be 
attained by cutting a small hole in a piece of blotting-paper, and then applying 
this moistened to the skin, so that the hole shall be immediately over the spot 
from which the blood is to be taken Leeches continue to draw blood until they 
are gorged, when they drop off * The quantity of blood which they draw varies 
with the part to which they are applied, and the degree of inflammation exist- 
ing in it. From the loose and vascular textures they will abstract more than 
from those which are firm and compact, and more from an inflamed than a healthy 
part. As a general rule, our leechers apply six for every fluidounce of blood. A 
single European leech will draw from half an ounce to an ounce. The quantity 
may often be much increased by bathing the wrnund with warm water. Leeches 
will continue to suck after their tails are cut off, which is sometimes done, al- 
though it is a barbarous practice.f It is said that they will draw better if put into 
cold beer, or diluted wine, and allowed to remain until they become very lively. 
They may be separated from the skin at any time by sprinkling a little salt upon 
them. After they drop off, the same application will make them disgorge the 
blood tney have swallowed. Some leechers draw the leeches from the tail to the 
head through their fingers, and thus squeeze out the blood, after which all that 
is necessary is to put them in clean water, and change it frequently.| Leeches 
is allowed to remain frozen over till spring. The eggs are produced in June and July; 
the leech is mature in about two years, and will live fifteen. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
W. 
* As a very efficient mode of applying leeches, it is recommended, after having moist- 
ened the skin with pure warm water, to put the leeches into a tumbler half fulfof cold 
water, and by an adroit movement invert it upon the part. The leeches are said to attach 
themselves so rapidly that it seems to the patient as though they made but a single bite. 
When they are all attached, the glass is to be carefully removed, the water being ab- 
sorbed, as it runs off on one side, by a sponge or linen cloths. 
Another method of increasing the efficiency of leeches, recommended by Dr. C. R. Sloan, 
of Ayr, Scotland, is to cover them with a cupping-glass, and, by means of an air-pump, 
moderately exhaust the air over them. An extraordinary increase in their activity is 
immediately observable. (Ed. Monthly Journ. of Med. Sci., Aug. 1852, p. 126.) W. 
j- Under the name of bdellatomy, a practice has been introduced into Germany, of 
making a small incision in the side of the leech while drawing. The blood escapes 
through the wound, and the animal will continue to suck for a long time, so that one 
will perform the office of many in the quantity of blood taken. It is asserted that the 
operation causes little or no pain, but is in fact a source of gratification by prolonging 
the pleasure of taking food. Some years since, the author received a communication on 
the subject from the originator of the process; but he regrets that it has been mislaid, 
and he cannot give the name, as he would desire. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) W. 
J MM. Soubeiran and Bouchardat, after numerous experiments upon the different 
modes of fitting the gorged leeches for use again, came to the conclusion, that a carefully 
managed pressure is the best. Two conditions, however, are necessary to success; one 
that they should be disposed to disgorge the blood, and the other that they should be im- 
mersed in warm water previously to the stripping. The first object is effected by com- PART I, 
Hiii'uao 
457 
which tire gorged with blood should be kept in a vessel by themselves ; as they 
are more subject to disease, and often occasion a great mortality among the 
others. They should not be again used until they have recovered their activity. 
In cases where the bleeding from leech-bites continues longer than is desirable, 
it may be stopped by continued pressure, with the application of lint, by the use 
of eollodium, or by touching the wounds with lunar caustic.* It may sometimes 
be necessary, in the case of a deep bite, to sew the wound, which is readily done 
with a single stitch of the needle, that need not penetrate deeper than the cutis.f 
D. B. S. 
mon salt. The following plan is recommended. The leeches are to be thrown into a solu- 
tion of 16 parts of common salt in 100 of water, from which they are to be taken out one 
by one, and, being held by the tail, are to be dipped into water which feels hot to the 
hand, hut yet can be borne by it, and then passed lightly between the fingers. Thus 
treated, they easily give up the blood. After being stripped, they should be placed in 
vessels containing fresh water, which should be renewed once a day. At the end of eight 
or ten days, they are fit for reapplication. [Journ. de Pharrn., 3e ser., xi. 348 and 350.) It 
is said that, in the French military hospitals, a mixture of vinegar and water, consisting 
of one part of the former to eight of the latter, is preferred to salt water for promoting 
disgorgement. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1856, p. 375.) 
It has been stated that, if the leeches, after being stripped, be put into water sweetened 
with a little white sugar, and the solution be renewed several times, at intervals of six 
or twelve hours, they will speedily recover their activity, and may be reapplied two or 
three times in the course of a few days. Immersion in camphor water, for a few mo- 
ments, is said by Mr. Boyce to cause them to vomit the blood. They should afterwards 
be put into clean water, to be changed in half an hour. Dr. Frodsham, of England, has 
found camphor water preferable either to salt water or diluted vinegar, for disposing the 
gorged leech to part with blood. 
M. Grannat, a French military pharmaceutist, has found the natural process of dis- 
gorging preferable to all others. He placed some gorged leeches in wooden tubs, con- 
taining at bottom a little clay and water, and renewed the water every forty-eight hours. 
After eight days, the leeches, now in good health, were transferred to a pond prepared 
for the purpose, where they propagated. He put 1000 leeches in the pond, and at the end 
of a year had taken out 850 fit for service, without interfering with the reproduction. 
[Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 186.) 
M. Vayson’s plan of preserving leeches has been highly commended. It consists simply 
in putting them, after stripping, if they have been used, in an earthenware vessel of the 
shape of an inverted truncated cone, with holes in the bottom so small as to prevent the 
escape of the leech, and filled with turfy earth. After the introduction of the leech the 
opening is to be closed with a coarse cloth. The vessel is then placed in a tub containing 
water four inches deep. If to be sent to a distance, the earth in the vessel should be 
moistened throughout. W. 
* A little cotton, impregnated with a saturated solution of alum in boiling-hot water, 
and, after it has become sufficiently cool, but before the alum has begun to crystallize, 
pressed upon the wound, will often prove effectual. Another mode of repressing the hemor- 
rhage is to press upon the bite a piece of thin caoutchouc, previously softened upon one 
side by heat, so as to become adhesive. If lunar caustic be applied, the stick must first be 
brought to a fine point, which is to be inserted in the wound. Some have even recom- 
mended the use of a fine wire made red hot. When the part wounded is without a bony 
basis, pressure may be made by pinching the wound between the fingers. W. 
f An instrument has been invented called the mechanical leech, by which the attempt 
has been made to imitate the action of the leech in drawing blood. It consists essentially 
•of two parts, one for making the puncture, and the other for abstracting blood through 
the agency of atmospheric pressure. In other words, it is a minute cupping instrument. 
Practically, however, it has not been found so convenient as to supersede the use of the 
living leech. For an account of the instrument, see the Am. Journ. of the Med. Sciences 
(xvi. 207). W. 
Danger from Leeches. Young leeches are sometimes swallowed by men and animals 
while drinking from streams or ponds inhabited by them. If swallowed they pro f ably 
perish in the stomach; but occasionally they attach themselves in the passages, in man 
most frequently to the fauces or pharynx, but in the lower animals also to the gums 
cheeks, soft palate, and even the nasal passages. The animal has been known to attach 
itself within the larynx, with the most alarming effects. It grows in its new quarters, 
living on the blood which it draws, much of which also escapes from the punctures, caus- 
ing spitting of blood, which probably first calls attention to the case. There are also vaiious 
morbid sensations, such as arise from the presence of a foreign body in the throat, and 
symptoms of impending suffocation when the animal is near the glottis. Death has oc- 
c irred from this cause. Generally there is little danger, and anemic symptoms are the most 458 
Ilordeum. 
PART I. 
HORDEUM. U.S. 
Barley, Bearl Barley. 
The decorticated seed of Hordeum distichon. U. S. 
Off. Syn HORDEUM DECORTICATUM. Pearl Barley. The husked 
seeds of Hordeum distichon. Br. 
Orge, Fr ; Gerstengraupen, Germ.; Orzo, ItaL; Cebada, Span. 
Hordeum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia.—Nat. Ord. Graminaceae. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx lateral, two-valved, one-flowered, three-fold. Willd. 
Several species of Hordeum are cultivated in different parts of the world. 
The most common are H. vulgare and II. distichon, both of which have been 
introduced into the United States. 
1. Hordeum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 472 ; Loudon’s Evcyc. of Plants, 
p. 73. The culm or stalk of common barley is from two to four feet in height, 
fistular, and furnished with alternate, sheathing, lanceolate, roughish,and pointed 
leaves. The flowers are all perfect, and arranged in a close terminal spike, the 
axis of which is dentate, and on each tooth supports three sessile flowers. The 
calyx or outer chaff has two valves The corolla or inner chaff is also composed 
of two valves, of which the interior is larger than the other, and terminates in 
a long, rough, serrated awn or beard. The seeds are arranged in four rows. 
2. II. distichon. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 473; Loudon’s Encyc. of Plants, p. 73. 
This species is distinguished by its flat spike or ear, which on each flat side has 
a double row of imperfect or male florets without beards, and on each edge, a 
single row of bearded perfect or herniaphrodite florets. The seeds, therefore, 
are in two rows, as indicated by the specific name of the plant. 
The original country of the cultivated barley is unknown. The plant has 
been found growing wild in Sicily, and various parts of the interior of Asia. 
II. vulgare is said by Pursh to grow in some parts of the United States, appa- 
rently in a wild state. The seeds are used in various forms. 
1. In their natural state they are oval, oblong, pointed at one end, obtuse at 
the other, marked with a longitudinal furrow, of a yellowish colour externally, 
white within, having a faint odour when in mass, and a mild sweetish taste. They 
contain, according to Proust, in 100 parts, 32 of starch, 3 of gluten, 5 of sugar, 
4 of gum, 1 of yellow resin, and 55 of hordein, a principle closely analogous to 
lignin. Berzelius suggests that hordein may be an intimate mixture of vegetable 
fibre with gluten and starch, which are very difficultly separable as they exist in 
this grain. Einhoff found in 100 parts 67 18 of starch, 5‘21 of uncrystallizable 
sugar, 4'62 of gum, 3 52 of gluten, 1T5 of albumen, 0;24 of phosphate of lime, 
and 729 of vegetable fibre; the remainder being water and loss. 
2. Malt consists of the seeds made to germinate by warmth and moisture, and 
then baked so as to deprive them of vitality. By this process the sugar, starch, 
and gum are increased at the expense of the hordein, as shown by the analysis 
of Proust, who found in 100 parts of malt, 56 of staren, 1 of gluten, 15 of sugar, 
15 of gum, 1 of yellow resin, and only 12 of hordein. Berzelius attributes the 
diminution of the hordein to the separation, during germination, of the gluten 
or starch from the fibrous matter with which he supposes them to be associated 
in that substance. It is in the form of malt that barley is so largely consumed 
in the manufacture of malt liquors. 
An interesting substance, called diastase, was discovered by MM. Payen and 
Persoz in the seeds of barley, oats, and wheat, and in the potato. It is found, 
however, only after germination, in which process the production of it appears 
to be the first step. Germinated barley seldom contains it in larger proportion 
serious of those existing. The animal can generally be seen when in the fauces, and may 
be removed by seizing it with an instrument. If it cannot be seized, or if invisible, as in 
the nares, it should be attacked by solution of salt or vinegar, which will cause it to give 
up its hold. Emetics have been recommended, and in one instance laryngotomy was per- 
formed. (See Archives Gen., Aout, 1863, p. 161.)—Note to the twelfth edition. W. PART i. 
Hordeum.—Humulus. 
459 
than two parts in a thousand. It is obtained by bruising freshly germinated 
barley, adding about half its weight of water, expressing strongly, treating the 
viscid liquid thus obtained with sufficient alcohol to destroy its viscidity, then 
separating the coagulated albumen, and adding a fresh portion of alcohol, which 
precipitates the diastase in an impure state. To render it pure, it must be re- 
dissolved as often as three times in water, and precipitated by alcohol It is 
solid, white, tasteless, soluble in water and weak alcohol, but insoluble in the 
latter fluid when*concentrated. Though without action upon gum and sugar, 
it has the extraordinary property, when mixed, in the proportion of only one 
part to 2000, with starch suspended in water, and maintained at a temperature 
of about 160°, of converting that principle into dextrin and sugar of grapes. 
The whole of the starch undergoes this change, except the teguments of the 
granules, amounting to about 4 parts in 1000. The change which barley under- 
goes during germination, and in malting, is of a similar character. 
3. Hailed barley is merely the grain deprived of its husk, which, according 
to Einhoff, amounts to 18 75 parts in the hundred.* 
4. Barley meal is formed by grinding the seeds, previously deprived of their 
husk. It has a grayish-white colour, and contains, according to Fourcroy and 
Vauquelin, an oleaginous substance, sugar, starch, azotized matter, acetic acid, 
phosphates of lime and magnesia, silica, and iron. It may be made into a coarse, 
heavy, hard bread, which in some countries is much used for food. 
5. Pearl barley (hordeum perlatum) is the seed deprived of all its invest- 
ments, and afterwards rounded and polished in a mill. It is in small round or 
oval grains, having the remains of the longitudinal furrow of the seeds, and of 
a pearly whiteness. It is wholly destitute of hordein, and abounds in starch, with 
some gluten, sugar, and gum. This is the proper officinal form of barley, and is 
kept in the shops almost to the exclusion of the others. 
Medical Properties. Barley is one of the mildest and least irritating of fari- 
naceous substances; and, though not medically used in its solid state, forms, by 
decoction with water, a drink admirably adapted to febrile and inflammatory 
complaints, and much employed from the time of Hippocrates to the present 
Pearl barley is the form usually preferred for the preparation of the decoction, 
though the hulled grain is sometimes used, and malt affords a liquor more de- 
mulcent and nutritious. (See Decoctum Hordei.) The decoction of malt may be 
prepared by boiling from two to four ounces in a quart of water and straining. 
When hops are added, the decoction takes the name of wort, and acquires tonic 
properties, which render it useful in debility, especially when attended with sup- 
puration. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Hordei. W. 
HUMULUS. US. 
Hops. 
The strobiles of Hamulus Lupulus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. LUPULUS. Hop. The dried strobiles of the female plant of Hu- 
uulus Lupulus. Br. 
Houblon, Fr.; Hopfen, Germ.; Luppolo, Italy Lupulo Hombrecillo, Span. 
Humulus. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Urticaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Male. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla none. Female. Calyx one-leafed, 
* M. Lemoine, a French pharmaceutist, proposes a chemical method of decorticating 
barley and other seeds. Putting 100 parts of the seeds into a wooden vessel, he pours 
upon them 15 parts of sulphuric acid, stirs the mixture for 15 or 20 minutes, applying in 
the case of barley a gentle heat, then adds 50 parts of water, which he decants after a very 
few moments of constant agitation. After sufficient washing, and the neutralization of 
the last remains of acid by solution of carbonate of soda or potassa, he puts the grain 
upon a piece of cloth with large meshes stretched upon a frame, where he allows it to 
drain for about an hour, then transfers it to a similar cloth, and exposes it to a current 
of air for several days to dry. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1863, p. 223.)—Note to the twelfth 
edition. 460 
Humulus. 
PART I. 
obliquely spreading, entire. Corolla none. Styles two. Seed one, within a leafy 
calyx. Willd. 
Humulus Lupulus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 769; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
163. The root of the hop is perennial, and sends up numerous annual, angular, 
rough, flexible stems, which twine around neighbouring objects in a spiral direc- 
tion, from left to right, and climb to a great height. The leaves are opposite, 
and stand upon long footstalks. The smaller are sometimes cordate; the larger 
have three or five lobes; all are serrate, of a deep-green colour on the upper 
surface, and, together with the petioles, extremely rough, with minute prickles. 
At the base of the footstalks are two or four smooth, ovate, reflexed stipules. 
The flowers are numerous, axillary,and furnished with bractes. The male flowers 
are yellowish-white.and arranged in panicles; the female, which grow on a sepa- 
rate plant, are pale-green, and disposed in solitary, peduncled aments, composed 
of membranous scales, ovate, acute, and tubular at the base. Each scale bears 
near its base, on its inner surface, two flowers, consisting of a roundish com- 
pressed germ, and two styles, with long filiform stigmas. The aments are con- 
verted into ovate membranous cones or strobiles, the scales of which contain, 
each, at its base, two small seeds, surrounded by a yellow, granular powder. 
The hop is a native of North America and Europe. It is occasionally found 
growing wild in the Eastern States, and, according to Mr. Nuttall, is abundant 
on the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri. In parts of New England, New 
York, and Michigan, it is extensively cultivated, and most of the hops consumed 
in the United States are supplied by those districts. The part of the plant used 
is the fruit or strobiles. These when fully ripe are picked, dried by artificial 
heat, packed in bales, and sent into the market under the name of hops. 
They consist of numerous thin, translucent, veined, leaf-like scales, which are 
of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and contain near the base two small, round, 
black seeds. Though brittle when quite dry, they are pulverized with great dif- 
ficulty. Their odour is strong, peculiar, somewhat narcotic, and fragrant; their 
taste very bitter, aromatic, and slightly astringent. Their aroma, bitterness, and 
astringency are imparted to water by decoction; but the first-mentioned pro- 
perty is dissipated by long boiling. The most active part of hops is a substance 
formed on the surface of the scales, and, in the dried fruit, existing in the state 
of very small granules. This substance was called lupulin by the late Dr. A. 
W. Ives, of New York, by whom its properties were first investigated and made 
generally known; though it was previously noticed by Sir J. E. Smith, of Eng- 
land, and M. Planche, of France. The scales themselves, however, are not des- 
titute of virtues, and contain, as shown by MM. Payen and Chevallier, the same 
active principles as the lupulin, though in less proportion.* 
* Hops are often subjected in Germany to the fumes of burning sulphur, from the sup- 
position that they keep better when thus treated. Besides, by being partially bleached by 
the process, old hops, which have suffered from time, having become darker, generally 
spotted, and weaker, assume a brighter appearance, as if fresher, and generally command 
a better price in the market. To detect the consequent presence of sulphurous acid, the 
brewers put a silver spoon in a mixture of hops and water, under the impression that it 
will produce a black stain upon the silver. But this test will answer only when applied 
within a fortnight after the use of the sulphur. A more delicate method is that of Dr. 
Heidenreich, who puts 20 or 30 cones of the hops in a flask with zinc and muriatic acid, 
and passes the hydrogen evolved through solution of acetate of lead. If sulphurous acid 
be present, sulphuretted hydrogen will be produced, which will occasion a dark precipi- 
tate with the solution. But even this plan often fails when the hops have been kept more 
than three or four weeks. A modification of this test has been proposed by Dr. R. Wagner. 
For the solution of acetate of lead used in Heidenreich’s method, there is to be substi- 
tuted a solution of nitroprusside of sodium, so weak as to have a very light-brown colour, 
to which have been added a few drops of solution of potassa. If the gas evolved contain 
the minutest proportion of sulphur, a violet colour will be produced when the first bub- 
ble passes into the solution; and this will by a continuance of the process become a mag- 
nificent purple. The least trace of sulphurous acid may thus be found; but, a few months 
after the sulphuring of hops, none at all can be detected. (Chem. Oaz., April 1,1856; from 
Co?nj>tes Rendus.) 
Hops are said to be sometimes threshed in order to separate the lupulin, which is sold PART I. 
Humulus. 
461 
Lupulina. U. S. Lupulin. This is obtained separate by rubbing or thresh- 
ing and sifting the strobiles, of which it constitutes from one-sixth to one-tenth 
by weight. It is in the state of a yellowish powder, mixed with nynute par- 
ticles of the scales, from which it cannot be entirely freed when procured by 
a mechanical process. It has the peculiar flavour of hops, and appeared to 
MM. Lebaillif and Raspail, when examined by the microscope, to consist of 
globules filled with a yellow matter, resembling in this respect the pollen of vege- 
tables; but, from the investigations of M. Personne, it would seem to be of the 
nature of a gland, commencing in a cell formed among those of the epidermis, 
and, when fully developed, secreting a resinous matter. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e 
ser., xxvi. 242.) It is inflammable, and when moderately heated becomes some- 
what adhesive. MM. Chevallier and Payen obtained from 200 parts, 105 of resin 
and 25 of a peculiar bitter principle, beside volatile oil, gum, traces of fixed oil, a 
small quantity of an azotized substance, and various salts. Dr. Ives found in 120 
grains, 5 of tannin, 10 of extractive, 11 of bitter principle, 12 of wax, 36 of resin, 
and 46 of lignin. M. Personne found in the liquid distilled from it not only 
volatile oil, but also valerianic acid. {Ibid., p. 333.) The virtues of the pow- 
der probably reside in the volatile oil and bitter principle, and are readily im- 
parted to alcohol. By boiling in water the bitterness is extracted, but the aroma 
is partially driven off. The volatile oil, which may be obtained by distillation 
with water, is yellowish, of the odour of hops, of an acrid taste, and lighter 
than water. It was formerly supposed to be narcotic, but this is denied by Dr 
Wagner, who gave twenty drops of it to a rabbit, with no observable effect. 
{Ghem. Gaz., July 15, 1853.) It is said to consist of a carbohydrogen isomeric 
with pure oil of turpentine, and of an oxygenated oil. 
The bitter principle, which has been named lupulite or lupuline, but ought 
to be called humulin, may be procured by treating with alcohol the aqueous 
extract of lupulin, previously mixed with a little lime, evaporating the tincture 
thus formed, treating the resulting extract with water, evaporating the solution, 
and washing the residue with ether. When pure it is yellowish or orange-yel- 
low, inodorous at common temperatures, but of the smell of hops when heated, ol 
the peculiar bitter taste of hops, partially soluble in water which takes up 5 per 
cent, of its weight, readily soluble in alcohol, almost insoluble in ether, neither 
acid nor alkaline in its reaction, and destitute of nitrogen. It is scarcely affected 
by the weak acids or alkaline solutions, or by the metallic salts. It is probably 
the tonic principle of the medicine.* 
Hops, according to Wagner, contain from 3 to t per cent, of tannic acid, ol 
the variety which precipitates the salts of iron greenish, and differing, moreover, 
from the tannic acid of galls in not being convertible into gallic acid, and in not 
having the characteristic property of the glucosides. Besides the tannin, Wag- 
ner has discovered in hops a yellow substance which appeared to him to be 
quercitrin. {Pharm. Journ., Dec. 1859, p. 459.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Hops are tonic and moderately narcotic, and 
have been highly recommended in diseases of general or local debility, associated 
separately. Their efficiency is thus, no doubt, greatly impaired. Hops thus treated have 
tho scales more or less broken; and any parcel presenting this appearance may be sus- 
pected. Hops often contain a variable quantity of lupulin, in consequence of the granules 
of this substance separating, especially on agitation, and seeking the lower portion of 
the mass, which thus becomes richer, while the upper is poorer. They should always be 
elamined in reference to the lupulin they contain, and, if nearly or quite destitute of it, 
should be deemed of inferior value, though not worthless. (Note to the eleventh and 
twelfih editions.) 
* It is extremely doubtful whether the lupulite thus obtained is the active principle in 
a pure state. Dr. J. 0. Lermer has recently obtained from hops a crystalline bitter prin- 
ciple, which he believes to have acid properties, and the composition of which is repre- 
sented Ujr the formula CS2H2507. He obtained it by a very complex process; and it is, 
perhaps, somewhat doubtful whether it may not be a product of the operation rather 
than an educt; especially as he has found two other crystalline bitter principles, which 
he was still investigating. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm.,"Nov. 1863, p. 540.)—N<de to the 
twelfth edition. 462 
Humulus.—Hydrargyrum. 
PART i 
with morbid vigilance, orother nervous derangement. They have some tendency 
to produce sleep and relieve pain, and may be used for these purposes in cases 
where opiates, from their disposition to constipate, or other cause, are inadmis- 
sible. Diuretic properties have also been ascribed to them, but are by no means 
very obvious. The complaints in which they have been found most useful are 
dyspepsia, and the nervous tremors, wakefulness, and delirium of drunkards. Dr. 
Maton found the extract advantageous in allaying the pain of articular rheuma- 
tism. Dr. W. Y. Godberry, of Benton, Miss., has found hops efficacious in inter- 
mittents, and considers them inferior in antiperiodic powers only to quinia. 
( West. Journ. of Med. and Surg., March, 1853.) 
The medicine may be given in substance, infusion, tincture, or extract. From 
three to twenty grains are mentioned as the dose of the powder ; but the quan- 
tity is too small to produce any decided effect; and this mode of administration 
is scarcely ever resorted to. An infusion, prepared with half an ounce of hops 
and a pint of boiling water, may be given in the dose of two fluidounces three 
or four times a day. In intermittents Dr. Godberry gives, in the apyrexia, a pint 
of the infusion made with an ounce of hops. The extract and tincture are offici- 
nal. (See Extractum Lupuli and Tinctura Hamuli.) A pillow of hops has 
proved useful in allaying restlessness and producing sleep in nervous disorders. 
They should be moistened with spirit previously to being placed under the head 
of the patient, in order to prevent rustling: Fomentations with hops, and cata- 
plasms made by mixing them with some emollient substance, are often beneficial 
in local pains and tumefactions. An ointment of the powder with lard is recom- 
mended by Mr. Freake as an anodyne application to cancerous sores. 
The effects of hops may be obtained most conveniently by the use of lupulin, 
though Dr. Fronmiiller, having after two trials with it obtained no soporific 
effect, denies it a place among the narcotics with hypnotic properties. (B. and 
F. Medico-chirurg. Rev., April, 1867, pp. 526-7.) Dr.Wm. Byrd Page, of Phila- 
delphia, has found this substance very effectual as an antaphrodisiac, in the 
treatment of gonorrhoea, spermatorrhoea, and other irritated conditions of the 
genito-urinary apparatus; and the same result has been obtained by other prac- 
titioners. We have found it apparently effectual in irritable bladder, when other 
narcotics had failed. The dose of lupulin in substance is from six to twelve 
grains, given in the form of pills, which may be made by simply rubbing th° 
powder in a warm mortar till it acquires the consistence of a ductile mass, and 
then moulding it into the proper shape. There is an officinal tincture. (See 
Tinctura Lupulinae.) Mr. Livermore proposes an alcoholic extract of lupulin, 
prepared by exhausting commercial lupulin with alcohol by the process of per- 
colation, and exposing the tincture thus formed to spontaneous evaporation. 
The dose will be about one-third less than that of lupulin itself. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxv. 294.) A fluid extract and oleoresin have been introduced into 
the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Part IT.) Lupulin maybe incorporated with 
poultices, or formed into an ointment with lard, and used externally for the 
same purposes as hops. 
Off. Prep, of Hops. Extractum Lupuli, Br.; Infusum Humuli, U.S.; Infusum 
Lupuli, Br.; Tinctura Humuli, U. S.; Tinctura Lupuli, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Lupulin. Extractum Lupulinae Fluidum, U. S.; Oleoresina 
Lupulinae, U. S.; Tinctura Lupulinae. W. 
HYDRARGYRUM. U.S., Br. 
Mercury. 
Quicksilver; Mercurius, Lat.; Mercure, Yif argent, Fr.; Quecksilber, Germ.; Mer- 
curio, Ital.; Azogue, Span, and Port. 
Mercury is found pure, forming an amalgam with silver, in the form of proto- 
chloride (native calomel), but most abundantly as the bisulphuret, or native 
cinnabar. Mines of this metal are found at Almaden in Spain, at Idria in Car- 
niola, in the Duchy of Deux-ponts, in Corsica, in the Philippine Islands aud PART I. 
Hydrargyrum. 
463 
China, near Iluancavelica in Peru, near Azogue in New Granada, at Durasco 
in Mexico, and at Xew Almaden, New Idria, and other localities in Santa Clara 
county, California, about sixty-six miles from San Francisco. The most ancient 
mine is that of Almaden in Spain, which was worked before the Christian era 
This mine, and the mines in California, are the most productive at the present 
day; the Spanish mine yielding about three millions of pounds, and the Cali 
fornia more than this amount annually. The ore in all the mines mentioned is 
cinnabar. The cinnabar from old Almaden is of a dull-red colour in mass, of 
a dull brick-red colour when in line powder, and of the sp. gr. 3-6. That from 
New Almaden is of a bright-red colour, slightly inclining to purple, not so hard 
as the Spanish ore, of a brilliant vermilion colour in powder, and having the 
sp.gr. 44. The California cinnabar is richer in mercury, because purer, than 
the Spanish; the former yielding about 70, the latter about 38 per cent, of 
mercury, according to the analyses of Mr. Adam Bealey. The California mine 
had been long known to the Indians, but its commercial value was first made 
known, about 1843, by a Mexican, named Castillero, who became its first owner. 
At present it is in the hands of A mericans (See Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1855 ; also 
a paper by Dr. Ruschenberger, U. S. N., in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 
1856.) Dr. Ruschenberger has detected selenium in California cinnabar. A quick- 
silver ore has recently been found in Macon county, Tennessee, where it is said 
to exist in vast quantities. According to Mr. E. S. Wayne, it is a talcose rock, 
and contains mercury in the metallic state, yielding 7'5 per cent, of the metal. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1868, p. 76.) 
Extraction, dec. Mercury is obtained almost exclusively from the bisulphuret, 
or native cinnabar. It is extracted by two principal processes. According to 
one process, the mineral is picked, pounded, and mixed with lime. The mixture 
is then introduced into cast-iron retorts, which are placed in rows, one above the 
other, in an oblong furnace, and connected with earthenware receivers one-third 
full of water. Heat being applied, the lime combines with the sulphur, so as to 
form sulphuret of calcium and sulphate of lime; while the mercury distils over, 
and is condensed in the receivers. The other process is practised at Almaden in 
Spain. Here a square furnace is employed, the floor of which is pierced with 
many holes, for the passage of the flame from the fireplace beneath. In the 
upper and lateral part of the furnace, holes are made, communicating with several 
rows of aludels, formed of adapters passing into one another, which terminate 
in a small chamber that serves both as condenser and receiver. The mineral, 
having been picked by hand and pulverized, is kneaded with clay, and formed 
into small masses, which are placed on the floor of the furnace. Heat being ap- 
plied, the sulphur undergoes combustion; while the mercury, being volatilized, 
passes through the aludels to be condensed in the chamber. The process pur- 
sued at New Almaden is described by Dr. Ruschenberger. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1856.) 
Mercury, as found in commerce, is contained in cylindrical wrought-iron bot- 
tles, called flasks, each containing 75 pounds. Since the regular working of the 
California mine of New Almaden, the importation of the metal from Spain and 
Austria has gradually diminished, and at present the domestic production is suf- 
ficient not only to supply the home consumption, but to give an excess for ex- 
portation. The value of American mercury exported was 94,335 dollars for the 
year ending June 30th, 1854, and 806,119 dollars, or more than eight-fold, for 
the next fiscal year. (Treasury Report on the Finances, Washington, 1856.) 
The different mines of California were, in the year 1862, said to be yielding mer- 
cury at the rate of four millions of pounds per annum. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1862, p. 410.) The exports are made principally to China, Mexico, Chili, 
and Peru. The chief uses of the metal are in mining silver and gold, in pre- 
paring vermilion, in making thermometers and barometers, in silvering looking- 
glasses, and in forming various pharmaceutical compounds. 
Properties. Mercury is a very brilliant liquid, of a silver-white colour, and 
without taste or smell." When perfectly pure it undergoes no alteration by the 464 
Hydrargyrum. 
PART I. 
action of air or water, but in its ordinary state suffers a slight tarnish. When 
heated to near the boiling point, it gradually combines with oxygen, and is con- 
verted into deutoxide; but at the temperature of ebullition it parts with the 
oxygen which it had absorbed, and is reduced again to the metallic state. Its 
sp. gr. is 135, and its equivalent 200.* It boils at 602°, and congeals at 39° 
below zero, forming a malleable solid resembling lead. It is a good conductor 
of caloric, and its specific heat is small. It is not attacked by muriatic acid, nor 
by cold sulphuric acid; but boiling sulphuric acid or cold nitric acid dissolves 
it, generating a bisulphate or binitrate of the deutoxide; with the extrication, 
in the former case, of sulphurous acid; in the latter, of nitric oxide becoming 
hyponitric acid fumes. Its combinations are numerous, and several of them 
constitute important medicines. It formstwo oxides, tAVO regular sulphurets, two 
chlorides, three iodides, and one cyanide, all of which, excepting the protoxide, 
protosulphuret, and sesquiodide, are officinal. Both the oxides are capable of 
uniting with acids so as to form salts, of which the binitrate, sulphate, and bi- 
sulphate of the deutoxide are officinal, or enter into officinal compounds. 
Mercury, as it occurs in commerce, is in general sufficiently pure for pharma- 
ceutical purposes. Occasionally it contains foreign metals, as lead, tin, zinc, and 
bismuth. Mr. Brande informs us that, in examining large quantities of this 
metal in the London market, he found it only in one instance intentionally adulte- 
rated. When impure, the metal has a dull appearance, leaves a trace on white 
paper, is deficient in due fluidity and mobility, as shown by its not forming per- 
fect globules, is not totally dissipated by heat, and, when shaken in a glass bottle, 
coats its sides with a pellicle, or, if very impure, deposits a black poAvder. If 
agitated with strong sulphuric acid, the adulterating metals become oxidized 
and dissolved, and thus the mercury may to a limited extent be purified. Lead 
is detected by shaking the suspected metal with equal parts of acetic acid and 
water, and then testing the acid by sulphate of soda, or iodide of potassium. 
The former will produce a white, the latter a yellow precipitate, if lead be pre- 
sent. Bismuth is discovered by dropping a nitric solution of the mercury, pre- 
pared without heat, into distilled Avater, Avhen subnitrate of bismuth Avill be 
precipitated. The complete solubility of the metal in nitric acid shows that tin 
is not present; and, if sulphuretted hydrogen does not act upon muriatic acid 
boiled upon the metal, the absence of contaminating metals is shown. 
Mercury may be purified by digesting it Avith a small portion of weak nitric 
acid, or with a solution of bichloride of mercury (corrosive sublimate); Avhereby 
all the ordinary contaminating metals will be removed. M. Ulex recommends 
its purification by triturating, for ten minutes, a pound of the metal with an 
ounce of the solution of sesquichloride of iron (sp.gr. L48), diluted Avith an 
equal measure of water. The mercury is thus divided to a very great extent, 
and the contaminating metals are separated as chlorides; the sesquichloride of 
iron being, in the mean time, reduced to protochloride. After decanting the 
iron solution, and washing Avith water, the mercury is dried by a gentle heat, 
and subjected to trituration, Avhen the greater portion of it runs together. Mer- 
cury, hoAvever, is usually purified by distillation. 
The British Pharmacopoeia of 1864 gave the folloAving process for the puri- 
fication of mercury, using for this purpose an impure form of the metal, under 
the name of Commercial Mercury or Quicksileer. 
“ Take of Mercury of Commerce three pounds [avoirdupois]; Hydrochloric 
Acid three fluid drachms; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Place the Commercial 
Mercury in a glass retort or iron bottle, and applying heat cause Iavo pounds and 
* Some chemists adopt 100 ns the equivalent of mercury, or half the number given in 
the text. There are many arguments in favour of the smaller number; but, as the phar- 
maceutical processes involving this metal are generally explained by the use of the 
larger number, we shall adhere to it for the present. The use of the smaller number 
makes a perplexing change in the nomenclature of the mercurial compounds. Thus, the 
black oxide becomes the dioxide, and the red oxide the protoxide, instead of the deut- 
oxide. Again, calomel becomes the dichloride, and corrosive sublimate the protochloride, 
instead of the bichloride. {Note to the eleventh edition.) Hydrargyrum. 
465 
part I. 
a half of the metal to distil over into a flask employed as a receiver. Boil on 
this for five minutes the Hydrochloric Acid diluted with nine fluid drachms of 
Distilled Water, and having, by repeated affusions of Distilled Water and decan- 
tations, removed every trace of acid, let the mercury be transferred to a porce- 
lain capsule, and dried first by filtering paper, and finally on a water-bath.” Br. 
Mercury, being much more volatile than the contaminating metals, rises first 
in distillation, while they are left behind. But it is necessary to avoid pushing 
the distillation too far; for in that event, some of the foreign metals are apt to 
be carried over. The British Council, on account of this danger, directed only 
five-sixths of the mercury to be distilled. The distilled product is boiled for a 
few minutes with dilute muriatic acid, which, while it does not attack the mer- 
cury, dissolves any contaminating metals which may have passed over. The 
distillation is directed to be performed from a glass retort or iron bottle; but 
it is more conveniently conducted from the latter, over a common fire, into 
water contained in a receiver. In small operations a wash-hand basin will an- 
swer for a receiver. Millon has ascertained the curious fact, that the presence of 
so small a quantity as one ten-thousandth of lead or zinc in mercury raises its 
boiling point. M. Violette has made known a new method of distilling mercury, 
or amalgamated silver, which presents many advantages. It consists in subject- 
ing the metal, in iron vessels, to a current of high pressure steam, which serves 
the double purpose of imparting the necessary heat, and carrying over the 
mercurial vapour by a mechanical agency. (Philos. Mag., Dec. 1850; from 
Comptes Rendus.) As it is difficult and troublesome to purify mercury bv dis- 
tillation, it is better to purchase pure samples of the metal, which may always 
be found in the market. 
Medical Properties. Mercury in its uncombined state is inert; but, in com- 
bination, acts as a peculiar and universal stimulant. When exhibited in minute 
division, as it exists in several preparations, it produces its peculiar effects; but 
this does not prove that the uncombined metal is active, but only that the con- 
dition of minute division is favourable to its solution in the stomach. Its com- 
binations exhibit certain general medical properties and effects which belong to 
the whole as a class; while each individual preparation is characterized by some 
peculiarity in its operation. In this place we shall consider the physiological 
action of mercury, and the principles by which its administration should be regu- 
lated ; while its effects, as modified in its different combinations, will be noticed 
under the head of each preparation. 
Of the modus operandi of mercury we know nothing, except that it probably 
acts through the medium of the circulation, and that it possesses a peculiar 
alterative power over the vital functions, which enables it in many cases to sub- 
vert diseased actions. This alterative power is sometimes exerted, without 
being attended with any other vital phenomenon than the removal of disease; 
while at other times it is attended with certain obvious effects, indicative of the 
agency of a potent stimulus. In the latter case, its operation is marked by a 
quickened circulation, by a frequent jerking pulse, by an increased activity of 
all the secretory functions, particularly those of the salivary glands and the 
liver, by an exaltation of nervous sensibility, and, in short, by a general exci- 
tation of the organic actions of the system. 
When mercury acts slowly as an alterative, there is not the least apparent dis- 
turbance of the circulation. When it operates decidedly and obviously, it is very 
prone to let the brunt of its action fall upon the salivary glands, causing, in 
many instances, an immoderate flow of saliva, and constituting the condition 
denominated ptyalism or salivation. Under these circumstances the effects of 
depletion and revulsion are added to the alterative action of the metal. In the 
saliva discharged, as a consequence of its action, mercury has been detected by 
chemical tests. Occasionally its depletory action is exhibited in an increased 
secretion of urine, or an immoderate flow of the bile ; and one or both of these 
effects are apt to be experienced where ptyalism cannot be induced. Mercury 
has been found in the urine of those under the influence of corrosive sublimate, 466 
Hydrargyrum. 
part T. 
by M. Audouard. It has, indeed, been detected in most of the solids and fluids 
of the body, including the blood. When in the blood it cannot be detected by 
the ordinary tests, on account of its intimate union with the organic matter of 
that liquid. To discover it the blood must be subjected to destructive distilla- 
tion. The liver is the organ which retains mercury the longest. It has been 
detected in that viscus, though absent in the lungs, heart, bile, and spinal mar- 
row, in the body of a person who had long worked in mercury, but had desisled 
from the occupation for a year before death, on account of the occurrence of 
mercurial cachexy. 
Mercury has been used in almost every disease, but too often empirically, and 
without the guidance of any recognised therapeutic principle. Nevertheless, its 
efficacy in certain classes of diseases is universally acknowledged. In functional 
derangement of the digestive organs, mercurials in minute doses often exert a 
salutary operation, subverting the morbid action, and that too by their slow, 
alterative effect, without affecting the mouth. In these cases no decided disturb- 
ance of the vital functions takes place; but the al vine discharges, if 
are generally restored to their natural hue, a certain proof that the remedy is 
stimulating the liver, and promoting the secretion of the bile. Indeed, there is 
no fact better established in medicine than that of the influence of the mercurial 
preparations over the hepatic system ; and, whether the liver be torpid and ob- 
structed as in jaundice, or pouring out a redundancy of morbid bile as in melaena, 
its judicious use seems equally efficacious in unloading the viscus, or restoring 
its secretion to a healthy state. In the acute and chronic hepatitis of India it 
is considered as almost a specific; but here its use must be carried to the ex- 
tent of exciting ptyalism. In chronic inflammation of the mucous and serous 
membranes, the alterative effects of mercury are sometimes attended with much 
benefit. In many of these cases effusion has taken place; and, under these cir- 
cumstances, the mercury often proves useful, as well by promoting absorption 
as by removing the chronic inflammation on which the effusion depends. Hence, 
it is often given with advantage in chronic forms of meningitis, bronchitis, 
pleuritis, pneumonia, dysentery, rheumatism, &c., and in hydrocephalus, hy- 
drothorax, ascites, and general dropsy. 
Mercury may also be advantageously resorted to in certain states of febrile dis- 
ease. In some forms of remittent and typhoid fever, a particular stage is marked 
by a parched tongue, torpor of the bowels, scanty urine, and dryness of the sur- 
face. Here depletion by the lancet or leeches is generally inadmissible, and one 
of the measures most to be relied on is the very cautious employment of mercury. 
It acts in such cases by increasing the secretions and stimulating the exhalant 
capillaries, and, perhaps, by producing a new impression incompatible with 
the disease. 
In syphilitic affections, mercury, until of late years, was held to be indispen- 
sable. Of its mode of action in these affections we know nothing, except that 
it operates by substituting its own peculiar impression for that of the disease. 
Without entering into the question of the necessity of mercury in venereal 
complaints, we are free to admit that the discussion which has grown out of 
it has shown that this remedy has frequently been unnecessarily resorted to in 
affections resembling syphilis, though of a different character; and that the dis- 
ease in question ought to be treated less empirically, and more in accordance 
with the general principles of combating morbid action. Mercury exerts a pe- 
culiar control over the deleterious effects of lead ; and hence, in colica pictonum, 
it is accounted by some writers to act almost as a specific. 
For inducing the specific effects of mercury on the constitution, blue pill or 
calomel is generally resorted to. In order to produce •what we have called the 
slow alterative effects of the metal, from half a grain to a grain of blue pill may 
be given in the twenty-four hours, or from a sixth to a fourth of a grain of calo- 
mel ; or, if a gentle ptyalism be our object, two or three grains of the former, or 
a grain of the latter, two or three times a day. Where the bowels are peculiarly 
irritable, it is often necessary to introduce the metal by means of friction with PART I. 
Hydrargyrum. 
467 
mercurial ointment ; and, where a speedy effect is desired, the internal and ex- 
ternal use of the remedy may be simultaneously resorted to. 
The first observable effects of mercury in inducing ptyalism are a coppery taste 
m the mouth, a slight soreness of the gums, and an unpleasant sensation in the 
sockets of the teeth, when the jaws are firmly closed. Shortly afterwards the 
gums begin to swell, a line of whitish matter is seen along their edges, and the 
breath is infected with a peculiar and very disagreeable smell, called the mer- 
curial fetor. The saliva at the same time begins to flow; and, if the affection 
proceeds, the gums, tongue, throat, and face are much swollen; ulcerations 
attack the lining membrane of the mouth and fauces; the jaws become exces- 
sively painful; the tongue is coated with a thick whitish fur; and the saliva 
flows in streams from the mouth. It occasionally happens that the affection 
of the mouth proceeds to a dangerous extent, inducing extensive ulceration, gan- 
grene, and even hemorrhage. The best remedies are astringent and detergent 
gargles, used weak at first, as the parts are extremely tender. In cases attended 
with swelling and protrusion of the tongue, the wash is best applied by injec- 
tion, by means of a large syringe. We have found lead-water among the best 
applications in these cases; and dilute solutions of chlorinated soda or of chlo- 
rinated lime, while they correct the fetor, will be found to exert a curative in- 
fluence on the ulcerated surfaces. A wash of nitrate of silver, made by dissolving 
eight grains in a fluidounce of water, has also been used with benefit. 
While the system is under the action of mercury, the blood is more watery 
than in health, less charged with albumen, fibrin, and red globules, and loaded 
with a fetid fatty matter. (Dr. S. Wright, quoted by Ghristison.) When drawn 
from a vein, it exhibits the same appearance as in inflammation. 
In the foregoing observations, we have described the ordinary effects of mer- 
cury; but occasionally, in peculiar constitutions, its operation is quite different, 
being productive of a dangerous disturbance of the vital functions. The late 
Mr. Pearson gave a detailed account of this occasional peculiarity in the ope- 
ration of mercury, in his work on the venereal disease. The symptoms which 
characterize it are a small and frequent pulse, anxiety about the prascordia, pale 
and contracted countenance, great nervous agitation, and alarming debility. 
Their appearance is the signal for discontinuing the mercury; as a further per- 
severance with it might be attended with fatal consequences. Mercury also pro- 
duces a peculiar eruption of the skin, which is described by writers under the 
various names of hydrargyria, eczema mercuriale, and lepra mercurialis. 
Those who work in mercury, and are, therefore, exposed to its vapour, such 
as water-gilders, looking-glass silverers, and quicksilver miners, are injured seri- 
ously in their health, and not unfrequently affected with shaking palsy, attended 
with vertigo and other cerebral disorders. The miners are often salivated. 
Many plants, exposed to the influence of the vapour spontaneously rising 
from mercury in confined air, perish in a few days ; while, if sulphur be placed 
by the side of the metal, no effect of the kind is experienced. (Boussingault, 
Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Sept. 1867, p 176.) A probable inference from 
this fact is, that workmen, necessarily exposed to the vapour of mercury, might 
be protected by the presence of sulphur in sufficient quantity. 
Mercury is sometimes given in the metallic state, in the quantity of a pound 
or two, in obstruction of the bowels, to act by its weight: but the practice is 
of doubtful advantage. 
Mercury is detected with great delicacy by Smithson’s process, which consists 
in the use of a plate of tin, lined with one of gold, in the form of a spiral. 
When immersed in a mercurial solution, this galvanic combination causes the 
precipitation of the mercury on the gold, which consequently contracts a white 
stain. In order to be sure that the stain is caused by mercury, the metal must 
be volatilized in a small tube, so as to obtain a characteristic globule. MM. Dan- 
ger and Flandin have improved on Smithson’s process. (See Ghem. Gaz., no. 
61, p. 191.) A minute portion of any of the preparations of mercury, either in 
the solid state or in concentrated solution, being placed on a bright plate of 468 
Hydrargyrum. 
part i. 
copper, and a drop of a strong solution of iodide of potassium added, a silverv 
characteristic stain will immediately appear on the copper. 
Mercury is officinal:— 
I. In the Metallic state. 
Hydrargyrum, XJ. S., Br.— Mercury. 
Emplastrum Ammoniaci cum Hydrargyro, XJ. S., Br. —Plaster of 
Ammoniac with Mercury. 
Emplastrum Hydrargyri, XJ. S., Br. —Plaster of Mercury. 
Hydrargyrum cum Creta, U. S., Br. — Mercury with Chalk. 
Pilulae Hydrargyri, U.S.; Pilula Hydrargyri, Br. — Mercurial 
Pills. Blue Pills. 
TJnguentum Hydrargyri, XJ. S., Br. —Mercurial Ointment. 
Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br.—Liniment of Mercury. 
Suppositoria Hydrargyri, Br. — Mercurial Suppositories. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Compositum, Br.— Compound Oin'- 
ment of Mercury. 
II. Oxidized. 
Hydrargyri Oxidum Rubrum, U. S., Br.—Red Oxide of Mercur/, 
Red precipitate. 
TJnguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi Rubri, XJ. S.,Br. — Ointment of Red 
Oxide of Mercury. Red precipitate ointment. 
III. Sulphuretted. 
Hydrargyri Sulphuretum Rubrum, U. S. — Red Sulphuret of Mer- 
cury. Cinnabar. 
IV. As Protochloride. 
Hydrargyri Chloridum Mite, U. S.; Hydrargyri Subchloridum, Br. — 
Mild Chloride of Mercury. Subchloride of Mercury. Calomel 
Lotio Hydrargyri Nigra, Br. —Black Mercurial Lotion. 
Pilulae Antimonii Composite, XJ. S.; Pilula Hydrargyri Subchlo- 
ridi Composita, Br.— Compound Pills of Antimony. Com- 
pound Pills of Calomel. Plummer's Pills. 
Pilulae Catharticae Compositae, XJ. S.— Compound Cathartic Pills. 
V. As Bichloride. 
Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosivum, XJ. S.; Hydrargyri Perchloridum, 
Br. — Corrosive Chloride of Mercury. Corrosive Sublimate. 
Hydrargyrum Ammoniatum, XJ. S., Br.—Ammoniated Mercury. 
White precipitate. 
TJnguentum Hydrargyri Ammoniati, XJ. S., Br. — Ointment of 
Ammoniated Mercury. White precipitate ointment. 
Liquor Hydrargyri Perchloridi, Br. — Solution of Per chloride of 
Mercury. 
Lotio Hydrargyri Flava, Br. — Yellow Mercurial Lotion. 
VI. Combined with Iodine. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, XJ. S., Br. — Red Iodide of Mercury. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, XJ. S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan's Solution. 
TJnguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi Rubri, Br. — Ointment of Red 
Iodide of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Viride, XJ. S., Br. — Oreen Iodide of Mercury. 
VII. Combined with Cyanogen. 
Hydrargyri Cyanidum, XJ. S. — Cyanide of Mercury. 
VIII. Oxidized and combined with Acids. 
Liquor Hydrargyri Nitratis, XJ. S.; Liquor Hydrargyri Nitratis Acidus, 
Br. — Solution of Nitrate of Mercury. 
TJnguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, XJ. S., Br. — Ointment of Nitrate 
of Mercury. Citrine ointment. 
Hydrargyri Sulphas, Br. — Sulphate of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Sulphas Flava, XJ. S.— Yellow Sulphate of Mercury. 
Turpeth Mineral. B. PART I. 
Hydrastis. 
469 
HYDRASTIS. U. S. 
Hydrastis. 
The root of Hydrastis Canadensis. U. S. 
Hydrastis. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx of three petalloid sepals, falling when the flower opens. 
Ovaries in a roundish ovoid head; stigmas subsessile, dilated, flat, rounded at 
the apex. Carpels fleshy, one or two-seeded, cohering in a compound berry. 
This genus was at first included by Linnaeus in Hydropliyllum, but was after- 
wards separated, and received the name by which it is now generally recognised. 
The officinal species is the only known one of the genus. 
Hydrastis Canadensis. Gray, Manual of Hot. p. 14; figured in Griffith’s 
Med. Bot. p. 82. —Yellow-root. Orange-root. Yellow Puccoon. This is a small, 
herbaceous, perennial plant, with a thick, fleshy, yellow rhizoma, from which 
numerous long radical fibres proceed, and an erect, simple, pubescent stem, 
from six inches to a foot in height. There are usually but two leaves, which are 
unequal, one sessile at the top of the stem, the other attached to it a short 
distance below by a thick, roundish footstalk, causing the stem to appear as if 
bifurcate near the summit. The leaves are pubescent, roundish-cordate, with 
from three to seven, but generally five lobes, which are pointed and unequally 
serrate. A solitary flower stands upon a peduncle rising from the basis of the 
upper leaf. It is whitish, rose-coloured, or purplish, without corolla, but with 
a coloured calyx, the sepals of which closely resemble petals, and are very cadu- 
cous, falling very soon after the flower has expanded. The fruit is a globose, 
compound, red or purple berry, half an inch or more in diameter, composed of 
many minute granules, each containing one, or more rarely two seeds. The 
plant grows in moist, rich woodlands, in most parts of the United States, but 
abundantly in the North and West. The fruit bears a close resemblance to the 
raspberry, but is not edible. The root is the part employed. Though long in 
use in domestic and empirical practice, and more or less among regular prac- 
titioners, it was not recognised as officinal before the publication of the present 
edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in which it holds a place in the Secondary 
Catalogue. The Indians employed it for staining and dyeing yellow, and it is 
said to impart a rich and permanent yellow, and with indigo a fine green to 
wool, silk, and cotton. 
Properties. The fresh root is juicy and loses much of its weight in drying. 
The dried caudex or rhizoma is contorted, irregular, very rough and wrinkled, 
hard and brittle, from an inch to two inches or more in length, usually two or 
three lines in thickness, and either beset with numerous slender rootlets, or 
showing marks upon the surface where they have been broken off. Many of the 
detached rootlets are mixed with the rhizomas in mass The colour of the rhi- 
zoma, though yellow in the recent root, becomes of a dark yellowish-brown by 
age; that of the rootlets and the interior of the root is yellow, and of the powder 
still more so. The odour is strong, sweetish, and somewhat narcotic, the taste 
bitter and peculiar. The root imparts its virtues and colouring matters to water 
and alcohol. Examined by Mr. Alfred A. B. Durand, of Philadelphia, it was 
found to contain albumen, starch, fatty matter, resin, yellow colouring matter, 
sugar, lignin, and various salts. He also discovered a peculiar nitrogenous, crys- 
tallizable substance, for which he proposed the provisional name of hydrastin, 
until it should be determined whether it was, as he suspected, an organic alkali. 
{Am. Journ. ofPharm., April, 1851, p. 112.) Since that time it has been ascer 
taiued that the claims of this principle to be considered an alkaloid were just, a nd 
it has definitely taken the name of hydrasiia, of which hydrastin and hydrastma 
are merely synonymes. It has also been determined that the root contains an- 
other alkaloid, to which it owes its yellow colour, and which is probably identical 
with the yellow colouring matter of Mr. Durand. A muriate of this latter alka- 
loid, obtained by the precipitation essentially of an infusion of the root by mu- 470 
Hydrastis. 
PAiri r. 
riatic acid, has been for some time known and used by the “ Eclectics M under 
the name of hydrastin, and the reader must be cautious not to confound this 
substance with the alkaloid to which the name properly belongs. Mr. F. Mabla 
first ascertained that this new alkaloid of hvdrastis is in fact berberina (Am. 
Journ. of Sci. and Arts, Jan. 1862, p. 43), which was long sitice found in the 
root of Berberis vulgaris, and has since been detected in columbo, and other 
medicinal roots. An account of its mode of preparation and properties is con- 
tained in the article on Berberis. (Seepage 176.) It exists in large proportion 
in hydrastis, constituting, according to Perrins, nearly 4 per cent. There can 
be no doubt that this medicine owes much of its virtues to berberina. 
Hydrastia, which is its characteristic alkaloid, may be obtained by exhausting 
the powdered root as far as possible with water by percolation, adding muri- 
atic acid to the infusion so as to precipitate the berberina in the form of muriate, 
and treating the mother-liquor with solution of ammonia in slight excess. The 
hydrastia is precipitated, in an impure state, and may be purified by repeated 
solution in boiling alcohol, which deposits it in crystals on cooling. A little 
animal charcoal may be used towards the close of the process, in order com- 
pletely to deprive the crystals of colour. To Mr. Mahla, of Chicago, and Mr. 
Perrins, of London, is due the credit of having fully investigated the properties 
of this alkaloid.* Hydrastia crystallizes in brilliant, four-sided prisms, which 
are white or colourless when pure, inodorous, and almost tasteless in conse- 
quence of their insolubility in the saliva, but become bitter and somewhat acrid 
in saline combination. It melts at 275° F., is decomposed at a higher tempera- 
ture, and is inflammable. It is nearly insoluble in water, but is readily dissolved 
by alcohol, ether, chloroform, and benzole. It has an alkaline reaction, and with 
the acids forms salts, most of which are readily soluble in water, and, according 
to Mr. Merrill, of Cincinnati, either uncrystallizable, or crystallizable with diffi- 
culty. The alkalies and tannic acid precipitate it from its saline solutions. With 
sulphuric acid and bichromate of potassa or red oxide of lead, it assumes a red 
colour; but differs from strychnia in exhibiting no tint of blue or violet.- Its 
constituents are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, and its formula,as given 
by Mr. Mahla, is C44H24N012. Mr. Perrins obtained 1*5 per cent, of it from the 
root; and, having given five grains of it to a rabbit, without any other effect than 
a slight uneasiness which soon ceased,concludedjustly thatit was not poisonous. 
It is highly probable, from the odour of hydrastis, that, besides the two alka- 
loids here mentioned, it contains also an active volatile principle ; but this has 
not yet been isolated. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Very diversified powers have been claimed for 
hydrastis. Thus, while all admit its tonic properties, it is considered by different 
practitioners as aperient, alterative in its influence on the mucous membranes, 
cholagogue, deobstruent in reference to the glands generally, diuretic, antiseptic, 
&c. It has been employed in dyspepsia and other affections requiring tonic 
treatment, in jaundice and other functional disorders of the liver, as a laxative 
in constipation and piles, and as an alterative in various diseases of the mucous 
membranes, as catarrh, chronic enteritis, cystirrhcea, leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, 
&c., being used in the latter complaints both internally and locally. By some it 
is used as one of the best substitutes for quinia in intermittents. In the form of 
infusion, it has been used in the Western States as a topical application in 
ophthalmia ; and the Indians are said to employ it in the same manner in old 
ulcers of the legs. The notion of its efficacy in cancer, originating in a report 
which reached the late Professor Barton, that it was used in the cure of this 
complaint by the Cherokees, is probably altogether groundless. Dr.U. E. Ewing, 
of Lexington, Ky., and Dr. D. M. McCann, of Martinsburg, Ohio, have recom- 
mended an infusion or decoction of the root as an injection in gonorrhoea. Dr. 
McCann made the decoction in the proportion of a drachm of the dried root to 
a pint of water, and injected a syringeful three times a day. Dr. Ewing used 
* For a paper by Mr. Mabla, see American Journal of Sci. and Arts, July, 1863, p. 57 
and for another by Mr. J. Dyson Perrins, of London, the Pharm. Journ., May, 1862, p. 546. PART i. 
Hydrastis.—Ilyoscya mus. 
471 
the infusion with the addition of sulph ate of copper. (Med. Examiner, N. S., 
vii. 733.) Dr. P. C. Gooch has subsequently used it in five cases, and obtained 
no good effect whatever. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxiii. 286.) But a 
more precise investigation into its physiological and therapeutic properties is 
necessary, before we can venture to decide upon its place among medicines. 
It has been given in the form of infusion, decoction, tincture, and extract; 
but no preparation is yet officinal. Till regular formulas are adopted, the root 
may be treated like columbo or gentian. The impure muriate of berberina, ob- 
tained as above mentioned from hydrastis, is used by the “Eclectics,” under the 
name of hydrastin, in the dose of from three to five grains. Hydrastis might 
probably be advantageously prepared in the form of a fluid extract; as little as 
possible of its odorous volatile principle being allowed to escape. W. 
HYOSCYAMI FOLIUM. US. 
Henbane Leaf. 
The leaves of Hyoscyamus niger. U. S. 
Off. Syn. HYOSCYAMI FOLIA. Hyoscyamus Leaves. The fresh leaves, 
with the branches to which they are attached, of Hyoscyamus niger; also the 
leaves separated from the branches and carefully dried; gathered from wild, 
or cultivated British, biennial plants, when about two-thirds of the flowers are 
expanded. Br. 
HYOSCYAMI SEMEN. U.S. 
Henbane Seed. 
The seed of Hyoscyamus niger. U. S. 
Jusquiame noire, Fr.; Schwarzes Bilsenkraut,Crerm.; Giusquiamo nero, Ital.; Beleno 
Span. 
Hyoscyamus. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Solanacese. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla funnel-form, obtuse. Stamens inclined. Capsules covered 
with a lid, two-celled. Willd. 
Hyoscyamus niger. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1010; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 204, t. 
76 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 19, pi. 66. Henbane is usually a biennial 
plant,with a long, tapering, whitish, fleshy, somewhat branching root, not unlike 
that of parsley, for which it has been eaten by mistake, with poisonous effects. 
The stem, which rises in the second’year, is erect, round, branching, from one 
to four feet high, and thickly furnished with leaves. These are large, oblong- 
ovate, deeply sinuated with pointed segments, undulated, soft to the touch, and 
at their base embrace the stem. The upper leaves are generally entire. Both 
the stem and leaves are hairy, viscid, and of a sea-green colour. The flowers 
form long, one-sided, leafy spikes, which terminate the branches, and hang 
downwards. They are composed of a calyx with five pointed divisions, a funnel- 
shaped corolla, with five unequal, obtuse segments at the border, five stamens 
inserted into the tube of the corolla, and a pistil with a blunt, round stigma. 
Their colour is an obscure yellow, beautifully variegated with purple veins. The 
fruit is a globular two-celled capsule, covered with a lid, invested with the per- 
sistent calyx, and containing numerous small seeds, which are discharged by the 
horizontal separation of the lid. The whole plant has a rank offensive smell. 
H. niger is susceptible of considerable diversity of character, causing varie- 
ties which have by some been considered as distinct species. Thus, the plant is 
sometimes annual, the stem simple, smaller, and less downy than in the biennial 
plant, the leaves more deeply incised and less hairy and viscid, and the flowers 
often yellow without the purple streaks. It has been ascertained that much dif- 
ference of medical properties is connected with these diversities of character; 
and the British Pharmacopoeia directs the biennial variety as the most efficient. 
The plaut is found in the northern and eastern sections of the United States, 
occupying waste grounds in the older settlements, particularly graveyards, old 472 
Ilyoscyami Folium.—Ilyoscyami Semen. 
PART I. 
gardens, and the foundations of ruined houses. It grows in great abundance 
about Detroit, in Michigan. It is not, however, a native of this country, having 
been introduced from Europe. In Great Britain, and on the continent of Eu- 
rope, it grows abundantly along the roads, around villages, amidst rubbish, and 
in uncultivated places. Both varieties are cultivated in England. The annual 
plant flowers in July or August, the biennial in May or June.* 
H. albus, so named from the whiteness of its flowers, is used in France in- 
discriminately with the former species, with which it appears to be identical in 
medicinal properties. 
parts of Hyoscyamus niger are active. The leaves are usually employed, 
but both these and the seeds are recognised in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia Much 
of the efficacy of henbane depends upon the time at which it is gathered. The 
leaves should be collected soon after the plant has flowered. In the biennial 
plant, those of the second year are preferred to those of the first. The latter, 
according to Dr. Houlton, are less clammy and fetid, yield less extractive, and 
are medicinally much less efficient. It is said that the plant is sometimes de- 
strqyed by severe winters in England, and that no leaves of the second year’s 
growth are obtainable. This is, perhaps, one of the causes of the great uncer- 
tainty of the medicine as found in the shops. The root also is said to be much 
more poisonous in the second year than in the first, f 
Properties. The recent leaves have, when bruised, a strong, disagreeable, 
narcotic odour, somewhat like that of tobacco. Their taste is mucilaginous and 
very slightly acrid. When dried, they have little smell or taste. Thrown upon 
the fire, they burn with a crackling noise as if they contained a nitrate, and at 
the same time emit a strong odour. Their virtues are completely extracted by 
diluted alcohol. The watery infusion is of a pale-yellow colour, insipid, with the 
narcotic odour of the plant. The leaves were analyzed by Lindbergsen, who ob- 
tained from them a narcotic principle. They contain a large proportion of 
nitrate of potassa; Mr. F. Mahla having obtained, as nearly as he could es;i- 
mate from his experiments, 2 per cent, of that salt. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1859, p. 402.) The seeds are very small, roundish, compressed, somewhat 
kiiney-shaped, a little wrinkled, of a gray or yellowish-gray colour, of the odour 
of the plant, and an oleaginous, bitterish taste. Analyzed by Brandes, they 
yislded 24-2 per cent, of fixed oil, 1*4 of a solid fatty substance, traces of sugar, 
1 * 2 of gum, 2-4 of bassorin, 1-5 of starch, 3'4 of a substance soluble in water, 
in soluble in alcohol, and precipitated by infusion of galls (phyteumacolla, 
Brandes), 4-5 of albumen, 26‘0 of vegetable fibre, 24T of water, and 9 7 of 
salts, including che malate of an alkaloid called hyoscyamin or hyoscyamia. 
But the process employed by Brandes for separating this principle has not 
succeeded in other hands; and it is doubtful whether the substance obtained 
bj him was really what he supposed it to be. Geiger and Hesse were the first 
* For an account of the cultivation of the biennial variety of H. niger at Hitchm 
Hsrts, England, see Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1860, p. 414. 
f The following important facts in relation to the cultivation of henbane and the rela- 
tive strength of the different varieties, and of the same under different circumstances, 
are taken from a communication by M. Kufus Usher, a cultivator of medicinal plants, 
to the Journal of the Society of Arts, and republished in the Lond. Pharm. Journ. (Aug. 
1867). The several products of the henbane plants are placed by Mr. Usher in the fol- 
lowing order, as to efficiency: 1. the leaves of the biennial plant of the second year’s 
growth; 2. the biennial plant of the first year; 3. the British annual henbane; 4. the 
German annual henbane. The last two, though most extensively used, are really nearly 
valueless, and should always be rejected. The British annual so nearly resembles the 
biennial of the second year, having flowers, that the two may be easily mistaken for one 
another; but a sufficient distinction is that the annual plant “possesses no flavour or 
aroma.” Besides, the leaves are much shorter; and occasionally there is a pure primrose 
blossom, which never happens with the biennial, which is beautifully streaked. The bi- 
ennial plant is so liable to the attacks of worms, that at one time little of the second 
year’s growth was collected, and the market was consequently supplied with a very in- 
ferior article. But from the great attention recently paid to its cultivation, it may now 
be furnished at reasonable prices; and we may hope to be supplied with efficient prepa- 
rations of this valuable narcotic. {Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART i. 
Hyoscyami Folium.—Hyoscyami Semen. 
473 
to demonstrate the existence of an organic alkali in hyoscyamus. Its extraction 
from the plant is somewhat difficult, in consequence of its tendency to undergo 
change by the contact of alkaline solutions, which render it very soluble in 
water. The following is the process of these chemists. The seeds are macerated 
in alcohol; the tincture obtained is evaporated by a very gentle heat, decolorized 
by repeated additions of lime and sulphuric acid, with filtration after each addi- 
tion, and then still further concentrated by evaporation ; an excess of powdered 
carbonate of soda is added, and the precipitate produced is separated, as speedily 
as possible, from the alkaline carbonate by expressing and treating it with abso- 
lute alcohol, while the mother-waters are at the same time treated with ether; 
the alcoholic and ethereal liquors are united, again treated with lime, filtered, de- 
colorized with animal charcoal, and evaporated by a very gentle heat. If the 
hyoscyamia now deposited should still be coloured, it will be necessary to com- 
bine it anew with an acid, and proceed as before, in order to obtain it quite pure. 
The product is very small.* 
From experiments made by Mr. Hirtz upon the relative medicinal power of 
extracts from the seeds and leaves, he inferred that the former had ten times 
the strength of the latter. 
Hyoscyamia crystallizes in colourless, transparent, silky needles, is inodorous, 
of an acrid disagreeable taste, slightly soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol 
and ether, and volatilizable with little change if carefully distilled. It is quickly 
altered by contact with water and an alkali, and when heated with potassa or 
soda is completely decomposed, with the disengagement of ammonia. It neu- 
tralizes the acids, forming crystallizable salts, and is precipitated by infusion 
of galls. The alkaloid and its salts are very poisonous; and the smallest quan- 
tity, introduced into the eye, produces dilatation of the pupil, which continues 
long. From the experiments, however, of Professors Erdmann and Kolbe, it 
appears to be inferior in this respect to atropia. In relation to its chemical 
pi operties, it is stated by these experimenters, contrary to what has been pre- 
viously asserted, that hyoscyamia in concentrated solution gives with a drop of 
muriatic acid and bichloride of platinum a yellow crystalline precipitate, whilst 
a weak solution gives no precipitate whatever with the bichloride. (Neues Re- 
prrtorium, A. D. 186t, p. 502.) M. Reynard adds to what is known of the chem- 
ical properties of hyoscyamia the following facts. The alkaloid is precipitated 
by the concentrated alkalies, but not when these are diluted. Phosphomolyb- 
dute of soda precipitates it yellowish-white, passing to green when it is heated 
with ammonia. With iodobisinuthate of potassa it affords an orange, with iodo- 
hydrargyrate of potassa a white, and with tannin a yellowish precipitate, while 
chloride of gold produces a magma consisting of yellowish flakes and a brown 
resinous mass. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Mars, 1868, p. 238.) 
* Mr. Wm, A. Tilden, after unsatisfactory trials with Geiger’s and Sonnenschein’s 
processes for obtaining hyoscyamia, for the latter of which the reader is referred to Mi. 
Tilden’s paper, succeeded in procuring it by the following method. Half a pound of 
freshly prepared extract of the leaves was dissolved in three pints of water mixed with a 
very little milk of lime, and filtered. To the clear liquid carbonate of potassa was added 
till it became strongly alkaline, and the whole shaken with a pint of chloroform. After 
standing all night, the chloroform had subsided with the appearance of a greenish oil. 
This having been separated by a funnel, filtered into a bottle, and shaken with water 
acidulated with sulphuric acid, the chloroform was recovered. The aqueous liquid was 
made alkaline with carbonate of potassa, and shaken with ether. The ether, which con- 
tained all the hyoscyamia, was shaken with acidulated water, and distilled over a 
water-bath. The acid solution remaining, neutralized with bicarbonate of soda, gave a 
dirty-white precipitate soluble in acetic acid with tannin, a yellowish flocculent pre- 
cipitate with chloride of gold, a brown one with iodine dissolved in hydriodic acid, and 
none with bichloride of platinum or corrosive sublimate. The alkaloid is very soluble in 
alcohol, ether, chloroform, and even water; and in aqueous solution has a strongly acrid 
and bitter taste. It is generally obtained as a colourless gummy mass; but, when its so- 
lution has been suffered to evaporate over sulphuric acid, it has crystallized in groups of 
radiating needles. It has a slight odour quite different from that of the plant, and is de- 
cidedly alkaline to test paper. It is rapidly destroyed by the caustic alkalies, especially 
with heat; an alkaline vapour, probably ammonia, being evolved. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., 2d ser., viii. 127, A. I* 1867.J—Note to the thirteenth edition. 474 
Ilyoscyami Folium.—ITyoscyami Semen. 
PART I. 
Henbane leaves yield, by destructive distillation, a very poisonous empyreu- 
matic oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ilyoscyamus ranks among the narcotics. In 
moderate quantities it usually accelerates the circulation, increases the gen- 
eral warmth, occasions a sense of heat in the throat, and after a short period 
induces sleep. This action is sometimes attended with vertigo, pain in the 
head, and dilated pupils; and the medicine occasionally acts as a diaphoretic 
or diuretic, and even produces a pustular eruption. It does not constipate like 
opium, but, on the contrary, often proves laxative. In overdoses it powerfully 
irritates the brain and alimentary canal, causing dilatation of the pupil, disor- 
dered vision, loss of speech, difficult deglutition, delirious intoxication or stu- 
por, great restlessness or jactitation, sometimes tonic spasms, convulsions, 
paralysis, pain in the bowels, diarrhoea, excitement of the circulation, followed 
by great feebleness of the pulse, coldness of the surface, petechiae, and other 
alarming symptoms, which sometimes end in death. Dissection exhibits marks 
of inflammation of the stomach and bowels. The poisonous effects are to be 
counteracted in the same manner as those of opium. Dr. Garrod has suggested 
animal charcoal as an antidote, as it has the property of absorbing the at tive 
principle, and thus rendering it inert. All parts of H. niger are deleterious 
when largely taken; but the seeds are said to be most powerful. Upon inferior 
animals its effects are not always the same. Though fatal to birds and dogs, 
the leaves are eaten with entire impunity by horses, cows, sheep, goats, and 
swine. It is not impossible that injury has in some cases resulted from the use 
of milk, derived from cows or goats which had been feeding on henbane. Ac- 
cording to Dr. Garrod, the remedial properties of hyoscyamus are completely 
neutralized by solution of potassa or soda; so that they cannot properly be 
combined in prescriptions; but as the carbonates of the alkalies have no such 
effect, these should be substituted. From these facts it might be inferred that 
the caustic alkalies would be the best antidote to the poisonous effects of hy- 
oscyamus; but the quantity required would be so great as to endanger the 
integrity of the gastric mucous membrane, and thus probably to cause more 
danger than the poison itself. {Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1857, p. 589.) 
The remedial operation of hyoscyamus is anodyne and soporific. The medi- 
cine was known to the ancients, and was employed by some of the earlier mod- 
ern practitioners; but had fallen into disuse, and was almost forgotten, when 
Baron Storck again introduced it into notice. By this physician and some of 
his successors it was prescribed in numerous diseases, and, if we may credit 
their testimony, with the happiest effects; but subsequent experience of its 
operation has been such as very much to narrow the extent of its application. 
It is at present used almost exclusively to relieve pain, procure sleep, or quiet 
irregular nervous action; and is not supposed to exercise any specific curative 
influence over particular diseases. Even for the purposes which it is calcu- 
lated to answer it is infinitely inferior to opium or its preparations; and is gen- 
erally resorted to only in cases in which the latter remedy is from peculiar cir- 
cumstances deemed inadmissible. Hyoscyamus, however, has this great advan- 
tage over opium in certain cases, that it has no tendency to constipate. The 
diseases to which it is applicable it would be useless to enumerate, as there are 
few in which circumstances might not be such as to call for its employment. 
Neuralgic and spasmodic affections, rheumatism, gout, hysteria, and various 
pectoral diseases, as catarrh, pertussis, asthma, phthisis, &c., are among those 
in which it is most frequently prescribed. It is also much used in connection 
with griping cathartics, the disagreeable effects of which it is thought to coun- 
teract. The officinal pills of colocynth and henbane are formed upon this prin- 
ciple. In Europe, where the fresh leaves are readily obtained, it is often applied 
externally in the shape of lotion, cataplasm, or fomentation, to allay pain and 
irritation, in scrofulous or cancerous ulcers, scirrhous, hemorrhoidal, or other 
painful tumours, gouty and rheumatic swellings, and nervous headache. The 
smoke of the leaves or seeds has also been used in toothache; but the practice PART i. 
Hyoscyami Folium.—Hyoscyami Semen. 
475 
is deemed hazardous. Henbane is used by European oculists for dilating the 
pupil, previously to the operation for cataract. For this purpose an infusion of 
the leaves, or a solution of the extract, is dropped into the eye. The effect is 
usually greatest at the end of four hours from the application, and in twelve 
hours ceases entirely. Yision is not impaired during its continuance. Ileisinger 
recommends a solution of hyoscyamia in the proportion of one grain to twenty- 
four of water, of which one drop is to be applied to the eye. Its solubility in 
water gives it an advantage for this purpose over atropia, the alcoholic solution 
of which irritates the conjunctiva. According to Schrotf, there is nothing which 
acts so quickly and so powerfully in dilating the pupil. He uses one part of 
hyoscyamia, one hundred parts of water, and ten of alcohol, the latter fluid being 
added to prevent decomposition. (Annuaire de Tlierap., A. D. 1858, p. 25.) 
Henbane may be given in substance, extract, or tincture. The dose of the 
powTdered leaves is from five to ten grains, of the seeds somewhat smaller. The 
common extract, or inspissated juice of the fresh leaves (Extractum Hyoscy- 
ami, U.S.), is exceedingly variable in its operation, being sometimes active, 
sometimes almost inert. The usual dose is two or three grains, repeated and 
gradually increased till its effects are obtained. Cullen rarely procured its 
anodyne operation till he had carried the dose to eight, ten, or even fifteen or 
twenty grains. Collins pushed it to thirty-six grains; and Professor Fouquier, 
who experimented largely with hyoscyamus in the Hopital de la Charite, gave 
two hundred and fifty grains of the extract during twenty-four hours, without 
any specific or curative impression. (Richard, Elem. Hist. Nat. Med.) The 
alcoholic extract, prepared from the recently dried leaves (Extractum Hyos- 
cyami Alcoholicum, U. S.), is said to be more certain. The dose of this to begin 
with is one or two grains, which may be increased gradually to twenty ot 
thirty grains. An extract from the seeds would, no doubt, be much more effi- 
cacious. The dose of the tincture is one or two fluidrachms. A fluid extract 
is directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Extractum Hyoscyami Fluidum.) 
A good plan, in administering any of the preparations, is to repeat the dose 
every hour or two till its influence is felt. Schroff has given hyoscyamia with 
good effects in allaying cough and procuring sleep, prescribing it in the form 
of powder mixed with sugar, in doses varying from the sixtieth to the twen- 
tieth of a grain. He has found the tenth of a grain too much. 
Hyoscyamia has not yet been obtained in quantities sufficient for general use; 
but, considering the great uncertainty of henbane itself as derived from different 
sources, it would be a very desirable substitute. Dr. John Harley has given an 
account of its effects, which appears to be the result of his own observations. 
Given to an adult subcutaneously in doses insufficient to cause dryness of the 
mouth, it produces giddiness, somnolency, dilatation of the pupils, and a grad- 
ually diminishing frequency of pulse, without lessening of its force or volume. 
In quantities sufficient to cause dryness of the mouth, it generally occasions in- 
creased frequency of pulse with slight increase of its volume and strength. 
This acceleration generally begins from 10 to 20 minutes after injection, and 
continues for 20 or 30 minutes, very rarely for an hour. Dryness of the mouth 
begins about 20 minutes after injection, and lasts for an hour. In most instances 
there is great sleepiness, with much giddiness, so that the patient cannot walk 
steadily. The face is flushed and the conjunctiva injected, and the pupils dilate. 
At the subsidence of the symptoms, which usually begins in an hour, the pulse 
falls below its natural standard of frequency, sometimes even to 42 in the min- 
ute, retaining, however, its volume and power. The maximum dilatation of the 
pupil is at this period. The effects are precisely the same when the medicine 
is given by the mouth. The most prominent effects of hyoscyamus or its active 
principle are excessive giddiness and somnolency; while atropia, which resem- 
bles it in its effects on the mouth and pupils, produces much less of these effects. 
According to Dr. Harley, atropia is characterized more especially by its influ- 
ence on the sympathetic nervous system, hyoscyamia on the brain. Hyos 
cyamia increases the soporific powers of opium; and quantities of hyoscyamia 476 
Ichthyocolla. 
PART I. 
and morphia, which in themselves are insufficient to induce sleep, will cause it 
when combined. Like atropia, it is eliminated by the kidneys, and was detected 
by Dr. Harley in the urine 22 minutes after subcutaneous injection. Thera- 
peutically Dr. Harley has found hyoscyamia extremely useful in irritable states 
of the brain and the heart, and in determining and invariably increasing the 
soporific effect of opium. {Med. Times and Gaz., April, 1868, p. 876.) 
Off. Prep. Extractum Hyoscyami; Extractum Hyoscyami Alcoholicum, 
U.S.; Extractum Hyoscyami Fluidum, U. S.; Tinctura Hyoscyami. W. 
ICHTHYOCOLLA. U. & 
Isinglass. 
The swimming bladder of Acipenser Huso, and of other species of fish. TJ. S. 
Fish-glue; Ichthyocolle,coliedepoisson. Fr.; Hausenblase, Fischleim, Germ,.; Colladi 
pesce, Itnl.; Cola de pescado, Span. 
Isinglass is a gelatinous substance, prepared chiefly from the sounds or swim- 
ming bladders of fishes, especially those of different species of sturgeon. Though 
not retained in the British Pharmacopoeia, it still has a place in that of the U. 
States, and is universally kept in the shops. 
In most fishes there is a membranous bag, placed in the anterior part of the 
abdomen, communicating frequently, though not always, by means of a duct, 
with the oesophagus or stomach, and containing usually a mixture of oxygen and 
nitrogen gases in various proportions. From the supposition that it was in- 
tended by its expansion or contraction to enable the fish to rise or sink in the 
water, it has been denominated swimming bladder. It is of different shape in 
different fishes, and consists of three coats, of which the two interior are thin 
and delicate, the outer tough and of a silvery whiteness. 
The Acipenser Huso, or beluga of the Russians, is particularly designated 
by the Pharmacopoeia as the species of sturgeon from which isinglass is pro- 
cured ; but three others, the A. Ruthenus, or sterlet, A. sturio, or common stur- 
g'on, and A. stellatus, or starred sturgeon, also furnish large quantities to com- 
rr erce. All these fish inhabit the interior waters of Russia, especially the Wolga 
a id other streams which empty into the Caspian Sea. Immense numbers are 
a inually taken, and consumed as food by the Russians. The air-bags are re- 
n: oved from the fish, and, having been split open and washed in water in order 
to separate the blood, fat, and adhering extraneous membranes, are spread out, 
a ad when sufficiently stiffened are formed into cylindrical rolls, the ends of which 
a :e brought together and secured by pegs. The shape given to the roll is that 
of a staple, or more accurately that of a lyre, which it firmly retains when dried. 
Thus prepared it is known in commerce by the name of staple isinglass, and is 
distinguished into the long and short staple. Sometimes the membranes are 
d ried in a flat state, or simply folded, and then receive the name of leaf or book 
i'inglass. The scraps or fragments of these varieties, with various other parts 
ol’the fish, are boiled in water, which dissolves the gelatin, and upon evaporation 
leaves it in a solid state. This is called cake isinglass, from the shape which 
it is made to assume. It is sometimes, however, in globular masses. Of these 
varieties, the long staple is said to be the best; but the finest book isinglass is 
not surpassed by any brought to this country. It is remarkable for its beautiful 
iridescence by transmitted light One hundred grains of this isinglass dissolve 
in ten ounces of water, forming a tremulous jelly when cold, and yield but two 
grains of insoluble residuum. That in cakes is brownish, of an unpleasant odour, 
and employed only in the arts. Inferior kinds, with the same commercial titles, 
are said to be prepared from the peritoneum and intestines of the fish. An in- 
ferior Russian product, known in English commerce by the name of Samovey 
isinglass, is procured, according to Pereira, from the Silurus Glanis. It comes, 
like the better kind, in the shape of leaf, book, and short staple. 
Isinglass, little inferior to the Russian, is made in Iceland from the sounds of 
the cod and ling. It is said also to be prepared by the fishermen of Newfouud- PART I. 
Ichthyocolla. 
477 
land. We receive from Brazil the air-bladders of a large fish, prepared by drying 
them in their distended state. They are oblong, tapering, and pointed at one 
end, bifid with the remains of their pneumatic duct at the other, and of a firm 
consistence. The Brazilian isinglass is inferior to the Russian. Considerable 
quantities have been manufactured in New England, as formerly supposed, from 
the intestines of the cod, and of other allied fishes. This sort is in the form of thin 
ribbons several feet in length, and from an inch and a half to two inches in width. 
One hundred grains dissolve almost entirely in water, leaving but two grains of 
insoluble membrane, and form a tremulous jelly when cold with eight ounces of 
water. It is, therefore, as pure and nearly as strong a gelatin as the Russian 
isinglass; but it retains a fishy taste and odour, which render it unfit for culinary 
or medicinal purposes. Isinglass of good quality has also been made in New 
York from the sounds of the weak fish—Otolithus regalis of Cuvier (Storer, 
Rep. on Fishes of Mass., p. 33)—and perhaps of other fishes caught in the 
neighbourhood. The sounds are dried whole, or merely split open, and vary 
much in size and texture, weighing from a drachm to an ounce. An article called 
“ refined or transparent isinglass” is made by dissolving the New England 
isinglass in hot water, and spreading the solution to dry on oiled muslin. It is 
in very thin transparent plates, and is an excellent glue, but retains a strong 
fishy odour. A preparation called Cooper’s gelatin has been introduced as a 
substitute for isinglass in making jellies. It appears to be the dried froth of a 
solution of pure bone glue. Most of the above facts, in relation to American 
isinglass, were derived from papers by D. B. Smith, in the Journ. of the Phil. 
Col. of Pharm. (iii. 17 and 92). 
Mr. C. T. Carney states that the New England isinglass is prepared, not as 
supposed from the intestines of fish, but from the sounds of the hake (Cadas 
merluccius), by the following process. Having been taken from the fish, split 
open, cleansed, and dried, they are soaked in water till sufficiently soft, then 
passed through rollers so as to form a large, homogeneous, dough-like sheet, 
which is cut into strips, and then again passed through rollers till reduced to a 
ribbon-like form. The pieces thus prepared are thoroughly dried, and folded 
into bundles. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D 1857.) 
Isinglass is sometimes kept in the shops cut into fine shreds, and is thus more 
easily acted on by boiling water. 
Properties. In its purest form it is whitish, semi-transparent, of a shining, 
pearly appearance, and destitute of smell and taste. The inferior kinds are yel- 
lowish and more opaque. In cold water it softens, swells up, and becomes opa- 
lescent. Boiling water entirely dissolves it, with the exception of a minute pro- 
portion of impurities, amounting, according to Mr. Hatchet, to lesh than 2 per 
cent. The solution on cooling assumes the form of a jelly, which consists of 
pure gelatin and water. Isinglass is in fact the purest form of gelatin with 
which we are acquainted, and may be used whenever this principle is required 
as a test. It is insoluble in alcohol, but is dissolved readily by most of the diluted 
acids, and by alkaline solutions. It has a strong affinity for tannin, with which 
it forms an insoluble compound. Boiled with sulphuric acid, it is converted 
into a peculiar saccharine matter, called glycocoll or sugar of gelatin. Its 
aqueous solution speedily putrefies. 
An ingenious adulteration of isinglass has been practised in London, appa 
rently by rolling a layer of gelatin between two layers of the genuine substance. 
This may be detected by the disagreeable odour and taste of the adulterated 
drug, and the effects of water upon it. Genuine isinglass, cut into shreds and 
treated with water, becomes opalescent and more opaque than before; while 
the shreds, though they soften and swell, remain unbroken, and, when exam- 
ined by the microscope, are seen to be decidedly fibrous. Gelatin, on the con- 
trary, when similarly treated, becomes more transparent than before; the shreds 
are disintegrated, and the structure appears amorphous under the microscope. 
In the adulterated article, both these characters are presented in layers more 
or less distinct. {Pharm. Journ., ix. 505.) 478 
Ichthyocolla.—Ignatia. 
PART I. 
A false isinglass has been imported into England from Para, in Brazil, con- 
sisting of the dried ovary of a large fish. It has somewhat the form of a bunch 
of grapes, consisting of ovoid or roundish masses, attached by a footstalk to a 
central axis. It is not gelatinous, and is unfit for the purposes to which isinglass 
is applied. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 144.)* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Isinglass has no peculiar medical properties. 
It may be given internally, in the form of jelly, as a highly nutritious article 
of diet; but it has no advantage over the jelly made from calves-feet. Three 
drachms impart sufficient consistency to a pint of water. It is employed for 
clarifying liquors, and imparting lustre to various woven fabrics. Added in 
small quantities to vegetable jellies, it gives them a tremulous appearance, which 
they want when unmixed. As a test of tannin it is used in solution, in the 
proportion of a drachm to ten fluidounces of distilled water. It forms the basis 
of the English court-plaster. W. 
IGNATIA. U.S. 
Ignatia. Bean of Saint Ignatius. 
The seed of Strychnos Ignatia (Lindley). U. S. 
Faba Sancti Ignatii, Lat.; Feve do Saint Ignace, Fr.; Ignatiusbohne, bittere Fieber- 
nuss, Germ,.; Fava di Santo Ignazio, Ital.; Haba de Santo Ignacio, Span. 
Strychnos. See NUX VOMICA. 
Strychnos Ignatia. Lindley, Flor. Med. 530.—Ignatia amara. Linn. Suppl. 
This species of Strychnos is a tree of middling size, with numerous long, cylin- 
drical, glabrous, vine-like branches, which bear opposite, nearly sessile, oval, 
pointed, entire, and very smooth leaves. The flowers are long, nodding, white, 
tubular, fragrant, and arranged in short axillary racemes. The fruit is of the 
size and shape of a pear, with a smooth, whitish, ligneous rind, enclosing about 
twenty seeds, embedded in a dry medullary matter, and lying one upon the 
other. The seeds are the part used. The tree is a native of the Philippine Islands, 
where the seeds were highly esteemed as a medicine, and, having attracted the 
attention of the Jesuits, were honoured with the name of their founder. 
Properties. The seeds are about an inch long, rather less in breadth, still 
less in thickness, convex on one side, obscurely angular, with two, three, or 
four faces on the other, and marked at one end with a small depression indicating 
their point of attachment. They are externally of a pale-brown colour, appa- 
rently smooth, but covered in fact with a short down or efflorescence, which may 
be removed by scraping them with a knife. They are somewhat translucent, and 
their substance is very hard and horny. They have no smell, but an excessively 
bitter taste. To Pelletier and Caventou they yielded the same constituents as 
nux vomica, and, among them, U2 per cent, of strychnia. Analyzed by Mr. J. 
M. Caldwell, they were found to contain the two alkaloids, strychnia and brucia, 
combined with igasuric acid, and, besides these, a volatile principle, extractive, 
* Japanese Isinglass. Under this name, which, however, is altogether inappropriate, a 
substance has been recently brought into the English market, prepared from sea-weeds in 
China and Japan. Two forms of it are described by Mr. Hanbury, one in irregularly four- 
sided sticks, about eleven inches long, very light and porous, the other in long shrivelled 
strips about one-eighth of an inch thick. It is translucent, yellowish-white, without smell 
or taste, insoluble in cold water, but swelling up and softening under its influence, and 
dissolved in great measure by boiling water, with which it gelatinizes on cooling. The 
peculiarities of this substance are owing to a principle denominated gelose by Payen, 
which resembles gelatin in ’*s gelatinizing property, but differs in its chemical relations, 
and is probably peculiar. It resembles the carrageenin of Irish moss, but lias a greater 
gelatinizing power. The jelly formed by dissolving it in boiling water, and allowing the 
solution to cool, requires a higher temperature to liquefy it than gelatin jelly, and does 
not melt in the mouth. Gelose differs from gelatin in not being precipitated by tannic 
acid, and from rice jelly in not being rendered blue by iodine. Japan isinglass is used 
for the same purposes as that of animal origin. It is derived, according to Mr. Hanbury, 
from different species of various genera of sea-weed, and especially Gelidium corneum. 
(See Ain. Journ. of Pharrn., July, i860, p. 354.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Igna tia.—Inula. 
479 
gum, resin, colouring matter, fixed oil, and bassorin, but no starch or albumen. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1851, p. 298.) In consequence of the relatively 
larger proportion of strychnia which they yield, they have been considerably 
used instead of nux vomica, in the preparation of that alkaloid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. MM. Magendie and Delile have proved that 
ignatia acts on the human system in the same manner as nux vomica. In the 
Philippines, the seeds have been employed for the cure of obstinate intermittents, 
and in numerous other diseases. It is probable that, in small doses, they act as 
a tonic. Recently, an extract prepared from them has been much used, having 
been first introduced into notice empirically, under the name of ignatia amara. 
It has been employed chiefly in cases of debility of the digestive organs, or gen- 
eral-defect of nervous power ; but, being in all probability identical in its effects 
with a similar preparation of nux vomica, though somewhat stronger, it may be 
used for all the therapeutic purposes to which the latter medicine is applied. It 
is scarcely necessary to observe that so energetic a substance should never be 
taken without regular medical supervision, as it may prove, if abused, a terrific 
poison. An extract is directed, in the present edition of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia. (See Extractum Ignatise Alcoholicum ) The dose may be from half a 
grain to a grain and a half, in pill, three times a day. A tincture may also be 
used. Prof. Procter has given the following formula for its preparation Pow- 
der four troy ounces of the beans coarsely by grinding, or in a mortar, add two 
fluidounces of water to the powder in a bottle, and heat by a water-bath until 
it swells up ; then pour on it half a pint of alcohol, and, having continued the 
heat for three hours, put the whole into a percolator, and displace with alcohol 
until a pint of tincture is obtained. Or, half an ounce of the extract may be 
dissolved in a pint of alcohol. The commencing dose, corresponding with that 
above stated of the extract, would be about sixteen minims. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ignatiae Alcoholicum, U. S. W. 
INULA. U. S. Secondary. 
Elecampane. 
The root of Inula Helenium. U. S. 
Aunee, Fr.; Alantwurzel, Germ,.; Enula Campana, Ital., Span. 
Inula. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord Composit®-Asteroi- 
dese, Be Cand. Asteraceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Seed-down simple. Anthers ending in two bristles 
at the base. Willd. 
Inula Helenium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2089; Woodv. Med. Bot p. 64, t. 26. 
Elecampane has a perennial root, and an annual stem, which is round, furrowed, 
villous, leafy, from three to six feet high, and branched near the top. The leaves 
are large, ovate, serrate, crowded with reticular veins, smooth and deep-green 
upon the upper surface, downy on the under, and furnished with a fleshy midrib. 
Those which spring directly from the root are petiolate, those of the stem sessile 
and embracing. The flowers are large, of a golden-yellow colour, and stand 
singly at the ends of the stem and branches. The calyx exhibits several rows 
of imbricated ovate scales. The florets of the ray are numerous, spreading, linear, 
and tridentate at the apex. The seeds are striated, quadrangular, and furnished 
with a simple somewhat chaffy pappus. 
This large and handsome plant is a native of Europe, where it is also culti- 
vated for medical use. It has been introduced into our gardens, and has become 
naturalized in some parts of the country, growing in low meadows, and on the 
roadsides, from New England to Pennsylvania. It flowers in July and August. 
The roots, which are the officinal part, should be dug up in autumn, and in their 
second year. When older they are apt to be stringy and woody. 
The fresh root of elecampane is very thick and branched, having whitish cylin- 
drical ramifications, furnished with thread-like fibres. It is externally brown, 
internally whitish and fleshy; and the transverse sections present radiating lines. 480 
Inula.—Iodinium. 
PART I. 
The dried root, as found in the shops, is usually in longitudinal or transverse 
slices, and of a grayish colour internally. The smell is slightly eamphorous, and, 
especially in the dried root, agreeably aromatic. The taste, at first glutinous, 
and compared to that of rancid soap, becomes, upon chewing, warm, aromatic, 
and bitter. Its medical virtues are extracted by alcohol and water, the former 
becoming most strongly impregnated with its bitterness and pungency. A pecu- 
liar principle, resembling starch, was discovered in elecampane by Valentine 
Rose, of Berlin, who named it alantin; but the title inulin, proposed by Dr. 
Thomson, has been generally adopted. It differs from starch in being deposited 
unchanged from its solution in boiling water when the liquor cools, and in giving 
a yellowish instead of a blue colour with iodine. It has been found in the roots 
of several other plants. It may be obtained white and pure by precipitating a 
concentrated decoction with twice its volume of alcohol, dissolving the precipi- 
tate in a little distilled water, treating the solution with purified animal char- 
coal, and again precipitating with alcohol. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv.i. 
69.) Besides this principle, elecampane contains, according to John, a white, 
concrete substance, called helenin, intermediate in its properties between the 
essential oils and camphor, and separable by distillation with water; a bitt?r 
extractive, soluble in water and alcohol; a soft, acrid, bitter resin, having nn 
aromatic odour when heated; gum; albumen; lignin; traces of volatile oil; a 
little wax; and various saline substances. If water is added to a tincture ma le 
by boiling the fresh root in alcohol, the liquid becomes turbid, and, in twenty- 
four hours, long white crystals of pure helenin are formed, leaving very little in 
solution. (Archie der Pharm., lx. 30.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Elecampane is tonic and gently stimulant, and 
has been supposed to possess diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, and emmemi- 
gogue properties. By the ancients it was much employed, especially in the com- 
plaints peculiar to females; and it is still occasionally resorted to in amenorrha a. 
In this country it is chiefly used in chronic diseases of the lungs, and is some- 
times beneficial when the affection of the chest is attended with weakness of the 
digestive organs, or with general debility. From a belief in its deobstruent and 
diuretic virtues, it was formally prescribed in chronic engorgements of the abdo- 
minal viscera, and the dropsy to which they so often give rise. It has also been 
highly recommended both as an internal and external remedy in tetter, psora, 
and other diseases of the skin. The usual modes of administration are in powder 
and decoction. The dose of the powder is from a scruple to a drachm. The 
decoction may be prepared by boiling half an ounce of the root in a pint of water 
and given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. W. 
IODINIUM. U.S. 
Iodine. 
Off. Syn. IODUM. Br. 
lode, Fr.; Jod, Germ,.; Iodina, Ital., Span. 
The Iodine of the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias is considered as pure; and 
in both the tests are given by which its purity may be determined. As one 
of these tests, the latter Pharmacopoeia states that “ 12 7 grains, dissolved in 
an ounce [fluidounce] of water containing 15 grains of iodide of potassium, 
require for complete discoloration 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solu- 
tion of hyposulphite of soda.” 
Iodine is a non-metallic element, discovered in 1812 by Courtois, a soda manu- 
facturer of Paris. It exists in certain marine vegetables, particularly the fuci or 
common sea-weeds, which are its most abundant natural source. It has been 
detected in some fresh-water plants, among which are the water-cress, brooklime, 
and fine-leaved water-hemlock; also in the ashes of tobacco, and of Honduras 
sarsaparilla. {Chatin.) It has been found in the beet-root of the Grand Duchy 
of Baden. (Lamy.) M. Chatin announced the presence of iodine in the atmos- 
phere and in rain-water; but the negative experimental results of Dr. S. Mac- part I. 
Iodinium. 
481 
adam of Edinburgh, of Dr. Lohmeyer of Gottingen, and of M. S. De Luca ol 
Paris, threw doubts on the experiments of M. Chatin, who was supposed to 
have been misled by the use of reagents containing iodine. Nevertheless, M. 
Chatin, in answer to the two chemists first named, reasserts the correctness of 
his results; and declares that he has found iodine in the rain-water of Paris, Ver- 
sailles, and many other towns in France, while he has failed to discover it in the 
waters of the Alps and Norwegian mountains. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 
I860, p. 259.) Dr. Macadam detected a trace of iodine in 100 gallons of water 
used for domestic purposes in Edinburgh, in several of the domestic animals, 
and in man. He detected it also in potatoes, beans, peas, wheat, barley, and 
oats. (Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1854, p. 235.) Iodine is moreover found in the 
animal kingdom, as in the sponge, the oyster, various polypi, cod-liver oil, and 
eggs; and, in the mineral kingdom, in sea-water in minute quantity, in certain 
salt springs, as iodide of silver in a rare Mexican mineral, in a zinc ore of 
Silesia, in native nitrate of soda, and in some kinds of rock salt. It has been 
detected by M. Genteles in the aluminous schists of Sweden, by Prof. Sigwart 
in bituminous slate, by M. Lembert in limestone rocks, and by M. Pussy and 
M. Duflos in coal. A mineral is said to have been discovered in Chili, con- 
sisting of iodide, oxide, and chloride of lead, of which iodine constitutes ten 
per cent. If, as is reported, this mineral is in large quantities, it may become 
an important source of iodine. (Med. and Surg. Reporter, July 1, 1865, p. 10; 
from the Druggists' Circular.) M. Pussy has obtained iodine, in the pro- 
portion of one part in five thousand, from the coal-gas liquor of the gas-works 
of Paris. It was first discovered in the United States in the water of the Con- 
gress Spring, at Saratoga, by Dr. William Usher. It was detected in the Ken- 
hawa saline waters by the late Professor Emmet; and it exists in the bittern 
of the salt-works of western Pennsylvania, in the amount of about eight grains 
to the gallon. In sea-weeds the iodine exists in the state probably of iodide ol 
sodium. I n different countries, sea-weeds are burned for the sake of their ashes; 
the product being a dark-coloured fused mass called kelp. This substance, be- 
sides carbonate of soda and iodide of sodium, contains more or less common 
salt, chloride of potassium, sulphate of soda, &c. The deep-sea fuci contain the 
most iodine; and, when these are burned at a low temperature for fuel, as is 
the case in the island of Guernsey, their ashes furnish more iodine than ordi- 
nary kelp. (Graham.) According to Dr. Geo. Kemp, the laminarian species, 
especially Laminaria digitata, L. saccharina, and L. bulbosa, which are deep- 
water sea-weeds, and contain more potassium than sodium, are particularly rich 
in iodine. In a paper on the extraction of iodine from sea-weeds, Dr. Kemp 
makes many useful suggestions, having chiefly in view the prevention of the 
waste of the element, which takes place in the ordinary kelp process. (Chem. 
Gaz., July 1, 1850.)* 
* Dr. "Wallace and Mr. Lamont, of Glasgow, in a paper describing a new method of 
estimating the proportion of iodine in kelp, state that, in parcels from the West High- 
lands, they had obtained from 0-162 to 0-175 per cent., which is a much larger product 
than that mentioned in the text; but they operated on small quantities, which yield a 
larger percentage than is procured by operations on a large scale, in consequence of the 
loss necessarily incurred in them. (Chem. Gaz., April 1, 1859, p. 187.) A complete anal- 
ysis of kelp by Mr. Lamont is contained in the same journal. (June 1, 1859, p. 210.) To 
prevent the loss of iodine by volatilization in the burning of sea-weeds, Dr. Wallace pro- 
poses to extract all the iodine compounds they contain by boiling them with water, and 
evaporating the decoction. The extract thus obtained is to be treated as kelp. 
New method of preparing kelp. As the preparation of kelp for the extraction of iodine 
may possibly become a source of profitable occupation upon the sea-coast of some parts 
of the United States, the following observations, contained in a paper on its manufac- 
ture, read by Mr. Ed. C. C. Stanford before a meeting of the British Pharmaceutical So- 
ciety, may be of advantage. The present process, employed in the Highlands of Scotland, 
is on various accounts objectionable, but especially from the waste of iodine attending it. 
From the high heat to which the sea-weed is exposed in its conversion into ashes, much 
of the iodine" is driven oft'. From the same cause, the sulphates are deoxidized, and con- 
verted into sulphurets, the separation of which in the process for extracting the iodin<* 
necessitates a large expenditure of sulphuric acid. Besides, there is an entire loss of tte 482 
Iodinium. 
PART I. 
Preparation. Iodine is obtained from kelp, and in Great Britain is manu- 
factured chiefly at Glasgow. The kelp, which on an average contains a 224th 
part of iodine, is lixiviated with water, in which about half dissolves. The solu- 
tion is concentrated to a pellicle and allowed to cool; whereby nearly all the 
salts, except iodide of sodium, are separated, they being less soluble than the 
iodide. The remaining liquor, which is dense and dark-coloured, is made very 
sour by sulphuric acid, which causes the evolution of carbonic acid, sulphuretted 
hydrogen, and sulphurous acid, and the deposition of sulphur. The liquor is then 
introduced into a leaden still, and distilled with deutoxide of manganese into a 
series of glass receivers, inserted into one another, in which the iodine is con- 
densed. In this process the iodide of sodium is decomposed, and the iodine 
evolved; and the sulphuric acid, deutoxide of manganese, and sodium unite, so 
as to form sulphate of protoxide of manganese and sulphate of soda. 
The British Pharmacopoeia of 1864 purified iodine as follows. “ Take of 
Iodine of Commerce one ounce. Introduce the Commercial Iodine into a 
porcelain capsule of a circular shape, cover this as accurately as possible with 
a glass matrass filled with cold water, and apply to the capsule the heat of 
boiling water for twenty minutes. Let the matrass be now removed, and should 
colourless acieular prisms of a pungent odour be found attached to its bottom, 
let them be separated from it. This being done, the matrass is to be restored to 
its previous position, and a gentle and steady heat (that of a gas lamp answers 
well) applied, so as to sublime the whole of the iodine. Upon now allowing the 
capsule to cool, and lifting off the matrass, the purified product will be found 
attached to the bottom of the latter. When separated it should be immediately 
enclosed in a bottle furnished with an accurately ground stopper. ” Br. 
In this process, which is that of the former Dublin Pharmacopoeia, a short 
preliminary sublimation by the heat of a water-bath is ordered, in which the 
bottom of a glass matrass filled with cold water is the refrigerator. The object 
of this is to separate any iodide of cyanogen that may happen to be present. 
volatile matters escaping during combustion, which might he utilized by an improved 
process. The plan suggested by Mr. Stanford is to carbonize the weed in close vessels. 
The following is a summary of his method, as specified in a patent taken out in Great 
Britain and France. 
The sea-weeds, which may be gathered at all seasons, should be well dried, and then 
compressed into cakes of convenient size. These are put into large cylindrical vessels of 
wrought iron heated from without, placed vertically, with the base and upper end conical, 
and with arrangements for introducing and withdrawing the charge. The retorts, thus 
formed, are furnished at the upper end with pipes which carry the volatilized products 
to an iron main, whence they pass through a series of ordinary iron pipe condensers, 
from which the uncondensed matter passes through a pair of scrubbers to a gasometer. 
When sufficiently charred, the contents of the retorts are withdrawn into closely-covered 
iron boxes, which are to be removed to a convenient place. When cool, the charcoal is 
lixiviated like kelp, and the solution treated in the ordinary manner for separating the 
iodine. The lixiviated charcoal may be used for heating the retort, and the gas collected 
in the gasometer for lighting the factory, or for producing heat. The ashes resulting 
from the burning of the charcoal is a valuable manure. The condensed products of the 
distillation may be used for obtaining muriate of ammonia, and utilized in various othei 
ways. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1862, p. 502.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
M. Ed. Moride proposes the following plan, which he thinks has advantages over 
those previously in use. He contents himself with carbonizing the plants, fresh or dry, 
in the locality where collected, by means of a little portable furnace adapted to the pur- 
pose. He then lixiviates the charcoal in a percolation apparatus, concentrates the liquid 
obtained by means of vapour, withdraws the sulphates of potassa and the chlorides 
thrown down, and then, after having added a hypochlorite or hyponitric acid, treats the 
liquor with benzine in a special apparatus, arranged so that the benzine takes the iodine 
from the liquor, yields it afterwards to potassa or soda, and, being itself recovered, may be 
used again indefinitely. The mixed alkaline iodides and iodates are precipitated by muri- 
atic acid, or, still better, by the chlorine liquors remaining in the manufacture of bromine. 
The iodine obtained is then dried and brought to the state of mass, as in commerce. 
The bromine present in the liquors, deprived of iodine by benzine:, may be withdrawn 
either by adding sulphuric acid and black oxide of manganese and distilling, or by elimi- 
nating it directly, in the liquid state, in the liquors concentrated and made very acid. 
{Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iv. 165, A. D. 1866.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Iodinium. 
483 
This impurity is sometimes present in considerable amount. Rlobaeli obtained 
from eighty avoirdupois pounds of commercial iodine twelve ounces of this 
iodide, which is in the proportion of nearly one per cent. (Ghem. Gaz., April 
15, 1850.) Should the matrass, upon its removal, have attached to its bottom 
white acicular crystals, these will be the iodide in question, and must be rejected. 
The matrass having been replaced, heat is again applied until the whole of the 
iodine has sublimed, and attaches itself to the cool bottom of the matrass. 
Water has sometimes been found in iodine to the extent of 15 or 20 per cent. 
If considerable, it is easily discovered by the iodine adhering to the inside of the 
bottle. M. Bolley estimates its amount by rubbing together, until the smell of 
iodine disappears, 80 grains of iodine with about 240 of mercury, in a small 
weighed porcelain dish, using a small weighed agate pestle. When complete 
combination has been effected, the whole is placed in a water-bath to dissipate 
the water. The loss of weight gives the amount of water in the iodine. (Ghem. 
Gaz., Mar. 15, 1853, p. 118.) The presence of water is injurious only as it ren- 
ders all the preparations of iodine weaker than they should be. In the former Ed. 
Pharmacopoeia, directions were given to dry it, by placing it “ in a shallow basin 
of earthenware, in a small confined space of air, with ten or twelve times its 
weight of fresh-burnt lime, till it scarcely adheres to the inside of a dry bottle.” 
Properties. Iodine is a soft, friable, opaque substance, in the form of crys- 
talline scales, having a bluish-black colour and metallic lustre. It possesses a 
peculiar odour, somewhat resembling that of chlorine, and a hot, acrid taste. 
Applied to the skin, it produces a yellow stain, which soon disappears. Its sp. gr. 
is 4‘9. It is a volatile substance, and evaporates even at common temperatures. 
When heated, it volatilizes more rapidly, and, when the temperature reaches 
225°, it melts and rises in a rich purple vapour, a property which suggested its 
name. Its vapour has the sp.gr. 8'7, being the heaviest aeriform substance 
kncwn. If inhaled mixed with air, it excites cough and irritates the nostrils. 
When it comes in contact with cool surfaces, it condenses in brilliant steel-gray 
crystals. Iodine is freely soluble in alcohol and ether, but requires 7000 times 
its weight of water to dissolve it. If water stands on iodine for some time, 
especially in a strong light, it apparently dissolves more iodine ; but the result 
depends upon the formation of hydriodic acid, in a solution of which iodine is 
more soluble than in water. The solution of iodine in water has no taste, a 
feeble odour, and a light-brown colour; in alcohol or ether, is nearly black. 
Its solubility in water is very much increased by the addition of certain salts, as 
the chloride of sodium, nitrate of ammonia, or iodide of potassium; and the 
same effect is produced, to some extent, by tannic acid. Its solution in tannic 
acid is called iodo-tannin, of which MM. Socquet and Guillermond make a syrup 
for internal, and an aqueous solution for external use. For the formulas, see the 
B. and F. Medico-chir. Pec., July, 1854, p 18 L. It is also soluble in glycerin, 
as ascertained by M. Cap in 1854. In chemical habitudes iodine resembles chlo- 
rine, but its affinities are weaker. Its eq. is 126-3, and symbol I. It combines 
with most of the non-metallic, and nearly all the metallic elements, forming a 
class of compounds called iodides. Some of these are officinal, as the iodides of 
iron, mercury, lead, potassium, and sulphur. It forms with oxygen one oxide, 
oxide of iodine, and three acids, iodous, iodic* and hyperiodic, and with hy- 
drogen, a gaseous acid, called hydriodic acid. 
* Dr. R. H. Brett, of Liverpool, has found that when a small portion of several of the 
alkaloids, or their salts, is mixed with about an equal portion of iodic acid and a few drops 
of water, and the mixture gently heated, a succession of distinct explosions, attended by 
the evolution of gas, takes place. Dr. Brett finds that this phenomenon occurs with all 
the alkaloids yet tried by him, hut not with other classes of organic substances, whether 
nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous, and thinks it will prove a valuable test for the former. 
(Pharm. Journ., Nov. 1854.) According to Mr. K,. F. Fairthorne, of this city, several of 
the more poisonous alkaloids, dissolved by the aid of an acid, yield, with the officinal 
compound solution of iodine, precipitates, insoluble in weak sulphuric, muriatic, or acetic 
acid. He therefore infers that the above-mentioned solution might prove useful as an 
antidote to the alkaloids. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1856.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 484 
Iodinium. 
PART r. 
Tests, &c. Iodine, in most cases, may be recognised by its characteristic pur- 
ple vapour; but where this cannot be made evident, it is detected unerringly 
by starch, which produces with it a deep-blue colour. This test was discovered 
by Colin and Gaultier de Claubry, and is so delicate that it will indicate the 
presence of iodine in 450,000 times its weight of water. In order that the test 
may succeed, the iodine, must be free and the solutions cold. To render it free 
when in combination, as it always is in the animal fluids, a little nitric acid, 
free from iodine, must be added to the solution suspected to contain it. Thus, in 
testing urine for iodine, the secretion is mixed with starch, and acidulated with 
a drop or two of nitric acid ; when, if iodine be present, the colour produced will 
vary from a light purple to a deep indigo blue, according to the amount of the 
element present. Sometimes, in mineral waters, the proportion of iodine is so 
minute that the starch test, in connection with nitric acid, gives a doubtful color- 
ation. In such cases, Liebig recommends the addition to the water of a very 
small quantity of iodate of potassa, followed by a little starch and muriatic 
acid. Assuming the iodine to be present as hydriodic acid, the liberated iodic 
acid sets free the iodine of the mineral water, and becomes itself deoxidized, 
thus increasing the amount of the free iodine (5HI and IO. = 5IIO andl6). 
This test would be fallacious, if iodic acid, mixed with muriatic acid, coloured 
starch; out this is not the case. Still, Liebig’s test is inapplicable in the presence 
of reducing agents, such as sulphurous acid, which would give rise to free iodine 
from the test itself, independently of the presence of the element in the water 
tested. {Dr. W. Krtop.) Mr. M.Carey Lea proposes chromic acid as a substitute 
for the nitric, for the liberation of iodine, as a more delicate test. It may be 
most conveniently applied by first adding starch to the liquid to be tested, and 
then a little dilute solution of bichromate of potassa, enough to cause a pale- 
yellow colour, followed by a few drops of muriatic acid. {Am. Journ. of Sci. 
& Arts, A. D. 1866, xlii. 109.) Another test for iodine, proposed by M. Rabour- 
din, is chloroform, by the use of which he supposes that the element may be 
not only detected in organic substances, but approximately estimated. Thus, 
if 150 grains of a solution, containing one part in one hundred thousand of 
iodide of potassium, be treated with 2 drops of nitric and 15 or 20 of sulphuric 
acid, and afterwards shaken with 15 grains of chloroform, the latter acquires 
a distinct violet tint. M. Rabourdin applies his test to the detection of iodine 
in the several varieties of cod-liver oil. For this purpose he incinerates, in an 
iron spoon, 50 parts of the specimen of oil with 5 of pure caustic potassa, dis- 
solved in 15 of water, and exhausts the cinder with the smallest possible quan- 
tity of water. The solution is filtered, acidulated with nitric and sulphuric 
acids, and agitated with 4 parts of chloroform. After a time the chloroform 
subsides, of a violet colour more or less deep according to the proportion of 
iodine present. M. Lassaigne considers the starch test more delicate than that 
of chloroform. For detecting iodine in the iodides of the metals of the alka- 
lies, he considers bichloride of palladium as extremely delicate, producing 
brownish flocks of biniodide of palladium. According to M. Moride, benzine is 
a good test for free iodine, which it readily dissolves, forming a solution of a 
bright-red colour, deeper in proportion to the amount of iodine taken up. As 
benzine does not dissolve chlorine or bromine, it furnishes the means of sepa- 
rating iodine from these elements. Mr. D. S. Price has pointed out the nitrites 
as exceedingly sensitive tests of iodine, combined as an iodide. The suspected 
liquid is mixed with starch paste, acidulated with muriatic acid, and treated 
with solution of nitrite of potassa. The iodine is set free, and a blue colour 
appears, more or less deep, according to the proportion of iodine present. By 
this test, iodine may be detected in an aqueous solution containing only one in 
400,000 parts. A similar test had been previously proposed by M. Grange. 
It has been long known that when a mixture of iodine and starch in water 
is subjected to heat, the blue colour disappears, and, if the heat be not too long 
continued, so as to volatilize the iodine, or convert it into hydriodic acid, the 
colour will return on the cooling of the liquid. Various explanations have been PART i. 
Iodinium. 
485 
given of this curious fact by Personne and others, but none quite satisfactory, 
until that by M. Magnes Lahens, which he supports by experiment, that, during 
the continuance of the heat, the particles of starch and iodine separate to unite 
again on refrigeration. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser.,iii. 405.) 
Adulterations. Iodine is said to be occasionally adulterated with mineral 
coal, charcoal, plumbago, and black oxide of manganese. These are easily de- 
tected by their fixed nature, while pure iodine is wholly volatilized by heat 
Herberger found native sulphuret of antimony in one sample, and plumbago in 
another; and Righiui has detected as much as 25 per cent, of chloride of cal- 
cium. The presence of iodide of cyanogen and of water have already been re- 
ferred to, and the modes of detecting and separating them pointed out. (See 
page 483.) Besides the test given at page 480, the British Pharmacopoeia 
directs that officinal iodine should be soluble in alcohol, ether, and a solution 
of iodide of potassium, and should sublime without residue, and that the part 
which first comes over should contain no colourless prisms of a pungent odour. 
Medical Properties. Iodine was first employed as a medicine in 1819, by 
Dr. Coindet, sen., of Geneva. It operates as a general excitant of the vital ac- 
tions, especially of the absorbent and glandular systems. Its effects are varied 
by its degree of concentration, state of combination, dose, &c.; and hence, under 
different circumstances, it may prove corrosive, irritant, desiccant, tonic,diuretic, 
diaphoretic, and emmenagogue. It probably acts by entering the circulation ; 
at least it has been proved by numerous observations that, whether taken in- 
ternally, or applied externally, it always passes with the secretions, particularly 
the urine and saliva, not, however, uncombined, but in the state of hydriodic 
acid or an iodide. Cantu detected it not only in the urine and saliva, but also in 
the sweat, milk, and blood. According to Dr. John C. Dalton, jun., of New 
York, iodine, taken in a single moderate dose, appears in the urine in thirty 
minutes, and may be detected for nearly twenty-four hours. In two cases in 
which large doses of iodide of potassium had been taken for six or eight weeks, 
and the medicine intermitted, all trace of iodine disappeared from the urine in 
eighty-four hours. From this observation Dr. Dalton infers, as Becquerel had 
previously done, that iodine does not accumulate in the system, and that, there- 
fore, the effect of moderate doses is probably equal to that of large ones, the 
excess constantly passing off, principally by the kidneys. But iodine is not, like 
iron, a reconstructive element, and does not act by supplying anything to the 
system. Hence its rapid elimination by the urine may have a therapeutic ef- 
fect; and this effect maybe in proportion to the amount eliminated. It is cer- 
tainly not an unreasonable supposition that the medicine, while passing off in 
larger or smaller quantity by the kidneys, may carry with it more or less 
abnormal material, and thus act as a sorbefacient. 
The tonic operation of iodine is evinced by its increasing the appetite, which 
is a frequent effect of its use. Salivation is occasionally caused by it, and some- 
times soreness of the mouth only. In some cases, pustular eruptions and coryza 
have been produced; especially when the remedy has been given in the form of 
iodide of potassium. In an overdose it acts as an irritant poison. Doses of two 
drachms, administered to dogs, have produced irritation of the stomach, and 
death in seven days; and the stomach was found studded with numerous little 
ulcers of a yellow colour. From four to six grains in man, cause a sense of 
constriction in the throat, sickness and pain at the stomach, and at length vomit- 
ing and colic. Even in medicinal doses, it sometimes causes alarming symp- 
toms ; such as fever, restlessness, disturbed sleep, palpitations, excessive thirst, 
acute pain in the stomach, vomiting and purging, violent cramps, frequent pulse, 
and, finally, progressive emaciation, if the medicine be not laid aside. The con- 
dition of the system, marked by these effects of iodine, is called iodism. Upon 
their first appearance, the remedy should be discontinued, and a milk diet pre- 
scribed. Though iodism, when it occurs, is generally the result of incautious 
doses of the medicine too long continued, yet it sometimes arises, under other 
circumstances, from causes not well understood. On the other hand, large 486 
lodmium. 
PART r. 
doses have been given for a long time with perfect impunity. Dr. Lugol, of 
Paris, never observed alarming effects to arise from iodine, given in the doses 
and in the state of dilution in which he prescribed it. On the contrary, many 
of his patients gained flesh, and improved in general health. 
Testimony is not wanting to the effect, that a long course of the remedy has 
in some instances occasioned absorption of the mammae and wasting of the tes- 
ticles. Yet Dr. T. II. Silvester, who had the opportunity of making extensive 
observations in St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, on the effects of iodine in the 
form of iodide of potassium, did not meet with a single instance of atrophy or 
absorption of these glands. Numerous cases of syphilitic periostitis were suc- 
cessfully treated, enlarged testicles from a syphilitic cause reduced, and chronic 
induration of the inguinal glands removed; but in no case was atrophy or ab- 
sorption of the breast or testicle observed. It would thus appear that iodine, 
as a general rule, does not affect the healthy glands, but acts upon abnormal 
material, such as tumours, enlargements, and thickenings. 
The variable operation of iodine may to some extent be accounted for by 
the more or less amylaceous character of the food; starch having the property 
of uniting with iodine and rendering it mild. Dr. Lebert, who has practised 
both in Switzerland and France, explains the fact in another way. Under his 
observation, the accidents produced by iodine, with scarcely an exception, were 
in those cases of goitre in which the remedy acted rapidly in removing the 
tumour; while in scrofulous, tuberculous, and syphilitic patients, free from 
goitre, though the medicine was given in considerable doses, no injury to the 
system ensued. He supposes that the bad effects, in the goitre cases, arose from 
the too prompt absorption of the abnormal material of the tumour, which, en- 
tering the circulation in the course of its elimination, produced the poisonous 
effect, and not from the iodine itself. {Ann. de The,rap., 1855, p. 228.) 
Iodine has been principally7- employed in diseases of the absorbent and gland- 
ular systems. It has been used with success in ascites, especially when con- 
nected with diseased liver. It acts most efficiently immediately after tapping. 
It has proved successful with several British practitioners in ovarian tumours, 
but has failed in the hands of others. Dr. B. Roemer, of Otter Bridge, Va., 
reports three cases of ovarian tumour, removed by the combined internal and 
external use of the remedy. {Am. Joarn. of Med. Sci., April, 1857.) In gland- 
ular enlargements and morbid growths, it has proved more efficacious than in 
any other class of diseases. Dr. Coindet discovered its extraordinary power in 
curing goitre;* and it has been used with more or less advantage in enlarge- 
ments and indurations of the liver, spleen, mammae, testes, and uterus. In 
hepatic affections of this kind, where mercury has failed or is inadmissible, 
iodine is our best resource. In chronic diseases of the uterus, with induration 
and enlargement, and in hard tumours of the cervix and indurated puckerings 
of the edges of the os tincae, iodine has occasionally effected cures, administered 
internally, and rubbed into the cervix, in the form of ointment, for ten or twelve 
minutes every night. The emmenagogue power of iodine has been noticed by 
several practitioners. It has been recommended in gleet; also in gonorrhoea 
and leucorrhoea, after the inflammatory symptoms have subsided. In the latter 
complaint, iodine, rendered soluble by iodide of potassium, has been used suc- 
cessfully, in the form of injection, by Dr. T. T Russell, of Pattersonville, La. 
He joined to the local treatment, the internal use of the tincture of chloride of 
* M. Chatin, finding, according to his observations, a great variation in the amount of 
iodine in the air, water, and soil of different localities, has founded on this supposed fact 
an explanation of the prevalence of goitre and cretinism in some places, and their absence 
in others. Thus, in certain parts of France, near Paris, which he calls the Paris zone, 
the amount of iodine thus distributed is comparatively large, and goitre and cretinism 
are unknown; while, in the Alpine valleys, where only one-tenth the amount of iodine 
is found, these affections are endemic. The conclusions of M. Chatin are controverted 
by the experiments, so far as they go, of M. Lohmeyer, of Gottingen, and of M. Klet* 
zinsky, of Vienna, who failed to detect iodine in the air of those cities, the inhabitants of 
which are free from goitre. (Note to the eleventh edition.) PAliT I. 
Iodinium. 
487 
iron. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1854.) In pseudo-s) philis, mercurial 
cachexy, and the poisonous effects of lead, it is one of our best remedies, in the 
form of iodide of potassium. In the same form, it is a favourite remedy in chronic 
rheumatism, and, by Gendrin, was employed in acute gout, with the supposed 
effect of cutting short the fits. Dr. Manson, as early as 1825, recorded cases 
of the efficacy of iodine in several nervous diseases, such as chorea and paraly- 
sis In various scaly eruptions, the internal and external use of the remedy is 
very much relied on. The tincture has been strongly recommended in diabetes 
by M. Berenger-Feraud. {Ann.de Therapeutique, 1866, p. 243.) 
But it is in scrofulous diseases that the most striking results have been ob- 
tained by the use of iodine. Dr. Coindet first directed attention to its effects 
in scrofula, and Dr. Manson reported a number of cases of this affection, in a 
large proportion of which the disease was either cured or meliorated. The latter 
physician derived benefit from its use also in white swelling, hip-joint disease, 
and distortions of the spine, diseases admitted to be connected with the scrofu- 
lous taint. We are indebted, however, to Dr. Lugol for the most extended 
researches in relation to the use of iodine in scrofula. This physician began his 
trials in the hospital Saint Louis, in 1827, and published his results in three 
memoirs, in 1829, 1830, and 1831. The scrofulous affections, cured by Dr. 
Lugol by the iodine treatment, were glandular tubercles, ophthalmia, ozaena, 
lupus, and fistulous and carious ulcers. 
After the publication of Dr. Lugol’s memoir, his practice was imitated and 
extended. Dr. Bermond, of Bordeaux, succeeded with the iodine treatment in 
enlarged testicle from a venereal cause, scrofulous ophthalmia of six years’ dura- 
tion, and scrofulous ulcers and abscesses of the cervical and submaxillary glands. 
In numerous other cases of scrofula under his care, iodine proved beneficial; 
though, before its commencement, the cases underwent no improvement. The 
only peculiarity in Dr. Bermond’s treatment was that, in some cases, he asso- 
ciated opiates with the iodine. In ophthalmia, the collyrium employed by him 
consisted of thirty drops of tincture of iodine, thirty-six of laudanum, and four 
fiuuiounces of distilled water. When the local application of the iodine created 
much pain or rubefaction, he found advantage from combining extract of opium 
with it. A plaster, which proved efficacious as an application to an enlarged 
parotid, consisted of lead plaster (diachylon) and iodide of potassium, each ,four 
parts, and iodine and extract of opium, each, three parts. In confirmation of 
Dr. Bermond’s statements, M. Lemasson published a number of cases, prov- 
ing the efficacy of a combination of iodine and opium in the local treatment of 
scrofulous ulcerations. One of the combinations which he employed consisted 
of fifteen grains of iodine, a drachm of iodide of potassium, and two drachms 
of Rousseau’s laudanum, made into an ointment with two ounces of fresh lard. 
The most eligible form of iodine for internal administration is its solution in 
water, aided by iodide of potassium. This is the form preferred by Dr. Lugol; 
and such a solution is among the preparations of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The 
solutions employed by Dr. Lugol contained one part of iodine and two of iodide 
of potassium; and the doses given by him were equivalent to half a grain of 
iodine daily for the first fortnight, three-quarters of a grain daily for the second 
and third fortnights, one grain daily during the fourth and fifth, and, in some 
cases, a grain and a quarter daily for the remainder of the treatment; always 
largely diluted. (See Liquor Iodinii Gompositus.) The tincture of iodine is not 
eligible for internal use; for, when freshly prepared, the iodine is precipitated 
from it by dilution with water; and, as a consequence, the irritating solid 
iodine will come in contact with the stomach when the dose is swallowed. The 
same objection is not applicable to the compound tincture, or to the simple 
tincture after having been long kept. 
The favourable results obtained by Dr. Lugol, in the treatment of scrofulous 
diseases by the iodine preparations, are so numerous as to leave no doubt of 
their efficacy in these affections. To judge fairly, however, of his results, it is 
not sufficient to give iodine; but it should be given in the manner in which it 488 
lodinium. 
PART I. 
was employed by him. We can readily conceive that a dilute aqueous solution 
of iodine may act differently from the tincture; for a therapeutical agent may 
in a dilute form be introduced gradually into the current of the circulation, and 
thus produce important alterative effects ; while in a concentrated form it may 
create irritation of the stomach without being absorbed, and thus prove mis- 
chievous. A case in point is furnished by natural mineral waters, which, though 
generally containing a minute proportion of saline matter, often produce reme- 
dial effects which cannot be obtained by their constituents in larger doses. 
These views are confirmed and extended by M. Benj. Belli, in an able paper 
on the efficacy of a certain dilution of medicines, illustrated by examples drawn 
from iodine, bromine, iron, antimony, belladonna, oil of turpentine, and common 
salt, published in the Annuaire de Therapeutique for 1857, p. 270. They cor- 
respond also with the views of Dr. A. Buchanan, of Glasgow, who gives iodine 
in the form of iodide of starch, and of hydriodic acid largely diluted with water. 
(See Iodide of Starch and Hydriodic Acid in Part III.) 
A mode of safely bringing and maintaining the system under the influence of 
iodine, proposed by M. Boinet, and called by him iodic alimentation, is to mix 
the medicine with the food, as with bread and other farinaceous substances, so 
that the patient may take daily a due quantity, which, with this mode of admin- 
istration, may be large, if desirable, without inconvenience. The compound 
formed with starch by the iodine, while destitute of irritating properties, is taken 
readily into the system, and produces the remedial effects of the medicine. 
M. Marchal (de Calvi), under the impression that cod-liver oil owed its chief 
virtue to the presence of iodine, proposed, in 1848, to prepare an iodized oil. 
Following out this proposal, M. Personne devised the following formula. Five 
parts of iodine are mixed with a thousand of almond oil, and the mixture is sub- 
jected to a jet of steam, until decolorized. The same operation is repeated with 
five additional parts of iodine. The oil is then washed with a weak alkaline 
solution, to remove the hydriodic acid, developed in the process. By this mode 
of proceeding, it may be presumed that the iodine is intimately united with the 
oil, along with which it would find an easy entrance into the system ; and that, 
while about half of the iodine is lost as hydriodic acid, the remainder takes the 
place of the hydrogen eliminated from the oil. In 1851, the French Academy 
appointed MM. Guibourt, Soubeiran, Gibert, and Ricord, to report upon the 
therapeutic value of a definite combination of iodine and oil. The reporter 
(Guibourt) approved of M. Personae’s process; and MM. Gibert and Ricord 
reported favourably of the therapeutic effects of the preparation. M. Personnel 
iodized oil differs little in appearance and taste from almond oil, and is easily 
taken alone or in emulsion. The usual dose is two tluidounces daily, which may 
be increased to three tluidounces or more. (Am. Journ. of Med. 8W.,xxiii. 502.) 
M. Berthe and M. Lepage have objected to M. Personne’s iodized oil, that 
it is of variable iodine strength, and that it is liable to become rancid, in conse- 
quence of the use of steam in its preparation. M. Berthe makes an iodized oil, 
which he alleges to be free from these objections, by heating, to about 176°, five 
parts of iodine with a thousand parts of almond oil, in a water-bath, until deco- 
loration shall have taken place. The resulting oil is colourless, perfectly trans- 
parent, without odour or rancidity, not acted on by starch, and of a constant 
composition. To shorten the time in preparing the oil, M. Lepage dissolves the 
iodine in three times its weight of ether, before adding it to the oil, and briskly 
shakes the mixture for eight or ten minutes. The preparation is then heated in 
a water-bath, to decolorize it and drive off the ether. M. Hugounenq objects to 
this process that, if the oil be completely deprived of the odour of ether, the 
heating must be continued for several hours. He also objects to any process 
which requires the continued application of heat, as rendering the oil liable to 
become quickly rancid. His plan is to rub up the iodine, for five or six minutes, 
in a porcelain mortar, with a small portion of the oil, and then gradually to add 
the remainder. A red limpid liquid is obtained, which may be completely deco- 
lorized by exposure for fifteen minutes to the sun’s rays. Iodized oil, thus pre PART i. 
Iodinium. 
489 
pared, has the odour and taste of almond oil, is not more liable to become rancid 
than the pure oil, and is free from hydriodic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 
1856.) From the above statements it is not easy to determine which is the best 
method of preparing iodized oil; but it may be useful to state that the prepara* 
tion may be made with good olive oil, instead of the more expensive almond oil. 
The external treatment by iodine may be divided into general and topical. 
By its use in this way it does not create a mere local effect; but, by its absorp- 
tion, produces its peculiar constitutional impression. The external treatment, 
when general, consists in the use of the iodine bath. This for adults should con- 
tain from two to four drachms of iodine, with double that quantity of iodide of 
vtotassium, dissolved in water, in a wooden bath tub; the proportion of the 
water being about a gallon for every three grains of iodine employed. The 
quantity of ingredients for the baths of children is one-third as much as for 
adults, but dissolved in about the same proportional quantity of water. The 
quantity of iodine and iodide for a bath having been determined upon, it is best 
to dissolve them in a small quantity of water (half a pint for example), before 
they are added to the water of the bath ; as this mode of proceeding facilitates 
their thorough diffusion. The iodine baths, which may be directed three or 
four times a week, usually produce a slight rubefacient effect; but, occasionally, 
a stronger impression, causing the epidermis to peel off, particularly of the arms 
and legs. The skin at the same time acquires a deep-yellow tinge, which usually 
disappears in the interval betw'een the baths. 
The topical application of iodine is made by means of several officinal prepa- 
rations. (See Unguentum Iodinii and Unguentum Iodinii Compositum.) Be- 
sides these, several others have been employed topically. Lugol’s iodine lotion 
consists of from two to four grains of iodine, and double that quantity of iodide 
of potassium, dissolved in a pint of water. It is used as a wash or injection in 
scrofulous ophthalmia, ozaena, and fistulous ulcers. His rubefacient iodine solu- 
tion is formed by dissolving half an ounce of iodine and an ounce of iodide of 
potassium in six fiuidounces of water. This is useful for exciting scrofulous ul- 
cers, for touching the eyelids, and as an application to recent scrofulous cica- 
trices, to render them smooth. The rubefacient solution, added to warm water 
in the proportion of about afluidrachm to the gallon, makes a convenient local 
bath for the arms, legs, feet, or hands ; and, mixed with linseed meal or some 
similar substance, it forms a cataplasm useful in certain eruptions, especially 
where the object is to promote the falling off of scabs. External applications of 
iodine have been recommended for the removal even of internal plastic exuda- 
tions, as to the side for example in protracted pleurisy. The rubefacient prepa- 
ration of iodine at present most commonly employed is the tincture. (See 
Tinctura Iodinii.) The preparation, called iodine paint, is a tincture twice as 
strong as the officinal tincture, and is made by dissolving a drachm of iodine in 
a fluidounce of alcohol, and allowing the solution to stand in a glass-stoppered 
bottle for several months before it is used, when it will become thick and syrupy. 
It is applied with a glass or a camel’s-hair brush, in one or more coatings, ac- 
cording to the degree of effect desired. Iodine paint is used as a counter-irritant, 
with advantage, in pains of the chest; in aphonia, applied to the front of the 
throat; in ihronic pleuritic effusion, or consolidated lung, applied extensively 
opposite to the diseased part; in periostitis, whether syphilitic, strumous, or the 
result of injury ; in inflammation of the joints; in serous effusion into bursae ; 
and in the cicatrices of burns. When thus used, it must be borne in mind that 
the iodine acts also by being absorbed. Another valuable application of it is for 
the removal of cutaneous naevi. Lugol’s caustic iodine solution is made of 
iodine and iodide of potassium, each, an ounce, dissolved in two fiuidounces of 
water. This is used to destroy soft and fungous granulations, and has been em- 
ployed with decided benefit in lupus. The Liniment of Iodine of the British 
Pharmacopoeia is intermediate in strength between the two solutions last men- 
tioned. (See Linimentum lodi.) Another caustic solution of iodine, under the 
name of iodized glycerin, is made by d-ssolvingone part of iodide of potassium in 490 
Iodinium. 
FART T. 
two parts of glycerin, and adding tlie solution to one part of iodine, which it com- 
pletely dissolves. Dr. Max Richter, of Vienna, to whom the credit belongs of 
having introduced into practice the solution of iodine in glycerin, found this 
caustic particularly useful in lupus, non-vascular goitre, and scrofulous and con- 
stitutional syphilitic ulcers. The solution is applied by means of a hair-pencil to 
the diseased surface, which must then be covered with gutta-percha paper, fixed 
at the edges by strips of adhesive plaster, in order to prevent the evaporation 
of the iodine. The application produces burning pain, which rarely lasts for 
more than two hours. The dressing is removed in twenty-four hours, and 
pledgets, dipped in cold water, applied. This iodine caustic is too strong for 
ordinary local use. A weaker solution is recommended by Dr. Szukits, formed 
of one part of iodine to five of glycerin, for application to the neck, female breast, 
abdomen, &c. After four or five paintings it causes excoriation, which requires 
its discontinuance, and the use of cold applications. A mode of applying iodine 
locally has been suggested by Dr. R. Greenhalgh, of London, which consists 
in thoroughly impregnating raw cotton with a solution in glycerin of iodide of 
potassium and of iodine, in the proportion of two ounces of the former and one 
ounce of the latter to eight ounces of the menstruum, and then drying the 
“ iodized cotton.” It is intended for application to the cervix or os uteri, which 
is effected through a speculum. (Lancet, May 26, 1866, p. 582.) 
Iodine is used by injection into various cavities. It has been employed in this 
way for the cure or relief of hydrocephalus, pleuritic effusion, hydropericardium, 
ascites, ovarian dropsy,hernia, hydrocele, spina bifida, dropsy of the joints, large 
cystic bronchocele, and chronic abscesses. Dr. J. M. Winn, of London, reports 
a case of chronic hydrocephalus in an infant, in which the injection of iodine 
was used, after tapping, with the apparent effect of retarding the reaccumula- 
tion of the fluid. M. Aran, of Paris, tried the same treatment, after tapping, in 
two cases of pleuritic effusion, and with success in one of the cases. The same 
physician reports a case of hydropericardium, relieved by twice tapping the sac, 
and twice injecting it with iodine within the space of twelve days. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., April, 185 6, p 499.) Dr. Costes has tried these injections in ascites, 
but not with encoui'aging results. In practising them in this disease, Dr. Tessier 
lays down these rules; first, not to empty the peritoneal cavity before performing 
the injection, as the injected fluid requires dilution by the effused fluid ; second, to 
regulate the amount of the injected fluid by the nature of the effused fluid, using 
twice as much, if the latter is decidedly alkaline and albuminous; and third, to 
practise a tapping some days before the time of injecting, if the abdomen be 
very voluminous, in order to diminish the peritoneal surface. Iodine injections 
in ovarian cysts were first practised, in 1846, by Dr. Allison, of Indiana, in a 
case that terminated favourably. They have been advocated by Prof. Simpson, of 
Edinburgh, who has employed them in twenty or thirty cases, with variable but 
encouraging results. A fatal case, however, is recorded by M. Demarquay. {B. 
and F. Med.-chirurg. Rev., April, 1862, p. 558.) The injection causes little or 
no pain, if the case is one of genuine cystic dropsy. Three cases of the radical 
cure of hernia by similar injections are reported by M. Jobert, of Paris. {Am. 
Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1855, p. 241.) In hydrocele iodine has 1 uperseded 
the wine injection formerly employed. It would seem hazardous to inject drop- 
sical joints with a substance so irritating as iodine; and yet Velpeau is stated 
to have repeatedly used it in these cases with success; and, when the operation 
has failed, no bad consequences, it is alleged, have followed to the joint. Iodine 
injections have been employed by Dr. Brainard, of Chicago, in seven cases of 
spina bifida.in all without dangerous symptoms,and in three,uncomplicated with 
hydrocephalus, with the effect of a permanent cure. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
July, 1861, p. 67.) In all these cases, the object is to excite a new action in the 
walls of the cavity, with the effect either of obliterating it by the adhesive in- 
flammation, or of restoring its secreting surface to a healthy condition. Iodine in- 
jections have been used with advantage in fistula in nno, effecting the cure, when 
successful, by exciting adhesive inflammation. This treatment originated with PART i. 
Iodinium. 
491 
Mr. Charles Clay, of Loudon, and is praised by Dr. Boinet, who recommends 
that it should always be tried, before having- recourse to the knife. For the 
mode of preparing iodine injections, see Tinctura Iodinii. In order to avoid 
the staining of the skin by these injections, Dr. Percy Boulton, of London, re- 
commends the addition of carbolic acid, which renders the solution colourless, 
while in many instances it is useful as an antiseptic. He adds six drops of the 
acid to a fluidracbm of the compound tincture, and six fluidounces of water. 
(N. F. Med. Record, JSTov. 1, 1867, p. 391.) Whether the iodine would produce 
the same effect in this altered state can be determined only by experience. Dr. 
Luton, of Rheims, has found the injection of tincture of iodine into the substance 
of goitres rapidly successful in effecting cures, with no other disadvantage 
than some temporary inflammation and swelling of the tumour, which rapidly 
diminishes. He injects thirty drops of the tincture undiluted. (Arch. Gen., 
Oct. 1867, p. 438.) 
As connected with the subject of iodine injections, it is proper to notice in 
this place the method of treating serpent bites and other poisoned wounds, pro- 
posed by Prof. Brainard, of Chicago. This consists in infiltrating the tissues, 
where the bite has been inflicted, with from half a drachm to a drachm and a 
half of a solution, made of five grains of iodine and fifteen of iodide of potas- 
sium in a fluidounce of distilled water. A cupping-glass is applied over the 
wound as soou as possible; and the infiltration is effected by passing beneath 
the skin, under the edge of the cup, a small trocar, through the cannula of which 
the solution is injected. Forty experiments were tried with this treatment on 
pigeons, kittens,and dogs, with generally successful results. Prof. Brainard pro- 
poses to extend it to dissection wounds, and all poisoned wounds of a dangerous 
character. (See Prof. Brainard’s Essay, &c., Chicago, 1854; also N. Y. Med. 
Times, iii. 210.) Dr E. Harwood treated successfully two cases of snakebite, 
by simply brushing the tincture of iodine over the wound. (Boston Med. and 
Surg. Journ., May 17,1854; from the N. W. Med. and Surg. Journ.) 
Enemata containing iodine have been used, by several practitioners, in the 
chronic dysentery and diarrhoea of both adults and children, with decided bene- 
fit, a prominent effect being the relief of tenesmus. They are supposed to act 
locally on ulcers in the colon and rectum, and generally by absorption. The pre- 
paration of iodine used was the tincture, rendered miscible with water, without 
precipitation, by iodide of potassium. The formula recommended by M. Deiioux 
is from three to six fluidrachms of the tincture, with from fifteen to thirty grains 
of iodide of potassium, dissolved in half a pint of water. The injection should 
be preceded by an emollient enema to empty the intestine, and should be re- 
peated once or twice daily, gradually increasing its strength. If the pain be 
severe, a laudanum injection will bring immediate relief. 
Dr. Norman Cheevers, of India, strongly recommends iodine gargles in mer 
eurial salivation. The gargle employed by him was composed of from four tc 
ten fluidrachms of the compound tincture of iodine and a pint of water. 
Iodine, in the state of vapour, has been employed by inhalation; and the ex- 
periments, as yet tried, have been in the treatment chiefly of phthisis and chronie 
bronchitis. Sir Charles Scudamore, Sir James Murray, and Dr. Corrigan have 
recommended iodine vapour in phthisis. The plan of Sir Charles is to inhale 
from a glass inhaler, for ten minutes, two or three times a day, a small portion 
of a solution of ioduretted iodide of potassium, mixed with a saturated tincture 
of conium. The ioduretted solution is made by dissolving six grains, each, of 
iodine and iodide of potassium, in five ounces and three-quarters of distilled 
water, and a quarter of an ounce of alcohol. The dose, for each inhalation, is 
from half a drachm to a drachm of the ioduretted solution, gradually increased, 
with half a drachm of the tincture, added to a portion of water at 120° F., 
nearly sufficient to half fill the inhaler. M. Piorry employs iodine vapour in 
phthisis in a different way. He places one or two scruples of iodine, or from 
one to three fluidounces of the tincture, in a quart jar, and causes the patient 
to take a deep inspiration from the air in the vessel, one or two hundred times 492 
Iodinium. 
PART r. 
a day. The patient is made to inhale iodine vapour also during sleep, by placing 
iodine in several saucers near his pillow, and in numerous vials, attached to his 
bedstead. Modes of internal treatment, appropriate to each case, were concur- 
rently adopted. M. Piorry avers that, in almost every case subjected to uxune 
treatment in this way, there was a diminution of the space in which the physical 
signs of diseased lung were manifested. Many patients with cavities in the lungs 
were apparently cured. (Comptes Rendus, Jan. 24. 1854.) Another application 
of iodine inhalation is to the cure of aphonia, a plan of treatment suggested by 
Prof. Pancoast, of this city. A successful case of this affection, of twenty months’ 
standing, treated in this way, is related by Dr. Edward B. Stevens. (Charleston 
Med. Journ., March, 1854; from the Iowa Med. Journ.) Mr. J. Waring-Curran 
speaks in strong terms of the curative effects of iodine inhalation iu diphtheria, 
having tried it successfully in several seemingly desperate cases. He gives it 
mixed with an infusion of sage in hot vinegar. (Lancet, Sept. 21,18B7, p. 357.) 
Another method of administering iodine vapour by inhalation in phthisis and 
chronic bronchitis has been proposed by M. Barrere, of Toulouse. It consists 
in forming what he calls iodized camphor, which is to be taken like snuff. This 
is prepared by putting powdered camphor in a snuff-box, with a hundredth 
part in bulk of iodine, contained in a muslin bag. In the course of a few hours, 
the substances, by occasional shaking, unite, forming a powder resembling 
iodine in colour. The difficulty in practising ordinary iodine inhalation depends 
chiefly on the irritation caused by the vapour, which excites cough and fatigues 
the patient. According to M. Barrere, this inconvenience is avoided by the use 
of the iodized camphor. A pinch of it produces sneezing and some smarting 
in the nostrils; but, when the vapour reaches the lungs, it causes a refreshing 
sensation, which induces the patient to draw a long and deep breath. (Ann. 
de Therap., 1855, p. 232.) The only remaining proposition for iodine inhala- 
tion that we have seen, is the one made by M. Huett, who recommends the 
use of hydriodic ether. This has been employed by him, with success, in a 
case of phthisis with cavities at the top of the left lung. 
Dr. Brainard employs the vapour of iodine, with great advantage, in the 
treatment of indolent ulcers, first dressing the ulcer with simple cerate spread 
on lint, then applying over this several layers of lint in which from one to four 
grains of iodine have been folded, and covering the whole with oiled silk and 
tin foil, secured by a bandage, so as to prevent the escape of the iodine, which 
is vaporized by the heat of the body. (Chicago Med. Journ., Jan. 1860.) 
Iodine should not be given in solution with quinia or strychnia, as it forms 
insoluble compounds with these alkaloids. It has even been suggested by Dr. II. 
W. Fuller, of London, upon this ground, as an antidote to strychnia; but the 
probability is that the insoluble compound of these substances would by no 
means be inert in the stomach. (Lancet, March 21, 1868, p. 373.) 
In cases of poisoning by iodine, the stomach must be first evacuated, and 
afterwards drinks administered containing an amylaceous substance, such as 
flour, starch, or arrow-root. 
Iodine is officinal:— 
I. As SIMPLE TINCTURE AND OINTMENT. 
Tinctura Iodinii, U.S. — Tincture of Iodine. 
Unguentum Iodinii, U. S.—Ointment of Iodine. 
II. Combined with hydrogen. 
Acidum Hydriodicum Dilutum, U.S. — Diluted Hydriodic Acid. 
III. Combined with sulphur. 
Sulphuris Iodidum, U. S., Br. — Iodide of Sulphur. 
Unguentum Sulphuris Iodidi, U. S.—Ointment of Iodide of Sulphur. 
IV Combined with metals. 
Arsenici Iodidum, U. S. — Iodide of Arsenic. 
Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri Iodidi, U. S. — Solution of Iodide of 
Arsenic and Mercury. Donovan’s solution. 
Cadmii Iodidum, Br. — Iodide of Cadmium. 
Unguentum Cadmii Iodidi, Br. — Ointment of Iodide of Cadmium PART i. 
Iodinmm.—Ipecacuanha. 
493 
Ferri Iodiclum, Br.— Iodide of Iron. 
Syrupus Ferri Iodidi, U. S., Br. — Syrup of Iodide of Iron. 
Pilulae Ferri Iodidi, U. S.; Pilula Ferri Iodidi, Br. —Pills of Iodide of 
Iron. 0 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Rubrum, U. S., Br.—Bed Iodide of Mercury. 
Unguentum Hydrargyri Iodidi Rubri, Br. — Ointment of Red Iodide 
of Mercury. 
Hydrargyri Iodidum Yiride, U. S., Br. — Green Iodide of Mercury. 
Plumbi Iodidum, U. S., Br. —Iodide of Lead. 
Unguentum Plumbi Iodidi, Br. — Ointment of Iodide of Lead. 
Potassii Iodidum, U. S.} Br. — Iodide of Potassium. 
U nguentum Potassii Iodidi, U. S., Br.— Ointment of Iodide of Po- 
tassium. 
Y. Associated with iodide of potassium. 
Linimentum Iodi, Br. — Liniment of Iodine. 
Linimentum Potassii Iodidi cumSapone, Br. — Liniment of Iodide of 
Potassium with Soap. 
Liquor Iodinii Compositus, U. S.; Liquor Iodi, Br.— Compound Solu- 
tion of Iodine. 
Tinctura Iodinii Composita, V. S.; Tinctura Iodi, Br. — Compound 
Tincture of Iodine. 
Unguentum Iodinii Compositum, U. S.; Unguentum Iodi, Br.—Com 
pound Ointment of Iodine. 
YI. In the state of vapour. 
Yapor Iodi, Br.— Vapour of Iodine. B 
IPECACUANHA. U.S.,Br. 
Ipecacuanha. Ipecacuan. 
The root of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. TJ. S. The dried root. Br. 
Ipecacuanha, Fr.; Brechwurzel, Ipecacuanha, Germ.; Ipecacuana, Ital., Span. 
The term ipecacuanh a, derived from the language of the aborigines of Brazil, 
has been applied to various emetic roots of South American origin.* The U. S. 
and British Pharmacopoeias recognise only that of Cephaelis Ipecacuanha; and 
no other is known by the name in the shops of this country. Our chief atten- 
tion will, therefore, be confined to this root, and the plant which yields it; but, 
as others are employed in South America, are occasionally exported, and may 
possibly reach our markets mingled with the genuine drug, we shall, in a note, 
give a succinct account of those which have attracted most attention. 
The botanical character of the ipecacuanha plant was long unknown. Pison 
and Marcgrav, who were the first to treat of this medicine, in their work on the 
Natural History of Brazil, published at Amsterdam, A.D. 1648, described in 
general terms two plants ; one producing a whitish root, distinguished by the 
name of white ipecacuanha, the other, a brown root, which answers in their 
description precisely to the officinal drug. But their account was not sufficiently 
definite to enable botanists to decide upon the character of the plants. The 
medicine was generally thought to be derived from a species of Viola, which 
Linnaeus designated as V. Ipecacuanha. Opinion afterwards turned in favour 
of a plant, sent to Linnaeus by Mutis from New Granada, as affording the 
ipecacuanha of that country and of Peru. This was described in the Supple- 
menlum of the younger Linnaeus, A. D. 1781, under the name of Psychotria 
emetica, and was long erroneously considered as the source of the true ipeca- 
cuanha Dr. Gomez, of Lisbon, was the first who accurately described and 
figured the genuine plant, which he had seen in Brazil, and specimens of which 
he took with him to Portugal; but Brotero, professor of Botany at Coimbra, 
* M. Weddell states that the word ipecacuanha is nowhere in Brazil used to designate 
the Cephaelis, which is generally called poaya. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xvi. 34.) 494 
Ipecacuanha. 
PART I. 
with whom he had left specimens, having drawn up a description, and inserted 
it with a figure in the Linnaean Transactions without acknowledgment, enjoyed 
for a time the credit due to his countryman. In the paper of Brotero the plant 
is named Callicocca Ipecacuanha; but the term Callicocca, having been applied 
by Schreber, without sufficient reason, to the genus already established and 
named, has been universally abandoned for the Cephaelis of Swartz, though 
this, also, it appears, is a usurpation upon the previous rights of Aublet. 
Cepiialis. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae, Juss. 
Cinchonace®, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers in an involucred head. Corolla tubular. Stigma two- 
parted. • Berry two-seeded. Receptacle chaffy. Willd. 
Cephaelis Ipecacuanha. Richard, Hist. Ipecac, p. 21, t. i.; Martius, Spec. 
Mat. Med. Brazil, p. 4, t. i.; Curtis's Bot. Mag., N. S., vol. xvii. pi. 4083, A.D. 
1844.— Callicocca Ipecacuanha. Brotero, Linn. Trans, vi. 137. This is a 
small shrubby plant, with a root from four to six inches long, about as thick as a 
goose-quill, marked with annular rug®, simple or somewhat branched, descend- 
ing obliquely into the ground, and here and there sending forth slender librils. 
The stem is two or three feet long; but, being partly under ground, and often 
procumbent at the base, usually rises less than a foot in height. It is slender; 
in the lower portion leafless, smooth, brown or ash coloured, and knotted, with 
radicles frequently proceeding from the knots; near the summit, pubescent, 
green, and furnished with leaves seldom exceeding six in number. These are 
opposite, petiolate, oblong- obovate, acute, entire, from three to four inches long, 
from one to two broad, obscurely green and somewhat rough on their upper 
surface, pale, downy, and veined on the under. At the insertion of each pair 
of leaves are deciduous stipules, embracing the stem, membranous at the base, 
and separated above into numerous bristle-like divisions. The flowers are very 
small, white, and collected to the number of eight, twelve, or more, each accompa- 
nied with a green bracte, into a semi-globular head, supported upon a round, soli- 
tary, axillary footstalk, and embraced by a monophyllous involucre, deeply 
divided into four, sometimes five or six obovate, pointed segments. The fruit 
is an ovate, obtuse berry, which is at first purple, but becomes almost black 
when ripe, and contains two small plano-convex seeds. 
The plant is a native of Brazil, flourishing in moist, thick, and shady woods, 
and abounding most within the limits of the eighth and twentieth degrees of 
south latitude. According to Humboldt, it grows also in New Granada. It 
flowers in January and February, and ripens its fruit in May. The root is 
usually collected during the period of flowering, though equally good at other 
seasons. By this practice the plant is speedily extirpated in places where it is 
most eagerly sought. Were the seeds allowed to ripen, it would propagate itself 
rapidly, and thus maintain a constant supply. Weddell, however, states that 
the remains of the root, often left in the ground when it is collected, serve the 
purpose of propagation, each fragment giving rise to a new plant. The root is 
collected chiefly by the Indians, who prepare it by separating it from the stem, 
cleaning it, and hanging it up in bundles to dry in the sun. The Brazilian mer- 
chants carry on a very brisk trade in this drug. According to Weddell, most 
of it was, at the time he wrote, A. I). 1851, collected in the interior province of 
Matto-Grosso, upon the upper waters of the Paraguay, where it was discovered 
in the year 1824. The chief places of export are Rio Janeiro, Bahia, and Per- 
nambuco. It is brought to the United States in large bags or bales. 
Properties. Genuine ipecacuanha is in pieces two or three lines thick, vari- 
ously bent and contorted, simple or branched, consisting of an interior slender, 
light straw-coloured, ligneous cord, with a thick cortical covering, which pre- 
sents on its surface a succession of circular, unequal, prominent rings or rug®, 
separated by very narrow fissures, frequently extending nearly down to the 
central fibre. This appearance of the surface has given rise to the term annele, 
or annulated, by which the true ipecacuanha is designated by French pharma- 
ceutists. The cortical part is hard, horny, and semi-transparent, breaks with a (•ART I. 
Ipecacuanha. 
495 
resinous fracture, and easily separates from the tougher ligneous fibre, which 
possesses the medicinal virtues of the root in a much inferior degree. Attached 
to the root is frequently a smoother and more slender portion, which is the base 
of the stem, and should be separated before pulverization. Pereira has met, in 
the English market, with distinct bales composed of these fragments of stems, 
with occasionally portions of the root attached. Much stress has been laid upon 
the colour of the external surface of the Ipecacuanha root; and diversity in this 
respect has even led to the formation of distinct varieties. Thus, the epidermis 
is sometimes deep-brown or even blackish, sometimes reddish-brown or reddish* 
and sometimes light-gray or ash-coloured. Hence the distinction into 
brown, red, and gray ipecacuanha. But these are all derived from the same 
Diant, are essentially the same in properties and composition, and probably dif- 
fer only in consequence of difference in age, place of growth, or mode of desic- 
cation. The colours in fact are often so intermingled, that it would be impossible 
to decide in which variety a particular specimen should be placed. The brown 
is the most abundant in the packages brought to our market. The red, besides 
the colour of its epidermis, presents a rosy tint when broken, and is said to be 
somewhat more bitter than the preceding variety. The gray is much lighter- 
coloured externally, usually rather larger, with less prominent rings and wider 
furrows, and is still more decidedly bitter. Many years since we saw in this 
market bales of gray ipecacuanha, with very imperfectly developed rings, which 
were said to have come from Caracas. This commercial variety afterwards quite 
disappeared; but, under the name of Carthagena Ipecacuanha, it would seem 
to have been again imported into New York. (Am.Journ. of Pliarm., xxv. 4*74.) 
When the bark in either variety is opaque, with a dull amylaceous aspect, the 
root is less active. As the woody part is nearly inert, and much more difficult 
of pulverization than the cortical, it often happens that, when the root is pow- 
dered, the portion last remaining in the mortar possesses scarcely any emetic 
power; and care should be taken to provide against any defect from this cause. 
The colour of the powder is a light grayish-fawn. 
Ipecacuanha has little smell in the aggregate state, but when powdered has 
a peculiar nauseous odour, which in some persons excites violent sneezing, in 
others dyspnoea resembling an attack of asthma. The taste is bitter, acrid, and 
very nauseous. Water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are injured by 
decoction. Its emetic property resides in a peculiar alkaline principle called 
emetia, discovered by Pelletier in the year 1817. The cortical portion of the 
brown ipecacuanha, analyzed by this chemist under the erroneous name of Psy- 
chotria emetica, yielded, in 100 parts, 1 6 of an impure salt of emetia, which was 
at first considered the pure emetic principle, 2 of an odorous fatty matter, 6 of 
wax, 10 of gum, 42 of starch, 20 of lignin, with 4 parts loss. The woody fibre 
was found to contain only 1T5 per cent, of the impure emetia. M. A. Richard 
detected in the cortical part traces of gallic acid. The bark of red ipecacuanha 
was found by Pelletier to contain but 14 per cent, of impure emetia. In addition 
to these principles, Bucholz found extractive, sugar, and resin; and Erwin Wil- 
ligk, afterwards, traces of a disagreeably smelling volatile oil, phosphatic salts, 
and a peculiar acid which he named ipecacuanhic acid, and which had previously 
been mistaken for the gallic. It would seem to belong to the tannic acid group. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 352.) Good ipecacuanha contains about 80 
per cent, of cortical and 20 of ligneous matter. 
Emetia, when perfectly pure, is whitish, inodorous, slightly bitter, pulverulent, 
unalterable in the air, very fusible, sparingly soluble in cold water and ether, 
more soluble in hot water, and very soluble in alcohol. It is not reddened by 
nitric acid, forms crystallizable salts with the mineral acids and acetic acid, is 
precipitated by gallic and tannic acids from its solutions, and contains nitrogen. 
It is, however, very difficult to procure it in this state of purity, and the propor- 
tion afforded by the root is exceedingly small. As originally obtained it was 
very impure, probably in the condition of a salt, and in this state was directed by 
the French Codex of 1837. Impure emetia is in transparent scales of a brownish- 496 
Ipecacuanha. 
PART I. 
red colour, almost inodorous, of a bitterish acrid taste, deliquescent, very soluble 
in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, precipitated from its solutions by gallic 
acid and the acetates of lead, but not by tartar emetic or the salts of iron. The 
Codex directed it to be prepared by evaporating a filtered aqueous solution of an 
alcoholic extract of ipecacuanha. According to the original method it was ob- 
tained by treating powdered ipecacuanha with ether to remove the fatty matter, 
exhausting the residue with alcohol, evaporating the alcoholic solution to dry- 
ness, and subjecting the extract to the action of cold water, which dissolves the 
emetia with some free acid, and leaves the wax and other matters. To separate 
the acid, the watery solution is treated with carbonate of magnesia, filtered, and 
then evaporated. If pure emetia is required, magnesia is used instead of the 
carbonate. The salt is thus decomposed, and the organic alkali, being insoluble, 
is precipitated with the excess of the earth. The precipitate is washed with cold 
water, and digested in alcohol, which dissolves the emetia ; the alcoholic solu- 
tion is then evaporated, the residue redissolved in a dilute acid, and the alkali 
again precipitated by a salifiable base. To deprive it of colour it is necessary 
to employ animal charcoal. Berzelius has obtained emetia by treating the pow- 
dered root with very dilute sulphuric acid, precipitating with magnesia, and 
treating the precipitate in the manner above directed. Pure emetia has at least 
three times the strength of the impure.* 
* Non-officinal Ipecacuanhas. When ipecacuanha began to be popular in Europe, 
the roots of several other plants were imported and confounded with the genuine ; and 
the name came at length to he applied to almost all emetic roots derived from America. 
Several of these are still occasionally met with, and retain the name originally given to 
them. The two most worthy of notice are the ipecacuanha of New Granada and Peru, 
and the white ipecacuanha of Brazil. On each of these wo shall offer a few remarks. 
1. Peruvian Ipecacuanha. Striated Ipecacuanha. Black Ipecacuanha. This is the root o 1 
Psychotria emetica, formerly supposed to produce the genuine Brazilian ipecacuanha. 
This plant, like the Cephaelis, belongs to the class and order Pentandria Monogynia, and 
to the natural order Rubiacese of Jussieu. A description of it, sent by Mutis, was pub- 
lished by Linnaeus, the younger, in his Supplement. It has since been described in the 
Plant. jEquin. of Humb. and Bonpl.; and has been figured by A. Richard in his History 
of the Ipecacuanhas, and by Hayne in the eighth volume of his Medical Botany published 
at Berlin. It is a small shrub, with a stem twelve or eighteen inches high, simple, erect, 
round, slightly pubescent, and furnished with opposite, oblong-lanceolate, pointed leaves, 
narrowed at their base into a short petiole, and accompanied with pointed stipules. The 
flowers are small, white, and supported in small clusters towards the end of an axillary 
peduncle. The plant flourishes in Peru and New Granada, and was seen by Humboldt 
and Bonpland growing in abundance near the river Magdalena. The dried root is said 
to have been exported from Carthagena. 
It is cylindrical, somewhat thicker than the root of the Cephaelis, usually simple, but 
sometimes branched, not much contorted, wrinkled longitudinally, presenting here and 
there deep circular intersections, but without the annular rugse of the true ipecacuanha. 
The longitudinal direction of the wrinkles has given it the name of striated ipecacuanha. 
It consists of an internal woody cord, and an external cortical portion; but the former 
is usually larger in proportion to the latter than in the root of the Cephaelis. The bark 
is soft and easily cut with a knife, and when broken exhibits a brown, slightly resinous 
fracture. The epidermis is of a dull reddish-gray colour, which darkens with age and 
exposure, and ultimately becomes almost black. Hence the root has sometimes been 
called black ipecacuanha. The ligneous portion is yellowish, and perforated with numerous 
small holes visible by the microscope. Peruvian ipecacuanha is nearly inodorous, and 
has a flat taste, neither bitter nor acrid. From 100 parts Pelletier obtained 9 of impure 
emetia, 12 of fatty matter, with an abundance of starch, besides gum and lignin. The 
dose, as an emetic, is from two scruples to a drachm. 
2. While Ipecacuanha. Amylaceous Ipecacuanha. Undulated Ipecacuanha. This variety 
was noticed in the work of Pison; but the vegetable which produced it was not satis- 
factorily ascertained till a recent date. Gomez, indeed, in the memoir which he pub- 
lished at Lisbon, A. D. 1801, gave a figure and description of the plant; but the memoir 
was not generally known, and botanists remained uncertain upon the subject. By the 
travels of M. Saint Hilaire and Dr. Martius in Brazil, more precise information has been 
obtained; and the white ipecacuanha is now confidently referred to different species of 
Richardsonia, the Richardia of Linnaeus. R. scabra, or R. Braziliensis of Gomez, and 
R. emetica are specially indicated by Martius. For the root usually called white ipecacu- 
anha, Guibourt has proposed the name of undulated ipecacuanha, derived from the pe- 
culiar character of the surface, which presents indentations or concavities on one side. part I. 
Ipecacuanha. 
497 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ipecacuanha is in large doses emetic, in 
smaller, diaphoretic and expectorant, and in still smaller, stimulant to the 
stomach, exciting appetite and facilitating digestion. In quantities not quite 
sufficient to vomit, it produces nausea, and frequently acts on the bowels. As 
an emetic, it is mild but tolerably certain, and, being usually thrown from the 
stomach by one or two efforts, is less apt to produce dangerous effects, when 
taken in an overdose, than some other substances of the same class. It is also 
recommended by the absence of corrosive and narcotic properties. 
It was employed as an emetic by the natives of Brazil, when that country was 
first settled by the Portuguese ; but, though described in the work of Pison, it 
was not known in Europe till 1672, and did not come into use till some years 
afterwards. John Helvetius, grandfather of the famous author of that name, 
having been associated with a merchant who had imported a large quantity of 
ipecacuanha into Paris, employed it as a secret remedy, and with so much suc- 
cess in dysentery and other bowel affections, that general attention was drawn 
to it; and the fortunate physician received from Louis XIV. a large sum of 
money and public honours, on the condition that he should make it public. 
A s an emetic it is peculiarly adapted, by its mildness and efficiency, to cases in 
which the object is merely to evacuate the stomach, or a gentle impression only 
is desired; and, in most other cases in which emetics are indicated, it may be ad- 
vantageously combined with the more energetic medicines, which it renders safer 
by insuring their discharge. It is especially useful where narcotic poisons have 
been swallowed; as, under these circumstances, it may be given in almost indefi- 
nite doses, with little comparative risk of injury. In dysentery it has been sup- 
posed to exercise peculiar powers. As a nauseating remedy it is used in asthma, 
hooping-cough, and the hemorrhages ; as a diaphoretic combined with opium, 
in numerous diseases. (See Pul vis Ipecacuanhse Compos itus.) Its expectorant 
properties render it useful in catarrhal and other pulmonary affections. It has 
been given, also, with supposed advantage, in very minute doses, in dyspepsia, 
and in chronic disease of the gastro-intestinal mucous membrane. 
Ipecacuanha is most conveniently administered, as an emetic, in the form of 
powder suspended in water. The dose is about twenty grains, repeated, if neces- 
corresponding with prominences or convexities on the other, so as to give a wavy ap- 
pearance to the root. It differs little in size from the genuine; is of a whitish-gray 
colour externally; and, when broken, presents a dull-white farinaceous fracture, offering 
by the light of the sun shining points, which are nothing more than small grains of 
feeula. Like the other varieties it has a woody centre. It is inodorous and insipid, and 
contains, according to Pelletier, a very large proportion of starch, with only 6 per cent 
of impure emetia, and 2 of fatty matter. Richard found only 3-5 parts of emetia in the 
hundred. It is said to be sometimes mixed with the genuine ipecacuanha; but we have 
discovered none in the bales that we have examined. 
According to Martius, different species of Ionidium (Viola, Linn.) also produce what 
is called white ipecacuanha. The roots of all the species of Ionidium possess emetic or 
purgative properties, and some of them have been reported to be equal to the genuine 
ipecacuanha. The root of I. lg>ecacuanha is described by Guibourt as being six or seven 
inches long, as thick as a quill, somewhat tortuous, and exhibitingat the points of flexion 
semicircular fissures, which give it some resemblance to the root of the Cephaelis. It is 
often bifurcated at both extremities, and terminates at the top in a great number of small 
ligneous stalks. It is wrinkled longitudinally, and of a light yellowish-gray colour. The 
bark is thin, and the interior ligneous portion very thick. The root has little taste or 
smell. According to Pelletier, it contains, in 100 parts, 5 of an emetic substance, 35 of 
gum, 1 of azotized matter, and 37 of lignin. (Hist. Abreg. des Drogues Simples, i. 514.) 
The root of a species of Ionidium growing in Quito has attracted some attention as a 
i ;m3(1 y in elephantiasis, under the South American name of cuickunchulli. The plant, 
1 ei:\g considered an undescribed species by Dr. Bancroft, was named by him I. Marcueci; 
but. Sir W. Hooker found the specimen, received from Dr. Bancroft, to be identical with 
the I. parxiflorum of Ventenat. Lindley thinks a specimen he received under the same 
name from Quito, to be the I. microphyllum of Humboldt. If useful in elephantiasis, it 
is so probably by its emeto-purgative action. (See Am. Joum. of Pharm., vii. 186.) 
The reader is referred to a paper on Ipecacuanha by the late R. E. Griffith, M.D., in 
the Journ. of the Philad. Col. of Pharm. (iii. 181), for a more extended account of the 
roots which have been used under that name. 498 
Ipecacuanha. —Iris Florentina. 
PART I. 
sary, at intervals of twenty minutes till it operates. In some persons much 
smaller quantities prove emetic, and we have known an individual who was 
generally vomited by the fraction of a grain. The operation may be facilitated, 
and rendered milder, by draughts of warm water, or warm chamomile tea. An 
infusion in boiling water, in the proportion of two drachms to six fiuidounces, 
may lie given in the dose of a fluidounce repeated as in the former case. For the 
production of nausea, the dose in substance may be two grains, repeated more 
or less frequently according to circumstances. Asa diaphoretic it may be given 
in the quantity of a grain; as an alterative, in diseases of the stomach and 
bowels, in that of a quarter or half a grain two or three times a day. A fluid 
extract is officinal in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, having been introduced at the 
late revision of that work. (See Fxtractum Ipecacuanha; Fluidutn.) One 
fluidraehm of this preparation represents a drachm of the root. 
Emetia has been used on the continent of Europe as a substitute, but with 
no great advantage. Its operation on the stomach is apt to be more violent 
and continued than that of ipecacuanha; and, if given in overdoses, it may pro- 
duce dangerous and even fatal consequences. From the experiments of Ma- 
gendie, it appears to have a peculiar direction to the mucous membranes of the 
alimentary canal and the bronchial tubes. Ten grains of impure alkali, admin- 
istered to dogs, were generally found to destroy life in twenty-four hours, and 
the mucous membranes mentioned were observed to be inflamed throughout 
their whole extent. The same result took place when emetia was injected into 
the veins, or absorbed from any part of the body. The dose of impure emetia 
is about a grain and a half, of the pure not more than half a grain, repeated at 
proper intervals till it vomits. In proportional doses, it maybe applied to the 
other purposes for which ipecacuanha is used. It will excite vomiting when 
applied to a blistered surface after the removal of the cuticle. 
Dr. Turnbull recommends the external use of ipecacuanha as a counter-irri- 
tant. An ointment, made with one part of the powder, one of olive oil, and 
two of lard, rubbed once or twice a day for a few minutes upon the skin, pro- 
duces a copious eruption, which continues out for many days, without pain or 
ulceration. (London Lancet, May, 1842.) It has, however, been found by 
others of little efficacy in the great majority of cases. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Ipecacuanha Fluidum, U. S.; Pilula Conii Composita, 
Br.; Pilula Ipecacuanha cum Scilla, Br.; Pulvis Ipecacuanha; Compositus; 
Trochisci Ipecacuanha ; Trochisci Morphias et Ipecacuanha, Br.; Viuum Ipe- 
cacuanha. W. 
IRIS FLORENTINA. U. S. Secondary, 
Florentine Orris. 
The rhizoma of Iris Florentina. U. S. 
Irisde Florence, Fr.; Florentinische Violenvmrzel, Germ.; Ireos, Hal.; LirioFloren- 
lina, Span. 
Iris. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Iridaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla six-parted; the alternate segments reflected. Stigmas 
petal-shaped. Willd. 
In all the species belonging to this genus, so far as examined, the roots are 
more or less acrid, and possessed of cathartic and emetic properties. In Europe, 
Iris foetidissima, I. Florentina, I. Germanica, I. pseudo-acorus, and I. tube- 
rosa have at various times been admitted into use. Of these I. Florentina is 
the only one officinal in this country. 
Iris Florentina. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 226 ; Woodv. Med. Bot p. 116, t. 262. 
The root (rhizoma) of the Florentine Iris is perennial, horizontal, fleshy, fibrous, 
and covered with a brown epidermis. The leaves spring directly from the root, 
are sword-shaped, pointed, nerved, and shorter than the stem, which rises from 
the midst of them more than a foot in height, round, smooth, jointed, and bear- 
ing commonly two large white or bluish-white terminal flowers. The calyx is PART i. 
Iris Florentina.—Iris Versicolor. 
499 
a spathe with two valves. The corolla divides into six segments or petals, of 
which three stand erect, and the remaining three are bent backward, and 
bearded within at their base with yellow-tipped white hairs. The fruit is a 
three-celled capsule, containing many seeds. 
This plant is a native of Italy and other parts of the south of Europe, where 
it is also cultivated. The root, which is the officinal portion, is dug up in 
spring, and prepared for the market by the removal of its cuticle and fibres. 
It is brought from Leghorn in large casks. 
Properties. Florentine orris is in pieces of various form and size, often 
branched, usually about as thick as the thumb, knotty, flattened, white, heavy, 
of a rough though not fibrous fracture, an agreeable odour resembling that of 
the violet, and a bitterish, acrid taste. The acrimony is greater in the recent 
than in the dried root; but the peculiar smell is more decidedly developed in 
the latter. The pieces are brittle and easily powdered, and the powder is of a 
dirty-white colour. Yogel obtained from Florentine orris, gum, a brown ex- 
tractive, fecula, a bitter and acrid fixed oil or soft resin, a volatile crystallizable 
oil, and vegetable fibre. According to Landerer, the acrid principle is volatile, 
separating in the form of a stearoptene from water distilled from the root 
{Arch, der Pharm., lxv. 302.) In order to preserve the root from the attacks 
of insects, Mr. Maisch recommends to put a little ether in the bottle in which 
it may be kept. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 310.) 
Medical Properties. This medicine is cathartic, and in large doses emetic, 
and was formerly employed to a considerable extent on the continent of Eu- 
rope. It is said also to be diuretic, and to have proved useful in dropsies. At 
present it is valued chiefly for its agreeable odour. Great efficiency, however, 
has recently been claimed for it as a febrifuge by M. Allisiardi of Saluzzo, in 
Italy, who states that it has been tried in many cases, and has been found a sure 
as well as economical substitute for cinchona. For this purpose it is given in 
the form of watery extract, in the quantity of from two and a half to six drachms, 
in two doses, with an interval of two hours. (Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 126; 
from Bullet. Pharmaceut. of Milan.) It is occasionally chewed to conceal an 
offensive breath, and enters into the composition of tooth-powders. In the form 
of small round balls, about the size of a pea, it is used by the French for main- 
taining the discharge from issues, a purpose to which it is adapted by its odour, 
by the slight acrimony which it retains in its dried state, and by the oroperty 
of swelling very much by the absorption of moisture. W 
IRIS VERSICOLOR. U.S. Secondary. 
Blue Flag. 
The rhizoma of Iris versicolor. U. S. 
Iris. See IRIS FLORENTINA. 
Iris versicolor. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 233 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 155. 
This indigenous species of Iris has a perennial, fleshy, horizontal, fibrous root 
or rhizoma, and a stem two or three feet high, round on one side, acute on the 
other, and frequently branching. The leaves are sheathed at the base, sword- 
shaped, and striated. The flowers are from two to six in number, and are 
usually blue or purple, though varying much in colour. The capsule has three 
valves, is divided into three cells, and when mature is oblong, three-sided, with 
obtuse angles, and contains numerous flat seeds. 
The blue flag is found in all parts of the United States, flourishing in low wet 
places, in meadows, and on the borders of swamps, which it serves to adorn 
with its large and beautiful flowers. These make.their appearance in June. 
The root is the medicinal portion. The flowers afford a fine blue infusion, 
which serves as a test of acids and alkalies. 
The recent root is without odour, and has a nauseous, acrid taste, which is 
imparted to water by decoction, and still more perfectly to alcohol. The acri- 500 
Iris Versicolor.—Jalapa. 
part I 
mony as well as medicinal activity is impaired by age. If cut when fresh into 
slices, dried at the temperature of about 100°, and then powdered and kept in 
bottles excluded from the air, the root retains its virtues unimpaired for a con- 
siderable time. {Andrews.) 
Blue flag possesses the cathartic, emetic, and diuretic properties common to 
most of its congeners. It was said by Mr. Bartram to be much esteemed by the 
southern Indians; and Dr. Bigelow states that he has found it efficacious as a 
purgative, though inconvenient from the distressing nausea and prostration 
which it is apt to occasion. Dr. M. H. Andrews, of Michigan, has employed it 
frequently as a cathartic, and found it, when combined with a grain of Cayenne 
pepper, or two grains of ginger, not less easy and effectual in its operation than 
the ordinary more active cathartics, and preferable on account of its less dis- 
agreeable taste. (N'. Y. Journ. of Med., ix. 129.) Dr. Macbride found it useful 
in dropsy. It is, however, little used by the profession at large, and seldom kept 
in the shops. It may be given in substance, decoction, or tincture. The dose 
of the dried root is from ten to twenty grains. Under the unscientific name of 
iridin or irisin, which should be reserved for the pure active principle when 
discovered, the “Eclectics” have for some time used an oleoresin, obtained by 
precipitating a tincture of the root with water, and mixing the precipitate with 
an equal weight of some absorbent powder, for which purpose powdered 
liquorice root would probably answer well. This may be given in the form of 
pill, in the dose of three or four grains. It is thought to unite cholagogue and 
diuretic with aperient properties; and a writer in the London Lancet states that 
he has found it to produce effects similar to those caused by a mixture of blue 
pill, rhubarb, and aloes. (Aug. 30, 1862, p. 239.) W. 
JALAPA. U. S., Br. • 
Jalap. 
The root of Exogonium Purga (Bentham), Ipomaga Jalapa (Nuttall). U S 
The dried tubercules of Exogonium Purga. Br. 
Jalap, Fr.; Jalappenwurzel, Germ.; Sciarappa, Hal.; Jalapa, Span. 
The precise botanical origin of jalap remained long unknown. It was at first 
ascribed by Linnaeus to a Mirabilis, and afterwards to a new species of Con- 
volvulus, to which he gave the name of C. Jalapa. The correctness of the latter 
reference was generally admitted; and, as the Ipomsea macrorrhiza of Michaux, 
growing in Florida and Georgia, was believed to be identical with the C. Jalapa 
of Linn., it was thought that this valuable drug, which had been obtained ex- 
clusively from Mexico, might be collected within the limits of the United States. 
But the error of this opinion was soon demonstrated; and it is now an admitted 
fact, that jalap is the product of a plant first made known to the scientific world 
by Dr. John R. Coxe, of Philadelphia, and described by Mr. Nuttall under the 
name of Ipomsea Jalapa. When this Dispensatory was first published, opinion 
in relation to the botanical history of the drug was unsettled, and it was deemed 
proper to enter at some length into the consideration of the subject; but the 
subsequent general admission of the views then advocated renders an equal de- 
gree of minuteness now unnecessary. It is sufficient to state that Dr. Coxe re- 
ceived living roots of jalap from Mexico in 1827, and succeeded in producing 
a perfect flowering plant, of which a description, by Mr. Nuttall, was published 
in the Am. Journ. of Med. Set. for January, 1830; that the same plant was 
afterwards cultivated in France and Germany from roots transmitted to those 
countries from Mexico; and that one of the authors of this work has produced, 
from roots obtained in the vicinity of Xalapa, and sent to him by the late Dr. 
Marmaduke Burrough,then United States consul at Yera Cruz, luxuriant plants, 
which he was enabled to compare with others descended from the plant of Dr. 
Coxe, and found to be identical with them. In the United States and British 
Pharmacopoeias, this origin of jalap is now recognised. J. H. Balfour ( Curtis's 
Hot. Mag., Feb. 1847) maintains that the plant belongs to the genus Exogo- PARI i. 
Jalapa. 
501 
nium of Choisy, as defined in De Candolle’s Prodromus, being distinguished 
from Ipomaea by its exserted stamens; and this view has been taken by the 
framers of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Ipomjba. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Convolvulaceae. 
Gen Gh. Sepals five. Corolla campanulate. Stamens included. Style one. 
Stigma tvvo-lobed; the lobes capitate. Ovary two-celled; cells two-seeded. 
Capsule two-celled. Lindley. 
Ipomaea Jalapa. Nuttall. Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, v. 300; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 13, pi. 61. — Ipomaea Purga. Ilayne, Darstel. und Be- 
schreib. &c. xii. 33 and 34; Lindley, Flor. Med. 396. — Exogonium Purga. 
Balfour, Curtis's Bot. Mag., 3d ser., vol. iii. tab. 4280. The root of this plant 
is a roundish somewhat pear-shaped tuber, externally blackish, internally white, 
with long fibres proceeding from its lower part, as well as from the upper root- 
stalks. A tuber produced by Dr. Coxe was, in its third year, between two and 
three inches in diameter. The stem is round, smooth, much disposed to twist, 
and rises to a considerable height upon neighbouring objects, about which it 
twines. The leaves are heart-shaped, entire, smooth, pointed, deeply sinuated 
at the base, prominently veined on their under surface, and supported upon long 
footstalks. The lower leaves are nearly hastate,or with diverging angular points. 
The flowers, which are large and of a lilac-purple colour, stand upon peduncles 
about as long as the petioles. Each peduncle supports two, or, more rarely, 
three flowers. The calyx is without bractes, five-leaved, obtuse, with two of the 
divisions external. The corolla is funnel-form. The stamens are five in number, 
with oblong, white, somewhat exserted anthers. The stigma is simple and capi- 
tate The above description is taken from that of Mr. Nuttall, published in Dr. 
Coxe’s paper in the American Journal of the Med. Sciences. 
The jalap-plant is a native of Mexico, and derived its name from the city of 
Kalapa, in the state of Vera Cruz, in the neighbourhood of which it grows, at 
the height of about 6000 feet above the ocean. The drug is brought from the 
port of Vera Cruz in bags, containing usually between 100 and 200 pounds. 
Properties. The tuber comes either whole, or divided longitudinally into two 
parts, or in transverse circular slices. The entire tubers are irregularly roundish, 
or ovate and pointed, or pear-shaped, usually much smaller than the fist, and 
marked with circular or vertical incisions, made to facilitate their drying. The 
root is preferred in this state, as it is less apt to be defective, and is more 
easily distinguished from the adulterations than when sliced. A much larger 
proportion comes entire than formerly, indicating a greater scarcity of the older 
roots, which it is necessary to slice in order to dry them properly. The tuber is 
heavy, compact, hard, brittle, with a shining undulated fracture, exhibiting nu- 
merous resinous points, distinctly visible with the microscope. It is externally 
brown and wrinkled, internally of a grayish colour, diversified by concentric 
darker circles, in which the matter is denser and harder than in the intervening 
spaces. Jalap is always kept in the shops in the state of powder, which is of a 
yellowish-gray colour, and when inhaled irritates the nostrils and throat, and 
provokes sneezing and coughing. The odour of the root, when cut or broken, 
is heavy, sweetish, and rather nauseous ; the taste is sweetish, somewhat acrid, 
and disagreeable. It yields its active properties partly to water, partly to alco- 
hol, and completely to diluted alcohol. M. Cadet de Gassicourt obtained from 
500 parts of jalap, 24 of water, 50 of resin, 220 of gummy extract, 12-5 of 
feeula, 12*5 of albumen, 145 of lignin, 16*3 of saline matters, 2 7 of silica, with 
a loss of 17 parts. Buchner and Herberger supposed that they had discovered 
a basic substance, which they called jalapin. G. A. Kayser found that the resin 
of jalap consists of two portions, one of which, amounting to seven parts out of 
ten, is hard and insoluble in ether, the other is soft and soluble in that men- 
struum. The hard resin he named rhodeoretin, and found to be identical with 
the jalapin of Buchner and Herberger. By reaction with the alkalies it is con- 
verted into an acid, called rhodeoretinic acid. Rhodeoretin is slightly soluble 
in water, freely so in alcohol, and insoluble in ether, chloroform, or benzole; 502 
Jalapa, 
PART I 
and the alcoholic solution is precipitated both by ether and water. It is dis- 
solved by solutions of the alkalies, more quickly if heated, and is not precipi 
tated by acids, having become soluble by conversion into the acid above referred 
to. It purges violently in the dose of three or four grains, and is supposed to 
be the active principle of jalap. Mayer has confirmed and extended the obser- 
vations of Kayser. The formula of rhodeoretin, according to the latter chemist, 
is according to the former, (See Chem. Gaz , iii. 15, and 
xi. 21.) Rhodeoretin and rhodeoretinic acid are both glucosides, being con- 
vertible by the action of acids into glucose and a peculiar substance named rho- 
deoretinol. (Pelouze and Fremy.) The proportion of resin to the other ingre- 
dients of the root varies considerably in different specimens. According to 
Gerber, the root contains 7’8 per cent, of hard resin, 3 2 of soft resin, 17*9 of 
extractive, 14■ 5 of gummy extract, 8-2 of a colouring substance which becomes 
red under the influence of the alkaline carbonates, R9 of uncrystallizable sugar, 
15 6 of gum mixed with some saline matters, 3’2 of bassorin, 3-9 of albumen, 
6-0 of starch, 8 2 of lignin, with some water, and various salts. For the method 
of obtaining the resin of jalap pure, see Resina Jalapse.* 
Jalap is apt to be attacked by worms, which, however, are said to devour the 
amylaceous or softer parts, and to leave the resin ; so that the worm-eaten drug 
is more powerfully purgative than that which is sound. Thus, out of 397 parts 
of the former, M. Henry obtained 72 parts of resin, while from an equal quan- 
tity of the latter he procured only 48 parts. Hence worm eaten jalap should 
be employed for obtaining the resin, but should not be pulverized, as it would 
afford a powder of more than the proper strength. The drug is also liable to 
various adulterations, or fraudulent substitutions, which, however, can usually 
be detected without difficulty. Those which have attracted particular attention 
are mentioned in the note below.f Jalap should be rejected when it is light, 
* True jalap varies much in the proportion of resin, and consequently in purgative 
power. I)r. E. R. Squibb has found the proportion to vary from 11 per cent, in tlio 
lower grades up to 16-25 per cent, in the best (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1868, p. 65); 
but others have obtained a considerably greater proportion than the largest mentioned; 
and Mr. Charles Umney states that, in a fine selected specimen, he had found 21-5 per 
cent. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans , Dec. 1867, p. 282.) 
j- Adulterations, Substitutions, ifc. The original source of jalap seems to be failing, 
while, from increased population, the demand in the general market has been increas- 
ing; so that the supply of the genuine drug is insufficient ; and other substances, more 
or less allied to jalap in appearance or medicinal properties, have been introduced to 
supply the deficiency. The consequence is that great care is requisite to avoid deception; 
and there is reason to believe that the quality of the medicine, as found in the shops, is 
deteriorating from the fraudulent admixture of these inferior substances with the genuine 
drug in pulverization. The only sure remedy for this great evil is increased production; 
and this can' he accomplished only by the cultivation of the plant, either in its native 
Mexico, or in other countries adapted to its growth. From some little experience with 
the propagation of the true jalap plant, the author has no doubt that it would grow 
well in some of our Southern States, especially in the interior high grounds. It is said 
that some isolated attempts have been made by the native Mexicans to cultivate the 
plant, and that the products of this cultivation have reached the European market. In 
a communication from Dr. G. Naphegyl, in the Med. and Surg. Reporter (April 18, 1868, 
p. 342), it is stated that some of the European gardeners, in the vicinity of the city of 
Mexico, are making its cultivation a subject of speculation; and an order was issued by 
the late Emperor Maximilian, to the Prefects of the province of Jalapa, recommending 
its cultivation. There is, therefore, some reason to hope that the supply of this valuabl* 
medicine may be augmented. 
Among the inferior kinds of jalap are specimens of the genuine root which appear to 
have been partially exhausted in their aggregate state before pulverization. From a 
pound of this kind Dr. Squibb obtained only 1-8 per cent, of resin. The rootlets of the 
tubers are sometimes mixed in large proportion with the tubers themselves. The same 
chemist found in a lot of this kind 2-2 per cent, of resin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan 
1868, pp. 65-6.) 
Jalap of Tampico. Considerable quantities of a tuberous root have recently been imported 
into Europe, and probably also into this country, under the name of Tampico jalap ; being 
distinguished by the name of the port from which it comes from the true jalap, which is 
brought exclusively from Vera Cruz. Its botanical source is unknown, but, from its resem- part I. 
Jalapa. 
503 
of a whitish colour internally, of a dull fracture, spongy, or friable Powders 
of calomel and jalap, taken on long voyages to southern climates, are said, 
blance to the true jalap, it is probably the product of a plant belonging to the same family 
of Convolvulacese. According to M. Ambrose Andouard, it is the same as the false jalap 
described by M. Guibourt as the larger digitate jalap {jalap digite majeur). It is infe- 
rior to the true jalap, as its resin is invariably in smaller proportion, and chemically 
differs from that of the true jalap; as it is almost wholly soluble in ether, while the 
genuine yields only 12 per cent, to that menstruum. The odour of the Tampico jalap is 
said closely to resemble that of peat, and is very adhesive, being perceptible even in the 
extract and resin. This odour has been conjecturally ascribed to the drying of the tubers 
by a peat tire. The finest specimens of this drug yield 14 per cent, of resin, while in- 
ferior kinds give only 5 per cent. The resin is said to be purgative. The facts in this 
note in relation to Tampico jalap have been derived from a paper by Mr. Charles 
Umney, in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (Decemb. 1867, p. 282); as the author has 
been unable to procure a specimen of the drug on the genuineness of which he could 
rely. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 
Mechoacan. Jalap is said to be sometimes adulterated with bryony root; but no instance 
of the kind has come under our notice; and the two drugs are so widely different that 
the fraud would be instantly detected. (See Bryony, in Part Third.) It is probable, how- 
ever, that the adulteration which has been considered as bryony root is the mechoacan, 
which in Europe is sometimes called American bryony, and was formerly erroneously 
supposed to be derived from a species of Bryonia. Mechoacan is a product of Mexico, 
which was taken to Europe even before the introduction of jalap. The plant producing 
it has been conjectured to be Ipomeea macrorrhiza of Michaux, which is believed to grow 
in Mexico near Vera Cruz, as well as in our Southern States, and the root of which is 
said to weigh, when of full size, from fifty to sixty pounds, and, according to Dr. Bald- 
win, has little or no purgative power. But this origin is quite uncertain; and Guibourt 
states, in one of his most recent communications to the journals, that what is sold in 
Europe under the name of mechoacan is certainly the product of Asclepias Contrayerva 
of the Mexican flora. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Ohim., 4e ser., iv. 98, A. D. 1866.) Mechoa- 
can is in circular slices, or fragments of various shapes, white and farinaceous within, and, 
as found in the European markets, generally destitute of bark, of which, however, por- 
tions of a yellowish colour sometimes continue to adhere. The larger slices are sometimes 
marked with faint concentric striae; and upon the exterior surface are brown spots and 
ligneous points, left by the radicles after removal. (Guibourt.) Though tasteless when 
first taken into the mouth, it becomes after a time slightly acrid. It is very feebly pur- 
gative. We have seen flat circular pieces of root, mixed with jalap, altogether answer- 
ing this description, except that the cortical portion still remained, between which and 
the starchy parenchyma there was an evident line of division. 
Male Jalap. Fusiform Jalap. Jalap Stalks A drug, formerly known in our markets 
as spurious jalap, sometimes comes mingled with the genuine, and has been imported, un- 
mixed, in mistake for that root. It is the same with that referred to by French writers 
as the product of a plant denominated male jalap in Mexico, and named by M. Ledanois 
Convolvulus Orizabensis, from the city of Orizaba, in the neighbourhood of which it 
grows abundantly. In the shops of Paris the drug is called light jalap, and, in Guibourt’s 
Histoire des Drogues, is described under the title of fusiform jalap. A description of it 
was first published in this country by Mr. D. B. Smith, in a paper upon Ipomaea Jalapa, 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (ii. 22). For an account of the plant, the reader is referred 
to the same journal (x. 224). The recent root is large, spindle-shaped, sometimes twenty 
inches in length, branched at its lower extremity, yellow on its outer surface, and white 
and milky within. The drug, as described by Guibourt, is in circular pieces, two or 
three inches in diameter, or in longer and more slender sections. As we have seen it, 
the shape of the pieces is often such as to indicate that the root was sliced transversely, 
and each circular slice divided vertically into quarters. The horizontal cut surface is 
dark from exposure, unequal from the greater shrinking in desiccation of some parts 
than others, and presents the extremities of numerous fibres, which are often concentric- 
ally arranged, and run in the longitudinal direction of the root. Internally the colour 
is grayish, and the texture, though much less compact than that of jalap, is sometimes 
almost ligneous. The taste is at first slight, but after a time becomes somewhat acrid 
and nauseous. The root, analyzed by M. Ledanois, yielded, in 1000 parts, 80 of resin, 
256 of gummy extract, 32 of fecula, 24 of albumen, and 580 of lignin. It has cathartic 
properties similar to those of the true jalap, but feebler, requiring to be given in a dose 
of from thirty to sixty grains in order to operate effectively. The proportion of resin, 
which in both is the purgative principle, is considerably less in the male jalap; while 
mat of lignin, which is wholly inert, is about double. (Journ. de Pharm., xxiv. 166.) 
This resin, according to G. A. Kayser, differs from jalap resin in consisting of only one 
principle, which is entirely soluble in ether. But both resins are distinguished from all 
others by being gradually dissolved in concentrated sulphuric acid, and deposited again 504 
Jalapa. 
PART I. 
when broi ght back, to have become consolidated, and so far chemically altered 
as plainly to exhibit globules of mercury. This change is ascribed by Schacht 
and Waekenroder to a fungous growth. {Arch, der Pharm., xxxix. 239.) The 
best criterion of good quality in jalap is the proportion of its resinous constit- 
uent; and all specimens intended for use in the powdered form, or in any liquid 
preparation, should be rejected if it contain less than 11 or 12 per cent, of resin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Jalap is an active cathartic, operating briskly 
and sometimes painfully upon the bowels, and producing copious watery stools. 
The aqueous extract purges moderately, without much griping, and is said to 
increase the flow of urine. The portion not taken up by water gripes severely. 
The watery extract obtained from jalap, previously exhausted by rectified spirit, 
after some hours in a soft state. (Chern. Gaz., no. 53; from Liebig’s Annalen.) The resin 
of C. Orizabensis, which has been unfortunately named jalapin by Mayer, is, according 
to tl at chemist, changed by boiling with baryta-water into an acid called jalapic acid; 
and both jalapin and jalapic acid are glucosides, being resolved by boiling dilute acid 
into glucose, and a peculiar substance which he designates as jalapinol. (See Journ. dc 
Pharm., 3e ser., xxix. 123.) 
Rose-scented Jalap. Overgrown Jalap. A false jalap was some years since brought 
into the United States, different from anything before seen in our market. It was said 
to have been imported from Mexico into New York in considerable quantities, and was 
offered for sale under the name of overgrown jalap. A specimen, brought to Philadelphia, 
and examined by a Committee of the College of Pharmacy, presented the following 
characters. It was in light, entire or vertically sliced tubers, of different form and mag- 
nitude, spindle-shaped, ovate, and kidney-form, some as much as six inches long and 
three thick, others much smaller, externally somewhat wrinkled, with broad llattish 
light-brown ridges, and shallow darker furrows, internally grayish-white, with distant 
darker concentric circles, sometimes uniformly amylaceous, of a dull rough fracture, a 
loose texture, a slight, peculiar, and sweetish odour, and a feeble jalap-like taste. The 
powder was of a light-gray colour, and did not irritate the nostrils or throat during 
pulverization. The root differed from mechoacan by the absence of the marks of root- 
lets, and from male jalap by the want of a librous structure. It yielded by analysis, in 
100 parts, 3 of a soft and 4 of a hard and brittle resin, 17 of gummy extractive, 28 of 
starch and inulin, 10 of gum and albumen, 23-2 of lignin, and 14-8 of saccharine matter 
and salts of lime, including loss. In doses of from fifteen to twenty grains it produced 
no effect on the system. A similar root was described by Guibourt by the name of rose- 
scented jalap. It was taken to France from Mexico, mixed with genuine jalap. It proved 
equally inefficacious as a purgative, and probably had the same origin. This spurious 
drug is probably the product of a Convolvulus or Ipomaea. See report by Messrs. Ellis, 
Duhamel, and Ecky, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xiv. 289). 
Two varieties of false jalap, imported into New York, are described by Mr. John H. 
Currie in the N. Y. Journ. of Pharm. for Jan. 1852. The first corresponds with the root 
above described as that of Convolvulus Orizabensis, or male jalap, both in appearance 
and in the character of its resinous ingredient. The second is a tuberous root, resembling 
in shape, colour, and size, the butternut, or fruit of J uglans cinerea, being black or nearly 
so externally, dull over most of the surface but glossy in spots, with deep longitudinal 
incisions, internally yellow or yellowish-white, with a horny fracture, and upon the 
transversely cut surface marked Avith sparse dots, as if from delicate fibres. It contains 
no resin, and appears to be inert. 
• In the numbers of the Journal de Pharmacie, &c. for Dec. 1863 (p. 477), and for 
March, 1864 (p. 212), three other tubers are described by M. Guibourt, which have been 
offered in the market for jalap; one named false jalap of New Orleans, because imported 
into France from that city, the second digitate jalap {jalap digite) from the arrangement 
of its component tubers, and the third radiated false-jalap {faux-jalap rayonne) from the 
stellate appearance of the cut surface. Our space will not permit a particular description 
of these substances, which is the less important, as they are not likely to be mistaken for 
the true jalap by one at all acquainted with the characters of the latter; and, besides, do 
not appear in themselves to possess any valuable properties. We must, therefore, content 
ourselves with referring to the original papers. {Notes to former editions.) 
Another false jalap, some tubers of which were exhibited to Prof. Procter by Mexi- 
cans, who stated that they were produced on grounds in Mexico belonging to them, is 
described by him in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Sept. 1868, p. 389), to which the reader is 
referred for a particular account of it. Though differing in shape and interior structure 
from genuine jalap, they had precisely the odour of that product, and a similar wrinkled 
appearance and mottled brown colour externally, and were probably derived from a 
plant either of the same genus as jalap or one closely related to it. {Note to the thir- 
teenth edition.) part I. 
Jalapa.—Juglans. 
505 
is said to have no cathartic effect, but to operate powerfully by urine. {Duncan.) 
The alcoholic extract, usually called resin of jalap, purges actively, and often 
produces severe griping. From these facts, it would appear that the virtues 
of this cathartic do not depend exclusively upon any one principle. Experi- 
ments, however, by Mr. John C. Long, of Philadelphia, seem to show that the 
gummy extract, which he took in the quantity of a drachm without any effect, 
is inert; while the soft resin, or that soluble in ether, which was thought to 
have but feeble power, if any, acted powerfully as a hydragogue cathartic, in 
the dose of three grains. {Am Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 489.) Jalap 
was introduced into Europe in the latter part of the sixteenth, or beginning of 
the seventeenth century, and now ranks among the purgative medicines most 
extensively employed. It is applicable to most cases in which an active cathar 
tic is required, and from its hydragogue powers is especially adapted to the treat- 
ment of dropsy. It is generally given in connection with other medicines, which 
assist or qualify its operation. In dropsical complaints it is usually combined 
with bitartrate of potassa; and the same mixture is much employed in the 
treatment of the hip disease, and scrofulous affections of other joints. With 
calomel it forms a cathartic compound, which has long been highly popular, in 
the United States, in bilious fever and other complaints attended with conges- 
tion of the liver or portal circle. In overdoses it may produce dangerous hyper- 
catharsis. It is said to purge when applied to a wound. 
The dose of jalap in powder is from fifteen to thirty grains; of the resin, or 
alcoholic extract, from four to eight grains; of the extract of the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias, from ten to twenty grains. The latter extract is preferable to 
the alcoholic, as it more completely represents jalap itself. The dose of calomel 
and jalap is ten grains of each; of bitartrate of potassa and jalap, two drachms 
of the former and ten or fifteen grains of the latter. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Jalapae; Pulvis Jalap® Compositus ; Pulvis Scarn- 
raonii Comp., Br.; Resina Jalapae ; Tinctura Jalapae. W. 
JUGLANS. U.S. 
Butternut. 
The inner hark of the root of Juglans cinerea. U. S. 
Juglans. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Juglandaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Amentum imbricated. Calyx a scale. Corolla six-parted., 
Filaments four to eighteen. Female. Calyx four-cleft, superior. Corolla four- 
cleft. Styles two. Drupe coriaceous, with a furrowed nut. Willd. 
Several products of Juglans regia, or common European walnut, are used 
medicinally in Europe. The hull of the fruit has been employed as a vermifuge 
from the times of Hippocrates, and has been recommended in syphilis and old 
ulcers. The expressed oil of the fruit has been deemed efficacious against the 
tape-worm, and is also used as a laxative injection. The leaves, long occasion- 
ally employed for various purposes both in regular and domestic practice, have 
been found by Professor Negrier, of Angers, in the highest degree efficacious in 
scrofula. He gave to children a teacupful of a pretty strong infusion, or six 
grains of the aqueous extract, or an equivalent dose of a syrup prepared from 
the extract, two, three, or four times a day; and at the same time applied a 
strong decoction to the ulcers, and as a collyrium when the eves were diseased. 
No injury ever resulted from along-continued use of the remedy. It appears to 
act as a moderately aromatic bitter and astringent. {Arch. Gen., 8e serie, x. 
399 and xi. 41.) They are said also to have proved useful as a topical appli- 
cation in malignant pustule. {Ibid., 5e ser., x. 609.) The leaves of our J. nigra, 
or common black xealnut, and those of J. cinerea, the only officinal species, 
probably possess the same properties. 
Juglans cinerea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 456; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. ii. 115; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 42, pi. 86.—J. cathartica. Michaux, N. Am. 506 
Juglans. 
PART i. 
Sylva, i lt)0. This is an indigenous forest tree, known in different sections of 
the country by the names of butternut, oilnut, and white walnut. In favourable 
situations it attains a great size, rising sometimes fifty feet, with a trunk three 
or four feet in diameter at the distance of five feet from the root. The stem 
divides, at a short distance from the ground, into numerous nearly horizontal 
branches, which spread widely, and form a large tufted head. The young 
branches are smooth and of a grayish colour, which has given origin to the 
specific name of the plant. The leaves are very long, and consist of seven or 
eight pairs of sessile leaflets, and a single petiolate leaflet at the end. These 
are two or three inches in length, oblong-lanceolate, rounded at the base, acu- 
minate, finely serrate, and somewhat downy. The male and female flowers 
are distinct upon the same tree. The former are in large aments, four or five 
inches long, hanging down from the sides of the shoots of the preceding year’s 
growth, near their extremity. The fertile flowers are at the end of the shoots 
of the same spring. The germ is surmounted by two large feathery, rose- 
coloured stigmas. The fruit is sometimes single, suspended by a thin pliable 
peduncle; sometimes several are attached to the sides and extremity of the 
same peduncle. The drupe is oblong-oval, with a terminal projection, hairy, 
viscid, green in the immature state, but brown when ripe. It contains a hard, 
dark, oblong, pointed nut, with a rough, deeply and irregularly furrowed sur- 
face. The kernel is thick, oily, and pleasant to the taste. 
The butternut growsin Upper and Lower Canada,and throughout the whole 
northern, eastern, and western sections of the old United States. In the Middle 
States, the flowers appear in May, and the fruit ripens in September. The tree, 
if pierced immediately before the leaves unfold, yields a richly saccharine juice, 
from which sugar may be obtained, nearly if not quite equal to that from the 
sugar maple. The wood, though neither strong nor compact, is useful for some 
purposes on account of its durability, and exemption from the attacks of worms. 
The fruit, when half-grown, is sometimes made into pickles, and, when ripe, 
affords in its kernel a grateful article of food. The bark is used for dyeing wool 
a dark-brown colour, though inferior for this purpose to that of the black wal- 
nut. It is said, when applied to the skin, to be rubefacient. The inner bark is 
the medicinal portion, and that of the root, being considered most efficient, is 
directed by the Pharmacopoeia. It should be collected in May or June. 
On the living tree, the inner bark, when first uncovered, is of a pure white, 
which becomes immediately on exposure a fine lemon colour, and ultimately 
changes to deep brown. It has a fibrous texture, a feeble odour, and a pecu- 
liar, bitter, somewhat acrid taste. Its medical virtues are extracted by boiling 
water. Dr. Bigelow could detect no resin in the bark; and the presence of 
tannin was not evinced by the test of gelatin, though a brownish-black colour 
was produced by sulphate of iron. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Butternut is a mild cathartic, operating with- 
out pain or irritation, and resembling rhubarb in the property of evacuating 
without debilitating the alimentary canal. It was much employed, during our 
revolutionary war, by Dr. Rush and other physicians attached to the army. It is 
especially applicable to cases of habitual costiveness and other bowel affections, 
particularly dysentery, in which it has acquired considerable reputation. In 
connection with calomel it has sometimes been used in our intermittent and re- 
mittent fevers, and other complaints attended with congestion of the abdominal 
viscera. It is given in the form of decoction or extract, never in substance. The 
extract is officinal, and is almost always preferred. The dose of it is from twenty 
to thirty grains as a purge, from five to ten grains as a laxative. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Juglandis, U. S. W PART I. 
Juniperus. 
507 
JUNIPERUS. U.S. 
Juniper. 
The fruit of Juniperus communis. U. S. 
Genevrier commun, Bales de Genidvre, Fr.; Gemeiner Wachholder, Wacl holderbee* 
ren, Germ.] Ginepro, Hal.; Enebro, Baya3 de Enebro, Span. 
Juniperus. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Monadelpbia. — Nat. Ord. Pinaceaeor Conifer*. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Amentum ovale. Calyx a scale. Corolla none. Stamens 
three. Female. Calyx three-parted. Petals three. Styles three. Berry three- 
seeded, irregular, with the three tubercles of the calyx. Willd. 
Juniperus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 853; Woodv. Med, Bot. p. 13, 
t. 6. This is an erect evergreen shrub, usually small, but sometimes twelve or 
fifteen feet high, with numerous very close branches. The leaves are narrow, 
longer than the fruit, entire, sharply pointed, channeled, of a deep-green colour, 
somewhat glaucous on their upper surface, spreading, and attached to the stem 
or branches in threes, in a verticillate manner. The flowers are dioecious, and 
disposed in small, ovate, axillary, sessile, solitary aments. The fruit is formed 
of the fleshy coalescing scales of the ament, and contains three angular seeds. 
The common juniper is a native of Europe; but has been introduced into this 
country, in some parts of which it has become naturalized. It is not uncommon 
in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia The plant described in Bigelow’s Ame- 
rican Medical Botany, under the title of J. communis, and very common in 
certain parts of New England, deserves, perhaps, to be considered a distinct 
species. It is a trailing shrub, seldom more than two or three feet high, spread- 
ing in all directions, throwing out roots from its branches, and forming beds 
which are often many rods in circumference. The name of J. depressa has been 
proposed for it. The common juniper flowers in May, but does not ripen its 
fruit till late in the following year. All parts of the plant contain a volatile oil, 
which imparts to them a peculiar flavour. The wood has a slight aromatic odour, 
and was formerly used for fumigation. A terebinthinate juice exudes from the 
tree and hardens on the bark. This has been erroneously considered as identical 
with sandarach. The peasantry in the south of France prepare a sort of tar, 
which they call “ huile de cadeP from the interior reddish wood of the trunk 
and branches, by a distillation per descensum. (See Oil of Cade, in Part III.) 
The fruit and tops of juniper are the only officinal parts. 
The berries, as the fruit is commonly called, are sometimes collected in this 
country, and parcels are occasionally brought to the Philadelphia market from 
New Jersey. But, though equal to the European in appearance, they are inferior 
in strength, and are not much used. The best come from the south of Europe, 
particularly from Trieste and the Italian ports. They are globular, more or 
less shrivelled; about as large as a pea; marked with three furrows at the sum- 
mit, and with tubercles from the persistent calyx at the base; and covered with 
a glaucous bloom, beneath which they are of a shining blackish-purple colour. 
They contain a brownish-yellow pulp, and three angular seeds. They have an 
agreeable somewhat aromatic odour, and a sweetish, warm, bitterish, slightly 
terebinthinate taste. These properties, as well as their medical virtues, they 
owe chiefly to a volatile oil. (See Oleum Juniperi.) The other ingredients, 
according to Trommsdorff, are resin, sugar, gum, wax, lignin, water, and various 
saline substances. The proportion of these ingredients varies according to the 
greater or less maturity of the berries. The volatile oil is most abundant in 
those which have attained their full growth and are still green, or in those which 
are on the point of ripening. In the latter, Trommsdorff found one per cent, of 
the oil. In those perfectly ripe it has been partly changed into resin, and in 
those quite black, completely so.* The berries impart their virtues to water and 
alcohol. They are very largely consumed in the preparation of gin. 
* Franz Steer of Cashau, in a more recent analysis, found the sugar to be glucose, and, 
besides the principles discovered by Trommsdorff, obtained pectin, malic acid, and a 
peculiar resin-like substance, which he names juniperin. This is black, with a yellow 508 
Juniperus.—Juniperus Virginiana. 
PART r. 
The tops of juniper were formerly directed by the Edinburgri and Dublin 
Colleges. Their odour is balsamic, their taste resinous and bitterish, and they 
possess similar virtues with the berries. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Juniper berries are gently stimulant and 
diuretic, imparting to the urine the smell of violets, and producing occasionally, 
when largely taken, disagreeable irritation in the urinary passages. They are 
chiefly used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in dropsical complaints; 
but have been recommended also in scorbutic and cutaneous diseases, catarrh of 
the bladder, and atonic conditions of the alimentary canal and uterus. They 
may be given in substance, triturated with sugar, in the dose of one or two 
drachms three or four times a day. But the infusion is more convenient. It is 
prepared by macerating an ounce of the bruised berries in a pint of boiling water, 
the whole of which may be taken in the course of twenty-four hours. Extracts 
are prepared from the berries, both bruised and unbruised, and given in the dose 
of one or two drachms; but, in consequence of the evaporation of the essential 
oil, they are probably not stronger than the berries in substance. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Juniperi, U.S.; Oleum Juniperi. W. 
JUNIPERUS VIRGINIANA. U. S. Secondary. 
Red Cedar. 
The tops of Juniperus Yirginiana. U. S. 
Juniperus. See JUNITERUS. 
Juniperus Virginiana. Willd. SjJ. Plant. iv. 853; Bigelow, Am. Med. Hot. 
lii. 49; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 221. This species of Juniper, commonly 
called red cedar, is an evergreen tree of slow growth, seldom very large, though 
sometimes rising forty or fifty feet, with a stem more than a foot in diameter. 
It has numerous very close branches, which, in the young tree, spread out 
horizontally near the ground; but, as the tree advances, the lower branches 
slowly decay, leaving the trunk irregular with knots and crevices. The leaves 
are very small, fleshy, ovate, concave, pointed, glandular on their outer surface, 
ternate or in pairs, and closely imbricated. Those of the young shoots are often 
much longer and spreading. The leaves closely invest the extreme twigs, in- 
creasing with their growth, till ultimately lost in the encroachments of the bark. 
“The barren flowers are in oblong aments, formed by peltate scales with the 
anthers conceaied within them. The fertile flowers have a proper perianth, which 
coalesces with the germ, and forms a small, roundish berry, with two or three 
seeds, covered on its outer surface with a bright blue powder.” (Bigelow.) 
The red cedar grows in all latitudes of the United States, from Burlington, 
in Vermont, to the Gulf of Mexico; but it is most abundant and vigorous in the 
southern section. The interior wood is of a reddish colour, and highly valuable 
on account of its great durability. Small excrescences, which are sometimes 
found on the branches of the tree, are popularly used as an anthelmintic, under 
the name of cedar apples, in the dose of from ten to twenty grains three times 
a day. The tops or leaves only are officinal. 
They have a peculiar not unpleasant odour, and a strong, bitterish, somewhat 
pungent taste. These properties reside chiefly in a volatile oil, and arc readily 
imparted to alcohol. The leaves, analyzed by Mr. Wm. J. Jenks, were found to 
contain volatile oil, gum, tannic acid, albumen, bitter extractive, resin, chloro- 
tint in thin layers by transmitted light, brittle, easily pulverizable, tasteless, insoluble 
in water and ether, but soluble in alcohol, and without acid or alkaline reaction. A sin- 
gular property is that, when rubbed with a little water, it changes into a yellow powder, 
which is perfectly soluble in 66 parts of water, and has in solution an unpleasant bitter 
taste. It is obtained by distilling a tincture of the berries until nearly all the alcohol has 
passed over, pouring the residue while hot into a vessel, in which it deposits a gum-resin 
on cooling, decanting the clear liquid and reducing it with a gentle heat to a small volume, 
and allowing it to stand. A yellow powder separates, resembling powdered rhubarb, which 
disappears by further evaporation, and is followed by resinous drops, which, separated 
and washed, constitute the substance in question. (Chem. Cent. Blatt, Dec. 31,1856,p. 951.) PART i. 
Juniperus Virginiana.—Kino. 
509 
phyll, fixed oil, lime, and lignin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 235.) They 
bear a close resemblance to the leaves of Juniperus Sabina, from which they 
can be certainly distinguished only by the difference of odour. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The resemblance of red cedar to savine is 
said also to extend to their medical properties ; the former being considered, 
like the latter, stimulant, emmenagogue, diuretic, and, under certain circum- 
stances, diaphoretic. It is, however, much less energetic; and, though advan- 
tage may, as has been asserted, have accrued from it in amenorrhoea, chronic 
rheumatism, and dropsy, it has not acquired the confidence of the profession 
generally. Externally applied it acts as an irritant; and an ointment, prepared 
by boiling the fresh leaves for a short time in twice their weight of lard, with 
the addition of a little wax, is employed as a substitute for savine cerate in 
maintaining a purulent discharge from blistered surfaces. Sometimes the dried 
leaves in powder are mixed with six times their weight of resin cerate, and used 
for a similar purpose. But neither of these preparations is as effectual as the 
analogous preparation of savine.* W. 
KINO. U.S. Br. 
Kino. 
The inspissated juice of Pteroearpus Marsupium, and of other plants. U. S 
The inspissated juice obtained from incisions made in the trunk of Pteroearpus 
Marsupium. Br. 
Kino, Fr., Germ., Iial.; Quino, Span. 
The term kino was originally applied to a vegetable extract or inspissated 
juice, taken to London from the western coast of Africa, and introduced to the 
notice of the profession by Dr. Fothergill. Vegetable products obtained from 
various other parts of the world, resembling kino in appearance and properties, 
afterwards received the same name ; and much confusion and uncertainty have 
existed, and in some degree still exist, in relation to the botanical and commer- 
cial history of the drug. We shall first give an account of the general properties 
of the medicines denominated kino, and then treat of the several varieties. 
General Properties. Kino, as found in the shops, is usually in small, irre- 
gular, angular, shining fragments, seldom so large as a pea, of a dark reddish- 
brown or blackish colour, very brittle, easily pulverizable, and affording a red- 
dish powder, much lighter coloured than the drug in its aggregate state. If in 
large masses, it may be reduced without difficulty into these minute fragments. 
It is without odour, and has a bitterish, highly astringent taste, with a somewhat 
sweetish after-taste. It burns with little flame, and does not soften with heat. 
It imparts its virtues and a deep-red colour to water and alcohol. Cold water 
forms with it a clear infusion. Boiling water dissolves it more largely; and the 
saturated decoction becomes turbid on cooling, and deposits a reddish sediment. 
The tincture is not disturbed by water. When long kept it often gelatinizes, 
and loses its astringeney. (See Tinctura Kino.) Kino has been supposed to 
consist chiefly of a modification of tannic acid or tannin, with extractive, gum, 
and sometimes probably a little resin ; but we need a careful analysis of the dif- 
ferent well-ascertained varieties. The aqueous solution is precipitated by gel- 
atin, the soluble salts of iron, silver, lead, and antimony, bichloride of mercury, 
* In the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal (xl. 469), several cases of poisoning are 
recorded by Dr. S. C. Watt, of G-ouverneur, New York, resulting from the use of “cedar 
oil,” which we presume to be the volatile oil procured by distillation from the red cedar, 
though no information on that point is given. It appears that this oil has the reputation 
of producing abortion, and was taken, in three of the cases described, with a view to 
that effect. In one instance a fluidrachm was taken, in another a fluidounce, and in both 
of these recovery took place. Two of the cases were fatal. The symptoms were 
burning in the stomach, sometimes vomiting, violent convulsions, coma, and a very 
s’ow pulse. The operation of the poison was mainly on the brain. No abortive effect 
was experienced in either case. The stomach, on examination after death, showed maiks 
of inflammation, but not violent. (Note to the ninth edition.) 510 
Kino 
PART I. 
and sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids. The precipitate with iron is of an 
olive or greenish-black colour. The alkalies favour the solubility of kino in 
water, but essentially change its nature, and destroy its astringency. 
1. East India Kino. This is the variety at present probably most used, and 
most highly esteemed, and the only one recognised by the British Pharmaco- 
poeia. Its origin was long unknown. It is now ascertained, through the united 
researches of Prs. Pereira, Boyle, Wight, and others, to be the product of Ptero- 
carpus Marsupium, a lofty tree, growing upon the mountains of the Malabar 
coast of Hindostan. Kino is the juice of the tree, extracted through longitudinal 
incisions in the bark, and afterwards dried in the sun. Upon drying it breaks into 
small fragments, and is put into wooden boxes for exportation. It is collected 
near Tellicherry, and exported from Bombay. It is sometimes imported into this 
country directly from the East Indies, but more commonly from London. From 
a communication in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, by the Rev. F. 
Mason, it appears that kino is also collected in the Tenasserim provinces, in Fur- 
ther India, and has been exported from Maulmain to Europe. It is produced by 
a tree called Pa-douck, which is supposed to be a species of Pterocarpus; but its 
precise character was not certainly known. (Ann. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 134.) 
Dr. Christison has subsequently recognised, in a description of this tree furnished 
to him by Mr. Begbie, of Maulmain, the precise characters of Pterocarpus Mar- 
supium; so that this kino has the same origin with that from Malabar. 
East India kino is in small, angular, glistening fragments, of a uniform con- 
sistence, appearing as if formed by the breaking down of larger masses. The 
larger fragments are opaque and nearly black; but minute splinters are some- 
times translucent, and of a deep garnet redness when viewed by transmitted 
light. This variety of kino is very brittle, readily breaking between the fingers, 
and easily pulverized, affording a dark-reddish powder, a portion of which, re- 
sulting from the mutual attrition of the fragments, is often found interspersed 
among them. When chewed, it softens in the mouth, adheres somewhat to the 
teeth, and tinges the saliva of a blood-red colour. In odour, taste, and chem- 
ical relations, it corresponds with the account already given of kino in general. 
According to Vauquelin, it contains 75 per cent, of tannin and peculiar extract- 
ive, 24 of red gum, and .1 of insoluble matter. But new views have been ad- 
vanced as to its composition. When kino is boiled in water, the decoction de- 
posits on cooling a bright-red substance ; and a similar deposition takes place 
when a cold filtered aqueous solution is long exposed with a broad surface to 
the air. Dr. Gerling considers this deposit as the result of the combination of 
oxygen with kino-tannic acid, and calls it kino-red. ( Ghem. Gaz., ix. 260; from 
Liebig’s Annalen.) Ilennig, who has examined East India kino with some 
care, considers this kino-red as a colouring matter in intimate combination with 
the tannic acid, which he is disposed to think identical in its pure state with 
the tannic acid of galls; and he extends the same views to the other forms of 
this astringent principle which give greenish precipitates with the salts of ses- 
quioxide of iron, and which are generally believed to be somewhat different as 
they occur in different plants. Finding this red colouring matter to possess acid 
properties, he has named it kinoic acid. According to Hennig, kino consists of 
tannic acid with a trace of gallic acid, kinoic acid, pectin, ulmic acid, and inor- 
ganic salts with excess of earthy bases. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xv. 544.) 
2. West India or Jamaica Kino. This is believed to be the product of the 
Goccoloba uvifera, or sea-side grape, a tree twenty feet or more in height, bear- 
ing beautiful broad shining leaves, and large bunches of purple berries, to which 
it owes its vernacular name. It grows in the West Indies and neighbouring 
parts of the continent. The kino is said to be obtained by evaporating a de- 
coction of the wood and bark, which are very astringent. Many years since, a 
thick reddish-brown liquid was imported into Philadelphia from the West 
Indies, which, when dried by exposure to the air in shallow vessels or by heat, 
afforded an extract having all the properties of kino, for which it was sold by 
the diuggists. This has been long exhausted; but some years since, a consid- PART i 
Kino, 
511 
erable quantity of West India kino was brought into this market, which may 
still enter into the consumption of the country. It was contained in large 
gourds, into which it was evidently poured while in a liquid or semi-liquid state, 
and then allowed to harden. We have specimens of this kino in our possession. 
When taken from the gourd, it breaks into fragments of various sizes, upon 
an average about as large as a hazelnut, and having some tendency to the rect- 
angular form. The consistence of these fragments is uniform, their surface 
smooth and shining, and their colour a dark reddish-brown, approaching to 
black. They are, however, not so glistening, nor so black as the East India 
kino. In mass they are quite opaque, but in thin splinters are translucent and 
of a ruby redness. They are readily broken by the fingers into smaller frag- 
ments, are easily pulverized, and yield a dull-reddish powder, considerably 
lighter-coloured than that of the former variety. The West India kino is with- 
out odour, and has a very astringent, bitterish taste, with a scarcely observable 
sweetish after-taste. It adheres to the teeth when chewed, though rather less 
than the East India variety, and colours the saliva red. The solubility of Ja- 
maica kino was very carefully examined, at our request, by Dr. Robert Bridges, 
of this city, who found that cold water dissolved 89 per cent., and ordinary of- 
ficinal alcohol 94 per cent. The portion dissolved by alcohol and not by water 
was probably of a resinous nature; as it appeared to be viscid, and very much 
impeded the filtration of the watery solution. Considering the nature of this 
substance, the form of kino in which it was found is probably, like that from the 
East Indies, an inspissated juice. Guibourt, who states that Jamaica kino is 
but slightly dissolved b}r cold water, must have operated on a different product. 
3. South American Kino. Caracas Kino. In 1839, when the 4th edition 
of this Dispensatory was published, an astringent extract was described, which 
had recently been introduced into our market, derived, as we were informed, 
from Caracas, and known by that name to the druggists. Since that period it 
has come much more extensively into use. It is probably the same as that de- 
scribed by Guibourt, in the last edition of his History of Drugs, as the kino of 
Columbia. As imported, this variety of kino is in large masses, some weighing 
several pounds, covered with thin leaves, or exhibiting marks of leaves upon 
their unbroken surface, externally very dark, and internally of a deep reddish- 
brown or dark port-wine colour. It is opaque in the mass, but translucent in 
thin splinters, very brittle, and of a fracture always shining, but in some masses 
wholly rough and irregular, in others rough only in the interior, while the outer 
portion, for an inch or two in depth, breaks with a rather smooth and uniform 
surface, like that of the West India kino. This outer portion is easily broken 
into fine angular fragments, while the interior crumbles quite irregularly. Some 
of the masses are very impure, containing pieces of bark, wood, leaves, &c.; 
others are more homogeneous, and almost free from impurities. The masses 
are broken up by means of a mill so as to resemble East India kino, from which, 
however, this variety differs in being more irregular, less sharply angular, more 
powdery, and less black. On comparing the finer and more angular portions 
of the masses with the West India kino, we were strongly struck with their 
resemblance; and in fact could discover no difference between the two varieties 
either in colour, lustre, taste, the colour of the powder, or other sensible pro- 
perty. South American kino was found bv Dr. Bridges to yield 93'5 per cent, 
to cold water, and 93 per cent, to alcohol; so that, while it has almost the same 
solubility as Jamaica kino in alcohol, it is somewhat more soluble in cold water. 
The aqueous solution, in this case, was not embarrassed by the adhesive matter 
which impeded the filtration in the former variety; and the want of a minute 
proportion of resinous matter in the South American kino is the only dif- 
ference we have discovered between the two drugs. It is not improbable that 
they are derived from the same plant; and there is no difficulty in supposing 
that this may be the Coccoloba uvifera, as that tree grows as well upon the 
continent as in the islands. 
4. African Kino. The original kino employed by Dr. Fothergill was known 512 
Kino. 
PART l 
to be the prodtice of a tree growing in Senegal, and upon the banks of the 
Gambia, on the western coast of Africa; but the precise character of the tree 
was not ascertained until a specimen, sent home by Mungo Park during his last 
journey, enabled the English botanists to decide that it was the Pterocarpus 
erinaceus of Lamarck and Poiret.* The Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges ac- 
cordingly referred kino in chief to this plant; but, in so doing, overlooked 
the fact that not one of the varieties now used is brought from Africa. The 
importation of African kino has long ceased; and the most experienced phar- 
macologist cannot speak with certainty of having seen a specimen. That de- 
scribed by Guibourt has turned out to be the Butea gum and the description 
in the first edition of Christison’s Dispensatory evidently applies to the common 
East India kino. A specimen given to Dr A. T. Thomson as African kino, and 
described in his Dispensatory, is certainly not the drug spoken of by Fothergill, 
but rather resembles the Butea gum. 
As described by Fothergill, the African kino, for which he proposed the name 
of gummi rubrum astringens Gambinense, was in lumps of about the size of 
those of gum Senegal or dragon’s blood, and so similar in appearance to the 
latter that a good judge might easily be deceived. These lumps were hard, 
brittle, opaque, and almost black; but minute fragments were reddish and 
transparent like garnet The drug was inodorous, of a strongly astringent and 
sweetish taste, and soluble in water to the extent of about five or six parts out 
of seven, forming a deep-red astringent infusion. There can be little doubt that 
this variety of kino is a concrete juice, which exudes either spontaneously or 
from wounds in the bark, and hardens in the air. (Med. Obs. and Inq., i. 358.) 
5. Botany Bay Kino. This is the concrete juice of Eucalyptus resinifera, 
or brown gum tree of New Holland, a lofty tree, belonging to the class and 
order Icosandria Monogynia, and the natural order Myrtaceee. This tree attains 
a very great size, individuals sometimes rising as high as three hundred and 
forty feet; and an instance is known in which the diameter of the trunk, four feet 
from the ground, exceeded nineteen feet. The wood, notwithstanding the rapid 
growth of the tree, is hard and heavy, and well adapted to cabinet work. A speci- 
men of the tree taken to Algeria is flourishing there; and there is little doubt thal 
it might be introduced into our Southern States. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 
1865, p. 393.) When the bark is wounded, the juice flows very freely, and 
hardens in the air. According to Mr. White, a single tree is capable of furnish- 
ing 500 pounds of kino in one year. ( White's Voyage.) Duncan states that 
specimens of the juice have reached Great Britain in the fluid form, and that, 
when he first examined kino in 1802, it was common, and was the finest kind 
in commerce. According to information received by Dr. Thomson, its impor- 
tation into Great Britain must have ceased soon after that period ( Thomson's 
Dispensatory, 1826, p. 506); but Dr. Pereira speaks of it as imported inboxes, 
* A particular account of Pterocarpus erinaceus and its concrete juice, with a figure by 
Dr. W. F. Daniell, is contained in the Pharm. Journ. for August, i854 (vol. xiv. p. 55). 
f Butea gum is the concrete juice of the Butea frondosa or Dha/c-tree of Hindostan. 
The juice flows from natural fissures, and from wounds made in the bark of the tree, 
and quickly hardens. It is in small elongated tears, or irregular angular masses, less in 
size than a grain of barley, apparently black and opaque, hut translucent and of a ruby- 
red colour, when examined in small fragments by transmitted light. Many of the tears 
have small portions of hark adhering to them. They are very brittle, and' readily pul- 
verizable, yielding a reddish powder. They are very astringent to the taste, do not ad- 
here to the teeth when chewed, and tinge the saliva'red. The relations of this product 
to water, alcohol, and other chemical reagents are nearly the same as those of ordinary 
kino. When freed from impurities, consisting of from 15 to 25 per cent, of wood, hark, 
sand, &c., it contains, according to Mr. E. Solly, 73-26 per cent, of tannin, 5-U5 of solu- 
ble extractive, and 21-67 of gum and other soluble substances. It is used in the arts in 
India, and might undoubtedly be employed as kino in medicine. It is, however, very 
seldom imported into England, and never, at present, into this country. Dr. Pereira 
found a quantity in an old drug store in London, and sent a portion to Guibourt, from 
which that writer drew up his description of African kino. It is possible that the kino 
which formerly reached us, full of small pieces of wood, bark, &c., may have been the 
Butea gum. PART I 
Kino. 
513 
and has himself met with a parcel of it from Van Diemen’s Land. Ainslie in- 
forms us that he has seen it in the markets of Hindostan. Until after the pub- 
lication of the tenth edition of this Dispensatory, we had never met with it in 
this country; but a specimen was afterwards presented to us by Mr. S. W. Os- 
good, druggist, of New York, with the information that it had been brought to 
that city in a vessel directly from western Australia.* 
The specimen examined by Pereira was in irregular masses, many of them in 
the form of tears as large as those of Senegal gum. “ The purer pieces were 
vitreous, almost black in the mass, but transparent and of a beautiful ruby-red 
in small and thin fragments. Some of the pieces, however, were opaque and 
dull, from the intermixture of wood and other impurities.” This variety of kino 
is brittle, with a resinous unequal fracture, and yields a reddish-brown powder. 
It is infusible, without odour, of an astringent taste followed by sweetness, and 
when long chewed adheres to the teeth. {Duncan.) It swells up and becomes 
gelatinous with cold water, yielding a red solution, which gives precipitates 
with lime-water, gelatin, and sesquichloride of iron, but not with alcohol or 
tartar emetic. With rectified spirit it also becomes gelatinous, and forms a red 
tincture, which is not precipitated by water. {Pereira.) White states that only 
one-sixth of this kino is soluble in water; Guibourt found it wholly soluble with 
the exception of foreign matters; and Dr. Thomson informs us that water at 
* Of the specimen presented to us by Mr. Osgood, one portion is in the liquid state, 
consisting, I presume, of the juice of the tree not yet inspissated, another portion is con- 
crete. The liquid, which is contained in a corked and sealed bottle, is of a deep reddish- 
brown colour, transparent and redder in very thin layers, and somewhat viscid, with a 
slight solid deposit. The concrete parcel consists, for the most part, of very small grains, 
from the size of powdery particles up to that of a pea. But with these are mixed pieces 
of a larger size, and two of them comparatively very large, being not less than two or 
three inches long by an inch, more or less, in breadth and thickness. These latter con- 
sist of a thick irregular deposit of the concrete juice on pieces of a thick, spongy, soft, and 
very brittle bark, which may be easily broken by the nail, and fragments of which of 
all sizes are mixed with the proper kino, which it resembles in colour, though somewhat 
lighter. In the irregular angular form of its granules, their dark reddish-brown colour 
and shining surface, their extreme brittleness and ready pulverization, the reddish colour 
of their powder, and their astringent bitterish taste, this drug corresponds closely with 
the more common varieties of kino; and, if deprived of the cortical matter with which 
it is mingled, might, I have no doubt, be used advantageously for the general purposes 
of the medicine. If the juice could be imported in quantities, and inspissated here, a pure 
product might be ensured. Examined at our request by Prof. Procter, this kino formed, 
when rubbed with water, a soft adhesive mass, and yielded to the water 67 per cent, of 
its weight in solution; though, as it was very slowly dissolved, more might have been 
taken up by the water, had the treatment been longer continued. Alcohol of sp. gr. 0-835 
dissolved the whole with the exception of T5 grains, which might well have been im- 
purity; as particles of the bark may have been embedded in the fragments examined. 
The tincture was not precipitated by water The watery solution gave precipitates with 
gelatin, lime-water, sesquichloride of iron, and sulphate of copper, and slight ones with 
corrosive sublimate and tartar emetic. (Note to the eleventh edition.) 
The liquid referred to in the preceding paragraph was afterwards examined by Prof. 
Procter, with the following results. Evaporated to dryness, it yielded 13 per cent, of 
solid product, resembling kino in appearance and taste. With reagents it acted like 
a solution of kino, being precipitated copiously by gelatin, acetate of lead, and lime- 
water, and yielding a greenish-black colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. Dr. 
Pereira found in Botany Bay kino a peculiar pectin-like substance, which he named 
eucalyptin, a characteristic property of which was that it was precipitated from the tinc- 
ture by solution of ammonia; and Prof. Procter found this juice to act similarly when 
treated in the same manner. (Am. Journ. of Pharrn., May, 1859, p. 228.)—Note to the 
twelfth edition. 
A similar liquid is now taken to Europe from Australia, and has been briefly noticed, 
after M. Stanislas Martin, in the Journal de Pharmacy (4e ser., iv. 51, A. D. 1866). It 
is found, he says, in English commerce, in which it is known by the name of kino juice. 
It has a tine deep-red colour, a slightly aromatic odour, and a decidedly astringent taste, 
and on evaporation yields a genuine kino. It is not, however, always equally strong, 
the richest yielding 40 per cent, of extract. New as this product is in commerce, it has 
already been made the subject of adulteration; a certain proportion of catechu being 
sometimes added to it during evaporation. The fraud, however, is revealed by the sweet 
taste imparted to the mixture. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 514 
Kino.—Krameria. 
PART I. 
60° dissolves more than one-half. These writers must have experimented with 
different substances. According to Dr. Duncan, alcohol dissolves the whole ex- 
cept impurities; and tne tincture, with a certain proportion of water, lets fall a 
copious red deposit, but with a large proportion it only becomes slightly turbid. 
It is said that catechu, broken into small fragments, has sometimes been sold 
as kino. Fortunately, little injury can resultfrom the substitution's the medical 
virtues of the two substances are very nearly the same. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Kino is powerfully astringent, and in this 
country is much used for the suppression of morbid discharges. In diarrhoea, 
not attended with febrile excitement or inflammation, it is often an excellent 
adjunct to opium and the absorbent medicines, and is a favorite addition to the 
chalk mixture. It is also used in chronic dysentery when astringents are admis- 
sible; in leucorrhcea and diabetes; and in passive hemorrhages, particularly1 
that from the uterus It was formerly used in intermittent fever. 
It may be given in powder, infusion, or tincture. The dose of the powder is 
from ten to thirty grains. The infusion, which is a very convenient form of ad- 
ministration, may be made by pouring eight fluidounces of boiling water on two 
drachms of the extract, and straining when cool. Aromatics may be added, if 
deemed advisable. The dose is a fluidounce. The proportion of alcohol in the 
tincture renders it frequently an unsuitable preparation. 
Locally applied, kino is often productive of benefit. Its infusion is useful as 
an injection in leucorrhcea and obstinate gonorrhoea, and thrown up the nostrils 
we have found it very efficacious in suppressing epistaxis. A case of obstinate 
hemorrhage from a wound in the palate, after resisting various means, yielded 
to the application of powdered kino, which was spread thickly on lint, and 
pressed against the wound by the tongue. The powder is also a very useful ap- 
plication to indolent and flabby ulcers. 
Off. Prep. Pulvis Catechu Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Kino Compositus, Br.; 
Tinctura Kino. W. 
KRAMERIA. U S. 
Rhatany 
The root of Krameria triandra. U. S. 
Off. Syn. KRAMER IJE RADIX. Bhatany Root. The dried root of Kra- 
meria triandra. Br. 
Ratanhia, Fr.; Ratanhiawurzel, Germ.; Ratania, Ital., Span. 
Krameria. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia.—Nat.Ord. Polygaleaa, Be 
Cand. Krameriaceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Corolla four-petaled; the superior nectary three- 
parted, and inferior two-leaved. Berry dry, echinated, one-seeded. Willd. 
Krameria triandra. Ruiz and Pavon, Flor. Peruv. i. 61. The rhatany plant 
is a shrub, having a long, much branched, spreading root, of a blackish-red 
colour; with a round, procumbent, very dark-coloured stem, divided into nu- 
meious branches, of which the younger are leafy and thickly covered with soft 
bans, giving them a white, silky appearance. The leaves are few, sessile, oblong- 
ovute, pointed, entire, presenting on both surfaces the same silky whiteness with 
the young branches. The flowers are lake-coloured, and stand singly on short 
pec ancles at the axils of the upper leaves. There are only three stamens. The 
neu.ary consists of four leaflets, of which the two upper are spatulate, the lower 
roundish and much shorter : it does not correspond with the generic character 
of Willdenow, which was drawn from the Krameria Ixina. The fruit is globu- 
lar, of the size of a pea, surrounded by stiff' reddish-brown prickles, and fur- 
nisLed with one or two seeds. The name rhatany is said to express, in the 
language of the Peruvian Indians, the creeping character of the plant. 
This species of Krameria is a native of Peru, growing in dry argillaceous and 
sandy places, and abundant about the city of Huanuco. It flowers at all sea- 
sons, but is in the height of its bloom in October and November. The root is PART i. 
Krameria. 
515 
dug up after the rains. Tschudi states that most of the rhatanv now exported 
is obtained in the southern provinces of Peru, particularly in Arica and Islay. 
( Trav. in Peru, Am ed., p. 214 ) 
The K. Ixina, growing in the West Indies and northern parts of South 
America, affords a root closely analogous in appearance and properties to that 
of the Peruvian species; but the latter only is officinal. This root is occasionally 
imported into Europe, and is known in England by the name of Savanilla 
rhatany, derived from the port of New Granada from which it was imported. 
It has been described by Dr. Mettenheimer of Giessen, and more recently by I)r. 
Schuchardt of Dresden, whose accounts of it are more particularly referred to 
in the note below.* 
We receive rhatany in pieces of various shapes and dimensions, some being 
simple, some more or less branched, the largest as much as an inch in thickness, 
derived from the main body of the root, the smallest not thicker than a small 
quill, consisting of the minute ramifications. The pieces are often nearly cylin- 
drical, and as much as two or three feet in length. Sometimes many of the 
radicles are united in a common head, which is short, and from half an inch to 
two inches or more in diameter. The roots are composed of a dark reddish- 
brown, slightly fibrous, easily separable bark, and a central woody portion, less 
coloured, but still reddish or reddish-yellow. Ilhatany is without smell, but has 
a bitter, very astringent, slightly sweetish taste, which is connected with its 
medical virtues, and is much stronger in the cortical than the ligneous part. 
The smallest pieces are therefore preferable, as they contain the largest propor- 
tion of the bark. The powder is of a reddish colour. The virtues of the root 
are extracted by water and alcohol, to which it imparts a deep reddish-brown 
colour. From the researches of Vogel, Grnelin, Peschier, and Trommsdorff, it 
appears to contain tannic acid, lignin, and minute quantities of gum, starch, 
saccharine matter, and an acid which Peschier considered as peculiar, and named 
krameric acid. The tannic acid is in three states ; 1st. that of purity, in which 
it is without colour ; 2d. that of apotheme, in whioh it has lost its astringency, 
and been rendered insoluble by the action of the air, and 3d. that of extractive, 
which is a soluble combination of tannin and its apotheme, and is the sub- 
stance which imparts to the infusion and tincture their characteristic reddish- 
brown coloui*. (Soubeiran, Journ. de Pharm., xix. 596.) The tannic acid of 
rhatany (krameria-tannic or rhatania-tannic acid) is separated by treating 
the ethereal extract of the bark with alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic 
solution. It gives a dark-green precipitate with sesquichloride of iron, a flesh- 
coloured one with gelatin, and none with tartar emetic. (Grnelin, Handbook, 
* Savanilla Rhatany. Mettenheimer describes a false rhatany, which has occurred in 
German commerce, as follows. The body of the root is from 1 to 2 inches thick and 4 
long, knotty, with many branches; but these are generally separate, from 4 to 12 inches 
long, and nearly half an inch thick. The body resembles the genuine ; but the branches 
are smoother, in parts somewhat shining, with deeper longitudinal furrows, and trans- 
verse fissures, which sometimes divide the bark quite around the root. They are more 
undulating, and, as well as the body, have more frequent wart-like elevations. The false 
root is more bitter than the genuine, with a thicker bark, and in mass has a dirty violet 
reddish-brown colour. Exteriorly the bark is of a dirty dark brownish-red, with a granu- 
lar fracture; interiorly it is lighter coloured, with a fibrous fracture; and when cut with 
a knife has a shining surface. The ligneous part is pale-red, hard, of a short-fibrous 
fracture, and, when cut across, dull, and without the dark central point of the genuine 
root. The false root is inodorous. Its taste is more astringent than that of the genuine. 
Its source is unknown. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, March 24, 1852, p. 221.) - 
The foregoing description, which we leave entire, corresponds closely with that of a 
variety of the drug, known in English commerce as Savanilla rhatany, given by Dr. Schu- 
chardt of Dresden, by whom it is referred, in all probability correctly, to Krameria 
Ixina In addition to what has been stated above, it may be mentioned that, in this 
variety of rhatany, the bark adheres more firmly to the root than in the genuine, that 
it has a more abrupt and less fibrous fracture, and consequently is more readily pulver- 
ized, and that both the wood and bark contain a large proportion of tannic acid. (Pharm 
Journ. and Trans., xvi. 29 and 132; from Botanische Zeitung.) A root, sent to this city 
from London, as a specimen of the rhatany known there as Savanilla, corresponds ex- 
actly with the description here given. (Note to the tenth and eleventh editions.) 516 
Krameria.—Lactuca. 
PART I. 
xv. 529.) The tannin of rhatany, in the presence of melted potassa, is trans- 
formed into prolocatechuic acid and phloroglucine, and with dilute acids 
gives glucose and a peculiar red colouring principle, called ratanhia red. 
(Journ. de Pharm.et de Chim., Janv. 1868, p. 73.) The proportion of red as- 
tringent matter obtained by Vogel was 40 per cent. The mineral acids and 
most of the metallic salts throw down precipitates with the infusion, decoction, 
and tincture of rhatany, and are incompatible in prescription. 
In examining a specimen of extract of rhatany from America, Wittstein dis- 
covered an alkaloid, apparently identical with tyrosine. An analogous result 
has been obtained by M. Ruge, with the difference, however, that the new 
alkaloid is not identical with tyrosine, having the formula C2fiH12N06, while 
that of tyrosine is C18H]2N06. {Journ. de Pharm., 4e s4r., i. 235; from Ghent. 
Gentralblatt, 1864, p. 1054 ) But much more precise information on the pcint 
is required, before it can be admitted that krameria contains an alkaloid. 
Cold water, by means of displacement or percolation, extracts all the astrin- 
gency of rhatany, forming a clear deep-red infusion, which, upon careful eva- 
poration, yields an almost perfectly soluble extract. The root yields its virtues 
also to boiling water by maceration ; but the resulting infusion becomes turbid 
upon cooling, in consequence of the deposition of apotheme taken up by the 
water when heated. By boiling with water a still larger proportion of the apo- 
theme is dissolved, and a considerable quantity of the pure tannin becomes in- 
soluble in cold water, and medicinally inert, either by combining with the starch 
which is also dissolved, or by conversion into apotheme through the agency of 
the atmosphere. The decoction is, therefore, an ineligible preparation, and the 
extract resulting from its evaporation, though greater in weight than that from 
the cold infusion, contains much less soluble and active matter. Alcohol dis- 
solves a larger proportion of the root than water; but this excess is owing to 
the solution of apotheme, and the alcoholic extract contains little if any more 
of the astringent principle than that prepared by cold water, while it is encum- 
bered with much inert matter. (See Extractum Kramerise.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rhatany is gently tonic and powerfully as- 
tringent; and may be advantageously given in chronic diarrhoea, passive hemor- 
rhages, especially menorrhagia, some forms of leucorrhoea, and in all those cases 
in which kino and catechu are beneficial. It has long been used in Peru as a 
remedy in bowel complaints, as a corroborant in cases of enfeebled stomach, 
and as a local application to spongy gums. Ruiz, one of the authors of the 
Peruvian Flora, first made it known in Europe. It was not till after the year 
1816 that it began to come into general use. It has the advantage over the 
astringent extracts imported, that, being brought in the state of the root, it is 
free from adulteration, and may be prescribed with confidence. 
The dose of the powder is from twenty to thirty grains; but in this form the 
root is little used. The infusion or decoction is more convenient. The propor- 
tions are an ounce of the bruised or powdered root to a pint of water, and the 
dose one or two fluidounces. The extract, tincture, and syrup are officinal, and 
may be given in the dose, the first of fifteen or twenty grains, the second of 
two or three fluidrachms, and the third of half a fluidounce. In the form of 
infusion, tincture, and extract, rhatany has been highly recommended as a 
local remedy in fissure of the anus, prolapsus ani, and leucorrhoea. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Kramerise; Infusum Kramerise; Pulvis Catechu 
Compositus, Br.; Syrupus Kramerise, U. S.; Tinctura Kramerise. W. 
LACTUCA. Br. 
Lettuce. 
The flowering herb of Lactuca virosa. Br. PART I. 
Lactucarium. 
517 
LACTUCARIUM. U.S. 
Lactucarium. 
The concrete juice of Lactuca sativa. U. S. 
Lact-uca. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia JEqualis.— Nat. Ord. Compositae Cicho- 
raceae, De Cand. Cichoraceae, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx imbricated, cylindrical, with a mem- 
branous margin. Pappus simple, stipitate. Seed smooth. Willd. 
The plants of this genus yield when wounded a milky juice, to which, indeed, 
they owe their generic name. In some of them this juice possesses valuable 
narcotic properties. This is the case, among others, with L. sativa, L. virosa, 
and L. altissima. It was supposed that our native L. elongata, or wild lettuce, 
might have similar virtues ; and Dr. Bigelow was informed by physicians who 
had employed it, that it acts as an anodyne, and promotes the secretion from 
the skin and kidneys. But, according to M. Aubergier, who experimented with 
different species of Lactuca, in order to ascertain from which of them lactucarium 
might be most advantageously obtained, the milky juice of this plant is of a flat 
and sweetish taste without bitterness, contains much mannite, but no bitter 
principle, and is destitute of narcotic properties. (Ann. de Therap., 1843, p. 18.) 
The probability is that it is nearly or quite inert. Therefore, though formerly 
holding a place in our national Pharmacopoeia, it has been discarded. 
Lactuca sativa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1523. The garden lettuce is an annual 
plant. The stem, which rises above two feet, is erect, round, simple below, and 
branching in its upper part. The lower leaves are obovate, rounded at the end, 
and undulating; the upper are smaller, sessile, cordate, and toothed; both are 
shining, and of a yellowish-green colour. The flowers are pale-yellow, small, 
and disposed in an irregular terminal corymb. Before the flower-stem begins 
to shoot, the plant contains a bland, pellucid juice, has little taste or smell, and 
is much used as a salad for the table; but during the period of inflorescence 
it abounds in a milky juice, which readily escapes from incisions in the stem, 
and has been found to possess decided medicinal as well as sensible properties. 
The juice is more abundant in the wild than the cultivated plants. Inspissated 
by exposure to the air, it constitutes the lactucarium of our Pharmacopoeia. 
This was formerly recognised by all the British Pharmacopoeias; but has been 
discarded, we think upon insufficient grounds, in the new code. 
The original native country of the garden lettuce is unknown. The plant 
has been cultivated from time immemorial, and is now employed in all parts 
of the civilized world. It flourishes equally in hot and temperate latitudes. 
Some botanists suppose that L. virosa of the old continent is the parent of all 
the varieties of the cultivated plant. 
Lactuca virosa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1526; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 15, t. 31. 
The acrid or strong-scented lettuce is biennial, with a stem from two to four 
feet high, erect, prickly near the base, above smooth and divided into branches. 
The lower leaves are large, oblong-obovate, undivided, toothed, commonly 
prickly on the under side of the midrib, sessile, and horizontal; the upper are 
smaller, clasping, and often lobed ; the bractes are cordate and pointed. The 
flowers are numerous, of a sulphur-yellow colour, and disposed in a panicle. 
The plant is a native of Europe. 
L. virosa is lactescent, and has a strong disagreeable smell like that of opium, 
and a bitterish, acrid taste. It was admitted by the late Edinburgh and Dub- 
lin Pharmacopoeias as one of the sources of lactucarium, which it is said to 
yield in greater quantity, and of better quality, than the garden lettuce. Mr. 
Schutz, of Germany, obtained only 17 grains, on the average, from a single 
plant of the garden lettuce, while a plant of L. virosa yielded 56 grains. The 
British Pharmacopoeia recognises it, but not for the sake of its inspissated 
juice, which it has discarded. 
The milky juice of these species of Lactuca undergoes little alteration, if 518 
Lactucarium. 
FAHT T. 
confined in closely stopped bottles from which the air is excluded. But, when 
exposed to the air, it concretes, and assumes a brownish colour somewhat like 
that of opium The following mode of collecting it from L. sativa was recom- 
mended by Mr. Young, of Edinburgh. When the stem is about a foot high, 
the top is cut off, and the juice which exudes, being absorbed by cotton or a 
piece of sponge, is pressed out into a cup or other small vessel, and exposed 
till it concretes. In order to obtain all the juice which the plant is capable ot 
affording, it is necessary to cut off five or six successive slices of the stem at 
short intervals, and to repeat the process two or three times a day. The juice 
may also be collected by the finger as it flows from the incisions. 
A plan proposed by Mr. Probart, of London, is to collect the milky juice on 
pieces of woven cotton about half a yard square, to throw these when fully 
charged into a vessel containing a small quantity of water, and allow the water 
thus impregnated to evaporate in shallow dishes at the ordinary atmospheric 
temperature. The lactucarium is left in the form of an extract. 
Another method of extracting the virtues of the lettuce has been recom- 
mended by Mr. Probart. When the plant begins to assume a yellow hue, the 
white juice concretes in the bark of the stem, and in the old leaves, which be- 
come very bitter. These parts, being separated, are macerated for twenty-four 
hours in water, then boiled for two hours ; and the clear decoction, having been 
allowed to drain off through a sieve, is evaporated in shallow vessels by simple 
exposure. The resulting extract, according to Mr. Probart, has half the strength 
of lactucarium, and may be obtained at one-sixth of the cost. 
The inspissated expressed juice of L. sativa was formerly officinal; but this 
must be exceedingly uncertain, from the variable quantity of the milky juice 
contained in the plant; and, as the young leaves, which contain little or none 
of it, were often employed, the preparation was liable to be quite inert. The 
thridace of Dr. Francis, at one time supposed to be identical with lactucarium, 
is in all probability nothing more than the inspissated expressed juice of let- 
tuce, and, indeed, was directed as such in the French Codex of 1837 ; the leaves 
being rejected, and the stalks alone, near the flowering period, being subjected 
to pressure. The present Codex wisely discards the thridace, and admits the 
proper lactucarium. The Br. Pharmacopoeia directs an extract of L. virosa. 
M. Aubergier, of Clermont, in a treatise presented to the French Academy 
of Sciences in November, 1842, states that lactucarium, identical with that of 
the garden lettuce, can be abundantly and cheaply procured from Lactuca altis- 
sima, which is a large plant, with a stem more than nine feet high, and an inch 
and a half in diameter. (Annuaire de Therap., 1843, p. 18.) 
Lactucarium, as brought from England, is in small irregular lumps, about 
the size of a pea or larger, of a reddish-brown colour externally, and of a nar- 
cotic odour and bitter taste. As prepared near Edinburgh, it is commonly in 
roundish, compact, and rather hard masses, weighing several ounces. (Christi- 
son.) A variety, known in our market as German lactucarium, is in pieces 
about an inch and a half by an inch in thickness, four-sided, with one side convex 
and the three others flat, or slightly concave from shrinking, as if quarter sec- 
tions of a saucer-shaped cake, which had been divided before it was quite dry. 
The colour on the outer or convex surface is darkish-brown, that of the cut sur- 
faces light yellowish-brown. From experiments by Messrs. Parrish and Bakes, 
the German appears to be inferior to the English; as 44 per cent, of spiritu- 
ous extract was obtained from the latter, and only 36 per cent, from the for- 
mer, while the two extracts were about equal in their sensible properties. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 226.) In colour, taste, and smell lactucarium 
bears considerable resemblance to opium, and has sometimes been called lettuce 
opium. It does not attract moisture from the air. It yields nearly half its weight 
to water, with which it forms a deep-brown infusion. From its resemblance in 
sensible properties and therapeutical effects to opium, it was conjectured to 
contain morphia, or some analogous principle; but this conjecture has not }ret 
been verified. Buchner, Aubergier, and Walz claim severally to have discovered PART I. 
Lactucarium. 
519 
the active principle, which has been named lactucin; but the substances ob- 
tained by these different chemists are not exactly identical in properties; and 
the lactucin of Walz and Aubergier is considered by M. Lenoir as owing its 
bitterness to impurities, separated from which it is without taste and inert, it 
is at least doubtful whether the constituent upon which the medical virtues of 
lactucarium depend has yet been isolated. We give in a note the results of 
various analyses of this medicine. They all relate to the lactucarium obtained 
from Lactuca virosa. * 
* Buchner published experiments on lactucarium in 1832. His results are not essen- 
tially different from those subsequently obtained. The principle, named by him lactucin, 
is bitter, soluble in water, more soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, without alkaline re- 
action though precipitated by tannic acid, destitute of nitrogen, capable of forming with 
acids very soluble bitter combinations, and not easily obtained perfectly white and crys- 
tallized. (See Pharm. Journ., vii. 74.) 
I)r. Walz, in an inaugural thesis published at Heidelberg in 1839, gives the following 
constituents of lactucarium from L. virosa; viz., a peculiar principle denominated lac- 
tucin, volatile oil, a fatty matter easily dissolved by ether, and another of difficult solu- 
bility in that fluid, a reddish-yellow tasteless resin, a greenish-yellow acrid resin, common 
sugar, uncrystallizable sugar, gum, pectic acid, a brown humus-like acid, a brown basic 
substance, albumen, oxalic, citric, malic, and nitric acids, potassa, lime, and magnesia. 
Lactucin, as obtained by Walz, is in yellow crystalline needles, inodorous, of a strong 
and durable bitter taste, easily fusible, soluble in from 60 to 80 parts of cold water, freely 
soluble in alcohol, less so in ether, soluble in very dilute acids, and without alkaline or 
acid reaction. (Annal.der Pharm., xxxii. 97.) It was obtained by treating lactucarium 
with alcohol acidulated with one-flfteenth of concentrated vinegar, adding an equal 
volume of water, precipitating by subacetate of lead, separating the excess of lead by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, filtering, evaporating by a gentle heat, treating the residuum 
by ether, and allowing the solution to evaporate. 
M. Aubergier, in his memoir presented to the French Academy in 1842, gives the fol- 
lowing as the result of his analysis:—1. a bitter crystallizable substance (lactucin), soluble 
in alcohol and boiling water, scarcely soluble in cold water, insoluble in ether, without 
alkaline reaction, and supposed to be the active principle; 2. mannite; 3. asparamide; 
4. a crystallizable substance having the property of colouring green the sesquisalts of 
iron; 5. an electro-negative resin, combined with potassa; 6. a neuter resin; 7. ulmate 
of potassa; 8. cerin, myricin, pectin, and albumen; 9. oxalate, malate, nitrate, and sul- 
phate of potassa, chloride of potassium, phosphate of lime and magnesia, oxides of iron 
and manganese, and silica. The bitter principle above referred to separates from its 
solution in boiling water, upon cooling, in pearly scales. By the action of alkalies it 
loses its bitterness, which is not restored by acids. The lactescence of the fresh juice of 
lettuce is owing to a mixture of wax and resin, and not to caoutchouc. (Ann. de Therap., 
1843, p. 19.) The bitter principle of Aubergier differs from that of Dr. Walz in being 
less soluble in cold water, and insoluble in ether. 
M. Lenoir considers the lactucin of these two chemists as impure, and denies that it is 
the active principle, which, he thinks, is probably an organic alkali. He obtained the 
lactucin pure by treating the lactucarium of L. virosa with boiling alcohol, and filter- 
ing while hot. It was deposited on the cooling of the liquid, and afterwards purified by 
frequent crystallization from alcohol, and treatment with animal charcoal. Thus ob- 
tained, it was without taste or smell, and without effect upon the system. It was nearly 
insoluble in water, but readily dissolved by alcohol, ether, and the volatile and fixed 
oils. He proposed to name it lactucone, leaving the former name for the active principle 
when isolated. (Ann. de Chim. et de Phys., Feb. 1847.) According to Walz, the lactucone 
of Lenoir is only the fatty matter discovered by himself. Thieme could not divide this 
into the two kinds noticed by Walz as differing in their solubility in ether, and, con- 
sidering it as peculiar, proposed for it the name of lactucerin. 
The most recent analysis of lactucarium is by Ludwig. That chemist found, in 100 
parts, 48 63 of substances insoluble in water, and 51-37 of those soluble in water. Of the 
insoluble matter 42-64 parts were of lactucerin or lactucone, which he obtained by first 
exhausting lactucarium with water, then treating the insoluble residue several times 
with hot alcohol of 0-833, allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate slowly, washing 
the yellowish substance thus procured with water, and purifying it by re-solution in alco- 
hol, and crystallization. Thus obtained, it is in snow-white aggregated granules, dis- 
solves in strong hot alcohol which deposits it on cooling, is readily soluble in ether but 
insoluble in water, becomes transparent and tenacious when moderately heated in a 
platinum dish, melts completely at a higher heat with the escape of white odorous va- 
pours, is incapable of saponification by caustic potassa, and is therefore not properly a 
fat, and in alcoholic solution faintly reddens litmus-paper. It consists of carbon, hy- 
drogen, and oxygen (C40H:wO3). Besides this principle there were 3-99 parts of wax, and 
2-00 of lignin and of a substance which swelled in ammonia, and was insoluble in water 520 
Lactucarium. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. That lettuce possesses soporific properties 
is a fact which was known to the ancients; but Dr. J. R. Coxe, of Philadelphia, 
enjoys the credit of havingfirst proposed the employment of its inspissated milky 
juice as a medicine. From experiments with a tincture prepared from lactu- 
carium, Dr. Coxe obtained the same results as usually follow the administration 
of laudanum. Dr. Duncan, senior, of Edinburgh, afterwards paid particular 
attention to the subject, and, in his treatise on pulmonary consumption, recom- 
mended lactucarium as a substitute for opium, the anodyne properties of which 
it possesses, without being followed by the same injurious effects. From 
this recommendation, the medicine came into extensive use, and was adopted 
as officinal in several of the Pharmacopoeias. Dr. a French physician, 
also investigated the medicinal properties of the inspissated juice of lettuce 
According to that author, it is sedative, diminishing the rapidity of the circula- 
tion, and consequently the temperature of the body, without producing that dis- 
turbance of the functions which often follows the use of opium. The general 
inference which maybe drawn from the recorded experience in relation to lactu- 
carium is, that it has, in a much inferior degree, the anodyne and calming pro- 
perties of opium, without its disposition to excite the circulation, to produce 
headache and obstinate constipation, and to derange the digestive organs. In 
this country the medicine is occasionally employed to allay cough, and quiet 
nervous irritation. It may be given in all cases in which, while opium is indi- 
cated in reference to its anodyne or soothing influence, it cannot be administered 
from idiosyncrasy of the patient. It is, however, very uncertain. The dose is 
from five to fifteen or twenty grains. An alcoholic extract would be a good 
preparation. It may be given in the dose of from two to five grains. A syrup 
is directed in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Syrupus Laciucarii, Part II.)* 
alcohol, and ether. Of the 51-37 parts soluble in water, 6 98 were albumen, 1-75 lactucerin 
held in solution by other substances, 27-68 bitter extract soluble in v:ater and in alcohol, 
and 14-96 watery extract insoluble in alcohol of 0 830. The former of these extracts was 
found to contain a peculiar acid substance called lactucic acid, and the lactucin of Auber- 
gier. To obtain these principles, 80 parts of lactucarium, in line powder, were triturated 
with 80 of pure cold diluted sulphuric acid, and then mixed with 400 parts of alcohol of 
0-851; the liquor was filtered, shaken with hydrate of lime till it yielded no precipitate 
with baryta-water or oxalate of potassa, then decolorized with pure animal charcoal, 
and evaporated; the brown tenacious mass thus obtained (alcoholic extract) was treated 
with boiling water, which left behind a viscid substance; the aqueous solution was 
treated with animal charcoal, and on being evaporated yielded a mixture of lactucic 
acid and lactucin; these were separated by dissolving the mixture in boiling water, 
which on cooling deposited the latter in white crystalline scales, and gave up the former 
on subsequent evaporation. Lactucic acid is of difficult crystallization, light-yellow, 
strongly bitter, without sour taste, of an acid reaction, and readily soluble in alcohol 
and water. It has as much claim as any other discovered substance to be considered the 
active principle of lactucarium. Lactucin, purified by animal charcoal, is in white pearly 
scales, the solution of which exhibits no reaction with subacetate of lead, or solution of 
iodine. It is dissolved without change of colour by concentrated sulphuric acid. Besides 
the above ingredients, Ludwig found also in lactucarium a substa?ice resembling mannite, 
oxalic acid, another organic acid not well determined, a soft resin, potassa, magnesia, and 
oxide of iron. Distilled with diluted sulphuric acid, it gave an acid product smelling 
like lactucarium, which, saturated with carbonate of lime, and again distilled with bisuf- 
phate of potassa, yielded an acid fluid having the odour of valerian. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 
June, 1847, p. 438; from Arch, der Pharm., ii. 1 and 129. See also Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xx. 57.)—Note to the eighth edition. 
* Mr. Wm. Hodgson has recommended that lactucarium should he prepared for use by 
freeing it from a caoutchouc-like principle, which, without possessing any medicinal 
virtues, interferes with its convenient exhibition. He recommends chloroform for this 
purpose, but found benzole to answer bfetter, as it removes this tenacious matter without 
affecting the active principle. 
Fluid Extract of Lactucarium. Messrs. Parrish and Bakes propose a fluid extract, 
prepared by completely exhausting lactucarium with diluted alcohol, evaporating the 
tincture till each fluidounCe represents a troyounce of the drug, separating the resinous 
matter deposited in the course of the evaporation, rubbing this with a little strong alco- 
hol till dissolved, and adding the solution to the fluid extract before the entire comple- 
tion of the process. Thus prepared, the fluid extract is black, of a heavy narcotic odour 
and intensely bitter. Each minim of it represents a grain of the lactucarium. (Am- 
Journ. of Pharm., May, 1860, p. 229.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Lactucarium.—Lappa. 
521 
Water distilled from lettuce {eau de laitue) is used in France as a mild seda- 
tive, in the quantity of from two to four ounces. The fresh leaves boiled 
in water are sometimes employed in the shape of cataplasm. It is said that 
in Egypt a mild oil is derived from the seeds, fit for culinary use. 
The extract or inspissated expressed juice of L. virosa is a sedative narcotic, 
said also to be gently laxative, powerfully diuretic, and somewhat diaphoretic 
It is employed in Europe, particularly in Germany, in the treatment of dropsy, 
and is especially recommended in cases attended with visceral obstruction. It 
is usually, however, combined with squill, digitalis, or some other diuretic; and 
it is not easy to decide how much of the effect is justly ascribable to the lettuce. 
The medicine is never used in this country. The dose is eight or ten grains, which 
may be gradually increased to a scruple or more. Lactuca Scariola, another Eu- 
ropean species, possesses similar properties, and is used for the same purposes. 
Off. Prep, of Lactuca, Br. Extractum Lactucae, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Lactucarium, U. S. Syrupus Lactucarii, U. S. W. 
LAPPA. U. S. Secondary, 
The root of Lappa minor. U. S. 
Bardane, Fr.; Gemeine Klette, Germ,.; Bardana, ItaL, Span. 
Arctium. Sex.Syst. Syngenesia iEqualis.—Nat. Ord. Composite Cina- 
reae, Be Gand. Cynaraceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle chaffy. Calyx globular; the scales at the apex with 
inverted hooks. Seed-down bristly, chaffy. Willd. 
Arctium Lappa. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1631; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 32, t. 13. 
—Lappa major. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 661. Burdock is biennial, with a 
simple spindle-shaped root, a foot or more in length, brown externally, white 
and spongy within, furnished with thread-like fibres, and having withered scales 
near the summit. The stem is succulent, pubescent, branching, and three or 
four feet in height, bearing very large cordate, denticulate leaves, which are 
green on their upper surface, whitish and downy on the under, and stand on 
long footstalks. The flowers are purple, globose, and in terminal panicles. The 
calyx consists of imbricated scales, with hooked extremities, by which they ad- 
here to clothes, and the coats of animals. The seed-down is rough and prickly, 
and the seeds quadrangular. 
This plant, which is the one intended in the Pharmacopoeia, is a native or 
Europe, and is abundant in the United States, where it grows on the roadsides, 
among rubbish, and in cultivated grounds. Pursh thinks that it was introduced. 
The root, which should be collected in spring, loses four-fifths of its weight by 
drying. The odour of the root is weak and unpleasant, the taste mucilagin- 
ous and sweetish, with a slight degree of bitterness and astringency. Among 
its constituents, inulin has been found by Guibourt, and sugar by Fee. 
The seeds are aromatic, bitterish, and somewhat acrid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The root is considered aperient, diaphoretic, 
and diuretic, without irritating properties; and has been recommended in gouty, 
scorbutic, venereal, rheumatic, scrofulous, leprous, and nephritic affections. Dr. 
J. Adolphus, of Hastings, Michigan, speaks of burdock in the strongest terms 
as a remedy in cutaneous diseases. He has treated with it successfully herpes, 
lepra, psoriasis, prurigo, lupus, and obstinate acne, and thinks nothing equal to 
it in the cutaneous diseases of children. {Med. and Surg. Reporter, March T, 
1868, p. 214.) To prove effectual its use must be long continued. It is admin- 
istered in the form of decoction, which may be prepared by boiling two ounces 
of the recent bruised root in three pints of water to two, and given in the quan- 
tity of a pint during the day. A fluid extract and syrup have also been prepared 
from it A The seeds are diuretic, and have been used in the same complaints, 
Burdock. 
* Fluid Extract of Burdock. This is prepared by Mr. I. J. Graham in the following 
manner. Sixteen ounces of the root, in moderately fine powder, are first moistened with 522 
Laurocerasi Folia. 
PART l. 
in the form of emulsion, powder, and tincture. The dose is a drachm. The 
leaves have been employed both externally and internally in cutaneous erup- 
tions and ulcerations. W. 
LAUROCERASI FOLIA. Br. 
Cherry-laurel Leaves. 
The fresh leaves of Prunus Laurocerasus.the Common or Cherry Laurel. Br. 
Laurier cerise, Fr.; Kirschlorbeer, Germ.; Lauro ceraso, Ital. 
Cerasus. Sex.Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Amygdalese. 
Gen. Gh. Differing from Prunus only in its fruit being destitute of bloom, 
with the stone round instead of acute, and the leaves when in bud folded flat, 
not rolled up. (Lindley, Flor. Med , 232.) 
Cerasus Lauro-cerasus. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 540. — Prunus Lauro-cer 
asus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 988; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 513, t. 185. This is a small 
evergreen tree, rising 15 or 20 feet, with long spreading branches, which, as 
well as the trunk, are covered with a smooth, blackish bark. The leaves, stand- 
ing alternately on short strong footstalks, are oval-oblong, from five to seven 
inches in length, acute, finely-toothed, firm, coriaceous, smooth, beautifully green 
and shining, with oblique nerves, and yellowish glands at the base. The flowers 
are small, white, strongly odorous, and disposed in simple axillary racemes. The 
fruit is an oval drupe, very similar in shape and structure to a small black cherry. 
The cherry-laurel is a native of Asia Minor, but has been introduced into 
Europe, throughout which it is cultivated both for medical use, and for the 
beauty of its shining evergreen foliage. Almost all parts of it are more or less 
impregnated with the odour, supposed to indicate the presence of hydrocyanic 
acid. The leaves only are officinal. 
In their recent and entire state they have scarcely any smell; but, when 
they emit the chai’acteristic odour of the plant in a high degree. Their taste is 
somewhat astringent and strongly bitter, with the flavour of the peach kernel. 
By drying they lose their odour, but retain their bitterness. They yield a pecu- 
liar oil and hydrocyanic acid by distillation with water, which they strongly 
impregnate with their flavour. One pound, avoirdupois, of the fresh leaves 
yields 40 5 grains of the oil. (Cent. Blatt, A. D. 1855, p. 205.) The oil resembles 
that of bitter almonds, for which it is said to be sometimes sold in Europe, 
where it is employed to flavour liquors and various culinary preparations; but, 
as it is highly poisonous, danger may result from its careless use. It has not 
been determined how far the mode of production of this oil resembles that of 
bitter almonds. (See Amygdala Amara.) Chemists have failed in obtaining 
amygdalin from the leaves. That the oil exists already formed, to a certain 
extent, in the fresh leaves, is rendered probable by the fact, stated by Winckler, 
that they yield it in considerable quantity when distilled without water. (Journ. 
de Pliarm., xxv. 195.) The fresh leaves are used to flavour milk, cream, &c., 
and more safely than the oil; though they also are poisonous, when too largely 
employed. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The leaves of the cherry-laurel possess pro- 
perties similar to those of hydrocyanic acid; and the water distilled from them is 
much employed in various parts of Europe for the same purposes as that active 
medicine. But it is deteriorated by age, and, therefore, as kept in the shops, 
must be of variable strength. Hence, while Ilufeland directs only twenty drops 
diluted alcohol, and then submitted to percolation with the same menstruum until ex- 
hausted; one and a half fluidounces of the tincture which first passes being reserved. 
The l miainder of the filtrate is evaporated, by means of a water-bath, to nine fluid- 
ounces, to which four ounces of sugar, and, after filtration, the reserved portion are 
added. A fluidrachm, representing eighty grains of the root, may be given for a dose. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860, p. 178.) A syrup may be prepared by mixing four 
fluidounces of this fluid extract with twelve fluidounces of simple syrup, and given in 
the dose of a tablespoonful. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART i. 
Laurocerasi Folia.—Lavandula. 
523 
for a dose every two hours, to be gradually increased to sixty diops, M. Foil 
quier has administered several ounces without effect. Another source of in- 
equality of strength must be the variable quality of the leaves, according to 
the time they have been kept after separation from the tree, and probably also 
to their age and degree of development. Mr. J. Broker, a Dutch pharmacolo- 
gist, has satisfied himself, by numerous experiments, that the proportion of 
hydrocyanic acid in the leaves varies with the season, the age of the plant, the 
character of the soil and of the weather; and thinks that, in consequence of this 
variability, they are inferior for medical use to bitter almonds, which in this 
respect have a more steady constitution. He found the proportion of the acid 
in the leaves greatest in July, and least in February. (B. and F. Medico-chir. 
Rev., Oct. 1868, p. 51*7.) It is not, therefore, to be regretted that the want of 
the plant in this country has prevented the general introduction of the distilled 
water into use. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Laurocerasi, Br. W. 
LAVANDULA. U. S. 
Lavender. 
The flowers of Lavandula vera. U. S. 
Lavande, Fr., Lavandelblumen, GermLavandola, Ital.; Espliego, Alhucema, Span 
Lavandula. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiacea 
or Labiatte. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx ovate, somewhat toothed, supported by a bracte. Corolla 
resupine. Stamens within the tube. Willd. 
Lavandula vera. De Cand. Flor. Fr. Sup. p. 398. — L. Spica. Willd Sp. 
Plant, iii. 60; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 321, t. 114. The Lavandula Spica of Lin- 
naeus includes two distinct species, which were considered by him merely as 
varieties of the same plant, but have been separated by subsequent botanists. 
Of these, the officinal plant, the narrow-leaved variety of Linnaeus, has been de- 
nominated by De Candolle L. uera, while the broad leaved variety still retains 
the title of L. Spica. The latter is scarcely cultivated in the United States. 
Common lavender is a small shrub, usually not more than two or three feet 
high, but sometimes as much as six feet. The stem is woody below, and covered 
with a brown bark; above, is divided into numerous, slender, straight, herba- 
ceous, pubescent, quadrangular branches, furnished with opposite, sessile, nar- 
row, nearly linear, entire, and green or glaucous leaves. The flowers are small, 
blue, and disposed in interrupted whorls around the young shoots, forming ter- 
minal cylindrical spikes. Each whorl is accompanied with two bractes. The 
corolla is tubular and labiate, with the lower lip divided into three segments, 
the upper larger and bifid. The filaments are within the tube. 
The plant is a native of Southern Europe, and covers vast tracts of dry and 
barren land in Spain, Italy, and the south of France. It is cultivated in our 
gardens, and in this country flowers in August. It is said that in fields, when 
too thickly planted, it is apt to suffer from a disease consequent on the noxious 
influence of its own aroma, which is relieved by thinning the plants. (Pharm. 
Journ., x. 119.) All parts of it are aromatic; but the flowers only are officinal. 
The spikes should be cut when they begin to bloom * 
Lavender flowers have a strong fragrant odour, and an aromatic, warm, bit- 
terish taste. They retain their fragrance long after drying. Alcohol extracts 
their virtues; and a volatile oil upon which their odour depends rises with that 
liquid in distillation. The oil may be procured separate by distilling the flowers 
with water. (See Oleum Lavandulae.) Hagan obtained from a pound of the 
fresh flowers from half a drachm to two drachms of the oil. 
* For accounts of the cultivation of lavender at Hitchin, in England, see Pharm, 
Jorum., Nov. 1859, p. 276, and the Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Jan. 14, 1864, p. 481 
(Note to the twelfth edition.) 524 
Leptandra. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lavender is an aromatic stimulant and tonic, 
esteemed useful in certain conditions of nervous debility, but seldom given in its 
crude state. The products obtained by its distillation are much used in per 
fumery, and as adjuvants to other medicines, which they render at the same time 
more acceptable to the palate, and cordial to the stomach. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Lavandulae; Spiritus Lavandulae, U. S. W. 
LEPTANDRA. U. S. 
Leptandra. 
The root of Veronica Virginica {Linn.), Leptandra Virginica (Nuttall). U. S. 
Leptandra. Sex. Syst. Oiandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae. 
Gen. Gli. Calyx five-parted, segments acuminate. Corolla tubular-campanu- 
late, border four-lobed, a little ringent, unequal, the lower lamina narrower. 
Stamens and at length the pistils much exserted; filaments below, and tube of 
the corolla pubescent. Capsule ovate, acuminate, two-celled, many-seeded, 
opening at the summit. Nuttall. 
The genus Leptandra was separated by Nuttall from the Veronica of Linnaeus; 
and, though the new genus is not universally admitted, and has been rejected in 
the Manual of Gray, and the Flora of Chapman, yet it has in its favour the dis- 
tinctive character of its medical properties, and is retained here on this and other 
considerations. 
Leptandra Yirginica. Nuttall, Genera of N. Am. Plants, i. 7 ; Rafinesque, 
Med. Flora, vol. ii.— Veronica Viryinica, Linn.; Gray, Man. of Bot. &c. p. 
290. This plant, commonly called Culver's root, or Culver's physic, is a her- 
baceous perennial, with a simple, erect stem, three or four feet high, smooth or 
downy, furnished with leaves in whorls, and terminating in a long spike of white 
flowers. The leaves, of which there are from four to seven in each whorl, are 
lanceolate, pointed, and minutely serrate, and stand on short footstalks. A 
variety was seen by Pursh with purple flowers, which was described and figured 
as a distinct species by Rafinesque, under the name of L. purpurea. The plant 
flowers in July and August. It grows throughout the United States east of the 
Mississippi, affecting mountain meadows in the South, and rich woods in the 
North, and not unfrequently cultivated. 
The root is the part employed. Under the title of Veronica, it was recognised 
in the first and second editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, holding a place in 
the secondary catalogue; was omitted in the third and fourth editions; and so 
rapidly had it gained favour in the intervening decennial period, that in the 
fifth edition it was not only readmitted with the name of Leptandra, but took a 
place in the primary list. 
Properties. The root consists of a rhizoma or root-stalk several inches in 
length, sometimes branched, with numerous long slender radicles. As brought 
dried to the shops, the rhizoma is usually broken into pieces an inch or more 
long, from two to four lines in thickness, either beset with the rootlets or very 
rough from their remains when broken, very hard and firm, and of difficult frac- 
ture, dark-brown externally, light-coloured and ligneous within. The rootlets 
are round, smooth, slender, generally broken, but, when not so, six inches or 
more in length, and almost black, being much darker-coloured than the caudex. 
The odour is feeble and not disagreeable, the taste bitterish, somewhat nauseous, 
and feebly acrid. Water and alcohol extract the virtues of the root. Accord- 
ing to Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, it contains volatile oil, extractive, tannin, 
gum, resin, and a peculiar crystalline principle, to which the virtues of the 
medicine may be ascribed. To this principle the name of leptandrin properly 
belongs. Mr. Wayne obtained it by treating an infusion of the root with sub- 
acetate of lead, filtering, precipitating the excess of lead by carbQnate of soda, 
filtering to separate the carbonate of lead, passing the filtered liquid through 
animal charcoal which absorbed all the active matter,washing the charcoal with PART i. 
Leptandra.—Limones.—Limonis Cortex. 
525 
water till the washings began to be bitter, then treating it with boiling alcohol, 
and allowing the alcoholic solution to evaporate spontaneously. By dissolving 
the powder thus obtained in water, treating this with ether, and allowing the 
ether to evaporate, needle-shaped crystals were obtained, which had the bitter 
taste of the root. The resinous matter obtained by making a tincture of the 
root, and precipitating this with water, has been improperly called leptandrin, 
and considered the active principle. The pure resin is probably inert; and the 
preparation referred to owes what activity it may possess to some of the true 
leptandrin associated with it. Leptandrin is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. 
It has not been isolated for use. {Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1856, 
p. 34.) Subsequently, Mr. Wayne has obtained from the root a saccharine prin- 
ciple, which he found to have the properties of mannite (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., 
Nov. 1859, p. 557); and Prof. F. F Mayer has extracted a saponaceous prin- 
ciple, closely resembling senegin, which he ascertained to be a glucosido. (Ibid., 
July, 1863, p. 298.) The chemistry, however, of leptandra needs further investi- 
gation. 
Medical Properties. The recent root is said to act violently as a cathartic, 
and sometimes as an emetic. In the dried state it is much milder, but less cer- 
tain. The practitioners calling themselves Eclectics consider it an excellent 
cholagogue, and use both the impure resin, which they call leptandrin, and the 
root itself as a substitute for mercurials. Dr. A. P. Duteher, of Cleveland, Ohio, 
after considerable experience with leptandrin, has not found it to act decidedly 
on the liver, and thinks it, in this respect, a very unsatisfactory substitute for 
mercury; but believes that it has a special influence on the muciparous follicles 
of the intestines, and acts very advantageously in cases of duodenal indigestion 
and chronic constipation. (Med. and Surg. Reporter, March 28, 1868, p. 275.) 
The full cathartic dose of the powder is from twenty grains to a drachm; that 
of the impure resin referred to, from two to four grains. Dr. J. Adolphus says 
that, in the dose of one or two grains, the powder acts like rhubarb. On the 
same authority, from five to ten drops of a strong tincture, given every two 
hours, produce a mild aperient effect. (Ibid., Jan. 11, 1868, p. 23.) Prof. Proc- 
ter has prepared a fluid extract of leptandra, which probably contains all its 
virtues, and may be given as an aperient cholagogue in the dose of from 
twenty to sixty minims.* W. 
LIMONES. 
Lemons. 
The fruit of Citrus Limonum. 
Limons, Citrons, Fr.; Limonen, Citronen, Germ.; Limoni, Ital.; Limones, Span. 
LIMONIS CORTEX. U.S.,Br. 
Lemon Peel. 
The rind of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. U. S. The outer part of the rind 
of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. Br. 
* The following is the formula referred to in the text. Moisten sixteen troyounces ot 
the powdered root with three fluidounces of a mixture consisting of two parts of alcohol 
by measure and one of water, pack it in a glass percolator, and pour upon it the diluted 
alcohol. When a pint of the tincture has passed, set this aside in a warm place, so that 
it may evaporate to one-half. Continue the percolation until three pints more are ob- 
tained, which are to be evaporated on a water-bath to a pint. To this add four ounces 
of sugar, and, having continued the evaporation till the liquid is reduced to half a pint, 
add this while hot to the reserved liquid, so as together to make a pint. (Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm., March, 1863, p. 112.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 526 
Limones.—Limonis Cortex.—Limonis Succas. 
PART I, 
LIMONIS SUCCUS. U.S., Br. 
Lemon Juice. 
The juice of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. TJ. S. The freshly expressed juice 
of the ripe fruit. Br. 
For some general remarks on the genus Citrus, see Aurantii Cortex. 
Citrus medica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1426; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 582, t. 189. 
This tree closely resembles Citrus Auranlium, before described. The leaves, 
however, are larger, slightly indented at the edges, and stand upon footstalks 
which are destitute of the winged appendages that characterize the other species. 
The flowers, moreover, have a purplish tinge on their outer surface, and the fruit 
is entirely different in appearance from the orange. There are several varieties 
of Citrus medica, which some botanists consider as distinct species, but which 
scarcely differ except in the character of their fruit. Those particularly deserv- 
ing of notice are the citron, lemon, and lime. 1. In the citron, C. medica of 
Risso, the fruit is very large, sometimes six inches in length, ovoidal, with a 
double rind, of which the outer layer is yellowish, thin, unequal, rugged, with 
innumerable vesicles filled with essential oil; the inner is white, very thick, and 
spongy. It is divided in the interior into nine or ten cells, filled with oblong 
vesicles, which contain an acid juice precisely like that of the lemon, and used 
for the same purposes. The rind is applied to the preparation of conserves, to 
which it is adapted by its thickness. The fruit is called cedrat by the French. 
2. The lemon (C. medica, var limon of Linn., Citrus Limonium of Ilisso) is 
smaller than the preceding, with a smoother and thinner rind, a pointed nipple- 
shaped summit, and a very juicy, acid pulp. In other respects it closely re- 
sembles the citron, to which, however, it is usually preferred in consequence 
of the greater abundance of its juice. 3. The lime is still smaller than the lemon, 
with a smoother and thinner rind, oval, rounded at the extremities, of a pale- 
yellow or greenish-yellow colour, and abounding in a very acid juice, which 
renders it highly useful for the purposes to which the lemon is applied. It is 
the product of the variety C. acris of Miller. 
The Citrus medica, like the orange-tree, is a native of Asia. It was intro- 
duced into Europe from Persia or Media, was first cultivated in Greece, after- 
wards in Italy, so early as the second century, and has now spread over the 
whole civilized world, being raised by artificial heat where the climate is too 
cold to admit of its exposure during winter to the open air. 
We are supplied with lemons and limes chiefly from the West Indies and the 
Mediterranean. Though the former of these fruits only is directed by the 
United States Pharmacopoeia, both kinds are employed indiscriminately for 
most medicinal purposes; and the lime affords a juice at least equal, in propor- 
tional quantity and acidity, to that obtained from the lemon. 
As lemons rapidly deteriorate on keeping, if exposed to the air, the sug- 
gestion of protecting them by a varnish of shellac dissolved in alcohol, made 
by Mr. George Mee, of London, is not without value. Mr. Mee found that 
lemons thus covered with varnish continued sound for many months. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1866, p. 474.) 
Properties. The exterior rind of the lemon has a fragrant odour, and a 
warm, aromatic, bitter taste, somewhat similar to that of the orange, though 
less agreeable. It contains a bitter principle, and yields, by expression or distil- 
lation, an essential oil, which is much used for its flavour. Both this and the rind 
itself are recognised in the Pharmacopoeias. (See Oleum Limonis.) When the 
white spongy portion of the rind is boiled in water, and the decoction evapo- 
rated, crystals are deposited, of a substance called hesperidin. This is bitter, 
but, as it is found most largely in the spongy and comparatively tasteless part 
of the rind, it may be doubted whether it is entitled to be considered as the 
active bitter principle. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , xxvi. 553.) Lemon pee) 
yields its virtues to water, wine, and alcohol. PART I. 
Limones.—Limonis Cortex.—Limonis Succus. 
527 
■ The juice is the part for which the fruit is most esteemed. It is sharply acid, 
with a peculiar grateful flavour, and consists chiefly of citric acid, mucilage, 
and extractive, dissolved in water. As lemons cannot always be obtained, the 
juice is often kept in a separate state; but, from its liability to spontaneous 
decomposition, it speedily becomes unfit for medical use; and, though various 
means have been resorted to for its preservation, it can never be made to retain 
for any length of time its original flavour unaltered. The best medicinal sub- 
stitute for lemon juice is a solution of crystallized citric acid in water, in the 
proportion of about an ounce to the pint, with the addition of a little oil of 
lemons.* One of the most effectual methods of preserving the juice is to allow 
it to stand for a short time affer expression, till a coagulable matter separates, 
then to filter, and introduce it into glass bottles, with a stratum of almond oil 
or other sweet oil upon its surface. It will keep still better, if the bottles con- 
taining the filtered juice be suffered, before being closed, to stand for fifteen 
minutes in a vessel of boiling water. Another mode is to add one-tenth of 
alcohol, and to filter. The juice may also be preserved by concentrating it either 
by evaporation with a gentle heat, or by exposure to a freezing temperature, 
which congeals the watery portion, and leaves the acid much stronger than 
before. When used, it may be diluted to the former strength; but, though the 
acid properties are retained, the flavour of the juice is found to have been dete- 
riorated. Lemon syrup is another form in which the juice is preserved. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives the average sp. gr. of lemon juice at 1 039, 
and the average quantity of citric acid in a fluidounce of it, 325 grains. Ac- 
cording to Mr.W. W. Stoddart, these quantities do not correspond ; the sp.gr 
being too great for the weight of the acid. Mr. Stoddart himself found, in lemons 
from six different sources, an average of 42'53 grains in an ounce of the juice, 
and a mean sp. gr. of 1 044. By other authorities the proportions are given very 
differently. Thus Mr. Watts gives 20‘5 grains to the ounce, or 4-7 per cent, of 
the juice. But the fact is that the quantity of acid varies very greatly. Mr. 
Stoddart found it to diminish rapidly with the advance of summer, with little 
change in the sp.gr. (Pharm. J. and Trans., Oct. 1868, p. 203.) 
A solution of tartaric acid in water, with the addition of a little sulphuric 
acid, and flavoured with the oil of lemons, has been fraudulently substituted 
for lemon juice, particularly as an antiscorbutic on long voyages, for which 
purpose it is quite useless. An application of the tests for tartaric and sulphuric 
acid will at once detect the fraud. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The rind of the lemon is sometimes used to 
qualify the taste and increase the power of stomachic infusions and tinctures. 
The juice is refrigerant, and, properly diluted, forms a refreshing and agreeable 
beverage in febrile and inflammatory affections. It may be given with sweetened 
water in the shape of lemonade, or may be added to the mildly nutritive drinks, 
such as gum-water, barley-water, &c., usually administered in fevers. It is also 
much employed in the formation of those diaphoretic preparations known by 
the names of neutral mixture and effervescing draught. (See Mistura Potassee 
Citratis.) One of the most beneficial applications of lemon juice is to the pre- 
vention and cure of scurvy, for which it may be considered almost a specific. 
For thi3 purpose, ships destined for long voyages should always be provided 
with a supply of the concentrated juice, or of crystallized citric acid with the oil 
of lemons. Lemon juice is sometimes prescribed in connection with opium and 
Peruvian bark, the effects of which it has been thought to modify favourably, by 
substituting the citrate of their respective alkalies for the native salts. It has 
recently been employed with great supposed advantage in acute rheumatism, 
having been given in quantities varying from one to four fluidounces, from four 
to six times a day. It has been used with benefit as a local application in pru- 
ritus of the scrotum, and in uterine hemorrhage after delivery; and a French 
* Nine drachms and a half, dissolved in a pint of water, form a solution of the average 
strength of lime juice; hut, where precision is not requisite, the proportion mentioned 
in the text is most convenient. 528 
Linum.—Lini Farina. 
PART I. 
physician, named Revillout, recommends it as a gargle in diphtheric affec- 
tions of the fauces, though he states that it is without action on the white len- 
ticular patches, which rapidly disappear under chlorate of potassa. (Ann. de 
Therap., 18G6, p. 213.) 
Off. Prep, of the Peel. Infusum Aurantii Compositum, Br.; Infusum Gen- 
tian® Comp., i?r.; Spiritus Limonis, U. S.; Syrupus Limonis, Br.; Tinctura 
Limonis, Br. 
Off. Prep, of the Juice. Acidum Citricum, Br,; Mistura Potass® Citratis, 
U. 8.; Syrupus Limonis. W. 
LINUM. U.S. 
Flaxseed. 
The seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. 
Off.Syn. LINI SEMINA. Linseed. Theseedsof Linum usitatissimum. Br. 
Linseed; Grains de lin, Fr.; Leinsame, Germ,.; Semi di lino, Ital.; Linaza, Span. 
LINI FARINA. US.,Br. 
Flaxseed Meal. Linseed Meal. 
The meal prepared from the seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. The cake 
of linseed from which the oil has been pressed, reduced to powder. Br. 
Linum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Pentagynia.— Nat.Ord. Linace®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five. Capsule five-valved, ten-celled. 
Seeds solitary. Willd. 
Linum usitatissimum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1533; Woodv. Med. Bot. p.565, 
t. 202. Common flax is an annual plant, with an erect, slender, round stem, 
about two feet in height, branching at top, and, like all other parts of the plant, 
entirely smooth. The leaves are small, lanceolate, acute, entire, of a pale-green 
colour, sessile, and scattered alternately over the stem and branches. The flowers 
are terminal, and of a delicate blue colour. The calyx is persistent, and com- 
posed of five ovate, sharp-pointed, three-nerved leaflets, which are membranous 
on their border. The petals are five, obovate, striated, minutely scalloped at 
their extremities, and spread into funnel-shaped blossoms. The filaments are 
also five, united at the base; and the germ, which is ovate, supports five slen- 
der styles, terminating in obtuse stigmas. The fruit is a globular capsule, about 
the size of a small pea, having the persistent calyx at the base, crowned with 
a sharp spine, and containing ten seeds in distinct cells. 
This highly valuable plant, now almost everywhere cultivated, is said by 
some to have been originally derived from Egypt, bv others from the great 
elevated plain of central Asia. It flowers in June and July, and ripens its seeds 
in August. The seeds, and an oil expressed from them, are officinal. 
The seeds are oval, oblong, flattened on both sides with acute edges, some- 
what pointed at one end, about a line in length, smooth, glossy, brown externally, 
and yellowish-white within. They are inodorous, and have an oily mucilaginous 
taste. Meyer found in them fixed oil, wax, resin, extractive, tannin, gum. azo- 
tized mucilage, starch, albumen, gluten, and various salts. M. Meurein could find 
no starch, but detected phosphates, which had escaped the notice of Meyer. 
(Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 97.) Their investing coat abounds in a peculiar 
gummy matter or mucilage, which is readily imparted to hot water, forming a 
thick viscid fluid, that lets fall white flakes upon the addition of alcohol, and 
affords a copious dense precipitate with subacetate of lead. By Berzelius the 
term mucilage was applied to a proximate vegetable principle, distinguished 
from gum by being insoluble in cold, and but slightly soluble in boiling water, 
in which it swells up and form's a mucilaginous,viscid body,which loses its water 
when placed upon filtering paper, or other porous substance, and contracts like 
starch in the gelatinous state. The name, however, is unfortunate; as it is gene- 
rally applied to the solution of gum, and must inevitably lead to confusion. .Nor PART i. 
Lini Farina.—Liriodendron. 
529 
is it strictly a distinct proximate principle; as it embraces a number of different 
bodies, such as bassorin, cerasin, &c. According to Guerin, the mucilage of flax- 
seed, obtained at a temperature of from 120° to 140°, and evaporated to dryness, 
by means of a salt-water bath, contains, in 100 parts, 52-70 of a principle soluble 
in cold water, 29‘89 of a principle insoluble in that liquid, and 10 30 of water, 
and yields 7'll per cent, of ashes. The soluble part he believes to be arabin or 
pure gum; the insoluble he found not to afford mucic acid with the nitric, and, 
therefore, to differ from both bassorin and cerasin. There was also a small pro- 
portion of azotized matter which he did not isolate (Ann. de Ghim. et dePhys., 
xlix. 263.) Vauquelin found free acetic acid, silica, and various salts of potassa 
and lime. Meurein discovered in the mucilage extracted by cold water, albumen, 
and a very small proportion of an oleoresin, which resides in the coats of the 
seeds, and to which they owe their peculiar odour and taste. The interior of the 
seed, or nucleus, is rich in a peculiar oil, which is separated by expression, and 
extensively employed in the arts. (See Oleum Lini.) According to Franck, the 
mucilage of flaxseed, and various other similar products, as the mucilage of the 
quince, the cherry, &c., are not distinct proximate principles, but consist partly 
of gum and partly of cellulose. (Journ. dePharm. et de Ghim., Dec.1867, p.447.) 
The ground seeds are kept in the shops under the name of flaxseed meal. 
This is of a dark-gray colour, highly oleaginous, and when mixed with hot water 
forms a soft adhesive mass, much employed for luting by practical chemists. The 
cake remaining after the expression of the oil, usually called oil-cake, still retains 
the mucilaginous matter of the envelope, and affords a nutritious food for cattle. 
This is the Lini Farina of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
Flaxseed is sometimes accidentally or fraudulently mixed with other seeds, 
especially of plants growing among the flax. We have seen a parcel containing 
a considerable proportion of the seeds of a species of garlic. * 
Medical Properties and Uses. Flaxseed is demulcent and emollient. The 
mucilage obtained by infusing the entire seeds in boiling water, in the propor- 
tion of half an ounce to the pint, is much and very advantageously employed 
in catarrh, dysentery, nephritic and calculous complaints, strangury, and other 
inflammatory affections of the mucous membrane of the lungs, intestines, and 
urinary passages. By decoction water extracts also a portion of the oleaginous 
matter, which renders the mucilage less fit for administration by the mouth, but 
superior as a laxative enema. The meal mixed with hot water forms an excel- 
lent emollient poultice. 
Off. Prep, of the Seeds. Farina Lini, Br.; Infusum Lini, Br.; Infusum Lini 
Compositum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Meal. Cataplasma Carbonis, Br.; Catap. Conii, Br.; Catap. 
Lini, Br.; Catap. Sinapis, Br.; Catap. Sod® Chloratse, Br. W 
LIRIODENDRON. U 8. Secondary. 
Tulip-tree Bark. 
The bark of Liriodendron tulipifera. U. S. 
Liriodendron. Sex. Syst. PolyandriaPolygynia.— Nat. Ord. Magnoliacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six. Samarse sublanceolate, one or 
two-seeded, imbricated in a cone. Nuttall. 
Liriodendron tulipifera. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1254 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. 
ii. 107 ; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 92. This noble tree is the boast of American land- 
* Light-coloured Flaxseed. A variety of flax has recently originated, and is now largely 
cultivated in Ohio, the seeds of which, instead of having the brown colour of ordinary 
flaxseed, are of a greenish-yellow, and the flower white instead of blue. According to 
information obtained by Mr. E. L. Wavne, of Cincinnati, the plant is more productive 
than the common flax; and the seeds are preferred by some in the manufacture of oil. 
Professor Procter states that, so far as he could judge from a somewhat superficial ex- 
amination, they differ from the common seeds chemically only in the absence of the 
brown colouring matter. (Aw. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 493.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 530 
Liriodendron. 
PART L 
scape. Rising on an erect, straight, cylindrical stem, which is often of nearly 
equal thickness for the distance of forty feet, it attains, in favourable situations, 
an elevation seldom less than fifty and sometimes more than one hundred feet, 
with a diameter of trunk varying from eighteen inches to three feet; and indi- 
viduals are occasionally met with which greatly exceed these dimensions. The 
bark is of a brown or grayish-brown colour, except in the young branches, on 
which it is bluish or of a reddish tinge. The Jeaves, which stand on long foot- 
stalks, are alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth, of a beautiful shining green colour, 
and divided into three lobes, of which the upper one is truncated and notched 
at its summit, so as to present a two-lobed appearance, and the two lower are 
rounded at the base and usually pointed. In the larger leaves, the lateral lobes 
have each a tooth like projection at some distance below their apex. This pecu- 
liar form of the leaf serves to distinguish the tree from all others inhabiting the' 
American forests. On isolated trees the flowers are very numerous. They are 
large, beautifully variegated with different colours, among which yellow pre- 
dominates, and in appearance bear some resemblance to the tulip, which has given 
a name to the species. Each flower stands on a distinct terminal peduncle. The 
calyx is double, the outer two-leaved and deciduous, the inner consisting of three 
large, oval, concave leaves, of a pale-green colour. The corolla is composed of 
six, seven, or more obtuse, concave petals. The stamens are numerous, with 
short filaments, and long linear anthers. The pistils are collected into the form of 
a cone, the upper part of which is covered with minute stigmas. The fruit consists 
of numerous long, narrow scales, attached to a common axis, imbricated in a coni- 
cal form, and containing each two seeds, one or both of which are often abortive. 
The tulip-tree extends from New England to the borders of Florida, but is 
most abundant, and attains the greatest magnitude, in the Middle and Western 
States. It delights in a rich strong soil, and luxuriates in the exhaustless fer- 
tility of the banks of the Ohio and its tributaries. Throughout the United States 
it is known by the inappropriate name of American poplar. When in full bloom, 
about the middle of May, it presents, in its profusion of flowers, its shining, 
luxuriant foliage, its elevated stature, and elegant outline, one of the most mag- 
nificent objects which the vegetable kingdom affords. The interior or heart-wood 
is yellowish, of a fine grain, and compact without being heavy; and is much 
employed in the making of furniture, carriages, door-panels, &c. It is recom- 
mended by its property of resisting the influence of atmospheric moisture, and 
the attacks of worms. The bark is the officinal portion. It is taken for use in- 
discriminately from the root, trunk, and branches ; though that of the root is 
thought to be most active. 
Deprived of the epidermis, it is yellowish white; the bark of the root being 
somewhat darker than that of the stem or branches It is very light and brittle, 
of a feeble, rather disagreeable odour, strongest in the fresh bark, and of a bit- 
ter, pungent, and aromatic taste. These properties are weakened by age, and 
we have found specimens of the bark, long kept in the shops, almost insipid 
The peculiar properties of liriodendron appear to reside in a volatile principle, 
which partially escapes during decoction. The late Professor Emmet, of the 
University of Virginia, believed that he had isolated this principle, and gave it 
the name of liriodendrin. As described by Professor Emmet, it is, in the pure 
state, solid, white, crystallizable, brittle, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol 
and ether, fusible at 180°, volatilizable and partly decomposed at 270°, of a 
slightly aromatic odour, and a bitter, warm, pungent taste. It does not uniie 
either with acids or with alkalies; and the latter precipitate it from the infusion 
of the bark by combining with the matter which renders it soluble in water. 
Water precipitates it from its alcoholic solution. It is obtained by macerating 
the root in alcohol, boiling the tincture with magnesia till it assumes an olive- 
green colour, then filtering, concentrating by distillation till the liquid becomes 
turbid, and finally precipitating the liriodendrin by the addition of cold water. 
(Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iii. 5.) The virtues of the bark are ex- 
tracted by water and alcohol, but are injured by long boiling. PART I. 
Liriodendron.—Lithias Carbonas. 
531 
Medical Properties. Liriodendron is a stimulant tonic, with diaphoretic pro- 
perties. It has been used as a substitute for Peruvian bark in intermittent fevers, 
and has proved serviceable in chronic rheumatism, dyspepsia, and ot.ier com- 
plaints in which a gently stimulant and tonic impression is desirable. The dose 
of the bark in powder is from half a drachm to two drachms. The infusion and 
decoction are also used, but are less efficient. They may be prepared in the pro- 
portion of an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, and given in the quantity of 
one or two fiuidounces. The dose of the saturated tincture is a fluidrachm. W. 
LITHLE CARBONAS. U. S., Br. 
Carbonate of Lithia. 
“A white powder, sparingly soluble in water, and having a feeble alkaline re- 
action. It dissolves with effervescence in dilute sulphuric acid, and forms a freely 
soluble salt. It imparts to the flame of burning alcohol a carmine-red colour.” U.S. 
This salt has for the first time been made officinal in the recent editions of 
the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, in which it is placed in the Materia Medica 
list, as an article to be obtained from the manufacturer. The alkali lithia, so far 
as has yet been ascertained, is rare in nature; for, though extensively diffused, 
it exists but in very small proportion, except in a few scarce minerals. It was 
discovered by Arfwedsonin 1817, in certain minerals from the iron mines of Uton, 
as thepetalite, triphane, and a variety of tourmaline. (Berzelius.) It has since 
been found in other minerals, as the lepidolite, spodumene, amblygonite, mica, 
&c., and in numerous mineral waters, as those of Carlsbad, Pyrmont, Kissingen, 
Kreuznach, Aix-la-Chapelle, Vichy, &c., in Europe, and the Gettysburg spring 
in the United States, in which it exists generally as a carbonate or bicarbonate. 
By the spectrum analysis, it has been detected in the waters of the Atlantic 
and the Thames, the ashes of plants grown on a granite soil, and even in milk 
and human blood. In the mother-waters of tartaric acid, in the factories, it 
has been found in a proportion to justify extraction. It has been most largely 
obtained from a phosphatic tryphylene, found in Bavaria, in which it existed 
as a phosphate; but this source is said to be exhausted. 
There are several methods of extracting lithia from the minerals containing 
it, an account of which may be seen in Gmelin’s Handbook (iii. 128). They con- 
tain the alkali in various proportions, from 3-6 per cent, in lepidolite to 11 per 
cent, in amblygonite. Carbonate of lithia is prepared from lepidolite in the fol- 
lowing manner. One part of the mineral is ignited with two parts of lime; water 
is added so as to form a paste; this is treated with dilute sulphuric acid, and 
water is added; the solution is filtered and concentrated; carbonate of soda is 
added to precipitate earths and metals; the liquor is again concentrated, and, 
while boiling hot, is treated with carbonate of soda dissolved in twice its weight 
of water, by which carbonate of lithia is precipitated somewhat impure. To ob- 
tain it pure, it is dissolved in very dilute muriatic acid, and the solution precipi- 
tated by carbonate of ammonia. (Gmelin.) 
Lithia, LO, is the oxide of the metal lithium, and ranks in chemical properties 
witli the fixed alkalies. In the form of hydrate, LO,HO, it is white and trans- 
lucent ; does not deliquesce in the air, but absorbs carbonic acid, and becomes 
opaque; is fusible below ignition, but not volatilizable at a white heat; is solu- 
ble in water, but less so than potassa or soda; is sparingly soluble in alcohol; 
and in solution has an acrid alkaline taste, caustic properties, and a strong alka- 
line reaction. The salts of lithia are generally freely soluble, with the exception 
of the neutral carbonate and phosphate, the latter of which is nearly insoluble. 
Lithium, which was first obtained by MM. Bunsen and Matthiessen, in 1855, 
is silver-white, brilliant, softer than lead, ductile, capable of welding, and the 
lightest known solid. Its sp.gr. is 0594, molting point 856° F., equivalent 7, 
and symbol L. (Brande and Taylor.) The eq. of lithia, therefore, is L = 74- 
0 = 8, or L0= 15 ; which is the lowest combining number of the fixed alkalies 532 
Lilhise Carbonas.—Lobelia. 
PART I. 
Carbonate of lithia may be prepared directly from one of the lithia minerals, 
in the manner already described, or from sulphate of lithia or chloride of lithium 
in concentrated solution by adding carbonate of ammonia. The precipitated 
salt should be washed with alcohol and dried. It is a white powder, of a mild 
alkaline taste, fusible at a high temperature, soluble in about 100 parts of water, 
more soluble in carbonic acid water, and insoluble in alcohol. Its aqueous solu- 
tion has an alkaline reaction. It consists of one eq. of lithia and one of car- 
bonic acid, L0,C02, and its eq. is 37. It is known by imparting a carmine- 
red colour to the flame of alcohol, and by dissolving in dilute sulphuric acid 
with effervescence; the latter property distinguishing it from the salts of stron- 
tia, which also colour the flame of alcohol red. In the British Pharmacopoeia, 
the following test is given. Ten grains, neutralized with sulphuric acid, and 
heated to redness, leave 14’86 grains of dry sulphate, which, when dissolved in 
distilled water, yields no precipitate with oxalate of ammonia or lime-water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of lithia has the ordinary remedial 
properties of the alkaline carbonates, over which, however, it possesses advan- 
tages, under certain circumstances, which render it a valuable addition to the 
Materia Medica. In the year 1843, Mr. Alexander Ure, of London, called at- 
tention to the extraordinary solvent power of a solution of lithia over uric acid, 
with which, unlike the other alkalies, it forms a very soluble salt, and suggested 
its injection into the bladder, for the solution or disintegration of uric acid cal- 
culi. In 1857, Dr. Garrod, of London, gave it internally in cases of gout and 
gouty diathesis, in reference to the same property, as well as in considera- 
tion of its low combining number, and consequent extraordinary neutralizing 
power. From these properties, it is admirably adapted to cases in which it is 
desirable to eliminate uric acid from the system, and especially to cases of gout, 
in which there is a strong indication to prevent the formation of insoluble salts 
of uric acid, and their deposition in the bladder, kidneys, or joints, and to favour 
the solution of such salts when already formed, as in the chalky deposits in the 
joints and ligamentous tissues of gouty patients, consisting chiefly of urate of 
soda. Dr. Garrod has, moreover, found the carbonate of lithia, in dilute solution, 
not only to exceed the other alkalies in rendering the urine neuter or alkaline, 
but also to act powerfully as a diuretic, probably more so than the correspond- 
ing salts of potassa and soda. {Med. Times and Gaz., March, 1864, p. 303.) The 
dose of carbonate of lithia is from three to six grains, and is most advantageously 
given in carbonic acid water. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Lithiae Effervescens, Br.; Lithiaa Citras, Br. W. 
LOBELIA. U. S.9 Br. 
Lobelia. 
The herb of Lobelia inflata. U. S. The dried flowering herb. Br. 
Lobelia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia—Nat. Ord. Lobeliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla irregular, five-parted, cleft on the upper 
side nearly to the base. Anthers united into a tube. Stigma two-lobed. Capsule 
inferior or semi-superior, two or three-celled, two-valved at the apex. Torrey. 
Lobelia inflata. Willd. Sp. Plant., i. 946; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 177; Bar- 
ton, Med. Bot. i. 181; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 60, pi. 51. This species of 
Lobelia, often called Indian tobacco, is an annual or biennial indigenous plant, 
usually a foot or more in height, with a fibrous root, and a solitary, erect, angu- 
lar, very hairy stem, much branched about midway, but rising considerably 
above the summits of the highest branches. The leaves are scattered, sessile, 
oval, acute, serrate, and hairy. The flowers are numerous, small, disposed in 
leafy terminal racemes, and upon short axillary footstalks. The segments of 
the calyx are linear and pointed. The corolla, which is of a delicate blue, has 
a labiate border, with the upper lip divided into two, the lower into three seg- 
ments. The united anthers are curved, and enclose the stigma. The fruit is PART i. 
Lobelia. 
533 
art oval, striated, inflated capsule, crowned with the persistent calyx, and con- 
taining, in two cells, numerous very small, brown seeds.* 
Lobelia inflata is a very common weed, growing on the roadsides, and in 
neglected fields, throughout the United States. Its flowers begin to appear to- 
wards the end of July, and continue to expand in succession till the occurrence 
of frost. All parts of it are medicinal; but, according to Dr. Eberle, the root 
and inflated capsules are most powerful. The plant should be collected in August 
or September, when the capsules are numerous, and should be carefully dried. 
It may be kept whole, or in powder. As found in the shops, it is often in oblong 
compressed cakes, prepared by the Shakers. 
Dried lobelia has a slight irritating odour, and when chewed, though at first 
without much taste, soon produces a burning acrid impression upon the poste- 
rior parts of the tongue and palate, very closely resembling that occasioned by 
tobacco, and attended, in like manner, with a flow of saliva and a nauseating 
effect. The powder is greenish. The plant yields its virtues readily to water 
and alcohol. Water distilled from it has its odour without its acrimony. Prof. 
Procter found the plant to contain an odorous volatile principle, probably vola- 
tile oil; a peculiar alkaline principle named lobelina; a peculiar acid, first no- 
ticed as distinct by Pereira, called lobelic acid; besides gum, resin, chlorophyll, 
fixed oil, lignin, salts of lime and potassa, and oxide of iron. The seeds contain 
at least twice as much of lobelina, in proportion, as the whole plant, which yield- 
ed only one part in five hundred. They contain also 30 per cent, of a nearly 
colourless fixed oil, having the drying property in an extraordinary degree. 
Lobelina was obtained by Prof. Procter by the following process. The seeds 
were treated with alcohol acidulated with acetic acid, until deprived of acrimony, 
and the tincture was evaporated; the resulting extract was triturated with mag- 
nesia and water, and, after repeated agitation for several hours, the liquor, hold- 
ing lobelina in solution, was filtered; this was then shaken repeatedly with ether 
until no longer acrid; and the ethereal solution, having been decanted, was al- 
lowed to evaporate spontaneously. The residue, which was reddish-brown and 
of the consistence of honey, was deprived of colouring matter by dissolving it in 
water, adding a slight excess of sulphuric acid, boiling with animal charcoal, 
saturating with magnesia, filtering, agitating with ether until this fluid had de- 
prived the water of acrimony, and finally decanting, and allowing the ether to 
evaporate. Thus obtained, lobelina is a yellowish liquid, lighter than water, 
of a somewhat aromatic odour, and a very acrid durable taste. It is soluble in 
water, but much more copiously in alcohol and ether ; and the latter fluid readily 
removes it from its aqueous solution. It has an alkaline reaction, and forms 
soluble and crystallizable salts with sulphuric, nitric, and muriatic acids, and 
a very soluble but not crystallizable salt with acetic acid. It forms an insoluble 
compound with tannic acid, which instantly precipitates it from its solution. 
By a boiling heat it is entirely decomposed, losing all its acrimony ; but, when 
combined with acids, it may be subjected to ebullition with water without change. 
Prof. Procter introduced a grain of it diluted with water into the stomach of a 
cat, which became immediately prostrate, remained for an hour nearly motion- 
less, with dilated pupils, and had not wholly recovered at the end of fifteen hours. 
It did not occasion vomiting or purging. There can be little doubt that it is the 
narcotic principle of lobelia. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 105, andxiii. l.)f The 
* In case of poisoning by lobelia, it may be very desirable to be able to recognise the 
seeds. The following microscopic characters of them are given by Mr. Frederick Curtis 
in the Lond. Med. Gaz. for July, 1851 (p. 160). They arc almond-shaped, about l-30th of 
an inch long by l-75th broad, puce-coloured, regularly marked with longitudinal ridges 
and furrows, and cross ridges generally at right angles with the former; so that the 
surface presents.the appearance of basket-work. No other seeds examined by the author 
could be mistaken for them, except those of Lobelia cardinalis, which, however, are 
larger, coarser, of a lighter colour, and with the superficial rectangular chequering less 
distinct. (Note to the tenth edition.) 
j- Mr. 'William Bastick, of London, published in the Pharmaceutical Journal and 
Transactions for December, 1850, an account of lobelina and its mode of extraction, ap- 534 
Lobelia. 
PART I. 
late Dr. S. Colhoun, of Philadelphia, was the first to announce the existence of 
a peculiar principle in lobelia, capable of forming salts with the acids; but he 
did not obtain it in an isolated state. An important inference from the effects 
of heat upon lobelina is, that, in preparing lobelia-for use, the plant should never 
be heated in connection with a salifiable base. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Lobelia is emetic, and, like other medicines 
of the same class, is occasionally cathartic, and in small doses diaphoretic and 
expectorant. It is also possessed of narcotic properties. The leaves or capsules, 
chewed for a short time, occasion giddiness, headache, general tremors, and ulti- 
mately nausea and vomiting. When swallowed in the full dose, the medicine 
produces speedy and severe vomiting, attended with continued and distressing 
nausea, copious sweating, and great general relaxation. Its effects in doses too 
large, or too frequently repeated, are extreme prostration, great anxiety and dis- 
tress, and ultimately death preceded by.convulsions. Dr. Letheby found 110 
grains of it in the stomach of a patient killed by this poison, and states that he 
has known much less to cause death. (Lond. Med. Times and Gaz., March, 1853, 
p. 270.) From experiments made by Mr. Curtis and Dr. Pearson on hedgehogs 
and cats, it would appear that the poison produces inflammation of the aliment- 
ary mucous membrane in those animals, but that death mainly results from the 
suspension of respiration; the heart continuing to act after that process has 
ceased. It is probable that it paralyzes, by a directly depressing influence, the 
respiratory centres in the medulla oblongata. Death has often resulted from its 
empirical use. Its poisonous effects are most apt to occur, when, as sometimes 
happens, it is not rejected by vomiting. In its action upon the system, there- 
fore, as well as in its sensible properties, lobelia bears a close resemblance to 
tobacco. It is among the medicines which were employed by the aborigines of 
this country, and was long in the hands of empirics before it was introduced 
into regular practice. The Rev. Dr. Cutler, of Massachusetts, first attracted 
to it the attention of the profession. 
Merely as an emetic, it is too powerful and distressing, as well as too hazard- 
ous in overdoses, for ordinary use. The disease in which it has proved most use- 
ful is spasmodic asthma, the paroxysms of which it often greatly mitigates, and 
sometimes wholly relieves, even when not given in doses sufficiently large to 
vomit. It was from the relief obtained from an attack of this complaint in his 
own person, that Dr. Cutler was induced to recommend the medicine. It has 
been used also in catarrh, croup, pertussis, and other laryngeal and pectoral 
affections; and we have seen it apparently advantageous in some of these com- 
plaints, especially in severe croup, and in chronic bronchitis with dyspnoea; but 
it should always be used with caution. Administered by injection it produces 
the same distressing sickness of stomach, profuse perspiration, and universal 
relaxation, as result from a similar use of tobacco. Dr. Eberle administered a 
strong decoction of it successfully by the rectum in a case of strangulated hernia. 
It has been employed effectually, in small doses repeated so as to sustain a 
slight nausea, for producing relaxation of the os uteri. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xvii. 248.) A case is recorded in the Charleston Med. Journ. and lieu. 
(xi. 58), by Dr. Gaston, of Columbia, S. C., in which the tincture of lobelia was 
successfully used in tetanus. 
It may be given in substance, tincture, or infusion. The dose of the powder 
as an emetic is from five to twenty grains, to be repeated if necessary. The 
tincture is most frequently administered. The full dose of this preparation for 
an adult is half a fluidounce; though in asthmatic cases it is better administered 
in the quantity of one or two fluidrachms, repeated every two or three hours till 
its effects are experienced.* 
parently in entire ignorance of the previous experiments and observations of Prof. 
Procter. His process does not differ essentially from that above given. In one mag- 
nesia is used to decompose the native salt of lobelina, in the other lime; the caustic 
alkalies not being applicable to the purpose, as they decompose this organic alkali with 
great facility. (Note to the ninth edition.) 
* Professor Procter prepares a fluid extract by macerating eight ounces of finely bruised PART I. 
Lobelia.—Lupulina.—Lycopodium. 
535 
Two other species of Lobelia have attracted some attention from medical 
writers. L. cardinalis or cardinal flower, distinguished for its showy red 
flowers, is supposed to possess anthelmintic properties; but is seldom used. L. 
syphilitica is said to have been used by the Indians in the cure of syphilis, but 
has been found wholly inefficacious in that complaint. It is emetic aud cathartic, 
and appears also to possess diuretic properties; whence it has been conjectured 
that it might have proved serviceable in gonorrhoea. Dr. Chapman states that 
it has been employed, as he has been informed, by some practitioners of the 
western country in dropsy, and not without success. The root is the part used. 
Both these species of Lobelia are indigenous. For a more detailed account »f 
them, the reader is referred to Dr. W. P. C. Barton’s Medical Botany. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Lobeliie, U. S.; Tinctura Lobeliae; Tinct. Lobeliae 
Altherea, Br. W. 
LUPULINA. U. S. 
Liipulin 
The yellow powder attached to the strobiles of Humulus Lupulus. U. S. 
Lupulina is described under HUMULUS, p. 459. 
LYCOPODIUM. U. S. 
The sporules of Lycopodium clavatum, and of other species of Lycopodium 
U. S. 
Pied de Loup, Fr.; Gemeiner Barlapp, Kolbenmoos, Germ.; Licopodio, Ital., Span. 
Lycopodium. Sex. Syst. Cryptogamia Filices. — Nat. Ord. Lycopodiaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Thecae unilocular, of one or two forms; that containing powdei 
somewhat reniform and two-valved, the other roundish, three or four-valved. 
Lindley. 
Lycopodium, clavatum. Linn. Sp. Plant. 1564; Smith, Engl. Flor. iv. 331. 
This plant, commonly called club-moss, has a trailing, branching stem, several 
feet long, and thickly beset with linear lanceolate, flat, ribless, smooth, partly 
serrate leaves, with a capillary point, curved upward, and of a deep-green col- 
our. The flowers are in terminal spikes, single or in pairs, with crowded ovate, 
entire, pointed scales, and yellow thecas or capsules. The plant is a native of 
Europe and this country. 
The capsules of this moss, and of others belonging to the same genus, contain 
a fine dust or powder, which is collected in Switzerland and Germany, and used 
in the shops of Europe under the name of lycopodium or vegetable sulphur. 
It is this that constitutes the officinal part of the plant, of which it is the seeds 
or sporules. It is extremely fine, very light, of a delicate yellow colour, inodor- 
ous and tasteless, and exceedingly inflammable, so much so that it takes fire like 
gunpowder when thrown upon a burning body. Under the microscope, it is found 
to be composed of cells, which, on pressure between glasses, give out a transpa- 
rent fluid, resembling oil. {Ed. Monthly Journ., Nov. 1854, p. 469.) It is said 
to be often adulterated with the pollen of the pines and firs, and sometimes with 
talc and starch. In medicine, it is used as an absorbent application to excori- 
ated surfaces, especially those which occur in the folds of the skin in infants. In 
pharmacy, it answers the purpose of facilitating the rolling of the pilular mass, 
and of preventing the adhesion of the pills when formed. The moss itself has 
Lycopodium 
lobelia, mixed with a fluidounce of acetic acid, in a pint and a half of diluted alcohol, for 
twenty-four hours; then percolating with an equa quantity of diluted alcohol, and after- 
wards with water, until three pints of liquor are obtained ; next evaporating to ten fluid- 
ounces, straining, adding six fluidounces of alcohol, and finally filtering through paper. 
Each teaspoonful of this preparation is equal to half a fluidounce of the tincture, which 
represents about 30 grains of the powder. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 207.)—Note to 
the tenth edition. 536 
Lycopus.—Magnesix Carbonas. 
PART I 
been esteemed diuretic, antispasmodic, &c.; and has been employed, in the form 
of decoction, in rheumatism, epilepsy, and complaints of the lungs and kidneys; 
and has been supposed to be of great service in the removal of plica Polonica. 
It has, however, fallen into discredit. W. 
LYCOPUS. U. S. Secondary. 
The herb of Lycopus Yirginicus (Michaux). TJ. S. 
Lycopus. Sex. Syst. DiandriaMonogynia. — Nat. Ord. Lamiaceaeor Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx tubular, five-cleft or five-toothed. Corolla tubular, four-lobed, 
nearly equal; the upper segment broader, and emarginate. Stamens distant. 
Seeds four, naked, refuse. Nuttall. 
Lycopus Virginicus. Michaux, Flor. Boreal. Americ. i. 14; Rafinesque, Med. 
Flor. vol. ii. The bugle-weed is an indigenous herb, with a perennial creeping 
root, which sends up an erect, nearly simple, obtusely quadrangular stem, from 
twelve to eighteen inches high, and furnished with opposite sessile leaves. These 
are broad-lanceolate, attenuated and entire at both extremities, remotely serrate 
in the middle, somewhat rough, purplish, and beset with glandular dots on their 
under surface. The flowers are minute, in small axillary whorls, with two small 
subulate bractes to each flower, and a white corolla. The seeds are longer than 
the calyx, which is spineless. 
This plant grows in shady and wet places throughout the greater part of the 
United States. Its flowering period is August. The whole herb is used. It has 
a peculiar odour and a nauseous slightly bitter taste, and imparts these proper- 
ties, as well as its medical virtues, to boiling watef. 
Lycopus Europaeus is said to be frequently collected and sold for L. Vir- 
ginicus. The former may be distinguished by its acutely quadrangular stem, its 
narrow lanceolate leaves, of which the lower are somewhat pinnatifid, its more 
crowded flowers, and the acute segments of its calyx, armed with short spines. 
It has been employed in Europe as a substitute for quinia. 
Medical Properties and Uses. According to Dr. A. W. Ives, the bugle-weed 
is a very mild narcotic. It is said also to be astringent. It was introduced into 
notice by Drs. Pendleton and Rogers, of New York, who obtained favourable 
effects from it in incipient phthisis and pulmonary hemorrhage. (N. Y. Med. and 
Phys. Journ., i. 179.) It proves useful by diminishing the frequency of the 
pulse, quieting irritation, and allaying cough. The use of it has been extended 
with advantage to the hemorrhages generally. ( Transact. of the Am. Med. 
Assoc., i. 347.) It is most conveniently employed in the form of infusion, which 
may be prepared by macerating an ounce of the herb in a pint of boiling water. 
From half a pint to a pint may be taken daily. W 
Bugle-weed. 
MAGNESIA CARBON AS. U.S.,Br. 
Carbonate of Magnesia. 
“A white substance in powder or pulverulent masses, wholly dissolved by 
dilute sulphuric acid, forming' a solution which does not afford a precipitate 
with oxalate of ammonia. Distilled water which has been boiled with it does 
not change the colour of turmeric, and yields no precipitate with chloride of 
barium or nitrate of silver.” U. S. 
Magnesia alba, Lat.; Carbonate de magnesie, Fr.; Kohlensaure Magnesia, Germ.; 
Carbonato di magnesia, Ital.; Carbonato de magnesia, Span. 
Carbonate of magnesia sometimes though rarely occurs as a native mineral. 
That which is sold in the shops is prepared on a large scale by the manufac- 
turer ; and the article is, therefore, very properly placed in the list of Materia 
Medica of the U. S Pharmacopoeia. In the British Pharmacopoeia directions 
are given for preparing it in two forms ; that of Magnesite Carbonas. or Car- PART I. 
Magnesia Carbonas. 
537 
bonate of Magnesia; and that of Magnesia Carbonas Levis, or Light Car- 
bonate of Magnesia. The following are the directions. 
1. Magnesl® Carbonas. Carbonate of Magnesia. Br. “ Take of Sulphate of 
Magnesia ten ounces (avoirdupois); Carbonate of Soda twelve ounces (avoird.); 
Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dissolve the Sulphate of Magnesia and 
Carbonate of Soda, each, in a pint [Imp. Meas.] of the Water, mix the two so- 
lutions, and evaporate the whole to perfect dryness, by means of a sand-bath. 
Digest the residue for half an hour with two pints [Imp. Meas ] of the Water, 
and, having collected the insoluble matter on a calico filter, wash it repeatedly 
with Distilled Water,until the washings cease to give a precipitate with chloride 
of barium. Finally, dry the product at a temperature not exceeding 212°. ” Br. 
This is essentially the old process of the Dublin College for Magnesl* Car- 
bonas Ponderosum, or Heavy Carbonate of Magnesia, and yields a product 
which is characterized, in the British Pharmacopceia, as “a white granular pow- 
der, which dissolves with effervescence in the dilute mineral acids, yielding solu- 
tions which, when first treated with chloride of ammonium, are not disturbed 
by the addition of an excess of solution of ammonia, but yield a copious crystal- 
line precipitate upon the addition of phosphate of soda. With excess of hydro- 
chloric acid it forms a clear solution, in which chloride of barium causes no pre- 
cipitate. Another portion of the solution, supersaturated with ammonia, gives 
no precipitate with oxalic acid or sulphuretted hydrogen. Fifty grains, calcined 
at a red heat, are reduced to twenty-two.” 
2. Magnesite Carbonas Levis. Light Carbonate of Magnesia. Br. The 
same quantity of materials are taken as in the preceding formula, the Distilled 
Water being now cold instead of boiling. The two salts are dissolved sepa- 
rately, each in half a gallon (Imp. Meas.) of the Water, the solutions are mixed, 
and the mixture is boiled in a porcelain dish for fifteen minutes. The precipi- 
tate is then washed and dried as in the former process. The resulting carbonate 
is characterized, in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, as “a very light powder, which, 
when examined under the microscope, is found to be partly amorphous with 
numerous slender prisms intermixed. The other characters are the same as 
those of carbonate of magnesia.” 
Carbonate of potassa is less eligible than carbonate of soda for the prepara- 
tion of carbonate of magnesia. It is difficult to separate the last portions of sul- 
phate of potassa from the precipitate, and carbonate of potassa usually contains 
silica, which is thrown down with the magnesia. The consequence is that, when 
prepared with that salt, carbonate of magnesia is liable to be gritty to the touch, 
and to have a saline taste. The following method is said to be pursued by some 
of the best manufacturers. To a saturated solution of 100 parts of sulphate of 
magnesia, a solution of 125 parts of crystallized carbonate of soda is gradually 
added, the solutions being constantly stirred. The mixture is heated to ebulli- 
tion, to complete the precipitation of the magnesia, which is then washed with 
tepid and finally with cold water, until the washings no longer give a precipitate 
with barytic salts. When sufficiently washed, the carbonate is allowed to drain 
for one or two days on large linen filters, and is then placed in wooden mould? 
with a porous bottom of brick or gypsum, and subjected to pressure in order to 
give it a square and compact form. 
The density of carbonate of magnesia is said to depend upon the strength of 
the solutions from which it is first precipitated, and its fineness and softness to 
the touch, upon the use of carbonate of soda in its preparation. 
Much of the carbonate of magnesia used in this country is imported from 
Scotland. In New England it is prepared from the bittern of salt-works, which 
consists chiefly of sulphate of magnesia and chloride of magnesium ; and it is 
manufactured in Baltimore from the sulphate of magnesia prepared in that city. 
The Scotch magnesia is generally put up in cases of 120 lbs. each, the Ameri- 
can, in boxes containing 50 lbs.* 
* Carbonate of magnesia is now largely prepared in Great Britain by submitting cal- 
cined magn esian limestone to the action of water and carbonic acid under pressure. The 538 
Magnesise Carbonas. 
PAKT I. 
When made from the bittern of salt-works, carbonate of magnesia is contami- 
nated with carbonate of lime, salts of that earth being contained in sea-water; 
and, when it is prepared from magnesite, or from magnesian schist, iron is almost 
always present. The only way in which these impurities can be avoided, is to 
prepare pure sulphate of magnesia by repeated crystallization, and to use a pure 
carbonate of soda. It is also necessary that the water with which the precipi- 
tate is washed should be free from earthy salts, which would be decomposed 
and contaminate the magnesia. 
Properties. Carbonate of magnesia is inodorous, nearly insipid, perfectly 
white, smooth to the touch, and nearly insoluble in water, requiring 2493 parts 
of cold, and 9000 parts of hot water for solution. It is decomposed by stiong 
heat, by all the acids, by potassa, soda, lime, baryta, and strontia, and by acidu- 
lous and metallic salts. 
Two kinds of carbonate of magnesia are distinguished, the light and the heavy. 
The light carbonate is the kind manufactured in Scotland. The British process 
for the heavy has been already given. It may also, according to Dr. Pereira, be 
prepared as follows. “Add one volume of a cold saturated solution of carbonate 
of soda to a boiling mixture of one volume of a saturated solution of sulphate of 
magnesia, and three volumes of water. Boil until effervescence has ceased, con- 
stantly stirring with a spatula. Then dilute with boiling water, set aside, pour 
off the supernatant liquor, and wash the precipitate with hot water on a linen 
cloth: afterwards dry it by heat in an iron pot.” Dr. Pereira states that the light 
carbonate, when examined with the microscope, is seen to consist of an amor- 
phous powder, more or less intermingled with slender prismatic crystals, which 
appear as if they were eroded or efflorescent; the heavy carbonate consists of 
granules of various sizes, without any traces of the prismatic crystals observed 
in the former variety. 
A solution in carbonic acid water, prepared by passing carbonic acid gas into 
a reservoir containing carbonate of magnesia suspended in water, has been in- 
troduced into use as a cathartic and antacid. Dinneford's Magnesia is a solu- 
tion of this nature. According to Dr. Christison, it contains only nine grains of 
carbonate in the fluidounce, though alleged to contain twice that quantity. Its 
taste is more disagreeable than that of the undissolved carbonate. A formula 
for this preparation has been introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia, with 
the name of “Liquor Magnesise Carbonatis,” and will be found in Part II. 
Adulterations and Tests. Carbonate of magnesia may contain an alkaline car- 
bonate or sulphate, or both, from insufficient washing; also chloride of sodium, 
alumina, and carbonate of lime. If water boiled on it changes turmeric, an alka- 
line carbonate is indicated. If chloride of barium produces a precipitate in the 
water, the presence of a sulphate or carbonate is shown ; and if nitrate of silver 
produces the same effect, a chloride is indicated. When dissolved in an excess 
of muriatic acid, an excess of ammonia will throw down alumina,which is almost 
always present in minute quantity; and oxalate of ammonia, afterwards added 
to the filtered muriatic solution, will throw down oxalate of lime, if that earth 
be present. If the same solution, nearly neutralized, be rendered blue by ferro- 
cyanido of potassium, the presence of iron will be indicated. 
Composition. According to Berzelius, carbonate of magnesia of the shops 
(magnesia alba) is a combination of three eqs. of carbonate of magnesia with 
one of hydrate of magnesia. Each eq. of carbonate contains an eq. of water, and 
the composition of the salt may be thus stated:—three eqs. of carbonate (acid 
66, magnesia 60, water 27) = 153+oue eq. of hydrate (magnesia 20, water 9) 
= 29 = 182. This theoretic composition agrees nearly with the analysis of Ber- 
zelius, who fixes it at 44‘75 magnesia, 35 77 acid, and 19‘48 water. According 
to Phillips, whose analysis agrees with a subsequent one by Fownes, four eqs. 
of the carbonate are combined with one of the bihydrate, and four of water. 
magnesia is dissolved in the state of bicarbonate, and heat is applied to the solution, so as 
to drive oft' a portion of the carbonic acid, and to cause thereby a precipitation of the in- 
soluble carbonate. (Chem. News, Sept. 12, 1863, p. 128.)—Note to the twelfth edition. W. PART i. 
Magnesise Carbonas.—Magnesise Sulphas. 
539 
(Pharm. Journ., iii. 480.) The formula given by the British Pharmacopoeia is 
3(MgO,COa)-f MgO,5HO; in other words, a combination of 3 eqs. of carbonate 
of magnesia, one of magnesia, and five of water. The composition of this salt 
varies with the mode of preparation. Thus Bucholz, by decomposing sulphate 
of magnesia with 170 per cent, of carbonate of soda, and using only cold water 
throughout, obtained a very light, spongy, somewhat coherent carbonate of 
magnesia, containing 32 acid, 33 base, and 35 water. By using 120 per cent, 
of the carbonate, and boiling for fifteen minutes, he obtained a heavy, granular 
precipitate, containing 35 acid, 42 base, and 23 water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of magnesia is antacid, and, by 
combining with acid in the stomach, becomes generally cathartic. When it 
undergoes no change in the alimentary canal, it produces no purgative effect. 
Under these circumstances, it may usually be made to operate by following it 
with draughts of lemonade. It is useful in all cases which require a laxative 
antacid; and, though apt to produce flatulence in consequence of the extrication 
of its carbonic acid in the stomach and bowels, and therefore in ordinary cases 
inferior to calcined magnesia, it sometimes operates favourably, in consequence 
of this very property, in sick stomach attended with acidity. Carbonate of 
magnesia is also an excellent antilithic when uric acid is secreted in excess. 
The dose is from half a drachm to two drachms, which may be given in water 
or milk. In order that it may be accurately diffused through water, it should 
be previously rubbed down with syrup or ginger syrup.* 
Carbonate of magnesia is a useful agent for diffusing camphor and the vola 
tile oils through water, in preparing several of the medicated waters. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Magnesias Carbonatis, Br.; Magnesia; Trochisci Bis- 
muthi, Br. D. B. S. 
MAGNESITE SULPHAS. U.JS.,Br. 
Sulphate of Magnesia. 
“ In colourless crystals, which slowly effloresce on exposure to the air, and 
are very soluble in water. The solution is not coloured nor precipitated by fer- 
rocyanide of potassium, and gives off no muriatic acid upon the addition of sul- 
phuric acid. One hundred grains of the salt dissolved in water, and mixed with 
sufficient boiling solution of carbonate of soda to decompose it completely, 
yield a precipitate of carbonate of magnesia, which, when washed and dried, 
weighs thirty-four grains.” U. S. 
Epsom salt; Sulfate de magnesie, Fr.; Schwefelsaure Magnesia, Germ.; Solfato di 
magnesia, Ital.; Sulfato de magnesia, Span. 
Sulphate of magnesia is a constituent of sea-water, and of some saline springs. 
It also occurs native, either crystallized in slender, prismatic, adhering crystals, 
or as an efflorescence on certain rocks and soils, which contain magnesia and a 
sulphate or sulphuret. In the United States it is found in the great caves, so 
numerous to the west of the Alleghany mountains In one of these caves, near 
Corydon in Indiana, it formed a stratum on the bottom several inches deep ; 
or appeared in masses sometimes weighing ten pounds, or disseminated in the 
earth of the cavern, one bushel of which yielded from four to twenty-five pounds 
of the sulphate. It also appeared on the walls of the cavern, and, if it was 
removed, acicular crystals again appeared in a few weeks. (Cleaveland.) 
Sulphate of magnesia was originally procured by evaporating the waters of 
saline springs at Epsom in England. Dr. Grew prepared it in this manner in 
1075. It was afterwards discovered that the brine, remaining after the crystal- 
lization of common salt from sea-water, furnished by careful evaporation pre- 
cisely the same salt; and, as this was a much cheaper product, it superseded 
the former. The residual brine or bittern consists of sulphate of magnesia, and 
* Dolby's carminative consists of carbonate of magnesia oil of peppermint Tl\j> 
oil of nutmeg T||ij, oil of aniseed Tfyiij, tincture of castor Tfyxxx, tincture of assafctida 
tincture of opium TT^V> spirit of pennyroyal tfyxv, compound tincture of carda- 
mom peppermint water f^ij. 540 
Magnesise Sulphas. 
part r. 
the chlorides of magnesium and calcium. As the sulphate of magnesia crystal- 
lizes first, it may with proper care be obtained nearly pure, although most fre- 
quently the salt prepared in this way is deliquescent from the presence of chloride 
of magnesium. It may be freed from this impurity by washing the Crystals with 
its own saturated solution. It was from this source that the greater part of the 
Epsom salt of commerce was long obtained in Europe. The salt works of New 
England supplied our own markets with an impure and deliquescent sulphate. 
With the improvements of chemistry, other and better processes have been 
adopted. In the neighbourhood of Genoa and Nice, sulphate of magnesia is 
prepared in large quantities from a schistose rock, containing magnesia and 
sulphuret of iron. The miueral is roasted, and exposed in heaps for some 
months to the action of air and water. It is then lixiviated, the sulphate of 
iron decomposed by lime-water, and the salt obtained pure by repeated solu- 
tion and crystallization. 
William Henry, of Manchester, whose calcined magnesia has become famous 
throughout the world, took out a patent for a mode of preparing magnesia and 
its salts from the double carbonate of magnesia and lime—the dolomite of 
mineralogists. His process was to drive off the carbonic acid by heat, and to 
convert the remaining earth into hydrates. He treated these with a sufficient 
quantity of muriatic acid to dissolve out the lime, and then converted the mag- 
nesia into a sulphate either by sulphuric acid or sulphate of iron. 
The salt is extensively manufactured in Baltimore and Philadelphia from the 
silicious hydrate of magnesia, or magnesite. This mineral occurs in veins in the 
serpentine and other magnesian rocks which abound in the neighbourhood of 
Baltimore, and in the southern counties of Pennsylvania. The advantage which 
it possesses over the dolomite, in the preparation of this salt, is the almost en- 
tire absence of lime, owing to which there is little or no waste of acid, and the 
operation is much simplified. The mineral is reduced to a fine powder and 
saturated with sulphuric acid. The mass is then dried and calcined at a red 
heat, in order to convert any sulphate of iron, which may be present, into red 
oxide. It is then dissolved in water, and sulphuret of lime added to separate 
any remaining portion of iron. The salt is crystallized and dissolved a third 
time, in order to purify it. The sulphate prepared by this process is generally 
very pure and clean, although it sometimes contains sulphate of iron. 
Properties, &c. Sulphate of magnesia is a colourless transparent salt, with- 
out smell, and of a bitter, nauseous, saline taste. It crystallizes in quadrangular 
prisms, terminating in a four-sided pyramid or in a dihedral summit It usually 
occurs in small acicular crystals, which are produced by agitating the solution 
while crystallizing. It slowly effloresces in the air. At 32° F. 100 parts of 
water dissolve 25 -7 6 parts of the anhydrous salt, and, for every increased degree, 
0‘8597 parts additional are taken up. The crystals contain 5122 per cent, of 
water of crystallization, and dissolve in their own weight of water at 60°, and 
in three-fourths of their weight at 212°. They melt in their water of crystalli- 
zation, and at a high temperature fuse into an enamel. (Berzelius.) The salt 
consists of one eq. of acid 40, one of base 20, and seven of water 63= 123. 
Sulphate of magnesia is completely decomposed by potassa, soda, and their 
carbonates; by lime, baryta, and strontia, and their soluble salts. Ammonia 
partially decomposes it, and forms with the remainder a double sulphate. The 
bicarbonates of potassa and soda do not decompose it, except by the aid of heat. 
“ It gives copious white precipitates with chloride of barium, and with a mixed 
solution of ammonia, chloride of ammonium, and phosphate of soda,” Br 
Sulphate of magnesia is liable to contain iron and chloride of magnesium, the 
former of which may be detected by ferrocyanide of potassium, and the latter 
by its rendering the salt moist. If the addition of sulphuric acid produce no 
extrication of muriatic acid gas, the fact will prove the absence of chlorides. 
An aqueous solution of 100 grains of the salt should yield, when completely de- 
composed by a boiling solution of carbonate of soda, 34 grains of dry carbonate 
of magnesia, and, according to the British Pharmacopoeia, 16 26 grains of the PART I. 
Magnesise Sulphas.—Magnolia. 
541 
carbonate after having been well washed, dried, and heated to redness. If the 
dry precipitate is less, the specimen tested is not all sulphate of magnesia, and 
probably contains sulphate of soda. 
An economical use which has been recommended of sulphate of magnesia 
is the addition of a strong solution to ordinary whitewash, whereby a beautiful 
whiteness may be given to walls and ceilings. A little of it, moreover, added 
to starch considerably increases its stiffening properties, and at the same time 
in some degree resists the action of fire. ( Chem. News, April 19, 1867, p. 196.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of magnesia is a mild and safe 
cathartic, operating with little pain or nausea, and producing watery stools. It 
is more acceptable to the stomach than most medicines of its class, and will 
often be retained when others are rejected. Like many of the other neutral salts 
it is refrigerant, and may be made to act as a diuretic by keeping the skin cool, 
and walking about after it has been taken. It is well adapted to the treatment 
of fevers and inflammatory affections, especially after a previous thorough evacu- 
ation of the bowels by a more energetic cathartic. It is also useful in colic and 
obstinate constipation, and may be employed in most cases which require the 
use of a cathartic, without being attended with debility or relaxation of the 
stomach and bowels. The medium dose is an ounce; but advantage often re- 
sults from its administration in divided doses, frequently repeated. It is often 
given in combination with other medicines, especially with senna, the griping 
effect of which it tends to obviate. The most agreeable form for administering 
the salt, and that in which it usually agrees best with the stomach, is a solution 
in carbonic acid water with lemon syrup. By Dr. Henry, of Dublin, it is highly 
recommended in connection with sulphuric acid. To seven ounces of a saturated 
aqueous solution of the salt he adds an ounce of the diluted sulphuric acid of 
the Pharmacopoeias, and gives a tablespoonful of the mixture for a dose, in a 
wineglassful of water.* 
Off. Prep. Enema Magnesiae Sulphatis, Br.; Magnesise Carbonas, Br.; Mag 
nesiae Carbonas Levis, Br.; Mistura Sennae Composita, Br. D. B. S 
MAGNOLIA. U. S. Secondary. 
Magnolia. 
The bark of Magnolia glauca, M. acuminata, and M. tripetala. U. S. 
Magnolia. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.— Nat. Ord. Magnoliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals six or more. Capsules two-valved, one 
seeded, imbricated in a cone. Seeds berried, pendulous. Bigelow. 
The medicinal properties of the Magnolia are common to most, if not all of 
the species composing this splendid genus. Among the numerous trees which 
adorn the American landscape, these are most conspicuous for the richness of 
their foliage, and the magnificence as well as delicious odour of their flowers; 
and M. grandi flora of the Southern States rivals in magnitude the largest 
inhabitants of our forests. The Pharmacopoeia designates M. glauca, M. acu- 
minata, and M. tripetala, each of which we shall briefly describe. 
1. Magnolia glauca. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1266; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 
67; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 77; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 8. This species of 
Magnolia, which in the Northern States is often nothing more than a shrub, 
sometimes attains in the South the height of forty feet. The leaves are scat- 
tered, petiolate, oval, obtuse, entire, glabrous, thick, opaque, yellowish-green on 
their upper surface, and of a beautiful pale glaucous colour beneath. The flowers 
urf large, terminal, solitary, cream-coloured, strongly and gratefully odorous, 
often scenting the air to a considerable distance. The calyx is composed of 
three leaves; the petals, from eight to fourteen in number, are obovate, obtuse, 
* It is said that a solution of an ounce of the salt in about a pint of water, boiled for 
three minutes with a grain and a half of tannic acid, or with two or three drachms of 
roasted coffee, is entirely deprived of bitterness. The liquid prepared with coffee should 
be strained, and may be sweetened with sugar. (Combes, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser.. 
xii 110.) 542 
Magnolia. 
PART I. 
concave, and contracted at the base; the stamens are very numerous, and in- 
serted on a conical receptacle; the germs are collected into a cone, and each is 
surmounted by a linear recurved style. The fruit is conical, about an inch in 
length, consisting of numerous imbricated cells, each containing a single scarlet 
seed. This escapes through a longitudinal opening in the cell, but remains for 
some time suspended from the cone by a slender thread. 
M. glauca extends along the seaboard of the United States, from Cape Ann, 
in Massachusetts, to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It is abundant in the 
Middle and Southern States, usually growing in swamps; but is seldom met 
with in the interior, west of the mountains. It begins to flower in May, June, or 
July, according to the latitude. It is known by the name of magnolia simply 
in the Northern and Middle States, by that of white bay or sweet bay in the 
South, and is occasionally called swamp sassafras, beaver tree, &c. 
2. M. acuminata. Willd. Sp Plant, ii. 1257; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 12. 
This species is much larger than the preceding, often growing to the height of 
seventy or eighty feet. The leaves are six or seven inches long, by three or four 
in breadth, oval, acuminate, and pubescent on their under surface. The flowers 
are five or six inches in diameter, bluish or cream-coloured, slightly odorous, 
with obovate rather obtuse petals from six to nine in number. Mingled with 
the splendid foliage, they give a magnificent aspect to the tree when large and 
in full bloom. The tree grows in the interior mountainous regions of the United 
States, extending along the Alleghanies from the State of New York to their 
termination in Georgia, and seldom existing in the low country far either to the 
east or west of that range. It is called cucumber tree, from the resemblance of 
its fruit in shape and size to the common cucumber. 
3. M. tripetala. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1258; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 18. 
This is a small tree, sometimes though rarely reaching an elevation of thirty 
feet, and almost always having an inclined trunk. It is remarkable for the size 
of its leaves and flowers. The former are eighteen or twenty inches long by 
seven or eight in breadth, thin, obovate, somewhat wedge-shaped, entire, acute 
at both extremities, pubescent when young, and often disposed in rays at the 
extremity of the shoots, displaying a surface thirty inches in diameter. Hence 
has arisen the name of umbrella tree, by which this species is distinguished. 
The flowers are terminal, seven or eight inches in diameter, white, with from five 
to twelve oval acute petals, of which the three outer are reflexed. This species 
extends from the northern parts of New York to the southern limits of the United 
States. It is found only in shady situations, with a strong, deep, and fertile soil. 
The leaves of this species are highly recommended by Dr. J. S. Wilson, of 
Alabama, as a dressing for blisters. He scalds them previously to their appli- 
cation, but presumes that they would answer as well in their natural state. 
(South. Med. and Surg. Journ., July, 1854.) 
The bark and fruit of all the species of Magnolia are possessed of similar 
medicinal properties; but the bark only is officinal, and that of the root is 
thought to be most efficient. It has an aromatic odour, and a bitter, pungent, 
spicy taste. The aromatic property, which resides in a volatile principle, is 
diminished by desiccation, and entirely lost when the bark is long kept. The 
bitterness, however, remains. The bark is destitute of astringency. The bark 
of Magnolia grandiflora, examined by Dr. Stephen Procter, was found to contain 
volatile oil, resin, and a principle analogous to the liriodendrin of Professor 
Emmet. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 95.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Magnolia is a gently stimulant aromatic tonic 
and diaphoretic, useful in chronic rheumatism, and capable, if freely given, of 
arresting the paroxysms of intermittent fever. It has been used advantageously 
in these complaints, and in remittents, especially of a typhoid character. The 
dose of the recently dried bark in powder is from half a drachm to a drachm, 
frequently repeated. The infusion may also be used, but is less efficient. 
Diluted alcohol extracts all the virtues of the medicine; and a tincture, made 
by macerating the fresh bark or fruit in brandy, is a popular remedy in chronic 
rheumatism. W. PART I. 
Manganesii Oxidurn Nigrum. 
543 
MANGANESII OXIDUM NIGRUM. U.S.,Br. 
Black Oxide of Manganese. 
Native impure deutoxide of manganese in powder, containing at least 66 per 
cent, of the pure deutoxide. U. S. MnOa. Br. 
Manganese, Peroxide of manganese, Deutoxide of manganese, Black oxide of man- 
ganese, Pvrolusite; Oxide noir de manganese, Fr.; Braunstein, Germ.; Manganese, 
Ital., Span. 
The officinal oxide of manganese is the binoxide of a peculiar metal prop- 
erly called manganese; though this name is commonly applied to the oxide 
itself. Metallic manganese was discovered by Scheele and Gahn in 1774, and is 
obtained from the native black oxide by intense ignition with charcoal. As ob- 
tained by C. Brunner, by decomposing the fluoride by sodium, manganese is 
brittle, grayish-white, and very hard, being capable of cutting glass, and scratch- 
ing the best tempered steel. It is susceptible of the most perfect polish, and 
is not altered, even in moist air, at the ordinary temperature. Its sp. gr. 
varies from 7T to 7 2. (Chem. Gaz., May 1, 1857 ) Deville suspects that Brun- 
ner’s manganese contains a little carbon. This chemist obtained the metal by 
heating the black oxide in excess with charcoal, in a lime crucible. The metal, 
thus obtained, is more refractory than iron; while that procured by Brunner 
fused at the same heat as white cast iron. {Ibid., June 1,1857.) The eq. num- 
ber of manganese is 27‘7- With oxygen it forms five compounds, three regular 
oxides and two acids. The protoxide is of a light-green colour, and is the oxide 
present in the salts of manganese The sesquioxide is black or dark-brown, and 
the deutoxide black. The two acids are formed by the action of potassa on the 
deutoxide, and are called manganic and hyper manganic acids. Assuming one 
eq. of manganese in each of these compounds, the protoxide contains one, the 
sesquioxide one and a half, the deutoxide two, manganic acid three, and hyper- 
manganic acid three and a half equivalents of oxygen. Besides these, there exist 
a double oxide, of a brownish-red colour, called red oxide, consisting of one eq. 
of protoxide and one of sesquioxide, and invariably formed when anyone of the 
other oxides of manganese is exposed to a white heat; and a native oxide, called 
Varvicite, composed of two eqs. of deutoxide and one of sesquioxide. Metallic 
manganese is an occasional constituent of organic matter. It has been detected 
in minute quantity in bone, hair, brain, epidermis, gastric juice, bile, urine, and 
pus, and has been found by Millon and others in the blood. M. Glenard, of 
Lyons, denies that it is a normal constituent of the blood, although sometimes 
present; but the evidence of numerous experimenters shows that it generally 
exists in that fluid; and, when not detected, it may be because the quantity 
present is too minute for discovery. According to Mr. E. Davy, caustic potassa, 
dissolved in an equal weight of water, forms a delicate test for manganese, not 
obscured by the presence of other metals. The smallest portion of matter, sus- 
pected to contain the metal, being finely pulverized or in solution, is placed 
upon a slip of silver foil, and a drop of the test added. Upon evaporating to 
dryness with a spirit-lamp, and raising the heat, the characteristic green manga- 
nate of potassa will appear on the foil. {Chem. Gaz., March 15, 1854.) Manga- 
nese is a constituent of all arable land, and is found in the ashes of most of the 
vegetables which form the food of man and the inferior animals. In the mineral 
kingdom, it occurs sometimes as a sulphuret, rarely as a phosphate, but very 
abundantly as the black or deutoxide, called pyrolusite. It is the latter mineral 
which constitutes the officinal oxide. 
Properties. Deutoxide of manganese,as it occurs in nature, is very diversified 
in its appearance. Its sp. gr. varies from 4-7 to 4-9. It is found sometimes in 
brilliant needle-shaped crystals, often in compact masses having the metallic 
lustre, but far more frequently in the form of a dull earthy-looking substance, 
of a black or brown colour. It is purest when crystallized. As it occurs in com- 
merce, it is usually in the form of a black powder, insoluble in water, and con- 544 
Manganesii Oxidum Nigrum.—Manganesii Sulphas. 
PART I. 
taining more or less oxidized iron, carbonate of lime, sulphate of baryta, and 
earthy matter. Iron, which is rarely absent, is detected by the production of a 
greenish or blue tint on the addition of ferrocyanuret of potassium to its muriatic 
solution. When exposed to a red heat it yields half an equivalent of oxygen, 
and is reduced to the state of sesquioxide. Hence its use in obtaining that gas. 
Good samples, after being dried, lose, when heated to whiteness, ! 2 per cent, of 
oxygen. It is distinguished from sulphuret of antimony by its infusibility, and 
by causing the evolution of chlorine on being heated with muriatic acid. When 
of a brown colour, it is not of good quality. 
But few mines of deutoxide of manganese exist; though the metal itself is 
very generally diffused throughout the mineral kingdom It occurs most abun- 
dantly in Bohemia, Saxony, the Hartz, France, and Great Britain. In the United 
States no mines have been opened, except in Vermont, from which State an in- 
ferior brown ferruginous manganese is supplied through Boston. Besides this 
source, the mineral is received from Nova Scotia, France, Germany, England, 
and occasionally Scotland. It comes packed in casks or barrels, generally in 
lumps and coarse powder, just as it is dug out of the mines; though occasion- 
ally it is received from England ready pulverized. It is a good rule to buy it 
unpowdered; as its quality can be better judged of in that state. A dark shining 
crystalline appearance may be taken as an indication of good quality. The 
Nova Scotia manganese is better than the Vermont; but that from Germany, 
England, and Scotland is the best, and commands the highest price. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Deutoxide of manganese is deemed tonic and 
alterative. When slowly introduced into the system, as happens to those en- 
gaged in grinding the mineral, it acts, according to Dr. Coupar, of Glasgow, as 
a cumulative poison, inducing a disease which begins with a staggering gait, 
and ends in paraplegia. It has been used in syphilis, chlorosis, scurvy, and 
various skin diseases, especially itch and porrigo. It has lately been employed, 
in a purified state, with great advantage by Dr. Arthur Leared, in stomachic 
pains, of a purely nervous character, such as are apt to come on after eating. He 
has also found it useful in pyrosis, and other irritable states of the stomach which 
are purely functional. It has the advantage over the preparations of bismuth, 
in these cases, that it does not constipate. (Glasgow Med. Journ., Jan. 1865, 
p. 79.) The dose is from three to twenty grains, three times a day, given in 
the form of pill. Dr. Leared gave ten grains of the powder three times a 
For external use, an ointment may be made of one or two drachms of the oxide 
to an ounce of lard. The sulphate is officinal. For a notice of some other com- 
pounds of manganese which have been tried as medicines, see Part III. 
This oxide is used in the arts for obtaining chlorine in the manufacture of 
bleaching powder, for giving a black glazing to pottery, and for freeing glass 
from the colour which it derives from iron. In the laboratory, it is employed to 
obtain oxygen and chlorine, and to form the salts of manganese. In pharmacy 
it is used for liberating chlorine from muriatic acid and from common salt, and 
iodine from iodide of sodium, contained in kelp. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Aqua Chlorinii, U. S.; Ilydrargyri Perchloridum, 
Br.; Liquor Chlori, Br.; Liquor Sod® Chlorat®, Br.; Potass® Chloras, Br. 
Off. Prep. Potass® Permanganas, Br. B. 
MANGANESII SULPHAS. US. 
Sulphate of Manganese. 
This salt was first made officinal in the present edition of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, in which it has a place in the Materia Medica list. It may be prepared 
by heating- the native black oxide with concentrated sulphuric acid. Oxygen is 
evolved, and the sulphate of the protoxide is formed. The product, when ex- 
hausted by water, furnishes a solution which must be heated to nearly the boil- 
ing point, and treated with carbonate of manganese, added by small portions P.iRT I. 
Manganesii Sulphas. 
545 
at a time, which will precipitate any iron present, and change the colour of the 
liquid from a dark-red to a pale-rose tint. The liquid is then filtered, evapo- 
rated to the consistence of a thin syrup, and set aside to crystallize.* 
Properties. Sulphate of manganese consists of one eq. of protoxide of manga- 
nese and one of sulphuric acid (MnO,S03). From its aqueous solution it crys- 
tallizes in rhombic prisms, which contain variable proportions of water of crys- 
tallization according to the temperature of the solution and other circumstances. 
Obtained by evaporation at a gentle heat, they contain four eqs. of water; be- 
tween 45° and 68°, five eqs.; under 42°, seven eqs.; and a concentrated solution, 
mixed with sulphuric acid, and evaporated, yields granular crystals with one eq. 
Heated to 240°, the crystals lose three eqs. of water, and at a red heat become 
anhydrous. (Brancle and Taylor.) The crystals usually have a pale-rose or pink 
colour. The salt has an astringent and bitterish taste. It is very soluble in 
water; but its solubility varies with its water of crystallization. When anhy- 
drous it is dissolved by two parts of water at 60°, and in its own weight at 212°. 
It is insoluble in alcohol. If carelessly prepared, it is apt to contain copper and 
arsenic, as well as iron. As it is the source of nearly all the preparations of man- 
ganese, it is of importance that it should be pure. Hence, the sulphate, as first 
obtained, should be calcined at a low red heat at least twice, to render the con. 
taminating metals insoluble, and then tested in solution, to be sure of its purity. 
According to M. A. Gorgeu, copper and iron, as well as nickel and cobalt, are 
completely precipitated by sulphuret of manganese. In applying this reagent, 
the impure solution is shaken for about a quarter of an hour with the sulphuret, 
and then boiled for a few minutes. (Cliem. Gaz., July 1, 1853, p. 24.1.) In the 
description of it in the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia, the salt is stated not to be precipi- 
tated by tincture of nutgall, to give with alkalies a white precipitate soon be- 
coming brown on exposure, and to throw down a flesh-coloured precipitate with 
hydrosulphate of ammonia, and a white one with ferrocyanide of potassium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. C. G. Gmelin found sulphate of manganese to 
produce an extraordinary secretion of bile when given to the inferior animals, 
and its effects as a cholagogue have been observed in man. According to the 
late Dr. Thomas Thomson, of Glasgow, it resembles sulphate of soda both in 
taste and effect, operating as a purgative in the dose of one or two drachms. 
From the circumstance that manganese had been found in small proportion in 
the blood, it was conjectured that this metal, like iron, might play an important 
part in the human economy; and trial was made of its various preparations in 
debilitated states of the system, and especially in anaemia, in which the hope was 
* The following modification of the process given in the text has been published by 
Mr. C. Lewis Diehl, Jr., who has obtained by means of it an abundant product of the 
pure salt. A mixture of 5 parts of peroxide of manganese and 0-75 of coarsely powdered 
charcoal is exposed to a red heat, in a covered crucible, until all the charcoal is consumed. 
The contents of the crucible, after cooling, are put into a porcelain dish, and treated 
with 6-5 parts of sulphuric acid. The whole is then evaporated to dryness, and the 
residue, being returned to the crucible, is again heated to redness. When"cool, the mass 
is rubbed to powder if necessary, and treated twice with 8 parts of boiling water; and 
the liquors, having been mixed, are filtered, evaporated till a pellicle appears, and set 
aside to crystallize. It is important that the liquid should be removed from the sand- 
bath as soon as the pellicle begins to form; as, if the heat be continued longer, an in- 
soluble sulphate is deposited. If the peroxide of manganese employed is of good quality, 
a pure sulphate will be obtained; any salt of iron or copper present being rendered in- 
soluble by the heat. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 139.) 
Another process, introduced into use by Mr. Laster, Chemist of the Charity Hospital, 
New Orleans, is highly praised by Dr. A. J. Semmes, visiting physician of the same 
hospital. The following is the formula. “ Take of Binoxide of Manganese 40 parts, 
Commercial Hydrochloric Acid 200 parts. Dissolve the binoxide in the acid beneath a 
chimney-flue, and, when solution is complete, and chlorine no longer evolved, mix very 
gradually 53 parts of sulphuric acid with the reddish liquid; continue the evaporation 
beneath the flue until acid vapour is no longer driven off, and the mass becomes dry, 
Dissolve this mass in 350 parts of water heated to the boiling point. Treat the solution 
with carbonate of manganese until it becomes rose-red, filter or decant, evaporate and 
crystallize.” (P)id., March, 1868, p. 175.)—Note fa the thirteenth, edition 546 
Manganesii Sulphas.—Manna. 
PART I. 
entertained that it might prove a useful adjuvant of the chalybeates as a recon- 
structive agent. When given with iron, its use was certainly in many instances 
followed by the most satisfactory results; but it may be questioned whether the 
beneficial effects were in any respect greater than those which the iron would 
have produced without such an auxiliary; and, where manganese has been 
used alone in anemic cases, it has generally failed. Dr. Garrod, of London, has 
recently reported the result of some trials made with it, in one of the hospitals 
of that city, in cases of anaemia, the inference from which is altogether un- 
favourable to manganese as a remedy in that disease. {Med. Times and Gaz., 
Feb. 1863, p 222 ) Dr. Hammond, of New York, has found the sulphate of 
manganese successful in two cases of chorea, which had resisted other treat- 
ment. {Med. & Surg. Reporter, Aug. 1,1868, p. 87 ; from N. Y. Med. Gaz.) The 
dose of sulphate of manganese as a tonic is from five to twenty grains. B. 
MANNA. U. S., Br. 
Manna. 
The concrete juice, in flakes, of Fraxinus Ornus, and of Fraxinus rotundifolia. 
XJ. S. A concrete saccharine exudation from the stem of Fraxinus Ornus and 
F. rotundifolia, obtained by making incisions in the stems. Br. 
Manne, Fr.; Manna, Germ., Ital.; Mana, Span. 
Manna is not the product of one plant exclusively. Besides the two species 
of Fraxinus indicated by the Pharmacopoeias, it is said to be obtained also 
from several other trees, belonging to the genera Ornus and Fraxinus, among 
which F. excelsior and F. parviflora have been particularly designated. Many 
saccharine substances, generally exudations from plants, have, from their resem- 
blance to this substance, obtained the name of manna, and attracted more or less 
attention from writers. They are described in a note.* 
* False Mannas. Burkhardt states that a species of manna, which exudes from the 
tamarisk of the north of Africa {Tamarix Oallica, Ehrenberg), is used by the Bedouin 
Arabs near Mount Sinai with their food. This substance, however, according to Mitsch- 
erlich, contains no mannite, but consists wholly of mucilaginous sugar. M. Berthelot 
found a sample of manna from Sinai to consist of 55 per cent, of cane sugar, 25 of levu- 
lose and glucose, and 20 of dextrin and analogous substances. (Annales de Chim. et Phys., 
Ixvii. 82.) The same chemist obtained from Turkish manna a new variety of sugar, which 
he named trehalose. (Gaz. Med. de Paris, A.D. 1857, no. 49.) The manna used in India is 
said to be the product of Hedysarum Alhayi of Linn., Alhagi Maurorum of De Candolle, 
a thorny shrub which grows abundantly in the deserts of Persia and Arabia. It is much 
inferior to that obtained from the Ornus. A substance closely resembling manna is pro- 
cured by exudation from Eucalyptus mannifera, growing in New South Wales. It con- 
tains a saccharine matter called melitose, different from mannite, and from all the varie- 
ties of sugar in properties, though isomeric with glucose. It is susceptible of the vinous 
fermentation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 157.) Another manna found in New 
Holland is produced upon the leaves of Eucalyptus dumosa, when very small, and some- 
times appears spread over large extents of country like a kind of snow. The natives use 
it for food. It is a complex body, containing sugar, gum, starch, inulin, and lignin. 
{Journ. de Chim. et de Pharm., xvi. 240.) It is said to he a secretion from an insect, 
formed into minute cells, each of which is the abode of one of the insects. It is called 
lerp by the natives. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 547.) The substance known 
in France by the name of Briangon manna, is an exudation from the common European 
iarch (Larix Europsea or Pinus Larix), and differs chemically from ordinary manna in 
containing no mannite. Berthelot found in it a peculiar sugar, analogous to that of the 
cane, which he named melezitose. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1859, p. 61.) Larix 
Cedrus, of Mount Lebanon, yields a similar product, which has some repute in Syria as 
a remedy in phthisis. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xiii. 411.) A substance resembling 
manna, of a sweet, slightly bitter, and terebinthinate taste, and actively purgative, ex- 
udes from incisions in Pinus Lambertiana, of Southern Oregon, and is used by the na- 
tives. {Nar. of U.S. Expl. Exped., v. 232.) M. Berthelot has extracted from this product 
a peculiar saccharine principle, which he calls pinite. It is very sweet, but does not un- 
dergo the vinous fermentation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 157.) In the neigh- 
bourhood of Diarbekir, in Asiatic Turkey, a saccharine substance, known as Diarbekir 
manna, is found on the leaves of dwarf oaks, from which it appears to be exuded. {Ibid., 
Nov. 1862, p. 546.) Certain seaweeds, after their death, become covered, on exposure to PART i 
Manna 
547 
Ornus Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Oleaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx very small, four-cleft. Corolla divided to the base into linear 
segments. Pericarp a winged key not dehiscing. Lindley. 
This genus was separated by Persoon from the Fraxinus of Linnaeus. 
Ornus Europsea. Persoon, Synops. i. 9; Lindley, Flor. Med. 547 ; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 8, pi. 61. — Fraxinus Ornus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1104. 
Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 589, t. 209. The flowering ash* is a tree of moderate 
height, usually from twenty to twenty-five feet, very branching, with opposite, 
petiolate, pinnate leaves, composed of three or four pairs of leaflets, and an odd 
one at the end. The leaflets are oval, acuminate, obtusely serrate, about an inch 
and a half in length, smooth, of a bright-green colour, and supported on short 
footstalks. The flowers are white, and usually expaud with the leaves. They 
grow in close panicles at the extremity of the young branches, and have a very 
short calyx with four teeth, and four linear lanceolate petals. 
Both this species of Ornus and 0. rotundifolia are natives of Sicily, Calabria, 
and Apulia; and both contribute to supply the manna of commerce. The former 
is cultivated in Sicily, yields manna after the eighth year, and continues to yield 
it for ten or twelve years, when it is usually cut down, and young sprouts allowed 
to grow up from the root. (Stettner, Archie der Pharm., liii. 194.) During the 
hot months the juice exudes spontaneously from the bark, and concretes upon its 
surface; but, as the exudation is slow, it is customary to facilitate the process by 
making deep longitudinal incisions on one side of the trunk. In the following 
season these are repeated on the other side, and thus alternately for the whole 
period during which the trees yield manna, extending sometimes, it is said, to 
thirty or even forty years. Straw or chips are frequently placed so as to receive 
the juice, which concretes upon them. The manna varies in its character accord- 
ing to the mode of collection, nature of the season, and period of the year in 
which the exudation takes place. That procured in Sicily is said to be the best. 
Three varieties are distinguishable in commerce. 
1. The purest is that named flake manna, or manna cannulata. It exudes 
spontaneously, or by incisions, during the hottest and dryest weather in July and 
August. According to Stettner, it is furnished by the upper incisions upon the 
trunk; while the lower incisions yield the inferior varieties. It is in irregular, 
unequal pieces, often several inches long, resembling stalactites rough, light, 
porous, brittle, whitish or yellowish-white, and frequently concave on the surface 
by which they were attached to the trunk, and which is often soiled by impuri- 
ties, sometimes by adherent fragments of the bark. When broken, these pieces 
exhibit a crystalline or granular structure. This variety is sometimes in small 
fragments, generally less than an inch in length. 
2. Common manna—manne en sorte of French pharmacy—is next in quality, 
and is collected in September and the beginning of October, when the heat of 
the weather has begun to moderate. The juice does not now concrete so readily, 
and a portion, falling on the ground at the root of the tree, becomes more or less 
mixed with impurities, and forms imperfectly solid masses, which require to be 
further dried in the sun. Common manna consists of whitish or yellowish frag- 
ments, similar to the pieces of flake manna, but much smaller, mixed with a soft, 
viscid, uncrystallized brownish matter, identical with that which constitutes the 
following variety. 
3. Fat manna is collected in the latter part of October and November, when 
the weather is cooler and rains more common. The juice is now still less dis- 
posed to concrete, and flowingdown the trunk is received in a small excavation 
at its base. As found in commerce, it is in the form of a soft, viscous mass. 
the air, with an efflorescence of mannite, supposed not to pre-exist in the plant, but to bs 
formed at the expense of their mucilaginous matter. [Journ.de Pharm., Avril, 1859, p. 314.) 
* A syrup prepared from the inner bark of this tree has been employed, in Europe, by 
Dr. Devergie, with supposed advantage, in chronic eczema and impetigo. The bark con* 
tains much tannin, and a mucilaginous principle, which renders diluted alcohol a better 
menstruum than boiling water. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., ix. 347.) 548 
Manna 
PART I. 
containing few crystalline fragments, of a brown or yellowish-brown colour, and 
full of impurities. 
Manna may be found in the shops, of every grade, from the most impure of 
the third variety to the purest of the first; but the worst kind is not often im- 
ported into this country. 
Attempts have sometimes been made to counterfeit manna; but the facility 
of detection renders frauds of this kind unprofitable, and they are not often 
practised. Dr. R. P. Thomas has described, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm 
(xxiv. 208), a sophisticated drug, which was brought into our markets under 
the name of manna, but differed from the genuine drug both in sensible and 
chemical properties, not even containing mannite. Baume describes a method 
in which common manna is purified so as to resemble flake manna. It consists 
in dissolving common manna in a little water, allowing the liquid to settle, de- 
canting it in order to separate the impurities, then inspissating it so that it will 
congeal on cooling, and immersing threads in the inspissated liquid, several times 
successively, in the manner practised by candle-makers. It may be still further 
purified by the use of animal charcoal. Thus prepared it contains less mannite 
than flake manna, and less of the nauseous principle; but is said not to operate 
less effectively as a laxative. 
Properties. Manna has a slight, peculiar odour, and a sweet taste, which in 
the impure kinds is also very nauseous, but, in the finest flake manna, scarcely 
so much so as to be disagreeable It melts with heat, and takes fire, burning 
with a blue flame. When pure it is soluble in three parts of cold, and in its own 
weight of boiling water. From a boiling saturated aqueous solution, it separates 
in partially crystalline masses on cooling. Alcohol also dissolves it, and, if 
saturated by means of heat, deposits upon cooling a large proportion of the 
manna in a beautifully crystalline form. Fourcroy andVauquelin found manna 
to consist of, 1. a peculiar sweet principle, called mannite, which constitutes 75 
percent.; 2. true sugar; 3. a yellow nauseous matter, upon which the purgative 
property is thought chiefly to depend; and 4. a little mucilage. Leuchtweiss 
obtained from 105 parts of manna 11'6 of water, 0'4 of insoluble matter, 91 
of sugar, 42-6 of mannite, 40 0 of a mixture of mucilaginous matter containing 
mannite, resin, organic acid, and a nitrogenous substance, and 13 of ashes. 
Manna has recently been examined chemically by M. Buignet, who discovered 
in it, what had never before been detected, a considerable proportion of dextrin. 
He appears to have been led to this discovery by observing a very energetic 
right rotatory power in flake manna, which could not be owing to the saccharine 
matter it contained, because the same power continued after all the sugar had 
been destroyed by fermentation. Dextrin forms about one-fifth part of flake 
manna, and a much larger part of the-inferior kinds. It may be readily obtained 
separate by triturating 200 parts of flake manna with 400 of alcohol of 70° in 
successive portions, filtering the resulting mixture, by which the mannite is 
left behind, and then separating the sugar and dextrin contained in the clear 
liquor. This is done by concentrating the liquor to a syrupy consistence, and 
adding about 10 parts of alcohol at 90°. The mixture separates into two layers, 
the upper consisting of a strong alcoholic solution of sugar, the lower of a satu- 
rated solution of dextrin in weak alcohol. The latter is separated, washed re- 
peatedly with alcohol at 90°, and then, after dilution with water, decolorization, 
and filtration, is evaporated gently by a water-bath till it ceases to lose weight. 
The substance remaining is dextrin. The saccharine matter of manna is a mix- 
ture of cane sugar and inverse or uncrystallizable sugar, which are in such pro- 
portion as almost to neutralize their reciprocal optic properties. All the forms 
of commercial manna contain both sugar and dextrin, and, though the quan- 
tity of the two jointly varies considerably, yet their relative proportion is in- 
variable, being 2 eqs. of dextrin and 1 eq. of sugar. This is the same result 
which takes place in the saccharification of starch; and the inference is fair, 
that the dextrin and sugar in manna are the result of a transformation of 
starch in the plant. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Glum., Juillet, 1868, pp. 5-16.) PART i. 
Manna.—Maranta. 
549 
It is owing to the presence of true sugar and dextrin that manna is capable 
of fermenting. Mannite is white, inodorous, crystallizable in semi-transparent 
needles, of a sweetish taste, soluble in five parts of cold water, scarcely soluble 
in cold alcohol, but readily dissolved by that liquid when hot, and deposited 
when it cools. Its composition is C12Hu012. Unlike sugar, it does not undergo 
the vinous fermentation; but, if mixed with chalk and cream cheese, and kept 
for some weeks at the temperature of 104° F., it yields alcohol largely, with 
the disengagement of carbonic acid and hydrogen, and the production of lactic 
acid. No fungus is produced, as in the ordinary fermentation of sugar. (Ber- 
thelot, Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 269.) With lime, baryta, and strontia, it forms 
definite compounds, soluble in water, and precipitable from their aqueous solu- 
tions by alcohol. {Ibid., Jan. 1860, p. 56.) It does not reduce an alkaline solution 
of oxide of copper; and a test of its purity is thus presented. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Jan, 1861, p. 26.) It may be obtained by boiling manna in alcohol, 
allowing the solution to cool, and redissolving the crystalline precipitate. Pure 
mannite is now deposited. Another method is to dissolve flake manna in water, 
precipitate by solution of subacetate of lead, filter, throw down the excess of 
lead by sulphuric acid, evaporate the solution, and mix with alcohol. On cool- 
ing, the mannite is deposited. (Bonsall, Arch der Pharm., cxxxiv. 70.) This 
principle has been found in numerous vegetables. It is said to be gently laxa- 
tive in the dose of one or two ounces. 
Manna, when long kept, acquires a deeper colour, softens, and ultimately 
deliquesces into a liquid, which, on the addition of yeast, undergoes the vinous 
fermentation. This is probably owing to its conversion into sugar by the absorp- 
tion of enough oxygen to neutralize the slight excess of hydrogen, which con- 
stitutes the only essential difference in composition between it and proper sugar. 
That which isdryest resists this change the longest. It is said that manna, re- 
cently gathered, is less purgative than it afterwards becomes. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Manna is a gentle laxative, usually operating 
mildly, but in some cases producing* flatulence and pain. Though peculiarly 
adapted to children and pregnant women, it may be given with advantage in 
ordinary cases of piles from constipation, unattended with dyspeptic symptoms. 
It is usually, however, prescribed with other purgatives, particularly senna, rhu- 
barb, magnesia, and the neutral salts, the taste of which it conceals, while it 
adds to the purgative effect. 
The dose for an adult is from one to two ounces; for children, from one to 
four drachms. It is usually given dissolved in water or some aromatic infusion; 
but the best flake manna may be administered in substance. W 
MARANTA. U.S. 
Arrow-root. 
The fecula of the rhizoma of Maranta arundinacea. U. S. 
Ar row-root, Fr.; Amerikanisclies Starkmehl, Arrowmelil, Germ. 
Maranta. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.— Nat. Orel. Marantaceae. 
Gen. Oh. Anther attached to the petal-like filament. Style petal-shaped. 
Stigma three-sided. Flowers panicled. Loudon's Encyc. 
Maranta arundinacea. Willd Sp. Plant, i. 13; Carson, Illust, of Med. Hot. 
ii. 53, pi. 97. The root (rhizoma) of this plant is perennial, tuberous, fleshy, 
horizontal, nearly cylindrical, scaly, from six inches to a foot or more in length, 
and furnished with numerous long white fibres. It sends forth several tuberous, 
jointed, curved, white, scaly stoles, the points of which sometimes rise above the 
ground, and become new plants. The stems, of which several proceed from the 
same root, are annual, slender, branched, jointed, leaf}', and about three feet in 
height. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, about four inches long, alternate, and 
supported solitarily, at the joints of the stem, upon long, sheathing footstalks. 
The flowers are in a long, loose, spreading, terminal panicle, at each ramification 
of which is a solitary linear bracte. The calyx consists of three small lanceolate 550 
Maranta. 
PART I. 
leaves. The corolla is white and monopetalous, with a tube longer than the 
calyx, and a double border, of which the three outermost segments are smallest, 
and the two inner obovate, and slightly emarginate. 
The arrow-root plant is a native of the West Indies, where it is largely cul- 
tivated. It is cultivated also in the East Indies, Sierra Leone, the south of 
Africa, and our Southern States, especially Georgia and Florida. The plant is 
easily propagated by cuttings of the root. The fecula is prepared in the follow- 
ing manner. The roots are dug up when a year old, washed, and then beaten 
into a pulp, which is thrown into water, and agitated so as to separate the 
amylaceous from the fibrous portion. The fibres are removed by the hand, and 
the starch remains suspended in the water, to which it gives a milky colour. 
The milky fluid is strained through coarse linen, and allowed to stand that the 
fecula may subside, which is then washed with a fresh portion of water, and 
afterwards dried in the sun. We obtain the officinal arrow-root from the West 
Indies, and the Southern Atlantic States. That from the Bermudas has in 
general been most highly esteemed.* 
Other plants contribute to furnish the arrow-root of commerce. Lindley 
states that it is procured in the West Indies from Maranta Allouya and 31. 
nobilis, besides 31. arundinacea. Under the name of 31. Indica, Tussac de- 
scribes a distinct species, which he says was originally brought from the East 
Indies, and is now cultivated in Jamaica. This, however, is generally con- 
sidered as a mere variety of M. arundinacea, from which it differs chiefly in 
having leaves more elongated at the point, and smooth on both sides. Very fine 
arrow-root is obtained in the East Indies from the root of Curcuma an gusli fo- 
lia of Roxburgh, which is cultivated in Travancore. But the product is lighter 
than the Maranta arrow-root, and does not so quickly make a jelly. Ainslie 
states that 31. arundinacea has been introduced from the West Indies into Cey- 
lon, where good arrow-root is prepared from it. A fecula, closely resembling 
that of the Maranta, is said by Guibourtto be prepared in the West Indies from 
the root of the cassava plant (Janipha 3Ianihot); and it is not improbable 
that a variety of arrow-root brought to this country from Brazil has a similar 
origin. In fact, it often contains small lumps, as large as a pin’s head, identical 
with tapioca, which is a product of J. 3Ianiliot. A variety of arrow-root has 
been imported from the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Nuttall, during a visit to these 
islands, found that it was obtained from a species of Tacca, which he described 
by the name of Tacca oceanica. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., ix. 305.) It is said 
that a similar product is afforded by Tacca pinn at if da, growing in the East India 
province of Arracan. (Pharm. Journ., vi. 383.) Arrow-root has been brought 
from Florida, prepared near St. Augustine from the root of Zamia integrifolia, 
by a process similar to that employed for the fecula of the Maranta (Dr. J. Car- 
son, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 22); but care must be taken not to confound 
this with the genuine maranta from the same State. The tuberous roots of dif- 
ferent species of Alstroemeria, growing in S. America, yield a fecula, used for the 
same purposes as the maranta; and a specimen, under the name of Talcahuana 
arrow root, was sent from Chili by Dr. Ruschenberger to Prof Carson, of this 
city,who ascertained it to be the product of the Alstroemeria ligtu. (Ibid., xxxii. 
289 ) In the West Indies, substitutes for arrow-root are furnished by the roots of 
Dioscorea sativa or yam, and of Colocasia esculenta, and by the fruit of Arto- 
carpus incisa or bread-fruit tree.f Attempts have been made to substitute 
finely prepared potato starch for arrow-root; and there is no doubt that in nu- 
tritive properties it is quite equal; but patients complain of an unpleasant taste 
of the potato which it is apt to retain. 
* For an account of the cultivation of the plant and the preparation of the fecula in 
Georgia, see a report by Mr. Robert M. Battey, of Rome, Georgia, on Maranta arundi- 
nacea, in the Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A.D. 1858, p. 832. (Note to the 
twelfth edition.) 
f Specimens of these feculas were seen by the author in the Palais d’Industrie of Pari? 
among the French colonial products, in the autumn of 1860. PART i. 
Maranta. 
551 
Arrow-root is in the form of a light white powder, or of small pulverulent 
masses, without smell or taste. It has a firm feel when pressed between the 
fingers, and produces a faint crackling sound when rubbed. It is a pure starch, 
corresponding in chemical properties with that of wheat and the potato. It is 
very apt to be musty, and should then be rejected. The odour and taste are 
the best criteria of its purity. It should be perfectly free from smell and un- 
pleasant flavour. Prof. Procter has rendered musty arrow-root sweet and fit 
for use by washing it thorougfily with two successive portions of cold water, 
and then drying it upon frames of muslin in a warm place. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xiii. 188.) Arrow-root is said to be sometimes adulterated with com- 
mon starch, and that of the potato. These may be detected by the aid of the 
microscope. Muriatic acid has been proposed as a test. A mixture of equal 
parts of that acid and of water, rubbed with about half its weight of potato or 
wLeat starch, very quickly forms so thick a mucilage that the mortar in which 
the trituration is effected may be raised by the pestle; while the same result 
does not take place with rice flour or arrow-root under 25 or 30 minutes. So 
small a proportion as from 4 to 6 per cent, of the impurity may, it is asserted, 
be detected in this way. {Journ. de Pliarm., 3e ser., ii. 246.) 
As the microscope offers the best means of distinguishing the different varie- 
ties of fecula sold as arrow-root, or used for its adulteration, it is proper to indi- 
cate the form of their granules as exhibited by this instrument. Those of the 
proper officinal or Maranta arrow-root are rarely oblong, somewhat ovate- 
oblong, or irregularly convex, with very fine rings, a circular hilum which cracks 
in a linear or stellate manner, and small mammillary processes occasionally pro- 
jecting from them. {Pereira.) The largest are the 750th of an inch, but many 
not more than the 2000th of an inch long; and their breadth is generally two- 
thirds of their length. {Christison ) The granules of the Past India arrow• 
root are, according to Pereira, of unequal size, ovate or oblong-ovate, flattened, 
and often furnished with a very short neck or nipple-like projection. The rings 
are numerous, close, and very fine; and the hilum, which is situated at the nar- 
row extremity, is circular, small, and indistinct. The microscopic appearance of 
the tapioca fecula will be described under the head of Tapioca. The Tacca 
fecula from the South Sea Islands, examined by Pereira, consisted of circular, 
muller-shaped, or polyhedral granules, with few and not very distinct rings, and 
a small, circular hilum, which cracked in a linear or stellate manner. The Florida 
or Zamia arrow-root was found by Dr. Carson to consist of granules forming the 
half, third, or quarter of a solid sphere. The potato starch granules are of vari- 
ous shape and size, but generally ovate or elliptical, and from the 7000th to the 
300th of an inch in length; the largest being inferior in size only to the largest 
of the canna starch or tous-les-mois. (See Canna.) They are strongly marked 
with concentric rings, and have a circular hilum, from which usually proceed the 
cracks observable in some of the larger grains. {Pereira.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Arrow-root is nutritious and demulcent, af- 
fording a light, very mild, and easily digested article of diet, well adapted for 
the sick and convalescent, and peculiarly suited, from its demulcent properties, 
to bowel complaints and diseases of the urinary passages. It is much used as 
food for infants after weaning, or when the mother’s milk is insufficient. It is 
prepared by dissolving it in hot water, with which it forms a pearly gelatinous 
solution, and, if in sufficient quantity, a jelly-like mass on cooling. A table- 
spoonful will communicate sufficient consistence to a pint of water. It should 
first be formed into a paste with a little cold water, and the boiling water then 
gradually added with brisk agitation. The preparation may be rendered more 
palatable by lemon-juice and sugar, or in low forms of disease by wine and 
spices. For children, arrow-root is usually prepared with milk. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Ipecacuanha), U. S. W. 552 
Marmor.—Marrubium. 
PART I. 
MARMOR. U S. 
Marble. 
White graualar carbonate of lime. U. S. 
Off. Sign. MARMOR ALBUM. White Marble. CaO,COa. Hard white 
crystalline native carbonate of lime, in masses. Br. 
White Marble; Marbre, Fr.; Marmor, Germ.; Marmo, Ital.; Marmol, Span. 
Marble is used for obtaining carbonic acid, and for making several officinal 
preparations. For the former purpose common marble is sufficiently pure; for 
the latter, the purer varieties must be selected. 
The officinal marble is a white granular substance, having a sp. gr. varying 
from 2 7 to 2-8. It is brittle, pulverizable, and insoluble in water. It is wholly 
dissolved by dilute muriatic acid with effervescence. If magnesia be present, the 
neutral muriatic solution will be precipitated by ammonia; and if baryta or 
strontia be an impurity, a similar effect will be produced by a solution of sul- 
phate of lime. When marble is exposed to a full red heat, it loses about 44 per 
cent, of carbonic acid, and is converted into lime. (See Calx.) In composition 
it agrees with chalk. 
The purest kind of marble is that of Carrara, sometimes called statuary 
marble; but it is not necessary that this kind should be obtained for pharma- 
ceutic operations. Marble, sufficiently pure for these purposes, is found in various 
parts of the United States. It is necessary, however, to reject the dolomitic 
marbles, which contain a considerable proportion of magnesia. 
Marble is used, in pharmacy, chiefly for furnishing carbonic acid gas. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Acidi Carbonici, U. S.; Liquor Calcii Chloridi, U. S.; Po- 
lassse Bicarbonas, Br.; Sodae Bicarbonas, Br. B. 
MARRUBIUM. U.S. 
Horehound. 
The herb of Marrubium vulgare. U. S. 
Marrube blanc, Fr.; Weisser Andorn, Germ.; Marrubio, Iial., Span. 
Marrubium. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae 
or Labiatas. 
Gen. Gli. Calyx salver-shaped, rigid, ten-streaked. Corolla with the upper 
lip bifid, linear, and straight. 
Marrubium vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. Ill; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 332, t. 
118. White horehound has a perennial fibrous root, and numerous annual stems, 
which are quadrangular, erect, very downy, and from twelve to eighteen inches 
high. The leaves are roundish-ovate, dentate or deeply serrate, wrinkled, 
veined, hoary on the under surface, and supported in pairs on stroilg footstalks. 
The flowers are white, and in crowded axillary whorls. The calyx is tubular, 
and divided at the margin into ten narrow segments, which are hooked at the 
end. The corolla is also tubular, with a labiate margin, of which the upper lip 
is bifid, the under reflected and three-cleft, with the middle segment broad and 
slightly scalloped. The seeds are four, in the bottom of the calyx. The plant 
is a native of Europe, but has been naturalized in this country, where it grows 
on the roadsides, and flowers in July and August. 
The herb has a strong rather agreeable odour, which is diminished by dry- 
ing, and lost by keeping. Its taste is bitter and durable. The bitterness is ex- 
tracted by water and alcohol. It contains a volatile oil, bitter extractive, resin, 
tannin, and lignin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horehound is tonic, in large doses laxative, 
and may be so given as to increase the secretion from the skin, and occasionally 
from the kidneys. It was formerly considered a valuable deobstruent, and re- 
commended in chronic hepatitis, jaundice, amenorrhoea, phthisis, and various PART 1. 
Marrubium.—Mastiche. 
553 
cachectic affections. By its gently tonic powers it may have proved advantage- 
ous in some of these complaints; but it exerts no specific influence over any, 
and has passed mainly from the hands of physicians into domestic use. It is 
employed chiefly in catarrh, and other chronic affections of the lungs attended 
with cough and copious expectoration. The infusion made in the proportion of 
an ounce of the herb to a pint of boiling water may be given in wineglassful 
doses. The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. The medi- 
cine is also much used in the shape of syrup and candy. AV. 
MASTICHE. U. S., Br. 
Mastic. 
The concrete juice of Pistacia Lentiscus. TJ. S. A resinous exudation ob- 
tained by incision from the stem. Br. 
Mastic, Fr.; Mastix, Germ.; Mastice, Ital.; Abnastiga,»S?pa«.; S tikes, Turk.; AxsA,Arab. 
Pistacia. Sex. Sysl. Dicecia Pentandria.—Nat. Ord. Anacardiace®. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Female. Calyx three-cleft. 
Corolla none. Styles three Drupe one-seeded. Willd. 
Pistacia Lentiscus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 753; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 26,1.11. 
The lentisk is a shrub or small tree, seldom more than twelve feet in height, 
much branched towards the top, and furnished with petiolate, abruptly pinnate 
leaves. The leaflets are from eight to twelve, and usually alternate, with the 
exception of the two upper, which are opposite. They are ovate-lanceolate, 
entire, obtuse, often mucronate, and sessile upon the common footstalk, which 
has a narrow foliaceous expansion on each side. The flowers are dioecious, and 
very small. The male are in an axillary ament; the female are arranged alter- 
nately upon a common peduncle, which is also axillary. The tree is a native of 
the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean. The fruit yields by expression 
a fixed oil, of a deep-green colour, and liquid at about 90° F., which the Arabs 
of North Africa use both as an article of diet and for light. A resinous exuda- 
tion from the stem and branches is the officinal part, but it does not appear to 
be collected in all places where the tree flourishes. 
Mastic is obtained chiefly from the island of Scio or Chios, in the Grecian 
Archipelago, where the tree is cultivated for this product. Incisions are made 
in the trunk and principal branches, from which the juice slowly exudes, and 
either hardens in tears upon the bark, or drops on the ground, where it is re- 
ceived upon cloths, or the bare earth, and concretes in irregular masses. The 
tears are most esteemed. They are of various sizes, oval or roundish, often 
compressed, smooth, semi-transparent, of a pale-yellow colour, of a shining 
fracture, friable, and usually covered with a whitish powder, occasioned by 
their friction against each other. The masses consist of yellowish agglutinated 
tears, with others of a darker colour and less translucent, and often fragments 
of wood, bark, or earthy matter intermingled. 
Mastic is nearly inodorous, unless rubbed or heated, when it becomes fra- 
grant. Its taste is weak but agreeably terebinthinate, and, after long chewing, 
very slightly acrid. It is at first friable under the teeth, but soon becomes soft 
and ductile, and acquires a white opaque appearance. Its sp. gr. is 1 074. It is 
fusible and inflammable by heat. Alcohol dissolves about four-fifths of it, leav- 
ing a viscid substance which becomes brittle when dried, and for which the name 
of masticin has been proposed. This substance, though not dissolved by alco- 
hol, softens and swells up in it, as gluten does in water. According to Berzelius, 
it possesses the same general properties as copal, and should be considered as 
a variety of resin. Mastic is wholly soluble in ether, chloroform, and oil of tur- 
pentine, scarcely soluble in the fixed oils, and insoluble in water. It consists 
chiefly of resin, with masticin, and a minute proportion of volatile oil, which can 
scarcely be said to have been obtained in a separate state, though it imparts 
flavour to alcohol and water distilled from the mastic, especially when this has 
been previously triturated with an equal weight of carbonate of potassa. 554 
Mastiche.—Matico. 
PART I 
Mastic is occasionally adulterated with olibanum, sandarach, a id other resin- 
ous bodies; and, in seasons of scarcity, with sea-salt. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mastic was formerly thought to possess pro- 
perties analogous to those of the turpentines, and was used in debility of the 
stomach, hemoptysis from ulceration, leucorrhoea, chronic diarrhoea, &c.; but 
its virtues were overrated, and it is at present scarcely ever given internally. 
In the East, however, an aqueous infusion is said to be still used in infantile 
cholera; and the Greeks employ cataplasms made by mixing it with bread and 
red wine, which they apply to the lower abdomen. (Landerer.) It is sometimes 
employed to fill the cavities of carious teeth, for which purpose it is well fitted 
by its softness. Great quantities of it are consumed in Turkey, where it is 
habitually chewed by the women, under the impression that it sweetens the 
breath, and preserves the gums and teeth. The alcoholic solution has been em- 
ployed as a styptic in bleeding from the nose, leech-bites, &c., being applied by 
means of a camel’s-hair pencil directly to the bleeding vessel. Dissolved in 
alcohol or oil of turpentine, it forms a brilliant varnish. A solution made by 
macerating half an ounce of mastic and fifteen grains of caoutchouc in two 
fluidounces of chloroform, and filtering in close vessels, forms a varnish highly 
esteemed by some microscopists. 
The following mode of applying it to carious teeth has been recommended. 
Dissolve four parts of mastic in one of ether, in a bottle well stopped. With 
the solution thus formed, which is yellow and of an oily consistence, saturate a 
small piece of cotton of the size of the carious cavity, and, having well cleansed 
and dried the cavity, introduce the cotton, without painful pressure, so as to fill 
it exactly. The resin attaches itself to the diseased surface of the tooth, which 
it protects from the air, and from the food taken into the mouth. 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Aloes et Mastiches, U. S. W. 
MATICO. U.S. 
Matico. 
The leaves of Artanthe elongata. U. S. 
Off. Syn. MATICAE FOLIA. Matico Leaves. The dried leaves of Artanthe 
elongata. Br. 
Artanthe. Sex. Syst. Diandria Trigynia.—Nat. Ord. Piperacese. 
Gen. Gh. Spikes solitary, opposite the leaves. Flowers hermaphrodite. 
Style none. Bractes peltate or cucullate. Miquel. 
This genus, separated by Miquel from Piper, is very extensive, embracing 
nearly a hundred species diffused through South and Central America. At 
least two of these have contributed to furnish their products to commerce; 
but it is to the A. elongata exclusively that the medicine called matico has 
been officinally ascribed.* 
* Ava. Kava. The root of another species of the old genus Piper, P. methysticum (Macro- 
piper meihysticum, Miquel), is used in the Sandwich Islands to form an intoxicating drink, 
under the name of ava, kava, or kawa. See an article by Mr. Morson in the Pfiarm. 
Journ. and Trans, (iii. 472), where the plant is figured. M. Gobley has discovered in 
this root a crystalline principle analogous to piperin which he calls meihysiicin, and 
which, possessing neither odour nor taste, is probably inert. He found also a greenish- 
yellow resin, of a strong aromatic smell, and an acrid pungent taste, to which he ascribes 
the powers of the root. [Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1860, p. 20.) The priority of this dis- 
covery having been disputed by M. Cuzent, the question was referred by the Society of 
Pharmacy of Paris to a committee, who, after investigating the subject, ascertained 
that the priority of the discovery was in fact due to Mr. Morson of London, who had 
announced the discovery so early as 1844; though both the other chemists were ignorant 
of this fact. The name of kawine has been proposed for the acrid resin supposed to be 
the active principle of the kava. The root contains also a volatile oil, which probably 
participates with the resin in its effects. [Ibid., Mars, 1862, p. 215.) It is said to be an 
excellent remedy in gonorrhoea [Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 61); and a tincture of it has 
been recently strongly recommended by Dr. E. W. Pritchard, used internally and locally 
as a remedy in gout. (Med. Times and Gaz., Dec. 1854, p. 691.) PART I. 
Matico, 
555 
Artanthe elongata. Miquel; Lindley, Med. and (Econom. Bat. p. 133, fig. 
195. — Piper angusiifolium. Ruiz and Pavon,Flor.Peruv. — Piper elongatum. 
Vahl. This is a shrub with a jointed stem about twelve feet in height. In a 
dried specimen received from Dr. Ruschenberger, of the U. S. Navy, the leaves 
are sessile or very shortly petiolate, oval-lanceolate, acuminate, two or three 
inches long by about an inch in breadth, bright-green on the upper surface, 
paler and downy beneath, crenate, minutely and strongly reticulated, of an 
agreeable aromatic odour, and a strong spicy taste. The spikes are solitary, 
opposite the leaves, and cylindrical. The bractes are peltate or cucullate; the 
flowers hermaphrodite. The plant is a native of Peru. 
The leaves, spikes, and stalks are mixed together, and more or less com- 
pressed, in the packages of the imported drug; and are all possessed of activity, 
ihough the leaves only are recognised by the Pharmacopoeias. Their shape and 
general aspect have been described above, as well as their smell and taste. They 
are readily pulverized, forming a light, greenish, absorbent powder. According 
to Dr. Hodges, they contain chlorophyll, a soft dark-green resin, brown and 
yellow colouring matters, gum, salts, lignin, a light-green, thickish volatile oil, 
and a peculiar bitter principle, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, 
which he calls maticin. (Philos. Mag., Sept. 1844, p. 206.) According to Mr. 
Wiegand, the maticin of Dr. Hodges is a salt of potassa. Mr. John J. Stell, who 
examined the drug in the expectation of discovering a principle analogous to 
cubebin or piperin, failed in the attempt. He found, however, the resin to be 
very acrid and pungent, and reasonably inferred that the virtues of matico reside 
in it and the volatile oil. (Am Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 392.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Matico is an agreeable aromatic tonic and 
stimulant, having a tendency, like cubebs, to act on the urinary passages. It 
has long been known as a medicine in Peru. Dr. Martius speaks of its use by 
the natives externally as a vulnerary, and internally as aphrodisiac (Pharm. 
Cent. Blatt, 1843, p. 12); and, according to Dr. Scrivener, who practised medi- 
cine at Lima, it is much employed in Peru locally for arresting hemorrhage, and 
in the treatment of ulcers. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 115.) In 1839 it was 
taken to England, and was prescribed by Dr. Jeffreys, of Liverpool, with 
advantage, in diseases of the mucous membranes; as gonorrhoea, leucorrhoea, 
menorrhagia, catarrh of the bladder, hemorrhoids, and epistaxis. Others have 
employed it with benefit in similar cases and in diarrhoea; and it is said to have 
proved useful in haemoptysis, haematemesis, dysentery, and haematuria. Dr. 
Ruschenberger gives strong testimony in its favour in several of the diseases 
mentioned. Its most useful internal application is probably as an alterative 
stimulant to the diseased mucous membranes. If efficient as a haemostatic, it 
must be on principles similar to those upon which oil of turpentine acts; for it 
is not astringent. As a local styptic it probably acts mechanically in the same 
manner as agaric. The dose of the powder is from half a drachm to two 
drachms three times a day. The infusion and tincture are officinal. 
Prof. Bentley, of London, describes a new variety of matico, brought from a 
port of Central America, consisting of broken leaves, spikes, and branches, 
which he referred to another species of the same genus, Artanthe adunca, grow- 
ing in the W. Indies and various parts of S. America. The medicine is dis- 
tinguishable from the genuine, by the want of the reticulated upper surface and 
downy under surface which characterize the latter. Prof. Bentley found the 
sensible properties of the new variety very similar to the old, and assumes 
that in medicinal virtues the two are nearly identical. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 
1864, p. 290.) 
Off. Prep. Infusum Maticae, Br. W. 556 
Matricaria.—Mel. 
PART I. 
MATRICARIA. US. 
German Chamomile. 
The flowers of Matricaria Chamomilla. U. S. 
Matricaria. Sex.Syst. Syngenesia Superflua.—Nat.Ord. Compositae-Sene- 
ubnideae, Be Cand. Asteraceai, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx flat, imbricate, with scales having scarious margins. Recep- 
tacle naked, terete. Pappus none. 
Matricaria Chamomilla. Linn. Sp. 1256. This is an annual plant, with a 
branching stem a foot or two in height, bearing alternate leaves about two inches 
long, the lower ones tripinnate, the upper bipinnate or simply pinnate, and all 
of them very green, and nearly or quite smooth. The leaflets are linear and 
very small. The flowers appear singly at the ends of the stem and branches. 
They are about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, with the ray spreading. 
The scales of the calyx are obtuse, green in the middle, and whitish, membra- 
nous, and translucent at the margin. The ray florets are white, at first spread- 
ing, and ultimately reflected. The disk is of a deep-yellow colour, at first flat, 
but in the end convex, and even somewhat conical. 
The plant is a native of Europe, and is occasionally cultivated in our gar- 
dens. All parts of it are active; but the flowers only are officinal. These shrink 
in drying, so that they are scarcely half as large as in their recent state. Those 
found in our shops are imported from Germany. 
The dried flowers of the Matricaria are considerably smaller than common 
chamomile, and exhibit a larger proportion of the disk florets compared with 
those of the ray. They have a strong, peculiar, rather unpleasant odour, and 
a disagreeable bitter taste. Their active constituents are volatile oil and bitter 
extractive, which are readily taken up by water and alcohol. The oil, which is 
obtained by distillation with water, is thick, somewhat tenacious, of a fine deep- 
blue colour becoming brown by age, and almost opaque in mass. Though sup- 
posed by Gerhardt to be identical with the oil of the proper chamomile (An- 
themis nobilis), it has been shown to be distinct. (Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1862, p. 
429.) It congeals at —4° F. Diluted muriatic and nitric acids render it green, 
concentrated sulphuric acid reddish-yellow, chlorine yellowish-white and tena- 
cious, iodine reddish-brown and thick, and bromine brown and elastic. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 109.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Matricaria is a mild tonic, very similar to 
chamomile in medical properties, and, like it, capable, in large doses, of pro- 
ducing an emetic effect, it is esteemed also in Europe antispasmodic and an- 
thelmintic. It is much employed in Germany; but in this country scarcely at 
all, unless by German practitioners. It may be given for the same purposes and 
in the same manner as chamomile. W. 
MEL. U. S., Br. 
Honey. 
A liquid prepared by Apis mellifica. U. S. A saccharine secretion deposited 
in the honey-comb by Apis mellifica. Br. 
Miel, Fr.; Honig, Germ.; Miele, Ital.; Miel, Span. 
Naturalists have not yet determined whether honey is a secretion of the bee, 
Apis mellifica, or whether it exists already formed in plants. It is certain that 
the nectaries of flowers contain a saccharine matter, which is extracted by the 
insect; and the fact is well known that the flavour and character of honey are 
very much affected by the nature of the plants which predominate in the vicinity 
of the hive ; so much so that, when these plants are poisonous, the fluid some- 
times partakes of their noxious qualities Several cases of poisoning from eating 
honey from a particular source, are recorded in the New Jersey Med. Reporter PART I, 
Mel 
557 
for November, 1852 (p. 46). Still, itprobably undergoes change in the organs of 
the bee ; as the saccharine matter of the nectaries, so far as it has been possible 
to examine it, wants some of the characteristic properties of honey.* 
The finest honey is that which is allowed to drain from the comb. If obtained 
from hives that have never swarmed, it is called virgin honey. An inferior kind 
is procured by submitting the comb to pressure; and, if heat be employed pre- 
vious to expression, the product is still more impure. 
Honey is collected in different parts of the United States; but much also of 
that used in the shops is imported from the West Indies. 
In the recent state honey is fluid; but, on being kept, it is apt to form a crys- 
talline deposit, and to be ultimately converted into a*soft granular mass. In the 
shops it is found of every consistence, from that of a viscid liquid like thin syrup 
or oil, to that of lard or soft suet. Its colour is sometimes white, but usually 
yellowish, and occasionally of a brown or reddish tinge. It has a peculiar 
agreeable odour, varying somewhat with the flowers from which it was collected, 
and a very sweet, feebly aromatic taste, which is followed by a slight prickling, 
or sense of acrimony in the fauces. Its sp.gr. is about 1333. (Duncan.) Cold 
water dissolved it readily, alcohol with less facility. It contains crystallizable 
sugar analogous to that of grapes, and, according to Soubeiran, two other kinds 
of sugar, one of which is changed by acids, and has the property of turning to 
the right the plane of polarization; and the other, not acted on by acids, and 
possessed of a strong left-handed rotating power. The first of these two sugars 
is not always present; as there is reason to believe that it is in time wholly 
changed by acid into granular sugar. It is especially abundant in the honey 
taken from the comb. The second variety is very similar to the uncrystallizable 
sugar produced by the reaction of acids on cane sugar, being identical with it 
in composition, and like it incapable of crystallizing, and very sensitive to the 
* Propolis. Bee-bread. The subjects considered in the present note would probably liave 
been more propei'ly treated under the head of Cera ; but the observations recently made 
in the journals in relation to them did not come under the notice of the author until 
too late for insertion there. The object of this note is to call attention to two communi- 
cations contained in the journals of the past and present years. 
Propolis. In the Med. and Surg. Reporter for Nov. 2, 1867 (p. 382), extracted from 
the Chicago Med. Journ., is a short paper by Dr. H. O. Hitchcock, of Kalamazoo, Michi- 
gan, giving an account of his experience with propolis as a remedy. This is a resinous 
substance, deposited by bees at the base of the hive, and in other parts which required 
protection from the outer air, of a nature entirely ditferent from wax or honey, and sup 
posed to be intended for the protection of the comb from injurious external agencies. 
Dr. Hitchcock considers it as one of the best remedies in simple mucous diarrhoea, even 
when severe, and attended with pain and vomiting. In many cases only a single dose 
is required. It appears to possess anodyne and soporific properties. He has found it 
also efficacious in dysentery in the early stage ; but it has proved useless in the disease 
when fully established. In chronic diarrhoea, even of the kind contracted in camp, and 
remarkable for its obstinacy, it has seemed to act like a charm. It is of a dark reddish or 
yellowish brown colour, of a shining fracture, an aromatic taste and smell, quite insoluble 
in water, nearly so in ether, but readily dissolved by alcohol and solution of potassa. Dr. 
Hitchcock has used both a tincture and an alkaline solution; the former made with two 
drachms of propolis and four fluidounces of alcohol, and given to adults in doses of from 
thirty minims to a fluidrachm; the latter with two drachms of the resin to a fluidrachm 
of liquor potassse and four fluidounces of a menstruum consisting of equal parts of water 
and simple syrup, and given in the dose of half a fluidrachm after each stool. 
Bee-bread. This was brought to notice in the Chicago Med. Examiner (Sept. 1865) by 
Dr. Jas. S. Whitmire, who was led accidentally to the discovery of its possession of ex- 
traordinary diuretic powers. Trying the remedy upon himself, in the dose of a drachm 
three times a day, he found a great increase of the secretion produced; and, continuing 
t-c take it in the same quantities for a week, he passed during that time from four to six 
pints of urine daily. The effect was greatest during exercise in the open air; within-doors, 
the quantity per day was lessened by a pint or a pint and a half. He extended the experi- 
ment to his children, with the same result. No disagreeable effects followed its use, unless 
a slight flatulency and looseness of the bowels. It is entirely palatable and inoffensive t. 
the stomach. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1866, p. 56.) Bee-bread is the name given 
to a material found in some of the cells of the comb, consisting mainly of the pollen of 
plants; and supposed to be intended specially for the food of the young bees, and neces- 
sary for their development. [Note to the thirteenth edition.) 558 
Mel.—Melissa. 
PART I. 
action of alkalies. But it is distinguished by the impossibility of converting it 
into granular sugar, and by having nearly twice the rotating power of common 
uncrystallizable sugar. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xvi. 252.) Honey contains, 
besides these saccharine principles, an aromatic principle, an acid, wax, and, 
according to Guibourt, a little mannite. The crystalline sugar may be obtained 
by treating granular honey with a small quantity of alcohol, which, when ex- 
pressed, takes along with it the other ingredients, leaving the crystals nearly 
untouched. The same end may be attained by melting the honey, saturating 
its acid with carbonate of lime, filtering the liquid, then setting it aside to crys- 
tallize, and washing the crystals with alcohol. Inferior honey usually contains 
a large proportion of uncrystallizable sugar and vegetable acid. Diluted with 
water, honey undergoes the vinous fermentation. 
In warm weather, honey, if not very pure, sometimes ferments, acquiring a 
pungent taste and deeper colour. Starch is said to be occasionally added to the 
inferior kinds to give them a white appearance. The adulteration may be de- 
tected by dilution with water, which dissolves the honey and leaves the starch at 
the bottom of the vessel. The nature of the deposit may be tested by the tinc- 
ture of iodine. Water is said to be sometimes added to honey to increase its 
bulk. Its presence maybe suspected from the greater thinness of the liquid, and 
its want of disposition to crystallize. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Honey possesses the same medical properties 
with sugar, but is more disposed to run off by the bowels, and to occasion grip- 
ing pain. Though largely consumed as an article of food, it is seldom employed 
medicinally, except as the vehicle of more active substances. Its taste and de- 
mulcent qualities render it a useful addition to gargles; and it is sometimes 
employed as an application to foul ulcers, and in the form of enema. 
Off. Prep. Mel Depuratum, Br.; Mel Despumatum, 17. S. W. 
MELISSA. U. S. Secondary. 
Balm. 
The herb of Melissa officinalis. U. S. 
Melisse, Fr.; Garten-Melisse, Germ.; Melissa, Ital.; Torongil, Span. 
Melissa. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.— Nat. Ord. Laraiaceae or 
Labiatae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx dry, nearly flat above; with the upper lip sub-fastigiate. 
Corolla, upper lip somewhat arched, bifid ; lower lip with the middle lobe cor- 
date. Willd. 
Melissa officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 146; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 334, t. 
119. Balm has a perennial root, which sends up annually several erect quad- 
rangular stems, usually branched towards the base, and a foot or two in height. 
The leaves are opposite, ovate or cordate, deeply serrate, pubescent; the lower 
on long footstalks, the uppermost nearly sessile. The flowers are white or yel- 
lowish, upon short peduncles, and in axillary whorls, surrounding only half the 
stem. The calyx is tubular, pentangular, and bilabiate, with the upper lip tri- 
dentate and flattened, the lower cut into two pointed teeth. The corolla is also 
tubular and bilabiate, the upper lip less convex and notched, the lower three- 
cleft. The plant is a native of the south of Europe. It has been introduced into 
this country, where it is cultivated in gardens, and grows wild along the fences 
of our roads and lanes. For use the herb should be cut before the appearance 
of the flowers, which begin to expand in July. 
In the fresh state, it has a fragrant odour very similar to that of lemons; but 
is nearly inodorous when dried. The taste is somewhat austere, and slightly 
aromatic. The herb contains a minute proportion of a yellowish or reddish-yellow 
essential oil, which has its peculiar flavour in a very high degree. It contains 
also tannin, bitter extractive, and gum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Balm scarcely produces any remedial effects PART I. 
Mentha Piperita. 
559 
upon the system. The quantity of oil which it contains is not more than suf- 
ficient to communicate an agreeable flavour to the infusion, which forms an ex- 
cellent drink in febrile complaints, and when taken warm tends to promote the 
operation of diaphoretic medicines. W. 
MENTHA PIPERITA. U.S. 
Peppermint. 
The herb of Mentha piperita. U.S. 
Menthe poivree, Fr.; Pfeffermunze, Qerm.; Menta piperita, Ital.; Pimenta piperita, 
Span. 
Mentha. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.—Nat.Ord. Lamiaceaeor 
Labiatse. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla nearly equal, four-cleft; the broader segment emarginate 
Stamens upright, distant. Willd. 
Several species of Mentha possess medicinal properties. Besides the two here 
described, M. piperita, namely, and M. viridis, the Mentha Pulegium, under the 
name of pulegium or pennyroyal, long held a place in the British Pharmaco- 
poeias. It has, however, been discarded, and in the present Br. Pharmacopoeia 
is not recognised. As in the other species, the herb in flower was employed, 
both fresh and dried. The plant is specifically characterized by its roundish 
prostrate stems, its ovate, obtuse, somewhat crenate leaves, and its verticillate 
flowers. It is a native of Europe, and neither cultivated nor employed in this 
country; our native pennyroyal belonging to a different genus. (See Hedeoma 
Pulegioides.) Pulegium possesses similar properties, and has been employed 
for the same purposes, and in the same manner with the other mints. It was 
used in the forms of water, spirit, and volatile oil. 
Mentha piperita. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 79 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 336,1.120; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 16, pi. 63. Peppermint is a perennial herbaceous 
plant, with a creeping root, and quadrangular, channeled, purplish, somewhat 
hairy stems, branched towards the top, and about two feet in height. The leaves 
are opposite, petiolate, ovate, serrate, pointed, smoother on the upper than the 
under surface, and of a dark-green colour, which is paler beneath. The flowers 
are small, purple, and in terminal obtuse spikes, interrupted below. The calyx 
is tabular, furrowed, and five-toothed; the corolla is also tubular, with its 
border divided into four segments, of which the uppermost is broadest, and 
notched at its apex. The anthers are concealed within the tube of the corolla; 
the style projects beyond it, and terminates in a bifid stigma. The four-cleft 
germ is converted into four seeds, which are lodged in the calyx. 
This species of mint is a native of Great Britain, whence it has been con- 
veyed to the continent of Europe and to this country. In some parts of the 
United States, especially in New England, Michigan,* the western part of 
New York, Ohio, and New Jersey, it is largely cultivated for the sake of its 
volatile oil. We occasionally find it growing wild along the fences of our vil- 
lages. The cultivators of this herb have observed that, in order to maintain 
its flavour in perfection, it is necessary to transplant the roots every three 
years. It should be cut for medical use in dry weather, about the period of the 
expansion of the flowers. These appear in August. 
The herb, both in the recent and dried state, has a peculiar, penetrating, 
* For an account of the cultivation of the plant in Michigan, from one county of Avhich, 
that of St. Joseph, it is stated that, “for the last ten years, the largest proportion of the 
oil of peppermint, produced in the world, has been sent,” see a paper by Mr. Frederick 
Stearns, of Detroit, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1859, p. 33. 
For some interesting remarks in relation to the cultivation of peppermint in England, 
the reader is referred to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 239). 
This plant has recently become an object of special culture in France, and a pamphlet 
by M. Roze is devoted to the history of this industry, both in its agricultural and pharma- 
ceutical relations. The reader is referred to the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Aoflt, 
1868, p. 125) for an abstract of the more interesting facts recorded in the work. (Note to 
the thirteenth edition.) 560 
Mentha Piperita.—Mentha Viridis.—Mezereum. 
PART I. 
grateful odour. The taste Is aromatic, warm, pungent, glowing, camphorous, 
bitterish, and^attended with a sensation of coolness when air is admitted into 
the mouth. These properties depend on a volatile oil, which abounds in the 
herb, and may be separated by distillation with water (See Oleum Menthse 
Piperitse.) The leaves are said to contain a little tannic acid. The virtues of 
the herb are imparted to water, and more readily to alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Peppermint is a grateful aromatic stimulant, 
much used for all the purposes to which medicines of this class are applied. To 
allay nausea, relieve spasmodic pains of the stomach and bowels, expel flatus, 
and cover the taste or qualify the nauseating or griping effects of other medi- 
cines are among the most common of these purposes. The fresh herb, bruised 
and applied to the epigastrium, often allays sick stomach, and is useful in the 
cholera of children. The medicine may be given in infusion; but the volatile 
oil, either alone, or in some state of preparation, is generally preferred. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Menthse Piperitse, U. S.; Oleum Menthse Piperitse; Spiritus 
Menthse Piperitse, U. S. W. 
MENTHA VIRIDIS. U.S. 
Spearmint. 
The herb of Mentha viridis. U. S. 
Aten the a epi, Fry Grune Aliinze, Germ.; Menta Romana, Italy Yerba buena punti • 
aguda, Span. 
Mentha. See MENTHA PIPERITA. 
Mentha viridis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 76; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 338, t. 121. 
Spearmint, sometimes called simply mint, differs from M. piperita chiefly in 
having sessile or nearly sessile, lanceolate, naked leaves ; elongated, interrupted, 
panicled spikes; setaceous bractes ; and stamens longer than the tube of the 
corolla. Like the preceding species, it is a native of Europe. In this country 
it is cultivated in gardens for domestic use, and in some places more largely for 
the sake of its oil. It also grows wild in low grounds, in long-settled parts of 
the country. Its flowering season is August. According to Thomson, it should 
be cut in very dry weather, and, if intended for medical use, just as the flowers 
appear; if for obtaining the oil, after they have expanded. 
The odour of spearmint is strong and aromatic, the taste warm and slightly 
bitter, less pungent than that of peppermint, but considered by some as more 
agreeable. These properties are retained for some time by the dried plant. 
They depend on a volatile oil, which is obtained by distillation, and is im- 
parted to alcohol and water by maceration. (See Oleum Menthse Viridis.) 
Medical Properties. The virtues and applications of this plant are the same 
as those of peppermint. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Menthse Viridis, U.S.; Oleum Menthse Viridis; Spiritus 
Menthse Viridis, U. S. W. 
MEZEREUM. U.S. 
Mezereon. 
The bark of Daphne Mezereum, and of Daphne Gnidium. U. S. 
Off. Syn. MEZEREI CORTEX. Mezereon Bark. The dried bark ot 
Daphne Mezereum, Mezereon; or of Daphne Laureola, Spurge Laurel. Br. 
Bois gonlil, Fry Kellerhals, Germ.; Mezereo, Italy Mecereon, Span. 
Daphne. Sex. Syst. Octandria Monogynia.—Nat Ord. Thymelacese. 
Gen. Oh. Calyx none. Corolla four-cleft, withering, enclosing the stamens. 
Drupe one-seeded. Willd, 
All the species of Daphne are possessed of active properties; but three only 
are officinal—D. Mezereum, D. Laureola, and D. Gnidium—the first two of 
which are recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, the last in the French Codex, 
and the first and last in the Pharmacopoeia of the United States. 
1. Daphne Mezereum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 415 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 717, PART 1. 
Mezereum. 
561 
t. 245; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 26, pi. *12. This is a very hardy shrub, 
three or four feet high, with a branching stem, and a smooth dark-gray bark, 
very easily separable from the wood. The leaves spring from the ends of the 
branches, are deciduous, sessile, obovate-lanceolate, entire, smooth, of a pale- 
green colour, somewhat glaucous beneath, and about two inches long. They 
are preceded by the flowers, which appear very early in spring, and sometimes 
bloom even amidst the snow. These are of a pale-rose colour, highly fragrant, 
and disposed in clusters, each consisting of two or three flowers, forming to- 
gether a kind of spike at the upper part of the stem and branches. At the base 
of each cluster are deciduous floral leaves. The fruit is oval, shining, fleshy, of 
a bright-red colour, and contains a single round seed. Another variety produces 
white flowers and yellow fruit. 
This species of Daphne is a native of Great Britain and the neighbouring 
continent, in the northern parts of which it is particularly abundant. It is cul- 
tivated in Europe both for medicinal purposes and as an ornamental plant, and 
is occasionally found in our own gardens. It flowers in February, March, or 
April, according to the greater or less mildness of the climate. 
2. Daphne Gnidium. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 420. In this species, called garou 
or sain-bois by the French, the leaves are linear-lanceolate, acute, entire, smooth, 
and irregularly but closely set upon the branches. The flowers are white, downy, 
odoriferous, and disposed in terminal panicled racemes. The fruit is globular, 
dry, at first green, but ultimately black. D. Gnidium grows in dry uncultivated 
places in the south of Europe, and flowers in June. In France its bark is used 
indiscriminately with that of the former species. 
Besides the species above described, Daphne Laureola, or spurge laurel, is 
said to furnish a portion of the mezereon of commerce, and is recognised by 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia; but its product is inferior in acrimony, and conse- 
quently in medicinal activity. 
The bark of the root was formerly directed; but the mezereon with which our 
markets are supplied is evidently the bark of the stem; and the Pharmacopoeias 
at present very properly direct the bark, without designating the part from which 
it must be taken. British writers state that the bark of the root is the most active. 
The berries and leaves of the plant are also active; and the former have some- 
times proved fatal to children who have eaten them. Pallas states that they are 
used as a purgative by the Russian peasants, and that thirty berries are required 
to act. French authors observe that fifteen are sufficient to kill a Frenchman. A 
tincture of them is used in Germany as a local application in neuralgia. (Ann 
de Therap., 1854, p. 42.) Mezereon is brought to us chiefly from Germany. 
Properties. Mezereon, as it comes to us, is usually in strips, from two to four 
feet long and an inch or less in breadth, sometimes flat, sometimes partially 
rolled, and always folded in bundles, or wrapped in the shape of balls. It is 
covered externally with a grayish or reddish-brown wrinkled epidermis, very 
thin, and easily separable from the bark. Beneath the epidermis is a soft, green- 
ish tissue. The inner bark is tough, pliable, fibrous, striated, and of a whitish 
colour. When fresh it has a nauseous smell, but in the dry state is nearly in- 
odorous. Its taste is at first sweetish, but afterwards highly acrid and even 
corrosive. It yields its virtues to water by decoction. 
Yauquelin discovered a peculiar principle in the bark of Daphne Alpina. 
This has subsequently been found in other species, and has received the name 
of daphnin. Gmelin and Bar found it in the bark of D. Mezereum, associated 
with wax, an acrid resin, a yellow colouring matter, reddish-brown extractive, 
an uncrystallizable and fermentable sugar, a gummy matter containing azote, 
ligneous fibre, malic acid, and several malates. By J. B Eng it has been dis- 
covered, together with a volatile oil, in the flowers of Daphne Mezereum. ( Witt- 
stein's Viert. Schr., viii. 23.) Daphnin is in prismatic crystals grouped together, 
colourless, transparent, brilliant, slightly soluble in cold water, very soluble in 
boiling water and alcohol, without odour, and of a bitter, somewhat austere 
taste. By Z wenger it is said to be insoluble in ether. The same chemist states 562 
Mezereum. 
PART I. 
that it has an acid reaction, and acts like the glucosides, being resolvable by sul- 
phuric or muriatic acid into sugar, and a peculiar crystallizable principle called 
daphnetin. He gives for daphnin the formula C^Hg^Ogg-j-8IIO. (Annal. der 
Ghem. und Pharm., cxv. 1.) It is obtained by treating the alcoholic extract of 
the bark with water, decanting the solution, precipitating with subacetate of 
lead, filtering, decomposing the excess of the subacetate by sulphuretted hydio- 
gen, again filtering, evaporating to dryness, submitting the residue to the action 
of anhydrous alcohol, and evaporating the alcoholic solution to the point of 
crystallization. Though daphnin is probably not inert, it is not the principle 
upon which the virtues of mezereon chiefly depend. Vauquelin thinks that in 
the recent plant they reside in an essential oil, which by time and exposure is 
changed into a resin, without losing its activity. The acrid resin, observed by 
Gmelin and Bar, is probably the characteristic principle to which the bark owes1 
its vesicating properties. It is obtained separate by boiling mezereon in alcohol, 
allowing the liquor to cool in order that it may deposit some wax which it has 
taken up, then distilling olf the alcohol, and treating the residue with water, 
which leaves the resin. This is of a dark-green, almost black colour, hard and 
brittle, and of an exceedingly acrid and permanent taste. In the isolated state it 
is slightly soluble in water; and it is much more so when combined with the other 
principles of the bark. It appears, however, not to be a pure proximate prin- 
ciple, but rather a resinoid combination of an acrid fixed oil with another sub- 
stance. The acrid principle of mezereon is partially given off by decoction with 
water, as proved by the irritating character of the vapour when inhaled; but 
none of it appears to escape when the bark is boiled with alcohol. (Squire, 
Pharm. Transact., i. 395.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The recent bark applied to the skin produces 
inflammation followed by vesication, and has been popularly used as an epis- 
pastic, from time immemorial, in some of the southern countries of Europe. The 
dried bark, though less active, is possessed of a similar property, and is occa- 
sionally employed in France by regular practitioners for the purpose of forming 
issues. A small square piece, moistened with vinegar, is applied to the skin, 
and renewed twice a day till a blister is formed, and occasionally afterwards to 
keep up the discharge. It is slow in its operation, generally requiring from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours to vesicate. An irritant ointment is prepared 
from mezereon, which is used for maintaining the discharge from blistered sur- 
faces, and may be applied advantageously to obstinate, ill-conditioned, indolent 
ulcers. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, it was directed to be made by digest- 
ing the bark with melted lard, and straining; but was discarded at the last revi- 
sion of that work. This, we think, was unfortunate; for, though the method of 
preparing it was defective, another might have been adopted, which would have 
yielded a good preparation, and an irritating ointment of the kind is needed. It 
may be made by mixing two drachms of an alcoholic extract of mezereon with 
nine ounces of lard and one of wax, melted together. The alcoholic extract has 
also been employed to communicate irritant properties to issue peas. 
Internally administered, mezereon is a stimulant capable of being directed to 
the skin or kidneys, and in large doses apt to excite purging, nausea, and vomit- 
ing. In overdoses it produces thp fatal effects of the acrid poisons ; and a case 
of apparently severe narcotic effects has been recorded. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xxi. 518.) It had at one time much reputation as a remedy in the secondary 
stages of syphilis, and still enters as an ingredient into the officinal compound 
decoction of sarsaparilla. It has also been thought to act favourably as an 
alterative in scrofulous affections, chronic rheumatism, and obstinate diseases of 
the skin. For this purpose it is usually administered in decoction. (See Decoctum 
Mezerei.) Dr. Withering cured a case of difficult swallowing from palsy, by 
directing the patient to chew frequently small pieces of the root. The dose of 
the bark in substance is ten grains; but it is seldom used in this way. 
Off. Prep. Decoct. Sarsse Compositum, Br.; Decoctum Sarsaparilla Com- 
positum, U.S.; Extractum Mezerii Br.; Extractum Sarsaparilla 
Fluidum Compositum, U. S. W. PART I. 
Mica Fanis.—Monarda.—Mori Succus. 
563 
MICA PANIS. Br. 
Crumb of Bread. 
The soft part of bread made with wrheat flour. Br. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Carbonis. Br. See FARINA. 
MONARDA. U.S. 
Horsemint. 
The herb of Monarda punctata. U. S. 
Monarda. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or La- 
biatae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-tootbed, cylindric, striate. Corolla ringent, with a long 
ovlindric tube; upper lip linear, nearly straight and entire, involving the fila- 
ments ; lower lip reflected, broader, three-lobed, the middle lobe longer. Nuttall. 
Monarda punctata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126; Am. Med. Recorder, vol. ii. p. 
496. This is an indigenous perennial or biennial plant, with herbaceous, obtusely 
angled, downy, whitish, branching stems, rising one or two feet in height, and 
furnished with oblong-lanceolate, remotely serrate, smooth, punctate leaves. 
The flowers are yellow, spotted with red or brown, and disposed in numerous 
whorls, provided with lanceolate, coloured bractes, longer than the whorl. 
The horsemint grows in light gravelly or sandy soils from New Jersey to 
Louisiana, and flowers from June to September. The whole herb is employed. 
It has an aromatic smell, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste, and abounds in 
a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation with water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Horsemint is stimulant and carminative; but 
is seldom used in regular practice. In the state of infusion it is occasionally 
employed in families as a remedy for flatulent colic and sick stomach, and for 
other purposes to which the aromatic herbs are applied. It was introduced 
into the primary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, on account of the volatile 
oil which it affords. (See Oleum Monardse.) 
Off. Prep. Oleum Monardae, U. S. W 
MORI SUCCUS. Br. 
The juice of the ripe fruit of Morus nigra. Br. 
Mures, Fr.; Schwarze Maulbeeren, Germ.; Morone, Ital.; Moras, Span. 
Morus. Sex.Syst. Monoecia Tetrandria. — Nat. Ord. Urticaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx four-parted. Corolla none. Female. Calyx four- 
'eaved. Corolla none. Styles two. Calyx berried. Seed one. Willd. 
Morus nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 36; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 712, t. 243. 
This species of Mulberry is distinguished by its cordate-ovate or lobed, un- 
equally toothed, and scabrous leaves It is a tree of middle size, supposed to 
have been brought originally from Persia into Italy, and thence spread over 
Europe and America. Its leaves afford food for the silk-worm; and the bark of 
the root, which is bitter and slightly acrid, has been employed as a vermifuge, 
especially in cases of the tape-worm, in the dose of two drachms infused in eight 
ounces of boiling water. The juice of the fruit is the officinal portion. 
The fruit is oblong-oval, of a dark reddish-purple almost black colour, and 
consists of numerous minute berries, united together and attached to a common 
receptacle, each containing a single seed, the succulent envelope of which is 
formed by the calyx. It is inodorous, has a sweet, mucilaginous, acidulous taste, 
and abounds in a deep-red juice. The sourish taste is owing, according to 
Hermbstadt, to the presence of tartaric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mulberries are refreshing and laxative, and 
Mulberry Juice. 564 
Mori Succus.—Moschus. 
PART I. 
serve to prepare a grateful drink well adapted to febrile cases. A syrup is made 
from their juice, and used as an agreeable addition to gargles in inflammation 
of the throat. They are, however, more used as food than medicine. Our native 
mulberry, the fruit of Morus rubra, is quite equal to that of the imported spe- 
cies. Morus alba, originally from China, and now extensively cultivated as a 
source of food for the silk-worm, bears a white fruit, which is sweeter and less 
grateful than the others. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Mori, Br. W. 
MOSCHUS. U.S.,Br. 
A peculiar concrete substance obtained from Moschus moschiferus. U. S. 
The inspissated and dried secretion from the preputial follicles. Br. 
. Muse, Fr.; Bisam, Germ.; Muschio, Ital.; Almizcle, Span. 
Moschus. Class Mammalia. Order Pecora. 
Gen. Ch. Horns none. Fore teeth eight in the lower jaw. Tusks one on each 
side, in the upper jaw, projecting out of the mouth. 
Moschus moschiferus. Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. 172; Reese’s Cyclopaedia. This 
animal bears a close resemblance to the deer in shape and size. It is usually 
about three feet in length and two feet high, with haunches considerably more 
elevated than the shoulders. From its upper jaw two tusks project downwards 
out of the mouth, each about two inches long, curved backwards, and serving to 
extract the roots which are used as food by the animal. The ears are long and 
narrow, and the tail very short. The fleece, consisting of strong, elastic, undu- 
lated hairs, varies in colour with the season, the age of the animal, and perhaps 
the place which it inhabits. The general colour is a deep iron-gray. The indi- 
vidual hairs are whitish near the root, and fawn-coloured or blackish towards 
the tip. The musk is contained in an oval, hairy, projecting sac, found only in 
the male, situated between the umbilicus and the prepuce, from two to three 
inches long, and from one to two broad, opening by a small hairy orifice at its 
anterior part, and marked posteriorly by a groove or furrow which corresponds 
with the opening of the prepuce. It is lined internally by a smooth membrane, 
thrown into a number of irregular folds, forming incomplete partitions. In the 
vigorous adult animal, the sac sometimes contains six drachms of musk; but 
in the old, seldom more than two drachms, and none in the young.* The musk 
is secreted by the lining membrane, and in the living animal forms a consistent 
mass, which, on the outside, is compact, and marked with the folds of the mem- 
brane, but is less firm towards the centre, where there is sometimes a vacant 
space. As first secreted it is probably liquid, and a portion is occasionally forced 
out by the animal, to which it communicates its odour. 
The musk deer inhabits the vast mountainous regions of central A sia, extend- 
ing from India to Siberia, and from the country of the Turcomans to China. It is 
an active and timid animal, springing from rock to rock with surprising agility, 
and frequenting the snowy recesses and most inaccessible crags of the moun- 
tains. Concealing itself during the day, it chooses the night for roaming in 
search of food ; and, though said to be abundant in its native regions, is taken 
with difficulty. It is hunted for its hide, as well as for the musk. The natives 
often take it by snaring. As soon as the animal is killed, the sac is cut off, and 
dried with its contents; and in this state is sent into the market. 
Musk varies in quality with the country inhabited bv the animal. That pro- 
cured from the mountains on the southern borders of Siberia, and brought into 
the market through Russia, is comparatively feeble. The best is imported from 
Mush. 
* Accoi cling to Col. Frederick Markham, as much as two ounces are sometimes found, 
and the average for a full-grown animal is an ounce; but, as many of the deer are killed 
young, the pods in the market probably do not contain more than half an ounce upon an 
average. He states that the musk of the young animal, though not so strong as that of 
the old, has a much pleasanter smell. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., xv. 472; from “Shoot- 
ing in the Himalayas,” &c.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Moschus. 
565 
China, and is said to be the product of Tonquin. A variety intermediate be. 
tween these is procured in the Himalaya Mountains and Thibet, and sent to 
Calcutta. This is sometimes enclosed in the membrauous lining of the sac, with- 
out the hairy envelope, and in this condition is said to be quite equal if not 
superior to that surrounded by the skin, as, in the former condition, it dries 
readily in the sun, while, in the latter, the aid of artificial heat is deemed neces- 
sary, by which the musk may sometimes be injured. (P. Peake, Pharm. Journ., 
Feb. 1861,p. 399.) We derive our chief supply from Canton, though portions are 
occasionally brought hither from Europe. 
Two varieties are known in commerce, the Chinese and Russian. Both come 
in sacs, convex and hairy on one side, flat and destitute of hair on the other. 
The hairs are brownish-yellow, grayish, or whitish, stiff and short, and arranged 
concentrically around the orifice of the sac. The Chinese, which is the most 
highly valued, is in bags of a rounder shape, covered with brownish-yellow or 
reddish-brown hairs, and containing at most a drachm and a half of large-grained, 
dark, strong-scented musk, of an ammoniacal odour. The Russian is in longer 
and larger bags, small-grained, of alightyellowish-browncolour, and of a weaker 
and more fetid odour, with less smell of ammonia. 
Properties. Musk is in grains or lumps concreted together, soft and unctuous 
to the touch, and of a reddish-brown or ferruginous colour resembling that of 
dried blood. Some hairs of the pod are generally mixed with it. The odour is 
strong, penetrating, and so diffusive, that one part of musk communicates its 
smell to more than 3000 parts of inodorous powder. {Fee.) In some delicate 
individualsit produces headache and other disagreeable symptoms, and has even 
caused convulsions. The taste is bitter, disagreeable, and somewhat acrid. The 
colour of the powder is reddish-brown. Musk is inflammable, burning with a 
white flame, and leaving a light spongy charcoal. Reduced to ashes, it leaves 
about 5 per cent., containing potassa, lime, magnesia, iron, carbonic, phosphoric, 
and sulphuric acids, chlorine, and traces of ferrocyanate of potassa and sulphuret 
of ammonium. {Prof. W. Bernatzik.) It yields, upon analysis, a great number of 
proximate principles. Guibourt and Blondeau obtained water, ammonia, stearin, 
olein, cholesterin, an oily acid combined with ammonia, volatile oil, muriate of 
ammonia, chlorides of potassium and calcium, an uncertain acid combined with 
ammonia, potassa, and lime, gelatin, albumen, fibrin, a highly carbonaceous mat- 
ter soluble in water, a soluble calcareous salt with a combustible acid, carbonate 
and phosphate of lime, hair, and sand. {Annal. de Ghim. et de Phys., ix. 327.) 
Besides these constituents, Geiger and Reinman found a peculiar bitter resin, 
osmazome, and a peculiar substance in part combined with ammonia. Accord- 
ing to Guibourt and Blondeau, it contains 47 per cent, of volatile matter, thought 
by some to be chiefly ammonia, by others to be a compound of ammonia and 
volatile oil. Theimann obtained only from 10 to 15 per cent. But the quantity 
of volatile as well as of soluble matter varies exceedingly in different specimens. 
Thus, Theimann found from 80 to 90 per cent, of matter soluble in water, Buch- 
ner only 54-5 per cent., and other chemists intermediate proportions. The pro- 
portion soluble in alcohol, as ascertained by different experimenters, varies from 
25 to 62 per cent. Ether is a good solvent. The watery infusion has a yellowish- 
brown colour, a bitterish taste, a strong smell of musk, and an acid reaction. 
The alcoholic tincture is transparent, and of a reddish-brown colour, with the 
peculiar odour of the medicine. The action of potassa upon musk is accompa- 
nied with the extrication of ammonia, and an increase of its peculiar odour. By 
the influence of heat and moisture long continued, ammonia is developed, which 
acts upon the fatty matter, producing a substance resembling adipocire, but, 
according to Guibourt, without diminishing the activity of the medicine. The 
correctness, however, of this opinion is perhaps questionable; and it is advisable 
to preserve the musk as much as possible unaltered. When kept in glass bottles, 
in a situation neither moist nor very dry, it remains for a great length of time 
without material change. The odour of musk is very much diminished by mix- 
ing it with emulsion or syrup of bitter almonds, or cherry-laurel water. From 566 
Mosclius. 
PAKT I. 
the experiments of Wiramer, it appears that musk loses its odour when rubbed 
with kermes mineral, or golden sulphur of antimony, and reacquires it on the 
addition of a little solution of ammonia. {Pharm. Gent. Blatt, A. D. 1843, p. 
406.) Camphor rubbed up with musk is also said to destroy its odour. 
Adulterations. The price of this medicine is so high, and its sources so 
limited, as to offer strong temptations to adulteration; and little genuine un- 
mixed musk is to be found in the market. The sophistication commences in China, 
and is completed in Europe and this country. A common practice in the East 
is to open the sac, and to supply the place of the musk with an adulterated 
mixture. Sometimes the scrotum of the animal is filled with this mixture, 
ard not unfrequently the sacs are made out of the skin. Dried blood, from 
its resemblance to musk, is among the most common adulterations; but, besides 
this, sand, lead, iron-filings, hair, animal membrane, tobacco, the dung of birds, 
wax, benzoin, storax, asphaltum, artificial musk, and other substances are intro- 
duced. These are mixed with a portion of musk, the powerful odour of which 
is diffused through the mass, and renders the discovery of the fraud sometimes 
difficult. It is said that the Chinese sometimes mix the musk of Tonquin with 
that of Siberia. The bags containing the drug should have the characters be- 
fore described as belonging to the natural sac, and should present no evidence 
of having been opened. The slit is sometimes carefully sewed up, sometimes 
glued together. The former condition may be discovered by close inspection, 
the latter by immersion in hot water. When the bag is made from any other por- 
tion of the skin, the difference may be detected, according to Mr. Neligan, by a 
microscope which magnifies 300 diameters. The genuine hairs exhibit innumer- 
able cells, which are wanting in the spurious. {Ghem. Gaz., Feb. 1846, p. 19.) 
Musk which burns with difficulty, has a feeble odour and a colour either pale 
or entirely black, feels gritty to the finger, is very moist so as to lose much weight 
in drying, or contains obvious impurities, should be rejected. Russian musk is 
said never to be adulterated before leaving Russia.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Musk is stimulant and antispasmodic, increas- 
ing the vigour of the circulation, and exalting the nervous energy, without pro- 
ducing, either as an immediate or secondary effect, any considerable derange- 
ment of the purely cerebral functions. Its medical uses are such as may be 
inferred from its general operation. In almost all spasmodic diseases, so far as 
mere relaxation of spasm is desirable, it is more or less efficacious; but peculiar 
advantage may be expected from it when a prostrate state of the system, at- 
tended with great nervous agitation, or irregular muscular action, calls for the 
united influence of a highly diffusible stimulant and powerful antispasmodic. 
Such are low cases of typhous disease, accompanied with subsultus tendinum, 
tremors, and singultus. Such also are many instances of gout in the stomach, and 
other spasmodic affections of that organ. In very obstinate hiccough we have 
found it more effectual than any other remedy; and have seen great advantage 
from its use in those alarming convulsions of infants originating in spasm of the 
intestines. In the laryngismus stridulus or crowing disease of infants, M. 
Bouchut relies mainly on musk, having found it more efficacious than any of 
the narcotics. (N. Y. Med. Journ., Sept. 1868, p. 545.) It is said to have done 
much good, combined with opium, and administered in very large doses, in 
tetanus. Epilepsy, hysteria, asthma, pertussis, palpitations, cholera, and colic 
are also among the spasmodic affections in which circumstances may render 
its employment desirable. The chief obstacles to its general use are its high 
price, and the uncertainty in regard to its purity. Musk was unknown to the 
ancients. Aetius was the first writer who noticed it as a medicine. It was in- 
* For an account of the effects of numerous reagents on musk, and other modes of 
identification as well as of detecting adulterations, see a paper by Prof. W. Bernatzik, 
translated in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1861, p. 4‘27. There is a discrepancy be- 
tween Prof. Bernatzik’s statement of the solubilities of musk and that of the text. Ac- 
cording to the latter, ether is a good solvent; according to the former, ether and chloro- 
form possess scarcely any solvent power. {Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Moschus. —Mucuna. 
567 
troduced into Europe through the Arabians, from whose language its name 
was derived. 
It may be given in the form of pill or emulsion. In preparing mixtures of 
musk, it is recommended by M. Lailler, of France, to rub the musk up first 
with a very little boiling water, afterwards with a larger quantity, and to add 
the liquid thus prepared to whatever mixture may be prescribed. According to 
this writer, the insolubility of musk in cold water, and its much greater solu- 
bility in that liquid when boiling hot, render this mode of preparation much 
preferable to rubbing up with cold water. (Journ.de Pharm.et de Chim., 4e ser., 
iii. 291.) The medium dose is ten grains, to be repeated every two or three 
hours. To children it may be administered with great advantage in the form 
of enema.* W. 
MUCUNA. U. S. Secondary. 
Cowhage. 
The hairs of the pods of Mucuna pruriens. U. S. 
Pois a gratter, Fr.; Kuhkratze, Germ.; Dolico Scottante, Hal. 
Mucuna. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.— Nat. Ord. Fabace® or Legu> 
min os*. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx campanulate, bilabiate; the lower lip trifid, with acute seg- 
ments, the middle one longest; the upper lip broader, entire, obtuse. Corolla 
with the vexillum ascending, shorter than the wings and keel; the wings ob- 
long, equal to the keel in length; the keel oblong, straight, acute. Stamens 
diadelphous, with five anthers oblong linear, and five ovate, hirsute. Legume 
oblong, torose, bivalvular, with cellular partitions. Seeds roundish, surrounded 
circularly by a linear hilum. (De Candolle.) 
Mucuna pruriens. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 405 ; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 254.— 
Dolichos pruriens. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1041; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 422.— 
Stizolobium pruriens. Persoon. This is a perennial climbing plant, with an 
herbaceous branching stem, which twines round the trees in its vicinity, and 
rises to a considerable height. The leaves are pinnately trifoliate, and stand on 
long footstalks, placed alternately on the stem at the distance of a foot from 
each other. The leaflets are acuminate, smooth on their upper surface, and 
hairy beneath. The lateral leaflets are oblique at the base, the middle one 
somewhat rhomboidal. The flowers, which resemble those of the pea in form, 
are large, of a red or purplish colour, usually placed in threes on short peduncles, 
and hang from the axils of the leaves in pendant spikes about a foot in length. 
The fruit is a coriaceous pod, shaped like the Italic letter f, about four inches 
long, and covered with brown bristly hairs, which easily separate, and when 
handled stick in the fingers, producing an intense itching sensation. The plant 
is a native of the West Indies, and other parts of tropical America. It has been 
supposed to grow also in the East Indies; but the plant of that region is now 
considered a distinct species, and entitled Mucuna prurita. The part usually 
imported is the pod, of which the hairs are officinal. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The spicula are said to possess powerful 
vermifuge properties, and are thought to act mechanically, by penetrating the 
worms. That they do act in this manner is evinced as well by the result of direct 
* Vegetable Mush. It has been proposed to substitute for musk the volatile oil of cer- 
tain plants, having the characteristic odour of that product. The Malva moschata and 
Mimulus moschatus have been used for this purpose. Dr. Hanon, of Belgium, has experi- 
mented with the distilled oil of these plants, and found it, in the dose of two or three 
drops, to be an energetic excitant of the primas vise and encephalon, producing a sense of 
weight at the epigastrium, with excitation, vertigo, headache, dryness of the pharynx 
and oesophagus, general lassitude, yawning, somnolence, and sleep in five or six hours. 
The pulse is little affected, and no unpleasant symptoms are felt on awaking. He has 
found it an admirable remedy in hysterical disorders, and various nervous affections at- 
tendant on other diseases when not inflammatory, and thinks that it is in no respect in- 
ferior to musk in antispasmodic properties. (Journ. de Pharrn., xxv. 66.)—Note to the 
eleventh edition. 568 
Mynstica.— Oleum Myristicae Expressum.—Macis. 
PART l. 
experiment upon worms out of the body, as by the fact that neither the tincture 
nor the decoction is in the least degree anthelmintic. The medicine was first 
employed as a vermifuge in the West Indies, and thence passed into British 
practice. There can be no reasonable doubt of its efficiency. It has been chiefly 
employed against the round worm; but all the different species which infest the 
alimentary canal have been expelled by its use. It is best administered in some 
tenacious vehicle. The usual mode of preparing it is to dip the pods into syrup 
or molasses, and scrape off the hairs with the liquid, which is in a proper state 
for administration when it has attained the consistency of thick honey. The 
dose of this preparation is a tablespoonful for an adult, a teaspoonful for a child 
three or four years old, to be given every morning for three days, and then fol- 
lowed by a brisk cathartic. M. Blatin has proposed to employ cowhage as an 
external irritant; seven grains being mixed with an ounce of lard, and seven or 
eight grains of the ointment rubbed for ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes on the 
skin. A stinging and burning sensation is produced, followed by white eleva- 
tions, which soon disappear, leaving no unpleasant effect. 
The root of M. pruriens (M. prurita, figured in Curtis's Bot. Mag., N. S.,xii., 
Oct. 1856, tab. 4945) is said by Aiaslie to be employed in the East Indies in 
the treatment of cholera ; and both this part and the pods have been thought 
to possess diuretic properties. W. 
MYRISTICA. U.S.,Br. 
Nutmeg. 
The kernel of the fruit of Myristica fragrans {Houttuyn). U. S. The kernel 
of the seed of Myristica officinalis. Br. 
Noix muscade, Fr.; Muskatnuss, Germ.; ISToce moschata, Ital.; Nuez moscada, Span. 
OLEUM MYRISTICiE EXPRESSUM. Br. 
Expressed Oil of Nutmeg. 
Syn. Myristica Adeps. Br. 1864. 
A concrete oil obtained by means of expression and heat from nutmegs. Br. 
MACIS. U.S. 
Mace. 
The arillus of the fruit of Myristica fragrans. U. S. 
Macis, Fr.; Muskatbliithe, Germ,.; Macis, Ital.; Macias, Span. 
Myristica. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Mvristicacese. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx none. Corolla bell-shaped, trifid. Filament colum- 
nar. Anthers six or ten united. Female. Calyx none. Corolla bell-shaped, 
trifid, deciduous. Style none. Stigmas two. Drupe with a nut involved in an 
arillus with one seed. Willd. 
Myristica moschata. Thunberg; Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 869; Woodv. Med. 
Pot. p. 698, t. 238. — M. officinalis. Linn. Suppl 265; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 
21. — M. fragrans. Houttuyn, Nat. Hist. vol. ii., part iii., p. 333. Of these bo- 
tanical titles, that recognised by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1863 has the re- 
commendation of priority of date; M. Moschata, that of most general usage 
since the times of Thunberg. The nutmeg tree is about thirty feet high, with 
numerous branches, and an aspect somewhat resembling that of the orange tree. 
The leaves stand alternately on short footstalks, are oblong-oval, pointed, entire, 
undulated, obliquely nerved, bright-green and somewhat glossy on their upper 
surface, whitish beneath, and of an aromatic taste. The flowers are male and 
female upon different trees. The former are disposed in axillary, peduncled, 
solitary clusters; the latter are single, solitary, and axillary; both are minute 
and of a pale yellowish colour. The fruit, which appears on the tree mingled PART I. 
Myristica. 
569 
with the flowers, is round or oval, of the size of a small peach, smooth, at first 
pale-green, but yellow when ripe, and marked with a longitudinal furrow. The 
external covering, which is at first thick and fleshy, and abounds in an austere, 
astringent juice, afterwards becomes dry and coriaceous, and, separating into 
two valves from the apex, discloses a scarlet reticulated membrane or arillus, 
commonly called mace, closely investing a thin, brown, shining shell, which 
contains the kernel or nutmeg. Not less than eight varieties of the plant are 
said by Crawford to be cultivated in the East Indies. 
Myristica moschata is a native of the Moluccas and other neighbouring 
islands, and abounds especially in that small cluster distinguished by the name 
of Banda,whence the chief supplies of nutmegs were long derived. But the plant 
is now cultivated in Sumatra, Java, Singapore, Penang, Ceylon, and other parts 
of the East Indies ; and has been introduced into the Isles of France and Bour- 
bon, Cayenne, and several of the West India islands. 
The tree is produced from the seed. It does not flower till the eighth or 
ninth year; after which it bears flowers and fruit together, without intermission, 
and is said to continue bearing for seventy or eighty years. Little trouble is 
requisite in its cultivation. A branch of the female tree is grafted into all the 
young plants when about two years old, so as to ensure their early fruitfulness. 
In the Moluccas the tree yields three crops annually. The fruit is gathered by 
the hand, and the outside covering rejected. The mace is then carefully sepa- 
rated, so as to break it as little as possible, is flattened, and dried in the sun, 
and afterwards sprinkled with salt water, with the view of contributing to its 
preservation. Its fine red colour is much impaired by drying. The nuts are 
dried in the sun or by ovens, and exposed to smoke till the kernel rattles in the 
shell. They are then broken open; and the kernels, having been removed and 
steeped for a short time in a mixture of lime and water, probably in order to 
preserve them from the attack of worms, are next cleaned, and packed in casks 
or chests for exportation. Dr. Lumsdaine has found them to keep better, if 
rubbed over with dry lime, than when prepared in the moist way. (See Am. 
Journ. of Sci. and Arts, Nov. 1851.) 
Nutmegs are brought to this country either directly from the East Indies, or 
indirectly through England and Holland. They are also occasionally imported 
in small quantities from the West Indies. 
Properties. The nutmeg (nux moschata) is of a roundish or oval shape, ob- 
tuse at the extremities, marked with vermicular furrows, of a grayish colour, 
hard, smooth to the touch, yielding readily to the knife or the grater, but not 
very pulverulent. When cut or broken it presents a yellowish surface, varied 
with reddish-brown, branching, irregular veins, which give to it a marbled ap- 
pearance. These dark veins abound in oily matter, upon which the medicinal 
properties depend. The odour of nutmeg is delightfully fragrant, the taste 
warm, aromatic, and grateful. Its virtues are extracted by alcohol and ether. 
M. Bonastre obtained from 500 parts, 120 of a white insoluble oily substance, 
38 of a coloured soluble oil (olein), 30 of volatile oil, 4 of acid, 12 of fecula, 6 
of gum, 210 of lignin ; and 20 parts were lost. The volatile oil is obtained by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Myristicse.) By pressure with heat an oily 
matter is procured from the kernels, which becomes solid on cooling, and is 
commonly though erroneously called oil of mace. 
Nutmegs have been punctured and boiled in order to extract their essential 
oil, and the orifice afterwards closed so carefully as not to be discoverable un- 
less by breaking the kernel. The fraud may be detected by their levity. They 
are also apt to be injured by worms, which, however, attack preferably the parts 
least impregnated with the volatile oil. The Dutch were formerly said to heat 
them in a stove in order to deprive them of the power of germinating, and thus 
prevent the propagation of the tree. The small and round nutmegs are pre- 
ferred to the large and oval. They should be rejected when very light, with a 
feeble taste and smell, worm-eaten, musty, or marked with black veins. 
A. kind of nutmeg is occasionally met with, ascribed by some to a variety of 570 
Myristicae Adeps.—Mads. 
PAET I. 
M. moschata, by others to a different species (Myristica fatua), which is dis- 
tinguished from that just described by its much greater length, its elliptical 
shape, the absence of the dark-brown veins, and its comparatively feeble odour, 
and disagreeable taste. It has been called male, wild, or long nutmeg, the other 
being designated as the female or cultivated nutmeg * 
The concrete or expressed oil of nutmeg Adeps, Br. 1864), com- 
monly called oil of mace, is obtained by bruising nutmegs, exposing them in a 
bag to steam, and then compressing them strongly between heated plates. A 
liquid oil flows out, which becomes solid when it cools. Nutmegs are said to 
yield from 10 to 12 per cent, of this oil f The best is imported from the East 
Indies in stone jars. It is solid, soft, unctuous to the touch, of a yellowish or 
orange-yellow colour more or less mottled, with the odour and taste of nutmeg. 
It is composed, according to Schrader, of 52'09 per cent, of a soft oily sub 
stance, yellowish or brownish, soluble in cold alcohol and ether; 48 75 of a 
white, pulverulent, inodorous substance, insoluble in these liquids; and 4T6 of 
volatile oil. The pulverulent constituent, which received from Playfair the name 
of myrislicin, has a silky lustre, melts at 88°, and yields in saponification gly- 
cerin and myristicic acid. It may be obtained directly from nutmeg by exhaust- 
ing it by means of benzole, filtering the liquid, and allowing it to crystallize by 
spontaneous evaporation. To purify the product, it may be dissolved in a mix- 
ture of two parts of absolute alcohol aud three of benzole with the aid of heat, 
then filtering the liquid while hot, and setting it aside. On cooling, it deposits 
the pure myristicin in crystals. [Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1859, p. 471.) Ana- 
lyzed by Koller, the expressed oil was found to contain, in 100 parts, 6 of a volatile 
oil (CA) analogous with the oil of mace, 70 of myristicin, 20 of olein, 3 of 
resin, and 1 of salts, Ac. [Arch, der Pharm., clxxiii. 280.) An inferior kind of 
the oil is prepared in Holland, and sometimes found in the shops. It is in hard, 
shining, square cakes, lighter coloured than that from the East Indies, and with 
less smell and taste. It is supposed to be derived from nutmegs previously 
deprived of most of their volatile oil by distillation. An artificial preparation 
is sometimes sold for the genuine oil. It is made by mixing various fatty mat- 
ters, such as suet, palm oil, spermaceti, wax, &c., adding some colouring sub- 
stance, and giving flavour to the mixture by the volatile oil. 
il/ace(MACis, U. S.) is in the shape of a flat membrane irregularly slit, smooth, 
soft, flexible, of a reddish or orange-yellow colour, and an odour and taste re- 
sembling those of nutmeg. It contains, according to M. Ilenry, a volatile oil 
in small quantity; a fixed oil, odorous, yellow, soluble in ether, insoluble in boil- 
ing alcohol; another fixed oil, odorous, red, soluble in alcohol and ether in 
every proportion; a peculiar gummy matter, analogous to amidin and gum, 
constituting one-third of the whole, and a small proportion of ligneous fibre. 
Mace yields a volatile oil by distillation, and a fixed oil by pressure. Neumann 
found the former heavier than water. The latter is less consistent than the fixed 
oil of nutmeg. Mace is inferior when it is brittle, less than usually divided, 
whitish or pale-yellow, or with little taste and smell. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nutmeg unites, with the medicinal properties 
* A few years since, attention was called to a California product, derived from Torreya 
Californica, and, from its resemblance to the fruit of the Myristica, called California nut- 
meg. It is, however, quite distinct in its characters from the true nutmeg, and cannot be 
substituted for it. At the same time a variety of nutmeg appeared in our markets, which 
was at first supposed to be the California product referred to; but, on examination by 
Prof. Jos. Carson, was found to be the variety of drug mentioned in the text as the male 
or wild nutmeg, and to be wholly distinct from the fruit of the Torreya. [Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxvi. 247 and 499.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
-j- A process for obtaining it by means of bisulphuret of carbon has been proposed by M. 
Lepage, of Gisors, in France, and has received the sanction of the Society of Pi armaey 
of Paris. It consists in treating the nutmeg, thoroughly comminuted, with three times its 
weight of the liquid referred to, well rectified, agitating the mixture frequently for 24 
hours, expressing, repeating the process with two parts only of the menstruum, mixing 
the products of the two macerations, filtering in a covered vessel, and then distilling off 
the sulphuret, at a temperature of 160°, until the residue is entirely deprived of the men- 
struum. [Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxi. 28.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Myristica.—Myrrha. 
571 
of the ordinary aromatics, considerable narcotic power. In the quantity of two 
or three drachms, it has been known to produce stupor and delirium; and dan- 
gerous if not fatal consequences are said to have followed its free use in India. 
It is employed to cover the taste or correct the operation of other medicines, 
but more frequently as an agreeable addition to farinaceous articles of diet, and 
to various kinds of drink in cases of languid appetite and delicate stomach. It 
is usually given in substance, and is brought by grating to the state of a powder. 
Mace possesses properties essentially the same with those of nutmeg; and, like 
that medicine, has been known, when taken in excess, to produce alarming sen- 
sorial disturbance. (G. C. Watson, Prov. Med. and S. Journ., Jan 26, 1848.) 
It is, however, less used as a medicine. The dose of either is from five to twenty 
grains. As the virtues of nutmeg depend chiefly if not exclusively on the volatile 
oil, the latter may be substituted, in the dose of two or three drops. The ex~ 
pressed oil is occasionally used as a gentle external stimulant, and is an ingre* 
dientin the Emplastrum Picis of the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The ancients were wholly unacquainted with the nutmeg; and Avicenna is 
said to be the first author by whom it is noticed. 
Off. Prep, of Nutmeg. Acetum Opii, U. S.; Oleum Myristicae, Br.; Oleum 
Myristicae Plxpressum, Br.; Pulvis Aromaticus, U.S.; Pulvis Catechu Com- 
positus, Br.; Pulvis Cretae Aromaticus, Br.; Spiritus Armoraciae Comp., Br.; 
Spiritus Lavandulae Comp., U. S.; Spiritus Myristicae, U. S.; Syrupus Rhei 
Aromaticus, U.S.; Tinctura Lavandulae Comp., Br.; Trochisci Cretae, U. S.; 
Trochisci Magnesiae, U. S. 
Of. Prep, of the Concrete Oil. Emplastrum Calefaciens, Br.; Emplastrum 
Picis, Br. W. 
MYRRH A. U. jS., Br. 
Myrrh. 
The concrete juice of Balsamodendron Mjrrha. U. S. A gum-resinous exuda 
tion from the stem. Br. 
Myrrhe, Fr., Germ.; Mirra, Hal., Span.; Murr, Arab.; Bowl, Hindoost. 
Though myrrh has been employed from the earliest times, the plant which 
yields it was not determined till quite recently. The Amyris Kataf of Forskhal, 
seen by that traveller in Arabia, was supposed by him to be the myrrh tree, but 
without sufficient proof. Afterwards Ehrenbergmet on the frontiers of Arabia 
Felix with a plant, from the bark of which he collected a gum-resin precisely 
similar to the myrrh of commerce. From specimens of the plant taken by Ehren- 
berg to Germany, Nees von Esenbeck referred it to the genus Balsamodendron 
of Kunth, and named it Balsamodendron Myrrha. This genus was formed by 
Kunth from Amyris, and includes the Amyris Kataf of Forskhal, which may 
possibly also produce a variety of myrrh. The new genus differs from Amyris 
chiefly in having the stamens beneath instead of upon the germ. It was not 
thought by De Candolle sufficiently distinct. 
Balsamodendron Myrrha. Fee, Goars, d'llist. Nat. Pharm. i. 641; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 28, pi. 20. This is a small tree, with a stunted trunk, 
covered with a whitish-gray bark, and furnished with rough abortive branches 
terminating in spines. The leaves are ternate, consisting of obovate, blunt, 
smooth, obtusely denticulate leaflets, of which the two lateral are much smaller 
than the one at the end. The fruit is oval-lanceolate, pointed, longitudinally 
furrowed, of a brown colour, and surrounded at its base by the persistent calyx. 
The tree grows in Arabia Felix, in the neighbourhood of Gison, in dwarfish 
thickets, interspersed among the Acaciae and Euphorbiae. The juice exudes 
spontaneously, and concretes upon the bark. 
Formerly the best myrrh was brought from the shores of the Red Sea by way 
of Egypt and the Levant, and hence received the name of Turkey Myrrh; while 
the inferior qualities were imported from the East Indies, and commonly called 
India Myrrh. These titles have ceased to be applicable; as myrrh of alk-quali- 
ties is now broughtfrom the East Indies, whither it is carried from Arabia and 572 
Myrrha, 
PART I, 
the north-eastern coast of Africa. Aden in the former region, and Berbera in 
the latter, would appear, from the statements of Mr. James Vaughan, to be the 
chief entrepots of the trade. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 226.) Great quantities are 
collected on the African coast, near the mouth of the lied Sea, whence it is taken 
to Aden. {Ibid., Oct. 1859, p. 217.) It is usually imported in chests containing 
between one and two hundred weight Sometimes the different qualities am 
brought separate ; sometimes more or less mingled. Only the best kind should 
be selected for medical use. 
Properties. Myrrh is in small irregular fragments or tears, or in larger masses, 
composed apparently of agglutinated portions differing somewhat in their shade 
of colour. The pieces are exceedingly irregular in shape and size, being some- 
times not larger than a pea, and sometimes, though rarely, almost as large as 
the fist. They are often powdery upon the surface. When of good quality, myrrh 
is reddish-yellow or reddish-brown and translucent, of a strong peculiar some- 
what fragrant odour, and a bitter aromatic taste. It is brittle and pulverizable, 
presenting, when broken, a shining surface, which in the larger masses is very 
irregular, and sometimes exhibits opaque whitish or yellowish veins. In powder 
it is of a light-yellowish colour. Under the teeth it is at first friable, but soon 
softens and becomes adhesive. It is inflammable, but does not burn vigorously, 
and is not fusible by heat. Its sp. gr. is stated at 1*36. The inferior kind, com- 
monly called India myrrh, is in pieces much darker than those described, more 
opaque, less odorous, and often abounding with impurities. We have seen pieces 
of India myrrh enclosing large crystals of common salt; as if the juice might 
have fallen from the tree, and concreted upon the ground where this mineral 
abounds. Pieces of bdellium, and other gummy or resinous substances of un- 
known origin, are often mixed with it. Among these is a product which may 
be called false myrrh. It is in irregular pieces, of a dirty reddish-brown colour, 
a vitreous brownish-yellow fracture, semitransparent, of a faint odour of myrrh, 
and a bitter balsamic taste. Myrrh is best purchased in mass; as in powder it 
is liable to adulterations not easily detected. 
Myrrh is partially soluble in water, alcohol, and ether. Triturated with water 
it forms an opaque yellowish or whitish emulsion, which deposits the larger por- 
tion upon standing. Its alcoholic tincture is rendered opaque by the addition of 
water, but throws down no precipitate. According to Neumann, alcohol and 
water severally extract the whole of its odour and taste. By distillation a vola- 
tile oil rises, having the peculiar flavour of myrrh, and leaving the residue in the 
retort simply bitter. The gum-resin is soluble in solutions of the alkalies, and, 
when triturated with them in a crystalline state, forms a tenacious liquid. Hence 
carbonate of potassa may be used to facilitate its suspension in water. Bracon- 
not found 2 5 per cent, of volatile oil, 23 of a bitter resin, 46 of soluble, and 12 
of insoluble gum. (Ann. de Chim., lxvii. 52.) Pelletier obtained 34 per cent, of 
resin, with a small proportion of volatile oil, and 66 of gum. A more recent 
analysis by Ruickoldt gave 2T83 percent, of volatile oil, 44760 of resin, 40'8L8 
of gum or arabin, 1475 of water, and 3650 of carbonate of lime and magnesia, 
with some gypsum and sesquioxide of iron. The resin, which he calls myrrhin, 
is neuter, but becomes acid when kept for a short time in fusion. In the latter 
state, M. Ruickoldt proposes to call it myrrhic acid. {Archiv. der Pharm., lxi. 1.) 
According to MM. Bley and Diesel, myrrh containing little volatile oil always 
has an acid reaction, which they ascribe to the oxidation of the oil. They found 
formic acid in the specimen examined by them. {Ibid., xliii. 304.) 
The same writers give, as a test of myrrh, the production of a transparent 
dirty-yellow liquid with nitric acid; while false myrrh affords a bright-yellow 
solution in the same fluid, and bdellium is not dissolved, but becomes whitish 
and opaque. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 228.) According to M. Righini, if 
powdered myrrh, rubbed for 15 minutes with an equal weight of muriate of am- 
monia, and 15 times its weight of water gradually added, dissolve quickly and 
entirely, it may be considered pure. {Journ. de Gliim. Med., 1844, p. 33.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Myrrh is a stimulant tonic,with some tendency PART I. 
Myrrha.—Nectandra. 
573 
to the lungs, and perhaps to the uterus. Hence it is employed as an expectorant 
and eminenagogue in debilitated states of the system, in the absence of febrile 
excitement or acute inflammation. The complaints in which it is usually admin 
istered are chronic catarrh, phthisis pulmonalis, other pectoral affections in which 
the secretion of mucus is abundant but not easily expectorated, chlorosis, amen- 
orrhoea, and the various affections connected with this state of the uterine func- 
tion. It is generally given combined with chalybeates or other tonics, and in 
amenorrhoea very frequently with aloes. It is used also as an application to 
spongy gums, the aphthous sore-mouth of children, and various kinds of un- 
healthy ulcers. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, and may be given in the 
form of powder or pill, or suspended in water, as in the famous anti hectic mix- 
ture of l)r. Griffith, which has become officinal by the name of Mistura Ferri 
Composita. The infusion is also sometimes given, and an aqueous extract has 
been recommended as milder than myrrh in substance. The tincture is used 
chiefly as a local application. 
A plaster of myrrh is made by rubbing together powdered myrrh, camphor, 
and balsam of Peru, of each an ounce and a half, then adding the mixture to 32 
ounces of lead plaster previously melted, and stirring well until the plaster thick- 
ens on cooling. It is then to be formed into rolls. This plaster may be employed 
in all cases where a gentle and long-continued rubefacient effect is desired. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum-Aloes Compositum, Br.; Mistura Ferri Comp.; Pilulao 
Aloes et Myrrhae; Pil. Assafoetidae Comp., Br.; Pil. Ferri Comp., U.S.; Pil. 
Galbani Comp., XJ. S.; Pil. Rhei Comp.; Tinctura Aloes et Myrrhae, U. S.; Tine 
tura Myrrhae. W. 
NECTANDRA. U.S. 
Nectandra. Bebeeru Baric. 
The bark of Nectandra Rodiei (Schomburg). U. S. 
Off. Syn. NECTANDRJS CORTEX. Bebeeru Bark. The bark of Neo 
tandra Roditei (Schomburgk); the Greenheart tree. Br. 
Nectandra. Sex. Syst. Dodecandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Lauraccae. 
Gen. Gh. Flowers hermaphrodite. Calyx six-parted, rotate, the three outer 
segments somewhat broader. Stamens twelve, in four series, the nine outer fer- 
tile ; the anthers of the first and second series turned inwards, of the third out- 
■wards, all ovate, sub-sessile, four-celled. Ovary one-celled, with one ovule. Style 
short. Stigma short, truncated. Berry one-seeded, partly immersed in the tubo 
of the calyx. Endlicher. 
Nectandra Bodisei. Schomburgk; Hooker's Bond. Journ. of Bot., Dec. 1844, 
p. 624. The bebeeru, bibiru, or sipiri, as it has been differently named, is a 
tree sixty feet or more in height, branching near the top, with a smooth, ash- 
gray bark. The leaves, which are five or six inches long by two or three in 
breadth, are nearly opposite, coriaceous, oblong-elliptical, shortly acuminate, 
smooth, shining, and obscurely reticulate on the upper surface. The flowers are 
yellowish-white, in axillary panicles, much shorter than the leaves, and few-flow- 
ered. The fruit is a large, obovate or obcordate, somewhat compressed berry, of 
the size of a small apple, with a single seed about as large as a walnut. The 
tree inhabits Guiana and neighbouring regions of South America, where the 
wood is used in ship-building, under the name of greenheart. It received its 
specific name of Bodiei from Sir Robert Schomburg, in honour of Dr. Rodie, 
by whom it was first described. Though the fruit is very bitter, its seeds yield a 
starch which is said to be used as food by the Indians. The bark is officinal. 
Properties. This is in large, flat, heavy pieces, from one to two feet long, 
from two to six inches broad, and three or four lines thick, with a rough and 
somewhat fibrous fracture, of a grayish-brown colour on its outer surface, and a 
dark-cinnamon on the inner. It has an intensely bitter, somewhat astringent 
taste. Analyzed by Dr. Maclagan, of Edinburgh, it was found to contain tannic 
acid of the kind that precipitates the salts of iron green, resin, gum, sugar, albu- 574 
Neciandra. 
PART I. 
men, fibrin, various salts, and two peculiar alkaloids, named respectively bebee- 
rin (bebeeria) and sipeerin (sipeeria). In the seeds, besides the foregoing prin- 
ciples, Dr. Maclagan found 53 per cent, of starch, and a peculiar white, crystal- 
line, volatile acid, which he named bebeeric acid. The alkaloids are extracted 
together from the bark, in the form of impure sulphate, by a process similar to 
that for preparing sulphate of quinia. This preparation is known as the com- 
mercial sulphate of bebeerin. The sipeerin, which Dr. Maclagan believed to 
be a distinct alkaloid in the bark, he was afterwards induced to consider as the 
result of oxidation of bebeeria. (Pereira, Mat. Med.) 
Bebeeria, which, in accordance with the ordinary nomenclature of the alka- 
loids, should be called nectandria, was obtained pure by Messrs. Maclagan and 
Tilley by the following process. The impure sulphate is dissolved in water, and 
precipitated by ammonia. The precipitate, mixed with an equal weight of re- 
cently precipitated oxide of lead, and dried, is treated with absolute alcohol, 
which, being evaporated, leaves the two alkaloids in the form of a translucent 
resinoid mass. The bebeeria is separated by means of ether, which yields it by 
evaporation. Another process is to dissolve the precipitate obtained by ammo- 
nia, previously washed, in diluted acetic acid, add acetate of lead, precipitate by 
potassa, exhaust the precipitate by strong ether, evaporate the ether to the con- 
sistence of a syrup, dissolve the residue in absolute alcohol, and pour the solu- 
tion gradually into water. A flocculent deposit is formed, which, when washed 
and dried, is the alkaloid in question. Bebeeria is pale-}Tellow, amorphous, of 
a resinous aspect, inodorous, very bitter, very slightly soluble in water, freely 
soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible at 356°, inflammable, and of an alkaline reac- 
tion. It forms uncrystallizable salts with the acids. Its formula is differently 
given C35H20NOfi, and C38H2iN°6. 
Sipeeria (sipeerin) is left after the separation of the bebeeria by ether in the 
foregoing processes. This also is amorphous, very sparingly soluble in water, 
freely soluble in alcohol, but differing from bebeeria in being insoluble in ether. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nectandra is tonic, somewhat astringent, and 
febrifuge, resembling cinchona in its virtues, though much inferior, at least in 
antiperiodic power. It has generally been employed in the form of the impure 
sulphate, and sometimes with great asserted success, in the treatment of inter- 
mittent and remittent fevers. Dr. Ilodie recommended it so early as 1334 ; but 
it did not attract general attention until brought into notice by Dr. Douglas 
Maclagan, of Edinburgh, who published a number of observations, tending to 
prove its possession of valuable antiperiodic properties. Others afterwards con- 
firmed his statements in its favour, and it was hoped that a substitute had been 
found for the alkaloids of Peruvian bark; butthe more recent published accounts 
by M. Becquerel, of France (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 439), of Dr. Wm. 
Pepper, of Philadelphia (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxv. 13), and of Dr. 
E. I). Dailey, of Smyrna, Delaware (Med Exam., N. S., ix. 557), show satisfac- 
torily that, though frequently successful, it often fails, and cannot be relied on as 
a substitute for quinia. From a scruple to a drachm may be given between the 
paroxysms, in doses of two grains. Prof. A. P. Merrill has employed the sul- 
phate with advantage in menorrhagia, in the dose of five grains. (N. Y. Journ. 
of Med., N. S , xv. 433; from the Memphis Med. Recorder.) 
The impure sulphate (commercial sulphate) of bebeeria may be prepared 
by first boiling the powdered bark with a solution of carbonate of soda, to re- 
move the tannic acid and colouring matter, and afterwards with water acidulated 
with sulphuric acid, which extracts the alkaloids in the form of sulphates. The 
solution is then filtered, the alkaloid precipitated by carbonate of soda, the pre- 
cipitate dissolved and neutralized with dilute sulphuric acid, the solution, de- 
colorized with animal charcoal, then concentrated, filtered, and finally evapo- 
rated in open vessels, with a gentle heat. Thus obtained, the sulphate is fit for 
medical use, though it is not pure, containing sipeeria, a little sulphate of lime, 
and colouring matter. It is in brownish, thin, shining scales, which become 
yellow in powder. It is freely soluble in alcohol, and sparingly in water, but PART I. 
Nectandra.—Nux Vomica. 
575 
is readily dissolved in the latter if acidulated. It may be given in the form of 
pill, or of solution in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, one minim of *he 
officinal diluted or aromatic sulphuric acid being added for each grain of the 
sulphate. The dose is from two to five grains. 
A new application of the sulphate of bebeeria has recently been made by 
Dr. A. P. Merrill, who has found it very useful in various uterine diseases, as 
dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia, leucorrhoea, and all other conditions accompanied 
with enlargement and congestion of the uterus and its appendages. It has 
proved useful also in disorders of the kidneys and bladder and blenorrhoeal 
discharges. (N. Y. Med. Record, March 1, 1867, p. 7.) 
The pure sulphate may be readily prepared by dissolving bebeeria, obtained 
as above directed, in water with sulphuric acid to neutralization, and evapo- 
rating the solution. 
Off. Prep. Beberiae Sulphas, Br. W. 
NUX VOMICA. U.S.,Br. 
Nux Vomica. 
The seed of Strychnos nux vomica. U. S. The seeds. Br. 
Noix vomique, Fr.; Krahenaugen, Brechniisse, Germ.; Noce vomica, Ital.\ Nuez vo- 
mica, Span. 
Strycfinos. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Apocynaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla five-cleft. Berry one-celled, with a ligneous rind. Willd. 
Strychnos Nux vomica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1052 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 222, 
t. 79. This tree is of a moderate size, with numerous strong branches, covered 
with a smooth, dark-gray bark. The young branches are long, flexuous, smooth, 
and dark-green,with opposite, roundish-oval, entire, smooth, and shining leaves, 
having three or five ribs, and short footstalks. The flowers are small, white, 
funnel-shaped, and in terminal corymbs. The fruit is a round berry, about as 
large as an orange, with a smooth, yellow or orange-coloured, hard, fragile 
rind, and many seeds embedded in a juicy pulp. 
The tree is a native of the East Indies, growing in Bengal, Malabar, on the 
Coromandel Coast, in Ceylon, in many islands of the Indian Archipelago, in 
Cochin-China, and other neighbouring countries. The wood and root are very 
bitter, and are employed in the East Indies for the cure of intermittents. The 
radices colubrinse and lignum colubrinum of the older writers, long known in 
Europe as narcotic poisons, have been ascribed to this species of Strychnos, 
under the impression that it is identical with Strychnos Colubrina, to which 
Linnaeus refers them. They have been ascertained by Pelletier and Caventou to 
contain a large quantity of strychnia. The bark is said by Dr. O’Shaughnessy 
to answer exactly to the description given by authors of the false angustura, 
and, like that, to contain a large quantity of brucia. The identity of the two 
barks has been confirmed by Dr. Pereira, from a comparison of specimens. (See 
Angustura.) The seeds are the only officinal portion. 
These are circular, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and two lines 
in thickness, flat, or slightly convex on one side, and concave on the other. 
They are thickly covered with fine, silky, shining, ash-coloured or yellowish-gray 
hairs, attached to a thin fragile coating, which closely invests the interior nu 
cleus or kernel. This is very hard, horny, usually whitish and semitransparent, 
sometimes dark-coloured and opaque, and of very difficult pulverization. The 
powder is yellowish-gray, and has a faint sweetish odour. The seeds are des- 
titute of odour, but have an acrid, very bitter taste, which is much stronger in the 
kernel than in the investing membrane. They impart their virtues to water, 
but more readily to diluted alcohol. Nux vomica has been analyzed by several 
chemists, but most accurately by Pelletier and Caventou, who discovered in it 
two alkaline principles, strychnia and brucia, united with a peculiar acid which 
they named igasuric. Its other constituents are a yellow colouring matter, a con- 
crete oil, gum, starch, bassorin, a small quantity of wax, and, according to Mr. J. 576 
Nux Vomica. 
PART I. 
M. Maisch, several earthy phosphates. (Am. Journ. of Pharm , Nov. 1860, p. 
524.) M. Desnoix has announced the discovery of another alkaloid, which he 
denominates igasuria ; and M. Shutzenberger, in examining specimens of iga- 
suria, separated nine alkaloids, each having a distinct composition, and all prob- 
ably derived from brucia by oxidation under vital influences. These alkaloids 
are the active principles of nux vomica. 
Strychnia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, A. P. 1818, both in the 
nux vomica and bean of St. Ignatius, and received its name from the generic 
title of the plants (Strychnos) to which these two products belong. According 
to these chemists, it exists much more abundantly in the bean of St. Ignatius 
than in the nux vomica, the former yielding P2 per cent., the latter only 0 4 
per cent, of the alkaloid. For an account of its properties and mode of prepara- 
tion, see Strychnia, in Part II. This alkaloid is stated to exist still more largely 
in the seeds of another species, the Strychnos Tiute, which is a native of Java. 
In the Zeitschrift fur Chemie (A. D. 1866), M. Bernelot-Moens states that the 
seeds of this species, when dry, contain 1 469 per cent, of strychnia, with only 
traces of brucia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1866, p. 506.) 
Brucia was discovered by Pelletier and Caventou, first in the bark called 
false angustura, in combination with gallic acid, and subsequently associated 
with strychnia in the form of igasurates, in the nux vomica and bean of St. 
Ignatius. It is crystallizable, and its crystals are said to contain 18 41 per cent, 
of water. It is without smell, but of a permanent, harsh, very bitter taste; solu- 
ble in 850 parts of cold, and 500 of boiling water; very soluble in alcohol, whether 
hot or cold ; but insoluble in ether and the fixed oils, and only slightly dissolved 
by the volatile oils. It is permanent in the air, but melts at a temperature a 
little above that of boiling water, and on cooling congeals into a mass resem- 
bling wax. According to Mr. Wm. A. Guy, who has carefully experimented 
on the volatility of various proximate principles, it melts at 240°, and sub- 
limes at 400°, changing colour, and depositing carbon. (Pharm. J. and Trans., 
Feb. 1868, p. 315.) It forms crystallizable salts with the acids. Concentrated 
nitric acid produces with brucia or its salts an intense crimson colour, which 
changes to yellow by heat, and upon the addition of protochloride of tin be- 
comes violet. These effects serve to distinguish brucia from strychnia, and, it 
produced with the latter alkaloid, evince the presence of the former. Accord 
ing to MM. Larocque and Thibierge, chloride of gold produces, with solutions 
of the salts of brucia, precipitates at first milky, then coffee-coloured, and finally 
chocolate-brown. (Journ. de Chim. Med., Oct. 1842.) Brucia is analogous in its 
operation to strychnia, but possesses, according to M. Andral, only about one- 
twelfth of its strength, when the latter principle is entirely pure. It is there- 
fore seldom employed. It may be procured from false angustura bark, in a 
manner essentially the same with that in which strychnia is procured from 
nux vomica; with this difference, that the alcoholic extract, obtained from the 
precipitate produced by lime or magnesia, should be treated with oxalic acid, 
and subsequently with a mixture of rectified alcohol and ether, which takes up 
the colouring matter, leaving the oxalate of brucia. This is decomposed by 
magnesia, and the brucia is separated by alcohol, which, by spontaneous evapo- 
ration, yields it in the state of crystals. According to Dr. Fuss and Professor 
Erdmann, brucia is nothing more than a compound of strychnia and resin. 
Igasuria is found in the mother-waters from which strychnia and brucia have 
been precipitated by lime. It is strongly bitter; readily crystallizable, with 10 
per cent, of water of crystallization; more soluble in water and weak alcohol 
than the two other alkaloids; reddened by nitric acid even more intensely than 
brucia; rendered by sulphuric acid at first rose-coloured, and afterwards yel- 
lowish and greenish-vellow; dissolved by the diluted acids, which form with it 
easily crystallizable salts; precipitated from its solution by the alkalies, and 
redissolved by them in excess, especially by potassa; precipitated yellow by bi- 
chloride of platinum, and white by tannic acid; slowly precipitated by iodide 
of potassium in light reddish-yellow crystals; and thrown down as crystalline PART I. 
Nux Vomica. 
577 
needles by bicarbonate of soda, in the presence of tartaric acid, in which pro- 
perty it resembles strychnia, but differs from brueia. One of its most distinguish- 
ing properties is its degree of solubility in water, of which it requires at 21'2r 
only 200 parts for solution; while brueia requires 500 parts, and strychnia 2000. 
jVJ. Desnoix inferred from his experiments on animals that it is intermediate 
n power between the two other alkaloids of nux vomica. 
The nine alkaloids into which Schutzenberger separated igasuria, he distin- 
guished by affixing the letters of the alphabet, as a igasuria, b igasuria, &e. 
They may be separated by the agency of hot water, by taking advantage of their 
different solubility, and their several periods of crystallizing as the solution cools. 
They are all colourless, crystallizable in needles or tufts, of a persistent bitter- 
ness, and almost as energetic as strychnia in their influence on the system. All 
are coloured red by nitric acid, like brueia, which, moreover, they resemble in 
their characters, except their greater solubility in water and alcohol. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., Nov. 1858, p. 537 ; from Comples Bendus.) It is difficult to resist 
the conjecture that the alkaloids, instead of pre-existing, are formed by changes 
in the igasuria during the crystallizing process. 
As a test for nux vomica, Yielgruth proposes to treat a few grains of the sus- 
pected powder with proof spirit, evaporate the tincture to dryness at a heat not 
exceeding 96°, then add a drop or two of dilute sulphuric acid, and again raise 
to the heat mentioned. If nux vomica is present, a beautiful carmine-red colour 
is produced, which disappears in ten or fifteen minutes after cooling, and reap- 
pears, but less brightly, on the reapplication of the heat. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nux vomica is very peculiar in its action. In 
very small doses, frequently repeated, it is tonic, and is said to be diuretic, and 
occasionally diaphoretic and laxative. When it is given in larger doses, so as 
to bring the system decidedly under its influence, its action appears to be directed 
chiefly to the nerves of motion, probably through the medium of the spinal mar- 
row. Its operation is evinced at first by a feeling of weight and weakness, with 
tremblings in the limbs, and some rigidity on attempting motion. There seems 
to be a tendency to permanent involuntary muscular contraction, as in tetanus; 
but at the same time frequent starts or spasms occur, as from electric shocks. 
These spasms are first brought on by some exciting cause, as by a slight blow 
or an attempt to move; but, if the medicine is persevered in, they occur with- 
out extraneous agency, and are sometimes frequent and violent. In severe cases, 
there is occasionally general rigidity of the muscles. A sense of heat in the 
stomach, constriction of the throat and abdomen, tightness of the chest, and 
retention of urine are frequently experienced, to a greater or less extent, 
according to the quantity of the medicine administered. It sometimes, also, 
produces pain in the head, vertigo, contracted pupil, and dimness of vision. 
Sensations on the surface analogous to those attending imperfect palsy, such as 
formication, tingling, &c\, are often experienced. The pulse is not materially 
affected, though sometimes slightly accelerated. Strychnia, given to the inferior 
animals, has been observed strikingly to lessen the bulk of the spleen. In over- 
doses, the medicine is capable of producing fatal effects. Given to the inferior 
animals in fatal doses, it produces great anxiety, difficult and confined breath- 
ing, retching to vomit, universal tremors, spasmodic action of the muscles, and 
ultimately violent convulsions. Death is supposed to take place from a suspen- 
sion of respiration, resulting from a spasmodic constriction of the muscles con- 
cerned in the process. Yet it poisons animals which have no lungs. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. £cf.,N. S.,xviii. 369.) Upon dissection, no traces of inflammatory action 
are observable, unless large quantities of the nux vomica have been swallowed, 
when the stomach appears inflamed. A division of the spinal marrow near the 
occiput does not prevent the peculiar effects of the medicine, so that the inter- 
vention of the brain is not essential. That it enters the circulation, and is brought 
into contact with the parts upon which it acts, is rendered evident by the ex- 
periments of Magendie and others. For further observations on the effects of 
this noison, and for the modes of obviating them, see Strychnia in Part II. 578 
Nux Vomica. 
FA11T I. 
Nux vomica has long been employed in India, and was known as a medicine 
to the Arabian physicians. On the continent of Europe, it has at various times 
been recommended as an antidote to the plague, and as a remedy in intermits 
tents, dyspepsia, pyrosis, gastrodynia, dysentery, diarrhoea of debility, colica 
pictonum, worms, mania, hypochondriasis, hysteria, rheumatism, and hydro- 
phobia. It is said to have effectually cured obstinate spasmodic asthma. Its 
peculiar influence upon the nerves of motion, to which the public attention was 
first called by Magendie, suggested to M. Fouquier, a French physician, the 
application of the remedy to paralytic affections, in which he met with great 
success. Others have subsequently employed it with variable results; but the 
experience in its favour so much predominates, that it may now be considered a 
standard remedy in palsy. It is a singular fact, that its action is directed more 
especially to the paralytic part, exciting contraction in this before it is extended 
to other muscles. The medicine, however, should be administered with judg- 
ment, and never given in cases depending on inflammation or organic lesion of 
the brain or spinal marrow, until after the removal of the primary affection. It 
has been found more successful in general palsy and paraplegia than in hemi- 
plegia, and has frequently effected cures in palsy of the bladder, incontinence 
of urine from paralysis of the sphincter, prolapsus ani, amaurosis, and other 
cases of partial palsy, and has been employed with asserted success in prolap- 
sus ani, spermatorrhoea, and impotence. Upon the same principles, it is said to 
have proved useful in obstinate constipation from deficient contractility of the 
bowels; and is thought to promote the action of cathartics, when added to 
them in small proportion. It has recently been recommended in neuralgia, cho- 
rea, and atonic dropsy, and has been found peculiarly useful in gastralgia, gas- 
tro-enteralgia, and other debilitated conditions of the alimentary canal. I)r. D. 
de Savignac, of the Maritime Hospital of Toulon, has found great advantage 
from this remedy in a variety of chronic dysentery, which he believes to de- 
pend on an affection of the spinal marrow, causing paralysis of the motor nerves 
supplying the muscular coat of the large intestines, and which is apt to be 
accompanied with palsy of the limbs. (Edin. Med. Journ., Jan. 1808, p. 657.) 
Nux vomica may be given in powder in the dose of five grains, repeated three 
or four times a day, and gradually increased till its effects are experienced. In 
this form, however, it is very uncertain; and fifty grains have been given with 
little or no effect. It is most readily reduced to powder by filing or grating; 
and the raspings may be rendered finer by first steaming them, then drying 
them by stove heat, and lastly rubbing them in a mortar. The Edinburgh Col- 
lege directed that the seeds should be first well softened with steam, then sliced, 
dried, and ground in a coffee-mill. It has been recommended that, before being 
pulverized, they should be deprived of their exterior coating, which is easily 
done when they are exposed for a short time to the action of hot water. 
The alcoholic extract is more convenient and more certain in its operation. 
From half a grain to two grains may be given in the form of pill, repeated as 
above mentioned, and gradually increased. (See Extractum Nucis Vomicae.) 
The watery extract is comparatively feeble. 
Strychnia has recently been much used, and possesses the advantage of 
greater certainty and uniformity of action. Its effects are precisely similar. 
With very few exceptions, it is the most violent poison in the catalogue of medi- 
cines, and should, therefore, be administered with great caution. The dose is from 
one-sixteenth to one-twelfth of a grain, repeated twice or three times a day. and 
gradually increased. Even the quantity mentioned often produces spasmodic 
symptoms, and these generally occur when the dose is augmented to half a grain 
three times a day; but in the latter quantity the remedy, if pure, is unsafe. The 
system is not so soon habituated to its impression as to that of the narcotics gen- 
erally ; so that, after its effects are experienced, it is unnecessary to go on increas- 
ing the dose. Strychnia has been applied externally with advantage in amaurosis. 
It should be sprinkled upon a blistered surface near the temples, in the quantity 
of from one-fourth to one-half a grain, morning and evening; and the quantity PART I. 
Nux Vomica.—Oka.— Oka Fixa. 
579 
may be gradually augmented. The best form of administration is that of pill, in 
consequence of tlie excessive bitterness of the solution. Strychnia may, however, 
be given, dissolved in alcohol, or in water by the intervention of an acid. 
Brucia may be used, for the same purposes with strychnia, in the dose of one 
grain twice or three times a day. Dr. Bardsley noticed that the quantity of two 
grains, three or four times a day, was seldom exceeded without the occurrence 
of the characteristic effects of the medicine. Magendie found this alkaloid very 
useful in small doses as a tonic. He employed for this purpose one-eighth of 
a grain frequently repeated. It is very important, in reference to the dose, that 
it should contain no strychnia. 
Off. Prep. Extraetum Nucis Vomicae, Br.; Extractum Nucis Vomicae Alco- 
holicum, U.S.; Strychnia; Tinctura JSTucis Vomicae. W 
OLEA. 
Oils. 
These are liquid or solid substances, characterized by an unctuous feel, in- 
flammability, and the property of leaving a greasy stain upon paper. They are 
divided into two classes, the fixed and volatile, distinguished, as their names 
imply, by their different habitudes in relation to the vaporizing influence of 
caloric. 
These are sometimes termed expressed oils, from the mode in which they are 
procured. Though existing in greater or less proportion in various parts of 
plants, they are furnished for use exclusively by the fruit; and, as a general 
rule, are most abundant in the dicotyledonous seeds. They are obtained either 
by submitting the bruised seeds to pressure in hempen bags, or by boiling them 
in water, and skimming off the oil as it rises to the surface. When pressure is 
employed, it is customary to prepare the seeds for the press by exposing them 
to a moderate heat, so as to render the oil more liquid, and thus enable it to 
flow out more readily. Another mode of extracting certain oils is by means of 
liquids having the power of dissolving them. This method, however, is compa- 
ratively little used, because generally less easy of application and more expen- 
sive. Near Berlin, in Germany, however, is an establishment where the oil 
existing in various grains, as the colza, flaxseed, and mustard, is extracted by 
means of the sulphide of carbon, on a large scale. For the details of the process 
the reader is referred to the Amer. Journal of Pharmacy (Nov. 1868, p. 549). 
The consistence of the fixed oils varies from that of tallow to perfect fluidity; 
but by far the greater number are liquid at ordinary temperatures. They are 
somewhat viscid, transparent, and usually of a yellowish colour, which disap- 
pears when they are treated with animal charcoal. When pure they have little 
taste or smell. They are lighter than water, varying in specific gravity from 
0913 to 0-936. (Berzelius.) They differ very much in their point of congela- 
tion; olive oil becoming solid a little above 32° F., while linseed oil remains 
fluid at 4° below zero. They are not volatilizable without decomposition. At 
about 600° they boil, and are converted into vapour, which, when condensed, 
is found to contain, besides other products, a large proportion of oleic and 
margaric acids, together with benzoic acid, sebacic acid proceeding from the 
decomposition of the olein, and the vapours of acrolein, a highly volatile liquid 
resulting from the decomposition of glycerin, upon which the fumes of oils de- 
pend mainly for their irritating effects on the eyes and nostrils. Exposed to 
a red heat, in close vessels, they yield, among other products of the destructive 
distillation of vegetables, a large quantity of the combustible compounds of 
carbon and hydrogen. Heated in the open air they take fire, burning with a 
bright flame, and producing water and carbonic acid. When kept in air-tight 
vessels, they remain unchanged for a great length of time; but, exposed to the 
atmosphere, they attract oxygen, and ultimately become concrete. Some, in 
1. OLEA FIXA. Fixed Oils. 580 
Olea Fixa. 
PART I 
drying, lose their unctuous feel, and are converted into a transparent, yellowish, 
flexible solid. These are called drying oils. Others, especially such as contain 
mucilaginous impurities, become rancid, acquiring a sharp taste and unpleasant 
smell. This change is owing to the formation of an acid, from which the oil 
may be freed by boiling it for a short time with hydrate of magnesia and water.* 
The fixed oils are insoluble in water, but are miscible with that fluid by means 
of mucilage, forming mixtures which are called emulsions. They are in general 
very sparingly soluble in alcohol, but readily dissolved by ether, which serves to 
separate them from other vegetable proximate principles. By the aid of heat 
they dissolve sulphur and phosphorus. Chlorine and iodine are converted by 
them into muriatic and hydriodic acids, which, reacting upon the oils, increase 
their consistence, and ultimately render them as hard as wax. If to one of the 
fixed oils be added one-tenth of its volume of chloride of sulphur, a reaction 
speedily takes place, attended with an elevation of temperature and the escape 
of muriatic acid gas, and followed immediately by solidification of the oil, which 
is wholly converted into a firm elastic substance, bearing considerable resem- 
blance to caoutchouc. {Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1859, p. 97.) The stronger acids 
decompose them, giving rise, among other products, to oleic and margaric acids. 
Boiled with diluted nitric acid, they are converted into malic and oxalic acids, 
besides other substances usuallyresuiting from the action of this acid upon vege- 
table matter. Several acids are dissolved by them without producing any sensible 
change. They combine with salifiable bases; but at the moment of combination 
undergo a change, by which they are resolved into a peculiar substance called 
glycerin, and into the oleic and margaric or other fatty acids, which unite with 
the base employed. The compounds of these acids with potassa and soda are 
called soaps. (See Sapo and Emplastrum Plumbi.) By the addition of one part 
of carbonate of potassa or of soda, 1G0 parts of oil may be brought with distilled 
water into the form of an emulsion. The potassa and soda soaps, and the alka- 
line sulphurets have a similar effect; but not the bicarbonates. The fixed oils 
also serve as good vehicles for various metallic bases and subsalts, which form 
soaps to a certain extent soluble in the oil, and thus become less irritant to the 
tissues. Oils thus impregnated may, like the pure oils, be brought to the state 
of emulsion with water, for convenient administi'ation, by the addition of a small 
proportion of carbonate of potassa. (Jeannel et Monsel, Revue Pharm., 1857, 
p. 48.) The fixed oils dissolve many of the organic alkalies, the volatile oils, 
resin, and other proximate principles of plants. The alkaloids are more readily 
dissolved in them by being first combined with oleic acid; the oleates being 
more soluble than the alkaloids themselves. (Attfield, Pharm. Journ., March, 
* Kesults of experiments by M. S. Cloes show that the phenomena of the oxidation 
of the oils in the atmosphere are less simple than originally supposed by Do Saussure, 
namely, that oxygen is absorbed and an equivalent quantity of carbonic acid is evolved. 
On the contrary, the quantity of carbonic acid produced represents but a fourth of the 
carbon eliminated; the remainder forming with hydrogen and oxygen various volatile 
compounds, which, when collected, have a suffocating smell, and among which were 
recognised acetic acid, acrylic acid, and a little acrolein. (Journ. de Pharm. et dc Chun., 
4e ser., ii. 287, A. D. 1865.) 
M. Cloes has made investigations also in relation to the influence of light in promoting 
oxidation, and obtained some curious results. The general influence of light is very great, 
as oils undergo comparatively little change in the dark for a long time; though, in rela- 
tion to some of them, the change is at length as great as under the light. Thus, while the 
oil of poppies has in thirty days increased about 50 per cent, in weight under colourless 
light, and has gained only a 5000th in the dark; yet, at the end of 150 days, the weight 
in the former condition was rather lessened than augmented, and in the latter, or in 
the dark, had increased 64 per cent. The effect of the different coloured rays is also 
very different. The change is at first most rapid under the white light, less so under 
the blue, and much less under the red, yellow, and green, being least of all with the 
green; but, with the advance of time, the blue overtakes and even passes the white, and at 
tne end of three or four months all are about equal in effect. Heat also accelerates the 
concretion of the oils, by favouring their oxidation ; and the same effect is produced by 
introducing into the unchanged oil a little which has already been altered by exposure to 
the air. The oxidation of an oil may be very greatly hastened in this way without tha 
aid of heat. (Ibid., p. 345.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART i. 
Olea Fixa. 
581 
1863, p. 308.) According to Buignet, they are, with very few exceptions, in- 
different to polarized light; of all those used in medicine, the only exceptions 
being the liver-oils of the ray and dog-fish, which have a very feeble left rota- 
tory power, and castor oil, which is decidedly dextrogyrate. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Octob. 1861, p. 264.) 
Tiie fixed oils, whether animal or vegetable, in their natural state, consist of 
at least two distinct oleaginous ingredients, one liquid at ordinary temperatures, 
and the other concrete. The liquid is a distinct proximate principle called olein; 
the concrete consists of stearin or margarin, the former being found most 
largely in animal, the latter in vegetable oils or fats, and the two not unfrequently 
existing together in the same oil. But several oils have peculiar constituents, 
differing in properties from either margarin or stearin, and specially named ac- 
cording to the substance containing them ; as, palmitin in palm oil, butyrin in 
butter, &c. As the most frequent of these proximate constituents of the fixed 
oils, and existing in many different oleaginous substances, olein, margarin, and 
stearin merit a special notice. Preliminarily, however, to their individual con- 
sideration, it will be proper to refer to the existing views in relation to their 
nature and composition generally. 
It is supposed that these oleaginous principles are of the nature of salts, 
consisting severally of an acid combined with a substance called glycerin, which 
acts the part of a base. When, therefore, one of them is treated with an alka- 
line solution, it is decomposed ; its acid uniting with the alkali to form soap, 
and the glycerin being set free. The analogy between these fatty salts and those 
consisting of inorganic ingredients may be carried still further; as glycerin is 
supposed to be, like the inorganic bases, an oxide, and to consist of a compound 
radical called glyceryl (C6II7) with five eqs. of oxygen, united with one eq. of 
water; its formula being CfiH7,0.-|-H0. The fatty acids, existing in these 
oleaginous salts, are named severally from the oily principles containing them. 
Thus, the acid of olein is called oleic acid, that of stearin stearic acid, and that 
of margarin margaric acid. It must be admitted that this view of the nature 
of the oily principles was at first received with some hesitation; and many sup- 
posed that, when an alkali with water was made to act on the oils, the resulting 
fatty acids and glycerin were generated by the reactions set on foot between the 
oil and water, and did not pre-exist in th<Toil. In favour of this view was the 
fact, that the presence of water was necessary to the change. But this is ex- 
plained by the supposition that the oxide of glyceryl cannot exist separately 
unless combined with water, the presence of which, therefore, is necessary to 
detach it from its combination with the fatty acid in the oils. Moreover, the 
received view has been synthetically confirmed; for M. Berthelot has succeeded 
in combining glycerin with various acids, forming salts, and among others with 
oleic, stearic, and margaric acids, thus reconstructing olein, stearin, and mar- 
garin out of their constituents. 
Olein. Plain. Liquid Principle of Oils. It is extremely difficult to obtain 
olein pure. Being the liquid menstruum which, in most oils, holds the concrete 
principles in solution, it has for the latter an affinity which retains portions of 
them with a tenacity not easily overcome. As ordinarily procured, therefore, 
olein contains more or less of margarin or stearin, or both. In this somewhat 
impure state, it is obtained either by the agency of alcohol or by expression. 
When one of the oils, olive oil, for example, is dissolved in boiling alcohol, the 
solution, on cooling, deposits the concrete principles, still retaining the olein, 
which it yields upon evaporation. The other method consists in compressing 
one of the solid fats, or of the liquid oils rendered concrete by cold, between 
folds of bibulous paper, which absorb the olein, and give it up afterwards by 
compression under water. Olein is a liquid of oily consistence, becoming con- 
crete at 20° F., colourless when pure, with little odour and a sweetish taste, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in boiling alcohol and ether, and composed of carbon, 
hydrogen, and oxygen. These elements are believed to be so combined as to 
forma salt, consisting, according to Berthelot, of one eq. of glycerin C6II705 and 582 
Olea Fixa. 
PART I. 
three eqs. of oleic acid 3(C36H33O3)==CH4H]0flO)4, the teroleate of glycerin, or 
triolein of Berthelot.* By reaction with nitric acid, olein is converted into a 
deep-yellow, butyraceous mass. If this be treated with hot alcohol, a deep 
orange-red oil is dissolved, and a peculiar fatty matter remains called eldidin. 
This is white, fusible at 97°, insoluble in water, readily soluble in ether, and 
supposed to be isomeric with olein. It is resolved by saponification with the 
alkalies into elaidic acid and glycerin ; and is, therefore, ela'idate of glycerin. 
It is now generally thought that olein, as obtained from different oils, is not 
precisely identical in properties; and a distinct compound is recognised, con- 
sisting of one eq. of glycerin C#H70. and one of oleic acid without water 
C,.(H33O3 = C42II40Oa, the oleate of glycerin, or monolein of Berthelot. 
Stearin. This exists abundantly in tallow and other animal fats. It may be 
obtained by treating the concrete matter of lard, free from olein, by cold ether 
so long as anything is dissolved. The margarin is thus taken up, and stearin 
remains. A better method is to dissolve suet in heated oil of turpentine, allow 
the solution to cool, submit the solid matter to expression in unsized paper, re- 
peat the treatment several times, and finally dissolve in hot ether, which deposits 
the stearin on cooling. This is concrete, white, opaque in mass, but of a pearly 
appearance as crystallized from ether, pulverizable, fusible at about 143°, solu- 
ble in boiling alcohol and ether, but nearly insoluble in those liquids cold, and 
quite insoluble in water. It consists of glycerin and stearic acid; but there are 
several varieties of it, having different points of fusion, and somewhat differing 
in composition. Besides the natural stearin, which appears to consist of four 
eqs. of stearic acid and one of glycerin, Berthelot obtained two others by heat- 
ing glycerin with stearic acid ; one of them with one eq. of each of its compo- 
nents, the other with two of the acid and one of the base. 
Margarin. This is obtained by treating the concrete matter of oil, previously 
deprived of olein, with cold ether, and allowing the liquid to evaporate; or by 
boiling a mixture of stearin and margarin with ether, which dissolves both, but 
deposits the former on cooling, and yields the latter upon subsequent evapora- 
tion. It resembles stearin closely, differing mainly in its lower melting point, in 
being soluble in cold ether, and in yielding margarates on saponification. The 
natural margarin is stated to consist of four eqs. of margaric acid and one of 
glycerin. Another has been produced artificially which is considered as a mo- 
nomargarin, consisting of one eq. of each of its components. 
As stated above, there is some reason to consider olein, stearin, and margarin, 
as being rather representatives of sets of proximate principles, than as quite 
distinct and peculiar; and this appears to have been the impression of Berzelius. 
It is possible, as may be inferred from the observations of Berthelot, that the 
several oleins, stearins, and margarins may differ in the proportion in which 
the acid constituent combines with the glycerin.f 
* Oleic acid lias been proposed as a solvent of the vegetable alkaloids for external use. 
Its supposed advantages are that it dissolves these principles more freely than the oils them- 
selves, and that the compounds it forms with them would probably find ready entrance into 
the system. It is not, however, in general use. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 72.) 
f Some interesting results in relation to the fixed oils were obtained by MM. Pelouze 
and Bcudet, and published in the Journ. de Pharm., xxi v. 385. According to these chemists, 
the variable fusibility of the margarin and stearin of fixed oils, which has induced some 
chemists to believe that they are severally not entirely identical as obtained from different 
oils, is owing to the existence of definite combinations of margarin and stearin respect- 
ively with olein; and each of these principles, in a state of purity, is probably the same 
from whatever source derived, whether from vegetable or from animal oils. Thus they 
found the same margarin in palm oil and in human fat. But there appear to be two dis- 
tinct kinds of olein ; one existing in the drying oils, as linseed oil, the oil of poppies, &c.; 
the other in the oils which are not drying, as olive oil, almond oil, human fat, and lard. 
These two forms of olein are different in their solubility in different menstrua, and in the 
circumstances that one is drying and the other not so, that one remains liquid under 
the action of nitric acid, while the other is converted by it into a solid substance called 
elaidin, and finally that the former contains much less hydrogen than the latter. Besides, 
the oleic acid formed in the process of saponification from these two kinds of olein is de- 
cidedly different ; inasmuch as, in the one case, it is converted by nitrous acid into elaidia 
acid, and in the other it is not thus changed. (Note to the fourth edition.) PART I. 
Olea Fixa. 
583 
As, besides oleic, stearic, and margaric acids, there are in certain oils other 
analogous fatty acids, such as the palmitic, for example, which united with gly- 
cerin forms palmitin ; so, besides glycerin or oxide of glyceryl, there are other 
bases of fatty salts, as oxide of cetyl, oxide of propyl, &c. So far as these have 
particular interest for the pharmaceutist they will be considered under the sev- 
eral substances into the constitution of which they enter. To distinguish the 
oils having glycerin for their base, they are now denominated glycerides. 
The fixed oils are liable to certain spontaneous changes, which have been in- 
vestigated by MM. Pelouze and Boudet. It appears, from their researches, that 
the oils are accompanied, in the seeds which contain them, with principles which 
act as a ferment, and cause the oils to resolve themselves spontaneously into the 
severe! fatty acids which they afford on saponification, and into glycerin. This 
change takes place in the seeds as soon as the cells containing the oil are broken, 
so as to permit the contact of the fermenting principle existing in the grain. 
Sometimes the fermenting principle is to a certain extent separated from the 
seeds along with the oil. In such a case, the oil undergoes this resolution into 
the fatty acids and glycerin after expression. Such was ascertained to be the 
case with palm oil, in which, after long keeping, MM. Pelouze and Boudet de- 
tected the presence of glycerin, and of palmitic and oleic acids. They moreover 
proved that, under the continued influence of the ferment, the fatty acids them- 
selves undergo changes, among which is the conversion of the oleic into sebacie 
acid ; and it is probable that, with a still longer continuance of the same influence, 
the oil would be completely destroyed. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1856, p. 274.) 
As this rancidity in fats renders them altogether useless for most practical 
purposes in pharmacy, and as it is not always readily discoverable by the 
senses in its earlier stages, it becomes desirable to possess a test by which it 
may be readily detected. Such a test is to be found, according to Mr. Thos. B. 
Groves, in iodide of potassium, which is rapidly decomposed by the new prin- 
ciples developed, and, by the orange-brown discoloration produced by the liber- 
ation of the iodine, indicates the existence of rancidity, and by the rapidity 
and degree of that discoloration the extent of the change. 
The alteration of colour is said by Mr. Groves to be plainly perceptible when 
only one-twentieth of rancid fat is present in any mixture of fats. 
It is also extremely important to be able to protect fats against this change. 
The complete exclusion of air, light, and moisture; and, when in relation to 
air this may not be entirely practicable, the destruction by heat of the ferment- 
germs contained in the air, by which the decomposition is often originated, will 
go far to effect this object; but it would often be very inconvenient, if not im- 
possible, to carry these measures into complete effect; and hence the discovery 
of substances which may have the effect of retarding, if not wholly preventing 
these fermenting processes, whether by the destruction of the ferment-germs 
or otherwise, is extremely desirable. It is now long since one or more sub- 
stances having this preservative effect have been made known and practically 
used; and, since the principle upon which they are supposed to act has been 
discovered, the number has been much extended. Thus benzoin rubbed up with 
fats is well known to preserve them long against rancidity, and benzoaled lard, 
made by mixing one part of benzoin with 44 parts of melted lard, is one of the 
preparations of the present British Pharmacopoeia; and the buds of the poplar 
(Populus nigra) are perhaps still more effectual; as, according to M. l)es- 
champs, lard impregnated with their virtues will keep good indefinitely. In 
the French Codex the poplar buds are employed for this purpose in the “Pom- 
made Populeum,'1'1 in which eight parts of the dried buds are used to 60 parts 
of the ointment, consisting of lard impregnated with the virtues of several 
narcotic substances ; the fresh narcotic plants being boiled with lard until all 
their water is evaporated, and the buds afterwards digested in the strained 
liquid for 24 hours. Mr. Groves made experiments with many volatile oils and 
other analogous substances to test their preservative power; and, while many 
of them were found to have considerable effect, as cloves, Peruvian balsam, 584 
Olea Fixa.—Olea Volatilia. 
PART I. 
sassafras, guaiacum, and creasote, yet the one which appeared to act most 
efficiently was the oil of pimento; and he proposes to add to the officinal jire- 
pared lard of the British Pharmacopoeia, either oil of pimento or balsam of 
Peru, in the proportion of two drops to the ounce, in order to contribute to its 
preservation. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1865, pp. 54, 61.) 
Animal fats are especially liable to become rancid when kept; and it is very 
desirable to obviate this effect; for, instead of having the mild demulcent pro- 
perties which constitute their chief value, they become irritant, and unfit as 
vehicles for other substances to be applied to the skin. Prof. Hirzel says that 
animal fats may be kept in a good condition for a year by the following plan. 
Mix 14 pounds of the recently melted fat with 5 drachms of common salt and 
15 grains of alum, in fine powder, heat till a scum is formed on the surface, 
separate the scum, and, when the clear liquid has cooled, wash it many times 
with water with malaxation, so as to remove all the salt, then evaporate the 
water at a heat insufficient to injure the fat. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1868, p. 334.) 
It is sometimes desirable to deprive the fixed oils of colour. The following 
process for this purpose is recommended by M. Brunner. The oil is first brought 
to the state of emulsion by strongly agitating it with water rendered mucilagi- 
nous by gum or starch; the emulsion is treated for each part of oil with two 
parts of wood-charcoal, previously well heated, and coarsely powdered, the finer 
particles being sifted out; the pasty mass is then completely dried at a heat not 
exceeding 212° F., and exhausted by cold ether in a percolator; finally, the 
ethereal solution, having been allowed to stand in order that any charcoal pres- 
ent in it may subside, is submitted to distillation so as to separate the ether, and 
the oil remains colourless in the retort. (Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 214.) 
M. Berlandt recommends the following method of bleaching fixed oils. Shake 
strongly for some minutes 900 parts of the oil, with 120 parts of water hold- 
ing in solution 3 parts of permanganate of potassa, allow the mixture to stand 
for some hours in a warm place, and then filter. The oil becomes colourless. 
(Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Oct 186T, p. 314.) 
The ultimate constituents of the fixed oils are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; 
the hydrogen being in much larger proportion than is necessary to saturate the 
oxygen. Those which are least fusible contain most carbon and least oxygen; 
and, according to De Saussure, their solubility in alcohol is greater in propor- 
tion to their amount of oxygen. (Berzelius.) Some of them contain a very 
minute proportion of nitrogen. 
2. OLEA YOLATILTA. Volatile Oils. 
These are sometimes called distilled oils, from the mode in which they are 
usually procured; sometimes essential oils, from the circumstance that they 
possess, in a concentrated state, the properties of the plants from which they 
are derived. They exist in all odoriferous vegetables, sometimes pervading the 
plant, sometimes confined to a single part; in some instances contained in dis- 
tinct cellules, and preserved after desiccation, in others formed upon the surface, 
as in many flowers, and exhaled as soon as formed. Occasionally two or more 
are found in ditferent parts of the same plant. Thus, the orange tree produces 
one oil in its leaves, another in its flowers, and a third in the rind of its fruit. 
In a few instances, when existing in distinct cellules, they may be obtained by 
pressure, as from the rind of the lemon and orange; but they are generally 
procured by distillation with water. (See Olea Destillata.) Some volatile oils, 
as those of bitter almonds and mustard, are formed, during the process of dis- 
tillation, out of substances of a different nature pre-existing in the plant. 
The volatile oils are usually yellowish, but often brown, red, green, or blue, 
and occasionally colourless. There is reason, however, to believe that, in all 
instances, the colour depends on foreign matter dissolved in the oils. Septimus 
Piesse has succeeded, by the fractional distillation of certain volatile oils, in part I. 
Oka Volaiilia. 
585 
separating a blue liquid, which, by repeated rectification, he has obtained quito 
pure. In this state, it has the sp. gr. 0'910, and a fixed boiling point of 576° F., 
and yields a dense blue vapour, having peculiar optical properties. He has 
named this principle azulene, and believes that upon it depends the blueness 
of volatile oils wherever existing. The yellowness of the oils he ascribes to the 
resin resulting from their oxidation, the green and brown colours to a mixture 
of azulene and resin in various proportions. The formula of azulene is C16H130. 
(Ghent. News, Nov. 21, 1863, p. 245.) 
The volatile oils have a strong odour, resembling that of the plants from 
which they were procured, though generally less agreeable. Their taste is hot 
and pungent, and, when they are diluted,is often gratefully aromatic. The greater 
number are lighter than water; some are heavier; and their sp.gr. varies from 
0‘847 to 1T7. They partially rise in vapour at ordinary temperatures, diffusing 
their peculiar odour, and are completely volatilized by heat. Their boiling point 
is various, generally as high as 320° F., and sometimes higher; but most of 
them rise readily with the vapour of boiling water. When distilled alone, they 
almost always undergo partial decomposition. They differ also in their point of 
congelation. A few are solid at ordinary temperatures, several become so at 
32° F., and may remain liquid considerably below that point. Heated in the 
open air, they take fire and burn with a bright flame attended with much smoke. 
Almost all those hitherto examined have the property of very decidedly de- 
viating the plane of polarization of light, some in one direction, and some in 
the other; and advantage may sometimes be taken of this property to detect 
adulterations of one of these oils with another. 
Exposed at ordinary tern per aturesl they absorb oxygen, assume a deeper 
colour, become thicker and less odorous, and are ultimately converted into resin.* 
This change takes place most rapidly under the influence of light. Before the 
alteration is complete, the remaining portion of oil may be recovered by distilla- 
tion. Some of them form well characterized acids by combination with oxygen, f 
The volatile oils are very slightly soluble in water. Agitated with this fluid 
they render it milky; but separate upon standing, leaving the water impreg- 
nated with their odour and taste. This impregnation is more complete when 
water is distilled with the oils, or from the plants containing them. Trituration 
with magnesia or its carbonate renders them much more soluble, probably in 
consequence of their minute division. The intervention of sugar also greatly 
increases their solubility, and affords a convenient method of preparing them 
for internal use. Most of them are vei’y soluble in alcohol, and in a degree 
proportionate to its freedom from water. The oils which contain no oxygen 
are scarcely soluble in diluted alcohol; and, according to De Saussure, their 
solubility generally in this liquid is proportionate to the quantity of oxygen 
which they contain. They are readily dissolved by ether. 
The volatile oils dissolve sulphur and phosphorus with the aid of heat, and 
deposit them on cooling. By long boiling with sulphur, they form brown, unc- 
* Some interesting observations have been made by M. Auguste Houzeau, in reference 
to the chemical influence of tlie atmosphere, which go to prove that, in reference at least 
to the air at Bouen, in France, which was the site of these observations, this influence 
varies in degree with the season, being greatest in the advanced spring or early sum- 
mer (May and June), diminishing sensibly in the summer and greatly in autumn, and 
increasing at the close of winter and the beginning of spring. If this he generally true, 
the change in oils, as well as in all other bodies oxidizable in the air, should he greatest 
at that period of the year when the atmospheric influence is greatest, namely, in May 
and June, and least when this is least, in the winter months. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 
4e ser., ii. pp. 212-218.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
f Recovery of volatile oils from their resinified condition. A process for this purpose, em- 
ployed by M. Curieux, is to treat the old resinified oil with a solution of borax and animal 
charcoal; these being first mixed to form a magma, the oil then added, and the mixture 
shaken for fifteen minutes. The borax unites with the resinous matter ; and the magma, 
adhering to the sides of the vessel, leaves the oil clear and possessed of its original pro- 
perties. (Am. Jou"n. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 398 ; from Journ. de Chim. Med.)—Note to 
the twelfth edition 586 
Olea Volatilia. 
PART I, 
tuous, fetid substances, formerly called balsams of sulphur. They absorb chlo- 
rine, which converts them into resin, and then combines with the resin. Iodine 
produces a similar effect. They are decomposed by the strong mineral acids, 
and unite with several of those from the vegetable kingdom. When treated with 
a caustic alkali, they are converted into resin, which unites with the alkali to 
form a kind of soap. Several of the metallic oxides, and various salts which 
easily part with oxygen, convert them into resin. The volatile oils dissolve 
many of the proximate principles of plants and animals, such as the fixed oils 
and fats, resins, camphor, and several of the organic alkalies. Exposed to air 
and light, they acquire a decolorizing property, analogous to that of chlorine, 
which is ascribed by Faraday to their combination with the ozonized oxygen of 
the atmosphere. For some interesting observations on this property of the vola- 
tile oils, the reader is referred to papers by Dr. J. L. Plummer, of Richmond, 
Indiana, in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxv. 398 and 508).* 
The volatile, like the fixed oils, are mixtures of two or more principles, which 
differ in their point of volatilization or congelation, or jn their composition, it 
is, however, impossible to separate them by distillation alone so as to obtain the 
several principles entirely pure. When, as often happens, the constituents con- 
geal at different temperatures, they may be separated by compressing the frozen 
oil between folds of bibulous paper. The solid matter remains within the folds ; 
and the fluid is absorbed by the paper, from which it may be separated by dis- 
tillation with water. The name of stearoptene has been proposed for the former, 
that of eleoptene for the latter. The solid crystalline substances deposited by 
volatile oils upon standing are also called stearoptenes. Some of them are deno- 
minated camphors, from their resemblance to true camphor. Some are isomeric 
with the oils in which they are formed, others are oxides. Certain oils, under 
the influence of water, deposit crystalline hydrates of the respective oils. 
In reference to their ultimate constituents, the volatile oils may be divided 
into three sets: 1. the non-oxygenated, consisting exclusively of carbon and hy- 
drogen, as the oils of turpentine and copaiba; 2. the oxygenated oils, contain- 
ing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, as oil of cinnamon and most of the aromatic 
oils; and 3. the sulphuretted, containing sulphur, as the oils of horseradish and 
mustard. In relation to the first division, or non-oxygenated oils, it is a remark- 
able fact, that, however differing in sensible properties, almost all of them con- 
tain carbon and hydrogen in the same proportion; their formulas being the 
same, or differing only in the whole number of equivalents; as C5H4,C10li8, and 
of which the last two are simple multiples of the first. 
The volatile oils are often sophisticated. Among the most common adultera- 
tions are fixed oils, resinous substances, and alcohol. The presence of the fixed 
oils may be known by the permanent greasy stain which they leave on paper, 
while that occasioned by a pure volatile oil disappears entirely when exposed 
to heat. They may also in general be detected by their comparative insolubility 
in alcohol. Both the fixed oils and resins are left behind when the adulterated 
oil is distilled with water. If alcohol is present, the oil becomes milky 'when 
agitated with water, and, after the separation of the liquids, the water occupies 
more space and the oil less than before. The following method of detecting 
alcohol was proposed by M. Beral. Put twelve drops of the suspected oil in a 
perfectly dry watch-glass, and add a piece of potassium about as large as the 
head of a pin. If the potassium remains for twelve or fifteen minutes in the 
midst of the liquid, there is either no alcohol present, or less than 4 per cent. 
If it disappears in five minutes, the oil contains more than 4 per cent, of alco- 
hol; if in less than a minute, 25 per cent, or more. M. Borsarelli employs 
chloride of calcium for the same purpose. This he introduces in small pieces, 
* See also the same journal (xxviii. 197) for some curious facts in relation to a repul- 
sive influence exerted upon, and changes of colour produced in a mixture of chromate of 
potassa and sulphuric acid, by different volatile oils, at sensible and sometimes consider- 
able distances from the mixture, effected probably through the vapour of the oils. Note 
to the eleventh edition.) PART I. 
Olea Volatilia. 
587 
well dried and perfectly free from powder, into a small cylindrical tubp, closed 
at one end, and about two-thirds filled with the oil to be examined, and heats 
the tube to 212°, occasionally shaking it. If there is a considerable proportion 
of alcohol, the chloride is entirely dissolved, forming a solution which sinks to 
the bottom of the tube; if only a very small quantity, the pieces lose their form, 
and collect at the bottom in a white adhering mass ; if none at all, they remain 
unchanged. (Journ. de Pharm.,xxvi. 429.) J. J. Bernoulli proposes as a test 
dry acetate of potassa, which remains unaffected in a pure oil, but is dissolved 
if alcohol is present, and forms a distinct liquid. (See Am. Joum. of Pliarm., 
xxv. 82.) Sometimes volatile oils of little value are mixed with the more costly. 
The taste and smell afford in this case the best means of detecting the fraud. 
The specific gravity of the oils may also serve as a test of purity. When two 
oils, of which one is lighter and the other heavier than water, are mixed, they 
are separated by long agitation with this fluid, and will take a place correspond- 
ing to their respective specific gravities; but it sometimes happens that an un- 
adulterated oil may thus be separated into two portions. The difference of ap- 
parent effect produced by iodine with the several oils has been proposed as a 
test; and bromine has been employed for the same purpose by Mr. John M. 
Maisch. Mr. Maisch uses both these tests preferably in the state of ethereal 
solution; which, as it is liable to spontaneous change by keeping, should be 
prepared when wanted for use.* According to Liebig, when iodine is made 
to act on a volatile oil, a portion of it combines with the hydrogen of the oil 
forming hvdriodic acid, while another portion takes the place of the lost hydro- 
gen. Oil of turpentine may be detected by remaining in part undissolved, when 
the suspected oil is treated with three or four times its volume of alcohol of the 
sp.gr. 0’84; or, according to M. Mero, by causing the suspected oil, when agi- 
tated with an equal measure of poppy oil, to remain transparent, instead of be- 
coming milky, as it would do if pure. The latter test will not apply to the oil 
of rosemary. («Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., vii. 303.) Gr. S. Heppe suggests a very 
delicate test of oil of turpentine and most other non-oxygenated oils, when used 
to adulterate one of the oils containing oxygen. A piece of nitroprusside of 
copper, of the size of a pin’s head, is put into a little of the suspected oil in a 
test-tube, and heated until the liquid begins to boil. The boiling must be con- 
tinued only a few seconds. If the oil be pure and oxygenated, the nitroprusside 
of copper will become black, brown, or gray; if oil of turpentine or other non- 
oxygenated oil be present, the deposit will be green or bluish-green, and the 
supernatant liquid colourless or yellowish. ( Chem. Gaz., Ap. 15, 1857, p. 155.)f 
The different relation of the volatile oils to polarized light may, to a certain 
extent, be made available for the detection of adulterations, especially where 
the action of the adulterating oil is in an opposite direction to that adulterated. 
Thus the oils of juniper, lavender, rosemary, rotate the plane of polarization to 
the left, while American oil of turpentine rotates to the right; and if this should 
be added to one of the other oils, it might in some degree neutralize their action, 
and thus offer one means for its detection. Unfortunately, the French oil of 
turpentine, from the juice of the Pinus maritima, acts strongly in the opposite 
direction. But the very strength of its left rotatory power may lead to its de- 
tection by the abnormal increase of this power which it might impart to the 
oils in question. An instrument called the polariscope is necessary in these 
investigations; and the reader is referred, for the description of such an in- 
strument, with a table of the direction and degree of this rotating power in 
several of the oils most employed, to a paper, by Mr. H. Sugden Evans, in the 
Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions (Oct. 1865, p. 220). 
Volatile oils may be preserved without change in small well-stopped bottles, 
entirely filled with the oil, and secluded from the light. W. 
* Mr. Maisch’s paper on the application of these tests to the several volatile oils is con- 
tained in the Proceedings of the American Pharm. Association, A. D. 1859, p. 842. 
f For an elaborate paper on the detection of adulterations in volatile oils, by Mr. John 
M. Maisch, see Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1858, p. 344. 588 
Oleum Amygdalae Amarae. 
PART L 
OLEUM AMYGDALAE AMARiE. U.S. 
Oil of Bitter Almond. 
The oil obtained by distilling with water the kernels of the fruit, of Amyg- 
dalus communis, variety amara. U. S. 
When bitter almonds are expressed, they yield a bland fixed oil; and the 
residuary cake, reduced to powder by grinding, and submitted to distillation 
with water, gives over a volatile oleaginous product, commonly called oil of 
bitter almonds. This does not pre-exist in the almond, but is produced by the 
reaction of water upon the amygdalin contained in it, through the intervention 
of another constituent denominated emulsin. (See Amygdala Amara.) It is 
obtained also by the distillation of the leaves of the cherry-laurel, and of various 
products of the genera Amvgdalus, Cerasus, Prunus, and others. (See note, 
page 117.) Mr. Whipple obtained, upon an average, from the ground bitter 
almond cake, 1-35 per cent, of the oil. (Pharm. Journ., x. 297.) Pcttenkoffer 
has ascertained that the product is greater, if the cake be macerated in water 
for forty-eight hours before being submitted to distillation. {Journ. de Pharm., 
Mai, 1892, p. 432.) 
Oil of bitter almonds has a yellowish colour, a bitter, acrid, burning taste, 
and the odour of the kernels in a high degree. It is heavier than water, soluble 
in alcohol and ether, slightly soluble in water, and deposits, upon standing, a 
white crystalline substance consisting chiefly of benzoic acid. Besides a peculiar 
volatile oil, it contains also hydrocyanic acid, with a small proportion of ben- 
zoic acid, and of a concrete principle called benzoine. It may be obtained pure 
by agitating it strongly with hydrate of lime and a solution of protochloride of 
iron, submitting the mixture to distillation, and drying the oil which comes over 
by digestion with chloride of calcium. Mr. George Whipple states that, if crude 
oil be redistilled into a solution of nitrate of silver, and again distilled from a 
fresh solution of the same salt, it is obtained entirely free from hydrocyanic acid, 
which reacts with the silver, and remains behind as cyanuret of silver. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 348.) Thus purified it is colourless, but still retains 
its peculiar odour, with a burning, aromatic taste; and is destitute of the poi- 
sonous properties of the oil in its original state, dependent on hydrocyanic acid. 
The odour of the oil of bitter almonds has been erroneously ascribed to that 
acid which, on examination, will be found to smell differently and more feebly. 
Like most other volatile oils, this may produce deleterious effects if taken very 
largely. Hippuric acid is found in the urine of animals to which it has been 
given freely. The sp.gr. of the crude oil varies from 1-052 to 1 082, and is 
said to be greater when the oil is distilled from salt water than in the ordinary 
mode. That of the purified oil is 1'043, and its boiling point 356°. It probably 
consists of a compound radical called benzyl (CuHr)02) and one eq. of hydro- 
gen, and is therefore a hydruret of benzyl. This radical is capable of uniting 
with other bodies, and forming a series of compounds. The benzoic acid which 
the oil of bitter almonds deposits on standing does not pre-exist in it, but re- 
sults from the absorption of oxygen. The concrete substance above referred to 
by the name of benzoine is isomeric with the oil, crystallizable in colourless 
shining prisms, without smell or taste, fusible at 248°, and volatilizable un- 
changed at a higher temperature. It is formed abundantly in the original im- 
pure oil byihe reaction of alkalies; but cannot be produced in it when deprived 
of hvdrocyaifc acid.* Schonbein has satisfied himself that oil of bitter almonds 
* Nitrobemole^nitrobenzme, or Artificial Oil of Bitter Almonds. This substance was dis- 
covered by Mitscherlich, who obtained it by the reaction of nitric acid on benzole, a 
egrirtihydrogen originally nrocured by distilling benzoic acid with lime. (See Part III.) 
"'It is characterized by having an odour closely resembling that of the oil of bitter almonds, 
for which it has recently been substituted to a considerable extent in perfumery, in con- 
sequence of the discovery of benzole among the products of the distillation of coal tar, 
and the facility thus offered for preparing nitrobenzole cheaply. In its preparation a PART i. 
Oleum Amygdalx Amarx. 
589 
has, like electricity and phosphorus, an ozonizing effect on oxygen. (Cbem 
Central Blatt, Dec. 15, 1858, p. 905.) 
Zeller mentions, as characteristics of the officinal oil by which its genuineness 
and purity may be known, its peculiar odour and high specific gravity; its ready 
solubility in sulphuric acid, with the production of a reddish-brown colour, but 
without visible decomposition; the slow action of nitric acid; the slow and par- 
tial solution of iodine without further reaction; the want of action of chromate 
of potassa upon it; and the production of crystals when it is dissolved in an 
alcoholic solution of potassa. (See Pliarm. Journ., ix. 575.) Mr. Redwood 
states that a very small proportion of alcohol may be detected in the oil, by 
the effervescence, with disengagement of nitrous vapours, which ensues when 
the oil, thus contaminated, is mixed with an equal volume of nitric acid, of the 
sp. gr. 1 -5. With pure oil no other effect is obvious than a slight change of colour. 
(Ibid., xi. 486.) If sulphuric acid produces with the oil a bright-red, instead ol 
a brownish-red colour, it indicates that the oil has probably been distilled with 
salt water, in which case it is apt, according to Mr. Ferris, to deposit a blood- 
red matter, occasionally complained of by druggists. (Ibid., p. 565.) 
Mr. Wm. A. Tilden has found that the introduction of a little fused chloride 
of calcium into purified oil of bitter almonds contributes to its preservation, 
large glass worm is used, bifurcated at its upper end, so as to form two funnel-shaped 
tubes. Into one of these concentrated nitric acid is poured, and into the other benzole, 
and the two, meeting at the point of junction of the tubes, form the compound in ques- 
tion, which is cooled as it passes through the worm, and is afterwards litted for use by 
washing it with water, or dilute solution of carbonate of soda. Much of it is consumed, 
in London, for scenting soap, in confectionery, and for culinary purposes, to which it 
is even better adapted than the proper oil of bitter almonds, because free from hydro- 
cyanic acid. (Pharm. Journ., xi. 421.) Van den Corput has found nitrobenzine a perfect 
cure for the itch. One or two frictions well made are sufficient to kill both the insect 
and its eggs. He mixes the nitrobenzine with twice its weight of glycerin, and applies 
it by means of a woollen rag impregnated with the mixture, having previously cleansed 
the body by vigorous friction with soft soap, followed by a bath. [Ann. de Therap., 
1865, p. 156.) 
In the twelfth edition of the U. S. Dispensatory, it is said that nitrobenzine is not des- 
titute of activity, and should not, therefore, to incautiously used. Abundant evidence 
has since been obtained, proving it to possess highly poisonous properties. Not only 
has it been proved to be capable of destroying life in the lower animals, but it has also, 
in several instances, proved fatal in man ; acting as a powerful narcotic poison, whether 
taken into the stomach, or inhaled in the state of vapour. In one case death took place 
from the swallowing, as was supposed, of about 15 drops of the poison ; in a second, from 
an indefinite quantity taken into the stomach ; in a third, from the breathing for several 
hours of the vapour of some nitrobenzole which had been spilled upon the clothes. In 
ail the cases there was loss of consciousness, beginning with sensations as of intoxication, 
and increasing to profound coma, in which the patient died without vomiting, convulsion, 
or struggle of any kind ; the whole duration of the case being about nine hours, four be- 
fore the coming on of coma, and five from that point till death. After death there were 
appearances of general venous congestion, both internally and externally ; the brain and 
its membranes were congested, with much bloody serosity in the ventricles ; the cavities 
of the heart were full of blood; and nitrobenzole as well as anilin, into which it ap- 
peared to have been converted, were detected in the brain and stomach. Several in- 
stances are recorded in which serious consequences have followed the inhalation of the 
vapour escaping from soap scented with nitrobenzole. (Dr. Alfred S. Taylor, Guy’s 
Hospital Reports, 3d ser., x. 192, A. D. 1864.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
Mr. J. M. Maisch has known nitrobenzole to be used for the adulteration of the oil of 
bitter almonds, and proposes the following mode of detecting it. Dissolve half a drachm 
of the suspected oil in two or three drachms of alcohol, add fifteen grains of pure fused 
caustic potassa, heat for a few minutes so as to dissolve the potassa and reduce the liquid 
to one-third, and then set aside to cool. If the oil be pure it will remain liquid, while, 
if nitrobenzole be present, there will, after cooling, be a crystalline deposit proportionate 
to the amount of adulteration. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1857, p. 544.) It. Wagner 
proposes the sp. gr. of the two oils as a test; that of the oil of bitter almonds being from 
104 to 1-044, while that of nitrobenzole is 1-18 to 1-201; and a mixture will have a 
higher sp. gr. than the pure oil. This would lead to the suspicion of the presence of 
nitrobenzole, which may then be separated by agitation with bisulphite of soda. The 
almond oil will dissolve, while the nitrobenzole will float on the surface. (Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chim., Mai, 1868, p. 399.)—Note to the tenth, twelfth, and thirteenth editions 590 
Oleum Amygdalae Amarae.—Oleum Amygdalae Dulcis. part r. 
probably by the absorption of the last traces of water contained in it. Of two 
specimens of the oil, which had been set aside for two years, one without ad- 
dition, the other containing a fragment of the fused chloride, the former was 
found filled with crystals of benzoic acid, the latter was perfectly fre.e from 
crystalline deposit and quite fluid. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., viii. 
325, Dec. 1866.) 
J\[edical Properties and Uses. The unpurified volatile oil of bitter almonds, 
which is the product directed by the Pharmacopoeia, operates upon the system 
in a manner closely analogous to that of hydrocyanic acid. A single drop is 
sufficient to destroy a bird, and four drops have caused the death of a dog of 
middle size. The case of a man is recorded, who died in ten minutes after taking 
two drachms of the oil. It might probably be substituted with advantage for 
medicinal hydrocyanic acid ; as the acid contained in the oil is much less liable 
to decomposition, remaining for several years unaltered, if the oil is preserved 
in well-stopped bottles. According to Schrader, 100 parts of the oil contain 
sufficient acid for the production of 22-5 parts of Prussian blue; but the pro- 
portion is not constant, varying, according to Mr. Groves, from 8 to 12 5 per 
cent. From one-fourth of a drop to a drop may be given for a dose, to be cau- 
tiously increased till some effect upon the system is observed. It may be ad- 
ministered in emulsion with gum arabic, loaf sugar, and water. It has been 
employed externally, dissolved in water in the proportion of one drop to a fluid- 
ounce, in prurigo senilis and other cases of troublesome itching. To facilitate 
the solution in water, the oil may be previously dissolved in spirit. Oil of bitter 
almonds is said to conceal the taste of cod-liver oil and of castor oil. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Amygdalae Amarae, U. S. TV. 
OLEUM AMYGDALAE DULCIS. U.S. 
Oil of Sweet Almond. 
The fixed oil obtained from the kernels of the fruit of Amygdalus communis, 
variety dulcis. U. S. 
Off. Syn. OLEUM AMYGDALJ3. Almond Oil. The oil expressed from 
bitter and sweet almonds. Br. 
Huile d’amandes, Fr.; Mandelol, Germ.; Olio di mandorle, Ital.; Aceytede almendras, 
Span. 
See AMYGDALA. 
This oil is obtained equally pure from sweet and bitter almonds. In its pre- 
paration, the almonds, having been deprived of a reddish-brown powder adher- 
ing to their surface, by being rubbed together in a piece of coarse linen, are 
ground in a mill resembling a coffee-mill, or bruised in a stone mortar, and then 
pressed in canvas sacks between plates of iron slightly heated. The oil, which 
is at first turbid, is clarified by rest and filtration. Sometimes the almonds are 
steeped in very hot water, deprived of their cuticle, and dried in a stove, pre- 
viously to expression. The oil is thus obtained free from colour, but in no other 
respect better, while it is more apt to become rancid on keeping. Bitter almonds, 
treated in this way, impart a smell of hydrocyanic acid to the oil. M. Boullav 
obtained 54 per cent, of oil from sweet almonds, Yogel 28 per cent, from bitter 
almonds. Munch gives 55‘4 per cent, as the yield of the former, and 52 per 
cent, as that of the latter. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iii. 400.) 
Though sometimes expressed in this country from imported almonds, the oil 
is generally brought from Europe. 
Oil of almonds is clear and colourless, or slightly tinged of a greenish-yellow, 
Is nearly inodorous, and has a bland sweetish taste. It remains liquid at tem- 
peratures considerably below the freezing point of water. Its sp. gr. is from 
0’917 to 0 92. From the statement of Braconnot, it appears to contain 76 per 
cent, of olein and 24 of margarin. 
Oil of almonds is said to be sometimes adulterated with poppy oil, or other 
drying oils of Jess value. This sophistication may be detected, as suggested by PART i. 
Oleum Amygdalse Dulcis.—Oleum Anthemidis. 
591 
M. Wimmec, by taking advantage of the property of being converted into solid 
elaidicacid by the action of nitric acid, belonging to the olein of the non-drying 
but not to that of the drying oils. By treating iron filings with nitric acid in a 
flask, nitrous acid is produced, which is to be conducted into water upon which 
the suspected oil is placed If the almond oil contain even but a small quantity 
of poppy oil, or other drying oil, this will remain in the form of drops on the 
surface, while the genuine oil will be converted entirely into crystallized eiaidin. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1862, p. 500.) 
Colza oil, another not uncommon adulteration, may be detected, according to 
M. Schneider, by the action of nitrate of silver. Dissolve the oil in twice its 
volume of ether, add about 30 drops of a concentrated alcoholic solution of the 
nitrate, shake the mixture, and allow it to stand in the dark. If there be much 
colza oil, the lower part of the liquid will become first brown and then black; 
if but little, the brown colour will not appear for about 12 hours; but always 
the discoloration will be obvious on the evaporation of the ether. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1862, p. 484.) 
It is said that, in the south of France, the sweet almond oil is sometimes 
adulterated with a cheaper oil, called the oil of apricots. According to M. J. 
Nickles, this adulteration may be detected by means of powdered hydrate of 
lime, which with the oil of apricots forms an emulsion that slowly assumes an 
unctuous consistence, while it has no such action on the almond oil, merely 
rendering it opaque for a time, and then gradually separating and leaving the 
oil clear. A mixture of the two oils emulsionizes with the lime, and on stand- 
ing deposits the unctuous matter referred to. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
July, 1866, p. 289.) 
Oil of almonds may be used for the same purposes with olive oil; and, when 
suspended in water by means of mucilage or the yelk of eggs and loaf sugar, 
forms a pleasant emulsion, useful in pulmonary affections attended with cough. 
From a fluidrachm to a fiuidounce may be given at a dose. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Cetacei, Br.; Unguentum Simplex, Br.; TJnguentum 
Aquae Rosae, U.S.; Unguentum Hydrargyri Oxidi Rubri, Br.: Unguentum 
Plumbi Subacetatis Compositum, Br. W. 
OLEUM ANTHEMIDIS. Br. 
Oil of Chamomile. 
The oil distilled in Britain from chamomile flowers. Br. 
For an account of the plant yielding this oil, see ANTHEMIS, page 12?. 
This oil has been introduced into the Materia Medica list of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, under the name of English Oil of Chamomile, and with the 
direction that it shall be distilled in England. It is seldom prepared or used in 
this country. Baumb obtained thirteen drachms of the oil from eighty-two 
pounds of the flowers; according to Mr. Brande, the average product of 100 
pounds is two pounds twelve ounces. It has the peculiar smell of chamomile, 
with a pungent somewhat aromatic taste. When recently distilled it is of a pale 
sky-blue or greenish-blue colour, which changes to yellow or brownish on expo- 
sure. The sp. gr. of the English oil is said to be 0'9083. According to M. 
Gerhardt, oil of chamomile is a mixture of a carbohydrogen with an 
oxygenated oil (C10HGO2). (Chem. Gaz.,vi. 483.) It has sometimes been cm 
ployed in spasm of the stomach, and as an adjunct to purgative medicines. Its 
chief use, however, appears to be as an ingredient of the extract of chamomile of 
the British Pharmacopoeia, to which it is added in order to supply the place of 
the oil driven off by the heat used in its preparation. This oil must not be con- 
founded with the product of Matricaria Chamomilla, employed on the continent 
of Europe under the name of oil of chamomile. (See Matricaria.) The dose is 
from five to fifteen drops. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Anthemidis, Br. W. 592 
Oleum Bergamii.—Oleum Bubulum. 
PART I. 
OLEUM BERGAMII. U.S. 
The volatile oil obtained from the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limetta (De 
Candolle). U. S. 
Huile de bergamotte, Fr.; Bergamottol, Germ.; Olio di bergamotta, Ital. 
Citrus. See AURANTII CORTEX. 
Citrus Limetta. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 539. The bergamot tree has been 
generally ranked among the lemons; but is now considered as a variety of the 
Citrus Limetta of Risso, and is so placed by De Candolle. It has oblong-ovate 
dentate, acute, or obtuse leaves, somewhat paler on the under than the upper 
surface, and with footstalks more or less winged or margined. The flowers are 
white, and usually small; the fruit pyriform or roundish, terminated by an 
obtuse point, with concave receptacles of oil in the rind. 
The pulp of the fruit is sourish, somewhat aromatic, and not disagreeable 
The rind is shining, and of a pale-yellow colour, and abounds in a very grateful 
volatile oil. This may be obtained by expression or distillation. In the former 
case, it preserves the agreeable flavour of the rind, but is somewhat turbid; in 
the latter, it is limpid but less sweet. The mode of procuring it by expression 
is exactly that used for oil of lemons. (See Oleum Limonis.) It is brought 
from Italy, the south of France, and Portugal. 
The oil of bergamot, often called essence of bergamot, has a sweet, very 
agreeable odour, a bitter aromatic pungent taste, and a pale greenish-yellow 
colour. Its sp. gr. varies from 0'870 to 0'888 (Lewis, Zeller); and its composi- 
tion is essentially the same as that of oil of lemons. It is distinguished from 
the lemon and orange oils by readily dissolving in liquor potass se, and forming 
writh it a clear solution. (Zeller.) Though possessed of the excitant properties 
of the volatile oils in general, it is employed chiefly, if not exclusively, as a 
perfume. W. 
Oil of Bergamot. 
OLEUM BUBULUM. U.S. 
Neats-foot Oil. 
The oil prepared from the bones of Bos domesticus. U. S. 
Huile do pied de boeuf, Fr.; Ochsenfussefctt, Germ. 
Neats-foot oil is obtained by boiling in water for a long time the feet of the 
ox, previously deprived of their hoofs. The fat and oil which rise to the sur- 
face are removed, and introduced into afresh portion of water heated nearly to 
the boiling point. The impurities having subsided, the oil is drawn off, and, if 
required to be very pure, is again introduced into water, which is kept for 
twenty-four hours sufficiently warm to enable the fat which is mixed with the 
oil to separate from it. The liquid being then allowed to cool, the fat concretes, 
and the oil is removed and strained, or liltered through layers of small frag 
ments of charcoal free from powder. 
The oil is yellowish, and, when properly prepared, inodorous and of a bland 
taste. It thickens or congeals with great difficulty, and is, therefore, very useful 
for greasing machinery in order to prevent friction. 
It was introduced into the officinal catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as 
an ingredient of the ointment of nitrate of mercury. It has recently been used 
as a substitute for cod-liver oil in scrofulous diseases, and, according to Dr. C. 
R. Hall, of England, with happy effects, especially in cases in which the latter 
does not agree with the stomach. It is apt to be laxative, and in certain cases 
proves useful in this way. It is given in the same dose as cod-liver oil. (See 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., xxiv. 498.) 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Hydrargyri Nitratis, U. S. W. PART I. 
Oleu. Yi Cajuputi. 
593 
OLEUM CAJUPUTI. U.S.,Br. 
Oil of Cajeput. 
The volatile oil obtained from the leaves of Melaleuca Cajuputi. U.S. The 
>il distilled from the leaves of Melaleuca minor. Br. 
Huile de cajeput, Fr.; Cajeputol, Germ.; Olio di cajeput, Hal.; Kayuputieh, Malay. 
Melaleuca. Sex.Syst. I’olyadelphia Icosandria.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx (ive-parted, semi-superior. Corolla five-petaled. Stamens 
about forty-five, very long, conjoined in five bodies. Style single. Capsule three- 
celled. Seeds numerous. Roxburgh. 
It was long supposed that the oil of cajeput was derived from Melaleuca 
leucadendron; but from specimens of the plant affording it, sent from the 
Moluccas, and cultivated in the botanical garden of Calcutta, it appears to be a 
distinct species, which has received the name of M. Cajuputi. It corresponds 
with the arbor alba minor of Rumphius, and is a smaller plant than M. leuca- 
dendron. It is possible, however, that the oil may be obtained from different 
species of Melaleuca; as M. Stickel, of Jena, succeeded in procuring from the 
leaves of M. hypericifolia, cultivated in the botanical garden of that place, a 
specimen of oil not distinguishable from the cajeput oil of commerce, except by 
a paler green colour. {Annul, der Pharm., xix. 224.) Two other species of 
Melaleuca, M viridifolia and M. latifolia, large trees growing abundantly in 
the island of New Caledonia, are said to yield a volatile oil very analogous to 
the oil of cajeput. The leaves of different species of Melaleuca have been used 
advantageously, in the form of bath, in chronic rheumatism. {Annuaire de 
Therap., A. D. 1861, p. 67.) 
Melaleuca Cajuputi. Rumphius, Herbar. Amboinense, tom. ii. tab. 17; Rox- 
burgh, Trans. Lond. Med. Bot. Soc., A. D. 1829; Journ. of the Phil. Col. of 
Pharm., vol. i. p. 193. — Melaleuca minor. De Candolle. This is a small tree, 
with an erect bat crooked stem, and scattered branches, the slender twigs of 
which droop like those of the weeping willow. The bark is of a whitish-ash co- 
lour, very thick, soft, spongy, and lamellated, throwing off its exterior layer from 
time to time in flakes. The leaves have short footstalks; are alternate, lanceo- 
late, when young sericeous, when full grown smooth, deep-green, three and five- 
nerved, slightly falcate, entire, from three to five inches long, from one-half to 
three-quarters of an inch broad; and when bruised exhale a strong aromatic 
odour. The flowers are small, white, inodorous, sessile, and disposed in terminal 
and axillary downy spikes, with solitary, lanceolate, three-flowered bractes. The 
filaments are three or four times longer than the petals, and both are inserted in 
the rim of the calyx. 
This species of Melaleuca is a native of the Moluccas, and other neighbouring 
islands. The oil is obtained from the leaves by distillation. It is prepared chiefly 
in Amboyna and Bouro, and is exported from the East Indies in glass bottles. 
The small proportion yielded by the leaves, and the extensive use made of it in 
India, render it costly. 
Properties. Cajeput oil is very fluid, transparent, of a fine green colour, a 
lively and penetrating odour analogous to that of camphor and cardamom, and 
a warm pungent taste. It is very volatile and inflammable, burning without any 
residue. The sp. gr. varies from 0-914 to 0-9274. Its composition, according to 
Blanchet and Sell, is represented by the formula C^H,,,-}-2IIO; and its boiling 
point is 347° F. Schmidt proposes the name of cajeputene for the carbohy- 
drogen of which it is a bihydrate. {Trans. Royal Soc. Edin., xii. 360.) 
The oil is wholly soluble in alcohol. When it is distilled, a light colourless liquid 
first comes over, and afterwards a green and denser one. The green colour has 
been ascribed to a salt of copper, derived from the vessels in which the distilla- 
tion is performed; and Guibourt obtained two grains and a half of oxide of cop- 
per from a pound of the commercial oil. But neither Brande nor Goertner could 
detect copper in specimens examined by them; and M. Lesson, who witnessed 594 
Oleum Cajupun.— Oleum. Camphorx. 
PART I. 
the process for preparing the oil at Bouro, attributes its colour to chlorophyll, 
or some analogous principle, and states that it is rendered colourless by rectifi- 
cation. Gfuibourt, moreover, obtained a green oil by distilling the leaves of a 
Melaleuca cultivated at Paris. A fair inference is that the oil of cajeputis natu- 
rally green; but that, as found in commerce, it sometimes contains copper, 
either accidentally present, or added with a view of imitating or maintaining the 
fine colour of the oil. The proportion of copper, however, is not so great as to 
forbid the internal use of the oil; and the metal may be separated by distillation 
with water, or agitation with a solution of ferrocyanide of potassium. 
The high price of cajeput oil has led to its occasional adulteration. Oil of 
rosemary, or that of turpentine, impregnated with camphor and coloured with 
the resin of milfoil, is said to be employed for the purpose. The best test, ac-i 
cording to Zeller, is iodine, which, after a moderately energetic with 
little increase of temperature, and but a slight development of orange vapours, 
occasions immediate inspissation into a loose coagulum, which soon becomes a 
dry, greenish-brown, brittle mass. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This oil is highly stimulant, producing when 
swallowed a sense of heat, with an increased fulness and frequency of pulse, and 
exciting in some instances profuse perspiration. It is much esteemed by the 
M ilays and other people of the East, who consider it a panacea. They are said 
to employ it with great success in epilepsy and palsy. (Ainslie.) The complaints 
to which it is best adapted are probably chronic rheumatism, and spasmodic 
affections of the stomach and bowels, unconnected with inflammation. It has been 
extolled as a remedy in spasmodic cholera, and has been used also as a diffusible 
stimulant in low fevers. Of late it is said to have been used in some cases of 
cholera in the collapsed state with altogether unhoped-for success; being ad- 
ministered, in such cases, in the dose of from fifteen grains to a drachm in a 
single potion. (Ann. de Therap., 1861. p. II; from the Presse Medicale Beige.) 
Diluted with an equal proportion of olive oil, it is applied externally to relieve 
gouty and rheumatic pains. Like most other highly stimulating essential oils, 
it relieves toothache, if introduced into the hollow of the carious tooth. M. 
Delvaux, who has made extensive use of this oil, has found it beneficial, inter- 
nally given, in dyspepsia with flatulence, in the early stages and milder forms 
of cholera, in verminose affections in children, in chronic laryngitis and bron- 
chitis, in chronic catarrh of the bladder, in chronic rheumatism of the joints 
with little or no swelling, and in painful chronic rheumatism of the muscles 
and fibro-muscular tissues, whether external or internal. Externally applied, 
M. Delvaux has derived great benefit from it in various cutaneous diseases, 
as pityriasis, psoriasis, and especially in that extremely obstinate affection of the 
face, acnea rosacea, which he has often succeeded in curing by the simple appli- 
cation of this oil, three times a day. (Annuairede Therap., A.D. 1862, p. 38.) 
The dose is from one to five drops, given in emulsion, in the form of pill, or 
upon a lump of sugar. 
Off Prep. Linimentum Crotonis, Br.; Spiritus Cajuputi, Br. W 
OLEUM CAMPHORS. U. S. 
Oil of Camphor. 
The volatile oil obtained from Camphora officinarum. U. S. 
As there are two camphors known in commerce, those, namely, of Camphora 
officinarum and of Dryobalanops Camphora, so there are two oils of camphor 
derived from those plants respectively. It is that of the Camphora officinarum 
which is recognised in our Pharmacopoeia, being the one which most commonly 
reaches this country, and is almost exclusively found in the shops. As the Cam- 
phora officinarum has been already described under the head of Camphora, it is 
unnecessary to say anything more of it here. (See Camphora, page 201.) In the 
same place an account has been given of the mode of procuring the oil, as prac- 
tised in the island of Formosa. PART I. 
Oleum Camphorse.—Oleum Cinnamomi. 
595 
The commercial oil of camphor, as found in our markets, is a fluid of a light 
reddish-brown colour with a yellowish tint, having a strong odour precisely lik** 
that of camphor, a bitterish camphorous taste, and the specific gravity, accord- 
ing to Prof. Procter, of 0 940. As described by M. Lallemand, the oil of the 
Camphora officinarum is very fluid, scarcely coloured, and of a strong smell of 
camphor. It acts strongly on polarized light, and is dextrogyrate. Martiusand 
Ricker give as its formula CMH160. It begins to boil at 356° F., but the tem- 
perature gradually rises to 401°, when it remains stationary. The part which 
first comes over is the proper volatile oil; that which rises at the higher tem- 
perature condenses after distillation, and is true camphor. The former, when 
daly rectified, distils at 356°, and appears to be a carbohydrogen isomeric with 
pure oil of turpentine, forming a crystallizable compound with muriatic acid. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1860, p. 289.) Commercial oil of camphor is there- 
fore a fluid carbohydrogen, holding camphor in solution. 
The Dryobalanops oil of camphor is a different product, resembling the genu- 
ine oil in odour, yet having also something peculiar in addition, which enables 
it to be readily distinguished when the two are examined together. An account 
of this oil is given at page 204, in a note treating of the Dryobalanops Cam- 
phora and its products. A volatile oil, received by M. Biot from Dr. Junghun, 
who is said to have collected it from the Dryobalanops Camphora in the island 
of Sumatra, was sent to M. Lallemand, who describes it as somewhat viscid, of 
a strong balsamic odour and reddish colour, and as separable by distillation 
into a volatile liquid and a non-volatile matter, which concretes on cooling into a 
resinous brittle mass, resembling colophony. The volatile liquid consists of two 
distinct oils, isomeric with each other and with pure oil of turpentine, but dif- 
fering in their boiling point, and in various other respects. The original oil 
yielded nothing similar to camphor. It is obviously a very different product 
from that which has been generally ascribed to the Dryobalanops, and much 
more closely resembles the turpentines than the camphorous oils. If it really 
was obtained from the Dryobalanops Camphora, this must be a very different 
tree from what it has been described to be; and the probability is, that there has 
been some mistake as to the origin of the oil described by M. Lallemand. 
The oil of camphor has properties similar to those of camphor but more stimu- 
lant, and is especially applicable to affections of the stomach and bowels, in which 
an anodyne and stimulant impression is indicated, as flatulent colic and spas- 
modic cholera. It may also be used externally, as a rubefacient and anodyne 
liniment, diluted with soap liniment, or olive oil, in local rheumatism and neu- 
ralgic pains, bruises, sprains, &c. The dose is two or three drops. W 
OLEUM CINNAMOMI. U. S.} Br. 
Oil of Cinnamon. 
The volatile oil obtained from the bark of Cinnamomum Zeylanicum. TJ. S. 
The oil distilled from Cinnamon Bark. Br. 
Huile de cannelle, Fr.; Zimmtol, Germ,.; Olio di cannella, Hal.; Aceyte de canela, Span. 
See CINNAMOMUM. 
There are two oils of cinnamon in commerce; one procured from the Ceylon 
cinnamon, which, as having the finest flavour, is the only one recognised by the 
U. S. andBr. Pharmacopoeias; the other from the Chinese cinnamon, and often 
distinguished by the name of oil of cassia, which it held in the late Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeia. There is, however, no essential difference in the two oils ; and 
that of the Chinese cinnamon, as much the cheaper and more abundant of the 
two, will probably continue to be generally employed, notwithstanding the 
official preference for the Ceylon product. 
Oil of cinnamon of Ceylon is prepared in that island from inferior kinds of 
cinnamon, of insufficient value to pay the export duty. The following account 
of the method of extraction is given by Marshall. The bark, having been coarsely 
powdered, is macerated for two days in sea-water, and then submitted to distil* 596 
Oleum Cinnamomi. 
PART I. 
lation. A light and a heavy oil come over with the water, the former of which 
separates in a few hours, and swims upon the surface, the latter falls to the bot- 
tom of the receiver, and continues to be deposited for ten or twelve days. In 
future distillations, the saturated cinnamon water is employed with sea-water 
to macerate the cinnamon. Eighty pounds of the freshly prepared bark yield 
ebout 2 5 ounces of the lighter oil, and 5'5 of the heavier. From the same quan- 
tity kept for several years in store, about half an ounce less of each oil is ob- 
tained. The two kinds are probably united in the oil of commerce. 
Recently prepared oil of cinnamon is of a light-yellow colour, becoming deeper 
by age, and ultimately red. Pereira states that the London druggists redistil 
the red oil, and thus obtain two pale-yellow oils, one lighter and the other 
heavier than water, with a loss of about 10 per cent, in the process. The oil 
has the flavour of cinnamon, and when undiluted is excessively hot and pun- 
gent. It is said sometimes to have a peppery taste, ascribable to an admixture 
of the leaves with the bark in the preparation of the oil. 
Chinese oil of cinnamon (oil of cassia) is imported from Canton and Singa- 
pore. Like the former it is pale-yellow, becoming red with age. Its flavour is 
similar to that of the Ceylon oil, though inferior; and it commands a much less 
pi’ice. Zeller states that it is heavier, less liquid, and sooner rendered turbid by 
cold, and that in the Ceylon oil iodine dissolves rapidly, with a considerable 
increase of heat, and the production of a tough residue, like extract, while in 
oil of cassia the reaction is slow, quiet, and with little heat, and the residue is 
soft or liquid. The following remarks apply to both. 
Oil of cinnamon has the sp. gr. of about 1 035. Alcohol completely dissolves 
it; and, as it does not rise in any considerable quantity at the boiling tempera- 
ture of that liquid, it may be obtained by forming a tincture of cinnamon and 
distilling off the menstruum. When exposed to the air, it absorbs oxygen, and is 
slowly converted into a peculiar acid denominated cinnamic acid, two distinct 
resins, and water. Cinnamic acid is colourless, crystalline, sourish,volatilizable, 
slightly soluble in water, readily dissolved by alcohol, and convertible by nitric 
acid with heat into benzoic acid. It is sometimes seen in crystals in bottles of 
the oil which have been long kept. Like benzoic acid, it is said when swallowed 
to cause the elimination of hippuric acid by urine. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
iii. G4.) It may be obtained by distilling the balsam of Tolu. Of the two resins, 
one is soluble both in hot and cold alcohol; the other readily in the former, but 
sparingly in the latter. Oil of cinnamon is almost wholly converted by nitric 
acid, slowly added, into a crystalline mass, thought to be a compound of the oil 
and acid. From the researches of Dumas and Peligot, it appears that there ex- 
ists in the oil a compound radical, named cinnamyl (C18II702), which with one 
eq. of hydrogen forms pure oil of cinnamon, or hydrurct of cinnamyl, and with 
one of oxygen anhydrous cinnamic acid. Crystallized cinnamic acid contains, in 
addition, one eq. of water. All the constituents of the ordinary oils of cinnamon 
are supposed to be derived from the pure oil or hydruret of cinnamyl by the 
absorption of oxygen. The oil has been produced artificially by Streckcr from 
styrone, a derivative from styrax. (SceStyrax.) 
Oil of cinnamon is said to be frequently adulterated with oil of cloves, which, 
according to Ulex, cannot be detected by the smell or taste. Thus sophisticated, 
it is stated, on the same authority, to evolve a very acrid vapour when a drop 
is heated on a watch-glass, to swell up and evolve red vapours if treated with 
fuming nitric acid, to remain liquid with concentrated caustic potassa, and to 
assume an indigo-blue colour when protochloridc of iron is added to its alco- 
holic solution; none of which events happens when the oil is pure. (Archie. der 
Pharm., Jan. 1,1853.) It is said also to be frequently adulterated with alcohol 
and fixed oil, the mode of detecting which is given in page 586. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This oil has the cordial and carminative pro- 
perties of cinnamon, without its astringcncy; and is much employed as an adju- 
vant to other medicines, the taste of which it corrects or conceals, while it con- 
ciliates the stomach. As a powerful local stimulant, it is sometimes prescribed PART I. 
Oleum Limonis. 
597 
in gastrodynia, flatulent colic, and languor from gastric debility. The dose is 
one or two drops, and may be administered in the form of emulsion. Mitscher- 
lich found six drachms to kill a moderate-sized dog in five hours, and two 
drachms in forty hours. Inflammation and corrosion of the gastro-intestinal 
mucous membrane were observed after death. 
Of. Prep. Aqua Cinnamomi, U. S.; Spiritus Cinnamomi, U. S. W. 
OLEUM LIMONIS. U. S., Br. 
Oil of Lemon. 
The volatile oil obtained from the rind of the fruit of Citrus Limonum. U. S. 
The oil expressed or distilled from fresh lemon peel. Br. 
Huile de citron, Fr.; Citronenol, Germ.; Olio di limone, Ital.; Aceyte de limon, Span. 
See LIMON. 
The exterior rind of the lemon abounds in a volatile oil, which, being con- 
tained in distinct cellules, may be separated by simple expression. The rind is 
first grated from the fruit, and then submitted to pressure in a bag of fine cloth. 
The oil thus obtained is allowed to stand till it becomes clear, when it is de- 
canted, and kept in stopped bottles. By a similar process, the oil called by the 
French huile de cedrat is procured from the citron. (See Oleuvi Bergamii and 
Limon.) These oils may also be obtained by distillation; but thus procured, 
though clearer, and, in consequence of the absence of mucilage, less liable to 
change on keeping, they have less of the peculiar flavour of the fruit; and the 
mode by expression is generally preferred. Prof Procter states that he learned, 
when in Naples, that a third method of separating the oil, in Calabria and 
Sicily, was to put the grated rind into hot water, and skim off the oil as it rises 
to the surface. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1868, p. 27.) The oils are brought 
originally from Italy, Portugal, or the south of France. 
Properties. Oil of lemons is. a very volatile liquid, having the odour of the 
fruit, and a warm, pungent, aromatic taste. As commonly procured it is yel- 
low, and has the sp. gr. 0-8517 ; but by distillation it is rendered colourless, and, 
if three-fifths only are distilled, its sp.gr. is reduced to 0 847, at 71° F. It is 
soluble in all proportions in anhydrous alcohol. In its ordinary state, it con- 
tains oxygen, but when purified by distillation in vacuo, at a low temperature, 
it consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, in the same proportion as in 
pure oil of turpentine, or camphene; its formula being In this state it is 
capable of absorbing almost half its weight of muriatic acid gas, by which it is 
converted into a crystalline substance, and a yellow oily fuming liquid. The 
crystalline substance is analogous to artificial camphor, produced by the action 
of muriatic acid upon oil of turpentine, and is a compound of the oil and acid. 
The oil of lemons is said to consist of two isomeric oils. 
It is often adulterated by the fixed oils and by alcohol. But in this country 
the most frequent sophistication is with oil of turpentine, which is difficult of 
detection from its similar composition and specific gravity. Perhaps the best 
test of the presence of this oil is the terebinthinate smell, produced when the 
adulterated oil is evaporated from heated paper. Oil of lemons, procured by 
expression, is apt to let fall a deposit, and to undergo chemical change. Mr. 
J. S. Cobb has found no method so effectual to obviate this result, and at the 
same time to retain unimpaired the flavour of the oil, as to shake it with a little 
boiling water, and allow the mixture to stand. A mucilaginous matter separates, 
and floats on the surface of the water, from which the purified oil may be de- 
canted. (Annals of Pharm., ii. 86.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oil of lemons has the stimulant properties of 
the aromatics ; but is chiefly used to impart flavour to other medicines. It has 
been commended as an application to the eye in certain cases of ophthalmia. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Potassii Iodidi cum Sapone, Br.; Spiritus Ammo- 
Diae Aromaticus; Syrupus Acidi Citrici, U. &. W. 598 
Oleum Lini.—Oleum Morrhuse. 
PART I. 
OLEUM LINE U.S.,Br. 
Flaxseed Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seed of Linum usitatissimum. U. S. The oil ex- 
pressed without heat from linseed. Br. 
Linseed oil; Huile de lin, Fr.; Leinol, Germ,.-, Olio di lino, Ital.; Aceyte dolinaza, Span. 
See LINUM. 
This oil is obtained by expression from the seeds of Linum usitatissimum, 
or common flax, which, according to M. Berjot, contain 34 per cent. (Journ. 
de Pharm., Avril, 1863, p. 271.) In its preparation on a large scale, the seeds 
are usually roasted before being pressed, in order to destroy the gummy matter 
contained in their coating. The oil is thus obtained more free from mucilage, 
but more highly coloured and acrid than when procured by cold expression. For 
medical use, therefore, it should be prepared without heat; and, as it is apt to 
become rancid quickly on exposure, should be used as soon after expression as 
possible. It may, however, be rendered sweet again by agitation with warm 
water, rest, and decantation. It is said to be obtained purer and in larger pro- 
portion by treating the crushed seeds with bisulphide of carbon, than by ex- 
pression. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 265.) Flaxseed oil has ayellowish- 
brown colour, a disagreeable odour, and a nauseous somewhat acrid taste; is 
of the sp.gr. 0 932; boils at 600° F.; does not congeal at zero; dissolves in 
forty parts of cold and five of boiling alcohol, and in one part and a half of 
ether; and has the property of drying, or becoming solid on exposure to the 
air. The drying property resides in its fluid constituent, which, to distinguish 
it from the olein of the non-drying oils, is named linolein. Its acrimony is 
owing to the presence of a small proportion of an acrid oleoresin. From its 
drying property, it is useful in painting, and the formation of printers’ ink.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. It is laxative in the dose of a fluidounce ; but 
on account of its disagreeable taste is seldom given internally. It has, however, 
been highly recommended as a cure for piles, in the dose of two ounces of the 
fresh oil morning and evening. It is sometimes added to purgative enemata; 
but its most common application is externally to burns, usually in combination 
with lime-water.f 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Resinae Compositum, U. S.; Linimentum Calcis, U. S. 
W. 
OLEUM MORRHUiE. U.S.,Br. 
A fixed oil obtained from the liver of Gadus Morrhua and of other species of 
Gadus. U. S. The oil extracted from the fresh liver of the cod by the applica- 
tion of a heat not exceeding 180°. Br. 
Cod-liver Oil. 
* Linoleum. This name has been given to preparations of flaxseed oil, having certain 
physical properties, which adapt it to many of the purposes for which caoutchouc is used. 
31 is made by incorporating, with a strong heat, the oil converted by the oxidation of the 
drying process into a semi-resinous substance with resinous gums and other bodies. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1866, p. 372.) 
f Oiled Paper. A substitute for waxed cloth, for the dressings of wounds and ulcers, pre- 
pared in the following manner by M. Gauthier, of Geneva, with flaxseed oil, has been 
highly recommended. To facilitate its drying, 3 litres (about 6-4 pints) of the oil are 
boiled for an hour or two with 30 grains of acetate of lead, 30 grains of litharge, 15 grains 
of yellow wax, and 15 grains of turpentine. Thus prepared, the oil is spread upon silk- 
paper by means of a brush on both surfaces. On the top of the first sheet another is then 
placed so as to overlap it at one corner. The lower surface of the second sheet thus be- 
comes impregnated with the oil, which now requires to be applied only to the upper. Any 
desired number of sheets may be thus successively superimposed. They are then sepa- 
rated, and suspended in a drying apartment, attached to a cord by means of hooks of 
pins. When dry, they should lie sprinkled over with chalk to prevent adhesion, and packed 
away. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1860, p. 363.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Oleum Morrhuse. 
599 
Oleum jecoris Aselli; Huile de morue, Fr.; Stockfischleberthran, Germ. 
Gadus. Glass Pisces. Order Jugulares. Linn. Malacopterygii Subbrachi- 
ati. Family Gadidae. Cuvier. 
Gen. Ch. Recognised by the ventrals attached under the throat, and atten- 
uated to a point. 
Gadus Morrhua. Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. Gmelin, i. p. 1162; Cuvier, Pegne 
Animale, ii. 212; Bloch. Ichthyologie, pi. lxiv. — Morrhua vulgaris. Storer, 
Synops. of Fishes of N. Am., p. 216. The common cod is between two and three 
feet long, with brown or yellowish spots on the back. The body is moderately 
elongated and somewhat compressed, and covered with soft rather small scales, 
of which the head is destitute. Of the fins, which are soft, there are three on 
the back, two anal, and a distinct caudal; and the fin under the throat is nar- 
row and pointed. The jaws are furnished with pointed irregular teeth, in several 
ranks. The gills are large, with seven rays. This species of cod inhabits the 
Northern Atlantic, and is especially abundant on the banks of Newfoundland, 
where it finds food adapted to its wants. 
Besides the common cod, several other species of Gadus, frequenting the seas 
of Northern Europe and America, contribute to furnish the cod-liver oil of com- 
merce. Among these De J ongh mentions Gadus callarias or dorsch (Morrhua 
A mericana of Storer), G. molva or ling, G. carbonarius or coal fish, and G. 
pollachius or pollock, as affording the oil on the coast of Norway;* while, from 
information obtained by Professor Procter, there is reason to believe that, on 
our own coast, in addition to the pollock above mentioned, it is obtained also 
from the hake (G. merluccius) and the haddock ( G. AEglifinus). It is said that 
24,000 gallons of the oil are obtained annually on our coast between Boston 
and Eastport, in Maine, in reference to the drug market. (See Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 500.) 
Preparation, Fishermen have long been in the habit of collecting this oil, 
which is largely consumed in the arts, particularly in the preparation of leather. 
Upon the coasts of Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and New England, the boats 
which fish near the shore, being small, soon obtain a load, and running in to 
land, deliver their cargoes to persons whose business it is to cleanse and salt the 
fish. The oil is prepared either in the huts of the fishermen, or more largely at 
establishments to which the livers are conveyed in quantities. These are put into 
a boiler with water, and heated until they are broken up into a pultaceous mass, 
which is thrown upon a strainer covering the top of a cask or tub. The liquid 
portion passes, and upon standing separates into two parts, the oil rising to the 
surface of the water. The oil is then drawn off, and, having been again strained, 
is prepared for the market. Another and improved method, which has come 
into use since the extensive employment of the oil as a medicine, is to heat the 
livers in a large tin vessel by means of steam externally applied. The pultaceous 
mass resulting is drained as before mentioned; the livers themselves containing, 
besides oil, a considerable portion of watery fluid, which passes off with it in 
the form of emulsion, and separates on standing. The oil thus procured is called 
shore oil, and is the purest kind. The crews of the larger boats, which fish upon 
the banks far from land, cleanse the fish on board, and, throwing the offal into 
the sea, put the livers into barrels or other receptacles, where they undergo a 
gradual decomposition, the oil rising to the surface, as it escapes from the dis- 
integrating tissue. The oil which first rises, before putrefaction has very de- 
cidedly commenced, approaches in purity to the shore oil, but is somewhat 
darker and less sweet. This is sometimes drawn off, constituting the straits oil 
of the fishermen. The remaining mass, or the whole, if the portion which first 
rises be not separated, continues exposed for a variable length of tiuie to the 
* For an account of the mode of fishing for cod and of preparing the oil practised in 
Norway, the reader is referred to an interesting article, by Mr. Eobert Howden, in the 
Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (Jan. 1868, p. 312). A paper on the preparation of the oil 
in Denmark, by M. J. Leon Soubeiran, will be found in the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. 
(4e ser., iv. 324, A. D. 1866). 600 
Oleum Morrhuae. 
PART I. 
heat of the sun, undergoing putrefaction, until the boat, having completed hei 
cargo, returns to port. The contents of the casks are then put into boilers, 
heated with water, and treated as already described. Before being finally put 
into barrels, the oil is heated to expel all its water. Thus prepared, it is denomi- 
nated banks oil, and is of the darkest colour, and most offensive to the taste and 
smell. Much of the oil prepared by the fishermen is collected by the wholesale 
dealers, who keep it in very large reservoirs of masonry in their cellars, where it 
becomes clarified by repose, and is pumped into barrels as wanted for sale. By 
the further exposure, however, which it thus undergoes, it acquires a still more 
offensive odour; while that which has been originally introduced into barrels, 
and thus kept secluded from the air, is better preserved. The above facts in 
relation to the collection of cod-liver oil have been mainly derived from a very 
interesting paper by Professor Procter, in the Am. Journ. ofPharm. (xxiii. 97). 
To the same journal (xxvi. 1) the reader is referred for an account, by Dr. E. H. 
Robinson, of Nova Scotia, of the method in which the oil is prepared by the 
fishermen of that Province. 
The oil is sometimes procured by expression. Mr. Donovan recommends the 
following plan, which affords a very fine oil. The livers, perfectly sound and 
fresh, are to be placed in a clean iron pot over a slow fire, and stirred until they 
assume the condition of a pulp, care being taken that the mass be not heated 
beyond 192°. When this temperature is attained, the pot is to be removed from 
the fire, and its contents introduced into a canvas bag, through which water and 
oil will flow into a vessel beneath. After twenty-four hours, the oil is to be de- 
canted and filtered through paper. In this state it is pale-yellow, with little 
Odour, and a bland not disagreeable taste. 
Properties. Three varieties of cod-liver oil are known in the market, the 
while or pale-yellow, the brownish-yellow, and the dark-brown, corresponding 
to the three commercial varieties already alluded to. These differ in no essen- 
tial character, but simply from the mode of preparation; the pale being pre- 
pared from fresh sweet livers, the dark-brown from livers in a state of putre- 
faction, and the brownish-yellow from those in an intermediate state; and the 
three varieties run together by insensible shades. The colour of the pale is from 
the slightest tint of transparent yellow to a fine golden yellow, that of the light- 
brown very similar to the colour of Malaga wine, that of the dark-brown what 
its name implies, with opacity in mass, but transparency in thin layers. They 
are of the usual consistence of lamp-oil, and have a characteristic odour and 
taste, by which they may be distinguished from other oils. This smell and taste 
are familiar to most persons, being very similar to those of shoe-leather ; at 
least as prepared in this country, where the curriers make great use of cod-liver 
oil. We regard these sensible properties as the most certain test of the genuine- 
ness of the oil. They are much less distinguishable in the pale than in the 
dark-brown varieties, but we have met with no specimen which did not possess 
them in some degree. In the purest they are scarcely repulsive, in the dark- 
brown they are very much so. When a decided smell of ordinary fish-oil is per- 
ceived, the medicine may always be suspected. It is quite distinct from that 
peculiar to the cod-liver oil. The taste of all the varieties is more or less acrid, 
and in the most impure is bitterish and somewhat empyreumatic. The sp. gr. 
at 72° F., as ascertained by Prof. Procter, varied from 0 915 to 0*9195; the 
first being that of the hake oil, the second that of the haddock, while the sp. gr. 
of the purest oil from the common cod was 0*917. De Jongh found the sp. gr. 
at 63° F., of the pale 0'923, of the light-brown 0 924, of the dark-brown 0*929. 
The oil from the cod does not congeal at 14° F., though that of G carbonarius 
and that of the livers of different species of Baja, let fall at that temperature a 
solid fatty matter, supposed to be margarin. Alcohol dissolves from 2*5 to 6 per 
cent., water from 0*637 to 1*28 per cent, of different varieties; the pale yielding 
teast to these solvents. {Journ. de Pharm., Jan. 1854, p. 39.) 
From an analysis of the oil by De Jongh, it appears to consist of a peculiar 
substance named gaduin; oleic and margaric acids with glycerin; butyric and PART i. 
Oleum Morrhuse. 
601 
acetic acids; various biliary principles, as fellinic, cholic, and bilifellinic acids, 
and bilifulvin; a peculiar substance soluble in alcohol; a peculiar substance 
insoluble in water, alcohol, or ether; iodine, chlorine, and traces of bromine; 
phosphoric and sulphuric acids; phosphorus, lime, magnesia, soda, and iron. 
These were found in all the varieties, though not in equal proportion in all; 
yet it is quite uncertain whether the difference had any relation to their degree 
of efficacy. Gaduin is obtained by saponifying the oil with soda, decomposing 
the soap by acetate of lead, and treating the resulting lead soap with ether, 
which dissolves the oleate of lead and gaduin, leaving the margarate of lead be- 
hind. The ethereal solution, which is dark-brown, is decomposed by sulphuric 
acid, which liberates the brown oleic acid. This owes its colour to gaduin, to 
separate which soda is added in excess. The resulting oleate of soda, which is 
insoluble in an excess of the alkali, is dissolved in alcohol; and the alcoholic 
solution is cooled below 32°, by which means the oleate of soda is separated, 
the gaduin remaining in solution. This is precipitated from its solution by the 
addition of sulphuric acid. Gaduin is a dark-brown substance, brittle and pul- 
verizable when dry, without odour or taste, quite insoluble in water, and in 
great measure soluble in ether and alcohol. It is insoluble in nitric and muri- 
atic acids, but is dissolved by sulphuric acid, giving a blood-red colour to the 
solution, from which it is precipitated by water and the alkalies. It is soluble 
in alkaline solutions. Chlorine decolorizes it. Its formula is C3.H2309. Gaduin 
itself is yellow, but becomes brown by exposure to the air. It has not been as- 
certained to be in any degree connected with the virtues of the oil. It is not 
improbable that the biliary principles associated with the oil are concerned in 
its peculiar influences; as it is by their presence mainly that this differs from 
other oils. It has been thought that gaduin itself is of biliary origin. Winckler 
has inferred from his researches that cod-liver oil is an organic whole, differing 
from all other lixed oils. Thus, it yields no glycerin upon saponification, but, 
in place of it, a peculiar body which he denominates oxide of propyl. The fatty 
acids generated are the oleic and margaric. Dr. Luck has found a peculiar fatty 
acid in turbid oil, which he names gadic acid, and the same is obtained from 
the clear oil by saponification. (Neues Jahrbuch fur Pharm., vi. 249.) By re- 
action with ammonia in distillation, the oil yields a peculiar volatile alkali, 
called propylamin, which has a strong pungent odour, recalling that of herring- 
pickle, of which the same alkali is an ingredient. No other officinal fatty oil 
yields a' similar product. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 343.) Some have 
been disposed to ascribe the virtues of the oil to its iodine and bromine; but 
these are in too small proportion for much effect, and the oil has produced re- 
sults which have never been obtained from iodine and bromine themselves. The 
presence of iodine cannot be detected by the usual tests. It is necessary to con- 
vert the oil into a soap, and to carbonize this before it will give evidence of 
iodine. The proportion never exceeds 0 05 per cent., or I part in 2000. The 
oil is capable of dissolving a larger proportion; and, if any specimen contain 
more, there is reason to suspect that it has been fraudulently added. 
Tests of Purity. In consequence of the great demand for this oil, it has not 
unfrequentlv been adulterated with other fixed oils, and occasionally others have 
been fraudulently substituted for it. The importance, therefore, is obvious of 
ascertaining some mode of testing its purity and genuineness. There is reason 
to believe that all the oils from the livers of the Gadidae have analogous proper- 
ties. They have been indiscriminately used; and upon the results of their em- 
ployment is based, in part, the present reputation of the medicine. They may, 
therefore, be considered as in fact one oil, so far as their medicinal use is con- 
cerned. Unfortunately chemistry has yet discovered no perfectly reliable test. 
The furthest it has yet gone is to point out certain reactions, which may be 
considered as evidences of the presence of biliary principles in the oil, thus in- 
dicating its hepatic origin. Among these probably the most characteristic is 
that of sulphuric acid, a drop of which, added to fresh cod-liver oil, on a porce- 
j&in plate, causes a centrifugal movement in the oil, and gives rise to a fine 602 
Oleum Morrhuae. 
PART I. 
violet colour, soon passing into yellowish or brownish-red. Sometimes, instead 
of assuming the violet hue, the colour immediately becomes a clear red, or dark 
brownish-red. This is said to be especially the case with those specimens of the 
oil which have been prepared by boiling the livers with wrater. Shark-liver oil 
responds in like manner to the test of sulphuric acid, but is said to have the 
sp. gr. 0 866, which is much lower than that of any variety of the genuine oil. 
Strong nitric acid causes instantly, when agitated with cod-liver oil, a pinkish 
or rose-red colour, which soon becomes brown ; while no such effect is produced 
on other animal or vegetable oils. According to Winckler, the oil should afford 
the smell of herring-pickle when heated with potassa, lime, and muriate of am- 
monia. But the most reliable tests are the sensible properties of odour and 
taste. If there be none of the peculiar shoe-leather smell and taste, or if a strong 
lamp-oil odour be perceptible, the oil may be suspected. Little of importance 
can be inferred from the colour. Some have been disposed to prefer the dark 
offensive oil; but our own experience accords with that of those who have found 
the pale or light-brown equally efficient; and, for facility of administration and 
acceptability to the stomach, the latter is greatly preferable. 
It is important that the oil should be secluded from the air, which effects a 
gradual change, no doubt impairing its efficiency. Hence the vessels containing 
it should be full; and apothecaries ought to keep it in bottles well stopped, 
holding about the quantity generally wanted for use at one time. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cod-liver oil has been long popularly em- 
ployed in northern Europe in rheumatic and strumous diseases. It was first 
brought to the notice of the profession generally by German practitioners, and 
had acquired great reputation on the continent before it was used to any extent 
in Great Britain. At Manchester, in England, it was employed by the medical 
profession in the treatment of chronic rheumatism and gout, as early as 1766; 
but it was not until the appearance of the treatise of Professor Bennett, of 
Edinburgh, in 1841, that it came into general notice in Great Britain and the 
United States. It is at present one of the most esteemed remedies in the cata- 
logue of the Materia Medica. The diseases in which it has proved most efficient 
are chronic rheumatism and gout, and the various morbid affections connected 
with a scrofulous diathesis, such as external glandular scrofula, diseases of the 
joints and spine, carious ulcers, tabes mesenterica, rickets, and phthisis. It has 
been found useful also in chronic cutaneous eruptions, lupus, ulcers of the mouth, 
some varieties of palsy, chronic pectoral complaints not tuberculous, pertussis, 
obstinate constipation, intestinal worms, and incontinence of urine ; and may be 
employed with the hope of good in all chronic cases in which the disease ap- 
pears to consist mainly in impaired digestion, assimilation, and nutrition. In 
pulmonary consumption, in the experience of the author, it has far exceeded in 
efficacy any other remedy or combination of remedies that he has hitherto em- 
ployed. It is necessary, however, to persevere for four or six weeks before look 
ing for any decidedly favourable results, though the change does often begin 
earlier. In most cases remarkable temporary relief is afforded; in many, the 
disease is favourably modified, and its fatal termination postponed; and in some, 
cures appear to have been effected. 
As to its mode of action, there has been much difference of opinion. Some 
consider it merely as a nutritive agent, having the advantage over other ole- 
aginous substances, of a readier entrance into the system, and more easy assimi- 
lation. But we cannot agree with this opinion. Other oleaginous substances, 
certainly not less nutritious, have not been equally efficient, though taken in 
much larger quantities. If this be the true explanation, persons living chiefly 
on milk which abounds in oil, or on fat pork, ought to show a special exemp- 
tion from scrofulous complaints. The probability appears to us to be that, in 
consequence of some peculiar principle or principles it contains, it exercises a 
stimulant and alterative influence on the processes of assimilation and nutrition; 
thereby causing the production of healthy tissue, instead of that abortive ma- 
terial which is deposited by the blood-vessels in scrofula and phthisis. With PART i. 
Oleum Morrhuae. 
603 
our views of the modus operandi of cod-liver oil, it would of course be contra 
indicated in all cases where there is existing plethora, or a strong tendency to it. 
The medicine has been accused of having occasionally produced serious conges- 
tion of the lungs. 
The dose is a tablespoonful three or four times a day for adults, a teaspoon* 
ful repeated as frequently for children, which may be gradually increased as the 
stomach will permit, and continued for a long time. It may be taken alone, or 
mixed with some vehicle calculated to conceal its taste, and obviate nausea. 
For this purpose recourse may be had to any of the aromatic waters, to the 
aromatic tinctures, as the tincture of orange-peel, diluted with water, or to a 
bitter infusion, as that of quassia. It may be given floating on the vehicle, or 
mixed with it by means of gum or the yelk of eggs, with sugar, in the form of 
an emulsion. Perhaps the best vehicle, when not contraindicated, is the froth of 
porter. Let a tablespoonful of porter be put into the bottom of a glass, upon 
the surface of this the oil, and over all some of the froth of the porter. A small 
piece of orange-peel maybe chewed before and after taking the medicine. Va- 
rious other methods have been adopted to conceal or correct its taste, and favour 
its administration. Common salt has been recommended; but nothing, perhaps, 
so effectually destroys the taste as oil of bitter almonds, of which one part will 
answer for 200 parts of the oil; but a better plan is to shake strongly, in a flask, 
one measure of the oil with from one to two of cherry-laurel water, according to 
the degree of offensiveness, and to separate the liquids after they have been al- 
lowed to stand for twenty-four hours. The oil should be filtered if not quite clear. 
The medicine has sometimes also been given in capsules; but this must be a 
very tedious method. M. Dufourmantel prepares a jelly by dissolving half a 
drachm of ichthyocolla in as little hot water as possible, and then gradually 
mixing with it a fluidounce of the oil with four drops of the oil of anise, taking 
care not to exceed the heat of 75° F. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1864, p. 72.) 
The oil is sometimes applied externally by friction, and, in cases of ascarides oi 
iumbricoides, is injected into the rectum. It has been recommended locally in 
chronic articular affections, paralysis, various chronic cutaneous eruptions, and 
in opacity of the cornea after the subsidence of inflammation. In the last-men- 
tioned affection, one or two drops of the oil are applied by means of a pencil 
to the cornea, and diluted, if found too stimulating, with olive or almond oil. 
It is said, when long used internally, to occasion sometimes an exanthematous 
or eczematous eruption.* 
* Cod-liver Oil with Iodide of Iron. A preparation of cod-liver oil, in which the oil 
was supposed to hold iodide of iron in solution, has been considerably used in Europe, 
under the impression that such a combination is more efficient in scrofulous states of the 
system than the pure oil. But M. Rabourdin, of Orleans, France, showed that the prepa- 
ration, as found in the shops, often contains no iron; and his results were confirmed by 
M. Sinimberghi, a pharmaceutist of Rome, who states that the oil sold as containing 
iodide of iron was, in several specimens examined by him, not only destitute of iron, 
hut was altered in colour, had a noxious taste and smell, was more or less thickened, 
and was in fact unfit for use. He proposes the following formula, which he says yields a 
limpid preparation, differing but little in colour, taste, and odour from the pure oil, does not 
change on keeping, and yet contains four grains of iodide of iron in a fluidounce. Taking 
1000 parts of the pure oil, he separates 30 parts, and adds to this portion 12 parts of pure 
ether. Shaking the mixture, which is exposed to a slight increase of temperature, he 
sets it aside for the moment, and then rubs together in a porcelain mortar 6-5 parts of 
pure protosulphate of iron and 5T5 parts of perfectly pure iodide of potassium, and during 
the trituration adds 1 part of reduced iron to neutralize any iodine that may be set free, 
and a little pure glycerin to moisten the mixture. When the double decomposition has 
taken place, which is usually completed in two minutes, he gradually adds to the mix- 
ture one-third of etherized oil prepared as above, and one-third of the original cod-liver 
oil remaining, and, mixing these well together, fills with the mixture a glass bottle, 
which is kept well closed till the precipitate has subsided. The clear oil is then poured 
off, and the process is repeated a second and a third time by adding a second and third por- 
tion of the etherized oil and pure oil to the precipitate. The whole is now put into a 
bottle which it precisely fills, and, having been allowed to stand ten days, is filtered, 
and kept in well-stopped bottles. {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., viii. 277.) 
Ferruginous Cod-liver Oil. M. Ricker prepares this medicine as follows. Having sa- 604 
Oleum Morrhuse.—Oleum Myristicse. 
PART I. 
The olein of cod-liver oil has been recommended by Dr. Arthur Beared, 
when the oil itself disagrees with the stomach. He has found it to produce the 
same remedial effects, and to be much better borne. It may be given in the same 
dose. A solution of quinia in the oil has been proposed in cases vvherje the two 
medicines are jointly indicated. It may be made by adding the freshly precipi- 
tated alkaloid to the oil, in the proportion of two grains to a fluidounce, and 
heating them together, by means of a water-bath, until the mixture becomes 
quite clear. 
It has been thought that the efficacy of cod-liver oil is greatly enhanced by 
augmenting the proportion of certain active principles naturally contained in 
it; and a preparation of this kind, known as Fougera's cod-liver oil, each pint 
of which contains eight grains of iodine, one grain of bromine, and one of phos- 
phorus, has been extensively used in this country, and is highly praised in some 
of our journals. {Med. and Surg. Reporter, May 2, 1868, p. 397.)* W 
OLEUM MYRISTICiE. U.S.,Br. 
The volatile oil obtained from the kernels of the fruit of Myristica fragrans 
(Houltw/n). U. S. The oil distilled in Britain from nutmeg. Br. 
See MYRISTICA. 
Oil of Nutmeg. Volatile Oil of Nutmeg. 
ponified 100 parts of the oil with 70 parts of solution of soda of the sp. gr. 1-33, he adds to 
the soap 100 parts of a solution of common salt of 25 to 100. The mixture is placed upon 
a cloth and expressed. Of the residue GO parts, dissolved in 500 of distilled water, are 
precipitated by a solution of 15 parts of sulphate of iron in 100 of water. The insoluble 
ferruginous precipitate which forms is washed upon a linen cloth and expressed. The 
process is completed by dissolving 30 parts of this soap in 500 of cod-liver oil, and filter 
ing. The resulting oil is of a brown colour, and 30 parts contain 62 thousandths of one 
part of iron, equivalent to about three grains to a pint. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 
4e ser., v. 57, A. D. 1857.) 
Extract of Cod Liver. Under the name of Geoffroy's Dragees of Cod-liver Extract, a 
medicine has been patented in England, and recently attracted some attention, consisting 
essentially of an extract obtained by evaporating the watery liquid which escapes from 
the cod liver when the oil is extracted. Mr. Squire obtained one pound of this watery 
fluid from twenty-eight pounds of the liver, and by its evaporation 12 per cent, of extract. 
Mr. John Barr, one of the patentees, states that livers properly treated yield much more 
watery liquid than here stated, and that the liquid gives 15 per cent, of extract. Now, 
if, as some suppose, the virtues of cod-liver oil depend upon principles extracted with it 
from the liver independently of the pure oil, there is every reason to believe that these 
principles exist to a certain extent in the watery fluid referred to, and consequently that 
the preparation under consideration may have important powers, and prove highly use- 
ful as a medicine. This, however, is a point to be determined only by experience; and 
all that can be said at present is that the medicine is worthy of a trial. The follow- 
ing is given as the chemical constitution of the extract; in 100 parts 60-62 of fish-bile 
constituents, 2-545 of propylamin, 0-0 of acetic, lactic, and butyric acids, 2-09 of phos- 
phorus and phosphoric acid, 0-2 of sulphur and sulphuric acid, 0-154 of iodine, 1-525 of 
chlorine with a trace of bromine, 1-17 of soda, 0 366 of magnesia, 0 510 of lime, 0-211 
of potassa, 2-862 of ammonia, and 21-847 of water, including loss. Five grains of the 
extract are announced as equal in medicinal virtues to a tablespoonful of cod-liver oil. It 
is prepared for use in the form of pills, which consist of six parts of the extract, five 
of cacao butter, and one of sugar. (Chem. News, Dec. 1, 1865, p. 264, and Jan. 5, 1866, 
p.10.) 
Cleansing Cod-Liver Oil Bottles. Prof. Procter has found benzine the best material 
for this purpose, with the addition of pearlash, lime, and boiling water. The practical 
pharmaceutist is referred for the details of the process to the Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1868, p. 509. (Notes to the thirteenth edition.) 
* Dugong Oil. An oil has been brought into notice, as a substitute for cod-liver oil, ob- 
tained from two species of Ilalecore, H. Australis (Owen) and II. Dugong (lllig.), cetaceous 
animals inhabiting the rivers and bays of Northern and Eastern Australia, and many of 
the East India islands. The flesh of these animals is said to be delicate and palatable, 
and valued for food. The oil is obtained by boiling the superficial fat. It is bland and 
sweet, and fr< e from disagreeable taste and smell, so that it may be taken more freely ’. ban 
cod-liver oil, which it is thought to equal in virtues. It was introduced into use by Mr. part I. 
Oleum Mynsiicse.— Oleum Olivx. 
605 
This oil is obtained from powdered nutmegs by distillation with water. A 
better method, according to M. J. Cloez, who has carefully examined the sub- 
ject of oil of nutmeg, is to exhaust the powder with bisulphuret of carbon or 
ether, distil off the solvent by means of a water-bath, and expose the butter- 
like residue to a current of steam, the vapour being conveyed into a refrige- 
rated receiver where it condenses. (Journ. dePharm., Fev. 18G4, p. 150.) Oil 
of nutmeg is colourless or of a pale-straw colour, limpid, lighter than water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, with a pungent spicy taste, and a strong smell 
of nutmeg. The sp.gr. is stated differently at 0-920 and 0 948. It consists 
of two oils, which may be separated by agitation with water, one rising to 
the surface, the other sinking to the bottom. Upon standing it deposits a crys- 
talline stearoptene, which is called by John myristicin. M. Cloez found that, 
when the oil was distilled at a temperature below 347° F., there came over 95 
per cent, of a liquid, which, when treated with a little caustic potassa and subse- 
quently distilled from a little sodium, in order to separate traces of a compound 
of oxygen, was a pure colourless carbohydrogen, remaining liquid at zero of F., 
of the sp. gr. 0 853 at 59° F., and corresponding in composition with pure oil of 
turpentine, having the formula Ci20II16. It differs, however, in yielding, when acted 
on by a current of muriatic acid gas, a liquid instead of solid compound with 
the acid. In this purified state the oil has an odour recalling that of nutmeg, but, 
when the oil is diluted,approaching to that of the oil of lemons. It absorbs oxygen 
slowly, losing its fluidity. Chlorine and bromine act on it vigorously, nitric acid 
violently with the disengagement of red vapours, and concentrated sulphuric acid 
dissolves and darkens it. (Ibid., p. 150-2.) The oil may be used for the same pur- 
poses as nutmeg, in the dose of two or three drops; but is not often employed. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Aloes Socotrin®, Br.; Spiritus Ammoni® Aromaticus; 
Spiritus Myristic®, Br. W 
OLEUM OLIViE. U. S., Br. 
Olive Oil 
The oil obtained from the fruit of Olea Europaea. U. S. The oil expressed 
in the South of Europe from the ripe fruit of Olea europaea Br. 
Huile d’olive, Fr.; Olivenol, Germ.; Olio delle olive, Ital.; Aceyte do olivas, Span. 
Olea. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monog-ynia.— Nat. Ord. Oleaceae. 
Gen.Ch. Corona four-cleft,withsubovate segments. Drupe one-seedecl. Willd. 
Olea Europaea. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 44 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 280, t. 98. This 
valuable tree is usually from fifteen to twenty feet in height, though sometimes 
much larger, especially in Greece and the Levant. It has a solid, erect, unequal 
stem, with numerous straight branches, covered with a grayish bark. The 
leaves, which stand opposite to each other on short footstalks, are evergreen, 
firm, lanceolate, entire, two or three inches in length, with the edges somewhat 
reverted, smooth and of a dull-green colour on their upper surface, whitish and 
almost silvery beneath. The flowers are small, whitish, and disposed in oppo- 
site axillary clusters, about half as long as the leaves, and accompanied with 
small, obtuse, hoary bractes. The fruit or olive is a smooth, oval drupe, green- 
ish at first, but of a deep-violet colour when ripe, with a fleshy pericarp, and a 
very hard nut of a similar shape. Clusters of not less than thirty flowers yield 
only two or three ripe olives. 
The olive tree, though believed by some to have been originally from the Le- 
vant, flourishes at present in all the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, 
and has been cultivated from time immemorial in Spain, the south of France, 
and Italy. It begins to bear fruit after the second year, is in full bearing at six 
years, and continues to flourish for a century. There are several varieties, dis 
tinguished by the form of the leaves, and the shape, colour, and size of the fruit. 
W. Hobbs, a surgeon of Brisbane, on Moreton Bay. (Chem. News, Jan. 28,1860, p. 87, and 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1858, p. 335, and May, 1860, p. 230.)—Note to the tioelfth 
edition. 606 
Oleum Olivse. 
PART I. 
The variety longifolia of Willdenow is said to be chiefly cultivated in Italy and 
the south of France, and the latifolia in Spain. The latter bears much larger 
fruit than the former; but the oil is less esteemed. 
The leaves and bark of the olive tree have an acrid and bitterish taste, and 
nave been employed as substitutes for cinchona, though with no great success. 
Attention has recently been called, in France, to a hydro-alcoholic extract of 
the leaves, as having considerable febrifuge powers. In the quantity of from 
ten to twenty grains daily, in divided doses, it has been found useful in prevent- 
ing the hectic paroxysms. In hot countries, a substance resembling the gum- 
resins exudes spontaneously from the bark. It was thought by the ancients to 
possess useful medicinal properties, but is not now employed. Analyzed by 
Pelletier, it was found to contain resin, a little benzoic acid, and a peculiar prin- 
ciple analogous to gum, which has been named olivile. But the fruit is by far 
the most useful product. In the unripe state it is hard and insupportably acrid; 
but, when macerated in water or an alkaline solution, and afterwards introduced 
into a solution of common salt, it loses these properties, and becomes a pleasant 
and highly esteemed article of diet. Mannite has been found in all parts of the 
tree while in vital activity, as in the green leaves and unripe fruit, but cannot 
be detected in the yellow fallen leaves, nor in the perfectly ripe fruit. (Am. J. of 
Pharm., March, 1866, p. 179.) The pericarp, or fleshy part of the ripe olive, 
abounds in a fixed oil, which constitutes its greatest value, and for which the 
tree is chiefly cultivated in Southern Europe. In the unripe olive a peculiar 
green substance, together with mannite, has been found by M. S. de Lutz, both 
of which disappear as the fruit ripens, being probably converted into oil, which 
now takes their place. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin and Dec. 1862.) The oil is ob- 
tained by first bruising the olives in a mill, and then submitting them to pressure. 
The product varies much, according to the state of the fruit, and the circum- 
stances of the process. The best, called virgin oil, is obtained from the fruit 
picked before perfect maturity, and immediately pressed. It is distinguished by 
its greenish hue. The common oil used for culinary purposes, and in the manu- 
facture of the finest soaps, is procured from very ripe olives, or from the pulp 
of those which have yielded the virgin oil. In the latter case the pulp is thrown 
into boiling water, and the oil removed as it rises. An inferior kind, employed 
in the arts, especially in the preparation of the coarser soaps, plasters, unguents, 
&c., is afforded by fruit which has been thrown into heaps, and allowed to fer- 
ment for several days, or by the marc left after the expression of the finer kinds 
of oil, broken up, allowed to ferment, and again introduced into the press. The 
remarks made under the head of Oleum Myristicse (page 605), in relation to 
the extraction of that oil by means of bisulphuret of carbon, are applicable 
also to olive oil. 
Olive oil is imported in glass bottles, or in flasks surrounded by a kind of net- 
work of grass, and usually called Florence flasks. The best comes from the 
south of France, where most care is exercised in the choice of the fruit. 
Properties. The pure oil is an unctuous liquid, of a pale-yellow or greenish- 
yellow colour, with scarcely any smell, and a bland, slightly sweetish taste. Its 
sp. gr. is O'OISS. It is soluble in twice its volume of ether, but is only partially 
soluble in alcohol, at least unless this liquid be in very large proportion. It be- 
gins to congeal at 38° F. At a freezing temperature apart of it becomes solid, 
and the remainder, retaining the liquid consistence, may be separated by press- 
ure, or by the agency of cold alcohol, which dissolves it. The concrete portion 
has been found by MM. Pelouze and Boudet to be a definite compound of mar- 
garin and olein; the liquid portion is uncombined olein. According to Bracon- 
not, the oil contains 72 per cent, of olein, and 28 of margarin. Olive oil is solid- 
ified by nitrous acid and nitrate of mercury, and converted into a peculiar fatty 
substance, called elaidin. The olein of all oils which have not the drying pro- 
perty undergoes the same change, when acted on by nitrous acid; and the singu- 
lar fact is stated by MM. Pelouze and Boudet, that the margarin of olive oil, 
combined as it is with olein, is converted by that acid into ela'idin, while the PART i. 
Oleum Olivse. 
607 
same principle, in a state of purity, is not affected by it. {Journ. de Pharm.,' 
xxiv. 391 )* 
Olive oil, when exposed to the air, is apt to become rancid, acquiring a dis- 
agreeable smell, a sharp taste, a thicker consistence, and a deeper colour ; and 
the change is promoted by heat. It i3 frequently adulterated with the cheaper 
fixed oils, especially with that of poppies; but the adulteration may be easily 
detected by reducing the temperature to the freezing point. As other oils are 
less readily congealed than the olive oil, the degree of its purity will be indi- 
cated by the degree of concretion. Another mode has been indicated by M. 
Poutet, founded on the property possessed by supernitrate of mercury of solidi- 
fying the oil of olives, without a similar influence upon other oils. Six parts of 
mercury are dissolved at a low temperature in seven and a half parts of nitric 
acid of the sp. gr. 135 ; and this solution is mixed with the suspected oil in the 
proportion of one part to twelve, the mixture being occasionally shaken. If the 
oil is pure, it is converted after some hours into a yellow solid mass; if it con- 
tains a minute proportion, even so small as a twentieth, of poppy oil, the result- 
ing mass is much less firm; and a tenth prevents a greater degree of consistence 
than oils usually acquire when they concrete by cold. M. Gobel has invented 
an instrument which he calls the ela'iometer, by which the smallest quantity 
of poppy oil can be detected. (See vim. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 24.) According 
to M. Marchand, strong sulphuric acid produces with poppy oil a lemon-yellow 
colour, which rapidly becomes darker, and, after ten or fifteen minutes, is fol- 
lowed by tints of rose-colour and bright violet, which are never afforded with 
the same reagent by pure olive oil. {Ibid., xxvi. 432.) The presence of colza 
oil may be detected by the test of nitrate of silver, as stated under the head of 
Oleum Amygdalae Dulcis(pape591). M. Diesel statesthatthe pure oil is coloured 
green by common nitric acid; whereas, if mixed with rape oil, it is rendered of a 
yellowish-gray colour. {Arch, der Pharm.,xlvi. 287.) According to M. Behrens, 
whose statement is confirmed by MM. Guibourtand Reveil, the presence of oil 
of sesamum is known by the beautiful deep-green colour immediately produced, 
when the suspected oil is added, in equal weight, to a mixture of equal parts of 
sulphuric and nitric acids; which acids cause with the pure oil, at first, a bright- 
yellow colour. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 351.) Immense quantities of 
lard oil are said to be exported from this country to France, and employed in 
the adulteration of olive oil. The reaction with nitric acid would probably serve 
to detect this adulteration, which, however, in a pharmaceutical point of view, 
is of little inconvenience. 
M. A. Lailler, a French pharmaceutist, has found in the joint action of 
chromic and nitric acids a test by which he believes that olive oil can be 
distinguished from most other oils. If a mixture of two parts of liquid chromic 
acid at the eighth, and one of nitric acid of 40°, in the quantity of 30 grains, be 
agitated in a glass tube with two drachms of olive oil, there will be no oxida- 
tion nor any disengagement of heat, but at the end of forty-eight hours, at most, 
a beginning of concretion, which in some days becomes complete, and is followed 
by the entire absorption of the reagent by the oil and a blue coloration of the 
latter. Every specimen of olive oil which does not present these phenomena 
completely must be considered as falsified. {Journ. de Pharm. etde Chim., 4e 
s£r., i. pp. 187-8.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Olive oil is nutritious and mildly laxative, and 
is occasionally given in cases of irritable intestines, when the patient objects to 
more disagreeable medicines. Taken into the stomach in large quantities, it 
serves to involve acrid and poisonous substances, and mitigate their action. It 
* The following table gives the solubility of various alkaloids in olive oil as ascertained 
by Pettenkoffer. At the ordinary temperature, 100 parts of the oil dissolve of 
Morphia 0-00 
Narcotina 0-25 
Oinchonia 1 -00 
Quinia 4-20 
Strychnia 100 
Brucia 1-78 
Atropia 2-62 
Veratria 1 -78 
(Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1859, p. 486.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 608 
Oleum Olivse.—Oleum Ricini. 
PART 1 
-has also been recommended as a remedy for worms, and is a very common in- 
gredient in laxative enemata. Externally applied, it is useful in relaxing the 
skin, and sheathing irritated surfaces from the action of the air; and is much 
employed as a vehicle or diluent of more active substances. In the countries 
borderingon the Mediterranean, it is thought, when smeared over the skin, to 
afford some protection against the plague ; and applied warm, by means of fric- 
tion over the surface, is said to be useful as a remedy in the early stages of that 
complaint. But the most extensive use of olive oil is in pharmacy, as a con- 
stituent of liniments, ointments, cerates, and plasters. 
The dose as a laxative is from one to two fluidounces. 
Off. Prep. Cataplasma Lini, Br.; Charta Epispastica, Br ; Ceratum Cetacei, 
U. S.; Cerat. Plumbi Subacetatis, U. S.; Cerat. Saponis, U. S ; Emplastrum 
Ammouiaci cum Ilydrargyro; Em pi. Cerati Saponis, Br.; Erapl. Hydrargyri; 
Emp. Picis, Br.; Etnp. Plumbi; Enema Magnesiae Sulphatis, Br.; Linimentum 
Ammoniae; Linimentum Calcis, Br.; Linimentum Camphorae; Unguentum 
Cantharidis, Br.; Unguent. Hydrargyri Compositum, Br.; Unguent. Ilydrar- 
gyri Nitratis, Br.; Unguent. Veratriae, Br. W. 
OLEUM RICINL U.S.,Br. 
Castor Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seeds of Ricinus communis. U. S. The oil expressed 
from the seeds. Br. 
Huilc de ricin, Fr.; Bicinuscl, Germ.; Olio di ricino, Ital.; Aceytc de ricino, Span. 
Ricinus. Sex.Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Euphorbiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Stamens numerous. Fe 
male. Calyx three parted. Corolla none. Styles three, bifid. Capsules thren 
celled. Seed one. Willd. 
Bicinus communis. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 564; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 624, t. 
221. The castor oil plant, or palma Cliristi, attains in the East Indies and 
Africa the character of a tree, and rises sometimes thirty or forty feet. In the 
temperate latitudes of North America and Europe it is annual; though M. 
Achille Richard saw, in the south of France, in the vicinity of Nice, on the sea- 
coast, a small wood consisting entirely of what he supposed to be this species of 
Ricinus.* The following description applies to the plant as cultivated in cool 
latitudes. The stem is of vigorous growth, erect, round, hollow, smooth, glau- 
cous, somewhat purplish towards the top, branching, and from three to eight feet 
or more in height. The leaves are alternate, peltate or supported upon foot- 
stalks inserted into their lower disk, palmate with seven or nine pointed serrate 
lobes, smooth on both sides, and of a bluish-green colour. The flowers are 
monoecious, stand upon jointed peduncles, and form a pyramidal terminal ra- 
ceme, of which the lower portion is occupied by the male flowers, the upper by 
the female. Both are destitute of corolla. In the male flowers the calyx is 
divided into five oval, concave, pointed, reflected, purplish segments; and en- 
closes numerous stamens, united into fasciculi at their base. In the female the 
calyx has three or five narrow lanceolate segments; and the ovary, which is 
roundish and three-sided, supports three linear, reddish stigmas, forked at their 
apex. The fruit is a roundish glaucous capsule, with three projecting sides, 
covered with tough spines, and divided into three cells, each containing one 
seed, which is expelled by the bursting of the capsule. 
This species of Ricinus is a native of the East Indies and Northern Africa, 
* While at Montpellier, in France, in the spring of 18G1, the author was assured by 
Dr. Martins, Professor of Botany in the University of that city, that the species seen by 
Richard, forming a grove in the south of France, was not, as believed by that botanist, 
the Ricinus communis, but the Jlicinus Africanus. This Prof. Martius knew from personal 
observation; and he stated, moreover, that all the plants of the genus Ricinus growing 
wild on the borders of the Mediterranean were of this species, viz., the R. Africanus. 
(Note to the twelfth edition.1 PAKT 1. 
Oleum Ricini. 
609 
naturalized in the West Indies, and cultivated in various parts of the world, ia 
few countries more largely than in the United States. New Jersey, Virginia, 
North Carolina, and the States upon the right bank of the Ohio, especially Illi- 
nois, are the sections in which it is most abundant. It has also been introduced 
into California. The flowers appear in July, and the seeds ripen successively 
in August and September. A decoction of the leaves is said to be employed 
effectively in the Cape Verde Islands, as a local application to the breast, for 
promoting the secretion of milk; and an infusion of the leaves has been given 
internally by Dr. Routh, with great supposed success, for producing the same 
effect in lying-in women with deficiency of milk. (London Lancet, Dec. 24, 
1859.) The officinal part is the fixed oil extracted from the seeds. 
1. The Seeds. These are about as large as a small bean, oval, compressed, 
obtuse at the extremities, very smooth and shining, and of a grayish or ash 
colour, marbled with reddish brown spots and veins.. At one end of the seed is 
a small yellowish tubercle, from which an obscure longitudinal ridge proceeds 
to the opposite extremity, dividing the side upon which it is situated into two 
flattish surfaces. In its general appearance the seed is thought to resemble the 
insect called the tick, the Latin name of which has been adopted as the generic 
title of the plant. Its variegated colour depends upon a very thin pellicle, closely 
investing a hard, brittle, blackish, tasteless, easily separable shell, within which 
is the kernel, highly oleaginous, of a white colour, and a sweetish taste, suc- 
ceeded by a slight degree of acrimony. The seeds easily become rancid, and 
are then unfit for the extraction of the oil, which is acrid and irritating. In 100 
parts Geiger found, exclusive of moisture, 23'82 parts of envelope, and 69 09 
of kernel. These 69'09 parts contained 46T9 of fixed oil, 2‘40 of gum, 20-00 
of starch and lignin, and 0 50 of albumen. Mr. Henry Bower could find no 
starch, but separated from the seeds an albuminoid principle, which acted with 
amygdalin and water like emulsin, producing the odour of oil of bitter almonds, 
though in a less degree. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvi. 208.) It is highly proba- 
ble that it is this principle which, acting as a ferment on the oily matter of the 
seeds, gives rise to changes in its nature which render them rancid. More re- 
cently, Mr, G J. Scattergood found the odour of castor oil to be developed in the 
beans when bruised with water, and much more powerfully in those long kept 
than in the fresh. The water distilled from the seeds has a peculiar nauseous 
odour, quite distinct from that of the oil. (Ibid., xxviii. 207.)* 
Taken internally the seeds are powerfully cathartic, and often emetic. Two 
or three are sufficient to purge, and seven or eight act with great violence. 
This property depends upon an acrid principle, which has by some been thought 
to exist exclusively in the integuments, by others in the embryo. But it is now 
satisfactorily ascertained that the integuments are inert; and Guibourt main- 
tains that the principle alluded to pervades the whole kernel, in connection with 
* Ricinia or Ricinin. Professor Tuson has recently announced the discovery in the 
seeds of a peculiar alkaloid, which he proposes to name ricinine, but which should be called 
ricinia. To obtain it, the crushed seeds are exhausted by successive portions of boiling 
water; the decoction is filtered through wet muslin; the filtered liquid is evaporated to 
dryness over a water-bath; the extract thus obtained is exhausted by boiling alcohol; the 
alcoholic solution is allowed to cool, then filtered to separate a little resinous matter, and 
lastly concentrated and permitted to stand. In the course of some hours, a mass of nearly 
white crystals is deposited, which when recrystallized from alcohol, and decolorized by ani- 
mal charcoal, are the alkaloid in a pure state. Ricinine crystallizes in rectangular prisms 
and tables, has a feebly bitter taste, somewhat resembling that of bitter almonds, is fusible 
and crystallizes on cooling, volatilizable unchanged, inllammable, soluble most readily in 
water and alcohol, and very slightly in ether or benzole. Heated with hydrate of potassa it 
evolves ammonia, and therefore contains nitrogen. It appears to combine with sulphuric, 
nitric, and muriatic acids. But a more accurate investigation is needed, before it can be 
admitted to be undoubtedly a distinct and pure alkaloid. A minute quantity is said to be 
obtained from castor oil by shaking it with water, evaporating the liquid, treating the resi- 
due with boiling benzole, and allowing the solution to evaporate spontaneously. Professor 
Tuson does not claim for the new alkaloid the possession of purgative properties. Two 
grains given to a rabbit produced no observable effect. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 610 
Oleum Ricini. 
PART I. 
the oil. This principle is considered by some as volatile, and is said to be dis- 
sipated by the heat of boiling water. This view is strengthened by the experi- 
ments of Mr. Scattergood above referred to; as the water distilled from the 
seeds proved decidedly purgative in the dose of half a fluidounce, and in twice 
the quantity both purged and vomited. The same experimenter found that the 
residue, after the seeds had been exhausted by ether and alcohol, was inert in 
the dose of 28 grains; and the ethereal extract proved a mild cathartic in the 
dose of from two to five fluidrachms. After expression of the oil, and treat- 
ment with pure alcohol, M. Calloud found the residue to be powerfully emetic 
in the quantity of 30 grains, taken in two doses. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
xiv. 190.) M. Parola states that ether also is incapable of extracting the acrid 
emetic principle from the seeds. At a temperature much above 212° the oil 
itself becomes altered, and acquires acrid properties. 
2 The Oil. This may be extracted from the seeds in three ways; 1. by de- 
coction, 2. by expression, and 3. by the agency of alcohol or other solvent. 
The process by decoction, which has been practised in the East and West 
Indies, consists in bruising the seeds, previously deprived of their husk, and then 
boiling them in water. The oil, rising to the surface, is skimmed or strained 
off, and afterwards again boiled with a small quantity of water to dissipate the 
acrid principle. To increase the product it is said that the seeds are sometimes 
roasted. The oil is thus rendered brownish and acrid ; and the same result takes 
place in the second boiling, if care is not taken to suspend the process soon after 
the water has been evaporated. Hence it happens that the West India oil has 
generally a brownish colour, an acrid taste, and irritating properties. 
The oil is obtained in this country by expression. The following, as we have 
been informed, are the outlines of the process usually employed by those who 
prepare it on a large scale. The seeds, having been thoroughly cleansed from 
the dust and fragments of the capsules with which they are mixed, are conveyed 
into a shallow iron reservoir, where they are submitted to a gentle heat insuffi- 
cient to scorch or decompose them, and not greater than can be readily borne 
by the hand. The object of this step is to render the oil sufficiently liquid for easy 
expression. The seeds are then introduced into a powerful screw press. A 
whitish oily liquid is thus obtained, which is transferred to clean iron boilers, 
supplied with a considerable quantity of water. The mixture is boiled for some 
time, and, the impurities being skimmed off as they rise to the surface, a clear 
oil is at length left upon the top of-the water, the mucilage and starch having 
been dissolved by this liquid, and the albumen coagulated by the heat. The 
latter ingredient forms a whitish layer between the oil and the water. The clear 
oil is now carefully removed; and the process is completed by boiling with a 
minute proportion of water, and continuing the application of heat till aqueous 
vapour ceases to rise, and till a small portion of the liquid, taken out in a vial, 
continues perfectly transparent when it cools. The effect of this last operation 
is to clarify the oil, and to render it less irritating by driving off the acrid vola- 
tile matter. But much care is requisite not to push the heat too far; as the oil 
then acquires a brownish hue, and an acrid peppery taste. After the completion 
of the process, the oil is put into barrels, and sent into the market. There is 
reason, however, to believe that much of the American oil is prepared by merely 
allowing it to stand for some time after expression, and then drawing off the 
supernatant liquid. One bushel of good seeds yields five or six quarts, or about 
25 per cent, of the best oil. If not carefully prepared, it is apt to deposit a sedi- 
ment upon standing; and the apothecary may find it necessary to filter it through 
coarse paper before dispensing it. Perhaps this may be owing to the plan just 
alluded to of purifying the oil by rest and decantation. We have been told 
that the oil in barrels occasionally deposits in cold weather a copious whitish 
sediment, which it redissolves when the temperature rises. A large proportion 
of the drug consumed in the eastern section of the Union has been derived, 
by way of New Orleans, from Illinois and the neighbouring States, where it 
has been at times so abundant that it has been used for burning in lamps, and PART I. 
Oleum JlidnL 
611 
for lubricating machinery.* We were informed, however, that in the year 
1857, from a failure of the crops, and the consequent high price of the oil, 
considerable quantities were brought from the East Indies; and, in a report 
made to the American Pharmaceutical Association, in the autumn of 1859, it 
is stated that, after the first of January of that year, 20,000 gallons of castor oil, 
and 50,000 bushels of castor beans had been imported from the same source 
at the port of Boston, f 
The process for obtaining castor oil by means of alcohol has been practised in 
France; but the product is said to become rancid more speedily than that pro- 
cured in the ordinary mode. Such a preparation has been employed in Italy, 
and is asserted to be less disagreeable to the taste, and more effective, than the 
common oil obtained by expression. According to M. Parola, an ethero-alcoholic 
extract, and an ethereal' or alcoholic tincture of the seeds, operate in much 
smaller doses than the oil, and with less disposition to irritate the bowels or to 
cause vomiting. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S.,xiii. 143.) 
Properties. Pure castor oil is a thick, viscid, colourless liquid, with little or 
no odour, and a mild though somewhat nauseous taste, followed by a slight sense 
of acrimony. As found in the shops it is often tinged with yellow, and has an 
unpleasant smell; and parcels are sometimes though rarely met with, of a brown- 
ish colour, and hot acrid taste. It does not readily congeal by cold. When ex- 
posed to the air it slowly thickens, without becoming opaque. It is heavier than 
most of the other fixed oils; its sp. gr. having been stated to be 0-969 at 55° F. 
It differs also from other fixed oils in being soluble in all proportions in cold 
absolute alcohol. Weaker alcohol, of the sp. gr. 0-8425, takes up about three 
fifths of its weight. It has been supposed that adulterations with other fixed 
oils might thus be detected, as the latter are much less soluble in that fluid ; but 
Pereira has shown that castor oil has the property of rendering a portion of 
other fixed oils soluble in alcohol; so that the test cannot be relied on. (Pharm. 
Journ., ix. 498.) Such adulterations, however, are seldom practised in this 
country.| Castor oil is soluble also in ether. Its proximate composition is but 
* For a particular account of the mode of cultivating the castor oil plant, and prepar- 
ing the oil in the Western States, see a paper by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharm 
(xxvii. 99). It is stated in this paper that, by the aid of an improved press, the product 
of oil has been so much increased, that 15 bushels of seeds will y® Id 40 gallons of oil. 
Most of the seeds produced in Illinois are now expressed in St. Louis. (Note to the eleventh 
edition.) 
f Italian Castor Oil. The castor oil plant is cultivated throughout Italy, but especially 
in the. neighbourhood of Yerona, where the oil is prepared with great care, and is re- 
markably free from the peculiar odour and taste which render this medicine so repulsive 
to many palates. As it is highly desirable, for certain purposes, that the oil should be as 
free from these properties as possible, though as a mere purgative perhaps less powerful 
when deprived of them, it is a point worthy of investigation why it is that the Italian 
oil is superior to most if not all other commercial varieties of the oil in these respects. 
The following facts in relation to the mode of preparing the oil practised at Yerona, 
published by Mr. H. Groves, of Florence, acquire on this account a special value. One 
point of importance is that the seeds are used fresh, as the oil rapidly becomes rancid 
in them when kept. Another fact rs.that the seeds are entirely deprived of their coating 
before being submitted to pressure. This is effected by passing them between two re- 
volving wooden rollers, with a winnowing machine beneath; and, to secure the complete 
absence of integument, they are afterwards assorted by the hand; all being rejected which 
are not perfectly decorticated. They are then put into hempen bags, which are arranged 
in layers, with a sheet of iron heated to 90° F. between them, so as to enable the oil 
to flow. Lastly, they are submitted to pressure in hydraulic presses. The oil which 
now flows is of the finest quality. An inferior kind is obtained by pressing the marc at 
a somewhat higher heat. [Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1866, p. 250.)—Note tc the 
thirteenth edition. 
J Cohesion figures as a means of testing liquids. A new mode of testing liquids has been 
recently proposed by Mr. Charles Tomlinson, which is applicable to this oil, and may suc- 
ceed when purely chemical methods fail. When one liquid is dropped on the surface of 
another, there are often curious figures produced, as the drop spreads out on the surface 
of the liquid upon which it falls, occasioned by the conflict between the cohesion of the 
drop and the forces which cause its diffusion. These the author calls cohesion figures. As 
a general rule, each liquid has its own characteristic figures, which are modified by the 612 
Oleum Ricini. 
PART L 
imperfectly understood. When exposed to destructive distillation, it yields va- 
rious gaseous products, volatile oleaginous liquids, and two peculiar substances 
called acrolein and oenanthole; and there is left behind a spongy elastic mass of 
remarkable properties. By nitrous acid the oil is solidified, and converted into a 
fatty substance, which was named at first palmin, but afterwards ricinelaxdin, 
from its analogy with the product of a similar reaction on olive oil. This prin- 
ciple yields palmic or ricinelaidic acid and glycerin on saponification. The oil 
appears to be a glyceride; and, when it is saponified, and the soap decomposed 
by an acid, an oily liquid is obtained, consisting chiefly of ricinoleic acid, and a 
small portion of a solid acid, which is supposed to be a mixture of stearic and 
palmitic acids. (Gregory’s Handbook, 4th ed., p. 303.) Its constituents would, 
therefore, seem to be mainly ricinolein and a little stearin and palmitin. Rieino- 
leic acid is converted by caustic potassa into caprylic alcohol and sebaeic acid, 
with disengagement of hydrogen; and the same products are obtained by the 
reaction of potassa with the oil itself. (See Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1855, p. 
113.) M. Lefort gives the formula C56HMOg, as representing the ultimate com- 
position of castor oil. {Ibid., 3e ser., xxiii. 348.) Its purgative property is sup- 
posed by MM. Bussy and Lecanu to belong essentially to the oil, and not to any 
distinct principle which it may hold in solution. 
Castor oil which is acrid to the taste may sometimes be rendered mild by 
boiling it with a small proportion of water. If turbid, it should be clarified by 
filtration through coarse paper. On exposure to the air, it is apt to become 
rancid, and is then unfit for use.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Good castor oil is a mild and speedy cathartic, 
usually operating with little griping or uneasiness, and evacuating the contents 
of the bowels without much increasing the alvine secretions. Hence, it is par- 
ticularly applicable to constipation from collections of indurated feces, and to 
cases in which acrid substances have been swallowed, or acrid secretions have 
accumulated in the bowels. From its mildness it is also especially adapted to 
diseases attended with irritation or inflammation of the bowels; as colic, diar- 
rhoea, dysentery, and enteritis. It is habitually resorted to in cases of pregnant 
and puerperal women, and is decidedly, as a general rule, the best and safest 
cathartic for children. Infants usually require a larger relative dose than adults, 
probably because they digest more of the oil. 
The dose for an adult is about a fluidounce, for an infant from one to three 
or four fluidrachms. It is sometimes difficult of administration, not so much from 
any peculiarly disagreeable taste, as from the recollection of former nausea, or 
other uneasiness which it may have produced, and from its clamminess and ad- 
hesiveness to the mouth. In a few cases, the disgust which it excites is utterly 
unconquerable by any effort of resolution. It is desirable, therefore, to obviate 
this inconvenience, as far as possible, by the mode of exhibition. A common 
method is to give it floating in mint or cinnamon water; but that which we 
have found upon the whole the least offensive, is to mix it with a cup of hot 
admixture of other liquids, and thus the means are afforded of testing not only the iden- 
tity of any suspected liquid, but also its purity. To one not acquainted with the charac- 
teristic cohesion figures, it would he sufficient to try the experiment with a specimen known 
to he pure, and then to compare with the figure it forms, those formed by the specimen 
to ho tested. The experiment should always be made under precisely similar circumstances. 
In reference to castor oil, it should be dropped from the end of a glass rod upon the sur- 
face of perfectly clear water, in a glass vessel scrupulously clean ; as any imperfection in 
these respects might interpose a physical impediment to the success of the experiment. 
{Chem. News, Feb. 13, 18(54, p. 79. See also Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1864.) 
Effect on light. Another test for castor oil is its influence on polarized light. The fixed 
oils generally have little or no power. Castor oil deviates the plane of polarization to the 
right, but loses this property if heated to 270° C. (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 339.) 
—Note to the twelfth edition. 
* The following method of purifying rancid castor oil is recommended by M. Pavesi. 
Mix 1000 parts of the oil with 25 parts of purified bone-black and 10 of magnesia; allow 
the mixture to stand for three days, with occasional agitation; then filter through paper 
xr felt. (Repert. de Pharm., Sept. 1857.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Oleum Ricini.—Oleum. Rosse. 
613 
sweetened coffee, by which it is rendered more fluid, and its taste considerably 
disguised. Some take it in wine, or spirituous liquors, or the froth of porter; 
but these are often contraindicated by their stimulant property. When the 
stomach is unusually delicate, the oil may be made into an emulsion with mu- 
cilage or the yelk of an egg, loaf sugar, and an aromatic water. Tragacanth 
has been recommended as producing a better emulsion than gum arabic. Lauda- 
num may be added in cases of intestinal irritation. It has been proposed to 
give the oil in the air-bladders of fishes, which may be preserved in alcohol for 
the purpose.* Castor oil may also be beneficially used as an enema, in the 
quantity of two or three fluidounces, mixed with some mucilaginous liquid. It 
has been recommended as a local application to the breasts of nursing women, 
to promote the secretion of milk. 
Though apt to become rancid by itself, it loses much of this susceptibility 
when mixed with lard; and some apothecaries are said to use it as a substitute 
for olive oil in unguents and cerates. But the slightly irritating properties of 
even the mildest castor oil render it unfit for those preparations which are in- 
tended to alleviate irritation. 
Off. Prep. Collodium Flexile, Br.; Linimentum Sinapis Compositum, Br.; 
Pilula Hydrargyri Subchloridi Composita, Br. W. 
OLEUM ROSiE. US. 
Oil of Roses. 
The volatile oil obtained from the petals of Rosa centifolia. U. S 
See ROSA CENTIFOLIA. 
This is commonly called attar, otto, or essence of roses. It is prepared on 
a large scale in Turkey in Europe, especially in the Balkan mountains, in Egypt, 
Persia, Cashmere, India, and other countries of the East; but commerce is at 
present supplied chiefly from the region constituting the southern slope of the 
Balkans. In the south of France it is prepared in small quantities by distilling 
the petals of the rose with water. The oil concretes and floats upon the surface 
of the water when it cools. The precise species of rose from which the oil is ex- 
tracted is not in all instances certainly known; but it is said to be obtained from 
R. damascena in Northern India, R. moscliata in Persia, and R. centifolia (pro- 
vincialis) in the north of European Turkey. It is furnished in very minute 
proportion; not more than three drachms having been obtained by Colonel 
Polier, in Ilindostan, from 100 lbs. of the petals. It is usually imported in small 
bottles, and is very costly.f 
Oil of roses is said to be prepared in Macedonia by crushing the petals in 
mills, expressing the fluid part, filtering it, and then exposing it to the sun in 
small glass vessels. The oil gradually collects on the surface of the liquid, and 
is removed. {Pharm. Gent. Blatt, 1847, p. 783.) 
Landerer states that, at Damascus and other parts of Asia Minor, the oil is 
prepared by dry distillation. The buds being collected before sunrise are placed 
in a glass retort; and the distillation is elfected by a salt-water bath, care being 
taken so to regulate the heat as not to scorch the petals. The water of the 
fresh roses and their oil come over together, and the latter, floating on the top, 
is separated in the usual mode. 
Oil of roses is nearly colourless, or presents some shade of green, yellow, or 
red; but, according to Polier, the colour is no criterion of its value. It is con- 
crete below 80°, and becomes liquid between 84° and 86°. Its odour is very 
powerful and diffusive. At 90° its sp. gr. is 0-832. Alcohol dissolves it, though 
* Oil of bitter almonds has been proposed as an effectual means of destroying the taste 
of castor oil. It is to be employed in the same method as in the case of cod-liver oil. (See 
page 603.) Another measure is to beat the oil well with the contents of an egg, adding a 
little salt, sugar, and a few drops of orange flower water. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
f See a paper by Prof. J. L. Smith, on the preparation of the otto of rose in the Bal- 
kans, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1859, p. 324. 614 
Oleum Rosse.— Oleum Scsami.— Oleum Succini. 
PART 1. 
not freely when cold. It consists of two oils, one liquid, the other concrete at 
ordinary temperatures. These may be separated by freezing the oil, and com- 
pressing it between folds of blotting paper, which absorbs the liquid oil, and 
leaves the concrete or stearoptene. The latter consists exclusively of carbon 
and hydrogen; the former, of these with oxygen. It is said that the odour 
resides exclusively in the liquid oil, the pure stearoptene being scentless. 
Sandal-wood oil, other volatile oils, fixed oils, spermaceti, &c., are said to be 
added as adulterations. The volatile additions may be detected by not being 
concrete ; the fixed, by the greasy stain they leave on paper when heated. Gui- 
bourt h.as offered certain tests by which he thinks the purity of the oil may be 
determined. (See Am. Journ. of Pharvi., xxi. 318.) It is said that the oil of one 
of the sweet-scented Pelargoniums, perhaps the rose-geranium, is much em- 
ployed in Turkey for the purpose of adulteration; but this is probably a mis- 
take. According to Mr. Hanbury, who appears to have thoroughly investigated 
the subject, two substances especially are used in Constantinople for adulte- 
rating the oil; one spermaceti, the other a volatile oil, produced by certain 
grasses in the East Indies belonging to the genus Andropogon, large quanti- 
ties of which are exported from Bombay, partly directly to Europe, partly 
through the Arabian Gulf, whence it reaches Constantinople. The same oil is 
imported into London under the name of Turkish essence of geranium. 
(Pharm. Journ., April, 1859, p. 506.)* 
A test of the genuineness of oil of roses has been proposed by Hager, consisting 
in the action of strong sulphuric acid, which, added in the quantity of twenty 
drops to five drops of the oil, produces a reddish-brown mixture, which, if 
shaken when cold with three drachms of absolute alcohol, will, if the oil be 
pure, change into a tolerably clear yellowish-brown solution, remaining clear 
if heated to ebullition ; whereas, if the oil be adulterated, the mixture will con- 
tinue very cloudy, and sometimes a deposit will form. Professor Redwood, 
however, on trying the test, did not find it satisfactory. {Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., Feb. 1866, p. 424, and April, 1866, p. 499.) 
Oil of roses may be added, as a grateful perfume, to various spirituous pre- 
parations for internal use, and to cerates and ointments. W. 
OLEUM SESAMI. US. Secondary. 
Benne Oil. 
The oil of the seeds of Sesamum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientate. U. S. 
See SESAMI FOLIUM. 
OLEUM SUCCINI. U.S. 
Oil of Amber. 
The volatile oil obtained by the destructive distillation of Amber. U. S. 
Amber. Succinum. This is a fossil resin, derived, probably, from extinct 
coniferse, occurring generally in small detached masses, in alluvial deposits, in 
different parts of the world. It is found chiefly in Prussia, either on the sea- 
shore, where it is thrown up by the Baltic, or underneath the surface, in the allu- 
vial formations along the coast. It is said that the whole annual product of the 
Baltic coast is at present about 200,000 pounds. (Am.Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1868, p. 369.) Large deposits occur in some lakes on the eastern coast of Cour- 
land, and an extensive bed of yellow amber was discovered in 1854, on sinking 
a well in the coal mines near Prague. The largest mass of amber, yet found, 
weighed thirteen pounds. Amber also occurs in considerable quantities near 
Catania, in Sicily. It is usually associated with lignite, and sometimes encloses 
* For a paper by Dr. R. Bauer, of Constantinople, giving an account of oil of rosea 
in all its relations, its production, properties, adulteration, &c.rthe reader is referred to 
toe Pharm. Journ. and T>-ans. (Dec. 1867, p. 286).—Note to the thirteenth edition. TAIIT i. 
Oleum Succini. 
615 
insects and parts of vegetables. In the United States, it was found at Cape 
Sable, Maryland, by Dr. Troost. In this locality it is associated with lignite 
and iron pyrites. It has also been discovered in New Jersey. The amber, con- 
sumed in this country, is brought from the ports of the Baltic. A mine of it is 
said to have been discovered, and is now worked, near Rokwood in Australia 
It is a brittle solid, generally in small irregular masses, permanent in the air, 
having a homogeneous texture and vitreous fracture, and susceptible of a tine 
polish. It becomes negatively electric by friction. Its colour is generally brown- 
ish-yellow, either light or deep; but is occasionally reddish-brown or even deep- 
brown. It has no taste, and is inodorous when, cold, but exhales a peculiar, 
aromatic smell when heated. It is usually translucent, though occasionally trans- 
parent or opaque. Its sp. gr. is about 1 -07. Water and alcohol scarcely act on it. 
When heated in the open air, it softens, melts at 548°, swells, and at last in- 
flames, leaving, after combustion, a small portion of ashes. Subjected to distil- 
lation in a retort furnished with a tubulated receiver, it yields, first, a yellow acid 
liquor; and afterwards a thin yellowish oil, with a yellow waxy substance, which 
is deposited in the neck of the retort and the upper part of the receiver. This 
waxy substance, exhausted by cold ether of the part soluble in that menstruum, 
is reduced to a yellow micaceous substance, identical with the chrysen of Lau- 
rent. A white crystalline substance, identical with the idrialin of Dumas, may 
be separated from the micaceous substance by boiling alcohol. Both chrysen and 
idrialin are carbohydrogens. (Pelletier and Walter, Journ. de Pharm., v. 60.) 
As the distillation proceeds, a considerable quantity of combustible gas is given 
off, which must be allowed to escape. By continuing the heat, the oil gradually 
deepens in colour, until, towards the end of the distillation, it becomes black and 
of the consistence of pitch. The oil obtained is called oil of amber, and the acid 
liquor is a solution of impure succinic acid. Repeatedly distilled from nitric acid, 
amber yields an acid liquor, from which, after it has been neutralized with caustic 
potassa, ether separates pure camphor (Doepping, Journ. de Pharm., vi. 168 ) 
Camphor is also obtained by distilling to dryness powdered amber with an ex- 
tremely concentrated solution of caustic potassa. (Gr. Reich, Ibid., xiii. 33.) 
According to Berzelius, amber consists of 1. a volatile oil of an agreeable odour 
in small quantity; 2. a yellow resin, intimately united with a volatile oil, very 
soluble in alcohol, ether, and the alkalies, easily fusible, and resembling ordinary 
resins; 3. another resin, also combined with a volatile oil, soluble in ether and 
the alkalies, sparingly soluble in cold, but more soluble in boiling alcohol; 4. 
succinic acid ; 5. a bituminous principle insoluble in alcohol, ether, and the alka- 
lies, having some analogy to the lac resin of John, and constituting more than 
four-fifths of the amber. It also contains a strongly odorous, bright-yellow sub- 
stance, which hardens by time, but preserves in part its odour. The ultimate 
constituents of amber are carbon 80'59, hydrogen 7*31, oxygen 6’73, ashes (silica, 
lime, and alumina) 3 27 == 97 90. A minute proportion of sulphur has also been 
found among its constituents. {Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1864, p. 404.) 
Amber was held in high estimation by the ancients as a medicine; but at 
present is employed only in pharmacy and the arts. In pharmacy it is used to 
prepare oil of amber and succinic acid. In the arts it is made into ornaments, 
and employed in preparing varnishes. When put to the latter use it requires to 
be first subjected to roasting, whereby it is rendered soluble in a mixture of lin- 
seed oil and oil of turpentine. This solution forms amber varnish. B. 
Oil of Amber. Oleum Succini. Crude Oil of Amber. In the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia of 1850, this is placed among the Preparations; in the existing edi- 
tion, it has been transferred to the Materia Medica list. The following are the 
former officinal directions for its preparation. 
“ Take of Amber, in powder, any quantity. Put the Amber, previously mixed 
with an equal weight of sand, into a glass retort, which is to be only half filled; 
then distil, by means of a sand-bath, with a gradually increasing heat, an acid 
liquor, an oil, and a concrete acid impregnated with oil. Separate the oil from 
the other matters, and keep it in well-stopped bottles.” U. S. 616 
Oleum Succini.— Oleum Terebinthinae. 
PART I. 
The amber in this process undergoes decomposition, and affords, among other 
products, an empyreumatic oil, which floats in the receiver upon the surface of 
an acid liquor. The heat requisite for the complete decomposition of the amber 
cannot be supported by a glass retort; and, in order that all the oil which it is 
capable of yielding may be collected, the distillation should be performed in a 
tubulated iron or earthenware retort, which may be placed immediately upon 
the lire. The sand is added to prevent the amber from swellingtoo much. The 
oil may be separated from the acid liquor by means of the separating funnel. 
As first procured, it is a thick, very dark-coloured liquid, of a peculiar strong 
empyreumatic odour. In this state it is occasionally employed as a liniment; 
but for internal use it should be rectified. It is said that the scrapings of copal 
and the resin dammar are often substituted for amber, and yield an oil scarcely 
distinguishable from the genuine. (Pereira ) 
Off. Prep. Oleum Succini Rectificatum, U.S. W. 
OLEUM TEREBINTlIINiE. U.S,Br. 
Oil of Turpentine. 
The volatile oil distilled from the turpentine of Pinus palustns and of other 
species of Pinus. U. S. The oil distilled from the oleo-resin (turpentine) ob- 
tained from Pinus palustris, Pinus Taeda, and sometimes Pinus Pinaster. Br. 
Huile volatile de tereben thine, Fr.; Terpenthinol, Germ.; Olio della tremer tina, Ital.; 
A.ceyte de trementina, Span. 
See TEREB1NTHINA. 
This oil is commonly called spirits or spirit of turpentine. It is prepared 
by distillation from our common turpentine, though equally afforded by other 
varieties. It may be distilled either with or without water; but in the latter 
case a much higher temperature is required, and the product is liable to be em- 
pyreumatic. To obtain it quite pure it should be redistilled from a solution of 
caustic potassa. The turpentine of Pinus palustris is said to yield about 11 
per cent, of oil; while the common turpentine of Europe affords 24 per cent. 
Large quantities are distilled in North Carolina for exportation 
Pure oil of turpentine is perfectly limpid and colourless, of a strong, pene- 
trating, peculiar odour, and a hot, pungent, bitterish taste. It is much lighter 
than water, having the sp gr. 0'86 at 12° F.; is highly volatile and inflamma- 
ble ; boils at a temperature somewhat higher than 300° ; is very slightly soluble 
in water, less soluble in alcohol than most other volatile oils, and readily soluble 
in ether. Boiling alcohol dissolves it with facility, but deposits most of the oil 
upon cooling. One hundred parts of alcohol of 0-84 dissolve 13 5 parts of the 
oil at 72°. As found in commerce, it always contains oxygen; but, when per- 
fectly pure, it consists exclusively of carbon and hydrogen, and is thought to be 
isomeric with the radical of camphor. Hence it has been denominated camphene. 
(See page 203.) According to Blanchet and Sell, it consists of two distinct 
isomeric oils, which, by the absorption of oxygen, are converted into two dis- 
tinct resins, corresponding to those found by Unverdorben in colophony. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xx. 226.) But there is reason to believe that these oils are the re- 
sults of chemical reaction ; as, when isolated, they have boiling points higher 
than that of the original oil. Heated in close vessels to 482° F., oil of turpen- 
tine undergoes certain changes in properties, without any discoverable change 
of composition. {Ibid., 3e ser., xxiv. 428.) It absorbs muriatic acid, forming 
with it two compounds, one a red dense liquid, the other a white crystalline 
substance resembling camphor, and hence called artificial camphor. The latter 
consists of the unaltered oil (camphene) combined with the acid, and is there- 
fore muriate of camphene. In the former the oil appears to have undergone 
some molecular change, being converted into an oil isomeric with the oil of tur- 
pentine, but differing from it in its action on polarized light, and in forming a 
liquid compound with muriatic acid. Nitric acid converts oil of turpentine into 
resin, and by long boiling into turpentinic acid. Mixed with water and chlo- PART i. 
Oleum Terebinthinse. 
617 
ride of lime, and then distilled, the oil yields a liquid which M. Chautard found 
to be identical with chloroform. (Ibid., 3e ser , xxi. 88.) On exposure to air 
and light, it deposits white acicular crystals, which are without taste or smell, 
insoluble in cold water, but soluble in ether and alcohol. (Boissenot, Journ. de 
Chiin. Med.,\\. 143.) White crystals of stearoptene, heavier than water and 
fusible at 20°, separate from the oil at the temperature of 18° below zero. 
These are probably a hydrate of the oil. The hydrate may be produced by ex- 
posing on a plate four volumes of the oil recently distilled, three of alcohol, and 
one of nitric acid. Crystals form at the end of a week or more. This happens 
though the oil may be mixed with others,- and may serve to detect adulterations 
with it of oils which do not have the same composition. (Berthelot, Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chirn., xxviii. 451.) The name of ter pin has been given to this 
crystalline hydrated oil of turpentine; and similar crystals, if not identically 
the same in character, have been taken from the interior of an old pine log, 
where they were probably formed from the oil remaining in the structure of the 
wood (John M. Blake, Am. Journ of Sciences and Arts, A. D. 1867, xliii. 202.) 
Exposed to the air the oil absorbs oxygen, becomes thicker and yellowish, 
and loses much of its activity, owing to the formation of resin. A small pro- 
portion of formic acid is said also to be generated Hence the Edinburgh Col- 
lege directed the oil to be rectified by distilling it with about four measures of 
water. But the process is difficult in consequence of the great inflammability of 
the vapour, and its rapid formation, which causes the liquid to boil over. In 
this country it is scarcely necessary; as the recent oil can be obtained at an ex- 
pense less than that which would be incurred by redistillation on a small scale. 
Another mode of purifying the oil is to agitate it with one-eighth of alcohol, 
which dissolves the resinous portion. About one-fifth of the alcohol is retained 
by the oil, but is readily separated by agitation with water. 
The oil as obtained from different species of pine or fir, though having many 
common properties, and identical in composition, is somewhat different, espe- 
cially in relation to its influence on polarized light. Thus, the oil used in this 
country, derived from Pinus palustris, produces deviation of the plane of polari- 
zation to the right, while the French oil, from Pinus maritima, has the con- 
trary effect. M. Berthelot, after numerous experiments, has come.to the conclu- 
sion, that the oils of turpentine of the formula whether from the same 
or different trees, are mixtures of several isomeric carburets, constituting per- 
manent varieties, which carry their distinctive character with them into combi- 
nation, as in their artificial camphors and hydrates, which have the same rotary 
power as their respective oils. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., xxv 263.) 
Berthelot has shown that oil of turpentine has, under certain conditions, tbe 
power, while undergoing oxidation itself, of causing the oxidation of other 
bodies, to which it imparts a portion of the oxygen absorbed from the air. All 
that is necessary to give this power to the oil is that, soon after distillation, it 
should be exposed to the air, as in a bottle half filled. Solar light assists, but 
is not essential to the change, which goes on even in the dark. The oil retains 
the property thus acquired indefinitely, but may be deprived of it by exposure 
to a boiling heat, or by agitation with certain other substances, as pyrogallate 
of potassa. No other chemical or physical change can be detected in the oil. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1860, p. 351.) 
In this country the oil of turpentine, though often more or less impure from 
the presence of resin, is probably not often adulterated. An instance, however, 
has been put on record, in which a sample of the oil, having a pale-green colour, 
was found to contain copper. This was easily separated by shaking the oil 
with a little saturated solution of prussiate of potassa, and allowing it to stand 
for two or three days to settle. (C. Lewis Diehl, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 
1867, p. 386.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oil of turpentine is stimulant, diuretic, occa- 
sionally diaphoretic, anthelmintic, in large doses cathartic, and externally rube- 
facient, Swallowed in moderate quantities it produces a sense of warmth in the 618 
Oleum Terebinthinse. 
PART I. 
stomach, accelerates the circulation, and increases the heat of the skin, without 
especially affecting the functions of the brain. In small doses, frequently re- 
peated, it stimulates the kidneys, augmenting the secretion of urine, and often 
producing, especially if long continued, painful irritation of the urinary passages, 
amounting sometimes to violent strangury. At the same time it imparts the 
odour of violets to the urine; and this effect is also produced by its external 
application, or even by breathing the air of an apartment impregnated with its 
vapours. In large doses it occasions slight vertigo, or a sense of fulness in the 
head, sometimes amounting to intoxication, attended frequently with nausea, 
and succeeded generally, though not always, by speedy and brisk catharsis. 
When this effect is experienced, the oil is carried out of the bowels, and, no time 
being allowed for absorption, is less apt to irritate the kidneys and bladder than 
in small and repeated doses. In some constitutions it produces, even when taken 
internally, an erythematic eruption on the skin. Persons who inhale its vapour 
are liable to strangury and even bloody urine. We have seen cases of haematuria 
in seamen from on board vessels loaded with turpentine. A case is on record in 
which a woman was found dead, after having swallowed a large quantity of the 
oil, probably about six ounces. The muscles were in a state of rigid contrac- 
tion; the membranes of the brain and spinal marrow were greatly congested, 
and the brain in a less degree; and the lungs and right cavities of the heart 
were gorged with blood. The inference is that death resulted from asphyxia, 
produced probably by a tetanic contraction of the muscles of respiration. (See 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1858, p. 562.) 
The oil is employed in numerous diseases. Asa stimulant it sometimes proves 
serviceable in low forms of fever. We have found it extremely useful in the 
advanced stage of typhoid or enteric fever; and especially in cases in which 
the tongue has partially or completely thrown off its fur in flakes, and after- 
wards become dry, with a surface destitute of its ordinary papillary appearance, 
and often contracted and fissured. The remedy has, in our hands, proved almost 
uniformly successful under these circumstances. With small doses of the oil fre- 
quently repeated, the tongue becomes moist and again coated, the tympanitic 
state of the bowels disappears, and the patient goes on to recover as in a favour- 
able case of fever. Its efficiency, however, in typhoid fever, is ascribable not so 
much to its stimulant properties, as to an alterative influence upon the ulcerated 
surface of the bowels characteristic of that disease. The medicine has been re- 
commended as a counter-irritant in yellow and puerperal fevers; and may un- 
doubtedly be given with advantage in the latter stages of these diseases, and in 
other instances of gastric and enteric inflammations, which require a resort to 
stimulation. In chronic rheumatism, particularly sciatica and lumbago, the oil 
has often been given with great benefit. It has also been much extolled as a 
remedy in neuralgia, in epilepsy and tetanus, in passive hemorrhages, particu- 
larly from the bowels, in disordered conditions of the alimentary canal attended 
with sallow countenance, foul tongue, tumid abdomen, sour or fetid eructations, 
and general depravation of health, in obstructions of the bowels, in chronic dys- 
entery and diarrhcea, in obstinate gleets and leucorrhoea, in suppression of urine, 
and retention and incontinence of urine from debility, and in chronic nephritic 
and calculous affections. In certain cases of dysentery,whether acute or chronic, 
when the tongue is quite dry, and smooth as if from defect of the papillary struc- 
ture, no remedy has proved so efficient in our hands as oil of turpentine. We 
have seen it also very beneficial in haemoptysis. As a vermifuge it is highly 
esteemed, especially in cases of taenia. It appears to destroy or debilitate the 
worm, which, losing its hold upon the bowels, is then easily discharged. In 
cases of worms in the stomach it is very useful. The worms, in this instance, 
are destroyed, and then digested as any other dead animal matter. In dropsies 
with feeble action the oil may sometimes be advantageously given as a di- 
uretic ; and in amenorrhoea from torpor of the uterine vessels it is occasionally 
useful. As a local stimulant it may be given beneficially in some instances of 
flatulent colic, and gout in the stomach. PART I. 
Oleum Terebinthinse. 
619 
The dose for ordinary purposes is from five to thirty drops, repeated every 
hour or two in acute, and three or four times a day in chronic diseases. In rheu- 
matism it is recommended by some in the dose of a fluidrachm every four hours. 
As a remedy for the tape-worm it is given in the quantity of one or two fluid- 
ounces, and should be followed by castor oil if it do not operate in three or four 
hours. It has also proved successful in taenia in the dose of half a drachm, twice 
a day, continued for a considerable time. In ordinary cases of worms, the usual 
dose may be given. It may be administered on sugar, or in emulsion with gum 
arabic, loaf sugar, and cinnamon or mint-water. 
In the form of enema, the oil has been employed in amenorrhcea, and to pro- 
mote uterine contraction in child-birth, and is highly useful in cases of ascarides, 
obstinate constipation, and distension of the bowels from accumulation of air. 
No remedy is more effectual in tympanites than injections of oil of turpentine. 
From half a fluidounce to two fluidounces may be administered, suspended by 
the yelk of eggs in half a pint or a pint of water, or some mucilaginous fluid. 
Externally applied, oil of turpentine irritates and speedily inflames the skin; 
and, in low forms of fever with coldness of the surface, is when heated one of 
the most efficacious rubefacients. It is also used as a liniment in rheumatic and 
paralytic affections, and various internal inflammations. It should generally, in 
mild cases, be diluted with olive oil; and in some constitutions, even in this 
state, produces such violent inflammation of the skin, with extensive eruptions, 
as to render its external use in any shape improper. Mixed with some mild oil, 
and introduced on cotton into the ear, it is sometimes beneficial in deafness 
arising from a deficient or unhealthy secretion of wax. Applied to recent burns, 
it is thought bv some to be highly useful in allaying the burning pain and pro- 
moting a disposition to heal. For this purpose, however, it is usually mixed 
with resin cerate (basilicon ointment), so as to form a liniment capable of being 
spread upon linen rags. (See Linimentum Terebinthinse.)* The oil has been 
recommended also in anthrax and erysipelas. M. Beullard has found it useful 
in eczema, applied directly to the affected part. It causes immediately severe 
pain and much swelling, and in a few minutes must be removed, and followed 
by cooling and demulcent measures. A modification of the disease is thus pro- 
duced, which renders ordinary applications successful that had been previously 
useless. (Ann.de Therap., 1865, p. 188.) 
Oil of turpentine has been recommended in the form of bath, in affections in 
which its constitutional impression is desired. For this purpose Dr. T. Smith, of 
Cheltenham, England, employs from five to ten fluidounces of the oil, with half a 
fluidounce of the oil of rosemary, and two pounds of carbonate of soda in each 
bath. The breath becomes strongly impregnated with the terebinthinate odour. 
(Braithwaite's Retrospect, xxi. 355.) Applied in vapour, the oil is said to be a 
very speedy cure for the itch. The bed and night clothes are sprinkled with 
thirteen drachms of the oil, and the patient finds himself cured on awaking 
in the morning. (Am. Journ. of Med. Set., July, 1857, p. 232.) Baths of the 
vapour of turpentine are stated to be very beneficial in chronic rheumatism. 
They are said to be borne well, for twenty-five minutes, at a temperature from 
14U° to 160° F. (Arch. Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 80 ) Inhalation of the vapour has 
been recommended by Skoda in gangrene of the lungs. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Terebinthin®, Br.; Enema Terebinthin®, Br.; Linimen 
turn Cantharidis, U. S.; Liniment. Terebinthin®; Liniment. Terebinthin® Aceti 
cum, Br.; Unguentum Terebinthin®, Br. W. 
* The following is the formula adopted by the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy foi 
the preparation of the rubefacient liniment, so much sold under the name of British oil. 
R Olei Terebinth Olei Lini Olei Succinif5iv, Olei Juniperif^iv, Petrolei 
Barbadensis fgiij, Petrolei American! (Seneca oil) Misce. 620 
Oleum Theobromse. 
PART I 
OLEUM U.S.,Br. 
Oil of Theobroma. Butter of Oacao. Cacao Butter. 
The concrete oil of the kernels of the fruit of Theobroma Cacao. U. S. A 
concrete oil obtained by expression and heat from the ground seeds of Theo- 
broma Cacao. Br. 
Theobroma. Sex. Syst. Polyadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Sterculiaceae. 
Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx sepaled. Petals 5, vaulted at the base, ligulate above. Stamens 
15, connected into an urceolus at the base; sterile filaments 5, alternate with 
the petals; fertile ones short, united into 5 filaments, each opposite to a petal 
and bearing 2 anthers Style 5-cleft at the apex. Stigmas simple. Fruit inde- 
hiscent, 5-celled. Seeds embedded in a buttery pulp. 
Theobroma Cacao. Linn. Sp. PI. 1100; Hayne, Darstel.und Beschreib. &c., 
ix. 35. This is a handsome tree, from twelve to twenty feet in height, grow- 
ing in Mexico, the West Indies, and South America, in some parts of which it is 
largely cultivated, particularly in Guayaquil and Venezuela. The fruit is an 
oblong-ovate capsule or berry, six or eight inches in length, with a thick, coria- 
ceous, somewhat ligneous rind, enclosing a whitish pulp, in which numerous 
seeds are embedded. These are ovate, somewhat compressed, about as large as 
an almond, and consist of an exterior thin shell, and a brown oily kernel. Sepa- 
rated from the matter in which they are enveloped, they constitute the cocoa, 
cacao, or chocolate nuts of commerce They have a slightly aromatic, bitterish, 
oily taste, and, when bruised or heated, an agreeable odour. Analyzed by Mitsch- 
erlich, they were found to contain, in 100 parts, from 45 to 49 of fixed oil (cacao 
butter), 14 to 18 of starch, 0-34 of glucose, 0 26 of cane sugar, 5-8 of cellulose, 
3*5 to 5 of colouring matter, 13 to 18 of albuminoid matter, 12 to 15 of theo- 
bromin, 5 6 to 6 3 of water, with 35 ashes. The colouring matter is probably 
the result of chemical change, as the fresh seeds are white. Theobromin has 
been found also in the shells in the proportion of about 1 per cent. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 509.) The shells of the nuts are sometimes 
employed in the state of infusion, as a substitute for tea or coffee. They impart 
to boiling water a taste analogous to that of chocolate, but weaker. The kernel is 
consumed in great quantities, in the shape of chocolate,or in some analogous form. 
Theobromin (or more properly theobromia) was discovered by M. Woskre- 
sensky, who obtained it in the following method. The kernels are exhausted with 
water by means of the water-bath; the solution is strained through linen, pre- 
cipitated by acetate of lead, and filtered ; the filtered liquid is freed from lead by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, and evaporated; the brown residue is treated with boil- 
ing alcohol, and the liquid filtered while hot. Upon cooling, the theobromia is 
deposited in the form of a reddish-white powder, which is rendered colourless by 
repeated crystallization. Keller obtained it still purer by heating the powder 
between two watch-glasses, by which a brilliant white sublimate was obtained. 
(Gmetin's Handbook.) Theobromia is a nitrogenous crvstallizable principle, 
capable of forming salts with the acids, very bitter, volatilizable without change, 
freely soluble in hot alcohol, sparingly so in hot water, and closely analogous to 
caffein. Its formula, according to Dr. F. Keller, is CuH8N404. It has been con- 
verted into caffein by Prof. Strecker. (See Am. J. ofPharm., Sept. 1861, p. 406.) 
Chocolate is differently" prepared in different countries. In Great Britain and 
the United States, it usually consists, when pure, exclusively of the cocoa or 
chocolate nuta, which are first roasted, then deprived of their shell, and lastly 
reduced, by grinding between heated stones, to a paste, which is moulded 
into oblong cakes. Not unfrequently rice flour or other farinaceous substance, 
with butter or lard, is added; but these must be considered as adulterations. 
On the continent of Europe, sugar is generally incorporated with the paste, and 
spices, especially cinnamon, are often added. Vanilla is a favourite addition in 
South America, France, and Spain. Cocoa is often sold in the state of powder, Oleum Theobromse.—Oleum Thy mi. 
621 
PART i. 
which is sometimes mingled with other ingredients, such as ground rice, barley 
flour, sugar, &c. Chocolate is prepared for use by reducing it to powder, and 
boiling it in milk, water, or a mixture of these fluids. In this state it is much 
employed as a drink at breakfast and tea, and serves as a substitute for coffee in 
dyspepsia. It is also a good article of diet for convalescents, and may sometimes 
be given advantageously as a mild nutritive drink in acute disease. 
Oil of Theobroma. Cacao Butter. This is the fixed oil of the chocolate nut. 
It is extracted either by expression, decoction, or the action of a solvent. Sou- 
beiran recommends that the seeds, previously ground, be mixed with one-tenth 
of their weight of water, then pressed between hot plates of tinned iron It is 
advisable that the heat should not exceed that of boiling water, and even a lower 
heat will answer. When the method of decoction is used, the cacao should be 
slightly roasted before boiling. As a solvent, bisulphide of carbon has been 
found to answer well, as recommended in the preparation of the expressed oil of 
nutmeg. (See Oleum Myristicse.) Upon the whole, the method of expression is 
perhaps preferable. The presence of water in the ground seeds is said greatly to 
facilitate the process. The expressed oil, which is generally imported, comes in 
the shape of oblong cakes, like those of chocolate, weighing about half a pound 
each. It is whitish or yellowish, of the consistence of tallow, with an agreeable 
odour resembling that of chocolate, and a bland, pleasant taste. It was analyzed 
by Specht and Gossman, who found it to consist of stearin, palmitin, and olein. 
From its large proportion of stearin, it is one of the best fats for the prepara- 
tion of stearic acid. ( Chem. Gaz., Aug. 15, 1854, p. 306.) It is said to be fre- 
quently adulterated with animal fats. 
Butter of cacao is used as an ingredient in cosmetic ointments, and in phar- 
macy for coating pills, and preparing suppositories. For the last purpose it 
is well adapted by its consistence and blandness, and is now largely consumed. 
It was, indeed, on this account chiefly that it was introduced into the present 
edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.* A good lip salve is said to be prepared 
by melting together 28 ounces of cacao butter, 4 ounces of yellow wax, and a 
drachm, each, of balsam of Peru and benzoic acid, straining, adding perfuming 
oils, as those of rose, bergamot, and bitter almonds, in sufficient quantity, and 
finally, when nearly cool, an ounce of glycerin. (F. Bringhurst, Am. Journ 
of Pharm., July, 1867, p. 348.) 
Off. Prep. Suppositoria Acidi Tannici, Br.; Supposit. Hydrargyri, Br ; 
Supposit. Morphiae, Br.; Supposit. Plumbi Composita, Br. W. 
OLEUM THYMI. US. 
Oil of Thyme. 
The volatile oil obtained from Thymus vulgaris. U. S. 
This was introduced into the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
under the impression, that what is usually employed under the name of oil of 
origanum, and by that name was recognised in former editions of the Phar- 
macopoeia, is really the product of the Thymus vulgaris, or common thyme. 
This fact was ascertained by Mr. Daniel Hanbury, during a journey in the south 
of Prance, where thyme grows wild in great abundance, and is largely col- 
lected for distillation The oil is taken from France to England, and thence 
reaches this country under the name of oil of origanum, having, probably from its 
* Mafurra Tallow. Under this name a fatty matter is known, obtained from the fruit of 
a tree growing in Mozambique, and the Isles of Madagascar and Bourbon, and bearing a 
close resemblance in qualities to cacao butter. The kernel of the fruit is described as of 
the size of the cacao bean, having the same characteristic odour when bruised, and a bit- 
ter taste. The fatty matter is extracted by boiling the kernels in water. It is of a firm 
3olid consistence, less fusible than tallow, of a yellowish colour, and the odour of cacao 
butter. It agrees, moreover, with that substance in containing olein and palmitin, and 
yields palmitic acid largely when saponified. The tree which yields it will probably be 
found to bear a close botanical affinity to Thcobroma. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xxviii 163.) 622 
Oleum, Thymi. 
PART r. 
greater cheapness, been substituted for the genuine oil. The substitution is ot 
the less importance, as, for all the purposes for which oil of origanum was used, 
that of thyme is not less useful, while it is at least quite as agreeable. 
Thymus vulgaris is a very common plant, indigenous in the south of France, 
and cultivated in our gardens. It is a labiate plant, belonging to the Linnrean 
class and order Didvnamia Grymnospermia, and characterized as a genus by its 
subcampanulate calyx, having its throat closed with hairs, and its corolla with 
the upper lip flat and emarginate, and a longer lower lip. It is a low under- 
shrub, procumbent at the base, with ovate linear, revolute leaves, and flowers in 
a whorled spike. The herbaceous portion, which should be gathered when the 
plant is in flower, has a peculiar, strong, aromatic, agreeable odour, not lost by 
drying, and a pungent, aromatic, camphorous taste. Its active constituent is 
the volatile oil, which is obtained separate by distillation with water. 
The oil, as prepared in the south of France, is, after one distillation, of a red- 
dish-brown colour, and called the red oil, but when again distilled is colourless, 
and in this condition is distinguished as the white oil. It is the former that is 
exclusively found in our shops. According to Zeller, one pound of the fresh herb 
yields 45 7 grains of the oil, of the dried herb 38 grains. The oil, as found in 
our shops, is of a reddish-brown colour, and of an odour recalling that of thyme, 
but less agreeable. Its sp. gr. is stated at 0-905, but probably varies, as the oil 
is a complex body. Besides other ingredients, it contains a principle called 
thymol, which is concrete at ordinary temperatures, and comes over last in dis- 
tillation, and which in the solid state is somewhat heavier than water. 
Thymic Acid. 'Thymol. The thymol referred to in the above paragraph has 
recently attracted considerable attention, under the name of thymic acid, from 
its possession of antiseptic properties analogous to those of carbolic and cresylic 
acids and creasote, with which it is also analogous in composition. It may be 
obtained by submitting the oil to a prolonged refrigeration, under the influence 
of which it crystallizes; but in this solid state it is less convenient for use 
than as a liquid. It appears that there are two isomeric forms of thymic 
acid, one the crystalline product here referred to, the other a liquid, obtained 
by treating the oil of thyme with an aqueous solution of potassa or soda, which 
separates it from a principle called thymene with which it is mixed in the oil, 
and which is not affected by the alkalies. The thymate thus formed is de- 
composed by an acid, and the liberated thymic acid is purified by repeated 
washings, desiccation, and finally distillation. In this state it maybe exposed 
to a very low temperature, without crystallizing, not even though some crys- 
tals of the other variety be thrown in for a nucleus. In a concentrated state 
it has an acrid and caustic taste; but when very much diluted, the only taste 
perceptible is that of thyme, and a sense of coolness in the mouth like that 
caused by the oil of peppermint. In the crystalline state it melts at 113° F., 
and boils at 446° F. When once melted, it often has the peculiarity of remain- 
ing indefinitely in the liquid state. It is only very slightly soluble in water, but 
is very soluble in alcohol, and more freely in proportion to the concentration of 
the menstruum. It is dissolved by ether and the fixed oils, and has no rotary 
power as regards polarized light. The alkalies unite with it to form soluble 
salts. Like creasote it has the property of combining with animal tissues, and 
thus protecting them against putrefaction. Its composition is represented by 
the formula ; while thymene, with which it is associated in the oil, is 
a hydrocarbon, isomeric with the oil of turpentine, and having the composition 
The disagreeable odour of carbolic or phenylic acid induced M. Bouil- 
hon, a French pharmaceutist, to search among the analogous chemical pro- 
ducts, in the hope of finding some one which might have the important prac- 
tical properties of carbolic acid without disagreeable smell. This he believes 
that he has found in thymic acid. Dr. Paquet, clinical professor of surger}r at 
Lille, has satisfied himself by numerous experiments that thymic acid has 
excellent antiseptic properties, which adapt it to all those purposes to which 
carbolic acid has been applied as a disinfectant. In a concentrated state it has, PART 1. 
Oleum Thymi.— Oleum Tiglii. 
623 
moreover, caustic properties, which render it very useful for the cauterization 
of the dental nerves. Dissolved in water in the proportion of one to 1000, with 
the addition of a little alcohol, it is useful in the dressing of unhealthy wounds, 
and is peculiarly indicated in cases in which the tincture of iodine and other 
antiseptic remedies have proved unavailing. Combined, in the proportion of 4 
parts of the acid with 4 of tannin, 2 of anilin, and 100 of glycerin, it has 
been used with great success by Dr. Paquet for the preservation of anatomical 
specimens. For the dressing of wounds, it may be used in the form of a lotion 
composed of 1 part of the acid, 4 of alcohol of 85°, and 995 of distilled water. 
In the form of ointment, it may be employed incorporated with lard in the pro- 
portion of from 2 to 20 drops to an ounce. If taken internally, it may either be 
formed into an emulsion, or dissolved in alcohol, or made into pills with 2 parts 
of the acid and 4 parts of medicinal soap, and any desirable excipient; the soap 
being necessary for the proper division of the acid. (Journ. de Pharm. et de 
Chim., Aout, 1868, p. 147.) 
Thyme has the aromatic properties of sage, lavender, &c., and may be used 
for the same purposes; but it is more employed in cooking than in medicine. 
T. serpillum, or the wild thyme of Europe, is analogous in properties to the 
garden thyme. Both are occasionally used in baths, fomentations, and cata- 
plasms, along with other aromatic herbs. 
The oil is used almost exclusively as a local application. Introduced on lint 
or cotton into the cavity of a carious tooth, it will sometimes allay toothache. 
It is often used as a mild irritant in chronic rheumatism, sprains, bruises, &c., 
generally in cohnection with spirit and camphor. It is an ingredient, under the 
name of oil of origanum, in opodeldoc, the Linimentum Saponis Camphoratum 
of former editions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which has, we think unfortunately, 
been discarded from the recent edition. W. 
OLEUM TIGLII. U.S. 
Groton Oil. 
The oil obtained from the seeds of Croton Tiglium. U. S. 
Off. Syn. OLEUM CROTONIS. The oil expressed from the seeds of 
Croton Tiglium. Br. 
Huile de Croton, Fr.; Crotonol, Germ.; Nervalum unnay, Tamool. 
Croton. See CASCARILLA. 
Groton Tiglium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 543; Woodv. Med. Bot., 3d ed., vol. v. 
p. 11. This species of Croton is a small tree or shrub, with a few spreading 
branches, bearing alternate petiolate leaves, which are ovate, acuminate, serrate, 
smooth, of a dark-green colour on the upper surface, paler beneath, and fur- 
nished with two glands at the base. The flowers are in erect terminal racemes, 
scarcely as long as the leaf; the lower being female, the upper male, with straw- 
coloured petals. The fruit is a smooth capsule, about the size of a filbert, with 
three cells, each containing a single seed. 
The tree is a native of Hindostan, Ceylon, the Moluccas, and other parts of 
India. It is pervaded by an acrid purgative principle, probably analogous to 
that found in other plants belonging to the family of Euphorbiaceae. Rumphius 
says that the root is employed in Amboyna, in the dose of a few grains, as a 
drastic purge in dropsy; and, according to the same author, the leaves are so 
acrid that, when chewed and swallowed, they excite inflammation in the lips, 
mouth, and throat, and along the whole course of the alimentary canal The 
wood is said in small doses to be diaphoretic, in larger, purgative and emetic. 
But the seeds are the most active part. These have been long used in India as a 
powerful purgative, and were employed so early as 1630 in Europe, under the 
names of grana Molucca and grana tiglia. But in consequence of their violent 
effects they fell into neglect, and had ceased to be ranked among medicines, 
when, at a comparatively recent period, attention was again called to them by 
the writings of some English physicians in India. They are now imported for 
their oil, which is the only product of the plant considered officinal. 624 
Oleum Tiglii. 
PART 
These seeds are rather larger than a grain of coffee, oblong, rounded at the 
extremities, with two faces, the external considerably more convex than the in- 
ternal, separated from each other by longitudinal ridges, and each divided by a 
similar longitudinal ridge, so that the whole seed presents an irregular quad- 
rangular figure. Sometimes, as in the coffee grain, their internal surface is flat 
with a longitudinal groove, owing to the presence of only two seeds in the cap- 
sule, the groove being produced by the central column or axis. The shell is 
covered with a soft, yellowish-brown epidermis, beneath which the surface is 
black and smooth; and, as the epidermis is often partially removed by friction 
during their carriage, the seeds as they come to us are frequently mottled, and 
sometimes nearly black. The kernel or nucleus is yellowish-brown, and abounds 
in oil. In India the seeds are prepared for use by submitting them to slight tor- 
refaction, by which the shell is rendered more easily separable. In the dose of 
one or two grains the kernel purges with great activity. 
The oil is obtained by expression from the seeds, previously deprived of the 
shell. It may also be separated by decoction in water, or by the action of ether, 
or bisulphide of carbon, which dissolves the oil, and leaves it behind when 
evaporated.* Guibourt recommends, after the first expression, to digest the 
residue with alcohol at a temperature of 120° to 140° F., and then submit it to 
a new expression. The alcohol is to be separated by distillation from the oil, 
which is then to be mixed with the first product. According to Dr. Nimmo, the 
seeds consist of 64 per cent, of kernel, and 36 of envelope. From the seeds im- 
ported into England, about 22 per cent, of oil is obtained by simple expression. 
Guibourt, by his process, obtained 52 per cent, from the kernels, equivalent to 
about 35 from the seeds. Croton seeds yielded to Brandes upon analysis, inde- 
pendently of the shell, traces of a volatile oil, fixed oil, a peculiar fatty acid 
called crotonic acid, an alkaloid which he called crotonin, resin, stearin, wax, 
extractive, sugar, starch, gum, albumen, gluten, lignin, and salts. The crotonin 
has been subsequently found to be nothing more than a magnesian soap with an 
alkaline reaction. The crotonic acid, which is separated along with the oil on 
expression, has been thought to be the active principle of the seeds, but is now 
said to be inert. It may be obtained by treating the oil with solution of potassa, 
decomposing the resulting soap by tartaric acid, filtering and distilling the solu- 
tion, neutralizing the product with baryta-water, evaporating to dryness, decom- 
posing the salt of baryta with strong phosphoric acid, and again distilling. 
(Christison's Dispensatory.) The acid solidifies at 23° F., is highly volatile, 
has a very acrid taste, and is very irritating to the nostrils, f 
Properties. Croton oil, as found in the shops, varies from a pale-yellow to a 
dark reddish-brown. That imported from India is usually pale, that expressed 
in Eui'ope dark, like the deepest coloured sherry. Its consistence is rather 
viscid, and is increased by time. Its smell is faint, but peculiar, its taste hot 
and acrid, leaving in the mouth a disugreeable sensation which continues for 
many hours. The oil is wholly soluble in ether and oil of turpentine. Its re- 
* Extraction xvith ether. Having washed and dried the seeds, grind them in a coffee-mill, 
and form a soft paste with ether. Introduce this into a narrow percolation tube, and gradu- 
ally pour ether upon it until exhausted. Evaporate the ether by means of a water-bath, 
and filter the remaining oil through paper. [Journ. de, Pharm., Aout, 18G2, p. 116 ) 
Extraction with bisulphide of carbon. The seeds, well bruised, arc introduced into a 
bottle with three times their weight of bisulphide of carbon well rectified ; the mixture is 
allowed to stand, with frequent agitation, for 24 hours; the whole is then poured upon a 
cloth and rapidly expressed. The residue is similarly treated with twice its weight of the 
bisulphide, and expressed, after standing as before. The products of the two macerations 
are mixed, then filtered in a covered funnel, and finally submitted to distillation, by means 
of a water-bath, in a glass retort, at the temperature of 160° or 170° F. The bisulphide 
should be recovered by condensing its vapour in a refrigerated receiver. The oil is to be 
poured into a capsule, to show that it contains none of the bisulphide, and then introduced 
into a bottle. [Journ. de Pharm., fie ser., xxxi. 28.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
-j- Prof Tuson believes that he has found in croton seeds a peculiar alkaloid, analogous 
to cascarillin. He extracts it by the same process as that already described, by which 
he obtained ricinin from the castor-bean. (See note, page 60d.) But further experiments 
arc required for satisfactory results. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 418.) part r. 
Oleum Tiglii. 
625 
lations to pure alcohol differ somewhat with the variety of the oil. That 
obtained by expression in England is wholly and readily soluble, forming a 
solution which is permanent at ordinary temperatures ; while the India or pale 
oil forms an opaque mixture, 'which becomes clear and uniform upon being 
heated, but separates on standing into two portions, one consisting of alcohol 
somewhat diminished in bulk, the other of the oil correspondingly increased 
in bulk by retaining a portion of the alcohol. It is possible that the difference 
in colour, and in their relations to alcohol, between the India and English oils, 
may be owing to a change in the kernels from being kept. 
Some croton oil examined by M. Dublanc, of Paris, when agitated with ten 
times its weight of alcohol, was separated into two parts, one of which amount- 
ing to 6 per cent, was dissolved by the alcohol, the other remained undissolved, 
but retained 50 per cent, of alcohol. The latter, upon being repeatedly treated 
with alcohol, lost all its acrimony; while the portion dissolved was extremely 
acrid. From these observations it would appear that the acrid and probably 
active principle of the oil is dissolved by alcohol; while a bland fixed oil, which 
constitutes the chief part of it, is not taken up by that liquid.* 
It is thought that croton oil is often adulterated with other fixed oils. In 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia of 1864, it was given as a test of the purity of the oil 
expressed from the imported seeds, that when agitated with an equal volume 
of alcohol and gently heated, it forms a clear solution, from which about three- 
fourths of the oil separate on cooling; but that statement is asserted to be 
untrue of the English expressed oil, though correct of the imported. The test 
was intended to detect the presence of castor oil, which would be dissolved 
by the alcohol, and thus occasion a diminution of the bulk. It has been 
omitted in the present Pharmacopceia.f 
We were told by the late Dr. M. Burrough, who was for some time in India, 
that much of the oil there prepared, under the name of croton oil, is derived 
* Some experiments have recently been made by Thomas Schlippe on the composition 
of croton oil, with very interesting results. The crotonic acid referred to in the text is 
only one out of a number of fatty acids contained in the oil, and is neither the acrid noT 
the purgative principle. Besides the proper fatty part, there are probably other ingre- 
dients upon which the medicinal activity of the oil depends. Of these Schlippe has sepa- 
rated the acrid, but not as yet the purgative principle. The former he calls crotonol. 
The fatty part of the oil, when saponified, yielded stearic,palmitic, myristic, and lauric 
acids; and of the oleic acid series, besides some not well defined, crotonic and angelic acids; 
all of whicn exist as glycerides, that is, as compounds of the acids respectively with gly- 
cerin, in the recent oil. 
Crotonol, or the acrid principle, which exists in the expressed oil in the proportion of 4 
per cent., may be separated in the fox/owing manner. Agitate the oil with sufficient alco- 
holic solution of soda to form a milky fluid; heat this gently for some hours, and then add 
water or solution of chloride of sodium, so as to cause the oil to rise and form a stratum 
on the surface; separate this fatty oil by passing the liquid through a moist filter; to the 
filtrate add dilute muriatic acid,which will separate and cause to rise to the surface another 
oily matter; dissolve this in cold alcohol, and treat it with freshly prepared hydrated oxide 
of lead. When the acid reaction has quite ceased, add freely a weak watery solution of 
soda, by which the fluid is rendered milky, ard afterwards divides into a watery liquid 
and a clear oil, which sinks-to the bottom. To obtain this result, it is often necessary to 
add chloride of calcium freely to the alcoholic solution. Separate the oil, wash it with 
water on a moist filter, and dissolve it in ether. Agitate the ethereal solution with water 
in a cylindrical glass vessel, and, having drawn oft’ the clear ethereal solution, allow the 
ether to evaporate in a capsule in vacuo. The jrotonol remains as a tenacious mass, colour- 
loss or of a slightly wine colour, and of a weak and peculiar odour. Schlippe ascribes to 
a decomposition of the crotonol the odour, like that of decoction of seneka, which is often 
possessed by croton oil. (Liebig's Annalen, cv. 1.)—Note to the twelfth ediiion. 
f Mr. Maisch proposes to detect croton oil in any mixture by the following plan, based 
upon Schlippe’s results in reference to crotonol. The suspected oil is agitated with an 
alcoholic solution of soda or potassa, and the solution, having been separated, is then satu- 
rated with hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. If croton oil be present, its acrid principle, cro- 
tonol, will rise to the surface in the form of an oil. which, when applied to the skin, will 
produce in three or four hours not only inflammation, but also the peculiar eruptive 
affection excited by croton oil. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1860, p. 307.)—Note to the 
twelfth edition. 626 
Oleum Tlqlii.—Opium. 
PART r. 
from the seeds of a plant different from the Croton Tiglium. From a parcel of 
these seeds presented to him by Dr. Burrough, Dr. R. E. Griffith produced a 
plant which proved to be Jatropha Cureas, the seeds of which are known by the 
name of Barbadoes nuts. (See Tapioca.) This oil, though weaker than the 
genuine, was said by Dr. Burrough to be an efficient cathartic in the dose of 
three or four drops. Dr. Hamilton states that croton seeds are afforded by 
Groton pavana, growing in Ava and the eastern parts of Bengal; and it is 
probable that a portion of the croton oil of commerce is obtained from these 
seeds. ( Trans. Lin. Soc., xiv. 257.) These facts may explain some of the dis- 
crepancies in reference to the effects of alcohol above mentioned. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Croton oil is a powerful hydragogue pur- 
gative, acting for the most part, when given in moderate doses, with ease to the 
patient, but in large doses apt to excite vomiting and severe griping pains, and 
capable, if immoderately taken, of producing fatal effects. It acts with great 
rapidity, frequently evacuating the bowels in less than an hour, and generally 
exciting a rumbling sensation in half that period. It possesses also great ad- 
vantage in the minuteness of the dose, on account of which it may frequently be 
given when we should fail with more bulky medicines; as in mania, coma, and 
the cases of children. A drop placed on the tongue of a comatose patient will 
generally operate. Though long used in India, and known more than a century 
ago to the Dutch physicians, it did not attract general notice till about 1820, 
when it was introduced into England by Mr. Conwell. It is chiefly employed 
in cases of obstinate constipation, in which it often produces the happiest effects 
after the failure of other medicines; but it may also be advantageously used in 
almost all cases in which powerful and speedy purging is demanded. Dropsy, 
apoplexy, mania, and visceral obstructions are among the complaints in which 
it has been particularly recommended. It has recently been employed with great 
asserted benefit in neuralgia, epilepsy, and spasm of the glottis, and has been 
supposed to have powers in these affections independent of its purgative pro- 
perty. The seeds are said to have been used with great success in India in 
amenorrhoea. Applied externally, the oil produces inflammation of the skin, 
attended with a pustular eruption, and has been used in this way in rheumatism, 
gout, neuralgia, glandular and other indolent swellings, and in laryngeal and 
pulmonary diseases. It should be diluted with three parts of olive oil, soap 
liniment, oil of turpentine, or other convenient vehicle, and applied as a liniment 
twice or oftener in the twenty-four hours. Sometimes the insusceptibility of the 
skin is such as to require its application undiluted. The oil may also be applied 
externally, in the form of a plaster, made by incorporating one part of it with 
four parts of lead plaster, melted by a very gentle heat. Sometimes it appears 
to produce inflammation in parts distant from those to which it was directly 
applied. It has been said that four drops, used externally by friction around the 
umbilicus, will produce a purgative effect, but this is denied by Dr. Barlai, of 
Tuscany, who states that it is only when the oil is applied to the skin divested 
of the cuticle that it will operate upon the bowels. 
The dose for an adult is one or two drops, and is most conveniently admin- 
istered in the form of pill. A safe and convenient plan is to make two drops 
into four pills with crumb of bread, and to give one every hour till they operate. 
The oil may also be given in emulsion. The form of tincture may be advan- 
tageously resorted to when a minute quantity of the medicine is required; as it 
affords the means of readily dividing the dose. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Crotonis, Br. W. 
OPIUM. U. jS., Br. 
Opium. 
The concrete juice of the unripe capsules of Papaver somniferum. U. S. The 
juice, inspissated by spontaneous evaporation, obtained by incision from the 
unripe capsules of the poppy, Papaver somniferum, grown in Asia Minor. Br. PART I 
Opium, 
627 
“ Opium should yield at least seven per cent, of morphia by the officinal pro- 
cess.” U. S. 
Opium, Fr.; Opium, Mohnsaft,Germ.; Oppio,/foL; Opio, Span.; AiSoni,77«rA;.; Ufyoon, 
Arab.; Sheerikhaskash, Persian; Ufeem, Hindoo. 
Papaver. Sex. Syst. Pol vandria Monogynia. —Nat. Ord. Papaveracese. 
Gen Ch. Corolla four-petaled. Calyx two-leaved. Capsule one-celled, open- 
ing by pores under the persistent stigma. Willd. 
Opium is at present generally believed to be derived exclusively from the 
Papaver somniferum; though every species of poppy is capable of yielding 
it to a greater or less extent, and some authors have indicated the Papaver 
orientate as its real source. The British and French Pharmacopoeias unite with 
our own in recognising only the first-mentioned species. 
Papaver somniferum. Willd. Sp. Plant ii. 1147; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 376, 
t. 138. There are several varieties of this species, of which the two most pro- 
minent are distinguished by the titles of the white and black poppy, derived 
from the colour of their seeds. It is the former which is usually described as the 
proper opium plant. The white poppy is annual, with a roundish, smooth, erect, 
glaucous, often branching stem, usually rising two or three feet in height, but 
sometimes five or even six feet in favourable situations. The leaves are large, 
variously lobed and toothed, and alternately disposed on the stem, which they 
closely embrace. The flowers are terminal, very large, and of a white or silver- 
gray colour. In India they appear in February, in Europe and the United 
States not earlier than June, July, or August. The calyx is smooth and com- 
posed of two leaves which fall when the petals expand. These are usually four 
in number; but there is a variety in which the flower is double. The germen, 
which is smooth and globular, supports a radiated stigma, and is surrounded by 
numerous short and slender filaments, with erect, oblong, compressed anthers. 
The capsule is smooth and glaucous, rounded, from two to four inches in diam- 
eter, somewhat flattened at the top and bottom, and crowned with the persistent 
stigma, the diverging segments of which are arranged in a circle upon the sum- 
mit. It contains numerous minute white seeds, which, when perfectly ripe, 
escape through small openings beneath the stigma. In the black poppy, the 
flower, though sometimes white, is usually violet-coloured or red, the capsule 
somewhat smaller and more globular, and the seeds of a brown or blackish colour. 
All parts of the poppy contain a white, opaque, narcotic juice; but the leaves, 
analyzed by M. Blondeau, yielded none of the active principles by which opium 
is characterized. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 214 ) It is in the capsule that the 
fuice most abounds, and the virtues of the plant chiefly reside. Hence this part 
is sometimes employed medicinally. (See Papaver.) The seeds are destitute of 
narcotic properties, and are even used as food. The Romans employed them in 
the preparation of various dainties. They abound with a bland oil, which may 
be extracted by expression. According to M. Berjot, the seeds yield from 46 to 50 
per cent. (Journ de Pharm., Avril, 1863, p. 277.) This is an article of much 
importance on the continent of Europe, particularly in France and Germany. In 
the former of these countries, the value of the oil annually produced is said to be 
25 or 30 millions of francs. (Roux, Ibid., Sept. 1859,p. 202.) The oil is employed 
for culinary and pharmaceutic purposes, in painting and the manufacture of 
soap, and in other ways as a substitute for olive oil. The poppy does not ap- 
pear to elaborate the milky fluid in which its narcotic properties reside before a 
certain period of its growth; for we are told that, in Persia, the young plants 
which are pulled up to prevent too thick a crop are used as potherbs; and the 
(xrjxa)o of the Greeks, which is believed to be identical with the Papaver som - 
niferum, is said by Hippocrates to be nutritive. 
Though generally believed to be a native of Asia, this species of poppy grows 
wild in the south of Europe, and even in England, whither its seeds are sup- 
posed to have been brought at a very early period. It was cultivated by the 
ancient Greeks, and is mentioned by Homer as a garden plant. It is at present 
cultivated very extensively in India, Persia, Egypt, and Asiatic Turkey, for 628 
Opium 
PART T 
opium; and in several parts of Europe, especially in the northern departments 
of France, and in the south of Germany, mainly for the seeds. It is said that, 
in some parts of China, especially in the province of Szy-tschuan, notwithstand- 
ing that the drug is so abundantly imported from India, great quantities of it 
are produced for the supply of the masses of the people; the Bengal opium 
being used only by the rich. (Neues Repertorium, xii. 80, A. D. 1863; from 
Blakiston's Five Months on the Yang-tze.) In this country it was until recently 
found only in our gardens as an ornamental flower. But of late attempts have 
been made to cultivate it, on a somewhat large scale, with results not alto- 
gether discouraging; and the fact is worthy of observation, as having a favour- 
able bearing on enterprises of this kind in our Northern States, that, though 
an idea has prevailed that a warm climate is favourable to the development 
of the narcotic principles in the poppy, yet the contrary would seem to be the 
case; and the poppy cultivated in the colder regions is really the most produc- 
tive in morphia. This opinion has the support of Guibourt (Journ. de Pharm., 
Sept. 1867, p. 222); and would seem to be established by the facts, that the 
opium of Anatolia is richer in morphia than that of the much hotter regions of 
Bengal and Upper Egypt; and that, while the best Smyrna opium seldom 
yields more than 12 per cent, of the alkaloid, that produced in the north of 
France yields from 20 to 24 per cent. (M. Bussy, Ibid., p. 221.)* 
* Opium Culture in the United States. Experiments have been occasionally made in this 
country, on a small scale, to determine what probability there might be that the poppy 
could be advantageously cultivated. One of these was made about thirty years ago by the 
author, who, in preparing a small medico-botanical garden for the illustration of his lectures 
in the University of Pennsylvania, devoted a bed to the P. somniferum, with the view 
of collecting the juice. The plant grew luxuriantly, and, at the proper season, upon the 
incision of the capsules, yielded the milky juice quite as freely as had been anticipated; 
but the smallness of the product, compared with the time and labour expended in obtain- 
ing it, convinced him that, with the price of labour in the United States, it would be 
futile to attempt the production of opium as a profitable agricultural operation. 
At the meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association in 1865, specimens of opium 
were presented, produced in Campbell Co., Virginia, by Mr. P. Robertson. The juice was 
collected in the usual way from several different species; and the specimens of the drug 
presented had the characteristic appearance of opium. The peculiar odour, however, was 
comparatively feeble. Being submitted for examination to Mr. I. J. Graham, they were 
found by him to contain both morphia and narcotina, but only 4 per cent, of the former, 
so that they could not enter, into competition in the market with the imported drug. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1867, p. 50.) 
A much better product has been obtained from the white poppy, by Dr. H. Black, of 
Bolivar, Tenn., who has for several years given some attention to its culture. A specimen 
of this opium, examined by Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, was shown to contain 10-2 
per cent, of morphia, and might well vie with the best Smyrna opium But the author 
has not learned that the opium was, in this instance, cultivated with a view to pecuni- 
ary profit. (Ibid.., Jan. 1868, p. 77.) 
Within a few months, specimens of a product, intended to represent opium, have been 
offered to pharmaceutists in New York and Philadelphia, with a view to ascertain their 
real value. It was produced in Addison Co., Vermont, by Mr. W. C. Wilson, who gave 
the following account of his proceeding to Prof. Procter. He had a considerable extent 
of ground sown with seeds of the opium poppy, which grew vigorously; and about the 
middle of August the collection of the juice from the capsule was begun, and continued 
till the first of September. At this time the plants were cut down, bruised with a little 
alcohol for preservation, and subjected to pressure. The, liquid thus obtained was evapo- 
rated, and the extract was mixed with the juice from the capsule, so as to form a soft, nearly 
homogeneous mass, of a pilular consistence. Some of the drug was shown to the author 
by Prof. Procter. It presented very much the appearance of Egyptian opium though 
somewhat darker, and had very decidedly the characteristic smell of genuine opium. 
Mr. Wilson obtained 640 pounds of this substance from 6-25 acres of land, or about 100 
pounds to the acre, and received from eight to ten dollars for each pound, or about one 
thousand dollars an acre. Examined by Prof. Procter, the opium was found to contain in 
its commercial state 6-25 per cent, of morphia, and, when dried, 7-44 per cent. This sample 
is therefore equal to inferior specimens of Smyrna opium, though below the standard for 
officinal use. But it differs from genuine opium in being much more largely soluble in 
water. Considering that a large proportion of it consisted of an inspissated expressed 
iuice, derived from the whole plant, which contains, according to all preceding analyses, 
but a very minute proportion of morphia, the portion of it derived by incision from PART i, 
Opium 
629 
The process for procuring opium from the poppy, as practised by the modern 
inhabitants of India and Persia, according to the reports of Kerr and Koempfer, 
is very nearly the same with that described by Dioscorides as employed in his 
own times, about eighteen hundred years since; and the accounts of Belon, 
Olivier, Texier, and more recently M. Bourlier, as to the modes of collection in 
Asia Minor, are not materially different. As the capsules abound most iu the 
narcotic juice, it is from these that the opium is procured. According to Texier, 
a few days after the fall of the flower, men and Avomen proceed to the fields, and 
make horizontal incisions in the capsule, taking care not to penetrate its cavity. 
A white juice exudes, and appears in the form of tears upon the edges of the 
incisions. The field is left in this state for twenty-four hours, after which the 
juice is scraped off by means of large blunt knives. A portion of the epidermis 
of the capsule is also removed, and constitutes about one-twelfth of the whole 
product. Each poppy-head affords opium but once. Thus collected, the opium 
is in the state of an adhesive and granular jelly. It is placed in smaller ves- 
sels, where it is beaten, and at the same time moistened with saliva. When of a 
proper consistence, it is wrapped in leaves, and sent into the market. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xxi. 196.) Considerable quantities of good opium have been ob- 
tained in England by scarifying the capsules of the poppy. Similar success has 
been met with in France; and the drug obtained by incisions, in the latter coun- 
try, has been found equal if not superior to that imported from the East.* 
the capsules must be very rich in morphia; thus, as far as credit can be attached to this 
account, confirming the opinion elsewhere stated, that the poppy produces a much larger 
proportionate yield of morphia when cultivated in cold regions than in hot.* We are 
informed by Prof. Procter, in the article containing the foregoing account of Vermont 
opium, that various experiments are now going on in Mississippi and other parts of the 
South and West; but, if the opinion just referred to as to the influence of climate be cor- 
rect, these experiments are not made under the most favourable circumstances. It will 
be seen that the product of the poppy in Virginia and Tennessee, as stated in preceding 
paragraphs, compared with that from Vermont, affords still further confirmation of the 
opinion. The inference from all this is, that there seems to be a fair chance for the pro- 
fitable cultivation of the poppy in the more Northern States. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1868, p. 513.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* So early as the year 1796, a premium was awarded by the Society for the Encourage- 
ment of Arts, to Mr. Ball, for a specimen of British opium; and in 1823, Messrs. Cowley 
and Stains collected 196 pounds, which sold for nearly seven dollars a pound, from little 
more than twelve acres of land. This product, however, was by no means equal to that 
obtained in Scotland by Mr. John Young. From one acre of ground, planted with poppies 
and potatoes, he procured fifty-six pounds of opium, valued at 450 dollars, while the whole 
expense was more than repaid by the potatoes, and the oil expressed from the seeds. For 
papers on the subject of the cultivation of the poppy in England, see Edin. Phil. Journ. 
(i. 258), and the Quart. Journ. of Science (iv. 69). 
M. Aubergier has cultivated opium in France, with encouraging results. Instead of al- 
lowing the juice after the incision to inspissate on the capsule, he collected it immediately, 
and dried it by artificial heat. One workman collected in a day 300 grammes (9-64 troy- 
ounces) of juice, which yielded one-quarter of its weight of opium. The product differed 
in strength very greatly, according to the variety of poppy used; the yield of morphia 
having varied from 3 to 17-8 per cent. He gives the preference to the purple poppy. (Ann. 
de Therap., A. D. 1852, p. 29.) See also the same work (A. D. 1853, p. 1) for an elaborate 
report on M. Aubergier’s memoir, by a'committee consisting of MM. Bayer, Orfila, and 
others. Attempts have been made to introduce the cultivation of opium into Algiers; and 
specimens of the drug produced in that country have yielded from 7 to 11 per cent, of 
morphia. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1854, p. 293.) From various communications in the jour- 
nals, it appears that the collection of opium in France was on the increase; and an import- 
ant fact is said to have been proved beyond doubt, that the production of the seed for 
oil, and of opium, may be carried on together, without injury. (Note to former editions.) 
M. Odeph, of Luxeuil, with the view of facilitating the collection of the juice, has 
invented an instrument for making the incisions, which not only shortens the process, 
* Aft-r the above statements had been printed, we had an opportunity of seeing an additional communication 
of Prof. Procter in the forthcoming number of the American Journal of Pharmacy for January, 1869 (p. 23). From 
this it appears that other specimens of the Vermont opium had come into the possession of Prof. Procter, who, 
upon a careful analysis of them, found them very different from and much inferior to that first examined; yield- 
ing, instead of 6-25 cent, of morphia stated in the text, one of them 0-90, or less than one per cent.; the second, 
0 40 per cent; and a third, none whatever; so that, in the present state of our knowledge en this subject, the 
Vermont onium must be considered altogether unreliable. (.Note to the thirteenth edition.) 630 
Opium. 
PART I. 
Another method of extracting the virtues of the capsules is to select such as 
have ceased to yield their juice by exudation, to beat them with a small propor- 
tion of water, and inspissate the liquid thus obtained by artificial heat. The an- 
cient Greeks were acquainted with both processes, as appears from the writings 
of Dioscorides. The term oncuv, derived from or.o<;, juice, they applied to the 
substance procured by incisions, which answers precisely to the modern opium. 
The inspissated expressed juice they called fnjxwviov, from yrjxwv, the name of 
the plant. Tournefort states that it is the latter preparation which is exported 
lrom Turkey as opium; the former being much more valuable, and therefore 
retained in the country for the use of the great and wealthy. This error has 
been copied by many writers on materia medica; and, till within a compara- 
tively few years, opium wras generally believed to be an extract obtained by 
evaporating either the expressed juice, or a decoction of the capsules.* 
Commercial History. Commerce is supplied with opium chiefly from Hin- 
dostan, Persia, Egypt, and Asiatic Turkey. Immense quantities are produced 
in the Indian provinces of Bahar and Benares, and in the more interior province 
of JVlalwa. The opium of Hindostan is distributed extensively through conti- 
nental and insular India, where it is habitually employed in the place of spirit- 
uous liquors. Great quantities are also sent to China, into w’hieh it finds an easy 
entrance, notwithstanding prohibitory laws. Much was formerly imported by the 
East India Company into England, through which a small proportion reached 
our own country ; but it was so far inferior to that from Turkey, that it was at 
length excluded from the market, and none is now brought directly from the 
East. The great demand for it in the Indian Archipelago, and in China, and its 
consequent high price, have probably contributed even more than its reputed 
inferiority to this result. Indeed, Ainslie explicitly states that India opium is 
inferior to none; and it is probable that the specimens, from wrhich the descrip- 
tion formerly current among authors was drawm up, were the refuse of the 
Eastern market. We know that the drug wras formerly very much and variously 
adulterated by the natives. Among the impurities mentioned by authors are the 
extract of the poppy procured by decoction, the powdered leaves and stems of 
the plant made into a paste with mucilage, oil of sesamum, catechu, and even 
But a more careful official inspection has resulted in a great improve- 
ment of the Iudia opium. Of that produced in Persia, very little is brought to 
but enables wholly inexperienced persons to operate, as the instrument itself regulates 
the depth of the incisions, so as to avoid perforating the wall of the capsule, thereby im- 
peding the growth of the plant, and consequently the maturing of the seeds. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1866, p. 2.) Yery recently M. Lallier, in a memoir presented to the Academy 
of Sciences, states that the production of opium has not of late been extending in France, in 
consequence of the uncertainty of the weather; rains often coming on at the moment when 
the incisions are made, so as to wash away the juice, and thus destroy the harvest. To 
obviate this, M. Lallier proposes that the plants should, at the proper season, be pulled 
up and carried under cover, where, by immersing their roots in water, they will yield 
not only as much as in the usual mode, but even more, while the seeds ripen as well, 
and yield as much oil as when the plant ripens in the soil. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 
Oct. 1867, p. 274.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
In Armenia, where opium is largely produced? four varieties of seeds aie used, the white, 
yellow, black, and sky-blue. The flower produced by the white seeds is white, that by the 
yellow is red, that by the black is black, and that by the sky-blue is deep-purple. The 
white and sky-blue seeds yield large, somewhat oblong capsules, like citrons in shape; the 
yellow, and black, small and round capsules. For an extent of ground forty paces square, 
forty drachms of seeds are required. Each head yields about a grain of opium. The ope- 
rators, not accustomed to the work, are apt to become intoxicated or stupefied during the 
period of harvest. (Gaultier de Claubry, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xiii. 105.) 
A very interesting paper, by Mr. S. H. Maltass, on the cultivation and collection of 
opium in Turkey, and its preparation for the market, affording minute information on 
these points, is contained in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for March, 1854 (p. 395). 
* For the most recent details in relation to the opium culture in Anatolia or Asia 
Minor, the reader is referred to an article by M. E. K. Heffter, of Smyrna, in the Am. 
Journ. of Pharm. (July, 1868, p. 362), originally published as a pamphlet in that city 
in April, 1868. Any one disposed to engage in the business of cultivating opium in 
the United States would do well to consult this paper. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART i 
Opium, 
631 
this country; and it is scarcely known in our market as a distinct variety. Much 
was formerly produced in Upper Egypt, especially in the district of ancient 
Thebes, which was supposed to yield it in greatest perfection. Hence it was 
long known by the name of Opium Thebaicum, and laudanum is still frequently 
directed in prescriptions as Tinctura Thebaica. Its cultivation has been again 
introduced into Egypt; and considerable quantities are exported. 
Turkey opium is produced in Anatolia, and shipped chiefly from the port of 
Smyrna. It is brought to the United States, either directly from the Levant, 
or indirectly through different European ports. From the treasury returns for 
the years from 1827 to 1845 inclusive, according to a table prepared by Dr. J. 
B. Biddle, and published in the American Journal of Pharmacy for April, 
1847, it appears that the average value of the annual importations for the pe- 
riod referred to was from Turkey 128,137 dollars, from England 13,744, from 
France 4470, and from all other places 6607 dollars. Of this amount so much 
was exported as to leave, for the average annual consumption of the country, 
the value of 66,809 dollars. In the year ending June 30, 1862, the value of the 
opium import is stated, in the N. Y. Journal of Commerce, to have increased to 
932,887 dollars. Of this amount, however, 281,796 dollars’ worth w*as imported 
into California, to supply the wants of the Chinese population of that region; 
and the medical necessities of our vast armies were responsible for much of the 
increase. {Am. J. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 393.) Turkey opium usually comes 
to us in masses of irregular size and shape, generally more or less flattened, 
covered with leaves, or the remains of leaves, and with the reddish capsules of 
some species of Rumex, which are said to be absent in the inferior kinds, and 
may, therefore, be considered as affording some indication of the purity of the 
drug. We may account for this circumstance upon the very probable supposi- 
tion, that these capsules are removed during the operation which the masses 
undergo in the hands of the merchants after leaving those of the cultivators. 
We are told by the French writers that extensive frauds are practised at Mar- 
seilles in this branch of commerce. The opium taken thither from the Levant 
is first softened, and then adulterated with various matters which are incor- 
porated in its substance. To use a strong expression of M. Guibourt, they 
make the opium over again at Marseilles. Our traders to the Mediterranean 
would do well to bear this assertion in mind. According to Dr. A. T. Thom- 
son, one-fourth part of Turkey opium generally consists of impurities. Sand, 
ashes, the seeds of different plants, extracts of the poppy, Lactuca virosa.Gly- 
cyrrhiza glabra, and Chelidonium glaucum, gum arabic, tragacanth, salep, 
aloes, even small stones, and minute pieces of lead and iron, are mentioned 
among the substances employed in the sophistication of the drug. Mr. Lan- 
derer, of Athens, was informed by a person who had been engaged in the ex- 
traction of opium, that grapes, freed from their seeds and crushed, were almost 
universally mixed with the poppy juice, and that another adulteration con- 
sisted of the epidermis of the capsules and stem of the plant, pounded in a mor- 
tar with the white of eggs. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 238 ) According 
to Mr. Wilkins, who witnessed the collection of opium, the inspissated juice of 
the grape, thickened with flour, is often used for the same purpose. {Pharm. 
Journ., xiv. 400.) In England a sophisticated opium was some years since pre- 
pared, which, though so nearly resembling good Turkey opium in appearance 
that by the eye alone it was difficult to detect the fraud, was yet wholly des- 
titute of the active principle of the drug. Portions of it were sent into the mar- 
kets both of France and this country. A sample of a similar drug, perhaps the 
same, was examined by Prof. Aikin, Examiner of drugs for the port of Balti- 
more, and found to contain but 1T0 per cent, of morphia. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., July, 1859, p. 374.) It was probably the genuine drug, deprived of its 
morphia by some process which did not materially disturb the visible arrange- 
ments of its particles.* {Ibid., x. 261.) 
* The great importance of opium renders it desirable that all its commercial varieties 
should be accurately described, and their relative value so far as possible ascertained. 632 
Opium 
PART L 
Opium is regarded as inferior when it has a blackish colour; a weak or em- 
pyreumatic smell; a sweet or slightly nauseous and bitter taste; a soft, viscid, 
or greasy consistence; a dull fracture; or an irregular, heterogeneous texture, 
The following statement has been drawn up from the most recent published accounts of 
the drug, and from the personal observations of the author. 
The varieties of this drug may be arranged, according to the countries in which they 
are produced, under the heads of Turkey, Egyptian, India, and Persia opium. 
I. TURKEY OPIUM. This title belongs to the opium produced in the Turkish pro- 
vince of Anatolia, and exported from Smyrna and Constantinople. According to some 
authorities, there is no essential difference between the parcels of the drug brought from 
these two ports. Others maintain that they are distinct varieties, differing in their interior 
structure, and probably also in the precise place of their production, and the mode of their 
collection. The truth probably is, that most of the opium shipped at Constantinople is 
produced in the more northern parts of the opium districts of Anatolia, while that from 
Smyrna is collected in the provinces more convenient to the latter city ; and, though it is 
possible that an identical drug may often be brought from the two ports, yet there are 
grounds for arranging it under different varieties, as derived from these different sources. 
It is said also that a portion of opium which is taken to Constantinople is produced in 
Macedonia in Europe, which must therefore be added to the opium-producing regions. 
(Neues Repert., xvi. 751, A. D. 1867.) 
1. Smyrna Opium. This is the variety which is, beyond all comparison, most abundant 
in our markets; and it is from this that the ordinary descriptions of opium are drawn up 
It comes to us in masses of various size, usually from half a pound or somewhat less to a 
pound in weight, sometimes, though rarely, as much as two or even three pounds, origi- 
nally, perhaps, of a globular form, but variously indented, and rendered quite irregular 
in shape by the pressure to which they have been subjected, while yet soft, in the cases 
which contain them. Sometimes they are even pressed out into flat cakes. As brought 
into market, the lumps are usually hard on the outside, but still soft within. They are 
covered externally with the remains of leaves, and with the reddish capsules of a species 
of Eumex, which have no doubt been applied in order to prevent the surfaces from adher- 
ing. Notwithstanding, however, this coating, the masses sometimes stick together, and 
two or more become consolidated into one. In this way the fact may be accounted for, 
that the seeds of the Eumex are occasionally found in the interior of the masses. In the 
finer parcels of Smyrna opium, the colour internally is light-brown; in the inferior it is 
darker. A peculiar character of this variety is that, when a lump of it is cut into and then 
carefully torn, numerous minute shining tears are observable, particularly under a micro- 
scope, bearing some resemblance to small seeds, but readily distinguishable by pressure 
between the fingers. They are undoubtedly formed from the drops of juice which escape 
from the incisions in the capsules, and which, according to Belon, are allowed to concrete 
before they are removed. From the account of the same author it appears that, after the 
juice has been collected, it is not subjected to the process of kneading or beating, as in 
the case of other varieties of opium; so that the tears preserve their original shape in the 
mass. It is probably owing to the peculiar mode of collecting Smyrna opium, that minute 
pieces of the skin of the poppy capsules are found intermingled in the mass ; these being 
separated in the process of removing the adhering tears. In the best specimens of Smyrna 
opium, these fragments of the capsules are the only impurities. This variety of the drug 
is of very different qualities; the finest kinds yielding, according to Merck, as much as 13 
per cent" of pure morphia, while from some very bad parcels he could not procure more 
than 3 or 4 per cent. In these inferior specimens the colour is darker, the smell is often 
musty, and there is very generally more or less mouldiness both upon the surface, and in 
the interior of the masses, indicating perhaps too much moisture in the opium originally, 
or its subsequent exposure to an injurious degree of dampness! Good Smyrna opium ought 
to yield 10 or 11 per cent, of morphia. Dr. Christison, however, states that he has not been 
able to procure more than 9 per cent, from the finest Smyrna opium.* 
2. Constantinople Opium. Most of the Constantinople opium is in lumps from half a 
pound to two and a half pounds in weight, and scarcely distinguishable in exterior ap- 
pearance from those of the former variety, being equally irregular in shape, and in like 
manner covered with the capsules of the Eumex. According to Merck, however, it often 
differs strikingly from the Smyrna opium in its interior constitution, being wholly des- 
* According to Tenderer, little of the opium is produced in the immediate neighbourhood of Smyrna; ti e 
greater portion being brought to that port, on the backs of camels, from a distance of from ten to eighteen days’ 
journey. (Journ. de Pharm3e ser.. xxiii. .S3.) The same writer states that the opium is chiefly prepared at Kara 
Chissar. near Magnesia. The incisions are generally made before sunrise. The juice is partly caught in mussel- 
shells, and dried in the sun. This is considered the best. Every evening the juice which has dried upon the cap- 
sules is scraped off, with a portion of the epidermis. The poppy is then cut down, and stripped of its leaves, which 
are boiled in water ; and the liquor is evaporated to the consistence of an extract. With this the inspissated juice 
is incorporated, and the mixture is then formed into cakes, wrapped in poppy leaves, and placed on shelves to dry. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm.. xxiii. 251.1 It is very evident, from the interior structure of the heft Smyrna opium, 
that it has not been prepared in the way described by Landerer; though his account is probably true in reference 
to inferior varieties of the drug. {Note to the tenth edition.) PART I 
Opium 
633 
from the intermixture of foreign substances. It should not impart a deep-brown 
colour to the saliva, nor leave a dark uniform trace when drawn over paper, nor 
form with water a thick viscid solution. 
titute of the tears which characterize that variety. This would indicate some difference 
in the mode of collecting and preparing the juice. In the case of the Constantinople 
opium, it is probably removed from the capsules before concretion. Merck says that he 
has not discovered, in this variety, those minute portions of the poppy capsules which 
are usually present in Smyrna opium. The average quality of the Constantinople opium, 
as above described, is about equal to that of the drug from Smyrna; but it appears to be 
occasionally purer; as Merck obtained from one specimen as much as 15 per cent, of 
pure morphia. Dr. K. Bauer, of Constantinople, who has for many years had the op- 
portunity of becoming familiar with the different varieties of opium which reach that 
city, denies that at present any of the varieties produced near Smyrna contain tears, ex- 
cept the single one from Magnesia. (Neues Repert., xvi. 751, A. D. 1867.) 
In an account, by M. Bourlier, of the culture of the poppy and collection of opium in 
Bithynia, a province of Asia Minor, near Constantinople, it is stated that the lumps, when 
formed out of the concrete juice, are enveloped in poppy leaves; and no mention is made 
of the use of the Kumex capsules to prevent adhesion. It is the opium here collected, 
which, according to M. Bourlier, is known throughout the Levant and in Europe as Con- 
stantinople opium. On the same authority it is stated that the yelk of eggs is sometimes 
largely used for adulterating opium; a fraud which may be detected by the large propor- 
tion of fatty matter which the adulterated drug yields to ether, and by the impossibility 
of drying it so as to fit it for pulverization. (Annuaire de Therap., A. D. 1859, p. 4 ) 
Guibourt describes another variety of Constantinople opium of much inferior character. 
“ It comes,” he observes, “ in small flattened cakes,sufficiently regular and of a lenticular 
shape, from two to two and a half inches in diameter, and always covered with a poppy 
leaf, the midrib of which divides the surface into two equal parts. It has an odour similar 
to that of the preceding variety, but feebler, and it blackens and dries in the air. It is 
more mucilaginous than Smyrna opium, and contains only half as much morphia.” 
These characters are obviously those of Egyptian opium; and, though the parcels which 
came under the notice of Guibourt may have been imported directly from Constantinople, 
it is highly probable that they were originally from Alexandria. Mr. Stettner, of Trieste, 
though well acquainted with the opium commerce of that port, admits no such Constan- 
tinople opium as that described by Guibourt. (Annal. der Pharm., xxiv. 65.) According, 
however, to Dr. Bauer, the opium collected in the districts nearest Constantinople is 
mostly in small pieces, often of only 2 or 3 ounces, which are always invested with poppy 
leaves, or more rarely with grape leaves, generally smooth, and without Kumex capsules; 
and this description corresponds with Guibourt’s. (Neues Repert., xvi. 754, A. D. 1867.) 
II. EGYPTIAN OPIUM. This is in flat roundish cakes, of various dimensions, some- 
times as much as six inches in diameter, and a pound in weight, usually, however, much 
smaller, and sometimes not weighing more than half an ounce. These cakes are either 
wrapped in a poppy leaf, so placed that the midrib divides the surface into two equal parts, 
or exhibit vestiges of such a covering. Occasionally the brown colour of the opium is seen 
through the leaf, and the surface appears as if uncovered, while the leaf is still present. 
This variety of opium is always destitute of the Kumex capsules, and differs from the 
ISmyrna opium also in being brittle instead of tenacious, and equally hard in the centre 
as at the surface of the mass. Its fracture is conchoidal and of a waxy lustre, and small 
fragments of it are translucent. Its colour is usualty redder than that of Smyrna opium, 
though sometimes dark. Some of the pieces, on exposure to the air, become damp and 
sticky on the surface, indicating the fraudulent addition of a deliquescent substance. The 
odour is similar to that of Smyrna opium, but weaker. It is an inferior variety; as the 
best of it, examined by Merck, yielded only 6 or 7 per cent, of morphia; and a specimen 
of it was found by Mr. J. Evans, of Philadelphia, to contain not more than 3-55 per cent. 
Egyptian opium, therefore, should never be dispensed by the apothecary, or employed in 
the preparation of his tinctures; as the prescription of the physician is based upon the- 
strength of good Smyrna opium, which is about twice that of the Egyptian. 
M. Gastinel, residing in Cairo, under the stimulus apparently of the works of Auber- 
gier, is making efforts for improving the production of opium in Egypt, by which it is 
hoped that the reputation which the product of this region formerly possessed may be 
restored. (Ann. de Therap., 1866, p. 3.) That the deficiency of morphia in Egyptian opium 
is not ascribable to the climate, would seem to be proved by the fact, reported to the 
Paris Society of Pharmacy, by M. Gastinel, director of the garden of acclimation at 
Cairo, that he has produced opium in a garden of his own, containing 12 per cent, of 
morphia. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chirn., 4e ser., iv. 415, A. D. 1866.1 
III. INDIA OPIUM. Little if any of this opium reaches our market. There appear 
to be two chief varieties of it; one produced in Bahar and Benares, in the Bengal Presi- 
dency, and called Bengal opium, the other in the interior provinces, and designated by 
the name of Malum opium. 
1 Bengal Opium. Eor a minu te acc mnt of the cultivation and preparation of this variety 634 
Opium. 
PART I, 
Properties. Good opium has a peculiar, strong, narcotic odour, and a bitter, 
somewhat acrid taste. When long chewed it excites much irritation in the lips 
and tongue, and may even blister the mouth of those Unaccustomed to its use. 
of opium, the reader is referred to elaborate papers by Dr. Eatwell, of Calcutta, contained 
in the eleventh and twelfth volumes of the London Pharmaceutical Journal and Trans- 
actions, an abstract of which will be found in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiv. 118), and 
in the last edition of Pereira’s Materia Medica (vol. ii. p. 1009, Am. ed.). Bengal opium 
is identical with the variety sometimes called Patna opium. It is in round balls, weighing 
three pounds and a half, invested by a coating half an inch thick, composed of aggluti- 
nated leaves and poppy-petals. The interior of the mass is of a brownish-black colour, 
of the consistence of a stiff paste, and possessed in a high degree of the characteristic 
odour and taste of opium. The proportion of active matter in this opium varies some- 
what with the season and in the different specimens. From a table given by Dr. Eatwell, 
it appears that the percentage of morphia varies from 2T7 to 3-67, and that of narcot.na 
from 3-85 to 5-70. Prof. Procter found a specimen of Patna opium to yield about 5 per 
cent, of morphia. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 194.) It is, therefore, much inferior to 
the best Smyrna opium in its yield of morphia, while it is richer in narcotina. Yet Chris- 
tison states that all the India opium which he has seen is exempt from the mixture of 
leaves, seeds, and fragments of poppy capsules so abundant in Smyrna opium. Its inferior 
character is possibly, in some degree, owing to the circumstance, that the juice, after 
collection, is kept for some time before it is made up, and consequently undergoes fer- 
mentation. Prof. Carson, of the University of Pennsylvania, in describing a specimen 
of this variety in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for July, 1849 (p. 194), speaks of acicular 
crystals, which he had noticed by the aid of the microscope; and he informs me (Sept. 1864), 
that on recently examining a specimen of the same opium, now perfectly dry, lie found 
similar crystals. No such crystals, he states, are to be found in Smyrna opium. 
The India opium examined by Dr. A. T. Thomson was apparently of inferior character. 
As described by that author, it was in round masses, covered with the petals of the poppy 
in successive layers, to the thickness of nearly one-fourth of an inch. It had a strong em- 
pyreumatic smell, with little of the peculiar heavy odour of Turkey opium. Its taste was 
more bitter and equally nauseous, but less acrid. Its colour was blacker, and its texture, 
though as tenacious, was less plastic. It was more friable, and, when triturated with water, 
was wholly suspended or dissolved, leaving none of that plastic residue which is afforded 
by the other variety. It yielded to Dr. Thomson more narcotina than Turkey opium, but 
only about one-third the quantity of morphia. All these are the characters of an extract 
of the poppy heads, rather than of their inspissated juice. The absence of the plastic prin- 
ciple analogous to caoutchouc is strong evidence in favour of this view of its nature; for 
it is obvious that water would not extract this principle from the capsules, while it is 
hardly probable that the juice is destitute of it. Besides, the strength indicated by Dr. 
Thomson is very nearly the same with that of the extract of the capsules prepared in 
France. Bengal opium is at present superior to that here described, though still inferior 
to the Smyrna opium. 
There is a variety of Bengal or Patna opium, called garden Patna opium, which was de- 
scribed in the fifth edition of this work, on the authority of Dr. Christison, as Malwa opium. 
Dr. Christison has subsequently ascertained its true origin. It is prepared in Bahar with 
peculiar care, from juice which has not been suffered to undergo fermentation. It is in 
cakes three or four inches square, and about half an inch thick, which are packed in cases 
with a layer of mica between them. These cakes are without covering, hard, dry, and 
brittle, of a uniform shining fracture, and not unlike an extract in appearance. The colour 
is sometimes almost black, and sometimes of a light-brown, not unlike that of Egyptian 
opium. Dr. Christison states that it is much superior to the globular Bengal opium, and 
that some specimens are little inferior to Turkey opium in the proportion of morphia. 
2. Malwa Opium. This is in flat, roundish cakes, five or six inches in diameter, and 
from four to eight ounces in weight. They are commonly quite hard, dry and brittle, of 
a light-brown colour, a shining fracture, a compact homogeneous texture, and free from 
mechanical impurities. The quality is superior to that of common Bengal opium. (Chris- 
tison's Dispensatory.) A specimen of Malwa opium, described by Dr. Carson (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxi. 195), broke with a short rough fracture, which was of a blackish-brown 
colour, here and there showing irregular oily spots. Prof. Procter obtained from it 9J 
per cent, of morphia. 
An essay on the antiquity of the opium culture in India, the cultivation of the drug 
in that region, its collection, commerce, qualities, adulterations, &c., by M. Creteur, 
contained in the Annuaire de Therapeutique for 1868 (p. 1), gives the most recent infor- 
mation on these points from personal observation. The author states that a specimen of 
good India opium yielded him about 10 per cent, of morphia, and expresses his convic- 
tion that this variety of opium will again enter into the commerce of Europe. 
IY. PERSIA OPIUM. A variety of opium under this name has sometimes existed in 
the markets of London, and has even found its way to this country, though it is vei y rare. 
Recently it is said to have reached Europe in considerable quantities, and has received PART I, 
Opium, 
635 
Its colour is reddish-brown or deep-fawn; its texture compact; its sp gr. 1 *331>- 
When drawn over paper it usually leaves an interrupted trace of a light-brown 
colour. It is often soft in the interior of the mass, and in this state is tenacious ; 
but when exposed to the air it gradually hardens, and ultimately becomes brit- 
tle, breaking with a shining fracture, and affording, when pulverized, a yellowish- 
brown powder, which becomes adhesive upon a slight elevation of temperature 
It readily inflames upon the application of a lighted taper. It yields its virtues 
to water, alcohol, and diluted acids, but not to ether. To all these menstrua it 
imparts a deep-brown colour. Alcohol dissolves about four-fifths of it. Pelletier 
states that the proportion taken up by water varies in all specimens. He never 
found the quantity of extract prepared with cold water to exceed 12 parts out 
cf 16. (Journ. dePharm., Nov. 1832.) 
especial attention in France. It is in different forms. The most common is in cylindrical 
pieces, about three and a half inches long, and half an inch thick, wrapped in glossy 
paper, and tied with a cotton thread, and each weighing about half an ounce. It is of a 
uniform consistence, but exhibits, nevertheless, under the microscope, small agglutinated 
tears, much less than those of Smyrna opium. It has the liver-brown colour of Egyptian 
opium, a virose, musty odour, and a very bitter taste, and, like Egyptian opium, softens 
in a moist atmosphere. According to Dr. Eeveil, it contained 15 per cent, of glucose. The 
first specimens were brought to England from Trebizond on the Black Sea; but their pre- 
cise origin was not known. Three other forms of Persia opium have been described by Dr. 
Beveil, as they were offered to his notice in Paris. One was in spherical cakes, without 
envelope or Eumex capsules. In physical characters, it closely resembled the cylindrical 
variety, though softer and more hygrometric. It had a strongly virose odour, and a bitter 
slightly sweetish taste. The second was in irregular masses, liver-coloured, of a virose smell 
and bitter taste, brittle, smooth and shining, compact, and very hygrometric. The third 
was in the form of flat cakes, covered with an unknown leaf with some Eumex capsules, of 
a reddish-brown colour, tasting and smelling like the oreceding, compact, and smooth. Of 
these the first and third contained, each, 31-6 percent, of glucose; the second 13-9 per cent. 
All these varieties were remarkable by the absence of obvious impurities, such as are 
insoluble in water and alcohol. From 75-2 to 84-2 per cent, was soluble in water, from 
71-6 to 81-6 in alcohol at 85°. The cylindrical variety yielded 8-15 per cent, of morphia ; 
the spherical 6-4 per cent.; thoirregular 7-1 per cent.; and the flat and coated 5-10 per cent. 
The presence of glucose in such large proportions may be explained by the asserted fact that 
honey is sometimes mixed with opium at the time of its collection. Though the proportion 
of morphia is considerable in these varieties, yet, inconsequence of their large proportion ol 
soluble matter, theyyield comparatively feeble extracts. [Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1860, p. 
101.) Since M. Eeveil’s investigation, twosamples of Persia opium have been examined by 
M. Seput of Paris, one of which yielded 9-33 and the other 9-37 per cent, of morphia. 
[Ibid., Mars, 1861, p. 163.) From the report of a trial in New York, published in the Jour- 
nalof Commerce, it appears that a parcel of Persia opium, imported into that city from 
London in 1835, was in small round balls, and contained only 3 per cent, of morphia. 
Relative strength of the varieties of opium. It is highly important that the real value of 
these commercial varieties should be known; as otherwise there can be no certainty in re- 
lation to the strength of the preparations which may be made from them. In the prepara- 
tion of laudanum and the other tinctures into which opium enters, it is understood that 
the drug employed should have the average quality of good Smyrna opium. The inferior 
kinds should be used only for the extraction of morphia. M. Guibourt has published a 
series of investigations into the richness in morphia of different varieties of opium, giving 
the percentage yielded in the soft, the hard, and the dried states. The following table 
contains an abstract of his results. It is obvious that he operated only on fair specimens 
of the several varieties. 
Soft 
Hard. 
Dried. 
Anatolia (Smvrna) opium 
11-70 per 0. 
do. do. 
do. 
.... 18-24 
... 19 77 
21-46 
do do. 
do. 
... 12-40 
... 13-57 
14-78 
Constantinople 
do. 
.... 10-90 
... 13-32 
14-40 
do. 
do. , 
... 14-00 
... 15-72 
17-00 
Egyptian 
do. . 
... 5-19 
5-81 
do. 
do. . 
... 11-45 
12-21 
Persian 
do. .. 
... 10-52 
11-37 
Indian (Patna) 
do. . 
... 5-09 
5-27 
do. do, 
do. . 
... 6-93 
7-72 
French 
do. . 
... 14-21 
14-83 
do. 
do. . 
.. 21-10 
22-88 
do. 
do. . 
... 16-77 
17-69 
(Journ. de Pharm. i 
Janv., 
Pev., et Mars, 
1862.)—Note to the twelfth edition, 636 
Opium, 
PART I. 
Much attention has been devoted to the chemical constitution of opium. It 
was by their researches into the nature of this substance that chemists were led 
to the discovery of those vegetable alkaloids, which, as' the active principles of 
the plants in which they are found, have attracted so much notice, and been 
applied so advantageously to the treatment of disease. To Sertiirner, an apo- 
thecary at Eimbeck, in Hanover, belongs the credit of having opened this new 
and most important field of experiment. In the year 1803, M. Derosne made 
known the existence of a crystallizable substance which he had discovered in 
opium, and which he erroneously believed to be the active principle. In the 
following year, Seguin discovered another crystallizable body, which experience 
has proved to be the true narcotic principle of opium; but he did not fully in- 
vestigate its nature, and no immediate practical advantage accrued from his 
excellent analysis. About the same time Sertiirner was engaged in a similar 
investigation, the results of which, very analogous to those obtained by Seguin, 
were published in a German journal, without, however, attracting general atten- 
tion. In this state the subject remained till 1817, when Sertiirner announced 
the existence of a saline compound in opium, consisting of a peculiar alkaline 
principle united with a peculiar acid, and clearly demonstrated the precise na- 
ture of a substance, which, though before discovered both by Seguin and by 
himself, had been hitherto but vaguely known. To the alkaloid, in which he 
correctly conceived the narcotic powers of opium to reside, he gave the name of 
morphium, which has been subsequently changed to morphia, in order to render 
it conformable with the titles of the other alkalies. The acid he called meconic, a 
term derived from the Greek name of the poppy. The correctness of the state- 
ments of Sertiirner was confirmed by Robiquet, who also satisfactorily demon- 
strated that the substance obtained by Derosne, and called by him the salt of 
opium, was a principle altogether distinct from morphia, though supposed to 
possess considerable influence over the system. In the belief of its narcotic 
powers, Robiquet denominated it narcotin, a title which it still retains. Several 
other peculiar principles have since been discovered; though it is difficult to 
resist the impression, that some of them may be the result of the processes to 
which opium is submitted for their extraction. According to the views of its 
constitution at present admitted, opium contains, 1. morphia; 2. narcotin or nar- 
cotina; 3. codeia; 4. paramorphia; 5. papaverina; 6. opiania; 7. narcein or 
narceia; 8. pseudomorphia; 9. meconin; 10. porphyroxin; 11. meconic and sul- 
pnuric acids; 12. a peculiar acid not yet fully investigated, perhaps the the- 
bolactic acid recently discovered by the Messrs. Smith, of Edinburgh; 13. ex- 
tractive matter; 14. gum; 15. bassorin; 16. glucose; 17. a peculiar resinous 
body insoluble in ether and containing nitrogen; 18. fixed oil; 19. a substance 
resembling caoutchouc; 20. an odorous volatile principle; together with lignin, 
and a small proportion of acetic acid, sulphate of lime, sulphate of potassa, 
alumina, and iron. In relation to their optical properties, all the organic bases 
of opium produce deviation of the plane of polarization to the left. (Bouchardat 
and Boudet, Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiii. 294.)* 
* Glucose, mentioned in the text as one of the ingredients of opium, has hut recently 
oeen proved to exist normally in the drug. M. Lakens, of Toulouse, has found it in a 
tincture of poppy capsules, and in all the commercial varieties of opium, in proportions 
varying from 3 to 14-5 per cent. This fact is of some importance in reference to the use 
of grape-juice in the adulteration of opium, showing that the presence of glucose, even 
in considerable quantity, must not be considered as a proof of sophistication. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Oct. 1854, p. 265.) 
Besides the components of opium above enumerated, notice has been given by Dr. G. C. 
Wittstein of the discovery of another alkaloid, which, from its near alliance to morphia, 
he proposes to name metamorphia. We shall give a brief notice of it here, until its c a.ms 
shall have been established by further investigation. If we count the pseildomorphia of 
Pelletier, it is the ninth alkaloid which has been extracted from opium. 
Metamorphia. This was obtained by Wittstein from a substance separated from the dregs 
of laudanum, in an attempt to prepare morphia from them by Mohr’s method with lime. 
By crystallization fine white silky needles were obtained, which consisted of the hydro- 
chlorate of a new alkaloid. This was separated by exactly saturating with sulphate of PART i, 
Opium 
637 
Of the principles above mentioned morphia is by far the most important. It 
is generally admitted to exist in opium united with meconie acid in the state of 
meconate, and to a certain extent also as a sulphate. Of morphia and its prepa- 
rations we shall treat under another head. (See Morphia.) 
Narcotina or narcotin receives one or the other of these names, according as 
it is considered alkaline or neuter. It exists in opium, chiefly at least, in the free 
state, and is left behind in considerable quantity when the drug is macerated 
with water. It is white, tasteless, and inodorous; and crystallizes in silky flexible 
needles, usually larger than the crystals of morphia, fusible at 240° and vola- 
tilizable at 310° ( W. A. Guy),* insoluble in cold water, soluble in 400 parts of 
boiling water, in 100 parts of cold and 24 of boiling alcohol which deposits it 
upon cooling, and very soluble in ether. The fixed and volatile oils, and the 
diluted acids, also dissolve it; and it has recently been found to be soluble in 
the volatile oil of turpentine, which, aided by heat, will extract it from opium, 
and yield it in crystals by evaporation. (Journ.de Pharm. et deChim., 4e s6r., ii. 
156.) As it exerts no alkaline reaction upon vegetable colours, and does not 
prevent the acids from reddening litmus paper, there would appear to be some 
reason for denying it the rank of an alkali. But it unites with some of the acids 
forming definite compounds, which may be procured in a separate state; and 
Robiquet obtained the sulphate and muriate of narcotina well crystallized. 
{Journ. de Pharm., xvii 639, and xix. 59.) Hence many chemists, among 
whom is Berzelius, consider it alkaline; and, perhaps, this view of it is the 
most convenient. It must be admitted, however, to have a very feeble neu- 
tralizing power. With acetic acid it does not appear to form a permanent com- 
bination; for, though dissolved by cold acetic acid, it is separated by heating 
the solution. Narcotina consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; 
and its formula, as given by Hinterberger, is According to Messrs. 
Matthiessen and Foster, it contains the elements of cotarnin and meconin. 
It may be distinguished from morphia by its insipidity, solubility in ether, and 
insolubility in alkaline solutions, by not affecting vegetable colours, by assuming 
a yellowish instead of a blood-red colour under the action of strong nitric acid, 
by not decomposing iodic acid, and by not producing a blue colour with the 
silver, and macerating the precipitate with carbonate of baryta. The alkaloid was extracted 
by alcohol, and, after evaporation, was obtained in hard flat prisms, arranged in a stellate 
form. The crystals were fused by heat, hut at the same time decomposed. They were dis- 
solved by about 6000 parts of cold and by 70 of boiling water, by 9 parts of boiling and 
380 of cold alcohol of 90 per cent. The alcoholic solution had a sharp, bitter taste, and a 
feeble alkaline reaction. The alkaloid was insoluble in ether, but rapidly soluble in so- 
lution of potassa, somewhat less so in ammonia, and soluble also in the alkaline carbo- 
nates, especially with the aid of heat. Nitric acid instantly coloured the crystals orange- 
red, and formed a yellow solution. A concentrated solution of iodic acid gradually produced 
a yellow colour with its aqueous solution, and a purple colour in starch paper suspended 
above it. The aqueous solution is not disturbed by sesquichloride of iron, is rendered 
grayish-black by nitrate of silver, and causes gradually a yellow turbidness in solution 
of terchloride of gold, which results in a brownish precipitate. It was not subjected to 
elementary analysis. From its origin in the dregs of laudanum, it appears to us most 
probable that it was the result of chemical change in morphia. (Chemisches Central Blatt, 
no. 61, p. 966; see also Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1861, p. 24.) Dr. Fronmiiller found 
Wittstein’s metamorphia to be soporific in doses of half a grain. (Ibid., Sept. 1861, p. 
408.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Proportionate quantity of the more important constituents of Opium The following are 
§iven as the relative quantities of the ingredients mentioned, obtained by the Messrs. 
mith, of Edinburgh, from 100 parts of fine opium: 10 parts of morphia, 6 of narcotina, 
0T5 of thebaina, 1 of papaverina, 0-3 of codeia, 0-02 of narceia, 0-01 of meconin, 4 of mo- 
conic acid, and 1-25 of thebolactic acid. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1865, p. 183.)— 
Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* The results here given, on the authority of Mr. Wm. A. Guy, as regards the fusing 
and subliming points of the alkaloids, were obtained through a very careful application 
of heat, in a special manner, and are recorded in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Feb. 
1868, p. 374. It should be noticed, however, that, in the process of sublimation, the al- 
kaloids undergo a partial decomposition, leaving a more or less copious carbonaceous 
residue, by which, as he observes, the alkaloids and glucosides are distinguished from 
most other bodies. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 638 
Opium, 
PART I, 
Balts of iron. It is, however, reddened by a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids. 
Hence, if to a mixture of it with strong sulphuric acid a small piece of nitre is 
added, a deep blood-red colour is produced; while morphia, under the same 
circumstances, yields a brownish or olive-green colour. It gives a greasy stain 
to paper when heated upon it over a candle. Heated with an excess of sul- 
phuric acid and deutoxide of manganese, it is converted into an acid called 
opianic acid, and into a substance of feeble alkaline properties, which has re- 
ceived the name of cotarnin {cotarnia). {Journ. de Pharm , 3e s£r., vi. 99.) 
Meconin is said also to be among the results of its decomposition by oxidizing 
agents. When distilled with potassa, it yields a colourless volatile liquid 
having alkaline properties, with the strong smell of herring-pickle together 
with that of ammonia. This is a peculiar alkaloid, and has received the name 
of propylamin. (Wertheim, Pharm. Gent. Blatt, June 1, 1850, p. 421, and Dec. 
17, 1851, p. 918.)* Water extracts narcotina partially from opium, in con- 
sequence of the acid which the latter contains, either free or combined with the 
narcotina. It is usually obtained mixed with morphia in the processes for pro- 
curing that principle; and may be separated by the action of ether, which dis- 
solves it without affecting the morphia, and yields it upon evaporation. It may 
also be obtained by digesting opium in ether, and slowly evaporating the ethe- 
real solution, which deposits crystals of narcotina. It is said that the same result 
may be obtained by using the oil of turpentine as the menstruum, first heating 
it with opium, and then evaporating the solution. Another mode of procuring 
it is to treat opium, exhausted by previous maceration in water, with dilute 
acetic acid, filter the solution, precipitate by an alkali, wash the precipitate with 
water, and purify it by solution in boiling alcohol, from which it crystallizes as 
the liquid cools. Should it still be impure, the solution in alcohol and crystalli- 
zation may be repeated. 
The proportion of this principle found in opium varies extremely in the dif- 
ferent varieties, and in different specimens of the same variety. Thus in Smyrna 
opium it has been found, according to different observers, in quantities vary- 
ing from D30 to 9‘36 per cent. 
Though narcotina itself is tasteless, its salts are very bitter, even more so 
than those of morphia. {Berzelius.) Their solution reddens litmus, and }delds 
precipitates with the alkalies and infusion of galls. It has already been stated 
that Kobiquet obtained the sulphate and muriate crystallized. 
Different opinions have been advanced relative to the action of narcotina on 
the system. Derosne believed it to be the active principle of opium; though, 
upon experimenting with it, he obtained effects but little stronger than those 
produced by an equal dose of opium itself. Others found it possessed in different 
degrees of narcotic properties; and the results of various experiments which led 
to this conclusion may be seen in former editions of this work. But a more 
thorough investigation has led to the conclusion that it cannot be ranked among 
narcotic medicines. It is now pretty well established that narcotina is identical 
with aconella, an alkaloid recently extracted by the Messrs. Smith of Edinburgh 
from aconite. {See page 73.) The effects of a narcotic character which have 
* There would seem, from the observations of Wertheim and Hinterherger, to he four 
homologous modifications of narcotina, having a fixed relation to each other in composi- 
tion, the number of eqs. of nitrogen and oxygen being the same in all, while those of car- 
bon and hydrogen increase by 2 eqs. in regular progression. Thus 1. normal narcotina 
(Hinterherger) has the formula NCt2H2]Ou; 2. methylic narcotina (Wertheim) NC44HL>30,4; 
3. ethylic narcotina, (Wertheim) NC46H250M; and 4. propylic narcotina (Wertheim) 18 
H27Ou. Another interesting point is that each of these yields a peculiar volatile alkaloid 
by distillation with potassa; and the several products bear to each other the same chemi- 
cal relation as exists between the fixed alkaloids from which they are derived. They 
are ammonia from the first, methylamin from the second, ethylamin from the third, and 
propylamin from the fourth. The last of these volatile alkaloids has been referred to in 
the text as having the smell of herring-pickle. It has been produced also by distilling 
ergot with potassa. Methylamin was procured by Wertheim. The other products are, we 
believe, thus far hypothetical. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, Dec. 17,1851, p. 918, and Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., xxiii. 154.)—Note to the tenth edition. i tRT I 
Opium, 
639 
attributed to it, have probably arisen from the employment of a prepara 
tton not entirely freed from other principles contained in the opium. Indeed, 
so little has it of this character, that the name of anarcotina has been pro- 
posed for it, expressive of its total want of narcotic power. Dr. O’Shaugh- 
nessy, Professor of Chemistry in the Medical College of Calcutta, recommends 
narcotina very highly in intermittent fever, and believes that he has discovered 
in it even stronger antiperiodic properties than those of quinia.' In the cases 
reported by him, it was employed in combination with muriatic acid. Given in 
this form, though powerfully febrifuge, it was found not to produce narcotic 
effects, not to constipate the bowels, and never to occasion the distressing head- 
ache ar.d restlessness which sometimes follow the use of quinia. It proved, 
moreover, powerfully sudorific. It was given in doses of three grains, three 
times a day. Dr. O’Shaughnessy was induced to recommend its employment to 
his medical friends in India, from a knowledge that it had proved effectual in 
mild agues, in the hands of Dr. Roots and Mr. Jetson in England.* 
Codeia was discovered in 1832 by Robiquet in the muriate of morphia pre- 
pared according to the process of Gregory. It exists in opium combined like 
morphia with meconic acid, and is extracted along with that alkali in the pre- 
paration of the muriate. (See Morphia.) When the solution of the mixed muriates 
of morphia and codeia is treated with ammonia, the former alkaloid is precipi- 
tated, and the codeia, remaining in solution, may be obtained by evaporation and 
crystallization. It may be purified by treating the crystals with hot ether, which 
dissolves them, and yields the codeia in colourless crystals by spontaneous evap- 
oration. This alkaline product melts at 300° without decomposition. Guy gives 
220° as its point both of fusion and volatilization. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 
Feb. 1868, p. 314.) It is soluble in water, which takes up l-26 per cent, at 60°, 
3 7 at 110°, and 5’9 at 212°. When added in excess to boiling water, the undis- 
solved portion melts and sinks to the bottom, having the appearance of an oil. It 
is soluble also in alcohol and ether, but insoluble in alkaline solutions. Hence, it 
may be separated from morphia by a solution of potassa or soda, which dissolves 
the morphia, and leaves the codeia. It has an alkaline reaction on test paper, and 
combines with acids to form salts, some of which are erystallizable, particularly 
the nitrate. Its capacity of saturation is almost identical with that of morphia. 
According to Robiquet, 1 part of muriatic acid is saturated by 7’837 of codeia, 
and by 7-88 of morphia. It is distinguishable, however, from the latter principle 
by the different form of its crystals, which are octohedral, by its solubility in boil- 
ing ether, greater solubility in wates, and insolubility in alkaline solutions, and 
by not assuming a red colour with nitric acid, nor a blue one with the salts of ses- 
quioxide of iron. (Journ. de Phar m., xix. 91.) Tincture of galls precipitates from 
its solutions a tannate of codeia. Crystallized from a watery solution, it contains 
about 6 per cent, of water, which is driven off at 212°. The crystals obtained 
from a solution in ether contain no water. Like most of the other organic alka- 
lies, it consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen ; its received formula 
being C35II%N05, and its combining number consequently 284. According to 
Dr. Anderson, however, the formula of the anhydrous alkaloid is C3BH N06, 
with the addition of two eqs. of water in the hydrate. {Month. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., May, 1850, p. 492.) Dr. Gregory tried the effects of nitrate of codeia 
upon himself and several of his pupils, and found that, in a dose of three grains 
or less, it produced no obvious effect, but, in the quantity of from four to six 
grains, accelerated the pulse, occasioned a sense of heat in the head and face, 
and gave rise to an agreeable excitement of the spirits like that resulting from 
intoxicating drinks, which was attended ydth a sense of itching upon the skin, 
and, after lasting for several hours, was followed by an unpleasant depression, 
with nausea and sometimes vomiting. No tendency to sleep was observed, ex- 
* The different effects, obtained by different experimenters from narcotina, are readily 
explicable, should the statements as to the existence of a powerful alkaloid (opiania), 
which may have been mixed with the narcotina, and of several different modifications oi 
narcotina itself (page 638), prove to be correct. (Note to the tenth edition.) 640 
Opium. 
PART I, 
cept in the state of depression. In two or three cases the medicine produced a 
slight purgative effect; but in others it appeared to exercise no peculiar influ- 
ence on the bowels. Mr. A. F. Haselden considers a grain of codeia as equiva- 
lent to half a grain of morphia; and states that two grains cause nausea. On the 
same authority, the hydrochlorate is more powerful than the pure alkaloid; two 
grains of it inducing vertigo, nausea, and vomiting. He has found facial and 
ischiatic neuralgia to yield to it, when all other means had failed. (Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., Sept. 1866, p. 156.) M. Barbier, of Amiens, administered codeia un- 
combined in numerous cases, and observed that, in the dose of one or two grains, 
it acted on the nervous system, and appeared to be directed especially to the 
great sympathetic; as it relieved painful affections having their origin apparently 
in disorders of that nerve, while it exerted no influence over pains of the back and 
extremities supplied by nerves from the spinal marrow. He did not find it to 
affect the circulation, disturb digestion, or produce constipation. In sufficient 
quantity, it induced sleep without giving rise, like opium, to signs of cerebral con- 
gestion. Dr. Mirandi, of Havana, employed it with advantage in several bad 
cases of dyspepsia. Dr. Aran, of Paris, considers it one of the most efficient means 
in our possession for relieving pain, and obtaining calm sleep, inferior to mor- 
phia only that it must be given in larger doses, and having the advantage over if 
that it does not occasion disturbed sleep, disorder of the stomach, constipation, 
or sweating with cutaneous eruptions. (Am Journ. of Med. Set., Jan. 1, 1863, 
p. 184.) Dr. Garrod, of London, however, has had a different experience, hav- 
ing found it, in large doses, neither anodyne nor soporific. (Med. Times andOaz., 
March, 1864, p. 333.) On the whole, there can be little doubt that codeia has a 
decided action on the animal economy, and is among the principles upon which 
opium depends for its peculiar powers. It may be given in syrup, in a dose of from 
half a grain to two grains or more, and M. Aran has found it efficient in the dose 
of one-third of a grain. Mr. Haselden recommends a syrup containing two grains 
to the fluidounce, as the most convenient proportion for a division of the dose. 
Paramorphia (thebaina) is the name given by Pelletier to a principle, dis- 
covered by him in the precipitate thrown down from an infusion of opium, treated 
with milk of lime. The precipitate being washed with water till the liquid came 
away colourless, and then treated with alcohol, instead of affording morphia to 
this solvent, as was anticipated, yielded a new alkaline principle, which was 
obtained separate by evaporating the alcohol, acting on the residue with ether, 
allowing the ethereal solution to evaporate spontaneously, and then purifying 
the resulting crystalline mass by dissolving it in an acid, precipitating by am- 
monia, and recrystallizing by means of alcohol or ether. Pelletier named it 
paramorphia, from its close aualogy in composition with morphia, from which, 
however, it is quite distinct in properties. It is white, crystallizable in needles, 
of an acrid and styptic rather than bitter taste, fusible at about 300° (fusible 
at 210°, volatilizable at 320°, Guy), scarcely soluble in water, very soluble in 
alcohol and ether when cold, and still more so when heated, and capable of 
combining with the acids, with which it forms salts not crystallizable from 
their aqueous solution. Alkalies precipitate it from its acid solutions, and, un- 
less in very concentrated solution, do not dissolve it when added in excess. It 
is not, like morphia, reddened by nitric acid, nor does it become blue with so- 
lutions of the salts'of sesquioxide of iron. From codeia it differs in never being 
in large crystals, in not forming crystallizable salts, in being always precipi- 
tated from its acid solutions by ammonia, and in not melting in oily drops. 
From narcotina, which it most resembles, it may be distinguished by its shorter 
crystals, which want the pearly appearance of those of narcotina, by its differ- 
ent taste, by its much greater solubility in cold alcohol, of which 10 parts 
will dissolve 1 of this principle, while narcotina requires 100 parts, and by the 
action of nitric acid, which converts it into a resin-like matter before dissolving 
it, while the same acid instantly dissolves narcotina, It consists of carbon, 
hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen ; its formula being, according to Dr. Anderson, 
CwH21N06. (See Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 233.) The name of thebain PART I, 
Opium, 
641 
was proposed for it by M. Couerbe, who was disposed to give the credit of its 
discovery to M. Thiboumery, the director of Pelletier’s laboratory. Magendie 
considered it closely analogous, in its effects on the system, to strychnia and 
brucia, producing tetanic spasms in the dose of a grain. 
Papaverina (papaverin). The discovery of this alkaloid was announced by 
Dr. G. Merck. It is crystallizable in needles, fusible at 210° and volatilizable 
at 310° (Guy), insoluble in water, very sparingly soluble in cold alcohol or 
ether, more soluble in these liquids boiling hot, and deposited by them on cool- 
ing. With acids it forms salts, most of which are very sparingly dissolved by 
water. The muriate crystallizes with extraordinary facility. The alkaloid is 
readily dissolved by moderately concentrated muriatic acid, from which, on the 
addition of more acid, the muriate separates, assuming the form of an oily layer 
at the bottom of the vessel, which is readily converted on standing into a mass 
of acicular crystals. These crystals are very sparingly soluble in cold water. 
The muriate yields with bichloride of platinum a yellow precipitate which is 
insoluble in boiling water or alcohol. Papaverina is prepared by precipitating 
the aqueous infusion of opium with soda, exhausting the precipitate with alco- 
hol, evaporating the tincture to dryness, treating the residue with a dilute acid, 
filtering, precipitating by ammonia, dissolving the precipitate in muriatic acid, 
mixing acetate of soda with the solution, and treating with boiling ether the 
resulting precipitate. The ethereal solution deposits the papaverina on cooling. 
A characteristic property of this alkaloid is that its crystals, when moistened 
with concentrated sulphuric acid, acquire a dark-blue colour. Its formula is 
C40H21NO8. ( Ghem. Gaz., March 15,1850; from Liebig's Annalen.) Papaverina 
has been further investigated by Dr. Thomas Anderson, who confirms the 
statements of Merck. (Chem. Gaz., Jan. 15, 1855, p. 21.) 
Opiania (opianin). This was found by Dr. Hinterberger in some supposed 
narcotina, which had been obtained by Engler, an apothecary of Vienna, fiom a 
parcel of Egyptian opium which he was working for morphia. An infusion of 
thp opium was precipitated by ammonia, and the precipitate, having been washed 
first with water and then with cold alcohol, was dissolved in hot alcohol, and 
decolorized by animal charcoal. A crystalline mass was thus obtained, consist- 
ing apparently of morphia and narcotina. By repeated solutions in hot alcohol 
and crystallization, the former was separated, remaining in the alcohol, while 
the supposed narcotina was obtained in crystals. These, upon being examined 
by Dr. Hinterberger, proved to be a new .alkaloid, to which he gave the name 
of opianin. It is in long, colourless, transparent needles, belonging to the pris- 
matic system. When precipitated by ammonia from the solution of the muri- 
ate, it is in the form of a soft white powder. It is without smell, and in alco- 
holic solution has a strong and durable bitter taste. At the temperature of 
212° F. it remains unchanged. It is insoluble in water, and requires for solution 
a large quantity of boiling alcohol, from which it is entirely thrown down, upon 
cooling, in the state of crystals. In alcoholic solution it has a strong alkaline 
reaction; and from this solution both opiania itself and its salts are thrown 
down by alkalies. Concentrated sulphuric acid dissolves without changing it; 
nitric acid renders it yellow, and, if added to its sulphuric acid solution, blood- 
red, but after a short time changing to light-yellow. Its formula, according to 
Hinterberger, is From experiments, it has been inferred to be 
powerfully narcotic, and to resemble morphia in its action. About one-tenth of 
a grain of one of these alkaloids was given to a cat, and the same quantity of 
the other to another cat, with very similar effects. These were decidedly nar- 
cotic, and continued for a considerable time, but had ceased at the expiration 
of 24 hours, without fatal effects. (Chem. Gaz., Dec. 1, 1852, p. 444.) 
Narceia or narcein, discovered by Pelletier in 1832, is white, in silky acicular 
crystals, inodorous, of a slightly bitter taste, fusible at 197° F. (170°, and vola- 
tilizable at 420°, Guy), soluble in 375 parts of cold and 220 of boiling water, 
soluble also in alcohol, and insoluble in ether. It forms a bluish compound 
with iodine, the colour of which is destroyed by heat and the alkalies. It is 642 
Opium. 
PART I 
rendered blue by the action of mineral acids so far diluted as not to decom- 
pose it; but does not, like morphia, become blue by the action of the salts of 
iron, nor red by that of nitric acid. It is dissolved by the acids, but was thought 
not to neutralize them, and, though at first considered alkaline by Pelletier, 
was afterwards ranked with indifferent bodies. At present, however, its alka- 
loid character is admitted, as it unites with sulphuric acid to form a crystal- 
lizable sulphate. (Journ. de Ph arm., Avril, 1864, p. 367.) It resembles, more- 
over, the organic alkalies in its constitution, consisting of carbon, hydrogen, 
nitrogen, and oxygen. Its formula, according to Dr. Anderson, is 
Pelletier obtained it in the course of his analysis of opium. Having formed an 
aqueous extract of opium, he treated it with distilled water, precipitated the 
morphia by ammonia, concentrated the solution, filtered it, threw down the 
meconic acid by baryta-water, separated the excess of baryta by carbonate of am-' 
monia, drove off the excess of the ammoniacal salt by heat, evaporated the liquor 
to the consistence of syrup, set it aside till a pulpy matter formed containing 
crystals, separated and expressed this pulpy matter, then treated it with alco- 
hol, and concentrated the alcoholic solution. This, on cooling, deposited crys- 
tals of narceia, which were easily purified by repeated solution and crystalli- 
zation. Meconin, which often crystallizes with it, may be separated by the 
agency of ether. Experiments have been performed with narceia, which go 
to prove that it closely resembles morphia in its influence on the system, 
though somewhat weaker; and that, while capable of producing sleep, reliev- 
ing pain and irritation, alleviating cough, and checking diarrhoea, it is not fol- 
lowed by the unpleasant sensations about the head and other disagreeable symp- 
toms which often attend the action of morphia, is less disposed to constipate, 
and less stimulant to the circulation. In cases in which morphia disagrees with 
the patient, or is otherwise contraindicated, narceia may be resorted to for mostof 
the purposes for which the other alkaloid is employed. It may be administered 
in pill or syrup. From one-third to three-quarters of a grain may be given for a 
dose, the smaller to relieve cough, the larger to remove pain or produce sleep.* 
* Much attention has recently been attracted to narceia, in consequence of the valu- 
able properties ascribed to it by M. Claude Bernard, as the result of bis experimental 
researches into the physiological properties of the several opium alkaloids respectively. 
According to M. Bernard, narceia, in its operation on the lower animals, is decidedlv 
soporific, in this respect resembling morphia and codeia, being more energetic than 
either, though without the deep torpor produced by the former. Bernard, however, was 
not the first to experiment with narceia. Not long after its discovery, Magendie injected 
10 centigrammes (about 1-5 grains) of it, several times into the jugular vein of dogs, 
without observing any special action. (Ann. de Therap., 1865, p. 25.) So early as 1852, 
M. Lecomte demonstrated its soporific effect, having repeated Magendie’s experiment, 
with very different results. Ten centigrammes dissolved in ten grammes of distilled 
water were injected into the jugular vein of a large dog. The animal was put into a 
calm sleep with snoring, yet retained sensibility so far as to feel the presence of insects 
upon the skin; and it was noticed that, while the anterior limbs had lost neither sensi- 
bility nor mobility, the posterior had obviously suffered some diminution of these pro- 
perties, showing that the medicine, in its action on the spinal marrow, more especially 
affected the lumbar region. (Ibid., p. 27.) Some years later, similar experiments were 
performed by MM. Debout and Behier, confirmatory of the results obtained by M. Le- 
comte and M. Bernard. But they were extended also to the human subject, both'in health 
and disease, and always with similar results. 
M. Debout tried on himself a syrup of narceia, each tablespoonful of which contained a 
centigramme (0T5 gr.), taking a tablespoonful at first twice a day, gradually increased to 
seven a day, and continued with the latter quantity for ten days. The soporific effect was 
experienced when the evening dose amounted to 3 centigrammes (nearly half a grain); 
and the sleep was afterwards deeper in proportion to the increase of the dose. The sleep 
was always calm, never attended with painful dreams, and was interrupted momentarily 
by the least noise ; nor was it followed in the morning by that heaviness of the head often 
noticed as the result of morphia. The only inconvenience experienced was a rather obsti- 
nate constipation during the continuance of the experiment. Nor was the action pronounced 
upon the secretory function; although, from a dose of 7 centigrammes (about a grain), some 
hebetude of the bladder was experienced, which might be ascribed to the influence upon 
the lower spinal marrow, as observed by M. Lecomte. No itching of the surface, no 
trouble of sight or hearing, were noticed; the narcotic influence of the medicine being PART I. 
Opium. 
643 
Pseudomorphia was discovered by Pelletier more than thirty years since; 
but, as it exists in small quantities, and was thought to be only an occasional 
ingredient in opium, little attention has been paid to it. An interesting fact, 
however, in relation to it, and one of some toxicological importance, is that it 
limited to its soporific action. It was, however, found to exercise the same calming in- 
fluence over bronchial irritation, as in the relief of cough. No effect on the respiration 
or pulse was noticed. The general conclusions drawn from these experiments were as fol- 
lows. The calming and soporific effects of narceia are superior to those of codeia, and al- 
most equal those of morphia, over which it has the advantage that it operates without 
causing cerebral congestion, and consequently that the sleep produced by it is lighter, 
and never attended with painful dreams. Narceia, moreover, is less apt than morphia to 
disturb the digestive organs; causing nausea and vomiting less frequently, and constipa- 
tion less intense. The greatest inconvenience from it is that, when it exceeds the quan- 
tity of 5 centigrammes (about three-quarters of a grain), it is liable to bring on difficulty 
of discharging the urine, from a partially paralyzing action on the bladder. 
Besides these physiological investigations, narceia has been submitted also to therapeu- 
tic trials, with results corresponding with its ascertained influence on the functions. M. 
Behier has found it to quiet cough, diminish expectoration in consumptive patients, check 
diarrhoea, relieve pain, cause sleep, quiet restlessness, and to produce all these effects 
whether given internally or by subcutaneous injection. Sometimes, however, it caused 
vomiting, and sometimes suspended the emission of urine, without modifying the desire 
to micturate. (Ibid., pp. 23-47.) 
M. Line, formerly resident physician of one of the French hospitals, after a series of 
observations in a ward of the hospital, gives the following conclusions, which are in close 
conformity with those of his predecessors. Narceia exceeds all the opium alkaloids in so- 
porific power; neither morphia nor codeia, as a general rule, producing either so pro- 
tracted or so profound a sleep. While thus energetic as a soporific, it gives rise only in a very 
slight degree to those secondary effects of opium which so often interfere with its admin- 
istration, such as excessive perspiration, headache, a sense of heaviness in the head, nau- 
sea, vomiting, &c. It does not constipate like opium, and, according to M. Line, even 
induces diarrhoea in large doses; »a point, however, in which his experience differs from 
that of M. Debout. It relieves pain, and very generally acts with a more or less paralyz- 
ing effect on the urinary excretory function. (Druggists’ Circular, June, 1866; from Ga- 
zette des Hdpitaux.) 
To the foregoing testimony must be added that of Dr. Eulenburg. According to this 
practitioner, narceia, while acting as a narcotic, causes at first a diminished frequency and 
volume of the pulse, followed after some time by acceleration. The pulse rarely increases 
during its use more than 12 or 15 beats in a minute. Upon the cutaneous nerves it acts 
like other narcotics. The repetition of internal doses often produces one or two stools, 
and sometimes even a diarrhoea, conformably with the observation of M. Line. It ap- 
pears, however, to retard the occurrence of the menses. Subcutaneously administered, 
it produces none of the muscular action which follows the injection of morphia. For the 
relief of irritation, and as a soporific, it is preferable to every other medicine. It is, in- 
deed, indicated, independently of simple idiopathic neuralgia, in all cases where pain 
is the prominent symptom, such as affections of the joints, phlegmon, painful ocular 
diseases, orchitis, cystitis, cyrrhosis of the liver, wounds, and after painful operations. 
In all these cases, employed internally or externally, in the doses recommended by Dr. 
Eulenburg, it quickly relieves the pain, and often produces a sleep of four, five, or even 
nine hours; a sleep sweet, tranquil, uninterrupted, and with a peaceful awakening; always 
without disordered action or poisonous effect. In many cases of disease morphia can 
scarcely be used in consequence of its various unpleasant effects, primary or secondary; 
and to these narceia is admirably adapted, as it produces the good effects, so far as relates 
to the relief of pain and irritation and the production of sleep, without the noxious and 
disagreeable. The dose employed by Dr. Eulenburg for producing sleep and relieving 
pain is from £to J a grain internally, and from to J- by the hypodermic method. In sick 
headache, £ of a grain, followed shortly afterwards by one-ninth of a grain, taken at the 
beginning, produces a sleep which continues several hours, and from which the patient 
awakes in full health. (Ann. de Therap., 1867, pp. 6-9.) 
Of the numerous communications upon the effects and uses of narceia, the author has 
met, with but a single exception, with none which was not commendatory; and in ail 
there is so close an agreement as to the peculiar effects of the medicine, that there is 
scarcely room for doubt on the subject. The exception referred to is that presented in 
the report of Dr. Da Costa as to the effects of the medicine in the wards of the Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital. (See Reports of the Penn. Hospital, 1868, p. 177.) The effects in this in- 
stance were such as failed altogether to support the highly flattering statements hereto- 
fore made on the subject of narceia; and if the medicine employed by Dr. Da Costa was 
really narceia, tolerably pure, his experience must throw a strong doubt upon the favour 
able statements made by others. Only further observation and experience can determine 
thci q lestion. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 644 
Opium, 
PART L 
possesses two properties considered characteristic of morphia, those namely 
of being reddened by nitric acid, and of striking a blue colour with the salts of 
iron, and yet is without any poisonous influence upon the animal economy. 
(Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 575.) Hesse has recently investigated the subject, 
with the following results. He found that it accompanies morphia procured 
by Gregory’s method, and may be separated from that alkaloid by adding am- 
monia in excess to an alcoholic solution containing both. The morphia is pre- 
cipitated, and pseudomorphia, remaining in solution, may be obtained by evapo- 
rating the mother-liquid. It is tasteless, insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, chlo- 
roform, and dilute sulphuric acid, but easily soluble in solution of potassa, soda, 
and lime, and in alcoholic solution of ammonia, though sparingly in a watery 
solution of the last-mentioned alkali. It does not neutralize muriatic acid, dis- 
solves in concentrated sulphuric acid with the production of an olive-green 
colour, in concentrated nitric acid with an intense orange-red, and in solution 
of sesquichloride of iron with a blue colour. At 248° F. it loses two eqs. of water 
of crystallization, and at higher temperatures is decomposed without melting. 
Its composition is represented by the formula CMII19N08. It forms sparingly 
soluble salts with sulphuric, nitric, oxalic, and tartaric acids, and a crystalline 
deposit, very slightly soluble in muriatic acid, with solution of corrosive subli- 
mate. (Ghem. News, April 12, 1867, p. 188.)* 
* Cryptopia. The discovery of this alkaloid was announced by Messrs. T. and H. Smith, 
of Edinburgh, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions for 
April, 1867 (p. 595); but it has yet been for too short a time before the pharmaceutical 
public to be admitted among the undoubted constituents of opium. A notice of it is, 
therefore, introduced here in the form of a note. The Messrs. Smith obtained it from the 
weak alcoholic washings of crude morphia after precipitation, by first neutralizing the 
liquid with dilute sulphuric acid, and then, after recovering the alcohol by distillation, and 
washing out the still copiously with hot water, by preeipitating the mixed liquor of the 
still and the washings by milk of lime in large excess. The liquid is then filtered off, and 
the pitch-like precipitate, having been thoroughly washed, is boiled with alcohol in large 
quantity, the solution filtered, and the.alcohol distilled off. The pitchy substance which re- 
mains in the retort, and which consists mainly of thebaina, is separated from the super- 
natant watery liquid, and heated to ebullition with enough alcohol to dissolve it. The 
solution, having been set aside, will be found in a day to have, set into a mass of crys- 
tals, which consist of crystallized thebaina. This mass is now strongly pressed in a cloth, 
and the residuary cake powdered and dissolved in dilute muriatic acid; care being taken 
that the acid be not in excess. The filtered liquid is evaporated and crystallized, and the 
process of evaporation and crystallization repeated, so as to separate all the muriate of 
thebaina. If now the mother-waters be set aside, the muriate of cryptopia will in the course 
of some weeks crystallize out of them, but mixed with crystallized muriate of thebaina; 
and the separation of the two is extremely difficult. But as the crystals of the two alkaloids 
are very different, those of thebaina being hard and strong, those of cryptopia soft and gen- 
erally tufted, by careful management, and by repeating the crystallization many times, 
so as to get rid of most of the thebaina, the muriate of cryptopia may be seen forming on 
the surface of the harder salt in the solution. The mother-liquors being now poured off, 
and allowed to evaporate spontaneously, the whole at length sets into a soft mass, which, 
being pressed in a cloth, is found to consist of almost pure muriate of cryptopia. But the 
practical reader who wishes to carry the process into effect is referred to the paper of the 
Messrs. Smith for details, without which he might not be able to succeed in his essays. 
To obtain the pure alkaloid, it is to be precipitated from the solution of the muriate by 
ammonia, then washed, dried, and finally washed with ether or alcohol, which readily 
dissolves thebaina, but has little effect on cryptopia. It may be got in a crystallized state 
by boiling it with a large quantity of alcohol, which, on cooling, will slowly deposit the 
alkaloid in crystals. The quantity of cryptopia obtained from opium is extremely small; 
and it must, I think, strike the reader of this process as highly probable, that it is rather 
a product formed out of thebaina than a proper educt of the drug. 
Cryptopia is without colour or smell; and its salts, though at first bitter to the taste, 
afterward cause a sense of coolness in the mouth, like that produced by peppermint. It 
melts at about 400° F., and, heated to redness, is decomposed, blackening and giving 
forth watery vapours, but without properly subliming. According to Guy, it melts and 
sub'imos at the same temperature of 350°. It is insoluble in water, quite insoluble in ether, 
and very sparingly soluble in alcohol, requiring 1265 parts of that liquid when cold to 
dissolve it. Chloroform dissolves it almost as freely as narcotina. Oil of turpentine and 
benzole do not appear to dissolve it. It has very strong alkaline powers, and forms crys- 
tallizable salts with the acids, which are distinguishable from all the other salts of the PART i 
Opium 
645 
Meconin, the existence of which was announced in 1832 by M. Cuuerbe, is 
identical with a substance discovered several years previously by M. Dublaec, 
jun., but of which no account was published. It is perfectly white, in the form 
of acicular crystals, soluble in about 265 parts of cold and 18 of boiling water, 
very soluble in ether, alcohol, and the essential oils, fusible at 195°, volatiluuble 
without change (fusible at 120°, sublimable at 180°, Guy), and possessed of a 
degree of acrimony which favours the supposition that it may not be without 
action upon the system. It is neither acid nor alkaline, and contains no nitrogen. 
Meconin is obtained by precipitating the aqueous infusion of opium with am- 
monia, washing the precipitate with water until the latter nearly ceases to ac- 
quire colour, mixing the watery fluids, evaporating them to the consistence of 
molasses, setting them aside for two or three weeks, during which a mass of 
granular crystals is formed, then decanting the liquid, expressing the mass, and 
drying it with a gentle heat. The meconin may be separated from the mass by 
treating it with boiling alcohol of 36° Baume, evaporating so as to obtain crys- 
tals, dissolving these in boiling water with animal charcoal, filtering the liquid 
while hot, and subjecting the crystals formed upon the cooling of the solution 
to the action of ether, which dissolves the meconin, and yields it in a state of 
purity by spontaneous evaporation. {Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 1832.) 
Porplxyroxin may be obtained, according to Merck, by treating powdered 
opium, previously exhausted by boiling ether, and then made into a pulp by 
means of water, with carbonate of potassa, agitating it with ether, evaporating 
the ethereal solution, dissolving the residue in dilute muriatic acid, and pre- 
cipitating with ammonia. Paramorphia and porphvroxin are thus obtained to- 
gether. These are to be dissolved in ether, which, by spontaneous evaporation, 
deposits the former in crystals, and the latter in the form of resin. The porphy- 
roxin is separated by the cautious use of alcohol, and obtained by the evapora- 
tion of the alcoholic solution. It is neuter, crystallizable in shining needles, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and characterized by the property 
of assuming a purple-red or rose colour, when heated in dilute muriatic acid. 
{Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xiv. 188.) 
Meconic acid is in white crystalline scales, of a sour taste followed by bit- 
terness, fusible and volatilizable by heat, soluble in four parts of boiling water, 
soluble also in cold water and alcohol, with the property of reddening vegetable 
blues, and forming salts. Its compounds with the earths and heavy metallic 
oxides are generally insoluble in water. Its characteristic properties are, that 
it produces a blood-red colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, a green 
precipitate with a weak solution of ammoniated sulphate of copper, and white 
precipitates soluble in nitric acid, with acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and 
chloride of barium. It is obtained by macerating opium in water, filtering the 
infusion, and adding a solution of chloride of calcium Meconate and sulphate 
of lime are precipitated The precipitate, having been washed with hot water 
and with alcohol, is treated with dilute muriatic acid at 180°. The meconate of 
lime is taken up, and upon the cooling of the liquid, bimeconate of lime is de- 
posited. This is dissolved in warm concentrated muriatic acid, which deposits 
pure meconic acid when it cools. It may be freed from colouring matter by 
neutralizing it with potassa, decomposing the crystallized meconate thus ob- 
tained by muriatic acid, and again crystallizing. Meconic acid has little or no 
opium alkaloids by a strong tendency to gelatinize. If the muriate be dissolved in about 
30 parts of hot water, and set aside, instead of crystallizing, it forms a jelly closely re- 
sembling that of pure gelatin. From all the constituents of opium, except the stronger 
alkaloids, morphia, codeia, and thebaina, it is distinguished by its strong alkaline proper- 
ties, as it neutralizes the strongest acids. From morphia it is distinguished by its very 
sparing solubility in alcohol, and from codeia and thebaina by its total insolubility in 
ether. It differs also in the effect of strong sulphuric acid, which produces a blue colour 
with the minutest quantity of cryptopia, a blood-red with thebaina, and none with mor- 
phia or codeia. The tendency of its salts to gelatinize is another distinguishing property 
of the cryptopia. The formula of the alkaloid, admitting the eqs. of C to be 12 and of 
O 16, is G23H.)3N05. (Phnrm. Journ. and Trans.., April, 1867, p. 595, and June, 1867, p. 
716.' — Note to the thirteenth edition. 646 
Opium, 
PART I. 
action on the system, and is not used separately in medicine; but its natural 
relation to morphia requires that it should be understood. 
Thebolactic acid, which was discovered by the Messrs T. and II. Smith, of 
Edinburgh, appears to be a constant ingredient in opium. These chemists were 
led to search for it by the consideration that the quantity of meconic acid pre- 
sent is insufficient to saturate the whole of the morphia and other bases, which 
must, therefore, be neutralized by some other acid. They obtained it from 
the impure mother-liquid of morphia, after all the alkaloids had been thrown 
down by the addition of an alkali, by concentrating the liquors to a thick con- 
sistence, adding alcohol largely, filtering, precipitating all basic matter by sul- 
phuric acid, filtering again, carefully neutralizing by milk of lime, distilling to 
recover the alcohol, and finally evaporating the residuary contents of the still 
to a syrupy consistence. After standing for about a week, the syrupy liquid 
will be seen to have set into a crystalline mass of thebolactate of lime. This, 
being purified by repeated solution and crystallization and by animal charcoal, is 
decomposed by adding the equivalent quantity of sulphuric acid, and separating 
the liberated thebolactic acid by means of alcohol. Stenhouse has shown that 
the new acid has the composition of lactic acid; but, according to Dr. Anderson, 
it is only isomeric and not identical with that acid. Its name implies the ad- 
mission of its close relation to lactic acid, of which it may be regarded as a 
variety'. The ready crystallization of its salt with lime is a characteristic pro- 
perty. {Pliarm. Journ., July, 1865, p. 50 ) 
Incompatibles. All the substances which produce precipitates with opium do 
not necessarily affect its medical virtues; but the alkalies, and all vegetable in- 
fusions containing tannic and gallic acids, are strictly incompatible ; the former 
separating and precipitating the active principle, the latter forming with it an 
insoluble compound. 
The proportion of morphia which any particular specimen of opium will 
furnish, maybe considered as the best test of its value, except that of actual 
trial upon the system. Good opium should yield 10 or 12 per cent, of the im- 
pure morphia precipitated from the infusion by ammonia with alcohol, according 
to the process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See Morphia.) The U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia directs that it should yield at least 7 per cent, of the pure alkaloid by 
the officinal process. The Br. Pharmacopoeia requires at least 6 per cent. ' 
M. Guilliermond gives the following mode of estimatingthe strength of opium, 
as tested by the amount of morphia to be obtained from it. Take 15 parts of 
opium, cut it in pieces, rub it up with 60 parts of alcohol of 71°, drain the 
mixture on linen and express, treat the residue with 40 parts of alcohol also 
of 71°, unite the tinctures in a vessel with a large mouth into which 4 parts 
of solution of ammonia (22° Cartier) have been introduced, and allow the mix- 
ture to stand 12 hours. The crystals which form are to be put upon linen, 
washed repeatedly with water to separate the meconate of ammonia, and then 
introduced into a small vessel of water. The crystals of narcotina, being very 
light, continue suspended in the water, and may be decanted along with it, 
while those of morphia remaining at the bottom, may be collected and weighed. 
Good opium, treated in this way, will yield for the fifteen parts employed from 
l-25 to 175 parts of the crystals of morphia. {Journ. de Pharm., xvi. 18.)* 
* As the morphia obtained in the above process is not quite free from narcotina, M. De 
Vry proposes the following modification. The mixture of morphia and narcotina, pre- 
cipitated from the alcoholic solution by ammonia, after being washed, is to he heated with 
a slight excess of sulphate of copper dissolved in pure water. The narcotina has no ac- 
tion on the sulphate of copper, which is decomposed by the morphia, producing sulphate 
of morphia and tribasic sulphate of copper. The latter and the narcotina remain undis- 
solved, and a solution is obtained containing sulphate of morphia with a little sulphate of 
copper. This, having been filtered, is treated first with sulphuretted hydrogen which pre- 
cipitates the copper, and afterwards with ammonia which throws down the morphia. 
(Pharm. Journ., x. 77.) 
M. Fordos' method of estimating theproportion of morphia. Practical difficulties having 
been experienced in the application of M. Guilliermond’s method, though much better than 
any plan previously proposed, the Bclgic Academy of Medicine made the offer of a prize. PART I, 
Opium, 
647 
Tests of Opium, It is sometimes highly important to be able to ascertain 
the presence or absence of opium in any suspected mixture. As meconic acid and 
which seems to have elicited the following process, considered oy M. Fordos as the easiest of 
execution, and most accurate in its results. Macerate in 60 cubic centimetres of water 15 
grammes of opium, cut into fine slices, agitating occasionally. After 24 hours, or sooner if 
there is any urgency, pour the mixture into a mortar, and divide tne opium thoroughly 
by the pestle. Then pour the whole on a small filter, and, after the liquid has passed, 
wash the filter with 15 cubic centimetres of water with which the mortar and pestle have 
been thoroughly cleansed. Repeat the washing a second and a third time, using each time 
10 cubic centimetres of water. The opium is thus sufiiciently exhausted. One-tbird of the 
mixed liquids is taken in order to determine the quantity of ammonia necessary to pre- 
cipitate the morphia. To this add the ammonia drop by drop till the liquor offers a slight 
, ammoniacal odour, and then immediately cease. Note the quantity of ammonia consumed. 
Operate then on the residuary two-thirds of the liquid, representing 10 grammes of opium, 
with the view of ascertaining the proportion of morphia. Add an equal volume of alco- 
hol of 85°, and twice the quantity of ammonia consumed in the previous operation. A 
slight excess of ammonia is requisite to separate all the morphia. Agitate the liquor, and 
allcw it to stand in a bottle well stopped. Narcotina is soon deposited in fine needles but 
slightly coloured, and morphia in prisms larger and somewhat more coloured. After two 
or three days shake the bottle, and then allow it to rest for some hours, in order to give 
time for the deposition of the whole of the morphia. Collect the crystals on a small filter, 
and wash them with 15 or 20 cubic centimetres of weak alcohol, of only 40 or 50 to the 
100. This washing removes the adhering mother-water, and frees the crystals from the 
colouring matter. There remain crystals of morphia little coloured, and white crystals 
of narcotina. Allow them to dry on the same funnel. Then pour on the filter from 10 to 
15 cubic centimetres of pure sulphuric ether; and afterwards, at two or three times, from 
10 to 15 cubic centimetres of chloroform. The crystals of narcotina are instantly dissolved in 
the chloroform, and carried oft’ with it; and the morphia remains untouched. Lastly wash 
the filter with 15 cubic centimetres of ether, to remove the last traces of chloroform and 
narcotina. Dry the filter, and weigh the crystals of morphia, which may be very easily 
detached. To verify the result, ascertain that the crystals are entirely soluble in a solution 
of caustic potassa. The weight will represent the quantity of morphia in 10 grammes of 
the opium. We have been particular in presenting each step of the process precisely, as 
much depends upon a proper manipulation. The French weights and measures have been 
given for the sake of accuracy; but the operator may easily translate them into the equiva- 
lent weights and measures in use with us by consulting the table in the Appendix; or he 
can use any other convenient weight and measure, taking care to observe the same pro- 
portions. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxii. 101.) 
In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1863 (p. 385) is an interesting and valuable ar- 
ticle on the assay of opium by Prof. F. F. Mayer, to which, for want of space, we must 
content ourselves with referring the reader. It is highly important that the apothecary 
should be able to determine the strength of his opium, and never to use any in his offi- 
cinal operations, excepting for the preparation of morphia or its salts, which does not 
come up at least to the percentage required by our officinal standard. Sometimes it may 
happen that the opium is much stronger in morphia than that in ordinary use, and the con- 
sequence may be that an unexpected violence of operation may result. Hence it has been 
proposed in France to adopt some standard, and by mixing parcels of different strengths 
in proper proportion to get an opium which shall always be the same. In a paper on 
opium in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1860, p. 115), Dr. Squibb has treated on this 
subject, and proposes a preparation which, whatever may be the strength of the opium 
used, shall always have a fixed value. Could such a preparation, based on sound princi- 
ples, and of sufficiently easy execution, receive the sanction of our national code, it would 
certainly be of great practical importance. (Notes to the twelfth edition.) 
M. A. Guilliermond, the son, believes that by giving more precision to his father’s 
method, identical results may be obtained; and with this view gives the following modifi- 
cation. Take 15 grammes of opium, and rub it well in a mortar with 110 grammes of 
alcohol at 70 per cent. (120 cubic centimetres). After half an hour of trituration, when 
the disintegration is complete, ascertain the weight of the mixture, which ought to be 
125 grammes, and, if not, add enough alcohol to make it so ; then shake thoroughly, that 
the tincture may be uniformly saturated ; filter into a little bottle with a large mouth 80 
cubic centimetres, which should represent exactly two-thirds of the opium used, or 10 
grammes; cause 2 grammes of liquid ammonia (22° B.), by means of a small glass tube 
drawn to a point at the lower end, to reach without disturbing the liquid at the bottom 
of the vessel; withdraw the tube by degrees, without agitating the liquid; cork the 
bottle so as to prevent evaporation. At the end of 36 hours the morphia will have sepa- 
rated in gravelly crystals, more or less rusty-colonred, but well formed. If it be accom- 
panied with narcotine, this will crystallize in white shining needles, which in most cases 
can be separated by washing with water. The precipitate, washed with boiling water, 
will represent, in decimal relation, the proportion of morphia to the opium. By proceed- 648 
Opium 
part I, 
morphia have been found only in the products of the poppy, if either or both of 
them be shown to exist in any substance, very strong evidence will be afforded of 
the presence of opium. The test should, therefore, be applied in reference to the 
detection of these two principles. If an aqueous infusion of the substance ex- 
amined yields a red colour with the tincture of chloride of iron, there is presump- 
tive evidence of the presence of meconic acid. Greater certainty may be obtained 
bv the following process. Add in excess to the filtered liquor a solution of ace- 
tate of lead. If opium be present, there will be a precipitate of meconate of 
lead, and the acetates of morphia and lead will remain in solution. The pre- 
cipitate is then to be suspended in water, and decomposed, either by adding a 
little dilute sulphuric acid, which forms sulphate of lead and leaves the meconic 
acid in solution, or by passing through it a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen,' 
removing by filtration the precipitated sulphuret of lead, and heating the clear 
liquor so as to drive off the sulphuretted hydrogen. With the clear liquor thus 
obtained, if it contain meconic acid, the tincture of chloride of iron will pro- 
duce a striking red colour, ammoniated sulphate of copper a green precipitate, 
and acetate of lead, nitrate of silver, and chloride of barium, white precipitates 
soluble in nitric acid. Sulphocyanide of potassium, which, according to Dr. 
Wright, is an invariable constituent of saliva (Simon's Chemistry, ii. 6), pro- 
duces a red colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, resembling that pro- 
duced by meconic acid; but, according to Mr. Everitt, this colour is entirely 
and at once destroyed by a solution of corrosive sublimate, which has no effect 
on the red colour of the meconate of iron. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , xii. 88.) 
On the contrary, chloride of gold reddens a solution of hydrosulphocyanie acid 
or a sulphocyanide, but not of meconic acid. Pereira says the acetates also 
redden the salts of sesquioxide of iron, but do not afford the results just men- 
tioned with acetate of lead and chloride of barium. To test the presence of mor- 
phia, the liquid from which the meconate of lead has been precipitated, and 
which may be supposed to contain the acetates of morphia and lead, must be 
freed from the lead by a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, and then from the 
sulphuretted hydrogen by heat; after which, the following reagents may be ap- 
plied:—viz. 1. nitric acid, which colours the morphia red; 2. iodic acid, which 
is decomposed by the morphia with the extrication of iodine, which colours the 
liquid reddish-brown, and, if starch is present, unites with it to form a blue com- 
pound; 3. solution of ammonia, which, if carefully added so as not to be in ex- 
cess, throws down a precipitate of morphia soluble in a great excess of that alkali 
or of potassa; and 4. tannic acid, which precipitates tannate of morphia. If the 
precipitate thrown down by ammonia afford a deep-red colour becoming yel- 
low with nitric acid, and a blue colour with sesquichloride of iron, the proofs 
may be considered as complete.* 
ing on this plan, results will be obtained identical among themselves; but it is very cer- 
tain that the morphia deposited does not exactly represent that contained in the opium, 
since the alcohol retains a portion; but it expresses the proportion relatively and suffici- 
ently. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Aofit, 1867, p. 102.) 
M. Jtoussille proposes to modify Guilliermond’s process, so as to shorten it without 
impairing its efficiency. The 15 grammes of opium are treated with 25 grammes of boil- 
ing water to complete disintegration; 60 grammes of boiling alcohol of 40° are added; 
the mixture is digested for an hour, and strained through linen ; and the residue is again 
treated with 10 grammes of water and 60 grammes of alcohol, as before. The residue is 
now treated with 50 grammes of boiling absolute alcohol. All the liquids, mixed together 
and cooled, are carefully filtered, evaporated to one-third, and again filtered after cool- 
ing. Then the morphia is precipitated with 10 grammes of solution of ammonia (22° B. 
of the Fr. Codex); and the liquid is evaporated over sulphuric acid. At the end of three 
days the crystals are collected, and washed with ether and with water. The same results 
are given as by Guilliermond’s process, which occupies more than five days, while this 
requires only three. (Chem. News, Oct. 5, 1866.) 
Another modification is proposed by M. Floury, in which oxalate of ammonia is added 
to the water with which the opium is first treated, in order to get rid of the meconate of 
lime, the presence of which embarrasses the process. For details the reader is referred to 
the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Aout, 1867, p. 99).—Notes to the thirteenth edition. 
* Merck has proposed a test of opium, founded on the property, which characterizes PART i 
Opium 
649 
Though opium is little injured by time if well kept, yet it does undergo spon- 
taneous change, and M Guibourt found less morphia in a specimen which had 
been in his possession nearly twenty years than it had yielded in its recent state 
There was also more colouring matter. (Ann. de Therap., A.D. 1863, p. 5.) 
Among the adulterations of opium, starch has been detected in a specimen 
examined by Mr. J. T. King. The drug was unduly brittle, and evidences of 
starch were afforded both by the microscope and by iodine. From the size 
and form of the granules, Mr. King inferred that the starch was that of the 
bean. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., Jan. 1869, p. 1.) The probability is that pow- 
dered beans were the substance used. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Opium is a stimulant narcotic. Taken by a 
healthy person in a moderate dose, it increases the force, fulness, and frequency 
af the pulse, augments the temperature of the skin, invigorates the muscular 
system, quickens the senses, animates the spirits, and gives new energy to the 
intellectual faculties Its operation, while thus extending to all parts of the sys- 
tem, is directed with peculiar force to the brain, the functions of which it excites 
sometimes even to intoxication or delirium. In a short time this excitation sub- 
sides; a calmness of the corporeal actions, and a delightful placidity of mind 
succeed; and the individual, insensible to painful impressions, forgetting all 
sources of care and anxiety, submits himself to a current of undefined and un- 
connected, but pleasing fancies; and is conscious of no other feeling than that 
of a quiet and vague enjoyment. At the end of half an hour or an hour from 
the administration of the narcotic, all consciousness is lost in sleep. The sopo- 
rific effect after having continued for eight or ten hours, goes off, and is gener- 
ally succeeded by more or less nausea, headache, tremors, and other symptoms 
of diminished or irregular nervous action, which soon yield to the recuperative 
energies of the system; and, unless the dose is frequently repeated, and the 
powers of nature worn out by over-excitement, no injurious consequences ulti- 
mately result. Such is the obvious operation of opium when moderately taken; 
but other effects, very important in a remedial point of view, are also experi- 
enced. All the secretions, with the exception of that from the skin, are either 
suspended or diminished; the peristaltic motion of the bowels is lessened; 
pain and inordinate muscular contraction, if present, are allayed; and general 
nervous irritation is composed, if not entirely relieved. 
In doses insufficient to produce the full soporific effect, the stimulant influence 
upon the mental functions continues longer, and the subsequent calming effect 
is sustained for hours; sleep being not unfrequently prevented, or rendered so 
light and dreamy that, upon awaking, the patient will scarcely admit that he 
has slept at all. From large doses the period of excitement and exhilaration is 
shorter, the soporific and anodyne effects are more intense and of longer dura- 
tion, and the succeeding symptoms of debility are more obvious and alarming. 
From quantities sufficient to destroy life, after a brief excitement, the pulse 
is reduced in frequency though not in force, muscular strength is diminished, and 
feelings of languor and drowsiness supervene, which soon eventuate in a deep 
apoplectic sleep. A stertorous respiration : a dark suffusion of the countenance; 
a full, slow, and laboring pulse; an almost total insensibility to external im- 
pressions ; and, when a moment of consciousness is obtained by violent agita- 
tion or irritating applications, a confused state of intellect, and an irresistible 
porphyroxin, of assuming a red colour when heated in dilute muriatic acid. The sus- 
Eected liquid is first to be carefully evaporated, a few drops of solution of potassa are to 
e added, and the mixture agitated with ether. The ethereal solution being filtered off, 
a slip of unsized paper is to be dipped into it and dried; and the moistening and drying 
should he repeated several times. The paper thus prepared is to be moistened with dilute 
muriatic acid, and then exposed to the vapour of boiling water. If it become reddened, 
opium may be inferred to exist in the liquid tested. Heusler states that this test is not 
applicable to the aqueous solution or extract of opium, because porphyroxin is insoluble 
in water; but Mr. Robertson, of Rotterdam, has found it to succeed with the watery ex- 
tract, and infers that the porphyroxin is so combined in opium as to render it in some 
measure soluble. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxii. 190.)—Note to the tenth edition. 650 
Opium. 
PART I, 
disposition to sink back into comatose sleep, are symptoms which, fcr the first 
few hours, attend the operation of the poison. Though not signs of an elevated 
condition of the bodily powers, neither do they imply a state of pure, unmixed 
debility. The pulse is, indeed, slow; but it is often so full and strong as even 
to suggest the use of the lancet. In the space, however, of a few hours, vary- 
ing according to the quantity of the narcotic taken, and the powers of the pa- 
tient’s constitution, a condition of genuine debility ensues; and this condition 
will be hastened in point of time, though it will be more under the control of 
remedies, if the opium be evacuated from the stomach. Called to an individual 
labouring under the influence of a fatal dose of opium, at a period from six to 
eight hours after it has been swallowed, the practitioner will generally find 
him with a cool, clammy skin; cold extremities; a pallid countenance; a feeble, 
thread-like, scarcely perceptible pulse; a slow, interrupted, almost gasping 
respiration; and a torpor little short of absolute, death-like insensibility. Death 
soon follows, unless relief is afforded. 
No appearances are revealed by the dissection of those who have died of the 
immediate effects of opium, which can be considered as affording satisfactory 
evidence of its mode of operation. The redness occasionally observed in the 
mucous membrane of the stomach is not constantly present, and is ascribable as 
much to the irritating effect of remedies prescribed, or to the spirituous vehicle 
of the opiate, as to the action of the poison itself. Such at least is the inference 
drawn by Nysten from his experiments and observations; and Orfilastates that 
the stomachs of dogs which he had killed by opium, internally administered, did 
not present the slightest vestige of inflammation. The force of the medicine is 
directed to the cerebral and nervous functions; and death is produced by a sus- 
pension of respiration, arising from the want of due influence from the brain. 
The section of the par vagum, on both sides, has not been found to prevent or 
retard the death of animals to which large doses of opium have been given, nor 
even materially to modify its narcotic effects. {Nysten, quoted by Orfila.) It 
would seem, therefore, that the active principle is conveyed into the circulation, 
and operates upon the brain, and probably upon the nervous system at large, 
by immediate contact. It is an error to attribute the anodyne, sedative, and 
soporific effects of the medicine to the previous excitement. They are, as much 
as this very excitement, the direct results of its action upon the brain. It is in 
the state of exhaustion and collapse which ensue after the peculiar influence of 
'the opium has ceased, that we are to look for an illustration of that principle of 
the system, by which any great exaltation of its functions above the natural 
standard is followed by a corresponding depression. We may be permitted to 
advance the conjecture, that the excitement which almost immediately super- 
venes upon the internal use of opium, may be in some degree produced by 
means of nervous communication; while the succeeding narcotic effects are 
attributable to its absorption and entrance into the circulation; and the ulti- 
mate prostration of all the powers of the system is a necessary consequence 
of the previous agitation of the various organs. 
On some individuals opium produces peculiar effects, totally differing from 
the ordinary results of its operation. In very small quantities it occasionally 
gives rise to excessive sickness and vomiting, and even spasm of the stomach ; 
in other cases it produces restlessness, headache, and delirium; and we have 
known it, even in large doses, to occasion obstinate wakefulness. The headache, 
want of appetite, tremors, &c., which usually follow, in a slight degree, its nar- 
cotic operation, are uniformly experienced by some individuals to such an extent 
as to render the use of the medicine very inconvenient. It is possible that some 
of these disagreeable effects may arise not from the meconate of morphia con- 
tained in the opium, but from some other of its ingredients ; and those which 
do result from the meconate may not be produced by other salts of morphia. It 
has, indeed, been found that the operation of opium may often be favourably 
modified by changing the state of combination in which its active principle 
naturally exists. Dissolved in vinegar or lemon juice, it had been known to act PART i 
Opium, 
651 
in some instances more pleasantly and effectually than in substance or tine- 
lure, long before physicians had learned to explain the fact by referring it to 
the production of an acetate or citrate of morphia. When upon the subject of 
morphia, we shall take occasion to treat of the medical properties of this prin- 
ciple in its various combinations. 
An occasional effect of opium, which has not yet been alluded to, is a dis- 
agreeable itching or sense of pricking in the skin, sometimes attended with a 
species of miliary eruption. We have found the effect to result equally from 
all the officinal preparations of this narcotic. 
The general operation of opium may be obtained by injecting it into the 
rectum, or applying it to the surface of the body, especially upon a part denuded 
of the cuticle It has appeared to us, when thus applied, to produce less general 
excitement, in proportion to its other effects,- than when administered by the 
mouth ; but we do not make the statement with entire confidence. It is said 
that, when introduced into the cellular membrane, it acts with great energy; 
and, when thrown into the cavity of the peritoneum, speedily produces convul- 
sions and death. Injected into the cavity of the heart, it impairs or altogether 
destroys the powers of that organ. 
The local effects of opium are similar in character to those which follow its 
general operation. An increased action of the part is first observable; then a 
diminution of its sensibility and contractility; and the latter effect is more 
speedy, more intense, and of longer continuance, the larger the quantity applied. 
In all parts of the world, opium is habitually employed by many with a view 
to its exhilarating and anodyne influence. This is particularly the case among 
the Mahomedans and Hindoos, who find in this narcotic the most pleasing sub- 
stitute for alcoholic drinks, which are interdicted by their religion. In India, 
Persia, and Turkey, it is consumed in immense quantities; and many nations of 
the East smoke opium as those of the West smoke tobacco. This is not the 
place to speak of the fearful effects of such a practice upon both the intellectual 
and bodi 1 y faculties. 
The use of opium as a medicine can be clearly traced back to Diagoras, who 
was nearly contemporary with Hippocrates; and it was probably employed be- 
fore his time. It is at present more frequently prescribed than perhaps any other 
article of the materia medica. Its extensive applicability to the cure of disease 
Mill be rendered evident by a view of the indications which it is calculated to 
fulfil. 1. It is excitant in its primary action. In low or typhoid complaints, 
requiring a supporting treatment, it exalts the action of the arterial and nervous 
systems, and, in moderate doses frequently repeated, may be employed with ad- 
vantage in conjunction or alternation with other stimulants. 2. It relieves pain 
more speedily and effectually than any other known medicine taken into the 
stomach. If possessed of no other property than this, it would be entitled to 
high consideration. Not to mention cancer, and other incurable affections, in 
which the alleviation afforded by opium is of incalculable value, we have nu- 
merous instances of painful diseases which are not only temporarily relieved, but 
entirely cured by the remedy; and there is scarcely a complaint in the catalogue 
of human ailments, in the treatment of which it is not occasionally demanded 
for the relief of suffering, which, if allowed to continue, might aggravate the 
disorder, and protract if not prevent a cure. 3. Another very important indica- 
tion, which, beyond any other narcotic, it is capable of fulfilling, is the produc- 
tion of sleep. For this purpose it is given in a great variety of diseases; when- 
ever, in fact, morbid vigilance exists, not dependent on acute inflammation of the 
brain. Among the complaints in which it proves most serviceable in this way 
is delirium tremens, or the mania of drunkards. Opium produces sleep in two 
ways ; first, by its direct operation on the brain, secondly, by allaying that morbid 
nervous irritation upon which wakefulness often depends. In the latter case it 
may frequently be advantageously combined with camphor, or Hoffmann’s ano- 
dyne. 4. Opium is powerfully antispasmodic. No medicine is so efficient in re- 
laxing spasm, and in controlling those irregular muscular movements which 652 
Opium, 
PART I. 
depend on unhealthy nervous action. Hence its great importance as a remedy 
in tetanus; colic; spasm of the stomach attending gout, dyspepsia, and cholera; 
spasm of the ureters in nephritis, and of the biliary ducts during the passage of 
calculi; and in various convulsive affections. 5. Probably dependent upon a 
similar influence over the nervous system, is the property which it possesses of 
allaying general and local irritations, whether exhibited in the nerves or blood- 
vessels, provided the action do not amount to positive inflammation; and even 
in this case it is often prescribed with advantage. Hence its use in composing 
restlessness, quieting cough, and relieving nausea, tenesmus, and strangury. 
6. In suppressing morbid discharges, it answers another indication which fits it 
for the treatment of a long list of diseases. This effect it is, perhaps, enabled to 
produce by diminishing the nervous energy upon which secretion and muscular 
motion depend. Upon this principle it is useful in diarrhoea, when the com- 
plaint consists merely in increased secretion into the bowels, without high action 
or organic derangement; in consumption, chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, and 
other cases of morbidly increased expectoration; in diabetes; and in certain 
forms of hemorrhage, particularly that from the uterus, in combination with 
other remedies, f. It remains to mention one other indication; that, namely, 
of producing perspiration, in fulfilling which, opium, conjoined with small doses 
of emetic medicines, is pre-eminent. No diaphoretic is so powerful or so exten- 
sively used as a combination of opium and ipecacuanha. We shall speak more 
fully of this application of the remedy under the head of Pulvis Ipecacuanhse 
Compositus. It is here sufficient to say, that its beneficial effects are espe- 
cially experienced in rheumatism, the bowel affections, and certain pectoral 
diseases.* 
From this great diversity of properties, and the frequent occurrence of those 
morbid conditions in which opium affords relief, it is often prescribed in the same 
disease to meet several indications. Thus, in idiopathic fevers, we frequently 
meet with morbid vigilance and great nervous irritation, combined with a low 
condition of the system. In typhous pneumonia, there is the same depression of 
the vital powers, combined often with severe neuralgic pains, and much nervous 
irritation. In diarrhoea, besides the indications presented by the spasmodic pain 
and increased discharge, there is a strong call for the diaphoretic operation of 
the opium. It is unnecessary to multiply instances. There is hardly a complaint 
which does not occasionally present a complication of symptoms demanding 
the use of this remedy. 
But a medicine possessed of such extensive powers may do much injury, if 
improperly directed; and conditions of the system frequently occur, in which, 
* The extraordinary diversity of powers possessed by opium is certainly ascrihable 
in part to the large number of its alkaloids, all of which produce some effect on the sys- 
tem, and between some of which there is a striking difference in effect. Our knowledge, 
however, of the precise mode of operation of these alkaloids, with the exception of two 
or three of them, was until recently very deficient, and is still far from satisfactory, '.V. 
Claude Bernard has, within a few years, by numerous experiments on the inferior animals, 
dispelled this ignorance in some degree; hut his results must be received with much lies Ua- 
tion, as regards the physiological action on man; and should not be relied on by the prac- 
titioner until confirmed by the observation of the physiological experimentalist, and the 
practical therapeutist. This has been done to a considerable extent in relation to morphia, 
codeia, narcotina, and very recently to narceia. But in relation to the latter three of 
these, much remains to be done; and as to the other alkaloids, almost all. The follow- 
ing are the conclusions of M. Bernard, in relation to the six opium alkaloids examined 
by him. There are three principal properties in these alkaloids: 1. the soporific action; 
2. the excitant or convulsive action; and 3. the poisonous action. The six alkaloids may 
be thus arranged in relation to these actions. In reference to the soporific power, narceia 
stands first, next morphia, and last codeia. The three others are destitute of the soporific 
property. In reference to the convulsive power, all have more or less of it; the order 
in which they stand in this respect being; 1. thebaina; 2. papaver.na; 3. narcotina; 4. 
codeia; 5. morphia; G. narceia. In the poisonous relation, we have 1. thebaina; 2. 
codeia; 3. papaverina; 4. narceia; 5. morphia; and 6. narcotina. (Arch. Gen., 6e ser., 
iv. 462.) For further particulars the reader is referred to the journal just mentioned, 
and to the author’s work on Therapeutics and Pharmacology (3d ed., i. 766).—Note to 
the thirteenth edition. PART i 
Opium. 
653 
though some one of the symptoms calls for its use, others, on the contrary, are 
incompatible with it. Thus, opium is contraindicated by a high state of inflam- 
matory excitement, which should be reduced before we can with propriety ven- 
ture upon its employment; and, when there is doubt as to the sufficiency of the 
reduction, the opium should be given in combination with tartarized antimony 
or ipecacuanha, which modify its stimulant operation, and give it a more decided 
tendency to the skin. It is also contraindicated by inflammation of the brain, or 
strong determination of blood to the head, by deficient secretion from inflamed 
mucous membranes, as in the early stages of bronchitis, and generally by consti- 
pation. When, however, the constipation depends upon intestinal spasm, as in 
colic, it is sometimes relieved by the antispasmodic action of the opium; and 
the binding effects of the medicine may be counteracted by laxatives. 
Opium may be administered in substance or tincture. In the former state 
it is given in the shape of pill, which, as a general rule, should be formed outot 
powdered opium,as it is thus more readily dissolved in the liquors of the stomach, 
and therefore operates more speedily and effectually than when made, as it some- 
times is, immediately from the plastic mass. There is no medicine of which the 
dose is more variable, according to the habits of the patient, the nature of the 
complaint, or the purpose to be effected. While in catarrh and diarrhoea we 
often prescribe not more than one-fourth or one-third of a grain, in tetanus 
it has been administered, without abating the violence of the symptoms, in the 
enormous quantity of two drachms in twenty-four hours; and in a case of cancer 
of the uterus, under the care of the late Drs. Monges and La Roche, of this city, 
the quantity is stated to have been gradually increased till the amount taken dur- 
ing one day, either in the shape of tincture or in substance, was equivalent to 
more than three ounces. The medium dose, in ordinary cases of disease, to pro- 
duce the anodyne and soporific effects of the medicine, is one grain. 
Experience has shown that the action of opium is sometimes favourably modi 
fied by employing those constituents only which are soluble in water. Hence 
the watery extract is sometimes advantageously substituted for the drug itself, 
and an infusion for the tincture.* (See Extractum Opii.) 
Opium may often be administered with great advantage by the rectum. In 
this way it operates most advantageously in obstinate vomiting, painful nephri 
tic and uterine affections, strangury from blisters, and dysenteric tenesmus. It 
may be employed as a suppository, or in the form of enema made with laudanum 
and a small quantity of viscid liquid, as flaxseed tea, mucilage of gum arabic, or 
starch prepared with hot water. The quantity, as a general rule, may be three 
times that administered by the mouth ; but the relative susceptibility of the 
stomach and rectum in different persons is not always the same; and the effects 
produced by the narcotic, given by injection, are sometimes much greater than 
was anticipated. The practitioner, moreover, should take into consideration 
the previous habits of the patient. In an individual long accustomed to take 
opium internally, and whose stomach will receive large doses with impunity, it 
is possible that the rectum may not-have lost, in a proportionate degree, its ab- 
sorbing power or susceptibility; and that serious consequences might result by 
adhering, in such a case, to the general rule as to the relative quantity to be 
given in the way of enema or suppository. 
In some one of its liquid preparations, opium is often used locally as an 
addition to collyria in ophthalmia, to injections in gonorrhoea, and to lotions 
* A good extemporaneous infusion of opium cannot well be prepared. Hence, to obtain 
the effects of this preparation, it is best to dissolve the extract in water. Mr. Eugene 
Dupuy, of New York, first prepares an infusion, and then adds alcohol enough to pre- 
serve it; so that the preparation may be kept ready made by the apothecary, to be used 
as a substitute for laudanum. He takes ten drachms of opium, reduces it to a thin pulp 
with water, allows the mixture to stand 48 hours, then percolates with water so as to 
obtain twelve fluidounces of infusion, to which four fluidounces of alcohol of 95 per cent, 
are added. The preparation is intended to be of about the same strength as laudanum. 
Consequently the dose should be from twelve to fifteen minims, or about as many drops. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 211.) 654 
Opium 
P ART I. 
and cataplasms in various complaints of the skin, and external pains, as those 
of gout and rheumatism. It is also employed in substance, in the form of a 
plaster or cataplasm made from the powder. But its external use requires some 
caution, especially when the skin is deprived of the cuticle. Death is said to 
have resulted from a cataplasm, containing a large quantity of laudanum, 
applied to the epigastrium. {Ann. de Therap., 1843, p. 5.) 
When opium has been taken in an overdose, the only effectual mode of relief 
is immediately to evacuate the stomach, either by the stomach-pump, or, when 
this is not attainable, by the more active emetics, such as tartarized antimony, 
sulphate of zinc, or sulphate of coppe , conjoined with ipecacuanha. Emetics 
are preferable to the stomach-pump, when opium has been swallowed in sub- 
stance; as the capacity of the tube is insufficient to permit the passage of the 
masses in which the poison is sometimes taken. The operation of the emetic 
should be promoted by a very free use of warm drinks, by irritating the fauces 
with a feather, by keeping the patient in motion, and, if the insusceptibility to 
the action of the remedy is very great, by dashing cold water upon the head 
and shoulders, thus counteracting, for a moment, the narcotic influence of the 
opium upon the brain, and enabling this organ to receive and transmit the 
necessary impressions. Advantage will sometimes accrue from a moderate loss 
of blood, which tends to diminish the cerebral congestion, and thus not only 
awaken susceptibility to the impression of the emetic, but obviate also the dan- 
ger of hemorrhagic effusion; but the bleeding should not be carried far, in con- 
sequence of danger from the subsequent debility. For the same purpose of 
favouring the emetic action, it has been recommended to pass a current of elec- 
tricity through the brain.* After the evacuation of the poison, the chief indica- 
tion is to obviate the debility which generally supervenes, and which, when the 
quantity of the narcotic has been large, or it has remained long in the stomach, 
is sometimes alarming and even fatal. For this purpose the carbonate of am- 
monia, or the aromatic spirit of ammonia, with wine-whey, may be employed 
internally, and sinapisms and stimulant frictions applied to the surface. The 
practitioner should not despair, even if called at the last moment. The stomach 
tube may be applied at any period; and it is possible that, even without evacua- 
tion of the stomach, a little aid may enable the system to resist the prostrating 
influence of the poison, if not taken in an overwhelming dose. The electro- 
magnetic battery was employed with great advantage in a case of prostration 
of this kind by Dr. Page, of Valparaiso; and the practice has been imitated in 
Europe and this country. Strong coffee, under these circumstances, has been 
found useful, and is obviously suggested in all cases by its powerful influence 
in producing wakefulness. Caffein has been employed as a substitute for coffee ; 
but, as this principle is not the only active one in coffee, it should not be relied 
on until further tested by experience. Should other measures fail, resort may 
be had to artificial respiration, by which the functions of the lungs and heart 
may be sustained till the brain has struggled through its conflict with the nar- 
cotic, and is enabled to resume its healthful action. Brodie has demonstrated 
that death from many of the narcotics results from a suspension of the cerebral 
influence necessary to sustain the respiratory function, and that the heart ceases 
to act in consequence of the cessation of respiration. If this can be restored 
artificially before the contractions of the heart have entirely ceased, the circula- 
* From numerous observations recently recorded, there can be no doubt that a certain 
antagonism exists between opium on the one hand and belladonna and stramonium on the 
other, so that these poisons are to a certain extent reciprocally antidotal. For what is 
known on this subject, the reader is referred to a very interesting article by Dr. Wm. F. 
Norris, in the American Journal of Medical Sciences (Oct. 1862, p. 395). In numerous in- 
stances, the administration of belladonna freely, in cases of opium poisoning, so far from 
adding to the narcotic effect, appears to have superseded the influence of the opium by 
substituting its own ; while the opium in the system has rendered innoxious, quantities of 
belladonna which might otherwise have produced poisonous effects. Nevertheless, our 
experience on the subject is not yet sufficient to justify us in abandoning the old treat- 
ment of evacuating the stomach, and afterwards supporting the system, which has proved 
efficacious in so many instances. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I, 
Os. 
655 
tion may continue, and life be supported for a time without aid from the brain, 
which now receives a supply of arterial blood, and is thus better enabled to rise 
above the repressing action of the opium. As this narcotic does not produce 
structural derangement, but operates chiefly on the nervous power, a favourable 
’’esult is more likely to be experenced than in poisoning from some other arti- 
cles of the same class. Several cases are on record, in which patients, apparently 
n the very last stage, were saved by a resort to artificial respiration. 
Off. Prep. Acetum Opii, U. S.; Confectio Opii, U. S.; Emplastrum Opii, Br., 
Extractum Opii; Morphia, U. S.; Morphi® Hydrochloras, Br.; Pilulae Opii, 
U. S.; Pil. Plunibi cum Opio, Br.; Pil. Saponis Composite; Pulvis Cretae Aro- 
maticus cum Opio, Br.; Pulvis Ipecacuanh® Compositus ; Pulvis Kino Com- 
positus, Br.; Pulvis Opii Comp.,. Br.; Tinctura Camphor® Composite, Br.; 
Tinctura Opii; Tinct. Opii Acetata, U. S.; Tinct Opii Ammoniata, Br.; Tinct. 
Opii Camphorata, U. S.; Tinct. Opii Deodorata, U. S.; Trochisci Glycyrrhiz® et 
Opii, U. S.; Unguentum Gall® cum Opio, Br.; Yinum Opii, U. S. W. 
OS. US. 
Bone. 
OS USTUM. Br. 
Bone Ash. 
The residue of Bones, which have been burned to a white ash in contact 
with air. Br. 
Os, Fr.; Knochen, Germ.; Ossa, Ital.; Huesos, Span. 
Bones are employed in several pharmaceutical processes, and those derived 
from domestic quadrupeds, especially the ox, are the kind intended. 
Properties, &c. Bones are solid, white, and of a lamellated texture, and con- 
stitute the skeleton of the superior orders of animals, of which they are the 
hardest and densest parts. They consist of a cellular gelatinous tissue, the cavi- 
ties of which are filled with certain earthy salts. When subjected to destructive 
distillation, in close vessels, they are decomposed without alteration of shape, 
lose about three-sevenths of their weight, become brittle, and are converted into 
a black substance, containing the earthy salts of the bone, and constituting the 
species of animal charcoal called bone-black. (See Garbo Animalis.) The por- 
tions which distil over consist of the usual ammoniacal products derived from 
animal matter. (See Ammonise Murias.) Before the distillation is performed, 
the bones are boiled with water, to separate the fat, which amounts to 5 or 6 
per cent.; but gelatin is at the same time extracted, with the effect of rendering 
the bones less fitted to furnish a good bone-black. In view of this fact, M. Deiss, 
of Paris, has proposed to extract the fat by bisulphide of carbon, which gives 
a product of 10 or 12 per cent., without injuring the bones for subsequent 
conversion into bone-black. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1856, p. 356 ) When 
calcined in open vessels, bones lose more of their weight in consequence of the 
combustion of the animal matter, and are converted into a white friable sub- 
stance, consisting of the incombustible part, and commonly called bone-earth, or 
bone-ash; and a similar residue is obtained by calcining horn. (See Cornu Us- 
tum.) Treated with boiling water, a small portion of the gelatinous matter is dis- 
solved ; but, when acted on by water in a Papin’s digester, the whole of it is taken 
up, and the earthy salts, deprived of their cement, crumble into powder, and be- 
come diffused through the solution. When subjected to dilute muriatic acid, the 
earthy salts are dissolved, and the bone softens without losing its shape, and be- 
comes semitransparent and flexible. The portion remaining unattacked by the 
acid is the gelatinous tissue, which may be converted into gelatin by long boiling 
This is nutritious, and has been prepared so as to form a wholesome aliment by M. 
d’Arcet. His process for obtaining it consists in digesting bones in weak muri- 
atic acid for seven or eight davs, occasionally renewing the acid, plunging them 656 
Os. — Ovum. 
PART I. 
for a few moments in boiling water, and then subjecting them to a strong current 
of cold water. The pure animal matter, thus procured, is made.into cakes, called 
portable soup (tablettes de bouillon), by dissolving it in water, concentrating the 
solution until it gelatinizes, and drying the jelly obtained. 
Composition. The bones of different animals, and of the same animal at dif- 
ferent ages, vary somewhat in composition. Dry ox-bones, according to Berze- 
lius, consist of bone-gelatin (cartilage of bone) 33‘3, bone-phosphate of lime with 
a little fluoride of calcium 57'35, carbonate of lime 3-85, phosphate of magnesia 
2'05, soda with a very little chloride of sodium 3‘45 = 100. Human bones differ 
somewhat in the proportions of their constituents, and in containing traces of 
iron and manganese. According to Dr. W. Heintz, however, bones exhausted 
by water, so as to remove the colouring matter of blood, contain not a trace of 
iron. Marchand found 1 per cent, of fluoride of caloum in human bone. Bone- 
phosphate of lime consists, according to Mitscherlich, of one eq. of acid and 
three of lime. This analysis makes it the tribasic subphosphate, and the same 
composition has been assigned to it by Dr. Heintz. 
Uses. Bones are applied to numerous uses. Burnt to whiteness, they furnish 
bone-phosphate of lime, from which phosphorus and all its compounds are either 
directly or indirectly obtained. (See Phosjjhorus.) Subjected to destructive dis- 
tillation in close vessels, they yield impure carbonate of ammonia and empyreu- 
matic oil, and a carbonaceous residue, called bone-black. Calcined, pulverized, 
and washed, they form the material of which cupels are made. As bone-dust, 
they form an excellent manure. Deprived of their earthy salts by weak acids, 
they furnish a nutritious article of diet. By proper treatment with water they 
yield several varieties of gelatin, not only the coarser sorts, called size and glue, 
but also the finer kinds, which are employed, under the name of isinglass, in 
making animal jellies, and for the clarifying of wines. (See Ichthyocolla and 
Cornu.) The hoof bones of the ox, when boiled with water, furnish a peculiar 
oil, called neats-foot oil. (See Oleum Bubulum.) 
Off. Prep. Calcis Phosphas Praecipitata, U. S ; Sodae Phosphas, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of Bone Ash. Calcis Phosphas, Br.; Sodae Phosphas, Br. B. 
OVUM. U.S. 
e'J9- 
Egg. 
The egg of Phasianus Gallus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. OVI YITELLUS. Yolk of Egg. The yolk of the egg of Gallua 
Banckiva, var. Domesticus. Br. 
(Euf, Fr.; Ei, Germ.; Ovo, Ital.; Huevo, Span. 
The common dunghill fowl is supposed to have come originally from India, 
where it is found in a wild state. It is now almost everywhere domesticated. 
The egg, which is the only officinal product, consists of 1. an exterior cover- 
ing called the shell; 2. a white, semi-opaque membrane, lining the internal sur- 
face of the shell; 3. the white; and 4. the yelk. 
1. The shell—testa ovi or putamen ovi—consists, according to Yauquelin, 
chiefly of carbonate of lime, with animal matter, and a minute proportion of 
phosphate of lime, carbonate of magnesia, oxide of iron, and sulphur. When 
exposed to a high degree of heat in the open air, the carbonic acid is driven 
off, the animal matter consumed, and the lime is left nearly pure. 
2. The membrane lining the shell appears to be of an albuminous nature. 
3. The white—albumen ovi—is a glairy viscid liquid, contained in very deli- 
cate membranes, without odour or taste, readily soluble in water, coagulable by 
the stronger acids, by alcohol, and by a heat of 160° F. Exposed in thin layers 
to a current of air, it becomes solid, retaining its transparency and solubility in 
water. By coagulation it is rendered sapid, white, opaque, and insoluble. At a 
temperature of 212°, one part of it renders one thousand parts of water in which 
it has been dissolved opaque. It contains, according to Dr. Bostock, in 100 
parts, 85 of water, 12 of pure albumen, 2-7 of mucus or uncoagulable matter PART I 
Ovum 
657 
and 03 of saline substances, including soda with traces of sulphur. The white 
of egg is precipitated' by chloride of tin, chloride of gold, subacetate of lead, 
sulphate of copper, corrosive sublimate, and tannin. When kept in the fluid 
state it soon putrefies; but, if carefully dried without coagulation, it may be 
long preserved unaltered, and maybe applied in solution to the same purposes 
as in its original condition. 
4. The yelk—vitellus ovi—is inodorous, of a bland oily taste, and forms an 
opaque emulsion when agitated with water. By heat it is coagulated into a 
granular solid, which yields a fixed oil by expression. M. Gobley found 100 
parts of it to contain 51 486 of water, 15‘760 of an albuminoid principle deno- 
minated vitellin, 21-304 of margarin and olein, 0 438 of cholesterin, 7’226 of 
oleic and margaric acids, 1-200 of phosphoglyceric acid, 0 034 of muriate of 
ammonia, 0 277 of chlorides of sodium and potassium and sulphate of potassa, 
T022 of phosphates of lime and magnesia, 0 400 of animal extract (extraite de 
viande), and 0’553 of colouring matter, traces of iron, traces of lactic acid, &c. 
(Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xii. 12.) Chevreul states that there are two colour- 
ing principles, one reddish containing iron, the other yellow, and similar to 
the colouring matter of bile. The former is more difficultly soluble in ether 
than the latter. (Neues Repertor., 1867, xvi. 697.) According to MM. Valen- 
ciennes and Fremy, there are both albumen and vitellin in the yelk, the former 
being dissolved by cold water, the latter precipitated. They consider vitellin as 
closely analogous to fibrin, from which, however, it differs in not decomposing 
the peroxide of hydrogen. (Chem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1855, p. 410.) It is said that 
the yelk may be kept for a considerable time, without observable change, by add- 
ing to it 5 per cent, of sulphate of soda, in powder or concentrated solution. 
To preserve eggs in their entire state, M. Bournouf recommends the follow- 
ing method, which he has found to answer well; affirming that he has eaten 
eggs which had been kept for two years; and he even thinks that the vitality 
of the germ may be preserved, in the same manner, for a considerable time. 
The plan consists simply in covering over each egg completely, by the end of 
the finger, with an ointment consisting of one part of beeswax dissolved in two 
parts of heated olive oil The oil is absorbed by the shell, and each of its pores 
becomes filled with the wax, so as entirely to exclude the air. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Jan. 1866, p. 88.) Another method has been discovered by Mr. Charles 
Lamont, and patented, which consists in beating the eggs emptied into a long 
covered trough, by means of a revolving shaft furnished with a series of metallic 
disks, and then drying the mass by a current of heated air, and scraping off the 
concreted egg in thin scales or granules. It is said that the egg retains its flavour 
and fitness for cooking unimpaired. (Chem. News,T>ec. 27, 3 867, p. 323.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Eggs are applied to various purposes in medi- 
cine and pharmacy. The shells, powdered and levigated, may be used beneficially 
as an antacid in diarrhoea. In common with oyster-shells, they possess the ad- 
vantage of uniting intimately animal matter with carbonate of lime, the particles 
of which are thus more thoroughly isolated, and prove more acceptable to the 
stomach than chalk, in the finest state of division to which the latter can be 
brought by mechanical means. The dose and mode of preparation are the same 
as those of oyster-shell. (See Testa.) 
The white of the egg is used chiefly for the clarification of liquids, which it 
effects by involving, during its coagulation, the undissolved particles, and rising 
with them to the surface, or subsiding. It is highly recommended as an anti- 
dote for corrosive sublimate and sulphate of copper, with which it forms insol- 
uble and comparatively inert compounds. It is sometimes also used for the 
suspension of insoluble substances in water, but is inferior for this purpose to 
the yelk, and even to mucilage of gum arabic. Agitated briskly with a lump 
of alum it coagulates, at the same time dissolving a portion of the alum, and 
thus forming an astringent poultice, which may be advantageously applied 
between folds of gauze over the eye, in some states of ophthalmia. 
The yelk in its raw state is thought to be laxative, and is a popular remedy 658 
Panax. 
PART I, 
in jaundice. If beneficial in this complaint, it is probably in consequence of 
affording a mild nutritious diet, acceptable to the stomach and easily digested. 
In dyspepsia it is, from this cause, highly useful. The late Dr Jos. Parrish, of 
Philadelphia, found great advantage in that complaint from tLe habitua’ use 
of the yelk of egg, beat up with water and a little ginger. In pharmacy, the 
yolk is highly useful as an intermedium between water and insoluble sub- 
stances, such as the balsams, turpentine, oils, &c. It is a mistake to employ 
the white, instead of the yelk of eggs, in preparing emulsions. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Chloroformi, U. S.; Mistura SpiritusArini Gallici, Br. W. 
PANAX. U.S. Secondary. 
Ginseng. 
The root of Panax quinquefolium. U. S. 
Ginsens;, Fr., Germ,., Span.; Ginsen, Ital. 
Panax. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Digynia. (Polygamia Dioecia, Linn.) — Nat. 
Ord. Araliaceae. 
Gen. Gli. Flowers polygamous. Umbel simple. Calyx five-toothed. Corolla 
of five petals. Berry inferior, subcordate, two, sometimes three-seeded. Calyx 
in the male flower entire. Nutta.ll. 
Panax quinquefolium. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 1124; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 149, 
t. 58; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii 82. The ginseng has a perennial root, which 
sends up annually a smooth round stem, about a foot high, and divided at the 
summit into three leafstalks, each of which supports a compound leaf, consisting 
of five, or more rarely of three or seven petiolate, oblong-obovate, acuminate, 
serrate leaflets. The flowers are small, greenish, and disposed in a simple umbel, 
supported by a peduncle, which rises from the top of the stem in the centre of 
the petioles. The fruit is a kidney-shaped, scarlet berry, crowned with the 
styles and calyx, with two and sometimes three seeds. 
The plant is indigenous, growing in the hilly regions of the Northern, Mid- 
dle, and Western States, and preferring the shelter of thick, shady woods. The 
root is the part employed. This is collected in considerable quantities in Ohio 
and Western Virginia, and brought to Philadelphia and other cities on the sea- 
board for the purpose of exportation to China, where it is highly1" valued. Great 
quantities have recently been collected in Minnesota west of the Mississippi. 
Some suppose the ginseng plant of Chinese Tartary to be the same as ours; 
others believe it to be the Panax Schinseng of Nees Von Esenbeek; while by 
others, again, though acknowledged to be a Panax it is thought to be a differ- 
ent species from either of those mentioned. While supplied with this drug ex- 
clusively from their own country, which furnished the root only in small quanti- 
ties, the Chinese entertained the most extravagant notions of its virtues, consider- 
ing it as a remedy for all diseases, and as possessing almost miraculous powers 
in preserving health, invigorating the system, and prolonging life. It is said to 
have been worth its weight in gold at Pekin; and the first shipments from North 
America to Canton yielded enormous profits. The subsequent abundance of 
supply has much diminished its value; but it is still in great repute. 
The root is fleshy, somewhat spindle-shaped, from one to three inches long, 
about as thick as the little finger, and terminated by several slender fibres. 
Frequently there are two portions, sometimes three or more, connected at their 
upper extremity, and bearing a supposed, though very remote resemblance to 
the human figure, from which circumstance it is said that the Chinese name gim 
seng originated. When dried, the root is yellowish-white and wrinkled exter- 
nally, and within consists usually of a hard central portion, surrounded by a soft 
whitish bark. It has a feeble odour, and a sweet, slightly aromatic taste, some- 
what analogous to that of liquorice root. It has not been accurately analyzed, 
but is said to be rich in gum and starch, and contains albumen. Mr. S. S. Gar* 
rigues, of Philadelphia, obtained from it a peculiar substance, which he pro 
poses +o call panaquilon. To prepare it he heats a cold infusion so as to sepa- par. I. 
Panax.— Papaver. 
659 
rate the albumen, biters, concentrates to a syrupy consistence, precipitates by 
a concentrated solution of sulphate of soda, washes the precipitate thoroughly 
with the saline solution, and then trouts it with alcohol, which dissolves the 
principle in question, and yields it on evaporation. To purify it, he dissolves it 
in water, treats the solution with animal charcoal, again evaporates, and dis- 
solves the residue in absolute alcohol, which is finally distilled off. Panaquilon 
is an amorphous yellow powder, soluble in water and alcohol, but not in ether, of 
a sweet bitterish taste, and has the characteristic property, that, when treated 
with strong acids, it is converted into a white substance, insoluble in water, with 
the escape of carbonic acid and water. Mr. Garrigues proposes for this white sub- 
stance the name of panacon. (Am. Journ. of P harm., xxvi. 511.) The root is 
sometimes submitted, before being dried, to a process of clarification, which ren- 
ders it translucent and horny, and enhances its value as an article of export. 
The extraordinary medical virtues formerly ascribed to ginseng had no other ex- 
istence than in the imaginations of the Chinese. It is little more than a demul- 
cent, and in this country is not employed as a medicine. Some persons, however, 
are in the habit of chewing it, haviug acquired a relish for its taste; and it is 
chiefly to supply the wants of these that it is kept in the shops. W. 
Poppy. Poppy Capsules. 
PAPAVER. U.S. 
The.ripe,capsules of Papaver somniferum. U. S. 
OffrSyrt. PAPAVERIS CAPSULAR. Poppy Capsules. The nearly ripe 
capsules of the white poppy, Papaver somniferum, cultivated in Britain. Br. 
Capsules des pavots, Fr.; Kapseln des weissen Mohns, Germ.-, Capidel papavero, Hal.; 
Cabezas de amapola, Span. 
Papaver somniferum. See OPIUM. 
In England the poppy is cultivated chiefly for its capsules, which are gathered 
as they ripen, and taken to market enclosed in bags. The Br. Pharmacopoeia 
directs them to be collected before they are quite ripe, as they then contain more 
of the active milky juice; but, cut at this period, they are apt to lose their juice 
through the wounded surface, unless carefully kept inverted upon their crown 
while drying; and, even when thus treated, they are, according to the observa- 
tions of Buchner, less active than the capsules collected after perfect maturity, 
while they contain more of useless saccharine and mucilaginous matter. (Buch- 
ner's Bepert., 3 R., viii. 289 and 326.) M Meurein states, as the result of his 
experiments, that the richest are those collected just before the maturity of the 
seeds, when the capsules have passed from their glaucous-green to a yellowish- 
green colour. (Journ.de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiii. 341.) They are occasionally 
imported ; but as no effect is produced by them which cannot be as well obtained 
from opium, or some one of its preparations, they are little employed. 
Dried poppy capsules vary in size from the dimensions of a small egg to those 
of the fist. They differ also in shape according to the variety of the poppy from 
which they are procured. On the continent two sub-varieties of the white poppy 
are recognised, the long, and the round or dep>ressed. Of these, according to 
Aubergier, the long are richest in morphia, and his conclusions are confirmed 
by Meurein, who also found the largest capsules most efficient. Those commonly 
kept in our shops are spheroidal, flattened below, and surmounted by a crown- 
like expansion—the persistent stigma—which is marked by numerous diverging 
rays that rise somewhat above its upper surface, and appear to be prolongations 
of partial septa, or partitions, proceeding along the interior circumference of the 
capsule from the top to the bottom. In the recent state, the seeds, which are 
very numerous, adhere to these septa; but in the dried capsule they are loose in 
its cavity. The capsules of the black poppy are smaller and more globular than 
those of the white, and contain dark instead of light-coloured seeds. There ap- 
pears to be no essential difference in their properties. Both kinds, when fresh, 
ire glaucous, but when dried, as found in the shops, are of a dirty-white or 660 
Papaver.—Pareira. 
part i 
purplish-brown colour, of a consistence somewhat like that of paper, inodor- 
ous, and with little taste, unless long chewed, when they are decidedly bitter. 
They contain principles similar to those of opium, which they yield to water by 
decoction, and have been employed in France for obtaining morphia. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dried poppy-heads, though analogous to 
opium in medical properties, are exceedingly feeble. They are nevertheless as- 
serted, in the form of decoction, to have proved fatal in a child. The case, re- 
ported by Dr. F. L. Winckler, was that of a babe, in the stomach of which he 
found a little morphia, but no meconic acid. (Neues Beperlor., 1867, xvi. 38.) 
They are sometimes employed in decoction, as an external emollient and ano- 
dyne application; and, in emulsion, syrup, or extract, are often used internally, 
in Europe, to calm irritation, promote rest, and produce generally the narcotic 
effects of opium. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Papaveris, Br.; Extractum Papaveris, Br.; Syrupus 
Papaveris, Br. W. 
PAREIRA. US. 
Pareira Brava. 
The root of Cissampelos Pareira. U. S. 
Off. Syn. PAREIRuE RADIX. Pareira Root. The dried root of Cissam 
pelos Pareira. Br. 
Cissampelos. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Monadelphia. — Nat.Ord. Menispermaceas. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx four-leaved. Corolla none. Nectary rotate. Stamens 
four, with connate filaments. Female. Calyx one-leafed, ligulate roundish. Co- 
rolla none. Styles three. Berry one-seeded. 
Cissampelos Pareira. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 861; Woodv. Med. Bot, 3d ed., p 
161, t. 65. This is a climbing plant, with numerous slender, shrubby stems, and 
roundish, entire leaves, indented at the top, covered with soft hair upon their 
under surface, and supported upon downy footstalks, inserted into the back of 
the leaf. The flowers are very small, and disposed in racemes, of which those in 
the female plant are longer than the leaves. The plant is a native of the West 
Indies and South America, and is supposed to be the source of the root brought 
from Brazil, under the name of pareirabrava. According to Auguste St. Hilaire, 
however, true pareira is obtained from another species of the same genus, grow- 
ing in Brazil, and denominated C. glaberrima; while by Aublet it is referred 
to a species of Abuta, of the same natural family.* 
The root comes in pieces from the thickness of the finger to that of the arm, 
from a few inches to two or more feet in length, cylindrical, sometimes contorted 
or forked, and covered with a thin, firmly adhering, grayish-brown bark. The 
outer surface is marked with longitudinal and annular wrinkles, and sometimes, 
in the larger pieces, with knotty excrescences. The interior is ligneous, yellow- 
ish, very porous, marked by irregular concentric circles, inodorous, and of a 
sweetish, nauseous, bitter taste. The root imparts its virtues readily to water. 
M. Feneulle found in it a soft resin, a yellow bitter principle, a brown substance, 
an azotized substance, fecula, acidulous malate of lime, nitrate of potassa, and 
various other salts. He considers the yellow bitter substance as the active prin- 
ciple. It is soluble in water and alcohol, and precipitated from its solution by 
tincture of galls. Wiggers announced, in 1838, the existence in pareira brava 
of an organic alkali, for which he proposed the name of cissampelina. He pro- 
cured it by boiling the root with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, precipi- 
tating by carbonate of potassa, dissolving the precipitate again in water acidu- 
lated with sulphuric acid,treating the solution with animal charcoal,precipitating 
auew with carbonate of potassa, drying and pulverizing the precipitate, treating 
* Pareira Bark. Though the root is the officinal part, the bark is probably possessed of 
similar virtues. A specimen which we had the opportunity of seeing at the international 
Exhibition at London in 1862, was in flat pieces, from two to four inches broad, about a 
line thick, extremely fibrous, so tough that it could be bent without breaking, of a very 
light dirty-yellowish colour, and covered with a light-coloured epidermis. PART I. 
Pareira.—Pepo. 
661 
it repeatedly with ether, and evaporating the ethereal solution. The alkaloid 
thus obtained maybe rendei’ed entirely pure by dissolving it in dilute acetic acid, 
precipitating with carbonate of potassa, and washing and drying the precipitate. 
(Annal. der Pharm., xxvii. 29.) It is probably the chief ingredient of the bitter 
substance obtained by Feneulle. Peretti of Rome, and Pelletier afterwards, sepa- 
rated from the root an alkaloid,characterized by assuming a beautiful purple colour 
by contact with strong nitric acid. (Journ.de Pharm.i. 162 ) In Christi- 
son’s Dispensatory it is stated to be uncrystallizable, insoluble in water, soluble 
in ether, alcohol, and the acids, and of an intensely bitter and sweetish taste. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pareira brava is said to be tonic, aperient, and 
diuretic. It was introduced into European practice so long ago as 1688, and at 
one time enjoyed considerable reputation as a lithontriptic. It has been recom- 
mended in calculous affections, chronic inflammation and ulceration of the kid- 
neys and bladder, leucorrhcea, dropsy, rheumatism, and jaundice. The purpose 
for which it is at present chiefly employed is for the relief of chronic diseases of 
the urinary passages. Sir Benjamin Brodie found it very useful in chronic in- 
flammation of the bladder, in allaying irritability of that organ, and correcting 
the disposition to profuse mucous secretion ; and it has subsequently come into 
general use in the same affections Advantage may often be derived from com- 
bining it, in this complaint, with one of the narcotics, as opium or hyoscyamus. 
In Brazil it is used in the cure of the bites of poisonous serpents; a vinous infu- 
sion of the root being taken internally, while the bruised leaves of the plant are 
applied to the wound. The dose of pareira brava in substance is from thirty 
grains to a drachm. The infusion, however, is more convenient. (See Infusum 
Pareirse.) A tincture, made by macerating one part of the root in five parts of 
alcohol, has been given in the dose of a fluidrachm. The aqueous extract may 
be given in the dose of from ten to thirty grains. A fluid extract has been pre- 
pared, of which the dose is from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm.* 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Pareirae, Br.; Extractum Pareirae, Br.; Extractum 
Pareirae Liquidum, Br.; Infusum Pareirae, U. S. W. 
PEPO. U.S. 
The seed of Cucurbita Pepo. U. S. 
This is one of the officinals newly introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
The Cucurbita Pepo, or common pumpkin, is a plant too well known to need 
description. The seeds are the part used. These are oval, extended into a blunt 
point at one end, flattish, but somewhat swollen in the middle, with a distinct 
groove on both sides near the edge from one end to the other, when of full size 
about 9 lines long by 5 or 6 in breadth where broadest, of a light brownish-white 
colour, and a slightly sweetish, somewhat aromatic smell and taste. They con- 
sist of a firm brittle coating, and a white oily kernel; and contain a fixed oil, 
an aromatic principle, chlorophyll, sugar, gum, and an acid, soluble in water 
and alcohol, for which the name of citrullic acid has been proposed. Deprived 
of their coating, and exhausted by ether, they yield 30 per cent, of fixed oil 
(Annuaire de Tlierap., A. D. 1862, p. 176 ) 
Medical Properties. The seeds of the pumpkin have, within a few years, ob- 
tained in this country considerable reputation in the treatment of tapeworm. 
This employment of them, however, is not new. In the Dictionary of Materia 
Pumpkin Seeds. 
* Fluid Extract of Pareira. This is prepared by Prof. Procter in the following manner. 
Of the root, in moderately fine powder, 16 troyounees are mixed with 4 fluidounces of Di- 
luted Alcohol, then packed in a conical percolator, and covered with a piece of cloth. 
Diluted alcohol is now added until three pints of tincture have passed, the first twelve 
fluidounces being set aside.- The remainder is evaporated, by means of a water-bath, to 
4 fluidounces, which are mixed with the reserved portion; and the mixture, having been 
occasionally agitated for 24 hours, is filtered; sufficient alcohol being dropped into the 
filter to make the product measure a pint. A fiuidounce of this represents a troyounee of 
t-be root. {Proceedings of the Am. Phc-m. Assoc., A.D. 1863, p. 231.) 662 
Repo.—Petroselinum. 
part I. 
Medica by Herat and De Lens (ii. 493), it is stated that Dr. Iloarau it ad re- 
ported that, in the Isle of France, the seeds of a small variety of pumpkin were 
used against the tapeworm, and with never-failing success. In the year 1820, 
M. Mongeny, a physician of Cuba, published the results of his experience with 
the flesh of the pumpkin in the same disease. He had discovered the remedy by 
accident, and found it uniformly successful. He gave to the patient, in the morn- 
ing, fasting, about three ounces of the fresh pumpkin in the form of a paste, and 
followed it at the end of an hour by about two ounces of honey, which latter was 
twice repeated at intervals of an hour. MM. Brunet and Lamothe, of Bordeaux, 
verified the statements of M. Mongeny, as to the efficacy of the remedy in tamia, 
employing, however, a paste made from the seeds, in the quantity of about an 
ounce and a half, with as much sugar. (Ann. de T/ierap., 1853, p. 301.) 
In the Boston Med. and Surg. Journ. (October 8, 1851 ,page 201) is a com- 
munication from Mr. Richard Soule, recommending the seeds in very strong 
terms as a remedy in taenia; and his letter is preceded by some editorial obser- 
vations, in which reference is made to the previous successful employment of the 
remedy by Dr. J. S. Jones, of Boston. Since that time various other notices of 
the efficacy of the seeds have appeared in the journals, and a very striking case 
was related to ourselves, on the best authority, in which they had proved imme- 
diately and completely successful, after the vain employment of all other known 
remedies, through a course of several years. Mr. Soule gives the preference to 
the seeds from the West Indies. The dose of the seeds is about two ounces; 
which are to be taken in the morning, fasting, and followed in an hour or two 
by a fluidounce of castor oil. The mode of administration is various. Some- 
times the seeds, deprived of their outer covering, are beaten into a paste with 
sugar, and thus taken. In other instances they are formed into an emulsion, 
by rubbing them up thoroughly with water and a little sugar.* W. 
PETROSELINUM. US. Secondary. 
Parsley Root. 
The root of Petroselinum sativum. U. S. 
Persil, Fr.; Petersilie, Germ.; Prezzemolo. Hal.; Perexil, Span. 
Petroselinum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia.— Nat. Ord. Apiaceae or 
Umbelliferee. 
Gen. Ch. Umbels compound. Involucres, partial of many, general of few 
bractes. Calyx obsolete. Fruit ovate, contracted at the sides. Ridges five, 
narrow, equal, the lateral on the edge. Yittae one to each furrow. Albumen 
plano-convex. Lindley. 
Petroselinum sativum. Hoffman, Umb. i. t. I, f. 2; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 
35. — Apium Petroselinum. Willd. Sp. Plamt. i. 1475; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
118, t. 45. Parsley has a biennial root, with an annual, round, furrowed, jointed, 
* The following emulsion, combining the virtues of the pumpkin seeds and male fern, 
has been recommended in tapeworm. Take of pumpkin seeds 600 grains, sugar 100 grains, 
ethereal extract of male fern 60 grains, water live fluidounces. Bruise the seeds in a mar- 
ble mortar with the sugar, add half a fluidounce of water, and, when a homogeneous paste 
has been obtained, add the extract of fern, and gradually mix in the rest of the water j 
The emulsion should be taken without straining, early in the morning, in four doses, at' 
intervals of fifteen minutes; the bottle being well shaken each time. 
Oil of Pumpkin Seed. At the suggestion of the late Dr. H. S. Patterson, of Philadelphia, 
the expressed oil of the seeds was used in a case of tapeworm by Mr. John C. Lyons, and 
with success. After fasting for 24 hours, the patient took, in the morning, of the oil, 
which was followed in two hours by more, and in two hours after the second dose hy 
fgi of castor oil, which brought away the worm. The oil may be obtained also by the 
agency of a menstruum. It is probable that, obtained bv the action of ether, it would be 
even more effective than the expressed. A portion of it was extracted from the crushed 
seeds by means of bisulphide of carbon. The product was 33J per cent, of a thick red oil, 
with little smell, but of a somewhat rank taste. Its sp. gr. at 60° F. was 0-928. ((J. A. dross, 
Am. Journ. of Phann., July, 1865, p. 253.)—Notes to the twelfth and thirteenth editions. PART I. 
Petroselmum. 
663 
erect, branching stem, about two feet in height. The radical leaves are com- 
pound. pinnated in ternaries, with the leaflets smooth, divided into three lobes, 
and notched at the margin. In the cauline leaves, the segments of the leaflets 
are linear and entire. The flowers are small, pale-yellow, and disposed in ter- 
minal compound umbels, with a one or two-leaved general involucre, and partial 
ones composed of six or eight leaflets. The petals are five, roundish, and indexed 
at their apex. The seeds (half-fruits) are small, ovate, flat on one side, convex 
on the other, dark-green, and marked with five longitudinal ridges. They have 
a strong, terebinthinate odour, and a warm aromatic taste. 
The plant is a native of Sardinia, and other parts of Southern Europe, and 
is cultivated everywhere in gardens. All parts of it contain a volatile oil, to 
which it owes its odour and mainly its taste, as well as its use in seasoning. M. 
H. Braconnot obtained from the herb apeculiar gelatinous substance,resembling 
pectic acid in appearance, which he named apiin. It differs from pectin in being 
more soluble in alcohol than cold water, in not being precipitated by alcohol 
from its watery solution, and in being separated by acids from its alkaline solu- 
tions unaltered, whereas pectin is under these circumstances converted into pec- 
tic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xix. 448.) It is procured by boiling the 
herb in water, straining the liquor, and allowing it to cool. The apiin then forms 
a gelatinous mass, which requires only to be washed with cold water. (Philos. 
Mag., xxiv. 155.) Though the root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia, 
the fruit is at least equally efficient. Examined by MM. Joret and Homolle, the 
seeds were found to contain a volatile oil, a crystallizable fatty matter, pectin 
which they believe to be the apiin of Braconnot, chlorophyll, tannin, a colour- 
ing matter, extractive, lignin, various salts, and, in addition to these, a pecu- 
liar substance to which they gave the name of apiol. This is a yellowish oily 
liquid, not volatile, heavier than water, of a peculiar and tenacious odour dis- 
tinct from that of the plant, and an acrid pungent taste. It is inflammable, in 
soluble in water hot or cold, very soluble in alcohol, and dissolved in all pro- 
portions by ether and chloroform. It is analogous to the fixed oils, but is not 
chemically modified by the alkalies. It contains no nitrogen. To obtain it MM. 
Joret and Homolle exhausted the seeds with alcohol, treated the tincture with 
purified animal charcoal, distilled off three-fourths of the alcohol, treated the resi- 
due with ether or chloroform, evaporated the solution thus formed, mixed the 
residuary liquid with an eighth of its weight of litharge, allowed the mixture 
to rest twenty-four hours, and then filtered through a light layer of charcoal. 
Apiol is supposed by its discoverers to be the antiperiodic principle of parsley. 
The root is spindle-shaped, about as thick as the finger, externally white, and 
marked with close annular wrinkles, internally fleshy and white, with a yellow- 
ish central portion. It has a pleasant smell, and a sweetish, slightly aromatic 
taste ; but loses these properties by long boiling, and by time. It should be 
employed in the recent state. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Parsley root is said to be aperient and diure- 
tic, and is occasionally used in nephritic and dropsical affections, in connection 
with more active medicines It was highly recommended by Professor Chap- 
man. The usual form of administration is that of strong infusion. A decoction 
of the leaves, applied warm to the eye by means of a compress, has been em- 
ployed with benefit by Dr. Neucourt in recent ophthalmia. (Am. Journ. of 
Med. Sci., July, 1865, p. 257.) The juice of the fresh herb has been employed 
as a substitute for quinia in intermittents; and the seeds, as well as their sup- 
posed active principle, have been given with great asserted success in the 
same complaint. According to MM. Joret and Homolle, apiol acts on the sys- 
tem very much like quinia, producing, in the dose of about 15 grains, a slight 
cerebral excitation without unpleasant effects of any kind, and, in double or 
quadruple the quantity, giving rise to a species of intoxication, with giddiness, 
morbid sights and sounds, frontal headache, and all the characteristic effects 
of a large dose of sulphate of quinia. They found it to cure intermittents, in 
temperate latitudes, in the proportion of 86 per cent, of the cases ; and, though 664 
Phosphorus. 
PART I. 
it proved less effectual in tropical regions, they seem to have shown that, in 
the absence of Peruvian bark or its preparations, it might be usefully resorted 
to as a substitute.* W. 
PHOSPHORUS. U.S.,Br. 
Phosphorus. 
Phosphore, Fr.; Phosphor, Germ.; Fosforo, Ital., Span. 
This non-metallic element was discovered in 1669 by Brandt, an alchemist 
of Hamburg, who obtained it from putrid urine by a process which remained a 
secret until 1737. As thus procured it was exceedingly scarce and costly. In 
1769, the Swedish chemist Gahn discovered it in bones, and shortly after- 
wards published a process by which it might be extracted from them. 
Preparation. Powdered calcined bones (bone-phosphate of lime) are digested 
for twenty-four hours with two-thirds of their weight of sulphuric acid previ- 
ously diluted with twelve times its weight of water. The sulphuric acid sepa- 
rates the greater part of the lime from the phosphoric acid, and precipitates as 
sulphate of lime; while a superphosphate of lime remains in solution. The liquid 
is then strained through a linen cloth to separate the sulphate of lime, and after- 
wards submitted to evaporation, which causes a fresh precipitation of sulphate, 
to be separated by a new straining. The strained solution is evaporated to a 
syrupy consistence, and then thoroughly mixed with half its weight of powdered 
charcoal, so as to form a mass, which is dried by being heated to dull redness. The 
mass when cool is quickly transferred to a coated earthenware retort, furnished 
with an adapter of copper, bent downwards at right angles, so as to enter a bottle 
with a large neck containing water, which should rise about two lines above the 
orifice of the adapter. The bottle is closed round the adapter with a cork, which 
is traversed by a small glass tube, to give exit to the gaseous products. The re- 
tort is heated in a furnace, furnished with a dome, in the most gradual manner, 
so as to occupy about four hours in bringing it to a red heat. Afterwards the 
heat is pushed vigorously, so long as any phosphorus drops into the water; and 
this takes place generally for from twenty-four to tnirty hours. During this part 
of the process, the excess of acid in the superphosphate is decomposed; its 
oxygen combining with the charcoal, and the liberated phosphorus distilling over. 
The calcined bones of the sheep are preferred ; as they contain the largest pro- 
portion of phosphate of lime, and are most readily acted on by the acid. 
M. Cari-Montrand proposes to obtain phosphorus by passing dry muriatic 
acid gas over a mixture of equal parts of bone-phosphate of lime and finely 
powdered charcoal, contained in a porcelain tube, to which a glass tube is at- 
tached, dipping under water. Phosphorus and water distil over, carbonic oxide 
is evolved, and chloride of calcium is left. The following equation explains the 
reaction : 3Ca0,P05 and 5C and 3HC1 = P and 3HO and 5CO and 3Ca01. 
The following improved process for obtaining phosphorus on a large scale is 
given by Hugo Fleck, of Germany. Clean, broken bones, deprived of fat, are 
digested in dilute muriatic acid, which gives rise to the formation of chloride of 
calcium, and acid phosphate of lime (Ca0,2110 + P0S). The bone cartilage, 
remaining undissolved by the acid, is used for preparing gelatin. The solution 
is evaporated in pans until its sp. gr. is about 1 4, and then run off to cool, when 
the acid phosphate crystallizes. This salt, having been separated from the 
mother-liquor by being pressed between cloths and dried, appears as a white 
gritty powder with a pearly lustre. The dry salt, warmed, and mixed with a 
fourth of its weight of charcoal, is distilled from clay cylinders, like gas re- 
* Since the announcement of the antiperiodic properties of apiol, it has been found to pos- 
sess other virtues also. By MM. Joret and Baillot and other practitioners it has been em- 
ployed, with much success, as an emmenagogue in amenorrhoea and dysmenorrhoea, in the 
do?e of about four grains morning and evening; being taken in the former affection in 
anticipation of the menstrual period, in the latter during its continuance. It is said also 
to have proved useful in the night-sweats of phthisis. From its unpleasant taste, it is most 
conveniently exhibited in capsules of gelatin. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1861, p. 156.) PART i. 
Phosphorus. 
665 
torts. Every five cylinders open into one receiver, shaped like a muffle, and con- 
tained in a channel through which water flows The residual bone-phosphate 
of lime, in the cylinders, is incinerated upon iron plates to burn away the 
charcoal, and is thus saved to prepare fresh acid phosphate. By this process 
100 lbs. of fresh bones yield from 6 to 7 lbs. of phosphorus, and from 10 to 20 
of gelatin; while the process usually pursued gives only 4 or 5 lbs. of phos- 
phorus. {Pharm. Journ., Sept. 1856, p. 175.) 
Properties. Phosphorus is a semitransparent solid, without taste, but pos- 
sessing an alliaceous smell. When perfectly pure it is colourless; but as usually 
prepared it is yellowish or reddish-yellow. It is flexible, and when cut exhibits 
a waxy lustre. It is said by M. Bcettger to be easily pulverizable by agitation 
with a solution of urea. {Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1863, p. 488.) It is insoluble 
in water, but dissolves sparingly in ether, anhydrous alcohol, and the oils, and 
abundantly in bisulphide of carbon and chloroform. Its sp. gr. is T84, and its 
equivalent number 32 (31'02 Schroetter). Its pulverization may be readily ef- 
fected by melting it in hot water, and agitating until it is thoroughly cooled; 
and the powder is obtained finer in saline solutions than in pure water. (Blond- 
lot, Journ. de Pharm. et de Ghim., 4e ser., i. 72, A D. 1865.) It takes fire at 
100°, melts at 108°, and boils at 550°, air being excluded. During its combus- 
tion it combines with the oxygen of the air, and forms dry phosphoric acid. 
On account of its great inflammability, it must be kept under water. When 
exposed to the air it undergoes a slow combustion, emitting white vapours, 
which are luminous in the dark. It sometimes contains arsenic, and, therefore, 
when used in forming medicinal preparations, should be tested for that metal. 
It also occasionally contains antimony and sulphur. The latter impurity ren- 
ders it brittle. 
When phosphorus is kept in ordinary water it becomes covered with a whitish 
layer, of the nature of which there are different opinions, being considered by 
some a hydrate of phosphorus, b v others as an allotropic condition of that ele- 
ment, and by others again as partially crystallized; but all these opinions have 
been disproved by M. Ernest Baudrimont, who seems to have demonstrated that 
white phosphorus is entirely identical with that principle in its ordinary state, 
and results from a kind of erosion of the surface, owing to partial oxidation by the 
free oxygen held in solution by the water. The change never takes place in water 
entirely deprived of air; and the water when it has taken place holds phosphor- 
ous acid in solution. (Journ. de Pharm. etde Ghim., 4e ser., iii. 17, A. D. 1866.) 
Prof. Schroetter, of Vienna, discovered an allotropic form of phosphorus, 
which he called red or amorphous phosphorus. It is formed when ordinary 
phosphorus is kept long at a temperature between 419° and 482° F., in atmos- 
pheres which have no action on it, or in closed glass tubes. Red phosphorus 
is much more indifferent than the ordinary substance, and is denser, its sp. gr. 
being 2-11. It is much less easily acted on by the air than ordinary phosphorus, 
and is insoluble in bisulphide of carbon, alcohol, and ether, in which ordinary 
phosphorus is soluble. Solidified from the fused state, it is brittle, and breaks 
with a conchoidal fracture. Its hardness is considerable. Obtained by distil- 
lation in a non-acting gas, it is mixed with ordinary phosphorus, from which it 
may be freed by bisulphide of carbon, which dissolves the ordinary variety, 
and leaves the allotropic as a deep-red amorphous powder. It may also be pu- 
rified by shaking it with a solution of chloride of calcium, of a density inter- 
mediate between that of red and ordinary phosphorus, and with a little bisul- 
phide of carbon. The red variety will sink to the bottom, and the ordinary 
float on top of the solution, dissolved in the bisulphide (E. Nickles.) Red 
phosphorus is not poisonous. This has been proved beyond a doubt by the 
experiments of MM. Reynal and Lassaigne, and of MM. L. Orfila and Rigaut. 
It is applicable to the manufacture of lucifer matches, and forms a much safer 
material than ordinary phosphorus. It does not take fire by friction at common 
temperatures, and, therefore, may be transported with the greatest safety. It 
has been said to be unchangeable in the air; but this is not exactly true, as 666 
Phosphorus. 
PART I. 
proved by an observation of Mr. T. B. Groves, who, having set aside some red 
phosphorus in a bottle that was not air-tight, observed for a year or more no 
visible change, but found at length that it had become decidedly altered, and 
ascertained that oxidation had taken place, with the result of forming a large 
quantity of phosphoric and phosphorous acids, in the proportion of 5 eqs. of the 
former to 2 of the latter. (Pharm. J. and Trans., June, 1865, p. 621.) 
Besides the white and red forms of phosphorus, theie is another, called the 
black, first noticed by Thenard, and recently investigated by M. Blondlot, who 
finds that it is pure phosphorus, and its production owing to some modifica- 
tion in the mode of cooling, when it has been in the liquid state. (Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chivi., 4e ser., i. 407, A. I). 1865.) 
Still another modification of phosphorus has recently been made known by 
M. Hittorf, who obtained it by heating red phosphorus and lead together in a 
close vessel. The lead on melting dissolved the phosphorus, and on cooling de 
posited it in the state of crystals, resembling the crystals of arsenic. In this 
form, phosphorus is a conductor of electricity; and its sp.gr. at 62° P. is2-34. 
M. Hittorf distinguishes it by the name of metallic phosphorus, and ranks it 
in the same category with red phosphorus, the latter differing simply in being 
amorphous. (Chem. News, March 23,1866, p. 133.) M. Blondlot has succeeded 
in crystallizing common phosphorus by means of sublimation, operating in an 
atmosphere of nitrogen. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iv. 321.) 
Phosphorus forms with oxygen hypophosphorous, phosphorous, and phos- 
phoric acids. Of the last-mentioned acid there are three varieties, distinguished 
by containing, severally, one, two, or three eqs. of water. The only officinal com- 
pounds containing phosphorus are glacial and diluted phosphoric acids, phos- 
phate and pyrophosphate of iron, and the phosphates of ammonia, lime, and soda. 
Medical Properties. Phosphorus, exhibited in small doses, acts as a powerful 
general stimulant; in large doses, as a violent irritant poison. There is little 
if any doubt that, when not oxidized in the stomach, it is absorbed into the 
system, probably dissolved in oleaginous matter, and operates through the 
blood. Its action is directed particularly to the kidneys and genital organs, 
producing diuresis, and excitation of the venereal appetite. From its peculiar 
physiological action, it is considered applicable to diseases attended with pros- 
tration of the vital powers. It has been recommended in impotency, typhoid 
and typhus fevers, dropsy, phthisis, marasmus, chlorosis, paralysis, locomotor 
ataxia, amaurosis, mania, facial neuralgia, &c In certain obstinate cutaneous 
diseases, particularly eczema and psoriasis, it has been used with advantage. 
{Med. Times and Gaz., Jan. 1868, p. 619.) Those who work in phosphorus, as 
the manufacturers of lucifer matches, are liable to necrosis of the jaw-bones, the 
consequence of periostitis. The affection is probably produced by the inhala- 
tion of air contaminated with phosphorus vapour, which has a local action on 
the teeth, gums, and jaws, and a general deteriorating effect on the blood. Dr. 
James R. Wood has recorded, in the N. Y. Journ. of Med. for May, 1856, an 
interesting case of a girl of sixteen, in which the entire lower jaw was removed 
for necrosis caused by phosphorus. 
The usual form for exhibiting phosphorus is in oily solution. The Oleum 
Phosphoratum of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia is made as follows. Take of 
phosphorus twelve grains; almond oil, recently prepared, an ounce. Melt the 
phosphorus in the oil by the heat of warm water, and agitate until it appears 
to be dissolved. The ounce of oil takes up about four grains of phosphorus; 
and the dose of the solution is from five to ten drops, mixed with some muci- 
laginous liquid. An aromatic flavour may be given by the addition of a few drops 
of oil of bergamot. In an article in the Archives Generates (Mai, 1868, p. 609) 
it is maintained that the purest almond oil of the shops always contains water 
and organic matters dissolved or suspended, which react on the phosphorus, 
and so far modify its condition as to render the dose uncertain. To obviate this 
inconvenience, it is recommended to heat the oil, in the open air, for half an 
hour, at a temperature of about 300° F. at first, gradually increased to 350°. PART I. 
Phosphorus. 
667 
The water and organic imparities are thus driven off; and the oil, having been 
filtered, and allowed to cool, is introduced into bottles with ground glass stop- 
pers, and kept for use. Dr. R. M. Glover has proposed to give phosphorus, dis- 
solved in chloroform or cod-liver oil. He makes the chloroform solution, which is 
non-inflammable, by dissolving one part of phosphorus in four of chloroform. CM 
this solution he gives four or five minims, twice a day, with a drachm of ether, 
in a wineglassful of port wine, in typhoid fever. The solution in cod-liver oil 
is effected by adding the phosphorus, in chips, to the oil contained in a bottle, 
in the proportion of half a grain to the ounce The bottle is then immersed in 
hot water, and the solution effected by shaking. This mode of giving phos- 
phorus was used by Dr. Glover in strumous cases. (See Braithwaite's Retrospect, 
Am. ed., xxvii. 246 ) Phosphorus has been given with success in intermittents, 
dissolved in oil of turpentine. (Trans, of the Med. Soc. of Pennsylvania, iv. 
119.) M. Tavignot gives pills made from an oleaginous solution of phosphorus. 
One and a half grains are dissolved, by means of a water-bath, in two drachms 
of almond oil; the solution is made into a pill mass by mixing it with two 
drachms of almond oil soap and a sufficient quantity of an inert powder ; and 
the mass is divided into 100 pills. From two to four of the pills may be taken 
daily. (Journ. de Pharm.-, Aout, 1863, p. 137.) Dr. Crawcour shakes phosphorus 
cut fine in a bottle with boiling absolute alcohol until cold. The alcohol dissolves 
about two grains to the fluidounce, and from 30 to 60 drops of the solution may 
be given with a wineglassful or two of water. (Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1859, 
p. 222.) Great caution is necessary in the exhibition of phosphorus, and its 
effects should be closely watched. It ought never to be given in substance. 
Phosphuret of zinc has been suggested as a substitute for phosphorus itself, 
having similar effects on the system, and being much more convenient of ad- 
ministration. It may be prepared by bringing the vapour of phosphorus into 
contact with zinc heated to ebullition, in a current of dry hydrogen. It is of a 
gray colour, a crystalline texture, and metallic lustre, unchangeable in the air, 
and easily affected by acids, which attack it in the stomach, evolving phos- 
phuretted hydrogen, through which it operates. It may be given in pills made 
with liquorice powder and syrup of gum arabic, in the dose of about one-thir- 
tieth of a grain. (Journ. de Pharm. etde Ghim., Mai, 1868, p. 311.) 
Toxical Properties and Tests. Phosphorus, taken in a poisonous dose, pro- 
duces violent inflammation of the stomach and bowels, with intense pain, obsti- 
nate vomitings, tremblings, and, finally, convulsions on the approach of death. 
If swallowed in sticks on a full stomach, the poisonous symptoms are some hours 
in manifesting themselves. When taken in substance, two or three grains of 
tartar emetic should be given to dislodge it. If swallowed in the state of solu- 
tion, copious draughts of cold water, containing magnesia in suspension, should 
be administered, in order to prevent the combustion of the phosphorus, and to 
neutralize any acid which may have been formed. A case is related by Dr. 
Landerer, in which a child who had swallowed nearly a teaspoonful of phos- 
phorus paste,* prepared for killing rats, was saved by the free administration 
of magneoia, rubbed up with sugared water. Cases of supposed poisoning by 
phosphorus matches have been recorded. Messrs. Antonielli and Ilorsarelli 
have shown, by numerous experiments on animals, that fatty matter increases the 
poisonous activity of phosphorus, and that the best antidote is calcined mag- 
nesia given largely with water. (Lancet, Feb. 5, 1859, p. 136.) Duflos has pro- 
posed, as an antidote, a mixture of one part of magnesia and eight of chlorine 
water. From experiments on rabbits, A. Bechert inferred that this mixture 
would prove useful; but similar experiments, made by Schrader, L. Hofmann, 
and Schuchardt, were without effect. It is said that the vapour from oil of tur- 
* This paste is made as follows. Triturate six parts of phosphorus and one part of sul- 
phur with six parts of water, until they liquefy. Then mix in two parts of flour of mustard, 
eight parts of sugar, and twelve parts of rye flour, with the aid of ten additional parts of 
water, and stir the whole so as to fotm a soft paste, which must be kept in pots closely 
stopped. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1855, p. 473.) 668 
Phosphorus.—Physostigmatis Faba. 
PART I. 
pen tine acts as an antidote to that of phosphorus, when the two are inhaled 
together. {Arch. Gen., Juillet, 1868, p. 103.) From experiments on dogs poi- 
soned by phosphorus, MM. L Orfila and Rigaut have shown that putrefaction is 
remarkably retarded. In a case of chronic poisoning from the copious inhalation 
of phosphorus vapour, the principal results were a gradual decay of the sexual 
function and paralysis, terminating in death at the end of three years. Partial 
or general paralysis is a not uncommon result. {Lancet, July 7, 1866, p. 23.) 
One of the most remarkable post-mortem appearances in cases of phosphorus 
poisoning, is fatty degeneration of the liver; and the same pathological condi- 
tion has been found in the heart. {Guy's Hosp. Reports, xiii. 242, A.D. 1868.) 
E. Mitscherlich gives the following as a delicate test of phosphorus. The 
suspected substance is distilled with sulphuric acid and water from a flask, by 
means of a tube bent twice at right angles, into a vertical cooling tube, passing 
through the bottom of a wide glass cylinder filled with water, which is constantly 
kept cold by passing cold water in at the bottom, while the warm water escapes 
at the top. Under the cooling tube is placed a vessel to receive the distillate. 
If phosphorus is present, its vapour, mixed with steam, distils over, and gives 
rise to a distinct luminous appearance, visible in the dark, at the point where 
it enters the cold part of the cooling tube. The presence of alcohol and ether 
prevents the occurrence of the luminous appearance until they have distilled 
over. Oil of turpentine has the same effect permanently, but is not likely to be 
present in medico-legal cases. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1856, p. 280; 
from the Lancet.) This test acts equally well in the presence of fatty matters, 
as has been shown by M. Yrij. L. Hofmann gives the following method of 
detecting phosphorus in the viscera in cases of poisoning. The viscera, mixed 
with water and a little sulphuric acid, are distilled until two drachms of liquid 
are obtained ; to which a few drops of sulphide of ammonium (hydrosulphate of 
ammonia) are to be added, and the liquid is to be evaporated to dryness in a 
porcelain dish. If phosphorus be present, in the minutest quantity, a drop of 
solution of perchloride of iron will produce a deep violet and brownish, though 
evanescent colour, through its reaction. {Chem. News, Feb. 3, 1865, p. 53.) 
The use of phosphorus as a disinfectant has been suggested by its extraor- 
dinary power of ozonizing the oxygen of the air, whereby noxious effluvia may 
be destroyed. A stick of it should be placed in an infected apartment, and so 
arranged that one half shall be immersed in water, the other half projecting. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Phosphoricum Dilutum, U. S. B. 
PHYSOSTIGMATIS FABA. Br. 
Calabar Bean. 
The seed of Pbysostigma venenosum {Balfour). Br. 
Piiysostigma. Nat. Ord. Leguminosas. Sub. Ord. Papilionaceae. Tribe ¥a\- 
phasiolae. 
Gen.Ch. Inflorescence axillary; on pendulous multifloral racemes; raehis 
of each raceme zigzag. Calyx campanulate, four-cleft at apex, the upper divi- 
sion notched, its segments ciliated. Corolla papilionaceous, curved in a crescen- 
tic manner. Stamens 10, diadelphous. Pistil more than one. Stigma blunt, 
covered by a ventricular hood, extending along the upper part of the convexity 
of the style. Legume dark-brown and straight, elliptico-oblong, with an api- 
cular curved point, and outer and inner integuments easily separable. Seeds 
two or three, separated by a woolly substance. Balfour. 
Piiysostigma venenosum. Balfour, Transactions of the Boyal Society of Ed- 
inburgh, xxii. 305; Ed. Med. Journ., July, 1863, p. 34. This is a climbing 
plant, with a ligneous stem, mounting on trees and shrubs, and frequenting 
especially the banks of streams, into which it often drops its fruit when ripe; 
and it is said that the people of Calabar derive their supply principally from 
the borders of the streams down which the fruits are carried. The root is spread- 
ing, with numerous fibrils, often having attached to them small succulent tubers. PART I. 
Physostigmatis Faba. 
669 
The flowers are in axillary, multiflorous, pendulous racemes. The corolla is 
papilionaceous, of a pale pink colour, with a purplish tinge. The legume when 
ripe is about seven inches long, and contains two or three seeds. It ripens at 
all seasons, but is most abundant during the rainy season from June to Sep- 
tember. The seeds are the part used. The plant is the only known species. 
It, has been long known that certain poisonous substances were used as an 
ordeal, to determine the guilt or innocence of accused individuals, among the 
Negroes of Western Africa. One of these, called the ordeal bean of Calabar, 
from the region where it is used, was brought to the notice of the scientific 
public by Dr. Daniell, in a paper read before the Ethnological Society of Edin- 
burgh in 1846. Considerable attention was attracted to the subject; and speci- 
mens of the bean were obtained by Dr. Christison from the Gold Coast. These 
were planted in the Botanical Garden at Edinburgh, and produced a plant, 
which proved to be a perennial creeper, belonging to the natural family Legu~ 
minosse; but at the date of the publication of the 11th edition of this work, 
early in 1858, the precise botanical position of the plant had not been deter- 
mined. In the year 1859, specimens of the plant were sent from Calabar, which 
came under the observation of Dr. Balfour, of Edinburgh, who was thus enabled 
to ascertain its botanical character. He communicated the results of his exam- 
ination to the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and his paper is published, with 
a particular description of the plant, in its Transactions (vol. xxii. p. 305). 
Having found that the plant belonged to a yet undescribed genus, he estab- 
lished a new one with the title of Physostigma, suggested by a peculiar infla- 
tion of the stigma; and designated the species as venenosum, from the noto- 
rious qualities of the fruit. In the Edinburgh Medical Journal (July, 1863, p. 
36) is an essay by Dr. Thos R. Fraser, containing a summary of what was 
known on the subject of the bean up to that date, with a particular description 
of the bean, and an account of experiments made with it on animals. 
Properties. The seed is about the size of a large horse-bean, being somewhat 
more than an inch in length by three fourths of an inch in breadth, with a very 
firm, hard, brittle, shining integument of a brownish-red, pale-chocolate, or ash- 
gray colour. The shape is irregularly kidney-form, with a longer convex and 
a shorter concave edge, two flat sides, and a furrow running longitudinally 
along its convex margin, and ending in an aperture near one of the extremities 
of the seed. Within the shell is a kernel consisting of two cotyledons, weigh- 
ing on an average about 46 grains, hard, white, and putverizable, of a taste 
like that of the ordinary edible leguminous seeds, without bitterness, acrimony, 
or aromatic flavour. The bean yields its virtues to alcohol, and imperfectly to 
water. The shell constitutes, according to Dr. Edwards, 30 per cent., the ker- 
nel 70 per cent, of the bean. Jobst and Hesse were thought to have succeeded 
in isolating the active principle, which they found exclusively in the cotyledons. 
They obtained it by exhausting an alcoholic extract of the seeds with water, 
adding magnesia to neutralization, which is indicated by the liquid becoming 
brown, then concentrating, and treating with ether. The ethereal solution was 
shaken with a little weak sulphuric acid. The liquid separated into two layers; 
the upper, ethereal, containing no alkaloid, and the lower, a solution of the 
sulphate in water. The latter w%s separated, treated with magnesia, and after- 
wards with ether, which yielded the alkaloid on evaporation. The substance 
thus obtained they proposed to name physostigmin. It was brown, amorphous, 
soluble in ammonia, soda, ether, benzole, and alcohol, and less so in cold water 
Its watery solution had an alkaline reaction, and formed salts with the acids. 
Iodide of potassium precipitated it of a dark-brown colour. Melted with potassa 
it yielded alkaline vapours. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 277 ) 
But the physostigmin thus obtained proved to be a complex body, contain- 
ing the active principle associated with other substances. The pure alka- 
loid has been subsequently isolated by MM. Amedee Vee and Manuel Leven. 
They procured it by adding to a carefully prepared extract, made by exhaust- 
ing the powdered seeds with cold alcohol of 95 per cent, a strong solution of 670 
Physostigmatis Paha. 
TART I. 
tartaric acid, diluting the mixture with water, filtering, adding powdered bicar- 
bonate of potassa in excess, again filtering, and shaking with ether, which 
yields the alkaloid impure on evaporation. To purify it, the residue was de- 
prived of moisture by putting it under a bell-glass over strong sulphuric acid, 
was then treated with ether, and the ethereal solution allowed to evaporate 
spontaneously. Repeated solution in ether and crystallization were still neces- 
sary to free it from a red colouring matter, which adhered to it very tenaciously. 
The pure alkaloid is colourless, crystallizable in thin rhomboidal plates, 
slightly bitter, soluble in ether, alcohol, and chloroform, and but slightly so in 
water, to which, however, it gives a decided alkaline reaction. It is readily dis- 
solved by the acids, and is precipitated by the substances which generally pre- 
cipitate the alkaloids. It is fusible, and at a high heat gives out white vapours, 
and burns without residue. Its salts are generally soluble. Its solution acts 
quickly on the pupil, and a drop of a solution containing only 1 part in 1000, 
placed within the eyelids, causes great and lasting contraction. The discoverers 
of this principle named it eserin (eserina); but we prefer the first name of 
physostigmin (physostigmia). Of this alkaloid T5 milligrammes ( 023 gr ), 
injected under the skin of a guinea-pig, produced palsy of the hind legs in five 
minutes, and death in half an hour, with dilatation of the pupil at the time of 
death. It is said to be capable of destroying life by absorption from the con- 
junctiva. A peculiarity of the alkaloid is that an aqueous solution of it or one 
of its salts, exposed to the air in the presence of potassa, soda, or lime, becomes 
red, owing to the absorption of oxygen. The colouring matter is taken up by 
chloroform. The colour is not permanent, but gradually changes to yellow, 
green, or blue. This test will detect less than the 100-thousandth part of the 
alkaloid. The same property is possessed by the alcoholic extract of the bean. 
Effects on the System. The bean is the only part known to possess medicinal 
properties. The shell is not without influence on the animal system, as shown 
by experiments upon rabbits made by Dr. Fraser, who found it to purge, increase 
the flow of urine, and produce temporary paralysis of the extremities, but without 
loss of consciousness; and, though a quantity of extract equivalent to a drachm 
of tk;, shell was given, it did not cause death. The kernel, however, is by far 
the niv ->t active part, as a rabbit was killed by five and a half grains of it. The 
most p vminent effects of this part of the bean were obviously on the spinal 
marrow, and, as believed by Dr. Fraser, of a depressing character. They were 
paralysis, ioss of reflex action, contraction of the pupil, occasionally evacuation 
of the bowels, with retention of consciousness until all power of expression 
ceased. Immediately after death the pupils dilated. No changes of structure 
were discoverable which could explain the phenomena. The brain and spinal 
marrow were apparently normal, and the heart full of blood. Similar effects 
were produced by topical application. The function of the part was suspended. 
The cardiac action and the vermicular movements of the bowels ceased by con- 
tact with the poison; and a little of it applied to the eye, produced contraction 
of the pupil of that eye, but not of both. The general conclusions of Dr. Fraser 
were, that the kernel has a depressing action on the spinal cord, causing death 
by paralysis, in some instances of the respiratory muscles, in others of the heart. 
One of the most interesting results of his experiments appears to be, that the 
integument of the seed, though possessing in a slight degree the powers of the 
kernel over the nervous system, differs from it in being actively cathartic. 
In reference to the effects of the medicine upon the human system, much yet 
remains to be learned. It was known that the beans used by the natives as an 
ordeal, when given in a certain quantity, generally proved fatal, and the in- 
dividual only escaped when they provoked vomiting, which was rare. A draught 
containing 19 seeds peunded and infused in water killed a man in an hour. It 
would be a subject of interesting inquiry, whether the integuments might not, 
in certain quantities, act energetically as an emetic as well as cathartic; and 
whether the escape of the accused person, in some instances, might not be owing 
to the accidental or contrived exhibition of a larger than ordinary proportion PART I. 
Phjsosligmatis Faba. 
671 
of this part of the seeds. Dr. Christison took about 12 grains of the kernel, 
which in 15 minutes produced giddiness and a feeling of torpidity, followed by 
great weakness and faintness, paleness of the surface, extreme weakness and 
irregularity of the pulse, and indisposition or inability to make voluntary mus- 
cular effort. There was no pain or other uneasiness, except the feeling of pros- 
tration and some nausea, and the intellect was normal. In two hours after the 
poison was swallowed, drowsiness occurred, but no stupor. Dr. Fraser experi- 
enced from smaller doses effects of a similar character, with temporary dimness 
of vision. The heart appears to be somewhat variously affected, sometimes act- 
ing irregularly or tumultuously, and sometimes less frequently. A peculiar 
epigastric sensation is generally experienced as the first symptom, about five 
minutes after the taking of the medicine, gradually increasing, and becoming at 
length almost painful. This continues at intervals for a considerable time, is 
after a little while attended with some dyspnoea; and then dizziness and feeble- 
ness of the extremities are experienced. 
On the whole, it would appear that the calabar bean is a direct sedative to 
the spinal marrow, thus producing muscular debility or relaxation, and when 
largely given, causing even palsy; and in poisonous doses acting by paralyzing 
the heart and respiratory muscles. It produces no loss of consciousness or stupor, 
and thus differs from the cerebral sedative. Besides its action as a spinal seda- 
tive, it is more or less irritant to the alimentary canal, often vomiting or purg- 
ing, and thereby saving life when taken in poisonous quantities. Seventy cases 
of children are related, who ate more or less of some beans on their arrival from 
Africa at the wharves of Liverpool, in all of whom vomiting was brought on 
either by the poison itself, or by emetics administered, except in a single case; 
ind that case was the only one that proved fatal. The nausea and vomiting 
came on in about 30 minutes; the nervous symptoms, as trembling, dizziness, 
and loss of muscular power, in less than an hour. In the fatal case four ker- 
nels had been eaten. Ordinarily in cases of death from calabar bean there are 
no positive post-mortem phenomena; the brain and spinal marrow being free 
from congestion. The remedies in cases of poisoning are emetics, as sulphate 
of zinc and ipecacuanha; and stimulants to support the vital actions. 
The most interesting effect of the calabar bean, so far as its practical appli- 
cation is concerned, is that of contracting the pupil; an effect resulting either 
from its internal or local use. It is most conveniently obtained by introducing 
a drop of watery solution of the alcoholic extract into the eye. Only the eye 
operated on is in this case affected. It is highly probable that the effect is pro- 
duced by a debilitating or paralyzing influence on the spinal centres, whereby 
the action of the expanding fibres is suspended, and the contractile influence 
from the cerebral centres is left unimpeded. Another effect on the eye, more 
recently noticed, is the contraction of the ciliary muscle, which regulates the 
accommodating power of the organ. Credit is especially due to Dr. T. A. Rob- 
ertson, of Edinburgh, for calling attention to this influence of the calabar bean. 
(Ed. Med. Journ., March, 1863, p. 815.) By this influence on the accommoda- 
tion of the eye, distant objects become indistinct, are apparently magnified, and 
seem nearer; and Dr. Robertson noticed that this effect was produced sooner 
and ceased sooner than that upon the pupil. The eye in its normal state thus 
becomes near-sighted under the influence of the bean. In both these respects 
there is a strong contrast between the actions of the calabar bean and bella- 
donna; one being exactly antagonistic of the other; as belladonna produces 
dilatation of the pupil, probably by relaxing the contractile power from the 
cerebral centres, and at the same time relaxes the ciliary muscles. It does not 
follow that the operation of the bean is positively stimulant any more upon the 
ciliary muscles than upon the contractile muscles of the iris. It may in both 
cases be considered as diminishing or paralyzing a power which in the normal 
state balances the stimulant influence of the brain. The practical application 
of these properties of the calabar bean is obvious; and it is now considerably 
used whenever the indication is presented either for producing contraction of 
the pupil, or increasing the power of accommodation of the eye to distances. 672 
PhysostigmatisFaha.—PhytolaccseBacca.—Phytolaccse Radix, part i. 
Therapeutic Use. In regard to the general therapeutic application of the 
calabar bean little has been decidedly determined. From its extraordinary seda- 
tive influence on the spine it would seem to be indicated in all cases of ab- 
normal excitement or irritation of the spinal marrow, especially in tetanus and 
the poisonous effects of strychnia. Even in the earlier stages of paralysis induced 
by active congestion or irritation of the spinal marrow, its depressing influence 
on the cord is obviously called for. Facts have not yet been sufficiently ac- 
cumulated to justify a positive statement as to its therapeutic virtues. Yet 
reports are favourable as to its powers in tetanus. Dr. Fraser reports eleven 
cases in which the calabar bean was used ; and of these only two ended fatally. 
(Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1868, p. 563.) 
The bean may be used in the form of tincture or alcoholic extract. The dose 
of the kernel would be two or three grains, to begin with, and increased if 
necessary. But it is seldom used in this way. A strong tincture may be made 
by percolation with alcohol, of which five minims shall represent three grains 
of the bean, and a tincture of this strength is recommended by Dr. Fraser. The 
same writer obtained about 4 percent, of extract by exhausting the kernel with 
alcohol. The dose, therefore, of alcoholic extract should not exceed one-twenty 
fourth of that of the kernel, or one-eighth of a grain. In tetanus, Dr. Fraser 
recommends the alcoholic extract, either in pill or dissolved in diluted alcohol, 
in the proportion of 32 grains to the fluidounce. He advises that the treatment 
should be commenced by subcutaneous injection with one-third of a grain, re- 
peated every two hours, until the system is decidedly affected, and then to ad- 
minister the remedy in three times the dose by the mouth. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., Oct. 1868, p. 563.) The Br. Pharmacopoeia directs an alcoholic extract, 
of which the dose is from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of a grain. 
For application to the eye Dr. Robertson employed an alcoholic extract mixed 
with water so as to make liquid preparations of different strengths, one minim 
representing half a grain, two grains, or four grains. He found these to begin to 
affect the power of accommodation in 10 minutes, and to produce the full effect 
in 20 or 30 minutes. They were also wholly unirritating to the eye. They did 
not, however, keep well, and he afterwards abandoned them 'for preparations 
made by suspending the extract in simple syrup. But it would seem best to 
keep the extract perfectly dry, and mix it with a little water when wanted. This 
extract dissolves freely in glycerin; and a solution of two and a half grains in 
100 minims of that liquid perfectly pure has been found to answer in practice. 
(Pharm. Journ., July, 1863, p. 26.) Another method of application is to im- 
pregnate paper by immersing it three or four times in a concentrated tincture 
of the bean, allowing it to dry after each immersion, and placing within the lower 
lid a piece of the paper thus prepared, about one-eighth of an inch square. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Physostigmatis, Br. W. 
PHYTOLACCA BACCA. U.S. Secondary. 
Poke Berry. 
The berries of Phytolacca decandra. U. S. 
PHYTOLACCA RADIX. US. Secondary. 
Poke Root. 
The root of Phytolacca decandra. U. S. 
Phytolacca. Sex. Syst. Decandria Decagynia.— Nat.Ord. Phvtolaccacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx none. Petals five, calycine. Berry superior, ten-celled, ten- 
seeded. Willd. 
Phytolacca decandra. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 822; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i 
39; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 213. This is an indigenous plant, with a large peren- 
nial root, often five or six inches in diameter, divided into two or three prim PART I 
Phytolaccse JRadix. 
673 
cipal brandies, soft, fleshy, fibrous, whitish within, and covered with a brown- 
ish cuticle. The stems, which are annual, frequently grow to the height of six 
or eight feet, and divide into numerous spreading branches. They are round, 
very smooth, green when young, but purple after the berries have ripened. The 
leaves are scattered, ovate-oblong, entire, pointed, smooth, ribbed beneath, and 
on short footstalks. The flowers are numerous, small, and in long racemes, 
which are sometimes erect, sometimes drooping. The corolla consists of five 
ovate, concave, whitish petals, folding inwards The germ is green. There are 
ten stamens, and the same number of pistils. The raceme of flowers becomes a 
cluster of dark purple, almost black, shining berries, flattened above and below, 
and divided into ten cells, each containing one seed. 
The poke is abundant in all parts of the United States, flourishing along 
fences, by the borders of woods, and especially in newly cleared and unculti- 
vated fields. It also grows spontaneously in the north of Africa and the south of 
Europe, where, however, it is supposed to have been introduced from America 
Its flowers begin to appear in July, and the fruit ripens in autumn. The mag- 
nitude of the poke-weed, its large rich leaves, and its beautiful clusters of purple 
berries, often mingled upon the same branch with the green unripe fruit, and 
the flowers still in bloom, render it one of the most striking of our native plants. 
The young shoots are much used as food early in the spring, boiled in the man- 
ner of spinage. The ashes of the stems and leaves contain a very large propor- 
tion of potassa, yielding, according to Braconnot, not less than 42 per cent, of 
the pure caustic alkali. In the plant the potassa is neutralized by an acid 
closely resembling the malic, though differing from it in some respects. The 
leaves, berries, and root are used, but the two latter only are mentioned in the 
Pharmacopoeia. The root is most active. It should be dug up late in Novem- 
ber, cut into thin transverse slices, and dried with a moderate heat. As its vir- 
tues are diminished by keeping, a new supply should be procured every year. 
The berries should be collected when perfectly ripe, and the leaves about the 
middle of summer, when the footstalks begin to redden. 
The berries contain a succulent pulp, and yield upon pressure a large quan- 
tity of fine purplish-red juice. They have a sweetish, nauseous, slightly acrid 
taste, with little odour. The colouring principle is evanescent, and cannot be 
applied to useful purposes in dyeing, from the difficulty of fixing it. Alkalies 
render it yellow; but the original colour is restored by acids. The juice con- 
tains saccharine matter, and, after fermenting, yields alcohol by distillation. 
The dried root is of a light yellowish-brown colour externally, very much 
wrinkled, and, when in transverse slices, exhibits on the cut surface numerous 
concentric rings, formed by the projecting ends of fibres, between which the in- 
tervening matter has shrunk in drying. The structure internally in the older 
roots is firm and almost ligneous; the colour yellowish-white, alternating with 
darker circular layers. There is no smell. The taste is slightly sweetish, and 
at first mild, but followed by a sense of acrimony. The active matter is imparted 
to boiling water and alcohol. From the anatysis of Mr. Edward Donnelly, the 
root appears to contain tannic acid, starch, gum, sugar, resin, fixed oil, and 
‘lignin, besides various inorganic substances. (4m. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 169.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Poke is emetic, purgative, and somewhat nar- 
cotic. As an emetic it is very slow in its operation, frequently not beginning to 
vomit in less than one or two hours after it has been taken, and then continuing 
to act for a long time upon both the stomach and bowels. The vomiting pro- 
duced by it is said not to be attended with much pain or spasm ; but narcotic 
effects have been observed by some physicians, such as drowsiness, vertigo, and 
dimness of vision. In overdoses it produces excessive vomiting and purging, 
attended with great prostration of strength, and sometimes with convulsions 
A case is recorded in the Stethoscope for March, 1852 (ii. 184), by Dr. Geo. F. 
Terrill, of Hanover Co., Va., in which death was produced in a woman by eat- 
ing a double handful of the berries Free purgation followed upon the first day, 
after which coma set in, with great prostration, though death did not occur until 674 
Phytolaccse Radix.—Pimenta. 
part r. 
after the sixth day. Dr. A. W. Griggs, of West Point, Georgia, has reported 
the case of a child, six years old, who, after having swallowed two or three 
fluidrachms of a tincture of the root, was seized in less than an hour with tonic 
spasm of the muscles; the extremities being stiff, the hands clenched, the feet ex- 
tended and toes flexed, and the trunk in a condition of opisthotonos. Under the 
application of cups to the head and spine, cold to the scalp, and a sinapism over 
the spine, the spasms were relieved, and recovery took place. (N. Orleans Med. 
and Surg. Journ., A. D. 1866, xix. 255 ; from Atlanta Med. and Surg. Journ., 
July, 1866.) If there was no other cause to which these symptoms could be as- 
cribed, poke root must be considered as ha ving before unsuspected powers; for, 
though considered narcotic, we have seen no proof from any other source that it 
is a spinal irritant. Poke root has been proposed as a substitute for ipecacuanha; 
but the slowness and long continuance of its action, and its tendency to purge, 
wholly unfit it for the purpose. In small doses it acts as an alterative, and has 
been highly recommended in the treatment of chronic rheumatism. Dr. C. S. 
Fenner, of Memphis, Tennessee, has found it highly useful, as an internal remedy, 
in granular conjunctivitis, especially in preventing the relapses to which the affec- 
tion is so liable. The dose of the powdered root, as an emetic, is from ten to 
thirty grains; as an alterative, from one to five grains. A saturated tincture of 
the berries maybe given in rheumatic cases, in the dose of a fluidrachm, three 
times a day. Dr. Fenner uses a saturated decoction, of which he gives a wine- 
glassful every two or three hours. A strong infusion of the leaves or root has 
been recommended in piles. An ointment, prepared by mixing a drachm of the 
powdered root or leaves with an ounce of lard, has been used with advantage 
in psora, tinea capitis, and some other forms of cutaneous disease. Dr. H. G. 
Carey, of Dayton, Ohio, has cured three cases of sycosis, and one of favus, by 
the local use of a decoction of the root. (Va. Med. Journ., Aug. 1856, p. 144.) 
It occasions at first a sense of heat and smarting in the part to which it is ap- 
plied. An extract made by evaporating the expressed juice of the recent leaves 
has been used for the same purposes, and acquired at one time considerable 
repute as a remedy in cancer W. 
PIMENTA. US.,Br. 
Pimento. 
The unripe berries of Eugenia Pimenta. U. S. The dried unripe berries of 
the Allspice tree, Eugenia Pimenta. Br. 
Allspice, Jamaica pepper; Piment, Poivre de la Jamaique, Fr.; Nelkenpfeffer, Germ,.; 
Pimenti, Hal.; Pimienta de la Jamaica, Span. 
Myrtus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Myrtacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft, superior. Petals five. Berry two to five-celled, 
many-seeded. Willd. 
Myrtus Pimenta. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 973; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 541, t. 194. 
— Eugenia Pimenta. De Car.d. Prodrom. iii. 285; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 76. 
This is a beautiful tree, about thirty feet high, with a straight trunk, much 
branched above, and covered with a very smooth gray bark. Its dense and ever- 
verdant foliage gives it at all times a refreshing appearance. The leaves, which 
are petiolate, vary in shape and size; but are usually about four inches long, 
elliptical, entire, blunt or obtusely pointed, veined, and of a deep shining green 
colour. The flowers are small, without show, and disposed in panicles upon 
trichotomous stalks, which usually terminate the branches. The fruit is a spher- 
ical berry, crowned with the persistent calyx, and when ripe is smooth, shining, 
and of a black or dark-purple colour. The tree exhales an aromatic fragrance, 
especially during the summer months, when in flower. 
It is a native of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America, and is abun- 
dant in Jamaica, whence its fruit received the name of Jamaica pepper. The 
berries are the officinal part. They are gathered after having attained their full 
size, but while yet green, and are carefully dried in the sun. When sufficiently 
dry, they are put into bags and casks for exportation. PART I. 
Pimenta.—Piper. 
675 
Properties. The berries, as they reach us, are of different sizes, usually about 
as large as a small pea, round, wrinkled, umbilicateat the summit, of a brownish 
colour, and when broken present two cells, each containing ablack hemispherical 
seed. They have a fragrant odour, thought to resemble that of a mixture of cm- 
namon, cloves, and nutmeg. Hence the name of allspice, by which they are best 
known in this country. Their taste is warm, aromatic, pungent, and slightly 
astringent They impart their flavour to water, and all their virtues to alcohol. 
The infusion is of a brown colour, and reddens litmus paper. They yield a vola- 
tile oil by distillation. (See Oleum Pimentae.) Bonastre obtained from them a 
volatile oil, a green fixed oil, a fatty substance in yellowish flakes, tannin, gum, 
resin, uncrystallizable sugar, colouring matter, malic and gallic acids, saline 
matters, moisture, and lignin. The green oil has the burning aromatic taste of 
pimento, and is supposed to be the acrid principle. Upon this, therefore, to- 
gether with the volatile oil, the medical properties of the berries depend; and, 
as these two principles exist most largely in the shell or cortical portion, this 
part is most efficient. According to Bonastre, the shell contains 10 per cent, of 
the volatile, and 8 of the fixed oil, the seeds only 5 per cent, of the former, and 
2 5 of tne latter. Berzelius considers the green fixed oil of Bonastre as a mix- 
ture of volatile oil, resin, fixed oil, and perhaps a little chlorophyll. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pimento is a warm, aromatic stimulant, used 
in medicine chiefly as an adjuvant to tonics and purgatives, the taste of which 
it serves to cover; while it increases their warmth, and renders them more ac- 
ceptable to the stomach. It is particularly useful in cases attended with much 
flatulence. It is, however, much more largely employed as a condiment than as 
a medicine. The dose is from ten to forty grains. A tincture of pimento has 
been recommended as a local application in chilblains. 
Off. Prep. Aqua Pimentae, Br.; Oleum Pimentae; Syrupus Rhamni, Br. 
W. 
PIPER. US. 
Black Pepper. 
The berries of Piper nigrum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. PIPER NIGiRUM. Black Pepper. The dried unripe berries of 
Piper nigrum. Br. 
JPoivre, Fr.; Schwarzer Pfeffer, Germ.] Gemeine peper, Dutch; Pepe nero, Ital.; Pimi- 
enta negra, Span ; Fifll uswud, Arab.; Lada, Malay; Maricha, Javan.; Sahan, Palembang. 
Piper. See CUBEBA. 
Piper nigrum. Willd Sp. Plant, i. 159; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 721, t. 246; 
Carson, Illust of Med. Bot. ii. 38, pi. 83. The pepper vine is a perennial plant, 
with a round, smooth, woody,articulated stem,swelling near the joints, branched, 
and from eight to twelve feet or more in length. The leaves are entire, broad- 
ovate, acuminate, seven-nerved, coriaceous, very smooth, of a dark-green colour, 
and attached by strong sheath-like footstalks to the joints of the branches. The 
flowers are small, whitish, sessile, covering thickly a cylindrical spadix, and suc- 
ceeded by globular berries, which are red when ripe. 
The plant grows wild in Cochin-China and various parts of India. It is cul- 
tivated on the coast of Malabar, in the peninsula of Malacca, in Siam, Sumatra, 
Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and many other places in the East. The best 
pepper is said to be produced in Malabar; but Europe and America derive their 
chief supplies from Sumatra and Java. It appears to have been introduced into 
the West Indies; as a specimen of black pepper was seen by the author, at the 
International Exhibition in London, in 1862, among the products of Trinidad 
The plant is propagated by cuttings, and is supported by props, or trees planted 
for the purpose, upon which it is trained. In three or four years from the period 
of planting, it begins to bear fruit. The berries are gathered before they are all 
perfectly ripe, and, upon being dried, become black and wrinkled. 
White pepper is the ripe berry, deprived of its skin by maceration in water 
and subsequent friction, and afterwards dried in the sun. It has less of the 
peculiar virtues of the spice than the black pepper, and is seldom employed. 676 
Piper, 
PART I, 
Properties. The dried berries are about as large as a small pea, externally 
blackish and wrinkled, internally whitish, of an aromatic smell, and a hot, pun- 
gent, almost fiery taste. They yield their virtues partially to water, entirely to 
alcohol and ether. Pelletier found them to contain a peculiar crystalline matter 
called piperin, an acrid concrete oil or soft resin of a green colour, a balsamic 
volatile oil, a coloured gummy substance, an extractive matter like that found in 
leguminous plants capable of being precipitated by infusion of galls, starch, a 
portion of bassorin, tartaric and malic acids, lignin, and various salts. Piperin 
was discovered by Professor (Ersted, of Copenhagen, who considered it an or- 
ganic alkali, and the active principle of pepper. Pelletier, however, utterly 
denied its alkaline nature and medical activity, and ascribed all the effects, sup- 
posed to have been obtained from it, to a portion of the acrid concrete oil with 
which it is mixed when not very carefully prepared. When perfectly pure, 
piperin is in colourless transparent crystals, according to Pelletier without taste, 
fusible at 212°, capable of being sublimed under favourable circumstances in 
perfect crystals (Waddington, Pharm. J. and Trans., March, 1868, p. 415), in- 
soluble in cold water, slightly soluble in boiling water which deposits it upon 
cooling, .soluble in alcohol, ether, and acetic acid, decomposed by the concen- 
trated mineral acids, with the sulphuric becoming of a blood-red colour, with 
the nitric, first of a greenish-yellow, then orange, and ultimately red. Christi- 
son, however, states in his Dispensatory, that the whitest crystals he had been 
able to obtain were still acrid, and emitted an irritating vapour when thrown 
on heated iron. As ordinarily procured the crystals are yellow. Piperin con- 
sists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen; and its formula, according to 
Wertheim, is C70H37N2O10.* It is obtained by treating pepper with alcohol, 
evaporating the tincture to the consistence of an extract, submitting the ex- 
tract to the action of an alkaline solution by which the oleaginous matter is 
converted into soap, washing the undissolved portion with cold water, sepa- 
rating the liquid by filtration, treating the matter left on the filter with alcohol, 
and allowing the solution thus obtained to evaporate spontaneously, or by a 
gentle heat. Crystals of pipei’in are deposited, and may be purified by alternate 
solution in alcohol or ether, and crystallization. The taste and medicinal activity 
of pepper probably depend mainly on the concrete oil or resin, and on the vola- 
tile oil. The concrete oil is of a deep-green colour, very acrid, and soluble in 
alcohol and ether. The volatile oil is limpid, colourless, becoming yellow by 
age, of a strong odour, and of a taste less acrid than that of pepper itself. It 
consists of ten eqs. of carbon and eight of hydrogen, and forms a liquid, but 
not a concrete compound with muriatic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black pepper is a warm carminative stimu- 
lant, capable of producing general arterial excitement, but acting with greater 
proportional energy on the part to which it is applied. From the time of Hip- 
pocrates it has been employed as a condiment and medicine. Its chief medicinal 
* An interesting chemical investigation into the nature of piperin has been made by 
Wertheim, the result of which is that it probably consists of a volatile alkaline principle 
(C12H7N), combined with an electro-negative compound (C58H80NO10), which, however, is 
thus far hypothetical. The former is obtained by distilling piperin mixed with soda and 
hydrate of lime, at a temperature between 300° and 320°. It is considered by Wertheim 
as identical with picolin, previously obtained by Dr. Anderson from the reaction of nitric 
acid on piperin, and described by him in a paper presented at the meeting of the British 
Association, at Edinburgh,in 1850. [Chem.Gaz., Aug. 1849, p. 309; from Liebig's Annalen.) 
M. Cahours has since repeated the experiments of Wertheim, and obtained the same alka- 
line principle, which he namespiperidin, and of which he gives the formula since 
changed by Wertheim to C12H,3N. According to M. Cahours, it is a colourless liquid, having 
a mixed odour of ammonia and pepper, a very caustic taste, and a strong alkaline action. 
It is soluble in water in all proportions, and forms crystallizable salts with several acids. 
(.Ibid., May 1,1852, p. 167.) When piperin is heated with potassa, it yields, among other 
products, a peculiar acid, which has received the name of piperic acid. (Chem. Gaz., Jan. 1, 
1858, p. 7.) 
In the Pharmaceutical Journal (June, 1860, p. 605) is a description by Mr. Evans of the 
microscopic structure of pepper, to which it may possibly be desirable to recur in instances 
of supposed adulteration. PART I. 
Piper.—Fix Burgundica. 
677 
application is to excite the languid stomach and correct flatulence. It was 
long since occasionally administered for the cure of intermittents; but its em- 
ployment for this purpose had passed from the profession to the vulgar, till a 
few years since revived by an Italian physician, to be again consigned to forget- 
fulness. Piperin has also been employed in the same complaint, and has even 
been thought superior to sulphate of quinia; but experience has not confirmed 
this favourable opinion. That, in its impure state, when mixed with a portion 
of the acrid principle, it will occasionally cure intermittents, there can be no 
daubt; but it is not comparable to the preparations of bark, and is probably 
less active than the alcoholic extract of pepper. In intermittent fever, when the 
stomach is not duly susceptible to the action of quinia, as sometimes in drunk- 
ards, pepper may be found a useful adjuvant to the more powerful febrifuge. 
The dose of pepper is from five to twenty grains. It may be given whole or in 
powder; but is more energetic in the latter state. Piperin has been given in 
doses varying from one to six or eight grains. 
Piper longum, though no longer officinal, deserves a brief notice here, if for 
nothing else, on account of its former position in medicine. This species of Piper 
differs from its congeners in having its lower leaves cordate, petiolate, seven- 
nerved, its upper oblong-cordate, sessile, and five-nerved; its flowers in dense, 
short, terminal, and nearly cylindrical spikes; and its fruit, consisting of very 
small one-seeded berries or grains, embedded in a pulpy matter. It is a native of 
Southeastern Asia, and is produced abundantly in Bengal and other parts of 
Hindostan. The fruit is green when immature, and becomes red as it ripens It 
is gathered in the former state, as it is then hotter than when perfectly ripe. The 
whole spike is taken from the plant, and dried in the sun. Long pepper, as the 
fruit is called, is cylindrical, an inch or more in length, indented on its surface, 
of a dark-gray colour, a weak aromatic odour, and a pungent fiery taste. M. 
Dulong found its chemical composition to be closely analogous to that of black 
pepper. Like that it contains piperin, a concrete oil or soft resin upon which 
its burning acrimony depends, and a volatile oil to which it probably owes its 
odour. Its medical virtues are essentially the same as those of black pepper; 
but it is considered inferior to that spice, and is seldom used. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Piperis, Br.; Oleoresina Piperis, U. S.; Pulvis Opii 
Compositus, Br. W 
PIX BURGUNDICA. U.S.,Br. 
Burgundy Pitch. 
The prepared concrete juice of Abies excelsa. U. S. A resinous exudation 
from the stem of the Spruce Fir, Abies excelsa. Br. 
Poix de Bourgogne, Poix jaune, Poix blanche, Fr.; Burgundisches Pech, Germ. 
The genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided into three genera, viz., Pinus, 
Abies, and Larix; the first including the pines, the second the firs and spruces, 
and the third the larches; and the division is recognised in this work. 
Abies. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.—Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or Coniferae. 
Gen. Ch. Male flowers. Catkins solitary, not racemose; Scales staminife- 
rous at the apex. Stamens two, with one-celled anthers. Females. Catkins 
simple. Ovaries two. Stigmas glandular. Cone with imbricated scales, which 
are thin at the apex, and rounded. Cotyledons digitate-partite. Leaves solitary 
in each sheath. De Cand. 
Abies excelsa. De Candolle. — A. communis. Loudon’s Encyc. of Plants. — 
Pinus Abies. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 506; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 4, t. 2. The Nor- 
way spruce is a very lofty tree, rising sometimes one hundred and fifty feet 
in height, with a trunk from three to five feet in diameter. The leaves, which 
stand thickly upon the branches, are short, obscurely four-cornered, often curved, 
of a dusky-green colour, and shining on the upper surface. The male aments 
are purple and axillary, the female of the same colour, but usually terminal. The 
fruit is in pendent, purple, nearly cylindrical strobiles, the scales of which are 
oval pointed, and ragged at the edges. 678 
Pix Burgundica.—Fix Canadensis. 
PART I. 
This tree is a native of Europe and Northern Asia. Though designated as 
the source of Burgundy pitch, it furnishes but a part of the substance sold under 
that name by the druggists. Tingley gsserts that the real Burgundy pitch is 
obtained from the Abies picea, or European silver fir tree. According to Geiger, 
who is probably correct, it is procured from both species. To obtain the pitch, 
portions of the bark are removed so as to lay bare the wood, and the flakes of 
concrete resinous matter which form upon the surface of the wound, having been 
detached by iron instruments, are melted with water in large boilers, and then 
strained through coarse cloths. It is called Burgundy pitch from the province 
of that name in the east of France. We are told that the greater portion is 
collected in the neighbourhood of Neufchatel. According to Mr. Daniel Han- 
bury, however, it is no longer brought from Switzerland, being supplied to 
commerce partly from Baden and Austria in Germany, and partly from Finland, 
where it is largely produced. (Chem. News, Oct. 4, 1867, p. 181.) 
From various species of pine, in different parts of Europe, a similar product 
is obtained and sold by the same name. It is prepared by removing the juice 
which concretes upon the bark of the tree, or upon the surface of incisions, 
called galipot by the French, and purifying it by melting, and straining either 
through cloth or a layer of straw. A factitious Burgundy pitch is made by 
melting together common pitch, rosin, and turpentine, and agitating the mixture 
with water, which gives it the requisite yellowish colour. Its odour is different 
from that of the genuine. Mr. Hanbury gives as a test of true Burgundy pitch 
that it is almost entirely soluble in twice its weight of glacial acetic acid, w hile 
the factitious similarly treated forms a turbid mixture, which quickly separates 
into a thick oily liquid above, and a bright solution below. {Ibid., loc. citat.) 
As brought to this country, Burgundy pitch is generally mixed with impuri- 
ties, which require that it should be melted and strained before being used. In 
its pure state it is hard, brittle, quite opaque, of a yellow-ish or brownish-yellow 
colour, and a weak terebinthinate taste and odour. It is very fusible, and at the 
heat of the body softens and becomes adhesive. It differs from turpentine in 
containing a smaller proportion of volatile oil. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Applied to the skin in the shape of a plaster, 
Burgundy pitch acts as a gentle rubefacient, producing a slight inflammation and 
serous effusion without separating the cuticle. Sometimes it excites a papillary 
or vesicular eruption ; and we have known it to act upon the surface as a violent 
poison, giving rise to severe pain, swelling, and redness, followed by vesication 
and even ulceration. It is used chiefly in chronic rheumatic pains, and in chronic 
affections of the chest or abdomen, wrhich call for a gentle but long-continued 
revulsion to the skin. A plaster of Burgundy pitch has been found very useful 
in malignant pustules (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1860, p. 103.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Antimonii, U. S.; Emplast. Ferri; Emplast. Galbani 
Comp., U. S ; Emplast. Opii, U. S.; Emplast. Picis, Br.; Emplast. Picis Bur 
gundicae, U.S.; Emplast. Picis cum Cantharide, U. S. W. 
PIX CANADENSIS. U.S. 
Canada Pitch. 
The prepared concrete juice of Abies Canadensis. U. S. 
Abies. See PIX BURGUNDICA. 
Abies Canadensis. Micbaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 185. — Pinus Canadensis 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 505. This is the hemlock spruce of the United States 
and Canada. When of full growth it is often seventy or eighty feet high, with 
a trunk two or three feet in diameter, and of nearly uniform dimensions for two- 
thirds of its length. The branches are slender, and dependent at their extremi- 
ties. The leaves are very numerous, six or eight lines long, flat, denticulate, 
and irregularly arranged in two rows. The strobiles are ovate, little longer 
than the leaves, terminal, and pendulous. 
The tree is abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia, and the more northern parts PART I. 
Piz Canadensis.—Pix Liquida. 
679 
of New England} and is found in the elevated and mountainous regions of 
the Middle States. Its bark abounds in the astringent principle, and is much 
used for tanning in the northern parts of the United States. An extract is 
made from the bark for tanning, which is prepared by evaporation in vacuo, 
and is said by Mr. N. Spence Thomas, who prepares it, to have a close resem- 
blance to extract of rbatany, and is proposed by him as a medicine applicable 
to similar purposes. It no doubt contains tannic acid largely. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1866, p. 214 ) The tree contains much less juice than some other 
of the Pinaceae; and very little flows from incisions made into its trunk. But in 
the trees which have attained their full growth, and are about or have begun 
to decay, the juice exudes spontaneously, and hardens upon the bark, in con- 
sequence of the partial evaporation or oxidation of its volatile oil. The bark 
thus encrusted is stripped from the tree, broken into pieces and boiled in water. 
The pitch melts, rises to the surface, is skimmed off, and is still further puri- 
fied by a second boiling in water. It is brought to Philadelphia from the north 
of Pennsylvania, in dark-coloured brittle masses, which, on being broken, ex- 
hibit numerous minute fragments of bark interspersed through their substance. 
From these it is purified in the shops, by melting and straining through linen 
or canvas. (Ellis, Journ. of Phil. Col. of Pharm., ii. 18.) Another mode of 
collecting it is to make incisions into the body of the tree, and to remove the 
juice as it exudes. (Stearns, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1860, p. 29.) 
Thus prepared it is hard, brittle, quite opaque of a dark yellowish-brown 
colour, becoming still darker by exposure to the air, of a weak peculiar odour, 
and scarcely any taste. It softens and becomes adhesive with a moderate heat, 
and melts at 198° F. Its constituents are resin and a minute proportion of vola- 
tile oil. It is commonly known by the incorrect name of hemlock gum. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Canada pitch is a gentle rubefacient, closely 
analogous to Burgundy pitch in its properties, and employed for precisely the 
same purposes. It is, however, more readily softened by heat, and is sometimes 
almost too soft for convenient application at the temperature of the body. A 
volatile oil obtained from Abies Canadensis, and called oil of spruce, or oil of 
hemlock, has been employed to produce abortion, with the effect of endanger- 
ing the life of the female. (J. S. Paige, N. Y. Journ. of Med., viii. 184.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Picis Canadensis, U. S. W. 
PIX LIQUIDA. U. /S., Br. 
The impure turpentine procured by burning from the wood of Pinus palustris 
and of other species of Pinus. JJ. S. A bituminous liquid, obtained from the 
wood of Pinus sylvestris and other Pines, by destructive distillation. Br. 
Goudron, Fr.; Theer, Germ.; Pece liquida, Ital.; Alquitran, Span. 
The tar used in this country is prepared from the wood of various species of 
pine, particularly Pinus palustris of the Southern States. (See Terebinthina.) 
The dead wood is usually selected, because, when vegetation ceases, the resinous 
matter becomes concentrated in the interior layers. The wood is cut into billets 
of a convenient size, which are placed together so as to form a large stack or 
pile, and then covered with earth as in the process for making charcoal. The 
stack is built upon a small circular mound of earth previously prepared, the 
summit of which gradually declines from the circumference to the centre, where 
a cavity is formed, communicating by a conduit with a shallow ditch surround- 
ing the mound. Fire is applied through an opening in the top of the pile, and 
a slow combustion is maintained, so that the resinous matter maybe melted by 
the heat. This runs into the cavity in the centre of the mound, and passes 
thence by the conduit into the ditch, whence it is transferred into barrels Im- 
mense quantities of tar are thus prepared in North Carolina and the south- 
eastern parts of Virginia, sufficient, after supplying our own consumption, to 
afford a large surplus for exportation. Considerable quantities of tar have been 
Tar. 680 
Fix j^iquida. 
PART I 
prepared also in the lower parts of New Jersey, in some portions of New Eng 
land, and in Pennsylvania west of the Alleghany mountains, from the Finns 
rigida, or pitch pine, and perhaps from some other species. 
Properties. Tar has a peculiar empyreumatic odour, a bitterish, resinous, 
somewhat acrid taste, a colour almost black, and a tenacious consistence inter- 
mediate between that of a liquid and solid. It consists of resinous matter, 
united with acetic acid, oil of turpentine, and various volatile empyreumatic 
products, and coloured with charcoal. By distillation it yields an acid liquor 
called pyroligneous acid (see Acidum Aceticum), and an empyreumatic oil 
called oil of tar; and what is left behind is pitch. The empyreumatic oil has 
been ascertained by Dr. Reichenbach, of Moravia, to contain, besides oil of tur- 
pentine, six distinct principles, which he has named paraffin, eupion, creasote, 
picamar, capnomor, and pittacal. Of these, only picamar and creasote merit 
particular attention ; the former as the principle to which tar owes its bitterness, 
the latter as the one upon which it probably depends chiefly for its medical vir- 
tues (See Creasotum.) Tar yields a small proportion of its constituents to 
water, which is thus rendered medicinal, and is employed under the name of tar 
water. It is dissolved by alcohol, ether, and the volatile and fixed oils. 
The pitch, left after the evaporation of tar, was formerly officinal, with the 
British Colleges, under the names of Fix nigra, Pix arida, or simply Pix, but 
has been omitted in the present British Pharmacopoeia, It has a shining frac- 
ture, softens and becomes adhesive with a moderate heat, melts in boiling water, 
and consists of the resin of the pine unaltered, and of various empyreumatic 
resinous products which have received the name of pyretin. (Berzelius, Trait, 
de Ghim., vi. 641 and 680.) It appears to be very gently stimulant or tonic, 
and has been used internal!} in ichthyosis and other cutaneous diseases, and re- 
cently with great advantage in piles. The dose is from ten grains to a drachm 
given in pills. Pitch is also used externally in the form of ointment. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of tar are similar to 
those of the turpentines. It is occasionally used with advantage in chronic ca- 
tarrhal affections, and complaints of the urinary passages. Little benefit can be 
expected from it in genuine phthisis, in the treatment of which it was formerhr 
recommended. Dr. Bateman employed it advantageously as an internal remedy 
in ichthyosis. It has also been used advantageously, in the same way, in the 
form of tar-water for the cure and prevention of furuncles. Its vapour, inhaled 
into the lungs, has been found serviceable in numerous cases of bronchial dis- 
ease. Its effects in this way aye most conveniently obtained by placing a cup 
containing tar or oil of tar in a small water-bath, over a common nurse-lamp, 
and thus impregnating the air of the chamber. Externally applied, in the state 
of ointment, tar is a very efficient remedy in tinea capitis or scaldhead, and iu 
some cases of psoriasis; and has been used with advantage in foul or indolent 
ulcers, and some other affections of the skin. Some prefer for the same pur- 
pose a mixture of glycerin and tar.* 
It may be used in the form of tar-water (see Infusum Picis Liquidse), or in 
substance made into pills with wheat flour, or mixed with sugar in the form 
of an electuary. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm, and may be re- 
peated so as to amount to three or four drachms daily.f 
Off'. Prep. Infusum Picis Liquid*, U. S.; Unguentum Picis Liquid®. W. 
* Glycerated Tar. The following formula has been recommended. Take of tar and 
glycerin, each, six troy ounces, and of starch, in powder, two drachms. Mix the starch 
thoroughly with the glycerin previously warmed, then add the tar, and heat quickly to 
212°. Strain if necessary, and stir the mixture while cooling. (Pharm. Journ., Sept. 1862.) 
f Tar Beer or Wine of Tar. A preparation under this name has been used to some ex- 
tent in Philadelphia in pulmonary affections. The following is the formula recommended 
by Prof. Procter. Take of ground malt, honey, and tar, each, a pound; yeast half a pint. 
Mix the malt and honey with six pints of water in an earthen vessel; keep the mixture 
for three hours, with occasional stirring, at the temperature of 150° P., then allow it to 
cool to 80°, and add the yeast. Sustain the fermentation for 36 hours by a heat between 
70° and 80°, then decant the supernatant liquid, add the tar gradually to the dregs, stir- PART I. 
Plumbum. 
681 
PLUMBUM. 
Plomb, Fr.; Blei, Germ.; Lood, Dutch; Piombo, Ital.; Plomo, Span.; Chumbo, Port. 
Lead is not officinal in its metallic state, but enters into a number of im- 
portant medicinal preparations. It occurs in nature as an oxide, as asulphuret 
called galena, and in saline combination, forming the native sulphate, phos- 
phate, carbonate, chromate, molybdate, tungstate, and arseniate of lead. The 
oxide is rare, but galena is exceedingly abundant, and is the ore from which 
nearly all the lead of commerce is extracted. The process of extraction consists 
in melting the ore in contact with charcoal. The richest and most extensive 
mines of galena are found in this country. The lead region of the United States 
extends in length from the Wisconsin in the north to the Red River of Arkansas 
in the south, and in breadth about one hundred and fifty miles. 
Properties. Lead is a soft, bluish-gray, and very malleable metal, presenting 
a bright surface when newly melted or cut. It has a perceptible taste, and a 
peculiar smell when rubbed. It undergoes but little change in the air, but is 
acted on by the combined influence of air and rain-water, which give rise to a hy- 
drated protoxide, which is afterwards changed, in part, into carbonate, by 
absorbing carbonic acid from the atmosphere; and if in water, the carbonate 
is imparted to it in the state of bicarbonate, which renders the liquid poisonous. 
This chemical effect on the metal is greater in proportion as the water is purer. 
(See page 131.) Aqueous vapour passed through leaden pipes has a similar 
corroding effect, which is greater as the lead is purer. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1863, p. 507.) Spring and river water act on lead differently; the lead be- 
coming slowly oxidized, and covering itself with a black coating of suboxide, 
which adheres strongly to the metal, and thus in some measure protects the 
water. (Langlois, Journ. dePharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., ii. 29.) M. Stalmann 
has satisfied himself by experiment, that an extremely minute quantity of am- 
monia or of nitric acid will very much promote the action of water upon lead; 
a millionth of ammonia being sufficient for the purpose. (Ibid., iv. 467.) Me- 
tallic lead seems to be liable to the attacks of certain insects, which bore into 
and sometimes through it, not using it as food, but apparently in search of 
secure places of retreat for future development. A knowledge of this fact 
may sometimes be important. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1865, p. 72.) 
Its sp. gr. is 11 4, melting point about 612°, and eq. 103'5. Exposed to a stream 
of oxygen on ignited charcoal, it burns with a blue flame, throwing off dense 
yellow fumes. The best solvent of lead is nitric acid; but the presence of sul- 
phuric acid destroys, and that of muriatic acid lessens its solvent power, on 
account of the insolubility of the sulphate and chloride of lead. Lead forms five 
oxides, a dioxide, protoxide, sesquioxide, deutoxide, and red oxide. The diox- 
ide consists of two equivalents of lead and one of oxygen. The protoxide, called 
in commerce massicot, may be obtained by calcining, in a platinum crucible, 
the subnitrate of lead, formed by precipitating a solution of the nitrate by am- 
monia. On a large scale it is manufactured by exposing melted lead to the action 
of the air. Its surface becomes encrusted with a gray pellicle, which, being 
scraped off, is quickly succeeded by another; and the whole of the metal, being 
Lead. 
ring constantly, so as to make a uniform mixture, and return the decanted fluid to the ves- 
sel. Stir the whole occasionally for a week,adding water to preserve the measure; then strain 
with strong expression, allow the expressed liquor to stand until it becomes nearly clear 
by subsidence, and finally filter through paper. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 111.) 
A Syrup of Tar is prepared by Mr. Thos. A. Lancaster in the following manner. Take 
of tincture of tar (made in the proportion of two trcyounces of tar to a pint of alcohol) 
carbonate of magnesia _qj or q. s., white sugar Ihj avoird. Rub the tincture thoroughly with 
theearbonate ; add half a pint of water gradually; then filter, and, when the liquid ceases to 
pass, pour water into the filter till the product measures half a pint; lastly, add the sugar 
and dissolve it by means of a gentle heat. The syrup may be given in "the dose of half 
an ounce or an ounce (Ibid., Nov. 1859, p. 555.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 682 
Plumbum.. 
PART I 
in this way successively presented to the air, becomes converted into a green- 
ish-gray powder, consisting of protoxide and metallic lead. This, by exposure 
to a moderate heat, absorbs more oxygen, and is converted wholly into pro 
toxide. This oxide has a yellow colour, and is the only oxide of lead capable 
of forming salts with the acids. It consists of one eq. of lead 1035, and one 
of oxygen 8= 1115. A variety of the protoxide, called litharge, is very much 
used in pharmacy, and is officinal in all the Pharmacopoeias. (See Plumbi Oxi- 
dum.) The sesquioxide, discovered by Winckelblech, is unimportant. The deut- 
oxide, called also puce oxide from its fiea-hvowu colour, may be obtained by 
treating red lead with nitric acid. The acid takes up the protoxide and leaves 
the deutoxide, which may be purified by washing with boiling water A more 
productive process is to precipitate four parts of acetate of lead by three of car- 
bonate of soda, and then to pass into the thin pasty mass of carbonate of lead 
a stream of chlorine, which converts the protoxide of the carbonate into the 
brown deutoxide. (F. Wohler.) Solution of chlorinated soda may be conveni- 
ently employed to furnish the necessary chlorine. (F. F. Mayer, Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm., Sept. 1856, 410.) Deutoxide of lead is a tasteless powder, of a dark- 
brown colour. When heated to redness it loses half its oxygen and becomes 
protoxide. It consists of one eq. of lead 103-5, and two of oxygen 16=119 5. 
The red oxide, called in commerce minium or red lead, is described under 
another head. (See Plumbi Oxidum Pubrum.) Lead combines with iodine, 
forming the officinal iodide of lead. The acetate, carbonate, and nitrate are also 
officinal. 
The best tests of lead are sulphuretted hydrogen, and a solution of iodide oi 
potassium. The former produces a black precipitate of sulphuret of lead, the 
latter,' a yellow one of iodide of lead. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of lead in its various combina- 
tions are those of a sedative and astringent. It is used internally for reducing 
the action of the heart and arteries, and for restraining inordinate discharges; 
and externally as an abater of inflammation. When introduced into the system 
in a gradual manner with the food or drinks, or by working in the metal, or 
when taken in small and frequently repeated doses, it acts injuriously on the 
nervous system, producing a peculiar colic, called lead colic, sometimes apo- 
plectic symptoms, and occasionally palsy, which is almost always partial, and 
affects for the most part the upper extremities. Amaurosis has sometimes been 
traced to the poisonous action of lead. In some instances salivation occurs; 
and, according to Dr. Henry Burton, the constitutional effects of the metal are 
indicated by a narrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gum, round two or more 
of the teeth, as a constant and early sign. According to Mialhe, lead gains ac- 
-ess to the circulation by means of the chlorides of the alkalifiable metals in the 
alimentary canal, which form with the lead a soluble double chloride of lead 
and potassium, or of lead and sodium. The treatment necessary in lead colic 
is given under Carbonate of Lead. Lead palsy is usually attended with dyspep- 
sia, constipation, tendency to colic, lassitude, and gloominess of mind, and is 
best treated, after the elimination of the lead, by tonics, aperients, exercise, 
and avoidance of the cause of the disease. The acute poisonous effects of the 
lead preparations are to be combated by emetics if free vomiting has not pre- 
viously occurred, by purges of sulphate of magnesia or sulphate of soda, and 
by opium. These sulphates are supposed to act as antidotes by forming sulphate 
of lead. It is probable that they lessen the poisonous effects of the soluble salts 
of lead; but the sulphate, though insoluble in water, may be to some extent so- 
luble in the gastric juice; and, as to its external use in the form of ointment, 
it has been found by Flandin to prove poisonous to the inferior animals. 
For the purpose of eliminating lead from the system, warm sulphuretted baths 
are useful, formed by dissolving four ounces of sulphuret of potassium in thirty 
gallons of water, in a wooden tub. These baths cause discoloration of the skin, 
from the formation of sulphuret of lead, and should be repeated every few days, 
until this effect ceases to be produced. During each bath, the patient should be PART i. 
Plumbum. 
683 
well washed with soap and water with the aid of a flesh-brush, in order to re- 
move the discoloration. By proceeding in this way, the lead on the skin, or in 
its pores, is rendered insoluble and inert, and at the same time removed. Dr. 
Melsens praises iodide of potassium as a means of separating lead from the 
tissues, acting by rendering the metal soluble, and separating it principally by 
the urine. (See Potassii Iodidum.) 
Orfila has determined, by experiments on dogs, the appearance exhibited by 
the mucous membrane of the stomach, after the use of small doses of the salts 
of lead. After the action of such doses for two hours, dull white points are 
visible on the membrane, sometimes in rows and sometimes disseminated, and 
evidently consisting of the metal, united with the organic tissue. If the animal 
be allowed to live for four days, the same spots may be seen with the magnifier; 
and if sulphuretted hydrogen be applied to the surface, they are instantly black- 
ened. (Archives Gen., 3e ser., iv. 244.) 
According to M. Gendrin, sulphuric acid, prepared like lemonade, and used 
both internally and externally, is a prophylactic against the poisonous effects 
of lead, especially the lead colic. It may be supposed to act by forming the com- 
paratively inert sulphate of lead with the poison. Mr. Benson, a manager of 
white lead works at Birmingham, has tried this acid, and finds it a preventive 
of lead colic in his establishment, where it was exceedingly prevalent before its 
employment. He uses it as an addition to ginger beer, to which bicarbonate of 
soda is also added to render it brisk, but not in sufficient quantity to neutralize 
the whole of the acid. On the other hand, the powers of sulphuric acid in pre- 
venting the poisonous effects of lead are positively denied by Dr. A. Grisolle, 
Dr. Melsens, and other authorities. Dr. Grisolle recommends that workmen 
employed in lead manufactories should use frequent baths, avoid intemperance, 
and always eat before they enter upon their work in the morning. He supposes 
that, in a great majority of cases, the metal is introduced into the system through 
the stomach by means of the saliva or food. 
According to MM. Sandras and Bouchardat, the hydrated sesquisulphuret of 
iron acts as an antidote to the salts of lead ; and its efficacy has been confirmed 
by its effects in a case reported by M. Lepage. (Ann.de Therap., 1857, p. 224.) 
After acute poisoning by lead, the metal has been found in the liver and brain. 
Indeed, it may be detected in most of the organs, a long time after the ingestion 
of the poison. 
The following table embraces all the officinal preparations of lead. 
Plumbi Oxidum; Lithargyrum, Br. 1864. Oxide of Lead. Litharge. 
Emnlastrum Plumbi; Emplastrum Lithargyri, Br. 1864. Lead plaster. 
Litharge plaster. This plaster is used as the basis of several 
other plasters, and enters, through the soap plaster, into the 
soap cerate of the U. S. Pharm. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis. Solution of Subacetate of Lead. Goulard's 
extract. 
Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis Dilutus. Diluted Solution of Subacetate 
of Lead. Lead-water. 
Ceratum Plumbi Subacetatis, TJ. S.; Unguentum Plumbi Subaceta- 
tis Compositum, Br. Cerate of Subacetate of Lead. Gou- 
lard's cerate. 
Plumbi Iodidum. Iodide of Lead. 
Emplastrum Plumbi Iodidi, Br. Iodide of Lead Plaster. 
Unguentum Plumbi Iodidi, Br. Ointment of Iodide of Lead. 
Plumbi Acetas. Acetate of Lead. Sugar of Lead. 
Pilula Plumbi cum Opio, Br. Pills of Lead and Opium. 
Suppositoria Plumbi Composita, Br. Compound Lead Suppositories. 
Unguentum Plumbi Acetatis, Br. Ointment of Acetate of Lead. 
Plumbi Carbonas. Carbonate of Lead. 
Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis. Ointment of Carbonate of Lead. 
Plumbi Nitras. Nit-raJ* of Lead. B. 684 
Plumbi Acetas. 
PART r. 
PLUMBI ACETAS. U. S., Br. 
Acetate of Lead. Sugar of Lead. 
Saceharum Saturni, Cerussa acetata, Lat.; Acetate de plomb, Sucre de plomb, Sel le 
Saturne,Fr.; Essigsaures Bleioxyd, Bleizucker,Germ.; Zucchero di Saturno, Ital.; Azucar 
de plomo, Span. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia the following formula is given for preparing this 
salt. “Take of Oxide of Lead, in fine powder, twenty-four ounces [avoirdu- 
pois]; Acetic Acid two pints [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency; Distilled 
Water one pint [Imp. meas.]. Mix the Acetic Acid and the Water, add the 
Oxide of Lead, and dissolve with the aid of a gentle heat. Filter, evaporate 
till a pellicle forms, and set aside to crystallize, first adding a little Acetic Acid 
should the fluid not have a distinctly acid reaction. Drain and dry the crystals 
on filtering paper, without heat.” Br. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia the salt is 
properly placed in the catalogue of the Materia Medica. 
Preparation. Acetate of lead is obtained by two methods. By one method, 
thin plates of lead are placed in shallow vessels filled with distilled vinegar, in 
such a manner as to have a part of each plate rising above the vinegar; and 
these are turned from time to time, so as to bring different portions of the metallic 
surface in contact with the air. The metal, after having become protoxidized, 
dissolves in the vinegar to saturation, and the solution is evaporated to the 
point of crystallization. This process is a slow one, but furnishes a salt which 
is perfectly neutral. The other method consists in dissolving by the assistance 
of heat, litharge, or the protoxide of lead obtained by calcination, in an excess 
of distilled vinegar or of purified pyroligneous acid, contained in leaden boilers. 
The oxide is quickly dissolved, and, when the acid has become saturated, the 
solution is transferred to other vessels to cool and crystallize. The crystals 
having formed, the mother-waters are decanted, and, by evaporation, made to 
viold a new crop. These are generally yellow, but may be rendered white by 
repeated solutions and crystallizations. 
Acetate of lead is extensively manufactured in Germany, Holland, France, 
and England, as well as in the United States. It is principally consumed in the 
arts of dyeing and calico-printing, in which it is employed to form with alum 
the acetate of alumina, to act as a mordant. 
Properties. Acetate of lead is a white salt, crystallized in brilliant needles, 
vt Inch have the shape of prisms, terminated by dihedral summits. Its taste is at 
first sweet and afterwards astringent. Exposed to the air it effloresces slowly. 
It dissolves in four times its weight of cold, and in a much smaller quantity of 
boding water. It is soluble also in alcohol. Its solution in common water is 
tuibid, in consequence of the formation of carbonate of lead with the carbonic 
acid which such water always contains. This turbidness may be removed by the 
addition of a small proportion of vinegar, or of dilute acetic acid. In pure dis- 
tilled water, free from carbonic acid, it ought to dissolve entirely, and form a 
clear solution. The commercial acetate is sometimes impure from the presence 
of sulphate and carbonate of lead. In purchasing it the apothecary should 
select large crystalline masses. Mr. John Mackay analyzed a specimen of this 
salt, derived from the London market, which contained nearly 30 per cent, of 
sulphate of lead. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1856, p. 316.) Sulphuric acid, when 
added to a solution of acetate of lead, produces instantly a precipitate of sul- 
phate of lead ; and the disengaged acetic acid gives rise to vapours having the 
smell of vinegar. The salt, when heated, first fuses and parts with its water of 
crystallization, and afterwards is decomposed, yielding acetic acid and pyro- 
acetic spirit (acetone), and leaving a residue of charcoal and reduced lead. An 
important property of sugar of lead is its power of dissolving a large quantity 
of protoxide of lead. (See Liquor Plumbi Sabacetatis.) It consists of one eq. 
of acetic acid51, one of protoxide of lead 111-5, and three of water 27 = 189'5 
and its formula is PbO,C4HsOg-|~3HO. part I. 
Plumbi Acetas. 
685 
Incompatibles and Tests. Acetate of lead is decomposed by all acids, and 
by those soluble salts, the acids of which produce with protoxide of lead insoluble 
or sparingly soluble compounds. Acids of this character are the sulphuric, 
muriatic, citric, and tartaric. It is also decomposed by lime-water, and by am- 
monia, potassa, and soda; the last two, if added in excess, dissolving the pre- 
cipitate at first formed. It is decomposed by hard water, in consequence of the 
sulphate of lime and common salt which such water usually contains. With 
sulphuretted hydrogen it gives a black precipitate of sulphuret of lead; with 
iodide of potassium, a yellow one of iodide of lead; and with a carbonated 
alkali, a white one of carbonate of lead. “Thirty-eight grains dissolved in 
water require for complete precipitation 200 grain-measures of the volumetric 
solution of oxalic acid." Br. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of lead, in medicinal doses, is a power- 
ful astringent and sedative; in overdoses, an irritant poison. It has sometimes 
been given in pretty large doses in regular practice without bad effects; and 
cases are on record where a quarter of an ounce has been swallowed without 
proving fatal. On the other hand, it sometimes produces colica pictonum, even 
when given in medicinal doses. It is proper to remark, however, that the im- 
mediate effects of an overdose are often escaped by prompt and spontaneous 
vomiting; and that the remote constitutional effects are not apt to occur so 
long as the evacuations from the bowels are not materially diminished. The 
class of diseases in which acetate of lead has been most frequently used are 
hemorrhages, particularly from the lungs, stomach, intestines, and uterus. Its 
effect in restraining the discharge of blood is admitted to be very powerful. It 
has been employed by Dr. Burkart with supposed benefit in pneumonia, especially 
in cases occurring in the aged, in which bleeding or antimony cannot be borne. 
It has also been used with advantage in certain forms of dysentery and diar- 
rhoea, and has been recommended in particular stages of cholera infantum. 
Combined with opium, it is well suited to the treatment of the diarrhoea occur- 
ring in phthisis. It sometimes proves a valuable remedy in checking vomiting. 
Dr. Irvine, of Charleston, recommended it to compose the irritability of the 
stomach in yellow fever. Dr. Wood has employed it in several cases of yellow 
fever, at the beginning of the second stage, with apparently good effect. The 
dose recommended is two grains every two hours, given steadily until thirty-six 
grains have been taken. Dr. Wood conceives that the remedy is well suited to 
obviate the peculiar inflammation of the gastric mucous membrane, and to pre- 
vent hemorrhage, either of pure blood, or of altered blood in the form of black 
vomit. (Trans, of the College of Phys. of Philad., ii. 449.) Dr. Davis, of 
Columbia, S. C., has used acetate of lead with benefit in the irritable stomach 
attendant on bilious fever. It has been much extolled by the German practi- 
tioners, in the class of fevers attended with ulcerations of the intestines. In 
some of these cases it was advantageously combined with carbonate of ammonia. 
The same practitioners have strongly recommended it in aneurism of the aorta, 
and Dupuytren, on their report of its efficacy, tried it in several cases, and with 
marked effect in diminishing the size of the aneurismal tumour. Dr. Wood has 
imitated the practice in aneurism of the aorta, and employed it in several cases 
of enlarged heart, with encouraging results. In the treatment of the latter dis- 
ease, the testimony of M. Brachet, of Lyons, is strongly in favour of the remedy. 
Acetate of lead has been employed by Drs. Neuhold and Hasserbronc, with re- 
markable success, in strangulated hernia, used in enemata, containing ten grains 
of the salt dissolved in six fluidounces of tepid water, and repeated every two 
hours. In mercurial salivation, M. Brachet found it very efficacious, administered 
in grain pills, night and morning. The solution is frequently used as a collyrium; 
and, applied by means of cloths, or mixed with crumb of bread, it forms a good 
application to superficial inflammation. It is sometimes advantageous to asso- 
ciate opium with the solution, in which case the meconate of morphia of the 
opium is decomposed, with the result of forming acetate of morphia in solution, 
and meconate of lead which precipitates. A convenient lotion, containing an 686 
Plumbi Acetas.—Plumbi Carbonas. 
PART I. 
excess of acetate of lead, may be formed by adding four grains of the acetate 
aud four of opium to a fluidounce of water. 
The practitioner should bear in mind that, when long continued in small doses, 
this medicine is apt to produce dangerous constitutional effects. These are chiefly 
of two kinds; 1. an affection of the alimentary canal, attended with severe pain 
and obstinate constipation, called colica pictonum, or lead colic; 2. a chronic 
affection of the muscles, especially of the extensors of the upper extremities, 
characterized by an excessive wasting of these organs, and denominated lead 
palsy. Both these affections are apt to be produced in those artisans who work 
in lead. The approach of these dangerous constitutional symptoms is indicated 
by a narrow lead-blue line at the edge of the gums. 
The dose of acetate of lead is from one to three grains, in the form of pill, 
repeated every two or three hours, it is generally given combined with opium. 
The solution for external use may be made by dissolving from two to three 
drachms in a pint of water; and, if it be wanted clear, a fluidrachm of vinegar 
or of dilute acetic acid may be added, which immediately dissolves the carbonate 
of lead, to which its turbidness is owing. When the skin is denuded of the 
cuticle, the solution should be weaker. The usual strength of the solution as a 
collyrium is from one to two grains to the fluidounce of distilled water. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis; Pilula Plumbi cum Opio, Br.; Sup- 
positoria Plumbi Composita, Br.; Unguentum Plumbi Acetatis, Br.; Zinci 
Acetas, U. S. B. 
PLUMBI CARBON AS. U. S., Br. 
Carbonate of Lead. White Lead. 
Ceruse; Ceruse, Carbonate de plomb, Blanc de plomb, Blanc de ceruse, Fr.; Bleiweiss, 
Germ '.; Cerussa, Lat., Ital.; Albayalde, Span. 
Preparation. Carbonate of lead is prepared by two principal methods. By 
one method it is obtained by passing a stream of carbonic acid through a solu- 
tion of subacetate (trisacetate) of lead. The acid combines with the excess of 
protoxide, and precipitates as carbonate of lead, while a neutral acetate remains 
in solution. This, by being boiled with a fresh portion of protoxide, is again 
brought to the state of subacetate, when it is treated with carbonic acid as be- 
fore. In this way the same portion of acetate repeatedly serves the purpose of 
being converted into subacetate, and of being decomposed by carbonic acid. 
The carbonate obtained is washed, dried with a gentle heat, and thrown into 
commerce. This process, which produces white lead of the first quality, was in- 
vented by Thenard, about the year 1802, and is that which is usually pursued 
in France and Sweden. 
A modification of the process of Thenard is now pursued by some manufac- 
turers in England. It consists in mixing litharge with a hundredth part of 
acetate of lead, and subjecting the mixture, previously moistened with very little 
water, to a stream of carbonic acid. (Pelouze.) 
The other method, which consists in exposing lead to the vapours of vine.gar, 
originated in Holland, and is usually pursued in England and the United States; 
but in England, with some modifications which are not well known. We shall 
describe this process as pursued by our own manufacturers. The lead is cast 
into thin sheets, made by pouring the melted lead over an oblong sheet-iron 
shovel, with a flat bottom, and raised edges on its sides, which is held in a slant- 
ing direction over the melting-pot. As many of these sheets are then loosely 
rolled up as maybe sufficient to form a cylinder five or six inches in diameter, 
and seven or eight high, which is placed in an earthen pot containing about half 
a pint of vinegar, and having within, a few inches from the bottom, three equi- 
distant projecting portions in the earthenware, on which the cylinder of lead is 
supported, in order to keep it from contact with the vinegar. The pots thus 
prepared are placed side by side, in horizontal layers, in a building roughly 
constructed of boards, with interstices between them. The first layer is covered 
with boards, on which a stratum of tan or of refuse straw from the stables is part I. 
Plumbi Carbonas. 
687 
strewed; and fresh layers of pots, boards, and tan or straw are successively 
placed until the building is filled. The sides are also enclosed with straw. The 
layers of pots contained in one building, called a stack, are allowed to remain 
undisturbed for about six weeks, at the end of which time they are unpacked, 
and the cylinder of sheet-lead in each pot, though still retaining its shape, is 
found almost entirely converted into a flaky, white, friable substance, which is 
the white lead. This is separated from the lead yet remaining in the metallic 
state, ground in water, whereby it is washed and reduced to fine powder, and 
finally dried in long shallow reservoirs, heated by steam. 
Pelouze has succeeded in explaining all these processes on the same general 
principles. In Thenard’s process, it is admitted that the same portion of acetate 
of lead repeatedly unites with protoxide, and gives it up again to carbonic acid 
to form the carbonate. In the modified English process, referred to above, he 
supposes that the one per cent, of acetate of lead combines with sufficient litharge 
to convert it into subacetate, which immediately returns to the state of neutral 
acetate, by yielding up its excess of base to form the carbonate with the carbonic 
acid. The acetate is now ready to combine with a fresh portion of litharge, to 
be transferred to the carbonic acid as before ; and thus this small proportion of 
acetate, by combining with successive portions of the litharge, finally causes the 
whole of the latter to unite with the carbonic acid. In the Dutch process, Pe- 
louze has rendered it almost certain, that none of the oxygen or carbonic acid 
of the carbonate is derived from the vinegar. In this process he supposes that 
the heat, generated by the fermentation of the tan or straw, volatilizes the vine- 
gar, the acetic acid of which, with the assistance of the oxygen of the air, forms 
with the lead a small portion of subacetate. This, by reacting with the carbonic 
acid, resulting from the decomposition of the tan or straw, or derived from the 
atmosphere, forms carbonate of lead, and is brought to the state of neutral 
acetate. The neutral acetate returns again to the state of subacetate, and, by 
alternately combining with and yielding up the protoxide, causes the whole of 
the lead to be finally converted into carbonate. 
The temperature of the stacks of pots in the Dutch process is about 113°. If 
it falls below 95°, a part of the lead escapes corrosion, and if it rises above 
122°, the product is yellow. The formof acetic acid usually employed in this 
process is vinegar; but the variable nature of that liquid as to strength and 
purity is an objection to its use; and, accordingly, other forms of the acid have 
been substituted with advantage; as, for example, the purified acetic acid from 
wood in a diluted state. For further information in relation to the processes 
proposed or pursued for making white lead, the reader is referred to a paper by 
Prof. J. C. Booth, in the Journal of the Franklin Institute for Jan. 1842. 
Still another method of manufacturing white lead has been proposed by Mr. 
Peter Spence, having been brought by him before the Nottingham meeting of 
the British Association. It has the recommendations of great simplicity, and 
of being applicable to ores or other mixtures of lead otherwise useless. It is 
based on the fact that oxide and carbonate of lead, unlike any other metallic 
oxide and carbonate, are dissolved by aqueous solution of caustic potassa or 
soda, but not of the carbonate of these alkalies; and all that is to be done is to 
macerate or boil in a caustic solution any impure oxide or carbonate of lead, 
or any mineral that can by calcination be converted into one of these com- 
pounds, after such conversion, and then to precipitate the carbonate of lead by 
passing carbonic acid through the solution. The white lead thus produced has 
been tried, and found to have all the qualities of the best article to be had in 
the market. (Chem. News, Sept. 28, 1866, p. 148.) 
Properties. Carbonate of lead is a heavy, opaque substance, in powder or 
friable lumps, insoluble in water, of a fine white colour, inodorous, and nearly 
insipid. Its beauty as a pigment depends in a great measure on the purity of 
the lead from which it is manufactured. Sulphuretted hydrogen blackens it. It 
is wholly soluble, with effervescence, in dilute nitric acid; and the solution is 
precipitated white by sulphuric acid, and yellow by iodide of potassium. Ex- 688 
Plumbi Carbonas.— Plumbi Nitras. 
PART I. 
posed to heat it becomes yellow, and with charcoal is reduced to the metallic 
state. It is sometimes adulterated with the sulphates of baryta, lime, and lead, 
particularly the first. M. Lou}ret has examined samples of French white lead, 
containing considerably more than half their weight of sulphate of baryta. These 
sulphates, if pi’esent, are left undissolved by nitric acid. Chalk or whiting is 
another adulteration. This may be detected by adding to the nitric solution of 
the white lead an excess of potassa, which will redissolve the protoxide of lead 
first thrown down, but leave a white powder of lime. Neutral carbonate of lead 
consists of one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of protoxide of lead 111 5 = 
133-5. Commercial white lead is a compound of the carbonate and hydrate of 
lead. Mulder and Ilochstetter make its formula to be 2(Pb0,C02)-fPb0,H0. 
According to Stein, white lead, when submitted to simple calcination, loses 14-5 
per cent of its weight; and a mode of determining its purity is thus afforded 
(Journ. dePharm., Janv. 1859, p. 78.) But the fact seems to be, from the ob 
servations of Mr.Wm. Baker, that commercial white lead contains variable pro- 
portions of the hydrated oxide, from a mere trace to the amount of 1 eq. to 3 
eqs. of the neutral carbonate. (Ghern. News, Aug. 10,1861, p. 74 ) 
Medical Properties and Uses. White lead is ranked in the Materia Medica 
as an astringent and sedative. It is employed externally only, being used, in the 
form of ointment, as an application to ulcers, and to inflamed and excoriated 
surfaces. It is recommended in scalds and burns by Prof. Gross; and Mr. A Ifred 
Freer has found it very useful in erysipelas, eczema, carbuncle, &c. (Pharm. 
Journ., Aug. 1859, p. 138.) The white lead is first brought to the consistence 
of cream by linseed oil, as in making common white paint, and then brushed 
over the inflamed surface. Its external use, however, is viewed by many prac- 
titioners as dangerous, on account of the risk of absorption ; but the occurrence 
of bad effects is rare. A case, however, of colica pictonum from the white lead 
treatment of a severe scald is reported by Dr. G. A. Kunkler, of Madison, la 
(See N. A. Medico-chir. Ben., July, 1857, p. 605.) 
Of the different preparations of lead, the carbonate is considered to be the 
most poisonous. Being extensively manufactured for the purposes of the arts, 
it is that preparation which, by slow absorption, most frequently produces the 
peculiar spasmodic colic, called colica pictonum. This disease is characterized 
by pain about the region of the navel, and by obstinate constipation attended 
with a frequent desire to evacuate the bowels, and is supposed to depend upon 
a spasmodic constriction of the intestinal tube, particularly of the colon. The 
principal indications in the treatment are, first to relax the spasm, and then to 
evacuate the bowels by the gentlest means. Opium and mild aperients, used 
alternately, are, accordingly, the best remedies, and among the latter castor oil 
and sulphate of magnesia are to be preferred. Indeed, the latter appears pecu- 
liarly adapted to the case ; for, while it acts as an aperient, it operates to some 
extent as a counterpoison, by forming sulphate of lead with any soluble com- 
pound of the metal which it may meet with in the bowels. Calomel is often 
useful; and, if it happens to induce ptyalism, the complaint immediately yields. 
By some practitioners alum is deemed almost a specific in colica pictonum. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Liquor Gutta-perchae, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Plumbi Carbonatis. B. 
PLUMBI NITRAS. US. 
Nitrate of Lead, 
Plumbum nitricum, Lat.; Nitrate de plomb, Fr.; Salpetersaures Bleioxyd, Germ,.; 
Nitrato di piombo, Ital.; Nitrato de plomo, Span. 
This salt was introduced into the Materia Medica of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, chiefly as one of the substances employed in the preparation of iodide 
of lead. Though formerly directed by the Edinburgh and Dublin Colleges, it 
was not retained in the first edition of the British Pharmacopoeia It holds 
a place, however, in the present, which gives the formula PbO,NOfi. The PART i. 
Plumbi Nitras.—Plumbi Oxidum. 
689 
following is the process given in the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia for its pre- 
paration. 
“Take of Litharge, in fine powder, five ounces [avoirdupois]; Pure Nitric 
Acid two jiuidounces; Distilled Water three pints [Imp.meas.]; Dilute Nitric 
Acid a sufficient quantity. To the litharge, placed in a porcelain dish, add the acid 
with a pint and a half of the water, and, applying a sand heat, and occasionally 
stirring the mixture, evaporate the whole to dryness. Upon the residue boil the 
remainder of the water, clear the solution by filtration, and, having acidulated 
it by the addition of a few drops of the dilute nitric acid, evaporate until a pel- 
licle begins to form. The heat being now withdrawn, crystals will form on the 
cooling of the solution, which should be dried on blotting-paper in a warm at- 
mosphere, and preserved in a close bottle.” 
In this process the nitric acid unites directly with the protoxide of lead to 
form the nitrate. This is in beautiful, white, nearly opaque, tetrahedral or octo- 
hedral crystals, which are permanent in the air,of a sweet astringent taste,soluble 
in seven and a half parts of water, and in alcohol, and composed of one eq. of 
acid 54, and one of protoxide 111'5 = 165‘5, without water of crystallization. 
“Its solution is precipitated black by hydrosulphate of ammonia, white by ferro- 
cyanide of potassium, and yellow by iodide of potassium. When triturated with 
sulphuric acid, it forms a mixture, which colours morphia red, and, on being 
heated, evolves nitrous fumes.” (U. S.) 
Medical Properties, &c. The effects of this salt upon the system are the samo 
as those of the other soluble salts of lead; but, though formerly employed, it 
is now quite out of use as an internal remedy. Externally it is occasionally 
applied to excoriated surfaces; and a solution made in the proportion of ten 
grains to an ounce of water, and coloured probably with alkanet, has been used 
on the continent of Europe, as a secret remedy, in sore nipples, chapped hands, 
cracked lips, &c. It has recently been found useful in the correction of fetid 
odours dependent on the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen or hydrosulphate 
of ammonia, which it decomposes. It is employed for this purpose in solution, 
which may be sprinkled in apartments, or applied to putrescent ulcers, or mixed 
with offensive discharges, the odour of which it is desirable to correct. It will 
not prevent the putrefaction of animal substances; and there is no reason to 
suppose that it is capable of rendering contagious or marsh miasms innoxious, 
Ledoyen's disinfecting fluid is a solution of nitrate of lead in the proportion 
of a drachm to an ounce. Should the salt be used internally, the dose would 
be from the fourth to the half of a grain. 
Dr. Ogier Ward has found a solution extremely useful as an injection and 
lotion in cases of fetid discharges from the uterus and vagina, in gleety dis- 
charges from the urethra, in sloughing and indolent ulcers, and in chronic im- 
petiginous affections of the skin. He prepares the solution extemporaneously 
by dissolving a scruple of carbonate of lead in sufficient diluted nitric acid for 
solution, and adding a pint of distilled water. The application is to be made twice 
or three times daily. (Prov. Med. and Surg. Journ., Oct. 15, 1851.) 
Off. Prep. Plumbi Iodidum. W. 
PLUMBI OXIDUM. U. S., Br. 
Oxide of Lead. Litharge. 
Off. Syn. LITHARGYRUM. PbO. Br. 1864. 
Plumbi Oxiclum Semivitreum, Lat.; Semi vitrified Oxide of lead; Oxide de plomb fondu 
Litharge, Fr.; Bleiglatte, Ger?n.; Litargirio, Ital.; Almartaga, Span. 
When protoxide of lead is rendered semi-crystalline by incomplete fusion, it 
becomes the semi vitrified oxide, or litharge. Almost all the litharge of com- 
merce is obtained, as a secondary product, in the process for extracting silver 
from argentiferous galenas. After extracting the argentiferous lead from the 
ore, the alloy is calcined in the open air; whereby the lead becomes oxidized, and 
by fusion passes into the state of litharge, while the silver remains unchanged. 690 
Plumbi Oxidion. 
PAUT I. 
The following is an outline of the process. The lead containing the silver is 
placed upon an oval slightly excavated dish, about three feet long and twenty 
inches wide, called a test, made by beating pulverized bone-ash, formed into a 
paste with water, into a mould, the sides of which consist of an elliptical band 
of iron, and the bottom of strips of sheet-iron, placed at short distances apart. 
The test is of such a size as exactly to fit an opening in the floor of a reverbera- 
tory furnace, where it is placed and adjusted to the level of the floor. On one 
side of the test the fireplace is situated, and exactly opposite, the chimney; 
while at one extremity of it the pipe of a strong bellows is placed, and at the 
other a vertical hole is made, communicating with a gutter leading from the 
test. The furnace is now lighted, and shortly afterwards the bellows are put in 
motion. The lead fuses and combines with oxygen, and the resulting oxide, 
melting also, forms a stratum which swims on the surface, and which is driven, 
by the blast of the bellows, along the gutter and through the vertical hole into 
a recipient below, where, upon solidifying, it crystallizes in small scales, which 
form the litharge. In proportion as the lead is oxidized and blown off the test, 
fresh portions are added, so as to keep it always sufficiently full. The process 
is continued for eight or ten days, after which no more lead is added. The 
operation is now confined to the metal remaining on the test; and, the oxidation 
proceeding, a period at last arrives when the whole of the lead has run off as 
litharge, and the silver, known to be pure by its brilliant appearance in the fused 
state, alone remains. This is then removed, and the process repeated on afresh 
portion of argentiferous lead. 
Properties. Litharge is in the form of small, brilliant, vitrified scales, some 
presenting a red, and others a yellow colour. In mass it has a foliaceous struc- 
ture. It is devoid of taste or smell. It slowly attracts carbonic acid from the 
air, and contains more of this acid the longer it has been exposed. It is on 
this account that it commonly effervesces slightly with the dilute acids. It has 
the property of decolorizing wines, when agitated with them. When heated 
with the fats and oils, in connection with water, it saponifies them. (See Emplas- 
trurn Plumbi.) Heated with charcoal it is reduced to the metallic state. In 
dilute nitric acid it should be almost entirely soluble ; and the solution is affected 
in the same manner as that of the carbonate. (See page (588.) As it occurs in 
commerce, it usually contains iron, copper, and a little silver and silica. It may 
be purified from iron and copper by digestion in dilute sulphuric acid. The 
English litharge is most esteemed; that from Germany being generally con- 
taminated with iron and copper. In choosing litharge, samples should be 
selected which are free from copper, and from fragments of vegetable matter. 
Copper is detected, if, upon adding ferrocyanide of potassium to a nitric solu- 
tion of the litharge, a brown instead of a white precipitate is produced. Two 
varieties of litharge are distinguished in commerce, named from their colour, 
and dependent on differences in the process employed. Sometimes it has a pale- 
yellow colour and silvery appearance, and is then denominated silver litharge 
or yellow litharge ; at other times it is of a red colour, and is known under the 
name of gold litharge or red litharge. The latter has been said to owe its 
colour to the presence of a portion of red lead; but M. Leblanc has shown that 
the two varieties of litharge differ in colour, structure, and density only, and 
not in chemical composition. In this respect litharge is essentially identical 
with the protoxide of lead. (See Plumbum.) The carbonic acid which it contains 
is variable ; but its average amount is about 4 per cent. Peroxide of lead or red 
lead in litharge may be detected by heating it in a test tube with chloride of 
sodium and bisulphate of potassa, and introducing a slip of paper coloured blue 
by indigo. If either of these oxides be present, the paper will be bleached by 
the chlorine evolved. (Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1860, p. 237.) 
Litharge is never used internally, but is employed in several pharmaceutical 
operations, and forms an ingredient in various external applications, used for 
abating inflammation, and for other purposes. By reaction with olive oil it forms 
the Emplastrum Plumbi, which is the basis of many of the Plasters. (See Em- PART I. 
Plumbi Oxidum Rubrum. 
691 
plastra.) In the arts it is employed in the glazing of pottery, in painting to 
render oils drying, and as an ingredient in flint glass. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Digitalinum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Cerati Saponis, Br.; Emplastrum Lithargyri, Br 
1864; Emplastrum Plumbi; Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis; Plumbi Acetas, Br. 
B. 
PLUMBI OXIDUM RUBRUM. 
Red Oxide of Lead. 
Red lead, Minium; Deutoxide de plomb, Oxide rouge de plomb, Minium, Fr.; Mennig, 
Germ.; Minio, Ital., Span. 
Preparation Red lead is prepared on the large scale in a furnace, with the 
floor slightly concave and the roof arched, presenting a general resemblance to 
a baker’s oven. The lead is placed on the floor, and gradually raised to a red 
heat, whereby it melts and becomes covered with a pellicle of protoxide, which 
is removed by means of a long iron scraper; and the pellicles, as they succes- 
sively form, are scraped off until the whole of the metal has been converted into 
them. The product is subjected to further calcination, with occasional stirring, 
for some time, in order to oxidize any particles of metallic lead. It is thus 
rendered yellow, and constitutes the protoxide of lead, or massicot. This is 
taken out of the furnace, thrown upon a level pavement, and cooled by being 
sprinkled with water. It is next reduced to fine powder by trituration and levi- 
gation, and dried ; and in this state is introduced into large, shallow, square tin 
boxes, which are placed in another furnace, closed from the air, and heated 
nearly to redness; the heat being allowed gradually to fall during a period of 
from twenty-four to thirty hours. At the end of that time the protoxide of lead 
will have combined with an additional quantity of oxygen, and become the red 
oxide. This is taken out, and, having been passed through a fine wire sieve, is 
packed in barrels for the purposes of commerce. 
The above is an outline of the French process for making red lead. In Eng- 
land and the United States, the calcination of the protoxide is not performed 
in tin boxes, but by returning it to the furnace in which it was first calcined. 
To save the first calcination, litharge is generally used for making the red lead 
of commerce, which consequently is liable to contain the impurities of that sub- 
stance, consisting of iron, copper, and a little silver and silica. Copper is hurtful 
in red lead when used for making glass, to which it communicates colour. In 
order to have red lead of good quality, it should be made in large quantities at 
a time. It is also important that it be slowly cooled; for, as the absorption of 
oxygen by which it is formed takes place during a particular interval of tem- 
perature only, it is necessary that the heat, within that interval, should be 
maintained sufficiently long to allow all the protoxide to absorb its appropriate 
dose of oxygen. Red lead is also prepared by exposing litharge to a high tem- 
perature with nitrate or carbonate of potassa or soda. 
Properties, &c. Red lead is in the form of a heavy, scaly powder, of a bright- 
red colour, with a slight shade of orange. Its sp. gr. is about 9. When exposed 
to heat it gives off oxygen, and is reduced to the state of protoxide. It is some- 
times adulterated with red oxide of iron and red bole, substances which may be 
detected by treating the red lead with nitric acid, and testing the nitric solution 
with tincture of galls. This reagent will produce a black precipitate, in conse- 
quence of the iron being dissolved by the nitric acid If brick-dust be present, 
it will be left undissolved upon boiling the suspected specimen in water, with 
sugar and a small quantity of nitric acid. When free from impurities it is wholly 
reduced on charcoal by means of the blowpipe, giving a globule of metallic lead. 
It is completely soluble in highly fuming nitrous acid. (Ed. Pharm.) When 
treated with nitric acid it is resolved into protoxide which dissolves, and deut- 
oxide which remains in the form of a dark-brown powder. 
The red lead of commerce may be considered as a mixture of what may be 
called the true red oxide, and variable proportions of protoxide. That this ia 692 
Plumbi Oxidum JRubrum.—Podophyllum. 
PART I, 
its nature is rendered probable by the action of cold dilute acetic acid, not used 
in excess, which takes, up a variable quantity of protoxide, leaving a portion 
unchanged in colour, which may be deemed the pure red oxide. This latter, when 
analyzed by nitric acid, has been proved, by the coincident results of Dalton, 
Dumas, and Phillips, to consist of three eqs. of lead, and four of oxygen, equal 
to 2PbO,PbO!1 (Dumas), or PbO,PbaOs (Winckelblech). Mulder gives Pb405 = 
3PbO,PbOa, or 2PbO,PbaOs, as the usual composition of red lead. 
Red lead enters into no officinal preparation. In the arts it is used chiefly 
as a paint, and in the manufacture of flint glass. B. 
PODOPHYLLUM. U.S. 
May apple. Podophyllum. 
The rhizoma of Podophyllum peltatum. U. S. 
Off.Syn. PODOPHYLLI RADIX. Podophyllum Root. The dried rhizome 
of Podophyllum peltatum. Br. 
Podophyllum. Sex. Syst. Polyandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Ranunculi, 
Juss.; Podophylleae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Corolla nine-petaled. Berry one-celled, 
crowned with the stigma. Willd. 
Podophyllum peltatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1141; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 9; 
Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 18, pi. 11. The may-apple, sometimes also called 
mandrake, is an indigenous herbaceous plant, and the only species of the genus. 
The root (rhizoma) is perennial, creeping, usually several feet in length, about 
one-quarter of an inch thick, brown externally, smooth, jointed, and furnished 
with radicles at the joints. The stem is about afoot high, erect, round, smooth, 
divided at top into two petioles, and supporting at the fork a solitary one* 
flowered peduncle. Each petiole bears a large, peltate, palmate leaf, with six or 
seven wedge-shaped lobes, irregularly incised at the extremity, yellowish-green 
on their upper surface, paler and slightly pubescent beneath. The flower is 
nodding. The calyx is composed of three oval, obtuse, concave, deciduous 
leaves. The corolla has from six to nine white, fragrant petals, which are ob- 
ovate, obtuse, concave, with delicate transparent veins The stamens are from 
thirteen to twenty, shorter than the petals, with oblong, yellow anthers, of twice 
the length of the filaments. The stigma is sessile, and rendered irregular on its 
surface by numerous folds or convolutions. The fruit is a large oval berry, 
crowned with the persistent stigma, and containing a sweetish fleshy pulp, in 
which about twelve ovate seeds are embedded. It is, when ripe, of a lemon- 
yellow colour, diversified by round brownish spots. 
The plant is extensively diffused through the United States, growing luxu- 
riantly in moist shady woods, and in low marshy grounds. It is propagated by 
its creeping root, and is often found in large patches. The flowers appear about 
the end of May and beginning of June; and the fruit ripens in the latter part 
of September. The leaves are said to be poisonous. The fruit has a subacid, 
sweetish, peculiar taste, agreeable to some palates, and may be eaten freely 
with impunity. From its colour and shape, it is sometimes called wild lemon. 
The root is the officinal portion, and is said to be most efficient when collected 
after the falling of the leaves. It shrinks considerably in drying. 
Properties. The dried root is in pieces about two lines in thickness, with 
swelling, broad, flattened joints at short intervals. It is much wrinkled length- 
wise, is yellowish or reddish-brown externally, and furnished with fibres of a 
similar, but somewhat paler colour. It was determined, by an experiment ot 
Mr. Wni Saunders, that these fibres contain as much active matter as the rhi- 
zoma itself. The fracture is short and irregular, and the internal colour whitish. 
The powder is light yellowish-gray, resembling that of jalap. The root in its 
aggregate state is nearly inodorous; but in powder has a sweetish not un- 
pleasant smell. The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards bitter, nauseous, and Podophyllum. 
693 
PART I. 
slightly acrid. Both the decoction and tincture are bitter; but alcohol is said 
to be the best solvent of the active matter. A bitter substance was extracted 
from the root by William Hodgson, jun., of Philadelphia, by boiling it with 
quicklime in water, straining the decoction, precipitating the lime with sul- 
phate of zinc, evaporating the clear solution to the consistence of an extract, 
treating this with cold alcohol of 0-817, filtering and evaporating the alcoholic 
solution, and treating the residue with boiling distilled water, which deposited 
the substance referred to on cooling. (Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iii. 
273.) Though the alcoholic solution of this substance is very bitter, it has 
upon trial been found not to be the purgative principle of the root. There can 
be little doubt, as suggested by Prof. F. F. Mayer, of New York, that the prin- 
ciple discovered by Mr. Hodgson is the alkaloid berberina. Indeed, the fact 
has been demonstrated by Mr. John M. Maisch, who separated this alkaloid 
from the mother-liquor remaining after the precipitation of the tincture by water. 
(Am. Journ of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 303.) Prof. Mayer states, moreover, that 
the root contains, besides berberina, a colourless alkaloid. (Ibid., Mai'ch, 1863, 
p. 98.) Analyzed by Mr. John R. Lewis, podophyllum yielded albumen, gum, 
starch, extractive, lignin, gallic acid, fixed oil, traces of volatile oil, salts of 
potassa and lime, and two resinous principles, one soluble in alcohol and ether, 
and the other soluble in alcohol only. Both resins were found to possess the 
active properties of the root. Six grains operated as a drastic cathartic, with 
some emetic effect. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 165.) To these ingredients 
saponin is to be added, on the authority of Prof. Mayei\ (Ibid., March, 1863, p. 
98.) Dr. Manlius Smith recommends that the resin should be prepared by form- 
ing an alcoholic tincture of the root, evaporating the tincture till most of the 
alcohol is driven off, and throwing the residue into water, by which the resin 
is precipitated. The concentration should not be carried too far ; as otherwise 
the resin separates in clots, which cannot be easily washed. According to Dr. 
Smith, the resin, when pure, is white, and purges actively in the dose of two 
or three grains. It is calledpodophyllin. (Ibid., xxiv. 306.) For a more com- 
plete account of what is known of the resins of podophyllum, the reader is 
referred to the article on Resina Podophylli in Part II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Podophyllum is an active and certain cathar- 
tic, producing copious liquid discharges without much griping, or other unpleas- 
ant effect. In some cases it has given rise to nausea and even vomiting, but the 
same result is occasionally experienced from every active cathartic. Its opera- 
tion resembles that of jalap ; but is rather slower, and is thought by some to be 
more drastic. It is applicable to most inflammatory affections which require 
brisk purging; and is much employed in various parts of the country, especially 
combined with calomel, in bilious fevers and hepatic congestions. It is also fre- 
quently used, in connection with bitartrate of potassa, in dropsical, rheumatic, 
and scrofulous complaints. There do not appear to be sufficient grounds for 
ascribing to it special cholagogue powers. In minute doses, frequently repeated, 
podophyllum has been thought to diminish the frequency of the pulse, and to 
relieve cough; and for these effects has been given in haemoptysis, catarrh, and 
other pulmonary affections. 
The dose of the powdered root, as a purgative, is about twenty grains. Au 
extract is prepared from it possessing all its virtues in a smaller bulk. (See 
Extractum Podophylli.) Podophyllin, or resin of podophyllum, which has be- 
come officinal, is considerably used. In its purest state, the dose as a laxative 
is from to of a grain ; as a purgative, from of a grain to a grain. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Podophylli, U. S.; Resina Podophylli. W. 694 
Poly gala Rubella.—Potassium. 
PART I. 
POLYGALA RUBELLA. U.S Secondary. 
Bitter Polygala. 
The root and herb of Polygala rubella. U. S. 
Polygala. See SENEGA. 
Polygala rubella. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 875 ; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 129. 
.— P.polygama. Walter, Flor. Car. 179 ; Pursh, Flor. Am.Sept. 465. This spe- 
cies of Polygala is an indigenous, perennial plant, with a branching, somewhat 
fusiform root, which sends up annually numerous simple, smooth, and angular 
stems, from four to eight inches in height. The leaves are scattered, sessile, 
obovate or linear lanceolate, attenuated towards the base, obtuse, and mucro- 
nate. The flowers are purple, and in elongated terminal racemes. From the 
base of the stem proceed other racemes, which lie upon the ground, or are par- 
tially buried under it, and bear incomplete but fertile flowers, the calyx of 
which is without wings. 
This plant is found in many parts of the United States, preferring a dry sandy 
or gravelly soil, and flowering in June and July. The whole plant is officinal. 
It has a strong and permanent bitter taste, which it yields to water and alcohol. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In small doses bitter polygala is tonic, in 
larger, laxative and diaphoretic. The infusion of the dried plant has been 
usually employed to impart tone to the digestive organs. {Bigelow.) It ap- 
pears to be closely analogous in medical virtues to Polygala amara of Europe, 
which is used for a similar purpose. W. 
POTASSIUM. 
Potassium. 
Potassium, Fr.; Kalium, Kalimetall, Germ.; Potassio, Ital.; Potasio, Span. 
Potassium is a peculiar metal, forming the radical of potassa, and of a num- 
ber of other medicinal preparations. It was discovered in 1807 by Sir H. Davy, 
who obtained it by decomposing hydrate of potassa by galvanic electricity. It 
was afterwards procured in larger quantity by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, by 
bringing the fused alkali in contact with white-hot iron, which attracted the 
oxygen and set free the metal. The best process is that of Brunner, as modi- 
fied by Wohler, which consists in decomposing potassa in the state of carbonate, 
mixed with charcoal. The mixture of carbonate and charcoal is obtained by 
heating cream of tartar to redness in a covered crucible. For an account of 
some improvements in Brunner’s process by MM. Mareska and Donny, see Am. 
Journ. of Pharm. (xxv. 70). 
Potassium is solid, softer and more ductile than wax, easily cut with a knife, 
and of a silver-white colour. A newly cut surface is brilliant; but the metal 
quickly tarnishes by combining with the oxygen of the air, and assumes the 
appearance of lead. It possesses a remarkably strong affinity for oxygen, and 
is capable of taking that element from every other substance. On account of 
this property it must be kept in liquids, such as naphtha, which are devoid of 
oxygen. On the same account, when exposed with a fresh-cut surface to the 
air it becomes luminous through a slow combustion, like phosphorus in the 
dark. ( Chem. News, Feb. 28, 1868, p. 108.) Its sp.gr. is 0 865, melting point 
136°, equivalent number 39 2, and symbol K. When thrown upon water it 
swims, takes fire, and burns with a rose-coloured flame, combining with oxygen, 
and generating potassa which dissolves in the water. It forms numerous com- 
binations, uniting with most of the non-metallic elements, and with several of 
the metals. It combines in two proportions with oxygen, forming a protoxide 
{dry potassa) of a gray, and a teroxide of a yellowish-brown colour. It also 
unites with chlorine, and forms officinal compounds with iodine, bromine, sul- 
phur, cyanogen, and ferrocyanogen, under the names of iodide, bromide sul- PART I. 
Potassx Bichromas. 
695 
phuret, cyanide, and ferrocyanide of potassium. Its protoxide (dry potassa) 
is a strong salifiable base, existing in nature always in combination, and form- 
ing with acids a numerous and important class of salts. Of these, the acetate, 
bichromate, carbonate, bicarbonate, chlorate,citrate, hydrate (caustic potassa), 
nitrate, permanganate, sulphate, tartrate, and bitartrate are officinal, and will 
be described under their respective titles. B. 
POTASSiE BICHROMAS. U. S., Br. 
Bichromate of Potassa. 
Bichromate op Potash. KO,2CrOs. Br. 
Eed chromate of potassa; Kali chromicum rubrum, Lat.; Bichromate de potasse, Fr.; 
Zweifach Chromsaures Kali, Germ. 
This salt is most conveniently prepared from the neutral or yellow chromate 
cf potassa, by acidulating its solution with sulphuric acid, and setting it aside 
for a day or two. The acid withdraws one eq. of potassa from two of the neutral 
chromate, thus generating one eq. of the bichromate, which separates in orange- 
red crystals. The yellow chromate is obtained by igniting four parts of pow- 
dered chrome-iron ore (Fe0,Cr203) with one part of nitre, and lixiviating the 
resulting mass with water. The solution, by evaporation, yields the yellow salt 
in crystals. In this process, the nitric acid of the nitre furnishes oxygen to con- 
vert the sesquioxide of chromium into chromic acid, which then unites with the 
potassa of the same salt. The iron, in the mean time, is sesquioxidized and 
rendered insoluble. Sometimes impure carbonate of potassa (pearlash) is sub- 
stituted for part of the nitre in the calcination. Omitting the nitre entirely, 
Stromeyer, of Norway, in performing the ignition, has used lime along with the 
pearlash, with economical results. When lime is employed, chromate of lime is 
formed, which is extracted by lixiviation, and decomposed by a soluble salt ol 
potassa. When desired, the bichromate may be obtained directly from the solu- 
tion of chromate of potassa, derived from the treatment of the ore, by acidulating 
it with sulphuric acid, without first crystallizing it. For an account of the patent 
process of Prof. J. C. Booth, of this city, for obtaining bichromate of potassa, 
see Pharm Journ. (xv. 34). 
Bichromate of potassa is in the form of orange-red, anhydrous, prismatic crys- 
tals, soluble in ten parts of cold and much less boiling water, but insoluble in 
alcohol. Its solution has an acid reaction. Its taste is cooling and bitter. Ex- 
posed to a heat somewhat under redness, it fuses, without decomposition, into 
a red liquid, which congeals on cooling into a crystalline mass, and then falls 
into powder. At a red heat, it evolves oxygen, the neutral chromate and ses- 
quioxide of chromium being left, of which the former body is dissolved, when the 
mixture is acted on by water. ( £7. S.) It consists of two eqs. of chromic acid and 
one of potassa. When one eq. of this salt is heated with four of sulphuric acid, 
chromium-alum is formed and oxygen evolved (K0,2Cr03 and 4S03=Cr203, 
3S03 + K0,S03 and 30). 
Medical Properties, &c Bichromate of potassa, in small doses, is alterative, 
in larger, emetic. Externally it acts as an irritant and caustic. It was first used 
internally, in 1850, by M. Robin, who gave it in secondary syphilis ; and Prof. 
Heyfelder, of Erlangen, and M. Vicente afterwards employed it in the same 
disease with encouraging results. It acts like the mercurials on the syphilitic 
poison, and occasionally produces salivation. It was recommended, in 1827, by 
Dr. Cumin, in saturated solution, as a caustic application to tubercular eleva- 
tions, excrescences, and warts, and in 1850 by M. Puche in syphilitic vegeta- 
tions. It causes the morbid parts to shrivel and fall off. Dissolved in water, in 
the proportion of five grains gradually increased to a drachm to the fluidounce. 
it has been found useful in affections of the mucous membranes requiring astrin- 
gents; and a solution has also been used with advantage for correcting the fetor 
of sloughing wounds. The dose as an alterative is one-fifth of a grain daily, in 
the form of pill made with extract of gentian, to be increased gradually to five 696 
Potassse Bichromas.—Potassse Bitartras. 
PART I. 
or six pills a day. As an emetic the dose is three-quarters of a grain. It may 
be used as a caustic in the form of powder. A solution of it has been used, as 
a local application, in various diseases of the skin “ with complete success.” 
(Chem. News, Jan. 20, 1865, p. 35.) 
In overdoses it operates as a violent irritative and corrosive poison, producing 
severe vomiting, frequent dark hemorrhagic dejections, violent abdominal pains, 
&c. More than one fatal case is on record. When the stomach does not relieve 
itself by vomiting, magnesia, bicarbonate of soda, or a solution of soap should 
be immediately given as an antidote. 
Bichromate of potassa is manufactured largely for the use of calico-printers. 
The workmen engaged in making it are liable to painful ulcerations of the hands; 
and, in consequence of the acrid vapours evolved, violent irritation of the nos- 
trils is apt to be experienced, with severe pricking sensations and excessive 
sneezing, followed in time by destruction of the mucous membrane and even the 
septum itself. It is asserted thatthis result may be avoided by breathing through 
the mouth exclusively; the profuse secretion of saliva produced carrying off the 
poisonous particles. (B.and F. Med.-chir. Rev., Oct. 1863, p. 533.) It was in- 
troduced into the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, not as a therapeutic agent, 
but to be used in forming artificial valerianic acid by reacting with fusel oil 
(Alcohol Amylicum), as a step in the process for preparing valerianate of soda. 
(See Sodae Valerianas.) For a full account of the manufacture of the chromium 
salts, used as dyes and pigments, see the Pharmaceutical Journal (xv. 32). 
Pharm. Uses. In the preparation of Sodas Valerianas, U S. A solution of 
this salt, under the title of volumetric solution of bichromate of potash, has 
been introduced as a test into the British Pharmacopoeia. B. 
POTASSiE BITARTRAS. U. S. 
Bitartrate of Potassa. 
Off. Syn. POTASSiE TARTRAS ACIDA. Acid Tartrate of Potash. 
KO‘,HO,CgH4O10. Br. 
Supertartrate of potassa, Crystals of tartar, Cream of tartar; Cremor tartari, Lot.; Tar- 
trate acide de potasse, Creme de tartre, Fr.; Doppelt weinsaures Kali, Weinsteinrahm, 
Germ.; Cremore di tartaro, Ital.; Cremor de tar taro, (Span. 
During the fermentation of wines, especially those that are tart, a peculiar 
matter is deposited in the casks, forming a crystalline crust, called crude tartar 
or argot. That deposited from red wines is of a reddish colour, and called r*d 
tartar; while that derived from white wines is of a dirty-white colour, and de- 
nominated white tartar. Both kinds consist of potassa, united with an excess 
of tartaric acid, forming bitart*-«fce of potassa, rendered impure by tartrate of 
lime, more or less colouring matter, and other matters which are deposited 
during the clarification of the wine. The deposition of the tartar is thus ex- 
plained. The bitartrate exists naturally in the juice of the grape, held in solu- 
tion by saccharine matter. When the juice is submitted to fermentation in the 
process for converting it into Avine, the sugar disappears, and is replaced by 
alcohol, which, not being competent to dissolve the salt, allows it to precipitate 
as a crystalline crust. It is from this substance that bitartrate of potassa is ob- 
tained by a process of purification. 
The wines made in the United States of course deposit tartar; but as yet the 
product has not been collected for the purposes of commerce. According to Mr. 
E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, the American catawba Avine deposits about three 
pounds of crude tartar from a hundred gallons. We are informed by him that 
American tartar contains at least 15 per cent, of tartrate of lime. 
The process for purifying crude tartar is founded upon the greater solubility 
of bitartrate of potassa in hot than in cold Avater. The tartar, previously pul- 
verized, is boiled with Avater in copper boilers. The solution, when saturated, 
is transferred to earthen pans, where it deposits on cooling a crystalline layer, 
nearly free from colour. This is redissolved in boiling water; and the soJu- PART i. 
Potassae Bitartras. 
697 
tion, having been mixed with 4 or 5 per cent, of pipe-clay, is evaporated to a 
pellicle. The clay precipitates with the colouring matter; and the clear solu- 
tion, as it cools, deposits white crystals in crusts, which, upon being exposed 
to the air on linen for several days, acquire an increased degree of whiteness. 
These constitute the crystals of tartar of pharmacy. The salt, however, as met 
with in the shops, is generally, for greater convenience, in the form of powder, 
to which the name cream of tartar properly belongs. 
Wittstein proposes to free cream of tartar from lime by dilute muriatic acid, 
which dissolves the lime preferably, and, if not used in excess, will take up very 
little of the potassa salt. For remarks on this subject by Tenner, of Berne, see 
the Am Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1862, p. 39). 
Properties. Bitartrate of potassa occurs in commerce in white crystalline 
crusts, or masses of aggregated crystals, and is received in that state from 
France by our wholesale druggists, who procure its pulverization for the use of 
the apothecaries. In crystals it is hard and gritty between the teeth, and dis- 
solves slowly in the mouth; in powder it has a white colour. It is a permanent 
salt, having a sour not ungrateful taste and acid reaction, soluble in 184 parts 
of cold, and 18 of boiling water, but insoluble in alcohol. When exposed to 
heat it is decomposed, exhales a peculiar odour, gives rise to several pyrogenous 
acids, and the usual products of the destructive distillation of vegetable matter; 
carbonate of potassa, mixed with charcoal, being left. Its solution is precipi- 
tated by solutions of baryta, strontia, and lime, which form insoluble tartrates, 
and by acetate of lead, forming tartrate of lead. With salifiable bases which 
form soluble tartrates, it gives rise to double salts, consisting of neutral tartrate 
of potassa, and the tartrate of the base added. Several of them are important 
medicines, and will be described under their respective titles. Cream of tartar, 
though sparingly soluble in water, becomes abundantly so by the addition of 
borax or boracic acid. (See Sodas Boras ) 
The cream of tartar of commerce is not pure bitartrate of potassa It usually 
contains from 2 to 5 per cent, of tartrate of lime, an amount admissible in 
samples for medicinal use. But it sometimes contains from 6 to 13 per cent, 
of tartrate of lime, according to the analyses of Mr. J. M. Maisch. It is said to 
be purposely mixed with various substances, such as sand, clay, gypsum, 
flour, chalk, alum, and sulphate of potassa. Sand, clay, and gypsum may be 
detected by their insolubility in a hot solution of potassa; flour, by striking a 
blue colour with iodine; chalk, by its effervescing with dilute acids; alum, an 
unlikely sophistication, by its astringent taste; and any soluble sulphate, by 
causing a precipitate with chloride of barium, not entirely soluble in nitric acid. 
The action of the last-mentioned test is explained by the fact, that the tartrate 
of baryta is soluble in nitric acid, but not the sulphate. Another sophistication 
of cream of tartar is said to be with sugar of milk. The best security against 
fraud is to purchase the crystals, which are not so liable to adulteration as the 
powder. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives the following test. The salt is dissolved 
freely by a hot solution of potassa, from which it is again deposited by the 
addition of an acid; and whatever remains undissolved is impurity. According 
to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 188 grains ignited till gas ceases to be evolved, leave 
an alkaline residue (carbonate of potassa) which requires for exact neutraliza- 
tion 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid. This Phar- 
macopoeia admits a slight impurity of lime, probably in the form of tartrate. 
Composition. Cream of tartar consists of two eqs. of tartaric acid 132, one 
of potassa 47 2, and one of water 9 = 188‘2. The water cannot be expelled 
without decomposing the salt, and is supposed to act the part of a base. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Bitartrate of potassa is cathartic, diuretic, and 
refrigerant. In small doses it acts as a cooling aperient, in large ones as a 
hydragogue cathartic, producing copious watery stools; and, from this latter 
property, as well as its tendency to excite the action of the kidneys, it is much 
used in dropsical affections. It is frequently prescribed in combination with 
senna, sulphur, or jalap. (See Confectio Sulphuris and Pulvis Jalapse Com- 698 
Potassse Bitartras.— Potassse Carhonas Impura. 
PART I. 
positus.) Its solution in boiling water, sweetened with sugar and allowed to 
cool, forms an acid, not unpleasant, refrigerant drink, advantageously used in 
some febrile affections, and frequently employed as a domestic remedy. The 
beverage called imperial (potus imperialis) is a drink of this kind, made by 
dissolving half an ounce of the salt in three pints of boiling water, and adding to 
the solution four ounces of white sugar, and half an ounce of fresh lemon peel. 
Cream of tartar whey is prepared by adding about two drachms of the bitar- 
trate to a pint of milk. It may be given, diluted with water, in dropsical com- 
plaints. The dose of cream of tartar is a drachm or two as an aperient; and 
from half an ounce to an ounce as a hydragogue cathartic, mixed with molasses, 
or suspended in water. As a diuretic in dropsical cases, it may be given in the 
do3e of a drachm and a half or two drachms, several times a day. 
In pharmacy, cream of tartar is employed to obtain the neutral tartrate of 
potassa (soluble tartar), tartrate of potassa and soda (Rochelle salt), tartrate 
of antimony and potassa (tartar emetic), and tartrate of iron and potassa (tar- 
tarized iron). Deflagrated with nitre, or incinerated alone, it is converted into 
a pure form of carbonate of potassa, called salt of tartar. In the laboratory it 
is used to procure potassa in a pure state, and for making black and white flux. 
Black flux is prepared by deflagrating cream of tartar with half its weight of 
nitre ; and white flux, by deflagrating it with twice its weight of the same salt. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; Antimonii et Potass® Tartras, U.S.; 
Antimonium Tartaratum, Br.; Confectio Sulphuris, Br.; Ferri et Potass® Tar- 
tras, U. S.; Ferrum Tartaratum, Br.; Potass® et Sod® Tartras, U. S.; Potass® 
Tartras; Pulvis Jalap® Compositus; Soda Tartarata, Br. B. 
POTASSiE CARBONAS IMPURA. U.S. 
Impure Carbonate of Potassa. 
The impure carbonate of potassa known in commerce by the name of pearl- 
ash. U.S. 
Pearlasli, Pearlashes, Impure potassa, Impure subcarbonate of potassa ; Potasse du 
commerce, Fr.; Rohe Pottasche, Germ.; Potasch, Dutch; Potaske, Dan.; Potaska, Swed.; 
Potassa del commercio, Ital.; Cenizas claveladas, Span. 
The alkali potassa, in the strict sense of the term, is the protoxide of the 
metal potassium. (See Potassium.) It exists in various states of purity. In its 
most impure state, it is the common potash of commerce. This, subjected to 
calcination, is rendered purer, and is then calledpearlash, the form of the alkali 
designated by the officinal name at the head of this article. 
Natural State and Preparation. Potash and pearlash of commerce are pro- 
cured from the ashes of wood by lixiviation, and the subsequent evaporation 
of the solution obtained. The alkali exists in the wood, principally in the state 
of acetate ; and, being of a fixed and incombustible nature, is left behind after 
the incineration. The wood is burnt on the ground, in a place sheltered from 
the wind. The ashes consist of a soluble and insoluble portion. The soluble part 
is made up of carbonate of potassa, together with sulphate, phosphate, and sili- 
cate of potassa, and the chlorides of potassium and sodium; the insoluble por- 
tion, of carbonate and subphosphate of lime, alumina, silica, oxidized iron and 
manganese, and a little carbonaceous matter that has escaped combustion. The 
ashes are lixiviated in barrels with the addition of a portion of lime, and the 
soluble substances above mentioned are taken up. The lixivium is then evapo- 
rated in large iron kettles, which for several days are kept constantly full. The 
evaporation is continued until the mass has become of a black colour, and of the 
insistence of brown sugar. It is now subjected to as powerful a heat as can 
be raised by the best wood fire for a number of hours, by which it is fused. 
During the fusion, the combustible impurities are for the most part burnt out, 
and a gaseous matter is emitted, which agitates the more fluid part. When the 
fusion is complete, the liquid becomes quiescent, and looks like melted iron. It 
is now transferred, by means of large iron ladles, to iron pots, where it con PART i. 
Potassae Carbonas Impura. 
699 
geals in cakes. These are broken up and packed in tight barrels, and consti- 
tute the potash of commerce. {Dr. G. A. Rogers, in Silliman's Journal.) 
If it is intended to make pearlash, the process is varied. In this case the 
black matter of the consistence of brown sugar, called black salts by our manu- 
facturers, instead of being fused, is transferred from the kettles to a large oven- 
shaped furnace, so constructed that the flame may play over the alkaline mass, 
which in the mean time is stirred by means of an iron rod. The ignition is in 
this way continued, until the combustible impurities are burnt out, and the 
mass, from being black, becomes of a dirty bluish-white colour. {Rogers.) 
The ashes of plants amount generally to not more than a few parts in the 
hundred; and of these a portion only consists of potassa. The different parts of 
the same vegetable, and, for a stronger reason, different plants, furnish variable 
quantities of ashes. Ligneous plants yield less than herbaceous, the trunk less 
than the branches, and the branches less than the leaves. The bark yields more 
ashes than the wood; and the leaves of trees which drop their foliage in winter 
more than the leaves of evergreens. The following table gives the quantity of 
potassa contained in the ashes of one thousand parts of the undernamed plants: 
Pine 0-45 
Poplar 0 75 
Birch 1-29 
Beech 1-45 
Oak 2 03 
Oak hark 2-08 
Box 2-26 
Willow 2-85 
Linden 3 27 
Elm 3-9 
Maple 3-9 
Wheat straw 4-18 
Flax 50 
Rush 5-08 
Common thistle 5-37 
Vine branches 5-5 
Barley straw 5-8 
Beech bark 6 0 
Fern 6-2 
Indian corn stalks.... 17-5 
Sun-flower stalks 19-4 
Dry oak leaves 24 0 
Common nettle 25-0 
Black elder 25-5 
Vetch 27-5 
Poke 45-6 
Wheat stalks 47-0 
Stems of potatoes 55-0 
Wormwood 73.0 
Fumitory 79 0 
Angelica 96-2 
Commercial History. Potash and pearlash are made in those countries in 
which forests abound. Accordingly, the alkali is extensively manufactured in 
Canada and the United States, and constitutes an important export of this 
country. It is prepared chiefly in the State of New York, which is supposed 
to furnish three-fourths of our exports of this alkali. It is also produced in 
considerable quantities in the northern countries of Europe, especially in Rus- 
sia, and on the shores of the Baltic. It is of different qualities as it occurs in 
commerce, and is distinguished by the country or place of manufacture, as 
American, Russian, Dantzic potash, &c. 
Potash has been extracted from felspar by Prof. Fuchs, by igniting it with 
lime, which renders the alkali slowly soluble in water. Dr. E. Meyer, of Ber- 
lin, has found that the extraction is facilitated by digesting the ignited mass 
with water under a pressure of seven or eight atmospheres. (Pharm. Journ. 
and Trans., June, 1857, p. 607.) Other minerals have recently become the 
sources of potassa salts, especially a deposit of mixed chlorides of potassium 
and magnesium, overlying a bed of common salt, at Stassfurt, near Magdeburg, 
in Prussia. They are also extracted by M. Bulard from sea-water. {Ibid., 
Feb. 1867, p. 451.) 
Properties. Potash is in the form of fused masses, of a stony appearance and 
hardness, and caustic burning taste. Its colour is variegated; but reddish and 
dark-brown are the predominant hues. When exposed to the air it absorbs 
moisture and deliquesces; and, if sufficiently long exposed, finally becomes liquid. 
Pearlash is of a white colour, with usually a tinge of blue. As it occurs in com- 
merce, it is in tight casks, containing about three hundred and fifty pounds, in 
which it forms one entire, hard, concrete mass. In the shops it is found in coarse 
powder, intermingled with lumps as dug out of the casks, presenting an opaque 
granular appearance, like table salt or Havana sugar. It is deliquescent, and has 
a burning alkaline taste. It is soluble in water, with the exception of impurities. 
The soluble matter in 100 grains of the salt of medium quality will neutralize 
about 58 grains of officinal sulphuric acid. It differs from potash principally 
in containing less combustible impurities and in being less caustic aud deli 700 
Potassx Carbonas Irnpura. 
PART I. 
quescent. The colouring matter of both these forms of alkali is derived from 
carbonaceous impurities, and small portions of iron and manganese. 
Composition. The basis of both pot and pearlash is carbonate of potassa; 
but this is associated with certain salts, and with insoluble impurities. Several 
varieties of potash found in commerce were analyzed by Vauquelin, whose 
principal results are contained in the following table. The quantity examined 
of each kind was 1152 parts. 
Kinds or Potvsb. 
Caustic 
Hydrate of 
Potassa. 
Sulphate of 
Potassa. 
Chloride of 
Potassium. 
Insoluble 
Residue. 
Carbonic Acid 
and water. 
American potash . . 
857 
154 
20 
2 
119 
Russian potash . . . 
772 
65 
5 
56 
254 
Pearlash 
754 
80 
4 
6 
308 
Dantzic potash . . . 
603 
152 
14 
79 
304 
These results, calculated for 100 parts, show that the American potash coi: 
tains 74 per cent, of pure hydrated alkali, and the Russian 67 per cent. Pearl- 
ash, it is seen, is more rich in carbonic acid than potash ; and this result of 
analysis corresponds with the qualities of the two substances as prepared in the 
United States; potash being known to be far more caustic than pearlash. Be 
sides the impurities shown by the table, phosphate and silicate of potassa and 
chloride of sodium are present. According to Mr. Stevenson Macadam, the 
potashes of commerce contain iodine and a trace of bromine, which shows that 
the forest trees from which the alkali is obtained must contain a very minute 
proportion of these non metallic elements. ( Chem. Gaz., Aug. 2, 1852, p. 284.) 
As the potash of commerce is valuable in the arts in proportion to the quan- 
tity of real alkali which it contains, it is important to possess an easy method 
of ascertaining its quality in that respect. The process by which this is accom- 
plished is called alkalimetry, and the instrument used an alkalimeter. The best 
mode of proceeding, which is applicable to the commercial forms of soda as well 
as those of potassa, is that proposed by Faraday, and described by Turner as 
follows. Take a cylindrical tube, sealed at one end, nine and a half inches long, 
and three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and pour into it one thousand grains 
of water, marking with a file the point at which the water stands. Divide the 
space occupied by the water into one hundred equal parts, graduating from 
above downwards; and, opposite to the numbers 2344, 4896, 54 63, and 65, 
severally, write the words soda, potassa, carbonate of soda, and carbonate of 
potassa Then prepare a dilute sulphuric acid having the specific gravity 1 127, 
which may be formed by adding to the strong acid about four times its volume 
Df distilled water. An acid of this strength, if added to the tube so as to reach 
to any one of the heights denoted by the above numbers, will be just sufficient 
to neutralize one hundred grains of the alkali written opposite to it. Suppose, 
for example, that the dilute acid be added until it stands opposite to the word 
carbonate of potassa, we shall then have the exact quantity necessary to neu- 
tralize one hundred grains of that carbonate; and if we add pure water, until 
the liquid reaches to 0, or the beginning of the scale, it is evident that the acid 
has been brought to the bulk of a hundred measures, each of which would be 
competent to neutralize one grain of the carbonate in question All that is now 
necessary, in order to ascertain the quality of any commercial sample of this 
carbonate, is to dissolve one hundred grains of it in w,£,rm water, filter the solu- 
tion to remove insoluble impurities, and add by degrees the dilute acid from 
the tube until the solution is exactly neutralized, as shown by litmus paper. The 
number of divisions of acid, expended in attaining this point, may be read ofl 
from the tube; and for each division one grain of pure carbonate is indicated. 
This method of testing the potash of commerce indicates its alkaline strength, 
assuming this to be dependent solely on potassa; but soda, a cheaper alkali, PAitT i. 
Potassse Carbonas Impura.—Potassse Chloras. 
701 
may be present as an adulteration, and its proportion is important to be known. 
To solve this problem, M. 0. Henry proposes that the saturating power of a 
given weight should be first determined in relation to sulphuric acid, and after- 
wards the proportion of carbonate of potassa in an equal weight, by first con- 
verting it into an acetate, and then precipitating the potassa by hyperchlorate 
(oxychlorate) of soda, the reacting salts being in alcoholic solution. The pre- 
cipitated hyperchlorate of potassa indicates the proportion of carbonate of po- 
tassa. The amount of the latter determines how much of the sulphuric acid was 
expended in saturating the potassa; and the soda is indicated by the amount 
of this alkali equivalent to the remainder of the acid. (Journ. de Pharm., vii. 
214.) Another method of detecting soda in the potash of commerce, proposed 
by Pagenstecher, is to convert the suspected alkali into a sulphate, and to wash 
the sulphate formed with a saturated solution of sulphate of potassa. If the 
whole of the saline matter be sulphate of potassa, the washing will cause no 
loss of weight; but if part of it be sulphate of soda, this will be washed away, 
on account of its solubility in a saturated solution of sulphate of potassa. (Ibid., 
Mars, 1848, 239.) Fremy has proposed the metantimoniate of potassa as a test 
for soda in potash. In applying this test, the potash is converted into a neutral 
chloride of potassium, and treated with a recent solution of the metantimoniate. 
If the alkali examined contain 2 or 3 per cent, of soda, a precipitate will be 
almost instantly formed. If a less proportion of soda be present, time and agita- 
tion will be necessary to effect the precipitation. Fremy states that, by this test, 
he can detect the half of 1 per cent.mf soda in commercial potash. (Philos. Mag., 
Oct. 1848, 325.) Good potash should not contain a proportion of chlorides, 
indicating more than 2 per cent, of chlorine by the test of nitrate of silver. If 
a larger proportion is shown, adulteration with common salt maybe suspected. 
A standard solution of the silver salt maybe made, a known measure of which 
shall be just sufficient to precipitate all the chlorine in a given weight of good 
potash, after having been supersaturated with nitric acid. If a further addition 
of the test causes a precipitate, the presence of too much chlorine is shown. 
Pearlash, from its impurity, is never used as a medicine. Purified to a certain 
extent, it takes the name of carbonate of potassa. 
Off. Prep. Potassae Carbonas, U. S. B. 
POTASSA CHLORAS. U. S., Br. 
Chlorate of Potassa. 
Hyperoxymuriate of potassa; Chlorate de potasse, Fr.; Chlorsaures Kali, Germ. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, Chlorate of Potassa is placed in the Catalogue 
of Materia Medica; in the British, it is ranked among the Preparations, with 
the formula KO.ClOj.. 
The salt may be conveniently obtained by the process of Graham, which con- 
sists in mixing carbonate of potassa with an equivalent quantity of hydrate of 
lime, before submitting it to the action of chlorine. The gas is absorbed with 
avidity, and the mass becomes hot, while water is given off. The lime converts 
the carbonate into caustic potassa, and the reaction then takes place between 
six eqs. of potassa and six of chlorine, with the result of forming five eqs of 
chloride of potassium, and one of chlorate of potassa. (6KO and 6C1 = 5KC1 
and K0,C105.) The products are, therefore, carbonate of lime, chloride of 
potassium, and chlorate of potassa. The chloride and chlorate are separated 
from the carbonate by solution in hot water, and the chlorate from the chloride 
by priority of crystallization. The Br. Pharmacopoeia has adopted this process, 
with the following directions. “Take of Carbonate of Potash twenty ounces 
[avoirdupois J; Slaked Lime fifty-three ounces [avoird.]; Distilled Water a 
sufficiency; Black Oxide of Manganese eighty ounces [avoird.]; Hydrochloric 
Acid twenty-four pints [Imperial measure]. Mix the Lime with the Carbonate 
of Potash, and triturate them with a few ounces of the Water so as to make 
the mixture slightly moist. Place the Oxide of Manganese in a large retort or 
llask, and, having poured upon it the Hydrochloric Acid, diluted with six pints 702 
Potassas Chloras. 
PART I. 
[Imp. meas.] of water, apply a gentle sand heat, and conduct the Chlorine as 
it comes over, first through a bottle containing six [fluid]ounces of Water, and 
then into a large carboy containing the mixture of Carbonate of Potash and 
Slaked Lime. When the whole of the chlorine has come over, remove the con- 
tents of the carboy, and boil them for twenty minutes with seven pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Water; filter and evaporate till a film forms on the surface, and 
set aside to cool and crystallize. The crystals thus obtained are to be purified 
by dissolving them in three times their weight of boiling Distilled Water, and 
again allowing the solution to crystallize.” 
In the first process, a large proportion of the potassa is lost by being con- 
verted into chloride of potassium. Prof. F. C. Calvert, of Manchester, almost 
entirely avoided this loss by his new process, in which he reacts upon one eq. of 
caustic potassa, mixed with five and a half eqs. of lime, with a stream of chlorine. 
The potassa is dissolved in sufficient water to form a solution, containing 
per cent, of the alkali (sp. gr. 1T10), and mixed with the lime; and the mixture, 
after having been gradually heated to 122°, is subjected to a rapid current of 
chlorine to saturation, the reaction caused by which raises the temperature to 
about 194°. The product is then evaporated nearly to dryness, the residue dis- 
solved in boiling water, and the solution filtered and set aside to crystallize. 
The strength of the solution of potassa, together with the increased temperature, 
determines the combination of part of the chlorine with calcium instead of 
potassium; and the oxygen from the lime converts the remaining chlorine into 
chloric acid. A higher or lower density of tlm potassa solution was found not to 
give equally favourable results. This process has been tried on a large scale, 
and is said to have been successful. While the original process gives but 43 
parts of chlorate to 100 of anhydrous potassa, this process yields 2G0 parts. 
The same result in relation to the loss of potassa was gained in the British 
process by the use of a larger proportion of slaked lime. 
The chlorate of potassa of commerce is prepared by the reaction of solutions of 
chloride of potassium and hypochlorite of lime, with the assistance of heat. The 
chlorate of potassa crystallizes during the refrigeration of the liquor, and chloride 
of calcium remains in solution (KC1 and 3(Ca0,C10) = K0,C105 and 3CaCl). 
Properties. Chlorate of potassa is a white anhydrous salt, of a cooling and 
slightly acerb taste. It crystallizes in rhomboidal plates of a pearly lustre. It 
is soluble in 1G parts of water at 60°, and in two and a half parts of boiling 
water. When thrown on burning coals, it augments their combustion remark- 
ably. This property is due to the presence of oxygen, which may be evolved 
from the salt, in the proportion of nearly 39 per cent., by heating it a little 
above its point of fusion. The residue is chloride of potassium. 
Chlorate of potassa is characterized also by becoming first yellow, and then red 
by admixture with a little sulphuric acid, and by the action of that acid evolving 
chlorous acid gas (quadroxide of chlorine), known by its yellow colour, and ex- 
plosive property when heated; by its bleaching power when mixed first with mu- 
riatic acid and then with water; and by its property of exploding violently when 
triturated with a small portion of sulphur or phosphorus, or even kermes min- 
eral. Its usual impurity is chloride of potassium, which maybe detected by a 
precipitate of chloride of silver being produced on the addition of nitrate of sil- 
ver. This test does not precipitate the chlorine of the chloric acid. Chlorate of 
potassa consists of one eq. of chloric acid 75 5, and one of potassa 47 2 = 122 7. 
This salt is an excellent test of manganese existing in organic matter, if a 
small portion of such matter, containing even a trace of manganese, be thrown 
on the surface of the pure melted salt in a test-glass, after the combustion has 
ceased, the cooled saline mass will be found to have a rose or pinkish tint, caused 
by the formation of permanganate of potassa. (Neues Pepert., vi. 247.) A sim- 
ilar discoloration of the salt, produced by the use of pure charcoal in the same 
manner, will evince the presence of manganese in the chlorate as an impurity. 
Medical Properties. According to M. Socquet, the physiological action of 
chlorate of potassa is to depress the circulation, without the least effect on the PAliT I. 
Potassse Chloras.—Potassse Nitras. 
703 
digestive organs. From experiments made by Dr. O’Shaughnessy and others, it 
gives a bright scarlet colour to the venous blood, and passes undecomposed into 
the urine. The first trials made with it as a medicine were founded upon the 
supposition that it would prove an oxidizing remedy; and hence it was employed 
in scurvy, and in syphilis and liver complaints as a substitute for mercury. In 
scurvy its use has been recently revived. It has also been employed in acute 
articular rheumatism, pseudomembranous angina and croup, ulcerative and 
gangrenous stomatitis of infants, and mercurial and maternal stomatitis. In 
these ulcerous affections there can be no doubt of its great efficacy in very 
many instances. Dr. Alexander Harkin, of Dublin, recommends it highly in 
scrofula and consumption. {Dub. Quart. Journ., Nov. 1861.) At an earlier 
date, it had been tried advantageously in presumed cases of phthisis by Dr. 
Davenport, of Iowa. {Am. Med. Monthly, Sept. 1860.) Dr. Austin Flint, how- 
ever, as the result of his own observations, denies that it has any specific in- 
fluence on the disease. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 1861, p. 321.) It is much 
employed, and by some practitioners mainly relied on in scarlatina, diphtheria, 
and fetid breath. It has obtained some reputation also as a resolvent; and Mr. 
W. Craig, of Ayr, in Scotland, has reported three cases of large ovarian tumours, 
two of which disappeared, and the third was diminished, under the use of a 
dessertspoonful, thrice daily, of a saturated aqueous solution of the chlorate. 
{Edin. Med. Journ., Nov. 1865,p.427.) It has been thought in some instances 
to have prevented abortion. 
Externally, chlorate of potassa in solution has been used in several diseases. 
Mr. Moore, of London, has found it very useful as an application to indolent 
and scrofulous ulcers and phagedaena, to ulcerations of the nose, mouth, and 
tongue, and for cleansing cancerous sores. It is even asserted to have caused 
the healing of cancroid ulcers. {Journ.de Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 269.) M. 
Ganjot found it successful in a case of severe phagedenic ulcers, which had 
long resisted other remedies; applying to each ulcer morning and evening by 
means of a compress a solution containing one part of the salt in 25 parts of 
water. {Ann. de Therap., 1866, p. 132.) Dr. S. F. Starley, of Fairfield, Texas, 
succeeded in curing, in a month, a case of long-standing catarrh of the blad- 
der, by injecting into the bladder, daily at first, and afterwards every two or 
three days, from four to six ounces of a solution containing a drachm in eight 
ounces of water. {Med. and Burg. Reporter, Aug. 24, 1867, p. 169; from the 
South. Journ. of Med. Sci.) Dr. Bedford Brown, of N. C., has employed it 
with success, in the form of injection, in gonorrhoea in women, leucorrhoea, and 
ulceration of the os uteri. {Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1857, p. 66.) The 
dose is from fifteen to thirty grains every three or four hours, given in sufficient 
gum water, sweetened water, or lemonade to dissolve it. When administered as 
a prophylactic in salivation, a smaller dose will answer. No nicety need be ob- 
served in the dose. Taken to the extent of five drachms in twenty-four hours, 
it was found to produce diuresis, abundant salivation, and a strong saltish taste. 
When used.as a wash or injection, from a drachm to half an ounce of the salt 
may be dissolved in a pint of water. A solution in glycerin, in the proportion 
of one part of the salt to ten of the menstruum, has been especially recom- 
mended as a dressing for ill-conditioned wounds and ulcers. The remedy has 
also been applied in the form of very fine powder dusted on the surface. 
Off. Prep. Potassse Permanganas, Br.; Trochisci Potassse Chloratis, Br. 
B. 
POTASSiE NITRAS. U.S.,Br. 
Nitrate of Potassa. 
K0,N05. Nitrate of potash of commerce, purified, if necessary, by crystal- 
lization from solution in distilled water. Br. 
Nitre, Saltpetre; Nitrate de potasse, Azotate de potasse, Salpetre, Fr.; Salpetersaures 
Kali, Salpeter, Germ., Dutch, Dan., Swed.; Nitro, Ital., Span., Port. 
Nitre or saltpetre is both a natural and artificial product. It occurs in many 704 
Potassse Nitras. 
PART I 
countries, existing in the soil on which it forms a saline efflorescence, in the 
fissures of calcareous rocks, and in caves. It has been found in different parts of 
Europe, in Egypt, and in Peru; but the country in which it is most abundantly 
produced is India, whence the principal part is furnished for the demands of 
commerce. In the United States it is found, for the most part, in caverns situated 
in limestone rock, called saltpetre caves, where it is associated with nitrate of 
lime. The earths contained in them are lixiviated, and yield, according to their 
richness, from one to ten pounds of crude nitre to the bushel. These caves are 
particularly numerous in Kentucky, and furnished a large proportion of the 
nitre consumed in the United States during the last war with England. Ac- 
cording to Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, nitre earth exists near Nashville, 
Tenn., which yields 15 per cent, of nitre, and is said to be sufficiently abundant 
to supply the demand of the United States. In Bradford County, Penn., a 
solid, uncrystalline deposit of very pure nitre exists in a sandstone rock. {Prof. 
W. H. Ellet.) “A mountain” of the salt is said to have been discovered by Dr. 
Harrison among the Rocky Mountains, “six miles N. E. of Crystal Peak.” 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1866, p 87.) Nitre exists also in the vegetable 
kingdom, having been found in tobacco, borage, bugloss, parietaria, hemlock, 
and the sun-flower. The artificial sources of nitre are certain mixtures of ani- 
mal and vegetable substances with wood-ashes and calcareous matter, called 
nitre-beds ; and certain materials, impregnated with saltpetre, consisting prin- 
cipally of plaster rubbish, derived from the demolition of old buildings. The 
ashes of tobacco stems, consisting almost exclusively of carbonate of potassa 
and chloride of potassium in nearly equal parts, have been proposed by M. 
Commaille as an artificial source of nitre, by adding them to the ordinary nitre- 
beds. (Journ. de Pliarm., Fev. 1856, 106.) 
Preparation from its Natural Sources. In India the saline earth, which con- 
tains about seven parts of nitre in a thousand, is lixiviated in large mud filters, 
lined with stiff clay, and furnished with false bottoms of bamboo, covered with 
grass mats, on which wood-ashes are laid. The filters being then filled with 
the saline earth, water is added, and the solution filters through the wood-ashes, 
with the effect of converting the nitrate of lime present, amounting to nearly 
1 per cent., into nitrate of potassa. The solution obtained is evaporated in 
earthen pots, filtered, and set aside to crystallize. The impure nitre thus ob- 
tained contains from 45 to 70 per cent, of the pure salt. It is redissolved and 
crystallized, and thrown into commerce under the name of crude saltpetre. 
Besides the nitre obtained in India by the filtration of the soil deposited 
during the overflow of the Ganges, it appears, from the report of Dr. J. W. 
Palmer, that much of the crude salt is obtained, in the northwestern Provinces 
of Hindostan, from the saline incrustations formed in and around the mud 
walls surrounding the dwellings of the natives. The scrapings from these 
sources are lixiviated, and the impure solution allowed to evaporate in shallow 
pans exposed to the sun. The impure nitre extracted from the earthy matters 
crystallizes out; while common salt, to the extent of from 1 to 9 per cent., re- 
mains in the mother-liquor, and is recovered by subsequent evaporation to 
dryness. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1868, p 436.) 
Artificial Preparation, The plan of forming saltpetre in artificial nitre-beds 
is principally practised in Germany ; while the method of obtaining it from old 
plaster rubbish is followed in France. Artificial nitre-beds are formed of animal 
and vegetable remains, together with ashes and calcareous earth, which are 
mixed up with a portion of loose soil and placed under sheds, to shelter the 
mixture from the rain ; while the sides are left open to permit the free access of 
air. The mixture is disposed in little ranges or heaps, which are frequently 
turned over with a spade, and sprinkled with urine, as a substance containing a 
large quantity of nitrogen. At the end of two or three years the nitrogen is 
converted into nitric acid, and this, by uniting with the potassa existing in the 
vegetable remains, forms nitre. When the contents of the bed contain about four 
ounces of the salt for every cubic foot of the materials, they are deemed fit to be PART I. 
Potassx Nitras. 
705 
lixiviated. The lixiviation is performed with boiling water, which is repeatedly 
thrown upon fresh portions of the mass, until the solution obtained is sufficiently 
strong. The lixivium is of a brown colour, and contains chiefly the nitrate of 
potassa, but at the same time more or less of the nitrates of lime and magnesia, 
and of common salt. The earthy nitrates are then decomposed by a solution of 
wood-ashes, the potassa of which converts them into nitre, and precipitates the 
earths. The solution being further evaporated, the common salt rises to the 
surface as a scum, and is removed. The soluton is then allowed to cool, and the 
nitrate crystallizes in dirty-white crystals, called crude nitre. Nitrate of lime 
may be converted into nitre by adding it to a solution of sulphate of potassa. 
Sulphate of lime is precipitated, and nitrate of potassa remains in solution. 
When obtained from old plaster rubbish, the material is reduced to powder 
and lixiviated, in order to exhaust it of everything soluble. The solution is found 
to contain the nitrates of potassa and lime, and common salt, and is treated with 
wood-ashes, which convert the nitrate of lime into nitrate of potassa, with pre- 
cipitation of the earth as a carbonate. The liquor is separated from the precipi- 
tate and concentrated by heat; and the common salt, as it rises to the surface, 
is skimmed off. When the solution is so strong as to mark 45° of Baume’s areo- 
meter, it is allowed to cool and crystallize; and the crystals form the crude nitre 
of this process. The salt obtained in this way generally contains from 85 to 88 
per cent, of pure nitre; the remainder being made up of chloride of sodium, and 
certain deliquescent salts. The details of this process, as formerly practised in 
Paris, are given by Thenard. 
Theory of Nitrification. It is generally supposed that the continuous forma- 
tion of nitre in nitre earths, and in artificial nitre-beds, depends upon the oxida- 
tion of the nitrogen of ammonia, thus generating nitric acid, the formation of 
which is facilitated by the presence of alkaline and earthy bases, with which the 
acid unites. The ammonia is derived, for the most part, from the organic remains 
in the nitre earths, and from the animal matter which is an essential ingredient 
in the artificial mixtures. According to Schoenbein, whose statement has been 
confirmed by Goppelsroder, the formation of the nitric acid is always preceded 
by that of nitrous acid. (Journ. de Fharm., Avril, 1862, p. 334.) 
Purification. Nitrate of potassa, as first obtained, either from natural or 
artificial sources, is called in commerce crude saltpetre, and requires to be puri- 
fied before it can be used in medicine, or in most of the arts. The process, which 
is founded principally on the fact that nitre is more soluble than common salt 
in hot water, is conducted in the following manner in France. Thirty parts of 
saltpetre are boiled with six parts of water, and the portion which remains un- 
dissolved, or is deposited, consisting of common salt, is carefully removed. As 
the ebullition proceeds, a little water is added from time to time, to hold the 
nitre in solution. When common salt ceases to be separated, the solution is 
clarified with glue, and more water is added, at intervals, until the whole, 
including that previously added, amounts to ten parts. The clear solution is 
now transferred to large, shallow copper coolers, where it is agitated with 
wooden instruments to hasten the cooling, and to cause the nitre to crystallize 
in small grains. The purification is completed by washing the salt with water, 
or a saturated solution of nitre, in a kind of wooden hopper, with holes in the 
bottom stopped with pegs. The liquid employed is allowed to remain in contact 
with the nitre for several hours, after which it is permitted to drain off by taking 
out the pegs. The salt is now dried, and takes the name of purified nitre. 
In Sweden, the process of purification is conducted in a different manner. The 
solution of the crude nitre is boiled until a saline crust (common salt) forms on 
its surface, and until it is so far concentrated that a small portion of it crystallizes 
upon cooling. The crust being removed, the solution is filtered, and diluted 
with l-48th of water, with a view to retain in solution the common salt, which, 
being somewhat less soluble in cold than in boiling water, would otherwise be in 
part precipitated on refrigeration. The solution is now allowed to cool, and, at 
45 706 
Potassse Nitras. 
PART L 
the moment crystals begin to form, is stirred constantly to cause the salt to 
crystallize in small grains. The granular salt is then washed after the French 
method, as above described, dried, and, being fused, is cast in sheet-iron moulds 
so as to form masses, each weighing from ten to twenty pounds. The prepara- 
tion of nitre in this manner by fusion is, according to Berzelius, attended with 
several advantages; such as its occupying less space, its losing nothing by waste 
in transportation, and its presenting, in this state, an obvious index of its quality. 
This index is the character of its fracture. When the salt is perfectly pure, the 
fracture is radiated, the radii being generally large. The presence of l-80th of 
common salt renders the radii smaller; and of l-40th, or a larger quantity, pro- 
duces a zone in the substance of the mass devoid of the radiated structure, or 
causes this structure to disappear entirely. On the other hand, the melting of 
the salt has the disadvantage of converting it in part into nitrite if the heat be 
too high, and of rendering it difficult to pulverize. 
The British Pharmacopoeia of 1864 gave a process for purifying commercial 
nitre; but, as this is done on a large scale by the manufacturers, the process 
has been very properly omitted in the present edition. It may be seen in the 
preceding edition of this work. 
Commercial History. Nitre is received in this country from Calcutta, packed 
in grass-cloth bags, containing from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and 
seventy-five pounds. The greater portion of it arrives at Boston. Its quality 
varies considerably. That which comes in dirty-yellow crystals is called crude 
saltpetre ; while the finer lots, in small, comparatively clear crystals, approach- 
ing to white, are called East Irtdia refined. Very little crude saltpetre is at 
present obtained from native sources in the United States. The refined saltpetre 
is almost exclusively prepared by our own chemists. 
As connected with the subject of saltpetre, it may be proper in this place to 
notice what is incorrectly called South American saltpetre, considerable quan- 
tities of which have been received within a few years from Peru and Chili. It 
is nitrate of soda, and comes in bags containing about 270 pounds of the salt in 
the crude state. This nitrate is used by our manufacturing chemists, and is better 
suited than nitre for preparing nitric and sulphuric acids,on account of its greater 
proportional quantity of acid It is, however, not applicable to the purpose of 
making gunpowder, from its tendency to absorb moisture. 
Nitrate of soda may be decomposed, so as to yield nitre, by means of caustic 
American potash (red potash of commerce), bv Mr. Botch’s patented process. 
This process gives a nitre equal in purity to the East India refined. For the 
details, see the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, (xi. 36). The same salt will furnish 
nitre by double decomposition with pearlash. (Ibid., xi. 236.) Mr. Hill decom- 
poses.nitrate of soda by means of chloride of potassium, forming, by double de- 
composition, nitrate of potassa and chloride of sodium. The latter is got rid of, 
in the usual manner, by evaporating the solution of the mixed salts. 
Properties. Nitre is a white salt, possessing a sharp, cooling, and slightly 
bitterish taste, and generally crystallized in long, striated, semi-transparent, six- 
sided prisms, with dihedral summits. It dissolves in four or five times its weight 
of cold, and in about two-fifths of its weight of boiling water. It is sparingly 
soluble in rectified spirit, but insoluble in absolute alcohol. It undergoes no 
alteration in the air, unless this is very moist. It yields a yellow precipitate 
with bichloride of platinum, showing that potassa forms its base. It is devoid 
of water of crystallization; but is apt to contain a portion of liquid, mechani- 
cally lodged within the substance of the crystals. This is particularly the case 
with the large crystals, and, according to Berzelius, is a source of impurity; as 
the liquid in question is aportion of the mother-water in which they were formed. 
It is on this account that Berzelius recommends that the solution of the purified 
salt should be stirred during crystallization, so as to cause it to shoot into small 
crystals. When exposed to heat, nitre fuses without losing weight at about 
662°. The fused mass, when cast in moulds, or formed into little circular cakes, 
constitutes that form of nitre kept in the shops under the name of crystal min- PART I. 
Potassa? Nilras. 
707 
eral or sal prunelle.* If the heat is increased, the salt is decomposed, evolves 
pure oxygen, aud is reduced to the state of nitrite, which, when rubbed to 
powder, emits orange-coloured fumes of hyponitric acid, and nitric oxide on the 
addition of sulphuric acid. Upon a further continuance of the heat, the nitrous 
acid itself is decomposed, and a large additional quantity of oxygen is evolved, 
contaminated, however, with more or less nitrogen. On account of the large 
proportion of oxygen which it contains, nitre increases the combustion of many 
substances in a remarkable degree. When thrown on burning coals, itdeflagrates 
with bright scintillations. In the reaction of nitre with charcoal, carbonic acid 
is produced, and never carbonic oxide; and the nitric acid is variously decom- 
posed into nitrous acid, nitric oxide, or nitrogen, according to the proportion of 
the charcoal and to the heat employed. (A Vogel, jun.) Nitre may be readily 
recognised by its effect in increasing the combustion of live coals, when thrown 
upon them; and by evolving white or reddish vapours on the addition of sul- 
phuric acid. Its most usual impurity is common salt, which is seldom entirely 
absent, and which injures it for the manufacture of gunpowder. The presence 
of this salt, or of chloride of potassium, will cause a precipitate with nitrate of 
silver. If a sulphate be present, a precipitate will be formed with chloride of 
barium. Of the pure salt, 100 grains, treated with 60 grains of sulphuric acid, 
and ignited until it ceases to lose weight, yield 86 grains of sulphate of potassa. 
If the residue weighs less, part of it is probably sulphate of soda, and the nitre 
tested may be assumed to have contained nitrate of soda. The refined or purified 
6altpetre of commerce is sufficiently pure for medicinal use. Nitrate of potassa 
is composed of one eq. of nitric acid 54, and one of potassa 4U2 = 10T2 f 
Medical Properties. Nitre is considered refrigerant, diuretic, and diapho- 
retic, and is much used in inflammatory diseases. It is known to be a powerful 
antiseptic. It generally promotes the secretion of urine and sweat, lessens the 
heat of the body and the frequency of the pulse, and has a tendency to keep the 
bowels in a soluble condition. When taken in health, in quantities increasing 
gradually from one to five drachms daily, for the space of from eight to twelve 
days, it was found by F. Loftier to produce general weakness, lowness of spirits, 
constant disposition to sleep, and slow and weak pulse. Towards the end of 
the experiment, the pulse several times fell to twenty beats in the minute. Dur- 
ing the use of the medicine, the appetite and digestion continued good, and the 
bowels were regular; though, occasionally, some pain was experienced in the 
abdomen, followed by purging. The blood, drawn at the end of the period, re- 
sembled cherry juice in colour, exhibited paler blood corpuscles than in health, 
coagulated very quickly, forming a clot of diminished firmness, was more watery 
than natural, and contained a smaller proportion of fat. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., xviii. 204; from Schmidt's Jahrb. ) 
Nitre is very frequently prescribed with tartar emetic and calomel, forming a 
combination usually called the nitrous powder, which promotes most of the 
secretions, particularly those of the liver and skin, and which in many cases is 
advantageously employed in lessening and modifying febrile excitement. The 
formula usually preferred is eight or ten grains of nitre, the eighth of a grain 
of tartar emetic, and from the fourth to the half of a grain of calomel, exhibited 
every two or three hours. Nitre is frequently given in active hemorrhages, par- 
ticularly haemoptysis, and is a useful ingredient of gargles in certain stages of 
inflammatory sorethroat Dr. Frisi, an Italian physician, found it very efficacious, 
in a case of obstinate spasmodic asthma, in affording speedy relief, and cutting 
short the attack as often as it was repeated. In the same disease, nitrous funti- 
* Sal prunelle, as directed to be made in the French Codex of 1837, is a mixture of nitrate 
and sulphate of potassa. It is prepared by fusing nitre in a Hessian crucible, adding 
1-128th part of sulphur, and pouring out the product on a smooth marble slab, where it 
is allowed to congeal. The sulphur immediately takes fire, and, by combining with 
oxygen from a part of the nitric acid of the nitre, becomes sulphuric acid, which then 
unites with a small portion of potassa, to form sulphate of potassa. 
f A method of estimating the nature and amount of the various impurities in commer- 
cial saltpetre has been published by M. Persoz, and may be seen in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 543. 708 
Potassse Nitras. — Potassae Permanganas. 
PART I. 
gation has been found useful, performed by inhaling the fumes from a piece of 
burning touch-paper about the size of a playing card, prepared by dipping 
blotting paper in a saturated solution of nitre, and afterwards drying it. M. 
Yohl has examined the vapour resulting from the burning of paper thus impreg- 
nated, and found it to consist of carbonic acid aud oxide, cyanogen, ammonia, 
nitrogen, aqueous vapour, and carbonate and nitrite of potassa; and ascribes 
the beneficial results of its inhalation to the ammonia and nitrite of potassa. 
(Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iii. 155, A. D. 1866.) In the form 
of sal prunelle, it has been strongly recommended by M. Debout in polydipsia, 
given in the dose of a drachm daily. Dr. Henry Tiedemann, of this city, praises 
nitre as a remedy in dysentery. The usual dose is from ten to fifteen grains, 
dissolved in water or some mucilaginous liquid, and repeated every two or 
three hours. If given too freely, or for too long a period, it is apt to excite 
pain in the stomach. In an overdose (half an ounce to an ounce or more), taken 
in concentrated solution, it causes heat and pain in the stomach, vomiting and 
purging of blood, great prostration, convulsions, and sometimes death. On dis- 
section, the stomach and intestines are found inflamed. A fatal case of poison- 
ing by nitre, in which, although three ounces and a half were taken at one dose, 
no painful symptoms were manifested, is related by Dr. John Snowden, in the 
New Jersey Med. Reporter (viii. 117). The treatment consists in the speedy 
removal of the poison from the stomach, and in the administration of mucilagi- 
nous drinks, laudanum to allay pain and irritation, and cordials to sustain tho 
system. No antidote is known. 
Notwithstanding the toxical properties of nitre when taken largely in con- 
centrated solution, it may be given, in divided doses, to the extent of one or two 
ounces in twenty-four hours, if copiously diluted with water. Administered in 
this way, the salt acts as a sedative on the circulation, decreasing the force and 
frequency of the pulse. It is chiefly in acute rheumatism that large doses have 
been employed; and both M. Gendrin and M. Martin-Solon bear testimony to 
its remarkable efficacy in that disease, when thus given Dr. Henry Bennett, of 
London, also speaks highly of its efficacy in the same disease; and his favour 
able report of it is confirmed by some well-conducted clinical experiments by 
Dr. It. Rowland, of the same city. The remedy was given by the latter in a 
quantity never exceeding half an ounce in twenty-four hours, dissolved in a pint 
of water. Thus administered, it produced no inconvenience. Large doses of 
this salt have also been employed with success in general dropsy, following 
remittent fever. It is best given, dissolved in sweetened barley-water, in the 
proportion of half an ounce to a pint and a half or two pints of the liquid. 
Dr. Mangenot recommends, for the removal of cutaneous naevi, the topical 
use of nitre, applied by friction with the moistened finger, dipped into the pow- 
dered salt. (Half-yearly Abstract, Jan. to July, 1857, p. 120.) 
In pharmacy nitre is employed to form crocus of antimony, to procure nitric 
acid, and sometimes in the preparation of sweet spirit of nitre. It enters into 
the composition of moxa. In the laboratory it is used to make black and white 
flux, and to yield oxygen at a red heat. In the arts it is employed in the pro- 
duction of aqua fortis (common nitric acid), the manufacture of sulphuric acid, 
and the fabrication of gunpowder. The Br. Pharmacopoeia uses it in the puri- 
fication of bismuth. 
Off. Prep. Collodium, U. S. B. 
POTASSiE PERMANGANAS. U.S.,Br. 
Permanganate of Potassa. Ihjpermanganate of Potassa. 
Permanganate of Potash. KO,Mni(Or Br. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. In the former 
it is placed in the Materia Medica list, as an article to be procured from the 
manufacturer. In the latter a process is given for its preparation. The follow- 
ing is the British formula. PART i. 
Potassse Permanganas. 
709 
“ Take of Caustic Potash five ounces [avoirdupois] ; Black Oxide of Man- 
ganese, in fine powder, four ounces [avoird.]; Chlorate of Potash three ounces 
and a half [avoird.] ; Diluted Sulphuric Acid a sufficiency ; Distilled Water 
two pints and a half [Imperial measure]. Reduce the Chlorate of Potash to 
fine powder, and mix it with the Oxide of Manganese; put the mixture into a 
porcelain basin, and add to it the Caustic Potash, previously dissolved in four 
[fluid]ounces of the Water. Evaporate to dryness on a sand bath, stirring dili- 
gently to prevent spurting. Pulverise the mass, put it into a covered Hessian 
or Cornish crucible, and expose it to a dull red heat for an hour, or till it has 
assumed the condition of a semifused mass. Let it cool, pulverise it, and boil 
with a pint and a half [Imp. meas ] of the Water. Let the insoluble matter sub- 
side, decant the fluid, boil again with half a pint [Imp. meas.] of the Water, 
again decant, neutralise the united liquors accurately with the Diluted Sul- 
phuric Acid, and evaporate till a pellicle forms. Set aside to cool and crystallise. 
Drain the crystalline mass, boil it in six [fluid]ounces of the Water and strain 
through a funnel, the throat of which is lightly obstructed by a little asbestos. 
Let the fluid cool and crystallise, drain the crystals, and dry them by placing 
them under a bell jar over a vessel containing sulphuric acid.” Br. 
By this process chlorate of potassa yields oxygen to binoxide of manganese, 
converting it into permanganic acid, which unites with the potassa to form the 
permanganate, chloride of potassium being formed at the same time; but as the 
whole of the materials, however accurately the proportions may be calculated, 
do not react upon each other to the desired result, portions of the binoxide and 
of the potassa remain. Hence, when exhausted by water, the solution contains 
with the permanganate and chloride an uncertain proportion of potassa, which 
requires to be neutralized by sulphuric acid. Unfortunately, it is extremely 
difficult to get rid of the sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, in the 
crystallization, which, therefore, are apt to contaminate the permanganate. At 
best the product is small and uncertain in amount; and the process, therefore, 
which is a modification of Gregory’s, is not likely to be generally adopted. 
Several other processes have been employed, among which a very simple one 
is that by Grisger. This chemist prepared the salt by first obtaining the pure 
oxide of manganese by calcining the carbonate, then calcining together a mix- 
ture of 130 parts of the oxide, 100 parts of chlorate of potassa, and 184 parts 
of hydrate of potassa, as free from carbonic acid as possible. The carbonate is 
easily procured as an incidental product in the preparation of chlorine, by pre- 
cipitating the muriatic liquor by carbonate of soda. To complete the process, 
the salt is obtained separate by solution, evaporation, and crystallization. (Ann. 
de Therap., 1867, p 230.) According to Dr. E. R. Squibb, the best of the 
met hods proposed is the following by M. Bechamp, of Montpellier. 
Ten parts of binoxide of manganese, in fine powder, are intimately mixed 
with 12 parts of potassa dissolved in a little water, and the mixture is thoroughly 
dried. This is introduced into an earthenware retort, furnished with a tube 
passing through the tubulure nearly to the bottom. The retort is placed in a 
furnace, and to the beak a bent tube is adapted, the end of which dips into 
mercury. Heat is then applied, and a current of oxygen, or of atmospheric air 
freed from carbonic acid, is made to enter into the retort through the tube in 
the tubulure, as long as absorption continues. The mass is then exhausted with 
water, and carbonic acid is passed through the solution until it acquires a red 
or purple colour. After standing so as to allow of the subsidence of the undis- 
solved matter, the liquid is decanted, evaporated without ebullition, and allowed 
to crystallize. The crystals are purified by a second crystallization. In this pro- 
cess the requisite oxygen for peroxidizing the manganese is supplied from a dis- 
tinct source, and the disadvantage from the presence of other salts avoided. 
The action of the carbonic acid is to convert into carbonate the excess of po- 
tassa, which, so long as allowed to remain, prevents the conversion into per- 
manganic acid of the mamranic acid formed in the earlier stage of the process. 
For satisfactory results it is desirable that, while a heat sufficient in degree 710 
Potassse Ptrmanganas. 
PAKT i. 
and sufficiently prolonged is employed, it should not be so great as to decom- 
pose the new acid formed, and that a long continuance of heat in the extrac- 
tion of the salt from the mass by water, and in the subsequent evaporation of 
the rfj.utions, should be avoided, as it also favours decomposition. Hence the 
propriety of using a steam-heat, and of obtaining the salt with as little admixture 
as possible of other salts, which require repeated solution and evaporation to 
separate them. The latter is one of the main advantages of Bechamp’s process. 
I)r. Squibb, after much attention to the subject, and many experiments, proposes 
a method in which these difficulties are avoided, and which has the recommenda- 
tion of simplicity and economy. We have space only for an outline of his process, 
and refer for details to his article in the Am Journ. of Ph arm. for Sept. 1864. 
Fused hydrate of potassa is heated with a little water in a cast-iron vessel, the 
boBun of which is made nearly red-hot; binoxide of manganese is added, and 
the mixture stirred till dry. It is then powdered, and subjected repeatedly to the 
action of water at an elevated temperature, being stirred to dryness after each 
addition. This operation is repeated four times. After the last addition of water 
the vessel is removed from the fire, and, time being allowed for subsidence, the 
clear liquor is decanted. The operation is twice repeated with the residue, after 
which the undissolved matters are thrown away. The liquors thus obtained are 
mixed and evaporated, care being taken to avoid too high a heat; and the resi- 
due is set aside to crystallize. The crystals are then drained in a funnel, the 
neck of which is obstructed with pieces of glass; as it is of the utmost import- 
ance that the salt shall not come in contact with organic matter. A further pro- 
duct of crystals is obtained by a repetition of the process; the mother-water 
being used, instead of pure water, for the solution of the potassa. The crystals 
thus obtained are washed with distilled water, then dissolved in boiling distilled 
water, and recrystallized. The yield of pure crystals maybe from 16 to 25 per 
cent, of the oxide employed, according to the care used in conducting the process. 
Subsequent experience has convinced Dr. Squibb that the recrystallization 
is unnecessary and wasteful; the product of crystals first obtained being suffi- 
ciently pure for all ordinary purposes, and the little free potassa contained 
therein being useful, if not essential in preserving the salt from decomposition 
in solution. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1865, p. 22 ) 
The rationale of this process, which appears to us to be an excellent one, is 
probably as follows. When the binoxide of manganese and potassa are heated 
together, a portion of the binoxide, under the influence of the potassa and heat, 
gives up to another portion so much oxygen as to convert it into manganic acid 
(MnO„), which combines with potassa to form the manganate. But this salt,when 
dissolved in water, rapidly changes to the permanganate, probably by the sur- 
render of one eq. of oxygen by one eq. of the manganic acid, by which it is con- 
verted into deutoxide (Mn02), to two other eqs. of manganic acid, converting 
them into one eq. of the permanganic (Mn207). The manganic acid thus be- 
comes a carrier of oxygen from the deutoxide, and, though a small portion may 
be formed at once, vet, by its successive formation and decomposition, itat length 
gives a considerable proportional product. 
Properties. Permanganate of potassa (KO,Mn2Ot) is in the form of slender 
prismatic crystals, of a dark-purple colour, inodorous, and of a sweetish, astrin- 
gent taste. It is said to be soluble in 16 parts of water at 60° (Brande and 
Taylor); but, according to M. Reveil, it is dissolved by 5 times its weight at 
common temperatures. (Arch. Gen., Janv. 1864, p. 24.) Its solution, even with 
a minute proportion of the salt, has a beautiful lilac colour If the solution be 
evaporated to dryness, the salt has the form of an intensely black powder. It 
suddenly heated, the crystals detonate; evolving oxygen, and leaving a black 
residue, which yields potassa to water, recognised by its alkaline reaction, and 
by giving, when acidulated with muriatic acid,a yellow precipitate with bichloride 
of platinum. (Br.) Moderately heated, they are partially volatilized, giving out 
violet vapours, of a disagreeable metallic odour. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 
1862, p. 409.) This salt, in consequence of the facility with which it parts with PART I. 
Potassse Permanganas. 
711 
oxygen, is one of the most powerful oxidizing agents known. It causes the 
combustion of certain inflammable bodies, imparts oxygen to almost all oi’ganic 
substances, and in chemistry is employed to bring various compounds to a higher 
degree of oxidation. It has been conjectured that a part of the oxygen contained 
in it is in the state of ozone, and to this has been ascribed its extraordinary 
oxidizing power. But the readiness with which it yields oxygen in the nascent 
state, is sufficient to account for the phenomena. It may be kept indefinitely if 
pure, and carefully secured from contact with organic substances, or other de- 
composing agents; but, in fact, in consequence of the almost universal presence 
of organic matter in the air, it is generally partially decomposed, and, when dis- 
solved, leaves a slight residue of hydrated binoxide of manganese. In reference 
to the metals, mercury is quickly oxidized at the expense of the salt; a mixture 
of protoxide of mercury and oxide of manganese being deposited as a brown 
powder, and caustic potassa remaining in solution. Zinc remains unchanged 
indefinitely in a solution of the permanganate, silver is little affected, and cop- 
per not at all even at 212° F. (Giles, Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Mai, 18(58, 
p. 897.) 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia gives as a test, that its solution is instantly de- 
colorized by the solution of arsenite of potassa, with the production of a brown 
precipitate. The British requires that 5 grains, dissolved in water, should be 
completely decolorized by not less than 44 grains of granulated sulphate of iron, 
acidulated with two fiuidrachms of officinal dilute sulphuric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Permanganate of potassa was first brought 
to the notice of the profession, in 1857, by Mr. Condyas a powerful disinfectant; 
and, since that time, has been very extensively and satisfactorily employed, so 
that it now ranks among the most efficient agents, and by some is considered 
superior to all others. Not only has it an extraordinary power of destroying 
fetid odours from organic sources; but it is thought even to destroy poisonous 
emanations, and thus to prove useful in preventing the spread of infectious dis- 
eases. It is used also very successfully in the treatment of fetid and gangre- 
nous ulcers, abscesses, and wounds of all kinds, of fetid discharges from the 
mucous membrane in ozaena, otorrhcea, and leucorrhoea, and of diphtheritic 
affections; and it has proved serviceable even in cancerous ulcers, as of the face, 
mouth, and uterus. In this country, it has been employed extensively and with 
extraordinary success in hospital gangrene. As a local stimulant it has also been 
used in chronic and indolent ulcers. Dr. T. L. Leavitt, of this city, has em- 
ployed it with the most satisfactory results in carbuncle. (Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., Jan. 1867, p. 131.) In all these cases, it is applied to the diseased surface 
in solution of various strengths, according to the effect desired. In concentrated 
solution, it is capable of acting as a caustic, and therefore requires caution. 
With the view to its caustic action, it may be sprinkled on the diseased sur- 
face by means of a pepper-box, or applied in strong solution As a disinfectant 
lotion it may be of various strengths, from one to ten grains to the fluidounce 
of water. M. Demarquay, who was among the first to employ it, uses for in- 
jection in cancer of the womb, and for application to gangrenous and fetid ab- 
scesses, a solution varying in strength from 5 to 20 parts of the salt to 100 of 
water, trying the weaker solution first. (Ann de Therap., A. D. 1864, p. 251.) 
M. O. Be veil recommends as a standard solution 10 parts dissolved in 90 parts 
of water. This may be used of its full strength in dressing cancerous, phage- 
denic, and atonic ulcers, and diphtheritic patches at the beginning. In conse- 
quence of its action on organic bodies, it should be applied by a pencil of 
amianthus, or sprinkled over a dressing of the same material upon the surface. 
For dressing simple wounds, or as an injection in ozaena, leucorrhoea, &c., half a 
fluidounce may be used to a pint of water; in gangrenous and diphtheritic 
wounds and scrofulous ulcers, and as a gargle in unhealthy ulcers of the mouth 
and fauces, a fluidounce to the pint; as a gargle in croup and diphtheritic angina 
with offensive breath, and as awash for the hands after post-mortem examina- 
tions, two fluidounces to the pint. Of the same normal solution M. Reveil gives 712 
Potassse Permavganas.—Potassse Sulphas. 
I’A III 1 
from ten to thirty drops internally through the day, equivalent to from one to 
three grains. {Arch. Gen., Janv. 1864, p. 25.) In preparing any solution of 
permanganate for use, it is of the utmost importance to avoid all organic 
matters; even the presence of matters of this kind adhering to the surface of 
unwashed bottles being often sufficient to render the solution unfit for disin- 
fectant purposes. 
Internally the medicine has been recommended in diabetes, by Mr. Sampson, 
of London; but experience has not confirmed the hopes that were at one time 
entertained of its efficiency. More recently we have been told that it has been used 
with supposed benefit, in cases of purulent infection, in the dose of half a grain 
or a grain repeated several times a day; and it is one of the remedies which is 
likely to prove useful in diphtheria, scarlatina, and other affections in which it 
may be presumed that noxious organic matters have entered the circulation. 
Dr. .lames F. Duncan has recently used it with encouraging success in acute 
rheumatism. He gives it in the form of Condy’s disinfectant fluid, containing 
9-26 grains in a fluidounce, of which he mixes one part with seven of distilled 
water, and administers half a fluidounce every two hours. {Braitliwaite's Re- 
trosp., liv. 206.) Dr. Isaac Kay, of Springfield, Ohio, has found excellent effects 
from the permanganate in petechial fever, or spinal meningitis, giving a table- 
spoonful of a solution of one grain in an ounce of water, in other words half a 
grain of the salt, repeated every hour. {Boston Med. and Surg. Jourv., lxx. 
373.) In diphtheria the remedy has proved extraordinarily successful, both 
given internally and applied locally, in the hands of Dr. Louis Mackall, Jr., of 
Georgetown, D. C. To a child of 11 years he gave a teaspoonful of a solution 
containing one drachm to a pint and a half of water. The solution for external 
use contained a drachm in a pint. {Am J. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1865, p. 87.) 
Off. Prep. Liquor Potass® Permanganatis, Br. W. 
POTASSiE SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
Sulphate of Potassa. 
Sulphate of Potash. K0,S03. Br. 
Vitriolated tartar; Tartarum vitriolatum, Arcanum duplicatum, Sal de duobus, Lat., 
Sulfate de potasse, Potasse vitriolee, Fr.; Schwefelsaures Kali, Vitriolisirtir Weinstein 
Germ.; Solfato di potassa, Ital. 
Several chemical processes give rise to sulphate of potassa as a secondary 
product. Thus, it is produced in the distillation of nitric acid from a mixture 
of nitre and sulphuric acid; in the decomposition of sulphate of magnesia by 
carbonate of potassa, in one of the processes for preparing carbonate of mag- 
nesia; in the manufacture of sulphuric acid; and in the decomposition of tar- 
trate of potassa by sulphate of lime. When nitric acid is obtained by calcining a 
mixture of nitre and sulphate of iron, the residue consists of sesquioxide of iron 
and sulphate of potassa, the latter of which, being alone soluble, is separated 
by means of water, and crystallized from its solution. The impure sulphate of 
potassa with sulphur, forming the residue of the combustion of sulphur and 
nitre in making sulphuric acid, is employed in the manufacture of alum. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia places sulphate of potassa in the list of the Materia 
Medica; the British, among the preparations, obtaining it from the salt which 
remains after the distillation of nitric acid. This salt is a supersulphate of po- 
tassa, and must be so treated as to be brought to the neutral state. In the British 
process it is brought to that state by saturation, in boiling solution, with slaked 
lime. The solution is then filtered to separate the sulphate of lime, and carbonate 
of potassa is added.at the boiling temperature to remove lime and sulphate of 
lime. It is again filtei’ed, then either neutralized or rendered slightly acid with 
diluted sulphuric acid; and, finally, having been evaporated to a pellicle, is set 
aside for twenty-four hours to crystallize. 
The manufacturer of tartaric acid who avails himself of sulphate of lime to 
decompose tartrate of potassa, forms sulphate of potassa xs a collateral product. PART I. 
Potassse Sulphas. 
713 
For the manner in which the latter salt may be economically crystallized for 
use in the arts, see Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 343). 
Properties. Sulphate of potassa is a white, anhydrous salt, in the form of 
small, aggregated, transparent, very hard crystals, permanent in the air, hav- 
ing the shape usually of short six-sided prisms, terminated by six-sided pyra- 
mids, and possessing a nauseous, somewhat bitter taste. Insoluble in alcohol, 
it is slowly soluble in about nine and a half times its weight of cold, and in less 
than four times its weight of boiling water. (Gay-Lussac.) Its solution is pre- 
cipitated yellow by bichloride of platinum, and white by chloride of barium. 
Added to a solution of sulphate of alumina, it generates alum, recognised by 
the octohedral shape of its crystals. It is decomposed by tartaric acid, which 
forms bitartrate of potassa, and by the soluble salts of baryta, strontia, lime, 
silver, and lead, forming insoluble or sparingly soluble sulphates. This salt is 
not liable to adulteration. It consists of one eq. of sulphuric acid 40, and one 
of potassa 47 2 = 87 2. 
The plate-sulphate of potassa, so well described by Prof. Penny, of Glasgow, 
is, when pure, the double sulphate of potassa and soda, having the formula 
3(KO,SOs) + NaO,S03. It is so called from the circumstance of being crystal- 
lized in hard thick cakes, or slabs, consisting of successive crops of crystals. 
It is a technical product from kelp, and may be formed by allowing successive 
quantities of concentrated kelp-ley to run into coolers, there to crystallize in 
successive layers; the mother-liquor being drawn off by a siphon, after the de- 
posit of each layer. (Philos. Mag., Dec. 1855.)* 
* Potassa Sulphas cum Sulphure. Ed. Sulphate of Potassa with Sulphur. Sal Poly- 
ehrestus Glaseri. Sal Polychrest. This is an old preparation which was retained in the Edin- 
burgh Pharmacopoeia, but was omitted in the British, and consequently in the 12th edi- 
tion of the present work. Its antiquity, however, if nothing else, entitles it to some 
notice ; and the account given of it by Dr. Bache, in previous editions of the Dispensa- 
tory, is introduced here as a note. 
It was prepared by mixing thoroughly equal parts of nitrate of potassa and sulphur, 
then throwing the mixture in small successive portions into a red-hot crucible; and, 
when the deflagration had ceased, and the salt had cooled, reducing it to powder, and 
keeping it in well-closed bottles. 
When the mixture, indicated in this formula, is thrown into a red-hot crucible, each 
successive portion melts, and the sulphur floats on the surface of the nitre with the appear- 
ance of a brown oil, burns vividly, and gives rise to a copious evolution of sulphurous 
acid gas. The productof the deflagration is a grayish-white friable mass, intermixed appar- 
ently with undecomposed sulphur. 
The nature of this preparation has not been well determined. On the supposition that 
it is the sulphate of potassa, mixed with a portion of sulphur, as the Edinburgh name 
implies, its formation may be thus explained. By the combined influence of the sulphur 
and of the heat employed, the nitric acid of the nitre is totally decomposed, and is thus 
enabled to furnish sufficient oxygen to convert a portion of the sulphur into sulphuric 
acid, which, as soon as formed, combines with the base of the nitre, to form the sulphate 
of potassa. This is left mixed with a portion of sulphur which has escaped combustion; 
but the greater part of the latter undergoes ordinary combustion, and is dissipated as 
sulphurous acid fumes. 
Supposing the saline matter to be a sulphate containing a little free sulphur, this com- 
bustible is evidently used ' n great excess; but whether this excess is necessary to obtain 
the exact preparation desired by the Edinburgh College, it is not easy to determine. The 
late Dr. Duncan ascertained that the product amounted only to four-tenths of the materials 
employed. It is, therefore, smaller than it ought to be, even supposing that the residue 
consisted of nothing but sulphate of potassa. 
Dr. Duncan was of opinion that the preparation under consideration cannot be viewed 
as a sulphuretted sulphate, and for the following satisfactory reasons. In the first place, 
it is more soluble in water than sulphate of potassa, and forms a yellowish solution, the 
water leaving undissolved only a small residue of a black colour, which is not sulphur. 
In the second place, it exhales during solution a sulphurous smell, and its taste is sul- 
phurous. These facts seem to show that a small portion of sulphite of potassa is present 
in the preparation, or at least some sulphurous acid in a state of loose combination. It 
does not yield sulphuretted hydrogen on the addition of an acid, and is not precipitated 
by the salts of lead. These characters are inconsistent with the opinion of Mr. John 
Mackay, of Edinburgh, who believes that this preparation contains sulphuret of potas- 
sium. (See his remarks on it, in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans, for Jan. 1842.) 
Properties, <fc. This salt has an acid and sulphurous taste, and an acid reaction with 714 
Potassse Sulphas.— Polassii Ferrocyanidum. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of potassa is a mild purgative, 
operating usually without heat, pain, or other symptom of irritation. In small 
doses of from a scruple to half a drachm, it operates as an aperient, and is useful 
in removing obstructions; in larger doses, of four or five drachms, it acts slowly 
as a purge. Combined with rhubarb, in the proportion of about a drachm of 
the salt to ten grains of the root, Dr. Fordvce recommended it as an excellent 
alterative cathartic in the visceral obstructions of children, characterized by a 
tumid abdomen, and defective digestion and nutrition ; and we can bear testi- 
mony to its efficacy in such cases. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson found it, in 
combination with rhubarb or aloes, “more useful than any of the other saline 
purgatives in jaundice and dyspeptic affections.” On the continent of Europe 
it is frequently given as an aperient after delivery, and for the purpose of dry- 
ing up the milk. It enters into the composition of Dover’s powder. 
Notwithstanding the general sentiment of practitioners as to the safety of 
sulphate of potassa as a purgative, several cases are on record of supposed poi- 
soning from its use. A case has been reported (1856), in which death was at- 
tributed to this salt, the amount taken having been estimated at an ounce and 
a half. M. Moritz attributed the poisonous effects of the salt, in a case under 
his notice, to the presence of a notable quantity of sulphate of zinc ; but this 
explanation cannot be admitted as adequate. In other cases, the salt, though 
found to be pure, seemed to act as a poison. In these cases its effects may be 
attributed, sometimes to the largeness of the dose, and perhaps also to the insuf- 
ficiency of water used to dissolve it; at other times, where the dose used was mod- 
erate, to the existence of a predisposition to gastric inflammation. For further 
information in relation to this subject, the reader is referred to a paper by the late 
Dr. T. Romeyn Beck, in the Amer. Journ. of the Med. Sci. (N. S., vii. 88). 
Off. Prep. Filula Colocynthidis Composita, Br.; Pulvis Ipecacuanhae Corn- 
positus. B. 
POTASSII FERROCYANIDUM. U.S. 
Ferrocyanide of Potassium. 
Off. Syn. PRUSSIAS FLAVA. Yellow Prussiate of Potash. 
K2FeC6N3-p3HO. A salt obtained by fusing animal substances, such as the 
cuttings of horns, hoofs, and skins, with carbonate of potash in an iron pot, lixivi- 
ating the crude product with water, and purifying the salt by crystallization. Br. 
Ferrocyanurct of potassium, Ferrocyanate of potassa, Ferroprussiate of potassa, Prus- 
siate of potassa; Proto-cyanurejaune de fer et de potassium, Fr.; Cyaneisenkalium, Germ. 
It is the yellow double cyanide of potassium and iron, the salt from which 
cyanide of potassium is obtained by calcination at a low red heat. 
Ferrocyanide of potassium is prepared on the large scale by heating animal 
matters, such as dried blood, hoofs, chips of horn, woollen rags, old leather, the 
refuse of tallow-chandlers called greaves, and other substances rich in nitrogen, 
with the pearlash of commerce and scrap iron, in an egg-shaped iron pot called 
a shell, ladling out the pasty mass called the melt, and, after it has cooled suffi- 
ciently, dissolving it in water, and evaporating the solution so that crystals may 
form. The melt, while still hot, contains cyanide of potassium only, the ferro- 
cyanide being produced solely by the action of the water. The best temperature 
for making the solution is between 158° and 176° ; and the conversion of the 
cyanide into the ferrocyanide is facilitated by the presence of finely divided 
test paper. When pulverized, it yields a pale yellowish-white powder. It is soluble in 
eight times its weight of cold water. It is, however, not a uniform preparation; different 
specimens, apparently prepared with equal care, exhibiting some points of difference in 
properties. It was called by the earlier chemists sal Polychrestus Glaseri, or sal Polychresi. 
Its other properties coincide generally with those of sulphate of potassa, which may be 
considered as its basis. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical effects of this preparation differ but little, 
if at all, from those of sulphate of potassa. Its action on the system is stated by Dr. Dun - 
can to resemble that of the sulphurous mineral waters which contain a portion of neutral 
salt. The dose is from half a drachm to a drachm. B. PART I. 
Potcissii Ferrocyanidur)', 
715 
amorphous sulphuret of iron, and of caustic potassa. (A. Reimann, Ghent. Gaz., 
Jan. 1, 1855.) 
Some years ago this salt was manufactured by a process which dispensed 
with the use of animal matter ; the necessary nitrogen being obtained by a cur- 
rent of atmospheric air. Fragments of charcoal, impregnated with 30 per cent, 
of carbonate of potassa, were heated to white redness in a cylinder, through 
which a current of air was drawn by a suction pump. This process is under- 
stood to have succeeded in a chemical sense, but failed on the score of econ- 
omy, chiefly from the circumstance that the necessary fire-clay tubes could not 
be made to resist the combined action of the alkali and heat. The process of 
Richard Brunnquell cousists in passing ammonia through tubes, filled with 
charcoal and heated to redness, so as to form cyanide of ammonium, and con- 
verting this into ferrocyanide of potassium by contact with solution of potash 
and suitable iron compounds. ( Ghem. Gaz., Nov. 1, 1856.) 
Properties. Ferrocyanide of potassium is in large, beautiful, transparent, 
permanent, four-sided, tabular crystals, of a lemon yellow colour, devoid of 
odour, but possessing a sweetish, yet somewhat bitter, saline taste. It dissolves 
in between three and four times its weight of cold water, and in about its own 
weight of boiling water, but is insoluble in alcohol. It acts but slightly, if at 
all, on turmeric paper The alkaline reaction, when it exists, is probably owing 
to the presence of a little free potassa. When heated to 140° it loses its water 
of crystallization, amounting to 12'6 per cent., and becomes white. When 
ignited, the insoluble residue amounts to 18 7 per cent, of sesquioxide of iron, 
resulting from the oxidation of the iron of the salt. It is characterized by 
striking a deep-blue colour with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, a deep-brown 
one with the salts of copper, and a white one with those of zinc, the several 
precipitates formed being ferrocyanides of the respective metals. Heated with 
eight or ten times its weight of concentrated sulphuric acid, it evolves carbonic 
oxide. (Fownes.) Half an ounce of the salt yields about 250 cubic inches of the 
gas. (G. Grimm and G. Bamdohr.) When boiled with dilute sulphuric- acid, 
it emits the smell of hydrocyanic acid Ferrocyanide of potassium consists of 
two eqs. of cyanide of potassium 130 4, one of cyanide of iron 54, and three of 
water 27 == 211*4 (2KCy,FeCy-f 3HO). The water present is just sufficient to 
convert the iron and potassium into protoxides, and the cyanogen into hydro- 
cyanic acid Apart from the water, it is generally considered to consist of a 
compound radical, called ferrocyanogen, formed of three eqs of cyanogen and 
one of iron (tereyanide of iron), united with two eqs. of potassium. Hence its 
officinal name. The salt is remarkably pure as it occurs in commerce. 
Medical Properties, &c. Judging from the experiments of the German phy- 
sicians, this salt possesses but little activity. Callies, as quoted by Pereira, found 
the commercial salt slightly poisonous, but the pure salt unproductive of harm 
in the dose of several ounces. It should be borne in mind that it is the com- 
mercial salt which is used medicinally. Westrumb and Hering proved that it 
passed with rapidity into the blood and urine. The late Dr. Burleigh Smart, of 
Kennebec, Maine, found it to possess active medical properties. (Am Journ. of 
Med. Sci., xv. 362.) Its primary effect was that of a sedative, diminishing the ful- 
ness and frequency of the pulse, and allaying pain and irritation It acted also, 
under favourable circumstances, as a diaphoretic and astringent; but, as a diapho- 
retic, only in cases attended with excessive vascular action and increased heat 
of skin. As an astringent, its power was most conspicuous in the colliquative 
sweats of chronic bronchitis and phthisis. The samepower wasevincedin several 
cases of leucorrhcea. It sometimes produced ptyalism, unattended, however, by 
swelling of the salivary glands or fetor of the breath. Its properties as an ano- 
dyne and sedative rendered it applicable to cases of neuralgic pains and hoop- 
ing-cough, in which diseases, especially the latter, Dr. Smart found it useful 
When given in an overdose, it occasioned vertigo, coldness, and numbness, with 
a sense of gastric sinking. The form of administration which Dr. Smart pre- 
ferred was that of solution, in the proportion of two drachms to the fluidouuce 716 
Prinos. 
PART I 
of water. Of this the dose for an adult is from 30 to 45 drops, equivalent to 
from 10 to 15 grains of the salt, repeated every four or six hours. 
This salt is manufactured on a large scale, chiefly for the use of dyers and 
calico-printers. In pharmacy it is employed to prepare diluted hydrocyanic 
acid, Prussian blue, and the cyanides of potassium and silver. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum; Argenti Uyanidum, U.S.; 
Ferri Ferrocyanidum, U.S.; Ilydrargyri Cyanidum, U.S.; Potassii Cyauidum, 
U. S. B. 
PRINOS. U.S. Secondary. 
Black Alder. 
The bark of Prinos verticillatus. U. S. 
Prinos. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Aquifoliacese. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx small, six-cleft. Corolla monopetalous, subrotate, six-parted. 
Berry six-seeded ; seeds nuciform. Nuttall. 
Prinos verticillatus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 225; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 
141; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 203. The black alder is an indigenous shrub, with a 
stem six or eight feet high, furnished with alternate, spreading branches, and 
covered with a bidish-gray bark The leaves, which stand alternately or irregu- 
larly on short petioles, are oval, pointed, tapering at the base, acutely serrate, 
of a dark green colour, smooth above, but downy on the veins beneath. The 
flowers are small, white, nearly sessile, and grow three or four together at the 
axils of the leaves. They are often dioecious. The calyx is persistent; the seg- 
ments of the coiolla obtuse ; the stamens usually six, and furnished with oblong 
anthers; the germ large, green, and roundish, with a short style, terminating in 
an obtuse stigma. The fruit when ripe consists of glossy, scarlet, roundish ber- 
ries, about the size of a pea, containing six cells and six seeds. Several of these 
berries are clustered, so as to form little bunches at irregular intervals on the stem. 
In the latter part of autumn, after the leaves have fallen, they still remain attached 
to the stem, and render the shrub a striking object in the midst of the general 
nakedness of vegetation. Hence the plant is often called winterberry. 
It grows in all parts of the United States, from Canada to Florida, frequent- 
ing low wet places, such as swamps, and the borders of ponds, ditches, and 
streams. Its flowers appear in June. The berries, which have a bitter, sweet- 
ish, somewhat acrid taste, are sometimes used medicinally for the same purposes 
with the bark, which is the officinal portion. 
The dried bark is in slender pieces, more or less rolled, brittle, greenish-white 
internally, and covered with a smooth epidermis, easily separable, and of a 
whitish-ash colour, alternating or mingled with brown. It has no smell, but a 
bitter and slightly astringent taste. Boiling water extracts its virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Black alder is usually considered tonic and 
astringent; and is among the remedies proposed as substitutes for Peruvian 
bark, with which, however, it has very little analogy. It has been recommended 
in intermittent fever, diarrhoea, and other diseases connected with debility, es- 
pecially gangrene and mortification. It is a popular remedy in gangrenous or 
flabby and ill-conditioned ulcers, and in chronic cutaneous eruptions, in which 
it is given internally, and applied locally in the form of a wash or poultice. It 
may be used in substance or decoction. The dose of the powder is from thirty 
grains to a drachm, to be repeated several times a day. The decoction, which 
is usually preferred both for internal and external use, may be prepared by 
boiling two ounces of the bark with three pints of water to a quart, and given 
in the dose of two or three fluidounces. A saturated tincture, as well of the 
berries as of the bark, is sometimes employed. W. PART I. 
Prunum.—Prunus Virginiana. 
717 
PRUNUM. U.S., Br. 
Prunes. 
The dried fruit of Prunus domestica. U. S. The dried drupe of the Plum, 
Prunus domestica. From Southern Europe. Br. 
Pruneaux, Fr.; Pflaumen, Germ.; Pruni, Ital.; Ciruelas secas, Span. 
Prunus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia. —Nat. Ord. Amygdaleae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx inferior, bell-shaped, deciduous, with five obtuse, concave 
segments Petals five, roundish, concave, spreading, larger than the segments 
of the calyx, into the rim of which they are inserted. Phlaments awl shaped, 
nearly as long as the corolla, from the rim of the calyx within the petals. An- 
thers short, of two round lobes. Ovary superior, roundish. Style of the length 
of the stamens. Stigma orbicular, peltate. Drupe roundish or elliptical. Nut 
hard, somewhat compressed, of one cell, and two more or less distinct sutures 
with an intermediate furrow. Leaves rolled up when young. (Lindley.) 
Prunus domestica. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 995; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 520, t. 
1S7. The cultivated prune or plum tree is so well known as to render a minute 
description unnecessary. We merely give the specific character. “Peduncles 
subsolitary; leaves lanceolate-ovate, convolute; branches not spiny.” The 
varieties of the tree produced by cultivation are very numerous. one 
hundred are to be found in the British gardens. Though at present growing 
wild in various parts of Europe, it is thought to have been brought originally 
from Asia Minor and Syria. It is the dried fruit only that is officinal. 
The prunes brought to our market come chiefly from the south of France, 
the best from Bordeaux. They are derived from the variety of the tree named 
Juliana by Linnaeus. The fresh fruit, called Prune de Saint Julien by the 
French, is of an oval shape, nearly an inch in length, and of a deep-violet 
colour. It is prepared by drying in the sun, after having been exposed to the 
heat of an oven. The finest prunes, used on the tables in France, are prepared 
from the larger kinds of plums, such as the Saint Catharine, and Heine-Claude 
or green-gage. An inferior sort is brought from Germany. 
Prunes have a feeble odour, and a sweet mucilaginous taste, which is gen. 
erally also somewhat acid. They contain uncrvstallizable sugar, malic acid, and 
mucilaginous matter. In Germany a kind of brandy is obtained from them, 
which in some districts is largely consumed. Bonneberg, a German chemist, 
has extracted from prunes crystallizable sugar, equal to that of the cane. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Prunes are laxative and nutritious, and, 
stewed with water, form an excellent diet in costiveness, especially during 
convalescence from febrile and inflammatory diseases. Imparting their laxative 
property to boiling water, they serve as a pleasant and useful addition to pur- 
gative decoctions. Their pulp is used in the preparation of laxative eonfeetious. 
Too largely taken, in a debilitated state of the digestive organs, they are apt 
to occasion flatulence, and griping pain in the stomach and bowels. 
Ojf.Prep. Confectio Sennas. W. 
PRUNUS VIRGINIANA. U.S. 
Wild-cherry Bark. 
The bark of Cerasus serotina (De Cand.). TJ. S. 
Cerasus. See LAURO-CERASUS. 
This genus, which is now generally admitted, includes a large number of 
species formerly embraced in the genus Prunus of Linnams. 
Cerasus serotina. De Candolle, Prodrom. ii. 540; Torrey and Gray, Flora 
of N. America, i. 410. — Cerasus Virginiana. Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 205. 
According to Torrey and Gray, the name Prunus Virginiana, which has been 
wrongly applied to this species, was given by Linnaeus to the choke-cherry, a 718 
Prunus Virginiana. 
part r. 
small tree or shrub, growing in the Northern States, and bearing a dark-red, 
globular, astringent fruit, about as large as that of the wild-cherry. This is 
described in the Flora of N. America of these authors, under the name of Ce- 
rasus Virginiana. The officinal species, or wild cherry tree, is, according to 
Michaux, one of the largest productions of the American forest. Individuals 
were seen by that botanist on the banks of the Ohio, from eighty to one hundred 
feet high, with trunks from twelve to fifteen feet in circumference, and undivided 
to the height of twenty-five or thirty feet. But, as usually met with in the 
Atlantic States, the tree is much smaller. In the open fields it is less elevated 
than in forests, but sends out more numerous branches, which expand into an 
elegant oval summit. The trunk is shaped, and covered with a rough, 
blackish bark, which detaches itself semicircularly in thick narrow plates. The 
leaves are oval-oblong, or lanceolate-oblong, acuminate, unequally serrate, 
smooth on both sides, of a beautiful brilliant green, and supported alternately, 
upon petioles, which are furnished with from two to four reddish glands. The 
flowers are small, white, and collected in long erect or spreading racemes. They 
appear in May, and are followed by globular drupes, about the size of a pea, 
and when ripe of a shining blackish-purple colour. 
This tree grows throughout the Union, flourishing most in those parts where 
the soil is fertile and the climate temperate, and abounding in the Middle Atlan- 
tic States, and in those which border on the Ohio. In the neighbourhood of 
Philadelphia, it affects open situations, growing solitarily in the fields and along 
fences, and seldom aggregated in woods or groves. It is highly valued by the 
cabinet-makers for its wood, which is compact, fine-grained, susceptible of polish, 
and of a light-red tint, which deepens with age. The leaves have been found 
by Prof. Procter to yield volatile oil and hydrocyanic acid on distillation, and in 
such proportion that a water distilled from them might with propriety be sub- 
stituted for the cherry-laurel water. (Proceed. of A m. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 
325.) The fruit has a sweetish, astringent, bitter taste; and is much used in 
some parts of the country to impart flavour to spirituous liquors. The inner 
bark is the part employed in medicine, and is obtained indiscriminately from all 
parts of the tree, though that of the l'oots is thought to be most active. Mr. 
J. S. Perot has ascertained that it is stronger when collected in autumn than in 
the spring. Thus, from a portion gathered in April he obtained 0-0478 per 
cent, of hydrocyanic acid, and from another in October 0 1436 per cent., or 
about three times as much. The parcels tried were taken from the same tree, 
and the same part of the tree. (Am.Journ. of Pharm., xx iv. 111.) The bark 
should be preferred recently dried, as it deteriorates by keeping. 
Properties. Wild-cherry bark, as kept in the shops, is in pieces of various 
sizes, more or less curved laterally, usually destitute of epidermis, of a lively 
reddish-cinnamon colour, brittle, and pulverizable, presenting a reddish-gray 
fracture, and affording a fawn-coloured powder. In the fresh state, or when 
treated with water, it emits an odour resembling that of peach leaves. Its taste 
is agreeably bitter and aromatic, with the peculiar flavour of the bitter almond. 
It imparts its sensible properties to water, either cold or hot, producing a clear 
reddish infusion closely resembling Madeira wine in appearance. Its peculiar 
flavour as well as medical virtues are injured by boiling, in consequence partly 
of the volatilization of the principles upon which they depend, partly upon a 
chemical change effected by the heat. From an analysis by Dr. Stephen Procter, 
it appears to contain starch, resin, tannin, gallic acid, fatty matter, lignin, red 
colouring matter, salts of lime and potassa, and iron. He obtained also a vola- 
tile oil, associated with hydrocyanic acid, by distilling the same portion of water 
successively from several different portions of the bark. This oil was of a light- 
straw colour, and very analogous in its properties to the volatile oil of bitter 
almonds. In the quantity of two drops it proved fatal to a cat in less than five 
minutes. (Journ. of the Pliilad. Col. of Pharm., vi. 8.) Prof. William Procter 
proved that, as in the case of bitter almonds, the volatile oil and hydrocyanic 
acid do not exist ready formed in the bark, but are the result of the reaction of PART i. 
Prunus Virginicma.—Pyrethrum. 
719 
water with amygdalin, which he ascertained to be one of its constituents. In 
order, however, that this change may take place, the agency of another prin- 
ciple, probably analogous to if not identical with emulsin or the synapla.se of 
Robiquet, is also essential; and, as this principle becomes inoperative at the 
boiling temperature, we can understand how decoction may interfere with the 
virtues of the bark. {Am. Journ. of Pharm.,x. 197.) The conjecture was ad- 
vanced, in former editions of this work, that wild-cherry bark might contain 
also phloridzin, a bitter principle proved to exist in the bark of the apple, pear, 
cherry, and plum trees; but Mr. Perot sought for this principle, without suc- 
cess, in specimens of the bark of different ages, and taken from different parts 
of the tree ; so that the tonic property, which is undoubtedly possessed by the 
bark, must reside either in the portion of amygdalin which may remain unde- 
composed, in the pure volatile oil resulting from its reaction with water, or in 
some yet undiscovered principle. {Ibid., xxiv. 111.) That the last of these in- 
ferences is the correct one, would seem to be proved by an experiment by Prof. 
Procter, who found the bitterness of an extract of the bark to remain after it 
had been wholly deprived of amygdalin. (See the author’s Treatise on Thera- 
peutics, &c.,\. 291.) The sedative properties of the bark depend upon the 
hydrocyanic acid which it yields. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This bark is among the most valuable of our 
indigenous remedies. Uniting with a tonic power the property of calming irri- 
tation and diminishing nervous excitability, it is admirably adapted to the treat- 
ment of diseases in which debility of the stomach, or of the system, is united 
with general or local irritation. When largely taken it diminishes the action of 
the heart, an effect ascribable to the hydrocyanic acid. Dr. Eberle found copious 
draughts of the cold infusion, taken several times a day, and continued for nearly 
two weeks, to reduce his pulse from seventy-five to fifty strokes in the minute. 
The remedy is highly useful, and has been much employed in this country, in the 
hectic fever of scrofula and consumption. In the general debility which often 
succeeds inflammatory diseases, it is also advantageous; and it is well adapted 
to many cases of dyspepsia It has been given successfully in intermittent fever, 
but is much inferior to cinchona. 
It may be used in the form of powder, infusion, fluid extract, or syrup. The 
dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm; of the infusion, which is 
properly directed in the Pharmacopoeia to be prepared with cold water, two or 
three fluidounces; of the fluid extract, a fluidrachm ; and of the syrup, half a fluid- 
ounce. These preparations are all officinal, and are described in the second part 
of the work, under their titles respectively. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Pruni Virginian* Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Pruni Vir- 
ginian*, U. S.; Syrupus Pruni Virginian*, U. S. W. 
PYRETIIRUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Pellitory. 
The root of Anacyclus Pyrethrum. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. PYRETHRI RADIX. Pellitory Root. The root of Anacyclus 
Pyrethrum. Hr. 
Pyrfcthre, Fr.; Bertram Wurzel, Germ.; Piretro, Hal.; Pelitre, Span. 
Anacyclus. Differing from Anthemis by its winged and obcordate achema. 
Lindley. See ANTHEMIS. 
Anacyclus Pyrethrum. De Cand. Prodrom. vi. 15. — Anthemis Pyrethrum. 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2184; Woodv. Med. Hot. p. 50, t. 20. The root of this 
plant is perennial, and sends up numerous stems, usually trailing at the base, 
erect in their upper portion, eight or ten inches high, and terminated by one 
large flower. The leaves are doubly pinnate, with narrow nearly linear segments 
of a pale-green colour. The florets of the disk are yellow; the rays white on 
their upper surface, and reddish or purple beneath and at their edges. 
The plant is a native of the Levant, Barbary, and the Mediterranean coast 720 
Pyrethrum.— Quassia. 
PART t. 
of Europe. The root is the part used under the name of pellitory, or pellitory 
of Spain. According to Hayne, the pellitory of the shops is derived from the 
Anacyclus officinarum, a plant cultivated in Thuringia for medical purposes. 
This remark, however, can apply only to Germany. 
Properties. The dried root of A. Pyrethrum is about the size of the little 
finger, cylindrical, straight or but slightly curved, wrinkled longitudinally, of 
an ash-brown colour externally, whitish within, hard and brittle, and sometimes 
furnished with a few radicles. It is destitute of odour, though, when fresh, of 
a disagreeable smell Its taste is peculiar, slight at first, but afterwards acidu- 
lous, saline, and acrid, attended with a burning and tingling sensation over the 
whole mouth and throat, which continues for some time, and excites a copious 
flow of saliva. Its analysis by Koene gives, in 100 parts, 0-59 of a brown, very 
acrid substance, of a resinous appearance, and insoluble in caustic potassa; 106 
of a dark-brown, very acrid fixed oil, soluble in potassa; 0 35 of a yellow acrid 
oil, also soluble in potassa; traces of tannin; 9 40 parts of gum; inulin; 7 60 
parts of sulphate and carbonate of potassa, chloride of potassium, phosphate and 
carbonate of lime, alumina, silica, &c.; and 19-80 of lignin, besides loss. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., viii. 175.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pellitory is a powerful irritant, used almost 
exclusively as a sialagogue in certain forms of headache, rheumatic and neu- 
ralgic affections of the face, toothache, &c., or as a local stimulant in palsy of 
the tongue or throat, and in relaxation of the uvula. For these purposes it may 
be chewed, or employed as a gargle in decoction or vinous tincture. The dose 
as a masticatory is from thirty grains to a drachm. An alcoholic extract is some- 
times employed by dentists as a local application to carious teeth, with a view 
to its benumbing effect before plugging. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Pyrethri, Br. W. 
QUASSIA. US. 
Quassia. 
The wood of Simaruba excelsa. U. S. 
Off. Syn. QUASSIJ3 LIGNUM. Quassia Wood. The wood of Pierrena 
excelsa. Br. 
Bois de quassie, Fr.; Quassienholz, Oerm.; Legno della quassia, Hal.; Leno d* 
quassia, Span. 
Quassia. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Simarubacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx live-leaved. Petals five. Nectary five-leaved. Drupes five, 
distant, bivalve, one-seeded, inserted into a fleshy receptacle. Willd. 
Of the species included by Linnaeus in this genus, some, as Quassia amara, 
are hermaphrodite; others, as Q. excelsa and Q. Simaruba, are monoecious or 
polygamous. The latter have been associated by De Candolle in a distinct genus, 
named Simaruba. which has been again divided by Lindley into Simaruba with 
monoecious, and Picrsena with polygamous flowers. To the last-mentioned genus 
the proper Quassia plant, Q. excelsa of Linnaeus, belongs. 
The medicine was formerly obtained from Quassia amara; but more than 
twenty years since Lamarck stated that, in consequence of the scarcity of this 
tree, Quassia excelsa had been resorted to as a substitute, and the Pharmaco- 
poeias at present agree in acknowledging the latter as the officinal plant. The 
genuine quassia plant, however, of Surinam is the Q. amara; and we shall, there- 
fore, give a brief description of both species. 
Quassia excelsa. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 569.— Simaruba excelsa. De Cand. 
Prodrom. i. 733; Hayne, Darstel. und Beschreib. &e. ix. 16. — Picrsena excelsa. 
Lindley, Flor. Med. 208. As its name imports, this is a lofty tree, attaining 
sometimes not less than one hundred feet in height, with a straight, smooth, 
tapering trunk, which is often three feet in diameter near its base, and covered 
with a smooth,gray bark. The leaves are pinnate, with a naked petiole, and 
oblong pointed leaflets standing upon short footstalks, in opposite pairs, with a PART i. 
Quassia. 
721 
single leaflet at the end. The flowers are small, of a vellowish-green eolour, and 
disposed in panicles. They are polygamous and pentandrous. The fruit is a 
small black drupe. This species inhabits Jamaica and the Caribbean islands, 
where it is called bitter ash. The wood is the officinal portion. 
Quassia amara. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii 507; Woodv. Med, Bot. p. 574, t. 204. 
The bitter quassia is a small branching tree or shrub, with alternate leaves, con- 
sisting of two pairs of opposite pinnae, with an odd one at the end. The leaflets 
are elliptical, pointed, sessile, smooth, of a deep-green colour on their upper 
surface, and paler on the under. The common footstalk is articulated, and edged 
on each side with a leafy membrane. The flowers, which are hermaphrodite 
and decandrous, are bright red, and terminate the branches in long racemes. 
The fruit is a two-celled capsule containing globular seeds. Quassia amara is a 
native of Surinam, and is said also to grow in some of the West India islands. 
Its root, bark, and wood were formerly officinal. They are excessively bitter, as 
in fact are all parts of the plant. It is uncertain whether any of the produce of 
this tree now reaches our markets. 
Quassia comes in cylindrical billets of various sizes, from an inch to near a 
foot in diameter, and several feet in length. These are frequently invested with 
alight-coloured smoothish bark, brittle, and but slightly adherent, and possess- 
ing in at least an equal degree the virtues of the wood. Their shape and struc- 
ture clearly evince that they are derived from the branches or trunk, and not, 
as some have supposed, from the root of the tree. In the shops they are usually 
kept split into small pieces, or rasped.* 
Properties. The wood is at first whitish, but becomes yellow by exposure. 
It is inodorous, and has a purely bitter taste, surpassed by that of few other 
substances in intensity and permanence. It imparts its active properties, with 
its bitterness and yellow colour, to water and alcohol. Its virtues depend upon 
a peculiar bitter crystallizable principle, denominated quassin, which was first 
discovered by Winckler. It may be obtained pure by the following process of 
Wiggers. A filtered decoction of quassia is evaporated to three-quarters of the 
weight of the wood employed, slaked lime is added, and the mixture, having 
been allowed to stand fora day, with occasional agitation, is again filtered. A 
eonsiderable quantity of pectin, besides other substances, is thus separated. The 
clear liquor is evaporated nearly to dryness, and the resulting mass exhausted 
by alcohol of the sp. gr. 0'835, which leaves behind gum, common salt, nitre, 
&c.,in large amount, and dissolves quassin with some common salt and nitre, 
and a brown organic substance. In order to separate the quassin from these 
latter principles, which are soluble in water, the solution is evaporated to dry- 
ness, the resulting mass is dissolved in the least possible quantity of absolute 
alcohol, a large proportion of ether is added, and the liquor, previously 
rated by filtration from the brown mass which the ether has thrown down, is 
evaporated to dryness; and this process is repeated till the quassin remains 
behind quite colourless, and affords no evidence of the presence of the above- 
mentioned salts. Lastly, in order to obtain it in a crystalline form, to which it 
is not strongly disposed, pour the alcoholic solution mixed with ether upon a 
little water, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously. Quassin is white, opaque, 
unalterable in the air, inodorous, and of an intense bitterness, which in the solu- 
tions of this principle is almost insupportable. The bitterness is pure, and re- 
sembles that of the wood. When heated, quassin melts like a resin It is but 
slightly soluble in water, 100 parts of which at 54° dissolve only 0‘45, and that 
slowly. By the addition of salts, especially of those with which it is associated 
* Mr. Edward Parrish has called attention t© a hark, known in the market under the 
name of quassia bark. [Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 104.) A specimen in our possession is 
in pieces,very broad, slightly curved laterally,thin in proportion to their other dimensions, 
covered with a thin, greenish-brown, rough epidermis, yellowish-white and striated on 
their inner surface, of a feeble odour, and a quassia-like bitterness. The inner layers of 
the proper bark are very fibrous and tough, and, on the broken surface, of a light-yellow 
colour. It is uncertain whether the bark is from the Quassia excelsa; but there is little 
doubt that it is either from that or some analogous tree. (Note to the eleventh edition.) 722 
Quassia. — Quercus Alba.— Quercus Timtoria. 
PART l. 
in quassia, its solubility is strikingly increased. It is also but slightly soluble in 
ether, but is very soluble in alcohol, more so in that liquid hot than cold, and 
the more so the purer it is. Quassin is perfectly neuter, though both alkalies 
and acids increase its solubility in water. It is precipitated by tannic acid from 
its aqueous solution, which is not disturbed by iodine, chlorine, corrosh e subli- 
mate, the salts of iron, sugar of lead, or even subacetate of lead. Its ultimate 
constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Among the salts contained in 
quassia, Mr. Geo. Whipple has detected a considerable proportion of sulphate 
of soda. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. 643.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Quassia has in the highest degree all the 
properties of the simple bitters. It is purely tonic, invigorating the digestive 
organs, with little excitement of the circulation, or increase of animal heat. It 
has not been very long known as a medicine. About the middle of the last 
century, a negro of Surinam, named Quassi, acquired considerable reputation in 
the treatment of the malignant fevers of that country, by a secret remedy, which 
lie was induced to disclose to Mr. Rolander, a Swede, for a valuable considera- 
tion. Specimens were taken to Stockholm by this gentleman in the year 1756 ; 
and 1he medicine soon became popular in Europe. The name of the negro has 
been perpetuated in the generic title of the plant. But the quassia of Surinam 
is not now in use, having been superseded by the product of Quassia excelsa, 
from the West Indies. This medicine is useful whenever a simple tonic im- 
pression is desirable. It is particularly adapted to dyspepsia, and to that de- 
bilitated state of the digestive organs which sometimes succeeds acute disease. 
It may also be given with advantage in the remission of certain fevers in which 
tonics are demanded. No one at present would expect from it any peculiar 
controlling influence over malignant fevers. It is said to be largely employed 
in England by the brewers, to impart bitterness to their liquors. 
It is most conveniently administered in infusion or extract. (See Infusum 
Quassise and Extractum Quassise.) The difficulty of reducing the wood to 
powder is an objection to its use in substance. It may, however, be employed 
in a dose varying from a scruple to a drachm, repeated three or four times a 
day. Some dyspeptic patients, who have become habituated to its bitterness, 
chew the wood occasionally with benefit. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Quassise; Infusum Quassise; Tinctura Quassise. W. 
QUERCUS ALBA. U. S. 
White-oak Bark. 
The bark of Quercus alba. U. S. 
QUERCUS TINCTORIA. U.S. 
Black-oak Bark. 
The bark of Quercus tinctoria. U.S. 
Off. Syn. QUERCUS CORTEX. The dried bark of the small branches and 
young stems of Quercus pedunculata; collected in spring, from trees growing 
in Britain. Br. 
Ecorce de chene, Fr.; Eichenrinde, Germ.; Corteccia della quercia, Italy Corteza da 
roble, Span. 
Quercus. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Polyaodria. — Nat. Ord. Amentaceae, Juss.; 
Cupuliferae, Richard; Corylaceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx commonly five-cleft. Corolla none. Stamens five 
to ten. Female. Calyx one-leafed, entire, rough. Corolla none. Styles two 
to five. Nut coriaceous, surrounded at the base by the persistent calyx. Willd. 
This genus comprises not less than eighty species, of which between thirty 
and forty are within the limits of the United States. Many of these are applied to 
important practical purposes. In the northern hemisphere, the oak is the most part I. 
Quercus Alba.—Quercus Tinctoria. 
723 
valuable, as it is the most widely diffused of all forest trees. Notwithstanding 
the great number of species, few, comparatively, have found a place in the offici- 
nal catalogues. Q robur, or common European oak, was formerly recognised by 
the British Colleges; but at present only Q. pedunculata, or European white 
oak, is admitted in the Br Fharmacopceia. As the.se do not grow in the United 
States, and their products are not imported, it is unnecessary to treat of them 
particularly in this work. According to Michaux, they grow in the same coun- 
tries, frequently together, constituting the greater part of the forests of Europe, 
and spreading over almost the whole northern section of Asia, and the northern 
coast of Africa. Q. pedunculata is the common British oak, celebrated as well 
for its majestic growth, and the venerable age which it attains, as for the 
strength and durability of its timber. Our own Pharmacopoeia recognises only Q. 
alba or white oak, and Q. tinctoria or black oak; but other species afford barks 
equally useful, and perhaps as much employed. Such are Q.falcata or Spanish 
oak, Q. prinus or white chestnut oak, and Q. montana or rock chestnut oak. 
The following remarks in relation to white-oak bark will apply also to that of 
the three last-mentioned species. The bark of Q. tinctoria is somewhat peculiar. 
1. Quercus alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 448; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. i. 17. Of 
all the American species, the ivhite oa/c approaches nearest, in the character of 
its foliage, and the properties of its wood and bark, to Q. pedunculata of Great 
Britain. When allowed to expand freely in the open Held, it divides at a short 
distance from the ground into numerous widely spreading branches, and attains 
under favourable circumstances a magnificent size. Its trunk and large branches 
are covered with a whitish bark, which serves to distinguish it from most of 
the other species. The leaves are regularly and obliquely divided into oblong, 
obtuse, entire lobes, which are often narrowed at their base. When full grown, 
they are smooth and light-green on their upper surface, and glaucous beneath. 
Some of the dried leaves remain on the tree during the whole winter. The 
acorns are large, ovate, contained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and sup- 
ported singly or in pairs upon peduncles nearly an inch in length. 
The white oak abounds in the Middle States, and extends also through the 
whole Union, though comparatively rare in the northern, southern, and western 
sections. It is the most highly valued for its timber of all the American oaks, 
except the live oak (Q. virens), which is preferred in ship-building. The bark 
is sometimes used for tanning, but that of the red and Spanish oaks is pre- 
ferred. All parts of the tree, with the exception of the epidermis, are more or 
less astringent, but this property predominates in the fruit and bark. 
White-oak bark, deprived of its epidermis, is of a light-brown colour, of a 
coarse, fibrous texture, and not easily pulverized. It has a feeble odour, and a 
rough, astringent, and bitterish taste. Water and alcohol extract its active pro- 
perties. The chief soluble ingredients are tannin, gallic acid, and extractive 
matter. It is upon the tannin that its medical virtues, as well as its use in the 
preparation of leather, chiefly depend. The proportion of this ingredient varies 
with the size and age of the tree, the part from which the bark is derived, and 
even the season when it is gathered. It is most abundant in the young bark; 
and the English oak is said to yield four times as much in spring as in winter. 
Sir H. Davy found the inner bark most abundant in tannin, the middle por- 
tion or cellular integument much less so, and the epidermis almost wholly 
destitute as well of this principle as of extractive. 
Gerber discovered, in European oak bark, a peculiar bitter principle upon 
which he conferred the name of quercin. It is obtained by boiling the bark with 
water acidulated with one hundredth of sulphuric acid, adding first milk of lime 
until the sulphuric acid is removed, and then a solution of carbonate of potassa 
so long as a white precipitate is produced, filtering the liquor, evaporating to the 
consistence of a thin extract, adding alcohol, and finally evaporating the spiritu- 
ous solution down to a small volume, and allowing it to rest for some days. Yel- 
low crystals form, which may be obtained colourless by repeated crystallizations. 
Quercin is a neuter principle, in small, white crystals, inodorous, very bitter, 724 
Quercus Alba.— Quercus Tinctoria. 
PART I. 
readily soluble in water, less so in alcohol containing water, and insoluble in 
absolute alcohol, ether, and oil of turpentine. {Arch, der Pharm., xxxiv. 167 ) 
2. Quercus tinctoria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 444; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. i. 91. 
The black oak is one of our largest trees, frequently attaining the height of 
eighty or ninety feet. Its trunk is covered with a deeply furrowed bark, of a 
black or dark-brown colour. The leaves are ovate-oblong, pubescent, slightly 
sinuated, with oblong, obtuse, mucronate lobes. The fructification is biennial. 
The acorn is globose, flattened at top, and placed in a saucer-shaped cup. 
Black-oalc bark has a more bitter taste than that of the other species, and 
may be distinguished also by staining the saliva yellow when it is chewed. Its 
cellular integument contains a colouring principle, capable of being extracted by 
boiling water, to which it imparts a brownish-yellow colour, which is deepened 
by alkalies and rendered brighter by acids. Under the name of quercitron, large 
quantities of this bark, deprived of its epidermis and reduced to coarse powder, 
are sent from the United States to Europe, where it is used for dyeing wool and 
silk of a yellow colour. The colouring principle is called quercitrin, or, from its 
property of combining with salifiable bases, quercitric acid. It was discovered 
by M. Chevreul; and its properties have been investigated by MM. Bolley and 
Rigaud. These chemists obtained it by forming a tincture of the bark with alco- 
hol of the sp. gr. 0'849, freeing this from tannin and a brown substance by gela- 
tin, distilling off the alcohol, and replacing it as it was evaporated by water. The 
quercitrin was deposited, and afterwards purified by repeated solution in alcohol, 
and separation by water as before. Thus procured, it is yellow, slightly bitter, in- 
odorous, in microscopic crystals of the right-rhombic system, soluble in 425 parts 
of boiling water (Rigaud), almost insoluble in cold water, sparingly soluble in 
ether, and freely soluble in alcohol and alkaline solutions. Its formula is given 
as C3fiHli)O20. {Ghem. Gaz., no. 290, p. 428.)* According to Rigaud, quercitrin 
is a glucoside, being resolvable into glucose, and a neuter substance which he 
calls quercetin. {Journ. de Pliarm., Janv. 1860, p. 76.) Besides this principle, 
the bark contains much tannin; but it is less used in tanning than the other 
barks, in consequence of the colour which it imparts to the leather. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Oak bark is astringent and somewhat tonic. 
It has been given with advantage in intermittent fever, obstinate chronic diar- 
rhoea, and certain forms of passive hemorrhage; but it is not much employed 
as an internal remedy. Externally applied it is often productive of benefit. The 
decoction may be advantageously used as a bath, particularly for children, when 
a combined tonic and astringent effect is desirable, and the stomach is not dis- 
posed to receive medicines kindly. It has been employed in this way in maras- 
mus, scrofula, intermittent fevers, chronic diarrhoea, and cholera infantum. As 
an injection in leucorrhoea, a wash in prolapsus ani and hemorrhoidal affections, 
and as a gargle in slight inflammation of the fauces, attended with prolapsed 
uvula, the decoction is often useful. It has also been recommended as an injec- 
tion into dropsical cysts Reduced to powder and made into a poultice, the 
bark was recommended by the late Prof. Barton as an excellent application in 
external gangrene and mortification; and the infusion obtained from tanners’ 
vats has been used beneficially as a wash for flabby, ill-conditioned ulcers. The 
bark may be given in the form of powder, extract, or decoction. The dose of 
the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm, of the extract about half as much, 
of the decoction two fluidounces. (See Decoctum Quercus ) 
Black-oak bark is considered inferior to the white-oak bark as an internal 
remedy, in consequence of being more disposed to irritate the bowels. 
Acorns, besides the bitter and astringent principles of the bark, contain a 
peculiar saccharine matter {quercite), which is insusceptible of the vinous fer- 
* Quercitrin has been found also in various other plants; as in the leaves of Ruta grave- 
olens, and the flower-buds of Capparis spinosa, Sophora Japonica, and ASsculus Hippo- 
castanum or horse-chestnut. {Chem. Gaz., May 2,1859, p. 161.) As this principle is capa- 
ble of assuming various colours under various chemical influences, the idea has been 
advanced that it might be the colouring principle of flowers. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 
1800, p. 222.) PART I. 
JRanunculus. 
725 
mentation. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xx. 335.) They are sometimes used as a 
tonic or astringent; and a decoction made from roasted acorns has been long 
employed in Germany as a remedy in scrofula. Before roasting they should be 
deprived of their shells ; and the cotyledons, according to Dausse, should lose, 
during the process, 140 parts of their weight out of 500. {Pharm. Cent. Rlatt, 
Oct. 9, 1850, p. 681.) From half an ounce to an ounce may be prepared as 
coffee, and the whole taken at breakfast with cream and sugar. {Richter.) 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Quercus, Rr.; Decoctum Quercus Albae, U. S. W 
RANUNCULUS. U. S. Secondary. 
Crowfoot. 
The cormus and herb of Ranunculus bulbosus. U. S. 
Ranunculus. Sex.Syst. Polyandria Polygynia.— Nat.Ord. Ranunculaceae. 
Gen. Cli. Calyx five-leaved. Petals five, having the inner side of each claw 
furnished with a melliferous pore. Seeds naked, numerous. Nuttall. 
Most of the plants belonging to this genus have the same acrid properties. 
Several of them grow together in our fields and pastures, and, from their close 
resemblance, are confounded under the common name of butter-cup, applied to 
them from the colour and shape of their flowers. Those which are most abund- 
ant are believed to have been introduced from Europe. Such are R. bulbosus, R. 
acris, and R. repens, which, with R. sceleratus, may be indiscriminately used. 
In Europe, R. sceleratus appears to have attracted most attention; in this 
country, R. bulbosus. The latter is the only one designated by our Pharma- 
copoeia. R. acris and R. Flammula were formerly directed by the Dublin Col- 
lege, but have been discarded in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. 
Ranunculus bulbosus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1324; Bigelow, Am. Med. Rot. 
iii. 60. This species of crowfoot is perennial, with a solid, fleshy root (cormus), 
and several annual, erect, round, and branching stems, from nine to eighteen 
inches high. The radical leaves, which stand on long footstalks, are ternate or 
quinate, with lobed and dentate leaflets. The leaves of the stem are sessile 
and ternate, the upper more simple. Each stem supports several solitary, bright- 
yellow, glossy flowers, upon furrowed, angular peduncles. The leaves of the 
calyx are reflexed, or bent downwards against the flowerstalk. The petals are 
obcordate, and arranged so as to resemble a small cup. At the inside of the 
claw of each petal is a small cavity, covered with a minute wedge-shaped emar- 
ginate scale. The fruit consists of numerous naked seeds, in a spherical head. 
The stem, leaves, peduncles, and calyx are hairy. 
In May and June our pastures are everywhere adorned with the rich yellow 
flowers of this species of Ranunculus. Somewhat later R. acris and R. repens 
begin to bloom, and a succession of similar flowers is maintained till Septem- 
ber. The two latter species prefer a moister ground, and are found most abun- 
dantly in meadows. R. sceleratus frequents ponds and ditches. In all these 
species, the whole plant is pervaded by a volatile acrid principle, which is dissi- 
pated by drying or by heat, and may be separated by distillation. Dr. Bigelow 
found that water distilled from the fresh plant had an acrid taste, and produced 
when swallowed a burning sensation in the stomach ; and that it retained these 
properties for a long time, if kept in closely-stopped bottles. Dr. Clarus dis- 
covered,'in R. sceleratus, besides the acrid volatile oil, a nearly inert resin, and a 
narcotic principle called anemonin. The volatile oil is soluble in ether, and is 
decomposed, on standing, into a white amorphous substance having acid proper- 
ties (anemonic acid), and into anemonin. Other species of Ranunculus probably 
have the same constituents. (B. and F. Med.-chir. Rev., Jan. 1859, p.181.) The 
plant itself, when chewed, excites violent irritation in the mouth and throat; in- 
flaming and even excoriating the tongue and inside of the cheeks and lips, if 
not quickly discharged. Both the root and herb of R. bulbosus are officinal. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Crowfoot, when swallowed in the fresh state, 726 
Ranunculus.—Resina. 
PART I. 
produces heat and pain in the stomach, and, if the quantity be considerable, 
may excite fatal inflammation. Dr. Clarus states that it has also narcotic pro- 
perties, diminishing the frequency of the pulse and respiration, and producing 
palsy of the extremities. These properties he ascribes to the anemoniu It is, 
however, never used internally; though the juice and distilled water of some 
species of Ranunculus are said to act as a prompt and powerful emetic. The 
property for which ithas attracted the attentionof physicians is that of inflaming 
and vesicating the skin; and, before the introduction of the Spanish fly into use, 
it was much employed for this purpose. But the uncertainty and occasional 
violence of its action have nearly banished it from regular practice. While on 
some individuals it appears to produce scarcely any effect; on others it acts very 
speedily, exciting extensive and troublesome inflammation, which sometimes 
terminates in deep, obstinate ulcers. It probably varies in strength with the 
season; and, in the dried state, or boiled with water, is wholly inert. The de- 
coction. moreover, is inert in consequence of the escape of the acrid principle. 
Nevertheless, the plant has been very properly retained in the Fharmacopceia, 
in the catalogue of medicines of secondary importance; as occasions may 
happen, when the practitioner in the country may find advantage in having 
recourse to its powerful rubefacient and epispastic operation. W. 
RESINA. U.S.,Br. 
Resin. 
The residue after the distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentine of 
Finns palustris and other species of Pinus. U. S. The residue of the distillation 
of the turpentines from various species of Finus and Abies Br. 
ltesine blanche, Resine jaune, Fr.; Fichtenharz, Germ.; Kagea di pino, Ital.; Resina 
de pino, Span. 
After tiie distillation of the volatile oil from the turpentines (see Terebin- 
thina), a resinous matter remains, which on the continent of Europe is called 
colophony, but with us is commonly known by the name of rosin. It is the 
Resina of the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. It is sometimes called resina 
Jiacci or yellow resin. When this, in a state of fusion, is strongly agitated 
with water, it acquires a distinct appearance, and is denominated resina alba 
or white resin. Before describing this officinal, it may be proper to enumerate 
the characteristic properties of the proximate principles denominated resins. 
Resins are solid, brittle, of a smooth and shining fracture, and generally of a 
yellowish colour and semitransparent. When perfectly pure, they are probably 
inodorous and often insipid; but, as usually found, they have a slight odour, 
and a somewhat acrid or bitterish taste. Their sp. gr. varies from 092 to 12. 
They are fusible by a moderate heat, decomposed at a higher temperature, and 
in the open air take lire, burning with a yellow flame and much smoke. Insolu- 
ble in water, they are dissolved by ether and the volatile oils, and generally by 
alcohol; and their alcoholic and ethereal solutions afford precipitates upon the 
addition of water. With pure potassa and soda they unite to form soaps, which 
are soluble in water ; and the same result takes place when they are heated 
with solutions of the alkaline carbonates. Concentrated sulphuric acid dis- 
solves them with mutual decomposition; and nitric acid converts them into 
artificial tannin. They readily unite by fusion with wax and the fixed oils.* 
Common or yellow resin, in its purest state, is beautifully clear and pellucid, 
but much less so as usually found in the shops. Its odour and taste are generally 
in a slight degree terebinthinate; its colour yellowish-brown with a tinge of olive, 
* M. Losch recommends the following process for rendering the resins as white as pos- 
sible. Boil together 5 parts of the resin, 1 of carbonate of potassa or of soda, and 20 of 
water, until a perfectly homogeneous mass is obtained; allow this to cool, and pass into 
it sulphurous acid, which saturates the alkali, and precipitates the resin in white flakes. 
Finally, wash the precipitate well with water, and dry it. (Journ. de Phann., Juin, 1856, 
p. 465.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART I. 
Resina.—Rhamni Succus. 
727 
and more or less dark according to its purity, and the degree of heat to which 
it has been exposed in its preparation. Sometimes it is almost black. It is 
rather heavier than water. At 276° F. it melts, is completely liquid at 306°, 
begins to emit bubbles of gas at 316°, and is entirely decomposed at a red heat. 
Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in variable propor- 
tions. It appears, from the researches of Unverdorben, to contain three distinct 
resinous bodies, two of which, denominated pinic and sylvie acids, pre-existed 
in the turpentine, and the third, called colophonic acid, is formed by the agency 
of heat in the distillation. The pinic acid is dissolved by cold spirit of the sp. gr. 
0'8fi5, and is thus separated from the sylvic acid. It is obtained pure by add- 
ing to the solution a spirituous solution of acetate of copper, dissolving the pre- 
cipitated pinate of copper in strong boiling alcohol, decomposing this salt with 
a little muriatic acid, and adding water, which throws down the pinic acid as a 
resinous powder. The sylvic acid is obtained by treating the residue of the 
common resin with boiling spirit of 0'865, which dissolves it, and lets it fall 
upon cooling. Both of these resinous acids are colourless. Pinic acid is soluble 
in weak cold alcohol; sylvic acid is insoluble in the same menstruum when cold, 
but is dissolved by it when boiling hot, and by strong alcohol at all temperatures. 
The salts which they form with the alkalies are soluble, those with the earths 
and metallic oxides, insoluble in water. Colophonic acid differs from the others 
in having stronger acid properties, and in being less soluble in alcohol. It is of 
a brown colour; and common resin is more or less coloured in proportion to 
the quantity of this acid which it contains. (Kane's Chemistry.) The experi- 
ments of Unverdorben were made with European colophony. It is somewhat 
uncertain whether exactly the same results would be afforded by the common 
resin of this country, wrhich is obtained from a different species of pine. By the 
destructive distillation of resin an oleaginous product is obtained, called resin 
oil, which in various degrees of purity is used in currying leather, lubricating 
machinery, preparing printers’ ink, &c. 
White resin differs from the preceding only in being opaque and of a whitish 
colour. These properties it owes to the water with which it is incorporated, and 
which gradually escapes upon exposure, leaving it more or less transparent. 
Medical Uses. Resin is important as an ingredient of ointments and plasters, 
but is never used internally. According to ITofessor Olmsted, it has the pro- 
perty of preventing the oxidation of fatty substances, and thus contributes to the 
preservation of ointments. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxii. 325.) 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Cantharidis, U. S.; Ceratum Extracti Cantharidis, U. S.; 
Ceratum Resin®, U. S.; Ceratum Resin® Compositum, U. S.; Charta Epispas- 
tica, Br.; Emplastrum Calefaciens, Br.; Emplast. Cantharidis, Br ; Emplast. 
Hydrargyri, U.S.; Emplast. Picis, Br.; Emplast. Resin®; Emplast. Saponis 
Br.; Unguentum Resin®, Br.; Unguent. Terebinthin®, Br. W. 
RHAMNI SUCCUS. Br. 
Buckthorn Juice. 
The recently expressed juice of the ripe berries of common Buckthorn. 
Rhamnus catharticus. Br. 
The juice of Rhamnus catharticus, recognised by the London College, was 
rejected by the framers of the first British Pharmacopoeia, but has been restored 
to its officinal rank in the last edition ; and, therefore, claims consideration again 
in this part of the U. S. Dispensatory, from which it was transferred in the 
twelfth edition to the third part, as not at that time belonging to either of the 
officinal lists. The berries were directed by the Edinburgh College. 
Rhamnus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rhamnaceae. 
Gen. Gh. “ Calyx tubular. Corolla scales defending the stamens, inserted 
into the calyx Berry.” ( Willd.) 
Rhamnus catharticus. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1092; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 594 728 
lihamni Succus. 
PART I. 
t. 210. The purging buckthorn is a shrub seven or eight feethigh, with branches 
terminating in a sharp spine. The leaves are in fascicles, on short footstalks, 
ovate, serrate, veined. The flowers are usually dioecious, in clusters, small, 
greenish, peduncled, with a four-cleft calyx, and four very small scale-like pe- 
tals, placed in the male flower, behind the stamens, which equal them in num 
ber. The fruit is a four-seeded berry. The shrub is a native of Europe, and has 
been found growing wild in this country. It was first discovered in the High- 
lands of New York by Ur. Barratt. (Eaton's Manual.) It flowers in May and 
June, and ripens its fruit in the latter part of September. The berries andtheir 
juice are used. When ripe they are of the size of a pea, round, somewhat flat- 
tened at top, black, smooth, shining, with four seeds in a green, juicy paren- 
chyma. Their odour is unpleasant, their taste bitterish, acrid, and nauseous. 
The expressed juice has the colour, odour, and taste of the parenchyma. It is 
reddened by the acids, and from deep-green is rendered light-green by the alka- 
lies. Upon standing it soon begins to ferment, and becomes red in consequence 
of the formation of acetic acid. Evaporated to dryness, with the addition of 
lime or an alkali, it forms the colour called by painters sap-green. The dried 
fruit of another species, R. infectorius, yields a rich yellow colour, for which 
it is employed in the arts under the name of French berries. 
Yogel obtained from the juice of the berries a peculiar colouring matter, 
acetic acid, mucilage, sugar, and a nitrogenous substance. Hubert found green 
colouring matter, acetic and malic acids, brown gummy matter, and a bitter 
substance which he considered as the purgative principle. M. Fleury obtained 
a peculiar crystallizable principle, which is contained both in the expressed 
juice and the residue remaining after expression, and for which he proposed 
the name of rhamnin; but he did not ascertain whether it possessed cathartic 
properties. (See Journ. de Pharm., xxvii. 666.) Winckler obtained from the 
ripe fruit a principle which he called cathartin, and believes that the rhamnin 
of Fleury, which was obtained from the unripe berries, is converted into that 
principle and grape sugar as the fruit matures. ( Ghem. Gaz., viii. 232.) The 
cathartin of Winckler, which must not be confounded with the substance of 
the same name at one time supposed to be the purgative principle of senna, 
may be procured by evaporating the expressed juice of the berries to the con- 
sistence of syrup, treating this repeatedly with boiling absolute alcohol till it 
ceases to yield bitterness to the menstruum, mixing the tinctures, allowing the 
liquor to become cold, filtering, adding a large excess of ether, allowing the 
mixed liquids to stand, then filtering, evaporating in a water-bath, and repeat- 
ing the process with the residue. The cathartin thus obtained is a pale-yellow 
powder, very bitter, soluble in water and alcohol but not in ether, and actively 
cathartic in the dose of from one to three grains. (See N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., 
April, 1853, and Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv 526.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Both the berries and the expressed juice are 
actively purgative; but, as they are apt to occasion nausea and severe griping, 
with much thirst and dryness of the mouth and throat, they are now little em- 
ployed. They formerly enjoyed considerable reputation as a hydragogue cathar- 
tic in dropsy; and were given also in rheumatism and gout The only shape 
in which they are now used is that of syrup, which is sometimes added to 
hydragogue or diuretic mixtures. A syrup is directed in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. 
The dose of the recent berries is about a scruple, of the dried a drachm, of the 
expressed juice a fluidounce, and of the syrup from four to eight fluidrachms. 
Under the name of cortex frangulse, the bark of Rhamnus Frangula is used 
in Germany as a cathartic. Buchner found in this bark a peculiar yellow vola- 
tile colouring principle, which he called rhamnoxanthin, and which may be 
obtained by subjecting the alcoholic and ethereal extract to distillation. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., xxiv. 293.) 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Rhamui, Br. W. PART i. 
Rheum, 
729 
RHEUM. U.S. 
Rhubarb. 
The root of Rheum palmatum, and of other species of Rheum. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. RHEI RADIX. Rhubarb Root. The dried root, deprived of the 
bark, from one or more undetermined species of Rheum, from China, Chinese 
Tartary, and Thibet. Imported from Shanghai and Canton, and brought 
overland by way of Moscow. Br. 
iihabarbarum; Rhubarbe, Fr.; Rliabarber, Germ.; Rabarbaro, Ital.; Ruibarbo, Span.; 
Ilal-noung, Chinese; Scliara-modo, Thibet. 
Rheum. Sex.Syst. Enneandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Polvgonaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx petaloid, six-parted, withering. Stamens about nine, in- 
serted into the base of the calyx. Styles three, reflexed Stigmas peltate, entire. 
Achenium three-cornered, winged, with the withered calyx at the base. Embryo 
in the centre of the albumen. ( Bindley ) 
Notwithstanding the length of time that rhubarb has been in use, it has not 
yet been determined from what precise plant the Asiatic drug is derived. The 
remoteness of the region where it is collected, and the jealous care with which 
the monopoly of the trade is guarded, have prevented any accurate information 
on the subject. All that we certainly know is that it is the root of one or more 
species of Rheum. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia refers it to R. palmatum, with 
other species not designated; the British recognises no particular species. 
The terms rha and rheon, from the former of which were derived the names 
rhabarbarum and rhubarb, and from the latter the botanical title Rheum, were 
applied by the ancients to a root which came from beyond the Bosphorus, and 
which is supposed, though upon somewhat uncertain grounds, to have been the 
product of the Rheum Rhaponticum, growing on the banks of the Caspian Sea 
and the Wolga. This species was also at one time believed to be the source of 
the medicine now in use; but the true rhubarb has long been known to be wholly 
distinct from the Rhapontic, and derived from a different source. It was not till 
the year 1732 that any probable information was obtained as to its real origin. 
At that time plants were received from Russia by Jussieu in France, and Rand 
in England, which were said to be of the species affording the genuine rhubarb, 
and were named by Linnseus, under this impression, Rheum Rhabarbarum, a 
title which has since given way to Rheum undulatum. Subsequently, Kauw 
Boerhaave obtained from a merchant, who dealt in the rhubarb of Tartary somo 
seeds which he said were those of the plant producing the root sold by him. 
These, having been planted, yielded two species of Rheum, R. undulatum, and 
another which Linnaeus named R. palmatum. Seeds transmitted by Dr. Mounsey 
from St. Petersburg to Dr. Hope,and planted inthebotanicgarden at Edinburgh, 
produced the latter species ; and the same was also raised at Upsal from a root 
received by Linnaeus from De dorter, and was described A D. 1767 by the 
younger Linnaeus, two years after the appearance of Dr. Hope’s paper in the 
Philosophical Transactions. Thus far the evidence appears equally in favour of 
R. palmatum and R. undulatum. The claims of another species were afterwards 
presented. Pallas, upon exhibiting the leaves of R. palmatum to some Bucharian 
merchants, was told that the leaves of the rhubarb plant were entirely different in 
shape ; and the description he received of them corresponded more closely with 
those of R. compactum, than of any other known species. Seeds of this plant 
were, moreover, sent to Miller from St. Petersburg, as those of the true Tar- 
tarian rhubarb. A few years since the attention of naturalists was called to a 
fourth species, for which the same honour has been claimed. Dr. Wallich, super- 
intendent of the botanical garden at Calcutta, received seeds that were said to 
be those of the plant which yielded the Chinese rhubarb, growing on the Hi- 
malaya mountains and the highlands of Tartary. These produced a species not 
previously described, which Dr. Wallich named R. Emodi, from the native title 
of the plant. It is the R. australe of Mr. Don and of Colebrooke, and has been 730 
Rheum. 
PART L 
ascertained to afford a root which, though purgative, is very unlike the officinal 
rhubarb. Other species have been found to grow in the Himalaya mountains, 
from which a kind of rhubarb used by the natives is said to be procured; but 
none of it reaches the markets of this country or Europe. From what has been 
said, it is obvious that no species yet mentioned can be considered as the un- 
doubted source of commercial rhubarb; the plant having, in no instance, been 
seen and examined by naturalists in its native place. Sic vers, an apothecary 
sent to Siberia, in the reign of Catharine II., with the view of improving the 
cultivation of the native rhubarb, asserts, from information given him by the 
Bucharians, that all the seeds procured under the name of true rhubarb are false, 
and pronounces “all the descriptions in the Materia Medicas to be incorrect.” 
This assertion, however, has no relation to R. australe which has been subse- 
quently described; but it is said that the roots of that plant, dried by the medical 
officers of the British army, differ from true rhubarb in appearance and power. 
All the plants of this genus are perennial and herbaceous, with large branch- 
ing roots, which send forth vigorous stems from four to eight feet or more in 
height, surrounded at their base with numerous very large petiolate leaves, and 
terminating in lengthened branching panicles, composed of small and very nu- 
merous flowers, resembling those of the Rumexor dock. There is some difficulty 
in arranging the species, in consequence of the tendency of the cultivated plants 
to form hybrids; and it is frequently impossible to ascertain to which of the 
wild types the several garden varieties are to be referred. The following de- 
scriptions are from the Flora Medica of Dr. Lindley. 
Rheum palmatum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p 358; 
Carson, lllust. of Med. Rot. ii. 22, pi. 69. “ Leaves roundish-cordate, half pal- 
mate; the lobes pinnatifid, acuminate, deep dull-green, not wavy, but uneven 
and very much wrinkled on the upper side, hardly scabrous at the edge, minutely 
downy on the underside ; sinus completely closed; the lobes of the leaf standing 
forwards beyond it. Petiole pale-green, marked with short purple lines, terete, 
obscurely channeled quite at the upper end. Flowering stems taller than those 
of any other species.” This species is said to inhabit China in the vicinity of 
the great wall. It has been cultivated in England and France for its root, 
which is admitted to approach more nearly in odour, taste, and the disposition 
of its colours, than that of any other known species, to the Asiatic rhubarb. 
R. undulatum. Willd. Spj. Plant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 357 ; Woodv. 
Med. Rot, 3ded.,v. 81. “Leaves oval, obtuse, extremely wavy, deep-green, with 
veins purple at the base, often shorter than the petiole, distinctly and copiously 
downy on each side, looking as if frosted when young, scabrous at the edge; 
sinus open, wedge-shaped, with the lower lobes of the leaves turned upwards. 
Petiole downy, blood-red, semi-cylindrical, with elevated edges to the upper 
side, which is narrower at the upper than the lower end.” This is a native of 
Siberia, and probably Tartary and China. It was cultivated by the Russian 
government as the true rhubarb plant; but the culture has been abandoned. It 
contributes to the rhubarb produced in France. 
R. compactum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 489; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 358; Carson, 
lllust. of Med. Rot. ii. 24, pi. 11. “Leaves heart-shaped, obtuse, very wavy, 
deep-green, of a thick texture, scabrous at the margin, quite smooth on both 
sides, glossy and even on the upper side; sinus nearly closed by the parenchyma. 
Petiole green, hardly tinged with red except at the base, semi-cvlindrical, a 
little compressed at the sides, with the upper side broad, flat, bordered by ele- 
vated edges, and of equal breadth at each end.” This plant is said to be a native 
of Tartary and China. It is one of the garden rhubarbs, and has been cultivated 
in France for its root. 
R. australe. Don, Prod. Flor. Nepal, p. 15. — R. Emodi. Wallich; Lindley, 
Flor. Med. p. 354 ; Carson, lllust. of Med. Rot. ii. 24, pi. 10. “ Leaves cordate, 
acute, dull green, but little wavy, flattish, very much wrinkled, distinctly rough, 
with coarse short hairs on each side; sinus of the base distinctly open, not 
wedge-shaped but diverging at an obtuse angle, with the lobes nearly turned PAKT i, 
Rheum. 
731 
upwards. Petioles very rough, rounded-angular, furrowed; with the upper side 
depressed, bordered by an elevated edge, and very much narrower at the upper 
than the lower end.” The root of this species was at one time conjectured to be 
the source of’offieinal Asiatic rhubarb, but has been found to have scarcely any 
resemblance to it. The plant has been cultivated both in Europe and this coun- 
try, and its petioles answer well for tarts, &c. 
R. Rhaponticum. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 488; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 357 ; Lou- 
don’s Encyc. of Plants, p. 335. “ Leaves roundish-ovate, cordate, obtuse, pale- 
green, but little wavy, very concave, even, very slightly downy on the under side, 
especially near the edge, and on the edge itself; scabrous at the margin; sinus 
quite open, large, and cuneate. Petiole depressed, channeled on the upper side, 
with the edges regularly rounded off, pale-green, striated, scarcely scabrous. 
Panicles very compact and short, rounded at the ends, and never lax 
as in the other garden species. Flowering stem about three feet high.” The 
Rhapontic rhubarb grows upon the banks of the Caspian Sea, in the deserts 
between the Wolga and the Oural, and in Siberia. It is said also to grow upon 
the borders of the Euxine. It is cultivated as a garden plant in Europe and this 
country ; and large quantities of the root are produced for sale in France. It is 
said by Royle to be the source of the English rhubarb. 
Besides the above species, B. leucorrhizum, growing in the Kirghese 
desert in Tartary, B. Gaspicum from the Altai mountains, B. Webbianum, 
B. speciforme, and B. Moorcraftianum, natives of the Himalaya mountains, 
and B. crassinervium and B. hybridum, cultivated in Europe, but of unknown 
origin, yield roots which have either been employed as purgatives, or possess 
properties more or less analogous to those of officinal rhubarb, though they have 
not entered into general commerce. 
The leafstalks of the different species of Rheum have a pleasant acid taste, 
and are used for making tarts and pies. It is for this purpose mainly that the 
plants are cultivated in the United States. Mr. T. A. Lancaster has shown that 
the acidity is owing to the presence of binoxalate of potassa. {Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm., May, 1859, p. 193) Lindley states that R. Rhaponticum, R. hybri- 
dum, and R. compactum, and hybrid varieties of them, are the common garden 
rhubarbs.* 
In relation to the culture and preparation of rhubarb, our information is 
almost as uncertain as on the subject of its natural history. The accounts re- 
ceived from the Bucharian merchants are very discordant, and few intelligent 
travellers have penetrated into the country where the medicine is collected. We 
shall present, however, a brief abstract of what we have been able to collect 
upon the subject from the authorities we have consulted. 
Rhubarb is produced abundantly in the elevated lands of Tartary, about the 
lake Koko Norr, and is said to be cultivated in the neighbouring Chinese pro- 
vince of Shen-see, and in that of Setchuen. From these sources it is generally 
supposed that our supplies of Russian and Chinese rhubarb are exclusively de- 
rived; but the root is also collected in Boutan and Thibet, on the north of the 
Himalaya mountains; and it is probable that the plant pervades the whole of 
Chinese Tartary. It flourishes best in a light sandy soil. It is stated by Mr. 
Bell, who, on a journey from St. Petersburg to Pekin, had an opportunity of 
observing it in a growing state, that it is not cultivated by the Tartars, but 
springs up spontaneously, in tufts, wherever the seeds have fallen upon the heaps 
of loose earth thrown up by the marmots. In other places the thickness of the 
* Wine from the Rhubarb Riant. Large quantities of wine are said to be prepared, at 
Belvidere, Illinois, from the garden rhubarb. The plant, having been cut when mature, 
is submitted to pressure; and the expressed juice, with an equal bulk of water and seven 
pounds of sugar for each gallon, is made to undergo the vinous fermentation. The wine 
is fit for use at the end of three years. It has a pleasant sweetish taste, said to resemble 
that of imported sherry; and an alcoholic strength varying from 7 to 10 per cent. The 
possession of an aperient property is, perhaps, its strongest recommendation. Ten thou- 
sand gallons are stated as the product of a single season. (Am. Journ. ( f Pharm. Jan. 
1866.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 732 
Rheum, 
PART I. 
grass prevents their access to the soil. The root is not considered sufficiently 
mature for collection till it has attained the age of six years. It is dug up twice 
a year in Tartary, in the spring and autumn; in China not till the winter. After 
removal from the ground, it is cleaned, deprived of its cortical portion and the 
smaller branches, and then divided into pieces of a convenient size. These are 
bored with holes, and strung upon cords to dry; according to Mr. Bell, about 
the tents and on the horns of sheep ; according to Sievers, under sheds, by which 
the rays of the sun are excluded, while the air has free access. The Chinese are 
said first to place the pieces on a stone slab heated by fire beneath, and after- 
wards to complete the drying process by exposing them to the sun and air. In 
Boutan the roots are hung up in a kind of drying room, in which a moderate 
and regular heat is maintained. Much time and attention are devoted to the 
preparation of the root; and Sievers states that a year sometimes elapses from 
the period of its collection, before it is ready for exportation. A large propor- 
tion of its weight is lost in drying, according to some accounts four-fifths, to 
others not less than seven-eighths. It is probably in order to favour the drying 
that the bark is removed. The trade in rhubarb is said to centre in the Chinese 
town of Si-nin, where a Bueharian company or family is established, which pos- 
sesses a monopoly of this trade, in consideration of a certain tribute paid to the 
government. To this city the rhubarb is brought from the various places of its 
collection, and, having been duly assorted and undergone further preparation, 
is transmitted partly to Russia, partly to the coast of China; so that the drug 
which reaches us through St. Petersburg is procured from the same neighbour- 
hood with that imported from Canton. But it will soon be seen that there are 
differences between the Russian and Chinese rhubarb, which would seem to in- 
dicate a different origin, and might authorize doubts as to the entire accuracy 
of the above accounts. It is at least probable that the drug produced in the 
province of Setchuen, whence the best China rhubarb is said to be brought, takes 
a more direct route to the coast than that through the town of Si-nin. Besides 
the two commercial varieties just mentioned, a third occasionally comes to us 
from Europe, where the cultivation of rhubarb has been carried on for some 
time, especially in France, Belgium, and Great Britain. Of these three varieties 
we shall treat under different heads. 
1. Chinese Rhubarb. 
India Rhubarb. Rheum Sinense vel Indicuni. Much the largest proportion 
of rhubarb consumed in this country is brought from Canton. Though some- 
what inferior to the Russian, its comparative cheapness gives it a decided 
preference in our markets ; and, when of good quality, it does not disappoint 
the expectations of the physician. 
It is in cylindrical or roundish pieces, sometimes flattened on one or both 
sides, of a dirty brownish-yellow colour externally, appearing as if the cortical 
portion of the root had been removed by scraping, and the surface rendered 
smooth and somewhat powdery by attrition. The best pieces are heavier than 
the Russian rhubarb, have a texture rather close and compact, and, when broken, 
present a ragged uneven surface, variegated with intermingled shades of dull- 
red, yellowish, and white, which are sometimes diversified or interrupted by 
darker colours. The pieces are generally perforated with small holes, intended 
for convenience of suspension during the drying process; and portions of the 
suspending cord are not unfrequently found remaining in the holes. Chinese 
rhubarb has a peculiar somewhat aromatic smell, and a bitter astringent taste, 
is griity when chewed, imparts a yellow colour to the saliva, and affords a yel- 
lowish powder with a reddish-brown tinge. With the pieces of good quality 
others often come mingled, defective from decay or improper preparation. These 
are usually lighter, and of a dark or russet colour. Like all the other varieties 
of rhubarb, this is liable to be attacked by worms; and in almost every large 
parcel pieces may be found which have suffered from this cause. The want rf PART i 
Rheum, 
733 
proper care in its selection by the Chinese merchants, and the exposure incident 
to a long sea-voyage, are causes which contribute to its inferiority to the Rus- 
sian rhubarb. As the whole contents of the chest imported are usually pow- 
dered together, including the worst as well as the best pieces, it follows that 
the powder is inferior in efficacy to the selected and sound pieces. We are told 
bjr English pharmaceutists that, owing to a wide-spread destruction by the 
rebels, or some unknown cause, of the rhubarb plant in its native country, both 
the quantity and quality of Chinese rhubarb have been recently lowered in the 
market; but that the plant was recovering itself in China, and consequently 
that the root is now improving in both these respects. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., Oct. 1868, p. 247.) 
In former editions of this work, we have noticed a variety of rhubarb im- 
ported from Canton, which was evidently prepared, before leaving China, so 
as to resemble the Russian, having an angular surface as if pared with a knife. 
The pieces were obviously selected with great care, as they were remarkably 
free from defects. But in most of those which came under our notice, the small 
penetrating hole was observable, which characterizes the Chinese rhubarb, 
though it had in some instances been filled with the powdered root, so as in some 
measure to conceal it. Besides, the colours were not quite so bright as those of 
Russia rhubarb. This is undoubtedly the variety described by Pereira, under a 
distinct head, as the Dutch-trimmed or Batavian rhubarb, and considered by 
him as probably Bucharian or Russian rhubarb of inferior quality, sent by the 
way of Canton. A sufficient proof, we think, that this is not the case, is the 
presence in most pieces of the small penetrating hole, occasionally filled with 
remains of the cord, and in some pieces almost shaved away in the paring pro- 
cess. We have never seen such a hole in any piece of true Russian rhubarb, 
which does not appear to be strung up like the Chinese when dried. 
Under the title of Canton stick rhubarb, Pereira describes a variety of which 
small quantities have been imported from Canton into London. It closely re- 
sembles the English stick rhubarb, and is supposed to be derived from the 
branches of the root of the plant which yields the true Chinese rhubarb. 
2. Russian Rhubarb. 
Turkey Rhubarb. Bucharian Rhubarb. Rheum Russicum vel Turcicum 
The rhubarb taken to Russia from Tartary undergoes a peculiar preparation, 
in conformity with the stipulations of a contract with the Bucharian merchants 
who furnish the supply. The best is selected, and each piece perforated in order 
to ascertain whether it is sound in the centre. From Si-nin it is conveyed by 
the Bucharian merchants to the frontier town of Kiachta, where it undergoes a 
rigid inspection by an apothecary stationed at that place by the Russian govern- 
ment. All the pieces which do not pass examination are committed to the flames; 
and the remainder is sent to St. Petersburg. This variety is sometimes called 
Turkey rhubarb, from the circumstance that it was formerly derived from the 
Turkish ports, whither it is said to have been brought from Tartai’y by cara- 
vans through Persia and Natolia. The circumstance of the identity of the Rus- 
sian and Turkey rhubarb, and its decided difference from the Chinese, would 
appear to indicate a distinct origin for the two varieties. Inferior parcels of 
the root, which will not pass the inspection of the Russian authorities, are said 
to enter Russia by Taschkent, and to be known to the druggists of that country 
by "he name of Taschkent rhubarb. 
The pieces of Russian rhubarb are irregular and somewhat angular, appear- 
ing as if the bark had been shaved off longitudinally by successive strokes of a 
knife, and a portion of the interior substance removed with each shaving. They 
have a cleaner and fresher appearance than the Chinese, and their colour both 
internally and externally, though of the same general character, is somewhat 
more lively. They are less compact and heavy; and are cut with less facility, 
owing to their giving way before the knife. A notber distinction is the character 734 
Rheum. 
P.ART I. 
of the perforations, which in the Russian rhubarb are large, frequently reach 
ing only to the centre, and evidently made for the purpose of inspection; while 
in the Chinese they are small, penetrate completely through the pieces, and were 
intended for the passage of a suspending cord. The taste and smell of the former 
closely resemble those of the latter, except that the Russian is rather more aro- 
matic. There is the same crackling under the teeth, and the same yellow stain 
imparted to the saliva; but the colour of the powder in this variety is a bright 
yellow, without the brownish tinge exhibited by the Chinese. When thin slices, 
previously boiled in water, are examined by the microscope, they exhibit nume- 
rous clusters of minute crystals of oxalate of lime. Mr. Quekett found between 
35 and 40 grains of them in 100 grains of the root. They are observed both in 
the Russian and Chinese rhubarb. 
The care which renders the Russian rhubarb so free from defects, tends greatly 
to enhance its price, and consequently to limit its consumption. Its great com- 
parative value in the market has led to frequent attempts at adulteration; and 
the pieces of Chinese rhubarb are sometimes cut down and prepared so as to 
resemble the Russian. The fraud, however, may be detected by adverting to 
the peculiarities in texture, colour, and weight, by which the varieties are dis- 
tinguished, and to the occasional presence of the small penetrating hole, or ves- 
tiges of it. We have seen a specimen in which the hole was enlarged at its two 
extremities, and closed by powder in the middle, with the view of imitating the 
larger perforations of the Russian pieces. Sometimes worm-eaten pieces are 
made to resemble the sound, by filling up the holes with a mixture of pulver- 
ized rhubarb and mucilage, and covering over the surface with the powder. By 
removing this, the fraud is at once revealed. 
Within a few years genuine Russia rhubarb has been gradually diminishing, 
and at this time (Jan. 1869) has wholly disappeared from the market, both 
European and American. This is owing to the suspension of the inspection 
established by the Russian government at Kiachta, through which a certain 
excellence of character, and certain peculiarities of form, were given to that va- 
riety of rhubarb which distinguished it from all others. It is to be hoped that 
similar regulations may be again established, causing a return of the genuine 
Russia rhubarb to our markets. In the mean time, as the cultivation probably 
goes on as before, we shall receive really the same rhubarb through other chan- 
nels, but somewhat different in form, and mixed with much that is inferior.* 
* In the American Journal of Pharmacy (May, 1867, p. 212) is a paper by Adolph 
Fero, of Moscow, translated by Prof. Maisch from the Pharmaceut. Zeitschrift far Russ- 
ia nd (Nov. 1866, pp. 473-481), which gives an account of the rhubarbs at present in 
Russian commerce, and to which the reader is referred for interesting observations on this 
subject. We have space only for a very brief notice of the several varieties. 
1. North-Chinese Rhubarb. By this name the author distinguishes the rhubarb now 
entering Russia by various routes along the northern Chinese frontier, and especially 
through Siberia to the fair at Nishni-Novogorod, where it comes in chests containing 200 
lbs. The pieces weigh from one to seven ounces, are mostly uncut or only split longitu- 
dinally, resemble the Russian in shape and colour, are entirely or partially destitute of 
the cortical part, and are usually perforated with holes for suspension, but rarely with 
those made for inspection, and with these only in imitation of the Russian. Their mean 
length is 2f inches, breadth If. Their texture is somewhat loose, frequently porous. 
2. Bucharian Rhubarb. This is taken from Bucharia to Russia, being first carried to 
the Caspian Sea, and then up the Wolga to Nishni-Novogorod, whence it is distributed. 
The pieces of this variety are marked with the perforating holes for suspension, and some- 
times with others in imitation of the Russian, intended for inspection. There are two 
kinds, one deprived of the cortical portion, the other in the natural state in this respect. 
In the former the surface is smooth, the outer part seeming to have been carefully re- 
moved by a file; the latter has longitudinal wrinkles. Generally, the dimensions exceed 
those of the former variety, being on the average 3£ inches long, 2| wide, and If thick; 
the root being divided longitudinally into two halves, with the cut surface somewhat 
curved by contraction. The surface of the pieces is usually purposely sprinkled with the 
powder. In compactness this resembles the Chinese rhubarb; and its texture is more 
woody and fibrous than in any other variety. 
The proper Russian rhubarb is also described under the name of the Muscovite, and the 
Chinese rhubarb, as we denominate it, under that of South Chinese; but in reference to 
these there is nothing that especially requires attention. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART I 
Rheum, 
735 
3. European Rhubarb. 
In various parts of Europe, particularly in England, France, Belgium, and 
Germany, the rhubarb plants have been cultivated for many years; and con- 
siderable quantities of the root are annually brought into the market. It is im- 
ported into this country from England and France. 
English Rhubarb. This formerly came in two forms. In one the root was cut 
and perforated in imitation of the Russian. The pieces were of various shape 
and size, sometimes cylindrical, but more commonly flat, or somewhat lenticular, 
and of considerable dimensions. We have for a long time seen none of this 
variety in our markets In the other, the pieces are somewhat cylindrical, five 
or six inches long by an inch or less in thickness, and more or less irregular upon 
the surface, as if they had shrunk unequally in drying. This is called stick rhu- 
barb in England, and until very recently was occasionally met with in our shops. 
English rhubarb is lighter than the Asiatic, more spongy, and often somewhat 
pasty under the pestle. It is redder, and when broken exhibits a more com- 
pact and regular marbling; the pinkish lines being arranged like rays from 
the centre towards the circumference. The powder also has a deeper red- 
dish tint. The odour is feeble and less aromatic than that of the Asiatic varie- 
ties; the taste is astringent and mucilaginous with little bitterness; and the 
root, when chewed, scarcely feels gritty between the teeth, and but slightly 
colours the saliva. Few crystals of oxalate of lime are discoverable by means of 
the microscope. Most of the commercial English rhubarb is now cultivated 
near Banbury, and is said to be the product of R. Rhaponticum. 
The cultivation of rhubarb in England has within a few years taken a new 
start, and the demand for the root has greatly increased both at home and 
abroad; so that at present it even exceeds the production. Mr. Rufus Usher, 
who is engaged in this culture at Banbury, and whose plantations of rhubarb 
exceed forty acres in extent, ascribes the increased demand to the improved 
quality of the product, which he believes to have arisen from the propagation 
by offsets instead of by seeds; the roots, in the former method, having a tend- 
ency to return to the original type; while, through the seeds, new varieties 
are formed in which the old characters are lost. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 
1867, p. 481; from Pharm. Journ:, Aug. 1867.) But, notwithstanding this in- 
creased demand for English rhubarb, little if any is imported into the U. States; 
and the result of an investigation which has been made into the subject at our 
request is that, in two of our largest drug centres, none of this variety is to be 
found in the market. 
French Rhubarb. Rhapontic Rhubarb. Krimea Rhubarb. The rhubarb 
produced in France is, according to Guibourt, chiefly from R. Rhaponticum, 
R. undulatum, and R. compactum; that of R. palmatum, which most closely 
resembles the Asiatic, having been found to degenerate so much as not to be a 
profitable object of culture. Most of the French rhubarb is produced in the 
neighbourhood of L’Orient, in the department of Morbihan ; and the spot where 
it grows has, from this circumstance, received the name of Rlieumpole. Two 
kinds are described by Guibourt, both under the name Rhapontic root. One 
proceeds from the R. Rhaponticum, growing in the gardens in the environs of 
Paris; the other, from this and the two other species above mentioned, culti- 
vated at Rheumpole. The former is in pieces of the size of the fist or smaller, 
ligneous in appearance, of a reddish-gray colour on the outside, internally 
marbled with red and white arranged in the form of crowded rays proceeding 
from the centre to the circumference, of an odour like that of Asiatic rhubarb, 
but more disagreeable, of a mucilaginous and very astringent taste, not crack- 
ling under the teeth, but tinging the saliva yellow, and affording a reddish- 
yellow powder. The pieces of the latter are irregularly cylindrical, three or four 
inches long, and from one to two or even three inches thick, less ligneous in ap- 
pearance than the preceding, and externally of a pale or brownish-yellow colour 
less inclining to redness. In exterior aspect, this variety bears considerable 736 
Rheum, 
PART I 
resemblance to Chinese rhubarb ; but may be distinguished by its more disagree- 
able odour, its astringent and mucilaginous taste, its want of crackling under 
the teeth, and its radiating fracture, in which properties it is similar to the pre- 
ceding variety. Considerable quantities of this drug have been imported into 
the United States from France, under the name of Krimea rhubarb; and it has 
been employed to adulterate the powder of the better kinds.* It appears to 
have displaced in France the Rhapontic root formerly imported from the Euxine. 
Whether from difference in species, or from the influence of soil and climate, 
none of the European rhubarbs equals the Asiatic in purgative power, f 
Choice of Rhubarb. In selecting good rhubarb, without reference to the 
commercial variety, those pieces should be preferred which are moderately 
heavy and compact, of a lively colour, brittle, presenting when broken a fresh 
appearance, with reddish and yellowish veins intermingled with white, of an 
odour decidedly aromatic, of a bitter and astringent not mucilaginous taste, 
feeling gritty and staining the saliva yellow when chewed, and affording a 
powder either bright yellow, or yellow with but a slight reddish-brown tinge. 
When very light, rhubarb is usually rotten or worm-eaten; when very heavy 
and compact, it is of inferior species, culture, or preparation. Rotten, worm- 
eaten, or otherwise inferior rhubarb is often powdered, and coloured yellow 
with turmeric; and the shavings left when Chinese rhubarb is trimmed for 
powdering, or to imitate the Russian, are applied to the same purpose. 
Chemical Properties. Rhubarb yields all its activity to water and alcohol. 
The infusion is of a dark reddish-yellow colour, with the taste and odour of 
rhubarb ; and the residue, after sufficient maceration, is whitish, inodorous, and 
insipid. By long boiling,the virtues of the medicine are impaired. Many attempts 
have been made to analyze the root, with various results. Among them, are those 
of the two Henrvs and Caventou of Paris, Brande of London, Peretti of Rome, 
and IIornemann,Brandes,and Scldossberger and Dopping of Germany. Brandes 
found, in 100 parts of Chinese rhubarb, 2 of pure rhabarbaric acid, 7 5 of the 
same acid impure, 25 of gallic acid, 9 0 of tannin, 3 5 of colouring extractive, 
11 *0 of uncrystallizable sugar with tannin, 4-0 of starch, 14-4 of gummy ex- 
tractive, 4 0 of poetic acid, IT of malate and gallate of lime, 11 0 of oxalate 
of lime, 1 5 of sulphate of potassa and chloride of potassium, 1 0 of silica, 0-5 
of phosphate of lime and oxide of iron, 25 (1 of lignin, and 20 of water. The 
most recent elaborate analysis which has come to our notice is that of Schloss- 
berger and Dopping. Besides extractive, tannic and gallic acids, sugar, starch, 
* M. E. Billot gives the following method of detecting the rhapontic root, when used in 
powder to adulterate Russian or Chinese rhubarb. On a little of the suspected powder, 
upon a plate, let fall two or three drops of oil of anise, oil of fennel, or other essential 
oil; then add magnesia, and rub the mixture well for three or four minutes. If the powder 
he pure, it will remain yellow; hut if it contain the smallest quantity of the French 
rhapontic root, it will assume a reddish tint, varying from a salmon to a bright rose- 
colour, according to the quantity of the impurity present. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
May, 1860, p. 224.) 
f Besides the varieties of rhubarb above described, others are noticed by writers. Pallas 
speaks of a white rhubarb, brought to Kiachta bv the Bucharian merchants, who conveyed 
to that place the drug for Russian commerce. It was white as milk, of a sweet taste, and 
equal to the best rhubarb in quality. It was supposed to be the product of R. leucorrhizum. 
At present, however, it is unknown in St. Petersburg. The Himalaya rhubarb is produced 
by R. australe, and other species mentioned in the text as growing in the Himalaya 
mountains. According to Dr. Royle, it makes its way to the lower countries in Hindustan, 
where it sells for one-tenth of the price of the best rhubarb. Mr. Twining tried it in the 
Hospital at Calcutta, and found it superior as a tonic and astringent to Russian rhubarb, 
and nearly equal to it in purgative power. A variety known in Russia as Bucharian rhu- 
barb>, differing from the variety which we call Russian, and which is known in Russia as 
Chinese rhubarb, is imported into that country from Tartary, and reaches St. Petersburg 
by Nisbni. Parcels of it are said also to reach Vienna, by the way of Brody in Gallicia. 
Still another variety is that called Siberian rhubarb, which is known in Russia by the 
name Siberian Rhapontic root. As these are inferior kinds, and probably never reach our 
markets, we have not thought it necessary to swell our pages with descriptions of them. 
The reader who wishes further information is referred to papers by Pereira, in the Lon- 
don Pharmaceutical Journal, republished in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xviii. 63 and 123). PART i, 
Rheum, 
737 
pectin, lignin, oxalate of lime, and various inorganic salts, they discovered three 
colouring principles, holding an intermediate place between resin and extractive 
matter, being freely soluble in alcohol, and slightly so in water. Two of these 
were uncrystallizable, and denominated brown resin and redresin, orphaeoretin 
and erythroretin; the other, crystallizable in granular crystals, and identical 
with the chrysophanic acid, previously discovered by Rochleder and Heldt in 
the yellow lichen, or Parmelia parietina of Sprengel. Another resinous sub- 
stance was also obtained, which was named aporetin ; but, as it was insoluble 
in the alcohol from which it had been precipitated by ether, and was isomeric 
with phaeoretin, there is reason to think that it was a product of the operation. 
The three principles above referred to were obtained by exhausting rhubarb with 
alcohol, evaporating the tincture, exhausting the extract with water, dissolving 
the residue in the least possible quantity of alcohol, and treating this solution 
with ether. A precipitate was produced, a portion of which (aporetin) was in- 
soluble in alcohol, and the remainder was obtained separate by solution in that 
fluid and evaporation. This was phaeoretin. It is a yellowish-brown powder, 
very slightly soluble in water and ether, freely soluble in alcohol and in alkaline 
solutions, with which it produces an intense reddish-brown colour, and from 
which it is thrown down yellow by the mineral acids. The ethereal solution ol 
the alcoholic extract, after all the aporetin and phaeoretin had been separated, 
was allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and a large quantity of crystalline 
granules was obtained, of a beautiful yellow colour. These being washed with 
ether constituted the chrysophanic acid. When the ethereal solution showed 
no longer a disposition to deposit crystals, it was evaporated, and yielded a 
product having all the properties of the resins, and forming beautiful purple 
combinations with potassa and ammonia. This was the erythroretin, or red 
resin of rhubarb. The matter dissolved by water from the alcoholic extract 
was found to have the odour and taste of rhubarb in a high degree. In this, no 
doubt, was contained the peculiar active principle or principles of rhubarb; but 
Schlossberger and Dopping were not more successful than their predecessors in 
isolating them. They obtained a slightly bitter extractive matter; but it wanted 
the flavour of rhubarb (Pharrn. Journ., iv. 136, 232, 318, and viii. 190.) 
Many distinguished chemists have sought for the purgative ingredient of rhu- 
barb, and some not without supposed success; but scarcely has the new principle 
been described and named, before the fallacy of its claim has been determined. 
The caphopicrite of Henry, the rhabarbarin of Pfaff and others, the rheumin 
of Hornemann, the rhabarbaric acid of Brandes, and, lastly, the rhein of Pro- 
fessor Dulk, have all been shown to be bodies more or less complex; and cer- 
tainly no one of them can be admitted to be the peculiar purgative principle. 
The astringency of rhubarb undoubtedly resides in its tannic acid. Some have 
supposed that the tonic and cathartic properties reside in different principles; 
but we are disposed to think, from the correspondence of the bitterness with the 
purgative property, that they reside in the same substance; and, from the fact 
that exposure to heat diminishes the cathartic power, there is reason to believe 
that this substance, when isolated, will prove to be more or less volatile. 
Chrysophanic acid {chrysophane) is one of the most interesting constituents. 
Most of the hitherto supposed active principles have been mixtures of this with 
other substances. The rhabarbaric acid of Brandes probably approaches nearest 
to it in character. When pure it is beautifully yellow, without smell or taste, 
disposed to an imperfect granular crystallization, almost insoluble in cold water, 
more soluble in hot water and in ether, but most freely and yet feebly so in al- 
cohol Benzole appears to be its best solvent. When heated it emits yellow 
vapours. Alkaline solutions dissolve it with the production of a beautiful red 
colour; and the solution with potassa, when evaporated, changes first to violet, 
and then to blue. It forms definite compounds with the alkalies, but its acid 
properties are very feeble, and even carbonic acid separates it from its com- 
binations. Its formula, according to Pilz, is {Journ. de Pharrn., Mars, 
1862, ]>. 254.) It is probably the chief ingredient in the fine yellow colouring 738 
Rheum 
PART I 
matter produced by the reaction of nitric acid on rhubarb, wliioh, in consequence 
of the magnificent purples produced by it with the alkalies, M. Garot has pro- 
posed, under the name of erythrose, to introduce into the arts as a dye-stuff. 
(See Journ. de Pliarm., xvii. 5.)* 
There are other interesting principles in rhubarb. Some have been disposed 
to ascribe its odour to a volatile oil; but this has not been isolated. Tannic acid 
is an important constituent. It is of that variety which precipitates the salts 
of sesquioxide of iron of a greenish colour. The oxalate of lime is interesting 
from its quantity, and from the circumstance that, existing in distinct crystals, 
it occasions the grittiness of the rhubarb between the teeth. The proportion 
seems to vary exceedingly in different specimens. According to Scheele and 
Henry, it constitutes nearly one-third, and Quekett found, as already stated, be- 
tween 35 and 40 per cent.; while Brandes obtained only 11, and Schrader only 
45 parts in the hundred. Lhtle or no difference of composition has been found 
between the Russian and Chinese rhubarb. The European contains but a small 
proportion of oxalate of lime, and is therefore less gritty when chewed. It has, 
however, more tannin and starch than the Asiatic. 
When powdered rhubarb is heated, odorous yellow fumes rise, which are pro- 
bably in part the vapour of chrysophanic acid. Its infusion is reddened by the 
alkalies, in consequence of their union with this acid, and their reaction on the 
other colouring principles. It yields precipitates with gelatin, most of the acids, 
the salts of sesquioxide of iron, acetate of lead, nitrate of protoxide of mercury, 
nitrate of silver, protochloride of tin, lime-water, and solutions of quinia. Nitric 
acid occasions at first a turbidness, and afterwards the deposition of a yellow 
precipitate. The substances producing precipitates may be considered as in- 
compatible with the infusion. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of rhubarb are peculiar 
and valuable. Its most remarkable singularity is the union of a cathartic with 
an astringent power; the latter of which, however, does not interfere with the 
former, as the purgative effect precedes the astringent. It is also tonic and 
stomachic; invigorating, in small doses, the process of digestion. It is not pro- 
bable that these properties reside in a single proximate principle; and, as rhu- 
barb owes its chief value to their combination, it is not to be expected that 
chemical analysis will be productive of the same practical advantages in this, as 
in some other medicines, the virtues of which are concentrated in one ingredient. 
In its purgative operation, rhubarb is moderate, producing fecal rather than 
watery discharges, and appearing to affect the muscular fibre more than the 
secretory function. It sometimes occasions griping. Its colouring principle is 
absorbed, and may be detected in the urine. By its long-continued use, the 
perspiration, especially that of the axilla, is said to become yellow, and the milk 
of nurses cathartic. It gives a yellow colour to the alvine discharges. 
The conditions of disease to which it is applicable may be inferred from its 
peculiar properties. When the stomach is enfeebled, or the bowels relaxed, at 
the same time that a gentle cathartic is required, rhubarb, as a general rule, is 
preferable to all others. Hence its use in dyspepsia attended with constipation, 
in diarrhoea when purging is indicated, in the secondary stages of cholera in- 
fantum, in chronic dysentery, and in almost all typhous diseases when fecal 
matter has accumulated in the intestines, or the use of cathartic medicine is 
necessary to prevent such accumulation. When employed in cases of habitual 
constipation, its astringent tendency should be counteracted by combining it 
with soap. Magnesia is also an excellent associate in disorders of the stomach 
* Messra. W. De la Rue and H. Muller obtain chrysophanic acid by treating with benzole 
rhubarb previously deprived of soluble matter by water, distilling oft’ most of the-benzole 
from the solution, and allowing it to cool. The chrysophanic acid is deposited in an im- 
pure state. By treating this with hot benzole, an insoluble matter is left, and more of 
the same is deposited when the solution cools. By filtering this is separated, and the acid 
is obtained from the clear liquor by concentration and crystallization. The undissolved 
matter is a new principle, which the authors propose to name emodin. (Fharm,. Journ., xvii 
67fi.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART i. 
Rheum.—Rhoeados Petala. 
739 
and bowels. By combination with other cathartics, rhubarb frequently acquires 
additional activity, while it gives increased efficiency to the associated sub- 
stance. A mixture of calomel and rhubarb is a brisk and powerful cathartic, 
often used at the commencement of bilious fevers. As a general rule, rhubarb 
is not applicable to cases attended with much inflammatory action. Its griping 
effect may be counteracted by combining it with aromatics. 
The dose of rhubarb as a purgative is from twenty to thirty grains, as a 
laxative and stomachic from five to ten grains. European rhubarb must be 
given in double or treble the dose to produce an equal effect. Few medicines 
are used in a greater variety of forms. It is most effectual in substance. It is fre- 
quently given in the shape of pill, combined with an equal proportion of soap, 
when its laxative effect is desired. The infusion is much used in cases of deli- 
cate stomach, and is peculiarly adapted to children. The syrup, tincture, and 
fluid extract are also useful preparations They are all officinal. 
By the roasting of rhubarb its cathartic property is diminished, probably by 
the volatilization of the purgative principle, while its astringency remains un- 
affected. This mode of treatment has, therefore, been sometimes resorted to in 
cases of diarrhoea. By long boiling the same effect is said to be produced. 
Powdered rhubarb has been usefully applied to indolent and sloughing ulcers. 
It is said to have proved purgative when sprinkled over a large ulcerated sur- 
face ; and the same effect is asserted to have been produced by rubbing it, 
mingled with saliva, over the abdomen. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Rhei, BrExtractum Rhei Alcoholicum, U. S.; Ex- 
tractum Rhei Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Rhei; Pilulae Rhei, U. S.; Pil. Rhei 
Comp.; Pulvis Rhei Comp.; Svrupus Rhei, Br.; Syrupus Rhei Aromaticus, 
U. 6'.; Tinctura Rhei; Tinct. Rhei et Sennae, U. S.; Vinum Rhei W. 
RHGEADOS PET ALA. Br. 
Red-Poppy Petals. 
The fresh petals of Papaver Rhoeas. Br. 
Coquelicot, Fr.; Wilder Mohn, Klapperrose, Germ.; Rosolaccio, Ital.; Amapola, Span. 
Papaver. See OPIUM. 
Papaver Rhoeas. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1146; Woodv. Med Bot. p. 387,1.139. 
The red or corn poppy is distinguished by its hairy stem, which is branched 
and rises about a foot in height, by its incised pinnatifid leaves, by its urn-shaped 
capsule, and by the full, bright, scarlet colour of its petals. It is a native of 
Europe, where it grows wild.in great abundance, adorning especially the fields 
of grain with its brilliant flower. It has been naturalized in this country. 
Its capsules contain the same kind of milky juice as that found in P. somni- 
ferum, and an extract has been prepared from them having the properties of 
opium; but the quantity is too small to repay the trouble of its preparation. 
M. Tilhoi has shown that the extract contains morphia, but in a proportion ex- 
ceedingly minute compared with that in which it exists in opium. (Journ. de 
Pliarm., ii. 513.) The petals are the officinal portion. They have a narcotic 
smell, and a mucilaginous, slightly bitter taste. By drying, they lose their 
odour, and assume a violet-red colour. Chevallier detected a very minute pro- 
portion of morphia in an extract obtained from them; but their operation on 
the system is exceedingly feeble, and they are valued more for their beautiful 
scarlet colour, which they communicate to water, than for their medical virtues. 
According to Leo Meier, the colouring principles of the flowers are two acids, 
which he denominates rhoeadic and papaveric acids. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm.,xviii. 211.) A syrup is prepared from them, which was formerly pro- 
scribed as an anodyne in catarrhal affections; but is now little esteemed, except 
for its colour. 
An alkaloid has been discovered in this species of poppy by 0. Hesse, who 
proposes to name it rhceadin (rhoeadia) It seems to pervade all parts of the 
plant, from which, as the first step in its preparation, a watery extract is prc- 740 
Rhoeados Petala.—Rhus Glabrum. 
PART I 
pared. This is treated with carbonate of soda, and repeatedly agitated with 
ether: the ethereal liquid is shaken with a solution of bitartrate of soda: and 
the mixture is precipitated by ammonia. The precipitate is washed with cold 
water, dried, and boiled with alcohol, by which colouring matter and another 
alkaloid in small quantity, probably thebaina, are removed. The residue, con- 
sisting mainly of rhoeadia, is purified by combining it with acetic acid, treating 
with animal charcoal, and precipitating with ammonia. The alkaloid is in small 
white prismatic crystals, tasteless, fusible at 450° F., becoming brown at the 
same temperature and partially subliming. It is almost insoluble in water, 
alcohol, ether, chloroform, benzole, ammonia, solution of carbonate of soda, 
and lime water; but is dissolved by dilute acids, which produce colourless 
solutions. Its composition is represented by the formula C42H21N012. It does 
not appear to be poisonous. Muriatic and sulphuric acids moderately concen- 
trated decompose and dissolve it, with the production of a purple colour, which 
disappears under the action of the alkalies, but is restored by acids. One part 
of the alkaloid produces a purple colour with 10,000 parts of water, an intense 
rose colour with 20,000 parts, and a perceptible redness with 800,000 parts. 
This is a very delicate test, by means of which the alkaloid may be detected 
in all parts of Papaver Rhoeas, in the ripe capsules of the opium poppy, and in 
opium itself. It is said also to exist in Merks’ porphyroxin. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., March, 1867, p. 122.) 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Rhoeados, Br. W. 
RHUS GLABRUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Sumach. 
The fruit of Rhus glabrum. U. S. 
Rhus. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Trigynia.— Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted. Petals five. Berry small, with one nuciform 
seed. Nuttall. 
Of this genus there are several species possessing poisonous properties, which 
should be carefully distinguished from that here described. For an account of 
them the reader is referred to the article Toxicodendron. 
Ithus glabrum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1478. This species of Rhus, called vari- 
ously smooth sumach, Pennsylvania sumach, and upland sumach, is an indi- 
genous shrub from four to twelve feet or more in height, with a stem usually 
more or less bent, and divided into straggling branches, covered with a smooth, 
light-gray or somewhat reddish bark. The leaves are upon smooth petioles, and 
consist of many pairs of opposite leaflets, with an odd one at the extremity, all 
of which are lanceolate, acuminate, acutely serrate, glabrous, green on their 
upper surface, and whitish beneath. In the autumn their colour changes to a 
beautiful red. The flowers are greenish-red, and disposed in large, erect, ter- 
minal compound thyrses, which are succeeded by clusters of small crimson 
berries, covered with a silky down. 
The shrub is found in almost all parts of the United States, growing in old 
neglected fields, along fences, and on the borders of woods. The flowers appear 
in duly, and the fruit ripens in the early part of autumn. The bark and leaves 
are astringent, and are used in tanning leather and in dyeing. Mr. W. J. Wat- 
son found, in the bark of the root, albumen, gum, starch, tannic and gallic acids, 
caoutchouc, resin, colouring matter, and evidences of volatile oil. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharvn., xxv. 194.) Excrescences are produced under the leaves resembling 
galls in character, and containing large quantities of tannic and gallic acids. 
These have been used as a substitute for the imported galls by Dr. Walters, of 
New York, who thought them in every respect preferable. They may be col- 
lected at little expense; as they are produced very abundantly, especially in the 
Western States. From the experiments of Dr. Stenhouse, it appears that the 
tannic acid of sumach is identical with that of galls, being, like it, "esolved, undei PART I. 
Rosae Caninae Fruclus.—Rosa Centifolia. 
741 
the influence of sulphuric acid, into glucose and gallic acid; and this change 
is supposed to take place spontaneously in sumach when long kept. (Ibid., 
xxxiv. 252.) The only officinal part of the plant is the fruit. 
The berries have a sour, astringent, not unpleasant taste, and are often eaten 
by the country people with impunity. According to Mr. Cozzens, of New York, 
the acid to which they owe their sourness is the malic, and is contained in the 
pubescence which covers their surface; as, when it is washed away by warm 
water, the berries are wholly free from acidity. Professor W. B. Rogers found 
the acid to be combined with lime, in the state of binialate.* Mr. W. J. Wat 
son ascertained that free malic acid and bimalate of lime coexist in the berries, 
which contain also, upon the same authority, tannic and gallic acids, fixed oil, 
extractive, red colouring matter, and a little volatile oil. A wine has been pre- 
pared from the fruit by adding sugar to an infusion and fermenting, which is 
spoken of by Dr. John H. Gris com, of New York, as a valuable remedy. (Med. 
and Surg. Reporter, Feb. 9, 1867, p. 118.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sumach berries are astringent and refrige- 
rant; and their infusion has been' recommended as a cooling drink in febrile 
complaints, and a pleasant gargle in inflammation and ulceration of the throat. 
By Dr. Fahnestock an infusion of the inner bark of the root. emplo}red as a gar- 
gle, is considered almost as a specific in the sore-mouth attending inordinate 
mercurial salivation. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sciences, v. 61.) W. 
ROSiE CANINE FRUCTUS. Br. 
Fruit of the Dog Rose. Hips 
The ripe fruit of the Dog Rose, Rosa cauina, and other indigenous allied 
species. Br. 
Rose sauvage, Fr.; Hundsrose, Germ. 
Rosa. See ROSA CENTIFOLIA. 
Rosa canina. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1077; Woody. Med. Bot. p. 493, t. 177. 
The dog rose, wild brier, or heptree, is a native of Europe, and distinguished 
as a species by its glabrous ovate germs, smooth peduncles, prickly stem and 
petioles, and ovate, smooth, rigid leaves. It is eight or ten feet high, and bears 
white or pale-red flowers, having usually five obcordate fragrant petals. The 
plant has been introduced into this country, but is not much cultivated. 
The fruit is fleshy, smooth, oval, red, and of a pleasant, sweet, acidulous taste ; 
and contains sugar, and uncombined citric and malic acids. 
The pulp, separated from the seeds and the silkv bristles in which they are 
embedded, is employed in Europe for the preparation of a confection, intended 
chiefly as an agreeable vehicle for other medicines. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Rosae Caninae, Br. W 
ROSA CENTIFOLIA. U. S. 
Hundred-leaved Rose. Pale Rose. Cabbage-Rose Petals. Br. 
The petals of Rosa centifolia. U. S. 
Off. Syn. ROSiE CENTIFOLIJG PETALA. Cabbage-rose Petals. The 
fresh petals fully expanded of Rosa centifolia. Br. 
* Prof. Rogers suggested that malic acid might be advantageously procured from this 
source. Prof. Procter informs us that he has obtained it by the following process. Pour 
boiling water on the ripe berries; macerate for twelve hours; strain, evaporate to one- 
fourth, and again strain; resume the evaporation and continue it till the liquid assumes 
the consistence of thin syrup; then set it aside to crystallize. Wash the crystals of bima- 
late of lime with a little water, and recrystallize from a boiling solution. Dissolve the salt 
in hot water, and decompose it with a solution of acetate of lead. Wash the precipitated 
malate of lead, suspend it in water, and pass sulphuretted hydrogen through the liquid 
until the whole of the lead is separated. Lastly, filter, and evaporate to dryness in a por- 
celain vessel. Malic acid, thus obtained, may be used in preparing the malaies of iron and 
mancanese, both of which have been employed medicinally in Europe. 742 
Rosa Centifolia.—Rosa Gallica. 
PART I 
Rosos & cent teuilles, Fr.; Hundertblatterige Rose, Germ.; Rosa pallida, Ital.; Rosado 
Alexandria, Span. 
Rosa. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ilosacese. 
Gen. Gh. Petals five. Calyx urceolate, five-cleft, fleshy, contracted at the 
neck. Seeds numerous, hispid, attached to the inner side of the calyx. Willd. 
Rosa centifolia. AVilld. Sp. Plant, ii. 1071; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 495, t. 178. 
This species of rose has prickly stems, usually from three to six feet high. The 
leaves consist of two or three pairs of leaflets, with an odd one at the end, closely 
attached to the common footstalk, which is rough, but without spines. The leaf- 
lets are ovate, broad, serrate, pointed, and hairy on the under surface, 'the 
flowers are large, with many petals, generally of a pale-red colour, and sup- 
ported upon peduncles beset with short bristly hairs. The germ is ovate, and 
the segments of the calyx semi-pinnate. The varieties of R centifolia are very 
numerous, but may be indiscriminately employed. Theplant isnow cultivatedin 
gardens all over the world; but its original country is not certainly known. It 
has sometimes been mistaken for the damask rose, which is a distinct species. 
The petals are the officinal portion They are extremely fragrant, and have 
a sweetish, slightly acidulous, somewhat bitterish taste. Their odour is said to 
be increased by iodine. Itdepends on a volatile oil, which may be separated by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Rosas.) They should be collected when the 
flower is fully expanded, but has not begun to fall. Their fragrance is impaired 
but not lost bv drying. They may be preserved fresh, for a considerable time, 
by compressing them with alternate layers of common salt in a well-closed ves- 
sel, or beating them with twice their weight of that substance. 
The petals are slightly laxative, and are sometimes administered in the form 
of syrup combined with cathartic medicines; but their chief use is in the pre- 
paration of rose-water. (See Aqua Rosas ) 
Off. Prep. Aqua Rosae; Syrupus Sarsaparillas Compositus, U. S. W. 
ROSA GALLICA. U S. 
Red Rose. 
The petals of Rosa Gallica. U. S. 
Off. Syn. IIOSyE GALLICjE PETALA. Bed-rose Petals. The unex- 
panded petals of Rosa Gallica, fresh and dried. Hr. 
lioscs rouges, Fr.; Franzosische Rose, Essig-rosen, Germ.; Rosa domestiea, Ital.; Rosa 
rubra 6 Castillarn, Span. 
Rosa. See ROSA CENTIFOLIA. 
Rosa Gallica. Willd. Sp. Plaid., ii. 1071; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 498, t. 179. 
This species is smaller than B. centifolia, but resembles it in the character of 
its foliage. The stem is beset with short bristly prickles. The flowers are very 
large, with obcordate widely spreading petals, which are of a rich crimson col- 
our, and less numerous than in the preceding species. In the centre is a crowd 
of yellow anthers on thread-like filaments, and as many villose styles bearing 
papillary stigmas. The fruit is oval, shining, and of a firm consistence. The 
red rose is a native of the south of Europe, and iscultivated in gardens through- 
out the United States. 
The petals, which are the part employed, should be gathered before the flower 
has blown, separated from their claws, dried in a warm sun or by the fire, and 
kept in a dry place. Their odour, which is less fragrant than that of R. centi- 
folia, is improved by drying. They have a velvety appearance, a purplish-red 
colour, and a pleasantly astringent and bitterish taste. Their constituents, ac- 
cording to M. Cartier, are tannin, gallic acid, colouring matter, a volatile oil, a 
fixed oil. albumen, soluble salts of potassa, insoluble salts of lime, silica, and 
oxide of iron. (Journ. de Pharm., vii 531.) According to M. Filhol, the as- 
tringency of red roses is aseribable less to tannic acid, of which they contain 
but a trace, than to quercitrin. which he obtained in notable proportion, and with 
which their colour is probably connected They also contain much uncrystalli- PART i. 
Rosa Gallica.—Rosmarinus.—Rottlera. 
743 
zable sugar. (Repert. de Ph.arm., Mai, 1863 ) The sensible properties and med- 
ical virtues of the flowers are extracted by boiling water. Their infusion is of a 
pale-reddish colour, which becomes bright red on the addition of sulphuric acid. 
As their colour is impaired by exposure to light and air, they should be kept in 
opaque wrell-closed bottles or canisters. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Red roses are slightly astringent and tonic, and 
were formerly thought to possess peculiar virtues. They are at present chiefly 
employed in infusion, as an elegant vehicle for tonic and astringent medicines. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Rosae, U. S.; Confect. Rosae Gallic®, Br.; infusuna 
Rosie Acidum, Br.; Infusum Rosae Compositum, U. S.; Mel Rosae, U. S.; Sy 
rupus Rosae Gallic®. W. 
ROSMARINUS. U. S. 
Rosemary 
The tops of Rosmarinus officinalis. TJ. S. 
Rotvmrin, Fr.; Rosmarin, Germ.; Rosmarino, Ttal.; Romero, Span. 
Rosmarinus. Sex. Syst. Diaudria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or 
Labiatae. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla unequal, with the upper lip two-parted. Filaments long, 
curved, simple, with a tooth. Willd. 
Rosmarinus officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 126; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 329, 
t. 117. Rosemary is an evergreen shrub, three or four feet high, with an erect 
stem, divided into many long, slender, ash-coloured branches. The leaves are 
numerous, sessile, opposite, more than an inch long, about one-sixth of an inch 
broad, linear, entire, obtuse at the summit, folded backward at the edges, of a 
firm consistence, smooth arid green on the upper surface, whitish and somewhat 
downy beneath. The flowers are pale-blue or white, and disposed in opposite 
groups, at the axils of the leaves, towards the ends of the branches. The seeds 
are four in number, oblong, and naked in the bottom of the calyx. 
The plant grows spontaneously in the countries which border on the Medi- 
terranean, and is cultivated in the gardens of Europe and this country. The 
flowering summits are the officinal portion. They have a strong balsamic odour, 
which is possessed, though in a less degree, by all parts of the plant. Their 
taste is bitter and camphorous. These properties are imparted partially to 
water, completely to alcohol, and depend on a volatile oil which may be obtained 
by distillation. (See Oleum Rosmarini.) The tops lose a portion of their sen 
sible properties by drying, and become inodorous by age 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rosemary is gently stimulant, and has been 
considered emmenagogue. In the practice of this country it is scarcely used; 
but in Europe, especially on the continent, it enters into the composition of 
several syrups, tinctures, &c., to which it imparts its agreeable odour and ex- 
citant property. It is sometimes added to sternutatory powders, and is used 
externally in connection with other aromatics in the form of fomentation. In 
some countries it is employed as a condiment; and its flowers, which are much 
sought after by the bees, impart their peculiar flavour to the honey of the dis- 
tricts in which the plant abounds. 
Off. Prep. Oleum Rosmarini. W. 
ROTTLERA. U. S. Secondary. 
Kameela. 
The powder and hairs obtained from the capsules of Rottlera tinctoria (Rox- 
burgh) U.S. 
Off. Syn. KAMALA. Kamala. A powder which consists of the minute 
glands that cover the capsules of Rottlera tinctoria. Br. 
This is an officinal newly introduced into the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. 
In our own, the Latin name Rottlera has been adopted from the generic title 744 
jRottlera. 
PART I. 
of the plant which yields the medicine, while the ordinary Indian name Kameela 
(often spelled Kamala) is used as the English synonyme. In the Br. Phar- 
macopoeia Kamala is given both as the Latin and English title. 
The genus Rottlera, to which the plant producing the medicine belongs, was 
named in honour of the Rev. Dr. Rottler, a Danish missionary, and as now re- 
cognised was established by Roxburgh. It belongs to the Natural Order of 
Euphorbiaceae, and, besides the officinal R. tinctoria, includes another species 
having medical virtues, the Rottlera Schimperi, a large tree of Abyssinia, the 
bark of which, under the name of cortex musense or musena bark, has attracted 
some attention from its presumed anthelmintic virtues.* 
Rottlera tinctoria (Mallotus Philippinensis, De Cand. Prodrom. xv. 980), 
which is described and figured by Roxburgh in his treatise on The Plants of 
the Coast of Coromandel (ii. 36), is a small tree from 15 to 20 feet in height, 
growing throughout Hindostan, in several of the E India islands, and, it is 
said, in China and Australia. The fruit is a roundish three-valved, three-celled 
capsule, of about the size of a small cherry, marked externally with three fur- 
rows, and thickly covered with a red powder. This is the officinal part of the 
plant The capsules are gathered in February and March, when full-grown, 
and the powder carefully brushed from them. This is largely collected in some 
parts of Hindostan, where it forms an important article of commerce, being ex- 
tensively employed as a dye-stuff. Specimens of it, under the name of wurrus, 
were sent to England in 1852, and examined by Mr. D. Hanbury, who pub- 
lished an account of it in the Pharmaceutical Journal for June, 1853 (xii. 405). 
It was not till several years afterward that it began to attract attention in 
Great Britain as a medicine. 
Properties. Kameela, as brought to our market, is a light, finely granular, 
and very mobile powder, of a brownish-red or madder colour, with little smell 
or taste, but producing a slight sense of acrimony in the mouth, and feeling 
gritty under the teeth. It is inflammable, and flashes almost like gunpowder 
when dropped into the flame of a candle. It is insoluble in cold, and but very 
slightly soluble in boiling water; but is dissolved by alkaline solutions, which 
give a resinous precipitate on the addition of an acid. Alcohol and ether dissolve 
a large proportion of it, forming a deep-red solution, from which water precipi- 
tates resinous matter. Under the microscope, Mr. Hanbury found it to consist 
of “garnet-red, semi-transparent, roundish granules, from to of an inch 
in diameter, more or less mixed with minute stellate hairs, and the remains of 
stalks and leaves, the latter of which are easily removed by careful sifting.” 
(Pharm.Journ., Feb. 1858, p. 406.) It has been examined chemically by Dr. 
Thos. Anderson, of Glasgow, and by G. Leube, in Germany. As given by the 
former, the constituents are, in 100 parts, 78 J 9 of resinous colouring matter, 7-34 
of albumen, 714 of cellulose, &c., a trace of volatile oil and volatile colouring 
matter, 3 84 of ashes, and 3'49 of water. Of the resinous colouring substances, 
Dr. Anderson obtained one in a pure state by allowing a concentrated ethe- 
real solution to stand for two days, draining and pressing in bibulous paper the 
resulting mass of granular crystals, and purifying them from adhering resin 
by repeated solution in ether and crystallization. To this substance he gave 
the name of rottlerin. It is in the form of minute crystalline plates, of a yellow 
colour and a satin-like lustre, insoluble in water, sparingly soluble in cold, but 
more so in boiling alcohol, and readily dissolved by ether, and by alkaline solu- 
tions, which assume a dark-red colour. Rottlerin melts when heated moderately, 
* Cortex Musense. This bark is in quills several inches long, an inch or morein diameter, 
rough and fissured externally, with a brown epidermis, and beneath this successively a 
thin greenish cellular coat, a thicker pale-yellow periderm, and a tough very fibrous liber. 
It is inodorous, but has a sweetish nauseous taste, followed by an enduring sense of acri- 
mony in the fauces. It was found by Mr. C. Thiel to contain an acrid substance analogous 
to saponin, a bitter principle, a fatty wax-like substance, yellow colouring matter, ex- 
tractive, and various salts. It is said to be used in Abyssinia, in connection with koosso, 
in the treatment of the tape-worm. (Neues Jahrb. far Pharm. Jan. 1863, p. 374.)—Note 
to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Rottlera.—Rubia. 
745 
and at a higher heat is decomposed, giving off pungent vapours. Its formula, 
aecordingto Dr. Anderson, is C22H10O6. (Ibid., p. 407.) Leubefound aresinsolu- 
ble in ether and cold alcohol, another resin soluble in ether and boiling alcohol, 
starch, gum, extractive, tannin, albumen, and citric acid. He failed in obtaining 
the rottlerin of Dr. Anderson. The ashes were in the extraordinary proportion 
of 25 85 per cent., and of the ashes 83-8 per cent, consisted of insoluble silica. 
(Ibid., Sept. 1860, p. 168.) Silica probably enters essentially into the constitu- 
tion of the minute granules, and its presence accounts for their grittiness under 
the teeth. The active constituent is supposed to be the resin extracted by ether. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Kameela is actively purgative in full doses, 
sometimes acting violently, and occasionally causing nausea, but seldom vomit- 
ing. It appears to have been long used in India in the treatment of tape-worm, 
but has been only within a few years known in Europe and this country. Its 
properties as a vermifuge were first investigated by Dr. C. Mackinnon, a British 
Army Surgeon in India, who published the results of his observations in the 
Indian Annals of Medical Science, in 1854. He found it extraordinarily effi- 
cient in the treatment of taenia, having used it in 50 cases, and failed in bringing 
away the worm only in two. The testimony of other practitioners in India and 
Great Britain goes to confirm the statements of Dr. Mackinnon, and there can be 
little doubt of the vermifuge powers of the medicine It is given without pre- 
vious preparation of the patient, in the dose of from one to three drachms, sus- 
pended in water, mucilage, or syrup. In the latter dose it sometimes acts vio- 
lently. The worm is usually expelled dead at the third or fourth stool. If the first 
dose fail to operate on the bowels, it may be repeated in four hours, or followed 
by a dose of castor oil. Dr. Anderson, British Army Surgeon in India, has em- 
ployed the medicine successfully in the form of tincture, made in the proportion 
of six ounces to sixteen fluidounces of rectified spirit, of which the dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms. As an external remedy, kameela is used by the people 
of India in various affections of the skin, particularly scabies. Dr. Wrn. Moore, 
of Dublin, has employed it usefully in herpetic ring-worm. (Dub. Hosp. Gaz., 
Nov. 15, 1857.) W. 
RUBIA. U. S. Secondary. 
Madder. 
The root of Rubia tinctorum. U. S. 
' Garance, Fr.; Krappwurzel, Germ.; Eobbia, Hal.; Eubia de tintoreros, Granza, Span. 
Rubia. Sex. Syst. Tetrandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae. Juss. 
Gen. Ch. Corolla one-petaled, bell-shaped. Berries two, one-seeded. Willd. 
Rubia tinctorum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 603; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 173, t. 67. 
The root of the dyers' madder is perennial, and consists of numerous long, suc- 
culent fibres, varying in thickness from the size of a quill to that of the little 
finger, and uniting at top in a common head, from which also proceed side-roots 
that run near the surface of the ground, and send up many annual stems. These 
are slender, quadrangular, jointed, procumbent, and furnished with short prickles, 
by which they adhere to the neighbouring plants upon which they climb. The 
leaves are elliptical, pointed, rough, firm, about three inches long and nearly one 
inch broad, having rough points on their edges and midrib, and standing at the 
joints of the stem in whorls of four, five, or six together. The branches rise 
in pairs from the same joints, and bear small yellow flowers at the summit of 
each of their subdivisions. The fruit is a round, shining, black berry. 
The plant is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, and is cultivated in 
Asia Minor, France, Holland, and the south of Italy. It is from Holland that 
commerce derives its chief supply. The root, which is the part used, is dug up in 
the third summer, and, having been deprived of its cuticle, is dried by artificial 
heat, and then reduced to a coarse powder. In this condition it is packed in 
barrels, and sent into the market. Madder from the Levant is in the state of 
the whole root; from the south of France, either whole or in powder. The 
plant is also cultivated in this country, in the States of Delaware and Ohio, 746 
Rubia.—Rubus. 
PART I. 
The root consists of a reddish-brown bark, and a ligneous portion withia 
The latter is yellow in the recent state, but becomes red when dried. The pow- 
der, as kept in the shops, is reddish-brown. 
Madder has a weak peculiar odour, and a bitterish astringent taste ; and im- 
parts these properties, as well as a red colour, to water and alcohol. It contains, 
according to M. Runge, five distinct colouring substances; a red, a purple, an 
orange, a yellow, and a brown. According to M. Decaisne, only yellow colouring 
matter is found in the recent root; and it is under the influence of atmospheric 
air that this changes to red. The most interesting of the colouring substances 
is the alizarin of Robiquet and Collin. It may be obtained from the alcoholic 
extract by sublimation, in the method employed by Mohr in obtaining benzoic 
acid. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xxxi. 267.) It is orange-red, inodorous, in- 
sipid, crystallizable, capable of being sublimed without change, scarcely soluble 
in cold water, soluble in boiling water, and very readily so in alcohol, ether, the 
fixed oils, and alkaline solutions The alcoholic and watery solutions are rose- 
coloured ; the ethereal, golden-yellow; the alkaline, violet and blue when con- 
centrated, but violet-red when sufficiently diluted. A beautiful rose-coloured lake 
is produced by precipitating a mixture of the solutions of alizarin and alum. 
Ilochleder finds a close analogy between alizarin and the chrysophanic acid of 
rhubarb. (See Chem. Gaz., A. D. 1852, p. 243.) M. Roussin claims to have suc- 
ceeded in preparing alizarin from naphthalin. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 
1861, p. 558.) Madder also contains sugar ; and Dobereiner succeeded in obtain- 
ing alcohol from it by fermentation and distillation, without affecting its colour- 
ing properties. It is much used by the dyers. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Madder was formerly thought to be emmena- 
gogue and diuretic; and was used in amenorrhoea, dropsy, jaundice, and vis- 
ceral obstructions. It is still occasionally prescribed in suppressed menstrua- 
tion; but physicians generally have no confidence in its efficacy in this or any 
other complaint. When taken into the stomach it imparts a red colour to the 
milk and urine, and to the bones of animals, without sensibly affecting any other 
tissue. The effect is observable most quickly in the bones of young animals, and 
in those nearest the heart. Under the impression that it might effect some 
change in the osseous system, it has been prescribed in rachitis, but without 
any favourable result. The dose is about half a drachm, repeated three or 
four times a day. W. 
RUBUS. U. S. 
Blackberry-root. 
The root of Rubus Canadensis, and of Rubus villosns. U S. 
Rubus. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia.—Nat. Ord. Rosaceas 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-cleft. Petals five. Berry compound, with one-seeded 
acini. Willd. 
Of this extensive genus not less than twenty species are indigenous in the 
United States, where they are called by the various names of raspberry, black- 
berry, dewberry, cloudberry, &c. Most of them are shrubby or suffruticose 
briers, with astringent roots and edible berries ; some have annual stems with- 
out prickles. The only officinal species are B. Canadensis and R. villosus, which, 
so far as relates to their medical properties, are so closely alike as not to require 
a separate description. 
1. Rubus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 105; Gray, Manual of Rot. &c., 
p. 121. — R.trivialis. Pursh, Flor. Am Sept. p. 34T. The dewberry, sometimes 
also called low blackberry, or creeping blackberry, has a slender, somewhat 
prickly stem, which runs alongthe ground, and occasionally puts forth roots. The 
leases are composed of three or five leaflets, which are ovate or ovate-lanceo- 
late, generally pointed, sharply serrate, thin, and nearly smooth. The flowers 
are large, white, and arranged in racemes, with leaf-like bractes. The plant 
grows abundantly in old fields and neglected grounds in the Northern and Mid- PART 1 
Rubus, 
747 
die States. Its fruit is large, black, of a very pleasant flavour, and ripens some- 
what earlier than that of R. villosus. 
2. R. villosus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1085; Bigelow, Am. JJfed. Rci. i. 100; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 151. The stem of the blackberry is somewhat, shrubby, 
from three to seven feet high, branching, more or less furrowed and angular, 
and armed with strong prickles. The smaller branches and young shoots are 
herbaceous. The leaves are ternate or quinate; the leaflets ovate, acuminate, 
unequally and sharply serrate, and pubescent on both sides; the footstalk and 
midrib usually armed with short recurved prickles. The flowers are large, white, 
and in erect racemes, with a hairy, prickly stalk. The calyx is short, with acu- 
minate segments. The fruit is first green, then red, and, when perfectly ripe, of 
a shining black colour and very pleasant taste. It is a compound berry, con- 
sisting of numerous pulpy one-seeded globules or acini attached to the receptacle. 
This species of Rubus is, perhaps, the most abundant of those indigenous in 
the United States, growing in neglected fields, along fences, on the borders of 
woods, in forest glades, and wherever tillage or too much shade and moisture 
does not interfere with it. Its flowers appear from May to J uly, and its fruit is 
ripe in August. 
The berries of both these species of Rubus are much used as food; and a 
jelly made from them is in great esteem as an article of diet, and. even as a re- 
medy in dysenteric affections. The roots only are officinal. 
The blackberry root is branching, cylindrical, of various dimensions, from 
nearly an inch in thickness down to the size of a straw, ligneous, and covered 
with a thin bark, which is externally of a light-brownish or reddish-brown colour, 
and in the dried root is wrinkled longitudinally. The dewberry root is usually 
smaller, without the longitudinal wrinkles, but with transverse fissures through 
the epidermis, and of a dark-ash colour, without anv reddish tinge. Both are 
inodorous. The bark in both has a bitterish strongly astringent taste, and the 
ligneous portion is nearly insipid, and comparatively inert. The smaller roots, 
therefore, should be selected for use ; or, if the thicker pieces are employed, the 
cortical part should be separated, and the wood rejected. Their virtues are 
extracted by boiling water, and by diluted alcohol, and depend chiefly, if not 
exclusively, upon tannin, which is an abundant constituent. 
Medical Properties andUses. Dewberry and blackberry roots are tonic and 
strongly astringent. They have long been a favourite domestic remedy in bowel 
affections, and from popular favour have passed into regular medical use. (liven 
in decoction, they are usually acceptable to the stomach, without being offensive 
to the taste; and may be employed with great advantage in cases of diarrhoea 
from relaxation of the bowels, whether in children or adults. YVre can add our 
own decided testimony to that of others who have spoken favourably of their 
use in this complaint; and there is no doubt that they are applicable to all other 
cases in which the vegetable astringents are found serviceable. The decoction 
may be prepared by boiling an ounce of the smaller roots, or of the bark of the 
larger, in a pint and a half of water down to a pint; of which front one to two 
fluidounces may be given to an adult three or four times, or more frequently, 
during the twenty-four hours. The dose of the powdered root is 20 or 30 grains. 
A fluid extract may be prepared from the root, in the same manner and propor- 
tions exactly as the officinal fluid extract of Bittersweet (see Extractum Duica- 
marse Fluidum), and given in the dose of 30 minims.* The syrup is officinal. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Rubi, TJ. S. W. 
* Aromatic Symip of Blackberry. Take of Blackberry Root ; Cinnamon, Cloves, each, 
giss; JMace gi; Sugar gxxx. Reduce the root and spices to a powder which will pass 
through a sieve of 50 meshes to the square inch, moisten this with two fluidounces of al- 
cohol, put into a percolator, and displace with water till 17 fluidounces have passed, and 
dissolve the sugar in the filtrate. A fluidounce is equivalent to 30 grains of the root. 
{Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 552.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 748 
Rumex, 
PART L 
RUMEX. U. S. Secondary. 
Yellow Dock. 
The root of Rumex crispus. U. S. 
Rumex. Sex. Syst. llexandria Trigynia. — Nat. Ord. Polygonaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx three-leaved. Petals three, converging. Seed one, three- 
sided. Willd. Calyx six-parted, persistent, the three interior divisions petaloid, 
connivent. Seed one, three sided, superior, naked. Stigmata multifid. Nuttall. 
Several species of Rumex have sour leaves, and are distinguished by the com- 
mon name of sorrel from the others, which are called dock. Of the former, 
Rumex Acetosa, or common English sorrel, formerly held a place in the Lon- 
don and Dublin Pharmacopoeias. R. Acetosella is the common sorrel of our 
fields, though supposed to have been originally introduced from Europe. The 
leaves of both these plants are agreeably sour to the taste, and owe their acidity 
to binoxalate of potassa with a little tartaric acid. They quite lose this taste in 
drying. They are refrigerant and diuretic, and may be used advantageously as 
an article of diet in scurvy. For this purpose they are prepared in the form of 
salad. The juice of the leaves forms with water an agreeable acidulous drink, 
sometimes used in fevers. Taken very largely, the leaves are said to have pro- 
duced poisonous effects. (See Wood's Quarterly Retrospect, i. 109.) R. scutatus 
also ranks among the sorrels. 
Of the proper docks, though one only is recognised by the Pharmacopoeia, 
several others have been used. The roots of R. Patientia and R. Alpinus, Eu- 
ropean plants, and of R. aquaticus, R. acutus, and R. sanguineus, belonging 
both to Europe and the United States, may be employed indiscriminately with 
those of the officinal species. R. Britannica and R. obtusifolius were formerly 
officinal, but were dismissed at the late revision of the Pharmacopoeia, and the 
present officinal species adopted in their place. R. Hydrolapathum (Hudson), 
which is the R. aquaticus of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, is thought to be the 
Herba Britannica of the ancients, celebrated for the cure of scurvy and diseases 
of the skin. The docks are herbaceous plants with perennial roots. Their flowers 
are in terminal or axillary panicles. Some of the species are dioecious; but the 
one here described has perfect flowers. 
Rumex crispus. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 251; Gray, Manual of Botany, &c., 
p. 377. From a perennial, spindle-shaped, yellow root, which penetrates deeply 
into the ground, a stem rises annually, three or four feet high, furnished with 
smooth, lanceolate leaves, strongly waved at their margins, and terminating in 
panicled racemes of small, inconspicuous, greenish flowers. The lower leaves are 
truncate or cordate at the base, and those which spring from the root have long 
footstalks. The flowers are in crowded whorls, upon long wand like racemes, 
which are leafless above. The valves or inner sepals of the calyx are roundish- 
cordate, entire or slightly denticulate, and one or all grain-bearing. This species 
of dock is a native of Europe, but has become naturalized in this country, and 
is now a common weed, growing in roads and fields. 
Dock root, from whatever species derived, has an astringent, bitter taste, with 
little or no smell. It readily yields its virtues to water by decoction. According 
to Riegel, the root of R. obtusifolius contains a peculiar principle called rumi- 
cin, resin, extractive matter resembling tannin, starch, mucilage, albumen, lignin, 
sulphur, and various salts, among which are phosphate of lime, and different 
acetates and malates. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e s6r., i. 410.) Rumicin, in its pure 
state, has since been ascertained by Karl von Thann, to be identical with chry- 
sophanic acid. (See Rheum.) (Chem Central Blatt, Nov. 10, 1858, p. 795.) 
The leaves of most of the species are edible when young, and are occasionally 
used as spinage.. They are somewhat laxative, and form an excellent diet in scor- 
butic cases. The roots are used to dye a yellow colour. 
The o iicinal species, R. crispus, has been carefully examined by Dr. «T. H. 
Salisbury, of New York; and the following statements are derived from his Part i. 
Rumex.—Ruta. 
749 
paper, published in the New York Journal of Medicine (March, 1855, p. 211). 
The seeds are astringent, but less bitter than the root. The leaves are bitterish, 
pungent, and astringent to the taste, with a smell like that of bruised sorrel. 
The petioles are decidedly sour, and contain nearly one per cent, of oxalic acid. 
The root, which is the officinal part, is spindle-shaped, yellow, and covered with 
an easily separable and nearly tasteless epidermis, within which are successively 
the cortical layers, a ligneous portion, and a central medulla. The cortical part, 
which is easily separated, fleshy, and tender, is the most active. It has a bitter 
and astringent taste, and yielded, on analysis, starch, a little sugar, albuminous 
matter, gummy matter, bitter extractive, tannic acid of the kind which gives 
green precipitates with the salts of iron, lignin, and various salts. The root 
yields its virtues to water and alcohol, but is injured by long boiling. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dock root is astringent, and gently tonic, and 
is also supposed to possess an alterative property, which renders it useful in scor- 
butic disorders, and cutaneous eruptions, particularly the itch, in the cure of 
which it enjoyed at one time considerable reputation. It is said to have proved 
useful in scrofula and syphilis. Dr. Thomson found a decoction of the root of 
R. Patientia very efficacious in obstinate ichthyosis. R. aquaticus and R. Britan• 
nica are the most astringent. The roots of some species unite a laxative with 
the tonic and astringent property, resembling rhubarb somewhat in their opera- 
tion. Such are those of R. crispus and R. obtusifolius; and R. Alpinus has 
in some parts of Europe the name of mountain rhubarb. This resemblance is 
not singular, as the two genera belong to the same natural family. Dock root 
is given in powder or decoction. Two ounces of the fresh root bruised, or one 
ounce of the dried, may be boiled in a pint of water, of which two fluidounces 
may be given at a dose, and repeated as the stomach will bear it. The root has 
often been applied externally in the shape of ointment, cataplasm, and decoction, 
to the cutaneous eruptions and ulcerations for which it has been used internally. 
The powdered root is recommended as a dentifrice, especially when the gums 
are spongy. W. 
RUT A. -U. Si Secondary. 
The leaves of Ruta graveolens. U. S. 
Rue odorante, Fr.; Garten-Raute, Germ.; Ruta, Ital.; Ruda, Span. 
Ruta. Sex. Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Rutaceae. 
Gen Ch. Calyx five-parted. Petals concave. Receptacle surrounded by ten 
melliferous points. Capsule lobed. Willd. 
Ruta graveolens. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 542; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 487, t. 174. 
Common rue is a perennial plant, usually two or three feet high, with several 
shrubby branching stems, which, near the base, are woody and covered with a 
rough bark, but in their ultimate ramifications are smooth, green, and herba- 
ceous. The leaves are doubly pinnate, glaucous, with obovate, sessile, obscurely 
eremite, somewhat thick and fleshy leaflets. The flowers are yellow, and dis- 
posed in a terminal branched corymb upon subdividing peduncles. The calyx is 
persistent, with four or five acute segments ; the corolla consists of four or five 
concave petals, somewhat sinuate at the margin. There are usually ten stamens, 
but sometimes only eight. The plant is a native of the south of Europe, but 
cultivated in our gardens. It flowers from June to September. The whole herb 
is active; but the leaves are usually employed. 
These have a strong disagreeable odour, especially when rubbed. Their taste 
is bitter, hot, and acrid. When recent, and in full vigour, they have so much 
acrimony as to inflame and even blister the skin, if much handled; but the 
acrimony is diminished by drying. Their virtues depend chiefly on a volatile oil, 
which is very abundant, and is contained in glandular vesicles, apparent over 
the whole surface of the plant. (See Oleum Rutae.) They contain, also, accord- 
ing to Mahl, chlorophyll, albumen, an azotized substance, extractive, gum, starch 
or inulin, malic acid, and lignin; and, according to Borntriiger, a peculiar acid 
jRue. 750 
JRuta.—Sabadilla. 
PART I. 
which he calls rutinic acid. (Chem. Gazette, Sept. 1845, p. 385 ) Rutinic acid 
is the colouring principle of rue, and has been found in various other plants. It 
was thought, at one time, that it might be identical with quercitrin ; but, though 
analogous to that principle, it has been shown to be distinct. Like quercitrin, 
it seems to play an important part in the colouring of plants (Journ. de Pharm., 
Aout, 1862, p. 165.) Both alcohol and water extract their active properties. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Rue is stimulant and antispasmodic, and, like 
most other substances which excite the circulation, occasionally increases the 
secretions, especially when deficient from debility. It appears to have a tend- 
ency to act upon the uterus; in moderate doses proving cmmenagogue, and in 
larger, producing a degree of irritation in the organ which sometimes determines 
abortion. Taken very largely it acts as an acrid narcotic poison Three cases 
are recorded by Dr. Helie in which it was taken by pregnant women, with the 
effect of producing dangerous gastro-intestinal inflammation and cerebral de- 
rangement, which continued for several days, but ended at length in recovery. 
In each instance miscarriage resulted. Great depression and slowness of the 
pulse attended the narcotic action of the poison. In one of these cases, three 
fresh roots of the size of the finger were used in the form of decoction. (Ann. 
d'Hgg. Pub. et de Med. Leg., xx. 180.) A case is recorded by Dr. G. F. Cooper 
in the Nashville Journ. of Med. and Surg., in which a man, convalescent from 
dysentery, having added some brandy to a handful of the bruised herb, expressed 
it, and took the whole of the liquor, with fatal effects. The prominent symptoms 
were vomiting, violent tormina, tenesmus with bloody stools, abdominal disten- 
sion with tenderness, and severe strangury. (Med. Exam., N. S., ix. 720.) Rue 
is sometimes used in hysterical affections, worms, flatulent colic, and amenor- 
rhoea, particularly in the last complaint. It has also been highly recommended 
in uterine hemorrhage, especially when dependent on an atonic state of the 
organ. The ancients employed it as a condiment, and believed it to possess, 
besides other valuable properties, that of resisting the action of poisons. Its 
excitant and irritating properties require that it should be used with caution. 
The dose of the powder is from fifteen to thirty grains two or three times a day. 
The medicine is also given in infusion and in extract. W. 
SABADILLA. U.S.,Br. 
Cevadilla. 
The seed of Yeratrum Sabadilla. U. S. The dried Fruit of Asagraea offici- 
nalis. Br. 
Cevadille, Fr.; Sabadillsame, Germ.; Cebadilla, Span. 
There has been much uncertainty in relation to the botanical origin of ceva- 
dilla. At one time it was generally believed to be derived from Veratrum Sa- 
badilla, which is recognised in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. But Schiede, during 
his travels in Mexico, ascertained that it was, in part at least, collected from a 
different plant, of the same natural order of Melanthaceae, growing upon the 
eastern declivity of the Mexican Andes. This was considered by Sehlechtendahl 
as another species of Veratrum, by Don as an Helonias, and by Lindley as be- 
longing to a new genus which he named Asagraea. Hence it has been variously 
denominated Veratrum officinale, Helonias officinalis, and Asagraea officinalis. 
The Edinburgh College recognised this plant, under Don’s title of Helonias offi- 
cinalis, as one of the sources of cevadilla ; in the present British Pharmacopoeia 
it is admitted, under Lindley’s name of Asagraea officinalis, as the only source. 
More exact information, however, is wanted before we can determine its precise 
origin. It has been adopted in the Pharmacopoeias solely on account of its 
employment in the preparation of veratria. It is brought from Yera Cruz.* 
* Until more definite information is obtained on the subject, we give in a note a brief 
description of the two plants above referred to. 
Veratrum Sabadilla. Retzius, Obs. i. 31; Carson, Jllust. of Med Bot. ii. 50, pi. 94. See 
Veratrum Album. The leaves of this plant are numerous, ovate-oblong, obtuse, with from 
eight to fourteen ribs, glaucous beneath, and all radical. The flower-stem is erect, simple, PART I. 
Sabadilla.—Sabbatia. 
751 
Cevadilla seeds usually occur in commerce mixed with the fruit. This con- 
sists of three coalescing capsules or follicles, which open above, and appear like 
a single capsule with three cells. It is three or four lines long and a line and a 
half in thickness, obtuse at the base, light-brown or yellowish, smooth, and in 
each capsule contains one or two seeds. A resemblance, existing or supposed, 
between this fruit and that of barley is said to have given rise to the Spamsh 
name cevadilla, which is a diminutive of barley. The seeds are elongated, pointed 
at each end, flat on one side and convex on the other, somewhat curved, two or 
three lines long, wrinkled, slightly winged, black or dark-brown on the outside, 
whitish within, hard, inodorous, and of an exceedingly acrid, burning, and dura- 
ble taste. Cevadilla was found by Pelletier and Caventou to contain a peculiar 
organic alkali which they named veratria, combined with gallic acid; fatty mat- 
ter, consisting of olein, stearin, and a peculiar volatile fatty acid denominated 
cevadic or sabadillic acid; wax ; yellow colouring matter; gum; lignin ; and 
salts of potassa and of lime, with a little silica. Prom ltXJ parts of the seeds, 
separated from their capsules, Meissner obtained U'58 of veratria. M. (Jouerbe 
discovered another alkaloid in the seeds which he denominated sabadillin. Be- 
sides the principles above mentioned, a peculiar acid was discovered by Merck, 
called veratric acid, which is in colourless crystals, fusible and volatilizable 
without decomposition, but slightly soluble in cold water, more soluble in hot 
water, soluble in alcohol, insoluble in ether, having the properties of reddening 
litmus paper, and forming soluble salts with the alkalies. For an account of the 
mode of preparing veratria, its properties, and remedial applications, and for a 
more particular notice of sabadillin (sabadillia), see Veratria in Pari II. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Cevadilla is an acrid, drastic emeto-cathartic, 
operating occasionally with great violence, and in overdoses capable of pro- 
ducing fatal effects. It was known as a medicine in Europe so early as the year 
1572; but has never been much employed. It has been used chiefly as an anthel- 
mintic, especially in cases of taenia, in which it has been giVen in doses varying 
from five to thirty grains. It has also been given in different nervous affections 
It is the principal ingredient of the pul vis Capucinorum, sometimes used in 
Europe for the destruction of vermin in the hair. It is considered by the Mexi- 
cans useful in hydrophobia, and was employed by M. Fouilhoux, of Lyons, in a 
supposed case of that disease, in the dose of about nine grains, with asserted suc- 
cess. Externally applied, it is highly irritating, and is even said to be corrosive. 
Its chief employment at present is for the preparation of veratria. 
Off. Prep. Veratria. W. 
SABBATIA. U.jS. 
Sabbatia. American Centaury. 
The herb of Sabbatia angularis. U. S. 
Sabbatia. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Gentianaceae. 
and round, rises three or four feet in height, and hears a spreading, simple, or hut slightly 
branched panicle of somewhat nodding flowers, supported upon very short pedicels. The 
flowers, which are of a blackish-purple colour, approximate in twos and threes, the fertile 
turning at length to one side, and the sterile falling off. The segments of the corolla are 
ovate-lanceolate, and without veins. The capsules occupy only one side of the stem. This 
plant grows in Mexico and the West Indies, and was cultivated by Descourtilz at San 
Domingo, from seeds obtained in Mexico. 
Asagrsea officinalis. Lindley, Botan. Reg., June, 1839.— Veratrum officinale. Schlechten- 
dahl, Linnsea, vi. 45.—Helonias officinalis. Don, Ed. New Philos. Journ., October, 1832, p. 
234. The following is the generic character given by Lindley. “ Flowers polygamous, 
racemose, naked. Perianth six-partite, segments linear, veinless, almost equal, with a 
nectariferous excavation at the base, equal to the stamens. Stamens alternately shorter ; 
anthers cordate as if unilocular, after dehiscence shield-shaped. Ovaries three, quite sim- 
ple, attenuated into an obscure stigma. Follicles three, acuminate, papery; seeds scimitar- 
shaped, corn gated, winged. Bulbous herbs, with grass-like leaves, and small, pale, and 
densely racemed flowers.” A. officinalis, which is the only known species, has linear, acu- 
minate, subcarinate leaves, roughish at the margin, and four feet in length by three lines in 
breadth, and around flower-stem, about six feet high, terminating in a very dense, straight, 
spike-like raceme, eighteen inches long. The flowers are white, with yellow anthers. 752 
Sabbatia.—Sabina. 
PART I. 
Oen. Ch. Calyx five to twelve-parted. Corolla rotate, ive to twelve-parted. 
Stigmas two, spiral. Anthers at length revolute. Capsule one-celled, two- 
valved, many-seeded. Nuttall. 
Sabbatia angular is. Pursh, Flor. Am. Sept. 137; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 147; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 255.— Chironia angularis. Linn. The American 
centaury is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant, with a fibrous root, and an 
erect, smooth, four-sided stem, winged at the angles, simple below, sending off 
opposite axillary branches above, and one or two feet in height. The leaves, 
which vary considerably in length and width, are ovate, entire, acute, nerved, 
smooth, opposite, and sessile, embracing half the circumference of the stem at 
their base. The flowers are numerous, growing on the ends of the branches, and 
forming together a large terminal corymb. The calyx is divided into five lanceo- 
late segments, considerably shorter than the corolla. This is deeply five-parted, 
with obovate segments of a delicate rose-colour, which is paler and almost white 
in the middle of their under-surface. The anthers are yellow, and, after shedding 
their pollen, become revolute. The style, which is bent downward, and is longer 
than the stamens, terminates in two linear stigmas, which become spirally 
twisted together. The plant is widely diffused through the Middle and Southern 
States, growing in low meadow grounds, and, in wet seasons, upon uplands, in 
woods, and neglected fields. It flowers in July and August. In its general aspect 
as w ell as medical properties, it bears a close resemblance to Erythrsea Cem 
taurium, or European centaury, for which it was mistaken by the earlier settlers. 
The whole herb is employed, and should be collected when in flower. 
All parts of it have a strongly bitter taste, without any admixture of astrin- 
gency, or other peculiar flavour. Both alcohol and water extract its bitterness, 
together with its medical virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. American centaury has the tonic properties 
of the simple bitters, and is very analogous in its action to the other plants of 
the same natural family. It has long been popularly employed as a prophylactic 
and remedy in our autumnal intermittent and remittent fevers; and was formerly 
much esteemed by some physicians in the latter of these complaints. The com 
dition to which it was considered applicable was that existing between the parox- 
ysms, when the remission was such as to call for tonics, but was not deemed 
sufficient to justify a resort to the preparations of Peruvian bark. It is occa- 
sionally useful, during the progress of a slow convalescence, by promoting appe- 
tite and invigorating digestion; and may be employed for the same purpose in 
dyspepsia and diseases of debility. The most convenient form for administration 
is that of infusion. A pint of boiling water, poured on an ounce of the herb and 
allowed to cool, may be given in the dose of two fluidounces, repeated every hour 
or two during the remission of fevers, and less frequently in chronic affections. 
The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. The decoction, ex- 
tract, and tincture are also efficient preparations. W. 
SABINA. U.S. 
Savine. 
The tops of Juniperus Sabina. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SABINAS CACUMINA. Savine Tops. The fresh and dried tops 
of Juniperus Sabina. Collected in spring, from plants cultivated in Britain. Br. 
Sabine, Fr.; Sevenbaum, Germ.; Sabina, Ital., Span. 
Juniperus. See JUNIPERUS. 
Juniperus Sabina. Willd. Sp■ Plant, iv. 852; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 10, t. 5. 
This is an evergreen shrub, from three to fifteen feet high, with numerous erect, 
pliant branches,much subdivided. The bark of the young branches is light-green, 
that of the trunk rough, and reddish-brown. The leaves, which completely in- 
vest the younger branches, are numerous, small, erect, firm, smooth, pointed, 
dark-green, glandular in the middle, opposite, and imbricated in four rows. The 
flowers are male and female on different trees. The fruit is a blackish-purple PART i. 
Sabina.—Saccharum. 
753 
berry, of an ovoid shape, marked with tubercles and the remains of the calyx 
and petals, and containing three seeds. 
The savine is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant, and is said to 
grow wild in the neighbourhood of our northwestern lakes. The ends of the 
branches, and the leaves by which they are invested, are collected for medical 
ise in the spring When dried they fade very much in colour. 
The tops of Juniperus Virginiana, or common red cedar, are sometimes sub- 
stituted in the shops for savine, to which they bear so close a resemblance as to 
be with difficulty distinguished. The two species, however, differ in their taste 
and smell. In /. Virginiana, moreover, the leaves are sometimes ternate. 
The tops and leaves of the savine plant have a strong, heavy, disagreeable 
odour, and a bitter, acrid taste. These properties, which are less striking in the 
dried than the recent leaves, are owing to a volatile oil, which is obtained by 
distillation with water. (See Oleum Sabinse.) The leaves impart their virtues 
to alcohol and water. From an analysis by Mr. C. II. Needles, they appear to 
contain volatile oil, gum, tannic or gallic acid, resin, chlorophyll, fixed oil, bitter 
extractive, lime, and salts of potassa. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiii. 15.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Savine is highly stimulant, increasing most 
of the secretions, especially those of the skin and uterus, to the latter of which 
it is supposed to have a peculiar direction, it has been much used in amenor- 
rhoea, and occasionally as a remedy for worms. Dr. Chapman strongly recom- 
mended it in chronic rheumatism; and it is employed in Germany, both inter- 
nally and externally, in chronic gout. In overdoses it may produce dangerous 
gastro-intestinal inflammation, and should therefore be used with caution. In 
no case should it be employed when much general or local excitement exists 
In pregnancy it should always be given with great caution; though it has re- 
cently been recommended as an effective remedy in certain forms of menorrhagia, 
and is asserted to prove occasionally useful in preventing threatened abortion. 
(See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S., viii. 475.) It is most conveniently admin- 
istered in the form of powder, of which the dose is from five to fifteen grains, 
three or four times a day. A fluid extract has been prepared by Mr. J. J. Gra- 
hame, which may be given in the same number of drops.* 
As an external irritant it is useful, in the form of cerate, for maintaining a 
discharge from blistered surfaces; but as the preparation sold in this country 
under the name of savine ointment is often feeble, either from the age of the 
drug, or the substitution of red cedar, it has in some measure fallen into disre- 
pute. (See Ceratum Sabinse ) In powder or infusion, savine is used in Europe 
as an application to warts, indolent, carious, and gangrenous ulcers, psora, and 
tinea capitis; and the expressed juice of the fresh leaves, diluted with water, is 
sometimes applied to similar purposes. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Sabinae, U.S.; Oleum Sabin®; Tinctura Sabin®, Br.; 
Unguentum Sabin®, Br. W 
SACCHARUM. U.S 
The sugar of Saccharum officinarum, refined. U. S. 
Off. St/a. SACCHARUM PUllIFICATUM. Refined Sugar, C24H2202S. 
Pure cane sugar prepared from the juice of the stem of Saccharum Officina- 
rutn. Br. 
White sugar; Sucre pur, Sucre en pains, Fr.; Weisser Zucker, Germ.; Zucchero en 
pane, Ital.; Azucar de pilon, Azucar refinado, Span. 
Sugar. 
* Fluid Extract ofSavine. The following is essentially the processof Mr. Grahame. Hav 
ing mixed four troyounces of recently dried savine in tine powder, with sufficient alcohol 
(of 90 per cent.) to moisten it, pack it in a percolator, cover it with perforated paper, and 
pour alcohol upon it. Set aside the first six fluidounces that pass till reduced one-half by 
spontaneous evaporation. Continue the percolation till eight fluidounces additional are 
obtained, evaporate the filtered liquid, by means of a water-bath, with a moderate heat, to 754 
Saccharum.—Syrupus Fuscus. 
PART I. 
SYRUPUS FUSCUS. U.S. 
Molasses. 
The impure, dark-coloured syrup, obtained in making sugar from Saccharum 
officinarum. U. S. 
Off. Syn. TIIERIACA. Treacle. Sacjchari FMX, Lond. The uncrystal- 
lized residue of the refining of sugar. Br. 
Melasse, Fr.; Zuckersatz, Zuckersyrup, Germ.; Melazzo, Itnl.; Melaca, Span. 
Among the saccharine principles distinguished by the chemist are cane sugar, 
or sugar properly so called, derived from the sugar cane, the beet, and the sugar 
maple; glucose or grape sugar, with which starch sugar, diabetic sugar, the 
crystallizable sugar of honey, and the saccharine matter of the glucosides are* 
identical; uncrystallizable sugar; sorbite, from the berries of the mountain ash 
(Sorbus aucuparia) ; lactin, or sugar of milk; inosite, or sugar of muscular 
flesh ; mannite, with which mushroom sugar is identical; and glycerin. Glucose 
or grape sugar is conveniently obtained by spreading crystalline honey on porous 
tiles, dissolving what remains on their surface in alcohol, and crystallizing. The 
product is about one-fourth of the weight of the honey. It is also largely pre- 
pared from starch by the action of very weak sulphuric acid at a high tempera- 
ture. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1866, p. 1.) Glucose, as obtained from 
a concentrated syrup, is in the form of crystalline grains; but, when crystal- 
lized from its alcoholic solution, it has the shape of square tables or cubes It 
is less sweet than cane sugar. It is also less soluble in water, and much more 
soluble in alcohol. It has the sp gr. 1 -386. Strong mineral acids hardly act on 
grape sugar, but destroy cane sugar with facility. On the other hand, grape 
sugar is destroyed by alkalies, with which cane sugar forms definite compounds. 
Dissolved in water and subjected to prolonged ebullition, grape sugar under- 
goes very little alteration. Its solution rotates the plane of polarization of 
polarized light to the right, and is capable of undergoing the vinous fermenta- 
tion directly, without passing through any intermediate state. It is characterized, 
also, in boiling solution, by reducing the potassa-tartrate of copper, and by be- 
coming brown by the action of the alkalies. The name of glucosides has been 
given to certain organic substances which are resolvable,by the presence of acids, 
or other slight chemical influence, into glucose and some other proximate prin- 
ciple, as in the instance of tannic acid, which is resolved into glucose and gallic 
acid. Uncrystallizable sugar (fruit sugar or chulariose), an isomeric form of 
glucose, found in honey and the juice of fruits, is generated from cane sugar by 
solution in water or weak acids,and long boiling. Hence it is present in molasses. 
A n aqueous solution of this sugar turns the plane of polarization to the left, and, 
like grape sugar, is susceptible of the vinous fermentation without an interme- 
diate change. In consequence of this effect on polarized light, it has been named 
by the French chemists inverse sugar (sucre interverte)-, its rotatory power being 
the reverse of that of the sugar from which it is produced. Uncrystallizable sugar 
is transformed into grape sugar, when it is made to assume a crystalline struc- 
ture, but not by mere solidification. (Soubeiran.) A solution of cane sugai, like 
that of grape sugar, has a rotating power to the right. When it ferments, it is 
not, as is generally supposed, first converted into grape sugar. It isfound both by 
Mitscherlich and Soubeiran to be first changed into uncrystallizable sugar; and, 
as the change proceeds, the rotating power to the right of the cane sugar gra. 
dually lessens and disappears, and is replaced by the rotating power to the left 
of the uncrystallizable sugar formed. Sorbin, discovered by M. Pelouze, is in 
perfectly transparent crystals, having the same taste as cane sugar, but is noi 
susceptible of fermentation. Lactin, or sugar of milk, is now officinal. (See 
Succharum Lactis.) Inosite is a sugar found in the juice of flesh. For a de- 
scription of mannite and glycerin, see the articles Manna and Glycerina. 
one fluidounce, and mix this with the residue of the portion reserved. One fluidrachm 
of the fluid extract represents 60 grains of the savine. (Trans, of Maryland Col. of Pharm , 
June, 1858.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Saccharum. 
755 
Besides the sugars enumerated, chemical writers mention dulcose (dulciU 
or dulcin), a substance like mannite from an unknown plant of Madagascar; 
phycite, obtained from Protococcus vulgaris; quercite, obtained from acorns; 
melampyriie, from Melampyrum nemorosum and other Serophularinese; my- 
cose or the sugar of ergot; melitose, the peculiar sugar of Australi-an manna, at 
first thought to be grape sugar; trehalose, the crystallizable principle of Turkish 
manna; melizotose, in Briamym manna; pinite, obtained from a sugar of Cali 
fornia, said to be derived from Pinus Lambertiana; and phaseomannite, obtained 
from kidney beans before they are ripe. Of these saccharine substances, melitose, 
trehalose, mycose, and melizotose, though differing in some of their properties 
from cane sugar, agree with it in composition, and in the property of being modified 
by acids, and transformed into sugars analogous to glucose. (Berthelot, Journ. de 
Pharm., Oct. 1858, p. 292.)* In relation to melampyriie, the latest researches 
gi ve reason to think that it is identical withdulcite. (Ginelin, Handbook, xv. 543.) 
Cane sugar is manufactured extensively on the continent of Europe from the 
beet,and in considerable quantities,in Canada and the northern and northwestern 
parts of the United States, from the sap of the sugar maple (Acer saccharinum). 
In the year 1850, according to the census returns, thirty-four millions of pounds of 
crude maple sugar were made within the limits of theUnited States.f Cane sugar 
may also be obtained from cornstalks, and from the Chinese sugar cane, or 
Sorghus saccharatus. The juice of the latter contains from 10 to 16 per cent, 
of sugar, crystallizable and uncrystallizable, the latter greatly predominating. 
Hence it is not well suited to produce crystallized sugar, but yields molasses 
abundantly. It also affords good grain for bread, and excellent fodder for do- 
mestic animals. In India sugar is made from the sap of different species of palm. 
In 1844 more than 6000 tons of crude palm sugar, called jaggary, were manu- 
factured. It is more easily refined, and at less cost than the sugar from the cane. 
(Stevens.) But the supply of sugar from these sources is insignificant, when 
compared with that obtained from the sugar cane itself, which is extensively 
cultivated in the East and West Indies, Brazil, and some of our Southern States, 
particularly Louisiana. This plant is the Saccharum officinarum of botanists, 
and is the source of the officinal sugar of the Pharmacopoeias. 
Saccharum. Sex. Syst. Triandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Graminacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx two-valved, involucred, with long down. Corolla two- 
valved. Willd. 
Saccharum officinarum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 321 ; Philos Trans lxix. 207. 
The sugar cane is an herbaceous plant, possessing a jointed, succulent root, 
irom which arise several shining, jointed, solid stems, from an inch to two inches 
in diameter, and from six to twelve feet high, and containing a white and juicy 
pith. The colour of the stem is yellow, greenish-yellow, purple, or striped. 
The joints are about three inches apart, and give origin to the leaves, which 
embrace the stem at their base, are three or four feet long and about an inch 
wide, flat, acuminate, longitudinally striated, furnished with a white midrib, gla- 
brous, finely dentate, and of a green colour inclining to yellow. The flowers 
are pinkish, surrounded by a long silky down, and disposed in a large, terminal, 
nearly pyramidal panicle, composed of subdivided spikes, and two or three feet 
in length. The plant has a general resemblance to the Indian corn. Four 
varieties are mentioned; 1. the common, with a yellow stem; 2. the purple, 
with a purple stem and richer juice; 3. the gigantic, with a very large light- 
coloured stem; and 4. the Otaheitan, which was introduced into the West Indies 
from the island of Tahiti (Otaheite) by Bougainville and Bligh, and is distin- 
guished by its greater height, the longer intervals between its joints, and the 
greater length of the hairs which surround the flowers. 
* In relation to the fermentation of several of the sugars, in presence of chalk and cer- 
tain animal substances, such as cheese, &c., the reader is referred to some interesting 
observations of M. Berthelot, contained in the Journ de Pharm. for Oct. 1856. 
t In relation to the preparation of maple sugar, see a paper by Dr. Geo. D. Gibb in 
the Br. Am. Journ. of Med. Sci (July, 1851), and another by M. J. B Avequin in the 
Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Jan. 1858, p. 72).—Note to the twelfth edition. 756 
Saccharum. 
PART I. 
The sugar cane is cultivated by cuttings, which are planted in rows, and which, 
by giving rise to successive shojts, furnish five or six crops before the plants 
require to be renewed. At the end of a year the plant generally flowers, and in 
four or five months afterwards the canes are completely ripe, at which time they 
have a yellowish colour, and contain a sweet viscid juice. The quantity of sugar 
which they yield is variable. According to Avequin, of New Orleans, the pro- 
portion of cane sugar in the recent stalk is about 10 per cent., of uncrystallizable 
sugar from to 4 per cent. Cane juice is said to contain from 17 to 23 per cent, 
of crystallizable sugar, though scarcely 7 per cent is extracted in practice. 
Preparation and Purification. The canes, when ripe, are cut down close to 
the earth, topped, and stripped of their leaves, and then crushed between ver- 
tical iron rollers in a mill. The juice, constituting 90 per cent, of the cane, 
though scarcely 50 per cent, is actually obtained, is of a pale-greenish colour, 
sweet taste, and balsamic odour, and has a sp. gr. varying from 1 033 to 1 106. 
As it runs out it is received in suitable vessels, and, being quickly removed, 
is immediately mixed with lime, in the form of milk of lime, in the proportion 
of about 1 part of the earth to 800 of the juice, and heated in a boiler to 140°. 
The exact proportion of the lime cannot be determined, as the juice varies in 
quality in different seasons; but the manufacturer should aim at making the 
liquor neutral, or very slightly alkaline. The gluten and albumen rise to the 
top, and form a thick scum, from underneath which the liquid is drawn off by 
a cock into a copper boiler, where it is concentrated by heat, the scum being 
carefully skimmed off as it forms. Filtering the juice through cloth filters be 
fore heating it is advantageous. When sufficiently concentrated, the juice is 
transferred to shallow vessels called coolers, from which, when it assumes a 
granular aspect, it is drawn off into wooden vessels with perforated bottoms, the 
holes in which are temporarily plugged. At the end of twenty-four hours, the 
liquid is strongly agitated with wooden stirrers,in order to accelerate the granu - 
lation of the sugar, which is completed in six hours. The stoppers are now re- 
moved, and the syrup is allowed to drain off from the sugar, which in this state 
is granular, of a yellowish colour, and moist. It is next dried in the sun, and 
being introduced into hogsheads, forms the brown sugar of commerce. The 
syrup, by a new evaporation, furnishes an additional portion of sugar; and the 
liquid which finally remains, incapable of yielding more sugar with advantage, 
is called molasses. Eight pounds of the juice yield, on an average, one pound 
of brown sugar. In the process of extraction, it is important that the juice 
should be concentrated by a moderate heat; as a high temperature causes more 
of the cane sugar to be converted into uncrystallizable sugar, and, therefore, in- 
creases the amount of the molasses. This conversion takes place slowly, even in 
the cold, if the juice is allowed to stand ; and hence the importance of manu- 
facturing it at once into sugar. According to M. Maumen6, the cane sugar in 
crude beet juice may be preserved without change by converting it into saccha- 
rate of lime ; and he supposes that this is true of all vegetable juices, containing 
cane sugar. In the case of beet juice, he recommends the addition of an amount 
of slaked lime, equal to half the weight of the sugar supposed to be present; 
an amount which will be about 5 per cent, of the weignt of the juice. When 
the juice is to be manufactured, the sugar is set free by saturating nine-tenths 
of tiie lime with carbonic, phosphoric, or sulphuric acid. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Nov. 1856.) It may be set free also by animal charcoal, which is now gener- 
ally employed for the purpose. A mode of evaporating cane juice is said to 
have been adopted in Antigua by Mr. Alfred Fryer, by which it seems that 
the change into uncrystallizable sugar is altogether avoided, and a great saving 
is thus effected. The precise steps of the process are not given ; but it would 
appear to consist in a very rapid evaporation to absolute dryness, by means of 
heated air. The sugar thus prepared is in solid mass. (Cliem. News, June 30, 
1865, p. 302.) 
Frown sugar is sometimes partially purified by boiling it with lime-water, 
and, after sufficient concentration, allowing the syrup to crystallize in large in- I’ART I. 
Saccharum. 
757 
verted conical vessels, pierced at the apex and plugged. The surface of the crys- 
talline mass being covered with a thin mixture of clay and water, the plug is 
removed, and the water from the clay, percolating the mass, removes the 
coloured syrup, which flows out at the hole. Sugar, thus prepared, approaches 
to the white state, and constitutes the clayed sugar of commerce, usually called, 
in this country, Havana sugar. 
There is no doubt that a large proportion of the sugar is lost in the ordinary 
process of manufacture ; and several plans have been proposed to prevent this 
loss. In December, 1847, Dr. John Scoffern, of England, took out a patent for 
the use of subacetate of lead as a purifying agent, added to the cane juice in the 
proportion of one-sixth of 1 per cent. When applied to cane juice, it separates 
the impurities completely, thus avoiding the labour of skimming, and furnishes 
the whole of the sugar, instead of about one-third, as by the ordinary process. 
When used in refining operations, it enables the refiner to work up residues, 
which would not furnish sufficient sugar to repay the cost of the old process. 
The lead is finally removed from the sugar solutions in the form of sulphite of 
lead by the action of sulphurous acid gas, forced through them by mechanical 
means. In this way Dr. Scoffern alleges that the whole of the lead may be sepa- 
rated; but even if it is not, he believes that a minute proportion of sulphite of 
lead in the sugar would not prove injurious. In this opinion he is supported by 
several eminent chemists and physicians; but the position is controverted by 
others equally eminent, and, we think, on just grounds; as we should feel doubt 
of the wholesomeness of an aliment so extensively used as sugar, containing a 
proportion of lead, however minute. Such is the view taken in France, where 
the process of Dr. Scoffern is prohibited. Another patented process for the 
defecation of cane juice, and of the syrups of sugar refineries, is that of ll. & J. 
Oxland, in which acetate of alumina is used. The details of the process are 
given in the Ghem. Gazette for Nov. 16, 1849, to which the reader is referred. 
M. Melsens, of Brussels, has proposed a third process, which consists in the use 
of bisulphite of lime. This salt is alleged to act as an antiseptic, preventing the 
operation of any ferment; as an absorber of oxygen, opposing the action of that 
gas on the juice; as a clarifier, rendering insoluble at 212° all coagulable mat- 
ters; as a bleacher of pre-existing colouring matters, and a preventive of the 
formation of new ones; and, lastly, as a substance furnishing a base to neu- 
tralize hurtful acids, which unite with the lime, displacing the weaker sulphurous 
acid. M. Melsens admits that he has made his experiments with cane juice on 
a small scale only, and, therefore, leaves the application of the principles of his 
method to the intelligence of the manufacturers themselves. M. Emil Pfeiffer has 
proposed another refining process, which consists in the use of superphosphate 
of lime, an agent previously recommended by Brande. (See Ghem. Gaz., April 
15, 1856.) M. Emile Rousseau proposes sulphate of lime as the best addition 
to saccharine juices in the manufacture of sugar. This coagulates the albumin- 
ous matters The clear juice is then agitated with hydrated peroxide of iron, 
which oxidizes and destroys the colouring matters, and, besides, absorbs the 
alkaline and earthy salts, and removes the small quantity of sulphate of lime 
remaining in the solution. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , Sept. 1862, p. 461 ) M. 
Emile Monnier uses sulphurous acid as the bleaching agent. The acid is ob- 
tained by burning sulphur, and is conducted into a chamber which contains 
the sugar. About 4 parts of sulphur are required for 1000 of sugar. This un- 
dergoes no change under the action of the acid. When the operation is com- 
pleted, the sugar is dissolved in water, and the sulphurous acid neutralized by 
a little lime. (Ghem. News, May 15, 1868, p. 234.) M. Ileynoso finds alumina 
the best defecating agent that he has employed ; having succeeded by means 
of it in throwing down almost all impurities at the same time most adhesive 
and most hurtful. He adds the acid phosphate of alumina to the cane juice, and 
decomposes this with lime, by which the phosphate of lime is produced and 
alumina separated; and all these, with some lime in excess, cause the elimina- 
tion of colouring and nitrogenous matters, so that there only remain in the 758 
Saccliarum. 
PART I. 
liquid some of the salts which normally accompany the sugar in the juice 
(Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., ii. 232.) 
The refining of brown sugar forms a distinct branch of business, and the 
methods pursued have undergone many improvements. By the original process, 
the sugar was boiled with lime-water, and clarified by heating it with bullocks’ 
blood The clarified syrup was then strained through cloth filters, whereby it 
was rendered limpid. It was next transferred to a boiler, where it was subjected 
to ebullition until it was brought to a proper concentration; when it was allowed 
to cool in conical moulds, and to drain for the separation of the molasses. This 
last boiling required to be continued so long, that the action of the fire and air 
frequently decomposed the sugar to such an extent as to cause a loss of 25 per 
cent, in molasses. This disadvantage led to the abandonment of prolonged 
boiling; and nrw the sugar refiners boil the syrup in shallow boilers, which are 
suspended m such a way as to admit of their being emptied with the greatest 
quickness, without putting out the fire. 
The process of refining was still further improved by Messrs. Philip Taylor 
land Howard. The former introduced the improvement of heating the syrup 
with great rapidity, by means of steam made to pass through a series of tubes 
traversing the boiler ; and the latter devised the plan of causing the syrup to 
boil under a diminished pressure, created by a suction pump, set in motion by 
a steam engine, while it was heated by steam circulating round the boiler, in 
this way, the syrup was made to boil at a lower temperature, and with a di- 
minished contact of the air; and the loss of cane sugar by its conversion into 
uncrystallizable sugar was in a great measure avoided. 
After the syrup is sufficiently concentrated by any one of these methods, it is 
transferred to coolers, where it is agitated to cause it to granulate. In this state 
it is poured into unglazed earthenware moulds of a conical shape, with a hole 
in the apex, which is stopped with a paper plug. The moulds are placed, with 
the apex downwards, above stone-ware pots, intended to receive the uncrystal- 
lizable syrup. When the mass has completely concreted, the moulds are un- 
stopped, to allow the coloured syrup to drain off. To separate the remains of this 
syrup, the operation called claying is performed. This consists in removing 
from the base of the loaf a layer of the sugar, about an inch thick, and replacing 
it with pure sugar in powder, which is covered with a mixture of pipe clay and 
water of about the consistence of cream. The water gradually leaves the clay, 
dissolves the pure sugar, and percolates the mass as a pure syrup, removing in 
its progress the coloured syrup. Sometimes the purification is performed with- 
out the use of clay, by allowing a saturated solution of pure sugar to percolate 
the loaf. When all the coloured syrup is removed, the loaf is taken out of the 
mould and placed in stoves to dry. It now constitutes white or purified sugar. 
The syrup which drains from the loaves contains a considerable quantity of cane 
sugar, and is used in subsequent operations. The syrups of lowest quality are 
employed in forming inferior white sugar, from which a syrup finally drains, 
containing so little cane sugar as not to repay the expense of extracting it. 
This constitutes sugar-house molasses. Good brown sugar, in the process of 
refining, yields about '10 per cent, of white sugar. 
The application of animal charcoal to the refining of sugar is now very ex- 
tensive, not less than 5000 tons of charred bones being used for this purpose 
annually in the Clyde refineries, in Scotland. For valuable practical remarks 
on the use of this agent in the purification of sugar, the reader is referred to a 
paper by Dr. Wallace in the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Glas- 
gow, copied in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Sept. 1868, p. 425). 
Commercial History. Cane sugar was known to the ancients. It was origin- 
ally obtained from India, where it was extracted from the sugar cane. About 
the period of the Crusades, the Venetians brought it to Europe; but, at that 
time, it was so scarce and costly as to be used exclusively as a medicine. Upon 
the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope and the maritime route to the East 
Indies, the commerce in sugar passed into the hands of the Portuguese. Sub- PART i. 
Saccharum. 
759 
sequently, the cultivation of the cane extended to Arabia, Egypt, Sicily, Spain, 
and the Canaries, and finally, upon the discovery of the new world, to America, 
where it was pursued with the greatest success, and continues to be so. In 
America it is produced most abundantly in the West Indies, which supply the 
greater part of the consumption of Europe, little comparatively being taken 
thither from Brazil or the East Indies. The consumption of the United States, 
before the late war, was more than half supplied by Louisiana and some of the 
neighbouring States. The crop of sugar of Louisiana, in 1847, was estimated 
at 240,000 hogsheads; in 1858, at 322,000. The crop of Cuba for the latter 
year is supposed to have reached 600,000 hogsheads. Latterly, our planters 
have introduced into Louisiana the variety of cane called the Otaheitan cane, 
which is hardier and more productive than the common cane, and better suited 
to the climate of our Southern States. 
Properties. Sugar, in a pure state, is a solid of a peculiar grateful taste, per- 
manent in the air, phosphorescent by friction, and of the sp.gr. L6. It dissolves 
readily in half its weight of cold water, and to almost an unlimited extent in 
boiling water. The solution, when thick and ropy, is called syrup. An aqueous 
solution of sugar, kept in a warm place, has the property of corroding iron, par- 
tially immersed in it, just above the line where the surface of the liquid touches 
the metal; and the solution itself becomes impregnated with protoxide of iron, 
and of a deep red-brown colour. A similar effect is produced on lead; but zinc 
and copper are but slightly acted on. (Dr. J. H. Gladstone, Annals of Phar* 
macy, iii. 208.) A solution of sugar possesses the property also of dissolvings 
large quantity of hydrate of lime, forming a compound, called syrup of lime. 
When a concentrated syrup is gently heated, and spirit added to it, the liquid, 
on cooling, forms white semi-transparent crystals of hydrated sugar, havingthe 
shape of oblique four-sided prisms, and called sugar-candy. Sugar is nearly in- 
soluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves in four times its weight of boiling alco- 
hol, of the sp. gr. 0‘83. When heated to 365°, it melts into a viscid, colourless 
liquid, which, on being suddenly cooled, forms a transparent amorphous mass, 
called barley sugar. At a higher temperature (between 400° and 420°) it loses 
two eqs. of water, and is converted into a black porous mass, having a high 
lustre, called caramel.* At a still higher heat it yields combustible gases, car- 
bonic acid, empyreumatie oil, and acetic acid; and there remains one-fourth of 
its weight of charcoal, which burns without residue. Sugar renders the fixed 
and volatile oils to a certain extent miscible with water, and forms with the 
latter an imperfect combination, called in pharmacy oleosaccharum. When in 
solution, it is not precipitated by subacetate of lead, a negative property which 
distinguishes it from most other organic principles. 
Tests. Cane sugar may be distinguished from grape sugar by Trommer’s test, 
which consists in the use of sulphate of copper and caustic potassa. If a solu- 
tion of cane sugar be mixed with a solution of sulphate of copper, and potassa 
be added in excess, a deep-blue liquid is obtained, which, on being heated, lets 
fall, after a time, a little red powder. A solution of grape sugar, similarly 
treated, yields, by heat, a copious greenish precipitate, which rapidly changes 
to scarlet, and eventually to dark-red. Prof. Bottger finds that, when a liquid 
containing grape sugar is boiled with carbonate of soda and some basic nitrate 
of bismuth, a gray coloration or blackening of reduced bismuth is produced. 
Cane sugar, similarly treated, has no effect on the test. Dr. Donaldson’s test 
for sugar in the animal fluids is formed of 5 parts of carbonate of soda, 5 of 
caustic potassa, 6 of bitartrate of potassa, 4 of sulphate of copper, and 32 of 
distilled water. A few drops of this solution, being added to an animal fluid, 
* A colouring substance called caramel brown is now largely manufactured from sugar 
by decomposing it by means of heat carefully applied, with manipulations calculated to 
ensure a uniform product. It is in the form either of a stilf paste, in which it is used for 
colouring leather, or in that of a syrup, for colouring liquids. For the precise mode of 
preparation, see a paper by Mr. Thos. Sherlock in the Chemical News for June 7, 1867 
(p. 282). It may be made either from cane sugar, molasses, or glucose. [Note to the thir- 
teenth edition.) 760 
Saccharum. 
PAltT I. 
and the mixture heated over a spirit-lamp, a yellowish-green colour is developed, 
if sugar be present. J. Horsley’s test for sugar in diabetic urine is an alkaline 
solution of chromate of potassa, a few drops of which, boiled with the urine, 
will make it assume a deep sap-green colour. M. J. Nickles points out, in the 
bichloride of carbon, obtained by decomposing sulphide of carbon by chlorine 
and aqueous vapour, a new test for distinguishing glucose and cane sugar. 
This test mixed with cane sugar in a glass tube, kept for some time near 212°, 
causes a darkening of the sugar, gradually increasing till it becomes black. 
Glucose undergoes no such change. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., iii. 119.) 
Action of Acids and Alkalies, dec. The mineral acids act differently on cane 
sugar, according as they are concentrated or dilute. Strong nitric acid, with 
the assistance of heat, converts it into oxalic acid (See Oxalic Acid in Part III.) 
The same acid, when weak, converts it into saccharic acid, confounded by 
Scheele with malic acid. Concentrated muriatic or sulphuric acid chars it. Di- 
luted muriatic acid, when boiled with cane sugar, converts it into a solid, brown, 
gelatinous mass. Weak sulphuric acid, by a prolonged action at a high tem- 
perature, converts cane sugar, first into uncrystallizable sugar, afterwards into 
grape sugar, and finally into two substances, analogous to ulmin and ulmic acid, 
called sacchulmin and sacchulmic acid. Vegetable acids are supposed to act 
in a similar way. Maumene has found that cane sugar undergoes the change 
into uncrystallizable sugar when kept for a long time in aqueous solution, as 
well as when heated with acids. When the boiling with acids is prolonged for 
several days in open vessels, oxygen is absorbed, and, besides sacchulmin and 
sacchulmic acid, formic acid is generated. Soubeiran admits the change of the 
uncrystallizable into grape sugar, butattributes it to a molecular transformation 
of the sugar, independently of the action of the acid; as, according to his ob- 
servation, the conversion takes place only after rest. In confirmation of his 
views, this chemist states that he found the same changes to be produced by 
boiling sugar with water alone. 
Cane sugar unites with the alkalies and some of the alkaline earths, forming 
definite combinations which render the sugar less liable to change. It also unites 
with protoxide of lead. Boiled for a long time with aqueous solutions of po- 
tassa lime, or baryta, the liquid becomes brown, formic acid is produced, and 
two new acids are generated ; one brown or black and insoluble in water, called 
melassic acid,the other colourless and very soluble, named glucic acid. Alka- 
lies and the alkaline earths are said to lessen the rotatory power of sugar in 
relation to polarized light; but the sugar recovers its original power when the 
alkali is saturated. {Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., iv. 314 ) 
The account above given of the action of acids and alkalies on cane sugar 
explains the way in which lime acts in the manufacture and refining of sugar. 
The acids, naturally existing in the saccharine juice, have the effect of convert- 
ing the cane sugar into uncrystallizable sugar, by which a loss of the former is 
sustained. The lime, by neutralizing these acids, prevents that result. An excess 
of lime, however, must be carefully avoided; as it injures the product of cane 
sugar both in quantity and quality. The change in sugar which precedes fer- 
mentation, namely, the conversion of cane sugar into the uncrystallizable kind, 
points to the necessity of operating on the juice before that process sets in; and 
hence the advantage of grinding canes immediately after they are cut, and boil- 
ing the juice with the least possible delay. 
The following is a description of the several forms of sugar in common use, 
including the two officinal varieties. 
Purified or white sugar, as obtained on a large scale, is in concrete, some- 
what porous masses, called loaves, consisting of an aggregate of small crystalline 
grains. When carefully refined, it is brittle and pulverulent, perfectly white, 
inodorous, and possessed of the pure saccharine taste. Cane sugar is sometimes 
adulterated with starch sugar, which may be detected by adding to a concen- 
trated solution of the suspected sugar, first a small portion of fused potassa, and 
afterwards, at the boiling temperature, a few drops of nitrate of cobalt This PART i. 
Saccharum.—Syrupus Fuscus. 
761 
test, if the cane sugar be pure, will produce a violet-blue precipitate, a reaction 
prevented by the presence of a small proportion of starch sugar. (Dr. G Reich.)* 
Indigo is said to be sometimes added by refiners to the purified sugar to give 
increased brilliance to its whiteness. In such instances, when the sugar is used 
in preparing syrup, the foam which forms on the surface assumes a blue colour, 
on exposure to the air. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., ii. 128.) 
Unpurified or brown sugar is in the form of a coarse powder, more or less 
moist and sticky, consisting of shining crystalline grains intermixed with lumps, 
having an orange-yellow colour more or less deep, a sweet, cloying taste, and 
heavy peculiar smell. It varies very much in quality. The best sort is nearly 
dry, in large sparkling grains of a clear yellow colour, and possesses much less 
smell than the inferior kinds. It consists of cane sugar, associated, according to 
Messrs. Alexander and Morfit, with variable quantities of hygroscopic moisture, 
uncrystallizable sugar, gum, albumen, extractive, saline matter, and insoluble 
organic and inorganic substances. (Chem. Gaz., April 15, 1858,p. 153.) Among 
the inorganic substances is a small proportion of lime. By keeping it becomes 
soft and gummy, and less sweet, a change attributed to the lime. 
Molasses is of two kinds, the West India and sugar-house. West India mo- 
lasses is a black ropy liquid, of a peculiar odour, and sweet empyreumatic taste. 
When mixed with water and with the skimmingsof the vessels used in the manu- 
facture of sugar, it forms a liquor, which, when fermented and distilled, yields 
rum. Sugar-house molasses has the same general appearance as the West 
India, but is thicker, and has a different flavour. Its sp.gr. is about 1 *4, and it 
contains about 75 per cent, of solid matter. Both kinds of molasses consist of 
uncrystallizable sugar, more or less cane sugar which has escaped separation in 
the process of manufacture or refining, and gummy and colouring matter. When 
the molasses from cane sugar is treated with a boiling, concentrated solution of 
bichromate of potassa, and boiled, a violent reaction takes place, and the liquid 
becomes green ; but if it be adulterated with only an eighth of starch sugar mo- 
lasses, the reaction is prevented, and the colour is not changed. (Dr. G. Reich.) 
Composition. The following formulas express the composition of the different 
varieties of sugar, so far as known. Cane sugar, C12IIuOn. Of the same com- 
position aremycose, melitose,melizotose, and trehalose, which, as before stated, 
constitute a group closely analogous to cane sugar, though differing in some of 
their properties. The formula of glucose or grape sugar is C12H]2012; and un- 
crystallizable sugar, also named variously chulai'iose, inverse sugar, and levu- 
\ose, which is characterized by a left rotatory power in reference to polarized 
light, has the same composition. With these also agree sorbite and inosite. 
The formula of mannite and of dulcite (dulcin or dulcose) is C,2II14012. 
Med. and Pharm. Uses, &c. The uses of sugar as an aliment and condiment 
are numerous. It is nutritious, but not capable of supporting life when taken 
* Estimation of Cane Sugar and Glucose. The aqueous solution of a mixture of ferridcy- 
anide of potassium (red prussiate of potassa), with half its weight of hydrate of potassa, 
has no chemical action on a solution of cane sugar, cold or hot, yet communicates to it, 
even in very small proportion, a decided and persistent yellowness. With a solution of 
glucose or grape sugar it loses its colour slowly if cold, and more rapidly as the tempeia- 
ture is raised. If a few drops be added to a solution of glucose at 140°, the yellow colour 
at first produced very soon disappears, and, if the heat be raised to 170°, is immediately 
destroyed. If now the addition continue to be made, the colour will continue to disappear 
so long as any of the glucose remains. By experiment it was ascertained that 10-98 
grammes of the ferridcyanide were sufficient to destroy 1 gramme of sugar converted by 
muriatic acid into glucose. A normal solution may be made by mixing 10-98grammes of 
the ferridcyanide with 5-50 grammes of hydrate of potassa and dissolving this in 100 cubic 
centimetres of water. Suppose a mixture of cane sugar and glucose to be tested. Dissolve 
1 gramme of it in 40 cubic centimetres of water, heat to 160° F., and add one-tenth of the 
normal solution. If there is much glucose the colour disappears; in which case the solu- 
tion is to be added by cubic centimetres till the colour ceases to disappear. As many 
centimetres of the normal liquid as are used, so many hundredths of the 10-98 grammes 
of the ferridcyanide, and of course of one gramme of glucose, will have been consumed, in- 
dicating thatquantitv of the latter in the mixture. (Gentele, Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1860, 
p. 208.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 762 
Saccharum.—Saccharum Lactis. 
PARI I. 
exclusively as aliment, on account of the absence of nitrogen in its composition. 
It is a powerful antiseptic, and is used for preserving meat and fish ; for which 
purpose it possesses the advantage of acting in a much less quantity than is 
requisite of common salt, and of not altering the taste, or impairing the nutri- 
tious qualities of the aliment. Prof. Marcband has ascertained that a solution 
of sugar has no action on the teeth out of the body. It may hence be inferred 
that the popular notion that sugar is injurious to the teeth is unfounded. 
The medical properties of sugar are those of a demulcent; and as such it is 
much used in catarrhal affections, in the form of candy, syrup, &c. According 
to M. Proven9al, it acts as a powerful antaphrodisiac, when taken in the quan- 
tity of a pound or more daily, dissolved in a quart of cold water. For an ac- 
count of the supposed therapeutic power of the vapour of boiling cane juice, in 
bronchitis and incipient consumption, applied by living in a sugar-house, the 
reader is referred to the papers of Dr. S. A. Cartwright, of New Orleans, con- 
tained in the 47th and 51st volumes of the Boston Med. and Surg. Journal. 
In pharmacy sugar is employed to render oils miscible with water, to cover the 
taste of medicines, to give them consistency, to preserve them from change, and 
to protect certain ferruginous preparations from oxidation. Accordingly it 
enters into the composition of the compound infusion of roses, of several mix- 
tures, pills, and powders, of many fluid extracts, syrups, confections, and oi 
all the troches. Molasses is used for forming pills, for which it is well fitted, 
preserving them soft and free from mouldiness, on account of its retentiveness 
of moisture and antiseptic qualities. 
The influence of sug’ar in preventing changes in organic substances may be 
ascribed to an extraordinary osmotic power in its solutions, by which infusoria 
and all other of the lower forms of life, to which fermentative processes are 
now generally ascribed, are almost instantly destroyed; the organism collaps- 
ing through the rapid exosmose of its fluids into the saccharine medium. All 
the different kinds of sugar susceptible of the alcoholic fermentation have 
this power. (Dr. Louis Mandl, Archives Gen. de Med., 5e ser.,xvi. 49, Juillet, 
1860.) 
Off. Prep, of Saccharum. Ferri Carbonas Saccharata, Br.; Liquor Calcis 
Saccharatus, Br.; Syrupus. B. 
SACCHARUM LACTIS. U.S., Br 
Sugar of Milk. 
A crystalline substance obtained from whey. U. S. 024Ha4024. Crystallized 
sugar obtained from the whey of milk by evaporation. Br. 
Lactose; Sucre de lait, Fr.; Milchzucker. Germ. 
Sugar of milk, or lactin, is found only in milk, of which it forms about 5 per 
cent. (Boussingault.) It is manufactured largely in Switzerland and the Bava- 
rian Alps, as an article of food and for medicinal purposes. In preparing it, milk 
is first coagulated by the addition of a little dilute sulphuric acid, and the result- 
ing whey is evaporated to a syrupy consistence, and set aside for several weeks, 
in a cool place, to crystallize. The crystals, which constitute the sugar of milk, 
are then decolorized by animal charcoal and repeated crystallizations.* 
Sugar of milk is a hard, somewhat gritty, white substance, crystallized in four- 
sided prisms, and possessing a slightly sweet taste. In commerce it sometimes 
occurs in cylindrical masses, in the axis of which is a cord, around which the 
crystals have been deposited. It dissolves slowly in six parts of cold and three 
of boiling water, without forming a syrup. It is insoluble in ether, and but 
slightly soluble in alcohol. Its sp. gr. is 1-54. It is not susceptible of the 
vinous fermentation by the direct influence of yeast; but, after the action of 
dilute acids, which first convert it into grape sugar, it is capable of furnishing 
* For a method of estimating the proportion of lactin in milk, see an article by INI. 
Poggiale in the Journ. de Pharm., Aout, 1858, p. 130. PART i. 
Saccharum Lactis.—Sago. 
763 
a spirituous liquor. It is well known that both mares’ and cows’ milk, aftej 
becoming sour, is capable of forming an intoxicating drink by fermentation. 
By the action of nitric acid, sugar of milk is converted into rnucic (sacchlac- 
tic) acid. When anhydrous it consists of C12HnOu; when crystallized, of 
C12HuOn +-HO. (Staedeler and Krause.) These formulas make anhydrous 
sugar of milk isomeric with cane sugar, and the crystallized with anhydrous 
grape sugar. Fudakowski has ascertained that sugar of milk, when treated 
with weak sulphuric acid, is divided into two peculiar saccharine bodies ; one 
crystallizable, and previously noticed by Pasteur (Comptes Rendus, xlii. 347), 
the other is new. The latter is more soluble in alcohol than the former, has a 
sweeter taste, ferments more easily, crystallizes in prisms, while the former is 
tabular, and has a different polarizing action. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., v. 
479 ; from Zeitschr. fur Cliem., 1867, p. 32.) 
Sugar of milk has been proposed by Dr. Turnbull, of England, as a non- 
nitrogenous article of diet, in consumption and other pulmonary diseases. Dr. 
Ruschenberger used it with good effect as nourishment in a case of extreme 
irritability of stomach, following profuse loss of blood from menorrhagia 
( Trans, of the Philad. Col. of Ph.ys., ii. 48.) B. 
SAGO. U.S. 
Sago. 
The prepared fecula of the pith of Sagus Rumphii, and of other species of 
Sagus. U. S. 
Sagou, Fr.; Sago, Germ., Ital.; Sagu, Span. 
Numerous trees, inhabiting the islands and coasts of the Indian Ocean, con- 
tain a farinaceous pith, which is applied to the purposes of nutriment by the 
natives. Such are Sagus Rumphii, Sagus Isevis, Sagus Ruffia, Saguerus Rum- 
phii, and Phoenix farinifera, belonging to the family of palms; and Cycas 
circinalis, Cycas revoluta, and Zamia lanuginosa, belonging to the Cycadacese 
Of these Sagus Rumphii, Sagus Isevis, and Saguerus Rumphii probably con- 
tribute to furnish the sago of commerce. Crawford, in his History of the Indian 
Archipelago, states that it is derived exclusively from Metroxylon Sagu., iden- 
tical with Sagus Rumphii; but Roxburgh ascribes the granulated sago to S 
Isevis, and one of the finest kinds is said by Dr. Hamilton to be produced by the 
Saguerus Rumphii of Roxburgh. The farinaceous product of the different spe- 
cies of Cycas, sometimes called Japan sago,does not enter into general commerce. 
Sagus. Sex. Syst. Monoecia Hexandria. —Nat. Ord. Palmacese. 
Gen. Ch. Common spathe one-valved. Spadix branched. Male. Calyx 
three-leaved. Corolla none. Filaments dilated. Female. Calyx three-leaved, 
with two of the leaflets bifid. Corolla none. Style very short. Stigma simple. 
Nut tessellated-imbricated, one-seeded. Willd. 
Sagus Rumphii. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 404; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 44, 
pi. 88. The sago palm is one of the smallest trees of its family. Its extreme 
height seldom exceeds thirty feet. The trunk is proportionally very thick, quite 
erect, cylindrical, covered with the remains of the old leafstalks, and surrounded 
by a beautiful crown of foliage, consisting of numerous, very large, pinnate 
leaves, extending in all directions from the summit, and curving gracefully 
downwards. From the basis of the leaves proceed long, divided and subdivided 
flower and fruit-bearing spadices, having smooth branches. The fruit is a round- 
ish nut, covered with a checkered imbricated coat, and containing a single seed. 
The tree is a native of the East India islands, growing in the Peninsula of 
Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas, and a part of New Guinea. 
It flourishes best in low and moist Before attaining maturity, the 
stem consists of a shell, usually about two inches thick, filled with an enormous 
volume of spongy medullary matter like that of elder. This is gradually absorbed 
after the appearance of fruit, and the stem ultimately becomes hollow. The 
greatest age of the tree is not more than thirty years. Large quantities of a 764 
Sago 
PART T, 
kind of sugar t ailed jaggary are procured from its juice. At the proper period 
of its growth, when the medullary matter is fully developed, and has not yet 
begun to diminish, the tree is felled, and the trunk cut into billets six or seven 
feet long, which are split in order to facilitate the extraction of the pith. This 
is obtained in the state of a coarse powder, which is mixed with water in a 
trough, having a sieve at the end. The water, loaded with farina, passes 
through the sieve, and is received in convenient vessels, where it is allowed 
to stand till the insoluble matter has subsided. It is then strained otf; and the 
farina which is left may be dried into a kind of meal, or moulded into whatever 
shape may be desired. For the consumption of the natives it is usually formed 
into cakes of various sizes, which are dried, and extensively sold in the islands. 
The commercial sago is prepared by forming the meal into a paste with water, 
and rubbing it into grains. It is produced in the greatest abundance in the Mo- 
luccas, but of the finest quality on the eastern coast of Sumatra. The Chinese 
of Malacca refine it so as to give the grains a fine pearly lustre. Malcolm states 
that it is also refined in large quantities at Singapore. In this state it is called 
pearl sago, and is in great repute. It is said that not less than five or six hun- 
dred pounds of sago are procured from a single tree. (Crawford.) 
Pearl sago is that which is now generally used. It is in small grains, about 
the size of a pin’s head, hard, whitish, of a light-brown colour, in some instances 
translucent, inodorous, and with little taste. It may be rendered perfectly white 
by a solution of chloride of lime. Common sago is in larger and browner grains, 
of more unequal size, of a duller aspect, and frequently mixed with more or less 
of a dirty-looking powder. 
Sago meal is imported into England from the East Indies ; but we have met 
with none in the markets of this country. It is in the form of a fine amylaceous 
powder, of a whitish colour, with a yellowish or reddish tint, and of a faint but 
somewhat musty odour. 
Common sago is insoluble in cold water, but by long boiling unites with that 
liquid, becoming at first soft and transparent, and ultimately forming a gelati- 
nous solution. Pearl sago is partially dissolved by cold water, probably owing 
to heat used in its preparation Chemically considered, it has the characters of 
starch. Under the microscope the granules of sago meal appear oval or ovate, 
and often truncated so as to be more or less mullar-shaped. Many of them are 
broken, and in most the surface is irregular or tuberculated They exhibit upon 
their surface concentric rings, which are much less distinct than in potato 
s;arch. The hiluin is circular when perfect, and cracks either with a single slit 
or a cross, or in a stellate manner. The granules of pearl sago are of the same 
form, but are all ruptured, and exhibit only indistinct traces of the annular 
lines, having been altered in the process employed in preparing them. Those 
of common sago are very similar to the particles of sago meal, except that they 
are perhaps rather less regular and more broken. {Pereira.) 
Potato starch is sometimes prepared in Europe so as to resemble bleached 
pearl sago, for which it is sold. But, when examined under the microscope, it 
exhibits larger granules, which are also more regularly oval or ovate, smoother, 
less broken, and more distinctly marked with the annular rugae than those of 
sago; and the hilum often cracks with two slightly diverging slits. 
Sago is used exclusively as an article of diet. Being nutritive, easily digest- 
ible, and wholly destitute of irritating properties, it is frequently employed in 
febrile cases, and in convalescence from acute disorders, in the place of richer 
and less innocent food. It is given in the liquid state, and in its preparation 
care should be taken to boil it long in water, and stir it diligently, in order 
that the grains may be thoroughly dissolved. Should any portion remain un- 
dissolved, it should be separated by straining; as it might offend a delicate 
stomach. A tablespoonful to the pint of water is sufficient for ordinary pur- 
poses. The solution may be seasoned with sugar and nutmeg or other spice, and 
with wine, when these are not contraindicated. W. PART I. 
Salix. 
765 
SALIX. U. S. Secondary. 
Willow. 
The bark of Salix alba. U. S. 
Ecorce de saule, Fr.; Weidenrinde, Germ..; Corteccia di salcio, Ital.; Cortezadt sauco, 
Span. 
Salix. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Diandria.—Nat Ord. Salicaceoe. 
Qen. Ch. Male. Amentum cylindrical. Calyx a scale. Corolla none. Glands 
of the base nectariferous. Female. Amentum cylindrical. Calyx a scale. Co- 
rolla none. Style two-cieft. Capsule one-celled, two-valved. Seeds downy. 
This is an extensive genus, comprising, according to Xuttall, not less than 
one hundred and thirty species, which, with very few exceptions, are natives of 
Europe, and of the northern and temperate parts of Xorth America. Though 
most of them are probably possessed of similar medical properties, only one 
is recognised as officinal; viz., S alba, which has been introduced into this 
country. S. Russelliana, which has also been introduced from Europe, is said 
by Sir James Smith to be the most valuable species. S. purpurea, a European 
species, is said by Lindley to be the most bitter, aud S. pentandra is preferred 
by Xees von Esenbcck. Many native species are in all probability equally active 
with the foreign; but they have not been sufficiently tried in regular practice 
to admit of a positive decision. The younger Michaux speaks of the root of 
S. nigra or black willow, as a strong bitter, used in the country for the pre- 
vention and cure of intermittents In consequence of the pliability of the young 
branches, the willow is well adapted for the manufacture of baskets and other 
kinds of wicker-work; and several species, native and introduced, are employed 
for this purpose in the United States S. Babylonica, or weeping willow, is a 
favourite ornamental tree. The degree of bitterness-in the bark is probably tho 
best criterion of the value of the several species. 
Salix alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 710; Smith, Flor. Brit. 1071. The common 
European or white willow is twenty-five or thirty feet in height, with numerous 
round spreading branches, the younger of which are silky. The bark of the 
trunk is cracked and brown, that of the smaller branches smooth and greenish. 
The leaves are alternate, upon short petioles, lanceolate, pointed, acutely serrate 
with the lower serratures glandular, pubescent on both sides, and silky beneath. 
There are no stipules. The flowers appear at the same time with the leaves. 
The amenta are terminal, cylindrical, and elongated, with elliptical-lanceolate, 
brown, pubescent scales. The stamens are two in number, yellow, and some- 
what longer than the scales; the style is short; the stigmas two-parted aud 
thick. The capsule is nearly sessile, ovate, and smooth. 'The white willow is 
now very common in this country. It flowers in April and May; and the bark 
is easily separable throughout the summer. 
That obtained from the branches rolls up when dried into the form of a quill, 
has a brown epidermis, is flexible, fibrous, and of difficult pulverization. Willow 
bark has a feebly aromatic odour, aud a peculiar bitter astringent taste. It yields 
its active properties to water, with which it forms a reddish-brown decoction. 
Pelletier and Caventou found, among its ingredients, tannin, resin, a bitter yel- 
low colouring matter, a green fatty matter, gum, wax, lignin, and an organic 
acid combined with magnesia. The proportion of tannin is so considerable that 
the bark has been used for tanning leather. A crystalline principle has also been 
obtained from it, which, having the medical virtues of the willow, has received 
the name of salicin. When pure, it is in white, shining, slender crystals, inodor- 
ous, but very bitter, with the peculiar flavour of the bark. It is soluble in cold 
water, much more so in boiling water, soluble in alcohol, and insoluble in ether 
and oil of turpentine. It neutralizes neither acids nor salifiable bases, and is not 
precipitated by any reagent. Concentrated sulphuric acid decomposes it, re- 
ceiving from it an intense and permanent bright-red colour, and producing a 
new compound called rutulin. It ranks with the glucosides, being resolved by 
boiling with dilute muriatic and sulphuric acids into grape sugar, saligenin, aud 766 
Salix. 
PART l 
a white, tasteless, insoluble resinous substance named salirctin. Saligenin is a 
colourless, crystallizable substance, fusible and volatilizable, soluble in water, 
alcohol, and ether, and if heated above 212°, giving off aqueous vapour and 
salicylous acid. (Gmelin's Handbook.) Nitric acid produces with salicin at 
first two principles called respectively helicin and helicoidin, and afterwards 
picric and oxalic acids. (Journ. de Pharm., xxx. 43.) Distilled with bichro- 
mate of potassa and sulphuric acid, it yields, among other products, a volatile 
oleaginous liquid, identical with one of the components of oil of spiraea, and, 
from its acid properties, denominated salicylous acid. This is considered by 
Dumas as consisting of a peculiar compound radical, called salicyl, and hy- 
drogen. The formula of salicyl is C14tI504. The discovery of salicin is claimed 
by Buchner, of Germany, and Fontana and Rigatelli, of Italy; but M. Leroux, 
of France, deserves the credit of having first accurately investigated its pro- 
perties. Braconnot procured it by adding subacetate of lead to a decoction of 
the bark, precipitating the excess of lead by sulphuric acid, evaporating the 
colourless liquid which remained, adding near the end of the process a little 
animal charcoal previously washed, and filtering the liquor while hot. Upon 
cooling it deposited the salicin in a crystalline form. {Journ. de Chimie Medi- 
cale, Jan. 183L ) The following is the process of Merck. A boiling concen- 
trated decoction of the bark is treated with litharge until it becomes nearly 
colourless. Gum, tannin, and extractive matter, which would impede the crys- 
tallization of the salicin, are thus removed from the liquid; while a portion of 
the oxide is dissolved in union probably with the salicin. To separate this por- 
tion of oxide, sulphuric acid is first added and then sulphuret of barium, and 
the liquor is filtered and evaporated. Salicin is deposited, and may be purified 
by repeated solution and crystallization ( Turner's Chemistry.) Erdmann has 
given another process. Sixteen ounces of the bark are macerated for twenty-four 
hours in four quarts of water mixed with two ounces of lime, and the whole is 
then boiled for half an hour. The process is repeated with the residue. The 
decoctions having been mixed, and allowed to become clear by subsidence, the 
liquor is poured off, concentrated to a quart, then digested with eight ounces of 
ivory-black, filtered, and evaporated to dryness. The extract is exhausted by 
spirit containing 28 per cent, of alcohol, and the tincture evaporated so that the 
salicin may crystallize. This is purified by again dissolving, treating with ivory- 
black, and crystallizing. Merck obtained 251 grains from 10 ounces of the bark 
and young twigs of Salix helix, and Erdmann 300 grains from the same quan- 
tity of the bark of Salix pentandra. It may probably be obtained from any 
of the willow barks having a bitter taste. Braconnot procured it from various 
species of Populus, particularly P. tremula or European aspen. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of the willow is tonic and astringent, 
and has been employed as a substitute for Peruvian bark, particularly in inter- 
mittent fever. It has attracted much attention from the asserted efficacy of sali- 
cin in the cure of this complaint. There seems to be no room to doubt, from 
the testimony of numerous practitioners in France, Italy, and Germany, that this 
principle has the property of arresting intermittents; though the ascription to 
it of equal efficacy with sulphate of quinia was certainly incorrect. Itis asserted 
that, when freely taken, it is passed by the kidneys, and may be separated by 
alcohol from the residue left on the evaporation of the urine. The bark may be 
employed in substance or decoction, in the same doses and with the same mode 
of preparation as cinchona. The dose of salicin is from two to eight grains, to 
be so repeated that from twenty to forty grains may he taken daily, or in the 
interval between the paroxysms of an intermittent. Magendie has seen fevers 
cut short in one day by three doses of six grains each. The decoction of willow 
has been found beneficial as an external application to foul and indolent ulcers. 
Salicylous acid and the salicylites have beenusedin medicine by M. Demartis, 
of France, and have been found to exert a direct sedative influence on the 
economy without any previous excitement, which renders them useful in inflam- 
matory and febrile affections. He gave the salicylite of potassa in the dose of 
about four grains. {Ann.de Therap., 1854, p. 77 ) W. PART J. 
Salvia.—Sambucus. 
767 
SALVIA. U.S 
Sage. 
The leaves of Salvia officinalis. U. S. 
Sauge, Fry Salbey, Germ,.; Salvia, Ital., Span. 
Salvia. Sex. Syst. Diandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Lamiaceae or Labiat®, 
Gen.Ch. Corolla unequal. Filaments affixed transversely to a pedicel. Willd. 
Salvia officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 129; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 352, t. 
12L Common garden sage is a perennial plant, about two feet high, with a 
quadrangular, pubescent, branching, shrubby stem, furnished with opposite, 
petiolate, ovate-lanceolate, crenulate, wrinkled leaves, of a grayish-green colour, 
sometimes tinged with red or purple. The flowers are blue, variegated with 
white and purple; and are disposed on long terminal spikes, in distant whorls, 
each composed of a few flowers, and accompanied with ovate, acute, deciduous 
bractes. The calyx is tubular and striated, with two lips, of which the upper 
has three acute teeth, the under two. The corolla is tubular, bilabiate, ringent, 
with the upper lip concave, and the lower divided into three rounded lobes, of 
which the middle is the largest. The filaments are supported upon short pedicels, 
to which they are affixed transversely at the middle. 
Sage grows spontaneously in the south of Europe, and is cultivated abun- 
dantly in our gardens. There are several varieties, differing in the size and colour 
of their flowers, but all possessing the same medical properties. The flowering 
period is in .June, at which time the plant should be cut, and dried in a shady 
place. The leaves are the officinal portion. 
Both these and the flowering summits have a strong fragrant odour, and a 
warm, bitterish, aromatic, somewhat astringent taste. They abound in a volatile 
oil, which may be obtained separate by distillation with water, and contains a 
considerable proportion of camphor. Sulphate of iron strikes a black colour 
with their infusion. 
Medical. Properties and Uses. Sage unites a slight degree of tonic power and 
astringency with aromatic properties. By the ancients it was highly esteemed; 
but it is at present little used internally, except as a condiment. In the state of 
infusion it may be given in debility of the stomach with flatulence, and is said to 
have been useful in checking the sweats of hectic fever. But its most useful ap- 
plication is as a garglein inflammation of the throat, and relaxation of the uvula. 
For this purpose it is usually employed in infusion, with honey and alum, or vin- 
egar. The dose of the powdered leaves is from twenty to thirty grains. The 
infusion is prepared by macerating an ounce of the leaves in a pint of boiling 
water, of which two fluidounces may be administered at once. When intended 
merely as a pleasant drink in febrile complaints, or to allay nausea, the macera- 
tion should continue but a very short time, so that all the bitterness of the 
leaves may not be extracted. 
Two other species of Salvia—S.pratensis and S. Sclarea—are ranked among 
officinal plants in Europe. The latter, which is commonly called clarry, has 
been introduced into our gardens. Their medical properties are essentially the 
same as those of the common sage; but they are less agreeable, and are not 
much used. In Europe, the leaves of S. Sclarea are said to be introduced into 
wine in order to impart to it a muscadel taste. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Salviae, U. S. W. 
SAMBUCUS. US. 
Elder. 
The flowers of Sambucus Canadensis. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SAMBTJCI FLORES. Elder Flowers. The fresh Flowers of 
Sambucus nigra. Br. 
Sureau, Fry Hollander, Germ.; Sambuco, Italy Sauco, Span. 768 
Sambucus. 
PART 1. 
Sambucus. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Trigynia.— Nat. Ord. Caprifoliaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corollai five-cleft. Berry three-seeded. Willd. 
Sambucus Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1494. Our indigenous com.non 
elder is a shrub from six to ten feet high, with a branching stem, covered with 
a rough gray bark, and containing a large spongy pith The small branches 
and leafstalks are very smooth. The leaves are opposite, pinnate, sometimes 
bipinnate, and composed usually of three or four pairs of oblong-oval, acumi- 
nate, smooth, shining, deep-green leaflets, the midribs of which are somewhat 
pubescent. The flowers are small, white, and disposed in loose cymes, having 
about five divisions. The berries are small, globular, and deep-purple when riue. 
The shrub grows in low moist grounds, along fences, and on the borders of 
small streams, in all parts of the United States, from Canada to the Carolinas, 
and westward as far as Texas. It flowers from May to July, and ripens its 
fruit early in autumn. The flowers, which arc officinal, have an aromatic, though 
rather heavy odour. The berries as well as other parts of the plant are employed, 
in domestic practice, for the same purposes as the corresponding parts of the 
European elder, to which this species bears a close affinity. 
Sambucus nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1495 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 596, t. 211. 
The common elder of Europe differs from the American most obviously in its 
size, which approaches to that of a small tree. The stem is much branched 
towards the top, and has a rough whitish bark. The leaves are pinnate, con* 
sisting usually of five oval, pointed, serrate leaflets, four of which are in op* 
posite pairs, and the fifth terminal. The flowers are small, whitish, and in 
five-parted cymes. The berries are globular, and blackish-purple when ripe. 
A fungus growing on this plant, called fungus sambuci, had a century since 
some reputation in Europe as a refrigerant in ophthalmia, and has recently been 
revived as a remedy in the same disease. It was ascertained by Steckel, an 
apothecary of N. Germany, to have an extraordinary power, when immersed 
in water, of absorbing that fluid, so as to increase its weight sevenfold; ar.d, 
if long immersed, it is capable of taking up from 9 to 12 times its weight. It 
has, besides, the property of retaining the absorbed water very adhesively. 
This property adapts it admirably to the local treatment of conjunctivitis; and 
on trial it has been found successful where the ordinary applications have 
proved fruitless. (Neues Repert., xiii. 476, A.D. 1864.) 
The flowers have a peculiar sweetish odour, which is strong in their recent 
state, but becomes feeble by drying. Their taste is bitterish. They yield their 
active properties to water by infusion, and when distilled give over a small pro- 
portion of volatile oil, which on cooling assumes a butyraeeous consistence. 
Water distilled from them contains an appreciable portion of ammonia. The 
berries are nearly inodorous, but have a swTeetish, acidulous taste, dependent on 
the presence of saccharine matter and malic acid. Their expressed juice is sus- 
ceptible of fermentation, and forms a vinous liquid used in the north of Europe 
It is coloured violet by alkalies, and bright red by acids; and the colouring 
matter is precipitated blue by acetate of lead. The inner bark is without smell. 
Its taste is at first sweetish, afterwards slightly bitter, acrid, and nauseous. 
Both water and alcohol extract its virtues, which are said to reside especially 
in the green layer between the liber and epidermis. According to Simon, the 
active principle of the inner bark of the root is a soft resin, which may be ob- 
tained by exhausting the powdered bark with alcohol, filtering the tincture, eva- 
porating to the consistence of syrup, then adding ether, which dissolves the 
active matter, and finally evaporating to the consistence of a thick extract. Of 
this, twenty grains produce brisk vomiting and purging. (Annul, der Charm., 
xxxi. 262.) The bark, analyzed by Kramer, yielded an acid called by him vibur- 
nic acid, which has proved to be the valerianic, traces of volatile oil, albumen, 
resin, an acid sulphurous fat, wax, chlorophyll, tannic acid, grape sugar, gum, 
extractive, starch, pectin, and various alkaline and earthy salts. (Chem. Gaz., 
May, 1846; from Archiv. der Pharm.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The flowers are gently excitant and sudorific, PART I. 
Sambucus.—Sanguinaria. 
769 
but are seldom used, except externally as a discutient, in the form of poultice, 
fomentation, or ointment. The berries are diaphoretic and aperient; and their 
inspissated juice has enjoyed some reputation as a remedy in rheumatic, gouty, 
eruptive, and syphilitic affections. Its dose as an alterative diaphoretic is one or 
two drachms, as a laxative half an ounce or more. The inner bark is a hydra- 
gogue cathartic, and in large doses emetic. It has been employed in dropsy, 
epilepsy, and as an alterative in various chronic diseases. An ounce may be 
boiled with two pints of water to a pint, and four fluidounces of the decoction 
given for a dose. It is also used in vinous infusion. The leaves are not without 
activity, and the young leaf-buds are said to be a violent and even unsafe purga- 
tive. The juice of the root has been highly recommended in dropsy as a hydra- 
gogue cathartic, sometimes acting as an emetic, in the dose of a tablespoonful, 
repeated every day, or less frequently if it act with violence.* 
Off. Prep. Aqua Sambuci, Br. W. 
SANGUINARIA. U.S. 
Bloodroot. 
£ 
The rhizome of Sanguinaria Canadensis. U. S. 
Sanguinaria. Sex.Syst. PolyandriaMonogynia.— Nat.Ord. Papaverace® 
Gen. Ch. Calyx two-leaved. Petals eight. Stigma sessile, two-grooved. 
Capsule superior, oblong, one-celled, two-valved, apex attenuated. Peceptacles 
two, filiform, marginal. Nuttall. 
Sanguinaria Canadensis. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1140; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. i. *15; Barton, Med. Bot. i. 31. The bloodroot, or, as it is sometimes called, 
puccoon, is an herbaceous perennial plant. The root (rhizoma) is horizontal, 
abrupt, often contorted, about as thick as the finger, two or three inches long, 
fleshy, of a reddish-brown colour on the outside, and brighter red within. It is 
furnished with numerous slender radicles,and makes offsets from the sides,which 
succeed the old plant. From the end of the root arise the scape and leafstalks, 
surrounded by the large sheaths of the bud. These spring up together, the 
folded leaf enveloping the flower-bud, and rolling back as the latter expands. 
The leaf, which stands upon a long channeled petiole, is reniform, somewhat 
heart-shaped, deeply lobed, smooth, yellowish-green on the upper surface, paler 
or glaucous on the under, and strongly marked by orange-coloured veins. The 
scape is erect, round, and smooth, rising from a few inches to a foot, and ter- 
minating in a single flower. The calyx is two-leaved and deciduous. The petals, 
varying from seven to fourteen, but usually about eight in number, are spread- 
ing, ovate, obtuse, concave, mostly white, but sometimes slightly tinged with 
rose or purple. The stamens are numerous, with yellow filaments shorter than 
the corolla, and orange oblong anthers. The germ is oblong and compressed, 
with a sessile, persistent stigma. The capsule is oblong, acute at both ends, two- 
valved, and contains numerous oval, reddish-brown seeds. The whole plant is 
pervaded by an orange-coloured sap, which flows from every part when broken, 
but is of the deepest colour in the root. 
The bloodroot is one of the earliest and most beautiful spring flowers of North 
America. It grows abundantly throughout the whole United States, delighting 
in loose, rich soils, and shady situations, and flowering in March and April. After 
the fall of the flower, the leaves continue to grow, and, by the middle of summer, 
have become so large as to give the plant an entirely different aspect. Except 
the seeds, all parts of the plant are active; but the root only is officinal. 
* Dr. B. H. Stratton, of Mount Holly, N. J., has found a syrup prepared from the ber- 
ries useful as an alterative, employing it in all cases to which sarsaparilla is thought to 
be applicable. To prepare the syrup, he mixes the juice of the berries and sugar, in the 
proportion of a pint of the former to a pound of the latter, boils sufficiently, and adds to 
each pint of the syrup an ounce of the strongest brandy. The syrup must be kept in well- 
closed bottles in a cool place. The dose is from a dessertspoonful to a tablespoonful three 
times a day. (N. J. Med. Reporter, vii. 446.) 770 
Sanguinaria. 
PART I. 
This, when dried, is in pieces from one to three inches long, from a quarter 
to half an inch or more in thickness, flattened, muoh wrinkled and twisted, often 
furnished with abrupt offsets and many short fibres, of a reddish-brown colour 
externally, with a spongy uneven fracture, the surface of which is at first bright- 
orange, but becomes of a dull-brown by long exposure. The colour of the 
powder is a brownish orange-red. Sanguinaria has a faint narcotic odour, and 
a bitterish very acrid taste, the pungency of which remains long in the mouth 
and fauces. It yields its virtues to water and alcohol. The late Dr. Dana, of 
New York, obtained from it a peculiar alkaline principle, denominated by him 
sanguinarina, upon which the acrimony, and perhaps the medical virtues of 
the root depend. It may be procured, according to Dana, by infusing the finely 
powdered root in hot water or diluted muriatic or acetic acid, precipitating 
with water of ammonia, collecting the precipitated matter, boiling it in water 
with pure animal charcoal, filtering off the water, treating the residue left upon 
the filter with alcohol, and finally evaporating the alcoholic solution. {Ann. 
Lyc. of Nat. Hist., New York, ii. 250.) It may also be conveniently procured 
by a process similar to that employed by Probst for obtaining chelerythrin 
from celandine. This consists in forming a strong ethereal tincture of the root, 
passing through this muriatic acid gas, drying the precipitated muriate which is 
insoluble in ether, dissolving it in hot water, filtering, precipitating by ammonia, 
drying the precipitate, dissolving it in ether, decolorizing by animal charcoal, 
precipitating by means of muriatic acid gas, and decomposing the muriate as 
before. {Chem. Gaz., i. 145.) Dr. James Schiel, of St. Louis, Missouri, who has 
determined the identity of sanguinarina with chelerythrin, gives the following 
as the simplest process of preparing either alkaloid. Digest the root with water 
strongly acidulated with sulphuric acid; precipitate with ammonia, dry the pre- 
cipitate, dissolve it in ether, treat with animal charcoal, filter, and precipitate 
with sulphuric acid dissolved in ether. A pure sulphate is thus obtained, which 
maybe decomposed in the ordinary method, to obtain the alkaloid. {Silliman's 
Journ., Sept. 1855.) Sanguinarina is a white pearly substance, of an acrid taste, 
very sparingly soluble in water, soluble in ether, and very soluble in alcohol. 
With the acids it forms salts soluble in water, all of which have some shade of 
red, crimson, or scarlet, and form beautiful red solutions. They are acrid and 
pungent to the taste, particularly the muriate and acetate. From these facts it 
would appear that the red colour and acrid properties of the bloodroot may be 
owing to the presence of some native salt of sanguinarina, which is decomposed 
by ammonia in the separation of the organic alkali. The formula of sanguinarina 
is C3,H16NOg. A second alkaloid has been extracted from bloodroot by Riegel, 
and is considered by him as analogous to the porphyroxin found by Merck in 
opium.* {Chem. Gaz., iv. 198.) Mr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, has discovered 
a third alkaloid, which he found in the ether after the precipitation of the sul- 
phate of sanguinarina in the process of Dr. Schiel. It is pale-red, tasteless, in- 
soluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, and unites with muriatic and sul- 
phuric acids to form crystallizable compounds, of a deep-red colour. {Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxviii. 522.) Dr. Gibb proposes for this principle the name of puc- 
cin. According to that writer, bloodroot contains, besides the three alkaloids, 
referred to, chelidonic acid, fecula, sugar, albumen, resin, fixed oil, gum, ex- 
* This alkaloid was obtained by treating the root with water acidulated with acetic acid, 
precipitating the sanguinarina by ammonia, neutralizing the “wash-water” by acetic 
acid, precipitating by infusion of galls, digesting the precipitate previously washed and 
dried in an alcoholic "solution of potassa, passing carbonic acid through the solution, and 
distilling oif the alcohol. The residue was exhausted with water, the liquid evaporated, 
and what remained extracted by ether, which yielded it, on evaporation, in the form of 
a dirty-white crystalline mass. By dissolving this in alcohol, decolorizing with animal 
charcoal, and crystallizing, it was obtained in colourless tabular crystals, without taste 
or smell, very sparingly soluble in water, more readily soluble in alcohol, and forming with 
the acids colourless, bitter, crystallizable salts, soluble in water. (Chern. Gaz., iv. 198.) 
Dr. Geo. D. Gibb, of London, who has made a partial analysis of the root, denies the iden- 
tity of this principle with porphyroxin. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1860, p. 46.) It awaits 
further investigation, and a proper name. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART I. 
Sanguinaria. 
771 
tractive, and lignin. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1860, p. 461.) The virtues of the 
root are said to be rapidly deteriorated by time. Mr. Thos. M. Newbold has 
extracted from sanguinaria an organic acid, which, though agreeing with cheli- 
donic acid in some of its characteristics, differs in others, and must, therefore, 
be considered a distinct principle. According to Mr. Newbold, it is a non-vola- 
tile liquid ; and he proposes for it the name of sanguinarinic acid. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., Nov. 1866, p. 496.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sanguinaria is an acrid emetic, with stimulant 
narcotic powers. In small doses it excites the stomach, and accelerates the cir- 
culation; more largely given, produces nausea and consequent depression of 
the pulse; and in the full dose occasions active vomiting. It is also expecto- 
rant, and is said to be emmenagogue. The effects of an overdose are violent eme- 
sis, a burning sensation in the stomach, tormenting thirst, faintness, vertigo, 
dimness of vision, and alarming prostration. Four persons lost their lives at 
Bellevue Hospital, New York, in consequence of drinking largely of tincture of 
bloodroot, which they mistook for ardent spirit. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. 
S., ii. 506.) Snuffed up the nostrils, bloodroot excites much irritation, attended 
with sneezing. Upon fungous surfaces it acts as an escharotic. It has been given 
in typhoid pneumonia, catarrh, pertussis, croup, phthisis pulmonalis, hydrotho- 
rax, scarlatina, rheumatism, jaundice, dyspepsia, amenorrhcea, dysmenorrhoea, 
and other affections, either as an emetic, nauseant, alterative, or emmenagogue; 
and its virtues are highly praised by many judicious practitioners. Dr. Mothers- 
head, of Indianapolis, speaks in the strongest terms of its efficacy as an excitant 
to the liver, given in alterative doses. (See Wood's Quart. Petrosp., ii. 80.) 
The dose with a view to its emetic operation is from ten to twenty grains, 
given in powder or pill. The latter form is preferable, in consequence of the 
great irritation of throat produced by the powder when swallowed. For other 
purposes the dose is from one to five grains, repeated more or less frequently 
according to the effect desired. The medicine is sometimes given in infusion or 
decoction, in the proportion of half an ounce to the pint. The emetic dose of this 
preparation is from half a fluidounce to a fluidounce. The tincture is officinal.* 
A fluid extract may be prepared in the same manner as the officinal fluid ex- 
tract of ergot. (See Extractum Ergotse Fluidum.) One fluidrachm represents 
the virtues of sixty grains of the root; and the emetic dose, therefore, would be 
from ten to twenty minims. An infusion in vinegar has been employed advan- 
tageously, as a local application, in obstinate cutaneous affections; and Dr. R. 
G. Jennings has found it more efficient as a gargle, in the sorethroat of scarla- 
tina, than any other that he has employed. (Stethoscope, ii. 182.) It has been 
used also in diphtheria. Dr. Stephens, of Ceres, New York, has found the pow- 
der useful as an errhine, in coryza, combined with cloves and camphor. (N. Y. 
Journ. of Med., N. S., iv. 358.) Mixed with chloride of zinc, and made into a 
paste with flour and water, it has been used by Dr. J. W. Fell as a local remedy 
in cancer, with asserted success 
In reference to the effects of sanguinarina, the late Dr.Wm. Tully found it, in 
large doses, to produce vertigo, dilatation of the pupil, a haggard expression of 
face, nausea, coldness of the extremities, cold sweats, and diminished frequency 
with irregularity of the pulse. The late Prof. R. P. Thomas, of Philadelphia, 
who experimented with it on himself and others, in medicinal doses, using both 
the alkaloid and its salts, gave the following statement of its powers. In doses 
varying from one-twelfth to one-eighth of a grain, it acted as an expectorant, 
without disturbing the stomach. One-sixth or one-fourth of a grain, given every 
* Mr. T. S. Wiegand proposes the following formula for a syrwp of bloodroot. Take of 
the root in coarse powder acetic acid fgiv, water Ov, sugar ibij. Add to the powder 
two fluidounces of the acetic acid mixed with a pint of the water, macerate for three daps, 
transfer to a percolator, and displace with the remainder of the water mixed with the re- 
mainder of the acetic acid. Evaporate the infusion obtained, by means of a water-bath, 
to eighteen fluidounces, then add the sugar, and form a syrup, straining if necessary. 
From one to two fluidrachms should operate as an emetic. (Am. Journ. of Pharrn., xxvi. 
108.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 772 
Sanguinaria.—Sanlalum.—Santonica. 
PART 1. 
two or three hours, generally produced nausea, and sometimes vomited. Hall 
a grain in solution, given at intervals of ten minutes, almost invariably vomited 
after the second or third dose. Under the influence of one eighth or one-sixth 
of a grain, given every three hours, for two days or more, the pulse was generally 
reduced from five to fifteen beats in the minute. He found no alterative effect, 
and none of any kind directly upon the liver. (Proceedings of the Am. Med. 
Assoc., A.D. 1863, p. 219.) 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Sanguinariae, TJ. S. W. 
SANT ALUM. U.S. 
Red Saunders. 
The wood of Pterocarpus santalinus. TJ. S. 
Off.Syn. PTEROCARPI LIGNUM. Red Sandal-Wood. The wood of 
Pterocarpus santalinus. From Ceylon. Br. 
Santal rouge, Fr.; Santelholz, Germ. 
Pterocarpus. Sex.Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.—Nat. Ord. Fabaceae or 
Leguminosae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-toothed. Legume falcated, leafy, varicose, girted by a 
wing, not gaping. Seeds solitary. Willd. 
Pterocarpus santalinus. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 906 ; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 
430,1.156. This is a large tree with alternate branches, and petiolate ternate 
leaves, each simple leaf being ovate, blunt, somewhat notched at the apex, en- 
tire, veined, smooth on the upper surface, and hoary beneath. The flowers are 
yellow in axillary spikes, and have a papilionaceous corolla, of which the vexil- 
lum is obcordate, erect, somewhat reflexed at the sides, toothed and waved, the 
alee spreading with their edges apparently toothed, and the carina oblong, short, 
and somewhat inflated. The tree is a native of India, attaining the highest 
perfection in mountainous districts, and inhabiting especially the mountains of 
Coromandel and Ceylon. Its wood is the officinal red saunders, though there 
is reason to believe that the product of other trees is sold by the same name. 
The wood comes in roundish or angular billets, internally of a blood-red 
colour, externally brown from exposure, compact, heavy, and fibrous. It is kept 
in the shops in the state of small chips, raspings, or coarse powder. 
Red saunders has little smell or taste. It imparts a red colour to alcohol, 
ether, and alkaline solutions, but not to water; and a test is thus afforded by 
which it may be distinguished from some other colouring woods The alcoholic 
tincture produces a deep-violet precipitate with sulphate of iron, a scarlet with 
bichloride of mercury, and a violet with the soluble salts of lead. The colour- 
ing principle, which was separated by Pelletier, and called by him santalin, is 
of a resinous character, scarcely soluble in cold water, more so in boiling water, 
very soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic acid, and alkaline solutions, but slightly in 
the fixed and volatile oils, with the exception of those of lavender and rose- 
mary, which readily dissolve it. It is precipitated when acids are added to the 
infusion of the wood, prepared with an alkaline solution. Wevermann and 
Hcefferly have found it to possess acid properties. For an analysis of red san- 
dal wood bv Mr. H. Dussance, New Lebanon, New York, the reader is referred 
to the Am. Journ. of Pharm (Jan. 1860, p. 6). The wood has no medical vir- 
tues, and is employed solely for the purpose of imparting colour. 
Off. Prep. Spiritus Lavandulae Compositus, U.S.; Tinctura Cinchonae Com- 
posita, U. S.; Tinct. Lavandulae Comp., Br.; Tinet. Rhei et Sennae, U. S. W. 
SANTONICA. U.S., Br. 
Santonica. Levant Wormseed. 
ft 
The unexpanded flowers ami -podnnA»o of Artemisia-Contra,-and of othsr 
epoeioe-of Art-omLia. £7.5'. The unexpanded flower-heads of an undetermined 
species of Artemisia. Imported from Russia. Br. PART I. 
Santonica.—Sapo. 
773 
European Wormseed. Santonici Semen. Semen Cynse. Semen Contra. 
This product, though discarded from the Dublin Pharmacopoeia of 1850, has 
been recognised in the British Pharmacopoeia, as well as in the late edition of 
our own. It was formerly ascribed by the Dublin College, in accordance with 
the general belief at one time, to Artemisia Santonica or Tartarian southern- 
wood; but upon insufficient grounds. European wormseed is of two kinds; one 
called the Aleppo, Alexandria, or Levant wormseed, the other Barbary worm- 
seed. The former is supposed to be the product of Artemisia Contra, which 
grows in Persia, Asia Minor, and other parts of the East.’ It consists in fact not 
of the seeds, but of the small globular unexpanded flowers of the plant, mixed 
with their broken peduncles, and with minute, obtuse, smooth leaves. It has a 
greenish colour, a very strong aromatic odour increased by friction, and a very 
bitter disagreeable taste. The Barbary wormseed is thought by some to be de- 
rived from Artemisia Judaica, by others from the A. glomerata of Sieber, both 
of which grow in Palestine and Arabia. It consists of broken peduncles, having 
the calyx sometimes attached to their extremity. The calyx is also sometimes 
separate, consisting of very small linear obtuse leaflets. The flowers are want- 
ing, or in the shape of minute globular buds. All these parts are covered with 
a whitish down, which serves to distinguish this variety from the wormseed of 
the Levant. It is, moreover, lighter and more coloured than the latter. Its 
smell and taste are the same. It is the former variety which is recognised by 
the two Pharmacopoeias. The British gives the following description of the 
medicine. “ Flower-heads rather more than a line in length and nearly half a 
line in breadth, fusiform, blunt at each end, pale greenish-brown, smooth; re- 
sembling seeds in appearance, but consisting of imbricated involucral scales with 
a green midrib, enclosing four or five tubular flowers.” 
Wormseed contains a volatile oil and a resinous extractive matter, to which 
its virtues have been ascribed. But it probably owes its efficiency, in a greater 
degree, to a peculiar principle called santonin. This is crystallizable, colour- 
less, tasteless but leaving a slight sense of acrimony in the mouth, inodorous, 
soluble in ether and alcohol, and nearly insoluble in water. Its alcoholic solution 
has a decided bitterness. Though neuter in its action upon test-paper, it com- 
bines with the alkalies to form soluble and crystallizable salts. Having been 
adopted by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, with processes for its preparation, 
it will be treated of more fully in the second part of the work. (See Santoninum.) 
The two kinds of wormseed above described have long been celebrated as a 
vermifuge; and the title of semen contra, by which they are designated in many 
works on pharmacy, originated in their anthelmintic property. Theirmfluence on 
the system is not very striking. A curious effect, however, is recorded as having 
resulted from a large dose of wormseed, which was ascribed to the santonin. 
Several individuals of a family who had taken the remedy as a vermifuge, along 
with the expected results, were affected with a change in the perception of colours, 
red being converted into orange, and blue into green. {Ann. de Therap., A. D. 
1852, p. 234.) Santonica may be given in powder or infusion. The dose in sub- 
stance is from ten to thirty grains,which should be repeated morning and evening 
for several days, and then followed by a brisk cathartic. It is little used in this 
country,having given place to the seeds of Chenopodium anthelminticum, which 
are universally known among us by the name of wormseed. In Europe it has 
been superseded, to a considerable extent, by santonin, which is much employed. 
Off. Prep. Santoninum. W. 
SAPO. US. 
Soap. 
Soap made with soda and olive oil. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. SAPO DTJRUS. Hard Soap. Soap made with olive oil and soda. 
Hr 
Savon blanc, Fr.; Oel-sodaseife Germ..; Sapone duro, Ital.; Xabon, Span. 774 
Sapo, 
PART L 
SAPO MOLLIS. Br. 
Soft Soap. 
Soap made with olive oil and potash. Br. 
Savon mou, Savon vert, Savon a base de potasse, Fr.; Sehmierseife, Kaliseife, Germ. 
Soaps embrace all those compounds which result from the reaction of salifia- 
ble bases with fats and oils. Fats and oils, as has been explained under the 
titles Adeps and Olea,'consist generally of three principles, two solid, differing 
in fusibility, called stearin and margarin, and one liquid, called olein, of which 
there are two varieties. Stearin is found most abundantly in fats which are firm 
and solid, as suet and tallow; margarin in human fat; and olein in the oils. 
When the fats and oils undergo saponification by reaction with a salifiable base, 
these three principles are decomposed into oily acids peculiar to each, discovered 
by Chevreul, and called stearic, margaric, and oleic acids, which unite with the 
base to form the soap, and into a sweet principle not saponifiable, called glyce- 
rin, which is set free. Hence it follows that stearin is a stearate, margarin a 
•margarate, and olein an oleate of glycerin, and that the fats and oils are mix- 
tures of these three oily salts. Hence, also, it is obvious that soaps are mixed 
stearates, margarates, and oleates of various bases. Stearic acid is a firm white 
solid, like wax, fusible at 167°, greasy to the touch, pulverizable, soluble in alco- 
hol, very soluble in ether, but insoluble in water. In the impure state it is used 
as a substitute for wax in making candles. Margaric acid has the appearance 
of fat, and is fusible at 140°. Oleic acid is an oily liquid, insoluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, lighter than water, crystallizable in needles a little 
below 32°, and having a slight smell and pungent taste. Glycerin will be de- 
scribed under a separate head. (See Glycenna.) 
Soaps are divided into the soluble and insoluble. The soluble soaps are com- 
binations of the oily acids with soda, potassa, and ammonia ; the insoluble con- 
sist of the same acids united with earths and metallic oxides. It is the soluble 
soaps only that are detergent, and to which the name soap is usually applied. 
Several of the insoluble soaps are employed in pharmacy; as, for example, the 
soap of the protoxide of lead, or lead plaster, and the soap of lime, or lime lini- 
ment. (See Emplastrum Plumbi and Linimentum Calcis.) The two officinal 
soaps, here described, are of the soluble kind. One is a soda soap, made with 
olive oil (Castile soap), the other a potassa soap (soft soap). The soap of am- 
monia is noticed elsewhere. (See Linimentum Ammonix.) 
The consistency of the fixed alkaline soaps depends partly on the nature of 
the oil or fat, and partly on the alkali present. Soaps are harder the more 
stearate and margarate they contain, and softer when the oleate predominates; 
and, as it respects the alkali present, they are harder when formed with soda, 
and softer when containing potassa. Hence it is that of pure soaps, considered 
as salts, stearate of soda is the hardest and least soluble, and oleate of potassa 
the softest and most soluble. 
Preparation. The following is an outline of the process for making soap. 
The oil or fat is boiled with a solution of caustic alkali, until the whole forms 
a thick mass, which can be drawn out into long clear threads. After the soap 
is completely formed, the next step is to separate it from the excess of alkali, 
the glycerin, and redundant water. This is effected by adding common salt, or 
a very strong alkaline lye, in either of which the soap is insoluble. The same 
end may be attained by boiling down the solution until the excess of alkali 
forms a strong alkaline solution, which acts the same part in separating the 
soap as the addition of a similar solution. As soon as the soap is completely 
separated, it rises to the surface; and, when it has ceased to froth in boiling, it 
is ladled out into wooden frames to congeal, after which it is cut into bars by 
means of a wire. The soap, as first separated, is called grain soap. It may be 
purified by dissolving it in an alkaline lye, and separating it by common salt. 
During this process the impurities subside, and the soap combines with more PART I 
Sapo 
775 
water; and hence it becomes weaker, although purer and whiter. If the grain 
soap is not purified it forms marbled soap; the coloured streaks arising princi- 
pally from an insoluble soap of oxidized iron. Sometimes the marbled appear- 
ance is produced by adding to the soap, as soon as it is completely separated, a 
fresh portion of lye, and immediately afterwards a solution of sulphate of iron. 
The black oxide of iron is precipitated, and gives rise to dark-coloured streaks, 
which, by exposure to the air, become red in consequence of the conversion of 
the black into the sesquioxide of iron. For an account of the process of Mr. 
R. A. Tilghman, of this city, patented in 1854, for manufacturing soap by sub- 
jecting a mixture of fatty matters and a solution of carbonated alkali to a high 
temperature under pressure, see the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxvii. 121). 
The officinal soap (Sapo, U. S.; Sapo Durus, Br.) is an olive oil soda soap, 
made on the same general plan as that just explained. 
Common Soap (Sapo Vulgaris, U. S. 1850) is also a soda soap; but, instead 
of olive oil, it contains concrete animal oil. This soap corresponds with the white 
soap of northern European countries and of the United States, and is formed 
usually from barilla and tallow. In Scotland it is manufactured from kelp and 
tallow. It was introduced into the list of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia as the only 
proper soap for making opodeldoc ; but, as this preparation has been discarded 
in the existing edition, this variety of soap has been dismissed along with it. 
Soft Soap (Sapo Mollis, Br.) is prepared on the same general principles as 
hard soap; potash being employed as the alkali, and a fatty matter rich in 
olein, as the oil. The French soft soap is made with the seed oils, such as rape- 
seed, hemp-seed, &c.; the Scotch and Irish, with fish oil and some tallow ; and 
our own with refuse fat and grease. A lye of wood-ashes is the form of potash 
usually employed. In forming the soap it is necessary that it should continue 
dissolved in the alkaline solution, instead of being separated from it. Hence 
soft soap is a soap of potassa, completely dissolved in the solution of its alkali, 
which is consequently present in excess. A soap of potassa is sometimes made 
with a view to its conversion into a soda soap. This is effected by the addition 
of an equivalent quantity of common salt, which, by double decomposition, gen- 
erates a soap of soda, and chloride of potassium in solution. After this change 
is effected, a further addition of salt separates the soda soap formed. Soft soap 
"is said to be largely adulterated in France with starch, which very much im- 
proves its appearance. The fraud may be instantly detected by means of the 
microscope, which will reveal the starch granules. {Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., 
v. 179.) 
Besides the officinal soaps of the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, there are 
many other varieties, more or less used for medicinal or economical purposes. 
The officinal soap of the French Codex (1837), called amygdaline soap {almond 
oil soap), is formed of caustic soda and almond oil, and is directed to be kept 
for two months exposed to the air, before being used. Starkey's soap, also 
officinal in the Codex, is prepared by uniting, by trituration, equal parts of car- 
bonate of potassa, oil of turpentine, and Venice turpentine. Beef's marrow 
soap is a fine animal oil soap, also included in the French standard of phar- 
macy. Windsor soap is a scented soda soap, made of one part of olive oil and 
nine parts of tallow. Eau de luce {aqua lucise) is a kind of liquid soap, formed 
by mixing a tincture of oil of amber and balsam of Gilead with water of am- 
monia. Transparent soap is prepared by saponifying kidney fat with soda free 
from foreign salts, drying the resulting soap, dissolving it in alcohol, filtering 
and evaporating the solution, and running it into moulds when sufficiently con- 
centrated. The soap is yellow or yellowish-brown, and preserves its transparency 
after desiccation. Palm soap is prepared from soda and palm oil, to which tal- 
low is added to increase its firmness. If it be wanted white, the palm oil may 
be bleached by heat, bichromate of potassa with sulphuric acid, chlorine, or ex- 
posure to the sun. This soap has a yellowish colour, and the agreeable odour ol 
violets derived from the oil. Soap balls are prepared by dissolving soap in a 
little water, and then forming it with starch into a mass of the proper consist- 776 
Sapo. 
PART L 
ence Common yellow soap (rosin soap) derives its peculiarities from an ad- 
mixture of rosin and a little palm oil with the tallow employed ; the oil being 
added to improve its colour. Silicate of soda has, to some extent, been substi- 
tuted for rosin, as more economical. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1863, p. 466.' 
Large quantities of lard oil (nearly pure olein) are manufactured into soap.* 
All the varieties of soap, except a few of the fancy sort and the olive oil 
soaps, are manufactured in the United States. The latter, which are chiefly 
used for medicinal purposes, are imported from France. 
Properties. Soap, whatever may be its variety, has the same general proper- 
ties. Its aspect and consistence are familiar to every one. Its smell is pecu- 
liar, and taste slightly alkaline. It is somewhat heavier than water, and there- 
fore sinks in that liquid. Exposed to heat it quickly fuses, swells up, and is 
decomposed. It is soluble in water, and more readily in hot than in cold. 
Potassa soaps and those containing oleic acid are far more soluble than the 
soda soaps, especially those in which the stearates and margarates predominate. 
Acids, added to an aqueous solution of soap, combine with the alkali, and set 
free the oily acids, which, being diffused through the water, give it a milky 
appearance. Its decomposition is also produced by metallic salts, which inva- 
riably give rise to insoluble soaps. Soap is soluble in cold, and abundantly in 
boiling alcohol. This solution constitutes the tincture of soap), and forms a very 
convenient test for discovering lime in natural waters. As the tincture some- 
times gelatinizes, it is proposed by M. Bjorklund to remedy this inconvenience 
by employing soap in the nascent state, that is, containing a large proportion of 
water. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., ii. 119, A. D. 1865.) The efficacy of soap as 
a detergent depends upon its power of rendering grease and other soiling sub- 
stances soluble in water, and therefore capable of being removed by washing. 
The chief adulterations in soap are lime, gypsum, heavy spar, steatite, and pipe- 
clay. When adulterated with these substances, it will not be entirely soluble in 
alcohol. According to Dr. Riegel glue is an occasional adulteration in Spanish 
soap, discoverable also by its insolubility in alcohol. The same impurity is 
sometimes found in other soaps.f 
Olive oil soda soap (Sapo), otherwise called Castile or Spanish soap, is a 
hard soap, and is presented under two principal varieties, the white and the mar- 
bled. White Castile soap, when good, is of a pale gravish-white colour, incapa- 
ble of giving an oily stain to paper, devoid of rancid odour or strong alkaline 
qualities, and entirely soluble both in wTater and alcohol. It should not feel 
greasy, nor grow moist, but, on the contrary, should become dry by exposure to 
the air, without exhibiting any saline efflorescence. This variet}7 of soap contains 
about 21 per cent, of water. Sometimes it contains a larger proportion of water, 
with which the soap is made to combine by the manufacturer, with the fraudu- 
lent intention of increasing its weight. Soap, thus adulterated, is known by its 
unusual whiteness, and by its suffering a great loss of weight in a dry air. The 
proportion of water may be ascertained by introducing the soap into a saturated 
solution of chloride of sodium, and boiling; when the soap, nearly free from 
water, concretes into a solid mass. Marbled Castile soap is harder, more alka- 
line, and more constant in its composition than the other variety. It contains 
about 14 per cent, of water. Having less w ater than the white Castile, it is a 
stronger and more economical soap ; but at the same time less pure. The im- 
purity arises from the veins of marbling, consisting of ferruginous matter, as 
already explained. Soap made with animal fat, with the probable addition of 
* Upon the supposition that the detergent property of soap depends exclusively on the 
alkali it contains, and is consequently proportionate to the quantity of that ingredient 
a mode of estimating the relative value of soaps has been suggested by E. Graeger, based 
on the equivalent of the fatty constituent; tho3e soaps being the strongest, of which the 
acid has the lowest combining number. (See Am. Journ. ofPharm., July, 1861, p. 355.) 
f For a mode of estimating the impurities in soap by the volumetric method, by which 
the character of any sample of soap may be hastily ascertained, with sufficient accuracy 
for ordinary purposes, see a paper, by M. Pons, in the Journ. de Pharm. etde Chim. (4e 
ser., i. 290j.—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I 
Sapo 
777 
silicate of soda, has been sold for Castile soap. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., March, 
1864, p 102.) 
Animal oil soda soap (Sapo Vulgaris) is a hard soap, of a white colour, in- 
clining to yellow. It is made from tallow and caustic soda. This soap possesses 
the same general properties as the olive oil soda soap. 
Soft soap (Sapo Mollis), as made in this country, is semi-fluid, slippery, capa- 
ble of being poured from one vessel to another, and of a dirty-brownish-yellow 
colour. This soap always contains an excess of alkali, which causes it to act 
more powerfully as a detergent than hard soap. It also contains the glycerin 
of the fatty matters, which is always separated from hard soap. In the Br„ 
Pharmacopoeia it is directed to be made from olive oil and potash; but Dr. 
Pereira states that he has not been able to meet with it in England. That made 
in France has a greenish colour and the consistence of soft ointment, and is com- 
posed of hempseed oil and potash. It is called, in the French Codex, savon 
vert. Sometimes it is manufactured from the dregs of olive oil. 
Incompatibles. Soap is decomposed by all the acids, earths, and earthy and 
metallic salts. Acids combine with the alkali, and set free the oily acids of the 
soap; the earths unite with the oily acids and separate the alkali; while the 
earthy and metallic salts give rise, by double decomposition, to an insoluble 
soap of their base, and a saline combination between their acid and the alkali 
of the soap. Hard waters, in consequence of their containing salts of lime, de- 
compose and curdle soap. They may be rendered soft, and fit for washing, by 
adding sufficient carbonate of soda or of potassa to precipitate all the lime. 
Composition. It has been already explained that soap consists of certain oily 
acids, united with an alkali. As olive oil is a compound of margarin and olein, 
so the officinal “soap ” is a mixed margarate and oleate of soda. The former 
officinal “common soap” is principally a stearate of soda; and “ soft soap,” as 
defined in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, is a mixed margarate and oleate of potassa. 
The most important soaps have the following composition in the hundred parts. 
Marseilles white soap,—soda 1024, margaric acid 9*20, oleic acid 59 20, water 
2136. (Braconnot ) Castile soap, very dry,—soda 9 0, oily acids IG A, water 
14*5. (Ure.) Glasgow soft soap,—potassa 9-0, oily acids 437, water 47-3. 
(Ure.) French soft soap,—potassa 95, oily acids 44, water 46'5. (Thenard.) 
Most soaps, it is perceived, contain a large proportion of water. 
Medical Properties. Soap possesses the properties of a laxative, antacid, and 
antilithic. It is seldom given alone, but frequently in combination with rhubarb, 
the astringency of which it has a tendency to correct. Thus combined, it is often 
administered in dyspepsia, attended with constipation and torpor of the liver. 
As it is readily decomposed by the weakest acids, which combine with the alkali, 
it often proves useful in acidity of the stomach, and has been recommended as 
a remedy in the uric acid diathesis; but it possesses no power to dissolve cal- 
culi, as was once supposed. Externally, soap is a stimulating discutient, and as 
such has been used by friction in sprains and bruises. The late Dr. A. T. Thom- 
son found much benefit to result from rubbing the tumid abdomen of children 
in mesenteric fever, morning and evening, with a strong lather of soap For the 
cure of itch, Dr. Schubert recommends a mixture of soft soap and salt, in the 
proportion of eight ounces of the former to four of the latter, dissolved in a quart 
of water. With this solution, previously warmed, the patient is to be rubbed, 
night and morning, until a cure is effected, which generally takes place in three 
days. M. Thenard recommends a solution of soap as an infallible remedy against 
the bug (punaise, Fr.), which, as well as the egg, is destroyed by a hot solution, 
made by boiling together one part of soap with fifty parts of water. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 3e ser., xxviii. 280.) In constipation of the bowels, particularly when 
arising from hardened feces in the rectum, a strong solution of soap, especially 
of soft soap, forms a useful enema. When the latter is used, two tablespoonfuls 
may be dissolved in a pint of warm water. In pharmacy, soap is frequently em- 
ployed for the pin pose of giving a proper consistence to pills ; but care must be 
taken not to associate it with a substance which may be decomposed by it. It 778 
Sapo.—Sarsaparilla. 
PART L 
is also an ingredient in some liniments and plasters. In toxicology it is used as 
a counter-poison for the mineral acids, and should always be resorted to, in poi- 
soning by these agents, without a moment’s delay, and its use continued until 
magnesia, chalk, or the bicarbonate of soda or of potassa can be obtained. The 
mode of administration, in these cases, is to give a teacupful of a solution of 
soap, made by dissolving it in four times its weight of water, every three or four 
minutes, until the patient has taken as much as he can swallow. The dose of 
soap is from five grains to half a drachm, given in the form of pill. 
Off. Prep, of Soap. Emplastrum Cerati Saponis, Br.; Emplastrum Resin®. 
Br.; Emp. Saponis; Extractum Colocyuthidis Compositum ; Linimentum Po- 
tassii Iodidi cum Sapone, Br.; Linimentum Saponis; Linimentum Terebin- 
thin®, Br.; Pilul® Aloes, U. S.; Pil. Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et 
Assafoetid®; Pil. Aloes Socotrin®, Br.; Pil. Assafcetid®, U.S.; Pil. Cambogi® 
Composita, Br.; Pil. Opii, U.S.; Pil. Rhei, U.S.; Pil. Rhei Comp., Br.; Pil. 
Saponis Comp.; Pil. Scill® Comp. B. 
SARSAPARILLA. U.S. 
The root of Smilax officinalis (Humboldt and Bonpland), and of other spe- 
cies of Smilax. U. S. 
Off. Syn. RADIX. Jamaica Sarsaparilla. The dried root of 
Smilax officinalis. Br. 
Salsepareille, Fr.; Sarsaparille, Germ,.; Salsapariglia, Ital.; Zarzaparilla, Span. 
Smilax. Sex.Syst. Dioecia Hexandria.—Nat. Ord. Smilaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Male. Calyx six-leaved. Corolla none. Female. Calyx six- 
leaved. Corolla none. Styles three. Berry three-celled. Seeds two. Willd. 
Formerly, Smilax Sarsaparilla was admitted by most of the standard au 
thorities as the source of this drug; but it is probable that none of the sarsapa- 
rilla of the shops was ever obtained from it. S. Sarsaparilla is a native.of the 
United States; and the medicine has never, within our knowledge, been col- 
lected in this country. It is not among the eleven species of Smilax described 
by Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth, who indicate S. officinalis, S. syphilitica, 
and S. Cumanensis, especially the first, as the probable sources of the drug ex- 
ported from Mexico and the Spanish Main. In the present state of our know- 
ledge, it is impossible to decide with certainty from what species the several 
commercial varieties of the drug are respectively derived. This much is certain, 
that they do not proceed from the same plant. Of the many species belonging 
to this genus, few possess any medicinal power; and Hancock states that of the 
six or eight which he found growing in the woods of Guiana, only one presented 
in any degree the sensible properties of the genuine sarsaparilla, the rest being 
insipid and inert. The root (rhizoma) of Smilax China, a native of China and 
Japan, has been employed under the name of China Root for similar purposes 
with the officinal sarsaparilla. As it occurs in commerce, it is in pieces from 
three to eight inches long and an inch or two thick, usually somewhat flattened, 
more or less knotty, often branched, of a brownish or grayish-brown colour ex- 
ternally, whitish or of a light flesh-colour internally, without odour, and of a 
taste flat at first, but afterwards very slightly bitterish and somewhat acrid, like 
that of sarsaparilla. The root of Smilax aspera is said to be employed in the 
south of Europe as a substitute for sarsaparilla; but it has little reputation. 
The East India Sarsaparilla, which was at one time referred to this species of 
Smilax, is the product of Hemidesmus Indicus. (See Hemidesmus.) We shall 
briefly describe S. Sarsaparilla, on account of its former officinal rank, and after- 
wards such other species as are believed to yield any portion of the drug. All 
of them are climbing or trailing plants, with prickly stems ; a character ex- 
pressed in the name of the medicine, which is derived from two Spanish words 
(zrrza and parilla), signifying a small thorny vine. 
Smilax Sarsaparilla. AVilld. Sp. Plant, iv. 176; Woodv. ATed. Bot. p. 161. 
Sarsaparilla. part I. 
Sarsaq. arilla. 
779 
t. 62. The stem of this plant is long, slender, shrubby, angular, and beset with 
prickles. The leaves are unarmed, ovate-lanceolate with about five nerves, 
somewhat glaucous beneath, and supported alternately upon footstalks, at the 
bases of which are long tendrils. The flowers usually stand,three or four together, 
upon a common peduncle, which is longer than the leafstalk. This species is 
indigenous, growing in swamps and hedges in the Middle and Southern States. 
S. officinalis. Humb. and Bonpl. Plant. JEquinoct. i. 271. In this species the 
Stem is twining, angular, smooth, and prickly; the young shoots are unarmed; 
the leaves ovate-oblong, acute, cordiform, five or seven-nerved, coriaceous, 
smooth, twelve inches long and four or five broad, with footstalks an inch long, 
smooth, and furnished with tendrils. The young leaves are lanceolate-oblong, 
acuminate, and three-nerved. According to Humboldt, the plant abounds on 
the river Magdalena, in New Granada. Large quantities of the root are sent 
down the river to Mompox and Carthagena. 
S. syphilitica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 780. The stem is round and smooth ; 
armed at the joints with from two to four thick, straight prickles ; and furnished 
with oblong-lanceolate,acuminate, three-nerved,coriaceous,shining leaves,which 
are a foot in length, and terminate by a long point. The plant was seen by 
Humboldt and Bonpland in New Granada, upon the banks of the river Cassi- 
quiare, and by Martius in Brazil, at Yupura and near the Bio Negro. It has 
been supposed to yield the Brazilian sarsaparilla. 
S.papyracea. Poiret, Encyc. Meth. iv. 467. This is an under-shrub with a 
compressed stem, angular below, and furnished with spines at the angles. Its 
leaves are elliptical, acuminate, and three-nerved. It inhabits Cayenne and 
Brazil, chiefly upon the bauks of the Amazon and its tributaries, and is thought 
to yield the variety of sarsaparilla denominated Brazilian. (Am. Journ. oj 
Pharm., xv. 277.) A particular description of a specimen of Smilax, supposed 
to belong to this species, is given by Professor Bentley in the London Pharm. 
Journ. (x. 470.) It was obtained from Guatemala, and was the source of a va- 
riety of commercial sarsaparilla, recently introduced into the market, which Pro- 
fessor Bentley proposes to name Guatemala sarsaparilla. 
S. medica. Schlechtendahl, Linnsea, vi. 47 ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 
51, pi. 95. This species has an angular stem, armed with straight prickles at the 
joints, and a few hooked ones in the intervals. The leaves are smooth, bright- 
green on both sides, shortly acuminate, five-nerved, with the veins prominent be- 
neath. They vary much in form, the lower being cordate, auriculate-hastate; the 
upper cordate-ovate. In the old leaves, the petiole and midrib are armed with 
straight subulate prickles. The inflorescence is an umbel of from eight to twelve 
flowers, with a smooth axillary peduncle, and pedicels about three lines long. 
Schiede found this plant on the eastern declivity of the Mexican Andes, where 
the root is collected to be taken to Yera Cruz. 
The medicinal species of Smilax grow in Mexico, Guatemala, and the warm 
latitudes of South America. The roots are very long and slender, and origi- 
nate in great numbers from a common head or rhizoma, from which the stems 
of the plant rise. The whole root with the rhizoma is usually dug up, and as 
brought into market exhibits not unfrequently portions of the stems attached, 
sometimes several inches in length. The sarsaparilla of commerce comes from 
different sources, and is divided into varieties according to the place of collec- 
tion or shipment. 
Honduras Sarsaparilla is the variety most used in this country. It is brought 
from the bay of Honduras, and comes in bundles two or three feet long, com- 
posed of several roots folded lengthwise, and secured in a compact form by a 
few circular turns. These are packed in bales imperfectly covered with skins, 
each bale containing one hundred pounds or more. The roots are usually con- 
nected at one extremity in large numbers in a common head, to which portions 
of the stems are also attached. In some bundles are many small fibres either 
lying loose, or still adhering to the roots. The colour of the roots externally is 
a dirtv-gravish or reddish-brown ; and the cortical portion beneath the epider- 
mis often appears amylaceous when broken. 780 
Sarsaparilla. 
part I. 
The Jamaica or red sarsaparilla of foreign writers is little known by that 
name in the United States. The island of Jamaica is merely its channel of ex 
portation to Europe; and it is probably derived originally from Central America. 
It does not materially differ in properties from Honduras sarsaparilla; its chief 
peculiarity being the reddish colour of the epidermis, which is also sometimes 
found in that variety. It is said also to yield a larger proportion of extract, 
and to contain less starch. As found in commerce, it is in bundles from twelve 
to eighteen inches long, by four or five in thickness, consisting of long slender 
roots folded up, with numerous radical fibres attached. 
Considerable quantities of the drug are imported from the Mexican ports of 
Vera Cruz and Tampico. The Vera Cruz sarsaparilla comes in large, rather 
loose bales, weighing about two hundred pounds, bound with cords or leather 
thongs, and usually containing the roots folded upon themselves, and separately 
packed. These, as in the Honduras sarsaparilla, consist of a head or caudex 
with numerous long radicles, which, however, are somewhat smaller than in that 
variety, and have a thinner bark. They are often also much soiled with earth. 
This variety was formerly little esteemed; but, from the acrid taste which it 
possesses, it is probably not inferior in real virtues to the other kinds. It is pro- 
bably derived from Smilax medica. 
Another variety is the Caracas sarsaparilla, brought in large quantities 
from La Guayra. It is in oblong packages, of about one hundred pounds, sur- 
rounded with broad strips of hide, which are connected laterally with thongs 
of the same material, leaving much of the root exposed. The roots, as in the last 
variety, are separately packed, but more closely and carefully. The radicles are 
often very amylaceous internally, in this respect resembling the following. 
The Brazilian, or, as it is sometimes called in Europe, the Lisbon sarsapa- 
rilla, has been less used in the United States than in Europe, where it has com- 
manded a higher price. Within a few years, however, it has been imported in 
considerable quantities. It comes from the ports of Para and Maranham, in 
cylindrical bundles of from three to five feet in length, by about a foot in thick- 
ness, bound about by close circular turns of a very flexible stem, and consisting 
of unfolded roots, destitute of caudex (rhizoma) and stems, and having few ra- 
dical fibres. It is the variety of which Hancock speaks as celebrated through- 
out South America by the name of sarsa of the Rio Negro, and is considered 
as the most valuable variety of the drug. It is distinguished by the amylaceous 
character of its interior structure, and has considerable acrimony. It was said 
by Martius to be derived from Smilax sy^philitica; but Dr. Hancock considers 
that portion of it which comes from the Rio Negro, and is shipped at Para, as 
the product of an undescribed species, certainly not S. syphilitica. According 
to Richard, it has been ascertained to be the product of the S. papyracea of 
Poiret. (See Am. Journ of Pharm., xv. 277.) 
The variety described by Professor Bentley under the name of Guatemala 
sarsaparilla was collected in the province of Sacatapeques, about ninety miles 
from the sea. It is in cylindrical bundles about two feet eight inches long by 
four inches in diameter, composed of separate roots, arranged in parallel order, 
without rootstalk, and bound together by a few turns of the flexible stem of a 
monocotyledonous plant. The bundles resemble the Brazilian in arrangement, 
but are much less compact. It is amylaceous, has considerable acrimony, and 
Is probably one of the most efficient varieties. Professor Bentley ascribes it to 
S. papyracea. For a particular description of the root, the reader is referred 
to the Pharmaceutical Journal (xii. 472). 
Much sarsaparilla has been imported into England from Lima, Valparaiso, 
and other places on the Pacific coast of South America. It is described by 
Pereira as bearing a close resemblance to Jamaica sarsaparilla, but yielding a 
smaller proportion of extract. It is in bundles of about three feet long and nine 
inches thick, consisting of the roots folded with their heads or rhizomes attached. 
The epidermis is brown or grayish-brown. Sometimes roots of a light-clay 
colour are found in the bundles. PART i. 
Sarsaparilla. 
781 
In a memoir read by Dr. Berthold Seeman before the London Liunaean So- 
ciety, the author stated that, after careful examination, he was convinced that 
the commercial varieties of sarsaparilla, called Brazilian, Jamaica, and Guate- 
mala sarsaparilla, are all the product of one species of Smilax, the S. officina- 
lis of Humboldt and Bonpland, and moreover, that the S. medica of Schlecht- 
endahl, and the S. papyracea of Poiret, are identical with that species. (Pharm. 
Journ., Feb. 1854, p. 385.) 
Properties. The dried sarsaparilla roots are several feet in length, about 
the thickness of a goose-quill, cylindrical, more or less wrinkled longitudinally, 
flexible, and composed of a thick exterior cortical portion, covered with a thin 
easily separable epidermis, of an inner layer of ligneous fibre, and of a central 
pith. The epidermis is of various colours, generally ash-coloured, grayish-brown, 
or reddish-brown, and sometimes very dark. The cortical portion is in some 
specimens whitish, in others brown, and not unfrequently of a pink or rosy hue. 
It is occasionally white, brittle, and almost powdery like starch. The wroody 
part is usually very thin, and composed of longitudinal fibres, which allow the 
root to be split with facility through its whole length. The central medulla 
often abounds in starch. 
Sarsaparilla in its ordinary state is nearly or quite inodorous, but in decoc- 
tion acquires a decided and peculiar smell. To the taste it is mucilaginous and 
very slightly bitter, and, when chewed for some time, produces a disagreeable 
acrid impression, which remains long in the mouth and fauces, The root is effi- 
cient in proportion as it possesses this acrimony, which is said by some authors 
to be confined to the cortical portion; while the ligneous fibre and medullary 
matter are insipid and inert. Hancock avers that all parts are equally acrid 
and efficacious. The truth is probably between the two extremes; and, as in 
most medicinal roots, it must be admitted that the bark is more powerful than 
the interior portions, while these are not wholly inactive. The virtues of the 
root are communicated to water cold or hot, but are impaired by long boiling. 
They are extracted also by diluted alcohol. According to Hancock, the whole 
of the active matter is not extracted by water. He observes in his paper upon 
sarsaparilla, published in the London Medico-Botanical Transactions, when 
speaking of the sarsaparilla from Para and the Rio Negro, “after exhausting 
half a pound of this sort by two digestions, boiling, and pressure, I added to the 
dregs half a pint of proof spirit, and digested this with a gentle heat for a few 
hours in a close vessel, then affusiug hot water to the amount of that taken off 
from the first boiling, and pressing again, I procured by the last operation about 
four pints of an infusion which possessed the acrid properties of the sarsa in a 
much higher degree even than that obtained by the first decoction with simple 
water.” It appears that in South America it is the custom to prepare sarsapa- 
rilla by digestion in wine or spirit, or by infusion in water with additions which 
may produce the vinous fermentation, and thus add alcohol to the menstruum. 
The same result, as to the superior efficacy of alcohol as a solvent of the acrid 
principle of sarsaparilla, has been obtained by the French experimentalists. 
According to M. Thubeuf, sarsaparilla contains, 1. a peculiar crystalline sub- 
stance,which isprobably the active principle of the root,2. a colouring substance, 
3. resin, 4. starch, 5. lignin, 6. a thick, aromatic fixed oil, 7. a waxy substance, 
and 8. chloride of potassium and nitrate of potassa. It is said also to contain 
a minute proportion of volatile oil, and Batka found gum, bassorin, albumen, 
gluten and gliadine, lactic and acetic acids, and various salts. The proportion 
of starch is large. Chatin found iodine in Honduras sarsaparilla; but Dr. 
Winckler, not having succeeded in detecting this principle in any one root, 
thinks it probable that the specimen examined by Chatin had been exposed to 
sea-water. {Pharm. Cent. Blatt, May 7, 1852.) 
Sarsaparillin. (Smilacin. Pariglin. Salseparine. Parillinic acid.) The 
crystalline principle in which the virtues of sarsaparilla reside should be called 
sarsaparillin. It was first discovered by Dr. Palotta, who described it in 1824 
finder the name of pariglin Subsequently, M. Folchi supposed that he had 782 
Sarsaparilla. 
PART I. 
found another principle which he called smilacin. In 1831, M. Thubeuf an- 
nounced the discovery of a new substance in sarsaparilla which he named salse- 
parine, from the French name of the root. Finally, Batka, a German chemist, 
towards the end of 1833, published an account of a principle which he had 
discovered in the root, and which, under the impression that it possessed acid 
properties, he called parillinic acid. M. Poggiale, however, has shown that 
these substances are identical, though procured by different processes. The 
following is the process of M. Thubeuf. The root is treated with hot alcohol 
till deprived of taste. The tincture is submitted to distillation, and seven- 
eighths of the alcohol drawn off. The remainder is treated with animal char- 
coal, and filtered at the end of twenty-four or forty-eight hours. The sarsapa- 
rillin is deposited in the form of a granular powder. This is dissolved in a fresh 
portion of alcohol, and crystallized. The alcoholic mother-liquors may be de- 
prived of that portion of the principle which they retain by evaporating to dry- 
ness, dissolving the product in water, filtering, again evaporating to dryness, 
redissolving in alcohol, and crystallizing. Sarsaparillin is white, inodorous, 
almost tasteless in the solid state, but bitter, acrid, and nauseous when dissolved 
in alcohol or water. It is very slightly soluble in cold water, but more readily 
in boiling water, which deposits it on cooling. It is very soluble in alcohol, 
especially at the boiling temperature. Ether and the volatile oils also dissolve 
it. Its aqueous solution has the property of frothing very much b}r agitation. 
M. Beral states that he has procured it pure by distilling, by means of a salt- 
water bath, a tincture of sarsaparilla prepared with very dilute alcohol. In that 
case it must be volatile, and we can understand why sarsaparilla suffers in de- 
coction. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xii. 245.) The solutions of sarsaparillin 
are without acid or alkaline reaction. Batka erred in considering it an acid. M. 
Poggiale found it both in the cortical and medullary part of the root, but most 
largely in the former. Palotta gave it internally in doses varying from two to 
thirteen grains, and found it to produce nausea, and to diminish the force of the 
circulation. It is probably the principle upon which sarsaparilla depends chiefly, 
if not exclusively, for its remedial powers. 
The sarsaparilla of the shops is apt to be nearly if not quite inert, either from 
age, or from having been obtained from inferior species of Smilax. This in- 
equality of the medicine, with the improper modes of preparing it long in vogue, 
has probably contributed to its variable reputation. The only criterion of good 
sarsaparilla to be relied on is the taste. If it leave a decidedly acrid impression 
in the mouth after having been chewed for a short time, it may be considered 
efficient; if otherwise, it is probably inert. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Few medicines have undergone greater 
changes of reputation. About the middle of the sixteenth century it was intro- 
duced into Europe as a remedy for the venereal complaint, in which it had been 
found very useful in the recent Spanish settlements in the West Indies. After a 
time it fell into disrepute, and was little employed till about a century ago, when 
it wrns again brought into notice by Sir William Fordyce and others, as a useful 
adjuvant and corrigentof mercury in lues venerea. Since that period very dif- 
ferent opinions have been entertained of it. Some, among whom was Dr. Cullen, 
considered it wholly inert; others, on the contrary, have had the most unbounded 
confidence in its powers. The probable cause of much of this discrepancy has 
been already mentioned. Experience, both among regular practitioners and 
empirics, would seem to have placed its efficacy beyond reasonable doubt. Its 
most extensive and useful application is to the treatment of secondary syphilis 
and syphiloid diseases, and that shattered state of the system which sometimes 
follows the imprudent use of mercury in these affections. It is also employed, 
though with less obvious benefit, in chronic rheumatism, scrofulous affections, 
certain cutaneous diseases, and other depraved conditions of health. Its mode 
of action is less evident than its ultimate effects. It is said to increase the per- 
spiration and urine ; but, allowing it to do so, the effect is too slight to explain 
its remedial influence; and even that which is produced has been ascribed by PART I. 
Sassafras Medulla.—Sassafras Radicis Cortex. 
783 
some to the medicines with which it is generally associated, or the liquid in which 
it is exhibited In this ignorance of its precise modus operandi we call it an 
alterative, as those medicines are named which change existing morbid actions, 
without obvious influence over any of the functions. 
Sarsaparilla may be given in powder, in the dose of half a drachm three or 
four times a day. It is, however, more conveniently administered in the form 
of infusion, decoction, syrup, or fluid extract. (See these preparations in Pari 
II.) A beer, made by fermenting an infusion of the drug with molasses, is said 
to be a popular remedy in South America.* The smoke of sarsaparilla has been 
highly recommended in asthma. (Journ. de Pharm., xviii. 221.) 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Sarsae, Br.; Decoct. Sarsae Compositum, Br.; Decoct. 
Sarsaparillae Comp., TJ.S.; Extractum Sarsaparillae Fluidum, U. S.; Extract. 
Sarsaparillae Fluid. Comp., U.S.; Extract. Sarsae Liquidum, Br.; Syrupus 
Sarsaparillae Comp., U. S. W. 
SASSAFRAS MEDULLA. U.S. 
Sassafras Pith. 
The pith of the stems of Sassafras officinale. U. S. 
SASSAFRAS RADICIS CORTEX. U S. 
The bark of the root of Sassafras officinale. TJ. S. 
Off.Syn. SASSAFRAS RADIX. The dried root of Sassafras officinale. Br. 
Sassafras, Fr., Germ.; Sassafras, Sassafrasso, Ital.; Sasafras, Span. 
In the new distribution of the species composing the genus Laurus of Lin- 
naeus, the sassafras tree has been made the type of a distinct genus, denomi- 
nated Sassafras, which is recognised by the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. 
Sassafras. Sex. Syst. Enneandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Lauraceae. 
Gen. Ch. Dioecious. Calyx six-parted, membranous; segments equal, per- 
manent at the base. Males. Fertile stamens nine, in three rows, the three inner 
with double stalked distinct glands at the base. Anthers linear, four-celled, all 
looking inwards. Females, with as many sterile stamens as the males or fewer; 
the inner often confluent. Fruit succulent, placed on the thick fleshy apex of 
the peduncle, and seated in the torn unchanged calyx. (Lindley.) 
Sassafras officinale. Nees, Laurin. 488.—Laurus Sassafras. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, ii. 485; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 142; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. ii. 144. 
This is an indigenous tree of middling size, rising in favourable situations from 
thirty to fifty feet, with a trunk about a foot in diameter. In the Southern 
States it is sometimes larger, and in the northern parts of New England is little 
more than a shrub. The bark of the stem and large branches is rough, deeply 
furrowed, and grayish; that of the extreme branches or twigs is smooth and 
beautifully green. The leaves, which are alternate, petiolate, and downy when 
young, vary much in their form and size even upon the same tree. Some are 
oval and entire, others have a lobe on one side ; but the greater number are 
three-lobed. Their mean length is four or five inches. The flowers, which are 
frequently dioecious, and appear before the leaves, are small, of a pale greenish- 
yellow colour, and disposed in racemes which arise from the branches below the 
leaves, and have linear bractes at their base. The corolla is divided into six 
Bark of Sassafras Root. 
* The following is a formula recommended by Hancock. “ Take of Rio Negro sarsa, 
bruised, 21b.; bark of guaiac, powdered, 8oz.; raspings of guaiac wood, anise seeds, and 
liquorice root, each 4oz.; mezereon, bark of the root, 2oz.; treacle [molasses], 21b.; and 
a dozen bruised cloves; pour upon these ingredients about four gallons of boiling water, 
and shake the vessel thrice a day. When fermentation has well begun, it is fit for use, 
and may be taken in the dose of a small tumblerful twice or thrice a day.” This formula 
is worthy of attention; but the bark of guaiacum, which is not kept in the shops, might 
be omitted, or repliced by the wood. 784 
Sassafras Medulla.—Sassafras Hadicis Cortex. 
PART 1 
oblong segments. The male flowers have nine stamens; the hermaphrodite, 
which are on a different plant, have only six, with a simple style. The fruit is 
an oval drupe, about as large as a pea, of a deep-blue colour when ripe, and 
supported on a red pedicel, enlarged at the extremity into a cup for its reception. 
The sassafras is common throughout the United States, and extends into 
Mexico. It is said also to grow in Brazil and Cochin-China; but the plants 
observed in these countries are probably not of the same species. In the United 
States the sassafras is found both in woods and open places, and is apt to spring 
up in the neighbourhood of cultivation, and in neglected or abandoned fields. 
In Pennsylvania and New York, it blooms in the beginning of May, but much 
eaidier at the South The fresh flowers have a slightly fragrant odour, and 
almost all parts of the plant are more or less aromatic. The root is directed 
by the British Pharmacopoeia; the bark of the root, and the pith of the twigs 
or extreme branches, by that of the U. States. The best time for collecting 
the pith is after the occurrence of frost in autumn ; and the same is the case 
also with the bark of the root. The root is exported, and is the part chiefly 
used in British pharmacy. It consists of a brownish-white wood, covered with 
a spongy bark divisible into layers. The latter portion is by far the most 
active, and is usually kept separate in our shops. 
1. Sassafras Pith. This is in slender cylindrical pieces, very light and spongy, 
with a mucilaginous taste, and in a slight degree the characteristic flavour of 
the sassafras. It abounds in a gummy matter, which it readily imparts to water, 
forming a limpid mucilage, which, though ropy and viscid, has much less tena- 
city than that of gum arabic, and will not answer as a substitute in the suspen- 
sion of insoluble substances. It differs also from solutions of ordinary gum, in 
remaining limpid when added to alcohol. This mucilage is much employed as a 
soothing application in inflammation of the eyes; and forms an agreeable and 
useful drink in dysenteric, catarrhal, and nephritic diseases. It may be prepared 
by adding a drachm of the pith to a pint of boiling water. 
2. Bark of Sassafras Boot. As found in the shops, this is usually in small 
irregular fragments, sometimes invested with a brownish epidermis, sometimes 
partially or wholly freed from it, of a reddish or rusty cinnamon hue, very brittle, 
and presenting when freshly broken a lighter colour than that of the exposed 
surfaces. The living bark is nearly white, but becomes coloured, on exposure, 
immediately after collection. Its odour is highly fragrant, its taste sweetish and 
gratefully aromatic. These properties are extracted by water and alcohol. They 
reside in a volatile oil, which is obtained by distillation. (See Oleum Sassa- 
fras.) According to Dr. Reinsch, the bark contains a heavy and light volatile 
oil, camphorous matter, fatty matter, resin, wax, a peculiar principle resembling 
tannic acid called sassafrid, tannic acid, gum, albumen, starch, red colouring 
matter, lignin, and salts. The sassafrid bears some analogy to cinchonic red, 
and like it appears to be a derivative of the tannin, which exists in much larger 
proportion in the fresh than in that long kept. (Procter, Am. Journ. of Pliarm., 
Nov. 1866, p. 490.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of sassafras root is stimulant, and 
perhaps diaphoretic; t hough its possession of any peculiar tendency to the skin, 
independently of its mere excitant property, is very doubtful. It is used almost 
exclusively as an adjuvant to other more efficient medicines, the flavour of which 
it improves; while it renders them more cordial to the stomach. The complaints 
for wdiich it has been particularly recommended are chronic rheumatism, cuta- 
neous eruptions, and scorbutic and syphiloid affections. As a remedy in lues 
venerea, in which it formerly had a high reputation, it is now considered as in 
itself wholly inefficient. It Is most conveniently administered in the form of in- 
fusion. The oil may also be given. 
Off. Prep, of the Pith. Mucilago Sassafras, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Bark of the Root, or of the Root. Decoctum Sarsag Com- 
positum, Br.; Decoct. Sarsaparillae Comp., U.S.; Extractuin Sarsaparillae 
Fluidum Comp., U.S.; Oleum Sassafras, U. S. W. PART I. 
Scammonise Radix.—Scammonium. 
785 
RADIX. Br. 
Scammony Root. 
The dried Root of Convolvulus Scammonia. Br. 
SCAMMONIUM U.S.,Br 
Scammony. 
The concrete juice of the root of Convolvulus Scammonia. U. S. A gum- 
resin obtained by incision from the living root. Br. 
Scammonee, Fr.; Scammonium, Germ,.; Scamonea, Ital.; Escamonea, Span. 
Convolvulus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogvnia.— Nat.Ord. Convolvu- 
lacese. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla campanulate. Style one. Stigmas two, linear-cylindrical, 
often revolute. Ovary two-celled, four-seeded. Capsule two-celled. (Lindley.) 
Convolvulus Scammonia. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 845; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 
243, t. 86; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 14, pi. 62. This species of Con- 
volvulus has a perennial, tapering root, from three to four feet long, from nine 
to twelve inches in circumference, branching towards its lower extremity, 
covered with a light-gray bark, and containing a milky juice. The stems are 
numerous, slender, and twining, extending sometimes fifteen or twenty feet 
upon the ground, or on neighbouring plants, and furnished with smooth, bright- 
green, arrow-shaped leaves, which stand alternately upon long footstalks. The 
flowers are placed in pairs, or three together, upon the peduncles, which are 
round, axillary, solitary, and of nearly twice the length of the leaf. The plant 
is a native of Syria, Anatolia, and certain islands of the Archipelago. No part 
is medicinal except the root, which was found by Dr. Russel to be a mild cathar- 
tic. It is recognised in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, being used for the extraction of 
resin.* (See Scammonist Resina in Part II.) Scammony is the concrete juice 
of the fresh root. 
Scammony is collected, according to Russel, in the following manner. In the 
month of June, the earth is cleared away from about the root, the top of which 
is cut off obliquely about two inches from the origin of the stems. The milky 
juice which exudes is collected in shells, or other convenient receptacle, placed 
at the most depending part of the cut surface. A few drachms only are collected 
from each root The juice from several plants is put into any convenient vessel, 
and concretes by time. In this state it constitutes genuine scammony, but is 
very seldom exported. It is generally prepared for the market by admixture, 
while it is yet soft, with the expressed juice of the stalks and leaves, with wheat 
flour, chalk, ashes, fine sand, &c.; and it has been supposed that scammony 
sometimes consists wholly or in great part of the expressed juice of the root, 
evaporated to dryness by exposure to the sun, or by artificial heat. According 
to Landerer, the roots from which the juice has been collected are in some places 
boiled with water in copper vessels, and the extract added to the juice, not so 
much with the purpose of adulteration, as under the impression that it favour- 
ably modifies the action of the drug. Scammony is exported chiefly from Smyrna, 
* Not having had an opportunity of examining the root of the scammony plant, we 
give the following description by Dr. Otto Borg, Professor in Berlin, contained in Buch- 
ner’s Neues Repertorium of 1864 (xiii. no. 10, p. 448). 
The dried root, as it occurs in commerce, is in cylindrical pieces a foot or more in length, 
about three-fourths of an inch thick, of a pure brown externally, wrinkled in drying, 
with here and there slender branches, with a head at top, and at the lower end with the 
cut surface coarsely fibrous ; the head being sometimes provided with remains of the 
stems from half a line to two lines thick. The surface when the root is cut transversely 
is roundish or rarely elliptical, and pale-brown within. The bark of the root is thin, of 
a dirty whiteness with dark resinous points. The wood consists of compressed, generally 
separate, pale-brown, coarsely porous, usually subdivided fibres, parted by a parenchyma 
similar to the bark. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 786 
Scammonium. 
PART L 
though small quantities are said to be sent out of the country at Alexandretta, 
the seaport of Aleppo. Dr. Pereira was informed by a merchant who had re- 
sided in Smyrna, that it is brought upon camels in a soft state into that city, and 
afterwards adulterated by individuals called scammony makers. The adultera- 
tion appears to be conducted in conformity with a certain understood scsle, 
more or less foreign matter being added according to the price. The materials 
employed are chiefly chalk and some kind of flour or meal. Very little com- 
paratively is exported perfectly pure. We obtain scammony either directly from 
Smyrna, or indirectly through some of the Mediterranean ports.* 
The name of Aleppo scammony was formerly given to the better kinds of the 
drug, and of Smyrna scammony to those of inferior quality; the distinction 
having probably originated in some difference in the character of the scammony 
obtained at these two places. But no such difference now exists; as scammony 
is brought from Smyrna of every degree of purity. It has been customary in 
this country to designate the genuine drug of whatever quality as Aleppo scam- 
mony; while the name of Smyrna scammony has been given to a spurious 
article manufactured in the south of France, and to other factitious substitutes. 
It is quite time that these terms should be altogether abandoned. We shall 
treat of the drug under the heads of genuine and factitious scammony. 
* An interesting account of the collection and preparation of scammony in Anatolia, in 
the vicinity of Smyrna, has been communicated by Mr. S. H. Maltass to the London Phar- 
maceutical Journ. and Trans, (xiii. 264). The juice is collected in the same manner as de- 
scribed by Eussel in reference to Syria. The product, however, of each plant is somewhat 
less. In some districts, according to Maltass, ten plants produce only a drachm of .scam- 
mony; in others the average from each root is a drachm; and in a good soil a plant four 
years old will yield two drachms. The juice received in the shells is mixed with another 
portion scraped from the cut surface of the root; and this mixture is the pure or lachryma 
scammony. Only a small quantity of this is taken to Smyrna; the greater part being adul- 
terated by the peasants before itreaches the markets. Sometimes thejuice is worked up with 
a decoction of the roots, in which case it is black, heavier than the preceding, and not so 
easily broken. Sometimes they add a calcareous earth, in a proportion varying from 10 
to 150 per cent. The kind thus prepared is usually kept for some time in Smyrna, and is 
apt to ferment, so as to become porous and lose its gloss. It is in irregular lumps, and is 
the kind usually sold in London as lachryma scammony. Another kind sold in London in 
rough lumps, and probably under the same name, is prepared in the interior of the country 
by mixing the juice with wheat starch, ashes, earthy matters, gum arabic or tragacanth, 
and sometimes wax, yelk of egg, pounded scammony roots and leaves, flour, or resin. A 
kind much used in Great Britain is prepared by the Jews in Smyrna, and is in the form 
of cakes as described in the text. It is of two qualities. The first quality is prepared by 
mixing skilip (which is an inferior kind of scammony prepared at Anjora, and consists of 
from 30 to 40 per cent, of juice and 60 to 70 of starch) with 60 per cent, of inferior scam- 
mony from the neighbourhood of Smyrna; the second quality, by mixing skilip with about 
30 per cent, of the latter kind, and adding about 10 per cent, of gum arabic and black- 
lead. The_/trs£ quality contains about 50 per cent, of resin, the second about 30 per cent. For 
an account of specimens of scammony sent by Mr. Maltass from Smyrna, see a paper by 
Mr. D. Hanbury in the Pharm. Journ. (xiii. 268).—Note to the tenth edition. 
Prof. Ch. Boulier, of Algiers, gives tne following account of the collection of scam- 
mony in the northwestern parts of Anatolia. The plant is not cultivated, hut grows wild 
in rocky places covered with brushwood. At the flowering period, about the end of June 
and beginning of July, the peasants go forth in search of localities among the mountains 
where it is most abundant, and, having satisfied themselves on this point, return home, 
provide themselves with the requisite implements, and set out for the place of collection. 
Clearing away the brushwood and stems, the peasant digs deeply around the root, then 
cuts off the top obliquely, and affixes a muscle shell to the root so as to receive the juice 
as it flows from the dependent part. He then passes on to other plants upon which ha 
operates in like manner. After a time he returns upon his steps, and empties the shell* 
successively into a tinned copper vessel. Next day he goes over the same grour ,1, and 
scrapes by a knife from the cut surface the juice which has in the mean time flowed out, 
and partially concreted. This he mixes with that previously collected, and, when his ves- 
sel is full, takes it to some neighbouring market, where it is bought up, and sent to the 
wholesale druggists at Constantinople and Smyrna. The juice reaches the market in a 
pasty state, and whitish like cheese except where exposed to the air. It is in these centres 
of trade, or on its way from the collectors, that the drug undergoes the various sophistica- 
tions to which it is subjected ; the peasant himself being honest, and seldom disposed to 
adulterate. (Ibid., April, 1860, p. 521.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Scammonium. 
787 
Genuine Scammony. This is sent into commerce in drums or boxes, and is 
either in irregular lumps, in large solid masses of the shape of the containing 
vessel into which it appears to have been introduced while yet soft, or in circu- 
lar, flattish or plano-convex cakes. It seldom reaches us in an unmixed state. 
Formerly small portions of pure scammony were occasionally to be met with in 
Europe, contained in the shells in which the juice was collected and dried. This 
variety, denominated scammony in shells, is now scarcely to be found. The 
pure drug is called virgin scammony. It is in irregular pieces, often covered 
with a whitish-gray powder, friable and easily broken into small fragments be- 
tween the fingers, with a shining grayish-green fracture soon passing into green- 
ish-black, and exhibiting under the microscope minute air-cells, and numerous 
gray semi-transparent splinters.* It is easily pulverized, affording a pale ash- 
gray powder. When rubbed writh water it readily forms a milky emulsion. It 
has a rather strong, peculiar odour, compared to that of old cheese. The taste 
is feeble at first, and afterwards somewhat acrid, but without bitterness. It gives 
no evidence, when the requisite tests are applied, of the presence of starch or 
carbonate of lime, leaves but a slight residue when burned, and yields about 80 
per cent, of its weight to ether. Considerable quantities of what is called virgin 
scammony have been imported into this country since the drug-law went into 
operation; but, though some specimens are tolerably pure, on the whole the 
drug falls far short of the proper standard. Dr. E. R. Squibb examined many 
specimens, and found the proportion of resin to vary from 25 to 7 9'T percent.; 
only two or three, out of more than 30 examined, approaching the latter degree 
of purity within 10 per cent. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1863, p. 51. )f 
The form of scammony chiefly found in our markets is that in circular cakes. 
These are sometimes flattish on both sides, but generally somewhat convex on 
one side and flat on the other, as if dried in a saucer, or other shallow vessel. 
They are from four to six inches in diameter, and from half an inch to an inch 
and a half, or even two inches thick in the centre. As found in the retail shops, 
they are often in fragments. They are hard and heavy, with a faintly shining 
roughish fracture; and when broken exhibit in general a structure very finely 
porous, sometimes almost compact, and in a very few instances cavernous. Their 
colour externally is a dark-ash or dark-olive, or slate colour approaching to 
black; internally somewhat lighter and grayish, with an occasional tinge of 
green or yellow, but deepening by exposure. The small fragments are some- 
times slightly translucent at the edges. The mass, though hard, is pulverizable 
without great difficulty, and affords a light-gray powder. It imparts to water 
with which it is triturated a greenish milky appearance. The smell is rather 
disagreeable, and similar to that of the pure drug. The taste, very slight at 
first, becomes feebly bitterish and acrid. This kind of scammony is never quite 
pure, and much of it is considerably adulterated. In some of the cakes carbon- 
ate of lime is the chief impurity; in others the adulterating substance is prob- 
ably meal, as evidences of the presence of starch and lignin are afforded; and 
in others again both these substances are found. Christison discovered in the 
chalky specimens from 15 to 38 percent, of carbonate of lime; in the amylaceous, 
from 13 to 42 per cent, of impurity. It was probably to the flat, dark-coloured, 
compact, difficultly pulverizable, and more impure cakes that the name of 
* According to Maltass, the purest scammony has a reddish-black fracture, unless it 
has been mixed with water in its preparation, in which case it is black and very glossy 
(Pharm. Journ., xiii. 266.) 
f Dr. Squibb gives the following description of the drug recently imported as virgin 
scammony. “ It generally occurs in soldered square tin boxes, containing 25 to 28 pounds 
each. Occasionally, however, it is in round wooden boxes or drums of a similar capacity. 
The scammony is in irregular, rough and fissured masses of various sizes, sometimes 
porous, hut commonly solid, hard, and semi-resinous, having a tough, dull fracture. It is 
of a very dark grayish-green colour internally, often nearly black, but more of an ash 
colrvr externally. It is rarely dry enough to he pulverulent, yet still more rarely too 
moist to be rubbed into coarse powder, and it generally loses 6 per cent, in drying sutfi- 
ciently to make a fine powder.” [Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1868, p. 49.)—Note to the 
twelfth edition. 788 
Scammonium. 
PA.RT I. 
Smyrna scammony was formerly given. These have been erroneously ascribed 
by some to Periploca Secamone, a plant growing in Egypt.* 
Scammony is ranked among the gum-resins. It is partially dissolved by 
water, much more largely by alcohol and ether, and almost entirely, when pure, 
by boiling diluted alcohol. Its active ingredient is resin, which constitutes 
from 80 to 90 per cent, of pure dry scammony. (See Resina Scammonii ) The 
gum-resin has been analyzed by various chemists, but the results are uncertain; 
as the character of the specimens examined is insufficiently determined by the 
terms Aleppo and Smyrna scammony, employed to designate them. Thus, 
Bouillon-Lagrange and Vogel obtained, from 100 parts of Aleppo scammony, 
60 of resin, 3 of gum, 2 of extractive, and 35 of insoluble matter; from the same 
quantity of Smyrna scammony, 29 parts of resin, 8 of gum, 5 of extractive, 
and 58 of vegetable remains and earthy substances. It is obvious that both 
the specimens upon which they operated were very impure. Marquart found 
in pure scammony (scammony in shells) 81'25 per cent, of resin, 3 00 of gum 
with salts, 0’75 of wax, 4*50 of extractive, 1‘75 of starchy envelopes, bassorin, 
and gluten, 150 of albumen and lignin, 3*75 of ferruginous alumina, chalk, 
and carbonate of magnesia, and 3-50 of sand. Christison found different spe- 
cimens of pure scammony to contain, in 100 parts, from 77 to 83 parts of resin, 
from 6 to 8 of gum, from 32 to 5 of lignin and sand, and from 7'2 to 12 6 of 
water, with occasionally a little starch, probably derived accidentally from the 
root, and not in sufficient-quantity to cause a cold decoction of the gum-resin 
to give a blue colour with iodine. Mr. Hanbury, of London, found 91*1 per 
cent, of resin in the purest scammony in shells; and Mr. B. W. Bull, of New 
York, 86‘88 per cent, in a specimen in irregular lumps, received from Constanti- 
nople as Aleppo Scammony. (N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., June, 1852.) As already 
* Dr. Pereira, in his work on Materia Medica, describes as follows the varieties of scam- 
mony as they exist in the London market. 
1. Virgin Scammony. Pure Scammony. Lachryma Scammony. The description of this 
corresponds with that of pure scammony given in the text. In addition, the following 
particulars may be mentioned. The whitish powder often found upon the surface effer- 
vesces with muriatic acid, and consists of chalk, in which the lumps have probably been 
rolled. The sp.gr. of the masses is 1-210. In the same pieces it sometimes happens that 
certain portions are shining and black, while others are dull-grayish. Virgin scammony 
readily takes fire, and burns with a yellowish flame. This variety is now much more 
abundant in the shops of London than formerly 
2. Scammony of second quality. This is called seconds in commerce. It is in two forms. 
1. In irregular 'pieces. This, in external appearance, brittleness, odour, and taste, resem- 
bles virgin scammony; hut is distinguished by its greater sp.gr., which is 1-463, by its 
dull, very slightly shining fracture, and its grayish colour. The freshly broken surface 
effervesces with muriatic acid, hut the cold decoction does not give a blue colour with 
iodine. It therefore contains chalk, bht not fecula. 2. In large regular masses. This has 
the form of the drum or box in which it was imported, and into which it was probably in- 
troduced while soft. It has a dull grayish fracture, and the sp. gr. 1-359. It exhibits, 
with the appropriate tests, evidence of the presence both of chalk and fecula. It is some- 
times found of a soft or cheesy consistence. 
3. Scammony of third quality. This is called thirds in commerce. Tt is in circular, flat 
cakes, about five inches in diameter and one inch thick. The cakes are dense, heavy, and 
more difficult to break than the preceding varieties. The fracture is sometimes resinous 
and shining, sometimes dull, and exhibits air cavities, and numerous white specks, which 
consist of chalk. The colour is grayish or grayish-black. The sp.gr. varies from 1-276 
to 1-543. Both chalk and flour are detected by tests. In five different cakes, the quantity 
of chalk employed in the adulteration was stated by the importer to be, in 100 parts of the 
cakes respectively, 13-07, 23-1, 25-0, 31-05, and 37-54, numbers which correspond very 
closely, in the two extremes, with the results obtained by Christison. This is the variety 
of scammony referred to in the text as the one chiefly used in the Unitod States. 
A valuable paper by Dr. Carson, on the varieties of scammony imported into this coun- 
try, was published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xx. i.), to which the reader is referrod. 
Besides the kinds described in the text, namely the virgin scammony, and those which a.'e 
adulterated with chalk or meal or both, Dr. Carbon describes two, under the names of 
gummy and black gummy scammony, in which the chief adulteration appears to be traga- 
canth, or some analogous substance, which is associated in the dark variety with bone- 
black. They afforded from 6 to 13 per cent, of resin. They are in circular cakes, hard, 
compact, of difficult pulverization, and viscid when moistened. (Note to the eighth edition.) PART i. 
Scammonium. 
789 
stated, scammony is seldom quite pure as found in our shops. Much of it contains 
not more than 50 per cent, of the resin, some not more than 42 per cent., and 
the worst varieties as little as 10 per cent., or even less.* Sometimes the cakes 
are of good quality on the outside, and inferior within. (Bull, N. Y. Journ. of 
Pharm., i. 7.) It has been suggested, in this uncertainty as to the strength of 
the scammony of the shops, whether it might not be best to abandon its inter- 
nal use altogether, and to employ only the resin, which is of uniform strength. 
Indeed, the resin has been officinally substituted for the gum-resin in that im- 
portant preparation, the compound extract of colocynth. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is directed that 75 per cent, of the drug should 
be soluble in ether, in the British from 80 to 90 per cent Both require that it 
should not effervesce with muriatic acid, and that water heated with it should 
not give a blue colour with tincture of iodiue ; the former test indicating the 
absence of chalk, the latter of farinaceous matters. 
Factitious Scammony. Montpellier Scammony. Much spurious scammony 
is manufactured in the south of France, said by Guibourt to be made from the 
expressed juice of Gynanchum Monspeliacum, incorporated with various resins, 
and other purgative substances. M. Thorel, however, a pharmaceutist of Aval- 
Ion, denies that this plant is employed in its preparation. (Journ. de Pharm., 
xx. 107.) It has been occasionally imported into the United States, and sold as 
Smyrna scammony. It is usually in flat semicircular cakes, four or five inches in 
diameter, and six or eight lines thick, blackish both externally and within, very 
hard, compact, rather heavy, of a somewhat shining and resinous fracture, a 
feeble balsamic odour wholly different from that of genuine scammony,and a very 
bitter nauseous taste. When rubbed with the moistened finger it becomes dark- 
gray, unctuous, and tenacious. We have seen another substance sold as Smyrna 
scammony, which was obviously spurious, consisting of blackish, circular, flat 
cakes, or fragments of such cakes, rather more than half an inch thick, very light, 
/penetrated with small holes, as if worm-eaten, and when broken exhibiting an 
irregular, cellular, spongy texture. Dr. Pereira described a factitious substance 
sold as Smyrna scammony, which was in circular flat cakes about half an inch 
thick, blackish, and of a slaty aspect, breaking with difficulty, of a dull black 
fracture, and of the sp. gr. 1-412. Moistened and rubbed it had the smell of 
guaiac, which could also be detected by chemical tests. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Scammony is an energetic cathartic, apt to 
occasion griping, and sometimes operating with harshness. It was known to 
the ancient Greek physicians, and was much employed by the Arabians, who 
not only gave it as a purgative, but also applied it externally for the cure of 
various cutaneous diseases. It maybe used in all cases of torpid bowels, when 
a powerful impression is desired; but, on account of its occasional violence, it is 
seldom administered, except in combination with other cathartics, the action of 
which it promotes, while its own harshness is mitigated. It should be given in 
emulsion with mucilage, sugar, almonds, liquorice, or other demulcent; audits 
disposition to gripe may be counteracted by the addition of an aromatic. The 
dose is from five to fifteen grains of pure scammony, from ten to thirty of that 
commonly found in the market. 
Off. Prep, of the Root. Scammoniae Resina, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Scammony. Confectio Scammonii, Br.; Pilula Colocynthidis 
Comp., Br.; Pulvis Scammonii Comp., Br.; Resina Scammonii. W. 
* The following table is given by Dr. Christison as the result of his examination of 
different specimens of impure commercial scammony. 
Calcareous. 
Amylaceous. 
Calcareo-amy 1 aceoua. 
Eesin 
64-6 
56-6 
43-3 
37-0 
62-0 
42-4 
Gum 
6-8 
50 
8-2 
9-0 
7-2 
7-8 
Chalk 
17-6 
25-0 
31-6 
— 
— 
18-6 
Fecula 
— 
1-4 
40 
20-0 
10-4 
13-2 
Lignin and sand 
5-2 
7-1 
7-8 
22-2 
13-4 
9-4 
Water 
6-4 
5-2 
6-4 
12-0 
7-5 
10-4 
100-6 
100-3 
101-3 
100-2 
100-5 
101-8 790 
Scilla. 
PART I. 
SCILLA. US.,Br. 
Squill. 
The bulb of Scilla maritima. U. S. The sliced and dried bulb of Urginea 
Scilla, Steinheil. Br. 
Scille, Fr.; Meerzwiebel, Germ,.; Scilla, Hal.; Cebolla, albarrana, Span. 
Scilla. Sex. Syst. Hexandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Liliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla six-petaled, spreading, deciduous. Filaments thread-like. 
mm. 
Scilla maritima. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 125; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 745, t. 255 
— Squilla maritima. Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 591; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot 
ii. 46, pi. 89. This is a perennial plant, with fibrous roots proceeding from the 
bottom of a large bulb, which sends forth several long, lanceolate, pointed, 
somewhat undulated, shining, deep-green leaves. From the midst of the leaves 
a round, smooth, succulent flower-stem rises, from one to three feet high, ter- 
minating in a long, close spike of whitish flowers. These are destitute of calyx, 
and stand on purplish peduncles, at the base of each of which is a linear, twisted, 
deciduous floral leaf. The squill grows on the of Spain, France, Italy, 
Greece, and the other countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The bulb is 
the officinal portion. It is generally dried for use; but is sometimes imported 
into this country in the recent state packed in sand. 
Properties. The fresh bulb is pear-shaped, usually larger than a man’s fist, 
sometimes as large as the head of a child, and consists of fleshy scales attenu- 
ated at their edges, closely applied over each other, and invested by exterior 
scales so thin and dry as to appear to constitute a membranous coat. There 
are two varieties, distinguished as the red and white squill. In the former, the 
exterior coating is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and the inner scales have a 
whitish rosy or very light pink epidermis, with a yellowish-white parenchyma; 
in the latter, the whole bulb is white. They do not differ in medicinal virtue. 
The bulb abounds in a viscid, very acrid juice, which causes it to inflame and 
even excoriate the skin when much handled. By drying, this acrimony is very 
much diminished, with little loss of medicinal power. The bulb loses about 
four-fifths of its weight in the process. Yogel found 100 parts of fresh squill 
to be reduced to 18 by desiccation. The process is somewhat difficult, in con- 
sequence of the abundance and viscidity of the juice. The bulb is cut into thin 
transverse slices, and the pieces dried separately by artificial or solar heat. 
The outer and central scales are rejected, the former being dry and destitute 
of activity, the latter too fleshy and mucilaginous. 
Dried squill, as found in our shops, is in irregular oblong pieces, often more 
or less contorted, of a dull yellowish-white colour with a reddish or rosy tint, 
sometimes entirely white, slightly diaphanous, brittle and pulverizable when 
perfectly dry, but often flexible from the presence of moisture, for which they 
have a great affinity. Occasionally a parcel will be found consisting of verti- 
cal slices, some of which adhere together at the base. The odour is very feeble, 
the taste bitter, nauseous, and acrid. 
The virtues of squill are extracted by water, alcohol, and vinegar. It was 
analyzed by Yogel; and, more recently (A. D. 1856), by M. J. H. Marais, who 
found, in 100 parts, 30 of mucilage, 15 of sugar, 8 of tannin, 10 of a red, acid 
colouring matter, 2 of a yellow, acid, odorous colouring matter, 1 of fatty mat- 
ter, 1 of scillitin, 5 of salts, and traces of iodine. (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 
1857, p. 127.) Examined by the microscope, the bulb is seen to be pervaded by 
innumerable minute acicular crystals, consisting of the salts of squill, chiefly, 
according to M. Marais, carbonate of lime, with a little chloride of calcium. 
(Ibid.) Water distilled from it had neither taste nor smell, and was drunk by 
Yogel to the amount of six ounces without effect. The acrid principle, there- 
fore, is not volatile. The substance named scillitin by Yogel was soluble in 
water, alcohol, and vinegar; but was considered by M. Tilloy, of Dijon, to be PART I 
Scilla, 
791 
a compound of the proper active principle of squill with gum and uncrystatliza- 
ble sugar. The scillitin, obtained by the latter experimenter, was insoluble in 
water and dilute acids, soluble in alcohol, exceedingly acrid and bitter, and 
very powerful in its influence on the system. A single grain produced the 
death of a strong dog. The process of Tilloy may be seen in former editions 
of this work. The scillitin obtained by him was still impure. Labourdais be- 
lieved that he had obtained it in an isolated state by means of animal charcoal. 
A decoction of squill was first treated with acetate of lead to separate the 
vis id matters, was then filtered and agitated in the cold with purified animal 
charcoal in fine powder, and afterwards allowed to rest. The charcoal gradually 
subsided, carrying with it the bitter and colouring principles. The liquid being 
decanted, the solid matter was dried, and treated with hot alcohol, which ac- 
quired an insupportable bitterness. The alcohol, being distilled off, left a milky 
liquid, which was allowed to evaporate spontaneously. The scillitin thus pro- 
cured was solid, uncrystallized, easily decomposable by heat, almost caustic to 
the taste, not deliquescent, neuter, but slightly soluble in water, to which, how- 
ever, it imparted a very great bitterness, very soluble in alcohol, and dissolved, 
but at the same time decomposed by concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids, 
imparting to the former a purple colour, instantly becoming black. {Ann. de 
Therap., 1849, p. 145.) L. F. Bley succeeded in obtaining scillitin, by the pro- 
cess of Labourdais, in long flexible needle shaped crystals, by simply allowing 
the last alcoholic solution to evaporate spontaneously. {Arch, der Pharm., lxi. 
141.) Landerer obtained a crystalline principle from fresh squill, by treating 
the bruised bulb with dilute sulphuric acid, concentrating the solution, neutral- 
izing it with lime, drying the precipitate, exhausting this with alcohol, and 
evaporating the tincture, which, on cooling, deposited the substance in question 
in prismatic crystals. It was bitter, but not acrid, insoluble in water or the 
volatile oils, slightly soluble in alcohol, and, according to Landerer, capable of 
neutralizing the acids. {Christison's Dispensatory.) Wittstein inferred from 
his experiments that the bitterness and acrimony of squill reside in distinct 
principles. (See Pharm. Journ., x. 359.) By a more recent analysis, Tilloy was 
induced to believe that there were two active principles in squill; one a resin- 
oid substance very acrid and poisonous, soluble in alcohol and not in ether, the 
other a very bitter principle, yellow, and soluble in water and alcohol. The 
acrid principle, in the dose of about three-quarters of a grain, killed a dog. 
The bitter principle is much less powerful. Both are contained in the matters ex- 
tracted from squill by means of animal charcoal. {Journ. de Pharm., xxiii. 410 ) 
M. Marais obtained results somewhat different from those of his predecessors. 
The scillitin procured by him is uncrystallizable, hygrometric but not deli- 
quescent, insoluble in water, and very soluble in alcohol and ether, even cold. 
It is in minute semitransparent spangles, of a pale-yellow colour, and of an 
intense, pungent bitterness, which is increased by the presence of water. Sul- 
phuric acid dissolves it, producing a colour precisely similar to that which the 
same acid causes with cod-liver oil. Nitric acid also dissolves it, causing a 
bright-red colour, which rapidly disappears. Muriatic acid has no effect on it. 
The hydrated alkalies disengage ammonia, showing that it contains nitrogen. 
Ammonia and potassa do not dissolve it, but remove its bitterness. Tannic 
acid gives with it a pale-yellow precipitate. It approaches the alkaloids in 
character; as it has an alkaline reaction, combines with acetic acid, and con- 
tains nitrogen. In its effects on the system, it resembles the acrid narcotics, 
proving fatal in the dose of three-quarters of a grain. It first vomits and 
purges violently, then acts as a narcotic, and finally paralyzes the heart. In 
fatal doses it occasions violent inflammation of the alimentary canal. Applied 
endermically, it acts much more rapidly than by the mouth, and now almost 
exclusively as a narcotic. A vigorous dog was killed in twenty-two minutes 
by six-tenths of a grain applied in this way. M. Marais obtains it by making a 
concentrated tincture of dry squill with alcohol of 0 56, precipitating with milk 
of lime, shaking the whole with ether, decanting the supernatant liquid, wash- 792 
Scilla.—Scoparius. 
PART 1. 
ing the magma with a fresh portion of ether till wholly deprived of bitterness, 
uniting the liquors, and distilling until there remains in the retort only alcohol 
with the scillitin and a little fatty matter. This is then evaporated as quickly 
as possible with a gentle heat, and the residue treated with alcohol of 0 90, 
which dissolves the scillitin, and leaves the fatty matter. The alcoholic solu- 
tion, evaporated to dryness, yields the scillitin, which is to be immediately 
enclosed in a well-stopped bottle. {Ibid., xxi. 128, Fev. 1857.) 
When kept in a dry place, squill retains its virtues for a long time; but if 
exposed to moisture it soon becomes mouldy. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Squill is expectorant, diuretic, and in large 
doses emetic and purgative. In overdoses it has been known to occasion hy- 
percatharsis, strangury, bloody urine, and fatal inflammation of the stomach and 
bowels. The Greek physicians employed it as a medicine; and it has retained 
to the present period a deserved popularity. As an expectorant, it is used both 
in cases of deficient and of superabundant secretion from the bronchial mu- 
cous membrane; in the former case usually combined with tartar emetic or ipe- 
cacuanha, in the latter frequently with the stimulant expectorants. In both 
instances, it operates by stimulating the vessels of the lungs ; and, where the 
inflammatory action in this organ is considerable, as in pneumonia and severe 
catarrh, the use of squill should be preceded by depletory measures. In drop- 
sical diseases it is very much employed, especially in connection with calomel, 
which is supposed to excite absorption, while the squill increases the secretory 
action of the kidneys. It is thought to succeed best in these complaints, in the 
absence of general inflammatory excitement. A remarkable case of greatly 
enlarged spleen, which was entirely removed under the use of fifteen drops of 
tincture of squill, given five times a day, and operating as a diuretic, is recorded 
by Dr. Hennigke in the Medical Gazette of Strasburg. The cure was effected 
in three weeks. {Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 91.) On account of its great uncer- 
tainty and occasional harshness, it is very seldom prescribed as an emetic, ex- 
cept in infantile croup or catarrh, in which it is usually given in the form of 
syrup or oxymel. When given in substance it is most conveniently adminis- 
tered in the form of pill. The dose, as a diuretic or expectorant, is one or two 
grains repeated two or three times a day, and gradually increased till it pro- 
duces slight nausea, or evinces its action upon the kidneys or lungs. From six 
to twelve grains will generally vomit. The vinegar and syrup of squill are 
officinal, and are much used. An acetic extract has been prepared by Mr. F. D. 
Niblett, by digesting a pound of squill with three fluidounces of acetic acid and 
a pint of distilled water, with a gentle heat, for forty-eight hours, then express- 
ing, and, without filtration, evaporating to a proper consistence. One grain is 
equal to about three of the powder. {Pharm. Journ., xii. 133.) 
Off. Prep. Acetum Scillse; Pilula Ipecacuanhae cum Scilla, Br.; Pilulae Scillae 
Comp.; Syrupus Scillae Comp., U. S.; Tinctura Scillae. W. 
SCOPARIUS. US. 
Broom. Broom-Tops. Br. 
The tops of Cytisus Scoparius. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SCOPARII CACUMINA. Broom Tops. The fresh and dried 
tops of Sarothamnus Scoparius, Wimmer. Br. 
Genet a balais, Fr.; Gemeine Besenginster, Germ,.; Scoparia, Hal.; Betama, Span. 
Cytisus. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Decandria.— Nat. Ord. Fabacese or Legu- 
minosse. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx bilabiate, upper lip generally entire, lower somewhat three- 
toothed. Vexillum ovate, broad. Carina very obtuse, enclosing the stamens 
and pistils. Stamens monadelphous. Legume plano-coiupressed, many-seeded, 
not glandular. (De Cand.) 
Cytisus Scoparius. De Cand. Prodrom. ii. 154. — Spartium Scoparium 
Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 933; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 413, t. 150. This is a common PAltT i. 
Scoparius. —Scutellaria. 
793 
European shrub, cultivated in our gardens, from three to eight feet high, with 
numerous straight, pentangular, bright-green, very flexible branches, and small, 
oblong, downy leaves, usually ternate, but on the upper part of the plant some- 
times simple. The flowers are numerous, papilionaceous, large, showy, of a 
golden-yellow colour, and solitary upon short axillary peduncles. The seeds 
are contained in a compressed legume, which is hairy at the sutures. 
The who1*} plant has a bitter nauseous taste, and, when bruised, a strong 
peculiar odour. The tops of the branches are the officinal portion ; but the seeds 
also are used, and, while they possess similar virtues, have the advantage of 
keeping better. Water and alcohol extract their active properties. According 
to Cadet de Gassicourt, the flowers contain volatile oil, fatty matter, wax, chlo- 
rophyll, yellow colouring matter, tannin, a sweet substance, mucilage, osma- 
zome, albumen, and lignin. Dr. Stenhouse has separated from them two princi- 
ples, one of which, called scoparin, he believes to be the diuretic principle, and the 
other, named spartein, to be narcotic. The former is in stellate crystals, easily 
dissolved by boiling water and alcohol, and is obtained by purifying a yellow 
gelatinous substance deposited upon the evaporation of the decoction. It may 
be given in the dose of four or five grains. The latter was obtained by distil- 
lation from the mother-waters of the scoparin. It is a colourless liquid, having 
a peculiar bitter taste, and all the properties of a volatile organic base. It ap- 
pears to have narcotic properties. But we need more definite information on 
the subject. (Annuaire de Therap., 1853, p. 153.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Broom is diuretic and cathartic, and in large 
doses emetic, and has been employed with great advantage in dropsical com- 
plaints, in which it was recommended by Mead, Cullen, and others. Cullen pre- 
scribed it in the form of decoction, made by boiling half an ounce of the fresh 
tops in a pint of water down to half' a pint, of which he gave a fluidounce every 
hour till it operated by stool or urine. It is a domestic remedy in Great Britain, 
but is seldom used in this country. The seeds may be given in powder, in the 
dose of ten or fifteen grains. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Scoparii, Br.; Succus Scoparii, Br. W. 
SCUTELLARIA. U.S. Secondary. 
Scullcap. 
The herb of Scutellaria lateriflora. TJ. S. 
Scutellaria. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Gymnospermia.— Nat. Ord. Labiatse. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx bilabiate; lips entire; mouth closed by a helmet-shaped 
lid after the corolla falls. Corolla bilabiate, upper lip vaulted, lower dilated, 
convex; tube of the corolla bent. 
Several species of Scutellaria have attracted attention. Scutellaria galericu- 
lata, or common European scullcap, which also grows wild in this country, has 
a feeble, somewhat alliaceous odour, and a bitterish taste. It has been employed 
in intermittents, and externally in old ulcers. Dr. R. W. Evans, of Canada 
West, has found it useful in epilepsy; but to effect a cure it must be continued, 
he says, for five or six months. He makes an infusion with two ounces of the 
herb and eight ounces of water, and gives a fluidounce every eight hours, 
doubling the quantity after a week. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xvii. 495.) 
Another indigenous species, the S. integrifolia, of which S. hyssopifolia, Linn , 
is considered by some as a variety, is intensely bitter, and might probably be 
found useful as a tonic. S lateriflora is the only officinal species. 
Scutellaria lateriflora. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 172; Gray, Manual of the Bot. 
of North. U. S., p. 315. This is an indigenous perennial herb, with a stem erect, 
much branched, quadrangular, smooth, and one or two feet high. The leaves 
are ovate, acute, dentate, subcordate upon the stem, opposite, and supported 
upon long petioles. The flowers are small, of a pale-blue colour, and disposed 
in long, lateral, leafy racemes. The tube of the corolla is elongated, the upper 794 
Scutellaria. —Senega. 
part I 
lip concave and entire, the lower three-lobed. The plant gro *~s in moist places 
by the sides of ditches and ponds in all parts of the Union. 
To the senses sculleap does not indicate, by any peculiar taste or smell, the 
possession of medicinal virtues. It is even destitute of the aromatic properties 
which are found in many of the labiate plants. When taken internally, it pro- 
duces no very obvious effects. Notwithstanding this apparent inertness, it ob- 
tained, at one period, extraordinary credit throughout the United States, as a 
preventive of hydrophobia, and was even thought to be useful in the disease 
itself. A strong infusion of the plant was given in the dose of a teacupful, re- 
peated several times a day, and continued for three or four months after the 
bite was received ; while the herb itself was applied to the wound. Strong tes- 
timony was adduced in favour of its prophylactic powers; but it has already 
shared the fate, which in this case is no doubt deserved, of numerous other 
specifics against hydrophobia, which have been brought into temporary popu- 
larity, only to be speedily abandoned. Nevertheless, it is thought by some prac- 
titioners to have valuable therapeutic properties; and Drs. Ariel Hunton and 
C. H. Cleaveland, of Vermont, speak in strong terms of its efficacy as a nervine. 
They have employed it in neuralgic and convulsive affections, chorea, delirium 
tremens, and nervous exhaustion from fatigue or over-excitement, and have 
found it highly advantageous. Dr. Cleaveland says that he prefers it to all other 
nervines or antispasmodics, except where an immediate effect is desirable. He 
prefers the form of infusion, which he prepares by adding half an ounce of the 
dried leaves to a teacupful of water, and allows the patient to drink ad libitum. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiii. 370; also N. J. Med. Reporter, v. 13.) 
Two preparations are now used; one called scutellarine, though erroneously, 
as it has no claim to be considered a pure proximate principle, the other a fluid 
extract. The so-called scutellarine is prepared by mixing a concentrated tinc- 
ture with water, precipitating by alum, and then washing and drying. Dr. 
Cleaveland gives it in a dose varying from one to three or four grains, and finds 
very happy effects from it in quieting nervous disorders. (N. J. Med. Reporter, 
viii. 121.) The fluid extract, prepared by the Messrs. Tilden, is used in the dose 
of one or two fluidrachms. Dr. Joseph Bates, of New Lebanon, N. Y., speaks 
highly of it as a nervine. (Bost. Med. and S. Journ , lii. 337.) W. 
SENEGA. U.S. 
Seneka. 
The root of Polygala Senega. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SENEGAS RADIX. Senega Root. The dried root of Polygala 
Senega. Br. 
Polygale de Virginie, Fr.; Klapperschlangenwurzel,Germ.] Poligala Virginiana, Hal. 
Polygala. Sex. Syst. Diadelphia Octandria. — Nat. Ord. Polygalaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-leaved, with two leaflets wing-shaped and coloured. 
Legume obcordate, two-celled. Willd. 
Besides P. Senega, two other species have attracted some attention in Europe 
— P. amara and P. vulgaris — as remedies in chronic pectoral affections; but 
as they are not natives of this country, and are never used by practitioners here, 
they do not merit particular notice. 
Poly gala Senega. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 894; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 91; 
Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 111. This unostentatious plant has a perennial branching 
root, from which several erect, simple, smooth, round, leafy stems annually rise, 
from nine inches to a foot in height. The stems are occasionally tinged with 
red or purple below, but are green near the top. The leaves are alternate or 
scattered, lanceolate, pointed, smooth, bright-green on the upper surface, paler 
beneath, and sessile or supported on very short footstalks. The flowers are 
small and white, and form a close spike at the summit of the stem. The calyx 
is their most conspicuous part. It consists of five leaflets, two of which are 
wing-shaped, white, and larger than the others. The corolla is small and closed. PART I, 
Senega, 
795 
The capsules are small, much compressed, obcordate, t vo-valved and two-celled, 
with two oblong-ovate, blackish seeds, pointed at one end. 
This species of Polygala, commonly called Seneka snakeroot, grows wild in 
all parts of the United States, but most abundantly in the southern and western 
sections, where the root is collected for sale. It is brought into market in bales 
weighing from fifty to four hundred pounds. 
Properties. As the root occurs in commerce, it is of various sizes, from that 
of a straw to that of the little finger, presenting a thick knotty head, which ex- 
hibits traces of the numerous stems. It is tapering, branched, variously twisted, 
often marked with crowded annular protuberances, and with a projecting keel- 
like line, extending along its whole length. The epidermis is corrugated, trans- 
versely cracked, of a vellowish-brown colour in the young roots, and brownish- 
gray in the old. In the smaller branches the colour is a lighter yellow. The 
bark is hard and resinous, and contains the active principles of the root. The 
central portion is ligneous, white, and quite inert, and should be rejected in the 
preparation of the powder. The colour of this is gray. The odour of seneka 
is peculiar, strong in the fresh root, but faint in the dried. The taste is at first 
sweetish and mucilaginous, but after chewing becomes somewhat pungent and 
acrid, leaving a peculiar irritating sensation in the fauces. These properties, as 
well as the medical virtues of the root, are extracted by boiling water and by 
alcohol. Diluted alcohol is an excellent solvent. The root has been analyzed 
by Gehlen, Peschier of Geneva, Feneulle of Cambray, Dulong D’Astafort, 
Folchi, and Tronnnsdorff, and more recently by M. Quevenne. The senegin of 
Gehlen, though supposed at one time to be the active principle, has been ascer- 
tained to be a complex substance, and to have no just claim to the rank assigned 
to it. From a comparison of the results obtained by the above-mentioned 
chemists, it would appear that seneka contains, 1. a peculiar acrid principle, 
which M. Quevenne considers to be an acid, and has named polygalic acid; 2. 
a yellow colouring matter, of a bitter taste, insoluble or nearly so in water, 
but soluble in ether and alcohol; 3. a volatile principle considered by some as 
an essential oil, but thought by Quevenne to possess acid properties, and named 
by him virgineic acid; 4. pectic acid or pectin ; 5. tannic acid of the variety 
which precipitates .iron green; 6. gum; I. albumen; 8. cerin; 9. fixed oil; 10. 
woody fibre ; and 11. saline and earthy substances, as the carbonates, sulphates, 
and phosphates of lime and potassa, chloride of potassium, alumina, magnesia, 
silica, and iron. The virtues of seneka appear to reside chiefly, if not exclusively, 
in the acrid principle which M. Quevenne called polygalic acid, and which he 
considered closely analogous to saponin. He obtained it pure by the following 
process. Powdered seneka is exhausted by alcohol of 33°, and so much of the 
alcohol is distilled off as to bring the resulting tincture to the consistence of 
syrup. The residue is treated with ether, in order to remove the fatty matter. 
The liquid upon standing deposits a precipitate, which is separated by filtration, 
and is then mixed with water. To the turbid solution thus formed alcohol is 
added, which facilitates the production of a white precipitate, consisting chiefly 
of polygalic acid. The liquid is allowed to stand for several days, that the pre- 
cipitate may be fully formed. The supernatant liquid being decanted, the pre- 
cipitate is drained upon a filter, and, being removed while yet moist, is dissolved 
by the aid of heat in alcohol of 36°. The solution is boiled with purified animal 
charcoal, and filtered while hot. Upon cooling it deposits the principle in ques- 
tion in a state of purity. Thus obtained, polygalic acid is a white powder, in- 
odorous, and of a taste at first slight, but soon becoming pungent and acrid, 
and producing a very painful sensation in the throat. It is fixed, unalterable in 
the air, inflammable, soluble in water slowly when cold and rapidly with the aid 
of heat, soluble in all proportions in boiling absolute alcohol, which deposits 
most of it on cooling, quite insoluble in ether and in the fixed and volatile oils, 
and possessed of the properties of reddening litmus and neutralizing the alka- 
lies. Its constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. M. Quevenne found 
it, when given to dogs, to occasion vomiting, and much embarrassment in respi- 796 
Senega, 
PART I, 
ration, and in large quantities to destroy life. Dissection exhibited evidences of 
inflammation of the lungs; and frothy mucus was found in the stomach, oesopha- 
gus, and superior portion of the trachea, showing the tendency of this substance 
to increase the mucous secretion, and explaining in part the beneficial influence 
of seneka in croup. (Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 449, and xxiii. 227.) M. Bolley 
confirms the opinion of Quevenne as to the strong analogy between polygalic 
acid or senegin and saponin, if not their absolute identity, and considers them 
both as glucosides, resolvable by muriatic acid into glucose and a peculiar sub- 
stance called sapogenin. He represents the composition of senegin by the for 
mula C38HmO80. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxvii. 45.) 
From the experiments of M. Quevenne it also appears that seneka yields its 
virtues to water, cold or hot, and to boiling alcohol; and that the extracts ob- 
tained by means of these liquids have the sensible properties of the root. But, 
under the influence of heat, a portion of the acrid principle unites with the 
colouring matter and coagulated albumen, and thus becomes insoluble in water; 
and the decoction, therefore, is not so strong as the infusion, if time is allowed, 
in the formation of the latter, for the full action of the menstruum. If it be de- 
sirable to obtain the virtues of the root in the form of an aqueous extract, the 
infusion should be prepared on the principle of displacement; as it is thus most 
concentrated, and consequently requires less heat in its evaporation. In forming 
an infusion of seneka, the temperature of the water, according to M Quevenne, 
should not exceed 104° F. 
The roots of Panax quinquefolium or ginseng are frequently mixed with the 
seneka, but are easily distinguishable by their shape and taste. Another root 
has been occasionally observed in parcels of seneka, supposed to be that of Gril- 
lenia trifoliata. This would be readily distinguished by its colour and shape 
(see Gillenia), and by its bitter taste without acrimony. One of the most char- 
acteristic marks of seneka is the projecting line running the whole length of the 
root, and appearing as though a thread were placed beneath the bark, and, being 
attached at the upper end, were drawn at the lower, so as to give the root a 
contorted shape. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Seneka is a stimulating expectorant and di- 
uretic, and in large doses emetic and cathartic. It appears indeed to excite 
more or less all the secretions, proving occasionally diaphoretic and emmena- 
gogue, and increasing the flow of saliva. Its action, however, is especially di- 
rected to the lungs; and its expectorant virtues are those for which it is chiefly 
employed. It was introduced into practice about a century ago by Dr. Tennant, 
of Virginia, who recommended it as a cure for the bite of the rattlesnake, and 
in various pectoral complaints. As an expectorant it is employed in cases not 
attended with acute inflammatory action, or in which the inflammation has been 
in great measure subdued. It is peculiarly useful in chronic catarrhal affections, 
the secondary stages of croup, and in peripneumonia notha after sufficient de- 
pletion. By Dr. Archer, of Maryland, it was recommended in the early stages 
of croup; but is now seldom given, unless in combination with squill and an 
antimonial, as in the Syrupus Scillse Gompositus. Employed so as to purge and 
vomit, it has proved useful in rheumatism; and some cases of dropsy are said 
to have been cured by it. It has also been recommended in amenorrhoea. 
The dose of powdered seneka is from ten to twenty grains; but the medicine 
is more frequently administered in decoction. (See Decoctum Senegse.) A syrup 
and alcoholic extract are officinal. The dose of the former is one or two flui- 
drachms, of the latter from one to three grains. A tincture is directed in the 
Br. Pharmacopoeia. Polygalic acid may be employed in the dose of from the 
fourth of a grain to a grain, and may be administered either in pill or powder, 
or dissolved in hot water, with the addition, in any of its forms, of gum and sugar 
to obtund its acrimony. A formula for its preparation, by Professor Procter, has 
been published in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860, p. 150. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Senegse, U.S.; Extractum Senegse Alcoholicuni, U.S.; 
Infusum Senegas, Br.; Syrupus Scillse Compositus, U.S.; Syrupus Senegse, 
U.S.; Tinctura Senegse, Br. W. PART i, 
Senna, 
797 
SENNA. U.S. 
Senna. 
The leaflets of Cassia acutifolia (Delile), of Cassia obovata (Be Candolle), 
and of Cassia elongata (Lemaire). U. S. 
Off. Syn. SENNA ALEXANDRINA. Alexandrian Senna. The leaflets 
of Cassia lanceolata, Lamarck; and Cassia obovata. SENNA INDICA. 
Tinnivelly Senna. The leaflets of Cassia elongata. From plants cultivated in 
Southern India. Br. 
S6ne, Fr.; Sennesbliitter, Germ.; Senna, Ital., Port.; Sen, Span. 
Cassia. See CASSIA FISTULA. 
The plants which yield senna belong to the genus Cassia, of which several 
species contribute to furnish the drug. These were confounded together by 
Linnaeus in a single species, which he named Cassia Senna. Since his time the 
subject has been more thoroughly investigated, especially by Delile, who accom- 
panied the French expedition to Egypt, and had an opportunity of examining 
the plant in its native country. Botanists at present distinguish at least three 
species, C. acutifolia, C. obovata, and C. elongata, as the source of commercial 
senna; and it is probable that two others, C. lanceolata of Forskhal and C. 
JEthiopica of Guibourt, contribute towards it. The first three are recognised 
by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
1. Cassia acutifolia. Delile, Flore d'Egypte, Ixxv. tab. 27, f. 1.—C. lanceo- 
lata. De Candolle ; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 34, pi. 27. This is described 
as a small undershrub, two or three feet high, with a straight, woody, branching, 
whitish stem; but, according to Landerer, the senna plant attains the height of 
eight or ten feet in the African deserts. The leaves are alternate and pinnate, 
with glandless footstalks, and two small narrow pointed stipules at the base. 
The leaflets, of which from four to six pairs belong to each leaf, are almost ses- 
sile, oval-lanceolate, acute, oblique at their base, nerved, from half an inch to an 
inch long, and of a yellowish-green colour. The flowers are yellow, and in axil- 
lary spikes. The fruit is a flat, elliptical, obtuse, membranous, smooth, grayish- 
brown, bivalvular legume, about an inch long and half an inch broad, scarcely 
if at all curved, and divided into six or seven cells, each containing a hard, heart- 
shaped, ash-coloured seed. C. acutifolia grows wild in great abundance in Upper 
Egypt, Nubia, Sennaar, and other parts of Africa. This species furnishes the 
greater part of the variety known in commerce by the name of Alexandria senna 
2. Cassia obovata. Colladon, Monographic des Casses; De Cand. Prodrom. 
ii. 492; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 35, pi. 28. The stem of this species is 
rather shorter than that of C. acutifolia, rising to the height of only a foot and 
a half. The leaves have from five to seven pairs of leaflets, which are obovate, 
very obtuse, sometimes mucronate, in other respects similar to those of the pre- 
ceding species. The flowers are in axillary spikes, of which the peduncles are 
longer than the leaves of the plant. The legumes are very much compressed, 
curved almost into tfce kidney form, of a greenish-brown colour, and covered 
with a very short down, which is perceptible only by the aid of a magnifying 
glass. They contain from eight to ten seeds. The C. obtusata of Hayne, with 
obovate, truncated, emarginate leaflets, is probably a mere variety of this spe- 
cies. The plant, which according to Merat is annual, grows wild in Syria, 
Egypt, and Senegambia; and is said to have been cultivated successfully iu 
Italy, Spain, and the West Indies. At present it grows wild so abundantly in 
8ome parts of Jamaica as to have suggested, to a resident of the island, the 
propriety of cultivating it for the English and American markets. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., Sept. 1867, p. 143.) It yields the variety of senna called iu 
Europe Aleppo senna, and contributes to the Alexandrian. 
3. Cassia elongata. Lemaire, Journ. de Pharm. vii. 345; Ffie, Journ. de 
Chim. Med. vi. 232; Carson, Illust. of Med. Bot. i. 36, pi. 29. This name was 
conferred by M. Lemaire upon the plant from which the India senua of com- 798 
Senna. 
PART l. 
merce is derived. The botanical description was completed by M. Fee, from 
dried specimens of the leaves and fruit found by him in unassorted parcels of 
this variety of senna. Dr.Wallich afterwards succeeded in raising the plant from 
seeds found in a parcel of senna taken to Calcutta from Arabia; and it has been 
described by Dr. Royle, Wight & Arnott, and Dr. Lindley. As usually grown, 
it is annual; but with care it may be made to live through the year, and then 
assumes the character of an undershrub. It has an erect, smooth stem, and pin- 
nate leaves, with from four to eight pairs of leaflets. These are nearly sessile, 
lanceolate, obscurely mueronate, oblique at the base, smooth above and some- 
what downy beneath, with the veins turned inwards so as to form a wavy line 
immediately within the edge of the leaflet. The most striking character of the 
leaflet is its length, which varies from an inch to twenty lines. The petioles are 
without glands; the stipules minute, spreading, and semi-hastate. The flowers 
are bright-yellow, and arranged in axillary and terminal racemes, rather longer 
than the leaves. The legume is oblong, membranous, tapering abruptly at the 
base, rounded at the apex, and an inch and a half long by somewhat more 
than half an inch broad. This plant is a native of the southern parts of Arabia. 
It has been said also to grow in the interior of India, and is at present culti- 
vated at Tinnevelly for medical use. 
Besides the three officinal species above described, the C. lanceolata of 
Forskhal, found by that author growing in the deserts of Arabia, is admitted 
by Lindley and others as a distinct species. Some difference, however, of 
opinion exists upon this point. De Candolle considered it a variety of the C. 
acutifolia of Delile, from which it differs chiefly in having leaflets with glandular 
petioles; and, as Forskhal’s description preceded that of Delile, he designated 
the species by the name of C. lanceolata. Forskhal’s plant has been supposed 
by some to be the source of the India or Mocha senna ; but the leaflets in this 
variety are much longer than those of C. lanceolata, from which the plant differs 
also in having no gland on the petiole. Niebuhr informs us that he found the 
Alexandria senna growing in the Arabian territory of Abuarish, whence it is 
taken by the Arabs to Mecca and Jedda. This is probably the C. lanceolata of 
Forskhal. It is highly probable that this species is the source of a variety of 
senna which has been brought to this market under the name of Mecca senna * 
Cassia Mthiopica of Guibourt ( C. ovata of Merat), formerly confounded with 
C. acutifolia, is considered by Dr. Lindley as undoubtedly a distinct species. It 
grows in Nubia, Fezzan to the south of Tripoli, and probably, according to 
Guibourt, throughout Ethiopia. It is from this plant that the Tripoli senna 
of commerce is derived. 
Commercial History. Several varieties of this valuable drug are known in 
commerce. Of these, four have been received in America, the Alexandria, the 
Tripoli, the India, and the Mecca senna. 
1. Alexandria Senna. Though the name of this variety is derived from the 
Egyptian port at which it is shipped, it is in fact gathered very far in the in- 
terior. The Alexandria senna does not consist exclusively of the product of 
one species of Cassia. The history of its preparation is not destitute of interest. 
The senna plants of Upper Egypt yield two crops annually, one in spring and 
the other in autumn. They are gathered chiefly in the country beyond Sienne. 
* The following are the botanical characters of this and the next-mentioned species. 
1. C. lanceolata. Forskhal; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 259. “ Leaflets in four or five pairs, 
never more; oblong, and either acute or obtuse, not at all ovate or lanceolate, and per- 
fectly free from downiness even when young; the petioles have constantly a small round 
brown gland, a little above the base. The pods are erect, oblong, tapering to the base, 
obtuse, turgid, mucronate, rather falcate, especially when young, at which time they are 
sparingly covered with coarse scattered hairs.” [Lindley.) 
2. C. AEthiopica. Guibourt, Hist. Ah. des Drogues, ii. 219; Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 259. 
Tne plant is about eighteen inches high. The footstalks have a gland at the base, and 
another between each pair of leaflets. There are from three to five pairs of leaflets, which 
are pubescent, oval-lanceolate, from seven to nine lines in length, and three or four in 
breadth, rather shorter and less acute than those of C. acutifolia. The legume is flat, 
smooth, not reniform, rounded, about an inch long, with from three to five seeds. PART I. 
Senna. 
799 
The natives cut the plants, and, having dried them in the sun, strip off the leaves 
and pods, which they pack in bales, and send to Boulac, in the vicinity of Cairo, 
the great entrepot for this article of Egyptian commerce. This senna from 
Upper Egypt, consisting chiefly though not exclusively of the product of C. acuti- 
folia, was here formerly mixed with the leaflets of C. obovata, brought from other 
parts of Egypt, and even from Syria, with the leaves of Cynanchum oleaefolium 
(C. Argel of Delile), known commonly by the name of argel or arguel, and 
sometimes with those of Tephrosia Apollinea of De Candolle, a leguminous 
plant growing in Egypt and Nubia. According to M. Royer, the proportions 
in which the three chief constituents of this mixture were added together, were 
five parts of C. acutifolia, three of C. obovata, and two of Cynanchum. Thus 
prepared, the senna was again packed in bales, and transmitted to Alexandria. 
But at present there is no such uniformity in the constitution of Alexandria 
senna ; and, though the three chief ingredients may still sometimes be found in 
it, they are not in the same fixed proportions ; and not unfrequently the Cynan- 
chum leaves are wholly wanting. This variety of senna is often called in French 
pharmaceutic works sene de la palthe, a name derived from an impost formerly 
laid upon it by the Ottoman Porte. 
A parcel of Alexandria senna, as it was formerly brought to market, consisted 
of the following ingredients:—1. The leaflets of C. acutifolia, characterized by 
their acute form, and their length, almost always less than an inch ; 2. the leaf- 
lets of C. obovata, known by their rounded very obtuse summit, which is some- 
times furnished with a small projecting point, and by their gradual diminution 
in breadth towards their base ; 3. the pods, broken leafstalks, flowers, and fine 
fragments of other parts of one or both of these species ; 4. the leaves of Cynan- 
chum oleaefolium, which are distinguishable by their length, almost always more 
than an inch, their greater thickness and firmness, the absence of any visible lat- 
eral nerves on their under surface, their somewhat lighter colour, and the regu- 
larity of their base. In this last character they strikingly differ from the genuine 
senna leaflets, which, from whatever species derived, are always marked by ob- 
liquity at their base, one side being inserted in the petiole at a point somewhat 
lower than the other, and at a different angle. Discrimination between this and 
the other ingredients is of some importance, as the Cynanchum must be con- 
sidered an adulteration. It is said by the French writers to produce hypercathar- 
sis and much irritation of the bowels; but was found by Christisou and Mayer 
to occasion griping and protracted nausea, with little purgation. The flowers and 
fruit of the Cynanchum were also often present, the former white, and in small 
corymbs, the latter an ovoid follicle rather larger than an orange seed. Besides 
the above constituents of Alexandria senna,it occasionally contained leaflets of 
genuine senna, much longer than thoseof the acutifolia or obovata, equalling in 
this respect the Cynanchum,which they also somewhat resembled in form. They 
were distinguishable, however, by their greater thinness, the distinctness of their 
lateral nerves, and the irregularity of their base. The leaflets and fruit of Te- 
phrosia Apollinea, which have been an occasional impurity in this variety of 
senna, may be distinguished, the former by their downy surface, their obovate- 
oblong, emarginate shape, their parallel unbranched lateral nerves, and by being 
usually folded longitudinally; the latter, by its dimensions, being from an inch 
to an inch and a halflong, and only two lines broad. As now imported, Alexan- 
dria senna is often quite free from the leaves of Cynanchum, and may have few 
or none of the leaflets of obovate senna. It is probably brought directly to 
Alexandria from Upper Egypt, without having undergone intermixture at 
Boulac or other intervening place. In Europe, this senna is said to have been 
sometimes adulterated with the leaflets of Gollutea arborescens or bladder 
senna, and the leaves of Coriaria myrtifolia, a plant of Southern Europe, said 
to be astringent and even poisonous. An account of the former of these plants 
is given in Part III. The leaflets of the Coriaria are ovate-lanceolate, grayish- 
green with a bluish tint, and are readily known, when not too much broken up, 
by their strongly marked midrib, and two lateral nerves running from the base 800 
Senna, 
PART I 
nearly to the summit. They are chemically distinguished by giving a whitish 
precipitate with solution of gelatin, and a bluish-black one with the salts of 
sesquioxide of iron, proving the presence of tannin. Their poisonous proper- 
ties are denied by Peschier. According to Bouchardat, they are closely analo- 
gous to strychnia in their effects. Another addition to Alexandria senna has 
been detected by M. Lacroix, of Macon, in France, in the leaves of the Globu- 
laria Turbith (Globularia alypum, Linn.), which seem to have taken the 
place of the Golutea arborescens, because more closely resembling the senna 
leaflet. The leaves of the Globularia are spatulate, much enlarged towards 
the upper end, rounded at the extremity, but always terminating in a short 
sharp point. Besides, they are brown, thick, firm, and hard to the touch; 
while those of the Colutea are green, very thin, and soft. They have an 
acrid, very bitter taste, but are without nauseous odour. They are asserted 
to be cathartic, but milder than senna, and capable of being substituted for 
it in twice the dose. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e s6r., i. 413.) According to Prof. 
Bentley, the adulteration of Alexandria senna with argel, though for some time 
suspended, has of late years been resumed, and is now practised to a con- 
siderable extent, at least in relation to the drug as it reaches the English mar- 
ket. (Pharm. Journ., April, 1861, p. 497.) 
2. Tripoli Senna. Genuine Tripoli senna consists in general exclusively of 
the leaflets of one species of Cassia, formerly considered as a variety of G. acu- 
tifolia, but now admitted to be distinct, and named G. JEthiopica. The leaflets, 
however, are much broken up; and it is probably on this account that the va- 
riety is usually less esteemed than the Alexandrian. The aspect given to it by 
this state of comminution, and by the uniformity of its constitution, enables the 
eye at once to distinguish it from the other varieties of senna. The leaflets, 
moreover, are shorter, less acute, thinner, and more fragile than those of C. acu- 
tifolia in Alexandria senna; and their nerves are much less distinct. The gen- 
eral opinion at one time was, that it was brought from Sennaar and Nubia to 
Tripoli in caravans; but it is reasonably asked by M. F£e, how it could be af- 
forded at a cheaper price than the Alexandrian, if thus brought on the backs of 
camels a distance of eight hundred leagues through the desert. It is probably 
collected in Fezzan, immediately south of Tripoli. 
3. India senna. This variety is in Europe sometimes called Mocha senna, 
probably because obtained originally from that port. It derives its name of India 
senna from the route by which it reaches us. Though produced in Arabia, it is 
brought to this country and Europe from Calcutta, Bombay, and possibly other 
ports of Hindostan. It consists of the leaflets of Cassia elongata, with some of 
the leafstalks and pods intermixed. The eye is at once struck by the great length 
and comparative narrowness of the leaflets, so that the variety may be readily 
distinguished The pike-like shape of the leaflet has given rise to the name of 
sine de la pique, by which it is known in French pharmacy. Many of the leaf- 
lets have a yellowish, dark-brown, or blackish colour, probably from exposure 
after collection; and the variety has commonly in mass a characteristic dull 
tawny hue. It is generally considered inferior in purgative power. Leaflets of 
a senna resembling the Indian were brought by Dr. Livingstone from Southern 
Africa, where the plant grows abundantly. (Bentley, Pharm. Journ., ii. 499.) 
A variety of India senna, has reached this country, which is the produce of 
Hindostan, being cultivated at Tinnevelly, and probably other places in the 
south of the Peninsula. The plant was originally raised from seeds obtained 
from the Red Sea, and is the same as that from which the common India senna 
is derived. The drug is exported from Madras to England, where it is known 
by the name of Tinnevelly senna. It is a fine unmixed variety, consisting of 
unbroken leaflets, from one to two or more inches long, and sometimes half an 
inch in their greatest breadth, thin, flexible, and of a fine green colour. Mr. T. 
B. Groves, however, states as the result of his experiments, that Tinnevelly 
senna contains much less of the active principle than the Alexandrian; the latter 
yielding half as much again as the former. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans , Oct. 
1868, p. 202.) PART I, 
Senna 
801 
4. Mecca senna. After the publication of the fifth edition of this Dispensa- 
tory, a variety of senna was imported under the name of Mecca senna, con- 
sisting of the leaflets, pods, broken stems, and petioles of a single species of Cas- 
sia. The leaflets were oblong-lanceolate, on the average longer and narrower 
than those of C. acutifolia, and shorter than those of C. elongata. The variety 
in mass had a yellowish or tawny hue, more like that of India than that of Alex- 
andria senna. May it not have been the product of the C. lanceolata of Fors- 
khal ? We might infer so from the name, and from the character of the leaflet. 
Landerer, however, speaks of a valuable variety of senna, characterized by the 
large size of the leaflets, and sold under the name of Mecca senna, which he says 
comes from the interior of Africa. 
Commercial senna is prepared for use by picking out the leaflets, and reject- 
ing the leafstalks, the small fragments, and the leaves of other plants. The pods 
are also rejected by some apothecaries; but they possess considerable cathartic 
power, though said to be milder than the leaves. 
Properties. The odour of senna is faint and sickly; the taste slightly bitter, 
sweetish, and nauseous. Water and diluted alcohol extract its active principles. 
Pure alcohol extracts them but imperfectly. (Bley and Diesel, Pharm. Central 
Blatt, Feb. 1849, p. 126.) The leaves are said to yield about one-third of their 
weight to boiling water. The infusion is of a deep reddish-brown colour, and 
has the odour and taste of the leaves. When exposed to the air for a short time, 
it deposits a yellowish insoluble precipitate, supposed to result from the union 
of extractive matter with oxygen. The nature of this precipitate, however, is 
not well understood. Decoction also produces some change in the principles of 
senna, by which its medicinal virtues have been supposed to be impaired; but 
some experiments of B. Heerlein would seem to show that this opinion is incor- 
rect. An extract prepared by boiling down an infusion, redissolving the residue, 
and again boiling down to a solid consistence, was found to operate actively in 
a dose equivalent to a drachm of the leaves. {Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1851, p. 
909.) To diluted alcohol it imparts the same reddish-brown colour as to water; 
but rectified alcohol and ether, digested upon the powdered leaves, become of a 
deep olive-green. The analysis of senna by MM. Lassaigne and Feneulle fur- 
nished the following results. The leaves contain — 1. a peculiar principle called 
cathartin; 2. chlorophyll, or the green colouring matter of leaves; 3. a fixed 
oil; 4. a small quantity of volatile oil; 5. albumen; 6. a yellow colouring mat- 
ter; 7. mucilage ; 8. salts of the vegetable acids, viz., malate and tartrate of lime 
and acetate of potassa; and 9. mineral salts The pods are composed of the 
same principles, with the exception of chlorophyll, the place of which is supplied 
by a peculiar colouring matter. {Journ. de Pharm , vii. 548, and ix. 58.) Ca- 
thartin was thought to be the active principle of senna; but upon trial it has 
proved to possess little power; and it is now believed to be a complex body, 
consisting, according to Bley and Diesel, of a mixture of resinous and extractive 
matter. It is an unerystallizable substance, having a peculiar smell, a bitter, nau- 
seous taste, and a reddish-yellow colour; is soluble in every proportion in water 
and alcohol, but insoluble in ether; and in its dry state attracts moisture from 
the air. It is prepared in the following manner. To a filtered decoction of senna 
the solution of acetate of lead is added ; and the precipitate which forms is sepa- 
rated. A stream of hydrosulphuric acid is then made to pass through the liquor 
in order to precipitate the lead, and the sulphuret produced is removed by filtra- 
tion. The liquid is now evaporated to the consistence of an extract; the product 
is treated with rectified alcohol; and the alcoholic solution is evaporated. To 
the extract thus obtained sulphuric acid diluted with alcohol is added, in order 
to decompose the acetate of potassa which it contains; the sulphate of potassa 
is separated by filtration; the excess of sulphuric acid by acetate of lead; the 
excess of acetate of lead by hydrosulphuric acid ; and the sulphuret of lead by 
another filtration. The liquid being now evaporated yields cathartin. This sub- 
stance must not be confounded with a purgative principle, also called cathartin, 
which exists in Rhamnus cathartieus. Bley and Diesel found in senna a peculiar 802 
Senna 
PARI I 
yellow resin which they named chrysoretin, a brown resin and brown extractive 
which they could not fully separate, pectin, gummy extractive, chlorophyll, 
fatty matter, and various salts. (Pharvi. Gent. Blntt, Feb. 1849, p. 126.) M. 
Batka, besides the components enumerated by MM. Lassaigne and Feneulle, 
found chrysophanic acid, previously discovered by Martius, legumin (instead 
of albumen), gum, sugar, sennacrin (instead of cathartin, without bitterness), 
sennaretin, magnesia and soda, and the sennatannic, oxalic, carbonic, silicic, 
phosphoric, sulphuric, and muriatic acids. (Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., i. 136.) 
At length there is good reason to believe that the real active principle of 
senna has been isolated. The substance obtained by Mr. Robert Rau, of Beth- 
lehem, Pa., and believed by him to be the purgative ingredient, has not with- 
stood the test of subsequent investigation. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1866, 
p. 193.) Mr. Thos. B. Groves, of London, was on the point of isolating the' 
principle, when its existence was announced by Dragendorf and Kubly, to 
whom the credit of the discovery belongs, and who have named it cathartic 
acid. It appears to be a glucoside, and has an extraordinarily complex composi- 
tion, containing sulphur as well as nitrogen ; and its formula is stated as C180H.a 
N2S082. This accounts for its great facility of decomposition, and the great 
difficulty of its discovery. It is insoluble in water, strong alcohol, and ether, 
but its saline compounds with the alkalies and earth are readily dissolved. Its 
ammonia salt is precipitated by the salts of silver, tin, mercury, copper, and lead; 
but tannin, the antimonial salts, and the yellow and red prussiates have no effect 
on it. Alkalies with heat decompose it; and, boiled with a mineral acid, it sepa- 
rates into a variety of glucose and a peculiar acid called the cathartogenic. It is 
prepared by partially precipitating with alcohol a watery infusion of senna, con- 
centrating to a syrupy consistence in vacuo, filtering, treating the filtrate with 
a large proportion of absolute alcohol, and repeatedly dissolving in water and 
precipitating by alcohol the precipitate thus obtained. It is purified by submit- 
ting it, dissolved in moderately strong muriatic acid, to dialysis on a diaphragm 
of parchment paper; cathartic acid having strong collodial properties. Mr. 
Groves found that eathartate of ammonia purged moderately in the dose of 3f 
grains, with considerable griping; and that of certain mixed cathartates 
grains purged violently with much griping and sickness, and continued to act 
through most of a day. He considers 4 grains as a fair dose. It should be given 
in Connection with an aromatic and a saline cathartic. The eathartate of mag- 
nesia is soluble. The salts of this acid in watery solution are decomposed and 
rendered inert by long exposure to heat in contact with the air. (Groves, Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1868, pp. 200-1.) The same chemists found chryso- 
phanic acid in small proportions, two substances called respectively sennacrol 
and sennapicrin, and a peculiar non-fermentable saccharine principle, with the 
formula C42H44038, which they have named catharto-mannite. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 4e ser., v. 475.) 
Incompatibles. Many substances produce precipitates with the infusion of 
senna; but it does not follow that they are all medicinally incompatible ; as 
they may remove ingredients which have no therapeutical effect, and leave the 
active principles untouched. Cathartin is precipitated by infusion of galls and 
solution of subacetate of lead. Acetate of lead and tartarized antimony, which 
disturb the infusion, have no effect upon the solution of this substance. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Senna tvas first used as a medicine by the 
Arabians. It was noticed in their writings so early as the ninth century; ana 
the name itself is Arabic. It is a prompt, efficient, and very safe purgative, well 
calculated for fevers and febrile complaints, and other cases in which a decided 
but not violent impression is desired. A disadvantage is that it is apt to pro- 
duce severe griping. This effect, however, may be obviated by combining with 
the senna some aromatic, and some one of the alkaline salts, especially bitartrate 
of potassa, tartrate of potassa, or sulphate of magnesia. The explanation which 
attributes the griping property to the oxidized extractive, and its prevention 
by the saline substances to their influence in promoting the solubility of that PART I. 
Senna.—Serpentaria. 
803 
principle, is not satisfactory. The purgative effect of senna is considerably in- 
creased by combination with bitters; a fact noticed by Cullen, and abundantly 
confirmed by subsequent experience. The decoction of guaiac is said to exert a 
similar influence. Senna yields one or more of its principles to the urine; as, 
from twenty to thirty minutes after it has been taken, this secretion acquires the 
property of being reddened by ammonia. (Journ. de P harm., Aout, 1868, p 161.) 
The dose of senna in powder is from half a drachm to two drachms; but its bulk 
renders it of inconvenient administration; and it is not often prescribed in this 
state. Besides, the powder is said to undergo decomposition, and to become 
mouldy on exposure to a damp air. The form of infusion is almost universally 
preferred. (See Infusum Sennae.) The medicine is also used in the forms of con- 
fection, fluid extract, syrup, and tincture, all of which are officinal. 
Senna taken by nurses is said to purge sucking infants, and an infusion in- 
jected into the veins operates as a cathartic. 
Off. Prep. Confectio Sennae; Extractum Sennae Fluidum, TJ. S.; Infusum 
Sennae; Mistura Sennae Composita, Br.; Syrupus Sarsaparillae Compositus, 
TJ.S.; Syrupus Sennae, Br.; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, TJ. S ; Tinctura Sennae, 
Br. “ W. 
SERPENTARIA. U.S. 
Serpentaria. Virginia Snakeroot. 
The root of Aristolochia Serpentaria, of Aristolochia reticulata, and of other 
species of Aristolochia. TJ. S. 
Off. Syn. SERPENTARIA3 RADIX. Serpentary Hoot. The dried rhi- 
zome of Aristolochia Serpentaria. Br. 
Serpontaire do Yirginie, Fr.; Yirginianische Schlangenwurzel, Germ.; Serpentaria 
Yirginiana, Ital., Span. 
Aristolochia. Sex.Syst GynandriaHexandria.—Nat Ord. Aristolochiaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Corolla one-petaled, ligulate, ventricose at the base. 
Capsules six-celled, many-seeded, inferior. Willd. 
Many species of Aristolochia have been employed in medicine. The roots 
of all of the mare tonic and stimulant; and their supposed possession of em- 
menagogue properties has given origin to the name of the genus. A. Clema- 
titis, A. longa, A. rotunda, and A. Pistolochia are still retained in many officinal 
catalogues of the continent of Europe, where they are indigenous. The root of 
A. Clematitis is very long, cylindrical, as thick as a goosequill or thicker, va- 
riously contorted, beset with the remains of the stems and radicles, of a grayish- 
brown colour, a strong peculiar odour, and an acrid bitter taste; that of A. 
longa is spindle-shaped, from a few inches to a foot in length, of the thickness 
of the thumb or thicker, fleshy, very brittle, grayish externally, brownish-yellow 
within, bitter, and of a'strong disagreeable odour when fresh; that of A. rotunda 
is tuberous, roundish, heavy, fleshy, brownish on the exterior, grayish-yellow 
internally, and similar to the preceding in odour and taste; that of A. Pistolo- 
chia consists of numerous slender yellowish or brownish fibres, attached to a 
common head, and possessed of an agreeable aromatic odour, with a taste bitter 
and somewhat acrid. Many species of Aristolochia growing in the West Indies, 
Mexico, and South America, have attracted attention for their medicinal proper- 
ties ; and some, like our own snakeroot, have acquired the reputation of antidotes 
for the bites of serpents. In the East Indies, A. Indica is employed for similar 
purposes with the European and American species; and the Arabians are said 
by Forskhal to use the leaves of A. sempervirens as a counter-poison. We have 
in the United States six species, of which four—A. Serpentaria, A. A. 
hastata, and A. reticulata—contribute to furnish the snakeroot of the shops. 
Aristolochia Serpentaria. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 159; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. 
iii. 82; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 41. This species of Aristolochia is an herbaceous 
plant, with a perennial root, which consists of numerous slender fibres proceed- 
ing from a short horizontal caudex. Several stems often rise from the same root. 
They are about eight or ten inches in height, slender, round, flexuose, jointed at 804 
Serpentaria. 
PART 1. 
irregular distances, and frequently reddish or purple at the base. The leaves 
are oblong-cordate, acuminate, entire, of a pale yellowish-green colour, and 
supported on short petioles at the joints of the stem. The flowers proceed 
from the joints near the root, and stand singly on long, slender, round, jointed 
peduncles, which are sometimes furnished with one or two small scales,and bend 
downwards so as nearly to bury the flower in the earth or decayed leaves. There 
is no calyx. The corolla is purple, monopetalous, tubular, swelling at the base, 
contracted and curved in the middle, and terminating in a labiate border with 
lanceolate lips. The anthers—six or twelve in number—are sessile, attached to 
the under part of the stigma, which is roundish, divided into six parts, and sup- 
ported by a short fleshy style upon an oblong, angular, hairy, inferior germ. 
The fruit is a hexangular, six-celled capsule, containing several small flat seeds. 
The plant grows in rich shady woods, throughout the Middle, Southern, and 
Western States, abounding in the valley of the Ohio, and in the mountainous 
regions of our interior. It flowers in May and June. The root is collected in 
Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, and is 
brought eastward chiefly by the routes of Wheeling and Pittsburg. As it reaches 
Philadelphia, it is usually in bales containing about one hundred pounds, and 
is often mixed with the leaves and stems of the plant, and with dirt from which 
it has not been properly cleansed at the time of collection. 
A. hirsuta. Muhlenberg, Catalogue, p. 81; Bridges, Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xiv. 121. In Muhlenberg’s Catalogue this species was named without being 
described: and botanists, supposing from the name that it was identical with A. 
tomentosa, generally confounded the two plants But they are entirely distinct. 
A description of A. hirsuta in the handwriting of Muhlenberg, and a labelled 
specimen of the plant, in the possession of the Academy of Natural Sciences 
of this city, have been found to correspond with a dried specimen received by 
the author from Virginia. A. tomentosa is a climbing plant, growing in Louisi- 
ana on the banks of the Mississippi, and ascending to the summit of the highest 
trees. A plant in the garden of the author has a thick, creeping root, entirely 
different in shape from that of the officinal species, though possessed of an analo- 
gous odour. A. hirsuta has a root like that of A. Serpentaria, consisting of a 
knotty caudex, sending out numerous slender simple fibres, sometimes six inches 
in length. From this arise several jointed, flexuose, pubescent stems, less than 
a foot high, with one or two pubescent bractes, and several large roundish- 
cordate leaves, of which the lower are obtuse, the upper abruptly acuminate, 
and all pubescent on both sides and at the margin. From the joints near the 
root originate from one to three solitary peduncles, each bearing three or four 
leafy bractes and one flower. The peduncles, bractes, and corolla are all hairy. 
This species grows in Virginia, and perhaps other parts of the Western and 
Southern States. It probably contributes to afford the serpentaria of commerce; 
as its leaves have been found in bales of the drug. 
A. hastata. Nuttall, Cren. of N. Am. Plants, p. 200.—A.sagittata. Muhl. Catal. 
This species, if indeed it can be considered a distinct species, differs from A. 
Serpentaria in having hastate, acute, somewhat cordate leaves, and the lip of 
the corolla ovate. It flourishes on the banks of the Mississippi, in the Carolinas, 
and elsewhere. Its root scarcely differs from that of the officinal plant, and is 
frequently mixed with it, as proved by the presence of the characteristic leaves 
of A. hastata in the parcels brought into market. 
A. reticulata. Nuttall; Bridges, Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 118 ; Carson, 
Illust. of Med. Bot. ii. 32, pi. 77. This plant was probably first observed by Mr. 
Nuttall; as a specimen labelled “A. reticulata, Bed river,” in the handwriting 
of that botanist, is contained in the Herbarium of the Academy of Natural Sci- 
ences of Philadelphia. From this specimen, as well as from others found in par- 
cels of the drug brought into market, a description was drawn up by Dr. Robert 
Bridges, and published in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy. From a root, similar 
to that of A. Serpentaria, numerous short, slender, round, flexuose, jointed 
stems arise, usually simple, but sometimes branched near the root. The older part I. 
Serpentaria. 
805 
stems are slightly villous, the young densely pubescent. The leaves, which 
stand on very short villous petioles, are round or oblong-cordate, obtuse, retic- 
ulate, very prominently veined, and villous on both sides, especially upon the 
veins. From the lower joints of the stem four or five hairy, jointed peduncles 
proceed, which bear small leafy villous bractes at the joints, and several flow- 
ers on short pedicels. The flowers are small, purplish, and densely pubescent, 
especially at the base and on the germ. The hexangular capsule is deeply sul- 
cate. This species grows in Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and the Indian Ter- 
ritory west of that State. 
Bales of a new variety of serpentaria were some years since brought to Phila- 
delphia, which is certainly the product of this species; as specimens of all parts 
of the plant have been found in the bales, and the roots, which differ somewhat 
from those before known, are homogeneous in character. One of these bales was 
brought from New Orleans, and was said to have come down the lied river, and 
to have been collected by the Indians. The chief difference between this and 
ordinary Virginia snakeroot is in the size of the radicles, which are much thicker 
and less interlaced in the new variety. Each root has usually a considerable 
portion of one or more stems attached to the caudex. The colour is yellowish. 
The odour and taste are scarcely if at all distinguishable from those of common 
serpentaria; and there is no doubt that the root is equally effectual as a medi- 
cine. From a chemical examination by Mr. Thomas S. Wiegand, it appears to 
have the same constituents, and to differ only in containing a somewhat larger 
proportion of gum, extractive, and volatile oil. 
Properties. Virginia snakeroot, as found in the shops, is in tufts of long, 
slender, frequently interlaced, and brittle fibres, attached to a short, contorted, 
knotty head or caudex. The colour, which in the recent root is yellowish, be- 
comes brown by time. That of the powder is grayish. The smell is strong, 
aromatic, and camphorous ; the taste warm, very bitter, and also camphorous. 
The root yields all its virtues to water and alcohol, producing with the former 
a yellowish-brown infusion, with the latter a bright-greenish tincture, rendered 
turbid by the addition of water. Chevallier found in the root volatile oil, a yel- 
low bitter principle soluble in water and alcohol, resin, gum, starch, albumen, 
lignin, and various salts. Bucholz obtained from 1000 parts, 5 of a green, fra- 
grant volatile oil, 28-5 of a yellowish-green resin, 17 of extractive matter, 181 of 
gummy extract, 624 of lignin, and 144 5 of water. The active ingredients are 
probably the volatile oil, and the yellow bitter principle of Chevallier, which 
that chemist considers analogous to the bitter principle of quassia. The vola- 
tile oil passes over with water in distillation, rendering the liquid milky, and 
impregnating it with the odour of the root. Dr. Bigelow states that the liquid, 
on standing, deposits small crystals of camphor. 
The roots of Spigelia Marilandica are sometimes found associated with ser- 
pentaria. They may be distinguished by the absence of the bitter taste, and, 
when the stem and foliage are attached, by the peculiar character of these parts 
of the plant. (See Spigelia.) We have occasionally seen the young roots of 
Polygala Senega mixed with serpentaria. Independently of their difference in 
odour and taste, they may be readily distinguished by being simple, and by a 
projecting line running from one end to the other of the root. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Serpentaria is a stimulant tonic, acting also as 
a diaphoretic or diuretic, according to the mode of its application. Too largely 
taken, it occasions nausea, griping pains in the bowels, sometimes vomiting and 
dysenteric tenesmus. It is adapted to the treatment of typhoid fevers, whether 
idiopathic or symptomatic, when the system begins to feel the necessity for sup- 
port, but is unable to bear active stimulation. In exanthematous diseases in 
which the eruption is tardy or has receded, and the grade of action is low, it is 
thought to be useful by promoting the cutaneous affection. It has also been 
highly recommended in intermitttent fevers; and, though itself generally in- 
adequate to the cure of the complaint, often proves serviceable as an adjunct to 
Peruvian bark or sulphate of quinia. With the same remedies it is frequently 806 
Serpentaria.—Sesami Folium.—Oleum Sesami. 
PART I. 
associated in the treatment of typhous diseases. It is sometimes given in dys- 
pepsia, and is employed as a gargle in malignant sorethroat. 
The dose of the powdered root is from ten to thirty grains; but the infusion 
is almost always preferred. (See Infusum Serpentarise.) The decoction or ex- 
tract would be an improper form; as the volatile oil, upon which the virtues of 
the medicine partly depend, is dissipated by boiling. There is, however, an 
officinal fluid extract, which is an efficient preparation. 
Off-Peep. Extractum Serpentarise Fluidum, XJ. S.; Infusum Serpentariae; 
Tinctura Cinehonae Composita; Tinctura Serpentariae. W. 
SESAM\ FOLIUM. US. Secondary. 
Benne Leaf. 
The leaves of Sesamum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientale. U. S. 
OLEUM SESAMI. US. Secondary. 
Benne Oil. 
The oil of the seeds of Sesarnum Indicum, and of Sesamum orientale. U. S. 
Sesame, Fr.; Sesam, Germ.; Sesamo, ltal.; Anjonjoli, Span. 
Sesamum. Sex. Syst. Didynamia Angiospermia.— Nat Ord. Bignoniae, 
Juss. Pedal iaceae, B. Brown, Lindley. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted Corolla bell-shaped, five-cleft, with the lower 
lobe largest. Stamens five, the fifth a rudiment. Stigma lanceolate. Capsule 
four-celled. Willd. 
Sesamum orientale. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 358; Rheed. Hort. Malab. ix. 54. 
“Leaves ovate-oblong, entire.” 
Sesamum Indicum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 359; Curtis, Bot. Mag. vol. xli. t 
1688. “ Leaves ovate-lanceolate, the inferior three-lobed, the superior undivided. 
Stem erect.” There is reason to believe that this species is the one chiefly cul- 
tivated in our Southern States. At least we have found plants, raised in Phila- 
delphia from seeds obtained from Georgia, to have its specific character, as 
given by Willdenow. 
The benne plant of our Southern States is annual, with a branching stem four 
or five feet high, and bearing opposite, petiolate leaves, varying considerably in 
their shape. Those on the upper part of the plant are ovate-lanceolate, irregu- 
larly serrate,and pointed; those near the base three-lobed and sometimes terna te ; 
and lobed leaves are not uncommon at all distances from the ground. The flowers 
are reddish-white, and stand solitarily upon short peduncles in the axils of the 
leaves. The fruit is an oblong capsule, with small, oval, yellowish seeds. 
These two species of Sesamum are natives of the East Indies, and have been 
cultivated from time immemorial in various parts of Asia and Africa. From the 
latter continent it is supposed that seeds were brought by the negroes to the 
United States, where, as well as in the West Indies, one or both species are 
now cultivated to a considerable extent. The plant above described will grow 
vigorously in the gardens so far north as Philadelphia, though it does not 
usually ripen its seeds in this vicinity. 
The seeds are employed as food by the negroes, who parch them over the fire, 
boil them in broths, make them into puddings, and prepare them in various 
other modes. By expression they yield a fixed oil, which, as well as the leaves, 
has been introduced into the secondary catalogue of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
M. Berjot obtained 53 per cent, of the oil by means of bisulphide of carbon. 
I. Benne Leaves. These abound in a gummy matter, which they readily im- 
part to water, forming a rich, bland mucilage, much used in the Southern States 
as a drink in various complaints to which demulcents are applicable; as in 
cholera infantum, diarrhoea, dysentery, catarrh, and affections of the urinary 
passages. The remedy has attracted attention also in the North, and has been PART i. 
Sevnm.—Simaruba. 
807 
employed with favourable results in Philadelphia. One or two fresh leaves ot 
full size, stirred about in half a pint of cool water, will soon render it sufficiently 
viscid. If dried, they should be introduced into hot water. The leaves also serve 
for the preparation of emollient cataplasms. 
2. Benne Oil. This is inodorous, of a bland, sweetish taste, and will keep long 
without becoming rancid. It bears some resemblance to olive oil in its proper- 
ties, and may be used for similar purposes. It is not a drying oil. At 55° F., 
it has the sp. gr. 0 919; and its point of congelation is 23° F. It is temporarily 
rendered green by a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acids; a property by which 
it may be detected when used to adulterate olive or almond oil. (Fluckiger, 
Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., v. 157 ; from Schweitzer Wochenschrift fur Pharm., 
1866, no. 37.) It was known to the ancient Persians and Egyptians, and is 
highly esteemed by the modern Arabs and other people of the East, both as 
food, and as an external application to promote softness of the skin. Like olive 
oil, it is laxative in large doses. W. 
SEYUM. U. S. 
Suet 
The prepared suet of Ovis Aries. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SEYUM PRJEPARATUM. Prepared Suet. The internal Fat 
of the abdomen of the sheep, Ovis Aries, purified by melting and straining. Br. 
Suif, Graisse de mouton, Fr.; Hammelstalg, Germ.; Grasse duro, Hal.; Sebo, Span. 
Suet is the fat of the sheep, taken chiefly from about the kidneys. It is pre- 
pared by cutting the fat into pieces, melting it with a moderate heat, and strain- 
ing it through linen or flannel. In order to avoid too great a heat, the crude 
suet is sometimes purified by boiling it in a little water. 
Mutton suet is of a firmer consistence, and requires a higher temperature for 
its fusion than any other animal fat. It is very white, sometimes brittle, inodor- 
ous, of a bland taste, insoluble in water, and nearly so in alcohol. Boiling alco- 
hol, however, dissolves it, and deposits it upon cooling. It consists, according 
to Chevreul, of stearin, olein, and a small proportion of hircin. The two first- 
mentioned principles are described under the Fixed Oils (pages 581, 582). 
Hircin is a liquid like olein, from which it differs in being much more soluble in 
alcohol, and in yielding hircic acid by saponification. 
Suet acquires by time an unpleasant smell, and becomes unfit for pharma- 
ceutic purposes. It is employed to give a proper consistence to ointments, 
cerates, and plasters, and sometimes as a dressing to blisters. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Resinae Compositum, U. S.; Emplastrum Cantharidis, 
Br.; Unguentum Hydrargyri; Unguentum Picis Liquidae, U. S. W. 
SIMARUBA. U. S. Secondary. 
The bark of the root of Simaruba officinalis. U. S. 
Ecorce de simarouba, Fr.; Simarubarinde, Germ.; Corteccia di simaruba, ltal ; Corteza 
de simaruba, Span. 
Quassia. See QUASSIA. 
Quassia Simaruba. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 568; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 569, t. 
203. — Simaruba officinalis. De Cand. Prodrom. i. 133. — S. amara, Aublet; 
Lindley, Flor. Med. p. 207. As this plant is unisexual, it belongs to the genus 
Simaruba of De Candolle and Lindley, those only being placed by these bota- 
nists in the genus Quassia which are hermaphrodite. But, as the Linnaean 
arrangement was adhered to in the case of Quassia excelsa, we continue to ad- 
here to it in relation to this plant. (See Quassia.) It is a tree of considerable 
height and thickness, having alternate branches, with a bark which in the old 
tree is black and somewhat furrowed, in the young is smooth, gray, and marked 
Simaruba. 808 
Simaruba.—Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
part r. 
here and there with broad yellow spots. The leaves are alternate and abruptly 
pinnate, with a naked petiole, to which the leaflets are alternately attached by 
short footstalks. The leaflets are nearly elliptical, on the upper surface smooth 
and deep-green, on the under whitish. The flowers are yellow, and in long axil- 
lary panicles. In some descriptions they are stated to be monoecious, in others 
dioecious. According to Dr. Wright, the female flowers are never found in 
Jamaica on the same tree with the male. The number of stamens is ten. 
The tree is found in the West Indies and Guyana. In Jamaica it is called 
the mountain damson. Simaruba amara of Aublet, which grows in Guyana, 
and has generally been considered identical with Q. Simaruba, is believed by 
Hayne to be a distinct species; the Jamaica plant having dioecious, while this 
has monoecious flowers. The bark of the root is the part employed; the wood 
itself being nearly tasteless and inert. 
Simaruba bark is in long pieces, some inches in breadth, folded lengthwise, 
light, flexible, tenacious, very fibrous, externally of a light brownish-yellow 
colour, rough, warty, and marked with transverse ridges, internally of a pale- 
yellow. It is without smell, and of a bitter taste. It readily imparts its virtues, 
at ordinary temperatures, to water and alcohol. The infusion is at least equally 
bitter with the decoction, which becomes turbid as it cools. Its constituents, 
according to M. Morin, are a bitter principle identical with quassin, a resinous 
matter, a volatile oil having the odour of benzoin, malic acid, gallic acid in very 
minute proportion, an ammoniacal salt, malate and oxalate of lime, some min- 
eral salts, oxide of iron, silica, ulmin, and lignin. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Simaruba possesses the same tonic properties 
as other simple bitters, and may be employed for the same purposes. In large 
doses it is said to purge and vomit. It was introduced into France in 1113 
from Guyana, where it had previously been used as a remedy for dysentery. 
In the treatment of this disease and of obstinate diarrhoea, it afterwards obtained 
much credit in Europe; but Cullen was right in denying to it any specific con- 
trol over these complaints. It operates simply as a tonic ; and, though occa- 
sionally beneficial in relaxed and debilitated states of the alimentary canal, 
would do much harm if indiscriminately prescribed in dysenteric cases. On ac- 
count of its difficult pulverization, it is seldom given in substance. The best 
mode of administration is by infusion. The dose is from a scruple to a drachm. 
W. 
SINAPIS ALBA. US. 
White Mustard 
The seed of Sinapis alba. U. S. 
SINAPIS NIGRA. U.S. 
Black Mustard 
The seed of Sinapis nigra. U. S. 
Off. Syn. SINAPIS Mustard. The seeds of Sinapis nigra and Sinapis 
alba; also the seeds reduced to powder, mixed. Br. 
Moutarde, Fr.; Senfsamen, Germ.; Senapa, Ital.; Mostaza, Span. 
OLEUM SINAPIS. Br. 
Oil of Mustard. 
The oil distilled with water from the seeds of Black Mustard, Sinapis nigra, 
after the expression of the fixed oil. Br. 
Sinapis. Sex. Syst. Tetradynamia Siliquosa. — Nat. Ord. Brasicaceae or 
Crucifer®. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx spreading. Corolla with straight claws. Glands between 
the shorter stamens and pistil, and between the longer stamens and calyx. Willd PART I. 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
809 
Sinapis nigra. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 555; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 403, t. 146. 
Common or black mustard is an annual plant, with a stem three or four feet 
in height, divided and subdivided into numerous spreading branches. The 
leaves are petiolate and variously shaped. Those near the root are large, rough, 
lyrate-pinnate, and unequally toothed; those higher on the stem are smooth and 
less lobed; and the uppermost are entire, narrow, smooth, and dependent. The 
flowers are small, yellow, with a coloured calyx, and stand closely together 
upon peduncles at the upper part of the branches. The pods are smooth, erect, 
nearly parallel with the branches, quadrangular, furnished with a short beak, 
and occupied by numerous seeds. 
Sinapis alba. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 555; Smith, Flor. Brit. 121. The white 
mustard is also annual. It is rather smaller than the preceding species. The 
lower leaves are deeply pinnatifid, the upper sublyrate, and all irregularly 
toothed, rugged, with stiff hairs on both sides and pale-green. The flowers are 
in racemes, with yellow petals, and linear, green calvcine leaflets. The pods 
are spreading, bristly, rugged, roundish, swelling in the position of the seeds, 
ribbed, and provided with a very long ensiform beak. 
Both plants are natives of Europe and cultivated in our gardens ; and S. 
nigra has become naturalized in some parts of this country. Their flowers 
appear in June. The seeds are kept in the shops, both whole and in the state 
of very fine powder, as prepared by the manufacturers for the table. 
Black mustard seeds are small, globular, of a deep-brown colour, slightly 
rugose on the surface, and internally yellow. In the entire state they are in- 
odorous, but have a distinct smell in powder, and, when rubbed with water or 
vinegar, exhale a strong pungent odour, sufficient in some instances to excite 
a flow of tears. Their taste is bitterish, hot, and pungent, but not permanent. 
White mustard seeds are much larger, of a yellowish colour, and less pungent 
taste. Both afford a yellow powder, which has a somewhat unctuous appear- 
ance, and cakes when compressed. This is commonly called flour of mustard, 
or simply mustard, and is prepared by crushing and pounding the seeds, and 
then sifting them ; the purest flour being obtained by a second sifting. Both the 
black and the white seeds are used in its preparation. It is often adulterated 
with wheat flour coloured by turmeric, to which red pepper is added to render 
the mixture sufficiently hot. The skin of white mustard seeds contains a muci- 
laginous substance, which is extracted by boiling water. When bruised or pow- 
dered’ both kinds impart their active properties wholly to water, but in a very 
slight degree to alcohol. They yield upon pressure a fixed oil, called oil of mus- 
tard, of a greenish-yellow colour, little smell, and a mild not unpleasant taste; 
and the portion which remains is even more pungent than the unpressed seeds. 
The fixed oil of mustard yields, upon saponification, a peculiar acid, for which 
the name of erucic acid has been proposed. (Ghem. Gaz., vii. 163.) 
It has been long known that black mustard seeds yield by distillation with 
water a very pungent volatile oil, containing sulphur. Guibourt conjectured, 
and Robiquet and Boutron proved, that this oil does not pre-exist in the seeds, 
but is produced by the action of water. Hence the absence or very slight degree 
of odour in the seeds when bruised in a dry state, and their pungency when 
water is added. It seemed reasonable to suppose that the reaction in this case 
was similar to that exercised by water upon bitter almonds (see Amygdala 
Amara)\ and this has been proved to be the fact by the experiments of Simon, 
Bussy, Boutron, and Fremy. According to M. Bussy, there are two peculiar 
principles in black mustard seeds, one named by him myronic acid, existing in 
the seeds in the state of myronate of 'potassa; the other myrosyne, closely 
analogous in character to the albuminous constituent of almonds called emulsin. 
When water is added to black mustard seed, the myrosyne, acting the part of 
a ferment, determines a reaction between the water and myronate of potassa, 
which results in the production of the volatile oil. The same thing happens 
when any one of the myronates is brought into contact with water and myro- 
syne. The presence cf the last-mentioned principle is essential. Like emulsin, it 810 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. — Oleum Sinapis. 
PAltT I. 
becomes inoperative when coagulated by heat, alcohol, or the acids; and, if 
black mustard seeds be subjected to either of these agencies previously to the 
addition of water, they will yield no volatile oil. The myrosyne, however, some- 
times partially recovers its power by continued contact with water. This sub- 
stance is found also in white mustard seeds, but without myronate of potassa. 
If, therefore, white mustard seeds be added to the black in which the myrosyne 
has been coagulated, the volatile oil will be generated on the application of 
water. Though closely analogous to emulsin, myrosyne is yet distinct, as its 
place cannot be supplied by emulsin with the same effect. (Journ. de Pharm., 
xxvi. 39.) Simon obtained results somewhat different from those of M. Bussy. 
Thu former chemist succeeded in procuring a peculiar crystalline principle from 
the seeds which he called sinapisin, and which, upon contact with water and 
the albjminous principle of the seeds, emitted the odour of the oil of mustard. 
Dr. S. von Tbielau asserts that, though the volatile oil is produced by the re- 
action between myrosyne and some principle existing in black mustard, yet this 
principle is not myronate of potassa, the existence of the so-called mvronic acid 
being fabulous. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1858, p. 540.) MM. Ludgwig 
and Lange, however, have found myronic acid in abundance in black mustard 
seeds. They have also found along with it another substance, apparently the 
acid salt of a nitrogeno-sulphur alkaloid, which likewise yields the volatile oil 
of mustard with myrosyne. {Journ. de Pharm., Mars, 1801, p. 236.) 
Oleum Sinapis. The volatile oil of mustard is usually obtained from seeds 
which have been deprived of their fixed oil by pressure. It is a colourless or 
pale-yellow liquid, rather heavier than water, of an exceedingly pungent odour, 
of an acrid burning taste, and of the sp.gr. L015. It boils at about 298°; is 
slightly soluble in water, and readily so in alcohol and ether; with alkaline 
solutions yields sulphocyanides ; and consists, according to M. Ldwig and Dr. 
Will, of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and sulphur; its formula being NC8H5S2. 
Dr. Will considers it a sulphocyanide of allyl (CfiH5), the compound radical of 
oil of garlic, which is considered a sulphuret of allyl.* (Ghem. Gaz., nos. 62 
and 64.) It is the principle upon which black mustard seeds depend for their 
activity. According to Zeller, the seeds yield from 0-33 to 0 63 per cent, of the 
oil. As it is often adulterated with other oils, a test has been proposed con- 
sisting of concentrated sulphuric acid, 50 drops of which are to be mixed with 
5 drops of the suspected oil in a small glass tube. If the oil is pure, little 
change of colour is produced; but if any adulterating oil be present, a red or 
brown colour will soon appear. Rectified oil of petroleum is the only excep- 
tion, as the colour of this is not affected by the acid; but it would be recog- 
nised by its insolubility in sulphuric acid. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1865, p. 285.) Adulteration with alcohol is readily detected by its much lower 
boiling point, which also enables it to be separated by distillation. The 
volatile oil of mustard has recently been employed as a substitute for the 
mustard plaster. For this purpose one part may be mixed with sixty parts of 
alcohol, and the mixture applied sprinkled not too thickly on piline. It acts 
speedily and efficiently {Pharm. Journ. and Trans., July, 1865, p. 34.) 
White mustard seeds do not yield volatile oil when treated with water; but 
an acrid fixed principle is developed, which renders these seeds applicable to the 
same purposes as the other variety. MM. Robiquet and Boutron, who ascer- 
tained this fact, concluded that the acrid principle resulted from the reaction of 
water upon sulpho-sinapisin, discovered in the seeds by MM. Henry, jun., and 
Garot. Their reason for this belief was that mustard, which had been deprived 
of this ingredient, was incapable of developing the acrid principle. The myro- 
* Volatile oil of mustard has been produced artificially, by MM. Berthelot and S. de 
Luca, by treating iodide of propionyl (identical with allyl) (C6H.I) with sulphocyanuret 
of potassium. The iodine unites with potassium, and the liberated radical (C6Hf) com- 
bines with the sulphocyanogen,(NC2S2) to form volatile oil of mustard (NC8H5S2). Iodide 
of propionyl is procured by treating glycerin with iodide of phosphorus, and differs from 
volatile oil of garlic (sulpburet of allyl), only in containing iodine instead of sulphur. 
{Journ. de Pharm, , Aout, 1855, p. 124.) PART i. 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
811 
syne is equally essential to the change here, as to that which occurs in black 
mustard ; and the reaction equally fails, if this principle be previously rendered 
inert by heat, alcohol, or the acids. MM. Boutron and Fremy state that not 
only the acrid principle of white mustard, but hydrosulphocyanic acid also re- 
sults from the reaction above explained; and this observation renders still 
closer the analogy between the changes that take place, upon contact with 
water, in mustard seeds and bitter almonds. {Journ. de Pliarm., xxvi. 50.)* 
* As some may desire to push these investigations further, we give the properties of 
these peculiar principles, and the modes of procuring them. 
Myronic acid is a fixed inodorous substance, of a hitter and sour taste, and acid re- 
action When obtained separate from its bases, it forms a colourless solution; which by 
evaporation becomes of a thick consistence like molasses, without crystallizing. It is 
soluble in water and alcohol,but not in ether; and forms soluble salts with the alkalies, 
baryta, lime, and the oxides of lead and silver, all of which yield volatile oil of mustard, 
when mixed with an aqueous solution of myrosyne. It contains sulphur, besides nitro- 
gen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It is obtained from the myronate of potassa by 
adding to 100 parts of that salt 38 parts of crystallized tartaric acid, concentrating the 
solution by evaporation, and then adding weak alcohol, which precipitates the bitartrate 
of potassa, and retains the myronic acid in solution. To obtain myronate of potassa from 
black mustard seeds, the powder, having been dried at 212°, and deprived of its fixed oil 
by pressure, is treated with strong alcohol in a displacement apparatus, and, when thus 
nearly exhausted of everything soluble in that liquid, is pressed and treated with water. 
The aqueous solution is evaporated, and, before it is too much concentrated, weak alcohol 
is added, which precipitates a glutinous matter. The solution being then carefully 
evaporated, deposits crystals of myronate of potassa, which may be obtained very pure 
and white by washing the mass with diluted alcohol. This salt is easily crystallizable in 
fine, large, transparent crystals, is unalterable in the air, very soluble in water, insoluble 
in pure alcohol, and of a bitter taste. MM. Ludgwig and Lange, who procured the myro- 
nate of potassa, by a process essentially the same as that of M. Bussy, in the quantity ol 
1 part from 500 parts of black mustard, give its composition as represented by the formula 
KO,NC20H,gS4O18. (Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1861. p. 432.) 
Myrosyne, when dry, has the character of an albuminous substance. It is soluble in 
water, forming a viscid solution which froths when agitated, and is coagulated by heat, 
alcohol, and the acids. It is obtained by treating white mustard seed with cold water, 
filtering the solution, evaporating it by a heat not exceeding 100°, and, when it is of the 
consistence of syrup, carefully adding alcohol, which causes a precipitate easily separable 
by decantation. If this be dissolved in water, and the solution evaporated as before, my- 
rosyne is obtained, though not entirely pure. [Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 39.) 
The sinapisin of Simon is in brilliant, white scaly crystals, sublimable by heat, soluble 
in alcohol, ether, and the fixed and volatile oils, but insoluble in acids and alkalies. To 
obtain it he exhausted black mustard seed with strong alcohol, distilled off the greater part 
of the alcohol, treated the residue several times with four or five times its weight of ether, 
from the ethereal solutions distilled off all the ether, treated the extract again with a 
smaller quantity of ether so as to leave behind insoluble substances, and repeated this 
process until the extract formed a perfectly clear solution without residue. The extract 
was then dissolved in cold strong alcohol, and the solution, having been decolorized with 
animal charcoal, was allowed to evaporate in the air. Simon obtained from 55 pounds of 
the seeds only 80 grains of crystallized sinapisin. [Annal. der Pharm., xxvi. 291.) 
Sulpho-sinapisin, the peculiar ingredient of white mustard seed, is white, crystallizable, 
inodorous, bitter, and soluble in alcohol and water, forming a yellow solution. It was 
at first thought by MM. Henry and Garot to be an acid, but they afterwards ascertained 
that it was neuter. It consists of nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, sulphur, and oxygen. It 
may be obtained from white mustard seeds, previously deprived of the fixed oil by expres- 
sion, by boiling themin water, evaporating the decoction to the consistence of honey, mix- 
ing the residue with 6 or 8 times its volume of anhydrous alcohol which precipitates vari- 
ous substances, then distilling off the alcohol, and setting aside the syrupy residue to crys- 
tallize. The crystals may be purified by repeated solution and crystallization in alcohol. 
(Berzelius, Traite de Chimie.) This principle, which has alsobeen called sinapin, is consid- 
ered by L. von Babo and Hirschbrunn to be the sulphocyanide of an alkaloid, to which 
they propose to confine the name of sinapin, and for which they give the formula C32H2. 
NO,,. The sulphocyanide of sinapin is obtained from seeds, already so far exhausted by cold 
alcohol as to yield only a pale-yellow colour to that liquid by boiling them in alcohol of 
the sp. gr. 0-833, evaporating the liquor, and crystallizing. It has an appearance like that 
of crystallized sulphate of quinia, is soluble with difficultyin cold water and alcohol, but 
readily in both liquids when hot, and is nearly insoluble in ether. When boiled with 
alkalies, it yields an acid called sinapic acid. It is difficult to separate the organic base 
sinapin from it, because this is decomposed by alkalies. It does not appear that sulpho- 
cyanide of sinapin yields with synaptase the acrid principle developed in white mustard 812 
Sinapis Alba.—Sinapis Nigra. 
PART I. 
From the foregoing account of the chemical relations of mustard, i_ A obvious 
that admixture with alcohol or the acids, or the application of a boiling heat, 
can only have the effect of impairing its medical virtues, and that the best 
vehicle, whether for external or internal use, is water at common temperatures. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Mustard seeds swallowed whole operate as a 
laxative, and have acquired some reputation as a remedy in dyspepsia, and otter 
complaints attended with torpid bowels and deficient excitement. The white 
seeds are preferred, and are taken in the dose of a.tablespoonful once or twice 
a day, mixed with molasses, or previously softened and rendered mucilaginous 
by immersion in hot water. They probably act in some measure by mechanically 
stimulating the bowels. The bruised seeds or powder, in the quantity of a large 
teaspoonful, operate as an emetic. Mustard in this state is applicable to cases 
of great torpor of stomach, especially that resulting from narcotic poisons. It 
rouses the gastric susceptibility, and facilitates the action of other emetics. In 
smaller quantities it is useful as a safe stimulant of the digestive organs ; and, 
as it is frequently determined to the kidneys, has been beneficially employed in 
dropsy. Whey, made by boiling half an ounce of the bruised seeds or powder 
in a pint of milk and straining, is a convenient form for administration. It may 
be given in the dose of a wineglassful repeated several times a day. But mus- 
tard is most valuable as a rubefacient. Mixed with water in the form of a cata- 
plasm, and applied to the skin, it very soon produces redness with burning pain, 
which in less than an hour usually becomes insupportable. When a speedy im- 
pression is not desired, especially when the sinapism is applied to the extremi- 
ties, the powder should be diluted with an equal portion of rye meal or wheat 
flour. Care should be taken not to allow the application to continue too long, 
as vesication with obstinate ulceration, and even sphacelus, may result. This 
caution is particularly necessary when the patient is insensible, and the degree 
of pain can afford no criterion of the sufficiency of the action. The volatile oil, 
which is powerfully rubefacient, and capable of producing speedy vesication, has 
been considerably used in Germany. For external application as a rubefacient, 
30 drops may be dissolved in a fluidounce of alcohol, or 6 or 8 drops in a flui- 
drachm of almond or olive oil. To form a sinapism it has been recommended to 
mix 20 drops of the volatile oil with 35 drachms of glycerin and 5 drachms of 
starch. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sov. 1861, p. 569 ) It has been given inter- 
nally in colic, two drops being incorporated with a six-ounce mixture, and half 
a fluidounce given for a dose. (Ibid., xi. 9 ) In overdoses it is highly poison- 
ous, producing gastro-enteric inflammation, and probably perverting the vital 
processes by pervading the whole system. Its odour is perceptible in the blood, 
and it is said to impart the smell of horseradish to the urine. A spirit of mus- 
tard may be prepared by macerating, for two hours, 250 parts of powdered black 
mustard with 500 parts of cold water, then adding 120 parts of alcohol of 86 
per cent., and distilling over 120 parts of spirit. Though not so precise in com- 
position as the alcoholic solution of the oil, it is more economical. (Ann. de 
Therap., 1864, p. 126.)* 
Off. Prep, of Mustard. Cataplasma Sinapis, Br.; Oleum Sinapis, Br. 
Off. Prep, of Oil of Mustard. Linimentum Sinapis Compositum, Br. W. 
seeds by water; but the authors state that another substance rich in sulphur has been 
ascertained by Simon to exist in white mustard seeds, which plays an important part in 
the production of the pungent matter. (See Chem. Gaz., March 1,1853, p. 81.)—Notes to 
editions. 
A practical application of the principles developed in the foregoing paragraphs has 
been suggested by M. Lebaigue, who proposes applying to one sheet of paper a concen- 
trated solution of myronate of potassa, and to a second a concentrated solution of myro- 
syne, and drying them. When used the leaves are to be moistened and applied to the 
surface, one over the other. Volatile oil of mustard is formed by the reaction of the two 
principles, and the effects of a sinapism are obtained. (Journ.de Phaj'm., Aout, 1868, p. 
118.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* RigoUot's and Rueff’s Mustard-papers. In consequence of the various inconveniences 
attendant upon the application of ordinary mustard cataplasms, mustard-papers have PART I. 
Sodium. 
813 
SODIUM. 
Sodium. 
Sodium, Fr.; Natrium, Natronmetall, Germ.; Sodio, Ital., Span. 
Sodium is a peculiar metal, forming the radical of the alkali soda. It was 
discovered by Sir H. Davy in 1807, who obtained it in small quantity by decom- 
posing the alkali by the agency of galvanic electricity. It was afterwards pro- 
cured in much larger quantities by Gay-Lussac and Thenard, by bringing the 
alkali in contact with iron turnings heated to whiteness. The iron became oxi- 
dized, and the metallic radical of the soda was liberated. Since the discovery 
of a mode for obtaining aluminium in bars, by Deville, in 1854, the process for 
procuring sodium, which is the decomposing agent, has been very much improved 
and cheapened. (See page 101.) Sodium is now obtained on a large scale by 
igniting an intimate mixture of dry carbonate of soda, coal, and chalk. 
Sodium is a soft, malleable, sectile solid, of a silver-white colour. It possesses 
the metallic lustre in a high degree, when protected from the action of the air, 
by which it is quickly tarnished and oxidized. Its sp. gr. is 0*97, fusing point 
about 200°, equivalent number 23-3, and symbol Na. Its chemical affinities re- 
semble those of potassium, but are less energetic. Like potassium it has a strong 
attraction for oxygen. When thrown upon cold water it instantly fuses into a 
globule without inflaming, and traverses the surface in different directions with 
rapidity; on hot water it inflames. In both cases the water is decomposed, 
hydrogen is liberated, and a solution of soda generated. Like potassium also, 
if exposed with a bright surface to the air, it undergoes a slow combustion, which 
renders it luminous in the dark. It combines also with a larger proportion of 
oxygen than exists in soda, forming a teroxide. This oxide is always formed 
when the metal is burnt in the open air. 
Sodium is a constituent of a number of important medicinal preparations, and 
is briefly described in this place as an introduction to these compounds. Its pro- 
toxide only is salifiable, constituting the alkali soda, which, united to acids, gives 
rise to a numerous class of compounds, called salts of soda. These are charac- 
terized by communicating to the blowpipe flame a rich yellow colour, and by not 
being precipitable by any reagent, except the metantimoniate of potassa. (See 
page 701.) Protoxide of sodium (dry soda) consists of one eq. of sodium 23-3, 
and one of oxygen 8 = 31-3. United with one eq of water 9, it forms hydrate 
of soda (caustic soda), weighing 40-3. It appears that the salts of sodium, long 
theoretically presumed to be isomorphous with those of lithium, have recently 
been proved to be so by a comparison of the crystals of the hyposulphites of 
the two alkalies. {Journ. de Pharm., 4e ser., iv. 72.) 
been contrived by M. Rigollot, in France, and Herr Ruefl', in Germany, which aim to 
obviate these inconveniences. 
1. Rigollot’s Mustard-paper is prepared in the following manner. To a leaf of paper, 
sufficiently stiff', a layer of the flour of mustard, a millimeter in thickness, is attached 
by means of a solution of caoutchouc in the sulphide of carbon or a volatile oil. The sol- 
vent evaporates, leaving the flour of mustard entangled in a net of fibres adhering to the 
paper, and permeable by water as would be the meshes of a sieve. All that is necessary, 
when it is used, is to steep the mustard-paper, for 12 or 15 seconds, in water cold or warm, 
befoi e applying it to the skin. Ninety grains of flour of mustard, employed in this method, 
are sufficient to redden strongly a surface of about four inches square. Mustard has its 
rubefacient power increased by depriving it of its fixed oil, which may be done by pressure, 
or by sulphide of carbon, which M. Rigollot prefers, while it keeps much better than 
that which retains its fixed oil. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1867, p. 269.) 
2. Rueff Mustard-paper. This appears to have been prepared in the interests of the shop ; 
for the mode of preparing it is not given in the highly laudatory notice of it contained 
in Buchner’s Neues Repertorium (A. D. 1868, xvii. 182). It differs from Rigollot’s 
preparation, is kept in well-closed stiff paper capsules, and retains its excellent properties 
unchanged. When to be used as a sinapism, ail that is necessary is to cut off a piece of 
the required size, and having dipped it for a few seconds in lukewarm water, to apply 
it to the skin with some pressure, and, if needful, to confine it with a bandage. It is 
stated, in the communication concerning it, that it is likely to supersede mustard as a 
cataplasm. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 814 
Sodas Acetas.—Sodse Boras. 
PART I. 
The officinal combinations containing sodium are caustic soda, chloride of 
sodium, the solutions of soda and chlorinated soda, the acetate, arseniate, borate, 
carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate, sulphate, sulphite, and valerianate of soda, 
and the tartrate of potassa and soda. The description of some of these combi- 
nations will immediately follow; and the remainder will be noticed, under their 
respective titles, in Part II. B. 
SODiE ACETAS. U. S, Br. 
Acetate of Soda. 
NaO,C Hs03 + 6H0. Br. 
Terra foliata tartari, Lat.; Acetate de soude, Fr.; Essigsaures Natron, Germ,.; Acetato 
di soda, Ital. 
Acetate of soda, being obtained on a large scale from the manufacturing 
chemist, is properly placed in the catalogues of the Materia Medica of the U. S. 
and Br. Pharmacopoeias. 
Acetate of soda is prepared by the manufacturer of crude pyroligneous acid, 
for the purpose of being decomposed, so as to yield the officinal acetic acid, by 
the action of sulphuric acid. The steps of the process by which it is made from 
the crude acid have been given under the head of Acidum Aceticum (page 19). 
Properties, &c. Acetate of soda is a white salt, crystallizing in long striated 
prisms, and possessing a sharp, bitterish, not disagreeable taste. Exposed to a 
dry air it effloresces slowly, and loses about 40 per cent, of its weight. It is 
soluble in about 3 parts of cold water, and in 24 of alcohol. Subjected to heat 
it undergoes first the aqueous and then the igneous fusion, and is finally decom- 
posed ; the residue being a mixture of carbonate of soda and charcoal. By the 
addition of sulphuric acid it is decomposed, the acetic acid being liberated, 
known by its acetous odour, and sulphate of soda formed. The salt should be 
perfectly neutral to test paper, and not precipitated by chloride of barium, nitrate 
of silver, or bichloride of platinum. The non-action of these tests shows the ab- 
sence of sulphates, chlorides, and the salts of potassa. For the proper action of 
the nitrate of silver test, the solution should be dilute; as, if it be strong, there 
will be a crystalline precipitate of acetate of silver, which dissolves on the addi- 
tion of water. Acetate of soda, when crystallized, consists of one eq. of acetic 
acid 51, one of soda 313, and six of water 54= 136 3. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Acetate of soda is diuretic, and possesses gen- 
erally the same medical properties as acetate of potassa, to which article the 
reader is referred. It is, however, more convenient for exhibition than the lat- 
ter salt, as it is not deliquescent. The dose is from a scruple to two drachms. It 
is employed principally to yield acetic acid by the action of sulphuric acid. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ferri Arsenias, Br.; FerriPhosphas,Br.; Syrupus 
Ferri Phosphatis, Br. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Aceticum Glaciale, Br. 1864. B. 
SOD.E BORAS. U. S 
Borate of Soda. 
Off. Syn. BORAX. Borax. XaO,2BO, + 10HO. Br. 
Borate de soude, Borax, Fr.; Boraxsaures Natron, Borax, Germ.; Bor ace, Ital.; Borax, 
Span.; Boorak, Arab. 
Borax was known to the ancients,but its chemical nature was first ascertained 
by Geoffroy in 1732. It exists native, and may be obtained by artificial means. 
It occurs in several localities in Europe, in Peru, and in beds, associated with 
borate of lime, in the district of Iquique, in the Republic of Ecuador. This 
mineral (iinkalzite) which has become an article of commerce, and is consider- 
ably used as a substitute for borax, contains, according to T. L. Phillipson, 34 
per cent, of water, 1P95 of soda, 14 45 of lime, 34 71 of boracic acid, l-34 of PART I. 
Sodre Boras. 
815 
chlorine, 1T0 of sulphuric acid, 0-60 of silica, and 2 of sand; and maybe 
considered as a compound essentially of one eq. of crystallized borate of soda 
and two of borate of lime, more two eqs. of water. (Chem. News, Oct. 5, 1861, 
p. 183.) It is said also to contain usually some iodine and bromine. (G. Sims.) 
Borax is found abundantly in certain lakes of Thibet and Persia, from which .t 
is obtained by spontaneous evaporation. The impure borax, called in commerce 
tincal or crude borax, concretes on the borders of these lakes. As thus obtained 
it is in the form of crystalline masses which are sometimes colourless, sometimes 
yellowish or greenish, and always covered with an earthy coating, greasy to the 
touch, and having the odour of soap. The greasy appearance is derived from a 
fatty matter, saponified by soda. The tincal is transferred to the seaports of 
India, especially Calcutta, from which it is exported to this country in chests. 
Besides Indian tincal, there is another commercial variety of borax which comes 
from China, and which is partially refined. Both varieties require to be purified 
before being used in medicine or the arts. 
A new and abundant source of borax has recently been developed within 
the limits of the United States. The existence of a borax lake in California 
was first made known by Dr. J. A. Yeatch, who visited it in September, 1856, 
and, upon examining its waters, found borax among its constituents. The 
borax lake is a small offset of a large sheet of water, called Clear Lake, which 
is situated in the midst of a volcanic region, about 36 miles from the Pacific, 
and about 100 miles north of San Francisco. The smaller lakelet is separated 
from the larger by a low ridge of volcanic materials loosely massed together. 
It is of variable dimensions according to the season, being sometimes dry, at 
others filled with water to the extent of about a mile in length and half a mile 
in breadth. In September, 1863, the water, being analyzed by Mr. T. B. Moore, 
was found to contain in a gallon 2401-56 grains of solid matter, of which about 
one-half was common salt, one-quarter carbonate, and the remainder chiefly 
borate of soda, equivalent to 535-08 grains of the crystallized biborate to the 
gallon. The borax, being the least soluble of the saline constituents, from time 
to time, as the water becomes saturated, crystallizes out, and being deposited 
at the bottom of the lake, has accumulated there in large quantities. The crys- 
tals of borax, from the minutest speck up to a diameter of two or three inches, 
intermixed with blue mud, form a layer at the bottom of the lake of variable 
thickness, but 18 inches in one place that was examined. This deposit forms 
an apparently inexhaustible supply of borax, for as fast as removed in one place 
it is deposited in another by crystallization from the water, which, supplied 
from the volcanic regions around, promises to continue furnishing the borax 
for an indefinite period. Already the lake has supplied large quantities of borax 
to commerce. Iron coffer dams are sunk to the bottom of the lake, the water 
pumped out, and the mixed mud and crystals removed. The crystals are picked 
out, and the earth, which is strongly impregnated with borax, is lixiviated, 
and the solution thus obtained evaporated in boilers till crystals form. At the 
last accounts 4000 pounds of the salt are collected daily, and it is said that 
the quantity will be greatly increased on the completion of the works. (Prof. J. 
D. Whitney, Silliman’s Journ., March, 1866; andD. J. Macgowan, Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 155.) 
Purification. The method of refining borax was originally possessed as a 
secret by the Venetians and Dutch, but is now practised in several European 
countries. The process pursued in France, as reported by Robiquet and Mar- 
chand, is as follows. The tincal is placed in a large wooden vessel, and covered 
to the depth of three or four inches with water; in which state it is allowed to 
remain for five or six hours, being agitated from time to time. Slaked lime is 
now added, in the proportion of 1 part to 400 of the impure salt; and the whole, 
being thoroughly mixed, is allowed to remain at rest till the succeeding day. 
The salt is next separated by means of a sieve, the crystals being crumbled be- 
tween the hands, and placed so as to drain. The object of this treatment is to 
separate the soapy matter, with which the lime forms an insoluble soap; and at 816 
Sodas Boras. 
PART I. 
the same time sulphate of soda and chloride of sodium are removed, with only a 
minute loss of the borax. The borax being drained is next dissolved, by the 
assistance of heat, in two and a half times its weight of water, and the solution 
treated with one-fiftieth of its weight of chloride of calcium, in order to com- 
plete the separation of the soapy matter; after which it is strained through a 
coarse bag. The liquor is then concentrated by heat, and run into wooden ves- 
sels, lined with lead, having the shape of an inverted quadrangular pyramid. If 
care be taken that the cooling proceed very gradually, distinct crystals will be 
obtained, such as are found in commerce; otherwise, crystalline crusts will be 
formed. The Chinese borax is purified in a similar manner; but, being less im- 
pure than the common tincal, does not require to be washed. 
Preparation of Artificial Borax. Large quantities of borax are now made 
by the direct combination of native boracic acid with soda. The acid is found 
abundantly in the crater of Yulcano, one of the Lipari Islands; but principally 
in a volcanic region of Tuscany, occupying a space of ten or twelve miles. 
Within this region are found numerous hillocks and fissures, the latter of which 
emit hot aqueous vapour, containing boracic acid and certain gases. Around 
one or several of these fissures, a circular basin of masonry is built, which is filled 
with water, and called a lagoon. By the jets of vapour, constantly breaking 
through it, the water becomes gradually impregnated with boracie acid, and 
heated. A series of such lagoons are made to communicate with each other on 
the declivity of a hill, and the lowest to discharge itself into a reservoir, where 
the solution is allowed to rest, and deposit mechanical impurities. From this 
reservoir the solution is made to pass into leaden evaporating pans, heated by 
the natural vapour, where it receives sufficient concentration to fit it for being 
conducted into wooden tubs, where it is allowed to cool and crystallize. The 
crude acid, thus obtained, contains, on an average, 84 per cent, of boracic acid; 
the impurities consisting chiefly of alum, the double sulphate of ammonia and 
magnesia, and sulphate of lime. The product of the Tuscany lagoons in 1855 
was over 1800 tons. (A. Pechiney-Rangot, Journ. de Pharm , xxviii. 358.) The 
crude acid is converted into borax by dissolving it to saturation in a solution of 
carbonate of soda heated by steam; and the liquor, after boiling, is allowed to 
stand for ten or twelve hours. It is then drawn off into wooden vessels lined 
with lead, where it crystallizes. The impure crystals, thus obtained, are refined 
by dissolving them in water heated by steam, adding carbonate of soda to the 
solution, and crystallizing. The merit of introducing the process for obtaining 
artificial borax belongs to Cartier and Payen, who succeeded in establishing its 
manufacture in France. According to Dr. Yeatch, boracic acid exists in the 
sea-water on the coast of California. 
Another method of neutralizing the Italian boracic acid is now in practice 
in England. Instead of combining the acid and alkali in solution, the manufac- 
turer mixes the acid in a solid state with a proper proportion of soda ash, and 
exposes the mixture to the heat of a reverberatory furnace; provision being 
made for the collection of a large quantit}7- of ammonia, which is always pre- 
sent in the crude acid, and escapes during the process. The remaining opera- 
tions are similar to those performed in the preparation of carbonate of soda 
from the cake. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., July, 1867, p. 339; from the Drug- 
gists' Circular, Feb. 1867.) 
Properties. Borax is a white salt, generally crystallized in flattened hexahe- 
dral prisms, terminated by triangular pyramids,and possessing a sweetish,feebly 
alkaline taste, and an alkaline reaction. It dissolves in twelve times its weight 
of cold, and twice its weight of boiling water. Exposed to the air it effloresces 
slowly, and the surface of the crystals becomes covered with a white powder. 
Subjected to a moderate heat it undergoes the aqueous fusion, swells consider- 
ably, and finally becomes a dry porous mass, with loss of half its weight. Above 
a red heat it melts into a limpid liquid, which, after cooling, concretes into a 
transparent solid, called glass of borax, much used as a flux in assays with the 
blowpipe. Borax has been found, in the English market, adulterated to the ex- PART I. 
Sodas Boras, 
817 
tent of 20 per cent, with phosphate of soda. This may be detected by exposing 
the suspected borax to the heat of a drying room for a few hours, when the 
phosphate, if present, will effloresce, and may be picked out. 
Borax has the property of rendering cream of tartar very soluble in water, and 
forms a combination with it called soluble cream of tartar, which is sometimes 
used in medicine. This preparation is made by boiling 6 parts of cream of tartar 
and 2 of borax in 16 of water for five minutes, allowing the solution to cool, 
and then filtering to separate some tartrate of lime. Soluble cream of tartar 
attracts moisture from the air, and is soluble in its own weight of cold, and half 
its weight of boiling water. A similar preparation may be made by substituting 
boracic acid for the borax. Boracic acid, soluble cream of tartar was directed by 
the French Codex of 1837, and was made by the following formula. Four hun- 
dred parts of cream of tartar and 100 of the acid are dissolved in a silver basin, 
at the boiling temperature, in 2400 parts of water. The solution is kept boiling 
until the greater part of the water is consumed. The fire is then moderated, 
and the solution continually stirred while the evaporation proceeds. When the 
matter has become very thick, it is removed by portions, which are flattened 
in the hand, completely dried by the heat of a stove, powdered, and kept in 
well-stopped bottles. This form of soluble cream of tartar is more soluble than 
that made with borax. According to M. E. Robiquet, in order to obtain solu- 
ble cream of tartar, made with boracic acid, of good quality, it is necessary to 
use a large quantity of water, and to boil for a longtime. By proceeding thus, 
the boracic acid undergoes a molecular modification, equivalent to a change 
from the crystallized to the vitreous condition, and a preparation, readily and 
totally soluble in cold water, is ensured. The product should not be powdered, 
but kept in large grains. {Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 197.) 
Composition. Borax consists of two eqs. of boracic acid 69 8, and one of 
soda 31-3=101-1. It ordinarily crystallizes in prisms, and contains ten eqs. of 
water (prismatic borax); but a variety of the salt exists, which crystallizes in 
octohedrons, and contains only five eqs. of water (octohedral borax). The latter 
is obtained in the artificial production of borax, by crystallizing from a concen- 
trated solution at a temperature between 174° and 133°. When a solution of 
borax is evaporated at 212°, the salt is left as a transparent, amorphous, brittle 
mass, containing four eqs. of water. {Schweitzer.) In composition borax is a 
biborate, though sometimes called a subborate on account of its possessing an 
alkaline reaction. 
Boracic acid may be obtained artificially by decomposing a hot saturated 
solution of borax with sulphuric acid, which unites with the soda to form sul- 
phate of soda, and sets free the acid. As thus obtained it is in white, shining, 
scaly crystals, characterized by the property of imparting a light-green colour 
to the flame of burning alcohol. Boracic acid consists of one eq. of boron 10'9, 
and three of oxygen 24 = 34-9.* Boron is a non-metallic element, which, like 
carbon, exists in three allotropic states, called amorphous, graphitoidal, and 
crystallized boron, representing severally charcoal, graphite, and diamond. 
Crystallized boron is very brilliant, and of different colours, from garnet-red to 
a nearly colourless honey-yellow. Its density is 2-68, and hardness very great. 
Wohler and Deville distinguish three varieties of crystals, containing from 2 to 
4 per cent, of carbon ; and one specimen, in addition to carbon, about 7 per 
cent, of aluminium. The hardest variety was as hard as diamond. (See Chem 
Gaz., Aug. 1, 1857, p. 281.) 
* Reactions of Boracic Acid. From the researches of M. C. Tissier, it appears that boracic 
acid, in boiling solution, is capable of dissolving the protoxides of calcium, magnesium, 
manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, zinc, and cadmium, but n-ot those of copper,lead, or tin, 
nor the sesquioxides of aluminium, chrome, or iron. In other words, it dissolves the pro- 
toxides of all the metals which decompose water in the presence of acids, and is without 
action on those of other metals, as well as on all the higher oxides, such as sesquioxides 
and binoxides. It dissolves only one of the insoluble metallic sulphurets, namely, the sul- 
phurct of manganese. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 1858, p. 98.) 818 
Sodx Boras.—Sodas Carbonas. 
PART I 
Medical Properties. Borax is a mild refrigerant and diuretic. It is supposed 
also to exercise a specific influence over the uterus, promoting menstruation, 
facilitating parturition, and favouring the expulsion of the placenta. Pr. Bins- 
wanger denies its specific power of exciting uterine contractions, or promoting 
menstruation. Nevertheless, Dr. Daniel Stahl, of Indiana, has found it useful 
in dvsmenorrhoea, occurring in sanguineous constitutions, venesection being 
premised. He gives it in doses of about nine grains every two hours, in a table- 
spoonful of flaxseed tea, for two days before the time of the expected return of 
the menses. Yirey deemed it aphrodisiac ; and, according to Dr. J. C. Hubbard, 
it is eminently so when used in the form of enema. Binswanger considers 
borax as the best remedy that can be used in nephritic and calculous com- 
plaints, dependent on an excess of uric acid. It probably acts in such cases as 
an alkali, the soda of the salt neutralizing the uric acid occurring in the urinary 
passages, and the boracic acid being set free. The dose is from thirty to forty 
grains. In infantile diarrhoea, unattended by lesions of the intestinal mucous 
membrane, M. Bouchut has found borax peculiarly efficacious, given in the form 
of enema, made by dissolving from two to five drachms in four fluidounces of 
water. Cream of tartar is conveniently rendered more soluble by borax or 
boracic acid, when it is desirable to administer it in large quantities. Externally 
the solution of borax is used as a wash in scaly eruptions. A solution, formed 
by dissolving a drachm of the salt in two fluidounces of distilled vinegar, has 
been found, both by Dr. Abercrombie and Dr. Christison, an excellent lotion 
for ringworm of the scalp. Borax has been employed with good effect by Dr. 
Brinton in an inveterate case of cracked tongue, applied as a lotion, made by 
dissolving two scruples of borax in an ounce of glycerin, and four fluidounces 
of water. This salt is very much used as a detergent in aphthous affections of 
the mouth in children. When employed for this purpose, it is generally ap- 
plied in powder, either mixed with sugar in the proportions of one part to seven, 
or rubbed up with honey. (See Mel Boracis.) 
Borax is used in the arts for soldering metals, its effv ct being to keep the sur- 
faces free from oxidation. It is said also to have come into use, in some places, 
in washing clothes, as a substitute for soap, which it resembles in its effects, 
while it does not disturb the colours. It is used in very small proportion. 
(Neues Bepertorium, A. D. 1864, xiii. 423.) 
Off. Prep. Glycerinum Boracis, Br.; Mel Boracis, Br.; Mel Sodse Boracis, 
U. S. B. 
SODiE CARBON AS. U A., Br. 
Na0,C02 + 10HO. Br. 
Carbonate de soude, Fr.; Einfacb Kohlensaures Natron, Germ.; Carbonato di soda, 
Ital.; Carbonato de soda, Span. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia this salt has always been placed in the list of the 
Materia Medica; the crystallized carbonate of soda, obtained on a large scale 
by the manufacturing chemist, being sufficiently pure, without further prepara- 
tion, for medicinal use; and the same position is given to it in the British Phar- 
macopoeia. 
Before entering upon the consideration of the carbonate of soda, we shall 
speak generally of the sources of the alkali soda. These may be divided into the 
natural and artificial. The natural sources are the minerals of native soda, and 
certain marine plants which yield the alkali in their ashes ; the artificial are cer- 
tain salts which furnish it by chemical decomposition. 
Native soda, sometimes called natron, is found chiefly in Hungary, Egypt, 
and South America, and exists, in these countries, either in the earth of the sur- 
face, which often exhibits a saline efflorescence, or in solution in small lakes, 
from which it is extracted by taking advantage of the drying up of the water 
during the heats of summer. The native soda from Egypt, called trona, is a 
sesquicarbonate; while that from South America is less carbonated. Native 
Carbonate of Soda. PART I. 
Sodse Carbonas. 
819 
soda, in the form of sesquicarbonate, has been found in a soda lake in the ter- 
ritory of the Nizam, in Hindostan. Dr. Barth, in his Travels in Africa, states 
that natron is largely collected on the shores of Lake Tsad, and in some 
localities in Negroland or Central Africa. (Am. ed., 1857, i. 312, and ii. 63—8.) 
A similar product exists abundantly in low places along the sea-coast of Arabia, 
near Aden. (R. Haines, Pharm. Journ., July, 1863.) 
Impure soda, derived from the ashes of plants growing on the surface or 
borders of the sea, is called barilla or kelp, according to the character of the 
plants incinerated. Barilla is obtained from several vegetables, principally be- 
longing to the genera Salsola, Salicornia, and Chenopodium. In Spain, Sicily, 
and some other countries, these plants are cultivated for the purpose of yielding 
soda by their combustion. When ripe, they are cut down, dried, and burnt in 
heaps. The ashes form a semi-fused, hai’d, and compact saline mass, which is 
broken up into fragments by means of pickaxes, and thrown into commerce. 
Kelp, called varec in France, is procured by the incineration of various kinds 
of sea-weeds, principally the algae and fuci, which grow on the rocky coasts of 
many countries. The Orkneys and Hebrides, and the rocky coasts of Wales, 
Scotland, and Ireland furnish large quantities of these weeds. The plants are 
fermented in heaps, then dried, and afterwards burnt to ashes in ovens roughly 
made of brick or stone, and built in the ground. The alkali in the ashes melts, 
and forms the whole into one solid mass. When cold, it is broken up with iron 
instruments into large heavy masses, in which state it is found in commerce. 
About twenty-four tons of sea-weeds produce one of kelp. 
Barilla, when of good quality, is in hard, dry, porous, sonorous, grayish-blue 
masses, which become covered with a saline efflorescence on exposure. It pos- 
sesses a peculiar odour and an alkaline taste. Spanish barilla contains from 25 
to 40 per cent, of carbonated alkali; the residue being made up of sulphate of 
soda, sulphuret and chloride of sodium, carbonate of lime, alumina, silica, oxi- 
dized iron, and a small portion of charcoal which has escaped combustion. Be- 
fore the introduction of artificial soda, barilla formed the source of the crystal- 
lized carbonate employed in medicine. At present it is principally used in the 
manufacture of soap. 
Kelp is in hard, vesicular masses, of a dark-gray, bluish, or greenish colour, 
sulphurous odour, and acrid, caustic taste. It is still less pure than barilla, con- 
taining only from 5 to 8 per cent, of carbonated soda; the rest being made up 
of a large proportion of the sulphates of soda and potassa, and the chlorides 
of potassium and sodium, a small quantity of iodide of sodium, and insoluble 
and colouring matters. Large quantities of kelp were formerly manufactured 
in Great Britain and the neighbouring islands, particularly the Orkneys; but 
the demand and production have greatly fallen off, since the introduction of 
artificial soda at a comparatively low price. At present kelp is used princi- 
pally in the manufacture of iodine. (See lodinium.) 
Artificial Soda. This is made from common salt by two steps; first, by con- 
verting the salt by sulphuric acid into sulphate of soda, and secondly, by decom- 
posing the sulphate by carbonate of lime and charcoal at a high temperature, 
so as to yield carbonate of soda. The sulphate, first dried, is mixed with its 
own weight of ground limestone, and half its weight of small coal, ground and 
sifted, and the whole is heated in a reverberatory furnace, where it fuses, and 
forms a black mass called black ash, soda ball, or British barilla. The coal, at 
the temperature employed, converts the sulphate of soda into sulphuret of so- 
dium. This reacts with the limestone, so as to form sulphuret of calcium and 
carbonate of soda (NaS and Ca0,C02=CaS and NaO,C02). If this compound 
were digested in water, sulphuret of sodium and carbonate of lime would be re- 
produced. To prevent this result a large excess of lime is used, which gives 
rise to the formation of an oxysulphuret of calcium (3CaS,CaO), which is in- 
soluble in water, and without action on carbonate of soda. British barilla con- 
tains about 36 per cent, of alkali, imperfectly carbonated on account of the high 
tmat used ; the remainder being principally oxysulphuret of calcium, caustic 820 
Sodee Carbonas. 
PART I- 
lime, and coaly matter. It is next digested in warm water, which takes up the 
alkali and other soluble matters, and leaves the insoluble impurities, called soda 
waste, which is now largely utilized in the manufacture of hyposulphite of soda. 
(Cliem. News, Sept. 28,1861, p. 174.) The solution is evaporated to dryness, 
and the mass obtained is calcined with one-fourth of its weight of sawdust, in 
order to convert the alkali fully into carbonate, by means of the carbonic acid 
resulting from the combustion of the sawdust. The product is redissolved in 
water, and the solution evaporated to dryness. The alkali, in this stage of its 
purification, contains about 50 per cent, of carbonate of soda, and is called soda- 
ash. It is brought to the state of crystallized carbonate of soda, by dissolving it 
in water, straining the solution, evaporating it to a pellicle, and setting it aside 
to crystallize. On the subject of the products of the'soda manufacture, see an 
elaborate paper by John Brown, Esq., in the Philos. Mag. for Jan. 1849. 
The process here described, for obtaining soda from common salt, was dis- 
covered in 1784 by Leblanc; and the first manufactory for procuring it on a 
large scale was established in 1790, near Paris, by Leblanc and Diz£. The 
process is pursued on an immense scale in Great Britain, especially at Liver- 
pool and Glasgow, and produces soda at so small a cost, that barilla and kelp 
are nearly superseded as sources of the alkali. 
A new process for manufacturing artificial soda from sulphate of soda has 
been proposed by M. Emile Kopp, and has been successfully carried into ope- 
ration on a large scale, near Manchester, England. It consists in decomposing 
the sulphate by sesquioxide of iron and coal. The advantages claimed for this 
process are that the whole of the sulphur of the sulphate may be recovered, 
instead of being lost in the waste oxysulphuret of calcium of the old process, 
and that it is more independent of the skill of the workmen. (See Journ. dc 
Pharm., Nov. 1856, p. 360.) 
Mr. A. G. Hunter, of Rockcliff Hall, near Flint, has made a discovery which 
bids fair materially to modify Leblanc’s method of preparing carbonate of soda. 
It is known that caustic baryta will decompose sulphate of soda, uniting with 
the acid, and leaving caustic soda in solution. But baryta is so costly as to 
render this property practically nugatory. Mr. Hunter’s discovery consists in 
the fact, that caustic lime has the same effect, if aided by a pressure considera- 
bly exceeding that of the atmosphere, brought to bear on the solution of the 
sulphate of soda, after the addition of the lime. The caustic soda thus obtained 
in solution may be converted into the carbonate by direct union with carbonic 
acid. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1866, p. 172.) 
Another source of this carbonate has lately been found in cryolite, a mineral 
existing in great abundance on the coast of Greenland, and largely imported 
into this country by a manufacturing company, which enjoys to a certain extent 
a monopoly of the mineral under the Danish authorities. Cryolite consists 
mainly of a double fluoride of aluminium and sodium, containing in 100 parts 
13 of aluminium, 34 of sodium, and 53 of fluorine. Carbonate of soda is ob- 
tained by boiling cryolite with lime, whereby the fluoride of calcium is formed, 
which, being insoluble, is deposited, and alumina and soda combined in solution. 
The soda is converted into carbonate by passing carbonic acid through the solu- 
tion ; and the alumina, separated from the soda, becomes insoluble, and is de- 
posited. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1868, p. 71.) Cryolite is also largely used 
in Denmark and Germany in the preparation of carbonate of soda and of alu- 
mina, the latter of which is employed in the manufacture of alum and aluminium. 
The cryolite is mixed thoroughly with chalk, in the state of powder, and the 
mixture is calcined. The fluorine combines with the calcium of the lime, which 
gives its oxygen to the sodium and aluminium, converting them into soda and 
alumina. The soda is extracted by lixiviation, and carbonic acid passed through 
the solution. The carbonate of soda thus formed is obtained by evaporation 
and crystallization (Ibid., May, 1863, pp. 244 and 255.)* 
* Cryolite. Besides the preparation of carbonate of soda, cryolite is emplryed for other 
important purposes. Its only known locality, at least in large amount, is Greenland, Sodae Carbonas. 
821 
PART i. 
The different kinds of impure carbonate of soda, whether barilla, kelp, or 
soda-ash, being exceedingly variable in composition, it is important to have a 
ready method of determining the quantity of real carbonated alkali which they 
contain. The mode in which this is done, by means of an instrument called an 
alkalimeter, has been already explained. (Seepage 700.) These various forms 
of carbonated soda are largely consumed in dyeing and bleaching, and in the 
manufacture of soap and glass. 
The following are descriptions of the different grades of artificial soda, known 
under the names of British barilla, soda-ash, and carbonate of soda. 
British barilla, so called to distinguish it from Spanish barilla, which has 
its source in the ashes of maritime plants, is a blackish-brown substance, be- 
coming darker by exposure to the air. When broken it exhibits an imperfect 
metallic lustre, and a close striated texture. Its taste is hepatic and caustic. 
By exposure to a moist atmosphere, it becomes covered with a yellow efflores- 
cence, and quickly falls to powder, with disengagement of heat and sulphu- 
retted hydrogen; at the same time increasing in weight by the absorption of 
carbonic acid and water. 
Soda-ash is in white or gray compact masses, and contains about half its 
weight of foreign salts, consisting principally of chloride of sodium and sul- 
phate of soda. 
Carbonate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing a disagreeable taste and 
alkaline reaction, and crystallizing usually in large oblique rhombic prisms, 
which speedily effloresce when exposed to the air. When heated it undergoes 
the aqueous fusion; and, if the heat be continued, it dries and finally suffers 
the igneous fusion. Of the crystallized salt, 100 parts of water dissolve 60 at 
67°, 833 at 97°, its temperature of maximum solubility, and 445 at 219°, or the 
boiling point of the solution. (Payen.) This salt presents other anomalies in 
solubility, as ascertained by M. Henri Loewel. Carbonate of soda is insoluble 
in alcohol. The most usual impurities in it are sulphate of soda and common 
salt, which may be detected by converting it into a nitrate, and testing separate 
portions of this severally with chloride of barium and nitrate of silver. Common 
salt is seldom entirely absent, but good specimens are free from sulphate of 
soda. When badly prepared, it is liable to contain sulphuret of sodium, which 
may be detected by the production of the smell of sulphuretted hydrogen upon 
dissolving the salt in water. Carbonate of soda is incompatible with acids, 
acidulous salts, lime-water, muriate of ammonia, and earthy and metallic salts. 
It consists of one eq. of carbonic acid 22, and one of soda 313 = 53 3. When 
fully crystallized it contains ten eqs. of water 90, giving as the number repre- 
senting the crystallized salt 143 3. It is thus perceived that this salt, when per- 
fectly crystallized, contains nearly two-thirds of its weight of water; but the 
quantity actually present in it, as found in the shops, is variable, being depend- 
ent on the extent to which it may have undergone efflorescence. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonate of soda is antacid, antilithic, and 
resolvent. It is given principally in diseases attended with acidity of the stom- 
ach ; such as gout, uric acid gravel, and certain forms of dyspepsia. It is more 
frequently exhibited than carbonate of potassa; as, from its less acrid taste, it 
where it is found near Cape Farewell, existing in beds, of which one is said to be 80 feet 
thick and 300 long. It is said that the manufacturing company referred to in the text, 
the “ Pennsylvania Salt Company,” imported in 1865 and 1866 thirteen cargoes, amount- 
ing to 9000 tons, into Philadelphia, and in the year 1867 were expected to import 8000 
tons. It is a handsome mineral, hard, brittle, and translucent, sometimes almost trans- 
parent, but generally of a frosty whiteness, which has probably suggested its name of 
cryolite or l'cryolite, from the Greek upvoc, frost. Though homogeneous in great degree, 
it exhibits here and there in its substance dark spots, sometimes mere specks, sometimes 
of considerable size, which appear to be crystalline centres of substances mixed with it 
at the time of solidification, such as galena, sulphuret of lead, carbonate of iron, copper 
and iron pyrites, &c. It is employed in the making of soap, in the preparation of sul- 
phate of alumina, and in the formation of a beautiful variety of glass, which is made by 
melting one part of it with from two to four parts of pure silex. (Evan T. Ellis, Pro- 
ceed. of Am. Pharm. Association, 1867.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 822 
Sodae, Carbonas.—Sodae Ifyposulphis. 
PART I. 
is more easily taken. It has also been recommended in hooping-cough, scrofula, 
and bronchocele. In the latter disease, Dr. Peschier, of Geneva, considered it 
more efficacious than iodine. It is also employed with advantage, internally 
and externally, in skin diseases, especially those of a papulous and scaly char- 
acter. A lotion suitable for these cases may be formed by dissolving from two 
to three drachms of the carbonate in a pint of water. For a bath, from eight to 
sixteen ounces of the salt may be dissolved in the necessary quantity of water. 
A suitable ointment may be made by mixing from eight to sixty grains with an 
ounce of lard, according to the character of the affection. Carbonate of soda is 
given in doses of from ten grains to half a drachm, either in powder, or dissolved 
in some bitter infusion. In consequence of the variable state in which it exists 
in the shops, as to the amount of water of crystallization which it contains, the 
dose cannot be indicated with precision. It is on this account that the salt is 
most conveniently administered in the dried state, which admits of its being 
given in the pilular form. (See Sodas Carbonas Exsiccatus.) When taken in 
an overdose it acts as a corrosive poison. The best antidotes are the fixed oils, 
acetic acid, and lemon-juice. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Aluminas Sulphas, U. S.; Antimonii Oxidum, 
Br.; Antimonii Oxysulphuretum, U. S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Cadmii 
Sulphas, U. S. 
Off Prep. Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U.S.; Calcis Carbonas Praecipitata; Ferri 
Subcarbonas, U. S.; Liquor Sodae; Liquor Sodee Chloratae, Br.; Liquor Sodae 
Chlorinatae, U. S.; Magnesiae Carbonas, Br.; Magnesiae Carbonas Levis, Br.; 
Pilulas Ferri Carbonatis, U. S.; Pil. Ferri Compositae, U.S.; Potassae et Sodae 
Tartras, U. S; Soda Tartarata, Br.; Sodae Bicarbonas; Sodae Carbonas Ex- 
siccata; Sodae Phosphas; Zinci Carbonas, Br.; Zinci Carbonas Precipitata, 
U. S. B. 
SODiE HYPOSULPHIS. 
Hyposulphite of Soda. Br. Appendix. 
Hyposulphite of Soda crystallized, Na0,S202-f 5110 = 124. Br. 
This salt was introduced into the British Pharmacopoeia as a test, and 
for the formation of the Volumetric Solution of Hyposulphite of Soda. It is 
readily prepared, according to Walchner, by mixing a pound of dry carbonate 
of soda, in fine powder, with five ounces of sulphur, heating the mixture gradually 
in a porcelain vessel until the sulphur melts, and stirring the agglutinated mass, 
still kept hot, in order that every portion of it may come in contact with the 
air. The sulphuret of sodium, first formed, is thus converted into sulphite of 
soda. This is dissolved in water, and theffiltered solution, being boiled with 
sulphur, becomes one of hyposulphite of soda, from which, after filtration and 
concentration, the salt is deposited in crystals. It may be obtained also by di- 
gesting the solution of sulphite of soda, at a high temperature but short of 
ebullition, with finely divided sulphur. The sulphurous acid (S02) takes an ad- 
ditional eq. of sulphur, becoming hyposulphurous (dithionous) acid (S202), 
which combines with the soda to form the hyposulphite (Na0,S202). This acid 
exists only in combination; and its salts were formerly considered simply as 
sulphuretted sulphites. 
Properties. Hyposulphite of soda is in large colourless transparent crystals, 
of a mild, saline, sulphurous taste, freely soluble in water, and insoluble in alco- 
hol. Its solution dissolves chloride of silver and all other insoluble compounds 
of that metal, except the sulphuret, and that resulting from the decomposition 
of a silver salt by light. Though without action on iodide of potassium, it dis- 
solves iodine, decomposes iodic acid with the liberation of iodine, and destroys 
the blue colour of iodide of starch. (Brande and Taylor.) In dissolving iodine 
it forms with it iodide of sodium and tetrathionate of soda; as represented by 
the formula 2(Na0,S202)-{-I= It dissolves also sulphate 
and iodide of lead, and sulphate of lime much more freely than water. (Journ PART I. 
Sodse Hyposulphis.—Sodas Nitras. 
823 
de Pharm., Avril, 1864, p. 363.) Its relations to iodine render it valuable as 
ft means of estimating the quantity of free iodine, for which purpose it is used 
in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, in the form of a volumetric solution. In consequence 
of its peculiar solvent properties it is much used in photography. The daguer- 
reotypists employ it for the purpose of dissolving the sensitive coating of iodide 
oi silver from the plate, after the action of the light, and thus fixing the image 
already formed. For an account of the several tests of this salt, the reader is 
referred to the Chemical News (Dec. 12,1863, p. 283). One of the most delicate 
is that of iodine and starch. The blue colour produced by the mixture of very 
small quantities of these two substances in solution is instantly discharged by a 
solution containing a trace of the hyposulphite. Mr. M. Carey Lea has dis- 
covered a new test in ruthenium. When a solution of a salt of this metal, made 
alkaline with ammonia, is boiled with the hyposulphite, it gradually becomes 
rose-coloured, and ultimately of a rich carmine, which in strong solution be- 
comes almost black; and then, if diluted, the shade is magnificent, rivalling the 
aniline red in richness. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, Sept. 1861, p. 222.) 
Medical Properties. Hyposulphite of soda has recently come into use, in 
consequence of its extraordinary powers in destroying the life of the lower 
organic beings, such as have been found, through microscopic investigation, to 
infect various parts of the human system, and are sometimes the cause of trou- 
blesome, if not serious disease. When taken internally it appears to have deoxi- 
dizing powers, probably through the passage of the hyposulphurous into sul- 
phuric acid. It has been found, in its action on the urine, to diminish urea and 
increase uric acid, to increase the sulphates, and to cause the presence of sugar 
and oxalic acid in the urine. (Kletzinsky, Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1860, p. 109.) 
The use of this salt has been suggested, by Dr. Gr. Polli, in various diseases 
supposed to be dependent on the presence of substances in the blood which 
act as ferments. Along with its destructive action on microscopic fungi, it has 
an extraordinary power of arresting fermentation; and with those who believe 
that this process is essentially connected with organic growths, the two pro- 
perties may be considered identical. The theory is plausible, and to a certain 
extent is supported by the experiments of Dr. Polli. Low febrile and malignant 
diseases, purulent infections, and the contagious exanthemata are included in 
the category referred to; and the medicine might very properly be tried in 
these affections, in connection with the ordinary remedies. Many reports 
have been made of its favourable influence in diseases denominated zymotic. 
In the U. States it has been used with much success in malarial fevers. Among 
others, Dr. W. H. Baxter, of Moscow, Iowa, seems to have been peculiarly 
successful, having given the remedy exclusively in more than 100 cases of in- 
termittent and remittent fever, without a single failure. (Am. J. of Med. Sci., 
Oct. 1866, p. 584.) With a view to its poisonous influence on the sarcina ven- 
triculi which attends yeasty vomiting, it has been employed in that complaint; 
and, as a local application, it may be used in all the parasitic affections of the 
skin and mouth. It may be given in the dose of from ten to twenty grains 
three times a day, simply dissolved in water, or in the form of syrup. For ex- 
ternal use a drachm may be dissolved in a fluidounce of water. As the effects 
of this salt proceed from its acid constituent, other hyposulphites may be em- 
ployed for the same purposes; and hyposulphite of lime has been recommended. 
For the mode of preparing the latter salt, the reader is referred to an article 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for May, 1863 (p. 223). W. 
SODiE NITRAS. Br. 
Nitrate of Soda. 
NaO,NO.. A native salt, purified by crystallization from water. Br. 
This salt, called also cubic nitre, which has been recognised as officinal in 
the British Pharmacopoeia, because necessary in the preparation of their arse- 
niate of soda, must now be treated in this part of the Dispensatory, which 824 
Sodae Nitras.—Sodae Sulphas. 
PART L 
embraces all the strictly officinal medicines recognised as such in the U. S. or 
British Pharmacopoeias. We, therefore, bring hither the following article by the 
late Dr. Bache from the third part of the work, where it has long held a place. 
Nitrate of soda is imported from S. America, where it is found naturally in 
the desert of Atacama and elsewhere in Peru, forming beds of vast extent. 
Attempts were made between 1820 and 1830 to export it to England and the 
United States; but the cargoes were unsalable. Soon afterwards, however, its 
value became known; so that at present large quantities are exported from 
Peru, being consumed in the manufacture of sulphuric and nitric acids, and as 
a fertilizer. The salt has also been found largely in Brazil, in the Province of 
Bahia, near the river San Francisco. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1861, p. 
502.) For a particular account of the nitrate of soda deposits of Peru, in a 
commercial point of view, see Ibid.., March, 1802, p. 203. 
The crude salt, as it comes from Peru, is in saline lumps, rather soft and 
friable, and damp on the surface. It is distinguished into varieties according 
to its colour and state of aggregation, as white compact, yellow, gray compact, 
gray crystalline, white crystalline, and varies very much in purity, containing 
from 85 to only 20 per cent, of the pure salt. Some of the varieties contain 
iodine. The impurities consist of common salt, sulphate and carbonate of soda, 
and chloride of calcium. Occasionally borate of lime, associated with borate of 
soda, is found under the beds of the nitrate. 
Arrangements have been made for treating the crude nitrate, so as to de* 
liver it to commerce in a state of great purity. Exposure of the mineral to an 
open fire, which seems to have been first employed, has been entirely super- 
seded by mechanical methods aided by steam, to prepare it for the subsequent 
steps of solution, crystallization, and desiccation. The Peruvian nitre, prepared 
by the “Nitre Association of Tarapaca,” the province in which the mineral ex- 
ists, never contains more than 0 5 or 0 667 per cent, of impurities. It is white, 
pearly, dry, and light; and does not require to be refined for the practical uses 
to which it is applied (Thiercelin, Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1868, p. 439.) 
Nitrate of soda, when pure, is a white salt, crystallizing in rhomboidal prisms, 
and having a sharp, cooling, and bitter taste. It attracts moisture slightly from 
the air, and dissolves in about twice its weight of water, at 60°. Like nitrate 
of potassa, it deflagrates when thrown on the fire; but is distinguished by giv- 
ing rise to an orange-yellow flame, and by the rhomboidal shape of its crystals, 
those of nitre being long six-sided prisms. According to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
it evolves ruddy flames when warmed in a test tube with sulphuric acid and 
copper wire. “ The solution gives no precipitate with nitrate of silver or chloride 
of barium” (Br.), indicating the absence of chlorides, carbonates, and sulphates. 
Medical Uses. This salt has been praised as a remedy in dysentery lay two 
German physicians, Drs. Velsen and Meyer, given in the quantity of from half 
an ounce to an ounce in the course of the dajq dissolved in gum-water, or other 
mucilaginous liquid. It has been used with success in the same disease by Dr. 
Rademacher, of Vienna, who recommends it in a number of other diseases 
having nothing in common. (Ann. de Therap., 1854.) Dr. J. B. Brown also 
bears very emphatic testimony to the value of nitrate of soda as a speedy and 
safe remedy in dysentery and dysenteric diarrhoea. (Charleston Med. Journ., 
May, 1854, p. 398; from North- Western Med. and Surg. Journ.) 
Off. Prep. Sodae Arsenias, Br. B. 
SODJE SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. 
NaO,SO3 + 10IIO. Br 
Vitriolated soda, Glauber’s salt; Sulfate de soude, Fr.; Schwefelsaures Natron, Glau- 
bersalz, Germ.; Solfato di soda, Ital.; Sulfato de soda, Sal de Glaubero, Span. 
Sulphate of soda, in small quantities, is extensively diffused in nature, and 
is obtained artificially in several chemical operations. It exists in solution in 
Sulphate of Soda. PART I. 
Sodas Sulphas. 
825 
many mineral springs, among which may be mentioned those of Cheltenham 
and Carlsbad; and it is found combined with sulphate of lime, constituting a 
distinct mineral. Many ponds containing this salt are found in the country be- 
tween Santa Fe and the head-waters of the Arkansas, and on the route to 
the Rocky Mountains. The water in one of these ponds forms a solution so 
highly concentrated that, in dry weather, the salt crystallizes on the surface to 
the depth of several inches, so as to have the appearance of limpid ice. {Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xii. 110.) As an artificial product, it is formed in the pro- 
cesses for obtaining muriatic acid and chlorine, and in the preparation of muriate 
of ammonia from sulphate of ammonia and common salt. It may also be pro- 
cured from sea-water, in which its ingredients are present. 
Immense quantities of sulphate of soda are made by decomposing common 
salt by sulphuric acid, in the manufacture of soda-ash and carbonate of soda; 
and, so far from the generated muriatic acid being a product of value, its ab- 
sorption in a convenient way, so as to avoid the nuisance of its escape into the 
atmosphere in a gaseous state, is an object of importance to the manufacturer. 
(See Acidum Muriaticum.) MM. Thomas, Dellisse, and Boucard have pro- 
posed a new process for preparing sulphate of soda, by double decomposition 
between chloride of sodium and sulphate of iron. This process avoids the pro- 
duction of muriatic acid vapours, and is said to furnish a cheap salt. 
The residue of the process for obtaining chlorine, by the action of sulphuric 
acid and deutoxide of manganese on common salt, is a mixture of sulphate of 
soda and sulphate of protoxide of manganese. (See Ghlorinii Liquor.) Large 
quantities of this residue are formed in manufacturing chlorinated lime (bleach- 
ing salt) ; and the sulphate of soda in it, roughly purified, supplies a part of the 
consumption of this salt in making soda-ash and carbonate of soda. 
The process for obtaining muriate of ammonia from sulphate of ammonia and 
common salt, forms another source of sulphate of soda. By double decomposi- 
tion, sulphate of soda and muriate of ammonia are formed; and by exposing the 
mixed salts to heat, the muriate of ammonia sublimes, and the sulphate of soda 
remains behind. (See Ammonise Marias ) 
In some of the Northern States, a portion of Glauber’s salt is procured from 
sea-water in the winter. The circumstances under which it is formed have been 
explained by Mr. I). B. Smith, of this city. The constituents of several salts exist 
in sea-water, and the binary order in which these constituents will precipitate, 
upon evaporation, depends on the temperature. During the prevalence of rigor- 
ous cold, sulphate of soda is the least soluble salt which can be formed out of 
the acids and bases present, and consequently separates in the form of crystals. 
Properties. Sulphate of soda is a colourless salt, possessing a cooling, nau- 
seous, bitter taste, and crystallizing with great facility in six-sided striated 
prisms. When recently prepared, it is beautifully transparent ; but by exposure 
to the air it effloresces, and the crystal become covered with an opaque white 
powder. By long exposure it undergoes complete efflorescence, and falls into 
powder with loss of more than half its weight. It is soluble in three times its 
weight of cold water, and in its own weight of boiling water, but is insoluble in 
alcohol. A supersaturated solution of sulphate of soda will remain without 
crystallizing at ordinary temperatures, even though containing several times 
the weight of the salt that will be dissolved at the same degree of heat. {Gay- 
Lussac.) But the solution instantly forms into a crystalline mass upon adding 
to it a fragment of the same salt crystallized, or other substances that have 
been exposed to the air, or upon abruptly placing it in contact with the air, 
M. D. Gernez appears to have proved that in each instance the cause of crys« 
tallization is the same, namely sulphate of soda containing 10 eqs. of water; 
and where the crystal itself is not added, the result is owing to sulphate of 
soda existing in the air. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 379.) Sub- 
jected to heat, it dissolves in its water of crystallization, then dries, and after- 
wards, by the application of a red heat, melts, with the loss of per cent, 
of its weight. Occasionally it contains an excess of acid or alkali, which may 826 
Sodas Sulphas.—Sodas Sulphis. 
PART I. 
be discovered by litmus or turmeric paper. Common salt may be detected by 
sulphate of silver; that of iron by ferrocyanide of potassium or tincture of galls. 
This salt is not subject to adulteration. It is incompatible with carbonate of 
potassa, chloride of calcium, the salts of baryta, acetate and subacetate of lead, 
and with nitrate of silver if the solutions are strong. It consists of one eq. of 
sulphuric acid 40, one of soda 313, and ten of water 90 = 161-3. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphate of soda, in doses of from half an 
ounce to an ounce, is an efficient cathartic; in smaller doses, an aperient and 
diuretic. When in an effloresced state, the dose must be reduced one-half, on 
account of its having lost about one-half of its weight in water. Prof. Buckheim 
has ascertained, by experiment, that the ingestion of this salt causes an increase 
of sulphates in the urine, especially if its purgative action be delayed or pre- 
vented by other medicines. These results were not affected by the quantity of 
water taken with the salt. Sulphate of soda is much less used than formerly, 
having been almost entirely superseded by sulphate of magnesia, which is less 
disagreeable to take. Its nauseous taste, however, may be disguised by the ad- 
mixture of a little lemon-juice or cream of tartar, or the addition of a few drops 
of sulphuric acid. It is an ingredient in the artificial Cheltenham salt. (See Part 
III.) A new application of sulphate of soda has recently been made by M. D. 
de Luca, of Naples, who has found it remarkably efficient in removing stains 
or opacity of the cornea, which he supposes it to do by its property of dissolv- 
ing albumen, which in a coagulated state is the frequent cause of the opacity. 
He employed at first a cold saturated solution of the salt, but, not finding it to 
act with the desired rapidity, he substituted the powdered crystals, letting fall 
pinches of the powder on the globe of the eye; the head being placed horizon- 
tally. Under this treatment the stains of the cornea begin to disappear in a 
few days. The application may be made twice a day. The patient experiences 
an agreeable feeling of coolness, as the salt dissolves in the liquids of the eye. 
(Journ. de Pharm. et de Ghim., Sept. 1867, p. 188.) The only use of sulphate 
of soda in the arts is to make carbonate of soda, and as an ingredient in some 
kinds of glass. It has no officinal preparations. B. 
SODiE SULPHIS. U,S. 
This salt was first adopted as officinal in the present edition of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia. It may be prepared by passing sulphurous acid into a solution of 
carbonate of soda, and evaporating out of contact of the aii\ The sulphurous 
acid unites with the soda of the carbonate, to form the sulphite of soda, and the 
carbonic acid escapes. After sufficient concentration, the solution is allowed to 
cool, and the salt crystallizes. 
Properties. Sulphite of soda is in the form of white prismatic crystals, solu- 
ble in four parts of cold, and less than their weight of boiling water. Sulphuric 
acid added to the solution gives rise to a smell of burning sulphur, owing to 
the escape of sulphurous acid; and the liquid remains transparent, indicating 
the absence of lime. Sulphite of soda consists of one eq. of soda, one of sulphu- 
rous acid, and three of water (NaO,S02 -f 3IIO). The salt should be kept in bot- 
tles well stopped; as it gradually changes on exposure into sulphate of soda. 
Medical Uses. Sulphite of soda has been used in cases of yeasty vomiting 
with remarkable success. The matter vomited in these cases has a yeasty appear- 
ance on the surface, and is generally found to contain, when examined b}Tthe 
microscope, two microscopic fungi, called sarcina ventriculi and torulacerevisiae. 
The remedy was first used at the suggestion of Prof. Graham, of London, who 
supposed that the sulphurous acid, necessarily extricated from the salt in the 
stomach by the acid of the yeasty matter, would destroy the parasites. Dr. Dobie, 
of Edinburgh, has reported two cases of yeasty vomiting, occurring under his 
observation, in which the disease was immediately checked by the sulphite. In 
Sulphite of Soda. PART I. 
Sodse Sulphis. 
827 
one of the cases the vomited matter contained an enormous quantity of the 
torula, without sarcinse. (Ed. Monthly Journ., xiv. 574.) Dr. Astrie, an Italian 
physician, has proposed this salt as a remedy for the constitutional effects of 
mercury, when used in excess, on the ground that it has the power of rendering 
the metal soluble. The dose of sulphite of soda is a drachm three times a day. 
Sulphite of sodais sometimes used locally,especially in that species of aphthous 
sore-mouth which is attributed to a parasitic vegetable. The wash may be made 
of a drachm of the salt to a fluidounce of water. The acid secretions of the mouth 
extricate the sulphurous acid, which kills the parasite. It is said that the solu- 
tion acts with surprising rapidity, a single application of it sometimes removing 
the disease in 24 hours. From what has been said it is evident that sulphite of 
soda as a remedy is equivalent to sulphurous acid; since its employment,whether 
internally or externally, is always attended with the extrication of this acid. 
(See Acidum Sulphurosum, Part II.) B. 
Since the experiments of Dr. Polli, referred to in page 823, sulphite of soda 
has been employed to a considerable extent internally in reference to its anti- 
zymotic properties; the supposition being that, as it suppresses fermenta- 
tion out of the body, it may have a similar effect on analogous changes pre- 
sumed to occur in the blood, and thus promote a cure. It is not necessary to 
adopt the theory of organized agents as essential to fermentation ; so that 
the non-discovery of such agents in the blood by the microscope cannot be 
admitted as evidence against the mode of operation referred to, namely as an 
antizymotic action. Some experiments of Mr. M. Carey Lea tend to confirm 
this view. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Jan. 1865, p. 843.) Mr. Lea found that 
the sulphites, though to a considerable extent changed into sulphates, and ap- 
pearing as such in the urine, yet, when taken in a certain amount and for a 
certain time, they in part pass unaltered, and are found as sulphites in the 
urine ; proving incontestably that they must exist, at least to the same extent, 
in the blood, and may, therefore, exercise their antizymotic powers on that fluid. 
In a communication by Dr. W. F. Atlee (Ibid. p. 82), an account is given of two 
cases of purulent infection of a very serious character, both of which recovered 
under the use of the bisulphite of soda, in one of which 8 grains were given 
every two hours, in the other 20 grains as often; the bisulphite being under- 
stood to operate on the same principle as the sulphite; and both by the sul- 
phurous acid they contain. Indeed, all the alkaline compounds of the sulphu- 
rous acids, including sulphites, bisulphites, and hyposulphites, may be con- 
sidered therapeutically in the same category, all operating, as is supposed, 
whether generally or locally, through their antizymotic effects, %with little 
other influence, in the doses ordinarily given, on the system or its functions, 
than that of the refrigerant salts. Indeed, as has been stated, they are in great 
measure converted into sulphates. In the choice of them, consequently, one 
is preferred to another from causes independent of their antizymotic character. 
While, therefore, in speaking of their therapeutical action, we may treat of 
them together, each one requires a distinct consideration as regards its sen- 
sible and physical properties, preparation, and mode of exhibition. In this 
way they are treated of severally in this work, each in a place corresponding 
with the alphabetical position and its recognition or non-recognition in the 
officinal catalogues. The diseases in which those medicines have been recom- 
mended are purulent infection of whatever origin, malignant pustule, hospital 
gangrene, erysipelas and other exanthematous fevers, malarial and miasmatic 
fevers, and in fine all diseases which may be supposed to depend on absorbed 
poisons not acting on the tissues, but by a species of fermentation. In the present 
state of our knowledge on this point, all conclusions not dependent on actual 
experience must be considered as purely speculative; and, while many cases 
may be adduced from the journals of highly favourable effects,* yet the op- 
* A case of severe rattlesnake poisoning is reported by Dr. Gr. M. Staples, of Dubuque, 
Iowa, in which recovery took place under the use of bisulphite of soda, in doses of a 
ecruple every half hour for four hours, then every hour for six hours, then every two 828 
Sodse Sulphis.—Sodii Chloridum. 
part I. 
posing testimony is probably still stronger, and the tendency seems to be on 
the whole unfavourable. Thus, Semmola states, with much positiveness, that 
the results from the sulphites are completely negative in typhus, scarlatina, 
measles, marsh fevers, syphilis, malignant pustules, and purulent infection. 
{Ann. de Tlierap.,l8Qb, p. 110.) With such conflicting sentiments the practi- 
tioner will be fully justified in deciding for himself whether to employ them; 
for there is this extraordinary fact which may be urged in their favour, that, 
if they do no good, they are not likely, in the doses ordinarily used, to do much 
harm. 
Locally applied, there seems to be no doubt that the sulphites and other sub- 
stances of this class are often very useful. Besides the application to the throat 
or sore-mouth of infants above mentioned, they have been found extremely 
useful in controlling suppurative ulcers, and all suppurative affections of the 
mucous membranes, as of the urinary passages, the bronchial tubes, and the 
alimentary canal, in which there is reason to think that the local affection is 
sustained by zymotic influence or invisible organisms, and in which purulent 
infection of the blood may be produced by the same cause. They appear almost 
to act as specifics in such cases. At a certain stage of cancer of the womb 
they operate usefully in the same way, by obviating the effects of putrid fer- 
mentations. For these various purposes the sulphite of soda may be used in 
solution in the proportion of one part of the salt to 10 of water, whenever it 
is to be used as a lotion, dressing for wounds, inhalation by the atomizer, &c. 
When it may be desirable to employ it as a cataplasm, it may be dissolved, in 
the same proportion or rather larger, in glycerin, and the solution thickened 
with powdered starch. W. 
SODII CHLORIDUM. U. S., Br. 
Chloride of Sodium. Common Salt. 
Muriate of soda, Sea salt, Common salt; Chlorurede sodium, Hydro-chlorate desoude, 
Bel marin, Fr.; Chlornatrium, Kochsalz, Germ.-, Salt, Dan., Swed.; Chloruro disodio, Sal 
commune, Ital.; Sal, Span. 
This mineral production, so necessary to mankind, is universally distributed 
over the globe, and is the most abundant of the native soluble salts. Most ani- 
mals have an instinctive relish for it; and, from its frequent presence in the 
solids and fluids of the animal economy, it may be supposed to perform an 
important part in assimilation and nutrition. 
Natural State. Common salt exists in nature, either in the solid state or in 
solution. In the solid state, called rock salt, fossil salt, and sal gemmae, it is 
often found forming extensive beds, and even entire mountains, from which it 
is extracted in blocks or masses by mining operations. Its geological position 
is verv constant, occurring almost invariably in secondary formations, associated 
with clay and gypsum. In solution it occurs in certain springs and lakes, 
and in the waters of the ocean. The principal salt mines are found in Poland, 
Hungary, and Russia; in various parts of Germany, particularly the Tyrol; 
in Cheshire, Englaud; in Spain; in various parts of Asia and Africa; in the 
island of St. Domingo ;* and in Peru, and other countries of South America. 
With the exception of a remarkable bed of rock salt in the island of Petite 
Anse, in Vermillion Ray, on the coast of Louisiana, there are in the United 
States no salt mines east of the Rocky Mountains; but there are numerous salt 
liours for twelve hours, and lastly every four hours. Other remedies were employed at 
the same time; and it is impossible to determine how much of the result was ascribable 
to the bisulphite. At all events, the experience in this case was sufficiently encouraging 
to justify the use of the same remedy in similar cases hereafter. [Med. and Surgt Re- 
porter, Oct. 28, 1865, p. 279.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* This deposit is on the south side of the island, and is said to form a mountain 6 miles 
long, from half a mile to a mile broad, and from 400 to 500 feet high. The salt in its 
crude state contains 96-79 per cent, of pure chloride of sodium. (Am. Journ. of Pharm 
Sej t. 1865, p. 395; from Am. Druggists’ Circular.)—Note to the thirteenth edition . PART I. 
Sodii Chloridum, 
829 
springs, which either flow naturally, or are produced artificially by sinking wells 
to various depths in places where salt is known to exist.* These are found 
principally in Missouri, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Vir- 
ginia, and New York. In the fast-mentioned State the springs are the most 
productive; the chief ones being situated at Salina, Montezuma, and Galen. 
In Virginia an important salt region exists, extending fifteen miles on both 
sides of the Great Kanawha river. Rock salt is always transparent or trans- 
lucent; but it often exhibits various colours, such as red, yellow, brown, violet, 
blue, &c., which are supposed to be derived from iron and manganese. 
Extraction. Mines of salt are worked in two ways. When the salt is pure 
it is merely dug out in blocks and thrown into commerce. When impure it is 
dissolved in water, and extracted afterwards from the solution by evaporation 
When the salt is naturally in solution, the mode of extraction depends upon the 
strength of the brine, and the temperature of the place where it is found. When 
the water contains from 14 to 15 per cent, of the salt, it is extracted by evapora- 
tion in large iron boilers. If, however, it contains only 2, 3, 4, or 5 percent., 
the salt is obtained in a different manner. If the climate is warm it is procured 
by spontaneous evaporation, effected by the heat of the sun; if temperate, by a 
peculiar mode of evaporation to be mentioned presently, and the subsequent 
application of artificial heat. 
Sea-water is a weak saline solution, containing 2-I per cent, of common salt, 
which is extracted by the agency of solar heat in warm countries. Salt thus 
obtained is called bay salt. The extraction is conducted in Europe principally 
on the shores of the Mediterranean, the waters of which are salter than those of 
the open ocean, mode in which it is performed is by letting the sea-water 
into shallow dikes, lined with clay, and capable, after having been filled, of being 
shut off from the sea. In this situation the heat of the sun gradually concen- 
trates the water, and the salt is deposited. In temperate climates, weak brines 
are first concentrated in buildings called graduation houses. These are rough 
wooden structures open on the sides, ten or eleven yards high, five or six wide, 
and three or four hundred long, and containing an oblong pile of brushwood 
somewhat smaller than the building itself. The brine is pumped up into troughs 
full of holes, placed above the brushwood,upon which it is allowed to fall; and 
in its descent becomes minutely divided. This operation, by greatly increasing 
the surface of the brine, promotes its evaporation; and, being repeated several 
times, the solution is at last brought to the requisite degree of strength to per- 
mit of its final concentration in iron boilers by artificial beat. 
Properties. Chloride of sodium is white, without odour, and of a peculiar 
taste called saline. It is usually crystallized in cubes; but by hasty evaporation 
it often assumes the form of hollow quadrangular pyramids. When pure it un- 
dergoes no change in the air; but, when contaminated with chloride of magne- 
sium, as not unfrequently happens, it is deliquescent. Water at 54° F. dissolves 
36 per cent, of this salt, and at the boiling temperature, 40 percent (Fehling.) 
It is but sparingly soluble in alcohol. One hundred parts of this liquid (sp. gr. 
0-815) dissolve, at the temperature of 59°, only 0TI4 parts of common salt. 
(P. Wagner.) Exposed to a gradually increasing heat, it first decrepitates from 
the presence of interstitial moisture, next melts, and finally volatilizes in white 
fumes with but partial decomposition. (Mulder, Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 
4e ed., iii. 390.) It is decomposed by several of the acids, particularly the sul- 
phuric and nitric, which disengage vapours of muriatic acid ; by carbonate of 
potassa with the assistance of heat; and by the nitrates of silver and protox- 
ide of mercury. 
Several varieties of common salt are distinguished in commerce; as stored 
* Rock salt in Nevada. In an extract from a letter, dated at Virginia City, in the new 
State of Nevada, adjoining California, published in one of our daily papers (North Ameri- 
can and United States Gaz., Nov. 2, 1864), it is said that, near Carson Kiver, in that State, 
a basin of common salt had been discovered, five miles square in extent, and fourteen 
feet in thickness. The salt is said to be very pure, hard, and as clear as crystal, and capa- 
ble of being mined with great facility. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 830 
Sodii Chloridum. 
PART I. 
salt, fishery salt, bay salt, &c.; but they are characterized by the size and com- 
pactness of the grains, rather than by any difference in composition. 
Composition. Common salt, in its pure state, consists of one eq. of chlorine 
355, and one of sodium 23-3 = 58,8. It contains no water of crystallization. 
When in solution it is by some supposed to become muriate of soda, in conse- 
quence of the decomposition of water, the hydrogen and oxygen of which are 
alleged to convert the chlorine and sodium into muriatic acid and soda. The 
common salt of commerce, besides pure chloride of sodium, contains, generally 
speaking, insoluble matter, and usually more or less of the sulphates of lime 
and magnesia, and chlorides of calcium and magnesium. When pure it is not 
precipitated by carbonate of soda, chloride of barium, or ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium. Chloride of calcium is generally present in very small amount; but the 
chloride of magnesium sometimes amounts to 28 parts in 1000. Sulphate of 
lime is usually present; constituting variously from 1 to parts in 1000 ; and 
sulphate of magnesia is sometimes present and sometimes absent. To separate 
the earths, a boiling solution of carbonate of soda must be added, as long as 
any precipitate is formed. The earths will fall as carbonates, and must be sepa- 
rated by filtration, and the sulphate of soda and chloride of sodium, resulting 
from the double decomposition, will remain in solution The sulphate of soda 
may then be decomposed by the cautious addition of chloride of barium, which 
will generate chloride of sodium and insoluble sulphate of baryta. 
Medical Properties, &c. Chloride of sodium, in small doses, acts as a stimu- 
lant tonic and anthelmintic; in larger ones as a purgative and emetic. It cer- 
tainly promotes digestion, and the almost universal animal appetency for it 
proves it to be a salutary stimulus in health. From the experiments of Prof. 
Buckheim, it appears that common salt quickly passes into the blood, and is 
thrown off in greater part, in six hours, by the kidneys. The portion not found 
in the urine and feces is probably appropriated to the uses of the economy. 
According to the experiments of M. Plouviez, made upon himself, at intervals, 
during twenty-five months, a saline regimen has the effect of increasing the 
weight and strength of the body. He began with a teaspoonful daily, which 
he increased to a tablespoonful, continuing to take this dose for a period of 
three or four months. The regimen appeared to produce plethora. The blood, 
analyzed while under the full effects of the salt, was found to contain more of 
the corpuscles and salts, but less of the albumen and water. 
Common salt has been used with good effect by a number of practitioners as 
a remedy in intermittent fever. This practice is said to have been long followed 
in Hungary. In 1850 it was brought to the notice of the profession by M. 
Scelle-Mondezert, of Charenton, on whose results M. Piorry reported favoura- 
bly. Since then the power of common salt as an antiperiodic has been attested 
by Dr. Lattimore of New York, Dr. Hutchinson of Brooklyn, Dr. Moroschkin 
of Russia, and others. In some cases, observed by M. Piorry, the spleen rapidly 
diminished in size. It is not alleged to be equal to quinia; but, while it cures 
many cases, it has the merit of cheapness. The dose is from eight to twelve 
drachms, given in divided doses during the apyrexia. It is best administered 
in mucilage of slippery elm, or in coffee. 
On the sudden occurrence of haemoptysis, common salt is usefully resorted to 
as a styptic, in the dose of a teaspoonful, taken dry, and often proves successful 
in stopping the flow of blood. Externally applied in solution it is stimulant, 
and may be used either locally or generally. Locally, it is sometimes employed 
as a fomentation in sprains and bruises; and as a general external application 
it forms the salt-water bath, a valuable remedy as a tonic and excitant in de- 
praved conditions of the system, especially when occurring in children. A pound 
of salt, dissolved in four gallons of water, forms a solution of about the strength 
of sea-water, and suitable for a bath. The dose, as a tonic, is from ten grains 
to a drachm; as a cathartic, from two drachms to half an ounce. In doses of 
from half an ounce to an ounce, dissolved in four or five times its weight of 
water, it frequently proves a prompt and efficient emetic, invigorating rather Sodii Chloridum.—Solidago.—Spigelia. 
831 
PART I. 
than depressing the powers of the system. It is frequently used as a clyster, 
in the quantity of from one to two tablespoonfuls in a pint of water. 
The uses of common salt in domestic economy as a condiment and antiseptic 
are well known. In pharmacy it is employed to prepare chlorine, muriatic acid, 
muriate of ammonia, calomel, and corrosive sublimate. It is also used to form 
sulphate of soda, with a view to its conversion into carbonate of soda. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Hydrochloricum, Br.; Hydrargyri Chloridum Corrosi- 
vum, U. S.; Hydrargyri Chloridum Mite, U. S.; Hydrargyri Perchloridum, 
Br.; Hydrargyri Subchloridum, Br. B. 
SOLIDAGO. U.S Secondary. 
Golden-rod. 
The leaves of Solidago odora. U. S. 
Solidago. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat. Ord. Oomposit® Aste- 
roide®, De Candolle; Asterace®, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx imbricated, scales closed. Radical florets about five, yellow. 
Receptacle naked, punctate. Pappus simple, pilose. Nuttall. 
This is a very abundant genus, including, according to Eaton’s enumeration, 
upwards of sixty species belonging to this country. Of these S. odora only is 
officinal. S. Virgaurea, which is common to the United States and Europe, was 
formerly directed by the Dublin College. It is astringent, and has been sup- 
posed to possess litbontriptie virtues. 
Solidago odora. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 2061; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 187. 
Sweet-scented golden-rod has a perennial creeping root, and a slender, erect, 
pubescent stem, two or three feet high. The leaves are sessile, linear-lanceolate, 
entire, acute, rough at the margin, elsewhere smooth, and covered with pellucid 
dots. The flowers are of a deep golden-yellow colour, and are arranged in a 
terminal, compound, panicled raceme, the branches of which spread almost 
horizontally, are each accompanied by a small leaf, and support the flowers on 
downy pedicels, which put forth from the upper side of the peduncle, and have 
small linear bractes at their base. The florets of the ray are ligulate, oblong, 
and obtuse ; those of the disk, funnel-shaped, with acute segments. 
The plant grows in woods and fields throughout the United States, and is in 
flower from August to October. The leaves, which are the officinal portion, have 
a fragrant odour, and a warm, aromatic, agreeable taste. These properties de- 
pend on a volatile oil, which may be separated by distillation with water. It is 
of a pale greenish-yellow colour, and lighter than water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Golden-rod is aromatic, moderately stimulant 
and carminative, and, like other substances of the same class, diaphoretic when 
given in warm infusion. It maybe used to relieve pain arising from flatulence, 
to allay nausea, and to cover the taste or correct the operation of unpleasant or 
irritating medicines. For these purposes it may be given in infusion. The vola- 
tile oil dissolved in alcohol is employed in the Eastern States. According to 
Pursh, the dried flowers are used as a pleasant and wholesome substitute for 
common tea. W. 
SPIGELIA. U.S 
The root of Spigelia Marilandica. U. S. 
Spigelie du Maryland, Fr.; Spigelie, Germ.; Syiigelia, Hal. 
Spigelia. Sex.Syst. PentandriaMonogyma.—Nat.Ord. Gentianaceae, Juss.; 
Spigeliace®, Martius, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx five-parted. Corolla funnel-shaped, border five-cleft, equal. 
Capsule didymous, two-celled, four-valved, manv-seeded. Nuttall. 
Two species of Spigelia have attracted attention as anthelmintics, S. anthelmia 
of South America and the West Indies, and S. Marilandica of this country. 
Spigelia. Pinkroot. 832 
Spigelia. 
PART I. 
The former is an annual plant, used only in the countries where it grows; the 
latter is much employed both in this country and in Europe. 
Spigelia Marilandica. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 825; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. i. 
142; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 75. The Carolina pink is an herbaceous plant with 
a perennial root, which sends oif numerous fibrous branches. The stems, several 
of which rise from the same root, are simple, erect, four-sided, nearly smooth, 
and from twelve to twenty inches high. The leaves are opposite, sessile, ovate- 
lanceolate, acuminate, entire, and smooth, with the veins and margins slightly 
pubescent. Each stem terminates in a spike, which leans to one side, and sup- 
ports from four to twelve flowers with very short peduncles. The calyx is per- 
sistent, with five long, subulate, slightly serrate leaves, reflexed in the ripe fruit. 
The corolla is funnel-shaped, and much longer than the calyx, with the tube in- 
flated in the middle, and the border divided into five acute, spreading segments. 
It is of a rich carmine colour externally, paler at the base, and orange-yellow 
within. The edges of the segments are slightly tinged with green. The stamens, 
though apparently very short, and inserted into the upper part of the tube be- 
tween the segments, may be traced down its internal surface to the base. The 
anthers are oblong, heart-shaped; the germ superior, ovate; the style about 
the length of the corolla, and terminating in a linear fringed stigma, projecting 
considerably beyond it. The capsule is double, consisting of two cohering, 
globular, one-celled portions with many seeds. 
The plant is a native of our Southern and Southwestern States, being seldom 
found north of the Potomac. It grows in rich soils on the borders of woods, and 
flowers from May to July. The root is the only part recognised in the Pharma- 
copoeias. The drug was formerly collected in Georgia and the neighbouring 
States by the Creek and Cherokee Indians, who disposed of it to the white trad- 
ers. The whole plant was gathered and dried, and came to us in bales or casks. 
After the emigration of the Indians, the supply of spigelia from this source very 
much diminished, and has now nearly if not quite failed. The consequence was 
for a time a great scarcity, and increase in the price of the drug; but a new source 
of supply was opened front the Western and Southwestern States, and it is 
now again plentiful. As we receive spigelia at present, it consists chiefly if not 
exclusively of the root, without the stem and leaves. We have been informed 
that most of it comes in casks or bales from St. Louis by the way of New Orleans. 
That contained in casks is to be preferred, as less liable to be damp and mouldy. 
Properties. Pinkroot consists of numerous slender, branching, crooked, 
wrinkled fibres, from three to six inches long, attached to a knotty head or 
caudex, which exhibits traces of the stems of former years. It is brownish or 
yellowish-brown externally, of a faint, peculiar smell, and a sweetish, slightly 
bitter, not very disagreeable taste. Its virtues are extrac ed by boiling water. 
The root, analyzed by M. Feneulle, yielded a fixed and volatile oil, a small 
quantity of resin, a bitter substance supposed to be the active principle, a mu- 
cilaginous saccharine matter, albumen, gallic acid, the malates of potassa and 
lime, &c., and wood}7 fibre. The principle upon which the virtues of the root are 
thought to depend is brown, of a bitter nauseous taste, like that of the purga- 
tive matter of the leguminous plants, and, when taken internally, produces ver- 
tigo and a kind of intoxication. An analysis of the root by Dr. R. H. Stabler 
yielded as results, a bitter uncrystallizable principle upon which the virtues of 
the medicine are supposed to depend, a little volatile oil, tannic acid, inert ex- 
tractive, wax, resin, lignin, and salts of soda, potassa, and lime. The active 
principle is acrid and bitter, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether, not 
volatilizable without change, uncrystallizable, neuter, and deliquescent. It was 
obtained by treating a decoction of the root with subacetate of lead in excess, 
filtering, precipitating the lead by sulphuric acid, again filtering, evaporating 
by means of a steam bath to a soft extract, treating this with alcohol, filtering the 
alcoholic solution, decolorizing with animal charcoal, and evaporating by steam 
as before. The residue yielded nothing to ether, and was of a reddish-brown 
colour. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A. D. 1857.) PART I. 
Spigelia. —Spiraea. 
833 
The stalks of the dried plant are oval below the first pair of leaves, and then 
become obscurely four-sided. The leaves, when good, have a fresh greenish 
colour, and an odour somewhat like that of tea. In taste they resemble the root, 
and afforded to M. Feneulle nearly the same principles. The quantity, however, 
of the bitter substance was less, corresponding with their inferior efficacy. This 
circumstance should cause their rejection from the shops; as the inequality in 
power of the two portions of the plant would lead to uncertainty in the result, 
when they are both employed. 
The roots are sometimes mixed with those of other plants, particularly of a 
small vine which twines round the stem of the Spigelia. These are long, slender, 
crooked, yellowish, thickly set with short capillary fibres, and much smaller and 
lighter-coloured than the pinkroot. They should be separated before the latter 
is used. The activity of spigelia is somewhat diminished by time. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Pinkroot is generally considered among the 
most powerful anthelmintics. In the ordinary dose it usually produces little 
sensible effect on the system; more largely given it acts as a cathartic, though 
unequal and uncertain in its operation ; in overdoses it excites the circulation, 
and determines to the brain, giving rise to vertigo, dimness of vision, dilated 
pupils, spasms of the facial muscles, and sometimes even to general convulsions. 
Spasmodic movements of the eyelids have been observed among the most com- 
mon attendants of its narcotic action. The death of two children, who expired 
in convulsions, was attributed by Dr. Chalmers to the influence of spigelia. 
The narcotic effects are said to be less apt to occur when the medicine purges, 
and to be altogether obviated by combining it with cathartics. The danger 
from its employment cannot be great; as it is in very general use in the United 
States, both in regular and domestic practice, and we never hear at present of 
serious consequences. Its effects upon the nervous system have been errone- 
ously conjectured to depend on other roots sometimes mixed with the genuine. 
The vermifuge properties of spigelia were first learned from the Cherokee In- 
dians. They were made known to the medical profession by Drs. Lining, Gar- 
den, and Chalmers, of South Carolina. The remedy has also been recommended 
in infantile remittents and other febrile diseases; but is entitled to little confi- 
dence in these complaints. 
It may be given in substance or infusion. The dose of the powdered root, for 
a child three or four years old, is from ten to twenty grains, for an adult from 
one to two drachms, to be repeated morning and evening for several days suc- 
cessively, and then followed by a brisk cathartic. The practice of preceding its 
use by an emetic has been generally abandoned. It is frequently given in com- 
bination with calomel. The infusion, however, is a more common form of ad- 
ministration. (See Infusum Spigelise.) It is usually combined with senna or 
some other cathartic, to ensure its action on the bowels. A preparation generally 
kept in the shops, and much prescribed by physicians, under the name of worm 
tea, consists of pinkroot, senna, manna, and savine, mixed together, in various 
proportions, to suit the views of different individuals. Spigelia is also very often 
given in the form of fluid extract. 
Off. Prep. Extract. Spigeliae Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Spigelise, U. S. W. 
SPIRAEA. U. S. Secondary. 
Hardback. 
The root of Spiraea tomentosa. U. S. 
Spiraea. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Pentagynia.— Nat.Ord. Rosaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx spreading, five-cleft, inferior. Petals five, equal, roundish 
Stamens numerous, exserted. Capsules three to twelve,internally bivalve, each 
one to three-seeded. Nuttall. 
Spiraea ulmaria, queen of the meadow, or meadow-sweet, which is a Euro- 
pean plant, though introduced into this country, has been found by M. Tessier, 834 
Spirsea.—Spiritus Frumenli. 
PART I. 
of Lyons, to possess valuable diuretic properties, united with those of a mod- 
erate tonic and astringent. All parts of it are active. M. Tessier employed it 
in the form of decoction, of which he gave a quart daily. For more extended 
observations in relation to this medicine, see Bouchardat’s Annuaire de Tliera- 
peutiqiie (A. I). 1852, p. 119). 
Spiraea lomentosa Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1056; Rafinesque, Med. Flor. vol. ii. 
This is an indigenous shrub, two or three feet high, with numerous simple, erect, 
round, downy, and purplish stems, furnished with alternate leaves, closely set 
upon very short footstalks. The leaves are ovate-lanceolate, unequally serrate, 
somewhat pointed at both ends, dark-green on their upper surface, whitish and 
tomentose beneath The flowers are beautifully red or purple,and disposed in 
terminal, compound, crowded spikes or racemes. 
The hardback flourishes in low grounds, from New England to Carolina, but1 
is most abundant in the Northern States. It flowers in July and August. All 
parts of it are medicinal. The root, though designated in the Pharmacopoeia, 
is, according to I)r. A. W. Ives, the least valuable portion. The taste of the 
plant is bitter and strongly astringent. Among its constituents are tannin, gallic 
acid, and bitter extractive. Water extracts its medicinal virtues. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Spiraea is tonic and astringent, and may be 
used in diarrhoea, cholera infantum, and other complaints in which astringents 
are indicated. In consequence of its tonic powers it is peculiarly adapted to 
cases of debility ; and, from the same cause, should not be given during the 
existence of inflammatory action, or febrile excitement. It is said to have been 
employed by the aborigines ; but was first brought to the notice of the medical 
profession by Dr. Cogswell, of Hartford, Connecticut. It is said to be less apt 
to disagree with the stomach than most other astringents. 
The form in which it is best administered is that of an extract, prepared by 
evaporating the decoction of the leaves, stems, or root, or an infusion of the 
same parts made by percolation. The dose is from five to fifteen grains, re- 
peated several times a day. A decoction, prepared by boiling an ounce of the 
plant in a pint of water, may be given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. 
W. 
SPIRITUS FRUMENTI. U.S. 
Whisky. 
Spirit obtained from fermented grain by distillation, and containing from 48 
to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol. For medicinal use, it should be free from 
disagreeable odour, and not less than two years old. U. S. 
The term whisky is said to have been first applied to the spirit obtained from 
barley, in the Highlands of Scotland, and to signify water in the language of 
the people of that region. (Rees's Cyclopaedia.) In the strict sense of the word, 
as at present understood, and as officinally defined, it belongs to the distilled 
spirit from different grains, including wheat, rye, barley, and Indian corn. We 
have been informed that the famous Bourbon whisky, from Kentucky, is pre- 
pared from Indian corn, previously malted and kiln dried. The common whisky 
of this country is generally made from rye. The term, however, is sometimes 
extended to other forms of ardent spirit; and that resulting from the distillation 
of cider is frequently designated as apple, whisky. 
In the preparation of whisky, the infusion of rye or other grain is first made 
to undergo fermentation, by which the saccharine matter and indirectly the 
starch are converted into alcohol. In this state the liquid is called the wash 
This is submitted to distillation, and the product is denominated low ivines. 
By a second distillation it becomes purer and stronger, and now takes the name 
of raw corn spirit or whisky. Sometimes, we are informed, it is submitted to a 
third distillation, in order still further to purify it. By time certain chemical 
changes take place b}T which the natural impurities contained in the liquor are 
destroyed, and the whisky becomes mellowed, losing the disagreeable odour 
and taste which it is apt to have when first distilled. PART I. 
Spiritus FrumentL—Spiritus Myrcise. 
835 
There are volatile principles naturally existing in the grains, which accom- 
pany the liquor in all its changes, and give their characteristic flavour to the 
resulting spirit. These can scarcely be considered as impurities. But there are 
others produced during the process of fermentation which serve seriously to 
contaminate the product. Among these is fusel oil or grain oil (amylic alco- 
hol), which is offensive both to the smell and taste, and of which it is very de- 
sirable that the spirit should be freed as far as possible. As this oil has a con- 
siderably higher boiling point than alcohol or even water, it is mainly left be- 
hind, if the distillation be not carried too far; yet portions still rise, and to a 
certain extent impregnate the spirit. Minute proportions of acetic and butyric 
acids are often present in whisky, and valerianic acid has been detected. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1859, p. 513.) According to Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Bos- 
ton, all new spirits, prepared with copper stills, are liable to be adulterated 
with that metal, which, however, is, he thinks, deposited in the process of ripen- 
ing which they undergo by time. (Am. Journ. of Sci. and Arts, July, 1861.) 
Whisky, when recently prepared, is nearly colourless; but, when kept in 
casks, it gradually acquires a brownish colour, which deepens with time; and 
hence it may be found of various shades, from a slight yellowish-brown tint to 
the dark brown of brandy. Its taste and smell, when mellow by age, though 
peculiar, are not disagreeable. As directed by the Pharmacopoeia it should con- 
tain from 48 to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol, and its sp gr. therefore should 
not exceed 0 922 at 60° F., nor be less than 0 904.* 
It was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia as a cheap substitute for brandy, 
and may be employed for all the purposes which that spirit is capable of ful- 
filling. Indeed, when of good quality, which can always be commanded, it is 
probably preferable as a medicinal agent to brandy such as is now generally 
sold in our markets. W. 
SPIRITUS MYRCLffi. U.S. 
Spirit of Myrcia. Bay-rum. 
The spirit obtained by distilling rum with the leaves of Myrcia acris. U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It has been long in use 
as a most agreeable and refreshing perfume; and many persons, misled by the 
name, believed it to be prepared by distilling spirit from the leaves of the bay- 
tree (Laurus nobilis). It appears, however, from a paper published by Mr. John 
M. Maisch in the American Journal of Pharmacy for July, 1861, that this was 
an error. A leaf having been presented to him, brought from the West Indies, 
with the information that it was from the tree of which the leaves were used 
in preparing this spirit, he observed that it had precisely the characteristic 
odour and taste of bay-rum, and on comparing it with the leaves of a twig in 
the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of this city, brought by the 
late Dr. Griffiths from Saint Croix, and labeled as the plant from which bay- 
rum was prepared, found that the two closely corresponded. From the charac- 
ters of the leaf, Prof. Bridges suggested that it might belong to a plant of the 
family Myrtaceae, and most probably the Myrcia acris of De Candolle. Further 
investigation satisfied Mr. Maisch of the correctness of this reference; and there 
is little room to doubt that the source of this very agreeable perfume is really 
the plant indicated in the Pharmacopoeia. 
Myrcia. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Myrtaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-parted, tube subglobose. Petals five. Stamens numer- 
* As quantity is strictly represented by weight, all statements of proportionate quanti* 
ties should be so considered unless proportion by measure is expressly indicated. The 
Pharmacopoeia in directing the percentage of alcohol in whisky does not give measure 
as its basis of proportion, and must, therefore, be considered as meaning by weight; and 
hence the specific gravities given in the text- If the percentage is to be estimated by 
measure, the sp. gr. of the 48 per cent, alcohol is, according to Tralle’s Tables, 0-9373, 
and that of 56 per cent. 0-9213; and in this sense considerably weaker spirit would be ad- 
mitted as officinal. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 836 
Spirit as Myrcise.—Spiritus Vini Gallici. 
PART J. 
ous, free. Ovary two or three-celled. Berry one or two-celled, one to three- 
seeded. Seed subglobose, smooth; cotyledons foliaceous. 
Myrcia acris. Schwartz; De Cand. Prodrom. v. 243; Curtis’s Bot. Mag., 
2d ser., vol. vi. pi. 3153. — Myrtus acris. Willd. Sp. Plant, p. 973. The bay- 
berry, as it is sometimes called, is a. tree of considerable size, with a straight 
Stem, and a thick pyramidal summit. The young branches are green and sharply 
four-angled. The leaves are opposite, from 3 to 5 inches long, very coriaceous, 
lanceolate, obtuse, wavy, somewhat revolute at the edges, with numerous par- 
allel nerves, reticulated on the upper surface, and sprinkled with pellucid dots. 
They have a very fragrant odour, and are somewhat astringent. The flowers, 
which are arranged in pedunculate, axillary panicles, longer than the leaves, 
are small, and white with a reddish tinge. The berries are round, about as 
large as a pea, with 7 or 8 seeds, and of an aromatic smell and taste. 
The tree is a native of Jamaica and other West India islands The spirit is 
probably prepared by distilling rum from the leaves; but we are in want of 
precise information on the subject, and it is not impossible that the leaves of 
other species may also be used. Indeed an odour of pimento which it appears 
to us may be sometimes detected, suggests the idea that the leaves of this tree 
may be at least occasionally added to those of the bayberry. A volatile oil is 
also obtained from the leaves by distillation. This is described by Mr. Maisch 
in the same number of the American Journal of Pharmacy (p. 296). It is 
brownish-yellow, limpid, of an aromatic odour resembling that of allspice, and 
a warm spicy taste. It is lighter than water, readily soluble in ether, from 
which alcohol precipitates it, and partially soluble in alcohol. Its alcoholic 
solution has a feeble acid reaction. 
Bay-rum is used chiefly as a refreshing perfume in cases of nervous headache, 
faintness, and other nervous disorders, either held to the nostrils or applied on 
soft linen to the head and forehead. It is also grateful to the feeble and con- 
valescent patient, by being sprinkled on the bed covering, or otherwise made 
to impregnate the air of the chamber. W. 
SPIRITUS YINI GALLICI. U.S.,Br. 
Brandy. 
The spirit obtained from fermented grapes by distillation, and contain- 
ing from 48 to 56 per cent, of absolute alcohol. Brandy, for medicinal use, 
should be free from disagreeable odour, and not less than four years old. U. S. 
Spirit of French Wine. Spirit distilled from French wine. It has a peculiar 
flavour, and a light sherry colour derived from the cask in which it has been 
kept. Br. 
Eau de vie, Fr.; Branntwein, Germ.; Acquavite, Ital.; Agua ardiente, Span. 
All liquids which have undergone the alcoholic fermentation yield an ardent 
spirit by distillation. (See Alcohol, page IT.) When the alcoholic liquid is wine, 
the product of the distillation is brandy. This ardent spirit is subject to varia- 
tion, according to the character of the wine from which it is distilled. The best 
brandy is obtained from French wines, and the kinds called Cognac and Arma- 
gnac are most esteemed. The catawba brandy of Messrs. Longworth and Zim- 
mermann, of Cincinnati, distilled from the lees of the catawba wine of Ohio, is 
a good brandy; but possesses the peculiar flavour of the wine. When the brandy 
is distilled from the marc of the catawba grape, it has an unpleasant taste, and 
contains a large amount of fusel oil. (E. S. Wayne, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 
1855, p. 498.) Our Pharmacopoeia formerly recognised French brandy exclu- 
sively; but in the present edition all spirits are admitted under that name, when 
obtained from the juice of grapes, and sufficiently strong and pure to meet the 
requisitions above given. Of course the brandy from catawba grape, if well pre- 
pared, is now officinal. 
Brandy has an agreeable, vinous, aromatic odour, and a peculiar, well-known 
taste. Its sp. gr. varies from 0 902 to 0 941, and it contains on an average 53 PART i. 
Spiritus Vini Gallici.—Statice. 
837 
per cent, by measure of alcohol of the density 0‘825. Besides alcohol, water, 
and volatile oil, it contains colouring matter, tannin, oenanthic ether described 
under wine, a little acetic ether, and a little aldehyd. Brandy is distinguished 
by its colour into the pale and high-coloured. Pale brandy has a yellow colour, 
derived from the cask in which it is kept. High-coloured brandy has a deep-red 
colour, given to it, before importation, by burnt sugar (caramel), which is said 
to impart a more agreeable flavour. Factitious brandy is sometimes made from 
alcohol, deprived of fusel oil, and reduced to the proper proof by water, by add- 
ing to it acetic ether in the proportion of from half an ounce to an ounce to the 
gallon. The proper colour is then given by burnt sugar. The spurious liquid 
may be known by its leaving on evaporation a residue, containing sugar and no 
tannin; the absence of the latter being shown by its not striking a black colour 
with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. It may also be detected by the absence of 
aldehyd. (Alagnes Lahens.) For modes of detecting impurities in brandy and 
other forms of ardent spirit, the reader is referred to an article by Mr. S. P. Duf- 
field, of Detroit, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for March, 1862 (p. 118). 
Medical Properties. Brandy is esteemed cordial and stomachic, and is fre- 
quently given, in the form of toddy or milk-punch, in the sinking stages of low 
fevers. In the late Lond. Pharmacopoeia there was an officinal preparation of it, 
called Mistura Spiritus Vini Gallici, consisting of brandy, cinnamon water, 
the yelks of eggs, sugar, and oil of cinnamon. This, though a convenient form 
for the administration of brandy, was omitted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia. It has, 
however, been admitted into the new edition, and is now again officinal; but the 
oil has been omitted. If prepared with the U. S. cinnamon water, it would cer- 
tainly be sufficiently flavoured without the addition of the oil. Brandy is in gen- 
eral most conveniently exhibited, in low fevers, mixed with milk, and flavoured 
with sugar; the proportions being varied to meet the demands of the case. 
Of. Prep. Mistura Spiritus Yini Gallici, Br. B 
STATICE. US. 
Marsh Rosemary. 
The root of Statice Limonium, variety Caroliniana. U. S. 
Statice. Sex. Syat. Pentandria Pentagynia.— Nat. Ord. Plumbaginaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx one-leaved, entire, plaited, scariose. Petals five. Seed one, 
superior. Nuttall. 
Statice Caroliniana. Walter, Flor. Car. 118; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 51. 
This is considered by Nuttall, Torrey, and some other botanists, as a mere 
variety of the Statice Limonium of Europe. Pursh, Bigelow, and others follow 
Walter in considering it as a distinct species. It is an indigenous maritime plant 
with a perennial root, sending up annually tufts of leaves, which are obovate or 
cuneiform, entire, obtuse, mueronate, smooth, and on long footstalks. They differ 
from the leaves of S. Limonium in being perfectly flat on the margin, while the 
latter are undulated. The flower-stem is round, smooth, from a few inches to a 
foot or more in height, sending off near its summit numerous alternate subdi- 
viding branches, which terminate in spikes, and form altogether a loose panicle. 
The flowers are small, bluish-purple, erect, upon one side only of the common 
peduncle, with a mueronate scaly bracte at the base of each, a five-angled, five- 
toothed calyx, and spatulate, obtuse petals. 
Marsh rosemary grows in the salt marshes along the sea-coast, from New 
England to Florida, and flowers in August and September. The root, which is 
the officinal portion, is large, spindle-shaped or branched, fleshy, compact, rough, 
and of a purplish-brown colour. It is bitter and extremely astringent to the 
taste, but without odour. Mr. Edward Parrish, of Philadelphia, found it to con- 
tain tannic acid, gum, extractive, albumen, volatile oil, resin, caoutchouc, colour- 
ing matter, lignin, and various salts, among which were common salt, and the 
sulphates of soda and magnesia. The proportion of tannic acid was 124 per 
cent. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xiv. 116.) 838 
Statice.—Stillingia. 
PART T. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Statice is powerfully astringent, and in soni ' 
parts of the United States, particularly in New England, is much employed. It 
may be used for all the purposes for which kino and catechu are given; but its 
chief popular application is to aphthous and ulcerative affections of the mouth 
and fauces. Dr. Baylies, of Massachusetts, found it highly useful in cynanche ma- 
ligna, both as an internal and local remedy. It is employed in the form of 
infusion or decoction. W. 
STILLINGIA. U.S. 
>Stillingia. Queens-root. 
The root of Stillingia sylvatica U. S. 
Stillingia. Sex.Syst. Monoecia Monadelphia.— Nat.Ord. Euphorbiaceje. 
Gen.Ch. Male. Involucre hemispherical, many-flowered, or wanting. Calyx 
tubular, eroded. Stamens two and three, exserted. Female. Calyx one- 
flowered, infeiior. Style trifid. Capsule three-grained. Nuttall. 
From the fruit of Stillingia sebif'era, the Chinese procure a vegetable tallow 
in large quantities, which is said to be almost pure stearin, and is much used 
in making candles. It exists between the shell of the seeds and the outer husk; 
the kernel, contained within the shell, yielding a liquid oil by expression. 
(Pharm. Journ., xii. 73.) 
Stillingia sylvatica. Willd. Sp. Pla t. W 588. This is an indigenous peren- 
nial plant,commonly called Queen's delight, with herbaceous stems, two or three 
feet high, and alternate, sessile, oblong or lanceolate-oblong, obtuse, serrulate 
leaves, tapering at the base, and accompanied with stipules. The male and 
female flowers are distinct upon the same plant. They are yellow, and arranged 
in the form of a spike, of which the upper part is occupied by the male, the 
lower by the female flowers. The male florets are scarcely longer than the 
bracteal scales. The plant grows in pine-barrens from Virginia to Florida, flow- 
ering in May and June. When wounded it emits a milky juice. 
The root, which is the part used, is large, thick, and woody. A specimen pre- 
sented to the writer by Dr. J. B. Holmes, of Charleston, S. C., is in longcylin- 
drical pieces, from a third of an inch to more than an inch thick, wrinkled from 
drying, of a dirty yellowish-brown colour externally, and, when cut across, ex- 
hibiting an interior soft, yellowish, ligneous portion, surrounded by a pinkish- 
coloured bark. The odour is slight, peculiar, and somewhat oleaginous, but in 
the recent root is said by Dr. Frost to be strong and acrimonious. The taste is 
bitterish and pungent, leaving an impression of disagreeable acrimony in the 
mouth and fauces. It imparts its virtues to water and alcohol. Dr. Frost thinks 
that the active principle is somewhat volatile, and states that the root loses much 
of its activity when long kept. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In large doses,stillingia is emetic and cathartic, 
in smaller doses alterative, with some influence over the secretions. It has been 
long popularly used in South Carolina; but was first introduced to the notice 
of the profession by Dr. Thomas Young Simons, in a paper published in the 
American Medical Recorder for April, 1828 (vol. xiii. p. 312), as a valuable 
alterative remedy in syphilitic affections, and others ordinarily requiring the use 
of mercury. Dr. Simons’s statements have been confirmed and extended by Dr. 
A Lopez, of Mobile (Ar. Orleans Med. and Surg. Journ . iii. 40), and Dr. H. R. 
Frost, of Charleston, S. C. (South. Journ. of Med. and Pharm. for November, 
1846). From the reports in its favour there seems no reason to doubt the effi- 
cacy of this medicine in secondary syphilis, scrofula, cutaneous diseases, chronic 
hepatic affections, and other complaints ordinarily benefited by alterative medi- 
cines. It may be given in substance, decoction, or tincture; but the two latter 
forms are preferable. The dose of the powder is stated at from fifteen to thirty 
grains The decoction, made by slowlv boiling an ounce of the bruised root in 
three pints of water to a pint, may be given in the quantity of one or two 
fluidounces three or four times a day, increased as the stomach will bear it. Part i. 
Stramonii L olium.—Stramonii Semen. 
839 
The dose of a tincture, made with two ounces of the root and a pint, of diluted 
alcohol, is about a fluidrachm. Stillingia is sometimes advantageously combined 
with sarsaparilla and other alteratives. W. 
STRAMONII FOLIUM. U. S. 
Stramonium Leaf. 
The leaves of Datura Stramonium. U. S. 
Off.Syn. STRAMONII FOLIA. The dried leaves of Datura Stramonium. 
Collected from plants in flower. Br. 
STRAMONII SEMEN. TJ. S. 
Stramonium Seed. 
The seed of Datura Stramonium. U. S. 
Off.Syn. STRAMONII SEMINA. The ripe seeds of Datura Stramo 
nium. Br. 
Thornapple; Stramoine, Pomme epineuse, Fr.; Stechapfel, Germ.; Stramonio, Hal.; 
Estramonio, Span. 
Datura. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Solanacese. 
Gen. Gh. Coi-olla funnel-shaped, plaited. Calyx tubular, angular, deciduous. 
Capsule four-valved. Willd. 
Datura Stramonium. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1008; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 
17; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 197, t. 74. The thornapple is an annual plant, of rank 
and vigorous growth, usually about three feet high, but in a rich soil sometimes 
six feet or more. The root is large, whitish, and furnished with numerous fibres. 
The stem is erect, round, smooth, somewhat shining, simplebelow, dichotomous 
above, with numerous spreading branches. The leaves, which stand on short 
round footstalks in the forks of the stem, are five or six inches long, of an ovate- 
triangular form, irregularly sinuated and toothed at the edges, unequal at the 
base, dark-green on the upper surface, and pale beneath. The flowers are large, 
axillary, solitary, and peduncled; having a tubular, pentangular, five-toothed 
calyx, and a funnel-shaped corolla with a long tube, and a waved plaited border, 
terminating in five acuminate teeth. The upper portion of the calyx falls with 
the deciduous parts of the flower, leaving its base, which becomes reflexed, and 
remains attached to the fruit. This is a large, fleshy, roundish-ovate, four- 
valved, four-celled capsule, thickly covered with sharp spines, and containing 
numerous seeds, attached to a longitudinal receptacle in the centre of each cell. 
It opens at the summit. 
There are two varieties of this species of Datura, one with a green stem and 
white flowers; the other with a dark-reddish stem minutely dotted with green, 
and purplish flowers striped with deep purple on the inside. The latter, how- 
ever, is considered by some botanists as a distinct species, being the D. Tatula 
of Linnaeus. The properties of both are the same.* 
It is doubtful to what country this plant originally belonged. Many European 
botanists refer it to North America, while we in return trace it to the old conti- 
nent. Nuttall considers it as having originated in South America or Asia; and 
it is probable that its native country is to be found in some portion of the East. 
It is said to grow wild abundantly in Southern Russia, from the borders of the 
Black Sea eastward to Siberia. Its seeds, being retentive of life, are taken in 
* M. Naudin maintains that they are distinct species, always retaining their distinctive 
characters, the one of green stems and pure white flowers, the other dark-purple stems 
and violet-tinted flowers. The two species were crossed by M.Naudin, who obtained 
hybrids, which, though of twice the size of their parents, were in other respects interme- 
diate between them; and, when these hybrids were cultivated, they showed a constant 
tendency to return to the original; out of a considerable number of seedlings, many being 
real D. Stramonium, and nearly as many D. Tatula. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept 
1865, p. 341.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 840 
Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
PART I 
the ear h put on shipboard for ballast from one country to another, not unfre- 
quently springing up upon the passage, and thus propagating the plant in all 
regions which have any commercial connection. In the United States it is found 
everywhere in the vicinity of cultivation, frequenting dung-heaps, the road-sides 
and commons, and other places where a rank soil is created by the deposited 
refuse of towns and villages. Its flowers appear from May to July or August, 
according to the latitude. Where the plant grows abundantly, its vicinity may 
be detected by the rank odour which it diffuses to some distance around. All 
parts of it are medicinal. The leaves and seeds only are now officinal; the root 
having beenomittedin the recent revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. The leaves 
may be gathered at any time from the appearance of the flowers till the autumnal 
frost, In this country the plant is generally known by the name of Jamestown 
weed, derived probably from its having been first observed in the neighbourhood 
of that old settlement in Virginia. In Great Britain it is called thornapple. 
1. The fresh, leaves when bruised emit a fetid narcotic odour, which they lose 
upon drying. Their taste is bitter and nauseous. These properties, together 
with their medical virtues, are imparted to water and alcohol. Water distilled 
from them, though possessed of their odour in a slight degree, is destitute of 
their active properties. They contain, according to Promnitz, 0'58 per cent, of 
gum, 0 6 of extractive, 0*f4 of green starch, 0-15 of albumen, 0T2 of resin, 0 23 
of saline matters, 5‘ 15 of lignin, and 9T25 of water. The leaves, if carefully 
dried, retain their bitter taste. 
2. The seeds are small, kidney-shaped, flattened on the sides, of a dark-brown 
almost black colour, inodorous, and of the bitter, nauseous taste of the leaves, 
with some degree of acrimony. They are much more energetie in their action 
on the system than the leaves. MM. Hirtz and Hopp inferred, from their expe- 
riments, that one part of an extract prepared from them was equal in strength 
to five parts of an extract prepared in precisely the same manner from the leaves 
(Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1862, p. 22) They were analyzed by Brandes, who 
found, besides a peculiar alkaline principle called daturia, a glutinous matter, 
albumen, gum, a but}rraceous substance, green wax, resin insoluble in ether, fixed 
oil, bassorin, sugar, gummy extractive, orange-coloured extractive, and various 
saline and earthy substances Chemists, however, have failed to obtain the datu- 
ria of Brandes by his own process; and Berzelius states that it has been admit- 
ted, even by that chemist himself, to be nothing more than phosphate of mag- 
nesia. ( Traitede Chimie. vi. 319.) But Geiger and Hesse succeeded in isolating 
an alkaline principle,to which the same name has been given,and which Tromrns- 
dorff has repeatedly procured by their process. 
As described by Geiger and Hesse, daturia crystallizes in colourless, inodor- 
ous, shining prisms, which, when first applied to the tongue, are bitterish, but 
ultimately have a flavour like that of tobacco. It is dissolved by 280 parts of 
cold, and 72 of boiling water, is very soluble in alcohol, and less so in ether. 
Mr. H. J. Waddington states that daturia, resembling atropia precisely in this 
respect, melts when heated, remains colourless, and sublimes in perfect crys- 
tals. (Pliarm. Journ. and Trans., March, 1868, p. 416.) It has been shown to 
have a poisonous action upon animals, and strongly dilates the pupil. Crystals 
of it are asserted to have been obtained from the urine of a person fatallv poi- 
soned by stramonium. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xvi. 485.) It may be pro- 
cured from the seeds in the same manner as hyoscyamia from those of Hyos- 
cyamus niger. (See Hyoscyamus.) The product is exceedingly small. In the 
most favourable case, Trommsdorff got only fr of 1 per cent. According to 
Dr. A. Von Planta, daturia is identical with atropia, its formula being 
N06. (See Am. Journ. of Pliarm., xxiii. 38.) Mr. Morries obtained a poison- 
ous empyreumatic oil by the destructive distillation of stramonium. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Stramonium is a powerful narcotic. When 
taken in quantities sufficient to affect the system moderately, it usually produces 
more or less cerebral disturbance, indicated by vertigo, headache, dimness or 
perversion of vision, and confusion of thought, sometimes amounting to slight PART I. 
Sframonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen. 
841 
delirium or a species of intoxication. At the same time peculiar deranged sensa- 
tions are experienced about the fauces, oesophagus, and trachea, increased occa- 
sionally to a feeling of suffocation, and often attended with nausea. A disposi- 
tion to sleep is sometimes but not uniformly produced. The pulse is not mate- 
rially affected. The bowels are rather relaxed than confined, and the secretions 
from the skin and kidneys not unfrequently augmented. These effects pass off 
in five or six hours, or in a shorter period, and no inconvenience is subsequently 
experienced. In poisonous doses, this narcotic produces cardialgia, excessive 
thirst, nausea and vomiting, a sense of strangulation, anxiety and faintness, par- 
tial or complete blindness with dilatation of the pupil, sometimes deafness, flush- 
ing and swelling of the face, headache, vertigo, delirium sometimes of a furious, 
sometimes of a whimsical character, tremors of the limbs, pals}r, and ultimately 
stupor and convulsions. In a case recorded by Dr. C. B. Fault, the whole sur- 
face of the body was of a scarlet colour. (Charleston Journ. & Rev., ix. 745.) 
From all these symptoms the patient may recover; but they have frequently 
terminated in death. To evacuate the stomach by emetics or the stomach-pump 
is the most effectual remedy. What has before been said as to the destructive 
effects of the caustic alkalies upon the active principle of belladonna and hyoscy- 
araus is applicable to their influence on stramonium. (Seepages 171 and 474.) 
Opium exercises the same antagonistic influence upon the operation of this poi- 
son as on that of belladonna. (See Belladonna, page 171 ) 
Though long known as a poisonous and intoxicating herb, stramonium was 
first introduced into regular practice by Baron Storck, of Vienna, who found 
some advantage from its use in mania and epilepsy Subsequent observation has 
confirmed his estimate of the remedy; and numerous cases are on record in which 
benefit has accrued from it in these complaints. Other diseases in which it has 
been found beneficial are neuralgic and rheumatic affections, dysiuenorrhoea, 
syphilitic pains, cancerous sores, and spasmodic asthma. In the last complaint 
it has acquired considerable reputation. It is employed only during the parox- 
ysm, which it very often greatly alleviates or altogether subverts The practice 
was introduced into Great Britain from the East Indies, where the natives are 
in the habit of smoking the dried root and lower part of the stem of Datura 
ferox, in the paroxysms of this distressing complaint. The same parts of D. 
Stramonium were substituted, and found equally effectual. To prepare the roots 
for use, they are quickly dried, cut into pieces, and beaten so as to loosen the tex- 
ture. The dried leaves answer the same purpose. They are smoked by means of 
a common tobacco-pipe These and other narcotic leaves have also been used 
in the shape of cigars. The smoke produces a sense of heat in the lungs, followed 
b};- copious expectoration, and attended frequently with temporary vertigo or 
drowsiness, and sometimes with nausea. The remedy should never be used in 
plethoric cases, unless preceded by ample depletion, and in no case where there 
is determination to the head. Dangerous and even fatal consequences have re- 
sulted from its incautious or improper use; and General Gent, who was instru- 
mental in introducing the practice into England, is said at last to have fallen a 
victim to it. Stramonium has sometimes been given by the stomach in the same 
complaint. It is used by Dr. H. D. W. Pawling in the treatment of delirium tre- 
mens, and, as represented in the inaugural dissertation of his pupil Dr. G. W. 
Holstein, with great success. Dr. Pawling employs a decoction of the leaves. 
Externally the medicine is used advantageously as an ointment or cataplasm 
in irritable ulcers, inflamed tumours, swelling of the mammae, and painful hemor- 
rhoidal affections. Dr. J. Y. Dortch, of Aorth Carolina, has found it very use- 
ful in tinea capitis. ( Thesis, Feb. 1846.) By American surgeons it is verj7- fre- 
quently applied to the eye, in order to produce dilatation of the pupil, previously 
to the operation for cataract; and is found equally efficacious with belladonna. 
For this purpose the extract, mixed with lard, is generally rubbed over the eye- 
lid, or a solution of it dropped into the eye. 
Of the parts of the plant employed, the seeds are the most powerful. They 
may be given in the dose of a grain twice a day; and an extract made by evapo- 842 
Stramonii Folium.—Stramonii Semen.—Styrax. 
part r. 
rating the decoction, in one-quarter or half the quantity. The dose of the pow- 
dered leaves is two or three grains. The inspissated juice of the fresh lea ves is 
more commonly prescribed than any other preparation, and maybe administered 
in the quantity of one grain. (See Extractum Stramonii Foliorum.) There is 
also an officinal tincture, to which the reader is referred. The dose should be 
gradually increased till the narcotic operation becomes evident, or relief from 
the symptoms of the disease is obtained. Fifteen or twenty grains of the pow- 
dered leaves, and a proportionate amount of the other preparations, have often 
been given daily without unpleasant effects. 
Daturia has been employed for obtaining the effects whether of stramonium 
or belladonna. M. Jobert has found it three times as strong as atropia, less apt 
to disturb vision than belladonna, and at the same time more constant and last- 
ing in its operation. (Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1863, p. 28.) 
Off. Prep, of the Leaves. Extractum Stramonii, U. S.; Extractum Stramonii 
Alcoholicum, U. S. 
Off. Prep, of the Seeds. Extractum Stramonii, Br.; Tinctura Stramonii. 
W. 
STYRAX. U. S. 
Storax. 
The prepared juice of Liquidambar orientale. U. S. 
Off. Syn. STYRAX PRiEPARATUS. Prepared Storax. A balsam, ob- 
tained from the bark of Liquidambar orientale. Purified by means of rectified 
spirit and straining. Br. 
Storax, Fr., Germ.; Storace, Hal.; Estoraque, Span. 
Until recently it was generally admitted that storax was obtained from Sty- 
rax officinale; and it has not been determined that this plant does not yield a 
variety of the drug ; but both the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias now ascribe the 
storax in ordinary use to Liquidambar orientale; and we shall, therefore, give 
a brief description of both plants. 
Styrax. See BENZOINUM. 
Styrax officinale. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii G23; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 291, t. 101. 
This species of Styrax is a tree which rises from fifteen to twenty-five feet in 
height, sends off many branches, and is covered with a rough gray bark. The 
leaves are alternate, petiolate, entire, oval, pointed, bright-green on their upper 
surface, white with a cotton-like down upon the under, about two inches in 
length, and an inch and a half in breadth. The flowers are united in clusters 
of three or four at the extremities of the branches. They are white, and bear 
considerable resemblance to those of the orange The tree is a native of Syria 
and other parts of the Levant, and has been naturalized in Italy, Spain, and the 
south of France, where, however, it does not yield balsam. This circumstance 
induced some naturalists to doubt whether Styrax officinale is the real source 
of storax; and, as the Liquidambar styracflua of this country affords a'balsam 
analogous to that under consideration, Bernard de Jussieu conjectured that the 
latter might be derived from another species of the same genus, L. orientale of 
Lamarck, which is more abundant in Syria than the Styrax. This conjecture 
has since been confirmed; and storax is now officinally referred to that plant. 
Liquidambar. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Polyandria. — Nat. Ord. Amentaceae, 
Juss ; Balsamaceae, Bindley. 
Gen Ch. Male. Amentum conical, surrounded by a four-leaved involucre; 
corolla none; filaments numerous. Female. Amentum globose, with a four- 
leaved involucre; calyx one-leafed, urceolate, two-flowered; styles two; cap- 
sules two, surrounded at the base by the calyx, one-celled, many-seeded. 
Liquidambar orientale. Miller, Diet. no. 2; Pharm. Journ., xvi. 462. The 
oriental sweet-gum is a tree of from twenty to forty feet high, with palmate 
leaves, of which each division is obscurely three-lobed. They are serrate, per- 
fectly smooth, bright-green and shining on the upper surface, and pale on the PART i 
Styrax, 
843 
under. The tree is a native of Asia Minor, in the southwestern parts of which it 
forms large forests. It yields the variety of the drug called liquid storax. 
Accounts somewhat differ as to the mode of collecting the balsam. They 
agree, however, in the point, that, the outer bark having been removed, the inner 
bark is scraped off and submitted to pressure. According to Mr. Maltass, the 
bark is first pressed cold in horse-hair bags, after which hot water is thrown 
over them, and they are again pressed. Lieutenant Campbell states that the 
inner bark is first boiled with water, and, a portion of the balsam which rises 
having been skimmed off, is then pressed so as to extract the remainder. The 
residuary bark, after expression, is dried in the sun, and employed in various 
parts of Turkey for fumigation. It is the drug known in commerce as Storax 
bark or Cortex Thymiamatis. (Hanbury, Pharm. Journ., xvi. 463.) The balsam 
is sent in casks to Constantinople, Smyrna, and other ports of the Levant. 
Several kinds of storax have been described. The purest was the storax 
in grains, which was in whitish, yellowish-white, or reddish-yellow tears, about 
the size of a pea, opaque, soft, adhesive, and capable of uniting so as to form a 
mass. Another variety, formerly called styrax calamita, from the circumstance, 
as is supposed, that it was brought wrapped in the leaves of a kind of reed, 
consisted of dry and brittle masses, formed of yellowish agglutinated tears, in the 
interstices of which was a brown or reddish matter. The French call it storax 
amygdaloide. This and the preceding variety had a pleasant odour like that 
of vanilla. Neither of them, however, is now found in the markets. It is pos- 
sible that one or both of these varieties may have been the product of Styrax 
officinale; but there seems to be no certainty on this point. 
A third variety, which is sometimes sold as the styrax calamita, is in brown 
or reddish-brown masses of various shapes, light, friable, yet possessing a cer- 
tain degree of tenacity, and softening under the teeth. Upon exposure, it be- 
comes covered upon the surface with a white efflorescence of benzoic acid. It 
evidently consists of sawdust, united either with a portion of the balsam, or 
with other analogous substances. As found in our shops, it is usually in the 
state of a coarse, soft, dark-coloured powder, mingled with occasional light 
friable lumps of various magnitude, and containing very little of the balsam. 
When good, it should yield, upon pressure between hot plates, a brown resinous 
fluid having the odour of storax. The source of this variety is not precisely 
known. Mr. Ilanbury states that some of it is prepared at Trieste by mixing 
the residue of the liquidambar bark remaining after expression, and reduced to 
coarse powder, with genuine liquid storax. {Pharm. Jbw77i.,April,1863,p. 438.) 
A fourth variety, which, under the name of liquid storax, is the one commonly 
used, is a semi-fluid, adhesive substance, brown or almost black upon the sur- 
face exposed to the air, but of a slightly greenish-gray colour within, and of an 
odour somewhat like that of Peruvian balsam, though less agreeable. It is kept in 
jars. The source of liquid storax was till recently quite uncertain. Some supposed 
it to be derived by decoction from the young branches of Liquidambar styra- 
cijlua; but a specimen of the juice of this plant, brought from New Orleans, 
which we had an opportunity of inspecting, had an odour entirely distinct from 
that of the substance under consideration. According to Landerer, who resides 
in Greece, liquid storax is obtained in the islands of Cos and Rhodes from the 
bark and young twigs of Styrax officinale, by subjecting them to pressure. But 
Mr. Daniel Hanbury, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical Journal (xvi. 
422), has shown this to be an error; none whatever of the balsam being col- 
lected in those islands. It has been stated above that liquid storax had been 
referred to Liquidambar orientale; and from specimens of the plant furnishing 
the balsam, collected by Mr. Maltass, and sent by him to Mr. Hanbury, there 
can scarcely be a doubt of the correctness of this reference. 
As found in the shops, storax is usually so much adulterated as to require 
purification before it can be used; and, both in the U. S. and British Pharma- 
copoeias, processes were formerly given for its preparation. But in the recent 
editions these processes have been abandoned ; and the U. S. authorities content 844 
Styrax.—Sulphur. 
PART L 
themselves with directing, in the Materia MedicaCatalogue, the “preparedjuice” 
of the plant; the British, the “balsam purified by means of rectified spirit and 
straining.” Whenever not originally pure enough for use, it should be dissolved 
in alcohol, the solution strained, and the alcohol distilled off to a certain extent, 
and then completely evaporated at a gentle heat. 
General Properties. Storax has a fragrant odour and aromatic taste. It 
melts with a moderate heat, and, when the temperature is raised, takes fire and 
burns with a white flame, leaving a light spongy carbonaceous residue. It im- 
parts its odour to water, which it renders yellow and milky. Its active con- 
stituents are dissolved by alcohol and ether. Newmann obtained from 480 grains 
of storax 120 of watery extract; and from an equal quantity, 360 grains of alco- 
holic extract Containing volatile oil and resin, and yielding benzoic or cinna- 
mic acid by distillation, it is entitled to be ranked as a balsam. Besides oil, 
resin, and benzoic acid, Reinsch found in styrax calamita, gum, extractive, lig- 
nin, a matter extracted bypotassa, water, and traces of ammonia. Simon found 
in liquid storax cinnamic acid, and a resinous substance, which he considered 
identical with the styracin of Bonastre. According to Toel, styracin is a com- 
pound of cinnamic acid with a peculiar substance which he calls styrone, and 
is in composition perfectly analogous to the natural fats. ( Ghem. Gaz., July 2, 
1840.) Strecker gives the name of styrone to a substance resulting from the 
action of caustic potassa on liquid storax. He states that, if this be oxidized 
by exposing spongy platinum moistened with it in the liquid state to the air 
the odour of oil of cinnamon is perceived, evincing the production of a portion 
of that oil. (See Pharm. Journ., xv. 180.) The volatile oil of storax, denomi- 
nated styrol, is obtained by distilling the liquid balsam with water and carbo- 
nate of soda, this salt being added to retain the cinnamic acid. It is a mobile, 
limpid fluid, with the odour of liquid storax, and a burning taste. It has the 
sp.gr. 0 924, and boils at 294° F. (Gindin's Handbook, xiii. 2.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This balsam is a stimulating expectorant, and 
was formerly recommended in phthisis, chronic catarrh, asthma, and amenor- 
rhcea; but it is very seldom used at present, except as a constituent of the com- 
pound tincture of benzoin. It has been highly praised as a remedy in diphthe- 
ria and pseudomembranous croup. Liquid storax has been recommended in 
gonorrhoea and leucorrhoea as equally effectual with copaiba, and less dis- 
agreeable. From ten to twenty grains may be given twice a day, and the dose 
gradually increased. The same variety of storax, mixed with olive oil, has 
been found by Dr. H. Schultze, of Magdeburg, effectual in the cure of itch; 
the death of the insect resulting from a single thorough rubbing of the surface 
in twenty-four hours, and the eruption then subsiding spontaneously. (Am. 
Jaurn. of Med. Sci., July, 1867, p. 258.) 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Benzoini Composita. W. 
SULPHUR LOTUM. US. 
Washed Sulphur. 
Sublimed sulphur, thoroughly washed with water. U. S. 
SULPHUR SUBLIMATUM. U.S.,Br. 
Sublimed Sulphur. 
Sulphur, prepared from erude or rough sulphur by sublimation. Br. 
Brimstone; Soufre, Fr.; Schwefel, Germ.; Zolfo, Ital.; Azufre, Span. 
The officinal forms of sulphur are the sublimed, the washed, and the pre- 
cipitated. The sublimed and washed sulphur will be noticed in this place; the 
precipitated, in Part II. among the Preparations. 
Natural States. Sulphur is very generally disseminated throughout the min- 
eral kingdom, and is almost always present, in minute quantity, in animal and Sulphur. 
845 
PART i. 
vegetable matter. Among vegetables, it is particularly abundant in mustard 
and other cruciform plants. It occurs in the earth, either native or in combina- 
tion. When native it is found in masses, translucent or opaque, or in the pow- 
dery form mixed with various earthy impurities. In combination it is usually 
united with certain metals, as iron, lead, mercury, antimony, copper, and zinc, 
forming compounds called sulphurets. Native sulphur is most abundant in 
volcanic countries, and is hence called volcanic sulphur. The most productive 
mines of sulphur are found in Sicily, at Solfatara in the kingdom of Naples,* 
and in the Roman States. A large mine of native sulphur has been opened in 
California, about twenty miles from Santa Barbara, and seven from the sea- 
coast. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1862, p. 176.) Near the borax lake in 
California (see Sodse Boras, page 815) is an elevation, where the deposition of 
sulphur is constantly going on from vapours issuing from innumerable crevices 
in a decomposed volcanic rock, the surface of which is so far covered with the 
deposited matter as to give the mass the appearance of a bank of sulphur. It 
is called “ Sulphur Banks,” and will no doubt largely contribute this material to 
commerce in future times. (Prof. J. D. Whitney, Ibid., May, 1866, pp. 237-8.) 
Already works are in operation for preparing the sulphur. 
Extraction, &c. Sulphur is obtained either from sulphur earths, or from tho 
native sulphurets of iron and copper, called iron and copper pyrites. The sul- 
phur earths are placed in earthen pots, set in oblong furnaces of brickwork, 
From the upper and lateral part of each pot, a tube proceeds Obliquely down- 
wards, which communicates with the upper part of a similar pot, situated out- 
side the furnace, and perforated near its bottom, to allow the melted sulphur to 
flow into a vessel containing water, conveniently placed to receive it. Fire being 
applied, the sulphur rises in vapour, leaving the impurities behind, and, being 
condensed again, flows from the perforated pot into the vessel containing the 
water. Sulphur, as thus obtained, is called crude sulphur, and contains about 
one-twelfth of its weight of earthy matter. For purification it is generally 
melted in a cast iron vessel. When the fusion is complete, the impurities sub- 
side, and the purer sulphur is dipped out and poured into cylindrical wooden 
moulds, which give it the form of solid cylinders, about an inch in diameter, 
called in commerce roll sulphur or cane brimstone. The dregs of this process, 
ground to powder, constitute a very impure kind of sulphur, of a gray colour, 
called in the shops sulphur vivum or horse brimstone. 
The above process purifies the sulphur but imperfectly. At the same time it 
causes a considerable loss; as the dregs just mentioned contain a large propor- 
tion of sulphur. A more eligible mode of purification consists in distilling the 
crude sulphur from a large cast iron still, set in brickwork over a furnace, and 
furnished with an iron head. The head has two lateral communications, one 
with a chamber of brickwork, the other with an iron receiver immersed in 
water, which is constantly renewed to cool.it sufficiently to cause the sulphur 
to condense in the liquid form. When the tube between the still and receiver 
is shut, and that communicating with the chamber is open, the sulphur con- 
denses on its walls in the form of an impalpable powder, and constitutes sub- 
limed sulphur or flowers of sulphur. If, on the other hand, the communica- 
tion with the chamber is closed, and that with the receiver opened, the sulphur 
condenses in the latter in the fused state, and, when cast in cylindrical moulds, 
forms the roll sulphur of commerce. 
The extraction of sulphur from the bisulphuret of iron (iron pyrites) is per- 
formed by distilling it in stone-ware cylinders. Half the sulphur contained in 
the bisulphuret is volatilized by the heat, and conducted, by means of an adapter, 
into vessels containing water, where it condenses. The residue of the mineral 
is employed for making sulphate of iron, or green vitriol. In the island of An- 
glesea, large quantities of sulphur are obtained from copper pyrites in the pro- 
* On a recent visit (A. D. 1861) to Solfatara, one of the authors was informed that sul- 
phur was no longer obtained from this extinct volcano; and certainly no works for its 
extraction were then in operation. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 846 
Sulphur. 
PART I. 
cess for extracting that metal. The furnaces in which the ore is roasted are 
connected by horizontal flues with chambers, in which the volatilized sulphur 
is condensed. Each chamber is furnished with a door, through which the sul- 
phur is withdrawn once in six weeks. 
Crude sulphur comes to this country principally from Messina, in Sicily, and 
the ports of Italy. Roll sulphur and the flowers are usually brought from Mar- 
seilles. Good Sicilian sulphur does not contain more than 3 per cent, of im- 
purity, consisting chiefly of earths. Crude sulphur is employed by the manu- 
facturers of sulphuric acid ; and, as it is very variable in quality, it becomes 
important to ascertain its exact value. This may be done by drying a given 
weight of it, and submitting it to combustion. The weight of the incombusti- 
ble residue, added to that lost in drying, gives the amount of impurity. 
Properties. Sulphur is a non-metallic element, susceptible of several allo- 
tropic states. In its ordinary state it is a brittle solid, of a pale-yellow colour, 
permanent in the air, and exhibiting a crystalline texture and shining fracture. 
It has a slight taste, and a perceptible smell when rubbed. When pure its sp. 
gr. is about 2 ; but it varies a little in density in its different allotropic states. 
Occasionally, from impurity, its sp.gr. is as high as 235. Its eq. number is 16, 
and its symbol S It is a bad conductor of heat, and becomes negatively elec- 
tric by friction. The melting point of sulphur varies with its allotropic state, 
which is readily altered by heat Pure sulphur melts and sublimes at 180°. (Guy, 
Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1868, p. 3f5.) In ordinary sulphur, which is a mixture of 
the element in different allotropic states, the melting point varies from 232° to 
248°. If heated above its melting point, it undergoes, in proportion to the heat 
applied, a progressive change, which will cause it, upon slow cooling, to solidify 
at a temperature lower than that at which it was melted; and, if it be remelted, 
it will be found to have a higher melting point than before. Melted sulphur is 
perfectly limpid, and of a bright-yellow colour. When sulphur is melted, and, 
after partial cooling, the crust formed on its surface is pierced, and the fluid por- 
tion poured out, it maybe obtained in slender prismatic crystals, called prismatic 
sulphur. When sulphur is heated above its melting point, it becomes deeper- 
coloured and less fluid. At 392°, it has a deep-brown colour, and is so viscid 
that it cannot be poured from the containing vessel. If the temperature be still 
further increased, the sulphur resumes its fluidity, but retains its brown colour. 
Finally, when the temperature reaches '152°, it boils in close vessels, forming a 
yellow vapour, and may be distilled. If melted sulphur, heated above 392°, is 
suddenly cooled by being poured out into water, it becomes a reddish-brown 
plastic mass, with alteration of properties, called soft sulphur {viscid sulphur), 
which is employed in taking impressions of medals, &c. This form of sulphur 
resumes the hard state, but not its original colour, after the lapse of a few days, 
or suddenly if heated to about 212°. Sulphur is insoluble in water, but soluble 
in alkaline solutions, petroleum, rectified coal naphtha, the fixed oils, oil of tur- 
pentine and other volatile oils, alcohol and ether, chloroform, and bisulphide of 
carbon. Its best solvent is bisulphide of carbon, front solution in which it crys- 
tallizes generally in octohedrons, a form belonging to a different system from 
the prism, obtained by crystallizing melted sulphur by cooling. Hence sulphur 
is said to be dimorphous. 
The allotropic states of sulphur have been studied chiefly by Brodie, Magnus 
and Weber, and Berthelot. These states are induced, for the most part, by heat, 
and are distinguished by the crystalline form of the sulphur, and by its solubility 
or non solubility in bisulphide of carbon. According to the corrected deter- 
minations of Magnus and Weber, there are four allotropic states of sulphur, 
which they distinguish by the names of prismatic, octohedral, crummy, and in- 
soluble sulphur. Prismatic sulphur forms the greater part of ordinary sulphur. 
It is soluble in bisulphide of carbon. If heated just to its point of fusion, it 
will have a coinciding melting and solidifying point at 248°. (B. G. Brodie.) 
Octohedral sulphur may be obtained from freshly made soft sulphur, by acting 
on it with bisulphide of carbon, which dissolves it in part. This solution, by PAItT I. 
Sulphur. 
847 
distilling off a portion of the bisulphide, yields, on cooling, octohedral sulphur 
The melting point of this sulphur is 238°; but it is difficult to get it correctly, 
owing to the facility with which octohedral sulphur is changed by heat into the 
prismatic, with the effect of raising the melting point. (B. G. Brodie.) The 
solution, when no more crystals can be obtained from it, still contains sulphur, 
which may be separated as a cellular amorphous mass, called crummy sulphur, 
by the spontaneous evaporation of the solvent. Crummy sulphur forms from 
2 to 5 per cent, of the soft sulphur; and, though obtained from its solution in 
bisulphide of carbon, cannot be redissolved in it, even at the boiling tempera- 
ture. Insoluble sulphur is the name given to that part of the soft sulphur 
which is left undissolved by the bisulphide, amounting to between one third 
and nearly one-half of the former. Mr. Brodie was unable to determine the 
melting point of this sulphur, but found it considerably above 248°, or the melt- 
ing point of prismatic sulphur. Flowers of sulphur contain about one-third of 
their weight of insoluble sulphur. Crummy sulphur is either yellow or red, ac- 
cording as it is obtained from a soft sulphur which has been once or several 
times melted and poured out into water. What Magnus formerly called red 
sulphur is a red modification of crummy sulphur. Red and black sulphur are 
no longer considered by Magnus as allotropic states of sulphur; but rather as 
sulphur modified by the presence of a minute proportion of foreign matter. 
This opinion is founded on the recent discovery of Mitscherlich, confirmed by 
Magnus, that a number of substances, especially the fats and oils, when heated 
with sulphur, give it a red or black colour. Thus, one part of tallow, heated 
with 3000 parts of sulphur, imparts to it an intensely red colour; and the same 
proportion of paraffin changes it to red or black. So minute is the quantity of 
foreign matter, capable of producing this change, that Magnus asserts that sul- 
phur, touched by the hands, will be coloured red by the greasy matter thereby 
imparted, upon being heated to 572°. Black sulphur forms a soft, greasy, duc- 
tile mass, which after a time solidifies, when it assumes a glassy appearance. (See 
Chem. Gaz., May 15, 1854, and Philos. Mag., Supplement, Jan. 1857 ) 
The physical properties of sulphur are remarkably modified by heating it in 
contact with a minute propoi'tion of certain other substances. MM. Moutier 
have ascertained that, heated with of iodine, it becomes, on cooling, 
soft, plastic, and in great measure insoluble in bisulphide of carbon. The 
same authors found that many other substances have a similar effect on sul- 
phur; as naphthalin, paraffin, creasote, camphor, and oil of turpentine; the 
quantity of the substance required varying from to ; and the necessary 
temperature being different with the substances used; camphor requiring 230° 
C., and naphthalin and oil of turpentine much more. After cooling, a paste is 
obtained, black, soft, plastic, ductile, which passes very slowly into the hard 
and brittle state of ordinary sulphur. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., 
i. 288, A. I). 1865.) 
Sulphur takes fire at about the temperature of 300°, and burns with a blue 
flame, combining with the oxygen of the air, and giving rise to a peculiar 
gaseous acid, called sulphurous acid. The combinations of sulphur are nume- 
rous, and among the most powerful agents of chemistry. It forms with oxygen 
four principal acids, the hyposulphurous, sulphurous, hyposulphuric, and 
sulphuric; with hydrogen, sulphohydric acid (hydrosulphuric acid or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen); and with the metals, various sulphurets. Some of the 
sulphurets are analogous to acids, others to bases; and these different sulphu- 
rets, by combining with each other, form compounds which, from their analogy 
to salts, are called by Berzelius sulpho-salts. 
An extremely sensitive test of this element is a solution of molybdate of am 
monia in muriatic acid, diluted with water, which is rendered blue by contact 
with even a trace of sulphur. {Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1862, p. 367.) 
Sulphur, when obtained by roasting the native sulphurets, sometimes con- 
tains arsenic, and is thereby rendered poisonous. Sicilian sulphur, being vol- 
canic, is not subject tc this impurity. The common English roll sulphur is 848 
Sulphur. 
PART I. 
sometimes made from iron pyrites, and is then apt to contain orpiment {ter- 
sulphuret of arsenic). This impurity may be detected by heating the sus- 
pected sulphur with nitric acid. The arsenic, if present, will be converted into 
arsenic acid; and the nitric solution, diluted with water, neutralized with car- 
bonate of soda, and acidulated with muriatic acid, will give a yellow precipi- 
tate of quintosulphuret of arsenic with a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen. A 
precipitate maybe more readily obtained from the nitric solution, if, after neu- 
tralization, sulphurous acid be added, which will convert the arsenic acid into 
the arsenious. This is more easily decomposed by the sulphuretted hydrogen; 
but the precipitate obtained will now be the tersulphuret. Sulphur, when per- 
fectly pure, is wholly volatilized by heat, and soluble without residue in oil 01 
turpentine. Aceordingto Dr. Playfair, a solution of nitroprusside of sodium is 
a delicate test for the alkaline sulphurets, producing with them a violet tint. 
The late Prof Bailey, of West Point, employed the same test for detecting sul- 
phur in any compound. The substance suspected to contain it is fused with car- 
bonate of soda,with the addition of carbonaceous matter if necessary. If sulphur 
be present it will be converted into sulphuret of sodium ; and, upon the addition 
of a small portion of the fused mass to a drop of the nitroprusside, the charac- 
teristic violet tint will be produced. 
Sublimed sulphur, usually called flowers of sulphur {fores sulphuris), is 
in the form of a crystalline powder of a fine yellow colour. It is always con- 
taminated with a little sulphuric acid, which is formed at the expense of the 
oxygen of the air contained in the subliming chambers. Accordingly, it always 
reddens litmus; and, if the acid is present in considerable quantity, sometimes 
cakes. It may be freed from acidity by careful ablution with hot water, when it 
becomes the officinal washed sulphur. 
Washed sulphur is placed in the list of Materia Medica of the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, with an explanatory note, that it is sublimed sulphur, thoroughly 
washed with water. Washed sulphur has the general appearance of sublimed 
sulphur, and is wholly volatilized by heat. When properly prepared it does not 
affect litmus, and undergoes no change by exposure to the air. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphuris laxative, diaphoretic,and resolvent. 
It is supposed to be rendered soluble by the soda of the bile. M. Miahle at 
present teaches that it is carried into the circulation by the fatty matters in 
the alimentary canal which dissolve it. {Med. T. and Gaz., June, 1868, p. 642.) 
It evidently passes off by the pores of the skin; as is shown by the fact that 
silver, worn in the pockets of patients under a course of it, becomes blackened 
with a coating of sulphuret. The stools which it occasions are usually solid, 
and it is gentle in its operation, unless it contain a good deal of acid, when it 
may cause griping; and the liability of the sublimed sulphur to contain acid, 
renders it less eligible for exhibition than the washed sulphur, from which all 
acidity is removed. The diseases in which sulphur is principally used are 
hemorrhoidal affections, atonic gout, chronic rheumatism, chronic catarrh, and 
asthma. It has also been given as an antiperiodic, being considered as par- 
ticularly applicable to cases in which the apyrexia is incomplete. It is also 
much employed, both internally and externally, in cutaneous affections, espe- 
cially scabies, for the cure of which it is considered a specific. In these affec- 
tions, as well as in chronic rheumatism, it is sometimes applied as an air bath, 
in the form of sulphurous acid gas, the head being protected from its effects. 
It has been employed with great success, by M. Lagauldrie, in diphtheric croup, 
given freely every hour, simply suspended in water. M. Thevenot finds it 
promptly effectual in the removal of diphtheric exudation, simply applied lo- 
cally to the patches {Ann. de Therap., A. D. 1867, p. 78.) It is said also to be 
very useful in lead colic. {Ibid., 18'o8, p. 108.) The external use of sulphur is 
strongly recommended by Dr. O’Connor, of London, in sciatica and chronic 
articular rheumatism. The limb affected is covered with sulphur, and bandaged 
with new flannel, over which sheets of wadding are wrapped. The dressing 
should not be taken off for several days ; as its earlier removal would interfere PART I. 
Sulphur.—Sumbul Radix. 
849 
with the absorption of the sulphur, on which its curative effect depends. 
(Lancet, Am. ed., June, 1857, p. 507.) The dose of sulphur is from one to three 
drachms, mixed with syrup or molasses, or taken in milk. It is often com- 
bined with bitartrate of potassa, or with magnesia. 
According to M. Hannon, of Brussels, soft sulphur, recently prepared, pos- 
sesses valuable therapeutic properties, not as a laxative, but as a stimulant to 
the circulation, lungs, and skin, far more active than ordinary sulphur. The 
dose of soft sulphur is from twenty to fifty grains, given in the form of pill. 
It has also been successfully employed for filling the hollows of carious teeth. 
(Pharm. Journ., xvii. 330.) 
Sulphur is consumed in the arts, principally in the manufacture of gunpow- 
der and sulphuric acid. 
Off Prep, of Sulphur Sublimatum. Confectio Snlpburis, Br.; Emplastrum 
Ammoniacicum Hydrargyro; Emplastrum Hydrargyri, Br.; Hydrargyri Sul- 
phuretum Rubrum, U.S.; Potassa Sulphurata, Br.; Potassii Sulphuretum, 
U.S.; Sulphur P-aecipitatum; Sulphuris Iodidum; Unguentum Sulphuris. 
B. 
SUMBUL RADIX. Br. 
Sumbul Root. 
The dried transverse sections of the root of a plant the botanical history of 
which is unknown. Imported from Russia and also from India. Br. 
Under the name of sumbul or jatamansi, a root has long been used in India, 
Persia, and other parts of the East, as a perfume, an incense in religious cere- 
monies, and medicinally. It is the product of an unknown plant, supposed to 
be umbelliferous, and, from the character of the root, to grow in low wet places. 
The plant is said to inhabit no part of British India, but the regions to the north 
and east of it, as Nepaul, Bootan, Bucharia, &c. The root is taken northward 
to Russia, and reaches the rest of Europe through St. Petersburg. The phy- 
sicians of Moscow and St. Petersburg were the first to employ it on the con- 
tinent of Europe Dr. Granville first introduced it to the notice of the profes- 
sion in Great Britain and this country. It has recently also been imported into 
England from India, whither it was brought from a great distance in the 
interior. 
The medicine comes in transverse sections, from two to four or five inches 
in diameter, and from an inch to an inch and a half in length, with a dusky, 
light-brown, wrinkled epidermis, and an interior porous structure, consisting of 
coarse, irregular, easily separable fibres. The fresh cut surface of a transverse 
section presents, within the epidermis, an exterior white and spotted layer, and 
an inner yellow substance which forms the greater part of the root. Examined 
by means of a microscope, it exhibits translucent points which probably repre- 
sent starch granules. Sumbul has a strong odour, much resembling that of 
musk, which it retains when long kept; and hence the name of mus/c-root 
sometimes attached to it. The taste, at first feebly sweetish, becomes after a 
time bitterish and balsamic, but not disagreeable; and a strong aroma is de- 
veloped under mastication, diffusing itself with a sensation of warmth 
through the mouth and throat, and rendering the breath fragrant. Th*s effect, 
however, is much diminished by time. That brought from India some- 
what from the Russian, being of closer texture, more dense and firm, and of 
a reddish tint. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 174; from Pharm. Journ.) 
The root has been analyzed by Reinsch and other German chemisla, and 
found to contain volatile oil, two balsamic resins, one soluble in alcohol, the other 
in ether, wax, gum, starch, a bitter substance soluble in water and alcohol, a 
crystallizable acid, which Reinsch proposes to call sumbulic acid, and saline 
matter. The musklike odour seems to be connected with the balsamic resins, 
and probably depends on some principle associated with them not yet isolated. 
The volatile oil yielded by distillation has a taste like that of peppermint. 850 
Sumbul Radix.— Tabacum. 
PART I. 
The virtues of the drug appear to be those of a nervous stimulant. It is 
used by the Russian physicians in low fevers of a typhous character, and in 
asthenic cases of dysentery and diarrhoea. It has also been employed by them 
with asserted success in malignant cholera. The authors, on the occasion of a 
visit in the summer of 1853 to St. Petersburg, were informed by Dr. Thiel- 
mann, physician to the Hospital of St. Peter and St. Paul, that he depended 
mainly on this remedy in the treatment of delirium tremens, having found it 
superior in its composing influence over that complaint even to opium. Dr. 
Granville recommends it in gastric spasms, hysteria, chlorosis, amenorrhoea, 
dysmenorrhoea, palsy of the limbs, epilepsy, and other nervous disorders. 1c 
is given in substance, infusion, decoction, and alcoholic and ethereal tincture. 
There seems to be no great precision in relation to the dose; but it is inferri- 
ble, from the accounts of the drug, that it may be used very much as we use1 
valerian. The facts above stated are taken chiefly from a pamphlet by Dr. 
Granville, published in London, A. D. 1850. 
Dr. Murawieff, of Russia, prepares the resin, which he considers as the 
active principle, by macerating the root first in water, and then in a solution 
of carbonate of soda, washing it well with cold water, drying it, treating it 
with alcohol, filtering the tincture, adding a little lime and again filtering, sepa- 
rating the lime by sulphuric acid, agitating with animal charcoal, again filtering, 
distilling off nearly all the alcohol, mixing the residuum with water, driving off 
the remaining alcohol, and, finally, washing the precipitate with cold water, 
and drying it. The resin thus obtained is whitish, translucent, softening be- 
tween the fingers, combustible without residue, of an acid taste, and an aro- 
matic smell, like that of the root. Dr. Murawieff gives it in the dose of a grain 
or two, in the form of pill, three or four times a day, with or without opium, 
and has found it useful in chronic bronchitis and pneumonia slow of resolution, 
in the moist asthma of old, anemic, and scorbutic patients, in atonic dysentery, 
leucorrhcea, hypochondriasis, and hysteria. (Dub. Quart. Journ., Feb. 1855, p. 
252; from Med. Zeit. Bussland.) Prof. Procter has published a formula for a 
fluid extract, of which the dose is from 15 minims to a fluidrachm. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvii. 233.) 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Sumbul, Br. W 
TABACUM. U.S. 
Tobacco, 
The commercial dried leaves of Nicotiana Tabacum. £7. S. 
Off. Syn. TABACT FOLIA. Leaf Tobacco. The dried leaves of Virginian 
tobacco, Nicotiana Tabacum. Br. 
Tabac, Fr.; Tabak, Germ.; Tobacco, Hal.; Tobaco, Span. 
Nicotiana. Sex.Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Solanacem. 
Gen. Gh. Corolla funnel-shaped, with the border plaited. Stamens inclined. 
Capsules two-valved, two-celled. Willd. 
Nicotiana Tabacum. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1014; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii 
171; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 208, t. 77. The tobacco is an annual plant, with a 
Argo fibrous root, and an erect, round, hairy, viscid stem, which branches near 
the top, and rises from three to six feet in height The leaves are numerous, 
alternate, sessile, and somewhat decurrent, very large, ovate-lanceolate, pointed, 
entire, slightly viscid, and of a pale-green colour. The lowest are often two feet 
long, and six inches broad. The flowers are disposed in loose terminal panicles, 
and are furnished with long, linear, pointed bractes at the divisions of the pedun- 
cle. The calyx is bell-shaped, hairy, somewhat viscid, and divided at its summit 
into five pointed segments. The tube of the corolla is twice as long as the calyx, 
of a greenish hue, swelling at top into an oblong cup, and ultimately expanding 
into a five-lobed, plaited, rose-coloured border. The whole corolla is very viscid 
The filaments incline to one side, and support oblong anthers. The pistil con- 
sists of an oval germ, a slender style longer than the stamens, and a cleft stigma. PART I. 
Tabacum.. 
851 
The fruit is an ovate, two-valved, two-celled capsule, containing numerous reni- 
form seeds, and opening at the summit. The leaves are the part employed. The 
seeds, examined by F. M. Brandt, yielded no narcotic principle, though a pro- 
tein-like substance contained in them was thought, by its decomposition, to 
produce nicotia. (Neues Jahrb. fur Pharm., xxi. 42 ) Prof. Procter also failed 
to find nicotia in the seeds. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 296.) 
There is good reason to believe that this plant is a native of tropical America, 
where it was found by the Spaniards upon their arrival. It is at present culti- 
vated in most parts of the world, and nowhere more abundantly than within the 
limits of the United States. Virginia is, perhaps, the region most celebrated for 
its culture. The young shoots, produced from seeds thickly sown in beds, are 
transplanted into the fields during the month of May, and set in rows with an 
interval of three or four feet between the plants. Through the whole period of 
its growth, the crop requires constant attention. The development of the leaves 
is promoted by removing the top of each plant, and thus preventing it from 
running into flower and seed. The harvest is in August. The ripe plants, hav- 
ing been cut off above their roots, are dried under cover, and then stripped of 
their leaves, which are tied in bundles, and packed in hogsheads. While hung 
up in the drying houses, they undergo a curing process, consisting in exposure 
to a considerable degree of heat, through which they become moist, or in other 
words are said to sweat, after which they are dried for packing. 
Two varieties of this species are mentioned by authors, one with narrow, the 
other with broad leaves ; but they do not differ materially in properties. Great 
diversity in the quality of tobacco is produced by difference of soil and mode of 
cultivation; and several varieties are recognised in commerce. Other species 
also of Nicotiana are cultivated, especially N rustica and N. paniculata, the 
former of which is said to have been the first introduced into Europe, and is 
thought to have been cultivated by the aborigines of this country, as it is natu- 
ralized near the borders of some of our small northern lakes. The N. quadri- 
valvis of Pursh affords tobacco to the Indians of the Missouri and Columbia 
rivers ; and N. fruticosa, a native of China, was probably cultivated in Asia 
before the discovery of this continent by Columbus. The latter species is said 
by Mr. John Le Conte to be that from which the best Cuba tobacco is obtained. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1859; from Proceed, of Acad, of Nat. Sci.) 
Properties. Tobacco, as it occurs in commerce, is of a yellowish-brown colour, 
a strong narcotic penetrating odour which is wanting in the fresh leaves, and a 
bitter, nauseous, and acrid taste. These properties are imparted to water and 
alcohol. They are injured by long boiling; and the extract is, therefore, rela- 
tively feeble. An elaborate analysis of tobacco was made by Yauquelin, who 
discovered in it, among other ingredients, an acrid, volatile, colourless liquid, 
slightly soluble in water, very soluble in alcohol, and supposed to be the active 
principle. It was separated by a complicated process, of which, however, the 
most important step was the distillation of tobacco juice with potassa. In the 
results of this distillation, Yauquelin recognised alkaline properties, which he 
ascribed to ammonia, but which were, in part at least, dependent upon the acrid 
principle alluded to. To this principle the name of nicotin was given ; but its 
alkalinity was not ascertained till a subsequent period. Another substance was 
obtained by Hermstadt by simply distilling water from tobacco, and allowing the 
liquid to stand for several days. A white crystalline matter rose to the surface, 
which, upon being removed, was found to have the odour of tobacco, and to 
resemble it in effects. It was fusible, volatilizable, similar to the nicotin of Vau- 
quelin in solubility, and without alkaline or acid properties. It was called nico- 
tianin by Hermstadt, and appears to partake of the nature of volatile oils. Two 
German chemists, Posselt and Reimann, subsequently analyzed tobacco, and 
ascertained the alkaline nature of its active principle, which, however, neither 
they nor Yauquelin obtained in a state of purity. According to these chemists, 
10,000 parts of the fresh leaves contain 6 parts of an alkaline substance, which 
they call nicotin, 1 of the nicotianin of Hermstadt, 287 of slightly bitter ex- 852 
Tabacum. 
PART r. 
tractive, 174 of gum mixed with a little malate of lime, 26-7 of green resin 26 
of albumen, 104-8 of a substance analogous to gluten, 51 of malic acid, 12 of 
malate of ammonia, 4 8 of sulphate of potassa, 6 3 of chloride of potassium, 9 5 
of potassa, which was combined in the leaves with malic and nitric acids, 16-6 
of phosphate of lime. 24‘2 of lime which had been combined with malic acid, 
8-8 of silica, 496'9 of lignin, traces of starch, and 8828 parts of water. (Ber- 
zelius, Traite de Chimie.) .According to M. E. Goupet, tobacco contains also 
a little citric acid. (C7iem. Gaz., Aug. 1846, p. 319.) The nicotin obtained by 
Vauquelin, and by Posselt and Reimann, was a colourless, volatile liquid, and, 
as subsequently ascertained by Henry and Boutron, was in fact an aqueous solu- 
tion of the alkaline principle in connection with ammonia. It was reserved for 
these chemists to obtain nicotin, or nicotia, as it should now be called, in a state 
of purity. It exists in tobacco combined with an acid in excess, and in this state 
is not volatile.* 
The following was the process employed by the Messrs. Henry and Boutron. 
Five hundred parts of smoking tobacco were exposed to distillation, in connec- 
tion with about 6000 parts of water and 200 parts of caustic soda; the heat 
applied being at first very moderate, and afterwards increased to the boiling 
point. The product of the distillation was received in a vessel containing about 
30 or 40 parts of sulphuric acid, diluted with 3 times its weight of water; and 
the process was continued till nearly one-half of the liquid had come over. The 
product, in which care was taken to preserve a slight excess of acid, was evapo- 
rated to about 100 parts, and then allowed to cool. A slight deposit which had 
formed was separated by filtration, an excess of caustic soda was added, and the 
liquor again distilled. A colourless, very volatile, acrid liquor now came over, 
which, being concentrated under the receiver of an air-pump, lost the ammonia 
which accompanied it, and assumed a syrupy consistence, and more or less of 
the colour of amber. In the liquid, after a few days, minute crystalline plates 
formed; but, in consequence of their affinity for moisture, it was difficult to iso- 
late them. This liquid was pure nicotia. M. Debize obtains it by passing a cur- 
rent of steam through a mixture of tobacco and lime, contained in a cylinder, 
and condensing the vapour by a worm connected with the opposite extremity 
of the cylinder from that at which the steam enters. The resulting liquid, which 
contains the nicotia, together with ammonia and some undetermined bases, is 
neutralized with sulphuric acid, then concentrated, and treated with ammonia 
and ether, by means of which an ethereal solution of nicotia is obtained. As 
this base is insoluble in solution of sulphate of ammonia, the solution of nicotia 
separates, and, rising to the surface, may be removed. The alkaloid may after- 
wards be obtained pure by rectification. (Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1860, p. 281.) 
Nicotia. (Nicotina. Nicotin ) This is a colourless or nearly colourless fluid ; 
of the sp. gr. 1 048; remaining liquid at 22° F.; of little smell when cold; of 
an exceedingly acrid burning taste, even when largely diluted; entirely vola- 
tilizable, and, in the state of vapour, very irritant to the nostrils, with an odour 
recalling that of tobacco;f inflammable; very soluble in water, alcohol, ether, 
the fixed oils, and oil of turpentine; strongly alkaline in its reaction; and capa- 
ble of forming crystallizable salts with the acids. These salts are deliquescent, 
have a burning and acrid taste, and, like the salts of ammonia, lose a portion 
of their base by heat. Nicotia contains a much larger proportion of nitrogen 
* M. Liocke determines the proportion of nicotia in any specimen of tobacco as fol- 
lows. He treats the dry leaves three times successively with water acidulated with sul- 
phuric acid, and evaporates the liquid to the consistence of an extract. The extract is 
agitated with its volume of alcohol, and the tincture is filtered through paper previously 
washed with alcohol. It contains all the nicotia in the state of sulphate. After evapora- 
ting the alcohol, he decomposes the sulphate by caustic potassa in a distillatory appa- 
ratus of glass, which is heated gradually, by means of an oil-bath, to 260° 0., and saturates 
the nicotia received by dilute sulphuric acid. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Dec. 1867, 
p 451.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
f- It boils at 482° F., undergoing, however, partial decomposition in the process; but, 
heated in a stream of hydrogen, it distils over unaltered between 212° and 392° F. (Fre- 
zenius, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 18G7, p. 27.) PART I. 
Tabacum. 
853 
than most of the other organic alkalies. Its formula is and combining 
number consequently 162. In its action on the animal system, it is one of the 
most virulent poisons known. A drop of it, in the state of concentrated solution, 
was sufficient to destroy a dog ; and small birds perished at the approach of a 
tube containing it. In man, it is said to destroy life, in poisonous doses, in from 
two to live minutes. Tannin forms with it a compound of but slight solubility, 
and might be employed as a counter-poison. It exists in tobacco in small pro- 
portion. Henry and Boutron found different varieties of tobacco to give pro- 
ducts varying from 3 8 to 1T28 parts in 1000. It has been found in the seeds, 
and in very small proportion in the root. (See Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 689.) 
There can be little doubt that tobacco owes its activity to this alkaloid.* It has 
been employed as a poison. For a very interesting account of it in all its toxi- 
cological relations, the reader is referred to a memoir by Orfila, translated by 
Dr. Lee, and published in the N. Y. Journ. of Med. (N. S., ix. 112, 219, and 
369). A more recent paper on the same subject, by Dr. A. S. Taylor, is con- 
tained iu the Pharmaceutical Journal for June, 1859 (p. 620). Nicotia has 
the remarkable property of resisting decomposition amid the decaying tissues 
of the body, and was detected by Orfila in the bodies of animals destroyed by 
it two or three months after their death. Prof. F. F. Mayer, of New York, has 
concluded from his experiments, that nicotia is the active principle iu all parts 
of the plant both before and after curing. (Proc. Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1865.) 
Nicotianin is probably the odorous principle of tobacco. Posselt and Rei- 
mann prepared it by distilling six pounds of the fresh leaves with twelve pounds 
of water, till one-half of the liquid passed over, then adding six pounds more of 
water, and again distilling, and repeating this process three times. The nico- 
tianin was obtained to the amount of eleven grains, floating on the surface of 
the water. It was a fatty substance, having the smell of tobacco-smoke, and an 
aromatic somewhat bitter taste. It was volatilizable by heat, insoluble in water, 
soluble in alcohol and ether, and not affected by the dilute acids, but dissolved 
by* solution of potassa. This was not obtained by Henry and Boutron. It pro- 
duces sneezing when applied to the nostrils, and a grain of it swallowed by 
Hermstadt occasioned giddiness and nausea. 
The presence of sulphuretted hydrogen and hydrocyanic acid in tobacco- 
smoke has been demonstrated by Dr. A. Yogel and C. Reischauer. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm , Jan. 1859, p. 76.) 
When distilled at a temperature above that of boiling water, tobacco affords 
an empyreumatic oil, which Mr. Brodie proved to be a most virulent poison. A 
single drop, injected into the rectum of a cat, occasioned death in about five 
minutes, and double the quantity, administered in the same manner to a dog, 
was followed by the same result. This oil is of a dark-brown colour, and an 
acrid taste, and has a very peculiar smell, exactly resembling that of tobacco- 
pipes which have been much used. It has been shown to contain nicotia. 
(Ann. de Ghim. et de Phys., 3e ser., ix. 465.) 
It is quite certain that tobacco leaves undergo considerable chemical changes 
during the processes of curing, and preparation for use. Thus, the characteristic 
odour of ordinary tobacco is entirely different from that of the fresh leaves, 
and must be owing to the generation of a new volatile principle. The propor- 
* M. Schloesing obtained a much larger proportion than that stated above, by the fol- 
lowing process. Tobacco is exhausted by boiling water, the infusion evaporated to a semi- 
solid consistence, and the extract shaken with twice its volume of alcohol of 36°. Two 
layers form, of which the upper contains all the nicotia. This is decanted, most of the 
alcohol evaporated, and alcohol anew added in order to precipitate certain matters. The 
extract is treated with a concentrated solution of potassa, and, after cooling, is shaken 
with etl er, which dissolves the nicotia. To the ethereal solution powdered oxalic acid is 
added, which unites with the nicotia, and separates in the form of a syrupy mass. This, 
being washed with ether, treated with potassa, taken up by water, and distilled in a water- 
bath, yields the nicotia, which may be obtained pure by rectification in a current of hy- 
drogen. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., xii. 157.) Orfila, in his memoir on nicotia, states that 
Havana tobacco yields 2 per cent, of this alkaloid, Maryland 2-3 per cent., and Virginia 
6 si per cent. 854 
Tabacum. 
FART I 
tion, too, of nicotia contained in prepared tobacco is asserted to be greater 
than in the fresh. It appears that a kind of fermentation takes place in the 
leaves, by which certain pre-existing principles are converted into nicotianin 
and possibly nicotia. A similar change is probably produced during the com- 
bustion of tobacco; for M. Malapert obtained, from the condensed products of 
a portion of common French smoking tobacco which he burned, as much as 9 
per cent, of nicotia, while the proportion obtained by the ordinary process 
seldom exceeds 2 per cent., and the highest proportion of which we have seen 
any account is 6 9 per cent. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 119.) It has 
even been made a question, whether nicotia exists at all in the fresh growing 
leaves; but this question has been experimentally decided in the affirmative by 
Prof. Procter {Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 300); and Prof. Mayer, 
of N. York, has experimentally determined that the nicotia exists as largely 
in the plant before as after curing; indeed, believes that it is somewhat dimin- 
ished in the process, probably in part if not altogether by volatilization. (Ibid,., 
A. D. 1865.) 
The distinguishing character of tobacco, as given in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
is that, when distilled with solution of potassa, it yields an alkaline fluid, having 
the peculiar odour of nicotia, and giving precipitates with perchloride of pla- 
tinum and tincture of galls. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tobacco unites, with the powers of a sedative 
narcotic, those of an emetic and diuretic; and produces these effects to a greater 
or less extent to whatever surface it may be applied. In addition, when snuffed 
up the nostrils, it excites violent sneezing and a copious secretion of mucus; 
when chewed, it irritates the mucous membrane of the mouth, and increases the 
flow of saliva; and, when injected into the rectum, it sometimes operates as a 
cathartic. Moderately taken, it quiets restlessness, calms mental and corporeal 
inquietude, and produces a state of general languor or repose, which has great 
charms for those habituated to the impression. In larger quantities, it gives 
rise to confusion of the head, vertigo, stupor, faintness, nausea, vomiting, and 
general depression of the nervous and circulatory funcHons, which, if increased, 
eventuates in alarming and even fatal prostration. The symptoms of its excess- 
ive action are severe retching, with the most distressing and continued nausea, 
great feebleness of pulse, coolness of the skin, fainting, and sometimes convul- 
sions. It probably operates both through the medium of the nervous system, 
arid by entering the circulation. As its local action is stimulant, we can thus 
account for the fact, that it excites the function of the kidneys, at the same 
time that it reduces the nervous and secondarily the arterial power. The experi- 
ments of Brodie lead to the inference that the function of the heart is affected 
by tobacco, through the medium of the nervous system; for, in a decapitated 
animal in which the circulation was sustained bv artificial respiration, the infu- 
sion injected into the rectum did notdiminish the action of the heart; while, on 
the contrary, this organ almost immediately ceased to contract, when unequal 
dose of the poison was administered to a healthy animal. M>\ Brodie observed 
a remarkable difference between the operation of the infusion and that of the 
empyreuiuatic oil. After death from the former the heart was found completely 
quiescent, while it continued to act with regularity for a considerable time after 
apparent death from the latter. We may infer from this fact, either that there 
are two poisonous principles in tobacco, or that a new narcotic product is formed 
during its destructive distillation. In cases of poisoning from tobacco, the indi- 
cations are, after the evacuation of the poison, to support the system by external 
and internal stimulants, and to allay irritation of stomach by opiates. 
The use of tobacco was adopted by the Spaniards from the American Indians. 
In the year 1560, it was introduced into France by the Ambassador of that 
country at the court of Lisbon, whose name—Nicot—has been perpetuated in 
the generic title of the plant. Sir Walter Raleigh is said to have introduced 
the practice of smoking into England. In the various modes of smoking, chew- 
ing, and snuffing, the drug is now largely consumed in every country on the PART i. 
Tabacum. 
855 
globe. It must have properties peculiarly adapted to the propensities of our 
nature, to have thus surmounted the first repugnance to its odour and taste, 
and to have become the passion of so many millions. When employed in ex- 
cess, it enfeebles digestion, produces emaciation and general debility, and lays 
the foundation of serious nervous disorders. The late Dr. Chapman informed 
us that he had met with several instances of mental disorder, closely resembling 
delirium tremens, which resulted from its abuse, and which subsided in a few 
days after it had been abandoned; and Dr. Kirkbride, in the Annual Report 
of the Pennsylvania Hospital for the Insane for 1850, refers to four cases of 
insanity, the origin of which was ascribed to the abuse of tobacco. Among 
the ill effects ascribed to the habitual excessive use of tobacco, are premature 
gray hairs and baldness. (Dr. D. B. Hoffman, Med. Record., Sept. 1, 1868; 
from Pacific Med. and Surg. Journ.) In the form of snuff, tobacco is some- 
times so much contaminated with lead, in consequence of being kept in leaden 
boxes, as to endanger the poisonous effects of that metal. In different kinds 
of snuff, Dr. A Vogel has found from 0 014 to 1 025 per cent, of lead. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 422.) 
Its remedial employment is less extensive than might be inferred from the 
variety of its powers. The excessive and distressing nausea which it is apt to 
occasion, interferes with its internal use ; and it is very seldom administered by 
the stomach. As a narcotic it is employed chiefly to produce relaxation in spas- 
modic affections. For this purpose the infusion or smoke of tobacco, or the 
leaf in substance in the shape of a suppository, is introduced into the rectum in 
cases of strangulated hernia, obstinate constipation from spasm of the bowels, 
and retention of urine from a spasmodic stricture of the urethra. For a similar 
purpose, the powdered tobacco, or common snuff, mixed with simple cerate, as 
recommended by the late Dr. Godman, is sometimes applied to the throat and 
breast in cases of croup; and Dr. Chapman directed the smoking of a cigar in 
the same complaint, with decided benefit. One of the worst cases of spasm of 
the rima glottidis which we have seen, and which resisted powerful depletion by 
the lancet, yielded to the application of a tobacco cataplasm to the throat. A 
similar application to the abdomen is highly recommended in painters’ colic, and 
has proved useful in hysterical convulsions. Tetanus is said to have been cured 
by baths made with the decoction of the fresh leaves; and an infusion of the leaves 
has been given internally with success in a caseof poisoning by strychnia. {Dub. 
Med. Press, June 23, 1858.) The relaxation produced by smoking, in a person 
unaccustomed to it, was very happily resorted to by Dr. Physick, in a case of 
obstinate and long-continued dislocation of the jaw; and the same remedy has 
frequently been found useful in the paroxysm of spasmodic asthma. Tobacco 
has been highly recommended, in the form of cataplasm, in articular gout and 
rheumatism; and has been employed in the same way, as well as by injection, 
in cases of obstinate verminose affections. As an emetic it is seldom employed, 
unless in the shape of a cataplasm to the epigastrium, to assist the action of in- 
ternal medicines, in cases of great insensibility of stomach. As a diuretic it was 
used by Fowler in dropsy and dysury; but the practice is not often imitated. 
There is no better errhine than tobacco, for the ordinary purposes for which this 
class of medicines is employed. As a sialagogue, it is beneficial in rheumatism 
of the jaws, and often relieves toothache by its anodyne action. It is also used 
externally, in the shape of cataplasm, infusion, or ointment, in cases of tinea 
capitis, psora, and some other cutaneous affections. The empyreumatic oil mixed 
with simple ointment, in the proportion of twenty drops to the ounce, has been 
applied with advantage, by American practitioners, to indolent tumours and 
ulcers; but, in consequence of its liability to be absorbed, and to produce un- 
pleasant effects on the system, it should be used with great caution. (See Oleum 
Tabaci.) This remark is applicable to all the modes of employing tobacco; 
particularly to the injection of the infusion into the rectum, which has caused 
death in several instances. It is even more dangerous than a proportionate 
quantity introduced into the stomach; as, in the latter case, the poison is more 856 
Tabacum.— Tamarindus. 
PART I. 
apt to be rejected. Even the external application of the leaves or powder is not 
without danger, especially when the cuticle is removed. A case of death is on 
record, occurring in a child eight years old, in consequence of the application 
of the expressed juice of the leaves to the head, for the cure of tinea capitis. 
Death has also been produced by the inhalation of the smoke. 
Five or six grains of powdered tobacco will generally act as an emetic; but 
the remedy is not given in this shape. The infusion used in dropsy by Fowler 
was made in the proportion of an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and given 
in the dose of sixty or eighty drops. The officinal infusion, which is employed 
for injection, is much weaker. (See Infusum Tabaci.) A wine and an ointment 
of tobacco are directed by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Off. Prep. Enema Tabaci, Br.; Infusum Tabaci, U.S.; Oleum Tabaci, U.S.; 
Unguentum Tabaci, U.S.; Vinum Tabaci, U.S. W. 
TAMARINDUS. U.S.,Br. 
Tamarind. 
The preserved fruit of Tamarindus Indica. U. S. The preserved pulp of the 
fruit. Br. 
Tamarins, Fr.; Tamarinden, Germ.; Tamarindi, Hal.; Tamarindos, Span. 
Tamaiundus. Sex. Syst. Monadelphia Triandria. — Nat Ord. Fabacese or 
Leguininosae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx four-parted. Petals three. Nectary with two short bristles 
under the filaments. Legume filled with pulp. Willd. 
Tamarindus Indica. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 577 ; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 448, 
t. 161. The tamarind tree is the only species of this genus. It rises to a great 
height, sends off numerous spreading branches, and has a beautiful appearance. 
The trunk is erect, thick, and covered with a rough, ash-coloured bark. The 
leaves are alternate and pinnate, composed of many pairs of opposite leaflets, 
which are almost sessile, entire, oblong, obtuse, unequal at their base, about 
half an inch long by a sixth of an inch broad, and of a yellowish-green colour. 
The flowers, which are in small lateral racemes, have a yellowish calyx, and yel- 
low petals beautifully variegated with red veins. The fruit is a broad, com- 
pressed, reddish ash-coloured pod, much curved, from two to six inches long, 
with numerous brown, flat, quadrangular seeds, contained in cells formed by a 
tough membrane. Exterior to this membrane is a light-coloured acid pulpy 
matter, between which and the shell are several tough ligneous strings, running 
from the stem to the extremity of the pod, the attachment of which they serve 
to strengthen. The shells are fragile and easily separated. 
Tamarindus Indica appears to be a native of the East and West Indies, Egypt, 
and Arabia, though believed by some to have been imported into America Dr. 
Barth, the African traveller, found it abundant in the interior of Africa, and one 
of the greatest ornaments of Negroland. (Travels in A frica. Am. ed., 1857, i. 
418.) De Candolle is doubtful whether the East and West India trees are of 
the same species. It is stated by writers that the pods of the former are much 
larger than those of the latter, and have a greater number of seeds; the East 
India tamarinds containing six or seven, those from the West Indies rarely more 
than three or four. We found, however, in a parcel of the latter in our posses- 
sion, numerous pods with from eight to ten seeds, and the number generally 
exceeded four The fruit is the officinal portion. 
Tamarinds are brought to us chiefly, if not exclusively, from the West Indies, 
where they are prepared by placing the pods, previously deprived of their shell, 
in layers in a cask, and pouring boiling syrup over them. A better mode, some- 
times practised, is to place them in stone jars, with alternate layers of powdered 
sugar. They are said to be occasionally prepared in copper boilers. 
Properties. Fresh tamarinds, which are sometimes, though rarely, brought 
to this country, have an agreeable sour taste, without any mixture of sweetness. 
As we usually find them, in the preserved state, they form a dark-coloured ad- PART I. 
lamarindus.— Tanacetum. 
857 
hesive mass, consisting of syrup mixed with the pulp, membrane, strings, and 
seeds of the pod, and of a swuet acidulous taste. The seeds should be hard, 
clean, and not swollen, the strings tough and entire, and the smell without musti- 
ness. From the analysis of Yauquelin, it appears that in 100 parts of the pulp 
of tamarinds, independently of the sugar added to them, there are 9 40 parts of 
citric acid, 1 55 of tartaric acid, 045 of malic acid, 325 of bitartrate of potassa, 
4-70 of gum, 6-25 of jelly, 34-35 of parenchymatous matter, and 2755 of water; 
so that the acidity is owing chiefly to citric acid. It is said that copper may some- 
times be detected in preserved tamarinds, derived from the boilers in which they 
are occasionally prepared. Its presence may be ascertained by the reddish coat 
which it imparts to the blade of a knife immersed in the tamarinds. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tamarinds are laxative and refrigerant, and 
infused in water form a highly grateful drink in febrile diseases. Convalescents 
often find the pulp a pleasant addition to their diet, and useful by preserving 
the bowels in a loose condition. It is sometimes prescribed in connection with 
other mild cathartics, and is one of the ingredients in the confection of senna. 
Though frequently given with infusion of senna to cover its taste, it is said to 
weaken its purgative power; and the same observation has been made of its 
influence upon the resinous cathartics in general. From a drachm to an ounce 
or more may be taken at a dose. 
Off. Peep. Confectio Sennae. W. 
TANACETUM. TJ. S. Secondary. 
Tansy. 
The herb of Tanacetum vulgare. U. S. 
Tanaisie, Fr.; Gemeiijor Bheinfarrn, Wurmkraut, Germ.; Tanaceto, Jtal., Spun. 
Tanacetum. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia Superflua. — Nat.Ord. Compositse- 
Senecionideae, Be Candolle; Asteraceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Pappus somewhat emarginate. Calyx imbri- 
cate, hemispherical. Corolla rays obsolete, trifid. Willd. 
Tanacetum vulgare. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1814; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 66, 
t. 27. This is a perennial herbaceous plant, rising two or three feet in height. 
The stems are strong, erect,obscurely hexagonal,striated,often reddish,branched 
towards the summit, and furnished with alternate, doubly pinnatifid leaves, the 
divisions of which are notched or deeply serrate. The flowers are yellow, and 
in dense terminal corymbs Each flower is composed of numerous florets, of 
which those constituting the disk are perfect and five-cleft, those of the ray very 
few, pistillate, and trifid. The calyx consists of small, imbricated, lanceolate 
leaflets, having a dry, scaly margin. The seeds are small, oblong, with five or 
six ribs, and crowned with a membranous pappus. 
Tansy is cultivated in our gardens, and grows wild in the roads and in old 
fields; but was introduced from Europe, where it is indigenous. It is in flower 
from July to September. 
There is a variety of the plant with curled leaves, which is said to be more 
grateful to the stomach than that above described, but has less of the peculiar 
sensible properties of the herb, and is probably less active. 
The odour of tansy is strong, peculiar, and fragrant, but much diminished by 
drying; the taste is warm, bitter, somewhat acrid, and aromatic. These pro- 
perties are imparted to water and alcohol. According to Eeschicr, the leaves 
contain volatile oil, fixed oil, wax or stearin, chlorophyll, yellow resin, yellow 
colouring matter, tannic and gallic acids, bitter extractive, gum, lignin, and a 
peculiar acid which he calls tanacetic, and which precipitates lime, baryta, oxide 
of lead, and oxide of copper. The medical virtues of the plant depend on the 
bitter extractive and volatile oil. The latter, when separated by distillation, has 
a greenish-yellow colour, with the flavour of the plant, is lighter than water, 
and deposits camphor upon standing. The seeds contain the largest proportion 
of the bitter principle, and the least of volatile oil. According to Zeller, one 858 
Tanacelum.— Tapioca. 
PART I 
pound of the fresh herb, in flower, yields upon an average twenty four grains 
of oil. (Cent Blatt, 1855, p. 206.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tansy has the medical properties of the aro- 
matic bitters. It has been recommended in intermittents, hysteria, amenorrhoea, 
and as a preventive of arthritic paroxysms; but at present it is chiefly used as 
an anthelmintic, and in this country is little employed, for any purpose, in regu- 
lar practice. The seeds are said to be most effectual as a vermifuge. The leaves 
have proved, in the hands of Dr. C. Prentice Uhle, to possess extraordinary 
powers as a local remedy in arresting epistaxis, the simple odour being some- 
times sufficient to check the hemorrhage. (Med. and Surg. Reporter, May 25, 
1867, p. 442.) The dose of the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm two 
or three times a day; but the infusion is more frequently administered. A fatal 
case of poisoning with half an ounce of oil of tansy is recorded in the Medical 
Magazine for November, 1834. Frequent and violent clonic spasms were ex- 
perienced, with much disturbance of respiration ; and the action of the heart 
gradual!}' became weaker till death took place from its entire suspension. No 
inflammation of the stomach or bowels was discovered upon dissection. (Am. 
Journ. of the Med. Sci., xvi. 256 ) Two other fatal cases have since been re 
corded, one in which more than a fluidounce was taken, the other only a 
fluidrachm. In both death followed speedily, preceded by coma and violent 
convulsions. In two of the three cases above referred to, the oil seems to have 
been taken to produce abortion, but no such effect followed in either. (Ibid., 
xxiii. 136, and xxiv. 279.) Dr. Pendleton records a case, in which death re- 
sulted to a negress of twenty-one from a considerable quantity of strong de- 
coction of tansy taken internally. W. 
TAPIOCA. TJ.S. 
Tapioca. 
The fecula of the root of Janipha Manihot. U. S. 
Janipha. Sex. Syst. Moncecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Euphorhiacese. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx campanulate, five-parted. Stamens ten, distinct, alternately 
shorter. Stigmas three, many-lobed. Fruit three-celled, with solitary seeds 
(Lindlev, Med. and (Econom. Bot., 82.) 
Botanists have generally followed Kunth in separating this genus from Ja- 
tropha. Its name was derived from the Indian designation of another species. 
Janipha Manihot. Curtis’s Bot. Mag. 3071.—Jatropha Manihot. Willd. Sp. 
Plant, iv. 562. This is the cassava plant of the West Indies, the mandioca or 
tapioca of Brazil. It is a shrub about six or eight feet high, with a very large, 
white, fleshy, tuberous root, which often weighs thirty pounds. The stem is 
round, jointed, and furnished at its upper part with alternate petiolate leaves, 
deeply divided into three, five, or seven oval-lanceolate, very acute lobes, which 
are somewhat wavy upon their borders, deep-green on their upper surface, glau- 
cotis and whitish beneath. The flowers are in axillary racemes. 
Janipha Manihot is a native of South America, and is cultivated extensively in 
the West Indies, Brazil and other parts of tropical America, and in Liberia, for 
the sake of its root, which is much employed as an article of food. The plant is 
of quick growth, and the root arrives at perfection in about eight months. There 
are two varieties, distinguished by the names of sweet and hitter. The root of the 
former may be eaten with impunity; that of the latter, which is most extensively 
cultivated, abounds in an acrid milky juice, which renders it highly poisonous if 
eaten in the recent state. By MM. Henry and Boutron-Charlard it has been 
ascertained that the bitter cassava owes its poisonous properties to hydro- 
cyanic acid. (Journ. dePharm.,xx ii. 119.) Both varieties contain alarge propor- 
tion of starch. The root is prepared for use by washing, scraping, and grating 
or grinding it into a pulp, which, in the bitter variety, is submitted to pressure 
so as to separate the deleterious juice. It is now in the state of meal or pow- 
der, which is made into bread, cakes, or puddings. As the poisonous prin- PART i. 
Tapioca.— Taraxacum. 
859 
ciple is volatile, the portion which may have remained in the meal is entirely 
dissipated by the heat employed in cooking. The preparation denominated 
tapioca among us is obtained from the expressed juice. This, upon standing, 
deposits a powder, which, after repeated washings with cold water, is nearly 
pure starch. It is dried by exposure to heat, which renders it partly soluble in 
cold water, and enables it to assume its characteristic consistence. When dried 
without heat, it is pulverulent, and closely resembles the fecula of arrow-root. 
Tapioca is in irregular, hard, white, rough grains, possessing little taste, par- 
tially soluble in cold water, and affording a fine blue colour when iodine is added 
to its filtered solution. The partial solubility in cold water is owing to the 
rupture of the starch-granules by heat. Examined under the microscope, the 
granules appear partly broken, partly entire. The latter are muller-shaped, 
about the two-thousandth of an inch in diameter, more uniform in size than the 
granules of most other varieties of fecula, with a distinct hilum, which is sur- 
rounded by rings, and cracks in a stellate manner. Tapioca meal, called some- 
times Brazilian arrow-root, and by the French moussache, is the fecula dried 
without heat. Its granules are identical with those already described Being 
nutritious, and at the same time easy of digestion, and destitute of irritating 
properties, tapioca forms an excellent diet for the sick and convalescent. It is 
prepared for use by boiling it in water. Lemon-juice and sugar are usually 
grateful additions; and in low states of disease or cases of debility, it may be 
advantageously impregnated with wine and nutmeg or other aromatic. 
A factitious tapioca is found in the shops, consisting of very small, smooth, 
spherical grains, and supposed to be prepared from potato starch. It is sold 
under the name of pearl tapioca. W. 
TARAXACUM. U.S. 
Dandelion. 
The root, gathered in the autumn, of Taraxacum Dens-leonis. U. S. 
Off.Syn. TARAXACI RADIX. Dandelion Boot. The fresh and dried roots 
of Taraxacum Dens Leonis, gathered between September and February. Br. 
Pisserflit, Dent de lion, Fr.; Lowenzahn, Germ.; Tarassaco, Ital.; Diente de leon, Span 
Leontodon. Sex. Syst. Syngenesia AHqualis.— Nat. Ord. Compositm-Cicho- 
raceae, De Candolle; Cichoraceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Receptacle naked. Calyx double. Seed-down stipitate, hairy. Willd. 
Leontodon Taraxacum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iii. 1544; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 39, 
t. 16. — Taraxacum Dens-leonis. De Cand. Prodrom. vii. 145. The dandelion 
is an herbaceous plant, with a perennial fusiform root. The leaves, which spring 
immediately from the root, are long, pinnatilid, generally runcinate, with the di- 
visions toothed, smooth, and of a line green colour. The common name of the 
plant was derived from the fancied resemblance of its leaves to the teeth of 
a lion. The flower-stem rises from the midst of the leaves, six inches or more 
in height. It is erect, simple, naked, smooth, hollow, fragile, and terminated by 
a large golden-coloured flower, which closes in the evening, and expands with 
the returning light of the sun. The calyx is smooth and double, with the outer 
scales bent downwards. The florets are very numerous, ligulate, and toothed at 
their extremities. The receptacle is convex and punctured. The seed-down is 
stipitate, and at the period of maturity is disposed in a spherical form, and is so 
light and feathery as to be easily borne away by the wind, with the seeds attached. 
This species of Leontodon grows spontaneously in most parts of the globe. 
It is abundant in this country, adorning our grass-plats and pasture-grounds 
with its bright-yellow flowers, which, in moist places, show themselves with 
the first opening of spring, and continue to appear till near the close of summer. 
All parts of the plant contain a milky bitterish juice, which exudes when they 
are broken or wounded. The leaves, when very young and blanched by the ab- 
sence of light during their growth, are tender and not unpleasant to the taste, 
and on the continent of Europe are sometimes used as a salad. When older and 860 
Taraxacum. 
PART I. 
of their natural colour, they are medicinal. The Pharmacopoeias recognise only 
the root, which is by far the most efficacious part. It should be full grown when 
collected, and should be employed in the recent state, as it is then most active. 
It does not, however, as stated by Duncan, lose nearly all its bitterness by dry- 
ing; and the root dug up in the warmer seasons might, if dried with care, be 
employed with propriety in the succeeding winter. The juice of the root is thin 
and watery in the spring; milky, bitter, and spontaneously coagulable in the 
latter part of summer and autumn; and sweet and less bitter in the winter, 
when affected by the frost. The months of July, August, and September are, 
therefore, the proper periods for collecting it. 
The fresh full-grown root of the dandelion is several inches in length, as thick 
as the little finger or thicker, round and tapering, somewhat branched, of a 
light-brown colour externally, whitish within, having a yellowish ligneous cord 
running through its centre, and abounding in a milky juice. In the dried state 
it is dark-brown, much shrunk, wrinkled longitudinally,brittle,and when broken 
presents a shining somewhat resinous fracture. A transverse section exhibits an 
exterior cortical portion, thick, spongy, whitish, and marked with concentric 
rings, and a smaller central portion, ligneous and yellow; though in very old 
roots the latter is sometimes wanting. It is without smell, but has a sweetish, 
mucilaginous, bitterish, herbaceous taste. Its active properties are yielded to 
water by boiling, and do not appear to be injured in the process. The milky 
juice,examined by John,was found to contain bitter extractive, gum,caoutchouc, 
saline matters, a trace of resin, and a free acid. Besides these ingredients, starch 
or inulin, and saccharine matter exist in the root. Mannite, which has been 
found in the-infusion of the root, has been demonstrated by the Messrs. Smith, 
of Edinburgh, not to pre-exist in the root, but to be formed by spontaneous 
changes consequent on exposure. A crystallizable principle has been extracted 
from the juice of the root by M. Pollex, who has named it taraxacin. It is 
bitter and somewhat acrid, fusible but not volatile, sparingly soluble in cold 
water, but very soluble in boiling water, alcohol, and ether. It is obtained by 
boiling the milky juice in distilled water, filtering the concentrated liquor, and 
allowing it to evaporate spontaneously in a warm place. The taraxacin crystal- 
lizes, and may be purified by repeated solution and crystallization in alcohol or 
water. According to Vogel, the intra-cellular substance of the root consists 
chiefly ofpectose, which is the result of a metamorphosis of the substance con- 
stituting the membrane of the cells. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1864, p. 862.) 
The root of Aspargia lnspida has been largely substituted for dandelion in 
England by the herb gatherers (Pharm. Journ., xi. 107); and we are informed 
that a similar fraudulent substitution is not unfrequent, in this country, of the 
root of Gichorium Intibus, or chicory. This is distinguishable from the genu- 
ine root by its lighter colour, and greater bitterness. For a particular account 
of the characteristic properties of the root, by which it may be distinguished 
from all others, the reader is referred to an article by Mr. K. Bentley, in the 
Pharmaceutical Journal (xvi. 304). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Taraxacum is slightly tonic, diuretic, and 
aperient, and is thought to have a specific action upon the liver, excitingit when 
languid to secretion, and resolving its chronic engorgements. It has been much 
employed in Germany, and is a popular remedy with many practitioners in this 
country. The diseases to which it appears to be especially applicable, are those 
connected with derangement of the hepatic apparatus,and of the digestive organs 
generally. In congestion and chronic inflammation of the liver and spleen, in 
cases of suspended or deficient biliary secretion, and in dropsical affections de- 
pendent on obstruction of the abdominal viscera, it appears to be capable of 
doing good, if employed with a due regard to the degree of excitement. Our 
own experience is in its favour. An irritable condition of the stomach and 
bowels, and the existence of acute inflammation, contraindicate its employment. 
It is usually given in the form of extract or decoction, though some prefer the 
infusion. (See these preparations in Part II.) Bitartrate of potassa is sometimes Taraxacum.— Terebimhina. 
861 
part I. 
added to the decoction when an aperient effect is desired; and aromatics will 
occasionally be found useful in correcting a tendency to griping or flatulence. 
The dried root is sometimes mixed, in powder, with ground coffee, the taste ol 
which covers that of the dandelion. It is also used as a substitute for coffee, 
being powdered and roasted, and then prepared in the same manner. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Taraxaci, Br.; Extractum Taraxaci; Extractum Tar- 
axaci Fluidum, U.S.; Infusum Taraxaci, U.S.; Succus Taraxaci, Br. W. 
TEREBINTHINA. U. S. 
Turpentine. 
The concrete juice of Pinus palustris, and of other species of Pinus. U. S. 
Off. Syn. THUS AMERICANUM. Common Frankincense. The con- 
crete turpentine of Pinus Taeda, the Frankincense pine, and Pinus palustris, 
the Swamp pine. From the Southern States of North America. Br. 
TEREBINTHINA CANADENSIS. U.S.,Br. 
Canada Turpentine. Balsam of Fir. 
The juice of Abies balsamea. U. S. Canada Balsam. The turpentine obtained 
by incision from the stem. Br. 
Terebenthine, Fr.; Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina, Ital., Span. 
The term turpentine is usually applied to certain vegetable juices, liquid or 
concrete, which consist of resin combined with a peculiar essential oil, called oil 
of turpentine. They are generally procured from different species of pine, hr, or 
larch ; though other trees afford products which are known by the same general 
title, as for instance Pistacia Terebinthus, which yields the Chian turpentine. 
Some French writers extend the name of turpentine to other juices consisting 
of resin and essential oil, without benzoic or cinnamic acid, as copaiba, balm of 
Gilead, &c. We shall describe particularly, in this place, only the turpentines 
which are either now officinal, or have but recently ceased to be so. A brief 
botanical view of the plants from which they are respectively derived, will be in 
accordance with the plan of this work. It is proper first to observe that the 
original genus Pinus of Linnaeus has been divided into the three genera, Pinus, 
Abies, and Larix, which are now very generally recognised, though Lindley 
unites the two latter in his Flora Medica. 
Pinus. Sex. Syst Monoecia Monadelphia. — Nat. Ord. Pinaceae or Coniferae. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers monoecious. Males. Catkins racemose, compact, and ter- 
minal ; squamose; the scales staminiferous attheapex. Stamens two; the anthers 
one-cellcd. Females Catkins or cones simple, imbricated with acuminate scales. 
Ovaries two. Stigmas glandular Scales of the cone oblong, club-shaped,woody; 
umbilicato-angular at the apex. Seeds in pairs, covered with a sharp-pointed 
membrane. Cotyledons digitato-partite. Leaves two or many, in the same sheath. 
(Pereira's Mat. Med.; from Bot. Gall.) 
1. Pinus palustris. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 499. — P. Australis. Michaux, N. 
Am. Sylv. iii. 133. “ Leaves in threes, very long; stipules pinnatifid ramenta- 
ceous, persistent; strobiles subcylindrical, armed with sharp prickles.” 
This is a very large indigenous tree, growing in dry, sandy soils, from the 
southern part of Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico. Its mean elevation is sixty or 
seventy feet, and the diameter of its trunk about fifteen or eighteen inches for 
two-thirds of this height. The leaves are about a foot in length, of a brilliant 
green colour, and united in bunches at the ends of the branches. The names by 
which the tree is known in the Southern States are long-leaved pine, yellow 
pine, and pitch pine ; but the first is most appropriate, as the last two are ap- 
plied also to other species. This tree furnishes by far the greater proportion of 
the turpentine, tar, &c. consumed in the United States, or sent from this to 
other countries. (See Pix Liquida ) 862 
Terebinthina. 
PART I. 
2. Pin us Tseda. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 498; Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 156 
“Leaves in threes, elongated, with elongated sheaths; strobiles oblong-coni- 
cal, deflexed, shorter than the leaf; spines indexed.” 
This is the loblolly, or old field pine of the Southern States. It is abundant 
in Virginia, where it occupies the lands exhausted by cultivation. It exceeds 
eighty feet in height, has a trunk two or three feet in diameter, and expands 
into a wide spreading top. The leaves are about six inches long, and of a lights 
green colour. It yields turpentine in abundance, but less fluid than that which 
flows from the preceding species. 
3. Pinus sylvestris. Willd. Sp Plant, iv. 494; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 1, t. 1 ; 
Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii p. 125. “Leaves in pairs, rigid; strobiles ovate- 
conical, of the length of the leaves; scales echinate.” 
This tree, when of full size, is eighty feet high, with a trunk four or five 
feet in diameter. It inhabits the northern and mountainous parts of Europe. 
In Great Britain it is called the wild pine or Scotch fir; the latter name hav- 
ing been given to it from its abundance in the mountains of Scotland. It yields 
a considerable proportion of the common European turpentine. 
In Germany a fibrous substance is prepared from the leaves of this, and other 
species of Pinus and Abies, called fir-wool, and a volatile oil is distilled from 
them called fir-wool oil, which is considerably used, both internally and locally, 
as a remedy for rheumatism, palsy, chronic catarrh, chronic skin diseases, &c., 
indeed for the same purposes generally as the oil of turpentine. (See Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., May, 1863, p. 274.) This oil l’esinifies on exposure, like oil of tur- 
pentine, and varies in sp. gr. from 0*876 to 0*912, according to its source. Its 
dose, when it is used internally, is from fifteen to twenty drops. An extract 
of the leaves, denominated fir-wool extract, is used for similar purposes. The 
leaves are made also into wadding and clothing, designated as fir-wool from 
their origin, which are supposed to have some merit in the treatment of simi- 
lar affections. {Ibid., March, 1867, p. 178.) 
Besides the pines above described, various others yield medicinal products. 
Pinus maritima (P. Pinaster of Aiton and Lambert), growing in the southern 
and maritime parts of Europe, yields much of the turpentine, pitch, and tar con- 
sumed in France, and is admitted among the officinal plants in the French Codex. 
From the branches of Pinus Pumilio, which inhabits the mountains of eastern 
and southeastern Europe, a terebinthinate juice exudes spontaneously, called 
Hungarian balsam. Pinus Gembra, or the Siberian stone pine of the Alps 
and Carpathian mountains, is said to afford the product called Carpathian 
balsam ; and the seeds both of that species, and of Pinus Pinea, or stone-pine 
of the south of Europe and north of Africa, are used in Europe in desserts, 
under the name of pine nuts. Pinus Lambertiana, of California, produces by 
exudation a saccharine matter, which has been found to contain a peculiar 
sweet principle called pinite. (Comptes Rendus, Sept. 1855 ) The Pinus 
rigida, or pitch pine of this country, and probably others besides those men- 
tioned, are sometimes employed in the preparation of tar. 
Abies. See FIX BURGUNDICA. 
Abies balsamea. Lindley, FI or. Med. p. 554. —A. balsamifera. Michaux, N. 
A. Sylv. iii. 191. — Pinus balsamea. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 504. “Leaves soli- 
tary, flat, emarginate or entire, glaucous beneath, somewhat pectinate, sub- 
erect above, recurved spreading; cones cylindrical, erect; bractes abbreviate, 
obovate, conspicuously mucronate, sub-serrulate.” 
This is the American silver fir, or balm of Gilead tree, inhabiting Canada, 
Nova Scotia, Maine, and the mountainous regions further south. It is an ele- 
gant tree, seldom rising more than forty feet, with a tapering trunk, and nu- 
merous branches, which diminish in length in proportion to their height, and 
form an almost perfect pyramid. The leaves are six or eight lines long, in- 
serted in rows on the sides and tops of the branches, narrow, flat, rigid, bright- 
green on their upper surface, and of a silvery whiteness beneath. The cones 
are large, erect, nearly cylindrical, of a purplish colour, and covered with a PART I. 
Terebinthina. 
863 
resinous exudation, which gives them a glossy, rich, and beautiful appearance 
It is from this tree that the Canada balsam is obtained. 
Several other species of Abies are officinal. Abies excelsa of Europe, and 
A. Canadensis of the United States, have already been described as the sources 
respectively of Burgundy and Canada pitch. (See Fix Burgundica and Pix 
Canadensis.) The A. Picea (Abies pectinata of De Candolle, A. taxifolia of 
the French Codex, Pinus Picea of Linnaeus), or European silcer fir, growing 
in the mountainous regions of Switzerland, Germany, and Siberia, yields the 
Strasburg turpentine, which is much used in some parts of Europe. By the 
distillation of its cones with water, it also affords a variety of oil of turpentine 
called in France essence de templine. The A&fes nigra (Pinus nigra), or blacfc 
spruce of this country, yields a product, which, though not recognised by the 
Pharmacopoeia, is considerably employed. The substance alluded to is the 
essence of spruce, prepared from the young branches by boiling them in water 
and evaporating the decoction. It is a thick liquid, having the colour and con- 
sistence of molasses, with a bitterish, acidulous, astringent taste. It is used in 
the preparation of the beverage commonly known by the name of spruce beer, 
which is a pleasant and wholesome drink in summer, and useful in long sea- 
voyages as a preventive of scurvy.* 
Larix. Sex. Sgsl. Monoecia Monadelphia. — Nat.Ord. Pinaceae or Conifer®. 
Gen. Ch. As in Abies, except that the cotyledons are simple, and never 
lobed ; the cones lateral; the leaves, when first expanding, in tufted fascicles, 
becoming somewhat solitary by the elongation of the new branch. (Pereira's 
Mat. Med.; from Bot. Gall.) 
Larix Europsea. De Cand. Flor. Fr. 2064.—Abies Larix. Lamb. Ulust. 
t. 785, f. 2 —Pinus Larix. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 503; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 7, 
t. 4. “ Leaves fascicled, deciduous; cones ovate-oblong; margins of the scales 
reflexed, lacerated; bractes panduriform.” 
The European larch is a large tree, inhabiting the mountains of Siberia, 
Switzerland, Germany, and the east of France. It yields the Venice turpentine 
of commerce,and a peculiar sweetish substance called in France Briangon manna, 
which exudes spontaneously,and concretes upon its bark. When the larch forests 
of Russia take fire, a juice exudes from the trunk during their combustion, which 
concretes, and is called Orenburgh gum. It is wholly soluble in water.{■ 
* The following is the formula. Take of essence of spruce half a pint; pimento bruised, 
ginger bruised, hops, each, four ounces; water three gallons. Boil for five or ten minutes; 
then strain, and add of warm water eleven gallons; yeast a pint; molasses six pints. Mix, 
and allow the mixture to ferment for twenty-four hours. 
j- Larch Bark. The inner bark of this species of larch has recently been introduced to 
the notice of the profession by Dr. Charles Frizel, of Dublin. Examined by Prof. Aldridge, 
it was found to contain, among other substances, gum, starch, resin, and tannic acid of the 
kind which precipitates the salts of iron olive-green. Dr. John Stenhouse has obtained 
from it a peculiar volatile principle, which he has not succeeded in finding in other trees 
of the pine family, and which, as it has acid properties, though exceedingly feeble, he pro- 
poses to name larixinic acid (larixine). It may be obtained by evaporating-an infusion of 
the bark to the consistence of syrup, and submitting the residue to distillation in a retort of 
glass or porcelain ora silver alembic, by means of a sand-bath cautiously heated. A por- 
tion of larixinic acid comes over and condenses in crystals; hut the greater partis dissolved 
in the liquid distillate. This on careful evaporation deposits the impure acid, which may 
be purified by pressing it in bibulous paper, again crystallizing from a strong watery solu- 
tion, and lastly subliming once or twice. Larixinic acid is most abundant in the young 
bark. It is in beautiful, white, lustrous crystals, often more than an inch long, of a pecu- 
liar somewhat empvreumatic smell, and a slightly hitter and astringent taste, inflamma- 
ble, sublimable at about 200°, soluble in 87-88 parts of water at 59° F., very soluble in boil- 
ing water, soluble in cold but much more so in hot alcohol, and sparingly soluble in ether. 
It readily crystallizes from its solutions. A very singular and characteristic property is 
that of forming, when added in strong solution, in excess, to baryta-water, a bulky, trans- 
lucent, gelatinous precipitate, occupying the whole measure of the liquids if concentrated. 
Its probable formula is C20H]0O10. 
The bark possesses astringent and gently stimulant properties, and is supposed to have 
a special tendency to the mucous membranes. It has been found peculiarly efficacious in 
uurpura and other hemorrhagic affections, especially haemoptysis ; and has been given in 864 
Terebinthina. 
part 1. 
Pistacia. SeeMASTICHE. 
Pistacia Terebinth us. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 152; Woodv. Med. Bot p. 29, t. 
12. This is a small tree with numerous spreading branches, bearing alternate, 
pinnate leaves, which consist of three or four pairs of ovate-lanceolate, entire, 
acute, smooth, and shining leaflets, with an odd one at the end. The male and 
female flowers are dioecious, small, and in branching racemes. It is a native of 
Barbary and Greece, and flourishes in the islands of Cyprus and Ohio, the lat- 
ter of which has given its name to the Chian turpentine obtained from the tree. 
A gall, produced upon this plant by the puncture of an insect, has been used in 
Eastern Europe in pectoral affections. 
We shall treat of the several varieties of turpentine under distinct heads. 
Terebenthine de Boston, Fr. 
The common American or white turpentine ( Terehinthina, U. S.; Thus Arne- 
ricanum, Br.) is procured chiefly from Pinus palustris, partly also from Finns 
Teeda, and perhaps other species inhabiting the Southern States. In former 
times, large quantities were collected in New England ; but the turpentine trees 
of that section of the Union are said to be nearly exhausted; and our commerce 
has been until recently almost exclusively supplied from North Carolina, and the 
southeastern parts of Virginia. Within a few years, however, attention has been 
turned to the collection of this valuable product in Georgia and Florida; and 
there is no doubt that, in time, an abundant supply will be derived from the vast 
pine forests which occupy the southern portion of our country bordering on the 
Gulf of Mexico. The following is the process for obtaining the turpentine as de- 
scribed by Michaux. During the winter, excavations of the capacity of about 
three pints are made in the trunk of the tree three or four inches from the ground. 
Into these the juice begins to flow about the middle of March, and continues to 
flow throughout the warm season, slowly at first, rapidly in the middle of sum- 
mer, and more slowly again in the autumn. The liquid is removed from these 
excavations as they fill, and transferred into casks, where it gradually thickens, 
1. White Turpentine. 
bronchitis with copious expectoration, and in diseases of the urinary passages. It has been 
used also, mixed with soap and glycerin, as a local remedy in psoriasis, chronic eczema, 
and other cutaneous affections The usual forms of exhibition are those of extract and tinc- 
ture, the former in the dose of from 3 to 5 grains, the latter from 30 minims to a fluidrachm 
or more, every three or four hours. [Dub. Hosp. Gaz., April 15, 1858, and Jan. 15,1859; 
Med. Times and Gaz., Nov. 1859, p. 476; and Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 555, 
&c.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Coniferin. This name has been given to a principle recently discovered by M. Hartig in 
the cambium of several of the Coniferae. The species in which it has been found are Pinus 
Strobus and P. Cembra, Abies excelsa and A. pectinata, and Larix Europiea; and it probably 
exists in many others. It is obtained by removing the outer bark, scraping the cambium 
from the surface of the wood, subjecting this to pressure, boiling the viscid juice to coagu- 
late the albumen, filtering, and evaporating the filtered liquid to one-fifth of its volume. 
The coniferin is deposited in crystals. The mother-water is very sweet, and contains a 
saccharine substance closely allied to cane sugar. The crystals are purified by dissolving 
them in water, decolorizing by animal charcoal, and finally crystallizing from weak al- 
cohol. Coniferin was chemically examined by M. W. Kubel with the following results. 
Coniferin is closely allied to salicin, being like it a glucoside. It crystallizes in slender 
needles, of a silky lustre, containing water of crystallization, whicb they lose at 212° F., 
and gradually part with by efflorescence on exposure It melts at 333° F., and at a higher 
temperature becomes brown, and ultimately carbonizes with an odour of caramel. It is 
but slightly soluble in cold water, which takes up only 0 51 per cent., but is readily dis- 
solved by boiling water. It is scarcely soluble in absolute alcohol, and not at all in ether. 
The watery solution is slightly bitter, deviates the plane of polarization to the left, gives 
no precipitate with acetate or subacetate of lead, and is not discoloured by chloride of 
iron. It presents a characteristic reaction. It becomes of a deep-violet with concentrated 
sulphuric acid, and, on the addition of a little water, gives a precipitate which colours 
the liquid of a deep indigo blue. It is sufficient to touch with sulphuric acid a fresh cut 
surface of a branch of one of theConiferaj, to ascertain the existence of coniferin. (See Am. 
Journ. of P/iarm., May, 1867, p. 261; originally from Journ. far Prakt. Chem., xcvii. 
243.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I. 
Terebinthina. 
865 
and ultimately acquires a soft solid consistence. Yery large quantities are thus 
annually procured, sufficient not only to supply the consumption of this coun- 
try, but also to furnish a valuable export.* 
White turpentine, as found in our shops, is yellowish-white, of a peculiar some- 
what aromatic odour, and a warm, pungent, bitterish taste. It is somewhat 
translucent, and of a consistence varying with the temperature. In the middle 
of summer, it is almost semi-fluid and very adhesive, though brittle; in the 
winter, it is often so firm and hard as to be incapable of being made into pills 
without heat. Exposed to the air it ultimately becomes perfectly hard and dry. 
In the recent state it affords about 17 per cent, of volatile oil. It is apt to con- 
tain small pieces of bark, wood, or other impurity. 
Terebenthine de Bordeaux, Terebenthine commune, Fr.; Gemeiner Terpentin, Germ.; 
Trementina comune, Ital.; Trementina comun, Span. 
This is the Terebinthina Vulgaris of the former London Pharmacopoeia. 
It is furnished by several species of pine; but chiefly by P. sylvestris and P. 
maritima. From the latter tree it is obtained largely in the maritime districts 
of the southwest of France, especially in the department of the Landes, and 
is exported from Bordeaux. Hence it is called in commerce Bordeaux turpen- 
tine. It is procured by making incisions into the trunk, or removing portions 
of the bark, and receiving the juice which flows out in small troughs, or in 
holes dug at the foot of the tree. It is purified by heating, and filtering it 
through straw, or by exposing it to the sun in a barrel, through holes in the 
bottom of which the melted turpentine escapes. Thus prepared it is whitish, 
turbid, thickish, and separates, upon standing, into two parts; one liquid and 
transparent, the other of a consistence and appearance like those of thickened 
honey. As found in European commerce it often consists wholly of this latter 
portion. It speedily hardens on exposure to the air in thin layers. The most 
liquid specimens are completely solidified by the addition of one part of mag- 
nesia to thirty-two of the turpentine. (Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 499.) It is 
scarcely ever given internally, but furnishes large quantities of oil of turpentine 
and resin. We do not import it into this country. The substance which the 
French call galipot or barras, is that portion of the turpentine which concretes 
upon the trunk of the tree when wounded, and is removed during the winter. 
( Thenard.) This, when purified by melting with water and straining, takes the 
name of yellow or white pitch, or Burgundy pitch. When turpentine, whether 
the European or American, has been deprived of its oil by distillation, the resin 
which remains is called rosin, and sometimes colophony, from the Ionian city of 
Colophon, where it was formerly prepared. It is the officinal resin (resina), and 
is sometimes called yellow resin {resina fiaca). White resin {resina alba) is pre- 
pared by incorporating this, while in fusion, with a certain proportion of water. 
(See Resina, page 726.) Tar {pix liquida) is the turpentine extracted from the 
wood by slow combustion, and chemically altered by heat. Common pitch {pix 
nigra, or resina nigra) is the solid residue left after the evaporation by boiling 
of the liquid parts of tar. 
2. Common European Turpentine. 
3. Canada Turpentine. 
Canada balsam, Balsam of fir; Baume de Canada, Fr.; Canadischer Balsam, Cana- 
discher Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina del Canada, Ital. 
Canada Turpentine ( Terebinthina Canadensis, TJ. S., Br.) is the product of 
Abies balsamea, and is collected in Canada and the State of Maine. It is pro- 
cured by breakingthe vesicles which naturally form upon the trunk and branches, 
and receiving their liquid contents in a bottle. When fresh, it is colourless or 
slightly yellowish, transparent, of the consistence of thin honey, very tenacious, 
* A particular and interesting account of the mode of collecting turpentine, distilling 
the oil, and preparing tar, practised in North Carolina, is contained in Olmsted’s Journey 
m the Sea-board, Southern States, N. Y., 18-56, p. 339<. 866 
Terebintkina. 
PART I. 
of a strong, agreeable odour, and a bitterish, somewhat acrid taste. By time 
and exposure it becomes thicker and more yellow, and finally solid. It is usually 
brought into market in bottles,and is kept in the shops under the name of Canada 
balsam or balsam of fir. In Europe, it is sometimes called balm of Gilead, from 
its supposed resemblance to that celebrated medicine. The term balsam, as at 
present understood, is improperly applied to it; as it contains no benzoic nor 
cinnamic acid, and is in fact a true turpentine, consisting chiefly of resin and vola- 
tile oil. Bonastre obtained, from 100 parts of Canada turpentine, 18 6 parts of 
volatile oil, 40‘0 of resin easily dissolved by alcohol, 33 4 of sub-resin of difficult 
solubility in that fluid, 40 of caoutchouc similar to sub-resin, and 4 9 of bitter 
extractive and salts, besides traces of acetic acid. There is reason to believe 
that Strasburg turpentine is sometimes sold for it in the shops. 
4. Venice Turpentine. 
Terebenthine de melfeze, Terebenthine de Venise, Fr.; Venetianischer Terpentin, 
Germ.; Trementina di Venezia, Ital.; Trementina de Yenecia, Span. 
This turpentine was named from the circumstance that it wTas formerly an 
extensive article of Venetian commerce. It is procured in Switzerland, and the 
French province of Dauphiny, from the Larix Europsea or larch, which growls 
abundantly upon the Alps and the Jura mountains. The peasants bore holes 
into the trunk about two feet from the ground, and conduct the juice by means 
of wrooden gutters into small tubs, placed at a convenient distance. It is after- 
wards purified by filtration through a leather sieve. Genuine Venice turpen- 
tine is a viscid liquid, of the consistence of honey, flowing with difficulty, cloudy 
or imperfectly transparent, yellowish or slightly greenish, of a strong not dis- 
agreeable odour, and a warm, bitterish, and acrid taste. It does not readily con- 
crete on exposure, is not solidified by one-sixteenth of magnesia, and is entirely 
soluble in alcohol. (Guibourt, Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 500.) What is sold under 
the name of Venice turpentine, in our shops, is usually quite brown, and is said 
to be a factitious substance, prepared by dissolving rosin in oil of turpentine. 
Dr. A. T. Thomson states that much of the Venice turpentine of the shops of 
London is obtained from America. It is probably the same preparation as that 
which passes under the name in this country. 
5. Chian Turpentine. 
Terebenthine de Ohio, Fr.; Cyprischer Terpentin, Germ.; Trementina Cipria, Ital. 
This variety of turpentine is collected chiefly in the island of Chio or Scio, by 
Incisions made during the summer in the bark of Pistacia Terebinthus. The 
juice, flowing from the wounds, falls upon smooth stones placed at the foot of 
the tree, from which it is scraped with small sticks, and allowed to drop into 
bottles. The annual product of each tree is very small; and the turpentine, 
therefore, commands a high price even in the place where it is procured. Very 
little of it reaches this country. It is said to be frequently adulterated with the 
other turpentines. It is a thick, tenacious liquid, of a greenish-yellow'colour, a 
peculiar penetrating odour more agreeable than that of the other substances of 
the same class, and a mild taste without bitterness or acrimony. It leaves a 
glutinous residue when treated with strong alcohol. ( Guibourt.) On exposure 
to the air it speedily thickens, and ultimately becomes concrete and bard, in 
consequence of the loss of its volatile oil. 
Besides the turpentines mentioned, various others are noticed in books on 
materia medica, though not found in the shops of this country. There are the 
Strasburg turpentine, much used in France, and obtained from the Abies Picea 
(Abies pectinata of De Candolle), or European silver fir, wThich grows on the 
mountains of Switzerland and Germany, and bears a close resemblance, as wrell 
in its appearance as its product, to Abies balsamea of Canada; the Damarra 
turpentine, wThich speedily concretes into a very hard resin, and is derived from 
the Pinus Damarra of Lambert, the Agathis Damarra of Richard, growing in PART i. 
Tcrebinthina. 
867 
the East India Islands; the cowrie or cowdie resin, procured by incision from 
another species of Damarra (D. australis) in New Zealand; and the Dombeya 
turpentine, a glutinous, milky-looking fluid, of a strong odour and taste, de- 
rived from Dombeya excelsa, the Araucaria Dombeyi of Richard, which in- 
habits Chili, and is said to be identical with the Norfolk Island pine. These, 
with one or two other turpentines scarcely known, or having a doubtful claim to 
the title, are all that belong properly to this class of vegetable products.* 
General Properties. The turpentines resemble each other in odour and taste, 
though distinguished by shades of difference. Liquid at first, they become thick 
and gradually solid by exposure, in consequence partly of the volatilization, 
partly of the oxidation of their essential oil. They are rendered more liquid or 
softened by heat, and at a high temperature take fire, burning with a white flame 
and much smoke. Water extracts only a minute proportion of their volatile 
oil. They are almost wholly soluble in alcohol and ether, and readily unite with 
the fixed oils. They yield by distillation a volatile oil, called oil of turpentine; 
the residue consisting exclusively of resin. (See Oleum Terebinthinse and Re- 
sina.) A minute proportion of succinic or acetic acid passes over with the oil. 
From the experiments of M. Faure, of Bordeaux, it appears that some of the 
liquid turpentines, like copaiba, may be solidified by the addition of magnesia. 
(Journ. de Chim. Med., 1830, p. 94.) According to M. Thierry, the same result 
is obtained by the addition of one part of hydrate of lime to thirty-two parts 
of common European turpentine. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e s6r., i. 315.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of the turpentines upon the system 
are dependent entirely on their volatile oil. They are stimulant, diuretic, an- 
thelmintic, and in large doses laxative. When taken internally, or applied to 
the skin, they communicate a violet odour to the urine, and, if continued for 
some time, produce an irritation of the mucous membrane of the urinary pas- 
sages, amounting frequently to strangury. The last effect is less apt to be ex- 
perienced when they operate upon the bowels. Externally applied they act as 
rubefacients. Their medical virtues were known to the ancients. At present they 
are less used than formerly, havingbeen superseded by their volatile oil. They 
are, however, occasionally prescribed in leucorrhcea, gleet, and other chronic 
diseases of the urinary passages; in piles and chronic inflammation or ulceration 
of the bowels ; in chronic catarrhal affections ; and in various forms of rheuma- 
tism, especially sciatica and lumbago. The white turpentine is usually employed 
in this country. They may be given in the shape of pill made with powdered 
liquorice root; in emulsion with gum arabic or yelk of egg, loaf sugar, and 
water; or in electuary formed with sugar or honey. Their dose is from a scruple 
to a drachm. In the quantity of half an ounce or an ounce, triturated with the 
yelk of an egg, and mixed with half a pint of mucilaginous liquid, they form an 
excellent injection in cases of ascarides, and of constipation with flatulence. 
The vapour of turpentine, employed as a vapour-bath, has been highly recom- 
mended in obstinate chronic rheumatism. According to M. A. Chevandier,it is 
borne well for about twenty-five minutes, at a temperature of from 140° to 160° 
F., producing acceleration of the pulse, and copious sweating, sometimes ac- 
companied with a confluent eruption. (Arch. Gen., 4e ser., xxviii. 80.) 
Off. Prep, of Turpentine. Ceratum Resinae Compositum, U. S.; Emplas- 
trum Gfalbani Comp., U. S.; Emplastrum Picis, Br. Of Canada Turpentine. 
Charta Epispastica, Br.; Collodium Flexile, Br. W. 
* The product of Abiespicea, referred to in the text as Strasburg turpentine, is, according 
to Guibourt, nearly as liquid as olive oil, at first turbid and whitish, but becoming by 
filtration or long standing transparent and almost colourless, of an agreeable odour, anal- 
ogous to that of the citron, and of a taste moderately acrid and bitter. It dries quickly in 
the air, is solidified by a sixteenth of magnesia, and is not entirely soluble in alcohol. It is 
procured by incisions into the vesicles which form upon the surface of the tree, beneath 
the outer bark. Guibourt states that this is the true Venice turpentine, while that described 
in the text, and generally recognised by authors as Venice turpentine, is in fact the Stras~ 
burg. (Journ. de Pharm., xxv. 487.) 868 
Testa.— Tormentilla. 
PART I. 
TESTA. U.S. 
Oyster-shell. 
The shell of Ostrea edulis. U. S. 
Ecailles des huitres, Fr.; Austerschalen, Germ.; Gusci della ostriehe, Hal.; Cascaras, 
Span. 
The common oyster is the Ostrea edulis of naturalists, an animal belong- 
ing to the division Mollusca, class Acephala, order Testacea, and family Os- 
tracea. It is found in many parts of the world, and is particularly abundant 
on our own coast, and in the bays of our large rivers. It consists of a soft 
pulpy portion, comprising the vital organs of the animal enclosed in a hard 
bivalve shell, of the nature of mother-of-pearl. The flesh of the oyster forms a 
very digestible and nutritious article of food, particularly suited to convales- 
cents; but the shell only is officinal. 
Properties. Oyster-shells are too familiarly known to require description 
They are made up, like other mother-of-pearl shells, of alternate layers of earthy 
and animal matter, the latter being of the nature of coagulated albumen. Ac- 
cording to the analysis of Bucholz and Brandes, their constituents are carbon- 
ate of lime 98'6, phosphate of lime 1-2, animal matter 0 5, alumina (accidental) 
0-2 = 100-5. Thus it appears that the animal matter is present in but small 
amount. When calcined or burnt, the animal matter and carbonic acid are dissi- 
pated, and the shells are converted into a species of lime, called oyster-shell lime. 
Some credit has recently been claimed, on the basis of one or two favourable 
cases, for the efficiency of oyster-shell, taken internally and applied locally, in 
the treatment of cancer. The shells having been baked for three nights in a 
slow oven, the white part is scraped out, powdered, and taken in the quantity 
that will lie on an English shilling piece, once or twice daily, in a little warm 
water or tea; the treatment to be suspended for a day or two if it disturb the 
system. The powder may be applied, made into an ointment with cream, lard, 
or butter, without salt. The treatment must be continued three or four months 
before its effects are to be expected. The theory of the operation is that the 
blood-vessels supplying the tumour undergo calcareous degeneration. (Dr. P. 
Hood, Lancet, Oct. 1867, p. 484.) 
Pharmaceutical Uses. Oyster-shells must be reduced to an impalpable pow- 
der, before they are fit for medical use. Thus prepared they form Testa Prsepa- 
rata, under which head their medicinal properties are noticed. 
Off. Prep. Testa Praeparata, U. S. B. 
TORMENTILLA. U.S. Secondary. 
Tormentil. 
The root of Potentilla Tormentilla. U. S. 
Tormentille, Fr.; Tormentillwurzel, Germ.; Tormentilla, Hal.; Tormentila, Span. 
Potentilla. Sex. Syst. Icosandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Rosaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx with a concave tube, a four or five-cleft limb, and four or 
five bractlets. Petals four or five. Stamens numerous. Carpels numerous, 
with a lateral style, on a procumbent, persistent, capitate, juiceless receptacle. 
Seed appended. Herbs or undershrubs, with compound leaves, stipules adnate 
to the petiole, and white, yellow, rarely red flowers. (De Candolle.) 
Potentilla Tormentilla. Sibthorp, FI. Ox. 162; Lindley, Flor. Med. 225.— 
Tormentilla erecta. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 1112; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 503, t. 
181.— T. officinalis. Smith, Flor. Brit. The tormentil, or septfoil, is a small 
perennial plant, very common throughout Europe. The stems, wTbich rise about 
six or eight inches in height from a woody root, are slender, more or less elect, 
branching towards the top, and furnished with sessileleav.es, which on the stalk 
usually consist of seven, on the branches of five, digitate, elliptical, villous, 
deeply serrated leaflets, three larger than the others. The flowers are small, Tormentilla.— Toxicodendron. 
869 
PART 1. 
yellow, and solitary upon axillary peduncles. All parts of the plant are astrin- 
gent, especially the root, which is the part employed. It is gathered in spring. 
Properties. The root of tormentil is cylindrical or roundish, rather larger 
above than at the lower extremity, an inch or two in length, about as thick as 
the finger, knotty, sometimes contorted, brown or blackish externally, and red- 
dish within. It has a slight aromatic odour, and a very astringent taste. Tannin 
is an abundant constituent. There is also a red colouring principle, soluble in 
alcohol, but insoluble in water. Besides these ingredients Meissner found resin, 
cerin, myricin, gummy extractive, gum, extractive, lignin, water, and a trace of 
volatile oil. Tormentil has recently been chemically examined by Rembold, 
who obtained tormentilla red by boiling the tannin of the root with sulphuric 
acid. It has the same composition as rhatany red. He also obtained kinovic 
acid from the root by boiling it with milk of lime, adding muriatic acid to the 
decoction, boiling the precipitate with solution of baryta, decomposing again by 
muriatic acid, dissolving the precipitate in alcohol, decolorizing with animal char- 
coal, filtering, concentrating, and crystallizing. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 
1868, p. 311; from Ann. der Chem. und Pharm., cxliv. 5.) The root is said to be 
used for tanning leather in the Orkneys and Western Islands of Scotland, and 
for staining leather red by the Laplanders. It yields its virtues to boiling water. 
Medival Properties and Uses. Tormentil is a simple and powerful astringent, 
applicable to all cases of disease in which this class of medicines is indicated. 
We seldom, however, employ it in this country, having indigenous plants of 
equal virtue. It may be given in substance, decoction, or extract. The dose of 
the powder is from thirty grains to a drachm. W. 
TOXICODENDRON. U. S. Secondary. 
Poison-oak. 
The leaves of Rhus Toxicodendron. U.S. 
Sumach veneneux, Fr.; Grift-Sumach, Germ.; Albero del veleno, Hal. 
Rhus. See RHUS GLABRUM. 
Admitting, as appears generally to be done at present, that Rlius Toxico- 
dendron and Rhus radicans of Linnaeus are mere varieties of the same plant, 
there are four indigenous species of Rhus which possess poisonous properties 
—the one above mentioned; R. vernix, commonly known by the name of 
swamp sumach or poison sumach; R.pumilum of the Southern States; and 
R. diversiloba of California, where it is known by the Spanish name of hiedra. 
Though the first only is designated in the Pharmacopoeia, we shall briefly de- 
scribe the four; as their medical effects are probably similar, and their operation 
upon the system such that the plants should be known to every practitioner. 
1. Rhus radicans. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1481; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. iii. 17. 
— R. Toxicodendron. Pursh, FI. Am. Sept. p. 205. Though Elliott and Nut- 
tall consider R. radicans and R. Toxicodendron as distinct species, the weight 
of botanical authority is on the other side; and Bigelow declares that he has 
“ frequently observed individual shoots from the same stock, having the char- 
acters of both varieties.” The difference, however, in their appearance is suffi- 
ciently striking to have led to the adoption of different common names; R. 
radicans being usually called poison vine, and R. Toxicodendron, poison-oak. 
The former has a climbing stem, rising to a great height upon trees, rocks, and 
other objects, to which it adheres by strong rooting fibres, which it throws 
out from its sides. The leaves, which stand upon long footstalks, are tern at e, 
with broad-ovate or rhomboidal, acute leaflets, smooth and shining on both 
sides, sometimes slightly hairy on the veins beneath, entire, or irregularly 
lobed and toothed. The flowers are small, greenish-white, dioecious, and grow 
in lateral, usually axillary panicles, or compound racemes. The male flowers 
have five stamens, and the rudiments of a style ; the female, which are of only 
half the size, and on a different plant, have abortive stamens, and a short 
erect style, standing on a roundish germ, and terminating in three stigmas. 
The fruit consists of roundish, pale-green or whitish berries. 870 
Toxicodendron. 
PART I. 
R. Toxicodendron, or poison-oak, has the form of a shrub from one to three 
feet high, with leaflets angularly indented, and pubescent beneath. But this 
character of the foliage is probably not constant; and the stunted growth may 
be owing to peculiarities of situation. Dr. Bigelow states that the young plants 
of R. radicaus do not put forth rooting fibres until several years old, and are 
influenced in this respect by the contiguity of supporting objects. 
This species of Rhus grows in woods, fields, and along fences from Canada to 
Georgia. It flowers in June and July. When wounded it emits a milky juice, 
which becomes black on exposure to the air, and leaves upon linen or other cloth 
a stain, which cannot afterwards be removed by washing with soap and water, 
or by alcohol either hot or cold, but deepens by age. It has been proposed as 
an indelible ink. Ether dissolves it. 
The juice applied to the skin frequently produces inflammation and vesication ; 
and the same poisonous property is possessed by a volatile principle which es- 
capes from the plant itself, and produces in certain persons, when they come into 
its vicinity,an exceedingly troublesome erysipelatoid affection,particularly of the 
face. Itching, redness, a sense of burning, tumefaction, vesication, and ultimate 
desquamation, are some of the attendants of this poisonous action. The swelling 
of the face is sometimes so great as almost entirely to obliterate the features. 
The effects are experienced soon after exposure, and usually begin to, decline 
within a week. A light, cooling regimen, with saline purgatives, and the local 
use of cold lead-water, are the best remedies. Dr. A. Livezey, of Lumberville, 
Penn., strongly recommends a saturated tincture of lobelia as a local applica- 
tion in this affection. He applies it by means of linen or muslin cloths, and be- 
lieves that it arrests the inflammation. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., lv. 262.) 
According to Prof. Procter, who is himself very susceptible to this poison, a 
weak alkaline solution, applied immediately after exposure, seldom fails to pre- 
vent the effects; and, after the vesicles are formed, he has found that Monsel’s 
solution (Liq. Ferri Subsulphatis, U. S.), introduced bv a pointed instrument 
into the vesicle, renders it abortive. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1863, p. 506.) 
All persons are not equally liable to the affection, and the great majority are 
wholly insusceptible of it from any ordinary exposure. 
2. Rhus vernix. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1479; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. i. 96.— 
R. venenata. Gray, Manual, &c., p. 76. Swamp sumach is a beautiful shrub or 
small tree, usually ten or fifteen feet high, but sometimes thirty feet. The bark 
of the trunk is dark-gray, of the branches lighter, of the extreme twigs and 
petioles beautifully red. The leaves are pinnate, with four or five pairs of op- 
posite leaflets, and an odd terminal one. These are oblong or oval, entire or 
slightly sinuated, acuminate, smooth, and, except the one at the end, nearly 
sessile. The flowers, as in the preceding species, are dioecious. They are very 
small, greenish, and in loose axillary panicles. The berries are small, roundish, 
and greenish-white. The tree grows in swamps and low grounds, from Canada 
to Carolina, and flowers in June and July. It is thought to be identical with a 
species of Rhus which grows in Japan, and furnishes a fine black varnish, much 
used in that country. Dr. Bigelow found that the opaque whitish juice which 
exudes from our native plant when wounded, and which becomes permanently 
black on exposure, may be made to afford a brilliant, glossy, durable varnish, by 
boiling it sufficiently before applying it. 
Rhus vernix produces, much more powerfully than R. radicans, the poison- 
ous effects already described. Persons coming within its influence are more apt 
to be affected with the poison,and generally suffer more severely. The whole body 
is sometimes enormously swollen, and the patient for many days scarcely able to 
move; but the complaint almost always spontaneously subsides without destroy- 
ing life. As in the former instance, the susceptibility to the influence of the poison 
is exceedingly various, and some persons handle the plant with perfect impunity. 
3. Rhuspumilum. Michaux, Flor. Americ. i. 182. This is a southern species, 
growing in upper Carolina, and not more than a foot in height. It is character- 
ized by its pubescent branches and petioles; its pinnate leaves, wit! many pairs PART i. 
Toxicodendron. 
871 
of oval, nearly acuminate, incised-dentate leaflets, downy beneath; and by its 
silky fruit. According- to Pursh, it is the most poisonous of the genus. 
4. Rhus diversiloba. Torrey & Gray, Flor. of North Am. i. 218.—R. lobata. 
Hooker, Flor. Bor. Am. i. 127, t. 46. This species approaches nearly the 11 
Toxicodendron. It has a somewhat climbing stem, with short, leafy branches. 
The leaves have three or rarely five leaflets, which are very obtuse, in the female 
plant slightly, in the male rather deeply pinnately lobed, the lobes being very 
obtuse, and the incisions acute. The flowers are in axillary, racemose panicles 
often shorter than the petioles, and the fruit white, somewhat pubescent, am) 
subglobose. The leaves in the male and female plant are so different that they 
might readily be mistaken for different species. ( Torrey & Gray.) Though 
generally a shrub, the plant sometimes climbs over large trees, and has astern 
six inches in diameter. In a communication to the American Journal of Phar 
macy (Sept. 1860, p. 412), the poisonous effects of this plant are described by 
Dr. C. A. Canfield, who found an invariable antidote to its effects in another 
California plant, Grindelia hirsutula, which is applied to the part either simply 
bruised, or in the form of strong decoction. 
It is probable that all parts of Rhus radicans (R. Toxicodendron) are active; 
but the leaves only are directed in the Pharmacopoeia, under the title of Toxico- 
dendron. These are inodorous, have a mawkish acrid taste, and yield their vir- 
tues to'water. Analyzed by Dr. Joseph Khittel, the leaves yielded tannic acid 
of the variety which gives greenish precipitates with salts of iron, chlorophyll, 
wax, fixed oil, resin, sugar, albumen, gum, pectin, starch, oxalic acid, a peculiar 
neuter substance, and a volatile alkaloid, on which the poisonous properties of 
the plant depend. To obtain this alkaloid, a concentrated infusion of the leaves 
was distilled with potassa,the distillate saturated with sulphuric acid and evapo- 
rated, a mixture of alcohol and ether then added which left sulphate of ammo- 
nia behind, the solution distilled with caustic potassa, and an alkaline distillate 
obtained, which contained the alkaloid in question. But it does not appear to 
have been further isolated, and no proofs are given of its poisonous properties. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., JSrov. 1858, p. 544.) The results obtained by Dr. 
Khittel have been subsequently entirely discredited by the experiments of Prof. 
John M. Maisch, of Philadelphia, who not only failed to detect a volatile alka- 
loid in the distillate, but found in it a volatile acid, and succeeded in determin- 
ing this acid to have properties which, though analogous to those of formic 
and acetic acids, are quite distinct, and entitle it to be regarded as a newly 
discovered principle. Prof. Maisch gave it the name of toxicodendric acid, to 
which it would seem to be entitled; as there is no doubt that it is the active 
poisonous principle of the plant, so far, at least, as the irritant effect on the 
skin is concerned; Prof. Maisch, as well as others exposed to the vapours of 
the acid, having suffered a copious characteristic eruption of eczematous vesicles 
on the hand, wrist, and forearm. He employed as remedies against the eruption, 
solutions of acetate of lead and permanganate of potassa, and ammonia; the 
last with most satisfactory results. To obtain the acid, the leaves were bruised 
with 6 per cent, of slaked lime, and after maceration with water were expressed. 
The expressed liquid, having been mixed with an excess of sulphuric acid, was 
distilled, and the vapours were condensed, partly by themselves, so as to obtain 
the pure acid, and partly in water containing carbonate of baryta in suspension, 
so as to get the toxicodendrate of baryta. The acid solution thus obtained is 
colourless, strongly reddens litmus paper, and neutralizes bases. For further 
particulars, the reader is referred to the paper of Prof. Maisch in the Proceed- 
ings of the American Pharmaceutical Association, A. D. 1865; also in the 
Am. Juurn. of Pharm. (Jan. 1866, p. 4). 
Medical Properties and Uses. The leaves of Rhus Toxicodendion appear to 
be stimulant and narcotic, producing when swallowed more or less irritation of 
the stomach and bowels, and promoting the secretory function of the skin and 
kidneys. Orfila found them to act in the manner of the acrid poisons, and to 
produce a stupefying effect upon the nervous system. They were successfully 872 
Toxicodendron.— Tragacantha. 
PART I. 
used by Du Fresnoy, in France, in the cure of obstinate cutaneous diseases. 
Dr Anderson, of Hull, in England, effected cures with the medicine in several 
iases of palsy. A sense of heat and pricking, with irregular twitchings, was 
excited by it in the affected parts. Dr. Horsfield and other physicians of this 
country have used it in consumption and dropsy, but with little success. The 
remedy has been found efficacious in nocturnal incontinence. 
The dose of the leaves recommended by Dr. Anderson was half a grain ora 
grain three times a day; but this is much too small. Dr. Duncan gave them in 
larger doses, with little other than a laxative effect. Dr. Horsfield administered 
a teacupful of the strong infusion without disadvantage. In France, the extract 
is recommended in doses of fifteen or twenty grains, repeated two or three times 
a day, and gradually increased to one or two drachms. Some of Du Fresnoy’s 
patients took an ounce without effect. The probability is, that the active prin- 
ciple is volatile, and that the extract is less efficient than the leaves themselves. 
The risk of experiencing the poisonous effects of the plant upon the system, will 
pi’obably prevent its extensive employment as a remedy, unless it should prove 
much more useful than the trials hitherto made give us reason to expect. 
Two instances of poisoning by the internal use of the plant have been re- 
cently recorded; one from the eating of the fruit by children, reported in the 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. (April, 1866, p. 560) by Dr. J. W. Moorman, of Har- 
dinsburg, Ky.; the other from drinking an infusion of the root, in mistake for 
sassafras root, also by children, reported by Dr. James Stokes, of Philadelphia, 
in the Med. and Surg. Reporter (Nov. 2, 1867, p. 353). In the first instance, 
in which nearly a pint of the fruit had been eaten by two children, one six and 
the other eight years old, after a few hours from the swallowing of the poison, 
drowsiness and stupor came on, soon followed by vomiting, first of the partially 
digested fruit, and afterwards of a thick viscid fluid of a wine colour. This was 
succeeded by convulsive movements of different parts of the body, with slight 
delirium. The pupils were dilated. The respiration was hurried, the pulse at 
first full and strong, but afterwards slow, small, frequent, and feeble. The 
vomiting was promoted by the use of warm water; and carbonate of soda was 
then given freely in solution as an antidote. Both children recovered. In the 
cases in which an infusion of the root was taken, one, a boy of twelve years, 
was covered with an eruption over the body, which was especially vesicular 
in the face, with a dry, hoarse cough, soreness of throat, burning sensations 
extending to the stomach, high fever, a coated tongue, scanty, high-coloured, 
and irritating urine, nervous twitchings, and occasional wandering. The diag- 
nosis, somewhat difficult at first, became easy on the occurrence of two other 
cases, girls respectively of fifteen and seventeen, who with their brother, the boy 
just mentioned, had been drinking of the infusion referred to. They were treated 
by saline cathartics in small doses, the local use of lead-water, and an improved 
diet, and all recovered, with general desquamation. W. 
TRAGACANTHA. U.S.,Br. 
Tragacanth. 
The concrete juice of Astragalus verus, and of other species of Astragalus. 
U. S. A gummy exudation from the stem of Astragalus verus, and possibly 
other species. Br. 
Gomme Adraganthe, Fr.; Tragant, Germ.; Dragante, Ital.; Gomo tragacanto, Span. 
Astragalus. Seac.Syst. Diadelphia Decandria. — Nat. Ord. Fabacese or Le- 
guminos®. 
Gen. Ch. Legume two-celled, more or less gibbous, with the lower suture 
turned inwards. Garina blunt. Loudon's Encyc. of Plants. 
Numerous species belonging to this genus yield a gummy matter having the 
properties of tragacanth. The drug known in commerce bjr that name was at 
first erroneously supposed to be obtained from A. Tragacantha of Linmeus (A. 
mafsiliensis of Lamarck), which grows in the south of Europe and north of part I. 
Tragacantha. 
873 
Africa, and is now said to yield no gum. It was afterwards ascribed, on the 
authority of Tournefort, to a species (A. Creticus of Lamarck) which grows in 
Crete and Ionia, and on that of Olivier, to A. verus, which inhabits Asia Minor, 
Armenia, and Northern Persia. Labillardifere described a species by the name 
of A. gummifer, which he found growing on Mount Libanus in Syria, and from 
which tragacanth exudes, though not that of commerce. Sieber denies that any 
one of these species yields the officinal tragacanth, which he ascribes to A. aris- 
tatus, growing in Anatolia, especially upon Mount Ida, where the gum is most 
abundantly collected. This plant, however, is not the A aristatus of Millars, 
which, according to Sibthorp, furnishes tragacanth in Greece. (Merat and De 
Lena.) Professor Lindley received two specimens of plants, said to be those 
which furnish tragacanth in Turkistan, one of which proved to be A. gummifer 
of Labillardihre, which was said to yield a white variety, and the other a new spe- 
cies, which he called A. strobiliferus, and which was said to yield a red and infe- 
rior product. The fact seems to be, that the commercial drug is collected from 
various sources; and it is affirmed that all the species of Astragalus with thorny 
petioles are capable of producing it. These form a natural group, and so closely 
resemble each other that botanists have found some difficulty in distinguishing 
them. They are very abundant on the mountains of Asia Minor, and, according 
to information recently received by M. J. Leon Soubeiran from M. Balansa, a 
scientific traveller who derived his knowledge from personal observation, the 
gum-producing species are closely analogous to the A. Creticus of Lamarck. It 
is in the chain of Anti-Taurus that the gum is chiefly collected. Transverse in- 
cisions are made, near the base of the stem, into the medullary part, which alone 
yields juice This exudes very slowly, flowing at night, and ceasing during the 
day; and two weeks usually elapse before the pieces are large enough for collec- 
tion. The shape of the pieces is influenced by the rapidity of the exudation, and 
the lines on their surface indicate the daily concretion. (Journ. de Pharm., Feb. 
1856, p. 11T, and Feb. 1857, p. 149 ) As A. verus is designated in the Pharma- 
copoeias of the United States and Great Britain, we shall briefly describe it. 
Astragalus verus. Olivier, Voy. dans VEmpire Ottoman, p. 342, pi. 44. This 
is a small shrub, not more than two or three feet high, with a stem an inch in 
thickness,and numerous very closely crowded branches,covered with imbricated 
scales, and spines which are the remains of former petioles. The leaves, which 
are little more than half an inch long, consist of several pairs of opposite, vil- 
lous, stiff, pointed leaflets, with a midrib terminating in a sharp yellowish point. 
The flowers are papilionaceous, small, yellow, axillary, aggregate, and furnished 
with cottony bractes. This species yields the gum collected in Persia, and thence 
transmitted southward to India through Bagdad and Bassora,northward to Rus- 
sia, and westward to Aleppo. The juice is said to exude spontaneously during 
the summer from the stems and branches, hardening as it exudes. 
Properties. Tragacanth is either in flaky, leaf-like pieces, irregularly oblong 
or roundish, or in tortuous vermicular filaments, rounded or flattened, rolled up 
or extended, of a whitish, yellowish-white, or slightly reddish colour, somewhat 
translucent, and resembling horn in appearance. It is hard and more or less 
fragile, but difficult of pulverization, unless exposed to a freezing temperature, 
or thoroughly dried, and powdered in a heated mortar. The powder is very fine 
and white. Tragacanth has no smell, and vei’y little taste. Its sp. gr. is 1-384. 
Introduced into water, it absorbs a certain proportion of that liquid, swells very 
much, and forms a soft adhesive paste, but does not dissolve. If agitated with 
an additional quantity of water, this paste forms a uniform mixture; but in the 
course of one or two days the greater part separates, and is deposited, leaving 
a portion dissolved in the supernatant fluid. Tragacanth is wholly insoluble in 
alcohol. It appears to be composed of two different constituents, one soluble in 
water and resembling gum arabic, the other swelling in water, but not dissolv- 
ing. The former is said to differ from gum arabic in affording no precipitate 
with silicate of potassa or sesquichloride of iron. {Pereira’’s Materia" Medica ) 
The latter, which, according to Bucholz, constitutes 43 per cent, of tragacanth, 874 
Tragacantha.— Triosteum. 
PART I. 
is ranked by some among the peculiar proximate principles with the title of 
Iragacanthin. It is probably identical with bassorin. It has the property of be- 
coming blue with iodine, which is not the case with bassorin ; but this property 
is ascribed to the presence of a small quantity of insoluble starch. According to 
M. Guerin, 100 parts of tragacanth contain 53 3 parts of arabin or pure gum, 
33d of bassorin and insoluble starch, and 11 1 of water, and yield when burned 
2‘5 parts of ashes. To separate the soluble entirely from the insoluble part, re- 
quires agitation with separate portions of water, which are to be decanted and 
filtered; and the process is to be continued till water ceases to dissolve anything. 
Examined by Ur. Kiitzing, by means of the microscope, tragacanth was found 
to consist of organized cells. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 37.) In con- 
formity with this statement is the remarkable fact, developed by the researches 
of Hugo von Mold, that tragacanth is not a secretion of the plant, but the result 
of the transformation of the cells of the pith, and those of the medullary rays 
which run across the ligneous part of the stem. (Ibid., xxxi. 243.) 
It is stated by Mr. S. Ii. Maltass that tragacanth is adulterated, in the Le- 
vant,with worthless gums brought from Armenia and Caramania,which, asthey 
are originally of a dark colour, and destitute of the flaky form of the genuine 
gum, are broken into small fragments, and whitened by means of carbonate of 
lead, before being mixed with the tragacanth. Mr. Hanbury states, in confirma- 
tion of this information, that he has detected lead in the small tragacanth im- 
ported into London. (Pharm. Journ., xv. 20.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tragacanth is demulcent, but, on account of 
its difficult solubility, is not often given internally. The great viscidity which it 
imparts to water, renders it useful for the suspension of heavy insoluble powders; 
and it is also employed in pharmacy to impart consistence to troches, for which 
it answers better than gum arabic. 
Off. Prep. Mucilago Tragacanth®; Pulvis Opii Compositus, Pr.; I’ulvis 
Tragacanth® Compositus, Pr.; Trochisci Zingiberis, U.S. W. 
TRIOSTEUM. US. Secondary. 
Fever-root. 
The root of Triosteum perfoliatum. U. S. 
Triosteum. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Caprifoliaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft, persistent, nearly the length of the corolla; seg- 
ments linear, acute. Corolla tubular, five-lobed, sub-equal; base nectariferous 
gibbous. Stigma somewhat five-lobed, capitate. Berry three-celled, three- 
seeded, crowned with the calyx. Nuttall. 
Triosteum perfoliatum. Willd. Sp>. Plant, i. 990; Bigelow, Am. Med. Pot. 
i. 90; Barton, Med. Pot. i. 59. This plant is indigenous and perennial. Several 
stems usually rise from the same root. They are simple, erect, round, hairy, 
fistulous, herbaceous, and from one to four feet high. The leaves are opposite, 
large, mostly connate, oval, acuminate, entire, abruptly narrowed at the base, 
and pubescent on their under surface. The flowers are of a dull-purple colour, 
axillary, sessile, rarely solitary, sometimes in pairs, generally in triplets or five 
together in the form of whorls. The germ is inferior, and the style projects be- 
yond the corolla, into the tube of which the stamens are inserted. The berry 
is oval and of a deep-orange colour, and contains three hard, bony seeds. 
Fever-root, fever-wort, or wild ipecac, as this plant is variously called, 
though not very abundant, is found in most parts of the United States, preferring 
a limestone soil and shady situations. Its flowers appear in June. The whole 
plant is bitter; but the root is most active, and is the only officinal part. 
It is horizontal, long, about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, thickei 
and tuberculated near the origin of the stem, of a yellowish or brownish colour 
externally, whitish within, and furnished with fibres which maybe considered 
as branches of the main root. When dry it is brittle and pulverized. It PART i. 
Triosteum.— Ulmi Cortex.— Ulmus Fulva. 
875 
has a sickening odour, and a bitter, nauseous taste. Both wak.r and alcohol 
take up its active properties, which are retained in the extract. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Fever-root is cathartic, and in large doses 
emetic. The late Professor Barton observed it also to produce a diuretic effect. 
The bark of the root is the part which has been usually employed. In the 
quantity of twenty or thirty grains it ordinarily acts upon the bowels ; and 
may be given alone or in combination with calomel at the commencement of 
fevers. The extract may be given in half the dose. W. 
ULMI CORTEX. Br. 
Elm bark. 
The dried inner bark of Ulmus campestris, Broad-leaved Elm. Br. 
Ecorce d’orme, Fr.; Ulmenrinde, Germ.; Scorza del olma, Ital.; Corteza de olmo, Span. 
Ulmus. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Digynia. — Nat. Ord. Ulmaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-cleft. Corolla none. Capsule (samara) compressed, 
membranaceous. Willd. 
Ulmus campestris. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1324; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 710, t. 
242. This species of elm is characterized by its doubly serrate leaves, unequal 
at their base, by its nearly sessile, clustered, pentandrous flowers, and its 
smooth fruit. It is a large tree, with strong spreading branches, and a rough, 
cracked bark. It is a native of Europe, where the wood is highly esteemed in 
the arts. 
The inner bark of its young branches, which is the officinal portion, is thin, 
tough, brownish-yellow, inodorous, and of a mucilaginous, bitterish, and very 
slightly astringent taste. It imparts to water its taste and mucilaginous pro- 
perties. Tincture of iodine indicates the presence of starch, and Davy found 
somewhat more than 2 per cent, of tannin. A vegetable principle called ulmin 
or ulmic acid, now believed to be a constituent of most barks, was first dis- 
covered in the matter which exudes from the bark of the European elm. It is 
a dark-brown, almost black substance, without smell or taste, insoluble in cold 
water, sparingly soluble in boiling water which it colours yellowish-brown, 
soluble in alcohol, and readily dissolved by alkaline solutions. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The bark of the European elm is demulcent, 
and very feebly tonic and astringent, and is said also to be diuretic. It has been 
-ecommended in cutaneous affections of the leprous character. Dr. Sigmond 
speaks in strong terms of its efficacy in all the varieties of lepra, in lichenous 
eruptions, and tinea capitis, employed both internally and externally. (Medico- 
bot. Trans., i. 169.) Jtis usually given in the form of decoction, and in chronic 
cases must be long continued to produce beneficial results. 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Ulmi, Br. W. 
ULMUS FULVA. U.S. 
Slippery-elrn Bark. 
The inner bark of Ulmus fulva. U. S. 
Ulmus. See ULMI CORTEX. 
Ulmus fulva. Michaux, Flor. Americ. i. 172. — Ulmus rubra. F. Andrew 
Michaux, N. Am. Sylv. iii. 89. The slippery elm, called also red elm, is a lofty 
tree, rising fifty or sixty feet in height, with a stem fifteen or twenty inches in 
diameter. The bark of the trunk is brown, that of the branches rough and 
whitish. The leaves are oblong-ovate, acuminate, nearly equal at the base, un- 
equally serrate, pubescent, and very rough on both sides, four or five inches in 
length by two or three in breadth, and supported on short footstalks. The buds, 
a fortnight before their development, are covered with a dense russet down. The 
flow'ers, which appear before the leaves, are sessile, and in clusters at the ex- 
tremity of the young shoots. The bunches of flowers are surrounded by scales, 876 
Ulmus Fulva. 
PART I 
which are downy like the buds. The calyx also is downy. There is no corolla. 
The stamens are five, short, and of a pale-rose colour. The fruit is a membranace- 
ous capsule or samara, enclosing in the middle one round seed, destitute of fringe. 
This species of elm is indigenous, growing in all parts of the United States 
north of the Carolinas, but most abundantly west of the Alleghany mountains. 
It flourishes in open, elevated situations, and requires a firm, dry soil. From 
the white elm (U. Americana) it is distinguished by its rough branches, its 
larger, thicker, and rougher leaves, its downy buds, and the character of its 
flowers and seeds. Its period of flowering is in April. The inner bark is the 
part used, and is brought to the shops separated from the epidermis. Large 
quantities are collected in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. 
It is in long, nearly flat pieces;from one to two lines thick, of a fibrous tex- 
ture, a tawny colour which is reddish on the inner surface, a peculiar sweetish, 
not unpleasant odour, and a highly mucilaginous taste when chewed. By grind- 
ing, it is reduced to a light, grayish fawn-coloured powder. It abounds in muci- 
laginous matter, which it readily imparts to water. The mucilage is precipi- 
tated by solutions of acetate and subacetate of lead, but not by alcohol. 
Much of the bark brought into the market is of inferior quality, imparting 
comparatively little mucilage to water. It has the characteristic odour of the 
genuine bark, but is much less fibrous and more brittle, breaking abruptly when 
bent, instead of being capable, like the better kind, of being folded lengthwise 
without breaking. To what this inferiority is owing, whether to difference in 
the species or the age, or to circumstances in the growth of the tree producing 
it, we are unable to determine. 
Dr. C. W. Wright, of Cincinnati, in a communication to the Western Lancet, 
states that slippery-elm bark has the property of preserving fatty substances 
from rancidity; a fact derived originally from the Indians, who prepared bears’ 
fat by melting it with the bark, in the proportion of a drachm of the latter to a 
pound of the former, keeping them heated together for a few minutes, and then 
straining off the fat. Dr. Wright tried the same process with butter and lard, 
and found them to remain perfectly sweet for a long time. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxiv. 180.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Slippery-elm bark is an excellent demulcent, 
applicable to all cases in which this class of medicines is employed. It is espe- 
cially recommended in dysentery,diarrhoea,and diseases of the urinary passages. 
Like the bark of the common European elm, it has been employed in cutaneous 
eruptions ; but neither in these, nor in any other complaints, does it probably 
exert any greater powers than such as belong to the demulcents generally. Its 
mucilage is nutritious ; and we are told that it has proved sufficient for the sup- 
port of life in the absence of other food. The instance of a soldier is mentioned, 
who lived for ten days in the woods on this bark and sassafras ; and the Indians 
are said to resort to it for nutriment in extreme emergencies. 
Dr. J. R. Dowler, of Beardstown, 111., reports two cases of tape-worm, one 
in a child, the other an adult, in which the worm was discharged, as a con- 
sequence of chewing and swallowing the bark of the elm. (Post. Med. and 
Surg. Journ., March 16, 1865, p. 132.) 
It is commonly used as a drink in the form of infusion. (See Infusum Ulmi.) 
The powder maybe used stirred in hot water, with which it forms a mucilage, 
more or less thick according to the proportion added. The bark also serves as 
an emollient application in cases of external inflammation. For this purpose 
the powder may be formed into a poultice with hot water, or the bark itself 
may be applied, previously softened by boiling. Dr. McDowell, of Virginia, 
recommended slippery-elm bark for the dilatation of fistulas and strictures 
(see Med. Examiner, i. 244); subsequently Dr. II. R. Storer, of Boston, 
used it advantageously for dilating the os uteri (Host. Med. and Surg. Journ., 
liii. 300) ; and Dr. A. Abbe, of the same place, succeeded in curing with it a 
case of stricture of the rectum. (P>id., liv 349.) 
Off. Prep. Mucilago Ulmi, U. S. W PART i. 
l/va Passa. 
877 
UVA PASSA. U. S. 
Raisins. 
The dried fruit of Yitis vinifera. U. S. 
Off. Syn. UYA3. Raisins. The ripe fruit of Yitis vinifera. Dried in the sun 
or with artificial heat-; imported from Spain. Br. 
Eaisins secs, Fr.; Eosinen, Germ.; Uve passe, Ital.; Pasas, Span. 
Yitis. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Yitaceae. 
Gen. Gh. Petals cohering at the apex, withering. Berry five-seeded, supe- 
rior. Willd. 
Vitis vinifera. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1180; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 144, t. 57. 
The vine is too well known to require description. This particular species is 
distinguished by the character of its leaf, which is lobed, sinuated, and naked 
or downy. The leaves and tendrils are somewhat astringent, and were formerly 
used in diarrhoea, hemorrhages, and other morbid discharges. The juice which 
flows from the stem was also thought to be possessed of medicinal virtues, and 
the prejudice still lingers among the vulgar in some countries. The unripe fruit 
has a harsh sour taste, and yields by expression a very acid liquor, called ver- 
juice, which was much esteemed by the ancients as a refreshing drink, when 
diluted with water. It contains malic and tartaric acids, and another called by 
some chemists racemic acid, by Berzelius paratartaric acid, from its resem- 
blance to the tartaric, with which it agrees in composition, though differing 
from it in properties. The grape, when quite ripe, is among the most pleasant 
and grateful fruits brought upon the table, and is admirably adapted, by its re- 
freshing properties, to febrile complaints. If largely taken, it proves diuretic 
and gently laxative. The ripe fruit differs from the unripe in containing more 
sugar and less acid, though never entirely destitute of the latter. The plant is 
supposed to have been derived originally from Asia; but it has been cultivated 
in Europe and Northern Africa from the remotest antiquity, and is now spread 
over all the temperate civilized regions of the globe. The fruit is exceedingly 
influenced by soil and climate, and the varieties which have resulted from cul- 
ture or situation are innumerable. Those which yield the raisins of commerce 
are confined to the basin of the Mediterranean. 
Raisins are prepared either by partially cutting the stalks of the bunches be- 
fore the grapes are perfectly ripe, and allowing them to dry upon the vine, or 
by picking them in their mature state, and steeping them for a short time pre- 
viously to desiccation in an alkaline ley. Those cured by the first method are 
most highly esteemed.* 
* Culture of Raisins. The statement in the text in relation to the mode of drying grapes is 
allowed to remain, because made on what was deemed competent authority; hut, in a jour- 
ney through the raisin districts in the Southeast of Spain, in the spring of 1861, the author 
made frequent inquiries at Malaga and Valencia, and found no one who had heard of the 
plan of partially cutting the stalks of the bunches, and then allowing them to dry on the 
plant. The following is a brief account of the raisin culture near Malaga. The grape culti- 
vated for drying is exclusively the Muscatel. The district appropriated to this purpose con- 
sists of red-earth lands, along the coast of the Mediterranean, extending for about 30 miles 
on each side of Malaga. The grounds planted with the vine are the shore plains and 
valleys, the smaller hills, and the lower declivities of the mountains. The vines are kept 
trimmed very low, and the earth between them loosened by the spade; the plough not 
being used. The grapes are ripe in August, when the bunches are cut off, and carefully 
dried in the sun, upon a hard level earthen floor, prepared for the purpose, which is pro- 
tected by a shed when it rains. After one side of the bunch has become dry, the other is 
carefully turned to the sun. When dried, they are generally packed in wooden boxes, each 
containing about 25 lbs. The most valuable, called the bloom raisins from the preservation 
of the bloom unbroken on the surface, are packed in paper boxes, and sent, as the author 
ivas told, exclusively to the London market, where they are especially esteemed. About a 
million of boxes are sent annually to the United States, valued at two millions of dollars. 
The Valencia raisin is a different variety from the Malaga. The grape is thicker-skinned, 
and does not dry well unless with previous preparation. Hence, as soon as picked, they 
are dipped into a ley made from wood ashes, immediately removed, and then dried. The 878 
Uva Passa.— Uva Ursi. 
PART I. 
Several varietiesof raisins are known in commerce. The best of those brought 
to this country are the Malaya raisins, imported from Spain. They are large 
and fleshy, of a purplish-brown colour, and sweet agreeable taste. Those pro- 
duced in Calabria are similar. The Smyrna raisins are also large, but of a 
yellowish-brown colour, slightly musky odour, and less agreeable flavour. They 
are originally brought from the coast of Syria. The Corinthian raisins, or 
curi'ants as they are commonly called in this country, are small-, bluish-black, 
of a fatty appearance, with a vinous odour, and a sweet, slightly tartish taste. 
Their name was derived from the city in the vicinity of which they were for- 
merly cultivated. At present they are procured chiefly from Zante, Cephalo- 
nia, and the other Ionian Islands. In the older Pharmacopoeias they are dis- 
tinguished by the title of uvee passse minores. 
Raisins contain a larger proportion of sugar than recent grapes. This prin- 
ciple, indeed, is often so abundant that it effloresces on the surface, or concretes 
in separate masses within the substance of the raisin. The sugar of grapes 
(glucose) differs from that of the cane; being less sweet, less soluble in cold 
water, and much less so in alcohol, and forming a syrup of less consistence. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The chief medical use of raisins is to flavour 
demulcent beverages. Taken in substance they are gently laxative; but are also 
flatulent and difficult of digestion, and, when largely eaten, sometimes produce 
unpleasant effects, especially in children. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Cardamomi Composita, Br.; Tinctura Rhei et Sennae, 
U. S.; Tinctura Sennae, Br. W. 
Uva Ursi. Bearberry Leaves. 
UVA URSI. U.S. 
The leaves of Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. U. S. 
Off.Syn. UYA3 URSI FOLIA. Bearberry Leaves. The dried leaves of 
Arctostaphylos Uva Ursi. From indigenous plants. Br. 
Busserole, Raisin d’ours, Fr.; Barentraube, Germ.; Corbezzolo, Uva Ursina, Italy Ga- 
yuba, Span. 
Arctostaphylos. Sex.Syst. Decandria Monogynia.— Nat.Ord. Ericaceae. 
Gen. Ch. Drupe with five distinct, one-seeded stones. Corolla urceolate, 
with a revolute limb. Stamens included. Anthers with two spurs at the back. 
(Lindley, Med. and (Econ. Bot. 106.) 
Arctostajjhylos Uva Ursi. Sprengel, Syst. ii. 287; Carson, Illust. of Med. 
Bot. i. 61, pi. 52. — Arbutus Uva Ursi. Willd. Sp. Plant, ii. 618; Bigelow, Am. 
Med. Bot. i. 66. The uva ursi, or bearberry. is a low evergreen shrub, with 
trailing stems, the young branches of which rise obliquely upwards for a few 
inches. The leaves are scattered, upon short petioles, from half an inch to an 
inch long, obovate, acute at the base, entire, with a rounded margin, thick, co- 
riaceous, smooth, shining, deep-green on their upper surface, paler and covered 
with a network of veins beneath. The flowers, which stand on short reflexed 
peduncles, are in small clusters at the ends of the branches. The calyx is small, 
five-parted, reddish, and persistent. The corolla is ovate or urceolate, reddish- 
white, or white with a red lip, transparent at the base, contracted at the mouth, 
and divided at the margin into five short reflexed segments. The stamens are 
ten, with short filaments and bifid anthers; the germ round, with a style longer 
than the stamens, and a simple stigma. The fruit is a small, round, depressed, 
smooth, glossy, red berry, with an insipid mealy pulp, and five cohering seeds. 
This humble but hardy shrub inhabits the northern lu’.itndes of Europe, Asia, 
and America. It is also found in the lofty mountains of Southern Europe, as 
alkali causes the skin to crack in minute fissures, and thus facilitates drying. The author 
was assured that the "Valencia raisins are not sent to the United States, but exclusively to 
England, where they are used in puddings. The Malaga grape, imported in the fresh state 
into this country, is a different variety from the raisin grape, and cultivated higher or 
the mountains. (Note to 4V° twelfth edition.) PART r 
Uca Ursi. 
879 
the Pyrenees and the Alps and, on the American continent, extends from Hud- 
son’s Bay as far southwarv. as New Jersey, in some parts of which it grows in 
abundance. It prefers a barren soil, flourishing on gravelly hills, and elevated 
sandy plains. The leaves are the only part used in medicine. They are imported 
from Europe ; but are also collected within our own limits; and the market of 
Philadelphia is supplied to a considerable extent from New Jersey. They should 
be gathered in autumn, and the green leaves only selected. 
In Europe the uva ursi is often adulterated with the leaves of Vaccinium 
Vitis Idaea, which are wholly destitute of its peculiar properties, and may be 
distinguished by their rounder shape, their revolute edges which are sometimes 
slightly toothed, and the appearance of their under surface, which is dotted, in- 
stead of being reticulated like the genuine leaf. Leaves of the Chimaphila 
umbellata are sometimes found among the uva ursi as it exists in our markets. 
They may be readily detected by their greater length, their cuneiform-lanceolate 
shape, and their serrate edges. 
Properties. Uva ursi is inodorous when fresh, but acquires a smell not unlike 
that of hay when dried and powdered. Its taste is bitterish, strongly astringent, 
and ultimately sweetish. It affords a light-brown, greenish-yellow powder. Wa- 
ter extracts its active principles,which are also soluble in officinal alcohol. Among 
its ingredients are tannic and gallic acids, bitter extractive, resin, gum, fatty mat- 
ter, a volatile oil, and salts of potassa and lime. The tannic acid is so abundant 
that the leaves are used for tanning in Russia Neither this principle nor gallic 
acid exists in the leaves of the Vaccinium Vitis Idsea. 
A crystallizable principle was extracted from uva ursi by Mr. J. C. C. Hughes 
by the following process. An aqueous extract of the leaves was treated with 
strong alcohol, and submitted for twenty-four hours to the action of purified 
animal charcoal. The tincture was filtered and evaporated, and the residue re- 
dissolved in alcohol, and treated with animal charcoal as before. After filtra- 
tion, the liquid was allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and yielded colourless, 
transparent, needle-shaped crystals, soluble in water, alcohol, ether, and dilute 
acids, insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils, neutral to test-paper, and combus- 
tible. The watery solution was precipitated by subacetate of lead and carbonate 
of potassa, but not by lime-water or tincture of chloride of iron. One grain of 
it acted as a powerful diuretic. Mr. Hughes proposed for this substance the 
name of ursin. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 90.) 
Kawalier obtained a crystalline substance,named arbutin,by precipitating the 
decoction with acetate of lead, filtering, treating the liquid with sulphuretted 
hydrogen, again filtering, evaporating to the consistence of syrup, and allowing 
the product to stand for several days. This gradually assumed the form of a 
crystalline jelly, which, being placed upon linen so as to allow the mother-liquor 
to drain off, and then pressed, yielded nearly colourless crystals, which were 
purified by solution in boiling water, and treatment with animal charcoal. Ar- 
butin thus obtained is in long, acicular, colourless crystals, united in tufts, and 
of a bitter taste. It is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, unchanged appa- 
rently by a heat of 212°, but fusible at a high temperature, without action on 
vegetable colours, and not precipitated by the salts of sesquioxide of iron, or by 
acetate or subacetate of lead. It is a glucoside, being resolvable by boiling with 
sulphuric acid into glucose and a peculiar substance named arctuvine. Its for- 
mula is C32H24021. (Ghem. Gaz., Feb. 15,1853, p. 61.) Strecker, however, gives a 
different formula, C24H16Ou + 2HO, and considers the arctuvine of Kawalier as 
identical with/?, ydrochinone prepared by Wohler from kinic acid. (Ibid., Feb. 1, 
1859, p. 48.) 
Another crystallizable principle has been discovered by Trommsdorff, who 
calls it ursone. It appears to be of a resinous character, being tasteless and 
inodorous, insoluble in water, difficultly soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible, at 
a higher temperature volatilizable, and inflammable in the air. It is obtained 
by treating uva ursi with a very small quantity of ether by percolation, allow- 
ing the ether to evaporate, washing the crystalline extract with ether, and re- 
erystallizing from alcohol. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 334.) 880 
Uva Ursi.— Valeriana. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Uva ursi is astringent and tonic, and is thought 
by some to have a specific direction to the urinary organs, for the complaints of 
which it is chiefly used. Others deny that it possesses a peculiar tendency of 
this kind, and ascribe its effects to its astringent and tonic action. It alters the 
colour of the urine, and its astringent principle has been detected in that secre- 
tion. It probably, therefore, exerts a direct influence on the kidneys and urinary 
passages. Though known to the ancients, it had passed into almost entire 
neglect, till its use was revived by De Haen about the middle of the last cen- 
tury. It has acquired some reputation as an antilithic, and has undoubtedly 
been serviceable in gravel, partly, perhaps, by a direct action on the kidneys, 
partly by giving tone to the digestive organs, and preventing the accumulation 
of principles calculated to produce a secretion or precipitation of calculous mat- 
ter. In chronic nephritis it is also a popular remedy, and is particularly recom- 
mended when there is reason to conjecture the existence of ulceration in the 
kidneys, bladder, or urinary passages. Diabetes, catarrh of the bladder, incon- 
tinence of urine, gleet, leucorrhoea, and menorrhagia are also among the diseases 
in which it has occasionally proved serviceable; and testimony is not wanting 
to its beneficial effects in phthisis pulmonalis. Dr. E. Gh Harris, of Fayette, 
Alabama, believes it to have the property of promoting uterine contraction, and 
has employed it with supposed advantage as a substitute for ergot in tedious 
labours. (See Med. Exam., N. S., ix. 727.) The dose of the powder is from a 
scruple to a drachm, to be repeated three or four times a day; but the decoc- 
tion or fluid extract is usually preferred. (See Part II.) 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Uvae Ursi, U. S.; Extractum Uvae Ursi Fluidum, U. S 
Infusum Uvae Ursi, Br. W. 
VALERIANA. U. S. 
The root of Valeriana officinalis. U. S. 
Off. Syn. VALERIANAE RADIX. Valerian Boot. The aried root of 
Valeriana officinalis. From plants indigenous to and also cultivated in Britain, 
collected in autumn; wild plants being preferred. Br. 
Valeriane, Fr.; Wilde Baldrianwurzel, Germ.; Valeriana silvestre, Italy Valerian sib 
vestre, Span. 
Valeriana. Sex. Syst. Triandria Monogynia. — Nat. Ord. Valerianaceag. 
Gen. Ch. Calyx very small, finally enlarged into a feathery pappus. Corolla 
monopetalous, five-lobed, regular, gibbous at the base. Capsule one-eelled. 
(Loudon's Enc. of PI.) Stamens exserted, one, two, three, and four. (Nuttall.) 
Valeriana officinalis. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 177; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 77, t. 
32. The officinal, or great wild valerian, is a large handsome herbaceous plant, 
with a perennial root, and an erect, round, channeled stem, from two to four 
feet high, furnished with opposite pinnate leaves, and terminating in flowering 
branches. The leaves of the stem are attached by short, broad sheaths; the 
radical leaves are larger and stand on long footstalks. In the former the leaflets 
are lanceolate and partially dentate, in the latter elliptical and deeply serrate. 
The flowers are small, white or rose-coloured, agreeably odorous, and disposed 
in terminal corymbs, interspersed with pear-shaped pointed bractes. The num- 
ber of stamens is three. The fruit is a capsule containing one oblong-ovate, com- 
pressed seed. The plant is a native of Europe, where it grows either in damp 
woods and meadows, or on dry elevated grounds. As found in these different 
situations, it presents characters so distinct as to have induced some botanists 
to make two varieties. Dufresne makes four, of which three prefer marshy situa- 
tions. The variety which affects a dry soil (sylvestris, L. Ph.) is not more than 
two feet high, and is distinguished by its narrow leaves. It has been generally 
believed to be superior to the others in medicinal virtue; but, from experiments 
of A. Buchner, it appears that the dried roots of the variety which grows in low 
moist grounds are in no respect inferior, and that the general opinion to the con 
trary is a prejudice. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, June, 1852, p. 429.) 
Valerian. part r. 
Valeriana. 
881 
The root, which is the officinal portion, is collected in spring before the stem 
begins to shoot, or in the autumn when the leaves decay. It should be dried 
quickly, and kept in a dry place. It consists of numerous long, slender, cylin- 
drical fibres, issuing from a tuberculated head or rhizoma. As brought to this 
country, it frequently has portions of the stem attached. The English is superior 
to that from the continent of Europe. Valerian of good quality has been pro- 
duced by the Shakers at Enfield, New Hampshire It is produced also in 
northern Vermont and New York. From our own observation, we know that 
the plant grows luxuriantly under culture in this country. Mr. Thos. Doliber 
obtained from the American root 28 97 per cent, of alcoholic extract, and from 
the English 17*59 per cent. Mr. Doliber states that the American has almost 
entirely superseded the European in our market. (Am. Journ. ofPharm., Jan 
1867, p. 70.) 
Properties. The colour of the root is externally yellowish or brown, internally 
white. The powder is yellowish-gray. The odour, which in the fresh root is 
slight, in the dried is strong and highly characteristic, and, though rather plea- 
sant to many persons, is very disagreeable to others. Cats are said to be strongly 
attracted by it. The taste is at first sweetish, afterwards bitter and aromatic. 
Valerian yields its active properties to water and alcohol. Trommsdorff found 
it to consist of 12 parts of volatile oil; 12*5 of a peculiar extractive matter, 
soluble in water, insoluble in ether and alcohol, and precipitated by metallic 
solutions; 18*75 of gum; 6-25 of a soft odorous resin; and 68 of lignin. Runge 
found in it a peculiar fixed acid, which produced with bases white salts, becom- 
ing green on exposure to the air. {Ghem. Gaz., no. 170, p. 452 ) Of these con- 
stituents the most important is the volatile oil. It is of a pale-greenish colour, 
of the sp. gr. 0 934, with the pungent odour of valerian, and an aromatic taste 
It becomes yellow and viscid by exposure. 
Trommsdorff ascertained the existence in the oil of a peculiar volatile acid, 
upon which the name of valerianic acid or valeric acid has been conferred 
This, when separated from the oil, is a colourless liquid, of an oleaginous con- 
sistence, having an odour analogous to that of valerian, and a very strong, sour, 
disagreeable taste. It is soluble in thirty parts of water, and in all proportions 
in ether and alcohol. It combines with salifiable bases, forming soluble salts, 
which retain, in a diminished degree, the odour of the acid. {Journ. de Pliarm., 
xx. 316.) From the experiments of MM. Cozzi and Thirault, it would appeal 
that this acid does not pre-exist in the root, but results from the oxidation of 
the volatile oil. {Ibid., 3e s£r., xii. 162.) Valerianic acid is obtained by distill- 
ing the impure oil from carbonate of magnesia, decomposing by sulphuric acid 
the valerianate of magnesia which remains, and again distilling. M. Rabourdin, 
of Orleans, believing that a large proportion of the valerianic acid remains fixed 
in the root by union with a base, and does not come over by distillation alone, 
procures it by adding sulphuric acid to the root with a sufficient quantity of 
water, distilling, separating the oil, saturating the liquor with carbonate of soda, 
evaporating, adding a slight excess of sulphuric acid, and again distilling. 
{P)id., vi. 310.) The following process by Messrs. T. and H. Smith, of Edin 
burgh, avoids the inconvenience of distilling so bulky a root as valerian, while 
it answers the same purpose as that of M. Rabourdin. Boil the root for three 
or four hours with rather more than its bulk of water, in which an ounce of car- 
bonate of soda is dissolved for every pound of the root, replacing the water as 
it evaporates. Express strongly, and boil the residuum twice with the same 
quantity of water, expressing each time as before. Mix the liquids, add two 
fluidrachms of strong sulphuric acid for every pound of the root, and distil till 
three-fourths of the liquid have passed over. Neutralize this with carbonate of 
soda, concentrate the liquid, decompose the valerianate of soda contained in it 
by sulphuric acid, and separate the valerianic acid set free, either by a separa- 
tory, or by distillation. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xvii. 253.) M. Lefort obtains 
the acid by the rapid oxidation of the volatile oil. lie distils 100 parts of the 
root with 500 of water, 10 of sulphuric acid, and 6 of bichromate of potassa 882 
Valeriana.— Vanilla. 
PART I 
In this way he has procured a larger proportion of acid than by any other pro- 
cess. (Journ. dePharm., 3e ser., x. 194.) 
The roots of Valeriana Phu and V. dioica are said to be sometimes mingled 
with those of the officinal plant; but the adulteration is attended with no serious 
consequences ; as, though much weaker than the genuine valerian, the}7 possess 
similar properties. The same cannot be said of the roots of several of the lia- 
nunculacese, which, according to Ebermayer, are sometimes fraudulently sub- 
stituted in Germany. They may be readily detected by their want of the pecu- 
liar odour of the officinal root. According to M. 0. Raved, the valerian in the 
markets of Paris is largely adulterated with the roots of scabious (Scabiosa 
succisa and S. arvensis, Linn.). They are shorter than the genuine root, with 
larger radicles, less rough, little or not at all striated, very brittle, with a white 
amylaceous fracture. The roots are inodorous in themselves, but acquire smell 
from contact with the valerian. {Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 209.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Valerian is gently stimulant, with an especial 
direction to the nervous system, but without narcotic effects. In large doses it 
produces a sense of heaviness and dull pain in the head, with various other 
effects indicating nervous disturbance. The oil, largely taken, is said by M. 
Barailer, from his own observation, to produce dulness of intellect, drowsiness 
ending in deep sleep, reduced frequency of pulse, and increased flow of urine. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1861, p. 239.) It is useful in cases of irregu- 
lar nervous action, when not connected with inflammation, or an excited condi- 
tion of the system. Among the complaints in which it has been particularly 
recommended are hysteria, hypochondriasis, epilepsy, hemicrania.and low forms 
of fever attended with restlessness, morbid vigilance, or other nervous disorder. 
It has also been used in intermittents, combined with Peruvian bark. Mr. N. 
J. Butler, of Dublin, has found very great advantage in acute rheumatism 
from baths of valerian, made in the proportion of a pound of the root to 20 
gallons of water, the temperature of the bath being 98°. Its power, in the 
opinion of Mr. Butler, is wonderful in cutting short the most violent attacks 
of acute rheumatic arthritis. (Post. Med. and Surg. Journ., Sept. 10, 1868, p. 
95.) It may be given in poivder or infusion. In the latter form, it is said by 
Professor Joerg, of Leipsic, who has experimented with it, to be less apt to 
irritate the alimentary canal than when administered in substance. The dose 
of the powder is from thirty to ninety grains, repeated three or four times a 
day. The tincture also is officinal. As the virtues of valerian reside chiefly in 
the volatile oil, the medicine should not be given in decoction or extract. The 
distilled water is used on the continent of Europe; and the volatile oil is occa- 
sionally substituted with advantage for the root. The dose of the oil is four or 
five drops. Valerianic acid also has been used internally; and a process is given 
in the IJ. S. Pharmacopoeia for its preparation. (See Acidum Valerianicum.) 
Landerer says that, in his experience, the acid prepared from the root is pre- 
ferable therapeutically to the artificial acid. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Valerianae Alcoholicum, U.S.; Extractum Valerianae 
Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Valerianae; Oleum Valerianae, U. S.; Tinctura Valeri- 
anae; Tinctura Valerianae Ammoniata. W. 
YANILLA. U.S. 
Vanilla 
The prepared, unripe capsules of Yanilla aromatica. U. S. 
Vanilla. Sex. Syst. Gynandria Monandria. — Nat. Ord. Orchidacese. 
Gen. Gh. Sepals spreading or erect, distinct. Petals of a similar form and 
texture. Labellum connate with the columna, crested, membranous, convolute, 
undivided. Anther terminal, opercular; pollen granular. Fruit a fleshy pod; 
seeds round, destitute of loose tunic. Lindley. 
Vanilla aromatica. Schwartz, Flor. Ind, Occid.—Epidendrum Vanilla. 
Linn. This is a climbing plant, characterized, as a species, by its ovate, oblong, part I. 
Vanilla. 
883 
nerved leaves, its wavy sepals, its acute lip, and very long cylindrical capsules. 
The stem is almost cylindrical, has about the thickness of the little finger, is 
greenish and fleshy, and is furnished with occasional nodes, each of which has 
a thick opposite leaf, of about eight inches by three. Its roots penetrate the bark 
of the tree to which it is attached, from which they obtain nourishment for the 
plant. After a certain height the stem branches, and forms a spreading top, 
which, in due season, is covered with large flowers, greenish externally and 
white within. The fruit is a slender pod, seven or eight inches long, filled 
with an oily mass containing numerous small, black, shining seeds. The 
plant is a native of the West Indies, Mexico, and South America; and is 
said to be cultivated in the Isles of France and Bourbon. Doubts, how- 
ever, exist whether the best commercial vanilla is derived from this species, 
and some ascribe it to Vanilla planifolia. (Journ. de Pharm., xvi. 274.) It 
is probable that different varieties of the vanilla of commerce are obtained 
from different species, of which several, besides the two mentioned, have been 
described as yielding an aromatic fruit, as V. Guyanensis, V. palmar am, and 
V. pompona. In Mexico the plant flourishes on the eastern coast, in the States 
of \rera Cruz and Oaxaca. It begins to bear fruit in three years, and con- 
tinues to bear thirty or forty years. Though most of the vanilla of com- 
merce is derived from plants growing wild in the forests, yet much is the 
product of a species of cultivation, which is very simple. All that is neces- 
sary is to cut a slip of the stem from the lower part, and plant it near the 
trunk of a tree, attaching it by cords. The plant immediately takes root in the 
bark of the tree, and sends out air roots, which, reaching the ground, fix them- 
selves in the soil. The fruit is ready for collection about the end of March, and 
the harvest continues three months. (Muller, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan 1866, 
p. 38; from Vierteljahresschrift fur Pharm.) 
The pods are collected before they are quite ripe, dried in the shade, covered 
with a coating of fixed oil, and then tied in bundles, which are surrounded with 
sheet lead, or enclosed in small metallic boxes, and sent into the market. Several 
varieties of vanilla exist in commerce. The most valuable, called ley by the 
Spaniards, consists of cylindrical, somewhat flattened pods, six or eight inches 
long, three or four lines thick, nearly straight, narrowing towards the extremi- 
ties, bent at the base, shining and dark-brown externally, wrinkled longitudi- 
nally, soft and flexible, and containing within their tough shell a soft black pulp, 
in which numerous minute, black, glossy seeds are embedded. It has a peculiar, 
strong, agreeable odour, and a warm, aromatic, sweetish taste. The interior 
pulpy portion is most aromatic. Another variety, called simarona by the Span- 
iards, is smaller, of a lighter colour, and less aromatic. A third variety is the 
pompona of the Spaniards. In this, the pods are from five to seven inches 
long, from six to nine lines broad, almost always open, brown, soft, viscid, and 
of a strong odour, but less pleasant than that of the ley, to which it is con- 
sidered inferior. According to Bucholz, vanilla does not yield volatile oil when 
distilled with water; and the aroma appears to depend on chemical changes 
which take place during and after.the curing of the fruit. 
Many years since, vanilla was analyzed by Bucholz and Vogel, the former 
of whom found in it a disagreeably smelling fixed oil, a soft resin smelling 
feebly of vanilla, when heated, a bitterish extractive resembling tannin, sugar, 
starch, and benzoic acid. But the characteristic odorous principle was not iso- 
lated. This object was accomplished by M. Gobley, who, by exhausting vanilla 
with alcohol of 85°, evaporating the resulting tincture to an extract, softening 
this with water, and agitating in a flask with ether so long as it gave colour 
to that fluid, then evaporating the ethereal liquid and treating the residue with 
boiling water, obtained, on the evaporation of the water, a crop of crystals 
having the odour of vanilla. Purified by treatment with animal charcoal, and 
recrystallization, the new principle appeared in the form of colourless, long, 
four-sided needles, terminated by two faces. It has a strong odour of vanilla, 
with a hot, biting taste. The crystals are hard, and crack under the teeth 884 
Vanilla.— Veratrum Album. 
PART I. 
They melt at 195° F., and sublime, at 302° F., in minute needle-shaped crystals, 
of a shining whiteness. For this substance M. Gobley proposes the name of 
vanillin. It is of difficult solubility in cold water, but is largely dissolved by 
boiling water, which deposits it on cooling. It is very soluble in alcohol, ether, 
and the fixed and volatile oils. Diluted acids dissolve it without change. Con- 
centrated sulphuric acid dissolves it, but renders it yeilow. Solution of potassa 
also dissolves it, and yields it unaltered on the addition of an acid. It does 
not decompose alkaline carbonates, and is probably, therefore, not an acid. Its 
composition is represented by the formula It is analogous to the cou- 
marin of the Tonka bean, but is not identical with it. When the vanilla pods are 
enclosed in cases, it often happens that they are covered with a white frost-like 
efflorescence of minute crystals. These were considered by Bucholz and Yogel 
as benzoic acid. M. Gobley believes that they are vanillin, the vapoui's of 
which, given out by the fruit, condense like frost on its surface. {Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., March, 1859, p. 130; from Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1859.) Mr. 
Stokeby has subsequently confirmed the statement of M. Gobley as to the na- 
ture of the frost-like efflorescence on the surface of the bean ; but, believing that 
he has found it to have feeble acid properties, he proposes to call it vanillic 
acid. The formula of Mr. Stokeby differs greatly from that of Gobley, being 
According to Stokeby, vanillin dissolves in its weight of alcohol and 
boiling ether, one part dissolves in 11 parts of boiling water, and in 198 parts 
at 59° F. The sesquichloride of iron gives to all its solutions a fine, deep violet 
colour. It passes with water in distillation. If vanilla finely divided be dis- 
tilled with water, a turbid liquid passes, which becomes clear by agitation with 
ether; and the ether on evaporation yields crystals of vanillin. Mr. Stokeby 
found in vanilla resin, wax, a fixed oil, a brown resinous matter, tannic acid 
changing the salts of iron to green, gum, sugar, phosphates, and sulphates; and 
muriatic acid separated from it oxalic acid, and potassa humic acid. {Journ. de 
Pharm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iii. 76, A. D. 1866.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Vanilla has the properties of the aromatics 
generally, but is probably more diffusibly stimulant, with some influence on the 
nervous system. It is employed more as a perfume, and to flavour chocolate, 
ice-cream, &c. than as a medicine. It has, however, been recommended as a 
remedy in hysteria and low fevers, in the form of an infusion made in the pro- 
portion of about half an ounce to a pint of boiling water, and given in table 
spoonful doses. A fluid extract would be a convenient form for exhibition.* 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Ferri Subcarbonatis, U. S. W. 
VERATRUM ALBUM. US. 
The rhizoma of Veratrum album. U. S. 
' Ellebore blanc, Fr.; Weisse Niesswurzel, Germ.; Eleboro bianco, Ital.; Yeratro 
bianco, Span. 
Veratrum. Sex. Syst. Polygamia Moncecia.— Nat. Ord. Melanthacese. 
White Hellebore. 
* Fouid Extract of Vanilla. This is prepared by Prof. Procter in the following manner. 
An ounce of vanilla, cut transversely into short pieces, is beaten with two ounces of sugar 
and a little alcohol into a pulp, and then submitted to percolation, first with four fluid- 
ounces of deodorized alcohol, and afterwards with diluted alcohol, until twelve fluidounces 
of tincture are obtained. Two ounces of sugar are added to the tincture, which is then 
evaporated with a gentle heat to six fluidounces. Lastly, ten ounces of sugar are added, 
and sufficient water to make the whole measure a pint. (Am. Journ. of Fharm., xxvi. 300.) 
This fluid extract may be given in the dose of one or two fluidrachms. It is a very con- 
venient form for the use of vanilla as a flavouring substance. 
A Syrup of Vanilla, may be prepared by mixing two fluidounces of this fluid extract with 
two pints of simple syrup. If a perfectly transparent syrup is wanted, rub two ounces of 
the fluid extract with two drachms of carbonate of magnesia, and half a pint of water 
gradually added; filter the mixture; then add another half pint of water, and two and a 
half pounds of sugar; dissolve the sugar with the aid of heat; and, lastly, strain the syrup. 
The syrup is fitted rather for giving flavour to mixtures, either medicinal or dietetic, than 
for remedial effect. Veratrum Album. 
885 
PART i. 
Gen. Ch. Hermaphrodite. Calyx none. Corolla six-petaled. Stamens six. 
Pistils three. Capsules three, many-seeded. Male. Calyx none. Corolla six- 
petaled. Stamens six. Pistils a rudiment. Willd. 
Botanists who reject the class Polygamia of Linnaeus, place this genus in the 
class and order Hexandria Trigynia, with the following character. “Polyga- 
mous. Corolla six-parted, spreading, segments sessile without glands. Stamens 
inserted upon the receptacle. Capsules three, united, many-seeded.” Nuttall. 
Veratrum album. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 895; Woodv. Med. Bot. p. 754, t. 257. 
This is an herbaceous plant, with a perennial, fleshy, fusiform root or rhizoma, 
yellowish-white externally, pale yellowish-gray within, and beset with long cy- 
lindrical fibres of a grayish colour, which constitute the true root. The stem ia 
three or four feet high, thick, round, erect, and furnished with alternate leaves, 
which are oval, acute, entire, plaited longitudinally, about ten inches long by 
five in breadth, of a yellowish-green colour, and embrace the stem at their base. 
The flowers are greenish, and arranged in a terminal panicle. 
White hellebore is a native of the mountainous regions of continental Europe, 
and abounds in the Alps and Pyrenees. All parts of the plant are said to be 
acrid and poisonous; but the root (rhizoma) only is officinal. This is brought 
from Germany in the dried state, in pieces from one to three inches long by an 
inch or less in mean diameter, cylindrical or in the shape of a truncated cone, 
internally whitish, externally blackish, wrinkled, and rough with the remains of 
the fibres which have been cut off near their origin. Sometimes the fibres con- 
tinue attached to the root. They are numerous, yellowish, and of the size of a 
crow’s quill. White hellebore deteriorates by keeping. 
Properties. The fresh root has a disagreeable odour, which is lost by drying. 
The taste is at first sweetish, and afterwards bitterish, acrid, burning, and dura- 
ble. The powdered root is grayish. Analyzed by Pelletier and Caventou, white 
hellebore was found to contain an oily matter consisting of olein, stearin, and a 
volatile acid; supergallate of ver atria; a yellowcolouring matter; starch, gum, 
and lignin; silica, and various salts of lime and potassa. The medicinal proper- 
ties of the root reside in the veratria, which was first discovered in the seeds of 
Veratrum Sabadilla, and probably exists in other plants belonging to the same 
family. (See Veratria in Part II.) Simon believed that he had found two new 
vegetable alkalies in white hellebore, one of which was named barytina, from be- 
ing precipitated, like baryta, from its solution in acetic or phosphoric acid by sul- 
phuric acid or the sulphates; the other jervina, from the Spanish name for a poi- 
son obtained from the root of white hellebore. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, 1837, p. 191.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. White hellebore is a violent emetic and ca- 
thartic, capable of producing dangerous and fatal effects if incautiously adminis- 
tered. Even in small doses it has occasioned severe vomiting, hypercatharsis 
with bloody stools, and alarming general prostration. Like many other acrid 
substances, it appears, in small doses, to be a general sti mulant to the secretions. 
Applied externally upon a portion of the surface denuded of the cuticle, as upon 
ulcers, for example, it gives rise to griping pain in the bowels, and sometimes 
violent purging. When snuffed up the nostrils, it occasions great irritation with 
violent sneezing, and its use in this way is not free from danger. It was em- 
ployed by the ancients in dropsy, mania, epilepsy, leprosy, elephantiasis, and 
other obstinate disorders, not without occasional advantage ; but the severity 
of its action has led to its general abandonment. It is sometimes used as an 
errhine, diluted with some mild powder, in cases of gutta serena and lethargic 
affections; and the decoction, and an ointment prepared by mixing the pulver- 
ized root with lard, have been found beneficial as external applications in the itch, 
and other cutaneous eruptions. From the resemblance of its operation to that 
of the eau medicinale d'Husson, so celebrated for the cure of gout, it was at 
one time, though erroneously, conjectured to be the chief constituent of that 
remedy. A mixture of the wine of white hellebore and the wine of opium, in 
the proportion of three parts of the former to one of the latter, was introduced 
into use by Mr. Moore, of London, as a substitute for the eau medicinale. 886 
Yeratrum Album.— Yeratrum Viride. 
PART I. 
In whatever way white hellebore is used, it requires cautious management. 
It has been given in doses varying from one grain to a scruple. Not more than 
two grains should be administered at first. When employed as an errhine, it 
should be mixed with five or six parts of pulverized liquorice root, or other in- 
active powder. Ten or twelve grains of the mixture may be snuffed up the 
nostrils at one time. W. 
YERATRUM VIRIDE. U.S. 
American Hellebore. 
The rhizoma of Yeratrum viride. U. S. 
Off. Syn. YERATRI YIRIDIS RADIX. Green Hellebore Root. The 
dried rhizome of Yeratrum viride. Collected in autumn in the United States 
and Canada. Br. 
Veratrum. See YERATRUM ALBUM. 
Veratrum viride. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. 896; Bigelow, Am. Med. Bot. ii. 121. 
The American hellebore, known also by the names of Indian poke, poke root, 
and swamp hellebore, has a perennial, thick, fleshy root or rhizoma, the upper 
portion of which is tunicated, the lower solid, and beset with numerous whitish 
fibres or radicles. The stem is annual, round, striated, pubescent, and solid, 
from three to six feet in height, furnished with bright-green leaves, and termi- 
nating in a panicle of greenish-yellow flowers. The leaves gradually decrease 
in size as they ascend. The lower are from six inches to a foot long, oval, acu- 
minate, plaited, nerved, and pubescent; and embrace the stem at their base, 
thus affording it a sheath for a considerable portion of its length. Those on 
the upper part of the stem, at the origin of the flowering branches, are oblong- 
lanceolate. The panicle consists of numerous flowers, distributed in racemes 
with downy peduncles. Each flower is accompanied with a downy, pointed 
bracte, much longer than its pedicel. There is no calyx, and the corolla is di- 
vided into six oval acute segments, thickened on the inside at their base, with the 
three alternate segments longer than the others. The six stamens have recurved 
filaments, and roundish two-lobed anthers. The germs are three, with recurved 
styles as long as the stamens. Some of the flowers have only the rudiments of 
pistils. Those on the upper end of the branchlets are barren, those on the lower 
portion fruitful. The fruit consists of three cohering capsules, separating at top, 
opening on the inner side, and containing flat imbricated seeds. 
This indigenous species of Yeratrum is found from Canada to the Carolinas, 
inhabiting swamps, wet meadows, and the banks of mountain streamlets. Early 
in the spring, before the stem rises, it bears a slight resemblance to the Sym- 
plocarpus foetidus, with which it is very frequently associated; but the latter 
sends forth no stem. From May to July is the season for flowering. The root 
should be collected in autumn, and should not be kept longer than one year, 
as it deteriorates by time. 
Properties. As found in the shops, it is usually in small pieces or fragments; 
but sometimes it comes whole or merely sliced, so that its characteristic form 
may be observed. In this condition it is seen to consist of a rhizoma an inch or 
two in length by somewhat less than an inch in thickness where broadest, taper- 
ing to a very obtuse or truncated extremity, compact but light, of a dark-brown 
colour externally, and either closely invested with numerous yellowish rootlets 
often several inches long, or exhibiting marks on the surface whence they have 
been removed. When sliced, the cut surface is of a dingy-white colour. The 
rootlets are about as thick as a large knitting-needle, or somewhat thicker, 
obviously much shrunk in drying, and marked by numerous close-set indenta- 
tions, which give them a characteristic appearance. Not unfrequently portions 
of the dried stem or leafstalks remain attached to the rhizoma, which should 
always be rejected, as they have been ascertained by Prof. Procter to be inert 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1864, p. 99.) The root has a bitter, acrid taste, 
leaving a permanent impression in the mouth and fauces In sensible proper- 
ties it bears a close resemblance to white hellebore; and has been shown by PART i. 
Veratmm Viride. 
887 
the experiments of Mr. J. G. Richardson, of Philadelphia, to contain veratria, or 
at least an alkaloid closely analogous to it. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 204.) 
Mr. J. C. Scattergood, by adding water to a saturated tincture of the root, and 
afterwards evaporating the alcohol, obtained a resinous precipitate, while from 
the residuary liquid he succeeded in separating an alkaloid supposed to be ve- 
ratria. By experimenting separately with the alkaloid and the resin thus pro- 
cured, Dr. S. R. Percy, of New York, obtained effects to a certain extent simi- 
lar, and such as characterize the operation of the root, with this remarkable 
difference, however, that while both substances produced vomiting and pros- 
tration, the resin had a much more powerful influence in reducing the frequency 
of the pulse. Thus while, in one dog, under the action of the veratria, the pulse 
was reduced from 148 to 112; in another, under that of the resin, with no 
greater effect in other respects, it fell from 144 to 40 ; and this result was so 
constant that it could not be ascribed to accident. A very important inference 
is that there is a principle in the American hellebore distinct from veratria, 
upon which its remarkable powers over the circulation mainly depend. There 
can be little doubt that the so-called resin will be found to be a complex body, 
possibly containing a distinct alkaloid. (Ibid., Jan 1868, p 74.) 
To bring down the history of the alkaloid matter of veratruin viride to the 
present date (Feb. 1869), it is necessary to refer to the recent investigations of 
Mr. Charles Bullock, the results of which, thus far obtained, appear to be that 
there are two alkaloids in veratruin viride, neither of which is identical with 
veratria, that one of these alkaloids is soluble, the other insoluble in ether, and 
that the resin, supposed to possess the sedative property of the drug, owes this 
property to the presence of the alkaloid insoluble in ether, for which it has an 
extraordinary affinity, but, entirely deprived of which, it has no effect on the 
pulse.* 
* The two alkaloids were obtained by Mr. Bullock in the following manner. From 
a concentrated tincture, acidulated with acetic acid, the resin was thrown down by 
the addition of water, and was collected on a filter. The liquid was concentrated, and, 
after filtration to separate the remaining resin, a little alcohol was added, to prevent the 
precipitation of colouring matter, and carbonate of soda sufficient to induce decided alka- 
line reaction. On the latter addition, the solution became dark and opaque; a farther 
addition of the carbonate increased the precipitation; and now the solution assumed a 
clear wine-red colour. The precipitate was washed, dried, dissolved in alcohol, and 
treated with purified animal charcoal. The alcoholic solution was evaporated ; the residue 
was dried and treated at a moderate heat, with water acidulated with sulphuric acid: 
on cooling, colouring matter was deposited, which was separated by filtration; and the so- 
lution was now precipitated with carbonate of soda. The precipitate, having been washed 
on a filter till the water passed colourless, was again dissolved in water acidulated with 
sulphuric acid, and digested with animal charcoal. The solution was again precipitated 
with carbonate of soda; and the precipitate, being washed to separate alkaline carbo- 
nates, and dried at a moderate heat, was reduced to powder, and agitated with successive 
portions of ether free from alcohol, which dissolved out the alkaloid, and left it on evap- 
oration as a light-yellow residue, which was detached from the glass capsule in scales 
resembling tannin. The parts undissolved by ether contained a considerable proportion 
of the alkaloid insoluble in ether, which was extracted by alcohol, and obtained separate 
by evaporation. As both the ethereal and the alcoholic products were somewhat coloured, 
they were severally dissolved in acidulated water, and precipitated by very dilute am- 
monia, a little alcohol being added to the solution to retain the colouring matter. The 
two alkaloids were thus obtained colourless; the one soluble in ether being when dried 
in a soft pulverulent condition; the one insoluble, hard and of a semi-resinous form ad- 
hering to the filter. As the discoverers of these alkaloids have modestly avoided assign- 
ing them names, and yet these are essential in description, in order to avoid inconvenient 
circumlocution; we provisionally suggest the title of veratroidia for the one soluble in ether, 
expressive of its close analogy with veratria, and viridia for the one insoluble in ether, as 
representing more closely than the other the peculiar sedative influence of the root. Viri- 
dia exists largely in the resinous precipitate thrown down from a concentrated tincture of 
the root, and is held by the resin with great tenacity. To separate the alkaloid, Mr. Bullock, 
after exhausting the resin with ether, redissolved it in alcohol, and again precipitated by 
pouring it into acidulated water; and this operation was repeated several times. At length 
the resin was dried, powdered, and washed on a filter with acidulated water, until the 
water was no longer disturbed by neutralization with an alkaline carbonate. On a care- 
ful examination of the resin now left, it was found to be free from the alkaloid, and 888 
Veratrum Viride. 
PART I. 
Medical Properties and Uses. American hellebore has been thought to re- 
semble its European congener in its effects upon the system, though asserted 
by Dr. Osgood to be wholly destitute of cathartic properties.* In addition to 
its emetic action, which is often violent and long continued, it is said to in- 
crease most of the secretions, and, when freely taken, to exercise a powerful 
influence over the nervous system, indicated by faintness, somnolency, vertigo, 
headache, dimness of vision, and dilated pupils. According to Dr. Osgood, it 
reduces the frequency and force of the pulse, sometimes, when taken in full doses, 
as low as thirty-five strokes in the minute. It may be safely substituted for 
the European root in most cases in which the latter is employed, and is highly 
recommended as a substitute for colchicum by Dr. Tully, of New Haven. Gouty, 
rheumatic, and neuralgic affections are those to which it appeared best adapted. 
For an account of its medical properties and applications, the reader is referred 
to a paper by Dr. Charles Osgood, of Providence, in the American Journal of 
the Medical Sciences (xvi. 296). It maybe used in substance, tincture, or ex- 
tract. Dr. Osgood states the dose in which it will generally prove emetic at 
taken internally in doses of one-third of a grain every half hour, until two grains had 
been taken altogether, produced no effect on the force or frequency of the pulse, and no 
other inconvenience than certain dyspeptic sensations. To procure the alkaloid it only 
remained to neutralize the acidulated solution with carbonate of soda. 
Properties of the alkaloids. Neither of them exhibited any evidence of crystallization. 
In alcoholic solution they restored reddened litmus paper to its normal colour. They 
were slightly bitter, and dissolved freely in dilute sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, and acetic 
acids Both were soluble in alcohol, amylic alcohol, and chloroform; but neither of 
them in benzole. Both were precipitated from their solutions in acidulated water by 
alkalies and their carbonates, and were not redissolved by an excess of the precipitant. 
Both gave a precipitate with perchloride of gold, and copious w’hite precipitates with 
iodohydrargyrate of potassium. Their reactions, moreover, with the concentrated mineral 
acids were nearly the same; their solutions in concentrated sulphuric acid being first 
reddish-yellow, then ochry-red, and finally brown; in nitric acid, colourless or with a 
slight evanescent rose hue; and in muriatic acid, if in the cold faintly yellow, deepened 
by boiling, and after 24 hours a turbid green. 
Veratroidia. Solubility in ether is its chief recognized characteristic. It is fusible be- 
tween 270° and 275° F., in this respect differing from veratria, the melting point of 
which, according to Soubeiran, is 239° F. It differs also in not producing intense redness 
by contact with concentrated sulphuric acid, and does not answer to Trapp’s test ot 
veratria; that is, dissolving in cold muriatic acid without change of colour; but when 
boiled assuming a red colour, which finally becomes intense, resembling that of a solu- 
tion of permanganate of potassa. In its effects on the system it is said closely to resemble 
veratria, acting like that also as a violent irritant to the nostrils; and it is highly pro- 
bable that most of the irritant effects of veratrum viride on the stomach are ascribable 
to the veratroidia. 
Viridia. This is prominently characterized by its insolubility in ether. It has a con- 
siderably higher melting point than veratroidia, requiring from 335° to 340° F. for 
fusion. Yiridia slightly irritates the nostrils, though much less than the other alkaloid; 
but its effect in reducing the pulse is much greater. Mr. Bullock states, as the result of 
several trials with persons in health, that one-fortieth of a grain of the alkaloid, dis- 
solved in alcohol, given every 15 minutes till one-eighth of a grain had been administered, 
caused in half an hour after the last dose, in every case, a reduction of the pulse of from 
8 to 12 beats in the minute. No nausea or other effect was experienced, except an im- 
pression on the throat resembling that of pyrethrum ; nor was any benumbing effect 
noticed. From the peculiar physiological action of viridia, it is highly desirable that it 
should be therapeutically investigated; as it may be a valuable substitute for veratrum 
viride, possessing all its sedative powers, without the irritant properties that sometimes 
interfere with the beneficial influence of that medicine. 
Now that the existence of two distinct alkaloid principles in veratrum viride is de- 
termined, it is much to be desired that their chemical, physiological, toxicological, and 
therapeutical properties should be systematically and fully investigated. (Wm. Bullock, 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 321; and March, 1866, p. 97 ; also Proceedings of the 
Am. Pharm. Association, 1867.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 
* The most striking difference between this and V. album appears, from the experi- 
ments of Dr. Oulmont, of Germany, on the lower animals, to be the extraordinarily irri- 
tant effect on the alimentary canal of the Y. album,not only causing vomiting and purging, 
but positive inflammation capable of causing death ; while the Y. viride, though causing 
nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, and even fatal prostration, gives rise to not the least 
trace of gastro-intestinal inflammation. (Neues Repertorium, xvii. 177, A. D. 1868.) PART I. 
Veratrum Viride.— Vinum. 
889 
from four to six grains of the powder, one or two fluidrachms of a tincture 
made of six ounces of the fresh root and a pint of alcohol, and one or two grains 
of an extract made by inspissating the juice of the root. The medicine, how- 
ever, should, in most cases, be given in doses insufficient to vomit. 
After the publication of Dr. Osgood’s paper, little attention was paid to the 
subject until a few years since, when various communications appeared in our 
Southern medical journals, tending to prove that American hellebore is appli- 
cable to the treatment of numerous febrile and inflammatory affections, in which 
an indication is offered for reducing the frequency of the pulse. The credit of 
calling public attention to it is due more especially to Dr. W. C. Norwood, of 
Cokesbury, South Carolina, who employed it with great success in pulmonary 
inflammation, typhoid fever, &c., and believed that it afforded the means of 
reducing the frequency of the pulse at will. He used a saturated tincture, made 
by macerating eight ounces of the dried root in sixteen ounces of alcohol for at 
least two weeks. Of this he gave to an adult man eight drops, and repeated the 
dose every three hours, increasing by one drop at each dose, until the pulse was 
reduced, or nausea and vomiting were occasioned, when it was to be diminished 
one-half, and continued so long as might be necessary to prevent a return of 
the symptoms. {Charleston Med. Journ. and Rev., vii. 168.) From numerous 
communications subsequently made to the journals, there can be no doubt of the 
great efficiency of this remedy in reducing the circulation ; and many practi- 
tioners speak with great confidence of its usefulness in pneumonia, diseases of 
the heart with excessive action, inflammatory rheumatism, and other inflam- 
matory and febrile diseases with a greatly excited circulation. The author has 
used it with decided effect in reducing the frequency of the pulse in cardiac 
affections, and without materially deranging the stomach. It is said to have 
cured habitual constipation, given in the dose of three drops of the tincture 
five times a day. Recovery took place in two weeks. {Med. Record., Sept. 
15,1868, p. 320.) Some have found the original commencing dose of Dr. Nor- 
wood too large, and he himself has considerably reduced it; but from three to 
six drops of the saturated tincture, repeated every three hours, and gradually 
increased, if necessary, until its effects are experienced, may be given with 
safety. From its powerful emetic properties, and the prostration resulting from 
excessive doses, it should always be used with great caution, and its effects 
carefully observed.* Its nauseating and depressing effects are best counteracted 
by opiates and alcoholic stimulants. A tincture and fluid extract have been 
introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. (See these preparations in Part II.) 
Cases of extreme prostration have occurred from abnormally large doses of 
American hellebore, and sometimes even from moderate doses in instances of 
extreme constitutional susceptibility; yet no case of death from it in an adult 
has come to our notice. That it is capable, however, of producing fatal effects is 
evident from experiments on the lower animals, and from the case of a child of 
18 months, under the care of Dr. J. C. Harris, of West Cambridge, M#ss., to 
which about 35 drops of the tincture were given by mistake, with the effect 
of inducing nausea but not effectual vomiting, great prostration in which the 
pulse was reduced to 40, loss of consciousness, and ultimately death. {Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 374.) * 
Off Prep. Extractum Yeratri Yiridis Fluidum, U.S.; Tinctura Yeratri 
Yiridis. W. 
VINUM XERICUM. U.S,Br. 
Sherry Wine, 
Vinum Album. U. S. 1850. 
Yin blanc, Fr.; Weisser Wein, Germ,.; Yino bianco, Ital.; Yino bianco, Span. 
* For an elaborate article on the remedial properties and uses of American hellebore, 
by Dr John Bell, the reader is referred to JY. Am. Med.-chir. Rev., ii. 914. 890 
Vinum. 
PART I. 
VINUM PORTENSE. U.S. 
Yinum IIubeum. U. S. 1850. 
Yin rouge, Fr.; Bother Wein, Germ.; Yino vermiglio, Ital.; Vino tinto, Span 
Wine is the fermented juice of the grape, the fruit of Yitis vinifera of bota- 
nists. (See TJva Passa.) The juice of sweet grapes consists of a considerable 
quantity of grape sugar, a peculiar matter of the nature of ferment or yeast, 
and a small portion of extractive, tannic acid, bitartrate of potassa, tartrate of 
lime, common salt, and sulphate of potassa ; the whole dissolved or suspended 
in a large quantity of water. Sour grapes contain, in addition, a peculiar acid 
isomeric with the tartaric, called paratartaric acid. (See page 10.) Grape juice, 
therefore, embraces all the ingredients essential to the production of the vinous 
fermentation, and requires only the influence of the atmosphere and a proper 
temperature to convert it into wine. (See page 77 ) 
Preparation. When the grapes are ripe, they are gathered, and trodden in 
wooden vessels with perforated bottoms, through which the juice, called the 
must, runs into a vat placed beneath.* The temperature of the air being about 
60°, the fermentation gradually takes place in the must, and becomes fully 
established after a longer or shorter period. In the mean time, the must be- 
comes sensibly warmer, and emits a large quantity of carbonic acid, which 
causes the more solid parts to be thrown to the surface in a mass of froth, hav- 
ing a hemispherical shape, called the head. The liquor from being sweet be 
comes vinous, and assumes a deep-red colour if the product of red grapes. 
After a while the fermentation slackens, when it becomes necessary to accele 
rate it by thoroughly mixing the contents of the vat. When the liquor has 
acquired a strong vinous taste, and become perfectly clear, the wine is con- 
sidered formed, and is racked off into casks. But even at this stage of the pro- 
cess, the fermentation continues for several months longer. During the whole 
of this period, a frothy matter is formed, which for the first few days collects 
round the bung, but afterwards precipitates along with colouring matter and 
tartar, forming a deposit which constitutes the wine-lees, f 
Division and Nomenclature. Wines, according to their colour, are divided into 
the red and white; and, according to their taste and other qualities, are either 
spirituous, sweet, dry, light, sparkling, still, rough, or acidulous. Ped wines 
are derived from the must of black grapes, fermented with their husks; white 
Port Wine. 
* A new mode of extracting the grape juice has been devised by M. Kichter, of Stutt- 
gard. He puts the grapes in a drum, provided with a suitable strainer, and rotates this 
at the rate of 1000 or 1500 times in a minute; the centrifugal force being the expressing 
agency. The time by this method is greatly diminished, and the quantity of juice is 
increased 5 or 6 per cent. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1865, p. 395.)—Note to the thir- 
teenth edition. 
f In gertain parts of France, the wine-makers are in the habit, during the fermenta- 
tion of the wines upon the marc, of adding plaster of Paris, under the impression that it 
improves the colour and ensures the stability of the wines. The process is called by the 
French platrage. The chemistry of the process has recently been investigated by M. 
Chancel, and MM. Bussy and Buignet, who coincide in the conclusion that, through the 
agency of the sulphate of lime, a portion of the bitartrate of potassa in the grape, which 
is but partially dissolved by the wine, in consequence of its limited solvent power, is in- 
troduced into the wine, increasing its acidity, and contributing to its stability. But these 
chemists differ as to the precise nature of the change. Thus, while M. Chancel thinks 
that the reaction between the sulphate of lime and bitartrate of potassa results in the pro- 
duction of free tartaric acid and sulphate of potassa which dissolve, and tartrate of lime 
which remains in the marc; MM. Bussy and Buignet, agreeing with the former that 
tartaric acid, sulphuric acid, and potassa are imparted to the wine, each in the proportion 
of a single equivalent, yet believe them to be so combined as to form bitartrate of po- 
tassa and bisulphate of potassa; the increased acidity being ascribable to the bisulphate; 
and, considering the peculiar affinities brought into plav, this is undoubtedly, we think, 
the correct view. Whether the introduction of this new component into wines is beneficial 
or otherwise, they do not pretend to determine. [Journ. de Pharm. etde Chim., 4eser., i 
pp. 347 and 351.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART I, 
Vinum. 
891 
wines, from white grapes, or from the juice of black grapes, fermented apart 
from their husks.* The other qualities of wines, above enumerated, depend on 
the relative proportions of the constituents of the must, and on the mode in 
which the fermentation is conducted. The essential ingredients of the must as 
a fermentable liquid are water, sugar, and a ferment. If the juice be very sac- 
charine, and contain sufficient ferment to sustain the fermentation, the conver- 
sion of the sugar into alcohol will proceed until checked by the production of a 
certain amount of the latter, and there will be formed a spirituous or generous 
wine, If, while the juice is highly saccharine, the ferment be deficient in quan- 
tity, the production of alcohol will be less, and the redundancy of sugar propor- 
tionably greater, and a sweet wine will be formed. When the sugar and ferment 
are in considerable amount, and in the proper relative proportions for mutual 
decomposition, the wine will be strong-bodied and sound, without marked sweet- 
ness or acidity, and of the kind called dry. A small proportion of sugar can 
give rise only to a small proportion of alcohol, and consequently the less sac- 
charine grapes will generate a comparatively weak, or light wine, which will be 
sound and stable in its constitution, in case the ferment is not in excess, but 
otherwise liable to pass into the acetous fermentation and become acescent. 
In case the wine is bottled before the fermentation is fully completed, the pro- 
cess will go on slowly in the bottles, and the carbonic acid generated, not hav- 
ing vent, will impregnate the wine, and render it effervescing and sparkling. 
The rough or astringent wines owe their flavour to a portion of tannic acid 
derived from the husks of the grape; and the acidulous wines to the presence 
of carbonic acid, or of an unusual proportion of tartar. Several of the above 
qualities often coexist. Thus a wine may be spirituous and sweet, spirituous 
and rough, sweet and rough, light and sparkling, &e. Wines are made in many 
countries, and are known in commerce by various names, according to theii 
source. Thus, Portugal produces port and lisbon ; Spain, sherry, saint lucar, 
malaga, and tent; France, champagne, burgundy, hermitage, vin de grave, 
sauterue, and claret; Germany, hock and moselle; Hungary, tokay; Sicily, 
marsala or Sicily madeira, and lisa; the Gape of Good Hope, constantia ; Mar 
deira and the Canaries, madeira and teneriffe. 
In the United States the first attempt to manufacture wine, on an extended 
scale, was made towards the close of the last century, at Spring Mill, near Phi- 
ladelphia, by Peter Legaux, agent of the Pennsylvania Vine Company, and 
proved unsuccessful. The native grape found most suitable by the Company, 
after the foreign had failed on account of the climate, was the Schuylkill mus- 
cadel grape. The next attempt was made by the Swiss at Yevay, Indiana, with 
the Schuylkill grape, and was partially successful; a rough red wine being 
manufactured which met with a ready sale in the neighbouring States. In a 
few years the manufacture of this wine languished; foreign wines superseding 
it. The foreign grape, after numerous trials, not succeeding as a wine grape, in- 
vestigations were undertaken to determine the adaptation of our various native 
grapes for making wine. Among these the Catawba grape, a native of North 
Carolina, introduced to public notice by Major Adlum, of Washington City, 
about the year 1825, is the most esteemed; being largely cultivated in southern 
Ohio as a wine grape. The chief objection to it is its liability to the rot. The 
Isabella grape is also cultivated, but more for the table than for wine. It is 
claimed by some to be a native; but the evidence preponderates in favour of its 
foreign origin. The wine produced by the Catawba grape, called catawba wine, 
is of three kinds ; the still, the sparkling, and the sweet. Still catawba, the result 
of a completed fermentation, is a light, dry, acidulous wine, in these particulars 
* The colouring matter of the grape is almost insoluble in water, and hence the juice 
of the red grape is nearly colourless, and will produce a white wine if fermented alone 
but when fermented with the presence of the grape, the alcohol generated dissolves the 
colouring matter, which is soluble in that liquid ; and thus the wine becomes red. (Journ. 
de Phavm. et de Chim., 4e ser., iii. 340, A. I). 1866.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 892 
Vinum. 
PART I, 
like hock, but entirely different in flavour. It has a pinkish or straw colour. 
Sparkling catawba is made by letting the wine undergo the secondary fermenta- 
tion in the bottle. It looks like champagne, but has a different and peculiar taste. 
Sweet catawba resembles the lighter sweet wines of Europe, and is prepared by 
adding sugar to the grape juice before fermentation. These native wines are 
gradually coming into use,and constantly improving in quality. They are largely 
manufactured by Mr. N. Longworth, of Cincinnati. The average product of ca- 
tawba wine is 400 gallons to the acre, and the amount produced in Ohio in 1855 
was estimated at 400,000 gallons. (See the remarks of E. S. Wayne, of Cincin- 
nati, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1855, p. 494.) The Herbemont and 
Missouri grapes are also used for making wine; the latter producing a wine 
said to resemble madeira. The Scuppernong grape, indigenous to North Caro- 
lina, yields a hard dry wine; and the vine is said to be a very abundant bearer. 
According to Mr. R. Buchanan, this grape produces from two to three thousand 
gallons of wine per acre. {Treatise on the Cultivation of the Grape. Cincinnati, 
1850.) The climate of Texas is peculiarly favourable to the growth of the grape 
vine. The El Paso grape is found in the vicinity of the falls of the Rio Grande; 
and the great mustang grows luxuriantly in every part of the State, and yields 
a superior red wine. California is rich in native grapes, and produces a consid- 
erable quantity of wine, which is now coming into general use. Considering its 
advantages of soil and climate, there is good reason to believe that it may, at 
no very distant time, rank among the most productive wine-regions of the globe. 
At present the grape, for wine-making, is successfully cultivated in eighteen 
States of the Union. The wine crop of the whole United States for the year 
1857 was estimated at three millions of gallons. (Stearns, Penins. Journ., July, 
1858, p. 203.) A misfortune in reference to our domestic wines is that, to sup- 
ply the demand, they are too often sold soon after being made, so that they have 
not had the opportunity of ripening with age. {Ibid.) 
Properties. Wine, considered as the name of a class, may be characterized as 
a spirituous liquid, resulting from the fermentation of grape juice, and contain- 
ing colouring matter,and other substances,either combined or intimately blended 
with the spirit. It alwa}rs contains a small proportion of aldehyd. {Magnes 
Laliens.) All its other qualities vary with the nature of each particular wine. 
The principal wines used for medicinal purposes are the officinal wines, sherry 
and port, together with madeira, teneriffe, claret, and champagne. 
Sherry (Vinum Xericum) is of a deep-amber colour,and when good possesses 
a dry aromatic flavour and fragrancy, with very little acidit}r. It ranks among 
the stronger white wines, and contains, on an average, 19 per cent, by measure 
of alcohol. The U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias agree in indicating it as the 
officinal white wine. It is prepared in the vicinity of Xeres, in Spain, and hence 
its English name sherry. This wine is supposed to have been the sack of Sliak- 
speare, so called from the word sec (dry). Mr. Henry Long has found about 
a grain of sulphuric acid in an ounce and a half of sherry wine, and supposes 
it to be free; but in the light of the experiments of MM. Bussy and Buignet 
(see note, page 890), it is, we think, more likely to be in the state of bisulphate 
of potassa, resulting from the reaction between bitartrate of potassa, and sul- 
phate of lime used in preparing the wine. {Pharm. Journ., June, 1867, p. 732.) 
Port (Vinum Portense) is of a deep-purple colour, and, in its new state, is a 
rough, strong, and moderately sweet wine. When kept a certain time in bottles, 
it deposits a considerable portion of its astringent matter, loses the greater part 
of its sweetness, acquires more flavour, and retains its strength. If too long kept, 
it deposits the whole of its astringent and colouring matter, and becomes deterio- 
rated. Considerable quantities of brandy are usually added to it, which causes 
its heating quality on the palate. It is one of the strongest wines in common 
use. According to Dr. Muspratt, of Liverpool, the alcohol in genuine port never 
exceeds 19 per cent, {Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1856, p. 355.) 
Madeira is the strongest of the white wines in general use. It is somewhat 
acid, and, when of proper age and in good condition, has a rich, nutty, aromatic PART i 
Vinum 
893 
flavour. As it occurs in the market, however, it is of very variable quality, on 
account of the adulterations and mixtures to which it is subjected after importa- 
tion. The madeira consumed in this country is generally better than that used 
iu England; its adulteration being practised to a less extent with us, and our 
climate being more favourable to the improvement of the wine. At present, 
however, little genuine iy to be found, in consequence of the destruction of the 
vine in Madeira; but, as the grape culture is said to have been resumed in 
the island, we may hope for a speedy return of the wine to the market. 
Tenerife is a white wine, of a somewhat acid taste, and, when of good 
quality, of a fine aromatic flavour. Its average strength is about the same as 
that of sherry. It is made from the same grape as madeira, to which it bears a 
close resemblance. 
Claret, called in France vin de Bordeaux, from its being produced near that 
city, in the district of Medoc, is a red wine, and from its moderate strength is 
ranked as a light wine. It has a deep-purple colour, and, when good, a delicate 
taste, in which the vinous flavour is blended with some acidity and astringency. 
The most esteemed kinds are the clarets called Chateau-Margaux, Chateau- 
Lafite, and Chateau-Latour. Another celebrated variety is the Chateau-Haul 
Brion of the Pays de Grave. Claret is the French wine most extensively con- 
sumed in the United States. 
Dr. II. Bence Jones has ascertained the acidity of equal bulks of the above 
wines, except teneriffe, expressed in grains of caustic soda. The bulk taken was 
that of 1000 grs. of water at 60°, and the numbers express the extremes of acid; 
sherry, 1 *95 — 2 85; port, 2T0-2 55; madeira, 2-70-3,60; claret, 2 55-3-45. 
The same authority has determined the proportion of sugar to the ounce in 
sherry, port, and madeira, expressed in grains: sherry, 4-18; port, 16-34; 
madeira, 6-20. Claret contains no sugar. Assuming that the sugar becomes 
acid in the system, the order of acidity of these wines, beginning with the least 
acid, is claret, sherry, madeira, port. ( Chem. Gaz., Jan. 16,1854, p. 35.) 
Dr. Christison considers it a mistake to suppose that wines become stronger 
by being kept a long time in cask. His experiments appear to prove the reverse. 
While, however, the wine is not rendered more alcoholic by age, its flavour is 
improved, and apparent strength increased. It becomes less acid partly by the 
deposition of tartar, and probably also by the reaction between the acids and 
alcohol resulting in the production of ether. 
Composition. Wines consist mainly of water and alcohol. They contain also 
volatile oil, oenanthic ether, grape sugar, sometimes glycerin in minute propor- 
tion {Journ. de Pharm., Oct. 1859, p. 292), gum, extractive, colouring matter, 
tannic, malic, phosphoric, carbonic, and acetic acids, bitartrate of potassa (tar- 
tar),* and tartrate of lime. The volatile oil has never been isolated, but is sup- 
posed to be the cause of the delicate flavour and odour of wine, called the bou- 
quet. According to Dr. F. L. Winckler, the bouquet depends upon the presence 
of a nitrogenous compound of a volatile organic acid with a volatile base, which 
has a different smell in different wines. (Enanthic ether (cenanthate of oxide of 
ethyl) was discovered in wine by Pelouze and Liebig. It is obtained towards 
the end of the distillation of wine, on the great scale, for making brandy. It 
forms only about one part in ten thousand of the wine. It is a colourless liquid, 
having a peculiar vinous odour, and a taste at first slight, but afterwards acrid. 
It is considered to be identical withpelargonic ether, under which head, in Part 
III., it is more fully described. (Enanthic ether must not be confounded with 
the substance which gives rise to the bouquet of wine. The other ingredients 
* M. Phipson has recognised in some wines, especially a red wine of Meudon, and in 
gome clarets from Bordeaux, the biracemate or paratartrate of potassa, which he dis- 
tinguished by the shape of its crystals floating in the wine, and afterwards separated and 
examined by chemical tests. The crystals are in octagonal tables, partially coloured by 
the red matter of the wine. He considers its presence as an evidence of good quality in 
the wine. (Journ. de Pharm. etde Chim., 4eser., iii. 274, A. D. 1866.)—Note to the thirteenth 
edition. 894 
Vinum. 
PART I. 
of wine, just enumerated, are sometimes present and sometimes absent. Thus, 
sugar is present in sweet wines, tannic acid in rough wines, and carbonic acid 
in those that effervesce. The different kinds of wine derive their various quali- 
ties from the mode of fermentation, the nature of the grape, and the soil and 
climate in which it may have grown. The alcohol in pure wine is that which 
results from the vinous fermentation, and is intimateljf united with the other in- 
gredients of the liquid; but with almost all the wines of commerce a portion of 
brandy is mixed, the state of union of which is probably different from that of 
the natural alcohol of the wine. By the British custom-house regulations, 10 
per cent, of brandy may be added to wines after importation; but to good 
wines not more than 4 or 5 per cent, is added. 
Most wines on being kept form deposits, whether in the cask or in bottles. 
M. L. Pasteur divides these deposits into three kinds. 1. One consists of crys- 
tals of bitartrate of potassa, of neutral tartrate of lime, or of a mixture of the 
two salts. This does not adhere to the sides of the vessel, but has sufficient 
weight to collect in a small bulk on repose. It is productive of little inconve- 
nience physically, and has no injurious chemical effect on the wine. 2. A second 
deposit, often confounded with the first, but altogether distinct, is formed of the 
colouring substances which adhere to the sides of the bottles, especially the 
most dependent. It is owing to the oxidation, through the air, of the soluble 
colouring matters of the wine, which thus become insoluble. In consequence 
of its adhesion to the bottle, it allows the wine to be poured off quite clear. 
Its formation is generally coincident with improvement in the wine, which be- 
comes at the same time lighter coloured, so that, after many years, the red 
wines, like port, will be almost as light as madeira. 3. The third kind of 
deposit is the most troublesome and injurious. It consists of cryptogamic 
vegetations, which, in the opinion of M. Pasteur, are the exclusive cause 
of all the alterations in wines which are considered as maladies. These 
never adhere to the sides of the bottle, unless confined by the colouring mat- 
ter, which is very rare. They are little bodies so light that the least move- 
ment of the bottle disturbs them, and the liquid becomes turbid to a consider- 
able extent. In a mere physical point of view, therefore, they are very incon- 
venient, by interfering with the decanting of the wine; while, acting as 
ferments, they cause great mischief not only by the change of the principles 
of the wine, but by adding to it new products, the direct result of their own 
action. As most wines are under their influence, the injury they produce in 
destroying the better qualities of wine is incalculable. {Journ. de Pharm. et 
de Chirn., 4e ser., ii. 40, A. D. 1865.) The remedy for this disorder in wines, 
suggested by M. Pasteur, is to destroy the cryptogams by the aid of heat. All 
that is necessary is, by means of a water-bath, to expose the wine, in bottles, 
to a heat of 140° to 160® F. Experience has shown that in this way the wine 
soon clarifies itself, keeps well afterwards, and with an improved flavour. The 
process of heating their wines was to some extent employed by the ancients. 
Appert was the first in modern times to try it; and in fact it is nothing more 
nor less than his own peculiar process for preserving vegetable liquids. M. 
de Yergnette-Lamotte also experimented with wines with the same effect; 
but the theory of the change was first made known by Pasteur. {Ibid., iii. 118, 
A D. 1866.) 
The intoxicating ingredient in all wines is the alcohol which they contain; 
and hence their relative strength depends upon the quantity of that substance 
entering into their composition. The alcohol, however, naturally in wine, is so 
blended with its other constituents as to be in a modified state, which renders 
it less intoxicating and injurious than the same quantity of alcohol, separated 
by distillation and diluted with water. Mr. Brande published in 1811 a very 
interesting table, giving the percentage by measure of alcohol of the sp. gr. 
0 825 in different kinds of wine. Similar tables have since been published by 
M. Julia-Fontenelle, Dr. Christison, and Dr. H. Bence Jones. An abstract ol' 
their results is given in a table on the next page; the results of Julia-Fonte PART i. 
Vinum. 
895 
nelle being distinguished by F., those of Dr. Christison by C., and those of Dr. 
Jones by J. The rest are Mr. Brande’s.* 
Adulterations. Wines are very frequently adulterated, and counterfeit mix- 
tures are often palmed upon the public as genuine wine. Free sulphuric acid 
in red wines cannot be detected by barytic salts; for all wines contain a small 
quantity of the soluble sulphates. It may be discovered, however, by dropping 
the suspected red wine on a. piece of common glazed paper, containing starch. 
If the wine be pure, the spot, when dry, will be violet blue, and the paper un- 
altered in texture ; but, if the wine contain even a thousandth part of sulphuric 
acid, the paper will be spotted rose-red, and prove brittle and friable when 
slightly rubbed between the fingers. (Lassaigne, O. Henri, and Bayard.) For- 
merly the wine dealers were in the habit of putting litharge into wines that had 
become acescent. The oxide of lead formed with the acetic acid acetate of 
* Table of the Proportion by Measure of Alcohol (sp. gr. 0-825) contained in 100 parts of 
different Wines. 
Lisa (mean) 
Raisin wine (mean)... 
Marsala [Sicily ma- 
25-41 
Teneriffe (C.) 
16-61 
Lunel 
15-52 
25 12 
Colares 
19-75 
Ditto (F.) 
1810 
Lachryma Christi 
19-70 
Sheraaz 
15-52 
deira] (mean) 
25-09 
White constantia 
19-75 
Ditto (C.) 
15-56 
strongest (J.) 
weakest (J.) 
21-10 
Red constantia 
18-92 
Syracuse 
15-28 
19-90 
Lisbon 
18-94 
Sauterne 
14-22 
Port, strongest 
25-83 
Ditto (C.) 
19-09 
Burgundy (mean) 
14-57 
mean 
22-96 
Bucellas 
18-49 
strongest (J.) 
13-20 
weakest 
19-00 
Red madeira (mean).. 
20-35 
weakest (J.) 
10-10 
strongest (C.) 
20-49 
Cape muschat 
18-25 
Hock (mean) 
12-08 
mean (0.) 
18-68 
Cape madeira (mean) 
20-51 
strongest (J.) 
13-00 
weakest (CD 
16-80 
Grape wine 
18 11 
weakest (J.) 
9-50 
strongest (J.) 
23-20 
Calcavella (mean) 
18-65 
Nice 
14-63 
weakest (J.) 
20-70 
Vidonia 
19-25 
Barsac 
13-86 
White port (C.) 
17-22 
Alba flora 
17-26 
Tent 
13-30 
Madeira, strongest.... 
24-42 
Zante 
17-05 
Champagne (mean)... 
12-61 
mean 
22-27 
Malaga . ... 
17-26 
Ditto (F.) 
12-20 
weakest 
19-24 
White hermitage 
17-43 
Ditto, strongest (J.).. 
14-80 
strongest (C.) 
20-35 
Roussillon (mean) 
1813 
weakest (J.) 
14-10 
strongest (J.) 
19-70 
Claret, strongest 
17-11 
Red hermitage 
12-32 
weakest (J.).. .... 
19-00 
mean 
15-10 
Vin de Grave (mean) 
Frontignac (Rives 
13-37 
Sercial madeira 
21-40 
weakest 
12-91 
Ditto (C.) 
18-50 
ditto (F.) 
14-73 
Altes) 
12-79 
Sherry, strongest 
19-81 
yin ordinaire (C.) 
10-42 
Ditto (C.) 
Cote rotie 
12-29 
mean 
19-17 
Chateau-Latour, 
12-32 
weakest 
18-25 
1825 (C.) 
9-38 
Tokay 
9-88 
strongest (C.) 
19-31 
first growth, 1811 
Rudesheimer, first 
mean (0 ) 
18-47 
(c.) 
9-32 
quality (C.) 
10-14 
weakest (C.) 
Amontillado (C.) 
16-96 
15-18 
strongest (J.) 
weakest (J.) 
11-10 
9-10 
inferior (C.) 
Hambacher, first qual. 
8-35 
strongest (J.) 
24-70 
Malmsey madeira 
16-40 
(C.) 
8-88 
weakest (J.) 
15-40 
Ditto (C.) 
15-60 
Catawba (Stearns) ... 
8 to 11 
Teneriffe 
19-79 
Prof. Diez, of Madrid, has ascertained, among other points, the percentage in volume of 
alcohol, and the percentage of acid, determined by potassa, in forty Rhenish wines. He 
found these constituents to vary, the former from 12-2 to 9-5 per cent.; the latter from 
0-779 to 0-332. (Central Blatt, Aug. 26, 1854, p. 651.) 
Estimation of the Alcoholic Strength of Wines. Mr. Horsley,ofLondon,gives thefollowing 
mode of ascertaining the percentage of alcohol in wines. Note the sp. gr. of the wine. Then 
take 5 fluidounces of it, boil it down in a flask to 2 fluidounces, and allow it to cool. All 
the alcohol is thus driven off. Add to the residuary liquid sufficient distilled water to bring it 
to the original measure of 5 fluidounces, and ascertain the sp.gr. of the mixture. Deduct 
the excess of its sp. gr. over 1-000, which is the sp. gr. of distilled water, from the sp. gr. 
of the wine as at first noted, and the difference will he the sp. gr. of the alcohol and 
water in the wine. Then by consulting the tables giving the percentage in alcohol of 
liquids containing alcohol and water, the percentage of alcohol in the wine will be ob- 
tained. Thus, suppose the sp gr. of the wine to he 0-997, and that of the liquid, after 
treatment as directed, 1 -020. Then 0-020, the excess of the latter sp. gr. over that of water 
or 1 -000, deducted from 0-997, give 0-977 as the sp. gr. of the mixed alcohol and water in 
the wine, which, by referring to the table on page 80, will be found to indicate a percentage 
by weight of 18 of absolute alcohol. (Chew\. News, Oct. 19,1861.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 896 
Vinum 
PART I. 
lead, which, being sweet, corrected the defect of the wine, but at the same time 
rendered it poisonous. At the present day, this criminal practice is wholly 
abandoned. The adulteration is readily detected by sulphuretted hydrogen, 
which causes a black and flocculent precipitate. Mr. Braude, among the nu- 
merous samples of wine of suspected purity which he examined, did not find 
one containing any poisonous ingredient fraudulently introduced. Lead, in mi- 
nute quantity, may sometimes be detected; but is derived invariably from shot 
in the bottle, or from some analogous source. Rhenish wines, when acid from 
the presence of free tartaric or acetic acid, may be restored by the addition of 
neutral tartrate of potassa, which gives rise to the formation of cream of tartar. 
(Andrew Ure ) Spurious mixtures, frequently containing very little of the fer- 
mented juice of the grape, and which are sold as particular wines, may not be 
poisonous; but they are, notwithstanding, highly pernicious in their effects upon 
the stomach, and always produce mischief and disappointment, when depended 
on as therapeutic agents. The wines most frequently imitated are port and 
madeira; and cider is the chief ingredient in the spurious mixtures. English 
port is sometimes made of a small portion of real port, mixed w*ith cider, juice 
of elder berries, and brandy, and rendered astringent with logwood and alum. 
According to Stracke, genuine wines do not contain salts of potassa in quan- 
tity sufficient to yield a precipitate with bichloride of platinum. If, therefore, 
a suspected wine be evaporated to dryness, and the extract, after being washed 
with alcohol so long as this is coloured by it, and then dissolved in water, give 
a precipitate with the bichloride, the presence of cider may be suspected. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1862, p. 442.) By most dealers in wine, colouring is 
employed, made usually of elder berries and alum. The practice of colouring 
wines is very reprehensible. In France colouring is openly sold with impu- 
nity, and extensively employed ; although the wine dealer who uses it is liable 
to fine and imprisonment. (A. Chevallier.) Alum may be detected in red wine 
by boiling it for a few minutes. If alum is present, even in Parb the wine 
gradually becomes turbid, and furnishes a flocculent precipitate; while a pure 
red wine is not rendered turbid, even by long boiling. (J, L. Lassaigne.) 
The weaker wines often spoil by keeping. In this case they are apt to dis- 
solve any tartar that may have been deposited, and have been found to contain 
propionic acid. The result is ascribed by M. Nickl&s to a fermentative decom- 
position of the tartar. Of course, in this state the wine contains potassa, and 
would not respond favourably to the test of bichloride of platinum above given. 
(Journ. de Pharm., A out, 1862, p. 90.) Lactic acid is one of the products of the 
changes which take place in the spontaneous deterioration of wine ; and M. Ba- 
lard has succeeded in discovering the peculiar lactic acid ferment in spoiled 
wines. The appearance of this is preceded by that of globules similar to those 
of yeast; and, after the completion of the lactic acid fermentation, and the com- 
mencement of the putrefactive, a throng of vibriones is observable. After the 
cessation of the vinous fermentation, and during the progress of that of lactic 
acid, all disengagement of gas ceases. (Ibid., Juillet, 1862, pi 9.) 
Besides the grape, a number of other fruits yield a juice susceptible of the 
vinous fermentation. The infusion of malt, also, is capable of undergoing this 
process, and becomes converted into the different kinds of porter and ale. The 
product in all these cases, though not commonly called a wine, is nevertheless 
a vinous liquor, and may be classed among the wines properly so called. The 
following is a list of these vinous liquors, together with the percentage of al- 
cohol which they contain, as ascertained by Mr. Braude: currant wine, 20-55; 
gooseberry wine, 11 84; orange wine, 1126; elder wine, 8*79 ; cider, from 5 21 to 
9-87; perry, 7*26; mead, 7*32 ; Burton ale, 8 88; Edinburgh ale, 6-20; brown 
stout, 6-80; London porter, 4 20 ; small beer, 128. Pr. II. Bence Jones gives 
the following percentages of alcohol in the under-named liquors: cider, from 54 
to 7*5; bitter ale, from 6-6 to 12*3; porter, from 6'5to 7 0; brown stout, from 
6'5 to 7 9. According to L. Hoffmann, Burton ale consists, in the 100 parts, of 
carbonic acid 0-04, absolute alcohol 6 62, extract of malt 14-97, and water 78-37; PART i, 
Vinum, 
897 
and pale ale, of carbonic acid 0 07, absolute alcohol 5 57, extract of malt 462, 
and water $9'74. None of these liquors should be kept in leaden vessels, for 
fear of being rendered poisonous. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Wine is consumed in most civilized countries; 
but in a state of health is at least useless, if not absolutely pernicious. The de 
gree of mischief which it produces depends on the character of the wine. Thus, 
the light wines of France are comparatively harmless ; while the habitual use of 
the stronger wines, such as sherry,port, madeira, &c.,even though taken in mod- 
eration, is always injurious, as having a tendency to induce gout and apoplexy, 
and other diseases dependent on plethora and over-stimulation. All wines, how- 
ever, when used habitually in excess, are productive of bad consequences. They 
weaken the stomach, produce disease of the liver, and give rise to gout, dropsy, 
apoplexy, tremors,and not unfrequentlv mania. Nevertheless,wine is an import- 
ant medicine, productive of the best effects in certain diseases. As an article of 
the materia medica, it ranks as a stimulant and antispasmodic. In the convales- 
cence from protracted fever,it is frequently the best remedy that can be employed. 
In certain stages of fever,and in extensive ulceration and gangrene, this remedy, 
either alone, or conjoined with bark and opium, is often our main dependence. 
According to Dr. Stokes, of Dublin, the weakness or absence of the first sound 
of the heart is an indication for the use of wine in typhus fever. When given in 
low febrile affections, if it increase the fulness and lessen the frequency of the 
pulse, mitigate delirium, and produce a tendency to sleep, its further use may be 
deemed proper ; but, if it render the pulse quicker, augment the heat and thirst, 
produce restlessness, or increase delirium, it should be immediately laid aside as 
injurious. In some convulsive diseases, as for example tetanus, wine, liberally 
given, has often proved useful. 
Wine, when used medicinally, should be good of its kind ; for otherwise it will 
disagree with the stomach, and prove rather detrimental than useful. The indi- 
vidual wine selected for internal exhibition must be determined by the nature of 
the disease, and the particular object in view. Sherry, when in good condition, 
is a fine wine, and, as it contains very little acid, is to be preferred whenever the 
stomach is delicate, or has a tendency to dyspeptic acidity. Good madeira is the 
most generous of the white wines, particularly adapted to the purpose of resus- 
citating debilitated constitutions, and of sustaining the sinking energies of the 
system in old age. The acidity, however, of pure madeira causes it to disagree 
with some stomachs, and renders it an improper wine for gouty persons. Tene- 
riffe is a good variety of white wine for medicinal use, being of about the medium 
strength and agreeing very well with most stomachs. Port is generally used in 
cases of pare debility, especially when attended with a loose state of the bowels, 
unaccompanied with inflammation. In such casesit often acts as a powerful tonic 
as well as stimulant,giving increased activity to all the functions,especially diges- 
tion. Claret is much less heating, and is often useful on account of its aperient 
and diuretic qualities. Champagne is applicable to the sinking stage of low 
fevers with irritable stomach, and is often useful in the debility of the aged. 
All the acidulous wines are contraindicated in the gouty and uric acid diathe- 
sis ; as they are apt to convert the existing predisposition into disease. 
The quantity of wine which maybe given with advantage in disease is very 
variable. In low fevers it may be administered to the extent of a bottle or more 
in twenty-four hours, either pure, or in the form of wine-whey. This is made by 
adding to a pint of boiling milk, removed from the fire, from a gill to half a pint 
of white wine, straining without pressure to separate the curd, and sweetening 
the clear whey with loaf sugar. Wine-whey often forms a safe and grateful stimu- 
lus in typhoid fevers, and other febrile affections, which, after depletion, may 
tend to a state of deficient action, and be accompanied with a dry skin. Under 
these circumstances, it generally acts as a diaphoretic, and, when used of mod- 
erate strength, does not stimulate the system injuriously. 
M. Aran, of Paris, has found enemata of wine highly useful in the conva- 
lescence from severe diseases. He has also derived benefit from them in chloro- 898 
Vinum.— Viola. 
PART I. 
sis, dyspepsia, gastralgia attended with debility and gastric irritability, vomit- 
ing of food, and obstinate diarrhoea, especially that of phthisis. The rectum 
should be emptied by a laxative enema, immediately before giving the vinous, 
which may consist of from five to eight fluidounces of tepid wine, generally 
diluted with water. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1855, p. 208.) 
Pharmaceutical Uses. White wine is employed as a menstruum to extract 
the virtues of several plants; and the preparations formed are called vinous 
tinctures or medicated wines. Tartar emetic and iron are the only mineral sub 
stances prepared in a similar manner. (See Vinum Antimonii and Vinum Ferri.) 
For the peculiar powers of wine as a menstruum, see Vina Medicata. B. 
VIOLA. U. S. Secondary, 
Violet. 
The of Viola pedata. U. S. 
Violette odorante,jFV.; Wohlriechendes Violetta, Hal.; Violeta, Span. 
Viola. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Monogynia.— Nat. Ord. Violaeeae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx five-leaved. Corolla five-petaled, irregular, horned at the 
oack. Anthers cohering. Cap>sule superior, three-valved, one-eelled. 
This genus includes numerous species, of which, though perhaps all or nearly 
all are possessed of analogous properties, one only, the V. pedata, is now offici- 
nal; the Viola odorata, formerly recognised by the London and Edinburgh 
Colleges, having been rejected by the British Council. Viola ovata, an indige- 
nous species, has been recommended as a remedy for the bite of the rattle- 
snake. (Seeapaperbv Dr. Williams in the Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xiii. 310.) 
As V. odorata has long held the most conspicuous place in the genus, medi- 
cally considered, we shall treat of it together with the officinal species. 
Viola pedata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1160; Curtis, Pot. Mag. 89. This is an in- 
digenous species,without stems,glabrous,with manv-parted,often pedate leaves, 
the segments of which are linear-lanceolate, obtuse, and nearly entire. The flow- 
ers are large and of a beautiful blue colour, often more or less variegated. The 
divisions of the calyx are linear and acute The stigma is large, compressed at 
the sides, obliquely truncate, and perforate at the apex. The plant grows in dry 
sandy hills and fields, and rocky woods, from New England to Carolina, and 
flowers in May and June. 
Viola odorata. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1163; Woodv. Med. Pot. p. 251, t. 89. 
This is a small, pretty, creeping plant, the runners of which are furnished with 
fibrous roots, and send up annually tufts of leaves and flowers. The leaves are 
heart-shaped, crenate, and supported on long petioles. The flowers are at the 
summit of delicate, quadrangular, channeled, radical peduncles. The leaves of 
the calyx are shorter than the petals, which are obovate, obtuse, unequal, and 
of a bluish-purple or deep violet colour, except at the claws, which are whitish. 
The two lateral petals are spreading and bearded towards the base, the inferior 
furnished with a large spur, and the two upper reflected. In the centre are the 
stamens with very short filaments, and anthers slightly cohering by an orange- 
coloured membranous expansion. 
The sweet violet is a native of Europe, growing in woods, hedges, and other 
shady places. It is cultivated in gardens both for its beauty and for medical use, 
and has been introduced into this country. It is valued chiefly for its flowers, 
which appear in April and May 
The flowers of this species of violet, besides their beautiful colour, have a 
peculiar agreeable odour, and a very slightly bitter taste. These properties they 
yield to boiling water; and their infusion affords a very delicate test for acids 
and alkalies, being reddened by the former, and rendered green by the latter. 
Their odour is destroyed by desiccation; and the degree to which they retain 
their fine colour depends upon the care used in collecting and drying them. They 
should be gathered before being fully blown, deprived of their calyx, and rapidly 
dried, either in a heated room, or by exposing them to a current of very dry air PART I, 
Viola, 
899 
The flowers of other species are often mingled with them, and, if of the same 
colour, are equally useful as a chemical test. 
In the root, leaves, flowers, and seeds of Viola odor ala, M. Boullay discovered 
a peculiar alkaline principle, bearing some resemblance to emetia, but possessing 
distinct properties. He called it violine (violia). It is white, soluble in alco- 
hol, scarcely soluble in water, and forms salts with the acids. It exists in the 
plant combined with malic acid, and maybe obtained by treating with distilled 
water the alcoholic extract of the dried root, decomposing by means of magnesia 
the malate of violia contained in the solution, and extracting the alkali from the 
precipitated matters by alcohol, which yields it on evaporation. To obtain it 
entirely pure, a more complicated process is necessary. Orfila has ascertained 
that it is exceedingly active and even poisonous. It is probably contained in 
most of the other species of Viola. 
Medical Properties, &c. of the Violets. The herbaceous parts of different 
species of violet are mucilaginous, emollient, and slightly laxative; and have 
been used in pectoral, nephritic, and cutaneous affections. Much was formerly 
thought of the Viola tricolor, or pansy, as a remedy in crusta lactea. A de- 
coction in milk of a handful of the fresh herb was taken morning and evening, 
and a poultice made with the same decoction was applied to the affected part. 
Cures in numerous instances are said to have been effected by this treatment, 
persevered in for some time. Our own Viola pedata is considered a useful ex- 
pectorant and demulcent in pectoral complaints. {Bigelow.) 
In Europe, a syrup prepared from the fresh flowers of Viola odorata is em- 
ployed as an addition to demulcent drinks, and as a laxative for infants. The 
seeds were formerly considered beneficial in gravel, but are not now used. The 
root, which has a bitter, nauseous, slightly acrid taste, acts in the dose of from 
thirty grains to a drachm as an emetic and cathartic It is probable that the 
same property is possessed by the roots of all the violets; as it is known to be 
by several species of Ionidium, which belongs to the same natural family. The 
existence in small proportion of the emetic principle, upon which the powers of 
the root probably depend, in the leaves and flowers, accounts for the expecto- 
rant properties attributed to these parts of the plant.* W. 
* Syrup of Violet. This was officinal with the Lond. and Ed. Colleges; and, though it has 
been discarded in the British Pharmacopoeia, yet, as it may sometimes prove useful, we 
give the London formula for its preparation, with the remarks upon it contained in the 
eleventh edition of the Dispensatory. 
“Take of Violets [recent petals] nineounces; boiling Distilled Water a pint [Imperial 
measure] ; Sugar [refined] a sufficient quantity; Rectified Spirit a sufficient quantity. Macer- 
ate the Violets in the Water for twelve hours; then express, and filter. Set apart that the 
dregs may subside; then add a weight of the Sugar double that of the liquid, and dissolve 
with a gentle heat. Finally, when the syrup has cooled, mix with each fluidounce of it 
half a fluidrachm of the Spirit.” Lond. 
This syrup has a deep-blue colour and an agreeable flavour. It is said that its colour is 
most beautiful when it is prepared in well-cleaned pewter vessels; and the influence of 
the metal is ascribed by M. Augillis, of Ypres, to the attraction of the tin for nascent acetic 
ucid, which he thinks is produced in the flower by fermentation, and has the effect, if not 
neutralized, of impairing its colour. (Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1856, p. 194.) As it is apt to 
fade by time, it is sometimes counterfeited with materials the colour of which is more per- 
manent. The fraud may usually be detected by the addition of an acid or alkali, the for- 
mer of which reddens the syrup of violets, the latter renders it green, while they produce 
no such change upon the counterfeit. It should not have the smell or taste of red cabbage, 
a syrup of which acts in the same way with acids and alkalies. 
This syrup acts as a gentle laxative when given to infants in the dose of one or two 
fluidrachms; but it is used chiefly as a test of acids and alkalies. For the latter purpose 
a syrup prepared from the juice of the red cabbage may be substituted. It is very seldom 
kept in our shops. 900 
Xanthorrhiza.—Xanthoxylum. 
PART I. 
XANTHORRHIZA. US. Secondary. 
The root of Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. U. S. 
Xanthorriiiza. Sex. Syst. Pentandria Polygynia. — Nat. Ord. Ranuncu- 
laceae. 
Gen. Gh. Calyx none. Petals five. Nectaries five, pedicelled. Capsules five 
to eight, one-seeded, semibivalve. Nuttall. 
Xanthorrhiza apiifolia. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 1568; Barton, Med. Bot. ii. 
203.—X tinctoria. Woodhouse, N. Y. Med. Repos, vol. v. This is an indige- 
nous shrub, two or three feet in height, with a horizontal root, which sends off 
numerous suckers. The stem is simple, rather thicker than a goose-quill, with 
a smooth bark, and bright-yellow wood. The leaves, which stand thickly at the 
upper part of the stem, are compound, consisting of several ovate-lanceolate, 
acute, doubly serrate leaflets, sessile upon a long petiole, which embraces the 
stem at its base. The flowers are small, purple, and disposed in long, drooping, 
divided racemes, placed immediately below the first leaves. The nectaries are 
obovate and bilobed, the styles usually about six or eight in number. 
The yellow-root grows in the interior of the Southern, and in the Western 
States. Nuttall says that it is abundant on the banks of the Ohio. It flowers 
in April. The root is the part directed by the Pharmacopoeia ; but the bark of 
the stem possesses the same virtues. 
The root is from three inches to a foot or more in length, and about half an 
inch in thickness near the stem. It shrinks somewhat in drying, and, as found 
in the shops, is in slender pieces of various lengths, diminishing from three or 
four lines in thickness to the dimensions of a knitting-needle, wrinkled longitu- 
dinally, with a light yellowish-brown, easily separable epidermis, a thick, hard, 
bright-yellow woody portion, and a very slender central pith. It is inodorous, 
and of a simple but extremely bitter taste. It imparts its colour and taste to 
water. The infusion is not affected by a solution of sulphate of iron. By the late 
Professor Barton the bark of the root was considered more bitter than its lig- 
neous portion. Dr. J. Dyson Perrins extracted from it an alkaloid which, both 
in its reactions and composition, so closely resembled berberina that there can 
scarcely be a doubt of their identity. {Pharm. Journ., May, 1862.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. Xanthorrhiza possesses properties closely 
analogous to those of columbo, quassia, and the other simple tonic bitters ; and 
may be used for the same purposes, and in the same manner. Dr. Woodhouse 
employed it in the dose of two scruples, and found it to lie easily upon the 
stomach. W. 
Yellow-root. 
XANTHOXYLUM. U. S. Secondary. 
Prickly Ash. 
The bark of Xanthoxylum fraxineum. U. S. 
Xanthoxylum. Sex. Syst. Dioecia Pentandria. — Nat. Ord. Terebintacese, 
Juss.; Xanthoxylaceae, Lindley. 
Gen. Ch. Male. Calyx five-parted. Corolla none. Female. Calyx five- 
parted. Corolla none. Pistils five. Capsules five, one-seeded. Willd* 
* The fruit of Xanthoxylum alatum, growing in Northern India and China, is known by 
the name of Japanese pepper, being used as a condiment in Japan and China. It is in small 
roundish capsules, of which one or more stand upon a peduncle, of a reddish-brown colour, 
and beset externally with numerous little prominences, which appear to enclose the oil to 
which the fruit owes its pungency. The flavour of the capsule is aromatic, pungent, and 
agreeable. The seeds are black, shining, and destitute of pungency. Dr. Stenhouse has 
obtained from the fruit by distillation a liquid volatile oil, isomeric with oil of turpentine, 
which he calls xanthoxylene, colourless, and of an extremely agreeable odour; and a crys- 
talline stearoptene, which separates from the liquid on cooling. This he calls xanthoxylin. 
It is slightly aromatic, insoluble in water, soluble in alcohol and ether, fusible and volatili- 
zable unchanged. (Pharm. Journ., xvii. 19, and N. S. ii. 654.)—Note to the eleventh and 
twelfth editions. PART I. 
Xanthoxylum. 
901 
Xanthoxylum fraxineum. Willd. Sp. Plant, iv. *15*1; Bigelow, Am. Med. 
Bot. iii. 156.—X. Americanum, Miller; Torrey and Gray, FI. of N. Am. i. 
214. The prickly ash is a shrub from five to ten feet in height, with alter- 
nate branches, which are covered with strong, sharp, scattered prickles. The 
leaves are alternate and pinnate, consisting of four or five pairs of leaflets, and 
an odd terminal one, with a common footstalk, which is sometimes prickly on 
the back, and sometimes unarmed. The leaflets are nearly sessile, ovate, acute, 
slightly serrate,and somewhat downy on their undersurface. The flowers, which 
are small and greenish, are disposed in sessile umbels near the origin of the 
young shoots. The plant is polygamous; some shrubs bearing both male and 
perfect flowers, others only female. The number of stamens is five, of the pis- 
tils three or four in the perfect flowers, about five in the pistillate. Each fruit- 
ful flower is followed by as many capsules as it had germs. These capsules are 
stipitate, oval, punctate, of a greenish-red colour, with two valves, and one oval 
blackish seed. This species of Xanthoxylum is indigenous, growing in woods 
and in moist shady places throughout the Northern, Middle, and Western 
States. The flowers appear in April and May, before the foliage. The leaves 
and capsules have an aromatic odour recalling that of the oil of lemons. The 
bark is the officinal portion. 
Properties. This, as found in the shops, is in quills, from one or two lines 
to nearly an inch in diameter, thin, externally of a darkish-gray colour diver- 
sified by whitish patches, with the epidermis in many pieces marked by closely 
set transverse cracks, internally finely striated longitudinally and somewhat 
shining, and, when derived from the smaller branches, exhibiting occasionally 
remains of the prickles. The bark is very light, brittle, nearly or quite inodorous, 
and of a taste which is at first sweetish and slightly aromatic, then bitterish, and 
ultimately acrid. The acrimony is imparted to boiling water and alcohol, which 
extract the virtues of the bark. Its constituents, according to Dr. Staples, be- 
sides fibrous substance, are volatile oil, a greenish fixed oil, resin, gum, colour- 
ing matter, and a peculiar crystallizable principle which he calls xanthoxylin, 
but of which the properties are not designated. (Journ of the Phil. Col. of 
Pharm., i. 165.) It is probably identical with the bitter crystalline principle 
found by MM. Chevallier and Pelletan in the bark of Xanthoxylum Clava Her- 
culis, and named by them xanlhopicrite ;m and this has been found by Mr. Perrins 
to be identical with berberina; so that the prickly ash is to be added to the 
list of medical substances, already large, in which this widely diffused alkaloid 
is contained. {Pharm. Journ., March, 1863, p. 403.) 
A specimen of bark has been shown to us, collected on the shores of the 
Chesapeake Bay, and said to be the product of Xanthoxylum Clava Herculis, 
though probably derived from the trunk of the X Carolinianum, as the X. 
Clava Herculis is a native of the West Indies, and not of the United States, 
and the X. Carolinianum grows in Virginia. Prof. Bentley first indicated this 
probable origin of the bark, which, in the eleventh edition of the Dispensatory, 
was conjecturally referred to the trunk of the officinal species. The specimen 
referred to resembles the bark above described considerably in its general char- 
acters, but differs in consisting of irregular fragments of a bark of larger di- 
mensions, flat or but slightly rolled, and exhibiting, on the outer surface of 
some of the fragments, large conical, corky eminences, which serve as the 
bases of the spines, and no doubt give to the trunk of the tree the rough, knotty 
appearance, which obtained for its congener the name of the club of Hercules 
The researches of Prof. Robert Bridges, made since the publication of the 
twelfth edition of the Dispensatory, leave no room to doubt that the bark known 
in the South as the prickly ash bark is that of the X. Carolinianum. {Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., March, 1865, p. 134 ) 
Dr. Bigelow states that the Aralia spinosa, or angelica tree, which grows in 
the Southern States, is occasionally confounded with X. fraxineum, in conse- 
quence partly of being sometimes called, like the latter, prickly ash. Its bark, 
however, in appearance and flavour, is entirely different from xanthoxylum. 902 
Xanthoxylum.—Ziucum. 
part r. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Xanthoxylum is stimulant, producing, when 
swrallowed, a sense of heat in the stomach, with more or less general arterial 
excitement, and a tendency to diaphoresis. It is thought to resemble mezereon 
and guaiac in its remedial action, and is given in the same complaints. As a 
remedy in chronic rheumatism, it enjoys considerable reputation in this coun- 
try. The dose of the powder is from ten grains to half a drachm, to be repeated 
three or four times a day. A decoction, prepared by boiling an ounce in three 
pints of water down to a quart, may be given in the quantity of a pint, in di- 
vided doses, during the twenty-four hours. The powder has sometimes been 
employed as a topical irritant; and the bark, used as a masticatory, is a popular 
remedy for toothache, and has been recommended in palsy of the tongue. W. 
ZINCUM. U.S.,Br. 
Zinc of commerce. Br. 
Speltre; Zinc, Fr.; Zink, Germ.; Zinco, Ital., Span. 
Zinc occurs native in two principal states; as a sulphuret, called blende, and 
as a carbonate and silicate, to which the name of calamine is applied indiscrim- 
inately.* It has been detected, in the vegetable kingdom, in a peculiar violet 
growing on the calamine hills of Rhenish Prussia. It is found most abun- 
dantly in Germany, whence the United States have, until recently, been chiefly 
supplied.| The metal is extracted generally from calamine. This is roasted 
and mixed with charcoal powder, and the mixture heated in iron cylinders, 
placed horizontally over a furnace. When the reduction of the zinc commences, 
iron receivers are adapted to the opening of the cylinder to condense the vola- 
tilized metal. The metal is then melted and run into moulds, and forms speltre, 
or the zinc of commerce. In this state it contains iron, and traces of lead, cad- 
mium, arsenic, copper, sulphur, and charcoal. To purify it from these substances, 
it must be subjected to a second distillation in a crucible, furnished with a tube 
passing through its bottom, and open at both ends; its upper extremity reaching 
a little more than half way up the interior of the crucible, and its lower end ter 
minating above a vessel of water. The impure zinc being placed in the crucible, 
the cover luted on, and the fire applied, the pure zinc is volatilized, and, passing 
down the tube by a descending distillation, condenses in the water below. 
Properties. Zinc has a bluish-white colour, a peculiar taste, and a percepti- 
ble smell when rubbed. Its texture is laminated, and its fracture crystalline. Its 
malleability and ductility are not very great. When perfectly pure, it may be 
reduced to thin leaves at ordinary temperatures; but the zinc of commerce re- 
quires to be heated to a temperature between 212° and 300° to render it suffi- 
ciently malleable to be rolled into sheets. The softness of zinc is peculiar, as is 
shown by the circumstance that it clogs the file, when the attempt is made to 
reduce it to filings ; and hence to have it in the divided form, it is necessary to 
melt it, and triturate it at the moment of solidification. Its sp. gr. is about 6*8, 
its equivalent 32 3, and symbol Zn. Favre makes its equivalent 32-99, and Erd- 
mann, 32 527. Subjected to heat it fuses at 773°. At full redness it boils, and 
in close vessels may be distilled over; but in open vessels it takes fire, and burns 
with a dazzling white flame, giving off dense white fumes. It dissolves in most 
of the acids with disengagement of hydrogen, and precipitates all the metals 
either in the metallic state, or in that of oxide. It forms but one well-charac- 
terized oxide (a protoxide), and but one sulphuret. The protoxide is officinal, 
and will be described under another head. (SeeZinci Oxidum.) 
Zinc. 
* A small piece of native zinc was exhibited at the International Exhibition at London, 
in 1862, among the products of Australia, being the first specimen that had been seen of 
the metal in this state. (Chern. News, July 26, 1862.) 
-f Zinc is now largely manufactured near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, at the zinc works of 
the Lehigh Zinc Company. The ore worked is the silicate or electric calamine. Sulphuret 
of zinc (blende) and sulphuret of cadmium are also found in the same locality. From 
picked specimens of the ore nearly pure zinc has been obtained. [Am. Journ. of Pharrn., 
Sept. 1860, p. 407.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART I. 
Zincum.—Zinci Sulphas. 
903 
Zinc of good quality dissolves in dilute sulphuric acid, with the exception of 
a scanty grayish-black residue. If absolutely pure, it would be wholly dissolved. 
The solution is colourless, aud yields white precipitates with ferrocyanide of 
potassium aud hydrosulphate of ammonia. Ammonia throws down from this 
solution a white precipitate, which is wholly dissolved when the alkali is 
added in excess. If copper be present, the solution will be rendered blue by 
the ammonia ; if iron, it will be thrown down by this alkali, but not redissolved 
by its excess. Arsenic may be detected, unless present in very minute propor- 
tion, by dissolving the zinc in pure dilute sulphuric acid in a self-regulating 
reservoir for hydrogen, when arseniuretted hydrogen will be formed, recogniza- 
ble by its flame producing a dark stain on a white plate. 
Zinc is extensively employed in the arts. It is the best metal that can be 
used, in conjunction with copper, for galvanic combinations. Combined with tin 
and mercury, it forms the amalgam for electrical machines. Its solution in di- 
lute sulphuric acid furnishes the readiest method for obtaining hydrogen. With 
copper it forms brass, and, in the form of sheet zinc, it is employed to cover the 
roofs of houses, and for other purposes. It is also applied to the covering of 
iron, to protect it from oxidizement, in the same manner as tin, forming what 
is known commercially as galvanized iron. It should, however, never be used 
for culinary vessels, as it is soluble in the weakest acids Zinc and its oxide are 
dissolved to a certain extent by water containing common salt; a double chlo- 
ride of zinc and sodium being produced in solution. (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 
1867, p. 397.) 
The compounds of zinc are poisonous, but not to the same extent as those of 
lead. The oxide of zinc, used in painting as a substitute for white lead, is said 
to be capable of producing a colic, resembling that caused by lead, and called 
zinc colic. It attacks workmen exposed to the dust of the oxide while engaged 
in packing it in barrels, and yields to the remedies appropriate to the treatment 
of lead colic. (See Chem. Gaz., Sept. 16, 1850.) This statement, however, is, to 
say the least, very questionable. 
Pharmaceutical Uses. Zinc is never used as a medicine in the metallic state; 
but is employed in this state to prepare the officinal Acetate, Sulphate, and 
Chloride of Zinc, and the Reduced Iron of the Br. Pharmacopoeia. In combina- 
tion it forms a number of important preparations, a list of which, with their 
synonymes, is subjoined. 
Zinc is employed medicinally, 
I. In the metallic state. 
Zincum Granulatum, Br. — Granulated Zinc. 
II. Oxidized. 
Zinci Oxidum, U. S., Br. — Oxide of Zinc. 
Unguentum Zinci Oxidi, U.S.; Unguentum Zinci, Br. — Ointment 
of Oxide of Zinc. 
III. Combined with chlorine. 
Zinci Chloridum, U. S., Br.— Chloride of Zinc. 
Liquor Zinci Chloridi, Br. — Solution of Chloride of Zinc. 
IY. Oxidized and combined with acids. 
Zinci Acetas, U. S., Br.—Acetate of Zinc. 
Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitata, U. S.; Zinci Carbonas, Br. —Precipitated 
Carbonate of Zinc. 
Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis, U. S.— Cerate of Carbonate of Zinc. 
Zinci Sulphas, U. S., Br. — Sulphate of Zinc. While Vitriol. 
Zinci Yalerianas, U. S., Br.— Valerianate of Zinc. B. 
ZINCI SULPHAS. U S., Br. 
This salt was, at the late revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, transferred from 
the Preparations to the Materia Medica Catalogue, as an article to be purchased 
Sulphate of Zinc. White Vitriol. 904 
Zinci Sulphas. 
PART I. 
of the manufacturer. The British Pharmacopoeia gives the following process for 
its preparation. 
Take of Granulated Zinc sixteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid 
twelve fuidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water four pints [Imp. 
meas.]; Solution of Chlorine a sufficiency; Carbonate of Zinc half an ounce 
[avoird.], or a sufficiency. Pour the Acid previously mixed with the Water on 
the Zinc contained in a porcelain basin,and, when effervescence has nearly ceased, 
aid the action by a gentle heat. Filter the fluid into a gallon bottle, and add grad- 
ually with constant agitation the Solution of Chlorine until the fluid acquires a 
permanent odour of chlorine. Add now with continued agitation the Carbonate 
of Zinc until a brown precipitate appears ; let it settle, filter the solution, evapo- 
rate till a pellicle forms on the surface, and set aside to crystallize. Dry the crys- 
tals by exposure to the air on filtering paper, placed on porous tiles. More 
crystals may be obtained by again evaporating the mother liquor.” 
Strong sulphuric acid has very little action on zinc ; but, when it is diluted, 
water is instantly decomposed, and, while its hydrogen escapes with rapid effer- 
vescence, its oxygen combines with the zinc; and the oxide formed, uniting with 
the acid, generates the sulphate of the oxide of zinc. Thus it is perceived that 
hydrogen is a collateral product of the process. The proportion of the zinc to 
the strong acid in the process is as 4 to 5-53. The equivalent numbers give the 
ratio of 4 to 606 ; which indicates that the metal is somewhat in excess. If the 
materials are mixed at once, without any precaution, the effervescence of hydro- 
gen is apt to be excessive, and to cause the overflowing of the liquid. This may 
be avoided by commencing the solution of zinc with a very dilute acid, which, as 
the action slackens, is made by degrees stronger and stronger, by the addition, 
at intervals, of small portions of fresh acid. As the zinc of commerce generally 
contains iron,this would contaminate the product,unless precautions were taken 
to prevent it. Hence the addition of chlorine, which reacts with the sulphate of 
iron to form tersulphate of sesquioxide of iron and sesquichloride of iron, which, 
upon the addition of the carbonate of zinc, yield the sulphuric acid and chlorine 
to the zinc; the sesquioxide of iron being deposited, and the carbonic acid set 
free. The former is separated by filtration, fffle latter escapes during the evapo- 
ration, the additional sulphate of zinc crystallizes with that first formed, and the 
chloride of zinc remains in the mother-waters. 
Preparation on the Large Scale. Impure sulphate of zinc, as it occurs in 
commerce, is called white vitriol. It is manufactured by roasting blende (native 
sulphuret of zinc) in a reverberatory furnace. This mineral, besides sulphuret of 
zinc, contains small quantities of the sulphurets of iron, copper, and lead ; and 
by roasting is converted, in consequence of the oxidation of its constituents, into 
sulphate of zinc, mixed with the sulphates of iron, copper, and lead. The roasted 
matter is then lixiviated ; and the solution obtained, after having been allowed 
to settle, is concentrated by evaporation ; so that, on cooling, it may concrete 
into a white crystalline mass, resembling lump sugar. In this state it always 
contains sulphate of iron, and sometimes a small proportion of sulphate of cop- 
per. It may be purified from these metals by dissolving it in water, and boiling 
the solution with oxide of zinc, which converts the sulphates of iron and copper, 
by precipitating their bases, into sulphate of zinc. The purified solution is then 
decanted or filtered, and, after due evaporation, allowed to crystallize. It has 
generally been proposed to purify the white vitriol of commerce by digesting its 
solution with metallic zinc, under the impression that this is capable of precipi- 
tating all the foreign metals; but, according to Berzelius, though it will preci- 
pitate copper readily, it has no action on iron. 
Properties, &c. Sulphate of zinc is a transparent, colourless salt, having a 
disagreeable, metallic, styptic taste, and crystallizing usually in small four-sided 
prisms. Its crystals have considerable resemblance to those of sulphate of mag- 
nesia It effloresces slightly in dry air, and, though neutral in composition, 
reddens vegetable blues. It dissolves in two and a half times its weight of cold 
water, and in less than its weight of boiling water, and is insoluble in alcohol. PART I. 
Zinci Sulphas. 
905 
When heated it dissolves in its water of crystallization, which gradually evapo- 
rates; and, by a prolonged ignition, the whole of the acid is expelled, and the 
oxide of zinc left. Potassa, soda, and ammonia throw down a white precipitate 
of mixed oxide and subsulphate, which is redissolved by the alkali in excess. If 
iron be present, it is precipitated also, but not redissolved. The alkaline car- 
bonates precipitate the metal in the state of white carbonate. Pure sulphate of 
zinc is precipitated white by ferrocyanide of potassium and hvdrosulphuret of 
ammonia. What is thrown down by chloride of barium or acetate of lead (sul- 
phate of baryta or sulphate of lead) is not dissolved by nitric acid. If copper be 
present, ammonia will produce a blue tinge ; if iron, the ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium will cause a bluish-white precipitate instead of a white one, and tincture 
of galls a purple colour. Cadmium and arsenic may be detected by acidulating 
the solution with sulphuric acid, and passing a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen 
through it; when, if either of these metals be present, it will be thrown down as 
a yellow sulphuret. Sulphate of zinc is incompatible with alkalies and alkaline 
carbonates, hydrosulphates, lime-water, the soluble salts of lead, and astringent 
infusions. 
The impure commercial variety of sulphate of zinc, called white vitriol, is in 
the form of irregular white masses, having some resemblance to lump sugar. 
The lumps usually exhibit, here and there on the surface, yellow stains,produced 
by sesquioxide of iron. It is less soluble than the pure salt, on account of its 
containing less water of crystallization. 
Composition. Crystallized sulphate of zinc consists of one eq. of sulphuric 
acid 40, one of oxide of zinc 40 3, and seven of water 63 = 143 3. The white 
vitriol of commerce contains but three eqs. of water. 
Medical Properties a,nd Uses. This salt is tonic, astringent, and, in large 
doses, a prompt emetic. Before the discovery of tartar emetic, it was much em- 
ployed to produce vomiting; but at present its use as an emetic is restricted prin- 
cipally to the dislodging of poisons, for which pui'pose its property of operating 
promptly renders it particularly suitable. As a tonic, it is supposed to be well 
suited to cases of debility, attended with irritation, being less heating than sul- 
phate of iron. In dyspepsia it has been used with advantage in small doses, 
from a quarter of a grain to a grain, repeated several times a day; but, if good 
effects are not soon apparent, it should be laid aside. In the night-sweats of 
consumption it acts with singular efficacy, combined with extract of hyoscy- 
amus, given at bedtime in the form of pill, composed of one grain of the salt to 
four of the extract. The combination has been used in these sweats, with the 
effect of arresting them in about thirty cases, by Dr. E. J. Coxe, of New Orleans. 
In obstinate intermittents it is a valuable resource, and maybe given alone, or 
conjoined with cinchona or sulphate of quinia. But it is in spasmodic diseases, 
such as epilepsy, chorea, pertussis, &c., that it has been principally employed. 
Dr. Paris speaks of its efficacy in high terms, in spasmodic cough, especially 
when combined with camphor or myrrh, and “ in affections of the chest attended 
with inordinate secretion.” As an astringent it is chiefly employed externally. 
Its solution constitutes a good styptic to bleeding surfaces, and is frequently re- 
sorted to as an injection in fluor albus and gonorrhoea, and as a collyrium in oph- 
thalmia. In some conditions of ulcerated sorethroat, it forms a useful gargle. It 
has been employed also in solution with success as a remedy for nasal polypi, in 
the proportion of two scruples, gradually increased to an ounce of the salt, to 
seven fluidounces of water, applied by means of lint and by injection. The dose, 
as a tonic, is from one to two grains; as an emetic, from ten to thirty grains. To 
children affected with hooping-cough, it may be given in doses of from an eighth 
to a quarter of a grain two or three times a day. When used as a collyrium, in- 
action, or gargle, or as a wash for indolent ulcers, from one to three grains or 
more may be dissolved in a fluidounce of water. For medicinal purposes the 
crystallized salt should be used, and in no case the impure white vitriol of com- 
merce. 
Prof. Simpson,of Edinburgh, has recently (1857) called attention to the value 906 
Zinci Sulphas.—Zingiber. 
PART I. 
of dried sulphate of zinc, in the form of powder, paste, or ointment, as a caustic. 
He attributes to it the advantages of being powerful, rapid, manageable, safe, 
and not deliquescent. In a recent paper he reports his successful use of it as a 
caustic in indurated inflammatory ulcers of the cervix uteri; in lupus; in ulcer- 
ous forms of skin diseases; in removingtbe small red sensitive tumours which 
form at the orifice of the female urethra, and in destroying ulcerated condylo- 
mata and warty excrescences. The dried salt should be finely levigated. The 
caustic paste is made by incorporating an ounce of the powder with a drachm 
of glycerin; and the caustic ointment, by thoroughly mixing the same quantity 
of the powder with two drachms of lard. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 
1857, p. 485.) Dr. Eben Watson, Surgeon to the Royal Infirmary of Glasgow, 
also bears testimony to the utility of dried sulphate of zinc as an escharotic. He 
particularly insists upon its advantages as a caustic application to callous ulcers, 
for the purpose of destroying their surface, exciting a new action, and disposing 
them to heal. The application causes severe pain, which should be relieved 
by opiates freely given, and continued until the sloughs separate, about the 
fifth day. 
Sulphate of zinc, in an overdose, acts as an irritant poison. Besides vomiting 
and incessant retching, it produces anxiety,distressing restlessness, and extreme 
prostration. Few cases are on record of fatal poisoning by this salt; the patient 
being generally relieved by its prompt expulsion in vomiting. Four cases, how- 
ever, have been reported in an Italian journal, two of which proved fatal. In 
one of the fatal cases, an ounce and a. half had been swallowed by mistake for 
Epsom salt. The treatment consists in the free administration of bland drinks, 
the use of opium to allay irritation, and the employment of the usual antiphlo- 
gistic remedies, should symptoms of inflammation arise. 
Off. Prep. Zinci Carbonas, Br.; Zinci Carbonas Prsecipitaia, U. S.; Zinci 
Yaleriauas. B. 
ZINGIBER. U. S., Br. 
Ginger. 
The rhizoma of Zingiber officinale. U. S. The scraped and dried rhizome. Br 
Gingembre, Fr.; Ingwer, Germ.; Zenzero, Ital.; Gengibre, Span. 
Zingiber. Sex. Syst. Monandria Monogynia.—Nat. Ord. Scitaminese, B. 
Brown; Zingiberaceae, Bindley. 
Gen. Ch. Flowers spathaceous. Inner limb of the corolla with one lip. An- 
ther double, with a simple recurved horn at the end. Germen inferior. Style 
enclosed in the furrow formed by the anther. Loudon's Encyc. of Plants. 
Zingiber officinale. Roscoe, Trans. Linn. Soc. viii. 348 ; Carson, Illust. of 
Med. Bat. ii. 55, pi. 98. — Amomum Zingiber. Willd. Sp. Plant, i. 6; Woodv. 
Med. Bot. p. 131, t. 260. The ginger plant has a biennial or perennial, creeping, 
tuberous root or rhizoma, and an annual stem, which rises two or three feet in 
height, is solid, round, erect, and enclosed in an imbricated membranous sheath- 
ing. The leaves are lanceolate, acute, smooth, five or six inches long by about 
an inch in breadth, and stand alternately on the sheaths of the stem. The flower- 
stalk rises by the side of the stem from six inches to a foot, and like it is clothed 
with oval, acuminate sheaths; but it is without leaves, and terminates in an 
oval, obtuse, bracteal, imbricated spike. The flowers are of a dingy yellow 
colour, and appear two or three at a time between the bracteal scales. 
The plant is a native of Hindostan, and is cultivated in all parts of India. It 
is also cultivated in the West Indies, whither it was transplanted from the East, 
and at Sie~”a Leone in Africa. The flowers have an aromatic smell, and the 
stems, when bruised, are slightly fragrant; but the root is the portion in which 
the virtues of the plant reside. This is fit to be dug up when a year old. In the 
West Indies, the ginger crop is gathered in January and February, after the 
stems have withered. After having been properly cleansed, the root is scalded 
in boiling water, in order to prevent germination, and is then rapidly dried. Thus part I. 
Zingiber. 
prepared, it constitutes the ordinary ginger of commerce, or black ginger, as it 
is sometimes called from the darkish colour acquired in the process. It is im- 
ported chiefly from Calcutta, and is known to the druggists by the name of East 
India ginger; but recently considerable quantities have been brought from Africa, 
and some probably reaches us from the West Indies. In Jamaica another variety 
is prepared by selecting the best roots, depriving them of their epidermis, and 
drying them separately and carefully in the sun. This is called in the books white 
ginger, and is most highly valued. It reaches us from England, where it is said 
to undergo some further preparation, by which its appearance is improved. It 
is usually called in our markets Jamaica ginger. The root is also at present 
imported from the East Indies deprived of the epidermis. Considerable quanti- 
ties are brought immediately from the West Indies in a recent state, and sold 
by the confectioners. A preserve is made from ginger by selecting the roots 
while young and tender, depriving them of their cortical covering, and boiling 
them in syrup. This is occasionally imported from the East and West Indies. 
When good it is translucent and tender. 
The recent root is from one to four inches long, somewhat flattened on its 
upper and under surface, knotty, obtusely and irregularly branched or lobed, 
externally of a light-ash colour with circular rug®, internally yellowish-white 
and fleshy. It sometimes germinates when kept in the shops. 
The common or black ginger is of the same general shape, but has a dark 
ash-coloured wrinkled epidermis, which, being removed in some places, ex- 
hibits patches of an almost black colour, apparently the result of exposure. 
Beneath the epidermis is a brownish, resinous, almost horny cortical portion. 
The interior parenchyma is whitish and somewhat farinaceous. The powdei 
is of a light yellowish-brown colour. This variety is most extensively used. 
The Jamaica or white ginger differs in being entirely deprived of epidermis, 
and white or yellowish-white on the outside. The pieces are rounder and thin- 
ner, in consequence of the loss of substance in their preparation. They afford 
when pulverized a beautiful yellowish-white powder, which is brought from 
Liverpool in jars. This variety is firm and resinous, and has more of the sensi- 
ble qualities of ginger than the black. The uncoated ginger of the East Indies 
resembles the Jamaica, but is darker. There is reason to believe that a por- 
tion at least of the white ginger of commerce has been subjected to a bleaching 
process, by which not only the exterior, but also the internal parts are ren- 
dered whiter than in the unprepared root. Trommsdorff found, in a specimen 
which he examined, evidences of the presence of chlorides, sulphates, and 
lime; and concluded that the bleaching was effected by chlorine, or by chlo- 
ride of lime and sulphuric acid. Having macerated some black ginger in water, 
deprived it of the cortical portion, treated it for twenty-four hours with sul- 
phuric acid diluted with nine times its weight of water, and finally placed it 
in a mixture of chloride of lime and water, in which it was allowed to remain 
for two days, he found it, upon being washed and dried, to present an appear- 
ance closely resembling that of the finest white ginger, both on the surface and 
internally. (Annal. der Pharm., xvii. 98.) According to Brande, ginger is often 
washed in whiting and water; and Pereira states that it is sometimes bleached 
by exposure to the fumes of burning sulphur. 
General Properties. The odour of ginger is aromatic and penetrating, the 
taste spicy, pungent, hot, and biting. These properties gradually diminish, and 
are ultimately lost by exposure. The virtues of ginger are extracted by water 
and alcohol. Its constituents, according to M. Morin, are a volatile oil; a resin- 
ous matter, soft, acrid, aromatic, and soluble in ether and alcohol; a sub-resin 
insoluble in ether ; a little osmazome ; gum ; starch ; a vegeto-animal matter; 
sulphur ; acetic acid ; acetate of potassa; and lignin. The peculiar flavour of 
the root appears to depend on the volatile oil, its pungency partly on the resin- 
ous or resino-extractive principle. A considerable quantity of pure white starch 
may be obtained from it. The volatile oil, examined by A. Papousck, was yel- 
low, of the odour of ginger, and of a hot aromatic taste. Its sp. gr. 'was 0‘893, 908 
Zingiber, 
PART I. 
and boiling point 475°. Deprived of water by distillation with anhydrous phos- 
phoric acid, it consisted of carbon and hydrogen, with the formula C10H8, and 
therefore belongs to the camphene series. (See Chem. Gaz., Jan. 1,1853, p. 12.) 
Papousck considers it a hydrate of camphene. (Gmelin, xiv. 70.) According 
to Zeller, one pound of the dried root yields one drachm and seventeen grains 
of volatile oil. {Gent. Blatt, 1855, p. 207.) Those pieces of ginger which are 
very fibrous, light and friable, or worm-eaten, should be rejected. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ginger is a grateful stimulant and carmina- 
tive, and is often given in dyspepsia, flatulent colic, and the feeble state of the 
alimentary canal attendant upon atonic gout. It is an excellent addition to 
bitter infusions and tonic powders, imparting to them an agreeable, warming, 
and cordial operation upon the stomach. When chewed it produces much irri- 
tation of the mouth, and a copious flow of saliva; and, when snuffed up the 
nostrils in powder, excites violent sneezing. It is sometimes used as a local 
remedy in relaxation of the uvula, and palsy of the tongue and fauces. Exter- 
nally it is rubefacient. It may be given in powder or infusion. The dose of the 
former is from ten grains to a scruple or more. The infusion may be prepared 
by adding halt an ounce of the powdered or bruised root to a pint of boiling 
water, and maybe given in the dose of one or two fluidounces. A fluid extract 
and oleoresin of ginger are now officinal, and very convenient preparations. 
(See Extract am Zingiberis Fluidum and Oleoresina Zingiberis in Part II.) 
The dose of the former may be from ten to thirty minims, of the latter from two 
to five minims. There is also an officinal tincture, the dose of which is about a 
fluidrachm. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum ; Confectio Scammonii, Br.; 
Extractum Zingiberis Fluidum, U. S.; Infusum Sennae, Br.; Infusum Zingi- 
beris, U.S.; Oleoresina Zingiberis, U. S.; Pilulse Scillae Compositae; Pulvis 
Aromaticus, U. S.; Pulvis Onmamomi Compositus, Br.; Pulvis Jalapae Comp., 
Br.; Pulvis Opii Comp., ByPulvis Rhei Comp.; Pulvis Scammonii Comp., 
Br.; Syrupus Rbamni, Br., Tinctura Zingiberis; Tinctura Zingiberis For- 
tior, Br.; Yiuum Aloes. W. PART II. 
PREPARATIONS. 
The preparation of medicines, which constitutes the art of Pharmacy, comes 
within the peculiar province of the apothecary. It is for his guidance that the 
various formulas of the Pharmacopoeia have been arranged, and to him that 
their directions are especially addressed.* 
A few general observations, therefore, of an explanatory nature, calculated 
to facilitate the progress of the pharmaceutical student, will not be misplaced 
under the present head. The duty of the apothecary is to obtain a supply of 
good medicines, to preserve them with care, to prepare them properly for use, 
and to dispense them. Our remarks will embrace each of these points. 
The substances obtained from the mineral and animal kingdoms, and those 
furnished by the chemical manufacturer, are of a nature to admit of no general 
precepts as to their proper condition, which would not be suggested by the com- 
mon sense of the purchaser. He must receive them as offered, and judge of their 
fitness for his purposes by his knowledge of the peculiar properties of each. The 
same remark applies to vegetable substances from abroad ; but, with respect to 
indigenous plants, the apothecary is frequently called upon to exercise his judg- 
ment in relation to their collection and desiccation, and will derive advantage 
from some brief practical rules upon the subject. 
Collecting and Drying of Plants. The proper mode of proceeding varies 
according to the nature of the part used. The different parts of plants are to 
be gathered at the period when the peculiar juices of the plant are most abun- 
dant in them. In the roots of annual plants this happens just before the time 
of flowering ; in the roots of biennials, after the vegetation of the first year has 
ceased; and in those of perennials, in the autumn after vegetation has ceased, 
or in the spring before it has commenced. They should be washed, and the 
small fibres, unless they are the part employed, or unless experience has shown, 
as in the instance of podophyllum, that they are equally efficacious with the 
larger portion, should be separated from the fleshy solid part, which is to be 
cut in slices previously to being dried. Bulbs are to be gathered after the new 
bulb is perfected, and before it has begun to vegetate, which is at the time the 
leaves decay. Barks, whether of the root, trunk, or branches, should be gath- 
ered in the autumn or early in the spring. The dead epidermis, and the decayed 
parts, are to be separated. Of some trees, as the slippery elm, it is the inner 
bark only that is preserved. Leaves are to be gathered after their full devel- 
* These preliminary observations to the second part of the work were originally prepared 
by Mr. Daniel B. Smith, then President of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. They 
have from time to time been considerably modified since their first appearance; but never 
to the same extent as in the edition preceding the present. The alterations then made 
were such as the improvements in Pharmacy suggested, and were deemed necessary to 
render the work a proper exponent of the existing state of knowledge upon the subject. 
The surviving author, while he alone is responsible for all that has been added to or 
modified in the work of Mr. Smith, so far as concerns arrangement and expression, has 
great satisfaction in acknowledging his indebtedness, for most valuable aid in the revi- 
sion, to Professor William Procter, of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. So short 
a time has elapsed since the publication of the twelfth edition that comparatively few 
changes have been made in the present; but we have endeavoured, not to pass over anything 
which appeared to deserve notice in this place. (Note to the twelfth and thirteenth editions.) 910 
Collecting and Drying of Plants. 
part ir. 
\ 
opment, before the fading of the flower. The leaves of biennial plants do not 
attain perfection until the second year. Flowers should in general be gathered 
at the time of expansion, before or immediately after having fully opened ; and 
some, as the Rosa Gallica, while in the bud. Aromatic herbs are to be gath- 
ered when in flower; leaves, flowers, and herbs in clear dry weather, in the 
morning, after the dew is exhaled. Stalks and twigs are collected in autumn ; 
seeds at the period of full maturity. 
Vegetables should be dried as rapidly as is consistent with their perfect pre- 
servation. Those collected in the warm months, and during dry weather, may, 
except in a few instances, be dried by spontaneous evaporation in a well-venti- 
lated apartment; and some, as roots and barks, may be exposed to the direct 
rays of the sun. In spring and autumn, and especially in damp, foggy, or rainy 
weather, the drying room should be artificially heated, and furnished with aper- 
tures near the top for the escape of the moist warm air, and others beneath in 
the direction of the prevailing wind, so as to command a current of air. The 
arrangements for supplying heat, which may consist of a small stove, or a drum 
connected with a stove in another apartment, should be capable of regulation ; so 
that the temperature may range between 70° and 100° Fahr. at will. The sub- 
stances to be dried should be supported on wicker or tinned wire hurdles, ar- 
ranged horizontally above each other, so that the ascending and lateral currents 
of air may pass over and through every part. Fibrous roots may be dried in the 
sun, or at a heat from 65° to 80° in the drying room. Fleshy roots should be cut 
in transverse slices not exceeding half an inch in length, and, during the drying 
process, should be stirred several times to prevent moulding; the heat being at 
first maintained at about 100°. Bulbs must have the outer membranes peeled 
off; in other respects they are to be treated like fleshy roots. Barks, woods, 
and twigs readily dry in thin layers in the open air. Leaves, after separation 
from the stalks, should be loosely strewed over the hurdles, and their position 
changed twice a day till they become dry. When very succulent, they require 
more care in order to prevent discoloration. For dry and thin leaves the heat 
need not exceed 70° ; for the succulent it may be gradually raised to 100°. An- 
nual plants and tops, if not too juicy, may be tied loosely in small bundles, and 
strung on lines stretched across the drying room. Flowers must be dried care- 
fully and rapidly so as to preserve their colour. They should be spread loosely 
on the hurdles, and turned several times by stirring. When flowers or leaves 
owe their virtues to volatile oils, greater care is necessary. Succulent fruits, as 
berries, may be dried,when in bunches,by suspending them in the drying room.* 
The following table, taken from the Edinburgh Dispensatory, presents the 
amount yielded by 1000 parts of the vegetables respectively mentioned, after 
being dried. 
Root of Angelica Archangelica 263 
Aspidium Filix Mas 500 
Inula Helenium 187 
Valeriana sylvestris 316 
Bark of the Oak 410 
Elder 292 
Elm 375 
Twigs of Solanum Dulcamara 308 
Leaves of Atropa Belladonna 140 
Conium maculatum 185 
Datura Stramonium 110 
Leaves of Digitalis purpurea 180 
Hyoscyamus niger, 135 
Melissa officinalis 220 
Salvia officinalis 220 
Tops of Mentha piperita 215 
Flowers of Anthemis nobilis 338 
Borago officinalis 90 
Lavandula vera 610 
Sambucus Ebulus 256 
Petals of Papaver Rhoeas 84 
Rosa rubra ,... 330 
* It is sometimes very difficult to dry glutinous substances, such as gum in its various 
forms, so as to preserve the original appearance; as the particles are apt to adhere to- 
gether, and give rise to amorphous masses more or less solid and translucent. To obviate 
this, Reischauer proposes to effect the drying in an ethereal medium, in which ether 
takes the place of the removed water, and prevents the adhesion of the particles. A well- 
closed glass vessel is filled with ether or other similar fluid, with chloride of calcium, 
quicklime, or other desiccating agent at the bottom. The substance to be dried is placed 
in a shallow saucer below the surface of the ether. The rationale of the operation is 
simply that, as the drying agent absorbs water from the ether, this absorbs it from the part ii. Preservation of Medicines. — Weights and Measures. 
911 
Preservation of Medicines. The proper preservation of medicines is an 
object of the greatest importance to the apothecary. The apartment destined for 
a store room should be quite dry, and capable of being ventilated at will, and 
protected from vermin. As a general rule, drugs should be excluded from the 
light, and not packed away until thoroughly dry. New parcels should not be 
put in old receptacles until these have been examined, and freed from dust and 
insects. Barrels and boxes, well fitted with movable covers, are suitable for most 
roots, barks, and woods, and for some herbs, leaves, and seeds. They should be 
painted externally, and are less liable to harbour insects when varnished inside 
with a solution of shellac, imbued with aloes, wormwood, or colocimth. Boots 
and bulbs which are to be preserved fresh, should be buried in dry sand. Aro- 
matic leaves and those containing alkaloids, fiowers, most seeds, and some roots 
especially liable to the attacks of insects, should be kept in tin canisters, or in 
light boxes lined with lead, tin, or zinc, or in opaque glass or earthenware ves- 
sels. Double-cased tin vessels are admirably adapted to the preservation of 
vegetables. These should be frequently examined in order to prevent deterio- 
ration from insects or moisture. When insects are discovered in a drug, the 
best means of destroying them, according to Lutrand, is to suspend an open vial 
containing chloroform in the canister, which is to be closed securely, so that the 
atmosphere of the vessel may become saturated with the vapour. Cantharides 
and ergot may be thus treated. The presence of a little ether in the bottle has 
often also great effect in preventing the attacks of worms; and benzole, carbolic 
acid, and bisulphide of carbon may be employed for the same purpose. Bundles 
of aromatic herbs, the leaves of which are very friable, as sage, marjoram, &c., 
should be wrapped loosely in refuse paper, so as to preserve a due proportion 
between stems, leaves, and flowers. Gum-resins, unless in original packages, 
should be kept in earthen jars or tinned boxes; fixed and volatile oils, in canis- 
ters or bottles closely stopped, in a cool dark place, where the average tem- 
perature is about 60°. Substances in the form of fecula should be kept in oak 
barrels, or in canisters, and carefully examined from time to time to detect and 
remove insects. 
Garbling of Drugs. Drugs frequently require to be garbled before they are 
in a proper state for use. Senna is to be separated from the stalks and legumes; 
cetraria from moss, leaves, and sticks; myrrh from bdellium, &c.; gum Sene- 
gal from Bassora gum and a terebinthinate resin; fiaxseed from clover and 
garlic seed ; seneka from ginseng; spigelia, from the stems and leaves, and both 
it and serpentaria from adhering dirt. Seroons of cinchona should be examined, 
and the barks assorted before they are put by for use. Gums and gum-resins 
should be garbled, and the tears preserved separately. 
Weights and Measures. A precise acquaintance with the recognised mea- 
sures of weight and capacity is essential to the operations of the apothecary. 
The weights used by him in compounding medicines, and dispensing them by 
prescription, are the troy pound and its divisions; those by ivhieh he buys and 
sells commercially, the avoirdupois pound and its divisions. The former contains 
5760 grains, the latter 7000 grains; so that 11 troy pounds are nearly equivalent 
to 9 pounds avoirdupois. The troy pound contains 12 ounces of 480 grains; 
the avoirdupois pound 16 ounces of grains; eleven of the former being 
nearly equal to twelve of the latter. The troy ounce is divided, for the use of 
the apothecary, into 8 drachms of 60 grains each ; and the drachm into 3 scruples 
of 20 grains each. The United States Pharmacopoeia recognises the troy 
weights, but employs only the grain and ounce, and, to prevent confusion, de- 
signates the latter weight by the name of troy ounce ; and whenever, in this 
work, any term is used expressive of weight, when not otherwise stated, 
it is to be understood as being of the denomination of troy weight. The 
substance to be dried, until the latter is sufficiently deprived of it. This of course parts 
with the ether absorbed by subsequent evaporation. It is obvious that the process is ap- 
plicable only to bodies which are insoluble in ether, or in any fluid that may be substi- 
tuted for it. (Chem. News, March 16, 1866, p. 123.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. 912 
Weights and Measures.—Specific Gravity. 
PART II 
British Pharmacopoeia employs the avoirdupois pound and ounce, and the troy 
grain. 
The measures used by the apothecary, in this country, are the wine pint and 
gallon. The wine pint contains 28 875 cubic inches. The weight of a pint of 
distilled water, at 62° Fahrenheit and 30 inches of the barometer, is T289-7 
grains, or I pound 3 ounces 1 drachm 29 7 grains troy, or 1 pound 289 7 grains 
avoirdupois. The gallon is divided into 8 pints, the pint into 16 fluidounces, the 
fluidounce into 8 fluidrachms, the fluidrachm into 60 minims. The weight of a 
fluidounce of water is grains, being 18 grains more than an avoirdupois 
ounce. A drop is generally though incorrectly considered as equivalent to a 
minim. Drops vary in size according to the nature of the fluid, and the size and 
shape of the lip from which they fall. A drop of water nearly equals a minim. 
A fluidrachm of antimonial wine will make, on an average, about 72 drops, one 
of laudanum 120 drops, one of alcohol 138 drops, one of ether 150 drops, and 
one of chloroform more than 200 drops. For a table showing the relative value 
of minims and drops, see the Appendix. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia recognises 
the wine measure as here given, but, in its processes, employs only the pint and 
its subdivisions, omitting the use of the gallon altogether. The measures recog- 
nised by the British Pharmacopoeia are the Imperial gallon of 70,000 grains of 
distilled water, or 277 cubic inches, and its divisions. This gallon is divided into 
8 pints of 20 fluidounces each. The fluidounce is divided as that of wine mea- 
sure, but differs from it in value, containing precisely an ounce avoirdupois (437‘5 
grains) of distilled water. Measures are employed, both in the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias, to express the quantity of liquids in most of their formulas; 
but, in reference to the stronger acids, chloroform, and the fixed oils, weights 
are now generally preferred. 
Liquids are to be dispensed from graduated measures, of which those holding 
from a fluidounce to a pint are hollow inverted cones; and those holding a 
fluidrachm, and graduated to every five minims, are cylindrical. For smaller 
quantities than five minims, a slender tube holding a fluidrachm may be used, 
having the aliquot parts divided off, and marked with a diamond. Alsop’s mini- 
meter, which consists of a slender glass syringe graduated into sixty parts, each 
equal to a minim, is the most convenient and accurate instrument for measuring 
fractions of a fluidrachm. Care should be taken to verify these instruments. 
This may be done by reference to the table in the Appendix, in which the value 
of each division of measure is given in grains; distilled water at 60° F. being 
the standard. The following approximate measures are used in prescribing 
medicines; viz., a wineglassful containing two fluidounces, a tablespoonful half 
a fluidounce, a dessertspoonful two fluidrachms, and a teaspoonful a fluidrachm.* 
Specific Gravity. The specific gravity of liquids affords one of the best 
tests of their purity. The instrument commonly used by the apothecary for 
ascertaining this is Baume's hydrometer. This is a glass bulb loaded at one 
end, and drawn out at the other into a tube on which the scale is marked. That 
used for alcohol is graduated by loading it until it sinks to the foot of the stem 
(which is marked zero) in a solution of one part of common salt in nine parts of 
water. It is then put into water, and the place to which it sinks marked 10° 
of the scale, which is constructed from these data. The hydrometer for liquids 
heavier than water is made by loading it, so that in distilled water it shall sink 
nearly to the top of the stem. The place to which it sinks in a solution of 15 
parts of salt in 85 parts of water is then marked 15°, and the scale divided off. 
For a table exhibiting the value of these scales in specific gravities, see the 
* A patented glass measure is made, in Philadelphia, by Mr. William Hodgson, Jr., 
which, besides peculiar advantages in its graduation, would appear to have the great merit 
of being uniform, as it is cast in moulds. The measures imported from England are 
graduated in accordance with the subdivisions of the Imperial pint, and are not applica- 
ble to American pharmacy. For a similar reason those brought from Germany are gen- 
erally unfit for use in our shops. Every apothecary should satisfy himself of the accu- 
racy of the measures he employs. By possessing one on which he can rely, he can use 
it to determine the correctness of othors. PAHT II. 
Specific Gravity.—Mechanical Division. 
913 
Appendix. Hydrometers are made specially for syrups, acids, and saline solu- 
tions. Those for syrups should have a very short tube, graduated from 20° to 
40° of Baume’s scale for heavy liquids The advantage of a short stem is, that 
the instrument may be used in small vessels.* 
The hydrometers commonly imported are so carelessly made that scarcely 
any two will agree, and little dependence can be placed on their accuracy. A 
more certain method consists in weighing the liquid at a uniform temperature 
in a bottle, the capacity of which, in grains of distilled water, has been pre- 
viously ascertained. If a bottle be selected which will hold exactly 1000 grains 
of water at 60°, the weight in grains of the quantity of any liquid which it will 
hold, will be the specific gravity of that liquid. Such bottles are sold in the 
shops. If one is not attainable, an ordinary vial may be used, and the specific 
gravity obtained by dividing the weight of the liquid examined by the weight 
of the water. The operation is rendered more accurate by fitting a smooth cork 
to the vial, passing a pin transversely through it so as to rest on the lips of the 
vial, and then cutting a small vertical groove into the 'side of the cork, so as 
to admit of the escape of the excess of liquid when the cork is inserted. 
Gay-Lussac’s centesimal alcohol meter is a very useful instrument, being 
graduated so as to indicate the percentage by measure of absolute alcohol in 
any mixture of pure spirit and water; but unfortunately the commercial in- 
struments are too often inaccurate. 
The specific gravity of a solid is ascertained by first weighing it in air and 
then in water, and dividing the former weight by the difference between the two. 
If lighter than water, it should be first weighed in the air, then in air and in 
water in connection with a heavier body, which has itself been previously weighed 
in air and in water; and the weight of the lighter body in the air, should be 
divided by the excess of the difference between the weights in air and water of 
the two conjoined, over that of the weights in air and water of the heavier body 
alone. If the body be soluble in water, its relative weight to that of some other 
liquid of known specific gravity should be ascertained, in the manner above 
directed, and this weight multiplied by the specific gravity of that liquid. 
The specific gravity of insoluble powders heavier than water, as calomel, may 
be obtained by introducing 100 grains into a thousand-grain bottle, adding first 
a little distilled water and thoroughly agitating, with the thumb over the orifice, 
so as to rid the solid particles of adherent air, then filling the bottle accurately 
with more of the water, ascertaining the weight of the contents in grains, sub- 
tracting the number of grains, exceeding 1000, from the weight of the powder in 
air, and dividing the latter by the difference. When the powder is soluble, or 
lighter than water, another liquid, as alcohol, ether, or oil of turpentine, may be 
used, the necessary allowance being made for the difference in specific gravity. 
Yery accurate thousand-grain bottles are now made in Philadelphia. 
Mechanical Division. One of the simplest methods of preparing medi- 
cines is their reduction, by mechanical means, to a state of minute division. 
This is effected by the operations of slicing, bruising, rasping, filing, triturat- 
ing, grinding, sifting, levigation, and elutriation. When the result is a fine 
powder, the process or processes employed are called pulverization. 
The more important drugs which are sold in the state of powder are pulver- 
ized by persons who pursue that occupation for a livelihood. Owing to the read- 
iness with which fraud can be perpetrated in this operation, the apothecary 
cannot be too careful to place his drugs in honest hands. In sending drugs to 
the powderer a certain percentage of powder is sometimes required, without 
* For some interesting observations in reference to the inaccuracy of the existing tables 
of specific gravities corresponding to the several degrees of hydrometer, to the 
uncertainty of the hydrometer in use, and to a mode of remedying these inconveniences, 
the reader is referred to a paper by Mr. Henry Pemberton in the Am. Journ. ofPharm 
(xxiv. 1), and, for a good and accurate method of graduating hydrometers, to a commu- 
nication from Dr. W. H. Pile, in the same journal (xxiv. 310). It may be useful to physi- 
cians practising in the country, and to apothecaries, to know that reliable hydrometers and 
other instruments are kept for sale, at this time (A. D. 1864), by Dr. Pile in Philadelphia. 914 
Contusion. 
PART IT. 
regard to the condition of the drugs, as to moisture, extraneous admixture, &e., 
which percentage often cannot be obtained without the addition of foreign 
matter. This procedure on the part of the druggist is one of the chief sources 
of dishonesty of the powderer, and is highly reprehensible. The loss of weight 
during the processes of pulverization is due to the evaporation of moisture, the 
unavoidable escape of dusty particles, and the useless residue called gruffs. 
We have been informed that it is not customary, with the powderers in this 
country, to reject the less active and less readily pulverizable constituents, as 
the ligneous parts of certain roots, but to continue the process till almost the 
whole will pass through the sieve. The following statement has been abbre- 
viated from a table prepared by MM. Henry and Guibourt. One thousand 
parts of the substances mentioned yielded, when pulverized—* 
Roots. 
Jalap 940 
Rhubarb 920 
Columbo 900 
Liquorice root 900 
"Valerian 860 
Elecampane 850 
Gentian 850 
Florentine orris 850 
Rhatany 850 
Calamus 840 
Virginia snakeroot 800 
Ipecacuanha 750 
Squill (bulb) 820 
Barks. 
Cinchona, pale 875 
Cinchona, red 880 
Cinchona, yellow 900 
Cinnamon 890 
Angustura 825 
Leaves. 
Hemlock 800 
Savine 800 
Digitalis 790 
Belladonna 785 
Senna 720 
Henbane 530 
Flowers. 
Chamomile 850 
Saffron 800 
Fruits. 
Mustard 950 
Black pepper 900 
Nux vomica 850 
Colocynth 500 
Vegetable Products. 
Aloes 9G0 
Tragacanth 940 
Opium 930 
Gum arabic 925 
Scammony 915 
Catechu 900 
Liquorice (extract) 810 
Animal Substances. 
Castor 900 
Spanish flies 850 
Mineral Substances. 
Red oxide of mercury.. 980 
Red sulphuret of mer- 
cury 950 
Arsenious acid 950 
Sulphuret of antimony 950 
Tin 825 
The apothecary often finds it necessary to pulverize drugs in small quanti- 
ties. For this purpose he should be provided with mortars of iron, brass, Wedg- 
wood ware, glass, and marble, sieves of several degrees of fineness, at least one 
hand-mill, one or more cutting knives, a rasp, and a pair of pruning shears. 
Contusion should be performed in an iron or brass mortar, the latter being 
used for astringent substances. The curve of the interior surface of the bottom 
should be elliptical, and that of the pestle should be of the same kind, but of 
shorter radius, so that, when the pestle stands vertically in the mortar, their 
surfaces may approximate pretty closely for some distance around the point of 
actual contact. Powdering by contusion is much facilitated by using a large 
mortar, the pestle suspended on a spring so as to assist in elevating it. 
In powdering acrid substances, as well as to prevent loss in those that are 
dusty, a leathern cover should be attached 
to the pestle, and held tightly around the 
edge of the mortar by a circular wooden 
frame. The operator should guard himself 
against the fine particles of very acrid sub- 
stances, like eantharides, euphorbium, &c., 
by standing with his back to a current of 
air, and covering his nostrils with a wet 
cloth. He should be careful not to impede 
the process by introducing too large a 
quantity of the material, so as to clog the 
pestle. After the pestle has been in action 
a certain time, the fine particles accumu- 
late so as to hinder the reduction of the 
* "We are told that, in consequence of improvements in drug mills, the loss in powder- 
ing is less than formerly; and what occurs is due mainly to the loss of moisture in drying 
previously to the pulverization. We refer for a table giving the percentage of loss in 
powdering, of many medicines, prepared by Mr. Thos. J. Covell, of Brooklyn, New 
York, to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1867, p. 116).—Note to the thirteenth edition. PA TIT It. 
Grinding.—Trituration.—Levigation. —Elutriation. 
915 
coarser. At this point the sieve should be brought into requisition Sieves 
for powdefs are constructed of woven brass wire, and silk cloth (bolting cloth). 
The best arrangement for the apothecary’s use is that known as the box or 
drum sieve, being cylindrical, with a cover above, and a receptacle below for 
the powder. After introducing the contents of the mortar, a jerking circular 
motion should be given to the sieve, without much jarring, so that none but 
the finest particles may pass. The coarser portion should then be returned to 
the mortar to be again acted on. A set of simple sieves, formed by tacking 
pieces of woven wire, with meshes varying from the sixtieth to the fourth of 
an inch, to square wooden frames, should be provided to prepare drugs for 
percolation and other modes of solution. When the quantity of material to be 
sifted is large, recourse may be advantageously had to Harris's patent sieve 
which has the merits of the drum sieve, with great facility of use. (See Am. 
Journ. of Pharm., xxv. 31.) A figure of this instrument is given in the margin 
of the preceding page. 
Grinding. The hand-mill is exceedingly useful for the coarse comminution of 
drugs, especially of those which, from their acrimony, may annoy the operator 
in the process of contusion. Swift's drug mill is one of the most useful and 
manageable of the kind. It does not answer well for fibrous drugs like slip- 
pery elm and sarsaparilla, unless sliced transversely in short sections. 
Trituration is the effect produced 
where a circular motion, accompanied 
by pressure, is communicated to the 
pestle ; ard is applied most generally 
to friable substances, or to powders 
obtained by other means, with a view 
to their frrther and more regular com- 
minution The operation is accele- 
rated by alternately increasing and 
diminishing the circular movements, so 
as to bring the pestle in contact with 
all parts of the surface of the mortar. 
Dover’s powder and red oxide of mer- 
cury are instances requiring this opera- 
tion; and in prescriptions for powders, 
where different substances of variable 
molecular condition are associated, this , 
process is employed to bring them to a 
uniform state of division. 
Levigation, or porph.yrization as it 
was formerly called, is a kind of trituration effected between the flat surfaces of 
a slab and m idler. As the surfaces are equidistant at all parts, a substance, sub- 
jected to their action, has its particles more uniformly divided than between the 
surfaces of a mortar and pestle. It is usual to moisten the powder with water or 
alcohol (in which it should be insoluble) so as to bring it to a pasty consistence. 
The slab and muller are made of glass, porphyry, Wedgwood ware, or marble. 
Elutriation bears the same relation to trituration and levigation that sifting 
does to contusion. It consists in agitating a powder, obtained by those pro- 
cesses, in a large quantity of water, allowing the coarser particles to subside, and 
pouring off the supernatant liquid, holding the finer particles in suspension, that 
they may settle separately. The pasty thick mass, left when the clear liquid is 
decanted, is put into a funnel, and dropped in small portions on a chalk stone 
so as to form small conical masses. The fineness of the powder depends on its 
specific gravity, and on the length of time which elapses before the liquid from 
which it subsides is drawn off. 
Various means are used to facilitate powdering. All vegetable substances 
must be carefully and thoroughly dried. No part of the business of the pow- 
derer requires more care than this,especially in relation to substances which owe 916 
Separation of Mixed Substances.—Decantation. 
PART II 
their activity to volatile principles. The heat derived from steam, regulated 
below 100° for aromatic substances, and below 140° for others not injured 
thereby, is the most appropriate. Resins, gum-resins, and gums must be pow- 
dered in cold frosty weather. Tragacanth and nux vomica must be dried by a 
stove heat, and powdered while hot. The fibrous roots, as liquorice and marsh- 
mallow, should be previously cut into thin transverse slices. Agaric is to be 
beaten into a paste with water, then dried, and triturated. Cloves and the aro- 
matic seeds may be ground in a hand-mill, and afterwards triturated. Squill 
and colocynth, the comminution of which is sometimes aided by soaking them 
in mucilage of tragacanth and then drying, are best powdered in a dry atmo- 
sphere, after having been thoroughly dried by a stove heat. Camphor requires 
the addition of a few drops of alcohol. The efflorescent salts may be obtained 
in the state of fine powder by exsiccation; and those which are insoluble in 
alcohol may be precipitated by it, in impalpable powder, from their aqueous 
solutions. Vanilla, mace, and other oily aromatic substances, may be rubbed to 
powder with sugar; magnesia and white lead, by friction on a wire sieve. 
Care should be taken, in powdering, to separate previously the inert portions 
and impurities, and to mix intimately the whole of the powder which is reserved 
for use. The central woody fibre of ipecacuanha and of other roots, the virtues 
of which reside in the bark, is to be rejected. The first portions of those barks 
to which lichens and the dead epidermis adhere, are inert; as are alrc> the lust 
particles of the fibrous roots and barks. 
Ivory, horn, nux vomica, wood, and iron are prepared for pharmaceutic pur- 
poses by filing and rasping; guaiacum wood and quassia by turning in a lathe; 
roots, stalks, and dried herbaceous plants by cutting with a large pair of shears, 
or with a large knife, fixed in a frame at one end, and furnished with a long 
handle at the other. Tin and zinc are granulated by melting them, and strongly 
agitating while they are cooling; and carbonate of potassa, by stirring with an 
iron rod the concentrated solution as it concretes. Earthy insoluble substances 
are conveniently reduced to powder by levigation. 
Powders, as obtained by levigation, elutriation, precipitation, &c.* often re- 
quire to be dried. The process of drying may generally be effected by exposure 
to a dry air, aided or not by a moderate heat; but it is much facilitated by the 
action of absorbent substances, such as bibulous or unsized paper, porous bricks, 
&c. A convenient method is to spread the powder on brick-tiles, covered with 
a double layer of bibulous paper. 
Separation of Mixed Substances. Various mechanical operations for this 
purpose are resorted to in practical pharmacy. Some of these relate to the sepa- 
ration of solids from liquids, others to that of one liquid from another. 
Separation of Solids from Liquids. This includes the processes of decanta- 
tion, filtration, percolation, straining, expression, clarification, &c. 
Decantation. Solids may be separated from liquids, when there exists no 
chemical action between them, by being allowed to subside. The supernatant 
liquid may then be carefully poured off; or it may be drawn off by a syphon, or 
separated by filtering. The last operation, or expression by a stronger force, is 
necessary to separate the whole of the liquid; but decantation should always 
be employed when appropriate, as much time is thus saved in filtering. 
Jars larger at bottom than at the top, and furnished with a lip for pouring, 
called precipitating jars, are sold in the shops, and are proper for decantation, 
precipitation, and the receiving of filtering liquids. When the decanted liquid 
is the object of the process, and the powder subsides very slowly, the precipita- 
tion may be greatly hastened by the addition of a small quantity of solution of 
gelatin. Decantation by pouring is facilitated by holding vertically against the 
lip a glass rod, which attracts and directs the current, and prevents it from run- 
ning down the sides of the vessel. The syphon is a tube bent like the letter U, 
having one limb longer than the other. When it is filled with liquid, and the 
shorter end is inserted in the fluid to be decanted,a current is established towards 
the longer limb, owing to the greater weight of its contents, and continues as 
long as the shorter limb is kept below the surface of the liquid. PART IT. 
PUfration. 
917 
Filtration consists in pouring a mixture of solid and liquid matter on a porous 
surface, called a filter or strainer, which admits of the passage of the fluid only, 
and is designed either to clarify the liquid, or to separate the solid from the 
associated liquid by washing and draining. 
Filters or strainers are made of unsized paper, muslin, linen, or woollen cloth, 
charcoal, glass, and sand. The apothecary should be provided with several kinds 
of filtering paper, one of which should be white aud free from matter soluble 
in dilute acids, especially oxides of iron. A charcoal filtering paper is now 
made, which serves the double purpose of clarifying and decolorizing liquids. 
It is prepared either by incorporating powdered animal charcoal with the pulp 
out of which the paper is made, or placing it, in the process of manufacture, 
between two layers of the pulp. As the charcoal diminishes the cohesion of the 
paper, a sheet of gauze is inserted in each piece, or in the centre of each piece, 
when used as a filter, in order to give it strength at the apex when folded. (Am. 
Journ. of Pharm.,xxx. 586.) Paper filters are plain or plaited. The plain 
filter is made by folding a square piece of paper twice, so as to bring the four 
corners together, and then separating one of the layers from the other three so 
as to form a hollow cone, which is inserted in a funnel. Such filters are best for 
precipitates; but, when rapid filtration is required, the plaited filter, by present- 
ing a much greater extent of surface, and numerous channels for the descent 
of the liquid, is to be preferred. The paper is folded 
into 32 triangular surfaces, all the points meeting in 
the centre, and the edge presenting a zigzag outline 
as in the figure. In some cases it may be necessary 
to place a small cone of the same material outside of 
the large one to strengthen it. Paper manufactured 
for filtering should be made in square, instead of ob- 
long sheets, as much waste might be thus prevented. 
Paper in a circular form, and of various sizes, pre- 
pared expressly for filtering, is now imported from 
Prance. When the liquid is too viscid to pass readily 
through paper, a cotton or woollen bag of a conical shape may be used. Cotton 
flannel with a thick nap is well suited for syrups. Acids may be filtered through 
a layer of fine siliceous sand, supported in the neck of a glass funnel by pieces 
of glass gradually decreasing in size. M. Boettger, having noticed that pyroxylin 
is attacked only by ethereal liquids, proposes 
to employ it in the filtration of corrosive li- 
quids, such as the strong acids, concentrated 
solution of permanganate of potassa, &c. The 
pyroxylin is introduced in the form of a plug 
at the neck of the funnel. (Journ. de Pharm., 
Juin, 1860, p. 412.) Castor oil, syrups, and 
oxymels may be filtered through coarse paper, 
made entirely of woollen shreds; but the best 
material for fixed oils is hatter’s felt, in the 
conical form in which it is prepared in the 
making of hats. This may be attached to a 
tin ring, and suspended over a suitable vessel. 
Melted fats, resins, wax, and plasters may be 
strained through muslin stretched over a 
square frame, or a hoop. Hair cloth or wire 
gauze is better suited for plasters than muslin. 
Small sieves of fine bolting cloth serve for straining emulsions, decoctions, 
and infusions ; and a temporary strainer of this kind may be made by fastening 
a piece of muslin between the upper and lower parts of a'common wooden 
pill box, and then cutting off the ends so as to leave the rim only of the box 
around the muslin. The filtration of viscid substances is facilitated by heat. 
Filtration through bone-black is practised for muddy or dark coloured liquids. 
Much inconvenience is often experienced in the filtration of hot saturated saline 918 
Filtration. 
PART II. 
solutions, by the cooling- of the liquid, and consequent crystallization of the 
salt, in the filter and neck of the funnel. To obviate this, the tin apparatus 
represented in the wood-cut on the preceding page was contrived by Dr. Hare. 
The vessel is filled with hot water, which is kept at a boiling heat by a spirit 
lamp placed under the 
cavity having the 
shape of an inverted 
funnel. A glass funnel 
with a filter is placed 
in the other cavity, 
and the liquid passes 
through rapidly. In 
filtering alcoholic so- 
lutions, it is necessary 
to protect the liquid 
from the flame of the 
lamp, and for this pur- 
pose the partition un- 
derneath has been added. No apothecary should be without this useful appa- 
ratus. The arrangement of Dr. Hare has been simplified by having a funnel 
with double sides, as in the figure, with a hollow cylindrical projection at the 
lower part, to which a spirit lamp heat may be applied, while the funnel is sup- 
ported on a lamp stand; the space between the sides being filled with water. 
Frames of various sizes for holding funnels and filters will be found useful. 
The wood-cut represents the one commonly used. The efflorescence of saline 
solutions on the edge of the filtering paper may be prevented by dipping it in 
melted tallow or lard. 
The filtration of liquids which are altered by exposure to the air requires 
much caution. A very simple method of accomplishing it is to insert a slender 
tube of glass into the funnel, long enough to reach below the neck, while the 
upper part is nearly as high as the top of the funnel. The space between the 
tube and the neck must be filled with bits of glass and fine sand so as to form 
a good filtering bed ; the liquid is then poured in, and the top of the funnel 
covered with a plate of glass. If this be luted on, and the funnel luted into the 
neck of a bottle, the process will be performed with perfect accuracy. Another 
way of performing this operation, in relation both to liquors altered by the car- 
bonic acid of the air, and to those which are very volatile, as ethereal and 
ammoniacal solutions, consists in covering the funnel with a sheet of tin-foil, 
or moist bladder, and putting a small tube within and against the side of the 
funnel, extending nearly to the top, so as to form a communication between the 
atmosphere of the receptacle and that of the funnel. By such an arrangement 
ordinary filtering through paper can be conducted with perfect success with 
ether or solution of ammonia. The filtration of large quantities of liquids is 
facilitated by having a self-supplying apparatus, so that the level of liquid in 
the filter may be constant. This is effected by inserting a tube, with a bore of 
a quarter of an inch, through the cork of a large bottle containing the liquid 
to be filtered, and supporting the bottle in an inverted position over the filter, 
as at page 933, so that the tube shall dip slightly below the surface of the 
liquid. As this descends, its place is supplied from the bottle above. Another 
arrangement, in which a syphon is used, is figured in page 920.* 
In filtering in the ordinary method, much embarrassment is often experienced, 
especially with viscid substances, such as fixed oils, in consequence of the col- 
lection of the solid matters at the bottom of the funnel, offering a constantly 
increasing impediment to the passage of the liquid. This is obviated by filter- 
ing upwards. Some years since, Professor Procter contrived an instrument for 
this purpose; and more recently a very ingenious apparatus has been invented 
* For the figure and description of an apparatus for continuous filtration, applicable 
also, with some modification, to the washing of precipitates, see a paper, by Mr. Henry B. 
Brady, in the Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions (Oct. 1868, p. 216). PART II. 
Filtration upwards.—Expression. 
919 
by Mr. Win. R. Warner, which combines the advantage of upward filtration, 
with that of applying heat to maintain a due degree 
of fluidity in the liquid filtered; both very desirable 
objects in the filtration of fixed oils. A wood-cut is 
given in the margin, copied from that of Mr. War- 
ner, in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Jan. 
1861, p. 13). The instrument consists essentially of 
two cylindrical vessels of tinned iron, one placed on 
the top of the other; the upper one (A) about 22, 
the lower (B) 18 inches in height, and both about 10 
inches in diameter. The two communicate by means 
of a tube (d) proceeding, on the outside, from near 
the bottom of the upper vessel, and entering through 
the side of the under one near the bottom, into a com- 
partment, separated from the upper portion of the 
vessel by a diaphragm formed of hatter’s felt. This 
is secured, at its circumference, between a project- 
ing ledge of tinned iron soldered to the sides of the 
vessel, and a ring of the same material fastened to it 
by screws. The tube is made in two pieces so as to 
allow the vessels to be separated, and is provided 
with a stop-cock (c) near the top. The lower ves- 
sel has an outlet (/) near the bottom of its upper 
compartment, which is also provided with a stop- 
cock. When the instrument is used, the oil is intro- 
duced into the upper instrument at top, where it is 
furnished with a lid, and the stop-cock of the tube is 
opened, so that the liquid shall pass through the tube 
into the lower compartment of the lower vessel. By 
the pressure of the column of liquid it is thus forced 
upward against the diaphragm of felt, which being porous, allows its passage 
through into the upper compartment, where the clarified liquid accumulates 
and whence it may be drawn off through the. lower stop-cock. The instrument 
may be placed upon a stove, in order to maintain sucli a heat as may be deemed 
advisable. The filtered liquid should be draw n off occasionally, so as not to 
interfere with the passage of additional portions through the felt. 
A simple apparatus for hastening filtration has been proposed by Dr. Picard, 
consisting of a precisely conical funnel, connected by means of an elastic joint, 
with a glass tube not more than a foot in length and straight except near its 
upper end, where it makes a complete turn upon itself, the effect of which is 
to act as an aspirator, and hasten the movement the fluid through the tube. 
It is important that the filtering paper should lie, wetted, in close contact with 
the glass, so as not to admit a bubble of air between them. The rate of filtra- 
tion is said to be thus accelerated, so as to be ten or twelve times more rapid 
than when an unbent tube is used. (Chemical News, Jan 12, 1866, p. 23.)* 
Expression is required to separate the last portions of tinctures and infusions 
from the dregs. A screw-press is used for this purpose. The substance to be 
pressed is put into a cylinder of strong sheet tin, the sides of which are pierced 
with small holes. This is placed on a square tray of tin having a lip for pour- 
ing. A block of wood, which fits into the cylinder like a piston, is placed on the 
top, and the whole is put under the screw-press, the pressure of which is gradu- 
ally brought to bear upon it. 
This press is to be used for expressing the juices of fresh plants, which must 
* For a description, with figures, of an apparatus invented by Mr. A. B. Spencer, of 
Rochester, hi. Y., intended to facilitate filtration, on a small scale,-by the production of 
a partial vacuum in the receiving vessel, thus bringing atmospheric pressure to bear on 
the passing fluid, see a paper by Mr. Ed. Parrish, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, 
March, 1866, p. 107; from the Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A. D. 1865. 
(Note to the thirteenth edition.) 920 
Clarification.—Precipitation.—Application of Heat. 
PART ri 
be previously well beaten in a mortar, water being- added to those which are 
hard and dry. The juices of succulent fruits, as strawberries, raspberries, Ac., 
are most advantageously extracted by filling several strong flannel bags about 
two-thirds full, without bruising them, laying these in a pile on a tray, placing 
a strong block over the whole, and gradually bringing the press to bear upon 
them. The expressed oils are obtained by bruising the seeds which contain 
them, and enclosing the bruised mass in strong bags, which are placed in a firm 
hollow frame, and subjected to strong sudden pressure by driving up a wedge. 
Expressed oils are clarified from mucilage by boiling them with water. 
A small hydraulic press has been constructed, in which oil is used instead of 
water, so as to avoid the breaking of the instrument that might result from the 
freezing of the water in winter. (See Proceed, of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 18G4.) 
The clarification of liquids may be effected by the addition of some coagula- 
ble substance, such as milk or an aqueous solution of iehthyocolla. The white 
of an egg beaten up with water will coagulate with a gentle heat, and clarify any 
liquid with which it is mixed. The vegetable acids will clarify many of the ex- 
pressed juices; and the juice of sour cherries will cause the complete separa- 
tion of the pectin of currant and raspberry juice, so as to fit them for syrups. 
Precipitation is sometimes mechanical, as in the levigating and elutriating 
of chalk, and sometimes chemical, as in the preparation of the precipitated 
carbonate of lime by decomposing chloride of calcium. When a precipitant is 
directed to be added until no further precipitation takes place, the fact may be 
ascertained by taking a drop of the liquid on a glass plate, and trying it with 
the precipitant. The formation of a precipitate is often much assisted by agi- 
tation, or by heat. The separation of the supernatant liquid from the precipitate 
is most effectually accomplished by means of a syphon. When the liquid is a 
saline solution, it is necessary to wash the precipitate until the water exhibits no 
trace of the salt. In doing this, great care must be taken to select the purest 
and clearest water, and the ultimate drying of the precipitate must be performed 
in a filter, or on a porous stone. 
The apparatus figured in the margin is very con- 
venient for procuring a constant and gentle stream 
of water, in washing precipitates, and in clearing 
crystals of the impurities of their mother-water. It 
consists of a syphon having legs of equal length, 
one of which is inserted in an air-tight bottle nearly 
filled with water, and the other dips into the funnel. 
A straight open tube is also inserted in the bottle, 
the lower end of which is about half an inch or an 
inch above the end of the syphon. It is obvious that 
the water will run from the syphon no longer than 
till the water in the funnel is level with the end of the 
rtraight tube. The same effect may be produced by using an inverted bottle and 
tube, as figured in page 933. 
Separation of Liquids. Liquids which 
have no chemical affiuity, and differ in 
specific gravity, may be separated W 
allowing them to remain at res* in tiie 
separating funnel represented in the an- 
nexed figure, and then drawing off the 
heavier fluid. Another very convenient 
method of separating fluids is by means 
of the separatory figured in the wood- 
cut in the margin. The last drops of the 
heavier fluid may be drawn off by means 
of this instrument. 
Application of Heat. The most efficient and economical means of obtaining 
heat is a subject of great importance to the pharmaceutist, on account of the 
variety of processes in which it is required. PART II. 
Application of Heat.—Gas Burners. 
921 
With the small furnaces, which are now made of fire-clay, of various patternu 
and sizes, almost all the operations of the laboratory which require heat can be 
performed. The fuel used is charcoal, although anthracite will burn in those of a 
larger size,and is to be preferred where a uniform heat is necessary 
for several hours. The apothecary should be provided with a com- 
plete set of these useful utensils, including one with a dome for 
a reverberatory furnace. By adding a pipe several feet in length 
to this, and urgingthe fire with a pair of double bellows, the heat 
may be raised to that of an air furnace. A small pipe of sheet 
iron with a cone at the lower end, as in the figure, to fit on the 
furnace, will be found an excellent means of obtaining an intense 
heat in those of the smallest size. For operations on a smaller 
scale, a convenient means of obtaining heat is by alcohol lamps. 
Alcohol burns without smoke or smell, and is on every account, 
except its price, preferable to oil as a fuel. The figures beneath 
represent the usual forms of spirit lamps. The larger one will 
be found very useful in heating spatulas for spreading plas- 
ters. 
Gas burners afford a yet more eligible and economical means 
of applying heat than alcohol lamps. When coal gas is mixed 
with a due proportion of atmospheric air before ignition, it burns 
with a bluish flame, and produces but little if any smoke. The gas burner con- 
sists of a cylinder of sheet or 
tinned iron from 2 to 4 inches 
in diameter, and 6 or 8 inches 
long, open at the inferior end, 
while the upper end, which is 
slightly flared, is covered with 
a piece of number 40 or 50 
brass wire-gauze, fastened on 
with wire. This burner is sup- 
ported vertically over an ordinary gas jet in any convenient position, and the 
gas, on being allowed to issue into it, rises from 
its superior levity, mixes with the air, and is 
ignited by means of a taper above the gauze. 
The heat can be managed by regulating the 
flow of gas, and by using burners of differ- 
ent sizes. The left of the two figures in the 
margin exhibits this arrangement. That on 
the right, in which a tube conveying gas (a) 
enters the cylinder horizontally while the air 
passes in at b below, is an arrangement sug- 
gested by Dr. Bridges, and may be adapted to 
the common bat-wing or fish-tail gas burner. 
Bunsen’s gas burner, with Griffin’s modi- 
fications,is a very convenient instrument, now 
much used. The simple burner consists of a 
tube (6, fig. 1), screwed into the top of a 
metallic stand (a, fig. 1), containing a small chamber, which is provided with 
four lateral openings for the admission of air. Beneath these 
openings a gas tube enters the chamber, ending in a small jet 
tube in its axis, so that the gas is made to mix thoroughly 
with the atmospheric air entering through the orifices, before 
it reaches the mouth of the burner, thus ensuring a more thor- 
ough combustion and a stronger heat. One of the modifi- 
cations of the simple burner is a cap of brass, shaped like a 
truncated cone (c, fig. 1), with four lateral perforations, which 
fits around the chamber (a), and rotates about it, so as to close 
Fig. 1. 922 
Gas Burners. 
PART II. 
or open its orifices at will, and thus regulate the flame. Another modification 
is a cylindrical cap of brass, to be fitted to the top of the tube, perforated with 
numerous small holes at its circumference, and having at the top either a few 
small holes (d, fig. 1), or one large opening in the centre, furnished with a slid- 
ing valve by which it may be opened or closed at pleasure (b, fig. 21). The 
burner is represented in action by fig. 2; at b, with the flame issuing from the 
central opening at the top, and at a with this opening closed, and the burning 
gas escaping at the lateral orifices; the former being adapted to produce a con- 
centrated heat, as for igniting crucibles, the latter for a more diffused heat, as in 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 3. 
Fig. 4. 
evaporation. Fig. 3 represents the burner surrounded by a sheet-iron cylinder, 
supported on three legs, and provided at top with three short arms, for the sup- 
port of the vessel to be heated. Within this is a cylinder of fire-clay, which serves 
to confine the heat. The whole forms a small furnace, a section of which is ex- 
hibited in fig. 4, in which the position of the burner is shown within the cylinder. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1862, p. 46.)* 
Warren's laboratory safety lamp is another instrument meriting a brief no- 
tice. It is intended to protect from danger of 
fire, in distilling ether and other inflammable 
liquids. It consists of a truncated cone of sheet 
iron, 6 inches in diameter at bottom by 4 at top, 
and 5'5 inches high, with a top and bottom of 
No. 50 brass wire-gauze, held in place by mov- 
able brass rings, as at a a. An opening (6) in 
the side, which may be closed with a cork, 
serves for applying a match. Another open 
ing (c) admits the entrance of a piece of gas 
pipe, which then forms a horizontal ring in the 
centre of the instrument, 3 5 inches below the 
upper gauze. This is provided on the upper 
surface with small holes for the escape of gas. 
When used as a safety lamp, the gas is to be 
lighted within, and the flame will be confined by 
the gauze; when for ordinary purposes, the gas may be lighted above the upper 
gauze. The air for combustion is supplied through the lower gauze. The notched 
rod at the side is for the support of retorts, tubes, &c. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1862, p. 218.) 
For supporting the substance to be heated, iron tripods, of various heights 
and sizes, must be provided. These should be furnished with sets of concen- 
tric rings, as in the figure, for vessels of different sizes. A very convenient 
Bupport is the stand and ring figured in the wood-cut, which will answer for 
* We are informed that these furnaces have been made for sale by Messrs. Bullock 
Crenshaw, Philadelphia. PART II. 
Evaporation. 
923 
a spirit lamp, or for a small furnace made from a black lead crucible, as in the 
figure. 
The temperature required for fusion in phar- 
maceutic processes seldom exceeds a red heat; 
and the vessels used are crucibles of silver, pla- 
tinum, porcelain, Wedgwood ware, black lead, 
and fire-clay (Hessian crucibles). Silver is used 
for the fusion of potassa, 
porcelain for nitrate of 
silver, and black lead 
and Hessian crucibles 
for tbs metals, glass of 
antimony, sulphuret of 
potassium, and the ordi- 
nary operations which 
require a great heat. 
They are severally lia- 
ble to objections; silver 
fuses too readily; pla- 
tinum is very costly; 
porcelain and Wedgwood ware do not bear sudden changes of temperature; black 
lead, which bears these changes, is destroyed by saline substances,and burns in a 
current of air; and the Hessian crucibles are so porous as to absorb and waste 
much of the fused substance. The crucible should be covered with a lid or an 
inverted crucible, and should be supported at a little distance from the bottom 
of the grate, and surrounded and covered with ignited coals. 
Liquefaction is performed in open earthen, copper, or iron vessels, and care 
must be taken not to raise the heat so as to char or inflame the substance. 
A sand-bath is an indispensable part of the pharmaceutic apparatus. It is 
usually an iron pot, or a shallow vessel of sheet iron, capable of holding sand to 
the depth of four or six inches. It serves to regulate the action of the heat on 
vessels which do not bear a rapid change of temperature. It is sometimes heated 
to a red heat, as in preparing the mineral acids, though more frequently used 
for the evaporation of saline solutions and vegetable juices. 
Evaporation is one of the most important operations of the pharmaceutical 
laboratory, and on its proper management depends the value of a large number 
of preparations. The readiness with which organic matter is modified by direct 
heat, has caused the invention of various means and apparatus to effect evapo- 
ration under the most favourable circumstances, as the water-batli, steam-bath, 
solution bath, vacuum pans, &c. 
The water-bath is to be used in all cases where a heat above that of boiling 
waterwould be injurious. A convenient one consists of two copper vessels, the 
upper one of which is well tinned. It is still more convenient to have the water- 
bath constructed as a hollow vessel,with one opening 
at the top for the escape of steam and for the intro- 
duction of the water, as in the figure. By inserting 
a cork in the aperture, the contents of the inner ves- 
sel may be poured out, as from a dish, without spill- 
ing the water. It may be made of tinned iron, or 
preferably of tinned copper. Where a temperature 
above that of boiling water, and not exceeding 228°, 
is required, the water-bath maybe filled with glycerin, 
or a saturated solution of common salt, sulphate of soda, or chloride of calcium, 
the last-mentioned salt permitting a heat as high as 240° when desired. 
Steam-baths are by far the most useful and easily regulated of the arrange- 
ments for indirect heating. When steam heat is applied in a double-sided vessel 
like the water-bath, this is called a steam jacket, and must have two openings, 
one for the ingress of the steam, the other for the exit of the air, and for drawing 924 
Distillation. 
PART II. 
off the condensed water. When the steam jacket is strongly made, a heat of 300° 
may be readily commanded. A more economical and easily applied arrangement 
consists in placing a coil of tube in the vessel containing the liquid to be evapo- 
rated, and causing a strong current of steam to circulate through it. For further 
remarks on apparatus for evaporation, including the vacuum pan, see Extracts. 
The apothecary should be provided with a set of evaporating vessels, of porce- 
lain, glazed iron, tinned iron, and copper. For metallic solutions vessels of Ber- 
lin porcelain are the most useful. In most cases of surface evaporation, where 
the product is uncrystallizable, the process should be hastened by stirring. 
Distillation consists in vaporizing a liquid in one vessel, and conducting the 
vapour into another vessel, where it is condensed and collected. The process is 
used for separating a liquid from solid substances which it may hold in solution, 
or with which it may be mixed; for separating a more volatile liquid, as ether 
and alcohol, from one less so; for impregnating a liquid with the volatile prin- 
ciples of plants to the exclusion of other principles, as in the preparation of 
aromatic spirits and waters; and for separating, by means of aqueous vapour, 
the essential oils and volatile proximate principles of the vegetable kingdom. 
When, in the last two operations, the distillation is repeated with the same liquid 
and a fresh quantity of the plant, the operation is called colxobation. The pro- 
cess for separating one liquid from another is termed rectification. Distillation 
is also used for obtaining the volatile products which result from the decompo- 
sition by heat of substances of animal or vegetable origin. The oils which are 
obtained in this manner are called empyreumatic oils. Sometimes the result is 
an acid, as the succinic acid, and sometimes a volatile alkali, as in the destructive 
distillation of animal substances. Alcohol is very often employed as a mere agent 
in pharmaceutic processes, and, after it has performed its office in the process, 
may either be thrown away with the refuse liquids, or separated and preserved 
by distillation. The low price of alcohol in this country had until recently ren- 
dered the former proceeding the more expedient of the two; but alcohol is now 
so much enhanced in price that the apothecary will generally find his account 
in saving it by distillation. 
The common still and worm, the vessels in general use for distillation, are 
too well known to need description. A convenient still or alembic for small 
operations, which may be heated by a spirit lamp, is figured in the wood-cut. 
The top of the head is kept filled with cold water ; and all escape of vapour is 
prevented by having an inner ledge to the still, and filling the space in which 
the head fits with water. The condensation of all the vapour is secured by 
adapting a worm, or a long tube, to the apparatus. The boiler of this still may 
hold one or two gallons, and it will be found a very use- 
ful means of recovering the alcohol, in making alco- 
holic extracts. It may easily be converted into a water- 
bath, by fitting on the top of the boiler a vessel of 
convenient form These stills are easily adapted to the 
common cylindrical anthracite stoves, used for heating, 
by means of a sheet-iron collar, through which the 
boiler of the still is made to pass, and on which it is 
supported. 
When the common glass retort and receiver are used 
for the distillation of liquids, care should be taken not 
to apply the luting until the atmospheric air is expelled, 
unless the receiver has a tubuiure for its escape. The 
chief objects to be aimed at are to keep the body of the retort hot, and the neck 
and receiver cool. A hood of pasteboard or tin, as represented in the figure, 
will much facilitate the former; and the latter will be gained by keeping the 
neck and receiver wrapped in wet cloths, on which a stream of cold water is 
kept running. This may be conveniently done by means of a syphon, made by 
dipping one end of a strip of cotton or woollen cloth in a vessel of water, and 
allowing the other end to hang down upon cloths bound loosely around the PART II. 
Distillation. 
925 
receiver and the neck of the retort. The apparatus figured in the margin is one 
of the best for the condensation of ethereal 
vapour, as in regaining the ether in the pro- 
cess for making ethereal extracts. It consists 
of a close, hollow, cylindrical tin vessel, hav- 
ing a large neck above for the insertion of the 
neck of a retort or a tube; and a small tube 
below for the escape of the condensed ether. 
This vessel sits in a large one open at top, 
.which is kept filled with cold water, constantly 
'renewed by a tube descending to the bottom. 
Liebig's distillatory apparatus, commonly so 
called, but originally invented, we believe, by the 
elder Weitzel, of Stockholm, is very convenient 
for performing the process of distillation on a 
small scale. Its peculiarity consists mainly in the 
refrigeratory for condensing the vapour. Below 
is a figure of the instrument, which, with the de- 
scription, is copied from the last edition of the 
Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia. 
“ In all operations, except where inorganic 
acids are to be distilled, it is greatly preferable 
to use a globular matrass (a), to which is fitted with a cork a tube (be), cut 
obliquely at its lower end (b), curved above at a somewhat acute angle, and 
fitted at the other end to a refrigeratory. This refrigeratory consists of a 
long narrow cylinder (df) slightly inclined to the horizon, and of a tube (ce) 
which passes along the centre of the c)Tlinder, and is fixed at each end, so that 
the space between them is air-tight; and by means of a funnel (gh) entering 
at the lower end of this interspace, and an exit tube (di) from its upper ex- 
tremity, a stream of cold water may be kept constantly running, by which re- 
frigeration, and the condensation of vapours within the inner tube, are far more 
effectually accomplished than by any other mode that has hitherto been devised.” 
The object of the oblique ending of the tube at b, is to prevent any of the fluid 
which may be driven against it, during the ebullition, from passing along the 
tube. The inner tube of the refrigeratory should be made of glass or block-tin, 
the outer may consist of glass, brass, copper, or common tinned iron. The end e 
of the central tube is either straight, or curved downward so that it may be in- 
serted into a bottle, when the liquid distilled is very volatile. By connecting the 
funnel with a cistern by means of a syphon, and allowing the water to flow out 
from the bent tube (di) into a bucket or sink, the distillation may be allowed to 
go on for a long time without supervision. Dr. Christison states that a refrige- 
ratory, with the outer tube a foot long, and an inch and a quarter in diameter, 
will be sufficient to condense the whole vapour from a matrass, holding two pints 
alcohol briskly boiling. 
Warner's condenser. This is a convenient instrument in the distillation of 926 
Distillation. 
PART II. 
alcoholic liquids, invented by Mr. W. R. Warner, and figured in the American 
Journal of Pharmacy for January, 1861 (p. 15). It consists of an oblong rectan- 
gular box of tinned iron, with a broad open- 
ing (/) at top, for the admission of the re- 
frigerating liquid,and a smaller one(e)near 
the top for its escape. A diaphragm is 
placed in the vessel near the top obliquely 
across, so that one of the four angles is 
lowest. From this angle, communicating 
with the small compartment above, a tube 
proceeds downward to near the bottom of 
the vessel; and a little below its orifice an- 
other diaphragm is placed, but not com- 
pletely across like the first. Connected with 
the edge of the lower diaphragm is a series 
of partial ones, oblique like the others, pro- 
ceeding upward, and so connected as to 
divide the vessel into two equal parts, leav- 
ing a small space between the edges of the 
partitions on each side and the sides of the 
vessel, and a space also between the upper- 
most of the partial partitions and the com- 
plete diaphragm near the top. Into this 
space a tube (e) is inserted near the top of the instrument. The vapour admitted 
through a large opening (c) in the upper part of one side of the vessel, enters 
into one of the compartments, while cold water poured in through the opening 
at top fills the other compartment, and escapes through the tube (e) near the sum- 
mit. The vapour being compelled, by partial septa, to follow the course of the 
oblique partitions, along a circuitous route (ab), in which it is brought into 
contact with a large extent of refrigerated surface, is condensed, and passes out 
at the spout near the bottom.* 
When certain liquids are boiled in glass vessels, sudden jars or succussions are 
apt to occur, which are often inconvenient, and sometimes interrupt the process. 
These maybe obviated by giving a metallic coating to the lower portion of the 
interior surface of the vessel. Mr. Redwood recommends for this purpose the 
process of Drayton. He introduces into the flask or retort as much ammoniacal 
solution of silver as may cover the part to be coated, precipitates the silver by 
the addition of essential oils, and afterwards thoroughly cleanses the vessel by 
boiling in it successive portions of alcohol, until the silver becomes perfectly 
bright, and all smell of the oil is removed. A coating of platinum may also be 
obtained, though less perfect, by precipitating a solution of the bichloride of that 
metal by formic acid, and afterwards boiling. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xx. 
833.) These succussions are moderated and sometimes prevented by putting in 
the retort a number of small angular fragments of glass or quartz crystal. Ac- 
* Two new stills for pharmaceutical purposes, one by Prof. Wm. Procter, Jr., the other 
by Mr. Thos. S. Wiegand, of Philadelphia, are described and figured in the Proceedings 
of the American Pharmaceutical Association, A. D. 1863, pp. 207 and 210, both of which 
merit the attention of pharmaceutists. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
When mixed liquids to be separated by distillation have closely approximating boil- 
ing points, it is often difficult to get them pure, or so nearly pure as to have a constant tem- 
perature of ebullition; the less volatile being constantly disposed to rise with those which 
are more so, and thus contaminate the product. Mr. 0. W. Warren has contrived an ap- 
paratus in which the evil is in a considerable degree obviated. This he accomplishes by 
causing the vapours from the distilling vessel to pass, by means of a worm, through a 
bath, kept at a heat corresponding with the boiling point of that one of the mixed liquids 
which has the lowest. When the mingled vapours pass through the bath, those which 
belong to the less volatile bodies condense into a liquid which falls hack towards the 
still; while the most volatile passes on, and is condensed by cold water or ice in a receiver. 
The apparatus, as well as the principles on which it operates, is explained by Mr. War- 
ren in the Chemical News (Aug. and Sept. 1865, pp. 85, 97, 110), where it is also figured. 
See also Am. Journ of Pharm., 1865, p. 449. (Note to the thirteenth edition A PART II. 
Sublimation. 
927 
cording to Dr Gr. C. Wittstein, all that is necessary to prevent them is to have 
some conductor which may convey the heat from the bottom of the fluid to the 
surface. A glass rod will generally answer the purpose, but for liquids of a high 
boiling point, as sulphuric acid, a platinum wire of the thickness of a knitting- 
needle is preferable. P. Pellogio has proposed a plan by which these shocks 
may be entirely prevented, even in the instance of sulphuric acid It consists 
in the insertion of a glass tube, as wide as possible, through the tubulure nearly 
to the bottom of the retort, with the upper end bent almost to a right angle, 
and drawn out to nearly capillary dimensions, so as to establish a communi- 
cation between the cavity of the retort and the outer air. (Chem. News, April 
3, 1866, p. 165.) 
When the object of distillation is to preserve the residuum, and this is liable 
to injury from heat, as is the case with vegetable extracts, the operation is best 
performed in vacuo. For this purpose the still and recipient are made so as to 
form an air-tight apparatus, and the latter is furnished with a stop-cock, which 
is kept open until the whole of the atmospheric air is expelled by the vapour. 
It is then closed, and a vacuum formed and maintained in the recipient by sur- 
rounding it with cold water. The distillation is carried on in this manner at a 
much lower temperature than under ordinary circumstances; and the heat may 
be applied by a water or steam bath, with greater certainty of obtaining an unin- 
jured product. For a more extended account of vacuum apparatus, see Extracts. 
Sublimation. The vapours of some volatile solids have the property of con- 
densing into the solid form, either in mass, or in a state of minute division. The 
operation in which this occurs is called sublimation. When the product is com- 
pact it is called a sublimate, when slightly cohering it is called flowers. The 
operation is generally performed in a sand-bath ; and the apparatus consists of 
two vessels fitting each other, one being inverted over the other. The shape, 
size, material, and depth of the vessel, and the degree of heat to be applied, are 
regulated by the nature of the substance operated on. For the details of this 
process, see the articles Corrosive Sublimate, Camphor, and Benzoic Acid* 
* Micro-sublimation. This name has been given to a process, first suggested by Dr. 
Helwig, of Mayence, in 1864, and afterwards investigated by Prof. Wm, A. Guy, of King’s 
College, and Mr. H. J. Waddington, of London, which consists in the joint application of 
a subliming heat and of the microscope to the examination of volatilizable substances. 
The objects gained by the process are the determination of the volatility of bodies, the 
precise temperature at which they sublime, and the forms they assume when they con- 
dense from the state of vapour, and thus the ability to identify the several substances 
examined, even though existing in very small proportions, and mixed with various other 
bodies. The adaptability of the process to the detection of poisons is one of its greatest 
merits; and in this light it was originally mainly treated by Helwig; b’U it is suscepti- 
ble of a wide application to the interests of science in general. Perhaps the most import- 
ant part of the process is the proper regulation of the heat, so that it shall act with entire 
uniformity on the object, and, as to its degree, shall be perfectly at the command of 
the operator. The want of these advantages has led to great mistakes in previous inves- 
tigations, both as to the volatility of certain substances, and the true subliming points 
of many known to be capable of sublimation. The following is the description of Mr. 
Waddington’s apparatus for the application of heat. It consists of a spirit lamp, a piece 
of thin iron plate, and a few glass rings. There should be a very slight concavity in the 
upper surface of the plate, so that when a glass slip three inches long is laid upon it, 
the centre shall be about an eighth or sixth of an inch below the surface of the glass. 
This is to prevent actual contact between the plate and the glass holding the substance 
under examination. The plate has three straight parallel lines drawn across it,, one 
through the centre, the others an inch and a half distant on either side. The glass rings 
are for the support of a glass plate for the reception of the sublimate. The object is 
placed on a slip of glass, which is laid on the iron plate, and the recipient placed over 
it on a ring. The glass which receives the sublimate should not be very thin, as it 
changes temperature too rapidly. The slide of a microscope is a proper recipient. 
The flame of the lamp should not be immediately beneath the object. As the heat 
of the iron plate varies somewhat, the desired degree may sometimes be obtained by 
moving the supporting slip from side to side. The object should always be aimed at of 
having the receiving glass but a few degrees lower in temperature than that which holds 
the object. The quantity operated on may be very small; and generally the smaller the 
quantity the better the result. A convenient quantity is of a grain; but perfectly 928 
Lutes. 
PART II. 
Lutes. The most precious material for the chemist is glass, the transparency, 
insolubility, and hardness of which fit it for almost every purpose. It is often 
necessary to strengthen it by means of lutes, which will bear a heat at which 
glass would soften; and the application of lutes for this purpose, and for secur- 
ing the junctures of tubes and vessels, is an important part of the pharmaceutic 
art. Those lutes which are required for coating vessels exposed to a great heat 
are made of Stourbridge clay. The clay is made into a paste with water, mixed 
with chopped straw or cut hemp, and successive coats applied as they become 
dry. Dr. Hare recommends the fine wool-like turnings of iron for this purpose, 
instead of chopped straw. Earthenware vessels may be rendered impervious to 
air or vapours by brushing over them a thin paste, made of slaked lime, and a 
solution of borax containing an ounce to the half pint. This is allowed to dry, 
and the vessel is then coated with slaked lime and linseed oil, beaten till the 
mixture becomes plastic. Earthenware retorts, thus coated, may be safely used 
more than once, the coating being renewed every time. 
Fat lute is applied to the joinings of apparatus to prevent the escape of cor- 
rosive vapours. It is made like glaziers’ putty, pipe-clay being substituted for 
whiting. It will bear a considerable heat, and great care must be taken that 
the part where it is applied is perfectly dry. If it be exposed to heat, slips of 
moistened bladder must be wrapped around it, and secured with twine. 
Roman cement and plaster of Paris may be applied in the same manner as 
fire-clay. When used for securing the joinings of apparatus, a coating of oil or 
wax will render them air-tight. 
A very useful lute is formed by beating the white of an egg thoroughly with 
an equal quantity of water, and mixing it with some slaked lime in the state of 
fine powder so as to form a thin paste. This must be spread immediately on 
strips of muslin, and applied to the cracks or joinings intended to be luted. 
It soon hardens, adheres strongly, and will bear a heat approaching to redness 
without injury. A leak in this lute is readily stopped by the application of a 
fresh portion. Solution of glue, or any liquid albuminous matter, may be used 
in the place of the white of eggs. 
The following recipe is given by M. Knaff for a strong liquid glue, which 
is said not to gelatinize, to keep well, and to be very convenient for pasting. 
Take 3 parts of good glue in little fragments, cover it with 8 parts of water, 
and allow it to stand for some hours; then add half a part of muriatic acid and 
three-fourths of a part of sulphate of zinc, and expose the whole for ten or 
characteristic sublimates may be obtained from as little as or of a grain. By 
this process many organic substances have been proved to be sublimable not formerly 
thought to be so. This is the case with many of the vegetable alkaloids, and many proxi- 
mate principles not alkaline. All the sublimates unchanged by heat should possess the 
crystalline form of the original substances; and Mr. Waddington never considers a re- 
sult satisfactory unless this end is obtained. In reference to the determination of the tem- 
perature of fusion and sublimation, Prof. Guy attaches a thermometer to the apparatus. 
The bulb of this he fixes in the centre of a copper plate, and attaches the stem to a retort 
stand to support it. On the copper plate a minute portion, say of a grain, of the 
body to be examined, is placed, on a small piece of glass, somewhere between the centre 
and circumference, and around this a glass ring, on which is placed the disk for receiv- 
ing the sublimate. The heat is then applied to the under surface of the copper plate, at 
a point equidistant from the object and the bulb of the thermometer. (See a figure by 
Prof. Guy in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Feb. 1868, p. 372.) It is a common statement 
that certain bodies are partly volatilized and partly decomposed by heat. But the proba- 
bility is that there is a subliming point at which no decomposition takes place; and the 
contrary has been supposed because slight differences of temperature have not been ob- 
served in the ordinary methods. There are many directions and cautions more or less 
requisite for a successful application of this process, for which we have no space, and 
must content ourselves with referring to the original essays. Throughout the present 
edition, we have noticed here and there the results obtained in reference to individual 
objects, always quoting the authority. (See papers by Prof. Guy in the Pharmaceutical 
Journal and Transactions, June, 1867, p. 718; July, Aug., Sept., and Oct., 1867, pp. 10, 
68,106, and 196 ; and Feb. 1868, p. 370 ; also by Mr. H. Waddington, Ibid., March, 1868 
p. 409. See also Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1867, p 432; and B. F. Medico-chir 
Rev., Oct. 1868.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART II. 
Cements. 
929 
twelve hoars to a heat between 178° and 189° F. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm , 
July, 1868, p. 330.) 
An excellent cement for surfaces of iron consists of one part of sulphur, two 
of sal ammoniac, and eighty of iron filings, mixed together and slightly moist- 
ened. It is rammed or caulked into the joints, and solidifies perfectly in time 
White lead ground in oil is an excellent cement for broken glass. Spread 
upon linen, it forms a good coating for a cracked surface, but dries slowly. 
Strips of bladder macerated in water adhere well to glass, and are very useful. 
A mixture of whiting and paste or gum-water, spread upon strips of paper, 
forms an excellent luting for joinings not exposed to acrid vapours or great heat. 
A useful lute is formed by spreading a solution of glue on strips of cloth, and 
coating them, after they are applied, with drying oil. 
Linseed meal, beaten into a uniform mass with water, milk, lime-water, rye 
paste, or thin glue, and applied in thick masses, adheres well, and when dry 
will resist most vapours. 
Cap cement is made of six parts of rosin, one part of yellow wax, and one of 
Venetian red. It is a very useful cement for fastening metals or wood to glass, 
and for rendering joints impervious to water. Soft cement is used for the same 
purposes, and is made of yellow wax, melted with half its weight of turpentine, 
and coloured with a little Venetian red. It is very useful for rendering the stop- 
pers of bottles perfectly air-tight. 
The Armenian or diamond cement, used for cementing glass, precious 
stones, &c., and highly esteemed by the jewellers of Turkey, is made in the fol- 
lowing manner in the East. “Dissolve 5 or 6 pieces of mastic, each of the size 
of a large pea, in as much alcohol as will render it liquid. In another vessel, 
dissolve in French brandy or good rum as much isinglass, previously softened 
by water, as will make a two-ounce phial full of very strong glue, to which 
small pieces of galbanum or ammoniacum must be added, and rubbed with it 
till dissol ved. Then mix the whole with sufficient heat, and keep the glue in a 
phial closely stopped. When used, the phial containing it is to be put inta 
boiling water.” (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1866, p. 57.) 
A cement of which gutta percha forms a part has been very highly recom- 
mended by Edmund Davy. It is made by melting together, in an iron pan, two 
parts of common pitch and one of gutta-percha, stirring them well together until 
thoroughly incorporated, and then pouring the liquid into cold water. When 
cold it is black, solid, and elastic ; but it softens with heat, and at 100° is a thin 
fluid. It may be used as a soft paste, or in the liquid state, and answers an ex- 
cellent purpose in cementing metal, glass, porcelain, ivory, &c. It may be used 
even for glazing windows. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 457.) 
French cement is made by gradually adding finely powdered slaked lime to 
caoutchouc, perfectly melted over a fire in a covered iron pot, stirring constantly, 
until the mixture is so thick that, removed from the fire, well beaten in a mor 
tar, and moulded in the hands, it shall have the consistence of putty. It answers 
well for cementing glass. {Ibid., July, 1864, p. 374.) 
Caoutchouc, dissolved in heated copal varnish, is said to make a good water- 
proof glue, for cementing wood and leather. 
Casein, dissolved in a cold saturated solution of borax or of silicate of soda, 
is recommended by Dr. Wagner as a cement, answering the purpose of strong 
glue in many instances, 
A new cement, having excellent properties, is described by M. Sorel. It is a 
hydrated basic oxychloride of magnesium, and is prepared by mixing magnesia 
with a solution of chloride of magnesium. The cement is harder in proportion 
to the greater density of the solution In most cases M. Sorel employs a solu- 
tion of 20° to 30° of the areometer of Baume. In preparing the cement various 
other metallic chlorides may be substituted, in whole or in part, for the chlo- 
ride of magnesium. It is very white, and becomes very hard, and may be 
moulded like plaster. Objects may be made with it having the hardness and 
colour of marble. {Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim., Mai, 1368, p. 328.) 930 
Chemical Operations. - Solution.—Infusion. 
PART II. 
Chemical Operations. Some of the chemical processes, conducted by the 
apothecary, have been explained in the former part of this Introduction. It re- 
mains to notice others in constant or frequent use. 
Solution. The act of solution, in which solid substances assume the fluid state 
through the agency of liquids, is one of the most important operations of prac- 
tical pharmacy. The process has received a variety of names, according to the 
mode of applying the menstruum and the degree of heat employed ; as mace- 
ration, infusion, digestion, decoction, displacement or percolation, and circu- 
latory displacement* 
Two classes of substances are the subjects of solution; those which dissolve 
entirely in the menstruum, as salts, gum, &c., and those which consist of soluble 
and insoluble matter, as roots, leaves, barks, &c. The former yield simple solu- 
tions ; the latter inf usions, decoctions, tinctures, wines. &c. Solution is some- 
times accompanied by chemical reaction, as when metals are dissolved in acid 
liquids. Mechanical division facilitates solution by increasing the extent of 
surface. Heat as a general rule favours solubility. All aqueous solutions of solid 
bodies are denser than water. A solution is said to be saturated when the dis- 
solved substance ceases to be taken up at common temperatures. A saturated 
solution of one salt will dissolve other salts, a fact taken advantage of in puri- 
fying nitre, and other saline bodies in powder, by percolating them with their 
own saturated solutions. Rapid solution, when unaccompanied by chemical re- 
action, causes a reduction of temperature; hence, in such cases, where dense 
solutions are required, heat should be employed to counteract that effect. In 
dissolving a substance wholly soluble in the amount of liquid used, a convenient 
method is to powder it in a mortar, add the liquid in portions, and decant until 
the whole is dissolved. Capsules and flasks are the most suitable vessels for per- 
forming solution when heat is necessary. If the solid softens before dissolving, 
as in the case of the extracts, a capsule should be used, with constant stirring. 
When effervescence occurs, a flask should be used inclined to one side to avoid 
loss; or, if the capsule be employed, an inverted funnel should be placed over it. 
When the quantity of a substance is large, and time permits, the process called 
circulatory displacement is preferable, especially in making saline solutions. 
This is performed by suspending the salt, enclosed in a piece of gauze or other 
porous tissue, near the surface of the liquid. The solution proceeds rapidly; as 
the liquid in contact with the salt, by becoming saturated and heavier, descends 
to give place to less saturated portions, so as to cause a kind of circulation of 
the solvent. This process is applied to the arts, and has been suggested in 
making infusions and tinctures. 
Infusion is the subjecting of a substance containing soluble principles to the 
action of a menstruum, which is usually water. Hot infusions are made by 
pouring boiling water on the substance, and allowing it to remain in a covered 
vessel till cold. Cold infusions are made with cold water, and require several 
hours to attain their full strength. Maceration is the term employed to denote 
the action of liquids upon medicines, when allowed to remain upon them for 
some time, at a heat from 60° to 90°. Digestion is the name given to the same 
operation, when conducted at a temperature between 90° and 100°. This pro- 
cess is sometimes effected at higher temperatures; but the heat is uniform 
during the operation, and always below the boiling point of the liquid. It is 
commonly performed in glass bottles or flasks, and a common fire or stove heat, 
or the water-bath, is employed. When digestion is performed with alcohol and 
ether at temperatures near their boiling points, the vessel should be connected 
with a refrigerated worm, or other condenser, to save the vaporized portion. 
Soubeiran places the worm above the digesting vessel, so that the condensed 
liquid runs back at once into the vessel. 
* The attention of physicians and apothecaries is called to Stover’s Dictionary of Solu- 
bilities, recently published in Cambridge, Mass., in which useful information on the solu- 
bility of different substances may often he found, which might not be readily obtained 
elsewhere. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART II. 
Decoction.—Lixidation.—Percolation. 
931 
Decoction, or boiling, is much employed in extracting the virtues of plants; 
but it is often disadvantageous, as most of the proximate principles of vegeta- 
bles are altered by it, especially when long continued. When it is practised, the 
ebullition should generally be continued for a few minutes only, and the liquid 
be allowed to cool slowly in a close vessel. For further remarks on infusions 
and decoctions, see the preliminary notices to these classes of preparations. 
Liximation is a process used to separate a soluble from a porous insoluble 
body. It consists in placing the substance to be lixiviated in a vessel, the hot 
tom of which is covered with straw, sand, &c., pouring water upon it, allow- 
ing the water to remain until saturated, and then drawing it off through an open- 
ing at the bottom of the vessel. It is found that, if fresh water is poured on with- 
out disturbing the mixture in the vessel, it does not mix with the liquid already 
there, but percolates the solid particles, driving the saturated liquid before it; 
so that, for example in lixiviating wood ashes, if a gallon of water has been 
poured on the ashes, and allowed to become saturated with the alkali, we shall 
obtain, by this mode of proceeding, a gallon of strong ley, and immediately 
thereafter the water will become almost tasteless. This fact has been applied 
to the service of the pharmaceutist, and has led to some valuable improvements 
in the mode of extracting the medicinal qualities of plants. 
Percolation. Filtration by Displacement. This is the process of lixiviation, 
applied to pharmaceutical processes, under certain conditions and with certain 
objects which give it a somewhat distinctive character. It was first introduced 
into notice by the Messrs. Boullay, of Paris, in the year 1833, and, though re- 
ceived at first with some hesitation, has now come into almost universal adop- 
tion, and is officinally recognised as an important agency both in the U. S. and 
British Pharmacopoeias. I1 he principle of the process is, that a permeable pow- 
der, consisting partly of soluble and partly of insoluble substances, when sub- 
mitted, in a cylindrical or conical instrument, open at top and partially closed by 
a porous material at bottom, to the action of a menstruum poured upon it, yields 
its soluble parts to the liquid, which, in its descent by its own gravity or by 
pressure from the liquid above, becomes more or less saturated, and in this state 
escapes beneath, without mingling in its passage through the powder, or but 
in a slight degree, with the liquid pressing upon it from above. If the men- 
struum be supposed to be in layers in the powder, the lower layers are pressed 
downwards or displaced by the upper with little admixture, so that they seve- 
rally escape from the instrument with the degree of concentration acquired in 
their passage; and each successive layer is less and less impregnated, until the 
powder is at length exhausted, and the liquid last added passes in the state in 
which it enters. Now what is true of one liquid is true of different liquids ; and 
if a particular liquid be first added, and then followed by a second, the two do 
not mingle, and the latter takes from the former little or nothing of what it 
may have dissolved. Thus, if alcohol or ether be first introduced, and then fol- 
lowed by water, the alcoholic or ethereal solution formed may all be displaced 
by the water, without being to any considerable extent diluted with it. The 
idea was at one time entertained, that there was absolutely no intermixture or 
next to none; but experience has shown that this was not exactly true, and 
that there is in fact a slight mixture of the successive and contiguous layers. 
A little reflection will show, what abundant trial has proved, that this method 
has advantages in various ways, over that of simple mixture of the solid and 
liquid, however this may be aided by other agencies, as by agitation, heat, and 
expression. In the first place, the particles of the menstruum are brought more 
thoroughly into contact with those to be acted on, and each successive layer of 
the liquid comes into contact with the solid with a higher solvent power than 
that which it has displaced; so that the powder is both more rapidly and more 
thoroughly exhausted. In the second place, as the liquid which first passes is 
saturated or nearly so before it escapes, highly concentrated solutions may be 
obtained with great facility; and, each successive portion being less and less 
saturated, it is possible in this way to separate the stronger from the feebler 932 
Percolation, or Filtration by Displacement. 
F ART II. 
portions, which is sometimes an object of great practical importance. Thirdly, 
the last particle of dissolved matter may be obtained by displacing the liquid 
by another menstruum or an additional portion of the same, and great waste 
thus avoided ; and though the same object may be accomplished to a great ex- 
tent by expression, the method of displacement is both more thorough and con- 
venient. Fourthly, by the employment of a cheaper menstruum as the dis- 
placing agent, considerable loss may be saved, in obtaining solutions in which 
the menstruum is very costly. A single example will serve to show the value 
of this process. The Messrs. Boullay, by subjecting four ounces of bruised 
cinchona to percolation with half a pint of tvater, and then adding four half- 
pints in succession, obtained the following results. 
1st half-pint yielded 3 drs. 48 grs. dry extract. 
2d do. “ 1 dr. 5 grs. do. 
3d do. “ 15 grs. do. 
4th do. 14 9 grs. do. 
5th do. 44 7 grs. do 
The figure in the margin represents 
Boullay's filter, or percolator. It con- 
sists of a long tin vessel, nearly cylin- 
drical, but narrower at the lower end, 
which has a funnel-shaped termination, 
for the purpose of being inserted in 
the neck of a bottle. A metallic plate, 
or diaphragm, pierced with holes, like 
a colander, and having a handle in the 
centre, fits accurately in the lower part 
of the cylinder; and upon this is to be 
placed, when the instrument is used, 
a thin layer of carded cotton, tow, or 
a piece of cotton flannel. Another 
similarly pierced plate is to be pro- 
vided, to place upon the top of the powder after it has been introduced into the 
percolator. A stop-cock at the lower end of the instrument, as represented in 
the second figure, will be convenient for regulating the discharge of the liquid. 
Cylinders 14 inches long by 2% in width at 
the base, 14 inches by 4, and 17* by 6, aie con- 
venient sizes for ordinary use. Queensware 
percolators are now to be procured from the 
druggists, and are useful for acid or astringent 
solutions. In a large proportion of the cases 
of percolation, small vessels only are required. 
The common glass cones used as lamp glasses, 
figured in the margin, when inverted, with a 
piece of close canvas or flannel tied over the 
smaller end, form convenient percolators; and 
their transparency enables the operator to 
assure himself that the powder is properly 
stratified before adding the menstruum. A tin 
percolator, formed with a double rim, into 
which the rim of the lid is inserted (the inter- 
stice being filled with water so as to make an 
air-tight juncture), and furnished with an open 
vertical tube, extending from the top through 
the diaphragm below, is employed when vola- 
tile liquids, as ether, alcohol, and spirit of am- 
monia, are used as menstrua. It is figured in 
the margin. When it is wished to operate upon a very fine powder, it may be 
found advisable to increase the height of the column of liquid by making the top Percolation. 
933 
PART II. 
of the cylinder air tight, and inserting a tin tube several feet long, which must be 
kept tilled with the liquid. All the substantial advantages, however c* this 
method may be obtained without pressure. For operating on very smai. quan- 
tities of a substance, an adapter or the neck of a broken retort may be used, by 
loosely stopping the lower and smaller end with a piece of cotton. 
Soubeiran has adapted to Boullay’s filter a receiver of tin, from which the 
filtered liquor majT be drawn off by a stop-cock at the most dependent part. 
An apparatus of this kind is represented in the margin. One of the most im- 
portant points, in conducting 
the displacement process, is to 
keep the ingredients constantly 
saturated, with a stratum of the 
displacing liquid over them. To 
avoid the necessity of constant 
supervision to effect this, the 
arrangement represented in the 
right-hand one of the two mar- 
ginal figures may be used. An 
ordinary bottle containing the 
menstruum, with a tube of a 
quarter of an inch bore passing 
through the cork, is inverted 
over the percolator, with the end 
of the tube dipping in the liquid 
above the ingredients.* 
For powders which swell much 
on the addition of water a coni- 
cal percolator is greatly prefer- 
able to those of a cylindrical or 
nearly cylindrical shape; and a 
common glass funnel may be 
used, indeed, most of the ordi- 
nary tinctures may be prepared 
with great facility by means of 
glass funnels, which may be had of all capacities, from that of half a pint to that 
of two gallons. But, in order that the process of percolation may be successfully 
employed, it is necessary to lay down various precepts for the guidance of the 
learner; and even those best instructed theoretically can hardly hope to avoid 
errors, unless they have by practice thoroughly qualified themselves for operat- 
ing correctly. An inference from this fact is that, in the execution of pharmaceu- 
tical processes, when an alternative between percolation and another method is 
offered, the wholly inexperienced operator should prefer the latter. Under the 
heading of “general officinal directions,” a few pages in advance, will be found 
valuable precepts for conducting percolation, to which, as well as to the expla- 
nations that may be deemed necessary, the pharmaceutical student is referred.f 
* For an ingenious apparatus, invented by Dr. E. R. Squibb, in which the same object 
is obtained by means of a bottle placed on a higher level than the percolator, and con- 
nected with it by means of two syphon tubes, see Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1858, 
p. 99. 
f Dialysis. This name has been given by Mr. Graham, Master of the Mint, London, 
to a process based upon the different diffusibility of liquids, by which mixed substances 
may often be separated from each other, and important ends thus obtained. Though not 
yet officinally employed in pharmacy, it is capable of beneficial application in many in- 
stances by the apothecary, and therefore demands a brief description. It is well known 
that substances, in the liquid state, have the property of diffusing themselves, by their 
own inherent power, through other liquids. Mr. Graham ascertained that this property 
was possessed by different substances in very unequal degrees; and, on pushing his in- 
vestigations into the subject, found that there was good reason to divide bodies into two 
classes based on their degree of diffusibility, one class consisting generally of crystallizabio 
» ibstances, which are highly diffusible, the other of uncrystallizable substances, especially 934 
Crystallization. 
P-AltT II. 
Crystallization. Numerous chemical substances, in becoming solid, wnen 
their solutions are evaporated, take on certain regular forms. The bodies hav- 
ing such forms are called crystals, and the process for obtaining them, crys- 
those capable of forming a gelatinous mass with water, which diffuse themselves very 
slowly. The first class Mr. Graham proposed to name crystalloids from their property of 
cry stalli zing, the second colloids from their resemblance to glue in the power of gelatinizing. 
An exp.mple of the first we have in sugar, of the second in gum. Another discovery made 
by Mr. Graham was that a thin layer of gelatin in the form of jelly, interposed between 
two liquids, offered no obstacle to the passage of the crystalloids from one to the other, 
while it completely prevented the passage of the colloids; and this property he found to 
belong not only to gelatin, but to other substances having a similar molecular constitu- 
tion, as bladder, parchment, paper sized with starch paste, &c., of which the most con- 
venient is the texture known as parchment-paper, prepared by immersing unsized paper 
in a cold mixture of two measures of sulphuric acid and one of water. 
Upon the principles here stated, Mr. Graham contrived a very simple apparatus, which 
he called the dialyser, and a figure of which is given in 
the margin. It consists of two parts, one a circular glass 
recipient (b), about a foot in diameter and six inches 
deep, the other (a) a similar circular vessel from six to 
ten inches in diameter and about two inches deep, the 
circumference of which consists of a band of gutta- 
percha, and the bottom of a circular piece of parchment 
paper, the edges of which are brought over the lower 
rim of the gutta-percha band nearly to the top, and fast- 
ened outside of it by a string, or by a narrow hoop of 
gutta-percha. The first part, or circular basin, is to re- 
ceive distilled water, and should contain from five to ten 
times the quantity of the liquid that may be introduced into the smaller vessel. The latter 
is to float upon the surface of the water in the former, and is to receive the liquid to be 
submitted to dialysis, which should not be more than half an inch deep on the paper bot- 
tom. It is important that the parchment-paper employed should have no rent or aperture 
and should be brought well up, and well secured on the outside of the gutta-percha, to 
prevent the liquid from passing between them. If any liquid containing a mixture of col- 
loid and crystalloid matter be placed in the floating vessel, after some hours it will be 
found that a portion of the latter has passed through the parchment-paper, and is held in 
solution by the distilled water of the larger vessel, while the colloid matter remains. The 
distilled water thus impregnated is called the diffusate. The parchment-paper, or any simi- 
lar material used as the septum, is applicable to the dialysis only of substances held in 
watery solution, and will not answer for alcoholic or ethereal liquids. M. Guignot has 
found that porous or unglazed earthenware is capable of acting efficiently as a dialysing 
septum. Thus, a porous vessel containing pure water was placed in another vessel contain- 
ing a solution of sugar and gum; and, at the end of 24 hours, a greater portion of the 
sugar had passed into the inner vessel, but not a discoverable particle of gum. (Pharm. 
Journ., N. S., iv. 317.) It is obvious that very different arrangements might be made to 
accomplish the same ends. Thus a bladder containing a similar mixture, suspended in a 
jar of distilled water, should yield similar results. Graham’s apparatus is preferable to 
others only for its convenience. 
It is not our purpose to treat of all the applications of the process of dialysis. We shall 
refer to those only in which it may prove useful to the pharmaceutist. 1. It facilitates in 
many instances the separation of the active matter of any artificial or natural mixture, to 
a considerable extent, from the inert and useless, the former being very often crystalline, 
and the latter colloidal. Thus infusions or decoctions of medicines, such as opium, bella- 
donna, aconite, &c., submitted to dialysis, might give up more or less completely their 
crystalline principles, such as the salts of tnorphia, atropia, aconitia, &c., to the water, 
while the gummy, resinoid, extractive, and colouring matters, &c. might remain behind. 
In effecting the analysis of organic bodies, one of the most embarrassing problems is to 
get rid of the inert principles, which interfere with the action of chemical reagents ; and 
the process of dialysis may here often be brought to the aid of the operator. 2. In search- 
ing for poisons in organic mixtures, as in the contents of the stomach, in which the appli- 
cation of tests is often rendered abortive by the colloidal matter present, the problem of 
the presence of the poison may be sometimes solved by submitting the suspected matter 
to dialysis. The poison will often be found in the diffusate, separated from the other 
matters, and may then be detected by the ordinary tests. Arsenious acid, morphia, strych- 
nia, brucia, and digitaline have been tried in this way, and given successful results. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1864, p. 414.) 3. In pharmaceutic operations,it often happens 
that salts and other crystallizable substances are thrown away as refuse matter, because 
they would not repay the cost of time and material necessary for their recovery. It. is 
possible that, by this simple inexpensive process, these substances may be separated from 
the useless matters and thus saved. 4. An economical application has recently been made PART II. 
Effects of Heat. 
935 
tallization. The most usual method is by the evaporation of solutions, either 
spontaneously, or by heat. The extent to which the evaporation should be car- 
ried depends on the solubility of the substance. The proper degree of concen- 
tration is attained, when a drop of the solution, removed to a cool glass plate, 
deposits well-formed crystals. When set aside to crystallize, a solution should 
not be disturbed until deposition ceases. The crystals are large in proportion 
to the slowness of the cooling of the solution, to effect which the vessel is 
sometimes set in the drying closet, and sometimes left to cool with the sand- 
bath. The deposition of crystals is facilitated by suspending some insoluble sub- 
stance, as wood, or sheet lead, in the solution, or crystals of the same substance, 
which are thus increased in size. When it is desirable to have small acicular 
< rystals, the solution should be cooled rapidly, and stirred constantly meanwhile. 
Crystallization is one of the best means of purifying many substances; the 
impurities remaining wholly or chiefly in the residual liquid called mother- 
water. Fine silky crystals, which retain their mother-water by capillary attrac- 
tion, must be dried by strong expression in a linen bag. The finest silky crys- 
tals may be entirely freed from adhering liquid, by placing them in a funnel 
which fits closely to one of the necks of a double-mouthed bottle, and fitting a 
tube to the other, through which air is drawn. The current of air, in passing 
through the funnel, carries the water with it, and dries the crystals perfectly. 
Effects of Heat. The operations which require a heat greater than that used 
in digesting are liquefaction, fusion, calcination, ustulation, incineration, dis- 
tillation, sublimation, and reduction. 
Liquefaction is the melting of those substances that become soft previously 
to fusion, as wax, tallow, plaster, &c. The heat employed is always below that 
at which charring takes place. 
Fusion is the melting of those substances which pass immediately from the 
solid to the fluid state. It is employed in pharmacy in preparing nitrate of sil- 
ver and caustic potassa for casting into cylinders. The former must be melted 
in a porcelain, the latter in an iron crucible. The moulds in which they are 
cast are formed of two thick plates of cast-iron or silver, with semi-cylindrical 
grooves that fit accurately to each other. Fusion is also used in preparing the 
glass of antimony. 
Calcination is the term applied to the changes produced in mineral sub- 
stances by intense heat, not attended with fusion, and leaving a solid residue, 
and is often synonymous with oxidation. The term ustulation is restricted to 
the metallurgic operations of roasting ores, to drive off the volatile matters, as 
arsenic, &c. Calcination is often used to express the ustulation or burning of 
carbonate of magnesia. This is to be performed in an earthen vessel at a red 
heat. Exposure to the heat of a potter’s furnace, during the burning of the 
kiln, is an excellent mode of performing the operation. More commonly the 
carbonate is burnt in an iron pot, which is objectionable; as the heat soon 
oxidizes the iron, and the oxide scales off and mixes with the magnesia, which 
is seldom free from iron when prepared in this way. 
Incineration, as the name expresses, is the operation of burning substances 
for the sake of their ashes. It is performed in obtaining phosphate of lime, the 
Cornu Ustum of the late London Pharmacopoeia. The bones are burnt in an 
open fire until all the combustible matter is consumed. 
of the process to the restoration of salted meat to the fresh state. If some salt beef w; tn 
its brine be enclosed in a bag of material suitable for dialysis, as of untanned leather, and 
the bag be immersed in sea-water, in the course of some days the beef and brine will have 
been rendered sufficiently fresh for use, the salt having passed out into the sea-water. 
(Chem. News, May 28, 1864.) (See, on the subject of dialysis, papers by Prof. Redwood 
in the Pharm. Journ., April, 1862, p. 515, and by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., July, 1862, p. 312.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Notwithstanding the very important aid promised by this process to pharmacy when 
first announced, we are informed that it has proved less practically useful than was 
hoped; as the great dilution of the diffusate renders it liable to chemical change in the 
case of organic substances, and makes also a great amount of evaporation necessary 
{Note to the thirteenth edition.) 936 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Plasters.—Decoctions, etc. 
PART AI. 
Reduction is that operation by which certain binary compounds of the metals 
are brought to the metallic state, by heating them alone, or with some substance 
capable of attracting the combined substance and setting the metal at liberty. 
Arsenious acid is thus reduced by heating it with charcoal, and oxide of iron, 
in powder, by heating it in a current of hydrogen. When, in the reduction of 
metallic compounds, some third substance interferes with the process, as silica, 
a substance capable of combining with this is added, called a flux. 
Dispensing of Medicines. A large portion of the operations of the apothe- 
cary is performed in the shop extemporaneously. Tn dispensing medicines from 
the counter, he is continually called upon to put his previous knowledge in 
practice, and often to substitute extemporaneous for the regular officinal for- 
mulas There is no part of his business which requires, for its proper perform- 
ance, so much ready knowledge and so accurate a judgment. A few directions, 
suggested by running the eye over the list of preparations of the Pharmacopoeia, 
may be found useful. 
Aromatic Waters. It may sometimes be necessary for the apothecary to 
make extemporaneously an aromatic wrater, not usually kept in the shops. In 
this case he is to prepare it by rubbing two drops of the essential oil with from 
four to six grains of carbonate of magnesia for every fluidounce of water, and 
filtering. 
Plasters. It is sometimes desirable to apply plasters prepared from herbs. 
These may be made extemporaneously, by mixing the solt extract of the plant 
with about twice its weight of melted adhesive plaster. The most suitable ma- 
terial on wrhich to spiead plasters is soft white leather. A margin of half an 
inch should be allowed to remain around the plaster. The plaster iron or spatula 
maybe heated over the large spirit lamp, figured in page 921. A skilful apothe- 
cary will be able to spread the plaster uniformly and evenly, without overheat- 
ing it so as to corrugate or penetrate the leather. A convenient instrument for 
determining the size, and preserving a straight 
edge, consists of two squares made of tin and 
graduated to inches, as in the annexed figure; or 
pieces of paper may be cut out and pasted on the 
leather, so as to enclose a space of the required 
dimensions. The plaster should first be melted 
on a piece of brown paper, and then transferred 
to the leather, in order to prevent its being ap- 
plied at too great a heat. For all the officinal 
plasters, the apothecary should have small tin 
trays open on one side, on which to melt them. 
If the plaster to be spread is a very large one, it 
is better to liquefy the material in a capsule, and 
add it to different parts of the leather as it is wanted, till the wrhole is covered. 
For the description of an apparatus for spreading plasters, see Emplastra. 
Decoctions and Infusions. These are often ordered in prescriptions in the 
quantity of a few ounces A very convenient vessel for preparing them is the 
common nursery lamp, which consists of a cylindrical vessel, open at one side 
to receive a spirit lamp, and at the top to receive a teapot or tin boiler. The in- 
fusion mug of Mr. Alsop, of London (see Infusa), which consists of a queens- 
ware vessel, with a perforated diaphragm of the same material resting on a 
ledge at one-third of its height from the top, is the best instrument for this 
purpose. The material to be infused is placed on the diaphragm, and the boiling 
water poured on till it rises over the ingredients. No stirring is necessary, and 
the process is accomplished rapidly. Infusions and decoctions may be kept 
during hot weather, and for many months, by straining them while hot, and 
pouring them at once into bottles provided with accurately ground stoppers. 
The bottle must be quite filled; the stopper being made to displace its own 
bulk of the liquid. A common bottle with a perforated cork stopper may be used, 
if the hole be instantly closed, and the cork covered with sealing wax. The hotter 
the liquid and the freer from air bubbles, the better will the infusion keep. PART II. 
jDispensing of Medicines.—Mixtures.—Powders. 
937 
Neutral Mixture and Effervescing Draught. Neutral mixture is known to 
be saturated perfectly, when it does not affect litmus paper either in its blue 
state, or reddened by an acid. The carbonic acid, extricated in its preparation, 
combines at first, without effervescence, with the remaining carbonate, and forms 
a bicarbonate. This circumstance may lead, unless the solution be tested, to the 
supposition that the mixture is saturated. For preparing the effervescing 
draught, it is advisable to keep in the shop a solution of carbonate of potassa 
containing an ounce to the pint. The silica which this salt contains precipi- 
tates after a few weeks, and leaves a perfectly clear solution; whereas that 
prepared at the time it is to be used always becomes turbid after being saturated. 
Extemporaneous Mixtures. In preparing these by direction of the physician, 
it is of the first importance to mix the ingredients in the manner best calcu- 
lated to ensure a smooth and readily miscible compound, without grittiness or 
imperfectly comminuted portions, when a part of the constituents may be insolu- 
ble. Kino and extract of rhatany should be first dissolved in boiling water, when 
admissible. If an aromatic water is directed, they should be rubbed to powder, 
mixed with the insoluble ingredients, if any, and the water gradually added, 
the whole being triturated till smoothly mixed. Emulsions of the gum-resins 
should be rubbed till all the particles are softened, and then strained, if any ex- 
traneous matter is present. Water can be saturated with camphor by means of 
carbonate of magnesia, and an aqueous mixture of any strength may be made with 
it, by triturating the camphor with magnesia, and shaking the mixture before 
using it. Camphor softens the gum-resins, and solid fats and oils, and may be 
rendered permanently miscible with water, in considerable quantity, by tritura- 
tion with a fifth part of myrrh. In preparing oily emulsions in which gum arabic, 
or gum and sugar are the medium, a sufficient quantity of water must be added 
(generally about twice their weight) to convert them into a thick mucilage be- 
fore adding the oil, which must then be thoroughly mixed with the mucilage, 
and the remaining water added gradually with great care. Gum arabic is best 
suited for this purpose in a powder somewhat less fine than as ordinarily used. 
Ether is rendered more soluble in water by trituration with spermaceti. The 
mixture should be filtered to separate the superfluous spermaceti. If elaterium 
is to be incorporated in a mixture, it should be first rubbed with a little alcohol, 
then with sugar or syrup, and lastly with the other ingredients. When a few 
drops of croton oil are to be suspended in a mixture, the latter will be more 
permanent if a little olive oil be added with the croton oil to increase its quan- 
tity. Mixtures that contain the resinous tinctures, should also contain syrup, 
with which the tincture should be first mixed, and the water then added very 
gradually. If a mixture is to contain laudanum and a fixed oil, the former 
should be first mixed with the syrup apd the oil afterwards incorporated, and 
lastly the water. The mixture will not otherwise be uniform. When a consider- 
able quantity of sugar is added to a mixture, it is best to use syrup, emplojnng 
a fluidrachm of syrup for each drachm of sugar, and making allowance for the 
water contained in the syrup, which equals half its bulk. 
Powders. Powders are often mixed together with difficulty, by means of a 
pestle and mortar, on account of their differing greatly in 
weight, or of their softness and compressibility, as char- 
coal and magnesia, or rhubarb and magnesia. In these 
cases the mixing should be completed with a spatula on 
paper. In dividing powders into doses, it is very desirable 
to fold the packages neatly and of a uniform size. The 
powder folder represented in the figure is very useful for 
this purpose. It may be made of mahogany or other hard 
wood. Instruments of this kind with a movable cheek, so as to be widened or 
contracted by a screw, and made of brass, are used in some shops. When vola- 
tile or deliquescent substances, as camphor and carbonate of potassa, are pre- 
scribed in several powders, these should be enveloped separately in tin-foil or 
waxed paper; and, when ttfe number of doses is more than two, they should 
be enclosed in a paper box. 938 
Dispensing of Medicines.—Pills.—Gum-resins. 
PART II. 
Pills. In ordering pills care must be taken to avoid the use of deliquescent 
salts, and to deprive those which are efflorescent of their water of crystalliza- 
tion. The mass must be thoroughly incorporated previously to being divided; 
and this is particularly important when extracts of different degrees of hardness 
enter into the composition. A section of the mass should be throughout of 
uniform colour and consistency. Pills are to be rolled and preserved in pow- 
dered liquorice root, or lycopodium powder, which ought to be kept for use in 
a tin box with a perforated lid, like a pepper-box. The liquorice root is prefer- 
able on the pill-machine, as finer and more adhesive; the lycopodium in the 
pill-box, as less liable to attract moisture, and not disposed, like the former, to 
become mouldy. When pills are of too soft a consistence, a little liquorice 
powder may be incorporated with them to render them more firm. Pills, into 
the composition of which gum arabic enters, should be softened with syrup, 
and not with water, as the latter renders the mass difficult to roll. For further 
remarks relative to the formation of masses for pills, see Pilulae. 
Gum-resins. Gummi-resinae. The method of treating gum-resins, now that 
it has ceased to be a special subject of officinal direction, may be appropri- 
ately considered in this place. Gum-resins are concrete natural juices of plants 
obtained by spontaneous exudation or incision, and consisting of gum and resin, 
associated for the most part with more or less volatile oil, and frequently with 
other substances, such as extractive, bassorin, starch, wax, and various salts. 
The gum and resin are essential ingredients, but exist in very different propor- 
tions in the different varieties. All the gum-resins are partially soluble in alco- 
hol and in water, but completely so in neither of these liquids. Diluted alcohol, 
on the contrary, dissolves them almost entirely, especially if assisted by heat. 
With water they form an opaque emulsion; the resin, essential oil, and other 
insoluble constituents being held in suspension by the dissolved gum. They are 
to a certain extent soluble in vinegar. Upon several of them, especially myrrh 
and ammoniac, carbonate of potassa so reacts as to render them soluble in water, 
or capable of being permanently retained in suspension by that liquid. A good 
method of effecting their suspension in any watery vehicle, is to rub them with 
a few drops of pure almond oil so as to form a smooth paste, and then very gra- 
dually to add the liquid, continuing the trituration. In forming an emulsion 
with myrrh very rich in oil and resin, the union with water is greatly facilitated 
by rubbing the gum-resin, after it has been well beaten, with a little gum 
arabic before adding the water. 
They are often so impure from admixture of vegetable and mineral substances, 
as to be unfit for use until purified. Yarious modes of effecting this object have 
been practised. Some of the gum-resins,as galbanum, are so far fusible, that they 
may be rendered sufficiently liquid by heat to admit of straining through a hempen 
cloth. Care should be taken in this process not to apply too great a heat, and 
it is best that the liquefaction should be effected by means of a water-bath. But 
several of them, as assafetida and ammoniac, are not sufficiently fusible at the 
temperature of boiling water to admit of being strained with facility. As they 
are usually brittle and pulverizable when very cold, they may be freed from the 
coarser impurities by powdering them in the winter season, and sifting the pow- 
der, which afterwards agglutinates with warmth. This plan is recommended by 
Mr. Brande in relation to assafetida, ammoniac, and galbanum. When boiled 
with hot water, any of the gum-l’esins, though not dissolved, will form a semi- 
liquid mass capable of beingstrained; and this was the method employed by the 
London College for their purification. It is liable to the objection that a portion 
of the volatile oil, upon which their medical virtues in part depend, is driven off; 
and the gum-resins thus prepared are adapted more especially for external use. 
The French pharmaceutists purify t hese substances by dissolvingthem in diluted 
alcohol, filtering, and evaporating the solution. This process, though liable in a 
still greater degree than that of the London College to the objection of diminish- 
ing the virtues of the medicine by driving otf the essential oil, has the advantage 
of completely separating all insoluble substances,however minutely divided,such PART II. 
Dispensing of 3Iedicines.—Implements. 
939 
as fine sand or other earth, which might pass through the pores of a hempen 
strainer. For internal use, it is best to.select the gum-resin so pure as not to re- 
quire purification. M. Constantin recommends, as an effectual method of produc- 
ing permanent homogeneous emulsions with the gum-resins,to put into a marble 
or porcelain mortar the quantity directed of the gum-resin, in small pieces, to add 
about four times its weight of alcohol, to set this on fire and triturate with a por- 
celain pestle until the alcohol is consumed, and lastly to rub the soft mass, thus 
produced, with the liquid gradually added. {Journ. de Pharm., xxvi. 89.) 
Suppositories and lozenges or troches are other preparations often extem- 
poraneously made by the apothecary, which are not described here; as they 
will be found sufficiently treated of, in a general way, in a subsequent part of 
this work, in connection with the several substances belonging to them. 
Implements. The proper cleanliness of his vessels is an object of great im- 
portance to the apothecary. Open vessels, as mortars and measures, are easily 
cleansed, and should be wiped dry immediately after being washed. Fats and 
resins are readily removed by pearlash, or tow and damp ashes, or sand; red pre- 
cipitate and other metallic substances by a little nitric or muriatic acid; Prus- 
sian blue by means of pearlash. Bottles may be cleansed from the depositions 
which accumulate on their sides and bottoms from long use in the shops,by a few 
shreds of grocers’ paper, and a little clean water. They are to be shaken so as 
to give the paper and water a centrifugal motion, which effectually removes the 
dirt from the sides. They may be freed from oil by a little strong nitric acid, 
after the action of which water will thoroughly cleanse them. Long sticks armed 
with sponge, or dry linen or cotton cloth, should be provided for wiping dry the 
interior of flasks and bottles.* A wire, bent at the end into a sort of hook, will 
be found useful for getting corks out of bottles. Wire instruments with three 
prongs are made specially for this purpose. In the absence of these, a loop of 
twine will often be found convenient for effecting the same object. When the 
glass stopper of a bottle is fast, it may often be loosened by gently tapping its 
sides alternately with the handle of a spatula. Sometimes a drop or two of oil, 
alcohol, chloroform, or water, will soften the cementing substance. It will some- 
times answer to wrap the stopper in a cloth, insert it in a crevice or hole, in a 
table or door, and twist the bottle gently and dextrously. Sometimes the stopper 
may be loosened by quickly expanding the neck in the flame of a lamp, and tap- 
ping the stopper before the heat has reached it. The bottle should be constantly 
turned in the hand during the heating process, to avoid unequal expansion and 
fracture. In the absence of a flame, a piece of twine, turned twice around the 
neck and drawn back and forward rapidly, will soon heat it sufficiently in most 
instances. When the stopper of a bottle containing caustic alkali adheres, in 
consequence of the neck not having been wiped thoroughly dry, it is almost im- 
possible to loosen it, and the neck must be cut off. The adhesion in such cases 
* The odour of volatile oils, and other strong-smelling substances, such as musk, may 
be removed from bottles, mortars, &c., by means of the pulp of bitter almonds or peach 
kernels, bruised peach leaves, or other substances containing hydrocyanic acid. But fatty 
matters should first be removed by an alkaline solution, and resins by alcohol. (Journ. 
deChim. Med., 1845, p. 535.) It is asserted that the powder of black mustard has the 
same etfect. (Ibid., 2e ser., iii. 727.) 
In a communication by Prof. Procter to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Nov. 1868, p. 
510), the alternate use of benzine and solution of one of the alkaline carbonates with lime, 
is strongly recommended for the cleansing of cod-liver oil bottles, which are often re- 
turned to the shop with the oil, thickened by exposure, adhering both to their inner and 
outer surfaces.' The benzine is first used, and then the alkaline solution with lime; tho 
operation can be repeated if needful; and the whole process is completed by a thorough 
rinsing with water. For more precise particulars the reader is referred to the journal. 
(Note to the thirteenth edition.) 
It is sometimes difficult to cleanse glass and porcelain to which organic matters have 
long adhered. These sometimes become so hard and dry as to resist solvents. C. Brunner 
recommends, in such instances, to moisten the surface to be cleansed with strong sulphu- 
ric acid, to sprinkle on the acid some powdered bichromate of potassa, and to let the ves- 
sel stand for some hours in a warm place. The organic matter is thus destroyed and may 
easily be washed away. (Ghern. Gaz., no. 410, p. 430.) 940 
General Officinal Directions.— Weights. 
PART II. 
may be prevented by dipping the stopper before insertion in melted paraffin, on 
which the alkalies have no action. It is said that organic substances, which are 
altei’ed by exposure to light in ordinary glass bottles, undergo no change when 
contained in orange-coloured bottles. 
The apothecary should be provided with spatulas of wood, whalebone, and 
horn, as well as of steel. It should be an invariable rule to clean every knife 
and graduated measure immediately after it is used, and to put the dirty mortars 
apart from the clean. Too much particularity and order in all the minute details 
of the shop cannot be practised. The counters should be cleaned every day, and 
wiped as often as they become dusty. The scales should be thoroughly cleaned 
every week, and wiped always after using them for dusty substances ; and the 
prescription balance should be kept carefully enclosed in a glass case, and the 
dishes wiped after each time of using. The beam should occasionally be wiped 
with a soft cotton or silk cloth. The mortar stand should pass through the floor 
and cellar into the ground, so as not to jar the counter during the contusion of 
substances, and thus injure the balance. Bottles should be replaced as soon 
after being taken down and used as possible,and should on no account be changed 
from their accustomed place on the shelf. For the preservation of leaves, flowers, 
aromatic powders, calomel, and other medicines to which light is injurious, the 
bottles should be coated with tin-foil, or with black or orange-coloured varnish. 
No apothecary should be unprovided with a set of troy weights, as without 
them he will find it difficult to comply with the officinal directions for the pre- 
paration of his medicines; and the drawer in which his smaller weights are kept 
should be clean and free from dust, so that the weights may be accurate. In 
dispensing medicines, no vial or parcel should be suffered to leave the shop with- 
out its appropriate label; and this, in the case of prescriptions, should always 
be the physician’s direction as to the manner of taking it, and not the name of 
the medicine, unless it be so directed by him. The prescription, or a copy of it, 
should be retained and numbered, and the same number marked on the parcel 
or bottle. Everything connected with the shop, and the dispensing and putting 
up of medicines and parcels, should be characterized by neatness, accuracy, sys- 
tem, and competent knowledge. 
The apprentice who desires to qualify himself for his business, should care- 
fully study Turner’s, Graham’s or Fownes’s Elements of Chemistry, Mohr and 
Redwood’s Practical Pharmacy, Parrish’s Treatise on Pharmacy, and Morfit’s 
Chemical and Pharmaceutical Manipulation, which may be termed the hand- 
books of his profession. D. B. S. 
As all the processes of the United States and British Pharmacopoeias are 
either described or fully detailed in the following pages, it is proper that the 
prefatory explanations in these works should be introduced in this place, in 
order that the reader may be prepared to understand the precise signification of 
the terms employed. 
Weights. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia recognises the troy or apothecaries' pound, 
and its divisions of ounces, drachms, scruples, and grains, for the expression of 
weights, but actually employs, in its processes, only the grain and ounce. The 
following explanations are given on the subject of weights. 
“ In order to avoid the danger of mistakes from confounding the troy and 
avoirdupois pounds, the term, pound, is disused in the formulas .of this work, 
and the desired weight is expressed in ounces, each containing four hundred and 
eighjty grains. This ounce is always printed troyounce, to guard against the 
error of substituting for it the avoirdupois ounce, consisting of four hundred and 
thirty-seven and a half grains. The drachm and scruple are also disused, and re- 
placed by their equivalents in grains. Itis highly important that, persons encaged 
in preparing medicines should be provided with troy weights. But those who are 
not so provided can make their avoirdupois weights available as substitutes for 
troy weights, by bearing in mind that 42 5 grains, added to the avoirdupois 
General Officinal Directions. PART II. 
General Officinal Directions.—Measures. 
941 
ounce, will make it equal to the troy ounce; and that 1240 grains, deducted from 
the avoirdupois pound, will reduce it to the troy pound.” U. S. 
As the common weights of the country are the avoirdupois weights, and 
every apothecary is in possession of the lower denominations of the apotheca- 
ries’ weight, viz. grains, scruples, and drachms, there can be no difficulty in com- 
plying with the officinal directions. The British Council, in their recently pub- 
lished Pharmacopoeia, have abandoned the troy weights formerly employed by 
the London and Edinburgh Colleges,and substituted the avoirdupois pound and 
ounce, the former of 7000 grains, the latter of 437'5 grains; conforming in this 
respect with the Dublin College, but adhering to the old grain, and rejecting all 
intermediate divisions. It is a subject for congratulation that the Dublin drachm 
and scruple, of 54-68 grains and 18 22 grains respectively, have been abandoned 
Both in the United States and British Pharmacopoeias, with the exception, 
in the former, of the mineral acids, fixed oils, and chloroform, the quantity of 
fluids is generally indicated by the liquid measure,consisting of the gallon and its 
divisions of pints, fluidounces, fluidrachms, and minims. It is highly necessary 
that the apothecary should understand that this distinction is rigidly observed, 
in this work, in all the details which follow, and that, whenever the simple terms 
pound, ounce, and drachm are employed, they must be considered as belonging 
to the denomination of troy weight, unless when otherwise expressly intimated. 
This caution is the more necessary, as these terms are often confounded with 
the corresponding divisions of liquid measure, viz. the pint, fluidounce, and 
fluidrachm. (See Tables of Weights and Measures in the Appendix.) 
Measures. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia adheres to the old wine gallon and its 
divisions of pints, fluidounces, fluidrachms, and minims; but actually employs,in 
its processes, no denomination of measure higher than the pint. In the British 
Pharmacopoeia the Imperial gallon and its divisions,before used by all the British 
Colleges, have been retained This discrepancy is very unfortunate, as no one de- 
nomination of the Imperial measure corresponds exactly with the same denomi- 
nation of the wine measure; and the formulas, therefore, of the British Council, 
so far as measures are concerned, when they agree in terms with those of the Uni- 
ted States Pharmacopoeia,differ from them in reality; while in other cases,though 
differing in terms, they may be quite or very nearly identical. It is very im- 
portant that the apothecary should bear this distinction in mind; and, whenhe 
has occasion to carry into effect one of the foreign formulas, that he should 
make the due allowances. He will find, among the Tables in the Appendix of 
this work, a statement of the relative value of the several denominations of the 
Imperial and wine measures, and, by consulting this statement, will be enabled 
to convert the former into the latter without difficulty. We have endeavoured 
to obviate, as far as possible, this source of inconvenience, if not of danger, by 
indicating in our accounts of the British processes the kind of weight or mea- 
sure intended, whenever the discrepancy is such as to be a point of any import- 
ance. Though the Imperial fluidounce, fluidrachm, and minim differ somewhat 
from the wine measures of the same denomination, yet that difference is so small 
that we have not always deemed it necessary to make them objects of special 
notice. At the temperature of 60° F., the U. S. pint of distilled water weighs 
7291-2 grains, and the fluidounce 455 T grains; while the Imperial pint of dis- 
tilled water,at the same temperature, weighs 7000 grains,and the fluidounce 437 5 
grains. The measures kept in the shop should be graduated according to the 
divisions of the wine gallon; as this is recognised by our own officinal standard, 
Temperature. When there is occasion to indicate the temperature, Fahren- 
heit’s thermometer is employed in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias. Tn the 
former, the term gentle heat indicates any temperature between 90° and 100°. 
Specific Gravity. In both Pharmacopoeias, when the specific gravity of a 
body is given, it is considered to be at the temperature of 60° of Fahrenheit. 
Saturation. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia states that “ when an acid or alkali 
js directed to be saturated, the point of saturation is to be ascertained by means 
of litmus and turmeric, in the way usually followed by chemists.” For this 942 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
rART IT. 
purpose litmus or turmeric paper is usually employed; the latter being ren- 
dered brown by the alkalies, the former being reddened by the acids, and hav- 
ing its blue colour restored by the alkalies. (See Lacmus and Curcuma.) 
Containing Vessels. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia it is ordered that, in all 
cases in which bottles are directed to be well stopped, they must be closed 
with glass stoppers. In the late London Pharmacopoeia it was directed that, 
when not otherwise ordered, glass, porcelain, or stoneware vessels should be 
used for preparing and preserving medicines, at the same time guarding espe- 
cially against the employment of earthen vessels glazed with lead. The same 
College also directed that acid, alkaline, and metallic preparations, and salts of 
every kind, be kept in stopped glass bottles, which, for certain substances, 
should be of black or green' glass. 
Percolation, or Filtration by Displacement. In relation to this process, the 
following directions are given in the V. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
“The kind of filtration, known as percolation or the process of displacement, 
directed in this Pharmacopoeia, consists in subjecting a substance orsubstances, 
in powder, contained in a vessel called a percolator, to the solvent action of suc- 
cessive portions of a menstruum, in such a manner that the liquid, as it traverses 
the powder in its descent to the recipient, shall become charged with the soluble 
portion of it, and pass from the percolator free from insoluble matter. 
“ When the process is successfully conducted, the first portion of the filtered 
liquid, or percolate, will be nearly saturated with the soluble constituents of the 
substance treated; and, if the quantity of menstruum be sufficient for its ex- 
haustion, the last portion will be nearly destitute of colour, odour, and taste. 
“ The percolator should be either conical, or nearly cylindrical with a conical 
termination at the smaller end, and provided internally with a porous or colander- 
like partition or diaphragm, resting transversely immediately above its neck, for 
the support of the powder. Ordinary glass funnels, varying in capacity from 
one to eight pints, are to be preferred for most of the operations requiring per- 
colation in this Pharmacopoeia; but percolators may also be made of earthen- 
ware or tinned iron, especially of the latter material when required of large size. 
Tinned iron, however, should not be used when the liquid acts chemically on the 
material. In the several formulas in which percolators are used, their form and 
material will always be designated when there is a preference in these respects. 
In cases in which these variations of the instrument are indifferent, the term 
percolator simply will be employed. When a funnel is used, a circular piece of 
muslin or of lint, pressed into the neck by means of a cork with notched sides, 
forms a good diaphragm; but in all cases a similar piece of muslin, moistened 
slightly with the menstruum, should be interposed between the diaphragm and 
the powder, to prevent the passage of the fine particles of the latter. 
“ The substance to be subjected to percolation, after having been reduced by 
sifting to a uniform powder, of the fineness indicated in the formula, is to be 
put into a basin with from one-fourth to one-half of its weight of the men- 
struum, and the two rubbed together until the powder is uniformly moistened. 
“A portion of the powder is now to be carefully placed upon the diaphragm, 
prepared as above directed, and pressed gently until the muslin, resting against 
the sides of the percolator just above the neck, is covered with a uniform layer. 
The remainder of the powder is then to be transferred to the percolator, and 
compressed evenly and firmly, and the level surface covered with a circular 
piece of moistened muslin, so that the liquid poured upon it may penetrate 
equably, and not disarrange the powder. 
“The percolator being now properly supported, with its neck in a bottle pre- 
viously marked for the quantity or quantities of liquid to be percolated, the 
menstruum is to be poured on the muslin until the space above is nearly filled; 
and a layer of it must be constantly maintained above the powder, so as to pre- 
vent the access of air to its interstices, until all has been added, or until the 
requisite quantity of percolate has been obtained. 
“ If the fineness of the powder and its arrangement in the percolator have PART IT. 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
943 
been properly attended to, the percolate will pass out, by drops, with greater 
or less rapidity, according to the size of the percolator; but, if, by reason of 
accidental imperfection in the powder, or in the packing, the liquid pass more 
rapidly than this, the neck of the percolator should be obstructed by means of 
a cork until the requisite slowness has been attained. 
“ When the dregs of a tincture are to be subjected to percolation, after mace- 
ration with all the menstruum, the liquid portion should be drained off, the 
solid portion packed in a percolator as before described, and the liquid gradu- 
ally poured on until all has passed the surface, when, immediately, sufficient 
of the original menstruum should be poured on to displace the absorbed liquid, 
until the prescribed quantity of the tincture has been obtained. 
“Fineness of Powders. As different degrees of fineness are necessary in 
powders, according to their nature and mode of treatment, the special degree 
required is designated in the several formulas. For this purpose the terms very 
fine, fine, moderately fine, moderately coarse, and coarse are used;—the powder 
passed through a sieve of eighty or more meshes to the linear inch being desig- 
nated as very fine; through one of sixty meshes, fine ; through one of fifty 
meshes, moderately fine; through one of forty meshes t moderately coarse ; and 
through one of twenty meshes, coarse. ” U. S. 
The principles of the process of percolation and the apparatus in which it is 
performed have already been presented in sufficient detail. (See page 931.) The 
advantages of the process are, that the active soluble principles of medicinal 
substances are in general extracted by it more speedily, thoroughly, and eco- 
nomically than by any other mode; that concentrated solutions of these princi- 
ples are more easily obtained; and that no portion of the impregnated menstruum 
need be lost by remaining in the solid mass. It is, however, liable to the objec- 
tion, that considerable experience and skill are necessary to carry it properly 
into effect, and that, if improperly performed, it must often result in preparations 
very different from those contemplated in the formulas. It should not, therefore, 
be resorted to in the fulfilment of officinal directions, when any alternative is 
given, unless by individuals who have acquired the requisite skill by practice. 
The sources of failure in this process are chiefly an improper degree of com- 
minution in the substance to be acted upon, and an improper condition of the 
mass after it has been introduced into the instrument. If the material be in too 
fine a powder, it resists or obstructs the passage of the fluid; if too coarse, it 
allows the fluid to pass too rapidly, and at the same time opposes its cohesion 
to the solvent power of the menstruum. If merely bruised, especially if fibrous 
pieces of some length are intermixed, it causes the fluid to make irregular chan- 
nels, and thus to act upon it partially.- An improper packing of the material 
occasions similar inconveniences. If too compact it impedes, if too loose it 
injuriously facilitates the passage of the solvent, and if not uniform it produces 
an irregular flow, which necessarily vitiates the result. The liquid, finding an 
easier passage at one part than another, flows more rapidly in that direction, and 
thus makes channels by which it may in great measure or wholly escape, with 
little influence upon the mass. Besides, the uniform progression, by which each 
superadded portion displaces that immediately beneath it, is broken, the suc- 
cessive layers become intermingled, and thus one of the peculiar advantages of 
the process is lost. The following observations may be of some use in assisting 
the operator to avoid these consequences. 
The solid material should always be in the state of a uniform powder, to 
which, when not required to be fine, it may be conveniently brought by grind- 
ing in a common coffee-mill. If its texture be very hard, firm, and not easily per- 
meable by moisture, as in certain barks, woods, and ligneous roots, it should be 
finely powdered. If, on the contrary, the texture be loose and spongy, and 
especially if the material be disposed to swell up and form a viscid mass with 
water, so as to impede percolation, as in the case of gentian and squill, the 
powder should be coarser; though the substances which require this treatment 
when water is used, may not require it with another solvent, as alcohol or ether. 944 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
PART II 
The difficulty, however, arising from the swelling of the material is now almost 
entirely obviated by the employment of conical percolators, such as glass fun- 
nels, which by their shape allow the free expansion of the material upward, and 
thus prevent compression. Though funnels have been long in use as percolators, 
the principle of their favourable action was, we believe, first suggested by Prof. 
Procter. To secure uniformity in the powder,it should always be passed through 
a sieve before being used ; and the proper degree of fineness is secured by having 
the number of openings in the linear inch of the sieve duly regulated. According 
to Prof. Grahame, of Baltimore, the sieve should generally have 60 meshes to the 
linear inch, especially for tinctures; but for substances which must be used in 
coarse powder 40 meshes are preferable. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the de- 
gree of fineness varies from 20 to 80 meshes to the linear inch, and, with great 
propriety, the precise degree of fineness adapted to each substance is indicated, 
in the several preparations, by the use of the terms very fine, fine, moderately 
fine, moderately coarse, and coarse; these terms having their exact value de- 
termined by the preliminary directions above quoted. 
It has generally been considered advisable, before introducing the material 
into the instrument, to mix it with a portion of the solvent, and allow it to stand 
for some time in another vessel. It thus becomes more penetrable and more 
easily acted on by the menstruum, admits of a more uniform packing, and, if 
liable to swell with water, undergoes this expansion where it cannot have the 
effect of checking percolation. Opinion, however, has considerably changed on 
this point. It is obvious that, when it is desirable to have the first portion of 
the percolate as concentrated as possible, it is necessary that the powder should 
be no further moistened than may be essential for proper packing in the instru- 
ment. When previously mixed with the powder, the portions of liquid which 
first pass will have only the strength acquired by the maceration; whereas, wnen 
added to the powder but slightly moistened in the percolator, each particle of 
the menstruum passes successively, along the whole line of its descent, from par- 
ticle to particle of the powder in all its strength, taking something from each aa 
il descends until completely saturated; and it is also obvious that the higher the 
column, that is the greater the depth of the packed powder, the greater will be 
the chance of complete saturation. Besides, since the introduction of conical per- 
colators into use, the disadvantages of compression from swelling have been so 
far obviated that the previous maceration is less needful on this account Pro- 
fessor Grahame prefers that no more of the menstruum should be preliminarily 
employed than may be sufficient to dampen the powder, so as to enable it to be 
packed properly, and facilitate the passage of the liquid through the powder. 
The quantity must differ with the character of the powder, and is directed in- 
each officinal preparation. As a general rule, it varies, as stated in the foregoing 
officinal directions, from one-fourth to one-half the weight of the powder. When 
concentrated solutions are not needed at first, as generally in the tinctures and 
infusions, the previous maceration with the menstruum cannot be of any mate- 
rial disservice. When employed, it may continue on the average about twelve 
hours; but a much shorter time will often answer. It has sometimes been re- 
commended to perform this preliminary maceration in the displacement filter, its 
lower orifice being closed for a time. With some substances this may be done 
without disadvantage ; but, in all those instances in which the material is liable 
to swell considerably with water, and thus to choke the passage, if a cylindrical 
percolator be used, the maceration should take place in another vessel. 
The packing of the material in the instrument is that part of the process 
which most requires experience in the operator, and about which the least pre- 
cise rules can be given. When mixed with a considerable portion of fluid, it 
will often subside of itself into the proper state; but generally it requires some 
pressure, and the degree of the latter must be in proportion to the looseness of 
texture in the material; reference, however, being always had to its disposition 
to swell with water. Certain substances in which this property is found, such 
as gentian and rhubarb, must not be pressed compactly when water is the sol- PART II. 
General Officinal Directions.—Percolation. 
945 
vent. As the percolation advances, and portions of the substance acted on are 
dissolved, the mass often becomes too loose, and requires to be again pressed 
down. Substances which are apt to form with the menstruum an adhesive and 
impermeable mass, such as the resins and gum-resins, may be advantageously 
mixed, in the state of coarse powder, with about half their weight of perfectly 
clean white sand, as suggested by the late Mr. Duhamel. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., x. 15.) The sand separates the particles of the mass, and allows the 
menstruum a readier access 
After the moistened material has been properly packed, the upper surface 
should be made quite level, and then covered with a circular disk of tin pierced 
with numerous minute holes, or, what is probably better, a circular piece of mus- 
lin as directed in the Pharmacopoeia. If the disk be of filtering paper, as some 
have recommended, it should be kept in its place by pieces of glass rod. The 
solvent is thus made to enter into the mass equably, and prevented from forming 
partial passages by bearing upon one or a few points. The liquid is now to be 
introduced in successive portions,as stated in the officinal directions above given. 
If the lower diaphragm of the percolator be duly covered with a close filter- 
ing material, the percolate will always be clear from the beginning. The best 
material for the purpose is, perhaps, apiece of fine patent lint. Prof. Procter in- 
forms us that he finds advantage in covering the tissue which may be placed on 
the diaphragm by a thin layer of sand. Should the filtrate, however, be from 
any cause turbid, it should be returned into the instrument, before the addition of 
any displacing menstruum; and the same thing should continue to be done, until 
the liquid comes away perfectly clear. If the percolation be too rapid, pressure 
may be made upon the upper diaphragm so as to render the mass more com- 
pact ; or the instrument may be closed below for a time, as stated in the officinal 
directions. Hence the advantage of having a stop-cock near the lower end for 
regulating the discharge. In the absence of a stop-cock, a soft cork may be used, 
with a small groove cut lengthwise for a short distance from its smaller end. By 
withdrawing the cork until the groove appears, a passage for the fluid can be 
opened at will. But if due attention be paid to the fineness of the powder and 
the proper packing of it, there will seldom be any occasion for this caution. Dr. 
Squibb states that the liquid should escape at the rate of about one drop every 
two seconds, or about three fluidounces in an hour. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
March, 1858, p. 98.) When the percolation is too slow, it maybe increased by 
the pressure of a column of liquid, and this plan may sometimes be advantage- 
ously resorted to when the powder is very fine, or large masses of material are 
operated upon. (See pages 982-3.) When the object is to keep up a constant 
supply of the percolating fluid, it may be accomplished by filling a long-necked 
bottle or matrass with the fluid, and inverting it over the filtering instrument, 
with its mouth beneath the surface of the liquid in the latter. 
Hot liquids may be used in the process as well as cold, and are sometimes 
preferable when the substance yields its active principles more largely at an 
elevated temperature. But there is often an inconvenience in employing hot 
water ; as it dissolves or renders glutinous substances not affected by cold water, 
which are not requisite and may even be injurious in the preparation, and which 
tend to embarrass the process by filling up the interstices of the mass, and thus 
rendering it less permeable. An instrument has been invented by Mr. C. A. 
Smith, of Cincinnati, by which the menstruum is made to enter the contents of 
the percolator in the state of hot vapour, and, being condensed by means of a 
refrigerating vessel surrounding the percolator, passes out in the liquid form, 
highly impregnated with the soluble principles of the material operated on. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xviii. 98.) 
The first portion of filtered liquid is very strongly impregnated, and the por- 
tions which subsequently come away are successively less so. It is sometimes 
desirable to obtain the whole of the particular sol vent employed. This end may 
be very nearly attained by adding, at the close of the process, enough of another 
liquid to supply the place of tlmt retained in the mass. It was Boullav’s idea, 946 
Percolation. — Pharmacopoeias. 
PART IT 
that the whole of the liquid contained in the moist material might be thus 
driven out of it or displaced by the one added, without any admixture of the 
two. This, however, has been ascertained not to be exactly true; and, however 
carefully the process may be conducted, some mixture will take place. Hence, 
it is recommended, when one liquid is added in order to displace another, to 
introduce first a shallow layer of the same liquid with that contained in the 
mass. In some instances, the solvent, if consisting of two liquids, is resolved 
into these in the process. Thus, when myrrh is subjected to percolation with 
proof spirit, the first liquid which comes away is alcohol holding the oil and 
resin of the myrrh in solution. 
There are very few substances to which the mode of filtration by displace- 
ment will not be found applicable, if due attention be paid to the circumstances 
which require variations in the process.* 
As the Pharmacopoeias of the United States and Great Britain constitute the 
basis of the present work, there would seem to be an obvious propriety in de- 
voting, in the present place, a few words to the explanation of their general 
character. Pharmacopoeias are authoritative codes for the regulation of the 
Materia Medica and Pharmacy within the limits where their authority is ad- 
mitted. Every fully civilized nation has one or more recognised Pharmacopoeias. 
In most countries they are prepared under the authority more or less direct of 
the government, and have the sanction of law. In the United States the Phar- 
macopoeia is the result of the voluntary action of the Professions of Medicine 
and Pharmacy, and has no other sanction than that of opinion. Nevertheless, 
within the limits of the two Professions referred to, it is probably quite as au- 
thoritative as though established by legal enactment. Works of this kind are 
necessarily compendious, as it is only by adhering to what is generally admitted 
to be essential, that they can expect to secure general acceptance. To give them 
full effect, explanations, comment, and various illustrations are necessary; and 
it is for this purpose that works called Dispensatories are written. Until recently 
there were three Pharmacopoeias in the British Dominions, under the sanction 
respectively of the three Colleges of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. This 
created much confusion in Great Britain, which in some degree extended also 
to the United States, where these works were at one time our only Pharma- 
ceutical codes, and, in consequence of the general use of British works on medi- 
cine, continued to exert a considerable influence. By a very wise determination 
of the medical profession in Great Britain and Ireland, operating through the 
general Parliament, the three Pharmacopoeias have been succeeded by a single 
one for the Empire, prepared under the direction of the Medical Council, which 
is at present the legal representative of the whole profession. It is this work, 
st\’led the British Pharmacopoeia, that we comment upon in the present edi- 
tion of the Dispensatory ; the three former London, Edinburgh, and Dublin 
Pharmacopoeias. 
* Much is due for the improvements which have added to the efficiency of percolation, 
as practised in the United States, to Prof. Grahameof Baltimore, Prof. Procter of Phila- 
delphia, and Dr. Squibb of New York, whose several papers on the subject are published 
in the Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc. (A. D. 1858, p. 255), and in thelm. Journ. 
of Pharm. (March, 1858, p. 97, and July, 1859, p. 317).—Note to the twelfth edition. 
Repercolation. This name has been given by Dr. Edward R. Squibb to a modification of 
the process of percolation, especially adapted to economy in the use of alcohol and other 
high priced fluids used as menstrua, which theory and experience unite in determining to 
he very important for the object aimed at. It consists essentially in the use of the same por- 
tion of percolating fluid with different portions successively of the substance percolated, 
so that the percolate becomes intensely concentrated, and not only is much of the men- 
struum saved, hut much less evaporation is necessary in obtaining the extracted matter. 
There may he some waste in the medicine submitted to this process, as it is scarcely pos- 
sible that it should he so thoroughly exhausted as it is in the ordinary process; but the 
loss in this direction is trifling when compared with the gain in that of a very costly 
menstruum. The subject will be more fully treated of under the head of Extracts, to the 
Dreparation of which repercolation is especially applicable. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART II. 
Pharmacopoeias.—Aceta. 
947 
Pharmacopoeias having been superseded by it. The first British Pharmacopoeia 
was published in 18(54, but in various points proved so unsatisfactory to the 
medical and pharmaceutical professions that a revision was imperatively called 
for; and in 1867 a new and much altered edition was published, which is now 
the recognised standard. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia consists essentially of two parts, one called the 
Materia Medica, giving a list of the recognised medicines, with definitions 
sufficient to establish their identity and purity, and the other entitled Prepara- 
tions or Preparations and Compounds, giving processes for the preparation of 
such medicines as may be supposed to be made by the apothecary. This was 
also the plan of all the old British Pharmacopoeias, including the first edition 
of the work especially so designated, though with some modifications peculiar 
to itself; but the arrangement has been abandoned in the present British 
Pharmacopoeia, which has, unwisely, we think, adopted a mere alphabetical 
succession of objects, like a dictionary or encyclopaedia, placing in immediate 
contiguity medicines and preparations, without any other relation than the 
alphabetical succession of the initial letters of their names. This is a return 
to the practice of the earlier pharmacy, which experience taught to be in- 
convenient as well as unscientific, and in the adoption of which the present 
British Pharmacopoeia stands almost if not entirely alone. Another change 
in the British Pharmacopoeia is in the character of the nomenclature, which, 
in the first edition, was neat and simple, following for the most part that 
of the old London Pharmacopoeia, and corresponding to a considerable extent 
with our own, which was framed with great care, and upon sound principles. 
Instead of giving medicines the simplest names, as Anthemis, Arnica, Buchu, 
Calumba, Cinchona, Senega, Serpentaria, &c , it lias been thought advisable 
in very many instances to include in the title the part used, as Anthemidis 
Flores, Calumbse Radix, Cinchonae Cortex, thus returning to the old cumbrous 
nomenclature, out of which medicine and pharmacy have been gradually work- 
ing their way, after a long struggle, into the present beautiful and convenient 
simplicity. Another point in which the U. S. Pharmacopoeia has the advan- 
tage is the existence of a Secondary Catalogue, which may receive doubtful 
medicines, upon the value of which all cannot agree, and in which may be 
placed new medicines yet on trial but not generally adopted, and others going 
out of use, but still not without advocates in the profession. The British 
Materia Medica is somewhat more elaborate than ours in its descriptions, 
which is a doubtful merit, as the work is thus liable to come into unnecessary 
conflict with opinion, and thus to provoke contradiction. Besides the medi- 
cines and preparations, the British Pharmacopoeia has an Appendix, contain- 
ing a list of substances, with the modes of preparing them when necessary, 
used in testing the medicines employed ; and, moreover, two other supplement- 
ary lists, one of substances used as ordinary tests in determining the character 
and purity of medicines, and the other of certain preparations employed in vol- 
umetric analysis, which we are disposed to consider as useful features of the 
work, and which will be given at the close of Part II. of the Dispensatory, so 
far as the individual articles may not be noticed elsewhere in the book 
ACETA. 
Vinegars. 
Under this title, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, are included both Dis- 
tilled Vinegar, and those preparations usually denominated Medicated Vinegars. 
The latter are infusions or solutions of various medicinal substances in vinegar 
or acetic acid. The advantage of vinegar as a menstruum is that, in consequence 
of the acetic acid which it contains, it will dissolve substances not readily solu- 
ble, or altogether insoluble, in water alone. It is an excellent solvent of the 
organic alkalies, which it converts into acetates, thereby modifying, in some 
measure, though not injuriously, the action of the medicines of which they are 948 
Aceta. 
PART II. 
ingredients. As ordinary vinegar contains principles which promote its decom- 
position, it should be purified by distillation before being used as a solvent. In- 
fusions prepared with it, even in this state, are apt to spoil in a short time; and 
a portion of alcohol is usually added to contribute to their preservation. A small 
quantity of acetic ether is said to result from this addition; and, on the continent 
of Europe, the place of the alcohol is frequently supplied by an equal amount 
of concentrated acetic acid. At present diluted acetic acid is generally preferred 
as the menstruum to distilled vinegar, as being of more uniform strength. In 
consequence of their liability to change, the medicated vinegars should be made 
in small quantities, and kept but for a short time. W. 
ACETUM DESTILLATUM. U.S. Distilled Vinegar. 
“ Take of Yinegar eight pints. Distil, by means of a sand-bath, from a glass 
retort into a glass I’eceiver, seven pints. Distilled Yinegar may be substituted 
for Diluted Acetic Acid in the preparation of the officinal vinegars.” U. S. 
Distilled vinegar, though formerly among the London and Edinburgh offici- 
nals, has been omitted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
Yinegar is a very heterogeneous liquid, containing colouring matter, gum, 
sugar, alcohol, &c.; and the object of the distillation is to purify it. (See Ace- 
tum.) The first portion that distils contains alcohol, aldehyd, and pyroacetic 
spirit (acetone), these being the most volatile ingredients; next the acetic acid 
comes over much purified, but weaker than it exists in the vinegar, on account of 
its being less volatile than water; and, if the distillation be stopped when the 
pure vinegar ceases to come over, there will be found in the retort a liquid of a 
deep-brown colour, very sour and empyreumatic, and containing free tartaric 
and malic acids, bitartrate of potassa, and other substances. This statement ex- 
plains why the last portion (one-eighth) is not distilled ; the seven-eighths which 
first come over being alone preserved. The residuary liquid in the retort, if 
diluted with an equal bulk of hot water, may be made to yield, by a fresh dis- 
tillation, a quantity of weak acetic acid equal to the residuary liquid, and of 
about the strength and purity of officinal distilled vinegar. 
Wine vinegar furnishes a stronger and more aromatic distilled vinegar than 
malt or cider vinegar. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia does not give the density, on 
account of its being an uncertain criterion of strength. The saturating power is 
the proper test of the acid present. This, according to the Pharmacopoeia, is 
such that 100 grains of the Distilled Yinegar saturate not less than TO grains 
of bicarbonate of potassa, so that it must have at least the strength of the offi- 
cinal Diluted Acetic Acid. The saturating power, thus given, indicates 5 per 
cent, as the proportion of monohydrated acetic acid contained in it. Considering 
the ordinary pharmaceutical uses of distilled vinegar, variations in its strength, 
limited as they are by the qualities of different vinegars, are of no great conse- 
quence. Its purity is the point of importance. If, however, precision be attempt- 
ed, the saturating power and not the density must be indicated; and directions 
should be given for bringing a distilled vinegar, which varies from the standard 
of saturating power, to that standard by the addition either of pure acetic acid 
or of distilled water. The reason why density cannot be depended upon,.is that 
the specific gravity is not in proportion to the strength. If the vinegar contain 
a good deal of alcohol and pyroacetic spirit,the distilled product will be light, but 
not necessarily weak. This remark applies particularly to distilled wine vinegar. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs the distillation of vinegar to be conducted 
in glass vessels; but it is generally distilled in a copper alembic furnished with 
a pewter worm. The use of these metals, however, endangers metallic impreg- 
nation. Mr. Brande has suggested that the condenser might be made of very 
thin silver, a metal not acted on by acetic acid of any strength. If this cannot 
be procured, the head and worm should be of glass or earthenware. Empyreuma 
is effectually prevented by distilling by means of steam. 
Properties. Distilled vinegar is a limpid, colourless liquid, of a weak acetous 
taste and smell, less agreeable than those of common vinegar. It is wholly vola- 
tilized by heat. It is not a perfectly pure solution of acetic acid in w*ater ; but PART II. 
Aceta. 
949 
contains a small proportion of aldehyd, which rises in the distillation. It is on 
account of the partial decomposition of this impurity that distilled vinegar,when 
saturated with an alkali, is liable to become of a reddish or brownish colour. 
The Pharmacopoeia, however, directs that it should not change colour upon the 
addition of ammonia. When distilled in metallic vessels, it is apt to contain 
traces of copper, lead, and tin. Copper is detected, after saturating with am- 
monia, by the addition of ferrocyanide of potassium, which produces a brown 
cloud; lead by iodide of potassium, which occasions a yellow precipitate; and 
tin by a solution of terchloride of gold, which causes a purplish appearance. 
The last two metals are discovered also by sulphuretted hydrogen, which occa- 
sions a dark-coloured precipitate. The non-action of this gas proves the ab- 
sence of metals generally. Distilled vinegar should uot have an empyreumatic 
taste or a sulphurous smell. As usually prepared, however, it is somewhat em- 
pyreumatic. British malt vinegar is allowed by law to contain one-thousandth 
of sulphuric acid; but, when it is distilled, this acid does not come over. If, 
however, sulphuric acid should be accidentally present in distilled vinegar, it 
may be detected by chloride of barium or acetate of lead. If muriatic acid be 
present, it may be shown by a precipitate being formed with nitrate of silver; 
and if nitric acid be an impurity, the vinegar will possess the property, by diges- 
tion, of dissolving silver, which may be detected afterwards by muriatic acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The medical properties of distilled vinegar are 
the same as those of common vinegar (see Acetum)-, but the former, being purer, 
and not liable to spontaneous decomposition, is preferable for pharmaceutical 
purposes. Still, distilled vinegar is less pure than the officinal diluted acetic 
acid, which has been substituted for it in the preparations. B. 
ACETUM CANTHARIDIS. Br. Vinegar of Cantharides. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in powder, two ounces [Avoirdupois]; Glacial Acetic 
Acid two fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Acetic Acid eighteen fluidounces 
[Imp. meas.], or a sufficiency. Mix thirteen fluidounces of the Acetic Acid 
with the Glacial Acetic Acid, and digest the Cantharides in this mixture for 
two hours at a temperature of 200°; then transfer the ingredients, after they 
have cooled, to a percolator, and, when the liquid ceases to pass, pour five fluid- 
ounces of Acetic Acid over the residuum in the apparatus. As soon as the 
percolation is complete, subject the contents of the percolator to pressure, filter 
the product, mix the liquids, and add sufficient Acid to make one pint [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. 
This preparation was formerly officinal in all the Pharmacopoeias of the 
British Islands ; being recognised under its present title by the Edinburgh and 
Dublin Colleges, and under that of Acetum Cantharidis (Epispasticum) by the 
London ; but it was omitted in the first British Pharmacopoeia, to be resumed 
in the present. The mode of preparation differs mainly in the partial substitu- 
tion of percolation for maceration and expression. The addition of the glacial 
to the officinal acetic acid is simply to increase the strength of the latter. The 
preparation is a little stronger than that of the late London Pharmacopoeia, 
but weaker than the Edinburgh and Dublin. 
This preparation is intended exclusively for external use, as a speedy epi- 
spastic. It is said, when lightly applied by a brush, to act as a rubefacient; and, 
wnen rubbed freely upon the skin for three minutes, to be followed, in two or 
three hours, by full vesication. The pain produced by the application, though 
more severe, is also more transient than that occasioned by the blistering cerate. 
From experiments made by Mr. Redwood, it may be inferred that the old Ace- 
tum Cantharidis of the London Pharmacopoeia, which was prepared by macer- 
ation without heat, proved epispastic chiefly if not exclusively in consequence 
of its acetic acid, and that it contained little of the active principle of the flies. 
{Load. Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1841.) Prof. Procter found that, by 
digestion at a temperature of 212° F., the active principle of the flies is readily 
taken up by officinal acetic acid, though a portion of the cantharidin is deposited 
upon cooling. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 299.) It would seem, therefore, 950 
Aceta. 
PAltT II 
that the vinegar of Spanish flies would be best prepared with the aid of heat; 
and, to a certain extent, this advantage is enjoyed in the present process. W. 
ACETUM COLCIIICI. U.S. Vinegar of Colchicum. 
“Take of Colchicum Root, in fine powder, two troy ounces; Diluted Acetic 
Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fluidounce of Diluted 
Acetic Acid, allow it to stand for half an hour, pack it firmly in a conical glass 
percolator, and gradually pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered 
liquid measures two pints. 
“ Vinegar of Colchicum may also be prepared by macerating the Colchicum 
Root, in moderately fine powder, with two pints of Diluted Acetic Acid, in a 
close glass vessel, for seven days; then expressing the liquid, and filtering 
through paper.” U. S. 
Vinegar is an excellent solvent of the active principle of colchicum; and the 
organic alkali of the latter loses none of its efficacy by combination with the 
acetic acid of the former. Of the two formulas above given, the first, directing 
percolation, is much preferable to the second, permitting maceration, if per- 
formed by competent hands; and the same remark will apply to all the medi- 
cated vinegars in which an alternative formula is given. 
Medical Uses. This preparation has been extolled as a diuretic in dropsy, 
and maybe given in gout, rheumatism, and neuralgia; but the wines of colchicum 
are usually preferred. It is recommended by Scudamore to be given in connec- 
tion with magnesia, so as to neutralize the acetic acid of the menstruum. The 
dose is from thirty drops to two fluidrachms. W. 
ACETUM LOBELIAS. U.S. Vinegar of Lobelia. 
“Take of Lobelia, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounees of 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it firmly in a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“ Vinegar of Lobelia may also be prepared by macerating the powder in two 
pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and filtering 
through paper.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation of lobelia, and might well be formed into a syrup, 
by the addition of sugar, as in the syrup of squill. It has the advantage that 
acetic acid gives stability to the alkaloid, which is very liable to decomposition, 
especially under the influence of heat. It may be used for all the purposes for 
which lobelia is given, either in substance or tincture; but is best adapted to cases 
in which the medicine is exhibited in small doses frequently repeated, with a view 
to its antispasmodic and expectorant action, as in asthma, spasmodic catarrh, and 
catarrhal croup, in which it may often be advantageously conjoined with the 
syrups of seneka and squill. For these purposes the dose for an adult is from 
thirty minims to a fluidrachm, repeated three or four times a day, or more fre- 
quently if required. In the paroxysm of spasmodic asthma one or two fluidrachms 
may be given every two or three hours till relief is obtained. The emetic dose 
would be half a fluidounce. W. 
ACETUM OPII. U.S. Vinegar of Opium. Black Drop. 
“ Take of Opium, dried, and in moderately coarse powder, five troyounces; 
Nutmeg, in moderately coarse powder, a troyounce; Saffron, in moderately 
coarse powder, one hundred and fifty grains ; Sugar eight troyounces ; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Opium, Nutmeg, and Saffron 
with a pint of Diluted Acetic Acid for twenty-four hours. Put the mixture 
into a conical glass percolator, and return the liquid which first passes until the 
filtrate becomes clear. Then gradually pour on Diluted Acetic Acid until the 
filtered liquid measures twenty-six fluidounees. In this dissolve the Sugar, 
and, having strained the solution, add sufficient Diluted Acetic Acid to make 
the whole measure two pints.” U. S. 
The vinegar of opium was introduced into the Pharmacopoeias as an imita- 
tion of or substitute for a preparation, which has been long in use under the P. RT II 
Aceta, 
951 
name of Lancaster or Quaker's black drop, or simply black drop. The formula 
of the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was so deficient in precision, 
and so uncertain in its results, that it was abandoned in the second edition; 
but, as these objections were obviated in a process by Mr. Charles Ellis, pub- 
lished in the American Journal of Pharmacy (vol. ii. page 202), and as the 
preparation continued to enjoy a considerable degree of professional and popu- 
lar favour, it was deemed proper to restore it to its officinal rank at the subse- 
quent revision of the Pharmacopoeia. The U. S. formula above given is essen- 
tially that of Mr. Ellis, but with improvements which obviate the necessity 
of evaporation. The preparation has, we think unfortunately, been omitted 
in the British Pharmacopoeia with most of the other vinegars. The advan- 
tages of the black drop over laudanum are, probably, that disturbing prin- 
ciples contained in opium and soluble in alcohol are left behind by the aque- 
ous menstruum employed; while the meconate of morphia is converted by the 
acetic acid into the acetate. In the original process, published by Dr. Armstrong, 
who found it among the papers of a relative of the proprietor in England, ver- 
juice, or the juice of the wild crab, was employed instead of vinegar. Other 
vegetable acids also favourably modify the narcotic operation of opium; and 
lemon-juice has been employed in a similar manner with vinegar or verjuice, 
and perhaps not less advantageously.* 
The vinegar of opium may sometimes be advantageously used when opium 
itself, or the tincture, in consequence of peculiarity in the disease or in the con- 
stitution of the patient, occasions so much headache, nausea, or nervous disor- 
der, as to render its employment inconvenient if not impossible. It exhibits all 
the anodyne and soporific properties of the narcotic, with less tendency to pro- 
duce these disagreeable effects, at least in many instances. The U. S. prepara- 
tion is of double the strength of laudanum, six and a half minims containing 
the soluble parts of about one grain of opium, supposing the drug to be com- 
pletely exhausted by the menstruum. The dose may be stated at from seven 
to ten drops or minims. W. 
ACETUM S A A GUIA AIIIaE . U.S. Vinegar of Bloodroot. 
“ Take of Bloodroot, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with two fluidounces ol 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it firmly in a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“Vinegar of Bloodroot may also be prepared by macerating the powder with 
two pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and 
filtering through paper.” U. S. 
This is one of the new officinals of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It is no doubt 
an efficient preparation, and may be used for the same purposes as the powdered 
root. When first prepared, it has a deep-red colour, which is diminished by time; 
but through what chemical agency is unknown; as, according to Prof. Procter, 
the change is independent of the acetate of sanguinarina, which is formed in the 
process. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., May, 1864, p. 210.) A syrup may be formed 
from this vinegar by the addition of sugar, as in the syrup of squill. The dose of 
the vinegar of bloodroot as an emetic is three or four fluidrachms; as an altera- 
tive and expectorant, from fifteen to thirty drops or minims It has been used as 
a local remedy in ringworm and other cutaneous diseases, and has been found by 
Dr. R. G. Jennings efficient as a gargle in the sorethroat of scarlet fever. W. 
* The following is the formula given in the first edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
“Take of Opium half a pound; Vinegar three pints; Nutmeg, bruised, one ounce and a 
half; Saffron half an ounce. Boil them to a proper consistence; then add Sugar four 
ounces; Yeast one fiuidounce. Digest for seven weeks, then place in the open air until it 
becomes a syrup; lastly, decant, filter, and bottle it up, adding a little sugar to each bot- 
tle.” The boiling to a proper consistence, the digestion in the open air until a syrup is 
formed, and the addition of a little sugar to each bottle, are all indefinite directions which 
must have led to uncertain results. Independently of this want of precision, the point in 
which the old process chiefly differs from that at present officinal is, that, in the former, 
fermentation is induced by the addition of yeast. But fermentation is of very doubtful 
value in the process; at least its advantages have not been proved. 952 
Aceta. 
PART It 
ACETUM SCILLaE. U.S.,Br. Vinegar of Squill 
“Take of Squill, in moderately coarse powder, four troyounces; Diluted 
Acetic Acid a sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with a fiuidounee of 
Diluted Acetic Acid, pack it in a conical glass percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it Diluted Acetic Acid until the filtered liquid measures two pints. 
“Vinegar of Squill may also be prepared by macerating the Squill with 
two pints of Diluted Acetic Acid for seven days, expressing the liquid, and 
filtering through paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Squill, bruised, two ounces and a half [avoirdupois]; Diluted 
Acetic Acid one pint [Imperial measure]; Proof Spirit one and a half fluid- 
ounce [Imp. meas.]. Macerate the Squill in the Acetic Acid for seven days, 
then strain with expression, add the Spirit to the strained liquor, and filter.” Br. 
A practical error occurred, in the late revision of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, in 
the directions of its formula, which renders the whole process almost nugatory. 
Notwithstanding the coarseness of the powder as ordered, the disposition of 
squill to swell up and form an adhesive mass with the menstruum is such, 
that the percolation cannot be satisfactorily effected in strict compliance with 
the directions. The squill should be first mixed with a pint of the diluted 
acetic acid, as ordered in the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and, when the swelling 
has taken place, the whole mass should be transferred to a conical percolator 
of glass, and properly packed by means of agitation and gentle pressure, after 
which the process is to be completed, as directed in the formula, by adding the 
diluted acid gradually until two pints of the vinegar have passed. (Procter, 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1864, p. 298.) 
This was formerly an officinal of the Loud., Ed., and Dub. Colleges, but was 
omitted as a distinct preparation in the first British Pharmacopoeia, being re- 
tained simply as the first step in the preparation of the syrup. It has, how- 
ever, been introduced into the present edition. As vinegar of squill is apt to 
be injured by keeping, it should be prepared frequently, and in small quanti- 
ties, as wanted for use. The spirit added to it in the British formula was in- 
tended to contribute to its preservation ; but, in the quantity used, it is doubt- 
ful whether it would have any such effect. The Vinegar is employed chiefly 
in tlie preparation of the syrup of squill. Upon standing, it deposits a precipi- 
tate, consisting, according to Vogel, of citrate of lime and tannic acid. 
Medical Uses. This preparation has all the properties of the squill in sub 
stance, and is occasionally prescribed as a diuretic and expectorant in various 
forms of dropsy and of pulmonary disease ; but the syrup is usually preferred, 
as it keeps better, and is less unpleasant to the taste. The dose is from fifteen 
minims to a fluidrachm; but the latter quantity would be apt to nauseate. It 
should be given in cinnamon-water, mint-water, or other aromatic liquid cal- 
culated to conceal its taste and obviate nausea.* 
Off. Prep. Oxymel Scillae, Br.; Syrupus Scillae. W. 
* Acidum Aceticum Camphora.tum (Ed., Dub.). Camphorated Acetic Acid. This is an old 
officinal of the Ed. and Dub. Pharmacopoeias, which, though omitted in the British, de- 
serves to be retained in a note, if only from its old reputation. It was prepared as follows. 
“Take of Camphor one ounce [avoird.] ; Rectified Spirit one fluidrachm; Strong Aeebo 
Acid ten fluidounces. Reduce the camphor to powder by means of the Spirit; then add the 
Acid, and dissolve.” Dub. 
The use of the alcohol is simply to facilitate the pulverization of the camphor, and a 
few drops are sufficient. Acetic acid in its concentrated state readily dissolves camphor. 
In this preparation, the whole of the camphor is taken up by the acid. In consequence of 
the powerful chemical agency of the solution, and its extreme volatility, it should be kept 
in glass bottles accurately fitted with ground stoppers. Camphorated acetic acid is an ex- 
ceedingly pungent perfume, which, when snuffed up the nostrils, produces a strongly ex- 
citant impression, and may be beneficially resorted to in cases of fainting or nervous 
debility. It was an officinal substitute for Henry’s aromatic spirit of vinegar. 
At Apothecaries’ Hall, in London, an aromatic vinegar is prepared by dissolving the oils 
of cloves, lavender, rosemary, and calamus, in highly concentrated acetic acid. It is used 
for the same purpose as the officinal camphorated acetic acid, being dropped on sponge, 
and kept in smelling-bottles. A similar preparation may be made externporanei usly by tfART II. 
Adda. 
953 
ACIDA. 
Acids. 
Acids are compounds which are capable of uniting in definite proportions with 
alkalies, earths, and ordinary metallic oxides, with the effect of producing a com- 
bination,in which the properties of its constituents are mutually destroyed. Such 
combinations are said to be neutral, and are denominated salts. Most acids have 
a sour taste, and possess the power of changing vegetable blues to red; and, 
though these properties are by no means constant, yet they afford a convenient 
means of detecting acids, applicable in practice to most cases. The above ex- 
planation of the nature of an acid is that usually given ; but, according to strict 
definition, acids are compounds having a strong electro-negative energy, and, 
therefore, possessing a powerful affinity for electro-positive compounds, such as 
alkalies, earths, and ordinary oxides. It is this antagonism in the electrical con- 
dition of these two great classes of chemical compounds that gives rise to their 
mutual affinity, which is so much the stronger as the contrast in this respect is 
greater. In the majority of cases, the electro-negative compound or acid is an 
oxidized body, but by no means necessarily so. When an acid does not contain 
oxygen, hydrogen is usually present. These peculiarities in composition have 
given rise to the division of acids by some writers into oxacids and hydracids. 
Vegetable acids, for the most part, contain both hydrogen and oxygen. 
The number of acids used in medicine is small; but among these are to be 
found examples of the three kinds above mentioned. B. 
ACIDUM ACETICUM DILUTUM. U.S.,Dr. Diluted Acetic Acid. 
“Take of Acetic Acid a pint; Distilled Water scven pints. Mix them.” The 
sp. gr. of this acid is 1-006, and 100 grains of it saturate 1-6 grains of crystal- 
lized bicarbonate of potassa. U. S. 
“Take of Acetic Acid one pint [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water seven 
pints [Imp. meas.]. Mix.” Br. The sp.gr. of this acid is P006, and an Im- 
perial fluidounce of it (440 grains by weight) requires for neutralization 313 
grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda, corresponding to 3-63 per 
cent, of anhydrous acetic acid. One Imperial fluidounce, therefore, corresponds 
to 16 grains of anhydrous acid. Br. 
The object of having this preparation is to possess a weak solution of pure 
acetic acid, which maybe substituted for distilled vinegar in all formulas in which 
nicety is required. Distilled vinegar contains a little organic matter, which is 
always darkened or precipitated when its acid is saturated with an alkali, an 
occurrence which does not take place when the diluted acetic acid is employed. 
The saturating strength of the diluted acid of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia indicates 
the same proportion of monohydrated acetic acid as is contained in the officinal 
distilled vinegar, namely, 5 per cent. The British diluted acid has the same 
sp. gr. as our own, viz. rt)06. 
adding to a draclim of acetate of potassa, contained in a stoppered bottle, three drops of 
one or more of the aromatic volatile oils, and twenty drops of sulphuric acid. [Pereira.) 
A preparation called Marseilles vinegar, or thieves' vinegar (vinaigre des qua.trSs volenrs), 
consisting essentially of vinegar impregnated with aromatic substances, was formerly es- 
teemed a prophylactic against the plague and other contagious diseases. It is said to have 
derived its name and reputation from the circumstance, that four thieves, who, during the 
plague at Marseilles, had plundered the dead bodies with impunity, confessed, upon the 
condition of a pardon, that they owed their safety to the use of it. The aromatic acetic acid 
of the former Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia was intended as a simplification of this nostrum. 
It was made by macerating for a week an ounce of rosemary, an ounce of sage, half an 
ounce of lavender, and half a drachm of cloves, with two pounds of distilled vinegar, 
then expressing the liquor and filtering. Origanum wras afterwards substituted for sage, 
and thirty fluidounces of acetic acid for two pounds of distilled vinegar. In the last edi- 
tion of the Pharmacopoeia the preparation was abandoned. In the present state of know- 
ledge, it is hardly necessary to observe that neither the original nostrum, nor its substitute, 
has any other power of p.. Meeting the system against disease than such as may depend 
vn its slightly stimulant properties, and its influence over the imagination. W. 954 
Acida. 
PART II. 
In making this preparation, whenever the apothecary is doubtful as to the 
strength of the acetic acid he employs, it will be his duty to ascertain its satu- 
rating power, and, if this should vary from the standard, to vary the dilution 
accordingly. 
Diluted acetic acid has been employed with advantage in scarlatina by Dr. I. 
13. Brown, of London, who published a treatise on its use in 1846. Dr. B. F. 
Schneck, of Lebanon,Pa.,has imitated this practice, and with good results. (Am 
Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1857, p. 27.) 
Off. Prep. Acetum Colchici, U.S.; Acetum Lobelise, U.S.; Acetum Opii, 
U. S.; Acetum Sanguinariae, U. S.; Acetum Scillae; Emplastrum Ammoniaci, 
U. tS'.; Liquor Ammonise Acetatis, U.S.; Liquor Morphiae Acetatis, Br.; 
Syrupus Allii, TJ. S. B. 
ACIDUM BENZOICUM. U.S., Br. Benzoic Acid. 
“Take of Benzoin, in coarse powder, twelve troy ounces. Spread the Benzoin 
evenly over the bottom of an iron dish eight inches in diameter, cover the dish 
with a piece of filtering paper, and, by means of paste, attach it closely to the 
rim. Then, having prepared a conical receiver or cap of thick, well-sized paper, 
of rather larger diameter than the dish, invert it over the latter, so as to fit 
closely around the rim. Next apply heat by means of a sand-bath, or of the iron 
plate of a stove, until, without much empyreuma, vapours of Benzoic Acid cease 
to rise. Lastly, separate the receiver from time to time, and remove the Benzoic 
Acid from it and the paper diaphragm, as long as the Acid continues to be 
deposited.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia has omitted its process for the preparation of 
benzoic acid, and defines it to be “a crystalline acid obtained from benzoin, and 
prepared by sublimation.” 
The Pharmacopoeias now unite in the preparation of benzoic acid by sublima- 
tion. Formerly the benzoin was mixed with an equal weight of sand; but this has 
been omitted, as not only useless, but probably injurious by favouring the pro- 
duction of empyreumatic substances. The acid, which exists in the benzoin com- 
bined with resin, is volatilized by the heat, and condensed in the upper parti f 
the apparatus. Unless the temperature is very carefully regulated, a portion of 
the resin is decomposed, and an oily substance generated, which rises with the 
acid, and gives it a brown colour, from which it cannot be entirely freed by 
bibulous paper; and this result sometimes takes place even with the greatest 
caution. The process for subliming benzoic acid may be conducted in a glazed 
earthen vessel, surmounted by a cone of paper, or by another vessel with a small 
opening at the top, and a band of paper pasted round the place of junction. 
After tlie heat has been applied for an hour, the process should be suspended 
till the condensed acid is removed from the upper vessel or paper cone, when it 
maybe renewed, and the acid again removed, and thus alternately till coloured 
vapours rise. Mohr, after many experiments, recommends the following plan as 
unobjectionable. In a round cast-iron vessel, eight or nine inches in diameter 
and two inches deep, a pound or less of coarsely powdered benzoin is placed, 
and uniformly strewed over the bottom. The top of the vessel is closed by a 
sheet of bibulous paper, which is secured to the sides by paste. A cylinder of 
thick paper in the form of a hat, just large enough to fit closely around the sides 
of the pot, is then placed over it, and in like manner secured by paste. A mod- 
erate heat is now applied by means of a sand-bath, and continued for threp or 
four hours. The vapours pass through the bibulous paper, which absorbs the 
empyreumatic oil, and are condensed within the hat in brilliant white flowers, 
having an agreeable odour of benzoin. (Annal. der Pharm., xxix. 178.) After 
a time the bibulous paper becomes so saturated with empyreumatic products 
as no longer to arrest them, and should then be replaced with a fresh piece. 
(Maisch.) The remaining acid of the benzoin may be extracted, if deemed ad- 
visable, by treating the residue of the balsam with lime or carbonate of soda. 
The process of Mohr has been adopted in the present edition of the U. S. Phar 
macopceia, and is probably preferable to any method heretofore proposed. From PART II. 
Adda. 
955 
the mode of preparing benzoic acid by sublimation, it was formerly called floicers 
of benzoin. 
Another mode of separating the acid from benzoin is by combining it with a 
salifiable base, and precipitating with an acid. Such is the process of Scheele. 
It consists in boiling the powdered benzoin with hydrate of lime and water, fil- 
tering the solution of benzoate of lime thus obtained, and precipitating the ben- 
zoic acid with muriatic acid. Carbonate of soda or of potassa may be substituted 
for the lime, and sulphuric for the muriatic acid; and the precipitated benzoic 
acid may be purified by dissolving it in boiling water, which will deposit it upon 
cooling. The acid, however, requires to be still further purified by repeated 
crystallization from small portions of boiling water. A little animal charcoal 
may be employed to render the crystals quite colourless. These processes afford 
a purer product than that obtained by sublimation, but not preferable in a 
medicinal point of view; as the small quantity of oil present in the sublimed 
acid adds to its stimulant properties, and at the same time renders it pleasant 
to the smell. In order to get the benzoic acid in the form to which the eye is 
accustomed, it has been proposed to sublime the acid after its precipitation. 
Several other modes of extracting the acid have been recommended. The 
following is the process of Stolze. One part of the balsam is dissolved in three 
parts of alcohol, the solution filtered and introduced into a retort, and the acid 
saturated by carbonate of soda dissolved in a mixture of eight parts of water 
and three of alcohol. The alcohol is distilled off; and the benzoate of soda 
contained in the residuary liquid is decomposed by sulphuric acid, which pre- 
cipitates the benzoic acid. This is purified by solution in boiling water, which 
lets fall the acid when it cools. By this process Stolze obtained 18 per cent, 
of acid from benzoin containing 19 425 per cent. By the process of Scheele he 
obtained 13*5 per cent.; by the agency of carbonate of soda, 12 per cent. ; by 
sublimation only 7'6 per cent. Nevertheless, Mr. Brande says that the last pro- 
cess is on the whole the most economical. According to this author, good ben- 
zoin affords by sublimation from 10 to 15 per cent, of the acid contaminated 
with empyreumatic oil, and about 9 per cent, of the purified acid. Professor 
Scharling has prepared benzoic acid by means of heated steam, and obtained 8 
per cent. (Am, Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 236.) 
The acid is said to be obtained very cheaply from naphthalin by a new process. 
We have seen no precise account of the method employed, but are informed 
that it is very extensively carried out by M. Castheluz in Paris. The naphthalin 
(CmH8) is first transformed into a bichloride (quadrichloride and 
this by oxidation into phtalic acid (C18H4062II0), which is combined with 
ammonia to form the phtalate (C1BH4062NIIa). This by distillation furnishes 
phtalamid (C1BH.N04), which by distillation with three parts of hydrate of lime 
yields benzonitril (C14H.N); and the latter, boiled with a solution of caustic 
soda, becomes benzoate of soda, from which benzoic acid is precipitated by mu- 
riatic acid. (Chem. News, Dec. 13, 1867, p. 296.) 
A considerable quantity of benzoic acid has, within a few years, been imported 
into the United States from Germany, said to have been prepared from the urine 
of cattle and horses. It is white, has a fine lustre, and is said to be very pure, 
but sometimes has a slight urinous odour indicative of its origin. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xxvii. 23.) We are informed that it is now very largely made in 
Paris out of the same material. 
Properties. Sublimed benzoic acid is in white, soft, feathery crystals, of a 
silky lustre, and not pulverulent. From solution the acid crystallizes in trans- 
parent prisms. When quite pure it is inodorous; but, prepared by sublimation 
from the balsam, it has a peculiar, agreeable, aromatic odour, dependent on the 
presence of an oil, which may be separated by dissolving the acid in alcohol, 
and precipitating it with water. Its taste is warm, acrid, and acidulous. It is 
unalterable in the air, but at 250° melts, and at a somewhat higher temperature 
rises in suffocating vapours. The Br. Pharmacopoeia gives as its melting point 
248°, and boiling point 462°. It is inflammable, burning without residue. 956 
Adda. 
PART II. 
It is soluble in 200 parts of cold water (Annals of Pharmacy, i. 206), and in about 
24 parts of boiling water, which deposits it upon cooling. The addition of 
borax increases its solubility. It is readily dissolved by alcohol, and by con- 
centrated sulphuric and nitric acids, from which it is precipitated by water. The 
fixed oils also dissolve it. It is entirely soluble in solutions of potassa, soda, 
ammonia, and lime, from which it is precipitated by muriatic acid. Its solution 
reddens litmus paper, and it forms salts with salifiable bases; but its acid pro- 
perties are not powerful. Benzoic acid consists of benzyl and oxygen, and in 
the uncombined state usually contains water The anhydrous acid has, however, 
been is< lated by Gerhardt. (Ghem. Gaz., x. 237.) Benzyl consists of fourteen 
eqs. of carbon 84, five of hydrogen 5, and two of oxygen 16=105. The crys- 
tallized acid contains one eq. of benzyl 105, one of oxygen 8, and one of water 
9=122, the formula being CuH5Os,HO. It cannot be deprived of its water by 
heat, but sometimes loses it in combination. Benzoic acid is a characteristic 
constituent of the balsams, and has been found in various other vegetable, and 
some animal products.* When heated it should sublime without residue; but 
the Br. Pharmacopoeia allows a slight residue for impurities. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoic acid is irritant to the alimentary mu- 
cous membrane, and stimulant to the system, and has been thought to be expec- 
torant; but it is not much used internally, except as a constituent of one or 
two officinal preparations. It was proposed by Dr. Alexander Ure as a remedy 
for uric acid deposits in the urine, and for the chalk-like concretions, consisting 
of urate of soda, in the joints of gouty individuals. He supposed it to operate by 
converting the uric into hippuric acid, and consequently the insoluble urates into 
soluble hippurates. It appears, however, from the observations of Dr. Garrod 
and Mr. Keller, that such a transfonnation of uric acid does not take place, but 
that the benzoic acid is itself converted into hippuric acid, which is always found 
in the urine, when the former acid is taken freely. The quantity of uric acid in the 
urine remains undiminished But it has been shown by Kletzinsky that, though 
the uric acid is unaffected, the urea is decidedly diminished; and the quantity of 
nitrogen contained in the urea lost is almost exactly represented by the nitrogen 
of the hippuric acid formed ; so that the benzoic acid is probably converted into 
the hippuric by combination with a nitrogenous body,either derived from the urea 
or farmed at the expense of it. (Ann. de Therap., 1860, p. 110.) In consequence 
of the acid state of urine produced by benzoic acid, it has been found useful in 
the phosphatic variety of gravel; though its beneficial influence, being purely 
chemical, continues only during its use. It is said to have cured nocturnal incon- 
tinence of urine. Mr. White Cooper has employed it with supposed advantage 
in a case of rheumatic sclerotitis. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., N. S.,xxv. 518.) 
A convenient mode of exhibition is to give the acid with four parts of phosphate 
of soda, or one part and a half of biborate of soda, which enables it to be readily 
dissolved by water. The dose is from 10 to 30 grains. It is an ingredient in 
some cosmetic washes, and has been employed by way of fumigation as a remedy 
in affections of the skin. It has also been employed as a local hasmostatic, in 
connection with alum, with considerable asserted success; but there can be little 
doubt that alum is the more efficient ingredient. 
Off. Prep. Ammon he Benzoas, Br.; Tinctura Camphor® Composite, Br.; 
Tinct. Opii Ammoniata, Br.; Tinct. Opii Camphorata, U. S. W. 
ACIDUM GALLICUM. U. S., Br. Gallic Acid. 
“ Take of Nutgall,in fine powder,thirty-sixtroyounces; Purified Animal Char- 
coal, Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the Nutgall with sufficient 
Distilled Water to form a thin paste, and expose the mixture to the air, in a shal- 
low glass or porcelain vessel, in a warm place, for a month, occasionally stirring 
* Benzyl, which was at first hypothetical, has been isolated. When benzoate of copner is 
cautiously distilled without water, it yields a product which crystallizes on cooling. This 
substance has the smell of geranium, melts at 158° F., and has a composition represented 
by the formula C14H5Or When heated with hydrate of potassa, it is converted into benzoic 
acid, with the escape of hydrogen. It is, therefore, benzyl. It was discovered by Etting, 
and afterwards investigated by Stenhouse. (Fownes’s Chemistry, Am. ed., 1858, p. 401.) PART II. 
Adda. 
957 
it with a glass rod, and adding from time to time sufficient Distilled Water to 
preserve the semi-fluid consistence. Then submit the paste to expression, and, 
rejecting the expressed liquor, boil the residue in eight pints of Distilled Water 
for a few minutes, and filter while hot through Purified Animal Charcoal. Set 
the liquid aside that crystals may form, and dry them on bibulous paper. If the 
crystals be not sufficiently free from colour, they may be purified by dissolving 
them in boiling Distilled Water, filtering through a fresh portion of Purified 
Animal Charcoal, and crystallizing.” U. S. 
The Dublin College gave two processes, of which the first has been retained, 
with a few verbal modifications, in the British Pharmacopoeia. It is essentially 
the same as the U. S. process; differing in requiring an exposure of six weeks 
instead of a month, in not expressing the paste before boiling in water, in ex 
pressing the impure acid deposited from the filtered decoction before redissolv 
ing it in boiling water, and in omitting the use of animal charcoal. The second 
process of the Dublin College, based on the influence of sulphuric acid in favour- 
ing the change of tannic into gallic acid, has the merit of requiring less time for 
completion. Notwithstanding its rejection in the late revision of the British 
Pharmacopoeia, we retain it in the form of a note.* 
The U. S. process is founded upon the fact that, when galls in infusion, or 
in the state of moistened powder, are exposed to the air, their tannic acid is 
gradually converted into gallic acid, with the absorption, as has been generally 
believed, of oxygen, and the escape of an equivalent quantity of carbonic acid. 
The gallic acid, being freely soluble in boiling but very sparingly in cold water, 
is extracted from the altered galls by decoction, and is deposited as the water 
cools. A repetition of the solution and deposition renders the acid more pure; 
but it cannot be obtained wholly colourless unless by the aid of animal charcoal. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 it was neglected to direct purified animal 
charcoal; an inadvertence which has been corrected in the present edition. There 
are few processes in which it is more necessary that this decolorizing agent 
should be purified. The presence of the slightest quantity of sesquioxide of iron 
interferes with the bleaching of the acid ; and it is even advisable to examine 
the filtering paper, lest it may contain sufficient of this substance to vitiate 
the results of the process. The first crop of crystals in the U. S process retains 
a very large proportion of water ; and it will be found convenient to subject them 
to strong expression between folds of bibulous paper. 
Dr. C. Wetherill, believing that gallic acid dilfers from the tarmic simply in 
containing water, conceived the idea of preparing the former from the latter by 
the fixation of water. This he effected through the agency of sulphuric acid. 
Having mixed 13 drachms of tannic acid with 22 fiuidounces of sulphuric acid 
* Process by Sulphuric Acid. “ Take of powdered Galls one pound [avoirdupoi.-] ; Oil of 
Vitriol of Commerce twenty-six fiuidounces; Water Jive joints and fourteen [fluid]ounces 
[Imp. meas.]. Steep the galls for twenty-four hours in one part of the water, then transfer 
them to a glass or porcelain percolator, and pour on a pint and a half of the water in succes- 
sive portions. Dilute live ounces of the oil of vitriol with an equal bulk of water, and, when 
the mixture has cooled, add it to the infusion obtained by percolation, stirring well, so as 
to bring them into perfect contact. Let the viscid precipitate which forms be separated by 
a filter, and to the solution which passes through add live ounces'more of the oil of vitriol, 
which will yield an additional precipitate. This being added to that previously obtained, 
let both be enveloped in calico, and subjected to powerful pressure Dissolve the residue 
in the rest of the oil of vitriol, this latter being first diluted with what remains of the wa- 
ter ; boil the solution for twenty minutes, then allow it to cool, and set it by for a week. 
Let the deposit which has formed at the end of this period be pressed, dried, and then dis- 
solved in three times its weight of boiling water, clearing the solution, if necessary, by 
filtration, and, when it has cooled down to 80°, decant the liquid from the crystalline sedi- 
ment which has formed, and wash the latter with three ounces of ice-cold water. Finally, 
let it be transferred to blotting paper, and, when deprived by this of adhering liquid, let 
it be dried perfectly at a temperature not exceeding 212°. The gallic acid obtained may 
be rendered nearly white by dissolving it in twenty times its weight of boiling distilled 
water, and causing the solution to traverse a stratum of prepared animal charcoal spread 
upon a calico filter. When the liquid passes through colourless it should be evaporated to 
one-sixth of its volume, and then suffered to cool in order to the separation of the crystal- 
lized acid.” [Dub. A. D. 1850.) 958 
Adda. 
PART II. 
and four limes that bulk of water, he heated the mixture to the boiling point, 
and then allowed it to stand. In a few days an abundant precipitate of white gal- 
lic acid took place, amounting to 87 4 per cent, of the tannic acid. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm., xx. 112.) Upon the same principle is based the second process of 
the Dublin College above referred to. Dr. Christison, in his Dispensatory, states 
that the process was originally suggested by Liebig. It is now understood that 
tannic acid is a glucoside, convertible through exposure of galls to the air, and 
more rapidly by sulphuric acid, into glucose and gallic acid; and thus to a cer- 
tain extent is explained the rationale of both the processes here noticed. 
The elder Robiquet first suggested that galls contain a principle capable of 
converting tannic into gallic acid, with the presence of water, and in the absence 
of atmospheric air. M. Larocque proved that this principle acts as a ferment, 
and that the change referred to is the result of a gallic acid fermentation in the 
galls. M. Edmond Robiquet has shown that galls contain pectose and pectase, 
the former of which, according to the experiments of M. Fremy, is the principle 
out of which pectin is formed in plants, and the latter a peculiar ferment which 
effects the transformation. It appears that in galls the pectase, aided by a pro- 
per temperature and the presence of water, changes not only pectose into pectin, 
but also tannic into gallic acid. Strecker had previously advanced the opinion 
that tannic acid is a combination of gallic acid and sugar, the latter of which is 
destroyed in the process for procuring gallic acid, which is thus simply set free 
from the combination. It would seem, if this view is correct, that the pectase 
acts upon the saccharine matter of the tannic acid, causing its conversion into 
carbonic acid and alcohol, and liberating the gallic acid, and that the process is 
in fact an example of the vinous fermentation. M. E. Robiquet admits the occa- 
sional transformation of tannic acid into gallic acid and sugar, but does not 
believe that the sugar pre-exists as such in the tannin. (Journ. de Pliarm., 8e 
ser., xxiii. 241.) Wittstein, in endeavouring to obtain gallic acid from Chinese 
galls (see page 415) by forming them into a paste with water, found that but a 
very small proportion of the acid was generated at the end of six weeks. Think- 
ing that this might have resulted from the want of the ferment in the Chinese 
galls, he added to these one-eighth of their weight of common galls, and, at the 
end of three weeks, obtained an amount of gallic acid nearly equal to one-half 
the weight of the galls employed. The same result, though more slowly, fol- 
lowed the addition of yeast to the Chinese galls. Wittstein obtained both car- 
bonic acid and alcohol as products of this operation, thus favouring the views 
of Strecker as to the constitution of tannic acid. 
Properties. Gallic acid is in delicate, silky, acicular crystals, which, as ordi- 
narily found in the shops, are slight!}7 brownish, but when quite pure are colour- 
less. It is inodorous, and of a sourish, astringent taste. Dissoluble, according 
to Braconnot, in 100 parts of cold and 3 of boiling water, is very soluble in 
alcohol, and but slightly so in ether. Mr. Thomas Weaver, of Philadelphia, has 
found that it is soluble in glycerin in the proportion of 40 grains to the ounce, 
and that the solution may be diluted to any extent with water without affecting 
its transparency. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxix. 82.) It reddens litmus, and 
produces a deep bluish-black colour with solutions of the salts of sesquioxide of 
iron, which disappears when the solution is heated; a result which Dr. Mahla 
has shown to depend on the conversion of the gallic into gallhumic or metagallic 
acid, by the loss of the constituents of carbonic acid and water. (Am Journ. of 
Sci. and Arts, Nov. 1859 ) It does not precipitate gelatin, or a solution of sul- 
phate of protoxide of iron. It should leave no residue when burnt, and is en- 
tirely dissipated when thrown on red-hot iron. On exposure to the air, its solu- 
tion undergoes spontaneous decomposition ; but it is said that, by the addition 
of a drop of oil of cloves, it may be kept for a long time without change. (Pharm. 
Journ., xvi. 223.) T. Lowe has found that gallic acid, dissolved in water, is 
converted into tannic acid by nitrate of silver through its oxidizing influence; 
and that the change is more complete when a salt of gallic acid is used. ( Chem. 
News, Jan. 31,1868, p. 59 ; from Journ. furpract. Chem., cii. 111.) The form PART II. 
Acida. 
959 
ula of gallic acil is CuHGO10 (Ganelin). Heated to 420° it gives out carbonic 
acid, and is changed into pyrogallic acid. (See Part III.) 
Medical Properties. Forming an ingredient in all astringent products com 
taining gallo-tannic acid, gallic acid was atone time supposed to be the active 
principle of the vegetable astringents This reputation it afterwards lost when 
the properties of tannic acid became well known. But it has recently again come 
into notice, and is now thought by many to be a very valuable astringent, having 
the property of arresting hemorrhages when taken internally, especially those 
from the uterus and urinary passages. Jn all cases of hemorrhage in which the 
bleeding vessels must be reached through the route of the circulation, it is be- 
lieved by some to be more-efficient even than tannic acid, as its chemical affinities 
do not afford the same impediment to its absorption as those of the latter acid. 
But in hemorrhage from the alimentary mucous membrane,or from any other part 
with which tannic acid can be brought into direct contact, the latter astringent 
is by far the most effectual. Gallic acid has been employed also with advantage 
in pyrosis, and the night-sweats of phthisis. It is said not to constipate the 
bowels. The dose is from five to fifteen grains three or four times a day, and 
may be given in the form of pill or powder. The acid has been employed as a 
gargle in inflammatory affections of the fauces. The comparative facility with 
which it is dissolved by glycerin,and the readiness with which the solution mixes 
with water, suggest the use of this menstruum when it may be desirable to em- 
ploy the medicine locally as a gargle or injection. 
Off. Prep. Glycerinum Acidi Gallici, Br. W. 
ACIDUM IIYDRIODICUM DILUTUM. U.S. Diluted Hydriodic 
Acid. 
“Take of Iodine, in fine powder, a troyounce; Distilled Water a sufficient 
quantity. Mix thirty grains of the Iodine with five fluidounces of Distilled 
Water in a tall glass-stoppered bottle, having the capacity of half a pint, and 
pass into the mixture hydrosulphuric acid gas until the colour of the Iodine 
entirely disappears, and a turbid liquid remains. Detach the bottle from the 
apparatus employed for introducing the gas, and gradually add the remainder 
of the Iodine, stirring at the same time. Then reattach the bottle, and again 
pass the gas until the liquid becomes colourless. Decant the liquid into a small 
matrass which it is neaidy sufficient to fill, boil it until it ceases to emit the 
odour of hydrosulphuric acid, and filter through paper. Then pass sufficient 
Distilled Water through the filter to bring the filtered liquid to the measure of 
six fluidounces. Lastly, keep the liquid in a well-stopped bottle. 
“ The hydrosulphuric acid gas, required in this process, may be obtained by 
mixing, in a suitable apparatus, a troyounce and a half of sulpburet of iron, 
two troyounces of sulphuric acid, and six fluidounces of water.” U. S. 
This preparation was introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia at its recent 
revision. The process consists essentially in passing hydrosulphuric acid (sul- 
phuretted hydrogen) through water in which iodine is suspended. The rationale 
is extremely simple. The operation takes place between single equivalents of 
the several elements concerned. One eq. of the hydrogen of the hydrosulphuric 
acid unites with one of iodine to form hydriodic acid (HI), while the eq. of sul- 
phur with which it was combined is isolated, and, being insoluble, renders the 
liquid turbid. The iodine is known to have been all combined by the disappear- 
ance of the colour. An excess of hydrosulphuric acid is of no disservice, as it 
is driven oft' by the boiling. By filtration the liberated sulphur is separated, and 
the clear diluted hydriodic acid remains. By taking fixed proportions of iodine 
and water, an acid of the desired strength is secured. 
In its pure state hydriodic acid is in the form of a gas, which fumes in the 
air, is colourless, and has an odour notunlike that of hydrochloric acid. It has 
a strong affinity for water, which, when saturated with it, forms liquid hydriodic 
acid. This has the sp.gr. 17, boils at 260° F., and may be distilled. It is offi- 
cinal only in the dilute state. 960 
Adda. 
PART II. 
The diluted acid, as prepared by the U. S. process, is colourless when recently 
prepared, of a sour taste, and of the sp. gr. 1112. When exposed to the air it 
gradually darkens, in consequence of the separation of iodine, of which it ac- 
quires the characteristic odour. It is more rapidly decomposed, with the same 
result, by chlorine,by nitric, sulphuric, iodic,and sulphurous acids, and by proto- 
sulphate of iron. Mr. John A. Dunn has found that this change is prevented 
by the addition of one-third of a grain of crystallized hyposulphite of soda 
to a fluidounce. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1869, p. 42.) 
Diluted hydriodic acid was introduced into use as a medicine by Dr. Andrew 
Buchanan, of Glasgow, under the impression, that it is by passing into this form 
that iodine, when taken internally, is absorbed, and enters the circulation. He 
believed it capable of producing all the effects of that element on the system, 
while it is less unpleasant to the taste, and less apt to offend the stomach. Dr. 
Buchanan used an extemporaneous formula, which consisted in dissolving 330 
grains of iodide of potassium and 264 of tartaric acid, each in one and a half 
fluidounces of wTater, mixing the solutions, filtering to separate the bitartrate of 
potassa formed, and finally adding sufficient distilled water to make the solution 
measure fifty fluidrachms. Each fluidrachm of this preparation contained five 
grains of iodine. Beginning with a few drops, he gradually increased to a flui- 
drachm,and finally even half a fluidounce or a fluidounce three times a day.* The 
officinal acid contains ten grains of iodine in each fluidrachm, and is therefore 
twice as strong as Dr. Buchanan’s solution. There can be little doubt that hy- 
driodic acid is capable of producing the alterative effects of iodine; and it may 
be given in all cases to which that medicine is applicable. The dose may be half 
a fluidrachm three times a day, diluted with water. When the solution becomes 
discoloured it may be irritant through the liberated iodine; but this effect bo 
obviated by exhibiting it in any amylaceous liquid, as barley-water. W. 
ACIDUM HYDRO CYAYICUM DILUTUM. U. S., Br. Diluted 
Hydrocyanic Acid. Prussic Acid. Cyanohydric Acid. 
“ Take of Ferrocyanide of Potassium two troyounces; Sulphuric Acid a troy- 
ounce and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with 
four fluidounces of Distilled Water, and pour the mixture, when cool, into a 
glass retort. To this add the Ferrocyanide of Potassium, dissolved in ten fluid- 
ounces of Distilled Water. Pour eight fluidounces of Distilled Water into a 
cooled receiver, and, having attached this to the retort, distil, by means of a 
sand-bath, with a moderate heat, six fluidounces. Lastly, add to the product 
five fluidounces of Distilled Water, or as much as may be sufficient to render 
the Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid of such a strength, that 12 1 grains of nitrate of 
silver, dissolved in distilled water, maybe accurately saturated by 100 grains of 
the acid. 
“ Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid, when wanted for immediate use,may be prepared 
in the following manner. 
“ Take of Cyanide of Silver fifty grains and a half; Muriatic Acid forty-one 
grains; Distilled Water a fluidounce. Mix the Muriatic Acid with the Dis- 
tilled Water, add the Cyanide of Silver, and shake the whole together in a well- 
stopped vial. When the precipitate formed hassubsided, pour off the clear liquid, 
and keep it for use. Diluted Hydrocyanic Acid must be kept in well-stopped 
bottles protected from the light.” U. S. 
“ Take of yellow Prussiate of Potash two ounces and a quarter [avoirdu- 
pois]; Sulphuric Acid one fluidounce [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water 
* Mr. John A. Dunn, of Brooklyn, proposes the following modification of Dr. Bu- 
chanan’s process, for which he claims the advantage that the preparation is much less 
disposed to deposit bitartrate of potassa on standing, while it has the officinal strength. 
Take of Iodide of Potassium 209f grains ; Tartaric Acid, in crystals, 1901 grains. Dis- 
solve the Iodide in three fluidrachms of distilled water, and the Acid in the same quan- 
tity, and filter if necessary; mix the solutions, set the mixture in ice-cold water, and 
allow it to stand for one hour; then filter, and make up the measure to two fluidounces. 
Each fluidrachm represents 10 grains of iodine. {Am. Journ. of Pharm.r Jan. 18<S9, p. 
41.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART II. 
Acida. 
961 
thirty ftuidounces [Imp. meas.], or a su fficiency. Dissolve the Prussiate of Pot- 
ash in ten [fluidjounces of the Water, then add the Sulphuric Acid previously 
diluted with four [fluidjounces of the \Y ater and cooled. Put the solution into a 
flask or other suitable apparatus of glass or earthenware, to which are adapted 
a condenser and a receiver arranged for distillation, and having put eight [fluid] 
ounces of Distilled Water into the receiver, and provided efficient means for 
keeping the condenser and x-eceiver cold, apply heat to the flask until by slow 
distillation the liquid in the receiver is increased to seventeen [fluid]ounces. 
Add to this three [fluid]ounces of the Distilled Water, or as much as may be 
sufficient to bring the acid to the required strength, so that one hundred grains 
(or 110 minims) of it, precipitated with a solution of nitrate of silver, shall 
yield ten grains of dry cyanide of silver.” Br. 
Tho British preparation has the sp. gr. 0’99L If 270 grains of it be made 
alkaline by solution of soda, they will require 1000 grain-measures of the volu- 
metric solution of nitrate of silver to be added before a permanent pi’ecipitate 
begins to form, cori-esponding to 2 per cent, of the real acid. 
Hydrocyanic acid was admitted into the French Codex in 1818, into the 
United States Pharmacopoeia in 1820, into the Dublin in 1826, into the London 
in 1836, and into the Edinburgh in 1839. It is now made by one chief process; 
namely, from the ferrocyanide of potassium by the action of sulphuric acid. It is 
also obtained by an extemporaneous process, in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, by 
decomposing cyanide of silver. When ferrocyanide of potassium is decomposed 
by sulphuric acid, the residue in the retort is sulphate of potassa, mixed with an 
insoluble compound of two eqs. of cyanide of iron, and one of cyanide of potas- 
sium (EveritVs salt). According to Wittstein, the reaction takes place in two 
steps. In the first, three eqs. of ferrocyanide 3(FeCy + 2KCy) react with six 
eqs. of hydrated sulphuric acid 6(HO,SOs), and produce six eqs. of sulphate of 
potassa 6(K0,S03), and thi'ee eqs. of hydroferrocyanic acid 3(FeCy-f 2HCy). 
In the second step, when heat is applied, the three eqs. of hydroferrocyanic 
acid 3(FeCy + 2HCv) react with an additional eq. of ferrocyanide (FeCy+ 
2KCy), so as to produce six eqs. of hydrocyanic acid, 61ICy, which distil over, 
and two eqs. of Everitt’s salt 2(2FeCy -f KCy), which remain in the retort 
with the sulphate of potassa. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1856, p. 429.) Everitt’s 
salt, so named from its discoverer, is a yellowish-white powder. Like fei’ro- 
cyanide of potassium, it is a double cyanide of iron and potassium; but tho 
equivalent proportion of the two cy anides is reversed. As it appears in practice, 
it is apt to be greenish, owing pi’obably to the presence of a little Prussian blue. 
According to the late Mr. Phillips, an excess of sulphuric acid would endan- 
ger the production of formic acid. The proportion of the acid should not ex- 
ceed three-fourths of the weight of the ferrocyanide. In relation to the most 
convenient method of bringing the hydrocyanic acid to the standard strength, 
and to some other points in its preparation by the officinal formula, the reader 
is referred to a paper by Prof. Procter in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xix. 259). 
In the U. S. process for obtaining hydrocyanic acid extemporaneously, the 
reacting materials are single equivalents respectively of cyanide of silver and 
muriatic acid. These, by double decomposition, generate hydrocyanic acid 
which dissolves in the water, and chloride of silver which subsides, and from 
which the acid is poured off when clear. (See Argenti Gyanidum.) The ex- 
temporaneous process is useful to country practitioners; because the acid will 
not generally keep. A portion of hydrocyanic acid, if purchased by a prac- 
titioner, may spoil on his hands, before he has occasion to use it; but if he 
supply himself with cyanide of silver, he may readily at any moment prepare 
a small portion of the acid, by following the directions of the formula. 
The French Codex of 1831 gives the following process for hydrocyanic acid, 
in place of the three previously contained in that work. Take of bicyanide of 
mercury thirty parts; muriatic acid (sp. gr. IT7) twenty parts. Reduce the 
bicyanide to powder, and introduce it into a small tubulated glass retort, placed 
over a furnace. Adapt to its neck a tube about 13 inches long, and half an inch 962 
Adda. 
PART II. 
in diameter, and filled one-half with pieces of marble, and the remainder with 
chloride of calcium. To this tube, arranged nearly horizontally, adapt a smaller 
one, bent at a right angle, and plunging into a graduated tube, surrounded with 
a mixture of common salt and pounded ice. The apparatus being thus arranged, 
and the junctures well luted, add the muriatic acid ; and, having allowed the 
action to take place for a few moments in the cold, apply the heat gradually. 
When the action is over, drive forward any acid which may have condensed in 
the large tube, by means of a live coal brought near to it, and passed along its 
whole length. The quantity of acid found in the graduated tube is mixed with 
either six times its bulk, or eight and a half times its weight, of distilled water, 
in this process Gay-Lussac’s strong acid is first obtained in the graduated tube, 
and afterwards diluted to a given extent with water. The object of the marble 
and chloride of calcium is to detain, the former muriatic acid, the latter water.' 
Another process for obtaining medicinal hydrocyanic acid, proposed by Dr. 
Clark, and adopted by Mr. Laming, is by the reaction of tartaric acid on cyanide 
of potassium in solution. Laming’s formula is as follows. Dissolve twenty-two 
grains of the cyanide in six fluidrachms of distilled water, and add fifty grains of 
crystallized tartaric acid, dissolved in three fluidrachms of rectified spirit. Crys- 
tallized bitartrate of potassa precipitates, and each fluidrachm of the clear de- 
canted liquor contains one grain of pure hydrocyanic acid. The reaction in this 
process takes place between two eqs. of tartaric acid, one of cyanide of potas- 
sium, and one of water. The water is decomposed, and the tartaric acid, potas- 
sium, and oxygen unite to form the bitartrate, and the cyanogen and hydrogen 
to form the hydrocyanic acid. Dr. Pereira considered this process to have several 
advantages, but very properly objected to it on account of the trouble and ex- 
pense of obtaining the cyanide of potassium pure, and its liability to undergo 
spontaneous decomposition. (See Potassii Cyanidum.) 
The processes, thus far given, are intended to furnish a dilute hydrocyanic 
acid for medicinal purposes. The methods of obtaining the anhydrous acid are 
different. Vauquelin’s process for the anhydrous acid is to pass a current of 
hydrosulphuric acid gas over the bicyanide of mercury contained in a glass tube, 
connected with a receiver kept cold by a freezing mixture of ice and salt. Tne 
first third only of the tube is filled with the bicyanide; the remaining two-thirds 
being occupied, half with carbonate of lead, and half with chloride of calcium; 
the carbonate being intended to detain the hydrosulphuric acid gas, the chloride 
to separate water. Another process for the anhydrous acid is that of Gautier, 
thus described bjr Berzelius. Ferrocyanide of potassium is fused without access 
of air, whereby it is converted into a mixture of cyanide of potassium and carbu- 
ret of iron. The mass obtained,after having been pulverized and placed in a flask, 
is slightly moistened with water, and acted on with muriatic acid, added by 
small portions at a time. By a double decomposition between the cyanide and 
muriatic acid, chloride of potassium and hydrocyanic acid are formed. The 
flask is then plunged into hot water, which causes the hydrocyanic acid to be 
disengaged in form of vapour. This is passed through a tube containing chloride 
of calcium, and finally received in a small flask kept cool by a freezing mixture. 
The process of Wohler for the anhydrous acid is the following. The cyanide 
of potassium selected is a black cyanide, formed by fusing together, in a covered 
crucible, 8 parts of dry ferrocyanide, 3 of ignited cream of tartar, and 1 of char- 
coal in fine powder. The cyanide, while still warm, is exhausted by 6 parts of 
tvater; and the clear solution, placed in a retort, is decomposed by cold diluted 
sulphuric acid, gradually added. The hydrocyanic acid is condensed first in a 
(J-tube, containing chloride of calcium, and surrounded with ice-cold water, and 
afterwards in a small bottle, connected with the U-tube by a narrow tube, and 
immersed up to the neck in a mixture of ice and salt. After the acid has been 
condensed and dehydrated in the U-tube, the cold water surrounding it is with 
drawn by a syphon, and replaced by water at a temperature between 85° and 
90°, whereby the anhydrous acid is made to distil over into the small bottle. 
Properties of the Medicinal Acid. Diluted hydrocyanic acid, of the proper PART II. 
Adda. 
963 
medicinal strength, is a transparent, colourless, volatile liquid, possessing a pe- 
culiar smell, and a taste at first cooling and afterwards somewhat irritating. 
It imparts a slight and evanescent red colour to litmus. If it reddens litmus 
strongly and permanently, the fact shows the presence of some acid impurity. 
It is not reddened by the iodo-cyanide of potassium and mercury. The non- 
action of this test shows the absence of contaminating acids, which, if present, 
would decompose the test, and give rise to the red iodide of mercury. It is 
liable to undergo decomposition if exposed to the light, but is easily kept in a 
bottle covered with black paint or black paper. From experiments carefully 
conducted by MM. Bussy and Buignet, it appears that, when the alteration in 
the acid under the influence of light has begun, it will afterward go on very 
rapidly in the dark; and that, after exposure for a certain time to the light, 
though no alteration maybe apparent, an influence has nevertheless been exerted 
which disposes to change, and promotes decomposition even in the absence of 
light. Hence the necessity of immediately enclosing the acid in bottles from 
which the light is excluded. (Journ. de Pharm., Dec. 18(53, p. 475 )* Its most 
usual impurities are sulphuric and muriatic acids; the former of which may be 
detected by chloride of barium, which will produce a precipitate of sulphate of 
baryta; and the latter, by precipitating with nitrate of silver, when so much of 
the precipitate as maybe chloride of silver will be insoluble in boiling nitric 
acid, while the cyanide of silver is readily soluble. The presence of these acids, 
in slight amount, is injurious only by rendering uncertain the strength of the 
medicinal acid, as ascertained by its saturating power. Indeed, Mr. Barry, of 
London, was in the habit of adding a small proportion of muriatic acid to all 
his medicinal hydrocyanic acid, in order to preserve it. But the presence of a 
mineral acid is not necessary for its preservation; for Dr. Christison has known 
the medicinal acid from ferrocyanide of potassium to keep perfectly well, al- 
though nitrate of baryta did not produce the slightest muddiness. If lead be 
present, it may be detected by hydrosulphuric acid gas, which will cause a 
blackish precipitate. Hydrocyanic acid is incompatible with nitrate of silver, 
the salts of iron and copper, and most of the salts of mercury. 
Formerly the medicinal acid was of different strengths, as ordered by the 
different pharmaceutical authorities; but happily the U. S. and Br. Pharmaco- 
poeias conform in this important point. At one time its strength was indicated 
by its specific gravity, which is lower in proportion as it is stronger; but this 
unprecise mode of estimate is not now relied on; and, though the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia gives the sp. gr. of its dilute acid at 0 997, yet both it and that of the 
United States give the saturating power as an index of the strength. Accord- 
ing to the United States formula, 109 grains of the acid must accurately satu- 
rate 12 7 grains of nitrate of silver dissolved in distilled water, and produce a 
white precipitate (cyanide of silver), which, when washed and dried, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 212°, shall weigh 10 grains, and be wholly soluble in 
boiling nitric acid. The Br. Pharmacopoeia directs that 270 grains of it, 
* Anhydrous hydrocyanic acid sometimes undergoes an apparently spontaneous molecu- 
lar change, by which it is converted into a black solid body, supposed to be paracyanoyen 
(2NC2or N2C4),or its compounds. This change takes place more slowly in watery solutions 
of the acid, which are converted into a black liquid; and it is only in a state of extreme 
dilution, when, for example, water contains not more than one per cent, of the acid, that 
it is altogether prevented. It sometimes takes place in the officinal diluted acid; and Prof 
Procter has shown us a bottle, which had been most carefully closed, and kept excluded 
from the light, and in which, nevertheless, the acid had become as black as ink. The cause 
of this phenomenon remained long unknown; hut recently M. E. Millon has satisfied him 
self, by experiment, that the real agency is the presence of ammonia, which may some- 
times operate even through the air. (Journ.de Pharm., Janv. 1862,p.48.) The preservative 
influence of a little sulphuric acid in the diluted hydrocyanic acid is thus explained; and 
it is not impossible that the greater resistance offered to the change by the preparation 
made by the officinal process, in which sulphuric acid is used, than by the others, maybe 
owing to the influence '■? this acid, either passing over with its vapour, or acting on the 
acid vapour before it leaves the retort. An important practical inference from all this is the 
necessity of providing, as far as possible, that ammonia should in no manner have access 
to the acid, during or after its preparation. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 964 
Adda. 
PART II, 
when treated with solution of soda in excess, shall require the addition of 
1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of nitrate of silver, before 
a permanent precipitate begins to form. To explain this test it is necessary 
to notice that cyanide of silver, though itself insoluble, is rendered soluble 
by combining with cyanide of sodium, in the proportion of one eq. of each. 
When, therefore, the diluted hydrocyanic acid is converted, by the addition of 
soda, into cyanide of sodium, no permanent precipitate will begin to appear, 
upon the addition of nitrate of silver, until more than sufficient cyanide of silver 
is produced to form the soluble compound referred to, which happens when 
one-half of the cyanide of sodium has been converted into cyanide of silver. An 
acid of the strength indicated by either of these methods, contains two per cent 
of anhydrous acid. The test of entire solubility in boiling nitric acid, applied to 
the precipitate obtained by nitrate of silver, is intended to verify its nature; 
for, if the hydrocyanic acid contain muriatic acid, part of this precipitate would 
be chloride of silver, not soluble in the boiling acid. Scheele’s medicinal hydro- 
cyanic acid contains about 5 per cent, of anhydrous acid; and, therefore, two 
minims of it are equal to five of the U S. acid. The use of Scheele’s acid should 
be discouraged as unnecessary, and as leading to dangerous mistakes. 
MM. Fordos and Gelis have proposed, as a test of the strength of the com- 
pounds containing cyanogen, an alcoholic solution of iodine of known strength; 
as, for example, three grains to the fluidounce. The test solution is added, drop 
by drop, to the cyanogen compound, until a permanent yellowish tinge is pro- 
duced. The iodine unites with the cyanogen, and with the substance in com- 
bination with the cyanogen, in the ratio of their several equivalents; and hence 
the cyanogen present is easily calculated from the proportion of iodine expended 
in uniting with it. This test is commended for its accuracy by Mr. James 
Roberton, of Manchester. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Nov. 1853, p. 551.) 
Properties of the Anhydrous Acid. Hydrocyanic acid, perfectly free from 
water, is a colourless, transparent, inflammable liquid, of extreme volatility, boil- 
ing at 80°, and congealing at 5°. Its sp.gr. as a liquid is 0 6969, at the tem- 
perature of 64°; and as a vapour 0 9423. Its taste is at first cooling, then burn- 
ing, with an after-taste in the throat like that of bitter almonds; but, from its 
extremely poisonous nature, it must be tasted with the utmost caution. Its 
odour is so strong as to produce immediate headache and giddiness; and its 
vapour so deleterious that the smallest portion ofit cannot be inhaled without the 
greatest danger. Both water and alcohol dissolve it readily. It is much more 
prone to undergo decomposition than the dilute acid. In the course ofa few hours, 
it sometimes begins to assume a reddish-brown colour, which becomes gradually 
deeper, till at length the acid is converted into a black liquid, which exhales a 
strong smell of ammonia. It is a very weak acid in its chemical relations, and 
reddens litmus but slightly. It does not form solid compounds with metallic 
oxides, but a cyanide of the metal, the elements of water being exhaled. Ac- 
cording to Sobero, hydrocyanic acid is generated, in sensible quantities, by the 
action of weak nitric acid on the volatile oils and resins. It has also been 
formed by the slow action of carbonate of potassa on tincture of hyoscyamus, 
given together as a medicine. (Dr. J. T. Plummer, of Indiana, Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xxv. 513.) Though a product of art, it exists in some plants, and is 
generated by reaction between the constituents of many vegetable products 
upon contact with water. (See Amygdala Amara.) 
Composition, &c. Hydrocyanic acid consists of one eq. of cyanogen 26, and 
one of hydrogen 1 = 27; or, in volumes, of one volume of cyanogen and one of 
hydrogen without condensation, its formula being HNC, or HCy. Cyanogen 
(CjA is a colourless gas, of a strong and penetrating smell, inflammable, and 
burning with a beautiful bluish-purple flame. Its sp. gr. is 1-8157. It was dis- 
covered in 1815 by Gay-Lussac, who viewed it as a compound radical, which, 
when acidified by hydrogen, becomes hydrocyanic acid. It consists of two eqs. of 
carbon 12, and one of nitrogen 14 = 26; or, in volumes, of two volumes of carbon 
vapour and one of nitrogen,condensed into one volume. The ultimate constituents 
of the acid are, therefore, two cqs. of carbon,one of nitrogen,and one of hydrogen. PART II. 
Adda. 
965 
Hydrocyanic acid, in a dilute state, was discovered in 1 ISO by Scheele, who 
correctly stated its elements to be carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen ; but the pe- 
culiar way in which they are combined was first pointed out by Gay-Lussac, by 
whom also the anhydrous acid was first obtained. 
Medical and Toxical Properties. Hydrocyanic acid is one of the most deadly 
poisons known.proving, in many cases, almost instantaneously fatal. According 
to Hr. Christison, a grain and a half of the anhydrous acid is capable of pro- 
ducing death in the human subject. One or two drops of the pure acid are suffi- 
cient to kill a vigorous dog in a few seconds. The post-mortem appearances are 
glistening and staring expression of the eyes ; gorged state of the venous system 
with fluid, dark, or bluish-black blood, especially of the veins of the brain and 
spinal marrow; and sometimes redness of the internal coat of the stomach. The 
lungs are sometimes natural, at other times turgid with blood. It is not true, or 
rarely true, that the muscles are insensible to the galvanic current. Notwith- 
standing the tremendous energy of this acid as a poison, it has been ventured 
upon in a dilute state as a sedative, anodyne, and antispasmodic. Though occa- 
sionally employed as a remedy prior to 181 7, yet it did not attract much atten- 
tion until that year, when Magendie published his observations on its use in dis- 
eases of the chest, and recommended it to the profession. When given in medi- 
cinal doses gradually increased, it produces the following symptoms in different 
eases; peculiar bitter taste ; increased secretion of saliva ; irritation of the 
throat; nausea ; disordered respiration ; pain in the head ; giddiness ; faintness; 
obscure vision; and tendency to sleep. It appears to have a special action on 
the larynx and trachea. {Dr. Cogswell.) The pulse is sometimes quickened, at 
other times reduced in frequency. Occasionally salivation and ulceration of the 
mouth are produced. It has been extensively used in complaints of the respira- 
tory organs, and is supposed to exert a control over pulmonary inflammation, 
after the excitement has been diminished by blood-letting ; and there is no doubt 
that, in some instances, it has proved beneficial under such circumstances. Dr. 
Joseph Johnson, of Charleston, S. C., found it useful in pneumonia. In phthisis 
it may be resorted to with advantage as a palliative for the cough. In various 
other affections of the chest, attended with dyspnoea or cough, such as asthma, 
hooping-cough, and chronic catarrh, it has often been decidedly beneficial, by 
allaying irritation or relaxing spasm. In hypertrophy of the heart and aneurism 
of the aorta, it has also been used with benefit. In certain affections of the stom- 
ach, characterized by pain and spasm, and sometimes attended with vomiting, 
but unconnected with inflammation, and in similar painful affections of the 
bowels, it has proved beneficial in the hands of several practitioners. It has 
also been administered as an anodyne in several painful affections, as cancer, 
tic douloureux, &c., but with doubtful advantage. In mania, it is often useful 
in the paroxysmal excitement characteristic of that disease, and occasionally 
has been thought to contribute to a cure by its permanent action. {Ann. de 
Therap., 1865, p. 111.) Sometimes it is used externally, diluted with water, 
as a wash in cutaneous diseases. The late Dr. A. T. Thomson insisted par- 
ticularly on its efficacy in allaying the itching of impetiginous affections. 
Tfie dose of the diluted hydrocyanic acid is from two to six drops, dissolved 
in distilled water, or mixed with gum-water or syrup. It should be administered 
with the greatest caution, on account of its minute dose, and variable strength 
as found in the shops. The proper plan, therefore, is to begin with a small dose, 
two drops for example, and gradually to increase the quantity until some ob- 
vious impression is produced. If giddiness, weight at the top of the head, sense 
of tightness at the stomach, or faintness come on, its use should be discontinued. 
In all cases in which a fresh portion of medicine is used, the dose should be 
lowered to the minimum quantity, lest the new sample should prove stronger 
than that previously employed. When resorted to as a lotion, from thirty 
minims to a fluidrachm may be dissolved in a fluidounce of distilled water. 
Toxicology. Hydrocyanic acid is so rapidly fatal as a poison that physicians 
have seldom an opportunity to treat its effects. When not immediately fatal, 966 
Acida. 
PA TIT II. 
the symptoms produced are sudden loss of sense, trismus, difficult and rattling 
respiration, coldness of the extremities, smell of the acid proceeding from the 
mouth, though this is sometimes absent, smallness of the pulse, swelling of the 
neck, dilatation, immobility, and sometimes contraction of the pupils, convul- 
sions, &c. The antidotes and remedies, most to be relied on, are chlorine, am- 
monia, cold affusion, and artificial respiration. Chlorine in the form of chlorine 
water, or weak solutions of chlorinated lime or soda,may be exhibited internally, 
or applied externally. When chlorine is not at hand, water of ammonia, largely 
diluted, may be given, and the vapour arising from it cautiously inhaled. A 
case is related, in the Dublin Med. Journal for Nov. 1835, of poisoning by this 
acid, in which the diluted aromatic spirit of ammonia applied to the mouth, and 
the solid carbonate assiduously held to the nostrils, produced speedy and bene- 
ficial effects. Cold affusion was first proposed in 1828 by Herbst, of Gottingen, 
and its utility was subsequently confirmed by Orfila. Its efficacy is strongly 
supported by experiments performed in 1839 bv Dr. Robinson and M. Louyet, 
who quickly resuscitated rabbits, apparently dead from hydrocyanic acid, by 
pouring on their head and spine a stream of water, artificially refrigerated. In 
a case of poisoning, reported by Dr. Christison in 1850, the patient recovered 
under a stream of cold water, poured upon the head from a moderate height. In 
another case, reported in the Lancet in 1854, in which the largest recorded quan- 
tity was taken to be followed by recovery (2 4 grains of anhydrous acid), the 
cold water douche was the principal remedy. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., 
July, 1854, p. 276.) Messrs.*T. & H. Smith, of Edinburgh, have recommended, 
as an antidote for the medicinal acid, a mixture of the sulphates of the protoxide 
and sesquioxide of iron, swallowed after a solution of carbonate of potassa. So 
soon as the antidote comes in contact with hydrocyanic acid, sulphate of potassa 
is formed, and the poison is converted into Prussian blue. It may be prepared 
extemporaneously, by adding ten grains of sulphate of protoxide of iron, and a 
drachm of the tincture of chloride of iron, to a fluidounce of water contained in 
one vial, and twenty grains of carbonate of potassa to a fluidounce of water in 
another vial. The patient is made to swallow the solution of carbonate of po- 
tassa, and immediately afterwards the mixed ferruginous solution. This quan- 
tity is estimated to be sufficient to render insoluble nearly two grains of the 
anhydrous acid.* In one instance this antidote is said to have proved effectual. 
(Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1805, p. 139.) Atropia has been proposed as 
a counter-poison, on the grounds of its physiological action, and of experiments 
made with it on the lower animals. M. W. Preyer has 'injected sulphate of 
atropia beneath the skin in rabbits and guinea-pigs to which hydrocyanic acid 
had been applied in the same way, and ascertained from the result that, if ad- 
ministered pretty quickly after the injection of.the poison, it will prove an un- 
failing antidote. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., Oct. 18 :8, p.577.) 
Tests. After death from suspected poison, it is sometimes necessary to ascer- 
tain whether the event was caused by this acid. At a period long after death, 
it would be needless to search for so volatile a poison; but it has been recog- 
nised three weeks after death, in a case reported by M. Brame, in which about 
six drachms of acid, containing between 8 and 9 per cent of anhydrous acid, had 
* In a subsequent communication the Messrs. Smith recommend the following propor- 
tions. Mix of solution of perchloride of iron (Br. 137 minims, crystallized protosulphate of 
iron, as pure as possible, 25 grains, and abouthalf a fluidounce of water. Dissolve 77 grains 
of crystallized carbonate of soda in the same measure of water. These quantities will neu- 
tralize between 150 and 200 minims of medicinal hydrocyanic acid. (Pharm. Journ. and 
Trans., Oct. 1865, p. 147.) Still more recently the authors propose to substitute magnesia 
for carbonate of soda, as better fitted to neutralize any considerable quantity of gastric 
acid that might be present. The following is the formula now recommended. From ono 
to two drachms of magnesia, made into a smooth cream with water, is to be first admin- 
istered, and then 16 minims of solution of perchloride of iron (Br.) and 12£ grains of 
green vitriol dissolved together in water. These quantities are calculated for 100 minims 
of medicinal hydrocyanic acid. Should more than this be supposed to have been taken, tho 
ferruginous ingredients must be increased in proportion, but not the magnesia. (7->i4 
Nov. 1865, p. 276.;—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART ir. 
Acida. 
967 
been swallowed. The best test is that proposed by Liebig in 1847, consisting 
in the change of the hydrocyanic acid into hydrosulphocyanate of ammonia, 
which salt is then tested with a sesquioxide salt of iron. Two drops of the acid, 
so dilute as not to afford the least blue tint with the salts of iron, upon being 
mixed with a drop of bihydrosulphate of ammonia, and heated upon a watch- 
glass until the mixture is colourless, yields a solution of hydrosulphocyanate of 
ammonia, which becomes of a deep blood-red colour upon the addition of the 
sulphate of sesquioxide of iron, in consequence of the formation of the sulpho- 
cyaidde of iron. (Gliem Gaz , April 1,1847 ; from Liebig’s Annalen.) This test 
is praised by Mr. A. S. Taylor, who found it to act characteristically on I wo 
grains of dilute hydrocyanic acid, containing only l-3930th of a grain of an- 
hydrous acid To render the test thus delicate, Mr. Taylor deems it necessary 
to evaporate the liquid gently to dryness, after the addition of the bihydrosul- 
phate of ammonia, in order to bring the hydrosulphocyanate to the solid state 
before adding the iron test, a fractional part of a drop of which will commonly 
suffice to produce the characteristic colour. Should the acid be mixed with 
organic matters, Mr. Taylor proposes a modification of Liebig’s test as follows. 
Place it in a watch-glass, and invert over it another, holding in the centre a 
drop of bihydrosulphate of ammonia. In from half a minute to ten minutes, 
without heat, the bihydrosulphate will be converted into the hydrosulphocya- 
nate of ammonia; and, upon removing the upper glass, and evaporating its con- 
tents to dryness, the iron test will produce the blood-red colour. MM. 0. Henry 
and E. Humbert have proposed, as a test of hydrocyanic acid, first to con- 
vert it into cyanide of silver by distilling the suspected matters into a dilute so- 
lution of nitrate of silver, and then to decompose the cyanide by iodine, so as to 
form iodide of cyanogen. The dried cyanide is added to half its estimated weight 
of pure iodine, contained in a test tube. Upon the application of a gentle heat, 
iodide of cyanogen is formed, and characteristic crystals of it are deposited on 
the cool surface of the tube. (Journ. de Pharm , Mars, 1857, p. 173.) 
An extremely sensitive test of hydrocyanic acid, in the state of vapour, has 
recently been offered by Schonbein. It consists of white filtering paper imbued 
with the resin of guaiacum, by dipping it in a solution of 3 parts of the resin 
in 150 of alcohol, and then dried, and at the moment of use moistened with a 
solution of sulphate of copper containing 1 part in 500 of water. If now brought 
into contact with hydrocyanic acid, whether dissolved in water or diffused in 
the air in the,form of vapour, it instantly becomes blue. According to Schon- 
bein, it will change colour in air containing only a forty millionth of hydro- 
cyanic acid. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1869, p. 174 ) 
Off. Prep. Vapor Acidi Hydrocyanici, Br. B. 
ACIDTJM MURIATICUM DILUTUM. U. S. Acidum Hydrochlo- 
ric um Dilutum. Br. Diluted Muriatic Acid. Dilute Hydrochloric Acid. 
“Take of Muriatic Acid four troyovnces ; Distilled Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Mix the Acid, in a glass vessel, with sufficient Distilled Water to make the 
Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. is 1'038.” U. S. 
“ Take of Hydrochloric Acid eight jiuidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled 
Water a sufficiency. Dilute the Acid with 16 ounces [avoird.] of the water; 
then add more water, so that, at a temperature of 60°, it shall measure 26]? fluid- 
ounces [Imp. meas.]. Or, as follows: Take of Hydrochloric Acid 3060 grains; 
Distilled Water a sufficiency. Weigh the Acid in a glass flask, the capacity of 
which, to a mark on the neck, is one pint [Imp. meas.]; then add Distilled 
Water until the mixture, at 60° temperature, after it has been shaken, measures 
a pint [Imp meas.].” Br. 
The existing U. S. formula differs from that of 1850 in substituting four troy- 
ounces for four fluidounces. In both, the resulting diluted acid measures a pint 
The present is somewhat weaker than the former diluted acid, having the sp. gr, 
1-038, while that of 1850 was L046; but the difference is of no practical import 
ance as regards the dose, the diminution in strength amounting only to about 968 
Acida. 
PART II 
one-eleventh of the whole. We doubt, however, the expediency of changing mea- 
sures for weights in preparing the diluted acids; for, though the latter method 
maybe practically somewhat more accurate, the former is more convenient, espe- 
cially for the large body of physicians practising in the country, who are not 
generally so well provided as the regular pharmaceutists with all requisite im- 
plements. The British preparation is stronger even than ours of 1850, having 
the sp. gr. T052. “345 grains by weight (6 fluidrachms) require for neutralisa- 
tion 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda, corresponding 
to 10 58 per cent, of real acid. Six fluidrachms [Imperial] contain one eq. or 
365 grains of hydrochloric acid HC1.” Br. The extreme precision of the 
British formula, though no doubt useful when the diluted acid is used as a 
test, is quite unnecessary in a therapeutical point of view. 
The medical properties and applications of muriatic acid have been detailed 
in Part I., under the head of Acidum Muriaticum. The dose of the diluted 
acid is from twenty minims or drops to a fluidrachm, and may be taken in water 
or other convenient vehicle, sweetened or not as may be deemed expedient. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Ferri et Quinite Citras, Br. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Morphias Ilydrochloratis, Br.; Liquor Strychniae, Br.; 
Morphiae Hydrochloras, Br. B. 
ACIDUM ISTITRICUM DILUTUM. U.S.,Br. Diluted Nitric Acid. 
“ Take of Nitric Acid [sp. gr. 1 -42] three troyounces; Distilled Water a suf- 
ficient quantity. Mix the Acid, in a glass vessel, with sufficient Distilled Water 
to make the Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. of Diluted Nitric Acid 
is 1-068.” U. S. 
“ Take of Nitric Acid six fluid ounces [Imperial measure], Distilled Water a 
sufficiency. Dilute the Acid with 24 fluidounces [Imp. meas.] of the Water; 
then add more water, so that at a temperature of 60° it shall measure 31 fluid- 
ounces [Imp. meas.]. Or as follows: 
“Take of Nitric Acid 2400 grains, Distilled Water a sufficiency. Weigh 
the Acid in a glass flask, the capacity of which, to a mark on the neck, is one 
pint [Imp. meas.] ; then add Distilled Water until the mixture, at 60° tem- 
perature, after it has been shaken, measures a pint.” Br. 
The U. S. acid, as now directed, varies little from the former officinal acid, 
which was made by mixing a fluidounce of the officinal nitric acid with six 
fluidounces of distilled water, and had the sp. gr. 107; while the present pre- 
paration contains three troyounces in a pint of the diluted acid, and has the 
sp.gr.L068; being only about one-thirty-eighth weaker, which is a differ- 
ence of no practical importance. This cannot be said of the new British di- 
luted acid, which is considerably stronger than our own in the same measure, 
or even than the strongest diluted acid of the former Pharmacopoeias. The 
British preparation has the sp. gr. 1-101; and “361 grains by weight (six 
fluidrachms) require for neutralisation 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric 
solution of soda, corresponding to 1495 per cent, of anhydrous nitric acid. Six 
fluidrachms [Imp. meas.], therefore, correspond to 54 grains of the anhydrous 
acid (one eq. of NO.).” Br. 
In making the U. S. diluted acid, the apothecary should be careful to use 
acid of the sp.gr. L42; or, if the acid used is weaker than this, to add pro- 
portionally less water; otherwise the diluted acid would be weaker than it is 
directed to be in the Pharmacopoeia. 
The medicinal properties of the diluted acid are the same as those of the 
strong acid. (See Acidum Nitricum.) The dose of the II. S. diluted acid is 
from twenty to forty drops or minims, that of the British, from fifteen to thirty, 
three times a day, sufficiently reduced with water at the time of taking it. B. 
ACIDUM UITROMURIATICUM. U.S. Nitromuriatic Acid. 
“Take of Nitric Acid [sp.gr. L42] three troyounces; Muriatic Acid five 
troyounces. Mix the Acids in a glass vessel, and, when effervescence has ceased, 
keep the product in a well-stopped bottle, in a cool place, protected from the 
light.” U.S. PART II. 
Acida. 
969 
In the old formula four fluidonnces of nitric acid were mixed with eight fluid- 
ounces of muriatic acid, or in the proportion of one to two by measure. The 
difference between the old and new acid is insignificant, the muriatic acid be- 
ing, according to the calculation of Mr. A. B. Taylor, one-forty-niuth increased, 
(dm. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1863, p. 410.) 
Nitromuriatic acid is the aqua regia of the earlier chemists, so called from its 
property of dissolving gold. Nitric and muriatic acids, when mixed together, 
mutually decompose each other. According to the researches of Gay-Lussac 
(June, 1848), the reaction gives rise to two compounds, in variable proportions, 
of nitric oxide and chlorine (N02012 and N02C1), mixed with free chlorine ; the 
former being analogous in constitution to hyponitric, the latter to nitrous acid. 
The power, however, of nitromuriatic acid to dissolve gold, and similar metals 
having a weak affinity for oxygen, is owing exclusively to the free chlorine 
present, and is in no wise dependent on the compounds above referred to, which 
remain entirely passive during the solution of the metal. (Journ. de Pliarm., 
Aout, 1848.) Adopting the views of Gay-Lussac, the proportion of the acids 
for total mutual decomposition would be two eqs. of nitric and six of muriatic 
acid; and the products would be the two compounds of nitric oxide and chlorine, 
free chlorine, and water. Assuming this proportion, it follows that a large excess 
of nitric acid is employed in the U. S. formula. According to the same views, the 
proportion of free chlorine must be variable, dependent upon the relative propor- 
tion of the nitric oxide compounds to each other. For every eq. of X02C12 formed, 
one eq. of chlorine will be set free ; while for every eq. of N02C1, two eqs. of 
chlorine will be evolved. The precise circumstances that determine the simul- 
taneous formation of the two nitric oxide compounds, and their constantly vary- 
ing proportion to each other, have not been pointed out by Gay-Lussac in the 
paper above referred to. When nitromuriatic acid is made from strong acids, 
there is always a loss of the nitric oxide compounds and of free chlorine by 
effervescence, in consequence of the acids not containing sufficient water to hold 
the gaseous products in solution. Hence the substitution, in the IT. S. Pharma- 
copoeia of 1850, of nitric acid of L42 for the acid of 15 was an improvement. 
Properties. Nitromuriatic acid has a golden-yellow colour, and the odour of 
chlorine. It possesses the power of dissolving gold and platinum. It should 
be kept in a cool dark place, on account of its liability to lose chlorine by heat, 
and to have it converted, by the action of light, into muriatic acid, through the 
decomposition of water. On account of its tendency to decomposition, it should 
not be made in large quantities, nor be very long kept by the apothecary; and 
care should be taken not to transfer it to the bottle in which it is to be dis- 
pensed, until effervescence has ceased, lest the pressure within should drive out 
the stopper. Nitric and muriatic acids, as found in the shops, are sometimes so 
weak that when mixed they will not. readily act on gold-leaf. In this case, their 
solvent power may be rendered effective by the addition of a little sulphuric acid, 
which, by its superior affinity for water, concentrates the other acids, and causes 
immediate action.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Nitromuriatic acid was brought to the notice of 
the profession, in consequence of the favourable report of its efficacy as an exter- 
nal remedy in hepatitis, made by Dr. Scott,formerly of Bombay. When thus em- 
ployed, it produces a tingling sensation of the skin, thirst, a peculiar taste in the 
mouth, and occasional soreness of the gums and plentiful ptyalism ; and at the 
same time stimulates the liver, as is evinced by an increased flow of bile. Itis 
used cither by sponging, or in the form of a local or general bath. When applied 
by sponging, the acid is first diluted so as to have the sourness of strong vinegar. 
When used as a foot-bath, three gallons of water, contained in a deep narrow 
wooden tub, may be acidulated with six fluidounces of the acid. In this the feet 
and legs are to be immersed for twenty minutes or half an hour. The bath may 
be employed at first daily, and afterwards twice or thrice a week; and the 
* In relation to nitromur’atic acid, see a paper in the third volume of the Journal of 
the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, hy Mr. Daniel B. Smith, of this city. 970 
Acid a. 
PART II 
sponging may be used at the same time. The bath is said to be effective in pro- 
moting the passage of biliary calculi. The solution, prepared for a bath as 
above mentioned, may be used for a week, adding to it daily a pint of water, 
acidulated with two fluidrachms of the acid, to make up for the waste by eva- 
poration. The bath should have a temperature of about 97°, which may be at- 
tained by heating part of the acid solution, and throwing it back into the remain 
der. For some good directions for the preparation and use of the nitromuriatic 
acid bath, by Mr. Ranald Martin, the reader is referred to the Pharmaceutical 
Journal for July, 1851, p. 38. 
Nitromuriatic acid is much used internally,and is an excellent remedy in chro- 
nic hepatic affections, and in oxaluria. It is sometimes given also in syphilitic 
diseases. The dose is three or four drops, largely diluted with water. B. 
ACIDUM NPTROMURIATICUM DILUTUM. U.S. Acidum Nti- 
tro-iiydrociiloricum Dilutum. Br. Diluted Nitromuriatic Acid. Di- 
lute Nitro- hydrochloric Acid. 
“Take of Nitric Acid a troyounce and a half; Muriatic Acid tiuo troyounces 
and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acids in a well- 
stopped bottle, having the capacity of a pint. Shake them together occasionally 
during twenty-four hours, and then add sufficient Distilled Water to make the 
Diluted Acid measure a pint. Lastlv, keep it in a cool place, protected from 
the light.” U.S. 
“Take of Nitric Acid three fluidounces; Hydrochloric Acid four fluid- 
ounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water twenty-five fluidounces [Imp. 
meas.]. Mix the Acids, and allow them to remain for twenty-four hours in a 
bottle, the mouth of which is partially closed, then add the Water in successive 
portions, shaking the bottle after each addition, and preserve the mixture in 
a stoppered bottle. Sp.gr. 1'074. Six fluidrachms [Imp. meas.] (352 4 grains 
by weight) require for neutralisation 920 grain-measures of the volumetric 
solution of soda.” Br. 
This is a new officinal in both Pharmacopoeias’, having been adopted in the 
British as a substitute for the stronger acid of the former Dublin Pharmaco- 
poeia. The strength of the U. S. and Br. diluted acids is about the same. 
In the first Br. Pharmacopoeia the two strong acids were diluted with water 
before being allowed to react on each other. To this process, as stated in the 
preceding edition of the Dispensatory, that of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia was 
decidedly preferable. In this, the acids, being mixed in their concentrated 
state, react on each other, producing changes with which the peculiar thera- 
peutic virtues of nitromuriatic acid are essentially connected. In the British 
process (1864), the acids were so much diluted as to interfere with their mutual 
reaction, and the result was little more than a mere mixture of nitric and mu- 
riatic acids, with their joint virtues, but destitute of the peculiar properties 
which give to the nitromuriatic acid any special importance. The strong acids 
should first be mixed, and allowed some time for mutual reaction, before being 
diluted. After reaction has sufficiently taken place, there is an advantage in 
diluting the acid, as the evolved products are better retained by the larger 
amount of menstruum, and the diluted acid is in a much better condition for 
being dispensed. It will have been perceived that, in the present Br. Pharma- 
copoeia, the original formula has been abandoned, and that of the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia essentially adopted. 
This preparation may be given for all the purposes which the nitromuriatic 
acid is calculated to answer. The dose is from ten to twenty drops or minims, 
three times a day, and may be given in a large wineglassful of water, sweetened 
or not as may be deemed expedient. W. 
ACIDUM PHOSPIIORICUM DILUTUM. U.S.,Br. Diluted Phos- 
phoric Acid. 
“Take of Phosphorus three hundred and sixty grains; Nitric Ac’d five 
troyounces, or a sufficient quantity ; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix PART II. 
Adda. 
971 
five troyounces of Nitric Acid with half a pint of Distilled Water, in a porce* 
lain capsule, of the capacity of two pints. Add the Phosphorus, and invert over 
it a glass funnel of such dimensions that its rim may rest on the inside of the 
capsule, near the surface of the liquid. Place the capsule on a sand-bath, and 
apply a moderate heat until the Phosphorus is dissolved, and red vapours cease 
to rise. If the reaction become too violent, add a little Distilled Water; and 
if the red vapours cease to be evolved before the Phosphorus is all dissolved, 
gradually add Nitric Acid, diluted to the same extent as before with Distilled 
Water, until the solution is effected. Then, removing the funnel, continue the 
heat until the excess of nitric acid is driven off, and a syrupy liquid, free from 
odour and weighing two [troy]ounces, remains. Lastly, mix this, when cold, 
with sufficient Distilled Water to make it measure twenty fluidounces, and filter 
through paper. 
“ Diluted Phosphoric Acid may also be prepared by dissolving a troyounce 
of Glacial Phosphoric Acid in three fluidounces of Distilled Water, adding to 
the solution forty grains of Nitric Acid, boiling it until reduced to a syrupy 
liquid, free from the odour of nitric acid, and then adding sufficient Distilled 
Water to make the Diluted Acid measure twelve fluidounces and a half.” U. S. 
“Take of Phosphorus four hundred and thirteen grains; Nitric Acid six 
fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Put the Nitric 
Acid, diluted with eight [fluidjounces [Imp. meas] of Distilled Water, into a 
tubulated retort connected with a Liebig’s condenser, and, having added the 
Phosphorus, apply a gentle heat, so as slowly to distil five fluidounces [Imp. 
meas.] of liquid. Return this to the retort, and continue the distillation, 
occasionally returning the distillate, until the phosphorus has entirely disap- 
peared. Transfer the contents of the retort to a porcelain dish of hard well- 
enamelled ware, and evaporate the liquid until it is reduced to four fluidounces 
[Imp. meas.] ; then, transferring it to a platinum vessel, continue the evapo- 
ration until it is reduced to about two fluidounces [Imp. meas.], and orange- 
coloured vapours are no longer formed. Mix it now with Distilled Water until, 
when cold, it measures one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia; and the first formula dif- 
fers only in its manipulations from the British, which is essentially that of the 
late London Pharmacopoeia. In both, phosphorus is oxidized at the expense of 
the nitric acid, which, in giving up a portion of its oxygen to the phosphorus, is 
converted into nitric oxide, becoming red hyponitric acid vapours as it escapes. 
Strong nitric acid acts too energetically on phosphorus, producing explosion 
and rapid combustion; but when diluted, as in the processes above given, it 
parts with its oxygen slowly, and it is even desirable to aid the operation with 
a gentle heat. Along with the nitrous fumes, a portion of the undecomposed 
nitric acid also rises in vapour, which, in the British process, to prevent loss, 
is collected by means of a distillatory apparatus, and returned into the retort. 
In the U. S. process, the same end is effected by placing over the liquid in the 
capsule a glass funnel, upon the inner surface of which the acid is condensed, 
and returns of itself into the capsule, so as considerably to simplify the opera- 
tion. This modification was originally suggested by Mr. Geo. W. Andrews, of 
Baltimore, who, however, inverted a dish over the materials; the suggestion 
of the funnel being due to Prof. Procter. The operation being continued till 
the whole of the phosphorus is converted into phosphoric acid and dissolved, 
and the liquid having been deprived of any remaining acid, and reduced to a 
certain weight by concentration, the process is completed by adding a certain 
measure of water; so that an acid of definite strength is obtained. Mr. C. Lewis 
Diehl, jun., has found, in carrying the U. S. process into effect, that the glass 
funnel covering the capsule almost always breaks through the violence of the 
reaction, thus causing loss of phosphorus, besides annoyance to the operator. 
He, therefore, prefers using a French tubulated glass retort. (Am Journ. of 
Pharm., March, 1867, p. 138.) The U. S. diluted acid has the sp. gr. L056 ; 
and 100 grains of it are saturated by 23 A grains of bicarbonate of potassa with 972 
Adda. 
PAKT II. 
ont precipitation. Diluted Phosphoric Acid is defined “Phosphoric acid 8HO, 
P05, dissolved in water and corresponding to 10 per cent, by weight of anhy- 
drous phosphoric acid P05.” Br It has the sp. gr. 108. “ 335 grains by weight 
of it poured upon 180 grains of oxide of lead in fine powder, leave by evapora- 
tion a residue, which, after it has been heated to dull redness, weighs 2155 
grains. Six fluidrachtns, therefore, correspond to 35-5 grains of anhydrous 
phosphoric acid an eq. of P05).” Br. 
The second U. S. formula consists in simply boiling glacial phosphoric acid 
in water, with the addition of a little nitric acid. By this process the glacial 
acid, which is monobasic, is converted into the tribasic acid, which is the me- 
dicinal phosphoric acid. The nitric acid operates, in this instance, simply by 
its presence in favouring the change, without itself undergoing decomposition. 
(See Acidum Phosphoricum Glaciate, p. 60.) The proportions of acid and 
water are so arranged that the diluted acid shall have the same strength as 
that procured by the first process. 
It has been suggested that red phosphorus might be substituted for common 
phosphorus, as producing the same results, with less danger of explosion; but, 
when the officinal process is carefully followed in reference to the due dilution 
and to the use of a moderate heat, there is no danger to be apprehended. 
Properties. Diluted phosphoric acid is a colourless, inodorous, sour liquid, 
acting strongly on litmus, and possessing powerful acid properties. Although 
evaporated so as to become dense, it is not corrosive like the other mineral acids. 
Dr. Neubaur found that the strong acid, when pure and warm, was capable of 
dissolving oxalate of lime. The officinal acid is not precipitated by chloride of 
barium or nitrate of silver. If precipitates are produced, chloride of barium in- 
dicates sulphuric acid or a sulphate; nitrate of silver, muriatic acid or a chlo- 
ride. Strips of copper or silver are not affected by the acid, showing the ab- 
sence of nitric acid; it is not coloured by sulphuretted hydrogen, proving the 
general absence of metals; and albuffien produces no precipitate with it, indi- 
cating the non-existence of metaphosphoric acid. If carbonate of soda causes a 
precipitate, phosphate of lime, or some other phosphate insoluble in water, is 
probably held in solution. It has been supposed that one-tenth of phosphorous 
acid would render the diluted acid dangerous to life; but experiments go far 
to show that this was an erroneous opinion, as half a drachm of that acid given 
to a dog produced no obvious poisonous effect. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
July, 1858, p. 359.) Phosphorous acid may be detected by testing the medicinal 
acid with a solution of corrosive sublimate, which will be converted into calo- 
mel if this impurity be present. (Pagels, Chem. Gaz., Jan. 15,1857.) 
The following is a table exhibiting the quantity of pure phosphoric acid con- 
tained in solutions of different densities, prepared by Mr. John Watts, of Lon- 
don, and published in the Pharm. Journ. and Trans., Oct. 1865, p. 191. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Per- 
centage. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Per- 
centage. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Per- 
centage. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Per- 
centage. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Per- 
centage. 
1 508 
49-60 
1-392 
40-86 
1-293 
32-71 
1-185 
2207 
1-081 
10-44* 
1-402 
48-41 
1-384 
40-12 
1-285 
31-94 
1-173 
20-91 
1-073 
9-53 
1-476 
47-10 
1 376 
39-66 
1-276 
31-03 
1-162 
19-73 
1-066 
8-62 
1-464 
45-68 
1-369 
39 21 
1-268 
30-13 
1-153 
18-81 
1 -056 
7*39t 
1-453 
45-38 
1-356 
38-00 
1-257 
29-16 
1-144 
17-89 
1-047 
6-17 
1 -442 
44 13 
1-347 
37-37 
1-247 
28-24 
1-136 
16-95 
1-031 
4-15 
1-484 
43-95 
1-339 
36-74 
1-236 
27-30 
1-124 
15-64 
1-022 
3-03 
1-426 
43-28 
1-328 
36-15 
1-226 
26-36 
1-113 
14-33 
1-014 
1-91 
1-418 
42-61 
1-315 
34-82 
1-211 
24-79 
1-109 
13-25 
1-006 
•79 
1-401 
41-60 
1-302 
33-49 
1-197 
23-23 
1-095 
12-18 
Medical Properties and Uses. Diluted phosphoric acid is deemed tonic and 
refrigerant. It is preferable in point of flavour to the diluted sulphuric acid, 
and is less apt to disturb the digestive functions. Various properties have been 
* British Pharmacopoeia. 
f U. S. PliartnacopcBia. PART II. 
Adda. 
973 
ascribed to it; such as allaying pain and spasm, strengthening the sexual 
organs, preventing the morbid secretion of bony matter, and correcting phos- 
phatic deposits in the urine. The last two properties are supposed to depend 
upon its power of dissolving phosphate of lime. It has been recommended in 
hysteria, diabetes, and in leucorrhoea when the secreted fluid is thin and acrid. 
Magnus Hus used it with advantage in the first stage of abdominal or pete- 
chial typhus. In diabetes Dr. Paris found it to allay the thirst more effectually 
than any other acid drink. The dose is from twenty drops to a teaspoonful, 
largely diluted with water. 
Off. Prep. Ammonias Phosphas, Br.; Syrupus Ferri Phosphatis, Br. B. 
ACIDUM SULPIIURICUM AROMATICUM. U.S.,Br. Aro 
matic Sulphuric Acid. Elixir of Vitriol. 
“ Take of Sulphuric Acid six troyounces; Ginger, in coarse powder, a troy- 
ounce; Cinnamon, in coarse powder, a troyounce and a half; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Add the Acid gradually to a pint of Alcohol, and allow the 
liquid to cool. Mix the Ginger and Cinnamon, and, having put them into a 
percolator, pour alcohol gradually upon them until a pint of tincture is ob- 
tained. Lastly, mix the diluted acid and the tincture.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid three fluidounces, or 2419 grains by weight; Rec- 
tified Spirit two pints [Imperial measure]; Cinnamon Bark, in coarse powder, 
two ounces [avoirdupois]; Ginger, in coarse powder, one ounce and a quarter 
[avoird.]. Mix the Sulphuric Acid gradually with the Spirit, add the Cinna- 
mon and Ginger, macerate for seven days, agitating frequently, then filter.” Br. 
Though a certain weight of acid has been substituted for a certain measure in 
the U. S. process, the result is for all practical purposes the same. The U. S. 
acid is somewhat stronger than the British. The latter has the sp. gr. 0-927; 
and “ 6 fluidrachms [Imp. meas.] or 304 2 grains by weight of it require for 
neutralisation 830 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda, corre- 
sponding to 10-9I per cent, of anhydrous sulphuric acid. Six fluidrachms [Imp 
meas.], therefore, correspond to 33'2 grains of anhydrous acid.” Br. 
Properties. Aromatic sulphuric acid is a reddish-brown liquid, of a peculiar 
aromatic odour, and, when sufficiently diluted, of a grateful acid taste. It has 
been supposed by some to be a kind of ether, its main ingredients justifying 
such a suspicion; but the late Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, who originally held 
this opinion, satisfied himself that the alcohol and sulphuric acid, in the propor- 
tions here employed, do not generate a single particle of ether. Jt must, there- 
fore, be viewed merely as sulphuric acid diluted with alcohol, and containing 
the essential oils of ginger and cinnamon. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This valuable preparation, commonly called 
elixir of vitriol, is a simplification of Mynsicht's acid elixir. It is tonic and 
astringent, and affords the most agreeable form of sulphuric acid for administra- 
tion. It is very much employed in debility with night-sweats, in loss of appetite, 
and in the convalescence from fevers, especially those of the intermittent type. 
It is often given in conjunction with cinchona, the taste of which it serves to 
cover, and the efficacy of which it increases by promoting the solubility of its 
febrifuge principles. In haemoptysis and other hemorrhages, when not attended 
with obvious inflammation, it frequently proves useful by stopping the flow of 
blood. It has been recommended in epidemic dysentery. (New Jersey Med. and 
Surg. Reporter, ix. 199.) The dose is from ten to thirty drops in a wineglassful 
of water, repeated two or three times a day. Care must be taken that the teeth 
are not injured by the acid. 
Off. Prep. Infusum Cinchonae Flavae, U. S.; Infusum Cinchonae Ruhr*, U. S. 
B. 
ACIDUM SULPHURICUM DILUTUM. U.S., Br. Diluted Sul- 
phuric Acid. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid two troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quan- 
tity Add the Acid gradually to fourteen fluidounces of Distilled Water, and 974 
Adda. 
PART II. 
mix them. Then filter through paper, and pass sufficient Distilled Water through 
the filter to make the Diluted Acid measure a pint. The sp. gr. of this acid is 
1-082.” U.S. 
“ Take of Sulphuric Acid 7 Jluidounces [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water 
a sufficiency. Dilute the Acid with 77 fiuidounces of the Water, and when the 
mixture has cooled to (50° add more Water, so that it shall measure fhiid- 
ounces. Or as follows: 
“ Take of Sulphuric Acid 1350 grains, Distilled Water a sufficiency. Weigh 
the Acid in a glass flask, the capacity of which, to a mark on the neck, is one 
pint [Imp. rneas.], then gradually add Distilled Water until the mixture, after 
it has been shaken and cooled to 60°, measures a pint [Imp. meas.]. Sp.gr. 
1-094. Six fluidraehms [Imp. meas.] or 359 grains by weight require for neu- 
tralisation 1000 grain-measures of the volumetric solution of soda, correspond- 
ing to 10-14 per cent, of anhydrous sulphuric acid. Six fluidraehms, therefore, 
correspond to 40 grains of the anhydrous acid (one eq. of S03).” llr. 
The direction to filter, in the U. S. process, would be unnecessary were the 
acid chosen with due attention to the officinal description in the Materia Medica. 
But as the sulphuric acid of the shops often contains insoluble substances which 
are precipitated on its dilution, the caution is in practice often necessary to 
avoid impurity in the preparation. In the old formula a fluidounce of acid was 
added to thirteen fiuidounces of water. The result is very nearly the same. 
This preparation is sulphuric acid, diluted to such an extent as to make it con- 
venient for prescription. It is not exacthr coincident in strength as directed in 
the two Pharmacopoeias, the U. S. acid being somewhat weaker than the British; 
but the difference is not so great as to be of practical importance. The strong acid 
is added gradually to the water, to guard against the too sudden production of 
heat, which might cause the fracture of the vessel. During the dilution, when 
commercial sulphuric acid is used, the liquid becomes slightly turbid, and in the 
course of a few days deposits a grayish-white powder, which is sulphate of lead, 
and from which the diluted acid should be poured off. This noxious salt is thus 
got rid of; but sulphate of potassa, another impurity in the strong acid, still 
remains. The presence of a little sulphate of potassa will do no harm; but, if 
it should be fraudulently introduced into the strong acid to increase its specific 
gravity, its amount may be ascertained by saturating the acid, after dilution, 
with ammonia, and expelling by a red heat the sulphate of ammonia formed. 
Whatever sulphate of potassa is present will remain behind. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Diluted sulphuric acid is tonic, refrigerant, 
and astringent. It is given in typhoid fevers, and often with advantage. In the 
convalescence from protracted fevers, it acts beneficially as a tonic, exciting the 
appetite and promoting digestion. As an astringent, it is employed in colliqua- 
tive sweats, passive hemorrhages, and diarrhoeas dependent on a relaxed state 
of the mucous membrane of the intestines. In calculous affections attended with 
phosphatie sediments it is the proper remedy, being preferable to muriatic acid, 
as less apt, by continued use, to disorder the stomach. Locally it is used as an 
ingredient in gargles for ulcerated sorethroat and for checking excessive ptya- 
lism, and as a wash for cutaneous eruptions and ill-conditioned ulcers. The dose 
is from ten to thirty drops, three times a day, in a wineglassful of plain or sweet- 
ened water. It is added with advantage to infusions of cinchona, the organic 
alkalies of which ittends.to hold in solution. As it is apt to injure the teeth, it 
is best taken by sucking it through a quill. It is much less used in the United 
States than the elixir of vitriol, which possesses nearly the same medical proper- 
ties. (See Acidum Sulphuricum Aromaticum.) An elegant form for giving it 
is the officinal Compound Infusion of Roses. 
In 1851, attention was called by Mr. Buxton, of London, to the remarkable 
efficacy of diluted sulphuric acid in several forms of diarrhoea, especially chole- 
raic diairhoea. In October, 1853, Dr. H. W. Fuller, of St. George’s Hospital, 
published a paper in the London Medical Times and Gazette,in which he strongly 
recommends it in choleraic diarrhoea, from his own experience and that of his <*AItT II. 
Adda. 
975 
frienrls in more than ninety cases without a single failure. The dose employed 
was half a fluidrachm, diluted with water, given every twenty minutes in ordi- 
nary cases, every quarter of an hour in severe cases. The vomiting, purging, 
and cramps usually ceased after the third or fourth dose. For bilious diarrhoea 
the acid is not a suitable remedy. 
Pharrn. Uaes. In preparing Aconitia; Antimonium Sulphuratum; Aqua 
Acidi Carbonici, U. S ; Atropia; Ferri et Quini® Citras, U. S ; Fotassae Bicar- 
bonas, U.S.; Potass® Permanganas, Br.; Quini® Valerianas, U. S.; Sod® Bi- 
carbonas, U. S.; and Strychnia, U. S. 
Off. Prep. Atropi® Sulphas; Beberi® Sulphas, Br.; Cinchoni® Sulphas, 
(J.S.; Infusum Bos® Acidum, Br.; Infusum Bos® Compositum, U. S.; Mor- 
phi® Sulphas, U. S.; Quini® Sulphas, Br.; Strychni® Sulphas, U. S. B. 
ACIDUM STJLPIIUROSUM. U.S.,Br. Sulphurous Acid. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid eight troyounces; Charcoal, in coarse powder, a 
troyounce ; Distilled Water thirty-six Jluidounces. Pour the Acid upon the 
Charcoal, previously introduced into a matrass, and shake them together. Con- 
nect the matrass with a washing bottle, and this, by means of a bent glass tube 
reaching nearly to the bottom of it, with a two-necked bottle containing the 
Distilled Water. To the other neck of this bottle attach another bent tube, and 
let it dip slightly into a solution of carbonate of soda. All the joints having 
been properly luted, apply heat to the matrass until gas ceases to be evolved, 
preventing the temperature of the Distilled Water from rising, by means of cold 
water applied to the bottle containing it. Lastly, pour the Sulphurous Acid into 
half-pint bottles, which must be well stopped, and kept in a cool place.” U. S. 
“Take of Sulphuric Acid four Jluidounces; Wood Charcoal, broken into 
small pieces, one ounce; Water two Jluidounces; Distilled Water twenty Jluid- 
ounces. Put the Charcoal and the Sulphuric Acid into a glass flask, connected 
by a glass tube with a wash-bottle containing the two fluidounces of Water, 
whence a second tube leads into an [Imperial] pint bottle containing the Dis- 
tilled Water, to the bottom of which the gas-delivery tube should pass. Apply 
heat to the flask until gas is evolved, which is to be conducted through the 
Water in the wash-bottle, and then into the Distilled Water, the latter being 
kept cold, and the process being continued until the bubbles of gas pass through 
the solution undiminished in size. The product should be kept in a stoppered 
bottle, in a cool place.” Br. 
These are new formulas of the respective Pharmacopoeias; sulphurous acid 
Deing now for the first time olficinally recognised. The processes are essentially 
the same, and both based upon that of Wittstein The sp.gr. of the U. S. pre- 
paration is about l-035, of the British, l-04. Of the latter “ 34 I grains mixed 
with an ounce of distilled water and a little mucilage of starch do not acquire 
a permanent blue colour with the volumetric solution of iodine until 1000 
grain-measures of the latter have been added.” Br. 
The rationale of the process is simple. When the sulphuric acid (SO,,) and 
charcoal arc heated together, the former gives up an equivalent of its oxygen 
to the latter, and is thus converted into sulphurous acid gas, -which, having been 
passed first through a wash-bottle containing a little water to absorb impurities, 
is received into the distilled wrater, by which it is absorbed until the water be- 
comes saturated. To prevent the escape of the noxious gas into the atmosphere, 
the excess, which escapes absorption, is in the U. S. process received into a solu- 
tion of carbonate of soda, and condensed. In the Br. process, the point of satu- 
ration is roughly indicated by the bubbles, formed by the escape of the gas from 
the distilled water, being equal in size to those formed in the wash-bottle. The 
direction to keep the acid in well-stopped bottles, in a cool place, is necessary 
in. consequence of the strong tendency of the gaseous acid to escape. An inci- 
dental advantage of the U. S. process is the production of sulphite of soda. 
Prof. F. C. Calvert gives a process for preparing this acid on a large scale, by 
which he avoids all the inconveniences usually attendant on itsmanufacture, and 
has prepared thousands of gallons daily of a saturated solution. It consists in 976 
Adda. 
PART IL 
burning sulphur in a small furnace,and conducting the acid gas,through earthen- 
ware tubes, surrounded with water so as to cool t hem. The gas is then made to 
ascend through a wooden tube 40 feet high and about 4 feet wide, filled with 
pumice stone previously washed first with muriatic acid and then with water. A 
certain amount of water is introduced into the tube from above, which, in its 
descent, meets and dissolves the gas, and runs out saturated from the bottom 
of the tube into an air-tight reservoir. (Pharm. Journ., xvii. 512.) 
Properties. The officinal sulphurous acid is a nearly saturated solution of 
sulphurous acid gas. That of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia cannot be quite satu- 
rated, if the sp. gr. of the two preparations is correctly stated. The pure acid is 
an irrespirable gas, of a suffocating odour familiar to every one as that of burn- 
ing sulphur, which is converted into it by combustion. If inhaled in the concen- 
trated state, it proves fatal. It consists of one eq. of sulphur and two eqs. of 
oxygen (S02), has the sp. gr. 2 21, liquefies at 14° F , has a strong acid reaction, 
extinguishes burning bodies, has the power of bleaching many coloured sub- 
stances, and has a strong affinity for oxygen, with which it combines in the pre- 
sence of water, forming sulphuric acid. Water at 65° takes up about 50 volumes 
of the gas, and the solution has the sp.gr. 104. (Brande and Taylor.) 
Officinal sulphurous acid (Acidum Sulphurosum) is a colourless liquid, hav- 
ing the smell of burning sulphur, and a sulphurous somewhat astringent taste. 
Its sp.gr. as indicated by the Pharmacopoeias has been mentioned. When ex- 
posed to the air it slowly absorbs oxygen, with the formation of sulphuric acid, 
and thus acquires a sour taste, and the property of changing vegetable blues 
to red. It should be entirely volatilized by heat. “ When saturated with ammo- 
nia, and treated with an excess of chloride of barium, it affords a clear or nearly 
clear solution on the addition of muriatic acid in excess.” ( U. S.) This shows the 
absence of sulphuric acid. It decolorizes iodine by forming with it hydriodic 
acid, and on this fact is based the test of the Br. Pharmacopoeia before given. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Sulphurous acid has been introduced into use 
in consequence of its fatal influence upon the lower forms of animal and vege- 
table life. It is supposed to be thus destructive by its anti-oxygenizing influ- 
ence; suffocating organic beings by denying them the oxygen necessary to theii 
existence; but it probably acts also by a physiological property independently 
of its mere chemical effect. It is perhaps by the same property that it prevents 
fermentation, destroying the microscopic organisms essential to that process. 1 n 
reference to its parasiticide property, it was brought before the notice of the pro- 
fession by Dr. Jenner of London; though to Prof. Graham, we believe, belongs 
the first suggestion of its applicability to such purposes. In cases of sarcinae 
ventriculi it may be taken internally; but one of the sulphites, as sulphite of 
soda, is perhaps preferable for the purpose, as it yields the acid always by de- 
composition in the stomach. It is more used as an external application, in psora, 
the different forms of porrigo, trichosis of the scalp, pityriasis versicolor, and the 
thrush of children; all parasitic affections, either animalcular or cryptogamous, 
and all of which generally yield to it,if proper care be taken,by previous removal 
of the scabs or scales, to bring it into contact with the morbific cause. The dose 
for internal use is a fluidrachm, largely diluted with water. When localty used, 
it should be diluted with two or three measures of water or of glycerin, and ap- 
plied as a lotion, or by cloths wet with it, or in the form of cataplasm. Dr. 
James Dewar, of Ivirkaldy, has found very great advantage from the inhala- 
tion of sulphurous acid, in the form of the fumes of burning sulphur, in typhus 
and typhoid fevers, scarlatina, diphtheria, catarrhal fever, hay fever which is 
checked at once, gout, and rheumatism. (N.. 0. Med. and Surg. Journ., Jan. 
1867, p. 523; from Dub. Med. Press, Sept. 5, 1866.) W. 
ACIDUM TAKNTCUM. U.S.,Br. Tannic Acid. 
“Take of Nutgall, in fine powder, Ether, each, a sufficient quantity. Expose 
the xs utgall to a damp atmosphere for twenty-four hours, and then mix it with 
sufficient Ether, previously washed with water, to form a soft paste. Set this PAltT ir. 
Adda. 
977 
aside, covered closely, for six hours; then, having quickly enveloped it in a 
close canvas cloth, express it powerfully between tinned plates, so as to obtain 
the liquid portion. Reduce the resulting cake to powder, and mix it with suffi- 
cient Ether, shaken with one-sixteenth of its bulk of water, to form again a soft 
paste, and express as before. Mix the liquids, and expose the mixture to spon- 
taneous evaporation, until it assumes a syrupy consistence; then spread it on 
glass or tinned plates, and dry it quickly in a drying closet. Lastly, remove 
the dry residue from the plates with a spatula, and keep it in a well-stopped 
bottle.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia has abandoned its former process, and adopted 
a new one in close conformity with the above, both being essentially the pro- 
cess of Leconnet, which has been substituted, in the existing Pharmacopoeias, 
for that of Pelouze previously employed in both. 
While the discarded process yields the tannic acid probably in a somewhat 
purer state than the present, it is less easy of performance, and much less 
productive; and the product of the existing formula is sufficiently pure for 
all practical purposes. The addition of a little alcohol, 8 per cent, for ex- 
ample, to the ethereal menstruum still further increases the product, and, we 
are informed, is practised to a considerable extent; but we doubt the pro- 
priety of this deviation from the officinal directions, as the resulting product 
may not be in all respects identical with the officinal. There appear to bo 
two colouring principles in galls, one soluble in ether and not in alcohol, the 
other in alcohol and not in ether. Hence, while the tannic acid, in whichever 
way procured, is yellowish, that obtained by ether has a greenish tint, while that 
by the addition of alcohol is slightly brownish. The U. S. process is the same 
with that proposed by a commission of distinguished French pharmaceutists for 
the edition of the Codex recently published. In consequence of the mode in 
which the acid is dried, in thin layers, on tinned or glass plates, and equably ex- 
posed to heat above and below, it froths up on the escape of the ether, and con- 
cretes in a soft, cellular, friable form, which is strikingly characteristic of the 
preparation made in strict accordance with the formula. 
From a superficial examination of this process, it might appear that the re- 
sult can be nothing more than an ethereal extract; but it is necessary that the 
ether employed should contain water, as it is directed to be washed ; and yet 
the quantity of water is so small that it can hardly operate by its mere solvent 
power. The circumstances attendant upon the process of Pelouze afford the 
means of a satisfactory explanation, which was first suggested by M. Beral. In 
this, the powdered galls are submitted to percolation by watered ether, and the 
liquid which passes divides itself into two layers, a heavier which sinks to the 
bottom and a lighter which floats upon the surface. It is the heavier which con- 
tains the tannic acid, and from which it is obtained by evaporation. The most 
probable explanation is that ether, water, and tannic acid unite to form a definite 
compound, in which the affinities are too feeble to resist the tendency of the ether 
to rise in vapour, and which is, therefore, decomposed by its evaporation. The 
proportion of the menstruum to the galls is very small, much smaller than would 
be employed to obtain an extract; and the whole or nearly the whole of both 
liquids is probably occupied in the formation of the definite compound referred 
to, thus leaving little or none to act merely as solvents. Hence the exclusion 
from the resulting acid, in great measure, of the other soluble constituents of the 
galls; and the slight amount of impurity really present in the acid is probably 
owing to the action of that small quantity of the menstruum not occupied in 
forming the liquid compound. Opinion is not altogether united in this explana- 
tion; but it is that which appears to the author best to account for the pheno- 
mena of the case. It has been stated that the tannic acid, obtained by either of 
the officinal processes, has a more or less yellowish tint. From this, according 
to F. Kummel, it maybe freed by the percolation, through recently ignited ani- 
mal charcoal, of its solution in a mixture of ether and alcohol. It has, too, a slight 
odour, which, according to Prof. Procter, is derived from a volatile odorous prin- 978 
A clda. 
PART II. 
eiple existing in galls, which he has succeeded in separating from the acid by the 
action of benzole. From 30 to 35 per cent, of tannic acid is obtained from galls 
by Pelouze’s method; while that of Leconnet is said to yield GO per cent * 
The term tannin was originally applied to a principle or principles existing in 
many vegetables, having a very astringent taste, and the properties of producing 
a white flocculent precipitate with solution of gelatin, and a black precipitate 
with the salts of sesquioxide of iron. As obtained, however, from different plants, 
it was found to exhibit some difference of properties; and chemists have recog- 
nised two kinds, one existing in oak bark, galls, &c., distinguished by producing 
a bluish-black precipitate with the salts of sesquioxide of iron, and the other ex- 
isting in Peruvian bark, catechu, &c., and characterized by producing a greenish- 
black or dark-olive precipitate with the same salts. The former is the one which 
has received most attention, and from an examination of which the characters 
of tannin have generally been given. It is the substance described in this article. 
It will probably be found that the latter is essentially distinct from the tannin 
of galls, and different in different vegetables. One striking peculiarity of the 
tannin of' galls is its facility of conversion into gallic acid, which is wanting 
in the other varieties. Since the publication of the experiments of M. Pelouze 
in relation to tannin, this substance has been universally admitted to rank with 
the acids, and is now, therefore, denominated tannic acid. The ordinary variety 
procured from galls is called, for the sake of distinction, by some gallotannic 
acid, and by others quercitannic acid. According to Pettenkofer, it is found 
only in perennial plants, indicating some relation to the production of woody 
fibre. {Buchner'1s Neues Bepert., iii. 74-76.) 
Properties. Pure tannic acid is solid, uncrystallizable, white or slightly yel- 
lowish, inodorous,f strongly astringent to the taste without bitterness, very solu- 
ble in water, much less soluble in aicohol and ether, especially when anhydrous, 
and insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils. It may be kept unchanged in the 
solid state ; but its aqueous solution, when exposed to the air, gradually becomes 
turbid, and deposits a crystalline matter, consisting chiefly of gallic acid. During 
the change, oxygen is absorbed, and an equal volume of carbonic acid disen- 
gaged. Put, according to M. E. Robiquet, this change does not always take 
place, and, when it does happen, is ascribable to the presence of pectasein the 
tannin. (Seepage 958.) If the solution of tannic acid be boiled for a long time, 
thd”pectase loses its property of acting as a ferment, and the solution may be 
kept indefinitely without change. (Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1853, p. 246.) 
Exposed to heat, tannic acid partly melts, swells up, blackens, takes fire, and 
burns with a brilliant flame. Thrown on red-hot iron, it is entirely dissipated. 
Its solution reddens litmus, and it combines with most of the salifiable bases. 
It forms with potassa a compound but slightly soluble, and is, therefore, precipi- 
tated by this alkali or its carbonates from a solution which is not too dilute, 
though a certain excess of alkali will cause the precipitate to be redissolved. 
Its combination with soda is much more soluble; and this alkali affords no 
precipitate, unless with a very concentrated solution of tannic acid. With am- 
monia its relations are similar to those with potassa. Baryta, strontia, lime, and 
magnesia, added in the state of hydrates, form with it compounds of little solu- 
bility. The same is the case with most of the metallic oxides, when presented, 
in the state of salts, to a solution of the tannate of potassa. Many of the me- 
tallic salts are precipitated by tannic acid even in the uncombined state, espe- 
cially those of lead, copper, silver, uranium, chromium, mercury, teroxide of 
antimony, and protoxide of tin. With the salts of sesquioxide of iron it forms 
u black precipitate, which is a compound of tannic acid and the sesquioxide, 
* We are informed that Mr. H. R. Bowman, of Philadelphia, in a yet unpublished 
thesis, gives 80-07 as the percentage of tannic acid he had obtained from selected galls, 
while from white galls he had got but 30-72 per cent. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 
-j- Commercial tannic acid often has a decided odour, which Prof. Procter, after a prac- 
tical investigation, believes to be owing chiefly to the presence of the odorous principle 
of the galls, though sometimes to matter derived from the ether with which it is pre 
pared. (Am. Journ. .if Pharm., Jan. 1865, p. 53.) PART II. 
Adda. 
979 
and is the basis of ink. It does not disturb the solutions of the pure salts of 
protoxide of iron. Several of the alkaline salts precipitate it from its aqueous 
solution, either by the formation of insoluble compounds, or by simply ab- 
stracting the solvent. • 
Tannic acid unites with all the vegetable organic alkalies, forming compounds 
which are for the most part of a whitish colour, and but very slightly soluble 
in water; though they are soluble in the vegetable acids, especially the acetic, 
and in alcohol, and in this latter respect differ from most of the compounds 
which tannic acid forms with other vegetable principles. On account of this 
property of tannic acid, it has been employed as a test of the vegetable alka- 
lies; and it is so delicate, that it will throw down a precipitate from their 
solution, even when too feeble to be disturbed by ammonia. 
It has an affinity for several acids, and when in solution affords precipitates 
with the sulphuric, nitric, muriatic, phosphoric, and arsenic acids, but not with 
the oxalic, tartaric, lactic, acetic, or citric. The precipitates are considered as 
compounds of tannic acid with the respective acids mentioned, and are soluble 
in pure water, but insoluble in water with an excess of acid. Hence, in order to 
ensure precipitation, it is necessary to add the acid in excess to the solution of 
tannic acid. Strecker, however, denies that the precipitates are compounds of 
the tannin with the acid, and maintains that they are merely tannin imbued 
with free acid. (Chem. Gaz., no. 287, p. 370.) 
When tannic acid, iodine, and water are mixed, a reaction takes place, by 
which the water is decomposed; its hydrogen forming with the iodine hydriodic 
acid, which combines with a portion of the tannic acid and remains in solution; 
while the oxygen of the water combines with another portion of the tannic acid, 
to form a compound, which, being insoluble, is precipitated. The iodized solu- 
tion thus obtained is capable of dissolving more iodine, and holding it in per- 
manent solution, however much diluted. (Socquet and Gfuilliermond, Journ. de 
Pharm., xxvi. 280.) 
Tannic acid precipitates solutions of starch, albumen, and gluten, and forms 
with gelatin an insoluble compound, which is the basis of leather. 
Its ultimate constituents are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen; and its formula, 
according to Liebig, is C18H8012 or C)8II509 -f 3110. Mulder, however, from re- 
cent investigations, considers it isomeric with gallic acid, and gives its formula 
C,H,0„+ HO. Strecker looks upon it as a compound of gallic acid and grape 
sugar, the latter of which is destroyed in the spontaneous change that mois- 
tened galls undergo by time. (See Acidum Gallicum, page 958.) He gives as 
its formula CMH19031 for the anhydrous acid, which, by the addition of 3 eqs. of 
water, becomes the hydrated acid C54H22034, differing from Liebig’s by 2 eqs. of 
water. (Chem. Gaz., no. 287, p. 370.) M. H. Robiquet denies the complex na- 
ture ascribed to tannic acid by Strecker, and maintains that, when transformed 
into gallic acid by the pectic ferment or by sulphuric acid, it is simply by a 
molecular change, and not by the destruction of one of its constituents. (Journ. 
de Pharm., xxvi. 31.) Hut, whether consisting of glucose and gallic acid, or sim- 
ply resolvable by certain agencies, through a new arrangement of its molecules, 
into these substances, it will equally rank among the glucosides; differing in this 
respect essentially from the varieties of tannic acid which precipitate the salts 
of iron greenish-black, as the tannin of rhatany and catechu.* 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tannic acid, being the chief principle of vege- 
table astringents, is capable of exerting on the system the same effects with 
this class of medicines, and may be given in the same complaints. It has an 
advantage over the astringent extracts in the comparative smallness of its dose, 
which renders it less apt to offend an irritable stomach. In most of the vege- 
* Various plans have been proposed of estimating the quantity of tannic acid, which 
is an object of importance to tanners, as enabling them to judge of the value of their 
tanning materials; but on this point we must content ourselves, from want of space, 
with referring to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (Sept. 1859, p. 427; March, 1801, p. 164; 
Nov. 1863, p. 519; and July, 1864, p. 314). See also a paper by Mr. John Watts in the 
Pharm. Journ. and Trans. (March, 1867, p. 515). 980 
Adda. 
PART Ii. 
table, astringents, it is associated with more or less bitter extractive, or other 
principle which modifies its operation, and renders the medicine less applicable 
than it otherwise would be to certain cases, in which there is an indication for 
pure without any tonic power. Such is particularly the case in the 
active hemorrhages; and tannic acid, in its separate state, is in these cases pre- 
ferable tc the native combinations in which it ordinarily exists. Dr. Porta, an 
Italian physician, employed it with great success in the treatment of uterine 
hemorrhage, and published the results of his experience in 1827. M. Cavalier 
afterwards used it successfully in the same complaint, and found it effectual also 
in a case of bleeding from the rectum. It is, without doubt, a useful remedy in 
most forms of hemorrhage, after a sufficient reduction of arterial action by 
depletory measures. In diarrhoea it is probably more beneficial than ordinary 
astringents, as less liable to irritate the stomach and bowels. It has been found 
beneficial in colliquative sweats, in cases of chronic catarrh with excessive and 
debilitating expectoration, in the advanced stages of hooping-cough, and in 
cystirrhoea. The dose for ordinary purposes is from two to five grains, but in 
urgent cases it may be increased to ten grains. The only disadvantage which 
has been experienced from it, when taken in excess, is obstinate constipation. 
It has been used with advantage, by Dr. P. Gamier, in very large doses, in the 
dropsy of Bright’s disease. He gave from half a drachm to a drachm, in divided 
doses, through the day, and found its curative influence, beginning on the second 
day, to be manifested by copious diuresis with a return of the urine to a healthy 
state, by perspiration, ready alvine evacuation, and a restoration of appetite,with- 
out any unpleasant effect. {Arch. Gen., Janv. 1859, p. 36.) Locally, it maybe 
used for all the purposes to which galls or other vegetable astringents are appli- 
cable; as for hemorrhages, relaxation of the uvula, chronic inflammation of the 
fauces, diphtheria, toothache, aphthae, excessive salivation, leucorrhoea, gleet, 
gonorrhoea, flabby and phagedenic ulcers, piles, chilblains, &c. As a wash it 
may be used in solution, in the proportion of five grains to a fluidounce of 
water. A Belgian surgeon, M. Hairion, recommends a strong solution, made in 
the proportion of one part of tannic acid to three of distilled water, for appli- 
cation to various ophthalmic affections; as acute and chronic inflammation, 
ulcers and specks on the cornea, swelling of the conjunctiva, &c. (Journ. de 
Pharm., xviii. 449.) An ointment may be made from it by rubbing two scruples 
first with twenty minims of water into a paste, and then with an ounce of lard. 
A solution in glycerin, which dissolves it freely, has been recommended by Dr. 
Wm. Bayes, of Brighton, England, as a powerful styptic, and an excellent local 
application in diseases of the mucous surfaces requiring an astringent impres- 
sion. In affections of the rectum it may be used in the form of a suppository. 
In diseases of the uterus it has been recommended in the form of a cylindrical 
pencil about an inch long and two lines thick, made with 4 parts of the acid to 
1 part of tragacanth, with a little crumb of bread to give the mixture due flexi- 
bility. {Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1, 1860, p. 128.) 
Dr. 13. W. Richardson, of London, has given the name of styptic colloid to 
a liquid prepared by himself, consisting of ether saturated with tannic acid 
and a colloidal substance, such as xyloidine or gun-cotton. The preparation 
of it is slow, but not difficult. First, tannin, as pure as can be obtained, is 
digested in absolute alcohol for several days; then pure ether is added until 
the thick alcoholic mixture is rendered quite fluid; and, finally, the colloidal 
substance is introduced until it ceases readily to dissolve. When applied on 
wounded or abraded surfaces, it soon loses the ether and alcohol, and a firm 
coating is left, in which, besides the tannin and colloidal substance, are the 
blood and secretions from the surface, with albumen coagulated, forming a cov- 
ering for the part by which the air is excluded. The liquid is applied by 
means of a camel’s-hair brush, and sometimes by means of cotton saturated 
with it, to the edges of wounds closed by stitches, to ulcerated surfaces, can- 
cerous sores, necrosis, and bleeding parts. If it be desired to make a special im- 
pression on the diseased surface, as by carbolic acid, creasote, iodine, morphia, PART II. 
Acida. 
981 
&c., the agent may be incorporated with the styptic fluid (Pliarm. Journ. 
and Trans., July, 1867, p. 29; also Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1867.) 
Riven largely to a dog, tannic acid caused the urine to become dark-brown 
and opaque; and the secretion gave evidences of the presence of gallic and 
pyrogallic acids. ( Ghem. Gaz., no. 136, p. 231 ) Hence it is probable that, when 
absorbed, it undergoes a change into one or both these acids, and that it is 
through these that it produces its effects on the system. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Digitalinum, Br. 
Of. Prep. Gflycerinum Acidi Tannici, Br.; Suppositoria Acidi Tannici, Br.; 
Trochisci Acidi Tannici, Br.; Unguentum Acidi Tannici, U. S. W. 
ACIDUM VALERIANICUM. U. S. Valerianic Acid. 
“Take of Valerianate of Soda, in coarse powder, eight troyounces; Sulphuric 
Acid, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. To the Valerianate of Soda add, first, 
three fluidounces of Water, and then three troyounces and a half of Sulphuric 
Acid. Mix them thoroughly, and from the mixture, after standing, separate the 
oily acid liquid which rises to the surface. Agitate this repeatedly with small 
portions of Sulphuric Acid until its specific gravity is reduced below 0 950. 
Then introduce it into a retort, and distil nearly to dryness, rejecting the distil- 
late so long as it has a specific gravity above 0 940, and keeping the remainder 
for use. The rejected portion of the distillate, after agitation with Sulphuric 
Acid, may be returned to the retort during the progress of the distillation.” U. S. 
The object of this process is merely to procure valerianic acid in a state 
adapted for the preparation of valerianate of ammonia. The sulphuric acid, 
uniting with the soda of the valerianate of soda, separates the valerianic acid, 
which rises to the surface with the appearance of an oil. In this state it is com- 
bined with more than one eq. of water, and as it is the monohydrated acid that 
is wanted, the direction is given to agitate it with sulphuric acid which deprives 
it of the excess of water. It is now distilled in order to separate any sulphuric 
acid and water that may lie mixed with it. The process is that of Mr. 13. J. 
Crew, published in the Am. Journ of Pliarm. for March, 1860 (p. 109). Mr. 
F. C. Musgiller, of Brooklyn, N. Y., states that the acid cannot be obtained 
by the U. S. process of a sp.gr. so low as 0 933 with ordinary sulphuric acid, 
and suggests that 0-935 be adopted as the officinal standard; as acid of this 
strength is equally well adapted for the preparation of the valerianates, for 
which it is used. Mr. Musgiller proposes some modifications of the U. S. pro- 
cess which appear to be judicious; but which must be submitted to the test of 
experiment before being officinally adopted. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 
1869, p. 83; also Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1868.) 
For modes of preparing valerianic acid from the oil and roots of valerian, 
the reader is referred to the article on Valerian at page 881. It is prepared 
also from fusel oil (amylic alcohol) by reaction with a mixture of bichromate of 
potassa and sulphuric acid, as the first step in the preparation of valerianate of 
soda. (See Sodse Valerianas, Fart II.) 
Valerianic acid received its name from having been found in the oil distilled 
from the root of Valeriana officinalis. It is sometimes called also valeric acid. 
It was first obtained in 1817 by Chevreul from the oil of the dolphin, and re- 
ceived the name of delphinic acid, which, however, upon the discovery of its 
identity with the acid afterwards obtained by Pentz from valerian, was super- 
seded by its present title. It has been obtained also from the bark and fruit of 
Viburnum opulus, the sap-wood of the European elder (Sambucus nigra), the 
root of Angelica Archangelica, and from various organic products whether of 
the vegetable or animal kingdom. 
Properties. Valerianic acid is a colourless liquid, of an oily consistence, a re- 
pulsive odour, recalling, however, that of valerian, and a pungent, sour, acrid, dis- 
agreeable taste. Its sp. gr. is variously given from 0-930 at 55° to 0 944 at 50°. 
(Gmelin.) As stated in theU. S. Pharmacopoeia, it is 0-933. It remains liquid 
at 8° below zero, and boils at 270° F. ( Trommsdorff.) It is soluble in 30 parts 
of cold water, and when agitated with water takes up about 20 per cent., without 982 
Acida. —A conitia. 
PART IJ. 
losing its oily consistence, and rises to the surface of the liquid. Alcohol and 
ether mix with it in all proportions. Jt is very soluble in strong acetic acid, and 
dissolves camphor and some resins. ( Trommsdorff.) It forms salts with the al- 
kalies, and reddens litmus paper strongly, but the blue colour gradually returns 
in a warm place. Its composition is represented by C1()II10O4; but it is supposed 
to bear to fusel oil a similar relation with that between acetic acid and alcohol. 
Thus, the compound radical amyl (C,0HU) uniting with one eq. of oxygen and 
one of water forms fusel oil (C10IInOtlO), which, by the loss of two eqs. of 
hydrogen and the gain of two of oxygen, becomes monohydrated valerianic acid 
(C10H9Os-j-HO). In this state the acid is capable of uniting with two additional 
eqs. of water, forming the terhydrated acid (CJ0H9Og + 3HO), or, if the eq. of 
water in the dry acid be considered as constitutional, the bihydrated acid (CI0 
Hw04+2H0). r rhis has a much milder taste than the dry or monohydrated 
acid, and at the same time somewhat saccharine. According to Chiozza, the 
anhydrous acid (C10lI9O3) may be prepared by treating valerianate of potassa 
with oxychloride of phosphorus. (Omelin’s Handbook, xi. 37.) The U. 8. 
Pharmacopoeia gives the following tests of the officinal acid. “A solution of 
Valerianic Acid in 50 parts of hot water, saturated with hydrated carbonate of 
zinc, yields a liquid, which, when filtered and evaporated to 10 parts and cooled, 
affords white pearly crystals of valerianate of zinc. The mother-water, drained 
from these crystals, should not yield, bv further evaporation and cooling, a salt 
crystallizing in six-sided tables, and very soluble in water. When the Acid is 
added to a concentrated solution of acetate of copper, the transparency of the 
solution is not disturbed.” The former of the last two tests indicate* the ab- 
sence of acetic, the latter of butyric acid. 
Medical Properties and Uses. In the state in which it is obtained by this 
process, valerianic acid has not been used as a medicine. The acid distilled 
from the oil or root of valerian has been employed in nervous affections, and 
possesses properties similar to those of valerian. According to Landerer, the 
acid artificially produced does not operate therapeutically so satisfactorily as 
the native product. The dose would probably be about the same as that of the 
oil of valerian. It may be given in sweetened water. 
Off. Prep. Ammonias Valerianas, U.S.; Quiniae Valerianas, U. S. W. 
ACONITIA. U. S., Br. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in moderately fine powder, forty eight troyounces ; 
Diluted Sulphuric Acid a Jiuidounce and a half; Alcohol, Stronger Water of 
Ammonia, Stronger Ether, Distilled Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Digest 
the powder in eight pints of Alcohol, in a close vessel, at the temperature of 
120°, for twenty-four hours. Introduce the mixture into a cylindrical perco- 
lator, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until t wenty four pints of liquid have 
slowly passed. Distil off the alcohol from the filtered liquid until this is reduced 
to the measure of a pint. Then add to the concentrated liquid a pint of Dis- 
tilled Water, to which has been added the Diluted Sulphuric Acid, and mix 
thoroughly. Remove from the liquid the fixed oil and resin which separate on 
standing, and evaporate it to four fluidounces. When the liquid has cooled, 
pour it into a glass-stoppered pint bottle, and wash it, by agitation and de- 
cantation, with six fluidounces of Stronger Ether, to remove the remainder of 
the fixed oil and resin. Now add Stronger Water of Ammonia until, after agita- 
tion, it, remains in slight excess. Next, treat the resulting mixture with six 
fluidounces of Stronger Ether, and, having closed the bottle, agitate briskly for 
a few minutes. Allow the liquid to stand until it separates into two layers, the 
lighter being an ethereal solution of Aconitia. Decant this carefully, and treat 
what remains, twice successively, with the same quantity of Stronger Ether, 
decanting each time as before. Mix the several ethereal solutions in a porcelain 
Aconitia. PART II. 
Aconitia. 
983 
capsule, and allow the mixture to evaporate spontaneously to dryness. Lastly, 
reduce the dry residue to powder, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
“Take of Aconite Root, in coarse powder, fourteen pounds (avoird.); Rec- 
tified Spirit, Distilled Water, Solution of Ammonia, Pure Ether, Dilute Sul- 
phuric Acid, of each, a sufficiency. Pour upon the Aconite Root three gallons 
of the Spirit, mix them well, and heat until ebullition commences; then cool, 
and macerate for four days. Transfer the whole to a displacement apparatus, 
and percolate, adding more Spirit, when requisite, until the root is exhausted. 
Distil off the greater part of the spirit from the tincture, and evaporate the re- 
mainder over a water-bath until the whole of the alcohol has been dissipated. 
Mix the residual extract thoroughly with twice its weight of boiling Distilled 
Water, and, when it has cooled to the temperature of the atmosphere, filter 
through paper. To the filtered liquid add Solution of Ammonia in slight ex- 
cess, and heat them gently over a water-bath. Separate the precipitate on a 
filter, and dry it. Reduce this to coarse powder, and macerate it in successive 
portions of the Pure Ether with frequent agitation. Decant the several products, 
mix, and distil off the ether until the extract is dry. Dissolve the dry extract 
in warm Distilled Water acidulated with the Sulphuric Acid; and, when the 
solution is cold, precipitate it by the cautious addition of Solution of Ammonia 
diluted with four times its bulk of Distilled Water. Wash the precipitate on a 
filter with a small quantity of cold Distilled Water, and dry it by slight pres- 
sure between folds of filtering paper.” Hr. 
The process of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, which is a modification of that of 
Headland, published in a note in a preceding edition of the U. S. Dispensa- 
tory, was substituted for the former U. S. process, because, in consequence of the 
amount of water employed,and the use of animal charcoal,which absorbed much 
of the alkaloid, that formula had proved unproductive. In the present, the pow- 
dered root is exhausted with alcohol by percolation, most of the alcohol distilled 
off. and the residue treated with very dilute sulphuric acid, by which the native 
salt is converted into the sulphate. After the removal of the resinous and oily 
matters that separate, the solution of the sulphate is concentrated, and washed 
with ether, which, without dissolving the sulphate, which is insoluble in that 
menstruum, removes the remaining oil and resin. The addition of ammonia now 
decomposes the sulphate, separating the alkaloid, which in this state is dissolved 
out by repeated agitation with ether; and the process is completed by mixing 
the ethereal solutions, and allowing them to evaporate spontaneously. The 
points in which this process differs from that of Headland, are the use of perco- 
lation to exhaust the root instead of boiling with alcohol, and the washing with 
ether before the addition of ammonia, by which the resin and colouring matter 
are removed. The latter modification originated in a suggestion of Prof. Procter 
in a communication to the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1861, p. 102). 
In the British process, the root is exhausted with alcohol by a combination 
of maceration and percolation, which experience has shown to be unnecessary; 
the resulting tincture is wholly deprived of its alcohol by distillation and 
evaporation ; and the residue thoroughly exhausted by boiling water. The solu- 
tion thus obtained is treated with ammonia; and the precipitate, which contains 
the alkaloid, having been dried and powdered, is exhausted by ether. Lastly, the 
impure aconitia obtained by distilling off the ether, is purified by solution in 
water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and precipitation by ammonia. This pro- 
cess was given to the Pharmacopoeia Committee of the British Council by a 
manufacturer who had been in the habit of preparing the alkaloid. (Garrod.)* 
* A process has recently been published by M. E. Hottot, of France, which is believed 
by the author to yield the alkaloid pure. The powdered root is macerated for eight days 
in alcohol of 85°; the liquid is separated by percolation; slaked lime is added, and the 
mixture shaken from time to time; the liquid is filtered, precipitated by a slight excess of 
sulphuric acid, and evaporated to a syrupy consistence; twice or three times its weight of 
water is added to the residue, the mixture allowed to rest, and the green oil which rises to 
the surface and solidifies at 68° F. removed; the liquid having been passed through a 
moist filter to separate the last portion of oil, is treated with ammonia, and raised totne 984 
Aconitia. 
PART II. 
It is highly probable that more or less of the aconella discovered by the Messrs. 
Smith of Edinburgh in aconite root, and now believed to be identical with nar- 
cotina, is contained in most of the aconitia of commerce. It appears to us that 
it must contaminate the product of the British process, and, if not present in the 
U. S. aconitia, must have been removed by the preliminary washing with ether. 
If great care is taken, in the preparation of aconitia, to avoid the slightest ex- 
cess of sulphuric acid, beyond what is necessary for the solution of this alkaloid, 
the aconella will be left behind; and on the same principle it may be separated 
from aconitia when existing in it. Should a mixture of the two be decolorized 
by animal charcoal, the aconitia would be liable to be absorbed, and the aco- 
nella to be left. (Messrs. Smith, Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1864, p 319.) Whichever 
process is used, care should be taken not to employ the ammonia in great excess, 
as it diminishes the product probably by dissolving the aconitia.* 
Properties. As procured by either of the officinal processes aconitia is 
slightly coloured; but when pure it is perfectly white. As generally obtained 
it is amorphous; but it would seem to be capable of crystallization; for we are 
told that a specimen of aconitia in perfectly defined large crystals was con- 
tributed by Mr. Morson, of London, to the International Exhibition of 1862. 
(Groves, Pharm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser.,viii. 121.)f When obtained by 
precipitation from a watery solution of its salts, it is in the form of a hydrate, 
containing 25 per cent, of water; but it yields its water when heated, and may 
be obtained anhydrous by the spontaneous evaporation of its solution in ether, 
or by precipitation by the alkalies from a boiling solutiou of its salts. In this 
case it forms a compact coagulum. {Hottot.) 
Aconitia probably exists in the plant combined with a vegetable acid, form- 
ing a soluble salt. It is inodorous, and of a bitter and acrid taste, producing 
a benumbing impression on the tongue. It is unalterable in the air, and fusible 
by a gentle heat. It has been usually considered as not volatilizable, being 
decomposed at a high temperature, with the escape of ammonia, and by a con- 
tinuance of the heat entirely dissipated. This statement, however, is contra- 
dicted by the results obtained by Mr. Guy, who found it to melt at 140°, and 
boiling point; the aconitia, which is deposited in a compact mass, and contains much 
resin, is washed, and treated with pure ether, and the ethereal solution allowed to evapo- 
rate ; the residue is dissolved in water acidulated with sulphuric acid, and precipitated by 
ammonia; the coagulum which forms is collected on a filter, dried, and dissolved in ether: 
the ethereal solution is evaporated to dryness, the residue treated with a very little dilute 
sulphuric acid, and the solution precipitated by dilute solution of ammonia added drop by 
drop. The first portion deposited, being coloured, is separated, and the precipitation con- 
tinued till the ammonia is in slight excess. The precipitate now formed is washed until 
freed from ammoniacal odour, and dried at a low temperature. Ten kilogrammes (about 
26 lbs. troy) of the root yield a mean product of from 4 to 6 grammes (jji to of the 
alkaloid, which is perfectly white. (Ann. de Thtrap., 1864, p. 46.)—A'ote to the twelfth 
edition. «. 
* The root of Aconitum ferox, from the E. Indies, is preferable for procuring the alka- 
loid, in consequence of its greater yield. A specimen of this, which we have had the oppor- 
tunity of examining, was in single roots, fusiform, from two and a half to three and a half 
inches long, from half an inch to an inch and a half thick at the thickest part near the 
top, gradually tapering to a point, unequally wrinkled from drying, of a dark-brown col- 
our externally, yellowish internally, hard, with a shining wax-like fracture, and the 
characteristic taste of the aconites in a higb degree. {Note to the tenth edition.) 
f As Dr. Guy and Mr. Waddington, though, with the aid of the process of micro-sub- 
limation, one or both obtained crystalline sublimates of all the alkaloids with one or 
two exceptions, and even succeeded in subliming aconitia, Avere unable to obtain a crys- 
talline sublimate of this alkaloid {Pharm. Journ., July, 1867, p. 11), the inference is 
fair that aconitia, so far as at present known, is essentially uncrystallizable. This is not 
a matter of indifference; for specimens from Germany, sold in the London market as aco- 
nitia, have been partially crystallizable, and the inference is that they were contaminated 
with another alkaloid of aconite, the aconella of the Messrs. Smith, for example, which 
is at the same time readily crystallizable, and wholly destitute of the peculiar physio- 
logical properties of aconitia ; and it is difficult to resist the suspicion, that the aconitia 
of Mr. Morson, mentioned in the text, owed its crystalline character to the same cause. 
That Dr. Groves succeeded in crystallizing certain salts of aconitia is no proof that the 
alkaloid itself is crystallizable. {Note to the thirteenth edition.) PART IT. 
Aconitia. 
985 
to sublime unchanged at about 400°. (Phann. Journ, and Trans., Feb. 1868, 
p. 374.) It is sparingly soluble in water, requiring for solution 150 parts of cold 
and 50 of boiling water. {Phillips.) Alcohol, ether, and chloroform dissolve it 
readily. It restores the blue colour of litmus reddened by acids, and neutral- 
izes the acids, forming crystallizable salts. The solution of these salts produces 
a white precipitate with bichloride of platinum, a yellowish with terehloride 
of gold, and a yellowish-brown with free iodine. Aconitia is precipitated from 
the solution by the caustic alkalies, but not by carbonate of ammonia, or the 
bicarbonates of potassa and soda. (Br.) Its received formula is 
A spurious substance has sometimes been sold under the same name, which is 
nearly or quite inert; and at best the alkaloid is apt to be of uncertain strength, 
as found in the shops. This can be accounted for, now that it is known that 
aconella must have largely contaminated the alkaloid as procured by the pro- 
cesses used, and sometimes may have been the chief ingredient. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This vegetable principle exercises a powerful 
influence over the animal economy. One-fiftieth of a grain dissolved in alcohol 
destroyed a sparrow in a few minutes; and the same quantity, administered 
to an elderly female, is said to have nearly proved fatal. Dr. Garrod has re- 
peatedly known large dogs to be killed by the 50th of a grain; more than half 
an hour usually elapsing before death {Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1864, p. 
146.) In a case of poisoning by aconitia, recorded by Dr. Golding Bird, though 
two grains and a half were taken, the patient ultimately recovered. But, as 
vomiting almost immediately ensued, there is reason to believe that much of 
the poison was thus discharged from the stomach. Besides extreme general 
prostration, indicated by a cold pale surface, and a scarcely perceptible action 
of the heart, the prominent symptoms were convulsive vomiting, recurring 
every minute or two, and fearful spasms of the throat, resembling those of hy- 
drophobia, upon any attempt at swallowing. There was no paralysis, the 
pupils were sensible to light, and the intellect remained perfectly clear. The 
remedies were the hot bath, mustard to the epigastrium, and enemata of oil of 
turpentine, laudanum, and nutriment. {Lond. Med. Gaz., Jan. 1847.) Dr.Van 
Praag found, in his experiments with aconitia on the lower animals, that it 
lessens cerebral power, paralyzes the nerves of voluntary motion, dilates the 
pupil, retards respiration, is uncertain in its influence on the pulse, and destroys 
life either suddenly by asphyxia, or more slowly by exhaustion. 
The observations of M. Hottot, from experiments on himself, are deserving 
of notice, from the great care with which they appear to have been made. From 
doses gradually increased to 3 milligrammes (*046 gr.), M. Hottot experienced, 
immediately, over the whole mucous membrane of the mouth, a sensation of 
acrimony and heat, which rapidly extended to the throat, and somewhat later 
to the stomach. This feeling became more and more intense, with burning and 
numbness of the lips, tongue, pharynx, and a profuse salivation. To these local 
effects were soon added general phenomena, at first uneasiness, weakness, 
heaviness of head, then nausea and frequent yawning, oppression, marked 
muscular debility, tingling over different parts of the body, but especially in 
the face and limbs, and a slightly excited pulse. After a time the weakness 
increased, headache and often lancinating pains of the face supervened, and 
the nausea was attended with vomiting. These were followed by increased 
muscular prostration, still more manifest tinglings, numbness of the limbs, 
swollen features, reduced pulse, difficult breathing, painful burning in the 
throat, and copious sweats. Later still, general prostration came on, the least 
effort produced exhaustion, the breathing became deep and slow, and the pulse 
was sensibly lowered. There was no sleep, and the pupil was moderately di- 
lated ; but the intelligence remained sound. These symptoms continued from 
ten to sixteen hours, and were then gradually relieved, the most persistent 
being irritation of the throat, heaviness of head, and general lassitude. The ef- 
fects were precisely those of aconite itself. Aconitia is little used internally as 
a remedy. M. Hottot, however, has employed it to obtain the effects of aconite, 986 
Aconitia.—AEtherea. 
PART II. 
giving it in the form of pills, each containing the fifth of a milligramme ( 
of a grain), or in a tincture containing one-sixteenth of a grain in the drachm. 
The quantity taken daily was of the pills from 2 to 10, of the tincture from 10 
to 40 drops, in divided doses. Gubler, who seems familiar with the action of 
this alkaloid, states that it is rarely proper to exceed the quantity in a day of 
two milligrammes, taken in four doses, or about the TJ0 of a grain for a dose. 
{Ann. de Therap., 1865, p. 82.) But the internal use of so powerful a medicine 
is hazardous, and should not, we think, be encouraged, as very slight errors 
might lead to the most serious effects; and we can quite as conveniently use 
the tincture. 
Dr. Turnbull was the first to recommend the external use of aconitia; and his 
favourable report has been abundantly confirmed by others. By this writer it is 
said to produce in the skin a sensation of heat and prickling, followed by numb- 
ness ; and the effect continues, according to the quantity applied, from two to 
twelve hours or more. He found it not to act as a rubefacient, or at le ist but 
slightly so. Applied much diluted and in minute quantity to the eye, h causes 
contraction of the pupil, with an almost intolerable sense of heat and tingling. 
Dr. Turnbull employed it with benefit in neuralgia, gout, and rheumatism, lie 
recommends it either in alcoholic solution, in the proportion of a grain to a 
fluidrachm, or in the form of an ointment, made by rubbing two grains of the 
alkaloid first with six drops of alcohol, and then with a drachm of lard. These 
proportions are sufficiently large to begin with, but may be gradually iucreased 
to four or five, or even eight grains to the drachm. The application should be 
made by friction over the part affected, to be continued till the peculiar sensation 
above described is produced, and may be repeated three or four times, or more 
frequently, during the day. iso good can be expected unless the sensation 
alluded to be experienced in a greater or less degree. Care should be taken not 
to apply the medicine to an abraded surface, or to a mucous membrane, for fear 
of dangerous constitutional effects. It has gradually come into extensive use,and 
has the advantages, as an external remedy, over other preparations of aconite, 
of greater neatness and precision. 
Off. Prep. Unguentum Aconitiae, Br. W 
Ethers. 
Ethers are peculiar, fragrant, sweetish, very volatile, and inflammable sub- 
stances, generated for the most part by the action of acids on alcohol. Their 
composition varies with the acid employed in their formation. Sometimes this 
merely acts as a chemical agent on the alcohol, without entering into the com- 
position of the ether generated; in which case the ether may be supposed to 
consist, according to the views that may be adopted of its constitution, either of 
ethylen (etherine), C4II4, and water, or of ethyl, C4H5, and oxygen. In other 
instances, the ethylen theory being admitted for the present, the acid employed 
unites with ethylen and water (the ether just mentioned), or with ethylen only. 
On the basis of these differences of composition, the medicinal ethers may be 
divided into three kinds: 1. those consisting of ethylen and water; 2. those 
consisting of an acid, ethylen, and water; and 3. those composed of an acid and 
ethylen only. Hydric ether is the only medicinal ether of the first kind, nitrous 
ether is an example of the second, and muriatic ether of the third. In medicine, 
the hydric and nitrous ethers, and their modifications, are those most commonly 
employed; though occasionally the muriatic and acetic have been used. In con- 
formity with the new arrangement of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, we shall consider 
under this heading only the ethers themselves, transferring to the Spirits those 
Preparations which are formed by a mixture of the ethers and alcohol, and offi- 
cinally denominated Spirits; as the Spirit and Compound Spirit of Ether, and 
Jie Spirit of Nitrous Ether PART II. 
JEtherea. 
987 
Ethers, from their extreme inflammability, should never be decanted in the 
vicinity of flame. Hence it is prudent not to pour them out near a lighted candle. 
They should be kept in accurately stopped bottles, in a cool place; otherwise 
they are liable to considerable loss by evaporation. B. 
aETHER. U.S., Br. ./Ether Sulphuricus. Ed., Dub. Ether. Sul- 
phuric Ether. Hydric Ether. Hydrate of Ethylen. Oxide of Ethyl. 
“ Take of Stronger Alcohol six pints; Sulphuric Acid thirty-six troyounces ; 
Potassa three hundred and sixty grains; Distilled Water three Jiuidounces. 
To two pints of the Alcohol, contained in a six-pint tubulated retort, gradually 
add the Acid, stirring constantly during the addition. By means of a cork fitted 
to the tubulure, adapt a long funnel-shaped tube, with the lower end drawn out 
so as to form a narrow orifice, and reaching nearly to the bottom of the retort, 
and also a thermometer tube, graduated from 260° to 300°, with its bulb reachi ng 
to the middle of the liquid. Having placed the retort on a sand-bath, connect 
it with a Liebig’s condenser, and this with a well-cooled receiver. Then raise 
the heat quickly until the liquid boils, and attains a temperature between 266° 
and 280°. By means of a flexible tube, connected with the stop-cock of an ele- 
vated vessel containing the remainder of the Alcohol, introduce that liquid into 
the retort, through the funnel-shaped tube, in a continuous stream ; the quantity 
supplied being so regulated, that the temperature of the boiling liquid shall 
continue between the degrees mentioned. After all the Alcohol has been added, 
proceed with the distillation until the temperature rises to 283°, when the pro- 
cess should be discontinued. To the distilled liquid add the Potassa, previously 
dissolved in the Distilled Water, and shake them occasionally together. At the 
end of twenty-four hours, pour off the supernatant liquid, introduce it into a 
retort, and, with a gentle heat, distil into a well-cooled receiver three pints, or 
until the liquid attains the specific gravity 0-750. Lastly, keep the Ether in a 
well-stopped bottle.” U S. 
“ Take of Rectified Spirit fifty Jiuidounces [Imp. meas.] ; Sulphuric Acid ten 
Jiuidounces [Imp. meas.]; Chloride of Calcium ten ounces [avoird ]; Slaked 
Lime half an ounce [avoird.]; Distilled Water thirteen Jiuidounces [Imp. 
meas.]. Mix the Sulphuric Acid with twelve fluidounces of the Spirit in a glass 
matrass capable of containing at least two pints [Imp meas.], and, not allowing 
the mixture to cool, connect the matrass by means of a bent glass tube with a 
Liebig’s condenser, and distil with a heat sufficient to maintain the liquid in brisk 
ebullition. As soon as the ethereal fluid begins to pass over, supply fresh Spirit 
through a tube into the matrass in a continuous stream, and in such quantity as 
to equal the volume of the fluid which distils over. For this purpose use a tube 
furnished with a stop-cock to regulate the supply, connecting one end of the tube 
with a vessel containing the Spirit raised above the level of the matrass, and 
passing the other end through a cork fitted into the matrass. When the whole of 
the Spirit has been added, and forty-two fluidounces have distilled over, the pro- 
cess maybe stopped. Dissolve the Chloride of Calcium in the Water, add ;he 
Lime, and agitate the mixture in a bottle with the impure ether. Leave the 
mixture at rest for ten minutes, pour off the light supernatant fluid, and distil 
it with a gentle heat until a glass bead of specific gravity 0'735 placed in the 
receiver begins to float. The ether and spirit retained by the chloride of cal- 
cium, and by the residue of each rectification, may be recovered by distillation 
and used in a subsequent operation.” Br. 
The preparation of ether embraces two stages; its generation, and its sub- 
sequent rectification to remove impurities. The formulas agree in obtaining it 
by the action of sulphuric acid on alcohol. In the United States process, which 
is adopted, with modifications, from that of the French Codex, one-third of the 
alcohol taken is mixed with the acid, and, while still hot from the reaction, dis- 
tilled from a glass retort, by a heat quickly applied, into a refrigerated receiver. 
When the heat of the mixture has risen to between 266° and 280°, the re- 
mainder of the alcohol is allowed to enter the retort in a continuous stream, 
the supply being so regulated that the heat shall be maintained between the 988 
JEtherea. 
PART II. 
degrees mentioned. By a complicated reaction which will be explained presently, 
the acid converts the alcohol into ether ; and, were it not that the acid becomes 
more and more dilute as the process proceeds, it would be able to etherize an 
unlimited quantity of alcohol. Although the acid, before it becomes too dilute, 
is capable of determining the decomposition of a certain amount of alcohol, yet 
it is not expedient to add this amount at once; as a considerable portion of it 
would distil over undecomposed with the ether. The proper way of proceeding, 
therefore, is that indicated in the formula; namely, to commence the process 
with the use of part of the alcohol, and. when the decomposition is fully estab- 
lished, and a portion of ether has distilled, to add the remainder in a gradual 
manner, so as to replace that which, every moment of the progress of the dis- 
tillation, is disappearing by its conversion into ether. 
In the U. S. process of 1850, the point at which the distillation should cease 
was determined by the proportion of the ether distilled to that of the alcohol 
employed, or by the appearance of white vapours in the retort, which indicate 
the generation of other products beside the ether; but, in the present plan, ar- 
rangements having been made by which the temperature can be determined, the 
degree of heat has been adopted as a better criterion; as it is only when the 
temperature exceeds the pointof 286° indicated, that the production of injurious 
impurities is to be apprehended. The modifications of the old process were made 
in conformity with suggestions by Dr. Squibb, contained in a paper published 
in the Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association for the year 
1858 (p. 890). The direction in the former process to reserve a small portion 
of acid, to be added gradually with the reserved alcohol, upon the supposition 
that the acid in the retort might be too much weakened to perform its part 
duly, has been found upon trial to result in no practical advantage. As the 
proper proportion between the acid and alcohol is that which requires for ebul- 
lition a temperature somewhat above 266°, or that at which the ether is formed, 
there is an obvious propriety in supplying the alcohol just so rapidly as may be 
sufficient to maintain this temperature in the liquid of the retort. If the alcohol 
be supplied so rapidly as to reduce the temperature below the point mentioned, 
alcohol will distil over in undue proportion; if too slowly supplied, the tempera- 
ture will rise so high as to produce other reactions in the materials than that 
required for etherification, and various other products will result. The rising of 
the temperature to 28G°, after all the alcohol has been added, is, therefore, an 
indication that the process should be suspended. Nevertheless, the caution to 
check the process when white vapours appear in the retort is not amiss, as 
affording an additional security that it shall not be carried too far. At the 
temperature of 320°, there would be generated sulphurous acid, heavy oil of 
wine, olefiant gas, and a large quantity of resino-carbonaceous matter, black- 
ening and rendering thick the residuary liquid ; all of them products arising 
from the decomposition of a portion of sulphuric acid, alcohol, and ether. 
The British process is that of the late Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia slightly 
modified. The principles are the same as those of the U. S. process ; but the 
directions about temperature are wanting; and the regulation of the supply of 
alcohol, and the cessation of the operation, are made to depend on the less relia- 
ble method of determining the measure of liquid, in the first place in the retort, 
and in the second place in the receiver; as in the U. S. process of 1850. 
In both processes, whatever care may be taken in conducting them, and to 
stop them in due time, yet the ether obtained is contaminated with sulphurous 
acid, heavy oil of wine, alcohol, and water; and hence its purification becomes 
necessary. This is conducted in different ways, according to the two Pharma- 
copoeias. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs for this purpose an aqueous solution 
of potassa, the British a saturated solution of chloride of calcium (muriate of 
lime), to which a portion of recently slaked lime has been added. In both cases, 
the crude ether is agitated with the purifying agent, and submitted to a new 
distillation at a gentle heat, called the rectification. 
The purifying substances are potassa for sulphurous acid and water, and PART II. 
fEtherea. 
989 
water for alcohol in the U. S. formula; lime for acid, and a saturated solution 
of chloride of calcium for alcohol and water, in the British. The British sub- 
stances for purifying are stated by Dr. Christison to be convenient, and to act 
perfectly and promptly. The chloride of calcium solution, after having been 
used, yields on distillation a further portion of ether of the officinal density; 
and, by concentrating it, filtering while hot, and separating the crystals of 
sulphite of lime which form on cooling, the chloride may be recovered for 
future operations. 
The process for forming ether is conducted with most advantage on a large 
scale. At Apothecaries’ Hall, where the operation is performed in this way, 
the apparatus employed is thus described by Mr. Brande. It “consists of a 
leaden still, heated by means of high pressure steam carried through it in a 
contorted leaden pipe. A tube enters the upper part of the still for the purpose 
of suffering alcohol gradually to run into the acid. The still-head is of pewter, 
and is connected, by about six feet of tin pipe, with a very capacious condens- 
ing apparatus, duly cooled by a current of water. The receivers are of pewter, 
with glass lids, and have a side tube to connect them with the delivering end 
of the condensing pipe.” (Manual of Chemistry, edition of 1848.) For an ac- 
count of the apparatus, used in the U. S. Naval Laboratory for obtaining ether 
by steam on a large scale, see an article by E. R. Squibb, M.D., U. S. Navy, 
contained in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Sept. 1856. 
Properties of Officinal Ether. Notwithstanding the officinal directions for 
purifying ether, it is not absolutely pure as obtained by either of the formulas 
here given. Both contain a considerable proportion of alcohol, the U. S., ac- 
cording to Dr. Squibb, 25 per cent, of 88 per cent, alcohol, the British, accord- 
ing to the Pharmacopoeia, 8 percent, of alcohol by measure. In both, there is 
a little of the light oil of wine. They should, however, be free from various 
impurities, which are too often found in commercial ether, the result of care- 
less operation, or the employment of imperfect processes. As both Pharmaco- 
poeias give special directions for the purification of ether, we shall postpone an 
account of the chemical and remedial properties of the medicine till the pure 
preparation is treated of. (See JEther Fortior.) In the mean time, it will be 
proper to indicate the means of determining the genuineness and purity of the 
proper officinal ethers. Commercial ether varies in sp.gr. from 0733 to 0-765. 
The impurities found in it are excess of alcohol, water, sulphurous and other 
acids, heavy oil of wine, and various fixed substances. 
The IT. S. ether should have the sp. gr. 0*750, and, if heavier than this, must 
contain too much alcohol or water. When shaken with an equal bulk of water 
it should not lose more than from one-fifth to one-fourth of its volume. The 
statement that water takes up only one-tenth has been shown by Dr. Squibb to 
be erroneous. If it take up more than one-fourth, the ether must contain too 
much of alcohol or of water, or both. If the alcohol be in excess, it may be re- 
moved by agitating the liquid with twice its bulk of water, which unites with the 
alcohol, forming a hea vier stratum, from which the ether may be poured off. The 
ether, however, takes up about one-tenth of water, which may be removed bv 
agitation with fresh-burned lime, and subsequent distillation. An easy method 
for detecting and measuring any alcohol present in ether, was given by the 
Edinburgh College; namely, to agitate it, in a minim measure, with half its 
volume of a concentrated solution of chloride of calcium. This will remove the 
alcohol ; and the reduction of the volume of the ether, when it rises to the sur- 
face, will indicate the amount. Heavy oil of wine may be discovered by the ether 
becoming milky upon being mixed with water. If the ether is pure, it wholly 
evaporates in the air, leaving no solid residue. All non-volatile impurities are 
thus detected. It should not redden litmus, showing the absence of acids. The 
point of ebullition is also an indication of the strength of the ether. A test tube, 
full of ether, should, when held in the closed hand, begin to boil on the addi- 
tion of a piece of broken glass. (Squibb ) When evaporating from bibulous 
paper, it should offer only a slight degree of foreign odour, aromatic and free 990 
JEtherca. 
PART II. 
from pungency, and should leave the paper, when dry, nearly or quite odourless. 
This test proves the absence of volatile impurities, except a slight and not inad- 
missible proportion of light oil of wine. (Squibb ) 
The British ether should have the sp. gr. 0135. Fifty measures, agitated 
with an equal volume of water, are reduced to 45 by an absorption of 10 per 
cent. It boils below 105°. It is, therefore, considerably stronger than the 
U. S. ether. In other respects, it should answer to the tests above given. 
In the impure state in which ether is afforded by the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
though it may answer for external application, and may even be given by the 
mouth, yet for purposes of inhalation, which is now the chief use of ether, it is 
scarcely fitted without further purification; and the same is true, though in a less 
degree, of the English preparation. Hence the propriety of the adoption, in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, of the Stronger Ether. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidutn Tannicum ; Ceratum Sabinae, U. S.; Ex- 
tractum Ergotae Liquidum, Br.; Extract. Filicis Liquid., Br.; Extract. Mezerii 
ASthereum, Br.; Extract. Stramonii, Br.; Morphiae Acetas, U.S.; Oleoresina 
Capsici, U. S.; Oleoresina Cubebae, U. S.; Oleoresina Lupulinae, U. S.; Oleo- 
resina Piperis, U. S.; Tinctura Opii Deodorata, 17. 8. 
Off. Prep. AEther Fortior, U. S.; AStlier Purus, Br.; Collodium, Br.; Li- 
quor Epispasticus, Br.; Spiritus AStheris, Br.; Spiritus AEtheris Compositus, 
U. S. B. 
AETHER FORTIOR. U. S. AEtiier Purus. Br. Stronger Ether. Pure 
Ether. 
“ Take of Ether, Water, each, three pints; Chloride of Calcium,in fine powder, 
Lime, in fine powder, each, a troyounce. Shake the Ether and the Water 
thoroughly together,and, when the Water has subsided,separate the supernatant 
ether.' Agitate this well with the Chloride of Calcium and the Lime in a well- 
stopped bottle, and allow the mixture to stand for twenty-four hours. Then de- 
cant the ether into a retort, and, having adapted thereto a Liebig’s condenser, 
distil a pint and a half of Stronger Ether into a receiver refrigerated with ice- 
cold water. Lastly, keep the liquid in a well-stopped bottle. By continuing the 
distillation, a portion of weaker ether may be obtained.” U. S. 
“Take of Ether, Distilled Water, of each, two pints [Imperial measure]; 
Lime, recently burned, a quarter of an ounce [avoirdupois]; Chloride of Cal- 
cium, four ounces [avoird.]. Put the Ether with one pint [Imp. meas.] of the 
Water into a bottle, and shake them together; allow them to remain at rest for 
a few minutes, and, when the two liquids have separated, decant off the super- 
natant ether. Mix this with the remainder of the Water, and again, after sepa- 
ration, decant as before. Put now the washed ether, together with the Lime 
and Chloride of Calcium, into a retort to which a receiver is closely attached, let 
them stand for 24 hours, then distil with the aid of a gentle heat. Sp. gr. not 
exceeding 0120.” Br. 
These formulas are essentially the same; the U. S. limiting the amount dis- 
tilled by the measure, the British by the sp. gr. The ether is first shaken with 
the water, in order that the latter, by its superior affinity for alcohol, may take 
it from the former; and afterwards with the chloride of calcium and lime, to 
separate from the ether the water with which it has itself united in the first step 
of the process. Of course, the lime, for this purpose, must be in its freshly cal- 
cined state, so that it may have had no opportunity to absorb water from the air. 
The subsequent distillation is intended still further to strengthen the ether, the 
less volatile liquids being left in the retort. The lime answers the further pur- 
pose of neutralizing any sulphurous or other acid which the ether may have 
happened to contain. The weaker ether obtained at the end of the process may 
be kept for subsequent purification. It will be noticed that this separate process 
accomplishes more perfectly what is effected by the British formula for ether. 
Even thus prepared, however, the ether, though sufficiently pure for all phar 
maceutical or remedial purposes, is not absolutely pure, still containing a little PAltT II. 
JEtherea. 
991 
alcohol. To meet the intentions of the U. S. process, it must have the sp. gr. 
0‘728 (C-720, Br.), must lose not more than from one-tenth to one-eighth of 
its bulk by agitation with water, and must boil actively when a test-tube, half 
filled with it, is held enclosed in the hand, and a small fragment of glass is drop- 
ped into it. “ Half a fluidounce of it, evaporated from a porcelain plate by cens- 
ing it to (low to and fro over the surface, yields a faintly aromatic odour as the 
last, portions pass off, and leaves the surface without taste or smell, but covered 
with a deposit of moisture.” (U. S.) This last is Dr. Squibb’s test to indicate 
the very minute proportion of light oil of wine that is still contained in the 
ether, and the absence of all other contaminating volatile impurities. The ether 
must not redden litmus; as the presence of acid matter would indicate that it 
had been badly prepared, or had been too long kept. 
Properties. Ether is a colourless, very limpid liquid, of a strong and_sweet 
odour, and hot pungent taste. When perfectly pure it has the sp. gr. 0 713, boils 
at 95°, and forms a vapour which has the density of 2 586. It is not frozen by 
a cold of 166° below zero {Faraday.) It is a very volatile liquid, and, when of 
the sp. gr. 0'720, boils at about 98°. Its extreme volatility causes it to evapo- 
rate speedily in the open air, with the production of considerable cold. Its in- 
flammability is very great, and the products of its combustion are water and car- 
bonic acid. In consequence of this property the greatest care should be used 
not to bring it in the vicinity of flame, as, for example, a lighted candle. One 
of the great advantages of using steam as the source of heat is that it obvi- 
ates, in a great measure, the danger of its accidental inflammation. When too 
long kept it undergoes decomposition, and is converted in part into acetic acid. 
It dissolves iodine and bromine freely, and sulphur and phosphorus sparingly. 
Its power to dissolve corrosive sublimate makes it a useful agent in the manipu- 
lations for detecting that poison. It is also a solvent of volatile and fixed oils, 
many resins and balsams, tannic acid, caoutchouc, and most of the organic vege- 
table alkalies. It does not dissolve potassa and soda, in which respect it differs 
from alcohol. Water dissolves a tenth of its volume of ether, and reciprocally 
ether takes up about the same proportion of water. When water dissolves more 
than a tenth of its volume, the ether is shown to contain an undue quantity of 
water or alcohol, or of both. Ether unites in all proportions with alcohol. 
Composition and Theory of its Production. Ether consists of four eqs. of 
carbon, five of hydrogen, and one of oxygen, and its empirical formula is C41I50. 
In volumes it consists of four volumes of carbon vapour, five volumes of hydro- 
gen, and half a volume of oxygen, condensed into one volume. Its proximate 
constituents may be considered to be one eq. of etbylen (etherine) and one of 
water; or, in volumes, one volume of ethylen vapour and one volume of aqueous 
vapour, condensed into one volume. This view makes it a hydrate of ethylen 
(C4I14 + IIO). The sp. gr. of its vapour, calculated on this constitution in vo- 
lume, is 2-5817, which is very near 2-586, the number obtained by experiment. 
By most chemists, however, the constituents of the ethylen, together with the 
hydrogen of the alleged water, are supposed to form a peculiar radical, consist- 
ing of C4IIV to which the name of ethyl lias been given. On this view, ether is 
an oxide of ethyl (C4H5 -f 0). The view is confirmed by Dr. E. Frankland, who 
has isolated ethyl by acting on iodide of ethyl with zinc. As described by him, 
•ethyl is a colourless, inflammable gas, of the sp. gr. 2, incondensible at zero, but 
condensible, under a pressure of 2-25 atmospheres at 37'5°, into a colourless, 
mobile liquid. Ether was formerly called sulj)huric ether, in allusion to the sul- 
phuric acid employed in its preparation ; but it contains no sulphuric acid, and 
an identical ether may be obtained by the action of other substances on alcohol. 
Hence the epithet sulphuric is improperly applied to it; and, accordingly, its 
name was changed from JEther Svlphuricus to JEther in the U. S. and Br. 
Pharmacopoeias of 1850 and 1851. Those who consider ether as a compound 
of ethylen and water, call it hydric ether, or hydrate of ethylen; but its more 
pr 'bable constitution is expressed by the name, oxide of ethyl; and this view of 
its nature will be adopted in our subsequent remarks. 992 
JEtherea.. 
PART II. 
With a view to determine in what manner sulphuric acid acts upon alcohol in 
order to convert it into ether, it is necessary that a comparison should be insti- 
tuted between the composition of the two latter fluids. Now alcohol is a hydrated 
oxide of ethyl, and ether is oxide of ethyl without water. It follows, therefore, 
that, to convert alcohol into ether, it is only necessary to abstract the water of 
the former. The agent in effecting this abstraction is evidently the sulphuric 
acid, which is known to have a strong affinity for water; but its action is not 
direct as originally supposed, but intermediate, as was first pointed out by the 
late Mr. Hennell. This chemist found that, when two eqs. of sulphuric acid and 
one of alcohol were merely mixed, the acid lost a portion of its saturating 
power, and a new acid was formed, to which he gave the name of sulphovinic 
acid (the etherosulphuric acid, of Liebig). In view of its composition it may 
be called a bisulphate of alcohol, or, which is the same thing, a bisulphate of 
ether with one eq. of water, that is, a double sulphate of ether and water. When 
one cq. of this compound is heated it is decomposed ; two eqs. of sulphuric acid 
with one eq of water remain in the retort, while one eq. of ether distils over. 
If the original proportion of acid and alcohol continued the same throughout 
the whole of the distillation, all the alcohol would be resolved into ether and 
water; but, during the progress of the process, the alcohol is constantly di- 
minishing, and of course the relative excess of the acid becoming greater; and 
at last a point of time arrives when the excess of acid is so great that the 
generation of ether ceases. As these results depend upon the relative deficiency 
of the alcohol, while the acid remains unchanged in amount, it is easy to under- 
stand why it is advantageous to introduce alcohol gradually into the distilling 
vessel during the progress of the distillation; for, by this addition, the proper 
proportion of the alcohol to the acid is maintained. But the decomposing power 
of the acid has its limit; as it becomes at last too dilute to act upon the alcohol, 
notwithstanding a considerable portion of water, towards the close of the dis- 
tillation, passes over with the ether. 
The above theory of etherification was called in question, in 1851, by Prof. 
Graham, of London, who succeeded in producing ether without distillation, 01 
the formation of sulphovinic acid, by using a larger proportion of alcohol than 
is ordinarily employed. The reaction was made to take place in sealed glass 
tubes heated for a short time to a temperature between 284° and 352°. The 
sulphuric acid appeared to act by mere contact with the alcohol, in determining 
the production of ether, without combining with anything. For a new theory 
of etherification see an article by M. E. Robiquet, in the Journal de Pharmacie 
et de Chinxie for Sept. 1854. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ether is a powerful diffusible stimulant, pos- 
sessed also of expectorant, antispasmodie, and narcotic properties. In low fevers 
attended with subsultus tendinum, it proves beneficial as a stimulant and anti- 
spasmodic. In these cases it is frequently conjoined with laudanum. It is useful 
also in nervous headache unattended with vascular fulness, and generally in ner- 
vous and painful diseases which are unaccompanied by inflammation. In nausea 
it is given as a cordial; and in cramp of the stomach and flatulent colic it some- 
times yields prompt relief. Given alone, or mixed with oil of turpentine, it re- 
lieves the pain and spasm caused by the passage of biliary calculi. According 
to Mr. Brande, a small teaspoonful of ether, mixed with a glass of white wine, 
is often an effectual remedy in sea-sickness. In a case of chronic functional vo- 
miting, Dr. Galante, of Arpino, found ether, given in capsules, of singular efficacy. 
Ether has recently received a new application from Dr. Lortet, of France, lie 
uses it for the expulsion of the tapeworm, first administering a large dose of 
the ether, which renders the worm insensible, and thus disables it from holding 
its place in the bowels, and following this with a purgative medicine which 
expels the parasite. He gives 20 grammes (about 5 drachms) of ether at one 
dose, and two hours afterwards 30 grammes (between 7 and 8 drachms) of 
castor oil. He has found the remedy successful in all the cases, though not yet 
numerous, in which he has tried it. (Ranking's Abstract, xlv. 75; from Gaz. PART II. 
JEtherea. 
993 
Med. de Paris.) This dose of ether is very large; and the probability is that, 
by giving it at the same time as the purgative, and thoroughly mixed with it, 
the latter might convey it immediately into the intestines, where the worms 
are seated, and thus render a much smaller quantity sufficient. When exter- 
na’ly applied ether may act either as a stimulant or refrigerant. Thus, it operates 
as a powerful rubefacient, and may even vesicate, when its evaporation is re- 
pressed; but, when this is allowed to take place freely, it is refrigerant in con- 
sequence of the cold which it produces. In the latter way it has been em- 
ployed in strangulated hernia, dropped on the tumour and allowed to evaporate. 
Dr. J. Nunn, of Savannah, Ga., praises its effect as a local anaesthetic in recent)* 
burns, applied, guttatim, from a bottle, while the part is subjected to a stream of 
air. (Charleston Med. Journ., Sept. 1855.) It sometimes produces immediate 
relief when dropped into the ear in earache. It may sometimes be used with 
great effect as a styptic in local hemorrhage. A case is related in which ex- 
cessive bleeding from the socket of an extracted tooth, which had failed to 
yield to various other remedies, was checked at once by directing into the 
bleeding cavity the spray of ether by means of an atomizer (Lancet, May 16, 
1868, p. 641.) Another external employment of ether, introduced by Dr. 13. 
W. Richardson, of London, is by the direction of its spray, by means of the 
atomizer or other similar instrument, upon any exposed portion of the body, 
to produce such a degree of cold in the part as to render it perfectly insensible, 
and thus enable the surgeon to operate upon it without causing pain. (See Dr. 
Wood’s Treatise on Therapeutics and Pharmacology, 3d ed , ii. 15.) For ex- 
ternal use, the unrectified ether is sufficiently pure. The dose of ether is from 
fifty drops to a teaspoonful, to be repeated frequently when the full effect of the 
remedy is desired. When used habitually, the dose must be much increased to 
produce a given effect. It may be perfectly incorporated with water or any 
aqueous mixture, by first rubbing it up with spermaceti, employed in the pro- 
portion of two grains for each fluidrachm of the ether. (Durand ) 
A syrup of ether is directed by the French Codex. MM. J. Regnault and 
Adrian, after a thorough investigation of the solubility of ether in solutions of 
sugar, offer the following formula. Take of sugar 440 parts, distilled water 400 
parts, alcohol at 90° 50 parts, pure ether 20 parts. Put into a bottle, shake, 
and preserve. The whole of this might be given at a dose, if the parts taken 
are represented by grains. {Journ. de Pharm., Janv. 1868.) 
Ether is conveniently administered in capsules, each containing four or five 
minims of pure ether, according to the plan of M. Clertan, of Dijon. These 
capsules are made of sugared gum. (See Capsules of Gelatin in Part III.) Cap- 
sules of ether, also called pearls of ether, are inodorous, will keep foi a year 
at least without loss,and furnish the means of introducing ether into the stomach, 
without irritating the mouth and throat. In a few seconds after they arrive in 
the stomach, they burst and diffuse their effects with singular rapidity. Analo- 
gous effects are produced when they are introduced into the rectum or vagina. 
Ether may be gelatinized by the process of M. Grimault. This consists in briskly 
shaking, in a stoppered bottle, four measures of ether, free from alcohol and 
acid, with one measure of white of egg. Gelatinized ether is'an opaline trem- 
bling jelly, which may be spread with the greatest facility. It may be used as 
a local anaesthetic, applied to the seat of pain, spread on linen, and covered with 
a piece of cloth or of sheet caoutchouc. Gelatinized ether will not keep, but 
must be prepared at the time it is wanted. 
Etherization. Ether may be exhibited by inhalation. Many years ago, its 
use in this way was proposed by Drs. Beddoes, Pearson, and Thornton, of Eng- 
land, in certain diseases of the lungs. As early as 1805, the late Dr Warren, 
of Boston, employed ethereal inhalation to relieve the distress attending the last 
stage of pulmonary inflammation. About the year 1812, in Philadelphia, at a 
time when the nitrous oxide was the subject of popular lectures, the vapour of 
ether was frequently breathed from a bladder for experiment or diversion ; and 
its effects in producing transient intoxication, analogous to that caused by the 994 
jfitherea. 
PART II 
nitrous oxide, were observed. It was not, however, until October. 1840, that 
attention was particularly drawn to ethereal inhalation as a remedy for pain. 
In that month, I)r. Warren, of Boston, was applied to by Dr. W. T. G. Morton, 
dentist of that city, to ascertain by trial whether an agent which he had suc- 
cessfully employed to render painless the extracting of teeth, would be equally 
successful in preventing the pain of surgical operations. This agent was the 
vapour of ether. Dr. Warren acceded to this request, and shortly afterwards, at 
the Massachusetts General Hospital, performed a severe operation, without pain 
to the patient, under the influence of ether, administered by Dr. Morton. A few 
•days subsequently, Dr. C. T. Jackson, of Boston, in conversation with Dr. War- 
ren, claimed to have first made known to Dr. Morton the use of ethereal vapour 
for the prevention of pain in dental operations. 
From this beginning.theemployment of ether by inhalation for the prevention 
and removal of pain, has spread throughout the civilized world. The effect pro- 
duced,called etherization,probably takes place through the medium of the blood. 
It is sometimes partial, suspending sensibility, without abolishing consciousness; 
so that the patient, without feeling pain, is aware of everything that is passing 
around him. At other times, a perfect unconsciousness is produced. 
Etherization is usefully resorted to in all severe operations, not merely as a 
remedy for pain, but as a means of preventing the shock which the system would 
otherwise suffer as a consequence of pain. Under full etherization, even the 
actual cautery maybe extensively applied, without causing the least suffering. 
In many cases, the incidental power of ethereal vapour as a relaxing agent is 
usefully brought into play; as in the treatment of strictures of the urethra and 
oesophagus, strangulated hernia, retention of urine, dislocations, fractures, an- 
chylosis, &c. In all these cases, the necessary surgical manipulations are very 
much interfered with by the muscular contractions excited by pain. This is par- 
ticularly the case in dislocations, and in fractures attended with shortening of 
the limb. In partial anchylosis, etherization enables the surgeon in many cases 
to break up the adhesions, without pain to the patient, or resistance from the 
muscles. In lithotomy andlithotrity, the inordinate contraction of the muscular 
coat of the bladder is prevented or diminished. In short, in most cases in which 
the necessary surgical measures are likely to involve severe pain, or to encounter 
resistance, as in children, etherization may be usefully employed. 
Etherization has been employed for the detection of feigned diseases, by sus- 
pending the operation of the will; in neuralgia, as a palliative; in tetanus, and 
in the spasms produced by an overdose of strychnia, as an antispasmodic; in 
asthma and chronic bronchitis, as an expectorant; and in dysmenorrhcea, as an 
anodyne and relaxing remedy. Dr. Warren found it useful in relieving the ago- 
nizing sufferings which often attend the latter complaint. In midwifery it is 
extertsively employed as a safe agent; and, while it does not seem materially to 
interfere with the due contraction of the uterus, it promotes the relaxation and 
lubricating secretions of the soft parts. In vivisections, humanity calls for the 
use of ether vapour, or other anesthetic agent. 
Ethereal vapour is most conveniently inhaled through a soft sponge,hollowed 
out on one side to receive the projection of the nose, and saturated with ether 
of the purest quality. The sponge, thus prepared, is applied over the nostrils, 
through which the inhalation should be made in preference to the mouth. When 
the inhalation is thus conducted through a sponge, the ethereal vapour is copi- 
ously mixed with air, and there is no fear of inducing asphyxia. At first a short 
cough is generally produced, but this soon disappears; and, after the lapse of 
from two to five minutes, and the expenditure of about two fluidounces of ether, 
the quantity being very variable in different cases, the patient becomes insensi- 
ble, and appears as if in a deep, almost apoplectic sleep. The usual signs of 
the full effect of the ether are the closure of the eyelids, muscular relaxation, 
and inability to answer questions. During the whole process of etherization, 
the fingers should be kept on the pulse ; and, if it become feeble and very slow, 
the sponge should be removed until the circulation becomes more free. At first PART II. 
JEtherea. 
995 
there is redness, afterwards paleness of the faee and neck, succeeded by cold 
perspirations. Should the etherization provTe excessive, or convulsions supervene, 
an event which rarely happens, the ether must be immediately withdrawn, and 
cold water freely applied. This is the mode of proceeding in surgical operations; 
in midwifery cases, partial etherization is often sufficient. In a few cases per- 
sons become unmanageable under the influence of the ethereal vapour; and 
hence the propriety of a preliminary trial of its effects on a patient, before sub- 
jecting him to a surgical operation. In a few instances etherization has produced 
alarming remote effects. Dr. F. D. Lente has repoi'ted three cases of this kind. 
(New York Journ. of Med., Nov. 1856.) Sometimes death has ensued; but 
the instances are extremely rare, in which a fatal result could be clearly traced 
to the direct influence of the ether. The Boston Society for Medical Improve- 
ment, having, by a committee, examined carefully into the subject of death 
from the inhalation of ether, declare, through their committee, that, though 
the reported cases of death which had been ascribed to this cause amounted 
to 41, yet in no one of the cases investigated by them was the fatal result 
fairlv ascribable to etherization. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., May 28, 1868, 
p. 272.) 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Aconitia; Atropise Sulphas, 17. S.; Digitalinum, 
Br.; Oleoresina Zingiberis, U. S. 
Of. Prep. Collodium, U. S.; Collodium cum Cantharide, U. S.; Oleum 
AUthereum, U. S. B. 
CHLOROFORMUM PURIFICATUM. U. S. Chloroformum. 
Br., U. S. 1850. Purified Chloroform. 
“Take of Commercial Chloroform one hundred and tivo troyounces; Sul- 
phuric Acid seventeen troyounces; Stronger Alcohol six Jluidrachms; Carbo- 
nate of Potassa tivo troyounces. Add the Acid to the Chloroform, and shake 
them together occasionally during twenty-four hours. Separate the lighter 
liquid from the heavier, and mix it with the Stronger Alcohol. Then add the 
Carbonate of Potassa, previously heated to redness, and rubbed, while warm, 
Into powder. Agitate the mixture thoroughly, and, by means of a water-bath, 
distil to dryness from a retort furnished with a condenser. Lastly, keep the dis- 
tilled liquid in well-stopped bottles.” U. S. 
“Take of Chlorinated Lime ten pounds [avoirdupois] ; Rectified Spirit thirty 
ftuidounces [Imperial measure] ; Slaked Lime a sufficiency; Water three gal- 
lons [Imp. meas.] ; Sulphuric Acid a sufficiency; Chloride of Calcium, in small 
fragments, two ounces [avoird.j; Distilled W atev nine Jluidounces [Imp. meas.]. 
Place the Water and the Spirit in a capacious still, and raise the mixture to the 
temperature of 100°. Add the Chlorinated Lime and five pounds [avoird.] of 
the Slaked Lime, mixing thoroughly. Connect the still with a condensing 
worm encompassed by cold water, and terminating in a narrow-necked receiver ; 
and apply heat so as to cause distillation, taking care to withdraw the fire the 
moment the process is well established. When the distilled product measures 
fifty ounces, the receiver is to be withdrawn. Pour its contents into a gallon 
[Imp. meas.] bottle half filled with Water, mix well by shaking, and set at rest 
for a few minutes, when the mixture will separate into two strata of different 
densities. Let the lower stratum, which constitutes crude chloroform, be washed 
by agitating it in a bottle with three [fluid]ounees of the Distilled Water. Allow 
the Chloroform to subside, withdraw the water, and repeat the washing with the 
rest of the Distilled Water, in successive quantities of three [fluid]ounces at a 
time. Agitate the washed Chloroform for five minutes in a bottle with an equal 
volume of Sulphuric Acid, allow the mixture to settle, and transfer the uppe” 
stratum of liquid to a flask containing the Chloride of Calcium mixed with half 
an ounce of Slaked Lime, which should be perfectly dry. Mix well by agitation. 
After the lapse of an hour connect the flask with a Liebig’s condenser, and 
distil over the pure Chloroform by means of a water-bath. Preserve the product 
in a cool place, in a bottle furnished with an accurately ground stopper. The 
lighte r liquid which floats on the crude Chloroform after its agitation with 996 
JEtherea. 
PART II. 
water, and the washings with Distilled Water, should be preserved, and em- 
ployed in a subsequent operation.” Br. 
In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 a process was given for preparing chlo- 
roform ; but as this is never made on a small scale by the apothecary, but pur- 
chased of the manufacturer, it was very properly transferred, at the late revision, 
tc the Materia Medica Catalogue. But, as the chloroform of commerce is often 
impure, and, though fitted for external use, and for various pharmaceutical pur- 
poses, is, in this impure state, unfit for use as a respiratory anaesthetic agent, it 
was deemed advisable to introduce a formula by which its purification, if re- 
quired, might be readily effected. This process is the first of those above given. 
The process of the British Pharmacopoeia is for the preparation of the chloro- 
form ab initio, with directions which secure its purity if complied with. In this 
process, the reaction by which the chloroform is produced takes place between 
the chlorinated lime and the alcohol; the slaked lime, which is added in accord- 
ance with the directions in the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia, being intended pro- 
bably to lessen the production of the chlorinated pyrogenous oil, the amount of 
which is greater, according to Soubeiran and Mialhe, in proportion to the rela- 
tive excess of the chlorine to the lime employed. The use of this earth is stated 
by some chemists to give rise to Dutch liquid, C4H4CH , and to increase the pro- 
duct at the expense of its purity. As first distilled, the chloroform is very impure, 
and is directed to be washed first with ordinary water, and afterwards with dis- 
tilled water, which separate alcohol, chlorine, and probably other contaminating 
substances. In consequence of the density of the chloroform and its insolubility 
in water, it readily subsides, forming a distinct layer which may be easily sepa- 
rated. The crude product, after having been freed from alcohol by the washing 
with water, is purified from the chlorinated pyrogenous oil, which comes over 
with the chloroform, by agitation with an equal volume of sulphuric acid, which 
ought to he pure and colourless, and at least of the density l-840. The oil is 
charred and destroyed by the acid, which becomes yellow or reddish-brown, 
and is partially changed into sulphurous acid. To remove the latter acid, as well 
as any water present, the chloroform, which floats on the surface of the acid, is 
removed and agitated well with chloride of calcium and slaked lime, and then 
again submitted to distillation. According to Gregory and Kemp, of Edin 
burgh, by whom the use of sulphuric acid for this purpose was proposed, chlo- 
roform is effectually purified from the pyrogenous oil by agitation with this acid 
if strong and pure. So long as a ring, darker than the rest of the acid, appears, 
8,fter rest, at the line of contact between the acid and the chloroform, the agita- 
tion must be repeated; and the oil is known to be fully separated when the acid 
remains colourless. Deutoxide of manganese has been employed to separate the 
sulphurous acid; but, in this case, the chloroform is apt to become, after the 
lapse of a few weeks, of a delicate pink colour, which sometimes disappears and 
then returns. This coloration depends upon the presence of manganese, and 
forms an objection to the use of the deutoxide as a purifier. 
In the U. S. process the method of purification is somewhat different. In- 
stead of equal measures of the impure chloroform and sulphuric acid and an 
agitation for only 5 minutes, the commercial chloroform is shaken occasionally 
for 24 hours with but one-sixth of its weight of the acid. To remove any 
water and acid that maybe present, instead of chloride of calcium and lime, a 
little stronger alcohol is mixed with the chloroform, and then carbonate of 
potassa previously heated to redness, and the mixture is distilled to dryness 
It sometimes happens that the chloroform purified with sulphuric acid, 
though apparently pure at first, will not keep; but, after some time, becomes so 
loaded with chlorine and muriatic acid as to be altogether unfit for respiration. 
Dr. Christison ascertained that, if the sulphuric acid employed contains hypo- 
nitric acid, the chloroform changes in less than 24 hours. The idea has been 
entertained that it would be necessary to abandon sulphuric acid as a purifying 
agent; but experience has shown that, with certain precautions, it may be safely 
used; and its efficiency in getting rid of the empyreumatic impurity is so great PART II. 
JEtherea. 
997 
that it is still much employed for the purpose. The British Council endeavours 
to escape the difficulty by using a large quantity of the acid, and allowing but 
very brief contact; while, in the U. S. process, the same end is arrived at by em- 
ploying a comparatively small quantity of the acid, with a much longer period for 
its operation. In any case, however, the acid should be strong and pure, and espe- 
cially free from any of the nitrogen acids; and care should afterwards be taken to 
remove every particle of the sulphuric or sulphurous acid, as is done in the 
officinal processes, in one by lime, and in the other by carbonate of potassa. Dr. 
Squibb attributes the fact, that chloroform purified by concentrated sulphuric 
acid does not keep well, to the very purity attained. He believes that per- 
fectly pure chloroform is prone to decomposition, and is rendered more stable 
by the addition of a small proportion of alcohol, so as to reduce its density to 
the officinal standard, 1'49. This he effects by adding alcohol in the proportion 
of ten drops to each fluidounce of good chloroform of maximum density. (See 
his paper on Chloroform in the New York American Medical Monthly for 
July, 1851.) This recommendation is carried into effect in the U. S. process, 
and explains the addition of alcohol before distillation. Dr. Gregory also at- 
tributes the tendency to decomposition to its purity, and to the action of sun- 
light ; having found that those portions which he had purified with the greatest 
care were soonest decomposed under the influence of light. 
As chloroform of great purity is often to be purchased in the market, it is 
not necessary for the apothecary to apply the officinal process of purification 
to every parcel that he may meet; but it is in the highest degree incumbent 
on him to sell none for inhalation which is not so pure as to stand the tests 
given in the Pharmacopoeia, and if he can obtain none so pure, then to purify 
it himself. All pure specimens, moreover, should be kept distinct, and labelled 
with the officinal title of Purified Chloroform, for the sake of distinction. 
Chloroform maybe made by the action of chlorinated lime on pyroxylic 
spirit (wood spirit); but when thus prepared it is largely contaminated with a 
chlorinated pyrogeuous oil, analogous to that already mentioned as being found 
in small proportion in chloroform prepared from alcohol. Chloroform, thus pre- 
pared, called methylic chloroform, is purified with too much difficulty to be 
advantageously substituted for that made with alcohol, called by Soubeiran 
normal chloroform. In Great Britain chloroform is now obtained by the use 
of methylated spirit; and the preparation, when properly purified, is stated 
to answer every purpose to which it is applied equally well with that obtained 
by the use of alcohol. (See Methylic Alcohol in Part III.) 
Messrs. Duncan and Flockhart, druggists of Edinburgh, manufactured chloro- 
form on a large scale, in a peculiar apparatus, using the proportions of 20 parts 
of chlorinated lime, about 3 75 parts of rectified spirit, and 60 parts of water. 
They employed two large wooden barrels as a still, and a third as a receiver, and 
into the former threw steam, which furnished both sufficient heat and water for 
the process. Sixty pounds of chlorinated lime were used by them at each distilla- 
tion ; and they were able to manufacture three hundred ounces of chloroform a 
day. The heavy layer of the distillate, constituting the impure chloroform, was 
purified by them by mixing it with half its measure of strong sulphuric acid, 
gradually added, and distilling the mixture, when cool, in a leaden retort, from 
as much carbonate of baryta by weight as of acid used by measure. The pro- 
duct was finally distilled from quicklime, after having stood over the earth, and 
been repeatedly shaken with it, for a day or two. Though sulphuric acid is used 
in this long-tried process, it may be presumed that the chloroform made by it 
is not liable to undergo the change which takes place in that prepared by Gre- 
gory’s process. It will be observed, however, that the product, after the action 
of the sulphuric acid, is successively distilled from baryta and lime.* 
Pettenkofer inferred, from numerous experiments on the manufacture of 
* In the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for Jan. 1862 (p. 26) is an account by Prof. Procter 
of the method employed by Messrs. Rogers and Crew, of Philadelphia, wholesale manu- 
facturers of chloroform, and the apparatus used by them. 998 
JEtherea. 
PART ir. 
chloroform, that very different quantities are obtained, on different occasions, 
from the same amount of materials, and the same process. The yield is less, the 
longer the mixture is allowed to stand before distillation, and is greater when 
the heat of the mixture is between 135° and 167° F. than at either a lower or 
higher temperature. When the latter degree is exceeded, the chloroform con- 
tains more chlorine. (Buchner’s Neues Be/pert., x. 103.) 
Discovery and History. Chloroform was discovered by Mr. Samuel Guthrie, 
of Sackett’s Harbor, N. Y., in L831, and about the same time by Soubeiran in 
France, and Liebig in Germany. Guthrie obtained it by distilling a gallon from 
a mixture of three pounds of chlorinated lime and two gallons of alcohol of the 
sp.gr. 0 844, and rectifying the product by redistillation, first from a great ex- 
cess of chlorinated lime, and afterwards from carbonate of potassa. (Silliman's 
Journal, vol. xxi., Jim. 1832, p. (54.) In a subsequent letter to Professor Silli- 
man, dated Feb. 15th, 1832, Mr. Guthrie states that the substance which lie had 
obtained, “distilled off sulphuric acid, has the specific gravity of l'48t>, or a 
little greater, and may then be regarded as free from alcohol; and if a little 
sulphuric acid which sometimes contaminates it be removed by washing it with 
a strong solution of carbonate of potassa, it may then be regarded as absolutely 
pure.” {Ibid., vol. xxii., July, 1832, p. 105.) It is thus evident that Mr. Guthrie 
obtained, in a pure state,the substance now called chloroform; but he erroneously 
supposed his product to be the well-known oily liquid of the Dutch chemists, 
which it greatly resembles, and for the preparation of which he believed he had 
fallen on a cheap and easy process. Under this impression, he called the sub- 
stance, in his communications, chloric ether, one of the names by which the 
Dutch liquid, ox bichloride of ethylen, is designated. He was induced to make 
the preparation from noticing, in Professor Silliman’s Elements of Chemistry, a 
reference to the Dutch liquid as a grateful diffusible stimulant, when properly 
diluted with alcohol and water.- In relation to the anticipated importance of 
chloroform, Mr. Daniel B. Smith, of this city, held the following language in 
July, 1832. “The action of this ether on the living system is interesting, and 
may hereafter render it an object of importance in commerce. Its flavour is de- 
licious, and its intoxicating qualities equal to or surpassing those of alcohol. 
It is a strong diffusible stimulus, similar to the hydrated ether, but more grate- 
ful to the taste.” {Journ. of the Pliilad. Gol. of Pharm., iv. 118.) 
Properties. Chloroform is a limpid, colourless, volatile, neuter liquid, having 
a bland ethereal odour, and hot, aromatic, saccharine taste. It neither reddens 
nor bleaches litmus paper. It is but slightly soluble in water; one hundred 
parts of that liquid taking up but one part of chloroform. Its sp. gr. is from 
P49 to P494 ( U. S ), 1 '49 (Br.)\ but when of this density it contains a small 
proportion of alcohol. Gregory has obtained it of the density 1'5 at 60°. It boils 
at 140°. It is not inflammable, but renders the flame of an alcohol lamp yellow 
and fuliginous. It burns, however, with a smoky flame, when mixed with an 
equal volume of alcohol. When pure, it has no action on potassium, except to 
cover the surface of the metal with small bubbles of gas. Chloroform is a 
powerful antiseptic. It does not, like creasote, coagulate albumen. It is scarcely 
acted on by sulphuric acid in the cold, but dissolves readily in alcohol and ether. 
The alcoholic solution, when moderately diluted with water, forms an aromatic, 
saccharine liquid of a very grateful taste A strong alcoholic solution is decom- 
posed by abundance of water, the chloroform separating and subsiding, and the 
alcohol uniting with the water. It is liable to decomposition by sunlight, or 
even diffused daylight; and hence the propriety of keeping it in bottles, covered 
with dark paper, in a rather dark place. Chloroform has extensive solvent 
powers, being capable of dissolving caoutchouc, gutta-percha, mastic, elemi, 
tolu, benzoin, and copal. Amber, sandarac, lac, and wax are only partially 
soluble. It also dissolves iodine, bromine, the organic alkalies, the fixed and 
volatile oils, most resins, and fats. It dissolves sulphur and phosphorus spar- 
ingly. It possesses the power of dissolving a large quantity of camphor, and 
furnishes the means of administering that medicine in an elegant form. As a. PART II. 
AEtherea, 
999 
general solvent, it has the advantage over ether of not being inflammable; the 
inflammability of the latter being the cause of frequent accidents. For an ex- 
tensive list of substances, soluble, insoluble, and partly soluble in chloroform, see 
a paper by M. Lepage, of Gisors, France, copied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
for April, 1852, p. 147.* 
Composition. Chloroform is composed of three eqs. of chlorine and one of 
formyl, and is, therefore, the terchloride of formyl. As formyl is a bicarburet of 
hydrogen, the formula of chloroform is C2IIC13. Its composition was first accu- 
rately determined by Dumas in 1835, by whom it was called chloroform from its 
relation 1o formic acid (C21I03), being formic acid with its three eqs. of oxygen 
replaced by three of chlorine. When first obtained by Liebig, he supposed it to 
consist exclusively of chlorine and carbon ; and hence the origin of the erroneous 
name, sometimes applied to it, of perchloride of carbon. 
The rationale of the formation of chloroform has not been well made out. If 
alcohol be considered a bihydrate of ethylen, C4H4-f 21IO, it maybe presumed 
to be generated by the removal from the ethylen of two eqs. of carbon, and the 
substitution of three eqs. of chlorine for three of hydrogen. Thus C II— C EL 
+ C13 = C2HC13. 
Impurities and Tests. Chloroform is liable to contain alcohol and ether, both 
of which lower its specific gravity. If it have a less density than l-38, it will 
float instead of sinking in a mixture, of equal weights of concentrated sulphuric 
acid and water, after it has cooled. M. Mialhe has proposed the following test 
for the presence of alcohol. Drop into distilled water a small quantity of the 
chloroform. If pure, it will remain transparent at the bottom of the glass; but, 
if it contain even a small proportion of alcohol, the globules will acquire a milky 
appearance. Soubeiran’s method was to agitate almond oil and chloroform 
together in a tube. If the chloroform is pure it remains clear, if it contains as 
much as 5 or 6 per cent, of alcohol, it becomes milky. (Journ. de Pharm., A out, 
I860, p. 95.) Prof. Procter detects alcohol by adding the suspected chloro- 
form to an oxidizing mixture of bichromate of potassa and sulphuric acid. If 
alcohol be present, the deep-orange colour of the chromic mixture will gradually 
become green; if absent, no change of colour will take place. (Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1856, p. 213.) Alcohol is detected also by potassium or sodium, 
which colours the chloroform containing this impurity, and gives rise to sharp 
acid fumes. But the most sensitive test is probably a compound newly discov- 
ered by M. Iloussin, the binitrosulphuret of iron, a little of which agitated with 
chloroform and then allowed to stand, if there be the least proportion of alcohol, 
will produce a brown tint, deeper in proportion to the quantity, while the chlo- 
roform if pure will remain unchanged. To obtain this compound it is sufficient 
to mix nitrate of potassa and hydrosulphate of ammonia in solution, and to add a 
solution of protosulphate of iron, stirring constantly, until the liquid has but a 
slightly alkaline reaction, then evaporating to dryness, treating the residue with 
etherized alcohol on a filter, and evaporating the liquor so that it may crystallize. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 208.) The most injurious impurities are the 
chlorinated pyrogenous oils, already alluded to. These are different as obtained 
from methylic or normal chloroform. The oil, obtained by Soubeiran and Mialhe 
from methylic chloroform, is an oleaginous, yellow liquid, lighter than water, 
and of a peculiar nauseous empyreumatic odour, perceptible in the methylic 
* The following table of the solubility of the several alkaloids and their salts in chloro- 
form, prepared with great care by A. Schlimpert, may be of some practical use. At 64° F. 
100 parts of chloroform dissolve 
Morphia 
Acetate of morphia.... 
Quinia 
Sulphate of quinia 
Muriate of quinia 
Cinchonia 
1-66 Sulphate of cinchonia. 
1- Quinoidin 
15-00 Veratria 
0-00 Atropia 
11-10 Strychnia 
2- Nitrate of strychnia... 
3-00 Caffeina 11-00 
25-30 Digitaline 1-25 
11-60 Brucia 14 00 
33-00 Aconitia 22-00 
14-10 Santonin, pure 23 00 
6-60 Santonin, impure 33 30 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860. p. 160; from Archiv. der Phnrm., Nov. 1859, p. 
151.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 1000 
AEtherea. 
PART II 
chloroform itself. In commercial chloroform it is sometimes present to the 
amount of 6 per cent. It is easily set on fire, and burns with a smoky flame, 
chlorine being among the products of its combustion. The oil procured from 
normal chloroform, which contains it in the amount of about one-fifth of 1 per 
cent, only, is essentially different from the methylic chloroform oil. It is heavier 
than water, and has an acrid, penetrating odour, unlike that of the other oil. 
When the vapour of these oils is inspired or even smelt, it causes, according to 
Dr. Gregory, distressing sickness and headache. These pyrogenous oils are de- 
tected and removed hj pure and strong sulphuric acid. Chloroform, when pure, 
upon being mixed with an equal volume of this acid, does not colour it; but, 
when contaminated with these oils, gives the acid a colour, varying from yellow 
to reddish-brown, according to the amount of impurity. Alcohol also is detected 
and removed by sulphuric acid. In applying this test, several fluidounces of 
chloroform should be used; as a slight change of colour cannot be easily seen 
in a test tube. A still more delicate test of the oily impurities, according to Dr. 
Gregory, is the smell which they leave. If chloroform, thus contaminated, be 
poured upon the hand, it quickly evaporates, leaving the oily impurities, recog 
nisable by their offensive odour, now no longer covered b}r that of the chloro- 
form. The pure substance, rubbed on the skin, quickly evaporates, and scarcely 
leaves any smell. Chloroform sometimes contains Dutch liquid, which may be 
discovered by adding an alcoholic solution of potassa; when the mixture, if this 
impurity be present, will heat, and give off a permanent gas, which is chloride 
of acetyl, C4H3C1. (Geuther.)* 
Certain conclusions of Prof. John M. Maisch upon the subject of chloroform, 
drawn from a series of practical and experimental observations, are worthy of 
notice. Chloroform may be made of the sp.gr. 15, or perhaps somewhat 
heavier, and this is its density when pure; but it will not keep so well as when 
of the officinal strength from 1-490 to 1-494. When pure, or even of the sp. gr. 
of about 1 49, it is quickly decomposed in direct sunlight, and more slowly in 
diffused daylight; and the presence of water, however small in quantity, favours 
the decomposition. The products of its decomposition are muriatic acid and 
phosgene gas. If, however, it be perfectly excluded from the light, it will keep 
indefinitely; Wiggers having preserved some unaltered for fifteen years. Ac- 
cording to Schacht, moreover, pure chloroform will resist even sunlight, if in a 
perfect vacuum. To prevent the decomposition of chloroform the most effectual 
means is the addition of alcohol. If reduced by this to the sp.gr. 1-480 or 
1-484, it will keep well in diffused daylight, and, for a time at least, even in 
the sun’s rays, if perfectly free from moisture. At the sp gr. 1-475 or lower, 
it remains unaffected whether in diffused light or in the sun, and whether the 
bottles be damp or dry. The measures, therefore, to secure chloroform from de- 
composition are two, either of which will answer; first, to keep it perfectly se- 
cluded from light, from the moment of rectification; or, secondly, to reduce the 
sp. gr. to 1 475 by alcohol, as suggested by Dr. Squibb. Sulphuric acid will not 
decompose chloroform in the dark; in the light it evolves muriatic acid. One of 
the best criteria of its purity is a constant boiling point. When of the sp. gr. 
1-496, it boils at 152’6° F. A slight acid reaction in chloroform is not easily de- 
tected, as litmus is quite insoluble in that fluid. It is best observed by allow- 
ing a few drops of chloroform to evaporate spontaneously with one drop of an 
aqueous solution of litmus duly neutralized. The colour will be changed to red- 
dish. After becoming acid, chloroform may be readily regenerated, by agitating 
it with solution of carbonate of soda, and distilling from a little unslaked lime. 
From what has been said above, chloroform to be kept for use should have the 
sp.gr. 1-475, and if denser than this, should be brought to it by the addition 
of alcohol. It is best kept in cork-stoppered bottles. As the cork is not acted 
on by chloroform, if it become yellow and softened, it will indicate the presence 
of an acid, and thus act as a test. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1868, p. 289.) 
* In relation to chloroform, see the paper of Soubeiran and Mialhe, Journ. de Pharm.. 
July, 1849, copied into the Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxi. 813 : also the paper of Dr. Gregory, 
Ckem. Gaz., May 15, 1850. jEtherea. 
1001 
PART II. 
Boettger states that chloroform altered by the sun’s rays, containing muri- 
atic acid and having a chlorinous odour, may be restored and made fit for 
inhalation by agitation with a few fragments of caustic soda, and that the 
tfuid may be kept exposed to light, if protected in the same way. {Ibid., Sept. 
i866, p. 473 ; from Journ. de Pharm., Avril, 1864.) 
Officinal Tests. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs that purified chloroform 
should have a sp.gr. not less than D490 nor exceeding 1 494; should boil at 
140° ; when dropped into water should sink in the form of transparent globules 
without milkiness; should produce no warmth, sensible to the hand at the mo- 
ment when mixed, in a bottle closed by a glass stopper, with an equal measure 
of officinal sulphuric acid, and that, when the liquids have separated on stand- 
ing, and have been allowed to remain in contact for 24 hours, no colour should 
be imparted to either, or but a faint yellowish tinge to the acid, forming the 
lower layer. The Pharmacopoeia directs, moreover, that when 3 or 4 fluidrachms 
are evaporated from a porcelain plate, by causing them to flow to and fro over 
the surface, the last portions should have a slightly aromatic odour, without 
pungency or empyreuma, while the plate is covered with a film of moisture, with- 
out odour or taste. These tests imply the presence of but a minute proportion 
of alcohol, and the total absence of chlorine and those volatile and empyreumatic 
substances which constitute the most injurious impurities of chloroform. A heat 
that would be felt through the bottle, on the admixture of sulphuric acid with 
chloroform, would evince the presence of too much alcohol or water. The want 
of discoloration from the contact of the two liquids shows the absence of empy- 
reumatic oily matter ; but a very slight discoloration might proceed from the 
alcohol present, and would not, therefore, be a material objection. A colour 
bordering on that of madeira wine would imply an objectionable amount of im- 
purities. The volatile impurities are less volatile than chloroform, and would 
consequently be the last to escape on the evaporation of the liquid. Chloroform, 
therefore, leaves a foreign odour behind it when allowed to evaporate from the 
hand, and especially when from a porcelain plate, in the amount and manner in- 
dicated ; and if it stand this test well, it may be considered as free from any 
noxious volatile impurity. The slight foreign aroma without pungency, which 
is given out under these circumstances, is of no injurious significance.* 
Medical Properties, &c. When taken internally, chloroform acts as a seda- 
tive narcotic, probably operating through the nervous system, independently of 
vascular action or congestion. It has been detected by Ragsky in the blood, 
and bv Dr. Snow, of London, in different parts of the body after death.f In 
1848 Dr. H. Hartshorne tried its physiological effects in the dose of seventy- 
five drops on himself, and found it to produce drowsiness and a general dimi- 
nution of sensorial power, without exhilaration, or acceleration of the pulse. 
Since then he has used it internally in a number of cases, and finds it a safe ano- 
dyne and soporific, altogether free from the dangerous effects which sometimes 
follow the inhalation of its vapour. In the dose of a fluidrachm, its soporific 
effect is about equal to that of thirty-five drops of laudanum. Dr. Hartshorne 
has given it in doses of from fifty to seventy-five drops every half hour for se veral 
hours together. The vehicle used by him is orgeat syrup, in the proportion ol 
two fluidounces to each fluidrachm of the chloroform. When mixed writh muci- 
lage of gum arabic, the mixture requires agitation immediately before swallow- 
ing each dose.J 
Chloroform, as prepared by Mr. Guthrie, was used internally as early as 1832 
* Much is due to Dr. Squibb for the precision given to the tests for chloroform ; and the 
reader may profitably consult his remarks on the subject in a paper in the Proceedings 
of the Pharmaceutical Association, A. D. 1858, p. 402. 
f In relation to the detection of chloroform in the body after death, see the paper of 
M. Duroy, of Paris, in the Journ. de Pharrn., Avril, 1851. 
J The Society of Pharmacy, of Paris, has given its sanction to the following formula; 
the Drench weights being turned into the nearest English weights and measures. Take of 
chloroform gss to gj ; sugar giij ; gum arabic gj to gij; water Eub the chloro- 
form with the sugar in a mortar, then add the gum, and, lastly, by degrees, the water 
In this recipe alcohol, which is often inadmissible, is avoided. 1002 
JEtherea. 
PARI II. 
by Professor Ives and Dr. Nathan B. Ives, of New Haven, in asthma, spasmodic 
cough, scarlet fever, and atonic quinsy, with favourable results. (Si lit man’s 
Journ., xxi. 406, 401.) It was employed by Dr. Formby, of Liverpool, in hys- 
teria, in 1838; by Mr. Tuson, of London, in cancer and neuralgic affections, in 
1843; and by M. Guillot, of Paris, in asthma, in 1844. Dr. L. Dalton, of Logan, 
Ohio, has found it to possess antiperiodic powers, and employed it successfully 
in intermittent diseases. Dr. Delioux, of Rochefort, has also proposed it as a 
remedy in intermittents, given, during the apyrexia, in cases in which the bark 
and quinia fail to effect a cure. Dr. Aran has employed it for four years with 
success in lead colic, administered by the mouth and rectum, and applied to the 
abdomen. In these cases it probably acts by relaxing the intestinal spasm. It 
has been found very effectual in hiccough. One of the authors of this work has 
frequently used it with advantage for the relief of neuralgic and other painful 
affections, in the dose of from forty to eighty drops, suspended in water by 
means of gum arabic or yelk of egg. This dose may be repeated, if necessary, 
at intervals of one or two hours, until some effect on the system is produced. 
Chloroform has been used internally, with benefit, by Dr. Osburn, of Dublin, 
in hypochondriasis, and by Dr. Gordon, physician to the Ilardwicke Fever 
Hospital, to allay nervous irritation and procure sleep. A disadvantage con- 
nected with the internal use of chloroform is its liability to sicken the stomach, an 
effect which may sometimes arise from the presence of pyrogenous oil. An inci- 
dental advantage is said to be, that it entirely covers the bitterness of other medi- 
cines. M. Dauzats, of Cordova, Spain, has used chloroform, with highly favour- 
able results, in the destruction of the larvae of insects, which sometimes make 
great ravages in the nostrils, pharynx, &c. Simple inhalation of chloroform is 
sometimes sufficient to destroy the insects in large numbers; but it is always 
prudent to employ injections composed of equal parts of chloroform and water, 
which may be considered infallible. If chloroform is not at hand, ether may 
be substituted. (Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 43.) 
Externally, chloroform has been used by Mr. Tuson in cancer, senile gan- 
grene, and sloughing ulcers, and, as an injection and gargle, in discharges from 
the uterus and foul ulcers of the throat, with the effect of relieving pain, de- 
stroying fetor, and promoting the separation of diseased parts. It has also 
been employed externally, with benefit, in a painful wound of the forearm impli- 
cating the radial nerve; by Dr. Legroux in a painful affection of one of the 
lower extremities, consequent to a cancerous tumour of the pelvis; by Mr. IIig- 
ginson in labour, applied to the perineum when painfully stretched, and in dys- 
menorrhoea, brought in contact with the os uteri by means of a sponge ; by Dr. 
Watson in swelled testicle and acute spinal tenderness; by Dr. Hays and Dr. 
Bond in neuralgia; by the late Dr. I. Parrish in the supra-orbitar pain of rheu- 
matic ophthalmia, and in syphilitic ulceration at the root of the nail; by M. De- 
vergie in papulous eruptions, made into an ointment in the proportion of a flui- 
drachm to ten drachms of lard; by Prof. Back in the itch ; and by M. Chapell 
in fissure of the anus. It has also been used with success by Dr.Venat, of Bor- 
deaux, in the form of injection, in the commencement of acute gonorrhoea, as an 
abortive treatment. Dr. Rauch, of Iowa, has employed chloroform topically with 
decided benefit in neuralgia, colic, and other painful affections. For some pur- 
poses he found it useful to incorporate it with olive oil and solution of ammonia, 
which formed a mixture having effects less transient than those of the uncom- 
bined substance. Incorporated in equal measure with the white of eggs, and ap- 
plied on lint to the gums, it is said to afford great relief in toothache. As a wash, 
injection, and gargle, Mr. Tuson prepared cliloroform diluted with water, in the 
proportion of one or two drachms to the pint; but, for application to the sound 
skin, it is generally used undiluted, by means of soft linen, covered with oiled silk 
to prevent evaporation. Employed in this state it should be pure; as, according 
to Mialhe, when mixed with absolute alcohol, it acquires caustic properties. 
M. Fournie has found that the vapour from a mixture of equal measures of 
glacial acetic acid and chloroform is even more effectual, as a local anaesthetic. PART II. 
AEtherea. 
1003 
than that of pure chloroform ; producing complete insensibility of the skin in 
five minutes, if applied from a bottle heated simply by the hand. (Pharm. 
Journ., Jan. 1862, p. 885; from Gomptes Bendus.) 
Chloroform may be gelatinized by agitating it with an equal weight of white 
of egg in the cold. In three hours it takes the- gelatinous form. A stronger 
preparation may be made by shaking together, in a bottle, four parts of chloro- 
form and one of white of egg, and placing the mixture in water at 140°. In 
four minutes the gelatinization is completed. Gelatinized chloroform may be 
applied to the skin, spread on linen, or by frictions. 
Chloroform, in vapour, may be used as a topical application to the rectum 
M Ehrenreich employed it with success in tenesmus. A drachm may be va- 
porized by the heat of warm water from a bottle, fitted with a flexible tube, 
inserted into the bowel. It may be applied to the skin in the form of a vapour 
douche, according to the method of Dr. Hardy, of Dublin. (See Banking’s 
Abstract, no. 19, p. 281.) Prof. Langenbeck, of Berlin, prefers chloroform to 
tincture of iodine, as an injection for the radical cure of hydrocele. 
A third method of using chloroform is by inhalation. The first case we have 
met with in which it was thus employed is related by Professor Ives, of 
Haven, under date of the 2d of Jan. 1832. The case was one of pulmonic dis- 
ease, attended with general debility and difficult respiration, and was effectually 
relieved. (Silliman’s Journ., vol. xxi., Jan. 1832, p. 406.) In March, 1847, the 
action of the pure substance by inhalation was tried on the lower animals, by 
M. Flourens, and its effects on the spinal marrow described. In November of 
the same year, Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, after experimenting with a number 
of anaesthetic agents in order to discover a substitute for ether, tried chloroform 
at the suggestion of Mr. Waldie, and, having found its effects favourable, 
brought it forward as a new remedy for pain, by inhalation in surgery and 
midwifery. The advantages which he conceived it to possess over ether were 
the smallness of the dose, its more prompt action, more agreeable effects, less 
tenacious odour, greater cheapness, and greater facility of exhibition. 
The usual effects produced by a full dose of chloroform, administered by in 
halation, are the rapid production of coma, relaxation of the muscles, slow and 
often stertorous breathing, upturning of the eyes, and total insensibility to 
agents which ordinarily produce acute pain. The effect on the heart’s action is 
variable. Sometimes frothing of the mouth takes place, and, more rarely, con- 
vulsive twitches of the face and limbs. The insensibility is generally pro- 
duced in one or two minutes, and usually continues for five or ten minutes; but 
the effect may be kept up for many hours, provided the inhalation be cau- 
tiously renewed from time to time. The immediate effects of the agent are fol- 
lowed by a drowsy state, sometimes by quiet sleep. As a general rule, no recol- 
lection is retained of anything that occurred during the state of insensibility. 
Experience has shown that the effects, here described as those of a full dose of 
chloroform by inhalation, cannot be induced without danger to life. Hence all 
prudent surgeons will be content with an impression short of the abolition of all 
consciousness. It is generally admitted that, at a certain stage of anaesthesia, 
there is insensibility to pain, while consciousness to a certain extent remains; 
and it is this condition that the surgeon should aim to produce. According to 
Mr. Skey, chloroform had been administered up to 1854, in 9000 cases in St. 
Bartholomew’s Hospital, without a single accident, a fact which must be taken 
as proof of its careful employment in that institution. The delicate operation of 
extracting the cataract has been facilitated by its use, in the hands of Mr. Bow- 
man, of London; and, in general, the performance of operations on the eyeball 
is greatly assisted by the insensibility produced, especially in children. In par- 
tial anchylosis, in which the surgeon proposes to break up the adhesions by 
force, chloroform, like ether, takes off the muscular resistance, and renders the 
manipulations painless. It is asserted to be an advantage of chloroform in sur- 
gical operations, that less blood is lost. If this assertion should prove to be true, 
there will be greater necessity of delaying the dressings until reaction shall have 1004 
jEtherea. 
PART II. 
taken place. The question whether the use of chloroform in the major operations 
of surgery is favourable or otherwise to recovery, has been examined by an ap- 
peal to statistics. Dr. Simpson, of Edinburgh, thinks the percentage of recov- 
eries has been increased by its use; while Dr. Arnott, basing his opinions on the 
results of operations in the London hospitals, holds the contrary opinion. 
The advantages and disadvantages of chloroform, when compared with ether 
as an anaesthetic in operative surgery, have not been satisfactorily determined; 
but on one point the evidence appears to be conclusive, namely, that it is far 
more dangerous to life than ether. According to Dr. Snow, of London, the 
vapour in the air breathed by the patient should not exceed 6 per cent. Dr. 
Gilman, of New York, thinks that chloroform has a more sudden and power- 
ful effect than under ordinary circumstances, when inhaled immediately after 
bleeding; a fact which he explains by the increased power of absorption pro- 
duced by the loss of blood. (N. Y. Med. Times, Oct. 1852.) 
As chloroform is powerfully sedative, and ether powerfully stimulant, it 
was very naturally supposed that, by combining them, the depressing effects 
of the former might be counteracted by the latter ; but experience has not 
altogether confirmed the suggestion of theory in this case ; as fatal effects 
have followed the joint administration of the two anaesthetics. This result 
may be in part explained by the more rapid volatilization of the chloroform, 
which may cause it to reach the surface of absorption with comparatively little 
admixture of the ethereal vapour, as suggested by Mr. Robert Ellis. (Med. 
Times and Gaz., March 9, 1867.) 
Sometimes chloroform produces unpleasant remote effects; such as abolition 
of smell, perversion of taste, and loss of tonicity in the bladder and rectum. Two 
cases, illustrative of these effects, in which chloroform was inhaled in excess, are 
related by Dr. Happoldt in the Charleston Med. Journ. for Jan. 1856. 
In midwifery, chloroform has been extensively employed to relieve pain and 
facilitate labour, since it was first recommended by Dr. Simpson. Its effects 
are similar to those of ether; and each agent has its exclusive advocates 
among those practitioners of midwifery who are willing to use anaesthetics. 
According to Dr. Atthill, of Dublin, the use of chloroform produces a tendency 
to post-partum hemorrhage. Dr. Robert Lee, of London, has cited seventeen 
cases, in which it was supposed to produce various pernicious effects in labour. 
(Lancet, Dec. 24, 1853.) Notwithstanding exceptional cases of injury, it is 
every year growing in favour as an anaesthetic in parturition. The profession 
is unanimous as to its great utility in instrumental labours. 
The dose of chloroform for inhalation is a fluidrachin, equivalent to 220 drops 
or more, to be repeated in two minutes, if the desired effect should fail to be 
produced. The most convenient inhaler is a handkerchief, loosely twisted into 
the form of a bird’s nest, which, after having been imbued with the chloroform, 
is held to the mouth and nose. The use of this simple inhaler ensures a due ad- 
mixture of atmospheric air with the vapour of the chloroform. The moment 
insensibility is produced, which should be brought on gradually, the inhalation 
should be suspended; and, if consciousness return too soon, it should be cau- 
tiously renewed. In all cases an experienced assistant should attend to the ad- 
ministration of the chloroform and to nothing else, watching the state of the 
respiration and pulse. The moment there is the least snoring or failure of the 
pulse, the vapour should be withdrawn. Chloroform should not be administered 
to persons subject to epilepsy, affected with organic disease of the heart, or pre- 
disposed to syncope.* 
Chloroform, as ordinarily prepared,is apt to produce, when inhaled,headache, 
nausea, and even vomiting. Perfectly pure chloroform, according to Soubeiran 
and Mialhe, does not produce these disagreeable effects, which are plausibly 
attributed to the presence of the pyrogenous oils. Dr. Simpson, however, finds 
* For rules laid down by M. Baudens for the administration of chloroform, see the 
Am. Journ. of Med. Sci. for Jan. 1854, p. 208; and for those given by M. Robert, surgeon 
to the Hospital Beaujon, see Ranking's Abstract, no. 19, p. 116. PAKT II. 
JEiherea. 
1005 
that the purest chloroform that he uses not unfrequently causes vomiting; but 
Dr. Gregory attributes this effect, when following the use of the pure substance, 
to its administration after a full meal, which should always be avoided. 
Chloroform having proved to be a relaxing agent and remedy for pain, when 
used by inhalation in surgery and midwifery, it was natural that its effects 
should be tried in the same way in spasmodic and painful diseases. Accord- 
ingly, it has been inhaled in hiccough, chorea, hooping-cough, hysteria, the 
paroxysm of asthma, angina pectoris, nephritic colic, tetanus, poisoning from 
strychnia, hydrophobia, and the paroxysm of tic douloureux, and generally 
with decided advantage. In Germany it has been praised in bronchitis and 
pneumonia as an expectorant and calming remedy. It has been employed also 
with success for the reduction of strangulated hernia. Mr. R. J. Mackenzie, 
of Edinburgh, bears testimony to its good effects, used by inhalation, in spas- 
modic stricture of the urethra, attended with retention of urine. Sometimes 
the urine is caused to flow at once; and, when this is not the case, the passage 
of the catheter is facilitated. Dr. Cain, of Charleston, found it very useful in 
spasmodic obstruction of the bowels, promptly relieving pain, and favouring 
the action of enemata. As a soporific it has been given beneficially in delirium 
tremens, and in the noisy forms of chronic insanity. 
Much has oeen said in relation to the dangers attendant upon the inhalation 
of chloroform, and, certainly, many more deaths have been reported from its use 
than from that of ether. The late Dr. Warren, of Boston, published, in 1849, 
the details of ten cases, in which death was caused by chloroform, all occurring 
in little more than a year, and many other fatal cases have since occurred ; and 
he declared that, if he were compelled to substitute chloroform for ether in inha- 
lation, he would do it with much anxiety. Chloroform is unquestionably a more 
powerful agent than ether, and acts not only differently, but in a much smaller 
dose. The comparative smallness of its dose is certainly a ground of danger, 
when its administration falls into reckless or incompetent hands. In view of the 
greater danger from the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic, the governors of the 
Massachusetts General Hospital have prohibited the use of any other agent than 
ether in surgical operations. 
When the effects of chloroform inhalation proceed too far, the remedies are a 
horizontal posture, cold air fanned upon the face, cold water poured upon the 
head, sinapisms to the feet, frictions and heat to the body and extremities, and 
ammonia to the nostrils. If respiration ceases, the tongue should be seized with 
the artery-forceps, and pulled forward from off the glottis, and artificial respira- 
tion attempted by blowing into the mouth, and by other appropriate measures. 
When the patient can swallow, strong coffee may be given with advantage. Gal- 
vanic electricity, passed through needles inserted in different parts of the body, 
is recommended by M. Abeille, of Ajaccio, as a powerful means of recalling sen- 
sibility ; and it is highly probable that the electro-magnetic battery would prove 
useful. When an overdose is taken by the mouth, the same remedies may be 
employed, with the addition of the stomach-pump, when vomiting cannot be pro 
duced. In a case of suicide by swallowing chloroform, in which death took place 
in about thirty-four hours, the lining membrane of the larynx and trachea was 
found inflamed, the bronchi were loaded with a dirty-gray purulent fluid, the 
lungs were inflamed as in the first stage of pneumonia, and the brain and its 
membranes congested. In another fatal case, reported by Dr. J. Williams, ot 
the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, in which the patient survived thirty-seven 
hours, no morbid appearances were observed worthy of note. 
In relation to the preparations, consisting of chloroform and alcohol, which 
have been used under the name of “chloric ether,” the reader is referred to 
Spiritus Chloroformi in Part II. * 
* Chlorodyn. An empirical preparation under this name has been extensively used in 
London, and has recently acquired some general notoriety from having been the reputed 
cause of death in a case of accidental poisoning in England, and as having produced 
very threatening symptoms in another case, in which the patient was saved. From a form 1006 
xEtherea. 
PART II. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Atropia. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Clilorof'ormi; Liquor Gutta-perchae, U. S.; Mistura 
Chloroformi, U. S.; Spiritus Chloroformi; Tinctura Chloroformi Composita, 
Br. B. 
OLEUM J3THEREUM. U. S. Ethereal Oil. 
“ Take of Stronger Alcohol two pints; Sulphuric Acid sixty-one troyounces; 
Distilled Water a jluidounce; Stronger Ether a sufficient quantity. Add the 
Acid slowly to the Alcohol, mix them thoroughly, and allow the mixture to stand 
for twelve hours. Decant the clear liquid from the sediment into a tubulated re- 
tort, of such capacity that the mixture shall nearly fill it. Adapt a thermometer 
tube to the tubulure by means of a cork, so that the bulb shall be deeply im- 
mersed in the liquid, and, having attached a Liebig’s condenser, distil, by means 
of a sand-bath, at a temperature between 312° and 322°, until the liquid ceases 
to come over, or until a black froth begins to arise in the retort. Separate the 
yellow ethereal liquid from the distillate, and expose it for twenty-four hours, in 
a shallow capsule, to evaporate spontaneously. Then transfer the remaining 
liquid to a wet filter; and, when the watery portion has drained off, wash the 
oil which is left, while on the filter, with the Distilled Water. When this also 
has drained off, transfer the oil to a graduated measure, by perforating the point 
of the filter, and add to it an equal volume of Stronger Ether. The Ethereal 
Oil, obtained by this formula, measures about six fluidracbms.” U. S. 
In the late consolidation of the British Pharmacopceias, this valuable remedy 
was omitted, partly on account of the uncertainty as to its special antispasmodic 
virtues, partly from its expensiveness when properly made and its liability to 
spontaneous change, and partly, moreover, because not only is it often adulte- 
rated, but other compounds are substituted for it. (Med. Times and Gaz , March, 
1864, p. 248.) It is, however, retained in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, with certain 
modifications in the process, which, it is hoped, may enable it to yield a larger 
and more reliable product. 
In the existing U. S. formula, the first change to be noticed is the direction, 
after the mixture of the acid and alcohol, to decant the clear liquid from the 
sediment, which is sulphate of lead, deposited by the acid on account of its 
dilution. According to Dr. Squibb, the presence of the sulphate of lead in the 
retort causes the mixture to froth over, and thus necessitate a suspension of the 
process so much sooner, as greatly to lessen the amount of product the materials 
are capable of affording. The increase of oil resulting from this simple modifica- 
tion of the process is said to be one-third. Another new feature is the introduc- 
tion of a thermometer into the retort, whereby the important point is obtained 
of properly regulating the temperature, which, in order to the due reaction of the 
materials, should not fall below 312° nor rise above 322°. Again, the washing 
of the oil with solution of potassa has been omitted, because the alkali was found 
to decompose a portion of the oil, and the sulphurous acid, which it was intended 
to neutralize, can be separated by the washing with distilled water now directed. 
By wetting the filter, the oil is prevented from passing along with the water. 
Finally, the oil is now ordered to be diluted with an equal measure of stronger 
ether, as this has been found to contribute greatly to its preservation. 
When alcohol is distilled with a large excess of sulphuric acid, the same pro- 
ducts are generated as those mentioned, in the article upon ether, as being 
formed towards the close of the distillation of that liquid. (See page 988.) These 
were stated to be sulphurous acid, heavy oil of wine, olefiant gas, and resino- 
carbonaceous matter. In the U. S. process such an excess of sulphuric acid is 
ula published in the Am.. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1860 (p. 181), it would appear to 
consist of chloroform, chloric ether (so called), tincture of capsicum, oil of peppermint, 
muriate of morphia, hydrocyanic acid (Scheele’s), perchloric acid, tincture of Indian 
hemp, and molasses; and of these powerful medicines, moreover, in such proportions as 
to make one shudder at the idea of its unregulated use. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
Other formulas for this nostrum will be found in the American Journal of Pharmacy 
(Jan. 1865, p. 17), and in the same journal for May, 1868, p. 210. (Note to the thirteenth 
edition ) PART IT. 
AEtherea. 
1007 
employed for the purpose of obtaining the oil. The product of the distillation 
is generally in two layers, one, consisting of water holding sulphurous acid in 
solution, and the other, of ether containing the heavy oil of wine. According to 
the experience of Dr. Squibb, the sp. gr. of these two layers is so nearly equal, 
that sometimes one and sometimes the other is uppermost; so that the direc- 
tion in the old formula to separate the supernatant liquor is incorrect, and has 
been superseded by the present, to separate the yellow ethereal liquid; the 
colour and other sensible properties being considered sufficiently distinctive. 
After separation, the liquid is exposed for twenty-four hours to the air, in order 
to dissipate the ether by evaporation; and the oil which is left is washed with 
water to deprive it of all traces of sulphurous acid. 
The nature and mode of formation of heavy oil of wine are not well under- 
stood. It has been explained, in a preceding article, that, in the early stage 
of the distillation of a mixture of sulphuric acid and alcohol, sulphovinic acid, 
or the double sulphate of ether and water, is formed. During its progress this 
is decomposed so as to yield ether. When, however, the alcohol is distilled with 
a large excess of sulphuric acid, the sulphovinic acid is decomposed so as to 
form a small quantity of the heavy oil of wine, now considered to be a double 
sulphate of ether and ethylen, having the formula C4II50,S03-f- C4II4,SO,. It 
is conceived to be generated from two eqs. of sulphovinic acid (double sulphate 
of ether and water), which are resolved into one eq. of heavy oil of wine, two of 
sulphuric acid, and three of water. When the heavy oil is gently heated with 
four parts of water, sulphovinic acid is reproduced, and the separated ethylen 
floats on the surface as an oily substance, called, when thus isolated, light oil of 
wine. Light oil of wine, as thus obtained, is a pale-yellow oil, supposed to have 
the formula C4H4. As ordinarily procured in the process for preparing ether, it 
contains a portion of that substance. When the pure light oil of wine is kept, it 
deposits a stearoptene, isomeric with itself, called concrete oil of wine, or oil of 
wine camphor; after which the oil is changed, and takes the name of etberole. 
Etherole is a pale-yellow oily liquid, having an aromatic odour. Its sp.gr. is 
0-921, boiling point 536°, and freezing point 31° below zero. It communicates a 
greasy stain to paper. Concrete oil of wine, sometimes called etherine, crys- 
tallizes in long, transparent, brilliant, tasteless prisms, soluble in alcohol and 
ether, insoluble in water, fusible at 230°, boiling at 500°, and having the sp. gr. 
0-980. Dr. Squibb takes a different view of the composition of ethereal oil, and 
believes it, instead of a sulphate or double sulphate, to be a sulphovinate of a 
carbohydrogen base; and for this reason, that it fails, especially when pure and 
recent, to give any of the characteristic reactions of sulphuric acid or the sul- 
phates. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan 1861, p. 58.)* 
Properties. The undiluted ethereal oil (heavy oil of wine) is a yellowish 
neutral liquid, possessing an oleaginous consistency, a penetrating aromatic 
odour, and rather sharp and bitter taste. It boils at 536°. Its sp. gr. is, accord- 
ing to the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 1-096 ; according- to the London Col- 
lege, after Mr. Heunell’s results, l-05. The density obtained by Dr. Squibb, 
U. S. Navy, by following the old formula of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia exactly, was 
1-129. By Dumas and Serullas its density is stated to be as high as L133, which 
is probably the more correct number for thepure oil. When dropped into water 
it sinks, assuming the form of a globule. It dissolves sparingly in cold water, 
* Valuable papers have been contributed by Mr. C. Lewis Diehl and Prof. John M. 
Maiscb, on this officinal preparation; the former to the Proceedings of the American 
Pharmaceutical Association for 1864; the latter to the American Journal of Pharmacy 
(March, 1865, p. 160), to which we refer those especially concerned in its manufacture. 
In Mr. Diehl’s paper valuable suggestions are made in reference to the mode of reheat- 
ing so as properly to regulate the temperature. An important practical fact is stated by 
Prof. Maisch, that the ethereal oil, in contact with water, undergoes a decomposition 
into light oil of wine and sulphovinic acid, rapidly and completely if the water is hot 
or if solution of an alkali or alkaline carbonate is used, and more slowly with cold wa- 
ter. Hence the inference that the washing of the ethereal oil, directed at the close of the 
IT. S. process, should be completed as rapidly as possible. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 1008 
PEtherea.—A loe. 
PART II. 
moderately in hot water, and readily in alcohol and ether. It is devoid of acid 
reaction, the sulphuric acid present in it being completely neutralized by the 
ether and ethylen united with it. The sulphuric acid present is not precipitated 
by the usual reagents for this acid; because they furnish a base, which, replacing 
the ethylen, gives rise to one of the salts of sulphovinic acid, all of which are 
soluble in water and hydrous alcohol. The U. S. ethereal oil of the existing 
Pharmacopoeia is the proper oil diluted with an equal volume of stronger ether. 
This gives it an ethereal odour in addition to that characteristic of the pure oil, 
and considerably reduces its sp. gr., which is now stated at 0 91. The process 
by which the officinal oil of wine is formed yields but a small product, being, 
according to the Pharmacopoeia, only about six fluidrachms, or somewhat more 
than a fortieth, by measure, of the alcohol employed. 
In the officinal ethereal oil, the heavy oil of wine, that is, the double sulphate 
of ether and ethylen, is not only diluted with an equal measure of ether, but is 
mixed also with variable proportions of free light oil of wine (ethylen), in addi 
tion to that present in it as one of the essential constituents of the heavy oil 
This fact accounts for the different densities assigned to the heavy oil. 
The heavy oil undiluted is liable to spontaneous change by time, being not 
only rendered brown, but chemically altered so as to separate into two layers. 
But this tendency is in great measure obviated, in the officinal ethereal oil, by 
the preservative influence of the ether. It may be kept long without other ap- 
preciable change than the acquisition of a brown hue, which does notinterfeie 
with its medical virtues. It should not, when tested by dry litmus paper, evince 
the presence of any free acid. 
The article, sold in our shops as ethereal oil, is too often a mixture of alcohol 
and ether, containing but a trace of the oil. Four samples of so-called ethereal 
oil, as imported from England, were examined by Mr. E. N. Kent, of New York, 
and found to have the composition above stated. (N. Y. Journ. of Pharm., i. 
65.) The ethereal oil is used only for the preparation of the Compound Spirit 
of Ether or Hoffmann’s anodyne, which, when properly made, is a very valuable 
medicine; and it is much to be regretted that due attention has not been paid by 
the manufacturing chemists to the furnishing of a good ethereal oil to the apothe- 
cary. It is necessarily an expensive preparation; but this does not justify the 
substitution for it of a cheaper and nearly worthless article under the same name 
Off. Prep. Spiritus AStheris Compositus, U. S. B. 
ALOE. 
ALOE PURTFICATA. U. S. Purified Aloes. 
“ Take of Socotrine Aloes twenty-four troyounces; Stronger Alcohol four 
fluidounces. Heat the aloes, by means of a water-bath, until it is completely 
melted. Then add the Alcohol, and, having stirred the mixture thoroughly, 
strain it through a fine sieve, which has just been dipped into boiling water 
Evaporate the strained mixture by means of a water-bath, constantly stirring, 
until a thread of the liquid becomes brittle on cooling. Lastly, break the pro- 
duct when cold into pieces of a convenient size, and keep it in a well-stopped 
bottle.” U. S. 
Aloes, even of good quality, is so often mixed as found in the market with 
various accidental impurities, such as fragments of wood, vegetable remains, 
pieces of leather, and earthy matter, that it has been thought advisable to have 
an officinal process by which it may be freed from these, should its purifica- 
tion be found necessary in any particular instance. This is especially the case 
with Socotrine aloes, which, from the want of proper supervision in its prepara- 
tion's probably more liable to these impurities than the Cape or Barbadoes aloes; 
but, as these are also sometimes impure, there seems to be no good reason why 
they should have been officinally excluded from the benefits of the process. 
Preparation of Aloes. PART II. 
Alumen. 
1009 
The use of alcohol in the formula is simply to render the melted aloes more 
liquid, and thus facilitate the straining; and it is subsequently got rid of by 
evaporation; but care should be taken not to use too great a heat, or to con- 
tinue it too long, for fear of impairing the virtues of the drug. 
Thus prepared, aloes is in angular fragments, brittle, of a brownish or red- 
dish-brown colour, and of the agreeable aromatic odour of Socotrine aloes. It 
is nearly all soluble in alcohol. W. 
A LUMEN. 
Preparations of Alum. 
ALUMEN EXSICCATUM. U.S.,Br. Dried Alum. 
“ Take of Alum, in coarse powder, four troyounces. Expose it, in a suitable 
vessel, to a temperature not exceeding 450° until the residue weighs two troy- 
ounces and one hundred and twenty grains; then reduce it when cold to line 
powder.” U. S. 
“ Take of Alum four ounces. Heat the Alum in a porcelain dish, or other 
suitable vessel, till it liquefies, then raise and continue the heat, not allowing 
it to exceed 400°, till aqueous vapour ceases to be disengaged, and the salt has 
lost 47 per cent, of its weight. Reduce the residue to powder, and preserve it 
in a well-stopped bottle.” Br. 
The object of these processes is to obtain the alum free from its water oi 
crystallization, without otherwise in the least decomposing it. For this purpose 
a certain degree of heat is necessary; and yet, if the heat be too great, the salt 
itself is decomposed, and the desired end is not attained. If the alum employed 
be the potassa-alum, the old indefinite directions will generally be sufficient to 
secure the requisite result, as this salt will resist a heat short of redness; but 
this is not the case with the ammonia-alum, which, on account of its greater 
cheapness, has almost excluded the former salt from the market, and, there is 
reason to apprehend,may sometimes be substituted for the potassa-alum, though 
this is the one officinally directed. To guard against failure from this cause, the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia now prescribes 450° as the highest heat to be employed, 
and checks the operation when nearly all the water has been driven off, as indi- 
cated by the weight of the residue. Mr. John M. Maisch has satisfactorily deter- 
mined by experiment that, whichever alum may be used, this temperature is 
quite high enough ; and the direction of the Pharmacopoeia, as to the weight of 
the residue, ensures that a sufficient heat will be employed. By the officinal pro- 
cess half a drachm or about 4 per cent, of the water of crystallization, supposing 
the salt employed to be the potassa-alum, is left behind; and Mr. Maisch has as- 
certained that this in no degree injures the properties of the dried salt. (Am. 
Journ. of Phann.,Jan. 1860,p. 21.) In the case of the ammonia-alum,as this salt 
contains a somewhat larger proportion of water, the limitation as to the quantity 
expelled still further secures against the employment of too great a heat. 
Properties. Dried alum, sometimes called alumen ustum or burnt alum, is 
in the form of an opaque white powder, possessing a more astringent taste than 
the crystallized salt. Before pulverization, it is a light, white, opaque, porous 
mass. During the exsiccation, alum loses from 41 to 46 per cent, of its weight 
in dissipated water. Dried alum resists the action of water for a long time, 
showing its altered aggregation. It is, however, if properly prepared, at length 
wholly dissolved by cold water, while 6 parts of boiling water dissolve it in a 
short time; and this may be considered as a sufficient test that the salt has not 
been decomposed. (Maisch.) In composition it differs from crystallized alum 
merely in the absence of water. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Dried alum has been given in obstinate con- 
stipation, with the effect of gently moving the bowels, and affording great relief 
from pain. (See Alumen.) The dose is from five to ten grains or more. Its 
principal medical use is as an escharotic for destroying fungous flesh. B. 1010 
Alumen. 
part rr. 
AL U MIN JE SULPHAS. U. S. Sulphate of Alumina. 
“• Take of Sulphate of Alumina and Ammonia, Carbonate of Soda, each, four 
troyounces; Sulphuric Acid a troyounce and one hundred and fifty grains ; 
Water a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the salts separately, each in six fluid- 
ounces of boiling Water, and pour the solution of the Sulphate gradually into 
that of the Carbonate; then digest with a gentle heat until the evolution cf 
carbonic acid ceases. Collect upon a filter the precipitate formed, and wash it 
with water until the washings are no longer affected by chloride of barium. 
Next, with the aid of heat, dissolve the precipitate in the Sulphuric Acid, pre- 
viously diluted with half a pint of Water, and, having filtered the solution, eva- 
porate it until a pellicle begins to form. Then remove it to a water-bath, and 
continue the evaporation,with constant stirring,until a dry salt remains. Lastly, 
preserve this in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
In the above process it is the ammonia-alum that is used. The soda of the 
carbonate unites with the sulphuric acid of the tersulphate of alumina, with the 
escape of the carbonic acid, and the precipitation of the alumina in the form of 
a hydrate; while the undecomposed sulphate of ammonia of the alum, and the 
newly formed sulphate of soda, remain in solution. The alumina is then washed 
in order to separate any portion of the sulphates adhering to it, the absence of 
which is shown by the non-action of chloride of barium on the washings. It 
now remains to unite the hydrate of alumina and sulphuric acid, which is effected 
by heating them with water; and the salt, which is formed in solution, is ob- 
tained by evaporating the solution to diyness. It may also be obtained from the 
solution by the addition of alcohol, which precipitates it. In the process the 
several substances are used in very nearly saturating proportions. 
Sulphate of alumina may be prepared also by the process of MM. Huria and 
Brunei, which consists in exposing, in an iron cylinder, sulphate of alumina and 
ammonia (ammonia-alum), first dried to separate its water of crystallization, to 
a cherry-red heat. Sulphate of alumina remains in the cylinder, and the vola- 
tilized products are collected in water. The chief of these is sulphite of ammo- 
nia, which serves for the preparation of a fresh portion of alum, after having 
been changed into the sulphate by oxidation in the air. (Chem. Gaz., Sept. 15, 
1852, p. 359.) 
Properties. As procured by the officinal process, sulphate of alumina is in 
the form of a white powder. It may, however, be obtained in lamellar crystals. 
As seen in commerce, it is usually in flattened crystalline cakes, which appear as 
though formed by the cooling of soft masses of minute crystals. It has a sour, 
as well as sweet and very astringent taste, is soluble in twice its weight of water, 
and has an acid reaction. It consists of one eq. of alumina, which is a sesqui- 
oxide of aluminium, and three eqs. of sulphuric acid (Al2Os3SOs), and, when 
crystallized, contains 18 eqs. of water. The salt is, therefore, a tersulphate of 
alumina. It is known to be a sulphate by giving a precipitate with chloride of 
barium insoluble in nitric acid, and a salt of alumina by forming octohedral crys- 
tals of alum when its solution is evaporated with sulphate of potassa or ammonia. 
In consequence of its strong affinity for potassa, it is coming into use in the arts 
as a means of separating that alkali. ( Waltl.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt is used only externally, as an astrin- 
gent and antiseptic. The salts of alumina generally have the property of op- 
posing animal putrefaction; but the sulphate is practically preferred. It has 
been used extensively in the Philadelphia Hospital, Blockley, at the suggestion 
of Dr. Dunglison, as an antiseptic and detergent application to ulcers, and with 
favourable results. The late Dr. Pennypacker reported several cases in which it 
proved useful. The strength of the solution employed varied from 3ijss to Jiij of 
the salt to of water, according to the state of the ulcer. Dr. G. Johnson, of 
Georgia, found the solution attended with the happiest effects, used as an injec- 
tion in fetid discharges from the vagina. {Med. Exam.,\i. 63 and 112.) M. 
Homolle employs a saturated solution with much advantage as a mild caustic 
m enlarged tonsils, nasal polypi, naevi, scrofulous and cancerous ulcers, diseases PART II. 
Alumen.—Ammonia. 
1011 
of the os uteri, and various chronic enlargements. He applies it daily by means 
of a hair pencil. He has sometimes found the solution to answer still better by 
the addition of oxide of zinc. Solution of sulphate of alumina is capable of 
dissolving a considerable quantity of recently precipitated gelatinous alumina. 
Such a solution, impregnated with benzoin, has been proposed by M. Mentel as 
a hemostatic, under the name of benzinated solution of alumina. It resembles 
the styptic liquid of Pagliari. (See page 174.) It is prepared by saturating, 
with gelatinous alumina, a solution made of eight ounces of sulphate of alumina 
dissolved in a pint of water. To the saturated solution six drachms of bruised 
amygdaloid benzoin are added, and the whole is kept at a temperature of about 
150° for six hours, with occasional agitation ; so that the liquid, after filtration, 
may have about the density 126. This liquid, put in a cool place tor several 
days, so as to deposit some crystals of alum forms the benzinated solution, re- 
markable for its very sweet odour, and astringent balsamic taste. Benzinated 
solution of alumina, diluted in the proportion of from two to five fluidrachms 
to the pint of water, has been found useful as an injection in leucorrhoea, and in 
ulcerations of the neck of the uterus, accompanied by fetid discharges. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1857, p. 128.) 
'Che aqueous solution of sulphate of alumina was found by M. Gannal to be 
effectual in preserving bodies for dissection, when injected into the blood-vessels. 
In summer the bodies were preserved fresh for twenty days or more; in winter, 
for three months. For use in winter, a quantity of the solution, sufficient for 
injecting one body, may be made by adding a pound, avoirdupois, of the salt to 
a quart of water; in warm weather, the solution must be stronger. B. 
Preparations of Ammonia. 
AMMONIA. 
In the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, all the liquid preparations 
of ammonia are arranged under other heads; and we follow the example of that 
work in making a similar disposition of them here. Hence, the reader will find 
the Water of Ammonia (Solution of Ammonia, U. S. 1850) under the or 
Waters; Solution of Acetate of Ammonia under the Liquores or Solutions; 
and the Spirit and Aromatic Spirit of Ammonia under the Spiritus or Spirits. 
AMMONITE BEIN' ZOAS. Br. Benzoate of Ammonia. 
“Take of Solution of Ammonia three fluidounces [Imperial measure], or a 
sufficiency; Benzoic Acid two ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water four 
jluidounces. Dissolve the Benzoic Acid in three fluidounces of Solution of 
Ammonia previously mixed with the Water; evaporate at a gentle heat, keep- 
ing ammonia in slight excess; and set aside that crystals may form.” Br. 
Although the amount of ammonia ordered in the formula is in excess, yet, 
from the feeble affinity between the constituents, and the consequent escape of 
ammonia during the evaporation, a portion of the acid benzoate would be formed, 
if it were not that a little solution of ammonia is from time to time added during 
or near the close of the evaporation, so as to maintain the alkali in slight excess. 
In the process of the Pharmacopoeia of 1864, this direction was not given, and 
the result was consequently defective. The crystals, for the same reason, should 
be dried without heat. Professor Procter informed us that half the quantity of 
water, eight fluidounces, originally directed in the formula, moderately heated 
readily dissolves the acid after the addition of ammonia, and, on cooling, de- 
posits crystals of the benzoate. In conformity with this opinion, the quantity of 
water has been reduced in the present formula to four fluidounces. If slightly 
evaporated, and then allowed to cool, the solution becomes a mass of crystals, 
retaining so much water as to render it necessary to dry them by bibulous paper. 
Properties. A specimen of this salt, prepared at our request by Prof. Proc- 
ter, in accordance with the directions of the Br. Pharmacopoeia, is in minute 
white, glistening, extremely thin four-sided laminae, having a slight odour of 1012 
Ammonia. 
PART II 
officinal benzoic acid, and a bitter, saline, somewhat balsamic taste, leaving a 
slight but persistent sense of acrimony on the tongue. The salt is soluble in 
water and alcohol, and when heated sublimes without residue; but is probably 
changed into the acid benzoate. Gmelin states that, if the solution be boiled, 
the salt is converted into the acid benzoate, which crystallizes in feathery tufts 
of needles. (Handbook, xii. 38.) According to Lichtenstein, it deliquesces in the 
air. It consists of one eq. of ammonia, one of benzoic acid, and two eqs. of 
water; one of the eqs. of water being derived from the acid and the other from 
the base, so that its formula is NHs,CuH503-(-2H0. Butthe Br. Pharmacopoeia, 
considering hydrated ammonia as oxide of ammonium, gives the formula NH40, 
CMH.03. It gives a copious yellow precipitate with the salts of sesquioxide of 
iron; and is known to contain benzoic acid and ammonia, by depositing the 
former when the solution is acidulated with muriatic acid, and giving off the 
latter when it is heated with potassa. (Br.) According to Mr. Squire, it is the 
acid salt that is commonly met with in the shops, which is less soluble than 
the officinal salt, requiring 60 parts of water and 12 of alcohol for solution. 
This is a decided objection to it. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Benzoate of ammonia is a slightly stimulant 
diuretic, but acts chiefly through its benzoic acid, being decomposed by the 
gastric acids, which combine with the ammonia, while the benzoic acid is ab- 
sorbed, and passes out through the kidneys in the form of hippuric acid. Under 
benzoic acid, it has been stated that the proportion of urea is diminished at the 
same time, giving rise to the supposition that the nitrogen of the hippuric acid 
is derived from that source. Dr. Garrod suggests that, as the elements of hip- 
puric acid are the same as those of benzoic acid and glycocoll, the hippuric 
acid may be formed by a direct combination of these substances. The salt has 
been found useful as a diuretic in defective action of the kidneys, as an altera- 
tive to the mucous membrane of the urinary passages in chronic inflammation of 
that tissue, and as a solvent of the phosphatic deposits, through the hippuric 
acid into which it is converted. It has been employed in gouty affections with 
a view to the removal of the deposits of urate of soda about the joints ; but it 
has been shown to have no effect on the elimination of uric acid. The salt does 
not appear to produce any injurious effects even in considerable quantities. 
(Garrod, Med. Times and Gaz., Feb. 1864, p. 146.) The dose is from 10 to 30 
grains, which may be taken dissolved in water. W. 
AMMONIAS PHOSPHAS. Br. Phosphate of Ammonia. 
“ Take of Diluted Phosphoric Acid twenty fluidounces; Strong Solution of 
Ammonia a sufficiency. Add the Ammonia to the Phosphoric Acid, until the 
solution is slightly alkaline, then evaporate the liquid, adding more Ammonia 
from time to time, so as to keep it in slight excess, and when crystals are formed 
on the cooling of the solution, dry them quickly on filtering paper placed on 
a porous tile, and preserve them in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
This, like the preceding salt of ammonia, is a new officinal of the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia. The process differs somewhat from that of the Pharmacopoeia of 1864, 
though aiming at the same result. The salt is formed by the direct union of 
its constituents. In the former process the mother-waters were made to yield 
an additional portion of the salt by the addition of more solution of ammonia; 
but this provision has been abandoned in the present edition of the Pharma- 
copoeia. The variety of phosphoric acid employed in this formula is the tri- 
basic, which forms three salts with ammonia, one containing 3 eqs. of ammonia 
without basic water, which may be called the subphosphate, the second, two 
eqs. of ammonia and one of basic water, forming the neutral phosphate, and 
the third, one eq. of ammonia and two of basic water, forming the acid phos- 
phate. The second of these is the one intended by the British Council, and is 
represented by the formula 2NTI40,H0,P05. To prepare it, a constant excess 
of ammonia must be maintained, and this is done by compliance with the pro- 
cess, if the materials are of due strength. Without such a precaution, more or PART II. 
Ammonia. 
1013 
less of acid phosphate would be generated, in consequence of the escape of 
the alkali. 
Properties. The officinal salt of the Br. Pharmacopoeia is in transparent 
colourless prisms, soluble in water, and insoluble in alcohol. When heated with 
caustic potassa it evolves ammonia ; and a solution of it gives with nitrate of sil- 
ver a yellow precipitate, indicating that the acid is the tribasic phosphoric acid. 
“If 20 grains be dissolved in water, and solution of ammonio-sulpkate of mag- 
nesia be added, a crystalline precipitate falls,which, when well washed on a filter 
with solution of ammonia, diluted with an equal volume of water, dried, and 
heated to redness, leaves 16 08 grains.” (Br.) The residue is pyrophosphate 
of magnesia, and its amount indicates the quantity of phosphoric acid con- 
tained in the salt. 
The foregoing description is that given of its salt by the Br. Pharmacopoeia; 
but it does not exactly correspond with that of the neutral salt ordinarily re- 
ceived, leading to the inference that it may be a mixture. The salt commonly 
found in the shops is either the neutral or acid phosphate, or a mixture of the 
two. The neutral salt (2XH40,H0,P05-j-H0) may be made by saturating the 
excess of acid in superphosphate of lime by means of carbonate of ammonia. 
Phosphate of lime is precipitated, and phosphate of ammonia obtained in solu- 
tion, which, being duly concentrated by a gentle heat, affords the salt in crys- 
tals upon cooling. The method of obtaining the superphosphate of lime is given 
under the head of phosphate of soda. (See Sodse Phosjohas.) This variety of 
phosphate of ammonia is a white salt, crystallizing in six-sided tables, derived 
from oblique quadrangular prisms, efflorescent, soluble in alcohol, and in 4 
parts of cold water. The solution has an alkaline somewhat saline taste, and 
an alkaline reaction, and gives out ammonia when heated. (Bridges, Fownes’ 
Chem., Am. ed., p. 234.) 
The acid phosphate (NH40,2H0,P0.-f4H0) is obtained by boiling a solu- 
tion of either of the other salts so long as ammonia escapes, and then crystalliz- 
ing. Its crystals are four-sided prisms, permanent in the air, of an acid taste and 
reaction, and soluble in 5 parts of cold water. (Bridges.) In a specimen of the 
common phosphate of ammonia of the shops which came under our notice, we 
recognised both the tabular crystals of the neutral phosphate with two eqs. of am- 
monia, having a saline slightly acrid taste, and neutral in reaction, and the prism 
of the acid salt, with a sour and saline taste and decided acid reaction. W. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt was first brought to the notice of the 
profession, as a remedy for gout and rheumatism, by Dr. T. II. Buckler, of Balti- 
more, in a paper published in the Am. Journal of the Medical Sciences for Jan. 
1846. In this paper a number of cases of these diseases are reported, which were 
treated mainly by this remedy by Dr. Buckler and several of his medical friends, 
and with apparently good effects. Dr. Buckler was led to employ the salt on 
theoretical grounds. He conceived that the “ matter of gout” consisted of two 
salts, the urates of soda and lime, existing in the blood; and that the phosphate 
of ammonia, by reacting with them, would give rise to soluble salts. The new 
salts formed, if the double decomposition should take place, would be urate of 
ammonia, and the phosphates of soda and lime. Unfortunately for this theory, 
as furnishing the means of eliminating uric acid, urate of ammonia is not more 
soluble than urate of soda. Nevertheless, apart from all theory, the therapeutic 
powers of phosphate of ammonia deserve to be investigated. Since the publi- 
cation of Dr. Buckler’s paper, several practitioners, both in this country and in 
Europe, have employed the remedy with apparently useful results in chronic 
gout, and certain urinary diseases. The dose of the salt is from ten to forty 
grains, three or four times a day, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water. B. 
AMMONITE YALERIAN’AS. U.S. Valerianate of Ammonia. 
“Take of Yalerianic Acid four jluidounces. From a mixture, placed in a 
suitable vessel, of Muriate of Ammonia, in coarse powder, and an equal weight 
of Lime, previpusly slaked and in powder, obtain gaseous ammonia, and cause 1014 
Ammonia. 
PART IT. 
it to pass, first through a bottle filled with pieces of Lime, and afterwards into 
the Valerianic Acid, contained in a tall, narrow, glass vessel, until the Acid is 
neutralized. Then discontinue the process, and set the vessel aside that the Va- 
lerianate of Ammonia mav crystallize. Lastly, break the salt into pieces, drain 
it in a glass funnel, dry it on bibulous paper, and keep it in a well-stopped bot- 
tle.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Much difficulty was ex 
perienced by manufacturing chemists in procuring crystallized valerianate of am 
monia, until, after a series of experiments, Mr. 13. J. Crew, of Philadelphia, 
ascertained that it was necessary to employ the monohydrated valerianic acid, 
as the ordinary acid with three eqs. of water could not be successfully employed 
for the purpose. The officinal formula is based upon that of Mr. Crew, pub- 
lished in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (March, 1860, p. 109). In this formula the 
monohydrated valerianic acid, procured by a special process (see Acidum Vale- 
rianicum, page 981), is saturated with gaseous ammonia obtained in the usual 
manner from a mixture of muriate of ammonia and lime The saturation is known 
to have been effected when litmus paper is no longer acted on. During the ope- 
ration heat is developed sufficient to prevent premature crystallization, and, 
when the saturation is completed, nothing more is necessary than to allow the 
solution to cool. Crystallization soon begins, and in a few hours the contents 
of the vessel become a nearly solid mass of crystals 
Properties. Thus prepared, valerianate of ammonia is in snow-white, pearly, 
four-sided, tabular crystals, perfectly dry, of an offensive odour like that of va- 
lerianic acid, and a sharp sweetish taste. Instead of deliquescing, whenever 
exposed to the air, as happened to the salt formerly procured, it undergoes 
this change only in a moist atmosphere, and effloresces when the air is dry. 
It is very soluble both in water and alcohol. Exposed to heat it is in great 
measure volatilized unchanged; but a small portion, by giving off- a part of its 
ammonia, is converted into the acid valerianate Its formula, viewed as a salt 
of hydrated ammonia,is NH3HO,C10H9O3, as a salt of oxide of ammonium NII40, 
C10H9Og. It is known to be a salt of ammonia by giving off this gas when treated 
with potassa, and of valerianic acid by the separation of this acid, and its ap- 
pearance on the surface in the form of an oil, when the salt is decomposed in 
solution by a mineral acid. W. 
Medical Properties. V alerianate of ammonia is not poisonous. Given to dogs 
in the dose of 150 grains, it produced no inconvenience. As a therapeutic agent 
it was first brought to the notice of the profession, in 1856, by M. Declat, of 
Paris, who published a paper in that year, going to show i‘s remarkable efficacy 
in the treatment of neuralgia. The preparation which he used was a solution 
of valerianate of ammonia of uniform strength, made according to the recipe 
of M Pierlot, an apothecary of Paris, which had been extensively given to the 
epileptics of the Salpetriere and the Dicetre. Since then it has been used in va- 
rious diseases, principally of the nervous system ; such as hysteria, epilepsy, 
chorea, &c. The favourable report of its efficacy in neuralgia, made by M. I)e- 
clat, has been confirmed by practitioners in Paris, London, and Dublin. The 
dose of the salt is from two to eight grains, dissolved in water. As now pre- 
pared, it may be made into pills without inconvenience; and, properly coated 
so as to conceal their disagreeable odour, they are probably the best form for 
the administration of the salt. M. Pierlot made his solution, mentioned above, 
by dissolving a drachm of valerianic acid in tlnrty-two drachms of distilled 
water, saturating the solution with carbonate of ammonia, and adding to the salt 
formed, two scruples of the alcoholic extract of valerian. According to M. Pier 
lot, the latter addition is necessary in order to preserve the preparation from 
change; for a simple solution of the ammoniacal salt is rapidly decomposed. 
It will keep still better if the extract, when added to the solution, be mixed with 
a fluidounce of diluted alcohol, while but 24 drachms of distilled water are used, 
so as to preserve the measure. The solution of M. Pierlot is neutral, of a brown 
colour, and a strong odour of valerian. It contains l-25th of its weight of the PART II. 
Antimonium. 
1015 
pure salt. The dose is from six to thirty drops, given in water or on a lump of 
sugar. (Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 55.)* B 
ANTIMONIUM. 
Preparations of Antimony. 
In arranging the Preparations of Antimony, it has been deemed expedient to 
follow the example of the Pharmacopoeias, in placing them in a strictly alpha- 
betical order ; and, as relates to the Solution of Terchloride of Antimony and 
the Wine of Antimony, to obey the same authority in transferring them, the one 
to 1 he Solutions, the other to the Wines, where they properly belong through 
the character of their menstrua. 
ANTIMOmi ET POTASSxE TARTRAS. U. S. Antimonium 
Tartaratum. Br. Antimonium Tartarizatum. Ed., Dub. Tartrate of 
Antimony and Potassa. Tartarated Antimony. Tartarized Antimony. Tar- 
tar Emetic. 
“ Take of Oxide of Antimony, in very fine powder, two troyounces; Bitar- 
trate of Potassa, in very fine powder, two ti'oyounces and a half; Distilled 
Water eighteen fluidounces. To the Water, heated to the boiling point in a 
glass vessel, add the powders, previously mixed, and boil for an hour ; then fil 
ter the liquid while hot, and set it aside that crystals may form. Lastly, dry the 
crystals, and keep them in a well-stopped bottle. By further evaporation the 
mother-water may be made to yield more crystals, which should be purified by a 
second crystallization.” U. S. 
“ Take of Oxide of Antimony five ounces [avoirdupois] ; Acid Tartrate of 
Potash, in fine powder, six ounces [avoird.] ; Distilled Water two pints [Impe- 
rial measure]. Mix the Oxide of Antimony and Acid Tartrate of Potash with 
sufficient Distilled Water to form a paste, and set aside for twenty-four hours. 
Then add the remainder of the Water and boil for a quarter of an hour, stir- 
ring frequently. Filter, and set aside the clear filtrate to crystallize. Pour off the 
mother-liquor, evaporate to one-third, and set aside that more crystals may form. 
Dry the crystals on filtering paper at the temperature of the air.” Br. 
This preparation is a double salt, consisting of tartrate of potassa, united with 
tartrate of teroxide of antimony. The principle of its formation is exceedingly 
simple, being merely the saturation of the excess of acid in the bitartrate (cream 
of tartar) with the teroxide. The officinal processes consist in boiling a mixture 
of cream of tartar and of pure teroxide obtained by a distinct process. (See An- 
timonii Oxidum.) This conforms with the formula of the late Dublin Pharma- 
copoeia, and is an improvement of the U. S formula of 1850, in which the oxy- 
chloride of Antimony, or powder of Algaroth, was the form of oxide used, and 
was prepared from the sulphuret as the first step of the process. 
In the late London formula the teroxide used was in the form of disulphate 
of antimony, which was originally proposed by the late Mr. Phillips, so early 
as 1811 It was prepared in the following manner. By gently heating sulphuric 
acid with tersulphuret of antimony, the metal was teroxidized at the expense of 
part of the acid, sulphurous acid was evolved, and sulphur set free. By gradu- 
ally increasing the heat until dryness was produced, the whole of the sulphurous 
acid was driven off, the free sulphur was burnt out, and nothing remained but 
the teroxide, united with sulphuric acid in the form of tersulphate of teroxide 
of antimony. This, by continued washing, was converted into the anhydrous 
disulphate of the teroxide (2Sb03,S03). (Phillips.) The disulphate was then 
* Elixir of Valerianate of Ammonia. Various attempts have been made to prepare a 
formula for the exhibition of valerianate of ammonia, which shall in some measure cover 
its otfensiveness. The following, which has been considerably used in this city, under 
the name above given, is perhaps as suitable as any that has been proposed. Take of 
Valerianate of Ammonia gi; Fluid Extract of Vanilla fgss; Compound Tincture of 
Cardamom f^vi; Cura5oa fgij; Water fjiv. Mix. Dose, a teaspoonful three times a day 1016 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
mixed with cream of tartar in the proportion of nine parts by weight to ten, and 
the mixture boiled with water in the usual manner. This process is an eligible 
one, and has the merit of being economical. According to Mr. Phillips, it affords 
“a very pure and beautiful salt.” 
In the preparation of tartar emetic several circumstances should be taken into 
view. The cream of tartar should not be in excess; as in that case it is apt to 
crystallize, upon cooling, with the tartar emetic. To avoid such a result it is 
better to have a slight excess of antimonial oxide. No rule is applicable to the 
determination of the proper proportion of water, except that it should be suffi- 
cient to dissolve the tartar emetic formed. The hot filtration, directed in the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia, may be conveniently performed by means of the tin ap- 
paratus, devised by Dr. Hare for filtering liquids at the point of ebullition. 
(See page 917.) The U. S. Pharmacopoeia boils for an hour; the British for 
fifteen minutes. In all cases the salt should be obtained in well-defined crys- 
tals, unmixed with those of cream of tartar, as the best index of its purity. 
The practice of some manufacturing chemists of boiling the filtered liquor to 
dryness, whereby an impure mass is obtained, consisting in part only of the 
antimonial salt, is very reprehensible. 
It is not easy to decide as to the relative eligibility of the different forms of 
antimonial oxide, used for preparing tartar emetic. The preference, however, 
was given to t\\e oxyc\\\ov\Ae (powder of Algaroth)hy Berzelius; and M. Henry, 
an eminent pharmaceutist of Paris, after a careful comparison of the different 
processes, declared also in its favour. This testimony in favour of the oxychlo- 
ride induced the revisers of our national Pharmacopoeia, in 1830, to adopt it 
for making tartar emetic; but it was abandoned at the late revision, and the 
pure oxide was adopted in its place, in conformity with the Dublin formula, 
which is that of the Br. Pharmacopoeia; so that the two Pharmacopoeias are 
in accordance in the mode of preparing this important salt. 
M. Henry has given a process for preparing tartar emetic with the oxychlo- 
ride on a large scale ; and, as his formula may be useful to the manufacturing 
chemist, we subjoin-it, turning the French weights into the nearest apotheca- 
ries' weights and measures. Take of prepared sulphuret of antimony, in very 
fine powder, three pounds four ounces; muriatic acid, marking 22° (sp. gr. 
1178), eighteen pounds and a half; nitric acid, two ounces and a half. Intro- 
duce the sulphuret into a glass matrass, of a capacity double the volume of the 
mixture to be formed ; and add to it from three to five pounds of the acids pre- 
viously mixed, so that the sulphuret may be thoroughly penetrated by them ; 
then add the remainder of the acids. Place the matrass on a sand-bath, and 
heat the mixture gradually to ebullition, avoiding the vapours, which are disen- 
gaged in large quantity. Continue the heat until the vapours given off are so far 
deprived of sulphuretted hydrogen as not to blacken white paper moistened with 
solution of acetate of lead ; after which allow the liquor to cool, and to remain at 
rest until it has become clear. Decant the clear liquor, and, in order to procure 
the portion of liquid which may be retained by the moist residue, add to this a 
small portion of muriatic acid, and again decant. Mix the decanted liquids, 
which consist of a solution of terchloride of antimony, and add them to a large 
quantity of water, in order that the oxychloride may be precipitated; taking 
care, during their addition, to stir constantly in order that the precipitated pow- 
der may be more minutely divided, to facilitate its subsequent washing. To de- 
termine whether the water has been sufficient to decompose the whole of the 
terchloride, a part of the supernatant liquid, after the subsidence of the powder, 
is to be added to a fresh portion of water; and, if a precipitate take place, more 
water must be added to the mixture, so as to obtain the largest possible product 
of oxychloride. The precipitation being completely effected, wash the powder 
repeatedly with water, until this no longer affects litmus, and place it on linen 
to drain for twenty-four hours. The quantity of oxychloride thus obtained will 
be about three pounds and a half in the moist state, or two pounds nine ounces 
when dry. Assuming it to be this quantity, mix it with three pounds eleven PART II. 
Antimonium. 
1017 
ounces of cream of tartar, in fine powder, and add the mixture to two gallons 
and five pints of boiling water, contained in an iron kettle. Concentrate the 
liquor rapidly until it marks 25° of Baume’s hydrometer for salts, and then 
filter. By repose the liquor furnishes a crop of very pure crystals, which re- 
quire only to be dried. The mother-waters are treated in the following man- 
ner. Saturate the excess of acid with chalk, filter, and concentrate to 25°. By 
cooling a second crop of crystals will be obtained; and, by proceeding in a 
similar manner, even a third crop. But these crystals are somewhat coloured, 
and must be purified by recrystallization. 
In relation to the above process, it may be observed that the proportion of 
oxychloride and cream of tartar must be adjusted according to the numbers 
given, on the assumption that the former is dry; but it by no means follows 
that the whole of the oxide should be dried. To proceed thus would be a waste 
of time. The mode of proceeding is to weigh the whole of the moist oxide, and 
afterwards to weigh a small part of it, and ascertain how much this loses in 
drying. Then, by a calculation, it is easy to determine how much the whole 
of the moist oxide would weigh in the dry state. 
Tartar emetic is not usually prepared by the apothecary, but made on a large 
scale by the manufacturing chemist. Different processes are pursued in differ- 
ent manufactories; and it is not material what plan is adopted, provided the 
crystals of the antimonial salt are carefully purified. In an' extensive manu- 
factory in London, antimony ash (see page 130) is employed for boiling with 
the cream of tartar, and it is stated to form the cheapest material for making 
tartar emetic. (Pereira's Mat. Med.) Mohr prefers the use of a moist oxide, 
prepared by adding gradually an intimate mixture of one part, each, of ter- 
sulphuret of antimony and nitrate of potassa, to a boiling mixture of one part 
of sulphuric acid and two of water. The liquid is boiled down nearly to dry- 
ness and allowed to cool. The grayish-white mass, thus formed, is then washed 
thoroughly with water. The details of this process are given by Soubeiran, by 
whom it is praised, in the Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., iii. 327. 
Properties, &c. Tartrate of antimony and potassa was discovered in 1631 
by Adrian de Mynsicht. It is in the form of transparent, colourless crystals, 
which possess a nauseous, metallic, styptic taste, and have usually the form of 
rhombic octohedrons. When prepared from the oxychloride it crystallizes in 
tetrahedrons. As it occurs in the shops, it is in the form of a white powder, 
resulting from the pulverization of the crystals. The crystals, when exposed to 
the air, effloresce slightly, and become white and opaque. They are insoluble 
in alcohol, but dissolve in proof spirit or wine.* (See Vinum Antimonii ) They 
are soluble in about 15 parts of water at 60° (in 20 parts, U.S., 21 8, Br.), and 
between 2 and 3 parts of boiling water. The late Dr. Perceval, of Dublin, al- 
leged that good tartar emetic dissolves in twelve parts of water, and this state- 
ment agrees nearly with the results of Brandes, who found it to be soluble in 
12T5 parts of water at 70°. Its aqueous solution slightly reddens litmus, and 
undergoes decomposition by keeping. If one-fifth of its bulk of alcohol be added 
to the water, the decomposition is prevented. It is incompatible with acids, al- 
kalies and their carbonates, some of the earths and metals, chloride of calcium, 
and acetate and subacetate of lead. It is incompatible also with astringent in- 
fusions and decoctions, as of rhubarb, cinchona, catechu, galls, &c.; but these 
substances, unless galls be an exception, do not render it inert, though they 
lessen its activity to a greater or less extent. 
Characteristics and Tests of Purity. Tartar emetic, when pure, exhibits 
its appropriate crystalline form. A crystal or two, dropped into a solution of 
hydrosulphuric acid, will be covered with an orange-coloured deposit of tersul- 
phuret of antimony; and hydrosulphuric acid gas causes an orange-red pre- 
* Alcohol precipitates it from its aqueous solution, and Mr. T. S. Wiegand proposes 
as a convenient method of obtaining it in fine powder, to boil an ounce of it in four times 
tts weight of water, and to pour the solution into a pint and a half of 95 per cent, alcohol. 
I Am. Journ of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 407.) 1018 
Antimonium. 
PART II 
cipitate with its solution. One hundred grains of the salt, dissolved in water, 
yield forty-nine grains of tersulphuret with this test. (Land. Pharm., 1851.) 
“ Twenty grains dissolve without residue in an [Imperial] fluidounee of distilled 
water [437'5 grains] at 60°; and the solution gives with sulphuretted hydrogen 
an orange precipitate,which,when washed and dried at 212°, weighs 9dll grains.” 
(Br.) Entire solubility in water is not a character belonging exclusively to the 
pure salt, for, according to the late Mr. Heuuell, tartar emetic may contain 10 
per cent, of uncombined cream of tartar, and yet be wholly soluble in the proper 
proportion of water. (Phillips.) This being the case, the character, given in the 
U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, of entire solubility in 20 or 21'8 parts of water, 
is n ;t to be depended upon. A dilute solution is not precipitated by chloride 
of barium or nitrate of silver, nor rendered blue by ferrocyanide of potassium. 
A solution, containing one part of the salt in forty of water, is not disturbed by 
an equal volume of a solution of eight parts of acetate of lead in thirty-two of 
water and fifteen of acetic acid. This test is adopted in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
from the Edinburgh, and is intended to show the absence of uncombined bitar- 
trate of potassa; for, when the acidulated acetate is used as here directed, it does 
not form the white tartrate of lead with the pure antimonial salt, but only with 
the bitartrate, when this happens to be present. The acidulated acetate is said to 
be capable of detecting 1 per cent, of this impurity in tartar emetic; but Dr. Chris- 
tison finds difficulties in using this test which render it too precarious for practice. 
Mr. Hennell’s method of detecting uncombined bitartrate, is to add a few drops 
of a solution of carbonate of soda to a boiling solution of the antimonial salt. 11 
the precipitate formed is not redissolved, no bitartrate is present. 
The impurities found in tartar emetic are uncombined cream of tartar from 
faulty preparation or fraudulent admixture, tartrate of lime, iron, sulphates, and 
chlorides. The mode of detecting cream of tartar has been indicated above. 
Tartrate of lime is derived from the cream of tartar, which always contains this 
impurity. It is apt to form on the surface of the crystals of tartar emetic in crys- 
talline tufts, which are easily brushed off. Iron is sometimes present, especially 
when the antimonial salt has been prepared from glass of antimony. It is de- 
tected by a blue colour being immediately produced by ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium, added after a little acetic acid. If the blue colour be slowly produced, it 
may arise from reactions on the iron of the ferrocyanide itself. If much iron be 
present, the solution of the tartar emetic will be yellow instead of colourless. 
Sulphates are detected by chloride of barium. The presence of a chloride is 
shown by a precipitate being produced by nitrate of silver, added to a dilute 
solution. According to Serullas, tartar emetic, except when well crystallized, 
and all the other antimonial preparations usually contain a minute proportion 
of arsenic, derived from the native tersulphuret of antimony, which almost al- 
ways contains this dangerous metal. For the mode of detecting it, see Aeidum 
Arseniosum. Tartar emetic should always be bought by the apothecary in 
good crystals, in which state the salt is pure, or very nearly so, and entirely 
free from arsenic. Its powder is perfectly white; and, when it is yellowish- 
white, iron is probably present. It is said that some druggists ignorantly pre- 
fer a tartar emetic which is yellowish-white in powder. 
It has been already stated, in general terms, that tartar emetic in solution is 
incompatible with acids and alkalies, and with some of the earths ; but this salt 
is so important, that some details in regard to the effects of particular reagents, 
included under these titles, seem to be necessary. Muriatic and sulphuric acids, 
added to a solution of the antimonial salt, not too dilute, throw down a white 
precipitate of terchloride or subsulphate of antimony, mixed with cream of tartar, 
which is redissolved by an excess of the precipitant. Nitric acid throws down a 
subnitrate, which is taken up by an excess of it. When caustic potassa is added 
to a tolerably concentrated solution, it produces at first no effect, then a precipi- 
tate of teroxide, and afterwards the solution of this precipitate, if the addition of 
the alkali be continued. Lime-water acts in a weaker solution, and throws aown 
a white precipitate, consisting of the mixed tartrates of lime and antimony. Car- PART II. 
Antimmium. 
1019 
bonate of potassa affects still weaker solutions, throwing down a white precipi- 
tate of teroxide; but this test does riot act in solutions containing less than a 
quarter of a grain to the fluidounce. Ammonia, both pure and carbonated, pre- 
cipitates a solution of tartar emetic, throwing down the pure teroxide. To these 
reagents may be added infusion of galls, which, when fresh and strong, causes 
a dirty, yellowish-white precipitate of tannate of teroxide of antimony 
Composition. Tartar emetic consists of two eqs. of tartaric acid 132, one of 
potassa 47'2, one of teroxide of antimony 153, and two of water 18= 350 2. I t 
is evident that it contains tartaric acid and potassa in the proportion to form 
bitartrate of potassa or cream of tartar ; and, accordingly, it may be viewed as 
a compound of one eq. of cream of tartar, and one of antimonial teroxide. The 
excess of acid in the bitartrate may be considered as united with the teroxide; 
and on that view it is a double salt, composed of tartrate of potassa, with tar- 
trate of teroxide of antimony. The TJ. S. name assumes it to be a double salt. 
According to the view of the bibasic character of tartaric acid, which now begins 
to prevail, tartar emetic consists of one eq., each, of teroxide of antimony, po- 
tassa and tartaric acid, with two eqs. of water (SbO3,KO,C8H4O10-l-2HO); the 
equivalent number of the acid being doubled. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Tartrate of antimon}7- and potassa is the most 
important of the antimonials, and is capable of fulfilling numerous indications 
in disease. Its general action is that of a sedative to the circulation; while, on 
the contrary, it excites most of the secretions. According to the dose, and the 
peculiar circumstances under which it is administered, it acts variously as an 
alterative, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, purgative, and emetic. In minute 
doses it is employed with a view to its alterative effects, and has been found use- 
ful in diseases of the skin. In such doses it has been given with alleged benefit 
in various chronic pulmonary affections, but especially in phthisis. In phthisical 
cases it was prescribed in this way, in 1818, by Lanthois, of Montpellier, and 
sometimes with advantage; and afterwards with encouraging results, by others. 
In the beginningof phthisis, the remedy, in these minute doses, may have exer- 
cised a meliorating effect by its influence on the bronchial inflammation which so 
constantly attends this disease. In small doses, mostly associated with saline 
remedies, such as nitre or sulphate of magnesia, and assisted by copious dilution, 
it is frequently resorted to in febrile complaints, for the purpose of producing 
perspiration, which is often freely induced, especially if the remedy gives rise to 
nausea. If the surface be exposed to cool air, so as to constrict the pores, the 
tendency will be to the kidneys, with the effect of producing an increased flow of 
urine. It also proves useful, on many occasions, in pulmonary and bronchial dis- 
ease as an expectorant; and with a view to its action in this way, it is conjoined 
with squill, ammoniac, and similar remedies. In full doses it acts as an emetic, 
and is characterized by certainty, strength, and permanency of operation. It re- 
mains longer in the stomach than ipecacuanha,produces more frequent and longer- 
continuedeffortsto vomit, and exerts a more powerful impression on the system. 
The nausea and attendant prostration are often very considerable. As an emetic 
its use is indicated where the object is not merely to evacuate the stomach, but 
to agitate and compress the liver and other abdominal viscera. By the extension 
of its action to the duodenum, it often causes copious discharges of bile, and may 
thus prove useful when there is a morbid excess of that secretion. It is employed 
as an emetic in jaundice, hooping-cough, and croup, and in several diseases of 
the nervous system, such as mania, amaurosis, tic douloureux, &c. In efforts to 
reduce old dislocations, its relaxing power over the muscles when it nauseates, 
has been taken advantage of, to facilitate the operation. Tartar emetic often inci- 
dentally produces purging. In reference to this tendency, practitioners are in the 
habit of adding it to purgatiyes, the operation of which it promotes in a remark- 
able degree. It is contraindicated in diseases of great debility, in the advanced 
stages of febrile affections, and in fevers with irritability of stomach. 
Of late years, on the continent of Europe, and to some extent in Great Britain 
and this country, tartar emetic has been given in large doses, with a view to its 1020 
Antintonium. 
PART II. 
sedative, or, as it is usually termed, contrastimulani operation. This practice 
originated with llasori, professor of clinical medicine at Milan, who published 
his views in 1800. The principal diseases in which it has been thus used are 
pneumonia, pleurisy, bronchitis, acute rheumatism, especially of the joints, ar- 
ticular dropsies, chorea, hydrocephalus, and apoplexy. The medicine is directed 
in doses, varying from a grain to two grains or more, every two hours, dissolved 
in a small quantity of water ; the patient being restricted in the use of drinks 
whilst under its operation. It is stated that, when the remedy is thus given in 
diseases of high action, it seldom produces vomiting, an effect which the author 
of the practice wished to avoid. The power of the system to bear large doses 
of tartar emetic, during the existence of acute diseases, was considered by lla- 
sori to depend upon the coexisting morbid excitement, and the capability of bear- 
ing them was expressed by the term tolerance. It is in pneumonia especially that 
the contrastimulant practice has most advocates. It is admitted to have the 
effect of lowering the*force and frequency of the pulse, and the rapidity of the 
respirations; and, in not a few instances, produces marked remedial effects. In 
pleurisy and bronchitis, the advantages of the same practice are less decided. 
Though we are disposed to admit the controlling influence of tartar emetic, when 
thus exhibited, in the diseases named; yet we by no means think that its use 
should supersede blood-letting, or even form our chief reliance. In cases, how- 
ever, in which blood-letting, both general and local, has no effect, or has been 
carried as far as the circumstances of the case will warrant, tartar emetic, ad- 
ministered on the contrastimulant plan, may be found useful. In croup the 
remedy proves efficacious not merely by the free vomiting which it produces, 
but, if given in large doses, on the contrastimulant principle. If the tolerance 
cannot be otherwise established, laudanum may be conjoined with the antimo- 
nial, in order to bring it about. In the treatment of articular dropsies, the de- 
cided benefit derived from large doses of tartar emetic is fully shown by M. 
Gimelle, who has reported twenty-eight successful cases. The medicine was 
gradually increased from four grains to sixteen or twenty daily, and, generally, 
the tolerance was established on the first day. The effusion was absorbed in 
a space of time varying from eight to sixteen days. Tartar emetic has been 
used with success in delirium tremens; the antimonial being sometimes given 
alone, at other times conjoined with opium or laudanum. This practice origi- 
nated with the late Dr. Joseph Klapp, of this city. Dr. Lange, of Konigsberg, 
recommends tartar emetic in cases of uraemia, particularly when it supervenes 
on the exanthemata, giving it in solution in the dose of about a quarter of a 
grain every quarter or half hour. {Ann. de Therap., 1866, p. 115.) Dr. Parker 
has employed it with much advantage for the promotion of uterine contraction, 
in protracted delivery dependent on inertia of the uterus. It relaxes the os 
uteri and perinaeum, increases the mucous secretion of the vagina, and aug- 
ments the contractile force of the longitudinal and transverse fibres. He gives 
it in small doses every ten or fifteen minutes till nausea supervenes. {Ibid., 
1865, p. 184.) 
Tartar emetic, in the form of enema, has been used with great benefit, in 
rigidity of the os uteri, by Dr. James Young, and by Dr. H. II. Storer, of 
Boston. The formula employed by Dr. Young was one grain of the antimonial 
salt to six fluidounces of warm water. 
Externally, tartar emetic is often employed as a counter-irritant, mixed with 
lard, or cerate, or in the form of a plaster. (See Unguentum Antimonii and 
Emplastrum Antimonii.) It causes, after a longer or shorter interval, a burn- 
ing sensation, accompanied by a peculiar and painful pustular eruption. This 
mode of producing counter-irritation is serviceable in a number of diseases; but 
particularly in deep-seated pains, spinal irritation, hooping-cough, and chronic 
inflammation of the chest threatening consumption. Care must be taken, when 
the salt is applied by means of a plaster, that the pustular inflammation does 
not proceed too far; as, in that event, it produces deep and very painful ulcera- 
tions, difficult to heal. According to M. Guerin, inflamed parts exhibit a con- PART II. 
Antimonium. 
1021 
dition of tolerance to the local effects of tartar emetic, evinced by the absence 
of pustulation. In support of this view, he asserts that he has treated hundreds 
of cases of acute arthralgia with tartar emetic ointment with the best effects, 
mostly without the production of any eruption; and when the pustules were 
produced, the benefit accrued before they appeared. When no pustulation fol- 
lows, M. Guerin supposes that the antimony acts by absorption. 
Tartar emetic is generally given in solution, and in an amount which varies 
with the object in view in its administration. Its dose as an alterative is from 
the thirty-second to the sixteenth of a grain; as a diaphoretic or expectorant, 
from the twelfth to the sixth of a grain ; and as a nauseating sudorific, from a 
quarter to half a grain ; repeated, according to circumstances, every hour, two. 
or four hours. With a view to its alterative effect, a pint of water, containing 
from one-quarter to half a grain, may be taken daily as drink. If required to act 
as a purgative, a grain may be dissolved in half a pint of water with an ounce 
of Epsom salt, and two tablespoonfuls of the solution givbn every two or three 
hours. As an emetic the full dose is from two to three grains; though it is 
usually given in the dose of a grain, dissolved in a tablespoonful of water, 
repeated every ten or fifteen minutes till it vomits; the operation being aided 
by warm water or chamomile tea. It is often conjoined with ipecacuanha, in the 
proportion of one or two grains to twenty of that emetic. For convenient ad- 
ministration in small.doses, the Pharmacopoeias direct it dissolved in wine. It 
is given very conveniently to children in dilute aqueous solution, which, being 
nearly tasteless, is readily taken by them. In all cases it should be used with 
caution ; as it sometimes acts even in small doses with unexpected violence. 
Effects as a Poison. The symptoms of acute poisoning by tartar emetic are 
an austere metallic taste; nausea; copious vomiting; frequent hiccough; burn- 
ing pain in the stomach; colic; frequent stools and tenesmus; fainting; small, 
contracted, and accelerated pulse; coldness of the skin; sometimes intense heat; 
difficult respiration ; lossof sense; convulsive movements ; very painful cramps 
in the legs; prostration, and death. Ten grains is the smallest dose reported 
to have proved fatal. To the above effects is sometimes added difficulty of de- 
glutition. Occasionally vomiting and purging do not take place; and, when they 
are absent, the other symptoms are aggravated. Sometimes a pustular erup- 
tion is produced, like that caused by the external application of the antimonial; 
as in a case reported by Dr. J. T. Gleaves, of Tennessee. These are the effects, 
observed in different cases, on the healthy economy; but doses which, taken in 
health, would prove fatal, are sometimes borne with safety in certain morbid 
states of the system, attended with acute inflammation. 
The effects of slow poisoning by tartar emetic on inferior animals have been 
carefully studied by Dr. 13. W. Richardson, of London, and Dr. Nevins, of Liver- 
pool. All the surfaces absorb the solution of the salt, and the metal is found in 
all the tissues after death, except that of the brain; but most abundantly in that 
of the liver. The elimination of the poison is effected by all the secreting organs, 
but especially by the kidneys. The tolerance of antimony is attributed by Dr. 
Richardson to the eliminating action of these glands. The pathological appear- 
ances are general congestion, marked fluidity of the blood, and intense vascu- 
larity of the stomach and sometimes of the rectum, but without ulceration. No 
other pulmonary lesion occurs but simple congestion. (See Am. Jovrn. of Med. 
Sci., Jan. 1857, p. 266.) The general results obtained by Dr. Richardson are con- 
firmed by the experiments of Dr. Nevins. (Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1857, p. 415.) 
In treating a case of poisoning by tartar emetic, if it is found that the patient 
has not vomited, immediate recourse must be had to tickling the throat with a 
feather, and the use of abundance of warm water. Usually, however, the vomit- 
ing is excessive and distressing; and here it is necessary to use remedies calcu- 
lated to decompose the poison, and to allay the pain and irritation. To effect the 
former object, astringent decoctions and infusions, such as of Peruvian bark and 
common tea, are recommended as antidotes. These, however, act but imper- 
fectly, accordmg to M. Toulmouche, who found that a lecoction of cinchona 1022 
Antimonium. 
PARI II. 
iiad usually no power in lessening the emetic effect of this antimonial. Similar 
observations had been made by Dr. Clutterbuck. {Pereira.) The decoction of 
galls acts more decidedly; but M. Toulmouche accords the preference to the 
galls in substance. A case of poisoning with half an ounce of tartar emetic, 
successfully treated with copious draughts of green tea and large doses of tannin, 
is reported by Dr. S. A. McCreery, of the U. S. Navy {Am Journ. of Med. Sci., 
Jan. 1853, p. 131.) Galls no doubt act by their tannin, which forms, with the 
antimonial part of the salt, the insoluble and probably inert tannate of anti- 
mony. To stop the vomiting and relieve pain, laudanum should be given, either 
by the mouth or by injection, and to combat consecutive inflammation, leeches 
to the epigastrium and other antiphlogistic measures may be resorted to. 
After death from suspected poisoning by tartar emetic, it is necessary to search 
for the poison in the body. The contents of the stomach should be digested 
in water, acidulated with muriatic and tartaric acids. The former acid will 
serve to coagulate organic matter; the latter to give complete solubility to 
the antimony. The solution obtained, after having been filtered, should be sub- 
jected to a stream of sulphuretted hydrogen, which, if tartar emetic be present, 
will throw down the orange-red tersulphuret of antimony, distinguished from 
tersulphuret of arsenic and all other precipitates by forming with hot muriatic 
acid a solution, from which, when added to water, a white curdy precipi- 
tate of oxychloride of antimony (powder of Algaroth) js thrown down. Sul- 
phuretted hydrogen is by far the most delicate test for tartar emetic. 
Sometimes the antimony cannot be found in the stomach and bowels, and 
yet may exist in other parts. When it leaves the alimentary canal, it has been 
found by Orfila especially in the liver and kidneys, and their secretions. The 
mode of extracting the antimony, recommended by Orfila, is to carbonize the 
dried viscera with pure concentrated nitric acid in a porcelain capsule, to boil 
the charred mass obtained for half an hour with muriatic acid, assisted, with a 
little nitric acid, to filter the liquor, and introduce it into Marsh’s apparatus. 
Antimoniuretted hydrogen will be formed, which, being inflamed, will deposit 
the antimony on a cold surface of porcelain as a black stain, distinguishable 
from the similar stain produced by arsenic by its less volatility, and by its 
forming, with hot muriatic acid, a solution which affords a white precipitate 
of oxychloride of antimony when added to water. 
Reinsch’s process is a good one for separating antimony from the tissues, and 
was first used for that purpose by Dr. Alfred Taylor, of London. The tissues 
are boiled in muriatic acid, and a bright slip of copper is immersed in the hot 
solution. The metallic film, deposited on the copper, must be proved to be 
antimony. This is done by Dr. Odling by first boiling the coated copper in a 
solution of permanganate of potassa, with a little excess of potassa, for a few 
minutes, whereby the antimony becomes oxidized and dissolved, and then 
passing sulphuretted hydrogen through the filtered and acidulated solution. 
The characteristic orange-red precipitate of tersulphuret of antimony is pro- 
duced, which maybe tested for antimony as above mentioned. Mr. H. H.Wat- 
son has simplified Dr. Odling’s process by dispensing with the use of the per- 
manganate of potassa. He subjects the coated copper slip, in a tube, to a boiling 
very dilute solution of caustic potassa, the metal being alternately drawn out 
of and immersed in the solution, by the aid of a copper wire, until the whole 
of the coating is oxidized and dissolved. The solution is then treated as directed 
by Dr. Odling. {Med. Times and Gaz., July, 1857, page 613.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Antimonii, U. S.; Syrupus Scillas Compositus, TJ. S.; 
Unguentum Antimonii, U. S.; Unguent. Antimonii Tartarati, Br.; Yinum An- 
timoniale, Br.; Yinum Antimonii, U. S. B. 
ANTIMONII OX1DUM. U. S., Br. Oxide of Antimony. 
“Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very fine powder, four troyounces; 
Muriatic Acid eighteen troyounces; Nitric Acid a troyounce and one hundred 
and twenty grains ; Water of Ammonia a ffuidounce and a half; Water, Dis- 
tilled Water, each, a quantity. Introduce the Sulphuret into a flask, PAIIT II. 
Antimonium,. 
1023 
of the capacity of two pints, and, having added the Muriatic Acid, digest, by 
means of a sand-bath, until effervescence ceases. Then, having removed the 
flask from the sand-bath, add the Nitric Acid gradually; and, when nitrous acid 
vapours cease to be given off, and the liquid has grown cold, add to it half a 
pint of Water, and filter. Pour the filtered liquid gradually into twelve pints 
of Water, constantly stirring, and allow the precipitate to subside. Decant the 
supernatant liquid, and wash the precipitate twice by decantation, using, each 
time, eight pints of Water. Then transfer it to a muslin filter to drain, and, 
after the draining is completed, wash it with Water until the washings cease to 
have an acid reaction. Next introduce it into a suitable vessel, and subject it to 
the action of the Water of Ammonia for two hours; at the end of which time, 
transfer it to a moistened muslin filter, and wash it with Distilled Water as long 
as the washings produce a precipitate with nitrate of silver. Lastly, dry the 
precipitate upon bibulous paper with the aid of a gentle heat.” U. S. 
“ Take of Solution of Chloride of Antimony sixteen fluidounces ; Carbonate 
of Soda six ounces [avoirdupois]; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]; 
Distilled Water a sufficiency. Pour the Antimonial Solution into the Water, 
mix thoroughly, let the precipitate settle, remove the supernatant liquid by a 
siphon, add one gallon [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water, agitate well, let the 
precipitate subside, again withdraw the fluid, and repeat the process of affusion 
of Distilled Water, agitation, and subsidence. Add now the Carbonate of Soda 
previously dissolved in two pints [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water, leave them 
in contact for half an hour, stirring frequently, collect the deposit on a calico 
filter, and wash with boiling distilled water until the washings cease to give 
a precipitate with a solution of nitrate of silver acidulated by nitric acid. 
Lastly, dry the product at a heat not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
In the U. S. formula the solution of terchloride is prepared as the first step 
of the proceedings ; in the British is taken already formed, as the result of a 
distinct process. When tersulphuret of antimony is digested with muriatic 
acid, an interchange of principles takes place; the hydrogen of the acid uniting 
with the sulphur of the antimonial, and escaping as sulphuretted hydrogen, 
while the chlorine and antimony combine to form terchloride of antimony which 
is held in solution. The effect of the nitric acid is supposed to be to render the 
oxide whiter, by decomposing any remaining sulphuretted hydrogen, and thus 
preventing it from contaminating the product. Though the result thus far is an 
aqueous solution of the terchloride, this cannot be diluted beyond a certain de- 
gree without decomposition. Hence, if largely diluted, as when poured into an 
excess of water, decomposition takes place, and a white powder is precipitated, 
formerly called powder of Algaroth (see Part III.), which is an oxychloride, hav- 
ing usually the formula 2Sb03,SbCl3-{-H0. The terchloride is in part decom- 
posed by the water, the elements of which convert it into muriatic acid and 
teroxide. The muriatic acid remains in solution, while two eqs, of teroxide fall 
in union with one eq. of terchloride, forming the oxychloride of the above form- 
ula. The composition of the powder, however, is not uniform; as it contains 
more teroxide, the greater the proportion of water used in the decomposition. 
(E. Baudrimont, Journ. de Pharm., Juin, 1856, p. 438.) The oxychloride is first 
washed with abundance of water to separate adhering muriatic acid, and then 
acted upon by a solution of alkali (ammonia, U. S., carbonate of soda, Br.) to 
decompose the terchloride, with the effect of adding to the amount of teroxide ; 
after which the teroxide only requires to be washed with water in order to ren- 
der it pure. The last washing separates the muriate of ammonia or chloride of 
sodium, resulting from the decomposition of the terchloride ; and the water of 
this washing is tested, in both formulas, by nitrate of silver, until the presence 
of a chloride ceases to be indicated. 
Properties. Teroxide of antimony is a heavy, grayish-white powder, perma- 
nent in the air, insoluble in water, but readily soluble in muriatic or tartaric 
acid, or in a boiling solution of bitartrate of potassa. Heated in close vessels 
it becomes yellow, fuses at a full red heat, and finally sublimes in crystalline 1024 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
needles. When cooled from a state of fusion it forms a fibrous crystalline mass. 
Heated in open vessels it suddenly becomes red hot, and, by the absorption of 
oxygen, changes into antimonious acid, which differs from the teroxide in being 
insoluble in muriatic acid, less fusible, and not volatile. This oxide is the active 
ingredient of all the medicinal preparations of antimony. It is frequently im- 
pure from the presence of antimonious acid, in which case it is not entirely 
soluble in muriatic acid. If it contain terchloride, which it is apt to do from 
the imperfect action of the alkaline solutions employed in its purification, its 
solution in tartaric acid will be precipitated by nitrate of silver. When anti- 
monious acid is substituted for it, the fraud may be detected by the spurious 
preparation being entirely insoluble in muriatic acid. Teroxide of antimony 
consists of one eq. of antimony 129, and three of oxygen 24=153. 
Medical Properties. This oxide, which must not be confounded with the 
powder of Algaroth, has the general therapeutic properties of the antimonials. 
It deserves more attention than has been paid to it; and its effects, compara- 
tively with those of tartar emetic, should be carefully studied. It is probable 
that its sedative operation would be found to be the same, with less nausea and 
disturbance of the stomach. Like antimonial powder, it is unequal in its effects, 
sometimes vomiting, at other times being apparently inert. This inequality of 
action is plausibly explained by the state of the stomach as to acidity, the 
presence of acids giving the medicine activity; and this explanation is con- 
firmed by the experiments of Dr. Osburn, of Dublin, with the Dublin oxide. 
As to the French Codex oxide, prepared by boiling the oxychloride with a solm 
tion of bicarbonate of potassa, the inequality is attributed by M. Durand, of 
Caen, to the presence of more or less terchloride, which is separated with dif- 
ficulty. Objecting to t he Codex oxide, M. Durand proposes to prepare the ter- 
oxide by precipitating tartar emetic with ammonia in excess. Thus obtained 
it contains no terchloride, and does not vomit. (Journ.de Pharm., 3e ser., ii. 
364.) The dose of teroxide of antimony is three grains, every two or three 
hours, given in powder with syrup or molasses, or in pill made with confection 
of roses or other suitable excipient. It was introduced into the existing edition 
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, to be used in the preparation of tartar emetic. 
Off. Prep. Antimonii et Potassae Tartras, U.S.; Antimonium Tartaratum, 
Br ; Pulvis Antimonialis, Br. B. 
ANTIMONII OXYSULPIIURETUM. U.S. Oxysulphwet of An- 
timony. Kermes Mineral. 
“ Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very fine powder, a troyounce; Carbon- 
ate of Soda twenty-three troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Dissolve the Car- 
bonate of Soda in the Water previously heated to the boiling point, and, hav- 
ing added the Sulphuret of Antimony, boil for an hour. Then filter rapidly 
into a warm earthen vessel, cover this closely, and allow the liquid to cool 
slowly. At the end of twenty-four hours, decant the supernatant liquid, drain 
the precipitate on a filter, wash it with boiled water previously allowed to be- 
come cold, and dry it without heat. Lastly, preserve the powder in a well- 
topped bottle, protected from the light.” U. S. 
Though very long in use as a medicine,' and much employed on the Continent 
of Europe, it was only at the late revision that this preparation was admitted 
into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, having been superseded by the precipitated sul- 
pliuret, which was supposed to have very similar if not identical properties. 
Kermes mineral, according to Thenard, may be obtained by treating the ter- 
sulphurot of antimony in three ways; 1st with a boiling solution of the carbon- 
ated alkalies, 2d with a boiling solution of the caustic alkalies, and 3d with the 
carbonated alkalies at a red heat. These several processes give brown pow- 
ders, which vary in their shade of colour, and which, though usually considered 
as identical, differ in composition. The kermes obtained by means of the car- 
bonated alkalies in solution is an oxysulphuret, that is, a compound of hydrated 
tersulphuret of antimony with the teroxide; while the product, when either the PART II. 
Antimonium. 
1025 
caustic alkalies in solution, or the carbonated alkalies at a red heat are used, 
is essentially a hydrated tersulphuret, though containing occasionally a little oxy- 
sulphuret. It is the first of these methods that has been adopted in the U. S. 
process. It is in fact the formula of Cluzel, as published in former editions of 
the U. S. Dispensatory (see 11th ed.p. 926), and is substantially the same with 
that given in the French Codex of 1837 
The rationale of the formation of kermes by this process is as follows. A 
portion of the carbonate of soda is converted, by a transfer of carbonic acid, 
into caustic soda and sesquicarbonate. By a double decomposition taking place 
between a part of the tersulphuret of antimony and the caustic soda, sulphuret 
of sodium and teroxide of antimony are formed. The undecomposed portion of 
the tersulphuret then dissolves in the solution of sulphuret of sodium, and the 
teroxide in that of the remaining carbonate of soda. The tersulphuret and ter- 
oxide, being both more soluble in these menstrua hot than cold, precipitate 
together as the liquid cools, and constitute this variety of kermes. Thus ob- 
tained it is light, velvety, of a dark reddish-purple colour, brilliant in the sun, 
and of a crystalline appearance. It consists, according to M. Henry, jun., of 
tersulphuret of antimony 62 5, teroxide 27*4, water 10, and soda a trace; pro- 
portions which correspond most nearly with two eqs. of tersulphuret, one of 
teroxide, and six of water. From the presence of so large a proportion of 
teroxide of antimony in this variety of kermes, it must be far more active than 
the other kinds, and ought, therefore, to be preferred for medical use. 
Kermes, when obtained by means of the caustic alkalies, may be formed by the 
use of either potassa or soda. When the former alkali is selected, it may be pre- 
pared by boiling, for a quarter of an hour, two parts of the tersulphuret of anti- 
mony with one part of caustic potassa dissolved in twenty-five or thirty parts of 
water, filtering the liquor, and allowing it to cool; whereupon the kermes pre* 
cipitates. In this process one portion of the tersulphuret, by reacting with a 
part of the potassa, gives rise to teroxide of antimony and sulphuret of potas- 
sium. A second portion dissolves in the solution of sulphuret of potassium 
formed, and a third forms an insoluble compound with a part of the teroxide. The 
remainder of the teroxide unites with the undecomposed potassa, forming a com- 
pound, which, being but sparingly soluble, is only in part dissolved. The hot 
filtered liquor, therefore, contains this compound dissolved in water, and tersul- 
phuret of antimony dissolved in the solution of sulphuret of potassium. By re- 
frigeration, the tersulphuret in a hydrated state falls down, free or nearly free from 
teroxide, this latter being still held in solution by means of the caustic alkali. 
Kermes may be obtained by the third method, that is, in the dry way, by the 
use of the carbonated alkalies at a red heat. If carbonate of potassa is selected, 
the process is as follows. Rub together two parts of tersulphuret of antimony 
and one of carbonate of potassa, fuse the mixture in a crucible by a red heat, 
reduce the fused mass to powder, boil it with water, and strain. As the strained 
liquor cools the kermes is deposited. The rationale of its formation is nearly the 
same with that of the formation of the second variety of kermes. An inferior 
kermes, prepared in the dry way, and intended for use in veterinary medicine, is 
directed in the French Codex of 1837. to be prepared by fusing together, well 
mixed, 500 parts of tersulphuret of antimony, 1000 of carbonate of potassa, and 
30 of washed sulphur, reducing the fused mass to powder, and boiling it with 
10,000 parts of water. The liquor, upon cooling, lets fall the kermes, which 
must be washed with care and dried. 
The officinal oxysulphuret is an insipid, inodorous powder, of a purplish-brown 
colour, and soft and velvety to the touch. By the action of air and light it gradu- 
ally becomes lighter coloured, and at last yellowish-white It is readily and 
wholly dissolved by muriatic acid, with escape of hydrosulphuric acid gas, and 
is partly soluble in a hot solution of potassa, leaving a residue soluble in tartaric 
acid. It is sometimes adulterated with sesquioxide of iron. In Paris, in 1849, 
a number of the shops contained a spurious kermes of very handsome appear- 
ance, which was little else than this oxide. Kermes mineral first came into use 1026 
Antimonium. 
PART II. 
as a remedy in France about the beginning of the last century. Its mode of pre- 
paration was possessed as a secret by a French surgeon named La Ligerie. In 
1720, the recipe was purchased by the French government and made public. 
Its remedial properties will be considered under the following head. B. 
AUTIMONIUM SULPHURATUM. U.S., Br. Antimonii Sui pbu- 
retum Prjjcipitatum. U.S. 1850, Dub. Antimonii Oxysulphuretem. 
Loud. Antimonii Sulphurf.tum Aureum. Ed. Sulphurated Antimony. 
Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony. 
“Take of Sulphuret of Antimony, in very fine powder, six troyounces; Solu- 
tion of Potassa four pints; Distilled Water, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, each, a 
sufficient quantity. Mix the Sulphuret of Antimony with the Solution of Po- 
tassa and twelve pints of Distilled Water, and boil the mixture over a gentle1 
fire for two hours, constantly stirring, and occasionally adding Distilled Water 
so as to preserve the same measure. Strain the liquid immediately through a 
double muslin strainer, and drop into it, while yet hot, Diluted Sulphuric Acid 
so long as it produces a precipitate. Then wash the precipitate with hot water 
to remove the sulphate of potassa, dry it, and rub it into a fine powder.” U. S. 
“Take of Black Antimony ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Solution of Soda four 
pints and a half [Imperial measure]; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Distilled Water, 
of each, a sufficiency. Mix the Black Antimony with the Solution of Soda, and 
boil for two hours with frequent stirring, adding Distilled Water occasionally 
to maintain the same volume. Strain the liquor through calico, and, before it 
cools, add to it by degrees the Diluted Sulphuric Acid till the latter is in slight 
excess. Collect the precipitate on a calico filter, wash with Distilled Water till 
the washings no longer precipitate with chloride of barium, and dry at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
There are three forms of tersulphuret of antimony containing more or less ter- 
oxide ; the Icermes mineral already described; the golden sulphur, which is pro- 
duced when, after the spontaneous subsidence of kermes mineral in the process 
for obtaining it, an acid is added to the liquid; and the precipitated sulphuret, 
which is made by precipitating the liquid before it has begun to deposit the 
kermes, and may be considered as consisting of the other two combined in one. 
Golden sulphur (sulphur auratum antimonii) is prepared, according to the 
French Codex of 1837, by precipitating the solution remaining after the deposition 
of the kermes, in the formula in which one of the caustic alkalies is employed in the 
first stage of the process, as in the above formula, instead of a carbonate as in the 
one preceding it. The liquor, when caustic potassa has been used, first 
chiefly of tersulphuret of antimony, dissolved in solution of sulphuret of potas- 
sium, but in part also of teroxide, dissolved in solution of potassa. By the action of 
the oxygen of the air on the liquor.however,the sulphuretof potassium haspartof 
its potassium gradually converted into potassa, and thus passes to a higher state 
of sulphuration ; and, consequently,the addition of an acid, while it throwrs down 
the tersulphuret and teroxide of antimony with disengagement of sulphuretted 
hydrogen, will separate at the same time the excess of sulphur which the sul- 
phuret of potassium has gained. This excess of sulphur, combining with a por- 
tion of the tersulphuret of antimony, produces the pentasulphuret of that metal 
(Gmelin); and the resulting golden sulphur is a mixture of tersulphuret and 
teroxide of antimony, with more or less of the pentasulphuret. It is in the form 
of a powder of a golden-yellow colour. As it is partially decomposed by light, 
it should be kept in opaque vessels. It may be worth while to mention that the 
so-called kermes liquor, left after the use of the carbonated alkalies in solution, 
gives but little golden sulphur; while the liquors resulting from the two other 
processes yield it in abundance. 
From the explanations above given, the reader is prepared to understand that 
the method of preparing sulphurated antimony of the U. S. and Br. Pharmaco- 
poeias, combines the process for forming kermes mineral by means of a caustic 
alkali, with that for obtaining golden sulphur; for, while the refrigeration of PART II. 
Antimonium. 
the solution acting alone would cause the precipitation of the variety of kermes 
which contains little or no antimonial oxide, the sulphuric acid added would 
throw down more or less of the golden sulphur. But the question here arises, 
how far this golden sulphur would be identical with that obtained from the 
kermes liquor which has been kept for some time. From the explanations above 
given in relation to golden sulphur, it may be inferred as probable that the pre- 
cipitate by acids, if thrown down immediately, while the solution is hot, as di- 
rected by the Pharmacopoeias, and before the air has had time to act, would con- 
sist exclusively of tersulphuret and teroxide ; but, if thrown down from kermes 
liquor which had been kept, would contain more or less of the pentasulphuret, 
according to the length of time which had elapsed. If these views be admitted, 
it follows that the so-called golden sulphur must be variable as to the pentasul- 
phuret it contains,according to the greater or less change which the kermes liquor 
may have undergone by time, before being used for furnishing the precipitate. 
Formerly, all the Pharmacopoeias noticed in this work used a solution of caus- 
tic potassa in preparing precipitated sulphuretof antimony; but at present the 
British Council, following the London College, employs a solution of caustic 
soda. The use of soda, however, does not alter the theory of the process. 
Properties of the Precipitated Sulphuret of Antimony (Sulphurated An- 
timony, U. S., Br.). This substance is a reddish-brown insoluble powder, taste- 
less when pure, but having usually a slightly styptic taste. When treated 
with twelve times its weight of muriatic acid of the sp.gr. 116, with the aid of 
heat, it is nearly all dissolved, with effervescence of sulphuretted hydrogen. 
The residue burns with the characters of sulphur, and leaves a scanty ash. 
The solution obtained, when added to water, is decomposed, giving rise to a 
white powder of oxychloride of antimony (powder of Algaroth). The solution, 
filtered from the powder, yields an orange-red precipitate with bihydrosulphate 
of ammonia, proving the presence of a portion of antimony, not thrown down 
by the. water. A dark-coloured precipitate, produced by this test, shows the 
presence of contaminating metals, probably lead and copper. Water in which 
this preparation has been boiled, should not yield a white precipitate with 
chloride of barium or oxalate of ammonia. The non-action of these tests shows 
the absence of sulphuric acid and lime. When pure, precipitated sulphuret of 
antimony is completely soluble in a hot solution of potassa; but, as it is found 
in the shops, a white matter is usually left undissolved. When boiled with a 
solution of cream of tartar, about 12 per cent, of teroxide is dissolved; but, 
according to H. Rose, this method of determining the proportion of the ter- 
oxide cannot be relied on. Exposed to heat it takes fire, and burns with a 
greenish-blue flame, giving off sulphurous acid; while the metal remains behind 
in the state of a grayish oxide. 
The London precipitated sulphuret of antimony, as analyzed by Mr. Phil- 
lips, consisted, in the 100 parts, of tersulphuret 76 5, teroxide 12, and water 
115; proportions corresponding nearly with five eqs. of tersulphuret, one of 
teroxide, and fifteen of water. It usually contained a portion of pentasulphuret, 
as shown by the action of muriatic acid, which, when heated with this antimo- 
nial, forms the terchloride with disengagement of sulphur. ( Gmelih’s Handbook, 
iv. 989.) Its active ingredient is the teroxide ; and, in reference to its presence, 
the London College called the preparation oxysulphuret of antimony. The 
Edinburgh College named it incorrectly golden sulphuret of antimony; this 
name being properly applicable to the precipitate produced by the sole action of 
acids, and not to that obtained by the action of acids and refrigeration conjointly. 
Sulphurated Antimony is described in the British Pharmacopoeia as “ an 
orange-red powder, readily dissolved by caustic soda, also by hydrochloric acid 
with the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen and the separation of a little sul- 
phur Boiled in water with acid tartrate of potash, the resulting solution is 
precipitated orange-red with sulphuretted hydrogen. Sixty grains of this pre- 
paration, dissolved in hydrochloric acid and dropped into water, give a white 
precipitate, which, when washed and dried, weighs about 53 grains.” Br. 1028 
Antimonium.—Aqua. 
PART II 
Medical Properties. Precipitated sulphuret of antimony (sulphurated anti- 
mony) is alterative, diaphoretic, and emetic. It is, however, an uncertain medi- 
cine, as well from the want of uniformity in its composition, as from its lia- 
bility to vary in its action with the state of the stomach. It is seldom given 
alone, but generally in combination with calomel and guaiac, in the form of 
Plummer’s pill, as an alterative in secondary syphilis and cutaneous eruptions, 
or with henbane or hemlock in chronic rheumatism. (See Pilulae Antimonii 
Composite.) During its use the patient should abstain from acidulous drinks 
Its dose as an alterative is from one to two grains twice a day, in the form of 
pill; as an emetic, from five grains to a scruple. 
Kermes mineral, when prepared by means of the carbonated alkalies in the 
moist way, as it contains between two and three times as much teroxide as the 
precipitated sulphuret, is a more active preparation, and must be used in a 
smaller dose. It is sometimes given in large doses as an antiphlogistic remedy 
in peripneumony and other inflammations of the chest. Prof. Meigs recommends 
it as an invaluable medicine in childbed fevers, to promote diaphoresis, and to 
reduce the force of the circulation. 
Golden sulphur acts like kermes mineral, but is much weaker, and must be 
given in a larger dose. 
Off. Prep. Pilulae Antimonii Compositae, U. S.; Pilula Hydrargyri Subchlo- 
ridi Composita, Br. B. 
AQUA. 
Water. 
AQUA DESTILLATA. U. S., Br. Distilled Water. 
“Take of Water eighty pints. Distil two pints, using a tin or glass con- 
denser, and throw them away; then distil sixty-four pints, and keep them in 
glass bottles.” U. S. 
“ Take of Water ten gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil from a copper still, 
connected with a block-tin worm; reject the first half gallon, and preserve the 
next eight gallons.” Br. 
No natural water is sufficiently pure for certain pharmaceutical purposes; 
and hence the necessity of the above processes for its distillation. It is best to 
reject the first portion which comes over, as this may contain carbonic acid and 
other volatile impurities; and the last portion of the water ought not to be 
distilled, lest it should pass over with an empyreumatic taste. The distillation 
is usually performed with the ordinary still and worm; but, to avoid any im- 
purity from the worm or the receiver, the condenser is directed in the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia to be of tin or glass. In the British formula the worm is ordered to be 
of block-tin; and the same is undoubtedly contemplated in our officinal process; 
as the ordinary tin-coated sheet-iron, commonly called tin, would be wholly unfit 
for the purpose. Mr. Brande states that distilled water often derives from the 
still a foreign flavour, which it is difficult to avoid. He, therefore, recommends 
that a still and condenser be kept exclusively for distilling water; or, where this 
cannot be done, that steam be driven through the worm for half an hour, for the 
purpose of washing it out before it is used, the worm-tub having been previously 
emptied. Mr. Mackay, of Edinburgh, cautions against distilling water in a still 
with a leaden head or leaden worm, for fear of contaminating the water with lead. 
Even the use of pure tin, which is generally considered unexceptionable, does 
not give perfect security against impurity; as water distilled from metallic alem- 
bics, with the head and worm of this metal, has a peculiar odour which it retains 
for some time. A portion of distilled water thus prepared, after having been 
kept for four months in a well-stopped bottle, was found by M. Flech, an apo- 
thecary of Kevelaer, to have deposited white flocculi, which proved on examina- 
tion to consist of oxidized tin ; and the water, besides, contained tin in solution 
and a little ammonia. M. Flech supposes that a part of the water was decom- 
posed ; its oxygen uniting with the tin, and its hydrogen in the nascent state wit h PART II. 
Aquas. 
1029 
the nitrogen of the air to form ammonia; and he is disposed, moreover, to ascribe 
to this cause the peculiar odour referred to, which is never perceived when the 
distillation is performed in glass vessels (Journ. de Pharm., Fev. 1860, p. 125.) 
Properties, &c. Distilled water, as usually obtained, has a vapid and dis- 
agreeable taste, and is not perfectly pure; water, to be rendered so, requiring 
to be distilled in silver vessels. The properties of pure water have already been 
given under the head of Aqua. Distilled water should undergo no change by 
sulphuretted hydrogen, or on the addition of tincture of soap, subacetate of 
lead, chloride of barium, oxalate of ammonia, nitrate of silver, or lime-water, 
and should evaporate without residue. It is uselessly employed in some formu- 
las, but is essential in others. As a general rule, when small quantities of active 
medicines are to be given in solution, and in the preparation of eollyria, distilled 
water should be directed. The following list contains the chief substances which 
require distilled water as a solvent: tartar emetic, corrosive sublimate, nitrate 
of silver, the chlorides of barium and calcium, acetate and subacetate of lead, 
permanganate of potassa, the sulphates of iron and zinc, sulphate of quinia, 
sulphate, muriate, and acetate of morphia, and, in general terms, all the alka- 
loids and their salts. Distilled water is used in preparing the officinal diluted 
acids for absorbing gaseous ammonia, and for forming nearly all the officinal 
aqueous solutions. B. 
Medicated Waters. 
AQUiE. U.S. 
Under this head are included, in the United States Pharmacopoeia, all pre- 
parations, consisting of water holding volatile or gaseous substances in solu- 
tion, many of which were formerly obtained by distillation, and some still con- 
tinue to be so. They include the preparations formerly specially designated as 
“ Distilled Waters,” having been made by distilling water from plants or parts 
of plants containing volatile oil Distilled water is now placed in the Pharma- 
copoeia under the same head; but we have given it the distinct position which 
it held in the edition of 1850, and which it might very properly, we think, have 
continued to hold in the present. 
The Distilled Waters, as thus defined, hold a much more prominent position 
in the pharmacy of Europe, particularly of continental Europe, than in that of 
the United States; and a great deal of thought and elaborate investigation have 
been bestowed upon the various conditions calculated to furnish the best products 
in the most convenient method. It would be doing injustice to the subject not 
to give it a distinct consideration in a work like the present, though its rela- 
tive want of importance with us will render our remarks comparatively brief. 
Many vegetables impart to water distilled from them their peculiar flavour, 
and more or less of their medical properties. The Distilled Waters chiefly used 
are those prepared from aromatic plants, the volatile oils of which rise with the 
aqueous vapour, and are condensed with it in the receiver. But, as water is capa- 
ble of holding but a small proportion of the oil in solution, these preparations 
are generally feeble, and are employed chiefly as pleasant vehicles or corrigents 
of other medicines. 
In the preparation of the Distilled Waters, dried plants are sometimes used, 
because the fresh are not to be had at all seasons; but the latter, at least in the 
instance of herbs and flowers, should be preferred if attainable. Flowers which 
lose their odour by desiccation may be preserved by incorporating them inti- 
mately with one-third of their weight of common salt, and in this state afford 
Distilled Waters of delicate flavour. Indeed, some pharmaceutists prefer the 
salted flowers in certain instances, believing that the Waters distilled from them 
keep better than when prepared from the fresh flowers. Mr. C. R. Tichborne 
has discovered a new method of preserving flowers, which is said to answer 
even better than the use of salt. It consists simply in immersing the fresh 
flowers in glycerin, which preserves them with all their aromatic properties 1030 
Aquae. 
PART ri, 
wholly unimpaired. The flowers, as of the elder, rose, and orange, should he 
gathered after full expansion, and packed firmly in wide-mouthed bottles or 
jars, but without crushing them. The glycerin is then to be poured on until it 
covers them, and the vessel closed. Mr. Tichborne has kept flowers in this way 
for two years; and at the end of that time procured from them distilled waters, 
of which the perfume has equalled that of the waters prepared from recent 
flowers. It is not necessary that the glycerin should be perfectly pure ; but it 
should be without smell {Pliarm. Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., vii. 135.) 
The idea at one time prevailed, to a considerable extent, that Waters kept 
better distilled from dried herbs than from fresh; and the opinion was true in 
regard to those prepared with the defective alembics of former times, and by a 
naked fire ; but experiment has sufficiently established the fact, that, with a suit- 
able apparatus, and a regulated heat, the fresh herbs yield products which, while 
they have a more agreeable odour of the plant, keep quite as well as those from 
dried herbs. {Journ. de Pharm.. Mai, 1861, p. 359.) 
It is necessary to observe certain practical rules in conducting the process of 
distillation. When the substance employed is dry, hard, and fibrous, it should 
be mechanically divided, and macerated in water for a short time previously to 
the operation. The quantity of materials should not bear too large a proportion 
to the capacity of the alembic, as the water might otherwise boil over into the 
receiver. The water should be brought quickly to the state of ebullition, and 
continued in that state till the end of the process. Care should be taken to 
leave sufficient water undistilled to cover the whole of the vegetable matter; lest 
a portion of the latter, coming in contact with the sides of the vessel, might be 
decomposed by the heat, and yield empyreumatic products. Besides, when the 
operation is urged too vigorously,or carried too far, a slimy matter is apt to form, 
which adheres to the sides of the alembic above the water, and is thus exposed 
to igneous decomposition. To obviate these disadvantages, the heat may be 
applied by means of an oil-bath, regulated by a thermometer, or of a bath of 
solution of chloride of calcium, by which any temperature may be obtained be- 
tween 212° and 270°, according to the strength of the solution; or, when the 
process is conducted upon a large scale, by means of steam introduced under 
pressure into a space around the still. A convenient mode of applying heat by 
steam, is by means of a coil of leaden tube placed in the bottom of the still, 
having one end connected with a boiler, and the other passing out beneath or 
at the side, and furnished with a stop-cock, by which the pressure may be in- 
creased, or the condensed water drawn off at will. If any volatile oil float upon 
the surface of the Distilled Water, it may be separated.* 
From a series of experiments made in Paris in reference to the best mode of 
applying heat, it was concluded that, as regards the great majority of aromatics, 
the direct application of steam was preferable, because the Distilled Waters pre- 
pared by means of it have a freshness of aroma that is wanting in the others, are 
always free from the odour of the still, are much more limpid, are less apt to de- 
posit mucilaginous matter, and keep better ; but that exceptions to the general 
rule are afforded by bitter almonds, cherry-laurel leaves, mustard, and horserad- 
ish, in all of which the oil does not pre-exist in the plant, but is formed upon con- 
tact with water; by woods, barks, and roots, the tissue of which cannot be suffi- 
ciently penetrated by steam; and by roses. {Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1861, p. 364.) 
Later experiments have led to the conclusion that even these substances are most 
advantageously treated by distillation with steam; and that, in fact, there is no 
exception to the general rule. All inconvenience and danger in this process are 
* This direction is generally given ; hut, in a communication to the Pharmaceutical 
Society of England, Mr. Haselden recommends the excess of oil to be well shaken with 
the water, and the whole to be transferred to the stock vessel, where it may be allowed 
to rest, and the oil to separate. He thinks the water keeps better when thus treated; and 
the full strength is always ensured. The stock vessel he prefers made of stoneware, and 
furnished with a tap placed two inches from the bottom, whereby the water may bo 
drawn oif clear when wanted for the ordinary shop bottles ; the oil either rising to the top, 
or sinking to the bottom of the vessel, according to its specific gravity. (Pharm. Journ 
xvi. 14, 15.) —Note to the eleventh edition PART II. 
Aquas. 
1031 
avoided by care to have tubes of large diameter for the supply of the steam, 
which should be received into a free space reserved, at the bottom of the alem- 
bic, by means of a diaphragm pierced with holes. To prevent the loss of vapour, 
it is sufficient to lute the apparatus by strips of linen or muslin covered with glue 
or dextrin paste, making two or three turns around the alembic. (Ibid., Juin, 
1864, p. 520.)* 
But,however carefully the process may be conducted,the Distilled Waters pre- 
pared from plants always have at first an unpleasant smoky odour. They may 
be freed from this by exposure for a short time to the air, before being enclosed 
in well-stopped bottles, in which they should be preserved. When long kept, 
they are apt to form a viscid ropy matter, and to become sour. This result has 
been ascribed to other principles, which rise with the oil in distillation, and pro- 
mote its decomposition. To prevent this decomposition, the Edinburgh College 
ordered rectified spirit to be added to the water employed in the process of dis- 
tillation. But this addition is inadequate to the intended object, and is in fact 
injurious, as the alcohol by long exposure to the air appears to undergo the 
acetous fermentation. The London College, which had previously directed i 
spirituous addition, abandoned it in the last edition of their Pharmacopoeia: 
and it is not directed in any of the present U. S. or British formulas in which 
distillation is performed. A better plan is to redistil the Waters. When thus 
purified, it is said that they may be kept for several years unchanged. 
Robiquet considers the mucosity which forms in Distilled Waters as the result 
of a vegetative process, to which the presence of air is essential. He has found 
that, so long as the water is covered with a layer of essential oil, it undergoes 
no change; but that the oil is gradually altered by exposure to the air, and, as 
soon as it disappears, the water begins to be decomposed. He states that cam- 
phor exercises the same preservative influence over the Distilled Waters by re- 
sisting the vegetation, and that those in which the odour of camphor is devel- 
oped keep better on that account. Finally, he has observed that the more Dis- 
tilled Water is charged with volatile oil, the more abundant is the mucosity when 
* Distillation by steam having been demonstrated, in France, to be the best method of 
preparing the Distilled Waters in all instances, we present, in the margin, the figure of a 
vertical section of Soubeiran’s apparatus for this purpose, somewhat modified. A cylin- 
drical tinned copper or iron boiler (A), three 
and a half feet high and two in diameter, is 
surmounted by an expanded head or capital 
(B) which is furnished with an inner ledge, 
forming a kind of gutter, intended to receive 
the liquid condensed on the inner surface of 
the capital,and opening into the exit tube (e). 
Across the boiler, about six inches from the 3 
bottom, is placed a horizontal septum or dia- 
phragm, pierced with numerous small holes. 
Through the side of the boiler, near the top, 
a steam pipe (a d), provided with a stop-cock 
(a), enters, and, turning immediately down- 
wards, runs along the side of the boiler to 
the bottom, where it makes a horizontal 
bend, and, extending to the middle of the 
base, turns upwards, and opening by a per- 
forated expansion, like the end of the spout 
of a watering pot, terminates a little beneath 
the centre of the diaphragm. The material 
to be distilled, having been previously properly comminuted, and macerated when neces- 
sary, is introduced into the boiler, and rests on the diaphragm. The capital, having then 
been applied, and secured by a luting of linen bands coated with dextrin paste, steam from 
any convenient generator is admitted through the tube at its upper extremity, and passing 
down, escapes through the expanded termination (b) beneath the diaphragm, through the 
small openings of which it passes, and thus penetrates equably all parts of the material. 
Loaded with the volatile matters, it then rises into the capital, where a portion being con- 
densed falls into the gutter, and the remainder passes out, with the liquid condensed in the 
capital, through the exit pipe (/), whence it enters into a worm or other suitable condens- 
ing apparatus. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 1032 
Aquse. 
PART II. 
it has begun to form, Robiquet unites with Henry and Guibourt, and with Virey, 
in recommending that all these Waters, when intended to be kept for a consider- 
able time, should be introduced, immediately after distillation, into bottles of a 
size proportionate to the probable consumption of the water when brought into 
use; and that the bottles should be quite filled, and then sealed or otherwise 
well stopped, so as entirely to exclude the air. It is best that they should be 
small, and be closed with well-fitting glass stoppers. Thus treated, the Waters 
may be preserved without change for many years. (Journ. de Pharm.-, xxi. 402.) 
If this plan be not put into operation immediately, the Water should, after intro- 
duction into the bottle, be heated to about 212° by placing the bottle in boiling 
water, and, when it begins to run over, should be carefully enclosed.* 
Another mode of preparing the Distilled Waters is to substitute the volatile 
oil, previously separated from the plant, for the plant itself in the process. This 
mode is directed in the British Pharmacopoeia, in several instances. It is said 
to afford a more permanent product than the preceding; but does not always 
preserve the flavour of the plant. 
In relation to most of the aromatics, the U. S Pharmacopoeia discards alto- 
gether the process by distillation, and directs that water should be impregnated 
with the volatile oil by trituration with carbonate of magnesia, and subsequently 
filtered. This is by far the most simple and easy process. The i*esulting solution 
is pure and permanent, and is perfectly transparent, the carbonate of magnesia 
being separated by the filtration. Carbonate of magnesia is preferable to the 
pure earth; as the latter sometimes gives a brownish colour to the liquid, and 
requires to be used in larger proportion. But both these substances are dissolved 
in minute quantities, and are apt to occasion a slight fiocculent precipitate. 
They may also possibly prove injurious by decomposing certain substances given 
in very small doses, as sulphate of morphia, bichloride of mercury, and nitrate 
of silver. The object of the magnesia or its carbonate is simply to enable the 
oil to be brought to a state of minute division, and thus presented with a larger 
surface to the action of the solvent. According to Mr. Robert Warington, this 
object may be better accomplished bv porcelain clay, finely powdered glass, or 
pumice stone, which are wholly insoluble (Chem. Gaz., March, 1845, p. 113); 
and the London College employed finely powdered silica for the purpose. Chalk 
and sugar answer the same end ; but the latter, by being dissolved with the oil, 
renders the preparation impure. The Dublin College prepared its Waters by 
agitating an alcoholic solution of the oil with distilled water, and filtering. 
They consequently contained alcohol, and were liable to the objection, already 
mentioned, against the medicated waters thus impregnated. They were besides 
feeble in the properties of their respective oils. In the preparation of the aro- 
matic waters by these processes, it is very important that the water should be 
pure. The presence of a sulphate causes a decomposition of the oil, resulting 
in the production of sulphuretted hydrogen and a carbonate ; and the aromatic 
properties are quite lost. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 303.) Hence the 
propriety of the officinal direction to employ distilled water.f 
* It is of some importance to know the proportion which the aromatic submitted to 
distillation ought to hear to the amount of distilled water obtained. The following state- 
ment upon this point, based upon experiments, is contained in the Journal de Pharmacie 
(Mai, 1861, p. 367). Fresh aromatic plants requiring one part of the plant for one of 
product; wormwood, black cherry, scurvy-grass, hyssop, cherry-laurel, lavender, balm 
mint, peach-leaves, roses, and sage;—fresh and dry aromatics requiring one part of the 
plant to two of product; bitter almonds, orange-flowers, melilot, horseradish, elder, and 
tansy;—d-ry and very aromatic plants requiring one part to four of product; angelica, 
green anise, juniper berries, chamomile, canella, eascaiilla, fennel, sassafras, linden flow- 
ers, and valerian. (Note to the twelfih edition.) 
f Mr. Haselden prefers the process of distillation from the aromatic itself in the in- 
stances of dill, caraway, fennel, cinnamon, and pimento, which are not apt to afforc to 
the distilled water such matter as may cause it to become sour; but he thinks that pep- 
permint, spearmint, and pennyroyal waters may be advantageously prepared by tritura- 
tion. He advises, however, that these waters should not be filtered, but prepared* in quan- 
tity, allowed to settle, and drawn off" as wanted. (Pharm. Journ., xvi. 14, 15.)—Note to 
the eleventh edition. PART II. 
Aquse. 
1033 
The Distilled Waters are liable to contain various metallic impurities, derived 
from the vessels in which they are prepared or preserved. The metallic salts 
which have been found in them are those of iron, zinc, copper, and lead. With 
ferrocyanide of potassium iron will give a blue colour, zinc and lead white 
precipitates, and copper a rose-colour followed by chestnut-brown. Sulphuret 
of sodium causes with the salts of iron, copper, and lead, a brown discolora- 
tion more or less deep, followed by precipitates varying from brown to black; 
with those of zinc, a white precipitate. The Distilled Waters may be freed from 
these impurities by animal charcoal, previously well purified. The charcoal 
should be strongly shaken, eight or ten times in the course of a day, with the 
impure Water, which should then be allowed to rest, and the next day be fil- 
tered. Five grains of the charcoal will be sufficient for a gallon of the Distilled 
Water. (Journ. de Pharm., Nov. 1862, p. 416.) The volatile oils may be recov- 
ered from the Waters containing them, or at least may be transferred to a spirit- 
uous menstruum, by mixing olive oil with the water, adding a little solution of 
potassa so as to form a soap, and a consequent emulsion with the liquid, and 
then neutralizing by an acid. The fixed oil will rise to the surface, bringing 
the volatile oil along with it. The latter may then be separated from the former 
by agitation with alcohol. (T. B. Groves, Pharm. Journ , Feb. 1864.) W. 
AQUA ACIDI CAR B ONI Cl. U.S. Carbonic Add Water. Artificial 
Seltzer Water. 
“By means of a proper apparatus, impregnate Water, contained in a suitable 
receiver, with a quantity of carbonic acid, equal to five times the bulk of the 
Water. Carbonic acid may be obtained from Bicarbonate of Soda or from Mar- 
ble by means of dilute sulphuric acid.” U. S. 
This preparation, which is peculiar to the United States Pharmacopoeia, con- 
sists of water highly charged with carbonic acid. Water is found to take up its 
volume of this acid under the pressure of the atmosphere; and Dr. Henry ascer- 
tained that precisely the same volume of the compressed gas is absorbed under 
a higher pressure. From this law, the bulk taken up is constant, the quantity 
being different in proportion as there is more or less driven into a given space. 
As the space occupied by a gas is inversely as the compressing force, it follows 
that the quantity of the acid forced into the water will be directly as the pres- 
sure. A double pressure will force a double quantity into a given space, and, 
therefore, cause a double quantity to be absorbed; a treble pressure will drive 
a treble quantity into the same space, and cause its absorption; and so on for 
higher pressures, the bulk of the compressed gas absorbed always remaining the 
same. From the principles above laid down it follows that, to saturate water 
with five times its volume of carbonic acid, as directed in the formula, it must 
be subjected to a pressure of five atmospheres. 
M. Ozouf, of Paris, has put in operation a new mode of preparing carbonic 
acid, on the large scale, for the manufacture of artificial mineral waters. It 
consists in the passage of carbonic acid from the vigorous combustion of coke, 
refrigerated and washed, through a solution of carbonate of soda, and heating 
the solution of bicarbonate of soda thus formed so as to drive off its carbonic 
acid, which is collected for use. The solution of the carbonate of soda thus 
produced, after refrigeration, is again used in the process, and thus indefinitely. 
A peculiar arrangement of apparatus is employed for the purpose, which is 
described in the Journ. de Pharm. et de Chim. (Avril, 1868, p. 265). 
Carbonic acid water is familiarly called in this country “ mineral wiler,” and 
“ soda water A the latter name, originally applied to the preparation when it 
contained a small portion of carbonate of soda, being from habit continued since 
the alkali has been omitted. As it is largely consumed both as an agreeable 
beverage and as a medicine, we give, in a note below, a sketch of an approved 
apparatus employed in this city for its preparation.* 
* The apparatus referred to in the text consists of a strong egg-shaped copper vessel, 
tinned on the inside, about eighteen inches long, called a generator, fixed upright in a 
wooden frame, and surmounted by another upright vessel of similar shape, about nine 1034 
Aquae. 
PART II 
Carbonic acid water is dispensed in many of the apothecary shops in this 
country. The fountain is usually placed in the cellar, and the tube proceeding 
from the fountain is made to pass through the floor and counter of the shop, and 
to terminate in a stop-cock, by means of which the carbonic acid water may be 
drawn off' at pleasure. In order to have the liquid cool in summer, the tube from 
the cellar generally terminates in a strong metallic vessel of convenient shape, 
placed under the counter and surrounded with ice, and from this vessel a sepa- 
rate tube penetrating the counter proceeds. 
Properties. Carbonic acid water is a sparkling liquid, possessing an agree- 
able, pungent, acidulous taste. It reddens litmus deeply from its state of con- 
centration, and is precipitated by lime water. Being impregnated with a large 
quantity of the acid gas under the influence of pressure, it effervesces strongly 
when freed from restraint. Hence, to preserve its briskness, it should be kept 
in strong well-corked bottles, placed inverted in a cool place. Several natural 
waters are of a similar nature; such as those of Seltzer, Spa, and Pyrmont; 
but the artificial water has the advantage of a stronger impregnation with the 
acid gas. Carbonic acid water should be made with every precaution to avoid 
metallic impurity. Hence the necessity of having the fountain well tinned on 
the inner surface. Even with this precaution, a slight metallic impregnation is 
inches long, communicating with the generator by a short neck, and intended to contain 
the sulphuric acid. Connected with the generator by a copper tube, and placed by its side, 
is a strong cylindrical vessel for washing the gas, about fifteen inches long and three and 
a half in diameter, two-thirds filled with water, and to near the bottom of which the con- 
necting tube passes. Severally communicating with the washing vessel are a mercurial 
gauge to indicate the pressure, and a strong vessel, called the reservoir or fountain, of 
about the capacity of eighteen gallons, three-fourths filled with water, the connection of 
the latter being by a lead or gutta-percha tube, covnmanded by a stop-cock. The charge of 
whiting or marble dust, say eight pounds, and the requisite water are added through an 
opening in the generator, in front of the sulphuric acid vessel, and closed by a screw stop- 
per. The communication between the acid vessel and generator is commanded by a verti- 
cal square rod, reaching within the vessel to about two-thirds of its height, and termina- 
ting at its lower end in ascrew. This rod, when unscrewed,opens a communication between 
the acid vessel and the generator. The requisite sulphuric acid is added to the acid vessel 
through an opening at its top, capable of being closed by a screw stopper. Through the 
axis of this stopper,and revolving within it,but without having any vertical motion, passes 
the key, in the lower end of which there is a square hole to fit on the square rod. When 
the acid vessel is to be closed, the screw stopper, with its key, is placed over the opening, 
in which situation the lower end of the key reaches down a sufficient distance to embrace 
loosely the square rod. The stopper is now screwed in, and the key, without revolving 
with the stopper, descends so as duly to embrace the square rod. By turning the handle 
of the key in the proper direction, the rod is partially unscrewed, the passage to the gene- 
rator opened, and the acid gradually flows in. From time to time, when the acid is allowed 
to enter the generator, its contents are briskly mixed by means of an agitator, attached 
to a horizontal axis, passing air-tight through the short diameter of the generator, and 
turned by a crank. The stop-cock between the washing vessel and fountain is now par- 
tially opened, and the impregnation of the water with the gas begins. As it proceeds, the 
sulphuric acid is gradually allowed to enter the generator until it is expended, and the 
stop-cock is from time to time turned, until it is entirely opened. Finally, after the water 
is fully charged with gas, and the whiting wholly decomposed, the fountain is detached, 
and the generator freed from the pulpy sulphate of lime by the assistance of water and 
the agitator, and its contents allowed to escape through an opening in its most depending 
part. In the apparatus of the size above described, a single fountain only is charged by 
one operation, and the carbonic acid water formed contains between nine and ten times its 
volume of the gas. In this mode of making carbonic acid water, it is perceived that the 
requisite pressure is obtained by generating the carbonic acid in a confined space. 
Numerous other forms of apparatus have been invented for making carbonic acid water. 
That of Bernhard is figured in the Am. Journ. of Pharmacy for J an. 1856; the figure being 
taken from Parrish's Pharmacy. In this apparatus, the generauors and washing vessels are 
of thickly timed copper, and the fountains, of cast iron lined with enamel. These foun- 
tains are free from objection except for their weight; as also are the stonew'are fountains, 
strengthened with iron bands, which are used in Boston. A less costly apparatus than the 
above is Nickel's patent combination fountain, figured in the same journal for March, 1856 
In this, bicarbonate of soda is used instead of whiting, and the salt is added to the acid, 
instead of the acid to the salt. For an account of the small apparatus of Mr. K. Knight, 
which is made of tin and silver exclusively, see the Pharm. Journal for May, 1857. PART II. 
Aquae. 
1035 
not always avoided, especially in the winter season, when the water is less con- 
sumed as a drink, and, therefore, allowed to remain longer in the tubes and 
stop-cocks. Glass fountains are sometimes used with advantage at this season; 
and a patent has been taken out for a stoneware fountain, enclosed in tinned 
copper, which is said to answer a good purpose. When leaden tubes are em- 
ployed to convey the water, it is liable to be contaminated with this metal, which 
renders it deleterious. A case of colica pictonum was treated by one of the 
authors, arising from the daily use of the first draught of carbonic acid water 
from a fountain furnished with tubes of lead. Tubes of pure tin, enclosed in 
lead ones to give them strength, are free from objection. 
Copper fountains, well tinned, are liable to the objections that the tin lining 
wears away by use, and that there is no convenient means of inspecting their 
interior, owing to the solder joint, which permanently unites the two sections of 
the fountain To remove the latter objection,the improvement has been proposed 
by I)r. R. 0. Doremus, of New York, to have the two sections with flanges, se- 
curely bolted together, with intervening gutta percha packing, in order to fur- 
nish facilities for examining the interior,to determine whether re-tinning is neces- 
sary. Sometimes drops of solder and chips of copper are carelessly left in the 
fountain, and form an additional source of danger. There can be no doubt that 
carbonic acid water is not unfrequently rendered poisonous by metallic impreg 
nation. Dr. Doremus has proved, by a chemical examination, that lead and cop 
per are sometimes present. (Am. Journ. of Pliarm., Sept. 1854, p. 422; from 
the Am Med. Monthly.) Dr. John T. Plummer, of Richmond, Ind., has found 
lead. The latter metal is detected by sulphuretted hydrogen, which gives with 
it a black precipitate, and copper by ferrocyanide of potassium, which causea 
a brown precipitate. In testing for copper, a few drops of the reagent should 
be added to a glass of the suspected water, placed on a sheet of white paper 
when, if even a minute proportion of copper be present, a brownish discolora 
tion will be seen, upon looking down through the liquid. 
Carbonic acid, formerly called fixed air, is a colourless gas, of a slightly pun 
gent odour and acid taste. It reddens litmus feebly, and combines with salifiable 
bases, forming salts called carbonates, from which it is expelled by all the strong 
acids. It extinguishes flame, and is quickly fatal to animals when respired All 
kinds of fermented liquors which are brisk or sparkling, such as champagne, 
cider, porter, &c., owe these properties to its presence. Its sp. gr. is P52. In 
1823 it was liquefied by Faraday by a pressure of 36 atmospheres, and in 1836 
solidified by Thilorier, by taking advantage of the cold generated by the sudden 
gasefaction of the liquid acid, when freed from pressure. It is composed of one 
eq. of carbon 6, and two of oxygen 16 = 22 (C02). 
Medical Properties and Uses. Carbonic acid water is diaphoretic, diuretic, 
and anti-emetic. It forms a grateful drink to febrile patients, allaying thirst, 
lessening nausea and gastric distress, and promoting the secretion of urine. The 
quantity taken need only be regulated by the reasonable wishes of the patient. 
It also forms a very convenient vehicle for the administration of magnesia, the 
carbonated alkalies, sulphate of magnesia, and the saline cathartics generally; 
rendering these medicines less unpleasant to the palate, and, in irritable states 
of the stomach, increasing the chances of their being retained. When used for 
this purpose, six or eight fluidounces will be sufficient. 
Carbonic acid gas was observed to act as a local anaesthetic in ulcerated can- 
cer, so early as 1794, by Dr. John Evart, of Bath. In 1834 it was first used by 
Prof. Mojon, of Geneva, in dysmenorrhcea, and with the most soothing effect. 
Since then it has been employed with good effect, in certain painful affections 
of the uterus, by Prof. Simpson, of Edinburgh, and M. Follin, of Paris. M. 
Follin, M. Demarquay, and M. Monod have found it particularly useful in re- 
lieving the pain in cancer of the uterus and vagina. The first effect of the gas is 
a sensation of pricking and heat. Another application of carbonic acid by in- 
jection is for the production of premature labour. For this purpose it has been 
successfully employed by Prof. Scanzoni, of Wurzburg, and Prof. Simpson, of Aquae. 
PART II. 
Edinburgh. According to Prof. Simpson, the gas is most conveniently gene- 
rated by mixing, in a bottle, six drachms of crystallized tartaric acid with eight 
drachms of bicarbonate of soda, dissolved in six fluidounces of water. B. 
AQUA AMMONIAS. U.S. Liquor Ammonle. Br., U.S. 1850. 
Water of Ammonia. Solution of Ammonia. 
“Take of Muriate of Ammonia, in small pieces, Lime, each, twelve troy• 
ounces ; Water six pints ; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Pour a pint of 
the Water upon the Lime, in a convenient vessel; and, after it has slaked, stir 
the mixture so as to bring it to the consistence of a smooth paste. Then add the 
remainder of the Water, and mix the whole thoroughly together. Decant the 
milky liquid from the gritty sediment into a glass retort, of the capacity of six- 
teen pints, and add the Muriate of Ammonia. Place the retort on a sand-bath, 
and adapt to it a receiver, previously connected with a two-pint bottle, contain- 
ing a pitit of Distilled Water, by means of a glass tube, reaching nearly to the 
bottom of the bottle. Surround the bottle with ice-cold water ; and apply heat, 
gradually increased, until ammonia ceases to come over. Remove the liquid 
from the bottle, and add to it sufficient Distilled Water to raise its specific gra- 
vity to 0960. Lastly, keep the liquid in small bottles, well stopped.” U. S. 
“Take of Strong Solution of Ammonia one pint [Imperial measure]; Dis- 
tilled Water two pints [Imp. meas.]. Mix, and preserve in a stoppered bottle. 
Sp. gr. 0 959.” Br. 
The title of this preparation was changed, at the late revision of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, from Liquor Ammoniae to Aqua Ammonias, that it might con- 
form in name as well as character with the Waters, among which all the officinal 
preparations consisting of aqueous solutions of gaseous bodies are included. 
The object of the above processes is to obtain a weak aqueous solution of the 
alkaline gas ammonia. In the U. S. process, the muriate of ammonia is decom- 
posed by the superior affinity of the lime for its acid, ammonia is disengaged, 
and the lime, combining with the acid, forms chloride of calcium and water. The 
process differs from that of 1850 in introducing the materials into the retort with 
a large quantity of water, instead of in the dry state. In both cases the gas is 
driven over by heat, but in the moist plan is accompanied with more watery 
vapour than in the dry. If the object were to obtain the water of ammonia in 
the highest possible state of concentration, there might be some advantage in 
the dry method; but, as a weak solution is contemplated, the wet method is 
equally efficient, while in all respects more convenient, and productive of better 
results ; for, according to Dr. Squibb, the water of ammonia made by the former 
officinal process has invariably an empyreumatic odour, from which that made 
by the present process is free. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858, p. 
407 ) The receiver is intended to retain any water holding in solution unde- 
composed muriate, or the oily matter sometimes contained in the salt, as well 
as other impurities, which may be driven over by the heat while the pure gas 
passes forward into the bottle containing the distilled water, which should not 
fill it, on account of the increase in the bulk of the water during the absorption 
of the gas. The tube should extend to near the bottom of the bottle, and pass 
through a cork, loosely fitting its mouth. To prevent the regurgitation of the 
water from the bottle into the intermediate vessel, the latter should be fur- 
nished with a Welter’s safety tube. Large bottles are improper for keeping 
the water of ammonia; as, when they are partially empty, the atmospheric 
air within them may furnish a little carbonic acid to the ammonia. 
In preparing solution of ammonia, equal weights of muriate of ammonia and 
lime are used for generating the gaseous ammonia. This proportion gives a 
great excess of lime, compared with the quantity required if determined by the 
equivalents ; but in practice it is found advantageous to have an excess, as well 
to ensure the full decomposition of the muriate of ammonia, as to make up for 
accidental impurities in the lime. 
The British Pharmacopoeia gives directions for diluting Liquor Ammoniae 
Fortior, so as to reduce it to the strength of Liquor Ammoniae. This is effected PART II. 
Aquse. 
1037 
by mixing one measure of their stronger preparation with two measures of dis- 
tilled water. 
Properties. The properties of Liquor Ammoniae Fortior have already been 
given. (See page 106.) Those of the officinal solution of ammonia, described in 
this place, are the same in kind, but weaker in degree. It should be quite free 
from empyreuma. Its sp.gr. in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is said to be 0 960; 
in the British, 0'959. When of the density 0-960, 100 grains of it saturate 30 
grains of officinal sulphuric acid, and’contain nearly 10 grains of ammonia. Of 
the British preparation, “ 85 grains by weight require for neutralisation 500 
grain-measures of the volumetric solution of oxalic acid, corresponding to 10 
per cent, by weight of ammonia, NHS. One fluidrachm contains 5'2 grains of 
ammonia.” Br. It is incompatible with acids, and with acidulous and many 
earthy and metallic salts; but it does not decompose the salts of lime, baryta, 
or strontia, and only partially decomposes those of magnesia. If precipitated 
by lime-water, the ammonia is partly carbonated. When saturated with nitric 
acid, it should give no precipitate with carbonate of ammonia, nitrate of sil- 
ver, or chloride of barium. A precipitate with the first indicates earthy mat- 
ter ; with the second, muriatic acid or a chloride; with the third, sulphuric 
acid or a sulphate. Commercial solution of ammonia sometimes contains pyr- 
rol, naphthalin, and other soluble impurities. These may be detected by the 
solution being reddened by nitric acid, and, after having been supersaturated 
with muriatic acid, by its tinging a slip of fir wood of a rich purple colour, 
characteristic of pyrrol. (Maclagan.) The source of these impurities is coal-gas 
liquor, from which the ammoniacal compounds are largely obtained. 
Composition. Water is capable of absorbing 670 times its volume of ammo- 
niacal gas at 50°, and increases in bulk about two-thirds. But the officinal solu- 
tion of ammonia is by no means a saturated one. Thus, the ammonia contained 
in the IT. S. preparation is about 10 per cent. The following table gives the per- 
centage of ammoniacal gas in aqueous solutions of different densities. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Ammonia 
per cent. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Ammonia 
per cent. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Ammonia 
per cent. 
0-8750 
32-50 
0-9326 
17-52 
0-9545 
11-56 
0-8875 
29-25 
0-9385 
15-88 
0-9573 
10-82 
0-9000 
26-00 
0-9435 
14-53 
0-9597 
10-17 
0-9054 
25-37 
0-9476 
13-46 
0-9619 
9-60 
0-9166 
0-9255 
22-07 
19-54 
0-9513 
12-40 
0-9692 
9-50 
Medical Properties and Uses. Water of ammonia is stimulant, sudorific, 
antacid, and rubefacient. It stimulates more particularly the heart and arteries, 
without unduly exciting the brain. As a stimulant it is occasionally employed 
in paralysis, hysteria, syncope, asphyxia, and similar affections. In the same 
complaints it is often applied to the nostrils with advantage; but, in cases of 
insensibility, care must be taken not to carry the application too far, for fear of 
inducing dangerous and even fatal bronchitis. As an antacid, it is one of the 
best remedies in heartburn, and for the relief of sick headache when dependent 
on gastric acidity. In these cases it acts usefully also by stimulating the stomach, 
tn the bites of poisonous serpents, it has long been deemed a powerful antidote. 
A case, caused by the bite of a cobra de capello, was successfully treated by Dr. 
W. Chalmers, formerly of Bengal, in which solution of ammonia was chiefly 
relied on. A dose of this solution, given in drunkenness, is said to remove the 
intoxication in a short time. A case of traumatic tetanus, in the care of Dr. 
Charbonnier, recovered under the use of six drops of water of ammonia given 
every hah hour. (Lancet, July, 1867, p. 26.) It has been recommended by 
Dr. Guerard as an application to burns, attended with rubefaction or vesica- 
tion, in order to relieve the pain and hasten the cure. (Journ. de Pharm., Jan. 
1849.) As a rubefacient it is employed united with oils in the form of volatile 
iniment. (See Linimentum Ammoniae.) The dose is from ten to thirty drops, 1038 
Aquae. 
PART II 
largely diluted with water to prevent its caustic effect on the mouth and throat. 
When swallowed in an overdose, its effects are those of a corrosive poison. A 
case is recorded in the Journal de Pharmacie (Avril, 1862, p. 324), in which 
about three fluidounces were swallowed, with a fatal result in eight days, after 
great suffering, and various local and systemic disorder. Dissection exhibited 
signs of inflammation and corrosion of the oesophagus and stomach, with great 
enlargement and softening of the mesenteric glands and kidneys. The best 
antidotes are vinegar and lemon juice, which act by neutralizing the ammonia, 
and must be promptly applied to be useful. The consecutive inflammation 
must be treated on general principles. 
Pharm. Uses. To prepare Aconitia, Br.; Antimonii Oxidum, U. S.; Beberiae 
Sulphas, Br ; Bismuthi Subcarbonas, U. S.; Bismuthi Subnitras, U. S.; Calcis 
Phosphas, Br.; Calcis Phosphas Prascipitata, U. S.; Digitalinum, Br.; Ferri 
et Quiniae Citras ; Ferri Oxidum Hydratum, U. S.; Ferri Pyrophosphas, U. S.; 
Liquor Bismuthi et Ammoniae Citratis, Br.; Liquor Ferri Citratis, U. S.; Mor- 
phia, U.S.; Morphiae Acetas, Br.; Morphiae Hydrochloras, Br.; Quiniae Vale- 
rianas, U.S.; Santoninum, Br.; Strychnia; Veratria. 
Off. Prep. Ammoniae Benzoas, Br.; Ferri et Ammoniae Citras; Hydrargyrum 
Ammoniatum; Linimentum Ammoniae; Linimentum Hydrargyri, Br. B. 
AQUA AMYGDALAE AMARaE. U.S. Bitter Almond Water. 
“Take of Oil of Bitter Almonds sixteen minims; Carbonate of Magnesia 
sixty grains; Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate of Mag- 
nesia; -.then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper.” U. S 
Tfij's preparation hasitliQ-.-etfects of hydrocyanic acid on the system, and may 
be as a vehicle of ntjhfcr' medicines in nervous coughs, and various spasmodic 
affections. It is, however, liable to spontaneous change, and is consequently 
more or less uncertain, iA drop of sulphuric acid added to a pint of it will con- 
tribute to its preservation; as will also complete exclusion from the light and air. 
Bht the better plan mTo prepare it in small quantities, as wanted for use. The 
dose of it, to begin .vfith, when of full strength, should not exceed half a fluid- 
ounce. Under the s#me name, a preparation has been much used on the conti- 
nent of Europe, pr*$ared by distilling bitter almonds with water. This when 
fresh is much stronger than the preparation of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, con- 
taining, an analysis of Geiger, in 1000 parts, 1 2 parts of anhydrous 
hydrocyanic acid.-But, in consequence either of circumstances in the manner of 
its preparation, Qt of changes upon being kept, it is of variable and uncertain 
strength, and caiinot be relied on. It has been prescribed with fatal effects; 
and the greatest'caution, therefore, should be observed by the apothecary not 
to put up the distilled water instead of the officinal.* W. 
* In sn experiment performed by M. Mayet, one kilogramme (about two avoirdupois 
pounds) of bitter almond cake from which the fixed oil had been separated, having been 
finely powdered, and mixed with enough water to form a thin paste, was kept for a day 
at the te nperature of 86° F., and then submitted to distillation by means of steam, -with 
the following results. The products of distillation were collected in separate portions suc- 
cessive] /, each of 500 grammes (about a pint). The first portion was milky, immediately 
after distillation, but in two hours became clear, without the separation of oil; the others 
were limpid from the beginning. The first contained 0-250 per cent, of hydrocyanic acid, 
the second 0 070 per cent., the third 0-030, and the fourth 0-024 per cent. The mean of 
these (0 093) exceeded the percentage obtained by testing a mixture of the four in equal 
parts, which was only 0 088, owing to the necessity, in each examination, of slightly 
passing the point of saturation before catching with the eye the blue tint that indicates 
it. M. Mayet thinks, from these premises, that 0 08 per cent., or 80 milligrammes for 100 
grammes, would be the proper mean to establish in regulating the strength of the bitter 
almond water, if two parts of product are to be obtained from one of the dry material 
employed. He would, however, prefer stopping the process when one part and a half 
had been obtained, in which case a 0-110 per cent, product might be procured, and it 
would be easy to fix the mean at 0-100 per cent. M. Mayet also satisfied himself that 
distillation by steam is decidedly preferable in this process to that by the naked fire, pro- 
vided that linen coated with dextrin be employed for luting tbe apparatus, instead of 
common paper luting, which does not sufficiently resist steam. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 
1861, p. 13.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Aquse. 
1039 
AQUA A.NETHI. Br. Dill Water. 
“Take uf Dill Fruit, bruised, one pound [avoirdupois]; Water two gallons 
[Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This is seldom if ever used in the United States. W. 
AQUA AUR ANTII FLORUM. U.S. Aqua Aurantii Floris. Br, 
Orange Flower Water. 
“ Take of Orange Flowers forty-eight troy ounces; Water sixteen pints. Mix 
them, and distil eight pints.” U. S. 
This preparation is considered by the British Pharmacopoeia as an object 
of importation. According to this authority, it is obtained indiscriminately 
from the flowers of the bitter and those of the sweet orange tree; and the same 
is the case with our own officinal standard ; though, in Italy and France, where 
it is largely made, the flowers of the bitter orange are preferred, as yielding 
the most fragrant product. It may be prepared in the most Southern districts 
of our country from the fresh flowers; and these might be brought to the 
North for the same purpose, if previously incorporated with one-third or one- 
quarter of their weight of common salt. The proper method is to arrange the 
flowers and salt in successive layers in jars of stoneware or glass. They may 
also be preserved by means of glycerin. (See page 1029.) Notwithstanding, 
however, the facility of preparing this Water here, it is generally imported 
from the South of France, whence it often comes in cans of tinned copper. 
Orange flower water is nearly colourless, though usually of a. pale yellowish 
tint. From being kept in copper bottles, it sometimes contains metallic impurity, 
which is said to be chiefly carbonate of lead, derived from the lead used as a 
solder in making the bottles The means of detecting metallic impurity are 
mentioned under the general observations on distilled waters, page 1083. If it 
contain lead, sulphuretted hydrogen will produce with it a dark precipitate. 
Much colour, offensive odour, or mouldiness indicates impurity derived from 
the flowers in distillation. 
A distilled water of the leaves is also prepared; and sometimes a mixture 
if the leaves and flowers is employed. But this is a fraud, as the distilled water 
if the leaves never has the sweet perfume of that of the flowers. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 4e ser., iii. 249.) 
Orange flower water is used exclusively on account of its agreeable odour; 
though it may possess slight powers as a nervous stimulant. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Aurantii Florum, U. S.; Syrupus Aurantii Floris, Br. 
W. 
AQUA CAMPHORAE. U.S, Br. Camphor Water. 
“Take of Camphor one hundred and twenty grains; Alcohol forty minims ; 
Carbonate of Magnesia half a troy ounce ; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the 
Camphor, first with the Alcohol, then with the Carbonate of Magnesia, and 
last.lv with the Water gradually added; then filter through paper.” U. S. 
“ Take of Camphor, broken into pieces, half an ounce [avoirdupois] ; Dis- 
tilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Enclose the camphor in a muslin 
bag, and attach this to one end of a glass rod, by means of which it may be 
kept at the bottom of a bottle containing the Distilled Water, the other end of 
the rod terminating just below the stopper of the bottle. Having thus put the 
Camphor into the Water, close the mouth of the bottle for at least two days, 
and then pour off the solution when it is required.” Br. 
In these processes the object is to effect a solution of the camphor. Water is 
capable of dissolving but a small proportion of this principle; but the quan- 
tity varies with the method employed. The present British process is still more 
inefficient than the old formulas of the different Colleges for their Mistura Gam- 
phorse, which has received in the late revision a much more appropriate name. 
In the London process the camphor was first rubbed with a little spirit to pow- 
der it, and then with water; in the Edinburgh, sugar and almonds were used 
as an intermedium by which the water might be induced to take up the cam- 1040 
Aquse. 
PART II. 
phor; in the Dublin, the spirit of camphor was shaken with water. All of 
them produced very weak preparations. In the present British process no 
trouble is taken even to comminute the camphor, or to shake it with the water, 
which is thus allowed to take up what it may be disposed to do by contact 
with the camphor contained in a bag ; though some ingenuity is exhibited in 
retaining the latter, which is lighter than water, beneath the surface of the 
liquid by means of a glass rod. The solution thus effected must be extremely 
feeble, containing probably less than one part in a thousand, which, according 
to Berzelius, is taken up by water when triturated with camphor. It is besides 
of uncertain strength, varying with the size of the fragments of camphor. Mr. 
J. C. Pooley found that 120 grains of camphor, treated according to the offici- 
nal directions, gave, when cut into 4 pieces, 6 grains to half a gallon of water, 
but in 20 pieces gave 20 grains, or about one part to 1750 of water. (Pharm. 
Journ. and Trans., 2d ser., vii. 162.) Our own officinal preparation, when pro- 
perly made, contains about 50 grains to the pint, or more than 3 grains in each 
fluidounce. {Journ. of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iv. 13.) This, however, is de- 
nied by Mr. G. F. H. Markoe, who, as the result of his experiments, gives the 
proportion of camphor in the U. S. preparation as only 2 grains in the fluid- 
ounce. (Am. Journ. of Pharm, March, 1866, p. 168.) Care should be taken to 
rub all the water, in successive portions, with the mixture of camphor and car- 
bonate of magnesia. The comparative strength of the U. S. preparation is at- 
tributable, at least in part, to the minute division effected in the camphor by 
trituration with-the carbonate of magnesia, which is afterwards separated by 
filtration. The use of the alcohol is simply to break down the cohesion of the 
camphor, and enable it to be more easily pulverized. This process is much 
preferable to the British, as it affords a permanent solution, of sufficient strength 
to be employed with a view to the influence of the camphor on the system; 
while the other has little more than the flavour of the narcotic, and is fit only 
for a vehicle of other medicines. The camphor is separated by a solution of 
pure potassa, and, according to Dr. Paris, by sulphate of magnesia and several 
other salts. Sir J. Murray proposes a solution of camphor and bicarbonate of 
magnesia, which contains three grains of the former and six grains of the lat- 
ter in each fluidounce. 
Camphor water is employed chiefly in low fevers and typhoid diseases, at- 
tended with restlessness, slight delirium, or other symptoms of nervous de- 
rangement or debility. It is used also to allay uterine after-pains It has this 
advantage over camphor in substance, that the latter is with difficulty dissolved 
by the liquors of the stomach; but it is not applicable to cases where very 
large doses of the medicine are required. It is usually given in the dose of one 
or two tablespoonfuls repeated every hour or two hours. W. 
AQUA CARUI. Br. Caraway Water. 
“Take of Caraway Fruit, bruised, one pound [avoirdupois]; Water two gal- 
lons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. rneas.].” Br. 
Distilled caraway water has the flavour and pungency of the seeds, but is sel 
dom used in this country. The preparation employed here is usually made from 
the volatile oil, in the same manner as cinnamon water. (See Aqua Cinnamomi.) 
W. 
AQUA CHLORUSTII. U. S. Liquor Chlori. Br. Chlorine Water. 
Solution of Chlorine. 
“Take of Black Oxide of Manganese, in fine powder, half a troyounce; 
Muriatic Acid three troyounces; Water four fuidounces ; Distilled Water 
twenty fuidounces. Introduce the Oxide into a flask, add the Acid previously 
diluted with two fluidounces of the Water, and apply a gentle heat. Conduct 
the generated chlorine, by suitable tubes, through the remainder of the Water 
contained in a small intermediate vessel, to the bottom of a four-pint bottle 
containing the Distilled Water, and loosely stopped with cotton. When the 
air has been entirely displaced by the gas, disconnect the bottle from the ap- PART II. 
Aquae. 
1041 
paratus, and, having inserted the stopper, agitate the contents, loosening the 
stopper from time to time, until the gas ceases to be absorbed. Lastly, pour 
the Chlorine Water into a bottle, of just sufficient capacity to hold it, stop it 
securely, and keep it in a cool place, protected from the light.’’ U. S. 
“ Take of Hydrochloric vLcid six fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Black 
Oxide of Manganese, in fine powder, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water 
thirty-four fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Put the Oxide of Manganese into a 
gas-bottle, and, having poured upon it the Hydrochloric Acid diluted with two 
[fluidjounces of the Water, apply a gentle heat, and, by suitable tubes, cause 
the gas, as it is developed, to pass through two [fluid]ounces of the Water 
placed in an intermediate small phial, and thence to the bottom of a three-pint 
bottle containing the remainder of the Water, the mouth of which is loosely 
plugged with tow. As soon as the chlorine ceases to be developed, let the bot- 
tle be disconnected from the apparatus in which the gas has been generated, 
corked loosely, and shaken until the chlorine is absorbed. Lastly, introduce 
the solution into a green glass bottle furnished with a well-fitting stopper, 
and keep it in a cool and dark place.” Br. 
The U. S. and Br. processes are essentially the same; and both were copied 
from the late Dublin process. The only material variation in the British formula 
is the somewhat larger proportion of the black oxide of manganese and muriatic 
acid, to the distilled water; an avoirdupois ounce of the oxide and six fluid- 
ounces of the acid having been substituted for half the quantity of each as di- 
rected by the Dublin College, while the distilled water used by the former is 
only thirty-four fluidounces to twenty-four by the latter, of which quantities four 
fluidounces are taken by each in the preliminary steps of the process, and the 
remainder used for the absorption of the chlorine. In the U. S. formula, the 
proportions differ from those of the Dublin, in the use of the troyounce both for 
the oxide of manganese and the acid, instead of the avoirdupois ounce for the 
former and the fluidounce for the latter. The British process differs from both 
in directing the disconnection of the apparatus for generating the gas, as soon 
as it ceases to be produced, instead of after the air in the receiving bottle has 
been displaced by it. Should there be any danger of deficiency of chlorine in 
the resulting chlorine water, the British process would have the advantage, 
as it uses not only a larger proportion of the materials for making the gas, but 
exhausts them. 
In the U. S process, four fluidounces of common water are used in the dilution 
of the muriatic acid, and for absorbing the impurities in the intermediate vial. 
The twenty fluidounces of distilled water are placed in a four-pint bottle, which 
it about one-third fills. In both processes, the chlorine gas is extricated from the 
muriatic acid by the deutoxide of manganese separating the hydrogen, and is 
passed, through an intermediate vessel containing a little water for purifying it, 
into the four-pint bottle, loosely stopped, until the vacant part of the bottle is 
filled with it to the exclusion of the atmospheric air. The bottle being then 
corked, is shaken so as to cause the absorption of the gas by the water. Of 
course the stopper must be from time to time loosened, in order to allow the 
entrance of air to supply the partial vacuum created by the absorption of the 
chlorine. The product is about a pint and a quarter of the chlorine water, which 
is transferred to a bottle just sufficient in capacity to hold it. The chlorine water 
is directed to be kept secluded from the light, because otherwise it would be apt 
to be converted partially into muriatic acid, through the union of the chlorine 
with the hydrogen of the water. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia it is ordered to be 
kept in a green glass bottle, for the purpose, probably, of protecting it from the 
light; but recent experiments have shown that it is an orange, and not a green 
colour, which appears to prevent the passage of the chemical rays. 
Properties. Chlorine water has a pale yellowish-green colour, an astringent 
taste, and the peculiar odour of the gas. Like gaseous chlorine it destroys 
vegetable colours. When cooled to about the freezing point, it forms deep-yellow 
crystalline plates, consisting of hydrate of chlorine. It is intended to contain at 1042 
Aquas. 
PART II. 
least twice its volume of the gas. It is decomposed by light, with the produc- 
tion of muriatic acid, and the evolution of oxygen, and hence must be kept in a 
dark place. According to MM. Riegel and Walz, chlorine water, containing 
two and a half volumes of the gas at 54°, keeps best. The U. S. Pharmacopoeia 
gives as a test of its strength in chlorine, that “when a fluidounce of it is mixed 
with a solution of 10 grains of pure sulphate of protoxide of iron in two flui- 
drachms of water, the mixture does not produce a blue precipitate with ferrid- 
cyanide of potassium (red prussiateof potassa).” This shows that there is suf- 
ficient chlorine in the Water to peroxidize the protoxide of iron of the proto- 
sulphate; as, though the protosalts of iron do, the persalts do not produce a 
blue precipitate with the ferrideyanide. The British solution “immediately dis- 
charges the blue colour of a dilute solution of indigo. Its sp. gr. is D003, and 
when evaporated it leaves no residue. When 20 grains of iodide of potassium, 
dissolved in a [fluidjounce of distilled water, are added to 439 grains by weight 
(one fluidounce) of this preparation, the mixed solution acquires a deep-red 
colour, which requires for its discharge 750 grain-measures of the volumetric 
solution of the hyposulphite of soda, corresponding to 2-G6 grains of chlorine.” 
Br. This indicates the quantity of chlorine in the solution, by the amount of 
the hyposulphite required to decolorize an equivalent quantity of iodine, liber- 
ated from the iodide of potassium. v 
Chlorine is an elementary gaseous fluid, of a greenish-yellow colour, and 
characteristic smell and taste. It is a supporter of combustion. Its specific 
gravity is 2-47, and equivalent number 35 5. When the attempt is made to 
breathe it, even much diluted, it excites cough and a sense of suffocation, and 
causes a discharge from the mucous membrane of the nostrils and bronchial 
tubes. Breathed in considerable quantities, it produces spitting of blood, vio- 
lent pains, and sometimes death. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Chlorine water is stimulant and antiseptic, 
rnternally it has been used in typhus, and chronic affections of the liver; but 
the diseases in which it has been most extolled are scarlatina, malignant sore- 
throat, and diphtheria, Mr. Wm. M. Dobie found it more effectual in an epi- 
demic of that disease which appeared in Chester, England, in the autumn of 
1866, than any other remedy. (Edin. Med. Journ., March, 1867, p. 829.) It 
is said, also, by Dr. Althaus, to have been used in a late epidemic of the same 
disease in Germany with highly satisfactory results. {Med. Times and Gaz.} 
July, 1868, p. 56.) Externally it is employed, duly diluted, as a gargle in 
smallpox, scarlatina, and putrid sorethroat, as awash for ill-conditioned ulcers 
and cancerous sores, and as a local bath in diseases of the liver. It has been used 
with advantage as an application to buboes and large abscesses, to promote 
the absorption of the matter. As it depends upon chlorine for its activity, its 
medical properties coincide with those of chlorinated lime, chlorinated soda, 
and nitromuriatic acid, under which heads they are more particularly given. 
The dose of chlorine water is from one to four fluidrachms, properly diluted. 
Gaseous chlorine has been recommended by Gannal in chronic bronchitis and 
pulmonary consumption, exhibited by inhalation, in minute quantities, four or 
six times a day. Its first effect is to produce some dryness of the fauces, with 
increased expectoration for a time, followed ultimately with diminution of the 
sputa and amendment. Dr. Christison states that he has repeatedly observed 
these results in chronic catarrh ; and both he and Dr. Elliotson have obtained, 
in consumption, a more decided improvement of the symptoms bjr the use of 
chlorine inhalations than by any other means. The liquid in the inhaler may be 
formed either of water containing from ten to thirty drops of chlorine water, or 
of chlorinated lime dissolved in forty parts of water, to which a drop or two of 
sulphuric acid must be added, each time the inhalation is practised. The inhaler 
should be placed in water heated to about 100°. B. 
AQUA CINNAMOMI. U.S.,Br. Cinnamon Water. 
“ Take of Oil of Cinnamon hal f a fuidrachm; Carbonate of Magnesia sixty PART II. 
Aquse. 
1043 
grains ; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil first with the Carbonate of 
Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
“ Cinnamon Water may also be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces of 
Cinnamon, in coarse powder, with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight 
pints.” U. S. 
“ Take of Cinnamon Bark, bruised, twenty ounces [avoirdupois]; Water two 
gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil a gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
Of these processes, the first one of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is the easier, 
though the second, which corresponds with the British, may yield a sweeter 
product. Cinnamon water is much used as a vehicle for other less agreeable 
medicines ; but should be given cautiously in inflammatory affections. For ordi- 
nary purposes the U. S. preparation is sufficiently strong when diluted with an 
equal measure of water.* 
Off. Prep. Mistura Cretse; Mistura Guaiaci, Br.; Mistura Spiritus Yini 
Galiici, Br. W. 
AQUA CREASOTI. U. S. Creasote Water. 
“ Take of Creasote a jluidrachm; Distilled Water a pint. Mix them, and 
agitate the mixture until the Creasote is dissolved.” U. S. 
This preparation contains 3 72 minims of creasote in each fluidounce, and 
affords a convenient method of administering that medicine. The dose is from 
one to four fluidrachms. It may also be used with advantage as a gargle, lo- 
tion, or mixed with cataplasms, to correct fetor, and gently stimulate indolent 
surfaces. W. 
AQUA FCENICULI. U. S., Br. Fennel Water. 
“ Take of Oil of Fennel half a Jluidrachm; Carbonate of Magnesia sixty 
grains; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate of 
Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
“ Fennel Water may be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces of Fennel, in 
coarse powder, with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight pints.” U. S. 
“ Take of Fennel Fruit, bruised, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Water tivo gal- 
lons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas ].” Br. 
Fennel water is an agreeable vehicle for other medicines, and useful when a 
mild aromatic is indicated. W. 
AQUA LAURO-CERASI. Br. Cherry-laurel Water. 
“ Take of Fresh Leaves of Common Laurel [cherry-laurel] onepound [avoir- 
dupois]; Water two pints and a half [Imperial measure]. Chop the Leaves, 
crush them in a mortar, and macerate them in the Water for twenty-four hours; 
then distil one pint [Imp. meas.] of liquid. Shake the product, filter through 
paper, and preserve it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
As the cherry-laurel is little cultivated in the United States, we have no 
officinal formula for the Water; but from experiments by Prof. Procter, there 
is little or no room to doubt that a preparation, identical in its effects, might be 
made from the leaves of our common wild cherry, Cerasus serotina, were a 
demand for the medicine to spring up among us. The imported cherry-laurel 
water, as found in our shops, is generally more or less impaired by age, and 
cannot, therefore, be relied on. 
The leaves yield a larger product of hydrocyanic acid when cut and bruised 
than when distilled whole. According to M. Garot, the proportion of the acid 
in cherry-laurel water depends upon the time of year at which the distillation is 
performed; the leaves yielding not more than half as much in April as in the 
middle of July. (Annuaire de Therap., 1843, p. 45.) In preparing this Water, 
the best plan is to thoroughly bruise the leaves, and, having mixed them with at 
least three times their weight of water, to allow the mixture to stand at a tem- 
perature of about 86° F. for at least twelve hours, so that opportunity maybe 
* In a letter to the author by Dr. E. Holmes, glycerin is recommended as an excellent 
intermedium between the oil of cinnamon and water. Ten drops of glycerin will effect 
a solution of a drop of the oil in a fluidounce of water. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 1044 
Aquae. 
PART II. 
given for those reactions by which the hydrocyanic acid is produced, and then 
to distil them by means of a current of steam. Without the preliminary mace- 
ration the distillation by steam does not afford a satisfactory result; but properly 
performed, it yields the largest possible product. (Journ. de Pharm., Juillet, 
1861, p 15; and Juin, 1864, p.523.) The proportion of hydrocyanic acid in 
the Water diminishes with time. It has been ascertained by M. Deschamps 
that, if a drop of sulphuric acid be added to a pint of the preparation, it will 
keep unchanged for at least a year. It is best preserved by the entire exclu- 
sion of air and light. M. Lepage found that, preserved in full and perfectly 
air-tight bottles, both this and bitter-almond water remained unchanged at the 
end of a year; while if freely exposed to the air, they lost all their hydrocyanic 
acid and essential oil in two or three months. (Ibid., xvi. 346.) In view of the 
uncertain strength of the Water as obtained from the leaves, it was proposed 
in France, in reference to the Codex then in preparation, to fix upon a definite pro- 
portion of hydrocyanic acid ; and the percentage generally adopted was from 
0 04 to (F05.* Cherry-laurel water is employed in Europe as a sedative narcotic, 
identical in its properties with a dilute solution of hydrocyanic acid; but it is 
of uncertain strength, and should not be allowed to supersede the more definite 
preparation of the acid now in use. Its fraudulent use in Paris in the prepara- 
tion of a cordial, in imitation of the genuine cherry cordial, made by ferment- 
ation and distillation, and like it called “ fcirsch,” has been the subject of 
no little reprobation. (Journ. de Pharm. et de Gliim., 4e ser., i. 33, A. D. 1865.) 
The dose is from thirty minims to a fluidrachm. W. 
AQUA MENTHAE U. S., Br. Peppermint Water. 
Take of Oil of Peppermint half a fluidrachm; Carbonate of Magnesia sixty 
grains; Distilled Water two pints. Rub the Oil, first with the Carbonate 
of Magnesia, then with the Water, gradually added, and filter through paper. 
* The following conclusions, in reference to Cherry-laurel water, were arrived at 
by a committee of pharmaceutists in Paris, appointed to examine the subject of the dis- 
tilled water with a view to the revision of the Codex. 1. The whole of the volatile oil and 
hydrocyanic acid furnished by cherry-laurel leaves, results from a reaction between two 
substances analogous to the emulsin and amygdalin of bitter almonds, which can take 
place only in the presence of water. 2. The quantity of volatile oil furnished by the leaves 
is always in direct relation to that of hydrocyanic acid. 3. The leaves furnish, by mere 
contact for 24 hours with cold water, only one-third of the quantity which they can be 
made to yield. 4. The fermentable matter of the leaves is liable to change, so that the 
leaves, after being picked, afford less and less of the acid the longer they are kept; and a 
moist heat favours change ; so that complete decomposition takes place in a few hours. 
5. Difference in climate, soil, exposure to the sun, and age of the tree, have but a second- 
ary influence on the productiveness of the leaves. 6. The season of the year, however, 
has a great influence. The younger the leaf, the greater is its yield; so that, while 0150 
per cent, of the acid was obtained from the forming leaves in spring, those of the autumn 
yielded 0T32, those of the winter 0T20, and leaves two years old gave only 0T12. 7. Dif- 
ferent plants, under apparently the same circumstances, differ greatly in productiveness, 
so that OT76 per cent, was obtained from the most productive, and only 0 092 from the 
least so. 8. The distillation by steam yields the greatest possible product. The committee, 
therefore, propose the adoption of this method; the bruised leaves being preliminarily 
mixed with at least three times their weight of water, and exposed to a gradually in- 
creasing heat, not to exceed 140° F., when all reaction ceases. 9. Bruising is the best 
method of comminuting the leaves. 10. As it is impossible to obtain a Water always iden- 
tical from the leaves, the ennmittee propose to fix a definite strength, and state that the 
proportion generally adopted is from 0-040 per cent, of acid as the minimum, to 0-050, or 
one-twentieth of one per cent, as the maximum, which is only one-half the strength pro- 
posed for bitter-almond water. 11. Though a change rapidly takes place in this and bitter- 
almond water exposed to the air, yet in bottles full, and perfectly closed by glass stop- 
pers, the change at the end of a year is scarcely perceptible ; and this observation applies 
to the distilled waters in general. (Journ.de Pharm., Juin, 1864, p. 520.) 
For some remarks as to an easy volumetric method of estimating the hydrocyanic acid 
strength of cherry-laurel and bitter-almond waters, as well as otherliquids containing this 
acid, together with the figure of a simple instrument for the purpose, see a paper by Dr. 
W. H. File, in the American Journal of Pharmacy, March, 1862, p. 130. (Note to the 
twelfth edition.) PART II. 
Aquae. 
1045 
“ Peppermint Water may also be prepared by mixing eighteen troyounces 
of Peppermint with sixteen pints of Water, and distilling eight pints.” U. S. 
“ Take of Oil of Peppermint one jluidrachm and a half; Water, one gallon 
and a half [Imperial measure] Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. W. 
Off. Prep. Mistura Ferri Aromatica, Br 
AQUA VIRIDIS. U. S., Br. Spearmint Water. 
Both in the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias, this is prepared precisely as Pep- 
permint Water, the oil and herb of M. viridis being substituted in the pro- 
cesses for those of M. piperita. 
The two mint waters are among the most grateful and most employed of this 
class of preparations. Together with cinnamon water, they are used in this 
country, almost to the exclusion of all others, as the vehicle of medicines given 
in the form of mixture. They serve not only to conceal or qualify the taste of 
other medicines, but also to counteract their nauseating properties. Pepper- 
mint water is generally thought to have a more agreeable flavour than that of 
spearmint, but some prefer the latter. Their effects are the same. W. 
AQUA PIMENTOS Br. Pimento Water. 
“Take of Pimento, bruised, fourteen ounces [avoirdupois]; Water two gal- 
lons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
Pimento water is brownish when first distilled, and upon standing deposits 
a brown resinous sediment. It is used as a carminative in the dose of one or 
two fluidounces. W. 
AQUA U. S, Br. Bose Water. 
“ Take of Pale Rose forty-eight troyounces; Water sixteen pints. Mix them 
and distil eight pints. 
“ When it is desirable to keep the Rose for some time before distilling, it 
nay be preserved by being well mixed with half its weight of Chloride of So- 
lium ” U. S. 
“ Take of Fresh Petals of the Hundred-leaved Rose ten pounds [avoirdu- 
pois] for an equivalent quantity of the petals preserved while fresh with com- 
mon salt) ; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. 
It should be observed that, in the nomenclature of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
the term “ Rose” implies only the petals of the flower. These are usually pre- 
ferred in the recent state ; but it is said that, when preserved by being incorpo- 
rated with one-third of their weight of common salt, they retain their odour, 
and afford a water equally fragrant with that prepared from the fresh flower. 
Indeed, Mr. Haselden prefers the salted roses, believing that the water prepared 
from them is less mucilaginous, less apt to become sour, and preserves its odour 
better than that prepared from the fresh flowers. (Pliarm. Journ., xvi. 15.) 
Hence the direction for preserving them in the present U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It 
is not uncommon to employ the whole flower including the calyx ; but the pro- 
duct is less fragrant than when the petals only are used, as officinally directed.* 
Rose water is sometimes made by distilling together water and the oil of roses. 
When properly prepared, it has the delightful perfume of the rose in great 
perfection. It is most successfully made on a large scale Like the other dis- 
tilled waters it is liable to spoil when kept; and the alcohol which is sometimes 
added to preserve it is incompatible with some of the purposes to which ths 
* A. Monthus states that the petals of the hundred-leaved rose are more odorous tha 
nearer they are to the centre of the flower, and, contrary to what is said in the text, thinks 
that the calyx should not be rejected in preparing the distilled water. He maintains that 
so far from injuring the product, it in fact contributes to its preservation, and that the 
water obtained from the whole flower is less liable to that mucosity, which is the com- 
mencement of decomposition. This effect he ascri bes to the astringent matter of the calyx, 
which coagulates the mucilaginous matter of the petals, and thus prevents it from passing 
ove: in the distillation. (Journ. de Pharrn., Dec. 1863, p. 497.)—Note to the twelfth 
edition. 1046 
Aquas.—Argentum. 
part ir. 
water is applied, and is even said to render it sour through acetous fermenta- 
tion. It is best, therefore, to avoid this addition, and to substitute a second 
distillation. This distilled water is chiefly employed, on account of its agree- 
able odour, in collyria and other lotions. It is wholly destitute of irritating 
properties, unless when it contains alcohol.* 
Off. Prep. Confectio Hosts, U.S.; Mistura Ferri Composita; Trochisci 
Bismuthi, Br.; Unguentum Aquae Rosas, U. S. W. 
AQUA SAMBUCI. Br. Elder-flower Water. 
“ Take of Fresh Elder Flowers, separated from the stalks, ten pounds [avoir- 
dupois] (or an equivalent quantity of the flowers preserved while fresh with 
common salt) ; Water two gallons [Imperial measure]. Distil one gallon [Imp. 
meas.J.” Br. 
Elder flowers yield very little oil upon distillation ; and, if the water be needed, 
it may be best prepared from the flowers. Mr. Haselden prefers the salted flowers 
to the fresh, for the reason stated under Rose Water. The preparation is little 
used in this country. W. 
ARGENTUM. 
Preparations of Silver, 
ARGENTI CYANTDUM. U.S. Argenti Cyanuretum. U.S. 1850. 
Cyanide of Silver. Cyanuret of Silver. 
“ Take of Nitrate of Silver, Ferrocyanide of Potassium, each, two troyounces; 
Sulphuric Acid a troyounce and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. 
Dissolve the Nitrate of Silver in a pint of Distilled Water, and pour the solu- 
tion into a tubulated glass receiver. Dissolve the Ferrocyanide of Potassium 
in ten lluidounces of Distilled Water, and pour the solution into a tubulated 
retort, previously adapted to the receiver. Having mixed the Sulphuric Acid 
with four lluidounces of Distilled Water, add the mixture to the solution in 
the retort, and distil, by means of a sand-bath, with a moderate heat, until six 
lluidounces have passed over, or until the distillate no longer produces a pre- 
cipitate in the receiver. Lastly, wash the precipitate with Distilled Water, 
aud dry it.” U. S. 
This preparation was introduced into the U.S. Pharmacopoeia for the pur- 
pose of being used in the extemporaneous preparation of diluted hydrocyanic 
acid. (See page 960.) By the formula adopted in the Pharmacopoeia of 1840, 
the officinal hydrocyanic acid was added to a solution of nitrate of silver. The 
expenditure in this way of the officinal acid, which is very weak, and at the same 
time nicely adjusted to a given strength, was injudiciously directed; and, accord- 
ingly, that formula was abandoned, and a new process adopted in the Pharma- 
copoeia of 1850, and continued in the present, in which all the silver contained 
in a given weight of nitrate of silver, placed in a receiver in solution, is converted 
into cyanide by hydrocyanic acid, extricated from ferrocyanide of potassium by 
the action of sulphuric acid. By a double decomposition between the oxide of 
silver of the nitrate and the hydrocyanic acid, water and cyanide of silver are 
formed in the receiver, the latter of which precipitates. The materials in the 
retort are sufficient to produce a little more hydrocyanic acid than is necessary 
to convert the whole of the silver in the receiver into cyanide; so that the 
complete decomposition of the nitrate of silver is ensured. 
According to Messrs. Glassford and Napier, the best way of obtaining cyanide 
of silver is to add cyanide of potassium to a solution of nitrate of silver so long 
as a precipitate is formed. 
* Artificial Rose Water. Prof. Wagner, of Germany, prepares a distilled water from the 
oil of gaultheria, with an odour so closely resembling that of the rose as to be entitled to 
this designation. He boils the oil with solution of potassa, thereby obtaining salicylate 
of potassa, the mother-liquor of which, when distilled with water, yields the preparation 
in question (Chem. Oaz., no. 382, p. 352; from Wagner’s Jahresbericht,A. D.1856, p. 260.)— 
Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Argentum. 
1047 
Properties. Cyanide of silver is a tasteless white powder, insoluble in water 
and cold nitric acid, but readily soluble, with decomposition, in that acid when 
boiling hot. It is decomposed by muriatic acid, exhaling the odour of hydro- 
cyanic acid. It is not soluble in potassa or soda, but readily so in ammonia. 
Its best solvent is cyanide of potassium. When heated it is decomposed, cyan- 
ogen being evolved, and metallic silver left. It consists of one eq. of cyanogen 
26, and one of silver 108=134. It has no medical uses. 
Off. Prep. Acidum Hydrocyanicum Dilutum, U. S. B. 
ARGENTI JSTTRAS. U.S.,Br. Nitrate of Silver. Nitrate of Silver 
in Crystals. 
“Take of Silver, in small pieces, two troy ounces; Nitric Acid two troy- 
ounces and a half; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Acid with a 
lluidounce of Distilled Water in a porcelain capsule, add the Silver to the mix- 
ture, cover it with an inverted glass funnel, resting within the edge of the cap- 
sule, and apply a gentle heat until the metal is dissolved, and red vapours cease 
to be produced; then remove the funnel, and, increasing the heat, evaporate the 
solution to dryness. Melt the dry mass, and continue the heat, stirring constantly 
with a glass rod, until free nitric acid is entirely dissipated. Dissolve the melted 
salt, when cold, in six fluidounces of Distilled Water, allow the insoluble matter 
to subside, and decant the clear solution. Mix the residue with a fluidounce of 
Distilled Water, filter through paper, and, having added the filtrate to the de- 
canted solution, evaporate the liquid until a pellicle begins to form, and set it 
aside in a warm place to crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals in a glass fun- 
nel until dry, and preserve them in a well-stopped bottle. By evaporating the 
mother-water, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
“ Take of Purified Silver three ounces [avoirdupois] ; Nitric Acid two and a 
half fluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water five fluidounces [Imp. 
meas.]. Add the Nitric Acid and the Water to the Silver in a flask, and apply 
a gentle heat till the metal is dissolved. Decant the clear liquor from any black 
powder which may be present, into a porcelain dish, evaporate, and set aside 
to crystallise; pour off the clear liquor, and again evaporate and crystallise. 
Let the crystals drain in a glass funnel, and dry them by exposure to the air, 
carefully avoiding the contact of all organic substances. Nitrate of Silver must 
be preserved in bottles furnished with accurately ground stoppers.” Br. 
The two formulas are essentially the same; but that of the U. S. Pharmaco 
poeia is more detailed and precise, with two peculiarities which deserve notice. 
One of these is the direction to cover the materials in the capsule, during the 
continuance of the reaction, with a glass funnel. This is in order to economize 
the nitric acid, a portion of which rises in vapour, and, being condensed on the 
inner surface of the funnel, falls again into the capsule. The second peculiarity 
is the fusion of the salt before being dissolved. This would, from the phrase- 
ology of the directions, appear to have been intended to get rid of any uncoin- 
bined nitric acid which might remain in the dry salt. But the effect is probably 
rather to decompose any nitrate of copper that might have been derived from 
the silver, which, if coiu be employed, always contains it. This accounts for the 
escape of hyponitric acid vapour. The oxide of copper is got rid of in the sub- 
sequent solution. 
During the solution of silver in nitric acid, part of the acid is decomposed into 
nitric oxide which is given off and becomes red fumes by contact with the atmo- 
sphere, and oxygen which oxidizes the silver. The oxide formed then combines 
with the remainder of the acid, and generates the nitrate of silver in solution, 
which, by due evaporation, furnishes crystals of the salt. The silver should be 
pure, and the acid diluted for the purpose of promoting its action. If the silver 
contain copper, the solution will have a greenish tint, not disappearing on the 
application of heat; and if a minute portion of gold be present, it will be left 
uudissolved as a black powder. The acid also should be pure. The commercial 
nitric acid, as it frequently contains both muriatic and sulphuric acids, should 1048 
Argentum. 
PART II 
never be used in this process. The muriatic acid gives rise to an insoluble chlo- 
ride, and the sulphuric, to the sparingly soluble sulphate of silver.* 
Properties. Nitrate of silver is in colourless transparent shining crystals, hav- 
ing the form of rhornboidal plates, sometimes of considerable size. Its taste is 
bitter and intensely metallic. It is soluble in its own weight of cold water, and 
in four parts of boiling alcohol. When perfectly pure, it is wholly soluble in dis- 
tilled water. The solution stains the skin of an indelible black colour, and is 
itself discoloured by the most minute portion of organic matter, of which it forms 
a delicate test. The affinity of this salt for animal matter is evinced by its form- 
ing definite compounds with albumen and fibrin. The solution also stains linen 
and muslin in a similar manner; and hence its use in making the so-called in- 
delible ink. To remove these stains, Mr. W. B. Herapath advises to let fall on 
the moistened spots a few drops of tincture of iodine, which converts the silver 
into iodide of silver. The iodide is then dissolved by a solution of hyposulphite 
of soda, made with half a drachm to a fluidounce of water, or by a moderately 
dilute solution of caustic potassa,and the spots are washed out with warm water. 
They are taken out also by a solution of two and a half drachms of cyanide of 
potassium, and fifteen grains of iodine, in three fluidounces of water. Stains on 
the skin may be removed by the same reagents. Nitrate of silver melts at 426°, 
and on concreting forms the fused nitrate, which is officinal under the name of 
Argenli Nitras Fusa. At about G00° it is decomposed, with evolution of oxy- 
gen and hyponitric acid, and the metal is revived. This explains the necessity of 
guarding against too high a heat during the fusion of the salt. Nitrate of silver 
is incompatible with almost all spring and river water, on account of a little 
common salt usually contained in it; with soluble chlorides; with sulphuric, 
hydrosulphuric, muriatic, and tartaric acids, and their salts; with the alkalies 
and their carbonates; with lime-water; and with astringent infusions. It is 
sometimes improperly prescribed in pill with tannic acid, by which it is decom- 
posed. Nitrate of silver is an anhydrous salt, consisting of one eq. of nitric acid 
54, and one of protoxide of silver 116 = 170 (AgO,N05) 
Impurities and Tests Muriatic acid or a solution of chloride of sodium, added 
in excess to one of nitrate of silver, should throw down the whole of the silver 
as a white curdy precipitate darkening on exposure to light, and nothing besides. 
This precipitate should be entirely soluble in ammonia. If not so, the insoluble 
part is probably chloride of lead. If the supernatant liquid, after the removal of 
the precipitate, be discoloured or precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen, the fact 
shows the presence of metallic matter, which is probably copper or some remains 
of lead, or both. The solution, after precipitation by muriatic acid and filtration, 
should leave no residue when evaporated. A piece of the salt, heated on charcoal 
by the blowpipe, melts, deflagrates, and leaves behind a whitish metallic coating. 
After all, the best sign of the purity of nitrate of silver is the characteristic 
appearance of the crystals. For other tests, see Argenti Niti'as Fusa. 
Medical Properties. Nitrate of silver, as an internal remedy, is deemed tonic 
and antispasmodic. The principal diseases in which it has been employed are 
epileps}', chorea, angina pectoris, and other spasmodic affections. In epilepsy it 
forms our most reliable remedy; but the kind of cases to which it is particularly 
applicable, and its modus operandi, are not understood. It is said to produce 
most good in this disease when it acts upon the bowels. Wunderlich has found 
it specially useful in the affection named progressive locomotor ataxia {Ann. de 
Therap., 1863, p. 210) ; and cases of general progressive paralysis are said by 
M. E. Bouchut to have been cured by it. M. Bouchut recommends it also in the 
* It is desirable that pure silver, free from copper, should he used in this process. As 
silver coin always contains copper, it should be purified before being employed. For this 
purpose, according to the method of M. Lienau, it should be dissolved in nitric acid, and 
the solution precipitated by chlorine water, which throws down the silver only in the 
form of chloride. The precipitate is to he well washed with chlorine water, then dissolved 
in solution of ammonia, and precipitated by clean copper wire. The silver is deposited 
as a black powder, which, when washed with solution of ammonia, is perfectly pure. 
(See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1862, p. 368.) PART II. 
Argentum. 
1049 
palsy of the insane. (Ann.de Therap., 1866, p. 213.) It is among our most 
efficient remedies in chronic gastritis, attended with pain and vomiting. Dr. J. 
F. Peebles, of Petersburg, Ya., bore testimony to its efficacy in jaundice con- 
nected with gastric irritation, given preferably on an empty stomach. (Am. 
Journ. of the Med. Sciences, July, 1849.) Dr. Boudin, of Marseilles, employed 
it in typhoid fever as a remedy for the inflammation and ulceration of the ileum, 
which constitute the most constant lesion in that disease. M. Delioux, of Roche- 
fort, has proposed albuminous injections of nitrate of silver in diarrhoea, formed 
of half a pint of water, containing the white of one egg, from two to four grains 
of the nitrate, and an equal weight of common salt. Nitrate of silver is soluble 
in an excess of an albuminous solution, and when thus prepared is more readily 
absorbed than when dissolved in water. The common salt promotes its solu- 
tion without decomposing it. (Journ. de Pliarm., xx. 149.) In chronic diar- 
rhoea, especially in that kind attendant on phthisis, Dr. Macgreggor, of Dub- 
lin, has found the nitrate of silver, conjoined with opium, a valuable remedy. 
It has also been used with supposed advantage in cholera infantum, in doses 
varying from one-sixteenth to one-fourth of a grain, at intervals of two, four, 
or six hours. Whatever may be the remedial value of this salt internally ad- 
ministered, its occasional effect of producing a slate-coloured discoloration of 
the skin, which is seldom removed, is a great objection to its use. This effect 
proves the absorption of the medicine, and is stated to show itself first on the 
tongue and fauces. According to Dr. Branson, an indication of the approach of 
discoloration is furnished by the occurrence of a dark-blue line on the edges of 
the gums, very similar to that produced by lead, but somewhat darker. For 
this discoloration of the skin a steady course of cream of tartar has been recom- 
mended. 
Externally, nitrate of silver is occasionally employed in solution as a stimu- 
lant and escharotic; but the fused nitrate, which is not so pure as the officinal 
nitrate (pure salt in crystals), is generally selected for making solutions. In 
cases requiring nicety, the officinal nitrate (crystals) should be directed to be 
dissolved, and distilled water should be selected as the solvent. A solution, made 
in the proportion of half a grain of the crystals to a fluidounce of distilled water, 
forms a good mouth-wash for healing ulcers produced by mercury. In the in- 
flammation of the mouth from mercurial salivation, M. Bouchacourt found a 
concentrated solution of the salt, applied to the gums, base of the tongue, &c., 
with a cameFs-hair brush, very useful. A solution, containing from two to ten 
grains of the crystals to a fluidounce of distilled water, is an excellent applica- 
tion in ophthalmia with ulcers of the cornea, in fetid discharges from the ear, 
aphthous affections of the mouth, and spongy gums. 
The dose of nitrate of silver (crystals) is the fourth of a grain, gradually in- 
creased to four or five grains, three times a day. For internal exhibition, the 
physician should always prescribe the crystals, which are meant by the name 
Argenti Nitras in the revised nomenclature of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
and never direct the fused nitrate (Argenti Nitras Fusa), which is often impure. 
Nitrate of silver should always be given in pill, in which form, according to Dr. 
Powell, the system bears a dose three times as large as when given in solution. 
In the treatment of epilepsy, this physician recommends the exhibition at first 
of grain doses, to be gradually increased to six grains, three times a day. Its 
effects vary very much, owing no doubt to the salt being more or less decom- 
posed by the substances used in preparing it in pill, or with which it comes in 
contact in the stomach. It should not be made up into pill with crumb of bread, 
as this contains common salt, but with some vegetable powder and mucilage. 
But, as all organic substances more or less decompose it, M. Yee proposes the 
use of inorganic matter, such as nitre, or preferably pure silica obtained by pre- 
cipitating one of the silicates by an acid, and washing it. The least possible 
proportion of tragacanth may be used to give adhesiveness to the mass. (Journ. 
de Pliarm , Mai, 1864. p. 408.) In view of the fact that chloride of sodium is 
used with food, and exists, together with phosphates, in the secretions, and that 1050 
Argentum. 
PART II. 
free muriatic acid and albuminous fluids are present in the stomach, it is almost 
certain that, sooner or later, the whole of the nitrate of silver will be converted 
into the chloride, phosphate, and albuminate, compounds far less active than the 
original salt. The experiments of Keller, who analyzed the feces of patients 
under the use of this salt, confirm this view. Such being the inevitable result 
when the nitrate is given, the question arises how far it would be expedient to 
anticipate the change, and give the silver as a chloride ready formed. One of 
the authors of this work has tried the chloride in large doses, in two cases of 
epilepsy, but without advantage. According to Mialhe, nitrate of silver upon 
entering the stomach is immediately changed into the chloride,and this is quickly 
converted into a soluble and readily absorbable double chloride, by combining 
with chloride of sodium or of potassium. 
Nitrate of silver, in an overdose, produces the effects of the corrosive poisons. 
The proper antidote is common salt, which acts by converting the poison into 
the insoluble chloride of silver. 
Off. Prep. Argenti Cyanidum, U. S.; Argenti Nitras Fusa, U. S.; Argenti 
Oxidum. B. 
ARGENTI NITRAS FUSA. U.S. Argenti Nitras. Br. Lapis 
Infernalis. Fused Nitrate of Silver. Lunar Caustic. 
“ Take of Nitrate of Silver a convenient quantity. Melt it in a porcelain cap- 
sule, and continue the heat cautiously until frothing ceases; then pour the 
melted salt into suitable silver moulds.” U S. 
“To obtain the Nitrate in rods, fuse the crystals in a capsule of platinum or 
thin porcelain, and pour the melted salt into proper moulds.” Br. 
Instead of forming the nitrate of silver, as in the process of 1850, the present 
IT. S. Pharmacopoeia takes the salt already formed, and simply melts it with cer- 
tain precautions. The British process is merely the continuation of that by which 
the nitrate is obtained in crystals. A-s the salt while melting sinks into a com- 
mon crucible, the fusion is performed in one of porcelain or platinum, the size 
of which should be sufficient to hold five or six times the quantity of the salt 
operated on, in order to prevent its overflowing in consequence of the ebullition. 
Sometimes small portions of the liquid are spirted out, and the operator should 
be on his guard against this occurrence When the mass flows like oil, it is com- 
pletely fused, and ready to be poured into the moulds. These should be warmed, 
but not greased, as organic matter would thus be furnished, which would par- 
tially decompose the fused salt * 
Properties. Fused nitrate of silver, as prepared by the above process, is in 
the form of hard brittle sticks, of the size of a goose quill, at first translucent, 
but quickly becoming gray or more or less dark under the influence of light, 
owing to the reduction of the silver, effected probably by organic matter, or sul- 
phuretted hydrogen contained in the atmosphere. That the change does not de- 
pend on the sole action of light has been proved by Mr. Scanlan, who finds that 
nitrate of silver, in a clean glass tube hermetically sealed, undergoes no change 
by exposure to light. The sticks often become dark-coloured and nearly black 
on the surface, and, when broken across, exhibit a crystalline fracture with a 
radiated surface. Fused nitrate of silver, when pure, is wholly soluble in dis- 
tilled water; but even fair samples of the fused salt will not totally dissolve, a 
very scanty black powder being left of reduced silver, arising probably from the 
salt having been exposed to too high a heat in fusion. 
Impurities and Tests. Fused nitrate of silver is liable to contain free silver 
from having been exposed to too high a heat, the nitrates of lead and copper 
* For certain purposes it is desirable to have the nitrate of silver less brittle than in 
its pure state. Prof. J. L. Smith, of Louisville, Ky., has found that this may be effected 
by adding a little chloride of silver, which renders the stick tough, without materially 
impairing its efficiency. Dr. Squibb proposes to accomplish the object by adding 40 grains 
of muriatic acid, with half a fluidounce of distilled water, to two ounces of nitrate of silver, 
heating the mixture by means of a sand-bath to dryness, and then melting and casting 
iiffo moulds. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858.)—Note to the twelfth edition. PART II. 
Argentum. 
1051 
from the impurity of the silver dissolved in the acid, and nitrate of potassa from 
fraudulent admixture. Free silver will be left undissolved as a black powder, 
after the action of distilled water. A very slight residue of this kind is hardly 
avoidable; but, if there be much free silver, it will be shown by the surface of 
a fresh fracture of one of the sticks presenting an unusually dark-gray colour. 
(Ghristison.) The mode of detecting lead and copper is explained under nitrate 
of silver. (See Argenti Nitras.) In order to detect nitre, a solution of the sus- 
pected salt should be treated with muriatic acid in excess, to remove silver, and 
with sulphuretted hydrogen, to throw down other metals if they happen to be 
present. The filtered liquid, if the salt be pure, will entirely evaporate by heat; 
if it contain nitre, this will be left, easily known by its properties as a nitrate. 
This impurity sometimes exists infused nitrate of silver in large amount, vary- 
ing, according to different statements, from 10 to 75 per cent. According to 
Dr. Christison, it may be suspected if the sticks present a colourless fracture. 
In the Br. Pharmacopoeia the following method is given for testing fused nitrate 
of silver for impurity, without determining its nature. “ Ten grains dissolved in 
two fluidrachms of distilled water give with hydrochloric acid a precipitate, 
which, when washed and thoroughly dried, weighs 8 44 grains. The filtrate 
when evaporated by a water-bath leaves no residue.” If the weight of the pre 
cipitate be greater or less than here stated, there must be some impurity in the 
nitrate; and any non-preeipitable matter, if solid at the temperature of the 
water-bath, will be left behind when the filtrate is evaporated. In the IJ. S 
Pharmacopoeia, the following test, suggested by Dr. Squibb, is given to detect 
nitre or other saline impurity. “A small portion, rubbed into fine powder with 
twice its weight of sugar, forms a mixture, which, when burned upon a surface 
of glass or porcelain, leaves a tasteless residue.” If the nitrate is pure, only the 
reduced metal is left, which is without taste. If it contain only as much as 1 per 
cent, of nitre, or other saline impurity, the residue will have the sharp alkaline 
taste of the base of the salt. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1859, p. 50.) 
Medical Properties. Fused nitrate of silver should be restricted to external 
use. The medical properties of the salt, as an internal remedy, are given under 
the head of the crystallized nitrate (See Argenti Nitras.) Externally applied 
the fused nitrate acts variously as a stimulant, vesicant, and escharotic, and may 
be employed either dissolved in water, or in the solid state. Dissolved to the 
extent of from one to five grains in a fluidounce of water, it is used for the pur- 
pose of stimulating indolent ulcers, and as an injection for fistulous sores. A 
drachm of the fused salt, dissolved in a fluidounce of water, forms an escharotic 
solution, which may often be resorted to with advantage. When used in solution 
it is most conveniently applied by means of a camel’s-hair brush. But fused 
nitrate of silver is most frequently employed in the solid state ; and, as it is not 
deliquescent nor apt to spi*ead, it forms the most manageable caustic that can be 
used. When thus employed, it is useful to coat the caustic, as recommended by 
M. Dumeril, by dipping it into melted engravers’ sealing-wax, which strengthens 
the stick, protects it from change, prevents it from staining the fingers, and af- 
fords facilities for limiting the action of the caustic to particular spots. If it is 
desired, for example, to touch a part of the throat with the caustic, it is pre- 
pared by scraping off the sealing-wax with a penknife, to a suitable extent from 
one end. Another way to strengthen the stick is to cast it around a platinum 
wire, as recommended by M. Chassaignac; or around a wick of cotton, accord- 
ing to the plan of M. Blatin. By the latter.plan, when the stick is broken, the 
fragments remain attached. If the fused nitrate be rubbed gently over the 
moistened skin until this becomes gray, it generally vesicates, causing usually 
less pain than is produced by cantharides. The fused nitrate is also employed to 
destroy strictures of the urethra, warts and excrescences, fungous flesh, incipient 
chancres, and the surface of other ulcers. Mr. Higginbottom considers its free 
application to ulcers, so as to cover them with an eschar, as an excellent means 
of expediting their cicatrization. He alleges that, if an adherent eschar be 
formed, the parts underneath heal before it falls off. It has also been used with 1052 
Argentum. 
PART II. 
good effect in the solid state, by Dr. Jewell in leucorrhoea, and by Ricord, Han- 
nay, and others in the gonorrhoea of women. In these cases the pain produced 
is much less than would be expected. Lunar caustic is frequently used in aque- 
ous solution as a topical remedy in various low forms of inflammation, but par- 
ticularly in erysipelas, applied both to the inflamed and to the surrounding 
healthy parts. In some cases it is sufficient to blacken the cuticle ; in others it 
is best to produce vesication. In the treatment of these inflammations, Mr. 
Ward,of London, finds an ethereal solution, formed by dissolving eight grains of 
the salt in afluidounce of common nitric ether, much more convenient and man- 
ageable than an aqueous solution. The ethereal solution is readily applied, and 
quickly dries. The late Dr. J. Wiltbank, of this city, used an aqueous solution 
of nitrate of silver (from 20 to 40 grains to the fluidounce) in the treatment of 
superficial burns and scalds, applied with a camel’s-hair brush over the whole 
surface, first wiped dry, after opening the vesications. If the burn be deep, the 
entire surface of the ulcer should be touched with the stick. (Med. Exam ,March, 
1856, p 144.) In cases of prolapsus ani.Mr. Lloyd,of London, smears the whole 
surface of the protruded bowel with the solid caustic, and then returns it. Three 
or four applications, at intervals of a week or fortnight, are generally sufficient 
to effect a cure. Mr. Lloyd never knew this practice to be attended with bad 
consequences. Prof. Parker, of New York, uses nitrate of silver for the radical 
cure of hydrocele. After drawing off the liquid, he introduces, through the can- 
nula, a common probe, the end of which is coated, for half an inch or more, with 
the caustic. The probe is then carried lightly over the serous surface of the 
tunica vaginalis, and withdrawn. In smallpox it has been proposed by Breton- 
neau and Serres to cauterize each pustule, after its top has been removed, on the 
first or second day of the eruption, in order to arrest its development, and pre- 
vent pitting. The fused nitrate also forms an efficacious application to certain 
ulcerations of the throat, to different forms of porrigo of the scalp, and other 
skin diseases, to punctured and poisoned wounds, and to chilblains, slowly rub- 
bed over the moistened part. If, unexpectedly, the pain produced by its exter- 
nal use should be excessive, it may be immediately allayed by washing the parts 
with a solution of common salt, which acts by decomposing the caustic. In the 
form of ointment, made by mixing one part of the caustic, in powder, with 
thirty of lard, it has been used in ozasna; a piece of lint, smeared with the 
ointment, being introduced into the nasal fossa 
Nitrate of silver, in impalpable powder, mixed with an equal weight of lyco- 
podium, and used by inhalation, has been found beneficial in ulcerated sore- 
throat, laryngitis, bronchitis, and incipient phthisis, by Dr. W. M. Cornell, of 
Boston. (Boston Med. and Surg. Journ., Sept. 25, 1850.) The salt, used in 
this way, has since been successfully employed in the treatment of chronic 
laryngitis by M. Trousseau, of Paris, and others. The mixture employed con- 
sisted of three grains of the nitrate and a drachm of sugar of milk, intimately 
mixed in fine powder, of which as much as would fill the barrel of a steel pen 
was inhaled daily. The steel pen, charged with the powder, and attached to 
the barrel of a quill, is placed on the root of the tongue, and the patient com- 
presses his lips around the quill. Then holding his nose, he makes a deep in- 
spiration, which draws the powder into the larynx. (See Am. Journ. of Med. 
Sci., Oct. 1855, p. 515.) This plan of applying nitrate of silver to the larynx 
is much more sure and safe than that of introducing the solution bv injection, 
or by means of a sponge. Dr. Gluillon, of France, strongly recommends the 
insufflation of the powder in pseudomembranous croup, having derived great 
advantage from it in his own experience. (South. Med. and Surg. Journ., 
March, 1867, p. 486 ; from Revue de Therap.) The solution may often be 
applied to different parts of the throat by means of the atomizer. B. 
ARGENTI OXIDUM. U. S., Br. Oxide of Silver. 
“Take of Nitrate of Silver four troyounces ; Distilled Water half a pint; 
Solution of Potassa a pint and a half, or a sufficient quantity. Dissolve the 
Nitrate of Silver in the Water, and to the solution add Solution of Potassa so PART II. 
Argentum. 
1053 
long as it produces a precipitate. Wash this repeatedly with water until the 
washings are nearly tasteless. Lastly, dry the precipitate and keep it in a well- 
stopped bottle, protected from the light.” U. S. 
“ Take of Nitrate of Silver, in crystals, half an ounce [avoirdupois]; Solu- 
tion of Lime three pints and a half [Imperial measure]; Distilled Water ten 
fluidounces. Dissolve the Nitrate of Silver in four [fluid]ounces of the Dis- 
tilled Water, and, having poured the solution into a bottle containing the So- 
lution of Lime, shake the mixture'well, and set it aside to allow the deposit to 
settle. Draw off the supernatant liquid, collect the deposit on a filter, wash it 
with the remainder of the Distilled Water, and dry it at a heat not exceeding 
21 2°. Keep it in a stoppered bottle.” Br. 
Oxide of silver was introduced into theU. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and was 
adopted in the Br. Pharmacopoeia from the Dublin. In the processes for making 
it, nitrate of oxide of silver is decomposed by potassa or lime, the oxide being pre- 
cipitated, and nitrate of potassa or nitrate of lime, as the case may be, remaining 
in solution. When thus obtained the oxide is an olive-brown powder. If the 
potassa used be not wholly free from carbonic acid, the precipitated oxide will be 
contaminated with some carbonate of silver. According to Mr. Borland, of Lon- 
don, the carbonate is sometimessold for the oxide. A third process for obtaining 
this oxide is that of Gregory, which consists in boiling the moist, recently pre- 
pared chloride of silver with a very strong solution of caustic potassa (sp. gr. 
1 25 to l-30). In this case, by double decomposition, oxide of silver and chlo- 
ride of potassium are formed. When thus prepared it is a very dense pure black 
powder. Oxide of silver is very slightly soluble in water. Exposed to heat it 
gives out oxygen, and is wholly converted into metallic silver; 29 grains of it 
yielding 27 of the metal. {Br ) It should not effervesce with acids. When its 
solution in nitric acid is precipitated by chloride of sodium in excess, the super- 
natant liquid is not discoloured by bihydrosulphate of ammonia. The non-action 
of this test shows the absence of most foreign metals, especially copper and lead. 
It parts with its oxygen with great facility, being decomposed by many organic 
substances, and even causing sulphur to take fire when the two are rubbed 
together, quite dry, in a mortar. {Ghent. News, May 7, 1864, p. 217.) Oxide of 
silver consists of one eq. of silver 108, and one of oxygen 8 = 116. 
Medical Properties. This oxide has been proposed as a substitute for nitrate 
of silver, as having the general therapeutic virtues of the latter, without its 
escharotic effect, and objectionable property of discolouring the skin. It was first 
tried as a medicine by Van Mons and Sementini. In 1840 it was employed by 
Dr. Butler Lane, who considered it to act as a sedative. In 1845 the late Sir 
James Eyre strongly recommended it in his work on exhausting diseases. Dr 
Lane used it with more or less success in nausea, cardialgia, pyrosis, various 
painful affections of the stomach without organic lesion, dysentery, diarrhoea, 
night-sweats without other obvious affection, dysmenorrhcea, menorrhagia, leu- 
corrhoea, chronic enlargements of the uterus attended with flooding, &c. The 
oxide appeared to exert a peculiar control over uterine fluxes. Some of the cases 
treated required the use of tonics, after the curative influence of the oxide had 
been exerted. The late Dr. Golding Bird also obtained favourable effects from 
the use of oxide of silver, and confirmed to a certain extent the results of Dr. 
Lane, especially as to its valuable powers in menorrhagia. Thus far no case 
of cutaneous discoloration is known to have occurred ; though Dr. Lane gave 
the oxide repeatedly for two months, and Dr. Bird in more than a hundred cases, 
in one for four mouths. Dr. Lane observed one case in which repeated saliva- 
tion occurred, and Dr. Bird several in which the gums were affected. But, in 
order to draw any inference from these results, the prescriber should be certain 
that the medicine is not contaminated with black oxide of mercury. In stomach 
disease, characterized by a glairy instead of a watery discharge, Dr. Bird de- 
rived not the slightest benefit from the oxide, though he used it in thirty cases. 
In epilepsy it is supposed by some that the oxide will accomplish all that can 
be expected from the nitrate, with less risk to the stomach, and without incur- 1054 
Argentum.—Arsenicum.—Atropia. 
PART II. 
ring the danger of discolouring the skin. In taenia it has been used success- 
fully in two cases by Mr. Whittel. The dose of oxide of silver is a grain, twice 
or thrice a day, given in pill. In no case did Dr. Lane carry the dose beyond six 
grains in the twenty-four hours. The pill should not be made with honey, con- 
serve of roses, or other excipient containing glucose; and, indeed, most organic 
substances, especially in a moist state, deoxidize the oxide, reviving the silver. 
Mr. Ambrose Smith recommends, as among the best excipients, gum arabic, or 
this with a little syrup. (Proceed. of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1859, p. 308.) Oxide 
of silver has been used in the form of ointment, composed of from five to ten 
grains to the drachm of lard, as an application to venereal sores, and to the 
urethral membrane in gonorrhoea, smeared on a bougie. B. 
ARSENICUM. 
Preparation of Arsenic. 
The officinal liquid preparations of arsenic are, in compliance with the Phar- 
macopoeias, considered under the head of Liquores or Solutions. (See Liquor 
Arsenici et Hydrargyri lodidi, Liquor Potassas Arsenitis, and Liquor Sodae 
Arsenitis, in Part II.) It is only the Iodide of Arsenic that is treated of in 
this place. 
ARSENICI IODIDUM. U.S. Iodide of Arsenic. 
“ Take of Arsenic sixty grains; Iodine three hundred grains. Rub the Ar- 
senic in a mortar until reduced to a fine powder; then add the Iodine, and rub 
them together until they are thoroughly mixed. Put the mixture into a small 
flask or a test-tube, loosely stopped, and heat it very gently until liquefaction 
occurs. Then incline the vessel in different directions, in order that any portion 
of the iodine, which may have condensed on its surface, may be returned into 
the melted mass. Lastly, pour the melted iodide on a porcelain slab, and, when 
it is cold, break it into pieces, and keep it in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This iodide was introduced into the U.S. Pharmacopoeia for the purpose of 
being used in preparing the solution of iodide of arsenic and mercury. It is made 
by the direct combination of its constituents, with the aid of a gentle heat. 
Properties, &c. Iodide of arsenic is an orange-red, crystalline solid, entirely 
soluble in water, and wholly volatilized by heat. In composition it is con- 
sidered to be a teriodide, consisting of one eq. of arsenic 75, and three of iodine 
378*9 = 453*9. It has been used by Biett as an external application in corrod- 
ing tubercular skin diseases. By the late Dr. A. T. Thomson it was given inter- 
nally with advantage in lepra, impetigo, and diseases resembling cancer. Dr. 
F. C. Crane cured a case of what he considered cancer of the breast by its use 
for nearly eight months. The ointment used by Biett was composed of three 
grains of the iodide to an ounce of lard. The dose for internal exhibition is an 
eighth of a grain three times a day, given in pill or solution. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Arsenici et Hydrargyri lodidi, U. S. B 
ATROPIA. 
Preparations of Atropia. 
ATROPIA. U.S.,JBr. Atropia. 
“ Take of Belladonna Root, in fine powder,forty-eight troyounces; Purified 
Chloroform four ti'oyounces and a half; Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Solution of 
Potassa, Alcohol, Water, each, a sufficient quantity. Mix the powder with a 
pint of Alcohol, and, having introduced the mixture into a cylindrical perco- 
lator, pour alcohol gradually upon it until six pints have passed. From the 
liquid, thus obtained, distil off twelve pints of alcohol. To the residue add suf- 
ficient Diluted Sulphuric Acid to give it an acid reaction, and, having evapo- 
rated the liquid to half a pint, add an equal bulk of Water, and filter through 
paper. To the filtered liquid add, first a troyounce and a half of the Chloro- PAltT II. 
Atropia. 
1055 
form, and then Solution of Potassa in slight excess, and shake the whole to- 
gether at intervals, for half an hour. When the heavier liquid has subsided, 
separate it, and, having added a troyounce and a half of the Chloroform to 
the lighter liquid, again shake them together, and separate the heavier from 
the lighter liquid as before. Add to this lighter liquid the remainder of the 
Chloroform, and, after agitation, separate the heavier liquid for the third time. 
Mix the heavier liquids in & capsule, and set the mixture aside until, by spon- 
taneous evaporation, the Atropia is left dry.” U. S. 
“ Take of Belladonna Root, recently dried and in coarse powder, two pouvds 
[avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit fen pints [Imperial measure]; Slaked Lime one 
ounce [avoird.]; Dilute Sulphuric Acid, Carbonate of Potash, of each, a suffi- 
ciency; Chloroform, three fiuidounces; Purified Animal Charcoal, a suffi- 
ciency ; Distilled Water ten fiuidounces. Macerate the Root in four pints [Imp. 
meas.] of the Spirit, for twenty-four hours, with frequent stirring. Transfer to a 
displacement apparatus, and exhaust the root with the remainder of the Spirit by 
slow percolation. Add the Lime to the tincture placed in a bottle, and shake 
them occasionally several times. Filter, add the Dilute Sulphuric Acid in very 
feeble excess to the filtrate, and filter again. Distil oft' three-fourths of the Spirit, 
add to the residue the Distilled Water, evaporate at a gentle heat, but as rapidly 
as possible, until the liquor is reduced to one third of its volume and no longer 
smells of alcohol; then let it cool. Add very cautiously, with constant stirring, 
a solution of the Carbonate of Potash so as nearly to neutralise the acid, care, 
however, being taken that an excess is not used. Set to rest for six hours, then 
filter, and add Carbonate of Potash in such quantity that the liquid shall ac- 
quire a decided alkaline reaction. Place it in a bottle with the Chloroform ; 
mix well by frequently repeated brisk agitation, and pour the mixed liquids 
into a funnel furnished with a glass stop-cock. When the Chloroform has sub- 
sided, draw it off by the stop-cock, and distil it on a water-bath from a retort 
connected with a condenser. Dissolve the residue in warm Rectified Spirit; 
digest the solution with a little Animal Charcoal; filter, evaporate, and cool 
until colourless crystals are obtained.” Br. 
The U. S. process is a modification of the one proposed by Prof. Procter in a 
communication to the American Pharmaceutical Association, published in their 
Proceedings for the year 1860. The root is first exhausted by alcohol, by means 
of percolation, a large proportion of the alcohol is distilled off, and sulphuric acid 
is added in slight excess, so asto convert the atropia into the sulphate, and thus 
enable it to be held in solution in the next step of the process. The liquid is now 
further concentrated, so as to separate nearly all the alcohol, and then mixed with 
water to separate resinous and fatty matters. The sulphate of atropia is left in 
solution, 'this, after filtration, is treated with chloroform and solution of po- 
tassa in slight excess, the latter to separate the atropia from the sulphate, and the 
former to dissolve it when thus separated; and the repeated agitation with the 
chloroform is in order that the whole of the atropia may be dissolved. Chloro- 
form is admirably adapted to this purpose, at once by its insolubility in water, 
and by its extraordinary solvent power over atropia, of which it is capable of 
taking up 33 per cent. The chloroformic solution sinks to the bottom in conse- 
quence of its density, and, having been separated, yields the atropia by sponta- 
neous evaporation. The alkaloid as thus obtained is not pure, still containing 
resinous and colouring matters; but it was deemed sufficiently so for medical 
use. This we think unfortunate; for it is impossible, unless the alkaloid be ob- 
tained pure or very nearly so, to determine, in any particular instance, unless 
by a complicated operation, the precise amount of impurity, and consequently 
the precise strength of the preparation. Had it been deemed advisable to follow 
the process of Mr. Procter, in all its steps, this result might have been avoided. 
Though atropia is very soluble in chloroform, the sulphate of that alkaloid is 
insoluble. Consequently, if the impure solution of the sulphate left after the 
precipitation of the resinous matter by water, be thoroughly agitated, as sug- 
gested by Mr. Procter, with a portion of chloroform, it is deprived of most of 1056 
Atropia. 
PART IT. 
its remaining resinous, fatty, and colouring matters, still retaining the alkaloid 
in the form of sulphate, which, after the removal of the chloroform, it will yield 
in a comparatively pure state to the subsequent treatment by solution of potassa 
and chloroform. Though caustic potassa is believed to decompose atropia by 
prolonged contact, yet, in this instance, its opportunity for any injurious action 
would be too fugitive to justify apprehension on this score; for it speedily be- 
comes neutralized by the sulphuric acid, while the liberated alkaloid is as quickly 
seized by the chloroform, and carried out of its sphere of action. But, even with 
this improvement of the process, the alkaloid, as yielded by the spontaneous 
evaporation, is not quite free from impurity, and, to be obtained entirely pure 
and colourless, should be dissolved in alcohol, treated with a little animal char- 
coal, and then allowed to crystallize by the spontaneous evaporation of the alco- 
holic solution after filtration. Prof. Procter obtained only about one-third of 1 per 
cent, of pure atropia from the amount of root used. The use of chloroform as a 
solvent of atropia, in preparing that alkaloid, wras, we believe, first suggested by 
M Rabourdin, of Orleans, in France. The application of it to the purification 
of the impure sulphate originated with Prof. Procter. As chloroform is too valu- 
able to be lost when it can conveniently be saved, it would be advisable, when it 
is used in this process, instead of allowing it to escape by spontaneous evapora- 
tion, to recover it by distillation with a warm bath, taking care, by using a tem- 
perature not exceeding 160° F., to shun any danger of decomposing the atropia. 
The British process, as will be seen by comparing it with the notes below, is 
a combination of the processes of Mein and Rabourdin, the former being fol- 
lowed until after the addition of carbonate of potassa, and the alkaloid thus 
liberated being taken up by chloroform as in the latter. The use of lime in the 
earlier stage of the proceedings is to cause a precipitation of various substances 
which would otherwise embarrass the subsequent operations.* 
* The following is the process employed by Mein for procuring atropia. The roots of 
plants two or three years old were selected. Of these, in extremely fine powder, 24 parts 
were digested, for several days, with 60 parts of alcohol of 86 or 90 per cent. The liquid 
having been separated by strong expression, the residue was treated anew with an equal 
quantity of alcohol; and the tinctures, poured together and filtered, were mixed with one 
part of hydrate of lime, and frequently shaken for 24 hours. The copious precipitate which 
now formed was separated by filtering; and diluted sulphuric acid was added drop by 
drop to the filtered liquor, till slightly in excess. The sulphate of lime having been sepa- 
rated by a new filtration, the alcoholic liquid was distilled to one-half, then mixed with 6 
or 8 parts of pure water, and evaporated with a gentle heat till the whole of the alcohol 
was driven off. The residual liquid was filtered, cautiously evaporated to one-third, and 
allowed to cool. A concentrated aqueous solution of carbonate of potassa was then gradu- 
ally added, so long as the liquid continued to be rendered turbid ; and the mixture was 
afterwards suffered to rest some hours. A yellowish resinous substance, which opposes 
the crystallization of the atropia, was thus precipitated. From this the liquid was care- 
fully decanted, and a small additional quantity of the solution of the carbonate was dropped 
into it, till it no longer became turbid. A gelatinous mass now gradually formed, which, 
at the end of 12 or 24 hours, was agitated in order to separate the mother-waters, 
then thrown upon a filter, and dried by folds of unsized paper. The substance thus 
obtained, which was atropia in an impure state, was dissolved in five times its weight of 
alcohol; and the solution, having been filtered, was mixed with six or eight times its 
bulk of water. The liquor soon became milky, or was made so by evaporating the excess 
of alcohol, and, in the course of 12 or 24 hours, deposited the atropia in the form of light- 
yellow crystals which were rendered entirely pure and colourless by washing with a few 
drops of water, drying on blotting-paper, and again treating with alcohol. From 12 oz. 
of the root, Mein obtained 20 grs. of the alkaloid. (Journ. de Pharm., xx. 87.) 
M. Fabourdin, of Orleans, in France, prepares atropia by means of chloroform in the 
following manner. To each litre (about 2 pints) of the expressed juice of the fresh leaves, 
deprived of its albumen by heat and filtration, or to a filtered solution of 60 grammes 
(about 15 drachms) of extract in 200 grammes of distilled water, 4 grammes of potassa, 
and 30 grammes of chloroform are added, the whole is shaken for a minute, and then set 
aside. In half an hour, the chloroform, holding the atropia in solution, is seen at the 
bottom of the vessel, resembling a greenish oil. The supernatant liquor is decanted, and 
small portions of water successively added and removed, until no longer rendered turbid. 
The cliloroformic solution is then distilled, by means of a salt-water bath, until all the 
chloroform has passed. The residue is treated with a little water acidulated with sulphuric 
acid, which dissolves the atropia, leaving a green resinous matter. The solution is then PART II. 
Atropia. 
1057 
Properties. Atropia is in silky, prismatic, acicular crystals, which, when quite 
pure, are colourless, but, as obtained according to our officinal formula, are yel- 
lowish-white. It is inodorous, but has a bitter and acrid taste. It is said to 
melt at 191° F., and at 284° to be volatilized, a portion being unchanged, but the 
greater part destroyed. According to Dr. Guy, it melts at 150°, and sublimes 
at 280° {Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1868, p. 374); and, according to Mr. Wadding- 
ton, the liquid remains perfectly colourless, and the vapour condenses in perfect 
crystals; showing that the alkaloid does not undergo decomposition at its sub- 
liming point. {Ibid., March, 1868, p. 416.) It is inflammable, giving off an odour 
like that of benzoic acid, and, when burned in the open air, leaving no residue. 
By distilling it with bichromate of potassa and sulphuric acid, Dr. E. Pfeiffer 
succeeded in obtaining crystals of benzoic acid. {Am. J. of Pharm., May, 1864, 
p. 226.) Dr. Kraut, by heating it with baryta-water, succeeded in obtaining an 
uncrystallizable salt, consisting of a peculiar acid and peculiar base, the former 
of which he calls atropic acid and the latter tropia. {Ibid., p. 232.) It is said, 
moreover, that when a little of it, dissolved in a few drops of sulphuric acid, is 
heated, an odour is given out resembling that of orange flowers. {Ibid., March, 
1864, p. 112.) It is soluble in 300 parts of water at 60°, in 8 parts of alcohol 
{Geiger and Hesse), in 25 parts of ether, in 50 parts of glycerin {Gap and 
Garot), and, according to Schlimpert, in a little more than 3 parts of chloro- 
form; and in all these liquids it is more soluble hot than cold. It has a strong 
alkaline reaction, forms crystallizable salts with acids, and, in solution, gives 
a lemon-yellow precipitate with terchloride of gold. Heated with potassa or 
soda it gives out ammonia, and is rendered inert by prolonged contact with the 
former alkalies. Hinterberger states that an alcoholic solution of atropia, when 
cyanogen is passed through it, assumes a blood-red colour, and, on spontaneous 
evaporation, deposits a red syrupy liquid insoluble in water. {Gmelin.) In 
very dilute solution, the alkaloid produces, when applied to the eye, a speedy 
and durable dilatation of the pupil. Its composition is represented by the form- 
ula c3+h23no6. 
Medical Properties and Uses. The effects of atropia on the system are pre- 
cisely those of belladonna, whether locally or generally, whether in moderate 
doses as a remedy, or in excessive quantities as a poison. It is in general, how- 
ever, somewhat more speedy in its operation, probably in consequence of its 
easier absorption. Thus, the poisonous action of belladonna is seldom expe- 
rienced in less than half an hour, while that of atropia shows itself violently in 
fifteen or twenty minutes. The most prominent effects from the smallest reme- 
dial doses are dryness and stricture of the throat, and slight uneasiness of the 
head, with confusion or giddiness; from somewhat larger doses, dilatation of the 
pupil, some dimness of vision, frontal headache, slight delirium, flushed face, and 
sometimes a scarlet rash; from poisonous doses, the above symptoms in a more 
aggravated form, great dimness or total temporary loss of vision, excessive dila- 
tation of the pupil, intense headache or violent delirium followed by stupor, 
paralytic sensations, intense redness of the face, neck, &c., at first acceleration but 
afterwards depression of the pulse, and finally great prostration, profound coma, 
coldness of the extremities, and death, if relief is not obtained. Sometimes nau- 
sea and vomiting are produced, and occasionally diarrhoea. There is often an 
increased disposition to micturate; and atropia has been detected in the urine 
filtered, the atropia precipitated by carbonate of potassa in slight excess, and the precipi- 
tate dissolved in rectified alcohol, which, upon evaporation, yields it in beautiful groups 
of needles. (Gaz. Med. de Paris, Oct. 19, 1850.) 
M r. W. T. Luxton obtains atropia by adding a little sulphuric acid to a strong decoction 
of the leaves so as to precipitate the albumen, filtering, and either passing gaseous am- 
monia through the clear liquor, or suspending in it a lump of carbonate of ammonia. 
Atropia slowly crystallizes, and in a day or two may he separated on a filter, and deprived 
of colour by washing with spirit of ammonia. Mr. Luxton obtained between 5 and 6 grains 
from 1000 of the leaves. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxvii. 156.) 
An account of the effects of numerous reagents upon the muriate of atropia, by Dr A. 
Von Flanta, may be found in the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxiii. 88). 1058 
Atropia. 
PART II. 
of those who have taken it freely. In a case recorded by Dr. James Andrew 
two-thirds of a grain occasioned the most alarming symptoms, which continued 
for several days (Ed Month. Journ. of Med. Sci , xiv. 34) ; and a lady, under 
the care of M. Roux, of Brignolles, took somewhat more than a grain, with 
the same alarming symptoms (Ann. de Therap., 1861, p. 14); though, in both 
cases, recovery took place under treatment. In a child of three years old less 
than half a grain was followed by similar dangerous symptoms, and the same 
favourable result. (Med Times and Gaz., Dec. 1850, p. 601 ) A solution of 
atropia dropped into the eye produces dilatation of the pupil after ten or fifteen 
minutes.without causing congestion or inflammation ; andthedilatation will usu- 
ally continue for two or three days. Sometimes it is said that the dilatation is 
followed by contraction of the pupil, especially when the dose is large. The al-_ 
Kaloid also produces its characteristic constitutional effects when applied to the 
skin denuded of the epidermis, or to a mucous membrane, as of the rectum, va- 
gina, &c., and especially when injected into the subcutaneous areolar tissue. 
The remedies for its poisonous operation are the same as those for belladonna; 
the most prominent being evacuation of the stomach, cold applications to the 
head, the preparations of opium internally,* and stimulants when the strength is 
failing. The officinal compound solution of iodine has been given in poisoning 
by atropia, and with apparent advantage, in one or two cases, though other 
remedies were employed at the same time. It acts by forming an insoluble com- 
pound with the alkaloid. (See Belladonna.) 
Atropia may be used internally for all the purposes for which belladonna is 
given ; but it is chiefly as a local remedy, for application to the eye, or to the 
surface of the body, or for subcutaneous injection that it is preferred; and for 
these purposes it has the advantage over the ordinary preparations of belladonna, 
of greater precision of dose, quicker action, and greater neatness and cleanliness. 
The dose to begin with, for internal use, is about one-thirtieth of a grain, which 
may be gradually increased till some effect is experienced; but it is almost too 
powerful for prudent employment in this way, especially as all the effects of bel- 
ladonna may be readily obtained from the extract. Dr. Sieveking found, in a 
trial upon himself, that one-hundredth of a grain produced brief vertigo fol- 
lowed by dryness of the throat, without affection of the viscera, but with nerv- 
ous depression next day. (B. and F. Med,-ch ir. Rev., Jn\y, 1858, Am. ed., p. 179.) 
It may be administered dissolved in diluted alcohol, in the proportion of two 
grains to half a fluidounce, of which four minims, or twice the number of drops, 
may be given for a commencing dose. If given in pill, the greatest care should 
be taken to distribute the atropia equally in the pill-mass before dividing it. For 
application to the eye, one grain may be dissolved in four fluidrachms of distilled 
water by means of a few drops of acetic acid, of which no more should be used 
than is necessary to effect the solution. Of this, a single drop, applied to the 
inner surface of the lower lid, will produce dilatation of the pupil in 15 or 20 
* In reference to the relative effects of atropia and morphia, hypodermically admin- 
istered, Drs. 8. Weir Mitchell, Keen, and Morehouse have come to the following conclu- 
sions, among others, from a series of experiments and observations. Atropia has no 
power to relieve pain, while morphia acts powerfully, and the more so the nearer it is 
to the seat of pain; and atropia has no power of diminishing the action of morphia in 
this respect. Morphia lowers the pulse slightly if at all, while atropia usually lowers 
it within ten minutes, then accelerates it from twenty to fifty heats within an hour, 
followed about the tenth hour by a reduction, and within twenty-four hours by a re- 
turn to the normal state; and morphia has no power to prevent the effect of atropia 
on the pulse. With the change of the pulse, the respiration is hardly in any degree 
affected. As regards the eye, the two alkaloids are mutually antagonistic ; but the action 
of atropia is much more durable. The cerebral symptoms produced by the one alkaloid 
are to a great extent capable of being superseded by the other; but in consequence of the 
difference in their speed of action, and the longer continued action of the atropia, it is 
difficult to obtain a perfect neutralization of effect. The dry mouth of atropia is not less- 
ened by morphia. Atropia does not constipate like morphia, and may even relax the 
bowels. The nausea of morphia is not prevented or removed by atropia. Both alkaloids 
occasionally cause dvsuria, and that caused by one is not relieved by the other. (Am 
Journ. of Pharm,, Sept. 1865, p. 389.)—Note to the thirteenth edition. PART II. 
Atropia. 
1059 
minutes. The same solution may be used for subcutaneous injection in tne quan 
tity of 8 or 10 drops to commence with, and gradually increased. Mr.T. P.Teale, 
of Leeds, has obtained the happiest results in the treatment of iritis by the ap- 
plication of a solution of atropia to the eye. It is often alone adequate to the 
cure. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., July, 1867, p. 265 ) For application to the sound 
skin, the form of ointment is most convenient. This may be made by rubbing a 
grain of the alkaloid first with four minims of alcohol, and then with a drachm 
of lard. Glycerin and olein also have been recommended as vehicles of atropia 
for external use; and may be incorporated with it in the same proportion. 
When solution of atropia is used locally for dilating the pupil, it may be 
either dropped into the eye within the lower lid, or may be introduced on small 
slips of paper previously saturated with the solution and dried, or, what is 
still more convenient, by means of minute circular discs of gelatin, made by mix- 
ing the solution with gelatin and evaporating so as to procure a thin film, which 
is to be cut into circular pieces. These have the advantage over paper that they 
do not require to be subsequently removed from the eye. 
The external use of atropia is not without danger, unless great caution be 
observed. A case is on record in which an ointment composed of three grains 
of the sulphate and two drachms of lard, applied upon a vesicated surface on 
the neck, produced in a few minutes the most violent symptoms of belladonna 
poisoning, ending in death in two hours. (Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 9.) 
Of. Prep. Atropiae Sulphas; Liquor Atropiae, Br.; Unguentum Atropiae, 
W. 
ATROPINE SULPHAS. U.S.,Br. Sulphate of Atropia. 
“Take of Atropia sixty grains; Stronger Ether four fuidounces and a 
half; Sulphuric Acid six grains; Stronger Alcohol a ffiuidrachm. Dissolve 
the Atropia in the Ether; then mix the Acid and-Alcohol, and add the mixture, 
drop by drop, to the ethereal solution until the Atropia is saturated. Allow the 
liquid to stand until the precipitate formed is deposited. Then decant the ether, 
and expose the residue to spontaneous evaporation until the salt is dry.” U. S. 
“Take of Atropia one hundred and twenty grains; Distilled Water four 
fuidrachms; Diluted Sulphuric Acid a sufficiency. Mix the Atropia with the 
Water and add the Acid gradually, stirring them together until the alkaloid is 
dissolved, and the solution is neutral. Evaporate it to dryness at a temperature 
not exceeding 100°.” Br. 
The U. S. is essentially the process of M. Ch. Maitre, which is contained in 
a note in the 11th edition of the Dispensatory. Atropia being soluble in ether 
while its sulphate is insoluble in that fluid, a convenient method is afforded for 
preparing the sjulphate with little evaporation. By adding the mixed acid and 
alcohol to the ethereal solution, the sulphate is formed, and being insoluble in 
the ether is deposited; while the little left dissolved in the alcohol is obtained 
by spontaneous evaporation. The quantity of acid added is intended to saturate 
the alkaloid; but if the saturation should not be exact, it would be easy to ren- 
der it so by the addition of a little more of the alkaloid or a little more of the 
acid, as the case may be. 
From the great facility with which atropia undergoes change, much caution 
is necessary in preparing its salts; and the process was arranged in reference to 
this caution. Upon the addition of the mixed acid and alcohol to the ethereal 
solution, the liquid becomes milky, and deposits on the sides of the vessel a 
copious precipitate, of a viscid appearance, which soon dries upon the decanta- 
tion of the ether, and the placing of the vessel in a drying room. To succeed with 
this process, it is necessary that the liquids employed should be carefully freed 
from water, the sulphuric acid being monohydrated, and that the temperature 
should be kept as low as possible. There should be no excess of acid; and, if 
such an excess should be found upon applying the test of litmus paper, the 
solution should be neutralized by a portion of reserved solution of atropia. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxviii. 361; from Repert. de Pharm.) In the British 1060 
A tropia. —Barium. 
PART II. 
process the same object of avoiding decomposition by heat is arrived at by the 
low temperature at which the evaporation is effected. 
Sulphate of atropia, as thus obtained, is a white slightly crystalline powder, 
having the taste of atropia, very soluble in water and alcohol, but insoluble in 
ether and chloroform. It should be dissipated by heat, and neutral to test- 
paper. It is known to be a sulphate by giving a white precipitate, with chlo- 
ride of barium, and a salt of atropia by its effect in dilating the pupil, when a 
drop of a weak solution is introduced into the eye. 
If it be required to procure the sulphate in the form of crystals, which may 
sometimes be desirable to avoid adulteration, the process of M. Laneau may be 
employed. A solution of crystallized atropia in absolute alcohol, in the propor- 
tion of 2 89 parts of the former to 4 parts of the latter by weight, having been 
made with the assistance of a gentle heat, 0 4 parts of sulphuric acid of the sp. 
gr. 1'85, diluted with 3 parts of absolute alcohol, are to be gradually added, and 
stirred with a glass rod, until saturation, as shown by test-paper, is effected. 
The solution is then allowed to evaporate spontaneously, and the thinner the 
stratum the sooner will the process be completed. The crystals are in colourless 
needles more or less interlaced. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., July, 1863, p. 315.) 
The effects of the salt on the system are precisely the same as those of atropia, 
and it may be used in the same dose. Its only advantage over the alkaloid is 
its solubility in water. The sulphate is recommended by Dr. Fleming, associ- 
ated in very small doses with sulphate of magnesia, and aromatic sulphuric 
acid, in habitual constipation. {Ann. de Therap., 1867, p. 4.) A solution of the 
salt in the proportion of one part to one hundred of the solvent has been found 
instantaneously efficacious in the relief of toothache, applied in the quantity of 
a drop or two to the denuded dental pulp ; and it is said, in the same quantity, to 
produce complete insensibility of the dental nerves, in cases in which an artili 
cial tooth is inserted in a living root. {Ann. de Therap., 1861, p. 19.)* W. 
BARIUM. 
BAKU CHLOBIDUM. U.S. Chloride of Barium. Muriate of Ba- 
ryta. 
“Take of Carbonate of Baryta, in small pieces, Muriatic Acid, each, four 
troyounces ; Water a pint. Mix the Acid with the Water, and gradually add 
the Carbonate of Baryta. Towards the close of the effervescence apply a gen- 
tle heat, and, when chemical action has ceased, filter the liquid, and evaporate 
so that crystals may form when it cools.” U. S. 
When carbonate of baryta is employed for obtaining chloride of barium, as in 
the officinal process, the reactions are very simple. The muriatic acid displaces 
the carbonic acid with effervescence; and, by reacting with the baryta, forms 
Preparation of Barium. 
* Valerianate of Atropia. This salt has been supposed to have peculiar virtues; though, 
in consideration of the very minute proportion of the valerianic acid in each dose, it is 
extremely doubtful whether it is capable, in any appreciable degree, of modifying the in- 
fluence of the alkaloid. It may be prepared by dissolving 38 parts of pure and dry atropia 
in 140 parts of alcohol of 85°, and mixing the solution with another made by dissolving 
12 parts of pure valerianic acid in 10 parts of alcohol of the same strength; and allowing 
the mixed liquids to evaporate spontaneously at a heat of from 86° to 100° F. (Journ. de 
Pharm., Mars, 1864, p. 236.) According to M. Michea, the valerianateof atropia produces 
the effects of this alkaloid in smaller doses than the sulphate or even atropia itself. He 
has often known half a milligramme (about gr.) to produce dryness of the throat and 
dilatation of the pupils the day after its exhibition, while it is generally not till the expira- 
tion of several days that he had been able to obtain the same effect from double the dose 
of the sulphate given daily. He also found less of the valerianate required than of the 
sulphate to modify the paroxysms of epilepsy. [Ann. de Therap., 1864, p. 31.) In the 
Journal de Pharmacie for Nov. 1858 (p. 347) there is a particular account of the chemi- 
cal properties and mode of procuring of valerianate of atropia in the crystalline form, 
to which the reader is referred. It is probable that, as in the case of valerianate of am- 
monia, less difficulty will be found, if our officinal monohydrated valerianic acid is em- 
ployed, [Note to the twelfth edition.) Barium.—Beberia. 
1061 
PART II. 
chloride of barium and water. The solution of chloride of barium, thus obtained, 
yields crystals of the chloride by concentration and cooling. Another plan is 
that which procures it from the sulphate, as directed in the late Edinburgh 
Pharmacopoeia. In this the sulphate, previously ignited and powdered, is mixed 
with charcoal and exposed to a low white heat, by which its constituents are 
deoxidized, and sulphuret of barium produced; the oxygen escaping in com- 
bination with the carbon as carbonic oxide and acid. The sulphuret of barium, 
after having been dissolved in water, is decomposed by the addition of muri- 
atic acid; sulphuretted hydrogen being evolved, and chloride of barium formed 
in solution, from which, in the usual manner, the solid salt is obtained. 
Of these processes, that in which the native carbonate is used is the sim- 
plest and most convenient; but the carbonate is comparatively a rare mineral, 
and, as the sulphate in fine powder is a cheap article of commerce, being ex- 
tensively employed for mixing with white lead, it is almost always used for 
obtaining chloride of barium and the other barium compounds. 
Properties. Chloride of barium is a permanent white salt, possessing a bitter 
and disagreeable taste. It crystallizes in rhombic tables with beveled edges. 
It dissolves in about two and a half times its weight of cold water, and in a little 
more than its own weight at 222°, the boiling point of a saturated solution. It 
is scarcely soluble in absolute alcohol, but dissolves in rectified spirit. Alcohol, 
impregnated with it, burns with a yellow flame. When exposed to heat, it de- 
crepitates and loses its water of crystallization, and at a red heat fuses. It is 
decomposed by the sulphates, oxalates, and tartrates, and the alkaline phos- 
phates, borates, and carbonates; also by nitrate of silver, acetate and phosphate 
of mercury, and acetate of lead. When pure it does not deliquesce. Its solution 
is not affected by ammonia, which proves the absence of alumina and sesqui- 
oxide of iron, or by sulphuretted hydrogen, which shows that neither copper 
nor lead is present. After the whole of the barium has been precipitated by an 
excess of sulphuric acid, the supernatant liquid is shown to be free from lime 
by the non-action of carbonate of soda. Lime may be separated by the process 
of Dr. Wolcott Gfibbs, which consists in adding to the solution of the chloride 
a small portion of the solution of hydrate of baryta, and then passing through 
it a current of carbonic acid, when the whole of the lime will be thrown down 
as a carbonate. (Wurtz, N. Y. Journ. ofPharm., i. 164.) If strontia be present, 
an alcoholic solution of the salt will burn with a red flame. Like all the solu- 
ble salts of barium it is poisonous. It consists of one eq. of chlorine 35‘5, one 
of barium 68• T, and two of water 18=122-2. It is used in medicine only in 
solution. The officinal solution, Liquor Barii Chloridi, is treated of among the 
Liquores, or Solutions. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Barii Chloridi, U. S. B. 
BEBERIA. 
BEBERLE SULPHAS. Br. Sulphate of JBebeeria. 
“ Take of Bebeeru Bark [Nectandra, U. S.], in coarse powder, one pound 
[avoirdupois]; Sulphuric Acid half a jluidounce [Imperial measure]; Slaked 
Lime three-quarters of an ounce, or a sufficiency; Solution of Ammonia a suffi- 
ciency; Rectified Spirit sixteen fluidounces, or a sufficiency; Diluted Sulphuric 
Acid a sufficiency; Water one gallon [Imp. meas.] ; Distilled Water a suffi- 
ciency. Add the Sulphuric Acid to the Water; pour upon the Bark enough ot 
this mixture to moisten it thoroughly; let it macerate for twenty-four hours, 
place it in a percolator, and pass through it the remainder of the acidulated 
water. Concentrate the acid liquor to the bulk of one pint, cool, and add gradu- 
ally the Lime in the form of milk of lime, agitating well, and taking care that 
the fluid still retains a distinct acid reaction. Let it rest for two hours; filter 
through calico ; wash the precipitate with a little cold Distilled Water, and to 
the filtrate add Solution of Ammonia until the fluid has a faint ammoniacal 
Preparation of Bebeeria. 1062 
Beberia. —Bismuthum. 
PART II. 
odour. Collect the precipitate on a cloth, wash it twice with ten ounces of 
cold water, squeeze it gently with the hand, and dry it by the heat of a water- 
bath. Pulverise the dry precipitate, put it into a flask with six ounces of the 
Rectified Spirit, boil, let it rest for a few minutes, and pour off the spirit. 
Treat the undissolved portion in a similar manner with fresh spirit until it is 
exhausted. Unite the spirituous solutions, add to them four ounces of Distilled 
Water, and distil so as to recover the greater part of the spirit. To the residue 
of the distillation add by degrees, and with constant stirring, Diluted Sulphuric 
Acid till the fluid has a slight acid reaction. Evaporate the whole to complete 
dryness on the water-bath, pulverise the dry product, pour on it gradually one 
pint [Imp. meas.] of cold Distilled Water, stirring diligently; filter through 
paper; evaporate the filtrate to the consistence of syrup, spread it in thin layers 
on flat porcelain or glass plates, and dry it at a heat not exceeding 140°. Pre- 
serve the product in stoppered bottles.” Br. 
This was a new officinal of the first British Pharmacopoeia, scarcely deserv- 
ing the prominence thus given to it from anything yet known of its powers, es- 
pecially when it is considered how unsparingly not a few of the older remedies, 
still thought by many practitioners to be efficacious, were swept out of the offi- 
cinal catalogue. 
In the above process the bark is exhausted by water acidulated with sulphuric 
acid; lime is added to separate various inert matters, still leaving the acid in 
excess, as otherwise it might precipitate the bebeeria itself; the filtered liquor 
is treated with ammonia which throws down the bebeeria; the precipitate is 
exhausted by alcohol which dissolves the alkaloid; and the solution, having 
been concentrated, is treated with sulphuric acid so as to form the sulphate, 
which is obtained by evaporation to dryness. It is obvious that the salt of be- 
beeria thus obtained must be very impure, and among other substances probably 
contains a portion of sipeeria, another alkaloid of the bark. It is in dark-brown 
translucent scales, yellow when reduced to powder, of a strongly bittertaste, and 
soluble in water and alcohol. According to the Br. Pharmacopoeia, “ its watery 
solution gives with chloride of barium a white precipitate, and with caustic soda 
a yellowish-white precipitate, which is dissolved by agitating the mixture with 
twice its volume of ether; and the ethereal solution, separated by a pipette, and 
evaporated, leaves a yellow translucent residue,entirely soluble in diluted acids.” 
If the whole of the precipitate produced is dissolved by ether, it cannot contain 
sipeeria, which is insoluble in that menstruum. It is “entirely destructible by 
heat, and water forms with it a clear brown solution.” 
Sulphate of bebeeria is a tonic, supposed to possess antiperiodic powers, and 
has been given in intermittent fever and other periodical diseases. It is thought 
to be useful also in various uterine diseases, as dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia, and 
leucorrhcea; and has been recommended in blenorrhoeal discharges, and in atony 
of the kidneys and bladder. (Dr. A. P. Merrill, Half-yearly Abstract of Med. 
Sci., xlv. 249.) The dose is from two to five grains. (See Nectandra, in Part I.) 
W. 
BISMUTHUM. 
Preparations of Bismuth. 
BISMUTHI SUBCARBONAS. U. S. Bismuthi Carbonas. Br. 
Subcarbonate of Bismuth. Carbonate of Bismuth. 
“Take of Bismuth, in pieces, two troyounces; Nitric Acid eight troyounces 
and a half; Water of Ammonia five fluidounces; Carbonate of Soda ten 
troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Mix four troyounces and a 
half of the Nitric Acid with four fluidounces of Distilled Water in a capacious 
glass vessel, and, having added the Bismuth, set the whole aside for twenty-four 
hours. Dilute the resulting solution with ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, stir 
it thoroughly, and, after twenty-four hours, filter through paper. To the filtered 
liquid, previously diluted with four pints of Distilled Water, slowly add the 
Water of Ammonia, with constant stirring. Transfer the whole to a strainer. PART II. 
Bismuthum. 
1063 
and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with two pints of Distilled 
Water, drain it again, and press out as much of the liquid as possible. Then 
place the precipitate in a proper vessel, add the remainder of the Nitric Acid, 
and heat nearly to the boiling point. When the solution has become cold, slowly 
add to it Distilled Water, with constant stirring, until the further addition of 
this liquid begins to produce a permanent milkiness. Then set the solution 
aside, and, at the end of twenty-four hours, filter through paper. 
“ Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in twenty fluidounces of Distilled Water, 
with the aid of heat, and filter the solution through paper. To this, when cold, 
slowly add the solution of nitrate of bismuth, with constant stirring. Transfer 
the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with 
Distilled Water until the washings pass tasteless. Lastly, press the precipitate 
so as to free it as far as possible from water, dry it on bibulous paper with a 
gentle heat, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
“ Take of Purified Bismuth, in small pieces, two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Nitric 
Acid four fluidounces [Imperial measure]; Carbonate of Ammonia six ounces 
[avoird.]; Distilled Water a sufficiency Mix the Nitric Acid with three 
[fluid]ounces [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water, and add the Bismuth in suc- 
cessive portions. When effervescence has ceased, apply for ten minutes a heat 
approaching that of ebullition, and afterwards decant the solution from any 
insoluble matter that may be present. Evaporate the solution until it is reduced 
to two fluidounces [Imp. meas.], and add this in small quantities at a time to 
a cold filtered solution of the Carbonate of Ammonia in two pints [Imp. meas.] 
of Distilled Water, constantly stirring the mixture as it is formed. Collect the 
precipitate on a calico filter, and wash it with Distilled Water until the wash- 
ings pass tasteless. Remove now as much of the adhering water as can be 
separated from the precipitate by slight pressure with the hands, and finally 
dry the product at a temperature not exceeding 150°.” Br. 
This preparation was first made officinal in the existing edition of the U. S. 
Pharmacopoeia. As metallic bismuth generally contains arsenic, it is very im- 
portant to provide that this should be left behind, in the processes for making its 
medicinal preparations. It is on this account that the present formula is so ela- 
borate. The bismuth is first dissolved in nitric acid, a portion of which oxidizes 
the metal, with the evolution of nitrous vapours, while another portion combines 
with the oxide produced to form nitrate of bismuth. At the same time the 
arsenic is also oxidized at the expense of the nitric acid, and unites with a por- 
tion of the oxidized metal so as to generate the arseniate of bismuth. Both of 
these salts, therefore, are contained in the solution, which is very concentrated. 
Both have the property, when their solution is diluted with water, to separate 
into two salts, one an insoluble subsalt which is deposited,and the other a soluble 
supersalt which is held in solution. But the arseniate is more disposed to the 
change than the nitrate, and requires for the purpose a smaller amount of water 
of dilution. Hence, the first direction, after the metal has been dissolved, is to 
add a moderate quantity of distilled water, insufficient to cause the decomposi- 
tion of the nitrate. From this diluted solution the insoluble subarseniate is slowly 
deposited, so as, in the course of twenty-four hours, to free it almost if not en- 
tirely from the poisonous metal. This is separated by filtration, and the solution 
is now diluted with a much larger quantity of distilled water, which causes a co- 
pious deposition of subnitrate of bismuth. But, in order not to waste the super- 
nitrate remaining in solution, this is decomposed by ammonia, which takes most 
of the nitric acid, and precipitates the bismuth combined with the remainder in 
the form of subnitrate. The whole of the precipitated subnitrate, thus freed from 
arsenic, is redissolved in nitric acid, and the solution of the nitrate now obtained, 
being diluted with just so much water as to produce a commencing precipitation 
of subnitrate, is freed by filtering from the small quantity formed, and slowly 
added to a solution of carbonate of soda. An interchange of principles takes 
place ; nitrate of soda and carbonate of bismuth are formed, the former of which 
-emains in solution, and the latter is deposited. This part of the process tends 1064 
Bismuthum. 
PART II. 
still further to get rid of the arsenic; for if any of the arsenic acid or arseniate 
of bismuth exist in the solution,the poisonous acid would combine with the soda, 
and thus forming a soluble salt, would be retained by the water. Nothing now 
remains but to wash, dry, and powder the precipitate. 
The British process is more simple, because, using bismuth already purified, 
it is without the preliminary measures taken in the U. S. process to separate 
the arsenic. It is essentially the same as the method described in the twelfth 
edition of this Dispensatory (page 1025) ; carbonate of ammonia being used in- 
stead of carbonate of soda for the precipitation of the subcarbonate of bismuth. 
Properties. Subcarbonate of bismuth is a white or yellowish-white powder, 
blackened by sulphuretted hydrogen, without odour or taste, and insoluble in 
water, whether pure or impregnated with carbonic acid. (Berzelius.) Its sp. 
gr. is about 4. It effervesces with acids, and, when exposed to heat, loses 95 
per cent, of its weight ( U. S.), in consequence of the escape of carbonic acid, 
and is converted into the anhydrous teroxide, of a light-yellow colour. When 
mixed with sulphuric acid, and subjected to Marsh’s test, it should yield no 
arsenic, or merely a trace. “ The nitric acid solution gives no precipitate with 
diluted sulphuric acid or with solution of nitrate of silver. If to nitric acid 
mixed with half its volume of distilled water as much carbonate of bismuth 
be added as the acid will dissolve, one volume of this solution poured into 
twenty volumes of water will yield a white precipitate.” Br. If arsenic were 
present, a precipitate would take place with a much smaller proportion of water. 
The formula of the subcarbonate is BiOs,COa, or, according to the Br. Pharma- 
copoeia, 2(Bi03,C02),H0. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This salt was brought into notice by M. Han- 
non, of Brussels, who recommends it as a substitute for the subnitrate. He 
considers it to act for the first few days of its employment as a sedative, and 
afterwards as a tonic. Like the subnitrate it is applicable to the treatment of 
gastralgia following the phlegmasias of the digestive organs, and attended with 
a red tongue, laborious digestion, acid eructations, and spasmodic vomitings. 
He conceives it, however, to have many advantages over the subnitrate, among 
which are its more ready tolerance by the stomach, its greater solubility in the 
gastric juice, its power to neutralize excess of acid in the stomach, and the want 
of any tendency to constipate. The dose is from 15 to 45 grains, given three 
times a day just before meals, and gradually increased. It may be taken in a 
little water. {Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 214.) W. 
BISMUTHI SUBNITRAS. U. S. Bismuthum Album. Br. Subni- 
trate of Bismuth. White Bismuth. 
“ Take of Bismuth, in pieces, two troyounces; Nitric Acid, Carbonate of Soda, 
each, ten troyounces ; Water of Ammonia six fluidounces; Distilled Water a 
sufficient quantity. Mix four troyounces and a half of the Nitric Acid with four 
fluidounces of Distilled Water, in a capacious glass vessel, and, having added 
the Bismuth, set the whole aside for twenty-four hours. Dilute the resulting 
solution with ten fluidounces of Distilled Water, stir it thoroughly, and, at the 
end of twenty-four hours, filter through paper. 
“ Dissolve the Carbonate of Soda in twenty fluidounces of Distilled Water 
with the aid of heat, and filter the solution through paper. To this, when cold, 
slowly add the solution of nitrate of bismuth, with constant stirring. Transfer 
the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been drained, wash it with 
Distilled Water until the washings pass tasteless, and drain again as completely 
as possible Then place the moist precipitate in a capacious vessel, gradually 
add the remainder of the Nitric Acid, and heat nearly to the boiling point. 
When the solution has become cold, slowly add to it Distilled Water, with con- 
stant stirring, until the further addition of this liquid begins to produce a per- 
manent milkiness. Then set the solution aside, and, at the end of twenty-four 
hours, filter through paper. To the filtered liquid, previously diluted with four 
pints of Distilled Water, slow/v add the Water of Ammonia, with constant stir- 
ring. Transfer the whole to a strainer, and, after the precipitate has been PART II. 
Bismuthum. 
1065 
drained, wash it with two pints of Distilled Water, drain it again, and press out 
as much of the liquid as possible. Lastly, dry it upon bibulous paper with a 
gentle heat, and rub it into powder.” U. S. 
“ Take of Bismuth, in small pieces, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Nitric Acid 
four jluidounces [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Mix the 
Nitric Acid with three [lluid]ounces of Distilled Water, and add the Bismuth 
in successive portions. When effervescence has ceased, apply for ten minutes 
a heat approaching that of ebullition, and decant the solution from any in- 
soluble matter that may be present. Evaporate the solution until it is reduced 
to two fluidounces, and pour it into half a gallon of Distilled Water. When 
the precipitate which forms has subsided, decant the supernatant liquid, add 
half a gallon [Imp. meas.] of Distilled Water to the precipitate, stir them 
well together, and after two hours, decant off the liquid, collect and drain the 
precipitate in a calico filter, press it with the hands, and dry it at a tempera- 
ture of 150°.” Br. 
The U. S. process is new, the British that of the late Dublin Pharmacopoeia 
The alterations from the old process, in the former, were based upon the wish to 
get rid of any arsenic that might be present in the bismuth used. This is accom- 
plished by first preparing the carbonate, by adding the nitric acid solution of bis- 
muth to a solution of carbonate of soda in excess, whereby most of the arsenic is 
retained in the solution probably as arseniate of soda, while the insoluble carbo- 
nate is precipitated. This is dissolved, with the aid of heat, in nitric acid, so as 
to make a very concentrated solution of the nitrate, to which, when cold, just so 
much water is added as to begin to produce a permanent turbidness. The object 
of this is to allow any arsenic that may be still present to be deposited, which 
happens for reasons stated in explaining the process for procuring the subcar- 
bonate. {fee page 1063.) The deposited matter having been precipitated, only 
the pure nitrate remains in solution, which is made to yield the subnitrate by 
large dilution with water, and still more completely by the addition of ammonia. 
In the British formula, the old method is pursued of simply dissolving the 
bismuth, which has been previously purified, in nitric acid somewhat diluted, 
concentrating the solution, and precipitating by adding it to a large quantity 
of water. When bismuth is added to dilute nitric acid, red fumes are copiously 
given off, and the metal, oxidized by the decomposition of part of the nitric 
acid, is dissolved by the remainder so as to form a solution of the ternitrate 
of teroxide of bismuth. It is unnecessary to have the metal in powder; as it 
dissolves with great facility when added to the acid in fragments. When 
the solution is completed, the liquor should be added to the water, and not 
the water to the solution. Immediately on the contact of the solution with 
the water, four eqs. of the ternitrate are resolved into three eqs. of mononi- 
trate of bismuth (subnitrate) which precipitates, and one eq. of the 9-nitrate 
which remains in solution. 4(Bi03,3N0.) = 3(Bi03,N05) and Bi03,9N05. In 
order to have a smooth light powder, which is most esteemed, the precipitate 
should be well washed to remove every trace of free nitric acid, and dried as 
speedily as possible. In the use of this formula it is taken for granted that the 
bismuth has been ascertained to be free from arsenic; and, if it prove upon the 
application of Marsh’s test to be otherwise, means should certainly be employed 
to purify before using it. Measures for this purpose will be mentioned under Bis- 
muthum Purificatum {page 1067). Should the subnitrate or subcarbonate be 
ascertained to contain arsenic, it may, as suggested by Dr. Herapath, be purified 
by boiling it with solution of caustic soda or potassa, twice successively,then thor- 
oughly washing the residue, which will be yellow oxide of bismuth, dissolving it 
again in nitric acid, and precipitating by water as before. {Ghem. News, Feb. 14, 
1863, p. 77.) In the washing of subnitrate of bismuth, the salt is asserted to lose 
a portion of its nitric acid; and the change may be considerable, if the washing 
be persevered with so long as the liquid comes away in any degree acidulous. 
It has been ascertained by Julius Lowe that this effect may be avoided by 
washing with a very dilute solution of nitrate of ammonia, containing one part 
in 500 parts of water. ( Ghem. Gaz., March 15, 1859, p. 119.) 1066 
Bismuthum. 
PART II 
Properties. Subnitrate of bismuth is a heavy powder, of a pure-white colour, 
a faintly sour smell and taste, and the property of reddening moistened litmus 
paper. It is slightly soluble in water, and readily so in the strong acids, from 
which it is precipitated by water. The fixed alkalies dissolve it sparingly, and 
ammonia more readily. It is darkened by bydrosulphuric acid gas, but not by 
exposure to light, unless it contains a little silver, or is subjected to the influ- 
ence of organic matter. If it dissolves in nitric acid without effervescence, it 
contains no carbonate, and, if the nitric solution is not precipitated by dilute 
sulphuric acid, it is free from lead. It sometimes contains arsenic, which may 
be detected by acting on it with pure sulphuric acid, evaporating to dryness, 
dissolving in hot distilled water, and testing a part of the solution by Marsh’s 
apparatus. By this method M. Lassaigne detected one-sixth of 1 per cent, of 
arsenic in a sample of subnitrate sold in Paris. M. Glenard proposes two new 
methods of searching for arsenic in the subuitrate; one merely qualitative, the 
other quantitative. The first consists in strongly heating a mixture of the sus- 
pected salt with acetate of potassa. The least trace of arsenic will be detected by 
the strong and offensive odour produced, owing to the formation of cacodyle. In 
the second, the subnitrate of bismuth is heated with pure muriatic acid. If arse- 
nic be present it will rise in vapoui’s in the form of chloride. These should be 
carefully collected and condensed, and then treated with an excess of sulphu- 
retted hydrogen. The sulphuret of arsenic precipitated will be the measure of 
the metal. (A71n.de Therap., 1868, p. 176.) M. Lassaigne has found as much 
as 27 per cent, of chloride of bismuth in this preparation, when obtained by 
precipitating, with water, a solution of bismuth in a mixture of nitric and 
muriatic acids. The same impurity is introduced, to a small extent, by using 
common water containing chlorides; and subsulphate of bismuth renders the 
preparation impure, when the water used contains sulphate of lime. (Journ. de 
Chim. Med., Mai, 1855, p. 276.) These facts show the necessity of using dis- 
tilled water. As regards the origin of the chlorine sometimes existing in com- 
mercial subnitrate of bismuth, it is asserted by Mr. R. C. Tichborne to be a 
common practice with the manufacturer, in order to save the bismuth existing 
in the mother-liquor, after the deposition of the subnitrate, to precipitate it 
with chloride of sodium, thus obtaining an insoluble oxychloride of bismuth, 
which is then added to the previous product. (Pharm. Journ., Feb. 1860, p. 
413.) The new metal thallium is said to be present in most specimens of tho 
pharmaceutical preparations of bismuth. For the modes of detecting and sepa- 
rating it, the reader is referred to the Chemical News (March 7,1863, p. 109). 
Phosphate of lime has been ascertained to be an occasional adulteration of the 
subnitrate. A ready method of detecting it, suggested by M. Roussin, has 
proved to be fallacious, and may lead to false decisions as to the presence of 
the phosphate, and thus injuriously compromise the reputation of individuals. 
There can be no difficulty in detecting the adulteration by reliable tests. Sub- 
nitrate of bismuth was called, by the earlier chemists, magistei'y of bismuth. 
It consists of one eq. of nitric acid 54, one of teroxide of bismuth 237, and one 
of water 9 = 300. When heated to redness it loses 20 per cent, of its weight. U. S. 
Medical Properties. Subnitrate of bismuth is antispasmodic, absorbent, and 
slightly sedative and astringent. When its use is too long continued it produces 
scorbutic symptoms, a proof that it is absorbed. It was first used as a medicine 
by Dr. Odier, of Geneva. It is principally employed in painful affections of the 
stomach, such as cardialgia, pyrosis, and gastrodynia, in spasmodic diseases, 
and in dysentery and diarrhoea. Rayer employed it with advantage in the diar- 
rhoea of phthisis and typhus, and Aran recommended it in the obstinate form 
of the complaint which sometimes follows typhoid fever. It has been used also 
in dysentery. M. Monneret particularly insists upon the remarkable efficacy of 
the medicine, given in very large doses, in chronic gastro-intestinal affections, 
attended with diarrhoea; a plan of treatment which has been followed by several 
practitioners with advantage. M. Trousseau has successfully employed subni- 
trate of bismuth in the diarrhoea of children in the form of enema, in the dose 01 PART II. 
Bismuthum. 
1067 
two scruples, mixed with thick flaxseed tea. M. Monneret uses it thus in much 
larger doses. He thinks that in diarrhoea its action is entirely local; but this 
view is combated by Dr. Lussanna, who believes that a part of the medicine 
enters the circulation, though it never passes into the urine. Its use always 
blackens the stools. The dose of subnitrate of bismuth, usually prescribed, is 
five grains, gradually increased to fifteen, twice or thrice a day, given in pill, or 
mixed with sweetened water. Upon the plan of large doses, recolnmended by 
M. Monneret, from half an ounce to an ounce is given daily, in divided doses, 
in the diarrhoea of adults; from half a drachm to a drachm in that of infants; 
and from a drachm to two drachms in painful affections of the stomach. In these 
large doses the medicine is said to be perfectly safe; and yet Orfila mentions, 
as resulting from an overdose, gastric distress, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or 
constipation, colic, heat in the breast, slight rigors, vertigo, and drowsiness. 
These effects are to be combated by mucilaginous drinks, enemata, and emol- 
lient fomentations, and, in case of inflammation, by bleeding, both general and 
local. The contradictory statements as to the safety of the preparation cau be 
explained only on the supposition that it is sometimes rendered poisonous by 
the presence of arsenic, chloride of bismuth, or free nitric acid ; and a strong 
motive is thus furnished to the apothecary to prepare the medicine with the 
greatest care. M. Rodolfi, of Breccia, has found the use of the subnitrate, asso- 
ciated with bicarbonate of soda and sulphur, to be very efficient in controlling 
the night sweats of phthisis. Seven or eight grains of the bicarbonate with 
two or three grains of each of the other ingredients, may be taken every two 
hours. The favourable effect may be expected in four or five days. (Journ. de 
Pharm., 4e ser., iii. 468.) 
M. Monneret recommends the external use of subnitrate of bismuth as a dry- 
ing application. In the treatment of ulcers, especially scrofulous ones, provided 
no risk would be incurred by stopping the discharge, he sprinkles the powder 
over the whole ulcerated surface. M. E. Caby has used it as a topical applica- 
tion in leucorrhoea, gonorrhoea, and gleet. When used in leucorrhoea, the entire 
surface of the vagina is dusted with the powder. The injection for gonorrhoea 
or gleet is made by mixing with water as much of the subnitrate as can be 
conveniently suspended. Three parts of the salt to twenty of water have been 
recommended. A portion of the mixture is injected thrice daily, and, each time, 
retained five minutes. Dr. W R. Hamilton, of St. Augustine, Illinois, has em- 
ployed it advantageously for preventing pitting in smallpox. He applies it to 
the face twice a day, after lubricating the surface with olive oil. (Am. Journ. 
of Med. Sci., Oct. 1865, p. 563.) The external use of subnitrate of bismuth is 
attended with no pain. (Ranking'1 s Abstract, xx. 188.) 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Bismuthi, Br. B. 
BISMUTHUM PURIFICATUM. Br. Purified Bismuth. 
“ Take of Bismuth ten ounces, Nitrate of Potash in powder two ounces. Put 
the Bismuth and one ounce of the Nitrate of Potash into a crucible, and heat 
them to a temperature at which both the metal and the salt are fused. Con- 
tinue the heat, constantly stirring the contents of the crucible, for fifteen 
minutes, or until the salt has solidified into a slag over the metal. Then re- 
move the salt, add the remainder of the nitrate of potash to the bismuth in 
the crucible, and repeat the process as before. Finally, pour the Bismuth while 
fused into a suitable mould and allow it to cool.” Br. 
A mode of purifying bismuth is given in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia in the 
process for preparing the subcarbonate and subnitrate. (See pages 1062 and 
1064.) That of the Br. Pharmacopoeia is different; consisting in the oxidize- 
ment of the arsenic and other contaminating metals that may be present, by 
means of the nitric acid of the nitre, and their consequent separation from the 
bismuth, the great mass of which remains behind unaffected. This method was 
referred to in the twelfth edition of the Dispensatory (p. 1025); where also 
the plan of M. W. Pierre is mentioned, consisting in the addition of from 2’5 
to 5 per cent, of zinc to the bismuth, and strongly heating the mixture in a 1068 
Bismuthum.—Cadmium. 
PART II. 
crucible, with a piece of charcoal to prevent the oxidation of the zinc. Both 
the arsenic and zinc are driven off. (Chem. News, Jan. 16, 1861.) 
“ Dissolved in a mixture of equal volumes of nitric acid and distilled water, 
it forms a solution which by evaporation yields colourless crystals, that are 
decomposed on the addition of water, giving a white precipitate. If the mother- 
liquors from which the crystals have been separated be added to solution of 
carbonate of ammonia, the precipitate formed and the solution are free or nearly 
free from colour” (Br.) ; indicating the total or almost total absence of metals 
that yield coloured salts, as copper, iron, &c. 
Off. Prep. Bismuthi Carbonas, Br.; Bismuthi Subnitras, Br.; Liquor Bis- 
muthi et Ammoniae Citratis, Br. W. 
Preparation of Cadmium. 
CADMIUM. 
CAD Mil SULPHAS. U.S. Sulphate of Cadmium. 
“Take of Cadmium, in small pieces, a troyounce; Nitric Acid two troy- 
ounces; Carbonate of Soda three troy ounces; Sulphuric Acid four hundred 
and twenty grains; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. To the Cadmium 
and two fluidounces of Distilled Water, introduced into a glass vessel, add by 
degrees the Nitric Acid, and, when the action slackens, apply a gentle heat 
until the metal is dissolved. Filter the solution, and, having dissolved the 
Carbonate of Soda in six fluidounces of Distilled Water, mix the solutions 
thoroughly. Wash the precipitate obtained until the water passes tasteless, 
and dissolve it in the Sulphuric Acid, diluted with four fluidounces of Distilled 
Water. Then evaporate the solution to one-third, and set it aside to crystal- 
lize. Lastly, dry the crystals on bibulous paper.” U. S. 
A nitrate of cadmium is first formed, in consequence of the greater facility 
with which nitric acid acts upon that metal than sulphuric acid. The cadmium 
is oxidized at the expense of a part of the acid, with the production of hypo- 
nitric acid fumes, and the resulting oxide unites with the undecomposed part 
of the acid to form the nitrate. This is then decomposed in solution by carbo- 
nate of soda, with a mutual interchange of principles; the nitric acid of the 
nitrate of cadmium taking the soda of the carbonate, and forming nitrate of 
soda which is retained in solution, while the carbonic acid and oxide of cad- 
mium combine to produce the insoluble carbonate of that metal, which is de- 
posited. This, having been washed, is treated with dilute sulphuric acid, by 
which the carbonic acid is expelled, and the sulphate of cadmium generated 
in solution, from which it is obtained by concentration and crystallization. 
Properties. Sulphate of cadmium crystallizes in oblique prisms with rhom- 
boidal bases, which are transparent and colourless, and said to resemble those of 
sulphate of zinc. They have an astringent, slightly acidulous, and austere taste, 
effloresce on exposure to the air, and are very soluble in water. The solution, 
even though acidulated, gives with hydrosulphuric acid a yellow precipitate, be- 
coming orange-yellow, of sulphuret of cadmium, which is dissolved by strong 
muriatic acid, but is insoluble in solutions of potassa or ammonia, and is thus 
readily distinguished from the sulphuret of arsenic. With hydrosulphate of am- 
monia it gives a yellow precipitate insoluble in an excess of the hydrosulphate. 
Ammonia produces a white precipitate, soluble in an excess of the precipitant; 
carbonate of ammonia a white one insoluble in an excess; ferrocyanide of potas- 
sium a white precipitate not dissolved by muriatic acid ; and the ferridcyanide a 
brownish-yellow one soluble in a large excess of that acid. (Brande & J'aylor.) 
By these tests sulphate of cadmium is distinguished as a salt of that metal. As 
a sulphate it is known by yielding a precipitate with chloride of barium not 
soluble in nitric acid. Zinc precipitates cadmium in the metallic state from the 
solution. Cadmium suspended in a solution of sulphate of copper precipitates 
that metal, leaving sulphate of cadmium in solution; and this has been proposed 
as a method of obtaining the salt. The formula of sulphate of cadmium as com- I ART II. 
Cadmium.— Calx. 
1069 
monly given is CdO,S03 + 4HO; but, according to M. de Hauer, it is said to 
have eight eqs. of water for every three of the salt, and its formula is 3(CdO, 
SO,) -f 8HO. (Chem. News, Nov. 29, 1862, p. 268.) W. 
Medical Uses. Sulphate of cadmium is said to resemble sulphate of zinc as an 
astringent and emetic. Besides these properties, it possesses, according to M. 
Grimaud, valuable powers as a remedy in syphilis, rheumatism, and gout. As 
yet it has been used almost exclusively as an astringent and stimulating remedy 
in diseases of the eyes. In specks and opacities of the cornea it has been em- 
ployed successfully by both American and European surgeons. It is used either 
in solution, in the proportion of from half a grain to four grains to the tiuid- 
ounce of distilled water, or in the form of ointment, made by mixing two grains 
with four scruples of fresh lard. M. Fronmuller has employed it, with excellent 
results, in specks of the cornea, dissolved in rose-water in the proportion of three 
grains to two fluidounces, conjoined with from half a fluidrachm to a fluidrachm 
and a half of wine of opium. We have had no experience with sulphate of cad- 
mium as an internal remedy, and can give no authoritative statement as to the 
proper dose. Nor does this appear to have been well determined; for, while on 
the one hand we are told that it is ten times as strong as sulphate of zinc, on 
the other it is said to be used for the same purposes and in the same doses as 
that salt. (Bouchardat, Ann. de Therap., 1857, p. 231.) B. 
CALX. 
Preparations of Lime. 
The liquid preparations of lime, Liquor Calais and Liquor Calcii Chloridi, 
have, in conformity with the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, been 
transferred to the Solutions. (See Liquores.) 
CALCIS U. S., Br. Precipitated 
Carbonate of Lime. 
“ Take of Solution of Chloride of Calcium five pints and a half; Carbonate 
of Soda seventy-two troyounces; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Dis- 
solve the Carbonate of Soda in six pints of Distilled Water. Heat this solu- 
tion and the Solution of Chloride of Calcium, separately, to the boiling point, 
and mix them. After the precipitate has subsided, separate it from the super- 
natant liquid by decantation, and wash it with boiling Distilled Water until 
the washings cease to be affected by a solution of nitrate of silver. Lastly, 
dry the precipitate on bibulous paper.” U. S. 
“Take of Chloride of Calcium five ounces [avoirdupois]; Carbonate of 
Soda thirteen ounces [avoird.]; Boiling Distilled Water a sufficiency. Dis- 
solve the Chloride of Calcium and the Carbonate of Soda each in two pints 
[Imperial measure] of the Water; mix the two Solutions; and allow the pre- 
cipitate to subside. Collect this on a calico filter, wash it with boiling Dis- 
tilled Water until the washings cease to give a precipitate with nitrate of 
silver, and dry the product at the temperature of 212°.” Br. 
These processes do not essentially differ. In each a mutual interchange of 
principles takes place, resulting in the production of chloride of sodium which 
remains in solution, and carbonate of lime which is deposited. Any peculiar 
advantage of the preparation must depend on the minute division of its parti- 
cles. According to Dr. Bridges, this effect is best obtained by employing the 
solutions at the boiling temperature, a precaution which is observed in both the 
present officinal processes. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xvi. 163.) When properly 
made, it is a very pure carbonate of lime, in the form of a fine white powder, 
free from grittiness, insoluble in water, but wholly soluble in dilute muriatic 
acid with copious effervescence. These properties serve to distinguish it from 
sulphate of lime, with which it is sometimes adulterated, and which has even 
been sold for it. It is known to be a salt of lime by giving a copious white 
precipitate with oxalate of ammonia, when this is added to its solution in muri- 
atic acid, previously neutralized by ammonia. It is dissolved by nitric acid, giv- 1070 
Calx. 
PART ri. 
ing a clear solution, which if perfectly neutral, and boiled to drive off carbonic 
acid, gives no precipitate with saccharated solution of lime in excess, or with 
nitrate of silver, showing the absence of phosphates and chlorides. Its formula 
is CaO,C02, and equivalent number 50. For ordinary use, it probably has no 
such superiority over prepared chalk as to counterbalance its greater expen- 
siveness. It is preferred by some to chalk in the preparation of tooth-powders. 
It is frequently sold in the shops under the name of creta preecipitata. The 
dose is from 10 to 40 grains or more. 
Off. Prep. Trochisci Bismuthi, Br. W. 
CALCIS HYDRAS. Br. Slaked Lime. 
“Take of Lime two pounds [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one pint [Im- 
perial measure]. Place the Lime in a metal pot, pour the Water upon it, and 
when vapour ceases to be disengaged cover the pot with its lid, and set it 
aside to cool. When the temperature has fallen to that of the atmosphere, put 
the slaked lime on an iron-wire sieve, and by gentle agitation cause the line 
powder to pass through the sieve, rejecting what is left. Put the powder into 
a well-stopped bottle, and keep it excluded as much as possible from the air. 
Slaked Lime should be recently prepared.” Br. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia has no separate formula for this preparation, but 
directs it to be made when at any time it may be wanted. In the process of slak- 
ing, water combines with lime to form a solid hydrate, with the evolution of much 
heat and the escape of white vapours, which consist of steam holding particles 
of lime in suspension. By union with water the lime acquires a whiter colour, 
and, if previously in masses, becomes much softer, swelling up, and breaking into 
a coarse soft powder or friable lumps. When perfectly dry, it consists of one eq. 
of each of its constituents, with the formula CaO,HO. For the properties of 
lime the reader is referred to the head of Calx, in Part I. Hydrate of lime is 
used exclusively as a pharmaceutical agent. 
Pharvn. Uses. In preparing Hither, Br.; Atropia, Br.; Beberiee Sulphas, Br.; 
Chloroformum,i?r.; Liquor Ammonias Fortior,i?r.; Liquor Potassae,#r.; Liquor 
Sodae, Br.; Potassae Chloras, Br.; Santoninum, Br.; Sulphur Praecipitatum, Br. 
Off. Prep. Liquor Calcis, Br.; Liquor Calcis Saccharatus, Br. W. 
CALCIS PIIOSPIIAS PRJECIPITATA. U.S. Calcis Piiospiias. 
Br. Precipitated Phosphate of Lime. Phosphate of Lime. 
“Take of Bone, calcined to whiteness, and in fine powder ffour troy ounces ; 
Muriatic Acid eight troyounces; Water of Ammonia twelve Jluidounces, or a 
sufficient quantity; Distilled Water a sufficient quantity. Macerate the Bone 
with the Acid, diluted with a pint of Distilled Water, until it is dissolved, and 
filter the solution. Add another pint of Distilled Water, and then, gradually, 
Water of Ammonia, until the liquid acquires an alkaline reaction. Mix the pre- 
cipitate obtained, while yet in the state of magma, with twice its bulk of boiling 
Distilled Water, and pour the whole upon a strainer. Wash the precipitate with 
boiling Distilled Water until the washings cease to be affected by a solution of 
nitrate of silver, acidulated with nitric acid. Lastly, dry the precipitate with a 
gentle heat.” U. S. 
“ Take of Bone Ash four ounces [avoirdupois]; Hydrochloric Acid six fluid- 
ounces [Imperial measure]; Water two pints [Imp. meas.] ; Solution of Ammo- 
nia twel vefluidounces, or a sufficiency; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Digest the 
Bone Ash in the Hydrochloric Acid diluted with a pint of Water, until it is dis- 
solved. Filter the solution, if necessary; add the remainder of the Water, and 
afterwards the Solution of Ammonia, until the mixture acquires an alkaline reac- 
tion ; and, having collected the precipitate on a calico filter, wash it with boil- 
ing Distilled Water as long as the liquid which passes through occasions a pre- 
cipitate, when dropped into solution of nitrate of silver acidulated with nitric 
acid. Dry the washed product at a temperature not exceeding 212°.” Br. 
This preparation, whatever opinion may be entertained of its real powers, has 
been very properly introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as it is considera- 
bly used, and is by some much esteemed. PART II. 
Calx. 
1071 
The muriatic acid dissolves the phosphate of lime of the bones, and lets it fall, 
on the addition of ammonia, in a state of minute division. The ablution is in- 
tended to free it from adhering muriate of ammonia. The salt thus obtained is, 
for the sake of distinction, called bone phosphate of lime. It is a white powder, 
without taste or smell, insoluble in water, but very soluble in nitric, muriatic, 
and acetic acids, from which it is precipitated unchanged by ammonia. By an 
intense heat it is fused, but is not otherwise changed. It consists, according to 
Mitscherlich, of one equivalent of phosphoric acid and three of lime. 
The chemical characteristics of bone phosphate of lime, besides those men- 
tioned, are that with its solution in dilute nitric acid, oxalate of ammonia pro- 
duces a white precipitate of oxalate of lime, and acetate of lead a white pre- 
cipitate of phosphate of lead; and, if the nitric solution be neutralized as far 
as possible without causing a permanent precipitate of phosphate of lime, am- 
moniacal nitrate of silver throws down from it a lemon-yellow precipitate of 
phosphate of silver. (Christison's Dispensatory.) “ Ten grains dissolve per- 
fectly and without effervescence in diluted hydrochloric acid, and the solution 
yields with ammonia a white precipitate, insoluble in boiling solution of potash, 
and weighing ten grains when washed and dried.” Br. 
Medical Uses. In the form of burnt hartshorn, phosphate of lime formerly 
enjoyed a brief popularity in the treatment of rickets and mollities ossium, in 
which its use seemed to be indicated upon obvious chemical grounds. It has 
recently been again brought into notice in consequence of the suggestion by 
Benecke (London Lancet, July, 1851), that, as it is essential in animals as well 
as plants to the formation of cells, it might be found useful in certain patholo- 
gical states of the system characterized by defective nutrition, such as the scro- 
fulous affections. Upon considerations of this kind, the late Dr. W. Stone, of 
New Orleans, was induced to employ it in cases of scrofulous ulceration, phthisis, 
&c., and with considerable supposed advantage. (See St. Louis Med. and Surg. 
Journ., x. 38.) Subsequently, it has been used by other practitioners, and, in 
connection with other phosphates, as those of iron, soda, and potassa, has ac- 
quired no little reputation in different forms of scrofula and phthisis. When, 
however, it is considered that, in ordinary food, there is more of the phosphates 
than the system has need of, so tbatthey are constantly escaping with the stools; 
and that in those very disorders in which they are supposed to be indicated they 
are not unfrequently in excess in the blood and urine, in consequence, probably, 
of the rapid disintegration of the tissues, it would seem doubtful whether the 
want, in scrofulous cases, is so much that of materials for cells as of due power 
to appropriate those materials. In the reported cases, the phosphate of lime 
has generally been administered in connection with cod-liver oil or other tonics; 
to which, there is reason to believe, any benefit experienced is more truly ascri- 
bable than to the phosphate. In two of Dr. Stone’s cases the good effects began 
to be experienced at the period when they might have been expected from the 
oil alone. Phosphate of lime is thought to have proved useful by hastening the 
union of fractured bones; and M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards is said to have 
shown, by experiments upon dogs and rabbits, that, in these animals, the callus 
in fractured bones forms more quickly under its use than without it. (Med. Times 
and Gaz., May, 1856, p. 489.) M. Piorry also has derived material advantage 
from the phosphate of lime in two cases of softened bone supposed to have de- 
pended on a venereal taint. (See Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., April, 1865, p. 512.) 
Its use in curvature of the spine and rickety affections in general has also been 
revived by M. Piorry and others. Though insoluble in water, it is probably in 
general dissolved by the gastric liquids, in consequence of the acid present in 
them; and, if desirable, it may readily be administered in solution by the ad- 
dition of one of the acids mentioned in the above account of its chemical pro- 
perties. The dose is from ten to thirty grains.* 
Off. Prep. Pulvis Antimonialis, Br. W. 
* Syrup of Phosphate of Lime. Mr. T. S. "YViegand has proposed a syrup of phosphate 
of lime, to be made in the following manner. Take of the precipitated phosphate 33, mu 1072 
Calx. 
PART II. 
CRETA PRA3PARATA. U.S., Br. Prepared Chalk. 
“ Take of Chalk a convenient quantity. Add a little water to the Chalk, and 
rub it into fine powder. Throw this into a large vessel nearly full of water, 
stir briskly, and, after a short interval, decant the supernatant liquor, while 
yet turbid, into another vessel. Treat the coarser particles of the Chalk, re- 
maining in the first vessel, in a similar manner, and add the turbid liquid to 
that previously decanted. Lastly, set the liquid by that the powder may sub- 
side, and, having poured off the water, dry the powder.” U. S. 
The lir. Pharmacopoeia has abandoned its former process, and is now con- 
tent with defining the medicine to be “chalk freed from most of its impurities 
by elutriation, and afterwards dried in small masses, which are usually of a 
conical form.” 
The object of the above process is to reduce chalk to a very fine powder. Tho 
mineral, previously pulverized, should be rubbed with a little water upon a 
porphyry slab, by means of a muller of the same material. Having been thus 
very minutely divided, it is agitated with water, which upon standing a short 
time deposits the coarser particles, and, being then poured off, slowly lets fall 
the remainder in an impalpable state. The former part of the process is called 
levigation, the latter elutriation. The soft mass which remains after the de- 
canting of the clear liquor is made to fall upon an absorbent surface in small por- 
tions, which when dried have a conical shape.* Practically, prepared chalk is 
generally made on the large scale from whiting by the manufacturer. For the 
particulars of the process the reader is referred to the Pharm. Journ. (vii. 416). 
Medical Properties and Uses. This is the only form in which chalk is used 
in medicine. It is an excellent antacid; and, as the salts which it forms in the 
stomach and bowels, if not astringent, are at least not purgative, it is admirably 
adapted to diarrhoea accompanied with acidity. It is also sometimes used in 
acidity of stomach attending dyspepsia and gout, when a laxative effect is to be 
avoided; is one of the best antidotes for oxalic acid ; and has been recommended 
in rachitis. In scrofulous affections it may sometimes do good by forming solu- 
ble salts with acid in the primse vise, and thus finding an entrance into the blood- 
vessels. It is frequently employed as an application to burns and ulcers, which 
it moderately stimulates, while it absorbs the ichorous discharge, and thus pre- 
vents it from irritating the diseased surface, or the sound skin. It is given inter 
nally in the form of powder, or suspended in water by the intervention of gum 
arabic and sugar. (See Mistura Gretas.) It is better fitted for the chalk mixture 
than the precipitated carbonate of lime, in consequence of its more impalpable 
character. The dose is from ten to forty grains or more. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Citricum, Br.; Acidum Tartaricum, Br.; 
Zinci Cliloridum, U. S. 
riatic acid f?ss, water fgvij, sugar q. s. Mix the phosphate with a fluidounce of the 
water; add the acid; filter the resulting solution; then add the remainder of the water, 
and enough sugar to make twelve fluidounces of syrup ; and, finally, strain. (Am. Journ 
of Pharm., xxvi. 297.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 
* Several insoluble substances, besides chalk, are brought habitually into the form of 
small cones, such as prepared oyster-shell, phosphate of lime, rust of iron, subnitrate of 
bismuth, &c. The mode by which this is effected is by the use of a simple implement, con- 
sisting of a funnel of tinned-iron, with the neck 
removed (a), fixed at the expanded extremity (b) 
of a piece of wood about a foot long (c),“having 
its other end in the form of a handle (rf), with a 
stout piece of wood about 4 inches long (e), at- 
tached perpendicularly to the lower side of it, so 
as to serve as a support when fixed in a socket. 
The material to be shaped is introduced in a very 
soft, almost diffluent state into the funnel, and 
the instrument, then raised in the hand by the 
handle, is brought down so that its support shall strike with a gentle shock against a fiat 
surface of chalk stone (/), and these little shocks are rapidly repeated. At each one of 
them a small portion of the soft mass escapes from the mouth of the funnel, and falls on 
the stone, where it hardens into the shape of a cone; the chalk serving to absorb the moist* 
ure rapidly, and thus enabling it quickly to solidify. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART II. 
Calx.— Carbo. 
1073 
Off. Prep. Hydrargyrum cum Creti; Mistura Cretae; Pulvis Cretae Aro- 
maticus, Br.; Trochisci Cretae, U. S. W. 
TESTA U. S. Prepared Oyster-shell. 
“ Take of Oyster-shell a convenient quantity. Free the Oyster-shell from 
extraneous matter, wash it with boiling water, and, having reduced it to a fine 
powder, treat this in the manner directed for Prepared Chalk.” U. S. 
Prepared oyster-shell differs from prepared chalk in containing animal mat- 
ter, which, being very intimately blended with the carbonate of lime, is supposed 
by some physicians to render the preparation more acceptable to a delicate 
stomach. It is given as an antacid in diarrhoea, in the dose of from ten to forty 
grains or more, frequently repeated. A preparation has been introduced, within 
a few years, into use in this country, under the name of Castillon’s powders, 
consisting of sago, salep, and tragacanth, each, in powder, a drachm, prepared 
oyster-shell a scruple, and sufficient cochineal to give colour to the mixture. 
A drachm of this is boiled in a pint of milk, and the decoction used ad libitum 
as a diet in chronic bowel affections. W. 
CARBO. 
Preparation of Charcoal. 
CARBO ANIMALIS PURIFICATUS. U.S.,Br. Purified Animal 
Charcoal. 
“ Take of Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, Muriatic Acid, each, twelve troy- 
ounces; Water twelve fiuidounces. Pour the Muriatic Acid, previously mixed 
with the Water, gradually upon the Charcoal, and digest with a gentle heat 
for two days, occasionally stirring the mixture. Having allowed the undis- 
solved portion to subside, pour off the supernatant liquid, wash the Charcoal 
frequently with water until the washings cease to afford a precipitate with the 
nitrate of silver, and dry it.” U. S. 
“ Take of Bone Black, in powder, sixteen ounces [avoirdupois] ; Hydro- 
chloric Acid, ten fiuidounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Mix the Hydro- 
chloric Acid with a pint of the Water, and add the Bone Black, stirring occa- 
sionally. Digest at a moderate heat for two days, agitating from time to time; 
collect the undissolved charcoal on a calico filter, and wash with Distilled 
Water till what passes through gives scarcely any precipitate with nitrate of 
silver. Dry the charcoal, and then heat it to redness in a covered crucible.” Br. 
Animal charcoal, as it is made by charring bones, necessarily contains bone- 
phosphate and carbonate of lime, the presence of which does no harm in some 
decolorizing operations ; but, in delicate chemical processes, these salts may be 
dissolved or decomposed, and thus become a source of impurity. It is on this 
account that animal charcoal requires to be purified from its calcareous salts; 
and this is accomplished by dilute muriatic acid, which dissolves the phosphate 
and decomposes the carbonate. According to Dr. Stenhouse, aluminized vege- 
table charcoal may be substituted for purified animal charcoal, and is equally 
efficacious as a decolorizer. (See page 224.) 
Purified animal charcoal is a dark brownish-black powder. If it contain car- 
bonate of lime, muriatic acid will cause effervescence, and the solution obtained 
will give a precipitate with carbonate of ammonia; and if phosphate or sulphate 
of lime be present, the acid will dissolve the salt, and yield it as a precipitate on 
the addition of ammonia. In the Br. Pharmacopoeia,itis stated that, when burned 
at a high temperature, with a little red oxide of mercury and free access of 
air, it leaves only a slight residue. 
It has been shown by Mr. Robert Warington that bitter vegetable substances, 
including the organic alkalies, are removed from solution by passing through 
purified animal charcoal, especially when the action is assisted by heat. M. 
Weppen finds that a similar effect is produced by it in removing resins from 
tinctures, tannic acid and bitter principles from astringent and bitter infusions, 1074 
Carbo. 
PART II. 
and certain metallic salts from their solutions. Purified animal charcoal, thus 
employed, has been resorted to by M. Lebourdais as an agent for obtaining the 
active principles of plants. A decoction or infusion of the plant is either boiled 
with or filtered through the charcoal, which takes up, more or less completely, 
the bitter and colouring principles. The charcoal, after having been washed 
and dried, is treated with boiling alcohol, which dissolves the principles taken 
up. Finally, the alcohol is distilled off, and the principles are obtained in a 
separate state. In this way digitaline, ilicin, scillitin, colombin, colocynthin, 
arnicina, strychnia, quinia, and other principles have been obtained by M. Le- 
bourdais. (Ch.em. Gaz., Nov. 15, 1848.) In relation to the method of M. Le- 
bourdais, see a paper by Mr. J. S. Cobb, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. for 
July, 1851, from the London Pharmaceutical Journal. Dr. A. B. Garrodhas 
proposed purified animal charcoal as an antidote to vegetable and animal 
poisons, with which it appears to combine. According to his experiments, com- 
mon bone-black has not one-fifth of the power possessed by the purified sub- 
stance ; and vegetable charcoal and lampblack are nearly or quite useless. The 
amount of the antidote proposed by Dr. Garrod is half an ounce for each grain 
of a vegetable organic alkali. Dr. Alfred Taylor deems the results of Dr. Garrod 
inconclusive. Prof. B. II. Rand, of this city, has made some interesting obser- 
vations in relation to the antidotal powers of purified animal charcoal, and has 
proved that poisonous doses of the strongest vegetable poisons may be swal- 
lowed with impunity,if mixed with that substance. (Med. Exam., Sept. 1848.)* 
In using animal charcoal for decolorizing active vegetable principles, great 
caution should be observed, as much loss is often incurred by the absorption of 
those principles by the charcoal. 
Pharm. Uses. In preparing Acidum Gallieum, U.S.; Atropia, Br.; Digitali- 
num, Br.; Morphiae Hydrochloras, Br.; Santoninum, Br.; Strychnia, U. S.; 
and Yeratria. B. 
* Revivification of Animal Charcoal. To the large manufacturing chemist, and in a less de- 
gree to the pharmaceutist, it is an object of some importance to revivify the animal char- 
coal which has lost its absorbent property, and thus to fit it for future use. This has been 
done by exposing it to an intense heat, so as to decompose all the organic, and drive off all 
the volatile principles it may have absorbed; but this will not deprive it of fixed inorganic 
substances which may contaminate it. Messrs. Leplay and Cusinier, in a paper on the use 
of animal charcoal in the refining of sugar, offer certain principles and suggest certain 
practical processes in reference to this agent, which are of general interest, and which 
have appeared to us to merit a notice here. The absorbing powers of animal charcoal are 
different for different substances, and do not become exhausted simultaneously. For its 
revivification after use, dift'erent measures are required in accordance with the degree to 
which its powers may have been lost. There are, indeed, means of increasing these ab- 
sorbent powers even beyond the degree to which they may have been originally possessed. 
None of these revivifying measures require a heat above 212°. The following are the prac- 
tical principles. 1. When animal charcoal is employed in filtering, its first series of absorb- 
ing powers are exhausted at furthest in four hours. These are such as affect “viscid, nitro- 
genous, ammoniacal, sapid, and odorous matters.” In regard to these the original power 
is entirely restored by passing a current of steam through the granulated animal charcoal 
contained in the filter; and it can be restored indefinitely. 2. The second series of absorb- 
ing powers concern free alkalies, as potash, soda, lime, and their salts; and require a much 
longer time for their exhaustion, to the extent of six or eight times the period required for 
the first series. These powers are revived by pouring muriatic acid largely diluted with 
wTater upon the charcoal in the filter, and afterwards by prolonged washing with water. 
8. The third series of absorbing powers embrace colouring principles, and continue thirty 
or forty times longer than the first. For the restoration of these powers the measure 
deemed most efficient is washing with weak boiling solutions of the caustic alkalies. All 
these measures may be applied to the charcoal still contained in the filter, or removed to 
a special apparatus for the purpose. 4. These methods restore the original properties. Tc 
give additional absorbent powers, a solution of biphosphate of lime is poured upon the 
animal charcoal still containing its original tribasic phosphate. When these salts meet a 
new phosphate is produced with two eqs. of base, which is insoluble in water, has no acid 
reaction, and possesses very energetic powers of absorption. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Nov. 1802, p. 552.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 
For some valuable statements by Dr. Wallace in reference to the animal charcoal used 
in sugar-refining in Scotland, for which we have not space here, see a paper in the 
American Journal of Pharmacy (Sept. 1868, p. 425); from the Transactions of the Philo- 
sophical Society of Glasgow. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) Cataplasmata. 
1075 
TART II. 
CATAPLASMATA. 
Cataplasms. 
Cataplasms or poultices are moist substances intended for external 
(ion, of such a consistence as to accommodate themselves accurately to the sur- 
face to which they are applied, without being so liquid as to spread over the 
neighbouring parts, or so tenacious as to adhere firmly to the skin. As they are 
in this country seldom made by the apothecary, they were not deemed by the 
compilers of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia proper objects for officinal direction. The 
ounce used in the following processes is the avoirdupois. W 
CATAPLASMA CARBOjSTIS. Br. Charcoal Poultice. 
“Take of Wood Charcoal, in powder, half an ounce; Crumb of Bread two 
ounces ; Linseed Meal one ounce and a half; Boiling Water ten fuidounces. 
Macerate the Bread in the Water for ten minutes near the fire, then mix, and 
add the Linseed Meal gradually, stirring the ingredients, so that a soft poultice 
may be formed. Mix with this half the Charcoal, and sprinkle the remainder 
on the surface of the poultice.” Br. 
Charcoal, recently prepared, has the property of absorbing those principles 
upon which the offensive odour of putrefying animal substances depends. In the 
form of poultice, it is an excellent application to foul and gangrenous ulcers, 
correcting their fetor, and improving the condition of the soi'e. It should be 
frequently renewed. W. 
CATAPLASMA CONIL Br. Hemlock Poultice. 
“ Take of Hemlock Leaf, in powder, one ounce; Linseed Meal three ounces; 
Boiling Water ten fuidounces. Mix the Hemlock and Linseed Meal, and add 
them to the Water gradually, constantly stirring.” Br. 
This cataplasm may be advantageously employed as an anodyne application 
to cancerous, scrofulous, syphilitic, and other painful ulcers; but its liability to 
produce narcotic effects, in consequence of the absorption of the active principle 
of the hemlock, should not be overlooked. W. 
CATAPLASMA FERMENTI. Br. Yeast Poultice. 
“ Take of Beer Yeast six fluidounces ; Wheaten Flour fourteen ounces; 
Water, heated to 100°, six fluidounces. Mix the Yeast with the Water, and 
stir in the Flour. Place the mass near the fire till it rises.” Br. 
By exposing a mixture of yeast and flour to a gentle heat, fermentation takes 
place, and carbonic acid gas is extricated, which causes the mixture to swell, 
and is the source of its peculiar virtues. The yeast cataplasm is gently stimu- 
lant, and is sometimes applied with benefit to foul and gangrenous ulcers, the 
fetor of which it corrects, while it is supposed to hasten the separation of the 
slough. The carbonic acid may also act as an anaesthetic agent. W. 
CATAPLASMA LIKE. Br. Linseed Poultice. 
“Take of Linseed Meal four ounces; Olive Oil half a jluidounce; Boiling 
Water ten fuidounces. Mix the Linseed Meal gradually with the Water, then 
add the Oil with constant stirring.” Br. 
The flaxseed meal which remains after the expression of the oil is here em- 
ployed; but that which has not been submitted to pressure is decidedly prefer- 
able, and answers an excellent purpose when mixed with boiling water, without 
other addition. Fresh lard or olive oil, spread upon the surface of the poultice, 
serves to prevent its adhesion to the skin, and to preserve its softness. 
The use of this and other emollient cataplasms is to relieve inflammation, or 
to promote suppuration. They act mainly by the sedative influence of their 
moisture, and by excluding the air. The one most extensively employed, perhaps 
because its materials are always at hand, is that prepared by heating together 
milk and the crumb of bread. The milk should be quite sweet, and fresh lard 1076 
Cataplasmata.—Cerata. 
PART II. 
should be incorporated with the poultice. Mush made with the meal of Indian 
corn also forms an excellent emollient cataplasm. W. 
“Take of Mustard, in powder, Linseed Meal, each, two ounces and a half; 
Boiling Water ten fluidounces. Mix the Linseed Meal gradually with the Water, 
and add the Mustard, with constant stirring.” Br. 
The simplest and most effectual mode of preparing a mustard poultice, is to 
mix the powdered mustard of the shops with a sufficient quantity of warm water 
to give it a due consistence. When a weaker preparation is required, an equal 
portion or more of rye or wheat flour should be added. Vinegar never increases 
its efficiency, and, in the case of the black mustard seed, has been ascertained 
by MM. Trousseau and Blanc to diminish its rubefacient power. The same may 
be said of alcohol. A boiling temperature is also injurious by interfering with 
the development of the volatile oil or acrid principle. (See Sinapis.) 
These poultices are frequently called sinapisms. They are powerfully rube- 
facient, exciting a sense of warmth in a few minutes, and usually becoming in- 
supportably painful in less than an hour. When removed they leave the surface 
intensely red and burning; and the inflammation frequently terminates in de- 
squamation, or even blistering if the application be too long continued. Obsti- 
nate ulcers and gangrene also sometimes result from the protracted action of 
mustard, especially on parts possessed of little vitality. As a general rule, the 
poultice should be removed when the patient complains much of pain; and in 
cases of insensibility should not, unless greatly diluted, be allowed to remain 
longer than one, or at most two hours; as violent inflammation, followed by 
obstinate ulceration, is apt to take place upon the occurrence of reaction. In 
children particular care is necessary to avoid this result. The poultice should be 
thickly spread on linen, and may be covered with gauze or unsized paper in 
order to prevent its adhesion to the skin. If hairs are present they should be 
removed by the razor. Sinapisms may be employed in all cases in which it is 
desirable to produce a speedy and powerful rubefacient impression. W. 
CATAPLASMA SLNA.PIS. Br. Mustard Poultice. 
“Take of Solution of Chlorinated Soda two fluidounces; Linseed Meal 
four ounces; Boiling Water eight fluidounces. Mix the Linseed Meal gradu- 
ally with the Water, and add the Solution of Chlorinated Soda, with constant 
stirring.” Br. 
This is an excellent application to sloughing and other fetid ulcers, to correct 
the smell, and afford a moderate stimulation. W. 
CATAPLASMA Br. Chlorine Poultice. 
CERATA. 
Cerates. 
These are unctuous substances consisting of oil or lard, mixed with wax, 
spermaceti, or resin, to which various medicaments are frequently added. Their 
consistence, which is intermediate between that of ointments and of plasters, is 
such that they may be spread at ordinary temperatures upon linen or leather, 
by means of a spatula, and do not melt or run when applied to the skin. In 
preparing them, care should usually be taken to select the oil or lard perfectly 
free from rancidity. In reference to the wax, too, there would seem to be a 
choice, as experience has shown that cerates made with yellow wax keep 
longer unchanged than those made with white or bleached wax, probably be- 
cause there is in yellow wax some principle which corrects the tendency of 
fatty matters to become rancid. (F. Bringhurst, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 
1869, p. 59.) The liquefaction should be effected by a very gentle heat, which 
may be applied by means of a water-bath; and during the refrigeration the 
mixture should be well stirred, and the portions which solidify on the sides 
of the vessel should be made to mix again with the liquid portion, until the PART II. 
Cerata. 
1077 
whole assumes the proper consistence. When a large quantity is prepared, the 
mortar or other vessel into which the mixture may be poured for cooling, should 
be previously heated by means of boiling water. It has been proposed to sub- 
stitute paraffin for wax in the preparation of the cerates; but there has yet been 
too little trial of it to justify a decision upon its merits. It is, we think, unfortu- 
nate that this class of preparations has been abandoned in the British Pharma- 
copoeia ; the several cerates having been rejected, or transferred to the class of 
Ointments. Independently of the connection between the name and one of the 
characteristic constituents of the cerates, there is aground of difference between 
them aud the ointments in their consistence; that of the cerates being such as to 
render them especially suitable for spreading on linen, while that of ointments is 
peculiarly adapted to inunction. W. 
CERATUM ADIPIS. U.S. Ceratum Simplex. U.S. 1850. Cerate 
of Lard. Simple Cerate. 
“Take of Lard eight troyounces; White Wax four troyounces. Melt them 
together, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” U. S. 
We regret the loss of the old name of simple cerate, which always seemed to 
us very appropriate. Wax was the essential ingredient, while the place of lard 
might be supplied by olive or almond oil, or any bland fatty matter of a very 
soft or liquid consistence. Lard, however, is, we think, preferable to olive oil, as 
it may always be had perfectly sweet,and is the mildest application which can be 
made to irritated surfaces. In the preparation of this cerate, peculiar care should 
be taken that the oleaginous ingredient be entirely free from rancidity, and that 
the heat employed be not sufficient to produce the slightest decomposition; for 
the value of the preparation depends on its perfect blandness. To avoid change, 
it should be put up in small jars, and covered closely with tin foil so as to exclude 
the air. It is used for dressing blisters, wounds, &c\, in all cases in which the ob- 
ject is to prevent the contact of air and preserve the moisture of the part, and 
at the same time to avoid all irritation. It is sometimes improperly employed 
as the vehicle of substances to be applied by inunction. For this purpose lard 
should be used in winter, and simple ointment in summer; the cerate having too 
firm a consistence. W. 
CERATUM CANTHARIDIS. U.S. Emplastrum Cantharidis. 
Br. Cerate of Cantharides. Blistering Cerate. Cerate of Spanish Flies. 
Cantharides Plaster. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in very fine powder, twelve troyounces; Yellow Wax, 
Resin, each, seven troyounces; Lard ten troyounces. To the Wax, Resin, and 
Lard, previously melted together and strained through muslin, add the Can- 
tharides, and, by means of a water-bath, keep the mixture in a liquid state for 
half an hour, stirring occasionally; then remove it from the water-bath, and 
stir it constantly until cool.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia directs of Cantharides, in powder, twelve ounces 
(avoirdupois); Yellow Wax, and Prepared Suet, each, seven ounces and a 
half; Prepared Lard six ounces; and Resin three ounces ; melts the Wax, 
Suet, and Lard together, by a water-bath, and adds the Resin previously 
melted ; then introduces the Cantharides, mixes the whole thoroughly, and 
continues to stir the mixture while cooling. 
This is the common blistering plaster of the shops. As it can be readily 
spread without the aid of heat, it is properly a cerate, and is, therefore, correcPy 
named in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. It is essentially the same as prepared by 
the two processes; though the U. S. formula has a decided advantage over the 
British, in keeping the mixture of the flies and the other ingredients for some 
time at an elevated temperature, while, in the latter, they are allowed to cool 
after being mixed with the fatty matters. Care was formerly considered re- 
quisite, in making the cerate, not to injure the flies by heat. It was, therefore, 
recommended that they should not be added to the other ingredients until imme- 
diately before these begin to stiffen, after having been removed from the fire; 1078 
Cerata. 
PART II 
and, though this direction has been omitted, no provision is made for the con- 
tinued application of heat. From the experiments of Mr. Donovan (Dublin 
Med. Press, Aug. 1840), and those of Professor Procter (Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
xiii. 302, and xxiv. 296), it may be inferred that the vesicating principle of 
Spanish flies is not injured or dissipated by a heat under 300° F., and that 
an elevated temperature, instead of being hurtful, is positively advantageous 
in the preparation of the cerate. The cantharidin is thus more thoroughly 
dissolved by the oleaginous matter, and consequently brought more efficiently 
into contact with the skin, than when retained in the interior of the tissue of 
the fly. Another advantage, stated by Donovan, is that the moisture, usually 
existing to a certain extent in all the ingredients of the cerate, is thus dis- 
sipated, and the preparation is less apt to become mouldy, or otherwise to 
undergo decomposition. Instead, therefore, of waiting until the melted wax, 
resin, and lard begin to stiffen, it is better to add the powder before the vessel 
is removed from the fire. Mr. Donovan recommends that, as soon as the other 
ingredients are melted, the powdered flies should be added, and the mixture 
stirred until the heat is shown by a thermometer to have risen to 250°, when 
the vessel is to be removed from the fire, and the mixture stirred constantly until 
cool. At the heat mentioned, ebullition takes place in consequence of the escape 
of the moisture contained in the materials. In the cerate thus prepared, the 
active matter has been dissolved by the lard, and the powder may be separated, 
if deemed advisable, by straining the mixture before it solidifies. Care should 
be taken that the temperature be not so high as to decompose the ingredients ; 
and it would be better to keep it within 212° by means of a water-bath, as in 
the U. S. process, than to incur any risk from its excess. Violent irritation and 
even vesication of the face of the operator are stated to have resulted from ex- 
posure to the vapours of the liquid, at a temperature of 250°. (Pharm. Journ., 
ii. 391.) From an experiment, however, of Prof. Procter, it appears that, though 
cantharidin begins to volatilize slightly at 250°, and rapidly rises in vapour and 
sublimes at from 402° to 412°, yet it is not decomposed unless by increasing 
the heat considerably above the last-mentioned point. (Am, Journ. of Pharm., 
xxiv. 296 and 298.) It is desirable that the flies should be very finely pulverized. 
Powdered euphorbium is said to be sometimes fraudulently added. 
The cerate will always raise a blister in ordinary conditions of the system, if 
the flies are good, and not injured in the preparation. It should be spread on 
soft leather, though linen or even paper will answer the purpose when that is 
not to be had. An elegant mode of preparing it for use is to spread a piece of 
leather, of a proper size, first with adhesive plaster, and afterwards with the 
cerate, leaving a margin of the former uncovered, in order that it may adhere 
to the skin. Heat is not requisite, and should not be employed in spreading 
the cerate. Some sprinkle powdered flies upon the surface of the plaster, press 
them lightly with a roller, and then shake off the portion which has not ad- 
hered; but, if the flies originally employed were good, this addition is super- 
fluous. Prof. Procter is in the habit of applying over the surface with a brush 
an ethereal tincture of eantharides, which leaves a thin coating of extract, and 
renders the preparation more certain. 
Upon the application of the plaster, the skin should be moistened with warm 
vinegar or other liquid; and a good rule is to cover the surface of the plaster 
closely with very thin gauze or unsized paper, which prevents any of the cerate 
from adhering to the cuticle, and is thought by some to diminish its liability to 
occasion strangury. In adults, when the full action of the flies is desired, and 
the object is to produce a permanent effect, the application should be continued 
for twelve hours, and on the scalp for twenty-four hours. In very delicate per- 
sons, however, or those subject to strangury, or upon parts of a loose texture, 
or when the object is merely to produce a blister to be healed as quickly as 
possible, the plaster should remain no longer than is necessary for the production 
of full redness of the skin, which generally occurs in five or six hours, or even 
in a shorter time. It should then be removed, and followed by a bread and milk PART II. 
Cerata. 
1079 
poultice, or some other emollient dressing, under which the cuticle rises, and a 
full blister is usually produced. By this management the patient will generally 
escape strangury, and the blister will very quickly heal after the discharge of the 
serum.* In young children, cantharides sometimes produce alarming and even 
fatal ulceration, if too long applied. From two to four hours are usually suffi- 
cient for any desirable purpose. When the head, or other very hairy part, is to 
be blistered, an interval of ten or twelve hours should, if possible, be allowed 
between the shaving of the part and the application of the plaster; so that the 
abrasions may heal, and some impediment be offered to the absorption of the 
flies. After the blister has been formed, it should be opened at the most de- 
pending parts, and, the cuticle being allowed to remain, should be dressed with 
simple cerate; but, if it be desirable to maintain the discharge for a short time, 
resin cerate should be used, and the cuticle removed if it can be done without 
inconvenience. When it is wished that the blistered surface should heal as 
soon as possible, and with the least inconvenience to the patient, Dr. Maclagan 
recommends a dressing of cotton wadding; an emollient poultice being first 
applied for two hours after the removal of the blistering cerate, the cuticle 
then cut, aud the surface afterwards covered with the cotton, with its raw sur- 
face next the skin. Should the dressing become soaked, so much of the cotton 
may be removed as can be done without disturbing the cuticle, and a new 
batch applied. The cotton is to be allowed to remain until the old cuticle spon- 
taneously separates. The effects of an issue may be obtained by employing sar 
vine ointment, or the ointment of Spanish flies, as a dressing. If much inflam- 
mation take place in the blistered surface, it may be relieved by emollient 
poultices, or weak lead-Avater. Where there is an obstinate indisposition to heal, 
we have found nothing so effectual as the cerate of subacetate of lead, mixed 
with an equal weight of simple cerate. When deep and extensive ulceration 
occurs in consequence of general debility, bark or sulphate of quinia should be 
used, with nutritious aliment. 
Yarious preparations of cantharides have been proposed and employed as 
substitutes for the cerate. They consist for the most part of cantharidin, more 
or less pure, either dissolved in olive oil and applied to the skin by means of a 
piece of paper saturated with it, or incorporated with wax and spread in a very 
thin layer upon fine waxed cloth, silk, or paper, constitut ing the blistering cloth, 
blistering paper, vesicating taffetas, &c., of the shops. The advantages of these 
preparations are that they occupy less space, are more portable, and, being very 
pliable, are more easily adapted to irregularities of the surface. Absolutely 
pure cantharidin is expensive and not requisite; as extracts of cantharides, made 
with ether, alcohol, or boiling water, will answer every purpose. Henry and 
Guibourt give the following formula Digest powdered cantharides in ether, 
distil off the ether, evaporate the residue by means of a salt-water bath, until 
ebullition ceases, melt the mass which remains with twice its weight of wax, 
and spread the mixture upon waxed cloth. The waxed, cloth may be prepared 
by spreading upon linen or muslin a mixture composed of 8 parts of white wax, 
4 of olive oil, and 1 of turpentine, melted together. An extract of cantharides 
of a buttery consistence, said to act very efficiently when applied by means ot 
paper greased with it, is prepared by digesting 4 parts of flies with 1 part of 
strong acetic acid, and 16 of alcohol, straining, filtering, and evaporating at a 
* The late Dr. M. B. Smith, of Philadelphia, informed us that he had frequently employed 
uva ursi, as a preventive of strangury from blisters, and had never found it to fail. He 
gave a small wineglassful of the officinal decoction (see Decoctum Uvse Ursi) every hour, 
commencing two hours after the application of the blister. Camphor is sometimes incor- 
porated with the blistering cerate to prevent strangury, though with doubtful effect. A 
plan proposed by M. Vee is to spread over the surface of the plaster, when ready for deli- 
very, by means of the finger, a saturated solution of camphor in ether. The ether evapo- 
rates, leaving a thin coating of camphor uniformly diffused. (Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
viii. 68.) The late Dr. Joseph Hartshorne, of Philadelphia, was in the habit, in cases 
where he apprehended strangury, of directing four grains of opium and twenty of cam- 
phor to be mixed Avith the cerate of a blister of large size, and experienced the happiest 
effects from the addition. 1080 
Cerata. 
PakT II. 
moderate heat. A preparation which received the favourable report of a com- 
mittee of the Society of Pharmacy, at Paris, is the following, proposed by M. 
Dubuison. Four parts of a hydro-alcoholic extract of the flies, made by macera- 
tion, are mixed with an aqueous solution of one part of pure gelatin, so as to 
obtain a solution of suitable consistence, which is then applied upon a piece of 
extended waxed cloth, care being taken that the brush should always have the 
same direction. When the first layer has dried, a second and a third are to be 
applied in the same manner. The gelatin renders the cloth more adhesive and 
less deliquescent. The hydro-alcoholic extract is preferred to the alcoholic, be- 
cause it contains less of the green oil, which does not readily mix with the other 
ingredients. The committee, however, preferred the aqueous extract, as cheaper 
and more active. This taffeta has been tried, and found to raise blisters in four 
hours. {Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., viii. 67.) A strong decoction of the flies in 
olive oil, applied by means of paper, would probably answer a similar purpose 
with these more elaborate preparations; but none of them is likely to supersede 
the officinal cerate. For very speedy vesication, an infusion of the flies in strong 
acetic acid is sometimes employed. A preparation, called cantliaridal collodion, 
has within a few years been introduced into use, and has acquired so great a 
popularity with the profession that it was deemed proper, at the recent revision 
of the Pharmacopoeia, to introduce a formula for its preparation. (See Collo- 
dium cum Cantharide.) 
It is said that the flies, by ebullition with water, are deprived of their pro- 
perty of producing strangury, while their vesicating powers remain unaltered. 
(Paris's Pharmacologia.) Dr. Theophilus Beesley, of Philadelphia, was in the 
habit of employing a cerate made with cantharides prepared in this manner, and 
never knew it to produce strangury in more than two or three instances. {Journ. 
of the Phil. Col. of Pharm., iv. 185.) In a letter addressed to one of the au- 
thors by Dr. James Couper, of New Castle, Delaware, a similar method of pre- 
paring the flies is recommended as an expedient against strangury, both from 
his own experience, and that of the late Dr. Groom, of Elkton, Maryland, from 
whom he derived his knowledge of the plan. Yet there can be no doubt that 
boiling water extracts cantharidin from the flies; and the cerate made as here 
recommended must be weaker in the blistering principle than the officinal. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Picis cum Cantharide, U. S. W. 
CERATUM CETACEL U. S. Spermaceti Cerate. 
“ Take of Spermaceti a troyounce; White Wax three troyounces ; Olive Oil 
five troyounces. Melt together the Spermaceti and Wax ; then add the Oil pre- 
viously heated, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” U. S. 
The direction to heat the oil before adding it to the other ingredients is im- 
portant. If added cold, it is apt to produce an irregular congelation of the wax 
and spermaceti, and thus to render the preparation lumpy The cerate is em- 
ployed as a dressing for blisters, excoriated surfaces, and wounds, and as the 
basis of more active preparations. When the ingredients are pure and sweet, it 
is perfectly free from irritating properties. From experiments made by Mr. J. B. 
Barnes, of London, it appears that this cerate keeps much better when made of 
unbleached materials, than when prepared with olive oil and wax previously 
bleached. (Pharm. Journ., Jan. 1861, p. 352.) W. 
CERATUM EXTRACTI CAXTHAREDIS. U. S. Cerate of Ex- 
tract of Cantha:rides. 
“Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, fee troyounces; Stronger Alcohol 
two pints and a half, or a sufficient quantity ; Resin three troyounces ; Yellow 
Wax six troyounces ; Lard seven troyounces. Moisten the Cantharides with 
Stronger Alcohol, pack them in a c}dindrical percolator, and gradually pour on 
Stronger Alcohol until the liquid passes nearly colourless. Evaporate the fil- 
tered liquid, by means of a water-bath, to the consistence of a soft extract 
Mix this with the Resin, Wax, -and Lard, previously melted together, and 
keep the whole at the temperature of 212° for fifteen minutes. Lastly, strain 
the mixture through muslin, and stir it constantly until cool.” XJ. S. PART II. 
Cerata. 
1081 
This is a new officinal of our Pharmacopoeia, adopted from a formula of Mr. 
Wm. R. Warner, published in the American Journal of Pharmacy (Jan. 1860, 
p. 11), and intended as a substitute for the old Ceratum Cantharidis, from which 
it differs mainly in containing an alcoholic extract of the flies instead of the flies 
themselves If the percolation be well conducted, so as to exhaust the eantha- 
rides, of which the active matter is soluble in alcohol, this cerate ought theo- 
retically to be more effective than the old blistering cerate; as the active princi- 
ples are separated from the inert matter of the flies which envelops them in 
the natural state, and must in some measure interfere with their action ; and it 
is said that its superior efficacy has been practically ascertained. It is to be 
used in the same manner as the cerate of cantharides. W. 
CERATUM PLUMBI SUBACETATIS. V. S. Unguentum Plum- 
bi Subacetatis Compositum. Br. Cerate of Subacetate of Lead. Com- 
pound Ointment of Subacetate of Lead. Goulard’s Cerate. 
“ Take of Solution of Subacetate of Lead two fluidounces and a half; White 
Wax four troyounces; Olive Oil eight troyounces; Camphor thirty grains. 
Mix the Wax, previously melted, with seven troyounces of the Oil. Then re- 
move the mixture from the fire, and, when it begins to thicken, gradually pour 
in the Solution of Subacetate of Lead, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula 
till it becomes cool. Lastly, add the Camphor, dissolved in the remainder of the 
Oil, and mix them.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes six fluidounces of the Solution of Sub- 
acetate of Lead, eight ounces [avoirdupois] of White Wax, a pint [Imperial 
measure] of Oil of Almonds, and sixty grains of Camphor, and proceeds in 
the manner above directed, except that the wax and oil are melted by means 
of a water-bath, instead of over a fire; and in this respect its directions are 
more judicious than those of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
This cerate received the name by which it is commonly known from M. Gou- 
lard, by whom it was employed and recommended. It soon begins to assume 
a yellowish colour, and after a short time becomes so rancid as to be scarcely 
fit for use. Hence it should be prepared in small quantities at once. The late 
Mr. Jacob Bell found it more satisfactory when made with yellow wax. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1859, p. 459.) Eggenfels, a German pharmaceutist, recommends 
the following method of proceeding to prevent its change of colour. The wax 
and oil are'melted in a water-bath; the solution of acetate of lead, previously 
heated, is added in small portions successively, and the mixture well stirred, and 
digested for some time; a partial saponification takes place, and an emulsion 
afterwards; and the cerate retains its white colour. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1861, p. 408.) It is used chiefly in excoriations, burns, scalds, and chil- 
blains, and in cutaneous eruptions. We have found it more effectual than any 
other application to blistered surfaces indisposed to heal; and, on the recom- 
mendation of the. late Dr. Parrish, have used it in the following combination with 
advantage in various cutaneous eruptions of a local character. Take of cerate 
of subacetate of lead, simple cerate, each, half an ounce; calomel, powdered 
opium, each, a drachm ; mix them. The same preparation, without the opium, 
was a favourite remedy with the late Prof. Wistar in similar complaints. W. • 
CERATUM RESINaE U. S. Unguentum Resina. Br. Resin Ce- 
rate. Ointment of Resin. Basilicon Ointment. 
“ Take of Resin ten troyounces; Yellow Wax four troyounces ; Lard sixteen 
troyounces. Melt them together, strain the mixture through muslin, and stir it 
constantly until cool.” U. S. 
“ Take of Resin, in coarse powder, eight ounces; Yellow Wax' four ounces ; 
Simple Ointment sixteen ounces. Melt with a gentle heat, strain the mixture 
while hot through flannel, and stir constantly while it cools.” Br. 
The straining is directed in consequence of the impurities which resin often 
contains. Resin cerate, commonly called basilicon ointment, is much used as a 
gently stimulant application to blistered surfaces, indolent ulcers, burns, scalds, 1082 
Cerata. 
PART II. 
and chilblains. We have found no application more effectual in disposing the 
ulcers which follow burns to heal. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Sabinas, U. S.; Linimentum Terebinth in*, Br. W. 
CERATUM RESIDUE COMPOSITUM. U. S. Compound Resin 
Cerate. 
“Take of Resin, Suet, Yellow Wax, each, twelve troyounces; Turpentine 
six troyounces; Flaxseed Oil seven troyounces. Melt them together, strain the 
mixture through muslin, and stir it constantly until cool.” U. S. 
This is somewhat more stimulating than the preceding, but is applicable to 
similar purposes, particularly to the treatment of indolent ulcers. Under the 
name of DeshleSs salve, it is popularly employed in some parts of the United 
States. It should be kept well protected from the air, in consequence of its lia- 
Dility when exposed to acquire a tough consistence. W. 
CERATUM SABUSUE. U. S. Unguentum Sabina. Br. Savine Ce- 
rate. Ointment of Savine. 
“ Take of Savine, in fine powder, three troyounces ; Resin Cerate twelve troy- 
ounces ; Ether a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Savine with Ether, pack it 
firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and pour on Ether until the filtered liquid 
passes nearly colourless. Evaporate this spontaneously to the consistence of 
syrup, add the concentrated liquid to the Resin Cerate, softened by a gentle heat, 
and mix them thoroughly.” U. S. 
“Take of Fresh Savine Tops, bruised, eight ounces; White Wax three 
ounces; Prepared Lard sixteen ounces. Melt the Lard and the Wax together 
on a water-bath, add the Savine, and digest for twenty minutes. Then remove 
the mixture, and express through calico.” Br. 
As the savine used in this country is generally brought from Europe in the 
dried state, we are compelled to resort to a mode of preparing the cerate differ- 
ent from that usually employed in Europe. In the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, the 
dried savine was simply mixed,in powder, with resin cerate previously softened; 
and the proportion used was one part of the powder to six parts of the cerate. 
Nor did we find the preparation thus made to be “intolerably acrid and almost 
caustic,” as Dr. Duncan described it. On the contrary, it answered very well the 
purpose for which it was used, that of maintaining the discharge from blistered 
surfaces. The process, however, of the present edition of the Pharmacopoeia is 
certainly more elegant than the former, and probably, if well executed, will yield 
a more effective product; as the active matter is extracted by the ether, and 
must operate more enei'getically than while entangled in the inert matter of the 
leaves. The only objection to it is its expensiveness. A cerate, prepared in the 
same manner as the former cerate, from the leaves of the red cedar (Juniperus 
Virginiana), is sometimes substituted for that of savine, but is less efficient. 
Prepared according to the process of the British Pharmacopoeia, savine cerate 
has a fine deep-green colour, and the odour of the leaves. It should be kept in 
closely covered vessels. 
Savine cerate is preferable to the ointment of Spanish flies as a dressing for 
perpetual blisters, from the circumstance that it has no tendency to produce 
strangury. The white coating which forms, during its use, upon the blistered 
surface should be occasionally removed, as it prevents the contact of the cerate. 
It is sometimes applied to seton cords, to increase the discharge. W. 
CERATUM SAPOETS. U. S. Soap Cerate. 
“Take of Soap Plaster two troy ounce s ; White Wax two troyounces and a 
half; Olive Oil four troyounces. Melt together the Plaster and Wax, add the 
Oil, and, after continuing the heat a short time, stir the mixture until cool.” U. S. 
This is a much neater preparation than that of the Pharmacopoeia of 1850, 
which was made by boiling the solution of subacetate of lead with soap, and then, 
after concentration, adding the wax and oil melted together; nor is there any 
reason to suppose that it is less efficient. Soap cerate is thought to be cooling PART II. 
Cerata.— Chartse. 
1083 
and sedative; and is used in scrofulous swellings and other instances of chronic 
external inflammation. It was formerly employed by Mr. Pott as a dressing 
for fractured limbs; but answers no other purpose in these cases than to yield 
mechanical support. W. 
CERATUM ZINCI CARBONATIS. U.S. Cerate of Carbonate of 
Zinc. 
“ Take of Precipitated Carbonate of troyounces ; Ointment of Lard 
ter. troyounces. Mix them.” U. S. 
This preparation is an imitation of the cerate recommended by Turner, and is 
intended as a substitute for the former Ceratum Zinci Carbonatis and more re- 
cent Ceratum Calaminae of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, as more reliable, in conse- 
quence of the frequent falsification of calamine. It is mildly astringent, and is 
used in excoriations and superficial ulcerations, produced by the chafing of the 
skin, irritating secretions, burns, or other causes.* W. 
CHARTS. 
Papers. 
This class of preparations has been made officinal by the adoption, in the 
British Pharmacopoeia, of the Charta Epispastica, which, though the only 
one at present recognised in Great Britain, will probably in time be followed 
by others; as external applications of this kind are often very convenient. In 
the present French Codex there are not less than five of these papers, placed 
under the heading of Papiers Emplastiques; of which the Charta Epispas- 
tica, named Papier Epispastique, is one. Of this the British preparation is a 
close imitation. 
CHART A EPISPASTICA. Br. Blistering Paper. 
“ Take of White Wax four ounces; Spermaceti one and a half ounce ; Olive 
Oil two jluidounces; Resin three quarters of an ounce; Canada Balsam one 
quarter of an ounce; Cantharides, in powder, one ounce; Distilled Water 
six Jluidounces. Digest all the ingredients, excepting the Canada Balsam, in a 
water-bath for two hours, stirring them constantly; then strain, and separate 
the plaster from the watery liquid. Mix the Canada Balsam with the plaster, 
melted in a shallow vessel, and pass strips of paper over the surface of the 
hot liquid, so that one surface of the paper shall receive a thin coating of the 
plaster. It may be convenient to employ paper ruled so as to indicate divisions 
each of which is one square inch.” Br. The weights employed in this process 
are avoirdupois, and the measures Imperial. 
This is intended as a convenient substitute for the common blistering plas- 
ter, and, if equally effectual, will be frequently preferred, from being already 
spread, as well as for its greater cleanliness and facility of application. The pro- 
portion of flies, however, is much less, being only 1 to of the other ingre- 
dients, while in the “ Cantharides Plaster” it is 12 to The inference from 
this would be that it must be very greatly inferior in blistering power, and 
consequently less certain; but this is a point which must be determined by 
experience; and it is said that, when properly applied, so as to ensure close 
adhesion to the skin, it is not less efficient than the British plaster, the Cerate 
of Cantharides of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia. {Med. Times and Gaz., March, 
1867, p. 284.) 
* Ceratum Calaminse. U. S. 1850. Turner's Cerate. Though abandoned as an officinal 
preparation, from the freqwent sophistication to which calamine is liable, the preparation 
is still considerably used, and a formula is, therefore, required. The following is the 
late officinal process. “ Take of Prepared Calamine, Yellow Wax, each, three ounces; Lard 
a pound,. Melt the Lard and Wax together, and when on cooling they begin to thicken, 
add the Calamine, and stir the mixture constantly until cool.” The uses of this cerate 
are the same as those mentioned in the text under Ceratum 2jinci Carbonatis. 1084 
Cinchonia. 
PART II. 
CINCHONIA. 
CINCHONINE SULPHAS. U. S. Sulphate of Cinchonia. 
“ Take of the mother-water, remaining after the crystallization of Sulphate of 
Quinia, in the process for preparing that salt, a convenient quantity; Solution 
of Soda, Alcohol, Diluted Sulphuric Acid, Animal Charcoal, in fine powder, 
each, a sufficient quantity. To the mother-water add gradually, with constant 
stirring, Solution of Soda, until the liquid becomes alkaline. Collect on a filter 
the precipitate formed, wash it with water, and dry it. Then wash it with suc- 
cessive small portions of alcohol, to remove other alkaloids which may be pre- 
sent. Mix the x-esidue with eight times its weight of water, and, having heated 
the mixture, add gradually Diluted Sulphuric Acid until it is saturated and be- 
comes clear. Then boil the liquid with Animal Charcoal, filter it while hot, and 
set it aside to crystallize. Lastly, drain the crystals, and dry them on bibulous 
paper. By evaporating the mother-liquid, more crystals may be obtained.” U. S. 
Sulphate of Cinchonia is now for the first time officinally recognised, having 
been introduced into the U. S. Pharmacopoeia at the late revision; and this re- 
cognition is certainly justified by its great importance as a medicine. In conse- 
quence of its greater solubility it remains behind in the mother-waters, when 
sulphate of quinia crystallizes, in the process for preparing the latter salt. To 
separate it from other substances contained in the mother-waters, it is decom- 
posed by solution of soda, which is preferable to potassa, as it forms a very 
soluble salt with sulphuric acid, whereas the sulphate of potassa, being of diffi- 
cult solubility, might fall w /th the precipitated cinchonia. The precipitate may 
be safely washed with small portions of alcohol, as the alkaloid is almost insolu- 
ble in that liquid when cold. It is next reconverted into the sulphate ; and the 
solution, having been boiled with unpurified animal charcoal to decolorize it, and 
at the same time neutralize any possible excess of sulphuric acid which might in- 
terfere with the crystallization of the salt, is filtered while hot, and then allowed 
to stand. It is peculiarly important that there should be no excess of sulphuric 
acid while the solution is exposed to heat, as, under this influence, the alkaloid 
is much disposed to become uncrystallizable. Hence the advantage of using 
unpurified animal charcoal or bone-black, as the carbonate of lime contained in 
it neutralizes any excess of the acid. The sulphate of cinchonia, held in solu- 
tion by the liquid while hot, is deposited by it upon cooling in crystals. 
It may be prepared also by first obtaining cinchonia from one of the pale 
barks; treating this with water acidulated with sulphuric acid, added gradually 
till the alkaloid is dissolved; then boiling with purified animal charcoal, filtering 
the solution while hot, and setting it aside to crystallize. By alternate evapo- 
ration and crystallization all the sulphate may be obtained. 
There are two sulphates of cinchonia. The officinal salt may be considered 
either as the neutral sulphate, consisting of one eq. of cinchonia 308, one of sul- 
phuric acid 40, and two of water of crystallization 18 = 366; or, according to 
the view of Liebig, as a disulphate, consisting of two eqs. of base 308, one of 
acid 40, and two of water. By the addition of the necessary quantity of acid, 
it passes into the higher sulphate (bisulphate, or neutral sulphate, according to 
the view that may be adopted), which is soluble in less than half its weight of 
water at 58°. We have always been inclined to the view which considers it as 
the neutral salt, and this probably now predominates with chemists, so that the 
«alt is properly named sulphate of cinchonia in the Pharmacopoeia. It crystal- 
lizes in short, oblique, shining prisms with dihedral summits, which melt at 
212°, at a somewhat higher temperature lose their water of crystallization, and 
at a red heat are dissipated without residue. Its taste is very bitter. It is solu- 
ble in fifty-four parts of water at common temperatures, and in a smaller quan- 
tity of boiling water, and is readily dissolved by alcohol, but very sparingly by 
ether. The tests by which it may be known as a salt of cinchonia are mentioned 
Preparation of Cinchonia. PART II. 
Cinchonia.— Collodium. 
1085 
under the head of Cinchona in Part I. {page 300). That it is a sulphate will be 
shown by the white precipitate produced with its solution by chloride of calcium * 
Medical Properties and Uses. It is now pretty well determined that sulphate 
of cinchonia has the same remedial properties as sulphate of quinia. That it is 
equally efficient as an antiperiodic remedy, in a somewhat larger dose, has been 
established by abundant experience. (See a paper, by Dr. A. P. Turner, in the 
Am. Journ of Med. Sci., April, 1864, p. 396.) As a tonic it may be given in 
the dose of a grain or two, three or four times a day; as an antiperiodic, fif- 
teen grains to half a drachm may be given between the paroxysms. It may 
be taken in pill or solution. In the latter case, the solution of the salt may be 
aided by the addition of a little aromatic sulphuric acid, in the proportion, for 
example, of a minim or two drops for each grain of the salt, in a solution of 
eight grains to a fluidounce of water. W. 
COLLODIUM. 
Preparations of Collodion: 
COLLODIUM. U. S., Br. Collodion. 
“Take of Cotton, freed from impurities, half a troyounce; Nitrate of Po- 
tassa, in fine powder, ten troyounces; Sulphuric Acid fifteen troy ounces and a 
half; Stronger Ether twenty-one fluidounces; Stronger Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Add the Sulphuric Acid to the Nitrate of Potassa in a glass or por- 
celain vessel, and stir them together until they are uniformly mixed. When 
the temperature of the mixture is below 122°, add the Cotton, and, by means of 
stout glass rods, imbue it thoroughly with the mixture. Then cover the vessel 
closely with a glass or porcelain lid, and allow it to stand for twenty-four hours. 
Transfer the Cotton to a larger vessel, and wash it, first with cold water until 
the washings cease to have an acid taste, and then with boiling water. Press it 
as dry as possible with the hand, pack it tightly in a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it Stronger Alcohol until the remaining water is displaced; then 
again press it as dry as possible with the hand. Mix the Stronger Ether with 
six fluidounces of Stronger Alcohol in a suitable bottle, and, having added the 
moist Cotton to the mixture, agitate occasionally until it is dissolved. The 
Cotton, prepared for solution by this formula, and dried at 212°, weighs three 
hundred and thirty-six grains. 
“Collodion may also be made by dissolving fifty-six grains of Cotton, pre- 
pared as above, and dried at 212°, in a mixture of three fluidounces and a half 
of Stronger Ether and a fluidounce of Stronger Alcohol.” U. S. 
“Take of Pyroxylin one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Ether thirty-six fluidounces 
[Imperial measure]; Rectified Spirit twelve fluidounces [Imp. meas.]. Mix 
the Ether and the Spirit, and add the Pyroxylin. Set aside for a few days, and, 
should there be any sediment, decant the clear solution. Keep it in a well-corked 
bottle.” Br. 
Collodion is a solution of freshly prepared gun cotton in ether, assisted by a 
little alcohol. Gun cotton was originally obtained from cotton by steeping it 
in nitric acid, by the action of which it is converted into an explosive compound. 
(See Pyroxylin in Part II.) When gun cotton is intended for solution in 
ether, a better preparation for this purpose is made by the process of Dr. Ellet, 
of South Carolina College, which consists in steeping cotton in a mixture of 
nitre and sulphuric acid. This mixture sets free the necessary nitric acid for 
effecting the change in the cotton. Gun cotton, thus prepared, more readily 
* A new test, distinguishing between sulphates of quinia and cinchonia, has recently 
been announced by M. Palm, of Russia, in the polysulphuret of potassium prepared by 
boiling solution of potassa with an excess of sulphur. When a solution of this sulphuret 
is added to a boiling solution of sulphate of quinia, the latter, however small the quantity 
present, is thrown down as a red terebinthinate mass, which hardens on cooling, and then 
assumes the appearance of a resin; while with sulphate of cinchonia a white powder is 
precipitated containing sulphur. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 18(54, p. 459 ) 1086 
Collodium. 
PART ir. 
dissolves in ether than that made by direct reaction of nitric acid; and, for 
that reason, the process of Dr. Ellet was adopted in the U. S. formula. The 
present officinal preparation is somewhat stronger than that of the Pharmacopoeia 
of 1850, having a considerably smaller proportion of the ether and alcohol con- 
jointly, though the proportion of alcohol is much increased. On account of the 
facility with which ether evaporates, it is the better menstruum for remedial pur- 
poses; but gun cotton will not dissolve in that liquid when quite pure, and the 
addition of a little alcohol is necessary. The existing proportion was adjusted 
by Dr. Squibb, who found by frequent trial some increase in the quantity of al- 
cohol desirable; and the resulting preparation has been found to answer well in 
practice. The increase of alcohol, however, though the quantity directed is six 
times greater than before, is in reality much less than this; for the common 
ether directed in the formula of 1850 itself contains a very considerable propor- 
tion of alcohol, while the stronger ether now used has comparatively little. Other 
improvements in the process are the fixing of the temperature at which the cotton 
is to be introduced into the acid mixture, which was before left indefinite, and the 
more complete removal of water from the gun cotton by displacing it with alco- 
hol after expression. The process is now said to work well in practice, and yields 
a preparation more firm and adhesive than the old formula. Gun cotton, pre- 
pared as above directed, is not liable to decomposition, but continues fit for so- 
lution in ether for a considerable time. Hence the propriety of the alternative 
formula, in which the gun cotton, dried at 212°, may be dissolved in a due pro- 
portion of the two menstrua. In following the U. S. process, it is necessary 
that the sulphuric acid be of the officinal strength. 
In the British process, gun cotton, denominated pyroxylin, is directed to be 
dissolved in a mixture of ether and alcohol; a formula for the preparation of 
pyroxylin being given separately in the Pharmacopoeia. It is asserted, how- 
ever, that the pyroxylin made by that formula, though an excellent explosive 
compound, is not readily dissolved by the mixture of ether and alcohol. (Pharm. 
Journ., March, 1864, p. 416.) 
Collodion is a transparent, colourless liquid, of a syrupy consistence, and 
ethereal smell. When applied to a dry surface, the ether quickly evaporates, 
and a transparent film is left, having remarkable adhesiveness and contractility. 
On account of the great volatility of ether, collodion must be kept in bottles well 
stopped. When insecurely kept, the liquid thickens and becomes less fit for the 
use of the surgeon. The thickened liquid sometimes contains acicular crystals, 
as was first observed by Mr. Higginson, of London, and afterwards by Prof. 
Leidy, of this city, who examined it with the microscope. 
Collodion was first applied to the purposes of surgery by Dr. J. Parker May- 
nard,* of Boston, when a student of medicine, in January, 1847. It is employed 
for holding together the edges of incised wounds, for covering ulcers or abraded 
surfaces with an impervious film not acted upon by water, and for encasing parts 
which require to be kept without relative motion. It is applied, brushed over 
the part, or by means of strips of muslin. In whatever way applied, the solvent 
quickly evaporates, and leaves the solid adhesive material. According to Le- 
page, gun cotton will dissolve in equal parts of ether and alcohol, forming a 
solution quite as adhesive as that made with ether alone. As this solution 
dries more slowly, it may prove preferable to the ethereal solution in certain 
cases. The strong contractile power of the collodion coating is an objection to 
it for some purposes. This property is removed, according to Mr. C. S. Rand, 
of Philadelphia, by dissolving first one part of gun cotton, and then one part 
* Dr. Maynard recommends the following formula as the best for surgical purposes. 
Take of sulphuric acid of sp. gr. T850 two parts, and of nitric acid of sp. gr. 1450 onepart. 
Mix them, and, having permitted the heat to fall to about 100°, add raw cotton to satura- 
tion. Let it macerate for one or two hours; then pour off the acids, wash the cotton till 
the washings cease to affect litmus paper, and dry thoroughly. The gummy matter thus 
formed is now to be dissolved in ether of the sp. gr. about -750, or in a mixture of three 
parts of pure ether and one part of alcohol of 95 per cent. Two ounces of cotton will 
make about a pint of collodion. (Boat. Med. and Surg. Journ., Aug. 9, 1866, p. 39.)— 
Vote tr. the thirteenth edition. PART II. 
Collodium. 
1087 
of Venice turpentine, in twenty parts of ether. To give more flexibility to the 
film, M. Sourisseau, of Kaiserberg, acids one part of elemi to twelve of collo- 
dion. According to Mr. Startin, of London, opacity and elasticity maybe im- 
parted at the same time, by adding from half a drachm to a drachm of lard, or 
some similar fatty matter, previously dissolved in ether, to an ounce of collo- 
dion. The qualities of softness and elasticity are given by combining collodion 
with castor oil, in the proportion of thirty parts to two, agreeably to the plan 
of M. who found it useful, thus modified, in erysipelas ; and the pro- 
portion of castor oil may be increased if thought desirable. An elastic collodion, 
somewhat similar, in which, besides castor oil, Venice turpentine and white wax 
are ingredients, has been proposed by E. Lauras. (Pharm. Journ., xii. 303.) 
A very pliable collodion may be made of thirty parts of collodion, twelve of 
Venice turpentine, and six of castor oil. According to MM. Cap and Garot, 
the most successful way for obtaining an elastic collodion is to mix two parts 
of glycerin with one hundred of collodion. Glycerized collodion is exceedingly 
supple, does not crack and scale off from the skin, and accommodates itself to 
the motions of the part. In order to imitate the colour of the skin, an ethereal 
tincture of turmeric or saffron may be added, so as to produce the desired tint. 
Dr. Meller has proposed a solution of shell-lac in highly rectified alcohol, so as 
to have a gelatinous consistence, as a succedaneum for collodion. 
Collodion has been used with advantage by Dr. J. II. Mitchell, of Dublin, and 
by Dr. Aran, to form an artificial covering to ulcers of the os and cervix uteri, 
thereby allowing the healing process to go on underneath ; by M. Wetzlar, of 
Aix-la-Chapelle, in chilblains; and by Dr. J. W. Freer, of Illinois, in erysipelas. 
According to Dr. Christen, of Prague, collodion is useful in erysipelas from local 
causes only, such as wounds, ulcers, burns, &c., but hurtful in the disease from 
an internal cause. The same writer condemns its use to prevent pitting in small- 
pox as positively injurious. In burns collodion has been found highly useful by 
several practitioners, especially in conjunction with castor oil. Its application 
produces sharp pain at first. It acts by affording a protective covering to the 
cutis, and, in superficial inflammation, probably, in part, by expelling the blood 
from the inflamed vessels through the contractile power of the film. This pro- 
perty of collodion has been taken advantage of in the treatment of chronic entro- 
pium, two cases of which, successfully treated by it, have been reported by Mr. 
William Batten. (Ranking's Abstract, no. 23, p. 134.) Dr. J. H. Claiborne has 
used a thick coating of collodion with decided advantage as a compressing 
agent for the discussion of buboes. It is said to have proved useful in phleg- 
masia dolens, and is asserted even to have cured a case of puerperal peritonitis, 
spread over the surface of the abdomen. (Med. Times and Gaz., Oct. 1859, p. 
342.) It sometimes causes the disappearance of naevi materni simply applied to 
the surface. (Dr. Wm. Badger, Med. Record, Oct. 1, 1868, p. 358.) 
Mr. Erasmus Wilson has used collodion with decided advantage in certain 
diseases of the skin. In chapped nipples it has an admirable effect. When ap- 
plied to ulcers, abrasions, or chaps of the skin, it requires to be diluted with 
ether, so as to render it nearly as limpid as water. Mr. J. H. Tucker found it 
useful in stopping the bleeding from leech-bites. M. Sourisseau and Mr. E. H. 
Durden have used it as a coating for pills, which are thereby deprived of taste; 
but it is questionable whether the coating would always be dissolved by the 
gastric liquids. 
Dr. Drouet, of France, believes that collodion applied to the abdomen, if 
resorted to at the commencement of cholera, will arrest the disease when not 
of an extremely violent nature; and founds his belief upon a considerable ex- 
perience with the remedy. It is peculiarly effectual in the diarrhoea preceding 
cholera. He mixes six parts of collodion with one part of castor oil, and, hav- 
ing smeared it over the abdomen, covers it with cotton. (N. Y. Med. Journ., 
Feb. 1867, p. 388; from Journ. de Med. et de Chim. Pratiques.) 
Collodion has been variously medicated, and thus made the vehicle of several 
important medicines for external application. Iodized collodion has been pro- 1088 
Collodium. 
PART II. 
posed hy Dr. C. Fleming, for the purpose of obtaining the specific effects of iodine 
in a rapid manner, especially on tumours. It is made by dissolving from ten to 
twenty grains of iodine in a fluidounce of collodion. M. Aran has proposed a 
ferruginous collodion, made of equal parts of collodion and tincture of chloride 
of iron, as a remedy in erysipelas. A caustic collodion may be prepared by dis- 
solving 4 parts of corrosive sublimate in 30 of collodion. Dr. Macke, of Sorau, 
has used this preparation for destroying naevi materni. The eschar formed is 
one or two lines in thickness, and separates in from three to six days, leaving but 
a trifling cicatrix. (See Am. Journ. of Pharni., May, 1858,for formulasin which 
collodion is made the vehicle of iodine, belladonna, sulphur, &c.) All these medi- 
cated collodions are most conveniently applied by means of a camel’s-hair brush. 
Collodion has become an important agent in various photographic pro- 
cesses.* 
Off. Prep. Collodium Flexile, Br. B. 
COLLODIUM CUM CANTIi A RIDE. JJ. S. Collodion with Can- 
tharides. Cantharidal Collodion. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in fine powder, eight troyounces ; Cotton, prepared by 
the process for Collodion, and dry, one hundred grains; Stronger Ether a pint 
and a half; Stronger Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the Cantharides 
into a cylindrical percolator, and, having pressed them firmly, gradually pour on 
the Ether. When fifteen fluidounces have passed, set aside the liquid in a close 
vessel, and continue the percolation with Stronger Alcohol until half a pint more 
of liquid is obtained. Set this in a warm place for spontaneous evaporation, and, 
when it is reduced to a fluidounce, mix it with the reserved liquid. Then add 
the Cotton to the mixture, and agitate occasionally until it is dissolved. Lastly, 
keep the solution in a well-stopped bottle.” U. S. 
This was originally proposed by M. Uisch, of St. Petersburg, Russia, and was 
introduced into our Pharmacopoeia at the late revision. The flies are exhausted 
successively by ether and alcohol, the ethereal solution is set aside, the alcoholic 
is allowed to evaporate till reduced from eight fluidounces to one, and the two 
liquids being then mixed are used as the menstruum for gun cotton. But, con- 
sidering the character of the menstruum, it appears to us that it must frequently 
fail to dissolve the cotton ; as a larger proportion of alcohol is required for the 
purpose than will remain when the tincture has been reduced to one fluidounce 
by evaporation. Had common ether, which always contains a considerable pro- 
portion of alcohol, been adopted instead of stronger ether, there would probably 
have been enough alcohol to render the process effectual, and economy would 
at the same time have been consulted. Should, therefore, the formula fail in the 
hands of the operator, we would suggest the substitution of the common ether. 
The original process of M. Ilisch was to exhaust, by percolation, a pound of can- 
tharides, with a mixture consisting of a pound of ether and three ounces of acetic 
ether; and in two ounces of this liquid to dissolve 25 grains of gun cotton. Pro- 
fessor Procter states that it has been found more advantageous to exhaust the 
flies with ether, distil off the ether, and mix the oily residue with collodion al- 
ready prepared of the proper consistence (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xxiv. 303); 
and this is probably a better formula than the officinal. Mr. Charles S. Rand, in 
* Silk Collodion. M. Persoz, the younger, prepares a collodion from silk by bringing it 
to the condition of the material from which the worm spins its thread. This he does by 
dissolving silk in a solution of chloride of zinc, and then separating the solvent by means 
of dialysis. The solution, diluted with water to the consistence of collodion, is put into 
a gutta-percha vessel having a parchment bottom, which is made to rest on a surface of 
water. The chloride passes through the parchment, leaving the silk substance in a soft 
fibreless state. The chloride solution, before being used, should be heated with a little 
oxide of zinc, to neutralize any excess of acid, and then filtered through fine linen to 
separate the residual oxide. Tor prompt action, the chloride should be kept warm. Its 
separation from the silk requires a few days. The material thus obtained is said to be 
applicable to photographic purposes. Before it could be used as collodion, it would be 
necessary to dissolve it in a volatile liquid, which would evaporate spontaneously on 
application to the surface. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1867, p. 182.)—Note to the 
thirteenth edition. PART IT. 
Collodium.— Confectiones. 
1089 
i communication to the American Journal of Pharmacy (xxii. 18), states that 
Uisch’s preparation, made with double the proportion of ether, vesicates equally 
well, and proposes the addition of about 1 per cent, of Venice turpentine, which 
he has found to prevent the disagreeable and sometimes painful contraction of 
the collodion upon drying. The preparation may be kept indefinitely, in an 
opaque glass-stoppered bottle, without change; but, on exposure to the light, the 
greenish colouring matter of the flies bleaches, and the liquid becomes yellowish. 
Cantharidal collodion is a very convenient epispastic remedy. It maybe ap- 
plied to the surface by means of a camel’s-hair brush, and, after the evaporation 
of the ether, which takes place in less than a minute, may be reapplied if the sur- 
face should not be well covered. It produces a blister in about the same time 
as the ordinary cerate, and has the advantages that it is applied with greater 
facility, is better adapted to cover uneven surfaces, and retains its place more 
certainly. According to Mr. Rand, if the evaporation of the ether be restrained 
by a piece of oiled silk immediately after its application, it will act much more 
speedily. W. 
COLLODIUM FLEXILE. Br. Flexible Collodion. 
“ Take of Collodion six jluidounces [Imperial measure]; Canada Balsam one 
hundred and twenty grains; Castor Oil one Jluidrachm [Imp. meas.]. Mix, 
and keep in a well-corked bottle ” Br. 
This new officinal of the British Pharmacopoeia has been introduced to meet 
a want in the use of collodion which the practitioner often feels, the methods 
of meeting which have been fully considered in the article on Collodion. (See 
pages 1086-7.) W. 
CONFECTIONES. U.S., Br. 
Under the general title of Confections, the Pharmacopoeias include all those 
preparations having the form of a soft solid, in which one or more medicinal 
substances are incorporated with saccharine matter, with a view either to theii 
preservation or more convenient administration. The old division into Con- 
serves and Electuaries has been abandoned ; but, as there is some ground foi 
the distinction, we shall make a few general remarks upon each division, be- 
fore proceeding to the consideration of the individual preparations. 
Conserves consist of recent vegetable substances and refined sugar beaten 
into a uniform mass. By means of the sugar, the vegetable matter is enabled 
to resist for some time the decomposition to which it would otherwise be ex- 
posed in the undried state, and the properties of the recent plant are thus 
retained to a certain extent unaltered. But, as active medicines even thus 
treated undergo some change, and those which lose their virtues by desiccation 
cannot be long preserved, the few conserves now retained are intended rather 
as convenient vehicles of other substances than for separate exhibition. The 
sugar used in their preparation should be reduced to a fine powder by pounding 
and sifting, as otherwise it will not mix uniformly with the other ingredients. 
Electuaries are mixtures'consisting of medicinal substances, especially dry 
powders, combined with syrup or honey, in order to render them less unpleasant 
to the taste, and more convenient for internal use. They are usually prepared 
extemporaneously; and it is only when their complex nature renders it con- 
venient to keep them readymade in the shops, or some peculiarity in the mode 
of mixing the ingredients requires attention, that they become proper objects 
for officinal direction. Their consistence should not be so soft, on the one hand, 
as to allow the ingredients to separate, nor so firm, on the other, as to prevent 
them from being swallowed without mastication. Different substances require 
different proportions of syrup. Light vegetable powders usually require twice 
their weight, gum-resins two-thirds of their weight, resins somewhat less, min- 
eral substances about half their weight, and deliquescent salts not more than 
one-tenth. Should the electuary be found, after having been kept for a short 
Confections. 1090 
Confectiones. 
PART TI. 
time, to swell up and emit gas, it should be beaten over again in a mortar, so that 
any portion of the sugar which may ha\e crystallized may be again accurately 
incorporated with the other ingredients. Should it, on the contrary, become dry 
and hard from the mutual reaction of its constituents, more syrup should he 
added, so as to give it the requisite consistence. If the dryness result from the 
mere evaporation of the aqueous part, water should be added instead of syrup, 
and the same remark is applicable to the conserves. To prevent the hardening 
of electuaries, the French writers recommend the use of syrup prepared from 
brown sugar, which is less apt to crystallize than that made from the refined. 
Molasses would answer the same purpose ; but its taste might be objectionable. 
Some employ honey, but this is not always acceptable to the stomach. Gly- 
cerin might sometimes be used with advantage. W. 
CONFECTIO AROMATICA. U S. Aromatic Confection. 
“Take of Aromatic Powder four troyounces; Clarified Honey four troy- 
ounces, or a sufficient quantity. Rub the Aromatic Powder with Clarified 
Honey until a uniform mass is obtained of the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The aromatic confection has been abandoned in the Br. Pharmacopoeia, pro- 
bably because readily prepared extemporaneously. It affords, nevertheless, a 
convenient means of administering the spices contained in it, and an agreeable 
vehicle for other medicines. The present U. S. formula differs favourably from 
that of 1850 in the omission of the saffron ; and the place of the syrup of orange 
peel has been economically supplied by using a larger proportion of honey. 
The confection is given in debilitated states of the stomach. The dose is from 
ten to sixty grains. W. 
CONFECTIO AURANTII CORTICIS. U.S. Confection of Orange 
Peel. 
“ Take of Sweet Orange Peel, recently separated from the fruit by grating, 
twelve troy ounces; Sugar [refined] thirty-six troyounces. Beat the Orange Peel 
with the Sugar, gradually added, until they are thoroughly mixed.” U.S. 
This confection, like the preceding, has been dropped in the recent consolida- 
tion of the British Pharmacopoeias. It is sometimes used as a grateful aromatic 
vehicle or adjunct of tonic and purgative powders. W. 
CONFECTIO OPII. U.S., Br. Confection of Opium. 
“ Take of Opium, in fine powder, two hundred and seventy grains; Aromatic 
Powder six troyounces; Clarified Honey fourteen troy ounces. Rub the Opium 
with the Aromatic Powder, then add the Honey, and beat the whole together 
until thoroughly mixed.” U. S. 
“Take of Compound Powder of Opium one hundred and ninety-two grains; 
Syrup one fiuidounce [Imperial measure]. Mix.” Br. 
This confection was intended as a substitute for those exceedingly complex 
and unscientific preparations, formerly known by the names of theriaca and 
mithridate, which have been expelled from modern pharmacy. It was an offi- 
cinal of the London and Edinburgh Colleges; and, after having been discarded 
in the first British Pharmacopoeia, has been adopted in the present edition. 
The preparation is a combination of opium with spices, which render it more 
stimulant, and more grateful to a debilitated stomach. It may be given in atonic 
gout, flatulent colic, diarrhoea unattended with inflammation, and other dis- 
eases requiring the use of a stimulant narcotic. Added to Peruvian bark or 
sulphate of quinia, it increases the efficacy of this remedy in obstinate cases 
of intermittent fever. One grain of opium is contained in about thirty-six grains 
of the U. S. confection, and in about forty grains of the British. W. 
CONFECTIO PIPERI8. Br. Confection of Black Pepper. 
“ Take of Black Pepper, in fine powder, two ounces; Caraway Fruit, in fine 
powder, three ounces; Clarified Honey fifteen ounces. Rub them well together 
in a mortar.” Br. 
This preparation was intended as a substitute for Ward's paste, which ao- PART II. 
Confectiones. 
1091 
quired some reputation in Great Britain as a remedy in piles and ulcers of the 
rectum. To do good, it must be continued, according to Mr. Brodie, for two 
three, or four mouths. The dose is from one to two drachms repeated two or 
three times a day. Its stimulating properties render it inapplicable to cases 
attended with much inflammation. W. 
COKFECTIO ROSHE. U. S. Confectio Rosje Gallics. Br. Con- 
ation of Rose. Confection of Roses. 
“Take of Red Rose, in fine powder, four troyounces; Sugar [refined], in 
fine powder, thirty troyounces; Clarified Honey six troyounces; Rose Water 
eight ffuidounces. Rub the Rose with the Rose Water heated to 150°: then 
gradually add the Sugar and Honey, and beat the whole together until thor- 
oughly mixed.” U. S. 
“Take of Fresh Red-Rose Petals one pound; Refined Sugar three pounds. 
Beat the Petals to a pulp in a stone mortar ; add the Sugar, and rub them well 
together.” Br. 
In the British process the unblown petals only are used, and these should be 
deprived of their claws; in other words, the rose-buds should be cut off a short 
distance above their base, and the lower portion rejected. In the last three edi- 
tions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, dried roses have been substituted for the fresh, 
as the latter are not brought to our market. The process is very similar to that 
of the French Codex. We have been informed, however, that much of the con- 
fection of roses made in Philadelphia is prepared from the fresh petals of the 
hundred-leaved rose and others, by beating them into a pulp with sugar, as in 
the British process. An excuse for this deviation from the officinal formula is, 
that the confection thus made has greater adhesiveness than the officinal, and is 
therefore better fitted for the formation of pills. 
This confection is slightly astringent, but isalmostexclusively used as a vehicle 
of other medicines, or to impart consistence to the pilular mass. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Aloes Barbadensis, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Assafcetidse, Br.; 
Pil. Aloes et Ferri, Br.; Pil. Aloes et Myrrhae, Br.; Pil. Aloes Socotrinae, Br.; 
Pil. Ferri Carbonatis, Br.; Pilulae Hydrargyri; Pil. Plumbi cum Opio, Br. 
W 
COOTECTIO Br. Confection of Hips. 
“ Take of Hips deprived of their seeds one pound; Refined Sugar two pounds. 
Beat the Hips to a pulp in a stone mortar, and rub the pulp through a sieve, 
then add the Sugar, and rub them well together.” Br. 
This preparation is acidulous and refrigerant, and is used in Europe for 
forming more active medicines into pills and electuaries. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Quiniae, Br. W. 
CONFECTIO SCAMMONII. Br. Confection of Scammony. 
“ Take of Scammony, in fine powder, three ounces ; Ginger, in fine powder, 
one ounce and a half; Oil of Caraway one fluidrachm ; Oil of Cloves half a 
ffuidrachm; Syrup three fluidounces ; Clarified Honey one ounce and a half. 
Rub the powders with the Syrup and the Honey into a uniform mass, then add 
the Oils and mix.” Br. The ounce used in this process is the avoirdupois ounce. 
The confection is actively cathartic in the dose of half a drachm or a drachm; 
but is very little used. The British Pharmacopoeia now directs scammony alone 
in its formula without the alternative of the resin given in the first edition. 
This is a decided improvement. As this drug is generally found in the market, 
it has but little more than half the strength of the resin. It is true that the 
purest and best scammony is much stronger than this, yet it is decidedly weaker 
than its resin, and the Pharmacopoeia itself describes it as containing only from 
80 to 90 per cent, of this ingredient. It appears to have been a strange want 
of precision thus to confound the two, as if they were to be given in the 
same dose. W. 1092 
Confectiones. 
PART II. 
COKFECTIO SEN~N~M. U.S., Br. Confection of Senna. Lenitive 
Electuary. 
“Take of Senna, in fine powder, eight troyounces; Coriander, in fine powder, 
four troyounces; Purging Cassia, finely bruised, sixteen troyounces; Tamarind 
ten troyounces; Prune, sliced, seven troyounces; Pig, bruised, twelve troy- 
ounces; Sugar, in coarse powder, thirty troyounces; Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Digest, in a close vessel, by means of a water-bath, the Purging Cassia, 
Tamarind, Prune, and Pig in three pints of Water for three hours. Separate 
the coarser portions with the hand, and pass the pulpy mass, by rubbing, first 
through a coarse hair sieve, and then through a fine one, or a muslin cloth. Mix 
the residue with a pint of Water, and, having digested the mixture for a short 
time, treat it as before, and add the product to the pulpy liquid first obtained. 
Then, by means of a water-bath, dissolve the Sugar in the pulpy liquid, and 
evaporate the whole until it weighs ninety-six troyounces, or until it has been 
brought to the consistence of honey. Lastly, add the Senna and Coriander, and 
incorporate them thoroughly with the other ingredients while yet warm. ” U. S. 
“Take of Senna, in fine powder, seven ounces; Coriander Fruit, in fine 
powder, three ounces; Figs twelve ounces; Tamarind nine ounces; Cassia 
Pulp nine ounces ; Prunes six ounces; Extract of Liquorice three-quarters 
of an ounce; Refined Sugar thirty ounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Boil 
the Figs and Prunes gently with twenty-four [fluid]ounces of Distilled Water 
in a covered vessel for four hours; then, having added more Distilled Water 
to make up the quantity to its original volume, mix the Tamarind and Cassia 
Pulp, digest for two hours, and rub the softened pulp of the fruits through a 
hair sieve, rejecting the seeds and other hard parts. To the pulped product 
add the Sugar and Extract of Liquorice and dissolve them with a gentle heat; 
while the mixture is still warm, add to it gradually the mixed Senna and Co- 
riander powders, and mix the whole thoroughly, making the weight of the re- 
sulting Confection seventy-five ounces either by evaporation or by the addition 
of more Distilled Water.” Br. The ounce employed in the British process is 
the avoirdupois ounce. 
The confection of senna, when correctly made, is an elegant preparation, and 
keeps well if properly secured. The present U. S. process differs from the old 
in preparing the pulps, as suggested in former editions of this Dispensatory, 
instead of taking them already prepared; and this is no doubt the best plan 
The only material difference is the omission of the liquorice root in the presen j 
formula, and this is of no other consequence than that its taste may be missed 
in the confection. It is not uncommon to omit the cassia pulp in the prepara- 
tion of the confection, as the pods are not always to be found in the market/ 
But, as this is next to senna the most active ingredient, the omission is to be 
regretted; and there is no doubt that a steady demand for the fruit would be 
met by an abundant supply from the West Indies.* 
This is one of our best and most pleasant laxatives, being admirably adapted 
to cases of habitual costiveness, especially in pregnant women and persons 
affected with piles. It is also very useful in the constipation which is apt to 
attend convalescence from fevers and other acute diseases. The mean dose is 
two drachms, to be taken at bedtime. W. 
CONFECTIO SULPIIURIS. Br. Confection of Sulphur. 
“ Take of Sublimed Sulphur four ounces [avoirdupois]; Acid Tartrate of 
Potash one ounce [avoird.]; Syrup of Orange Peel four ftuidounces. llub 
them well together.” Br. 
* Senna has been variously prepared to obtain the effects of this confection, in a more 
agreeable, or less complex form. Thus, under the name of medicated prunes a confection 
is prepared by mixing prunes with concentrated infusion of senna, and evaporating with 
a gentle heat to the proper consistence, a little sugar being added to improve the flavour; 
senna figs appear to be made by slitting figs, and impregnating the interior parts with ex- 
tract or powder of senna; and senna paste consists of figs and powdered senna, beaten 
thoroughly together to the consistence of a confection, and then covered with granulated 
sugar. (Note to the eleventh edition.) PART II. 
Confediones.— Cuprum. 
1093 
This is merely a mode of administering the two laxatives, sulphur and bitar 
trate of potassa; and the relative proportion of the latter is so small that it 
can have little effect. The dose is from one to two drachms or more. W. 
COOTECTIO TEREBINTHDwE. Br. Confection of Turpentine. 
“ Take of Oil of Turpentine one fuidounce; Liquorice Root, in powder, one 
ounce [avoirdupois]; Clarified Honey two ounces [avoird.] Rub the Oil of 
Turpentine with the Liquorice, add the Honey, and mix to a uniform consist- 
ence. ” Br. 
Confections might be multiplied indefinitely upon the principle which appears 
to have been adopted here, that, namely, of giving a convenient formula for 
the administration of medicines. The effects of this confection are those only 
of the oil of turpentine. The dose may be from a scruple to a drachm. W 
CUPRUM. 
CUPRUM AMMONIATUM. U. S. Ammoniated Copper. 
“Take of Sulphate of Copper half a troy ounce; Carbonate of Ammonia 
three hundred and sixty grains. Rub them together in a glass mortar until 
effervescence ceases. Then wrap the Ammoniated Copper in bibulous paper, 
dry it with a gentle heat, and keep it in a well-stopped glass bottle.” U. S. 
When the two salts above mentioned are rubbed together, a reaction takes 
place between them, attended with the extrication of the water of crystallization 
of the sulphate of copper, which renders the mass moist, and with the simulta- 
neous escape of carbonic acid gas from the carbonate (sesquicarbonate) of ammo- 
nia, which occasions an effervescence. The colour is at the same time altered, 
passing from the light blue of the powdered sulphate of copper to a beautiful 
deep azure. The nature of the chemical changes which take place is not pre- 
cisely known. One of the views which have been taken is, that the blue vitriol 
parts with a portion of its acid to the ammonia of the carbonate, thus forming 
a subsulphate of copper and sulphate of ammonia, which are either mixed to- 
gether, or chemically united in the form of a double salt, the sulphate of copper 
and ammonia. According to Phillips, the sulphuric acid of the sulphate of cop- 
per unites with the ammonia of a portion of the sesquicarbonate of ammonia; 
while the carbonic acid of the decomposed sesquicarbonate partly escapes, and 
partly combines with the oxide of copper; so that the resulting preparation con- 
sists of sulphate of ammonia, carbonate of copper, and undecomposed sesquicar- 
bonate of ammonia. It is highly probable that Cuprum Ammoniatum, inde- 
pendently of the excess of sesquicarbonate of ammonia which it may contain, 
is identical with the crystallized salt obtained by dropping a solution of pure am- 
monia into a solution of sulphate of copper till the subsalt first thrown down is 
dissolved, then concentrating, and precipitating by alcohol. Now, from the ana- 
lysis of this salt by Berzelius, it appears to contain one equivalent of sulphuric 
acid, one of oxide of copper, two of ammonia, and one of water, which maybe 
supposed to be combined in the form of a double salt—the cupro-sulphate of 
ammonia—consisting of one eq. of sulphate of ammonia, one of cuprate of am- 
monia, in which the oxide of copper acts the part of an acid, and one of water 
of crystallization (NH3,S03 -J- NH3,CuO + HO). But as half an ounce of sul- 
phate of copper would require for such a result somewhat less than the same 
weight of sesquicarbonate of ammonia, there must be a considerable excess of 
the latter salt, unless dissipated in the drying process. In the uncertainty which 
exists as to the precise nature of the preparation, the name of ammoniated cop- 
per appears to be the most appropriate as a pharmaceutical title. 
This salt has a beautiful deep azure-blue colour, a strong ammoniacal odour, 
and a styptic, metallic taste. It is soluble in water, and the solution has an alka- 
line reaction on vegetable colours ; but, unless there is excess of sesquicarbonate 
of ammonia, the sol tfmi deposits subsulphate of copper if much diluted. When 
Preparation of Copper. 1094 
Cuprum. —Decocta. 
PART II. 
exposed to the air it parts with ammonia, and is said to be ultimately converted 
into sulphate of ammonia and carbonate of copper. This change is apt to occur, 
to a greater or less extent, while it is drying. It should not, therefore, be pre- 
pared in large quantities at a time, and should be kept in well-closed bottles. 
By heat the whole of it is dissipated, except the oxide of copper. Arsenious acid 
precipitates a green arsenite of copper from its solution. Potassa, soda, lime- 
water, and the acids are incompatible with it. 
Medical Properties and Uses. Ammoniated copper is tonic, and is thought 
to exercise an influence over the nervous system which renders it antispasmodic. 
It has been much employed in epilepsy, in which it was recommended by Cullen. 
There is good reason to believe that it has occasionally effected cures; but like 
all other remedies in that complaint it very frequently fails. It has also been 
used in chorea, hysteria, and worms; and by Svvediaur as an injection in gonor- 
rhoea and leucorrhoea. In overdoses it produces vomiting, and the poisonous 
effects which result from the other preparations of copper. (See Cuprum.) It 
is said, however, to be less apt to excite nausea The dose is a quarter or half 
a grain, repeated twice a day, and gradually increased to four or five grains. It 
may be given in pill or solution. The medicine should not be very long continued 
without interruption ; according to Cullen, not longer than a month. It has been 
discarded by the British Council; but surely it must be still used in Great Bri- 
tain to an extent which would render expedient an officinal regulation of the 
mode of preparing it. W. 
DECOCTA. 
Decoctions. 
Decoctions are solutions of vegetable principles, obtained by boiling the sub- 
stances containing these principles in water. Vegetables generally yield their 
soluble ingredients more readily, and in larger proportion, to water maintained 
at the point of ebullition, than to the same liquid at a lower temperature. Hence 
decoction is occasionally preferred to infusion as a mode of extracting the vir- 
tues of plants, when the call for the remedy is urgent, and the greatest possible 
activity in the preparation is desirable. The process should be conducted in a 
covered vessel, so as to confine the vapour over the surface of the liquid, and 
thus prevent the access of atmospheric air, which sometimes exerts an injuri- 
ous agency upon the active principle. The boiling, moreover, should not, as a 
general rule, be long continued; as the ingredients of the vegetable are apt to 
react on each other, and thus lose, to a greater or less extent, their original 
character. The substance submitted to decoction should if dry be either pow- 
dered or well bruised, if fresh, should be sliced, so that it may present an ex- 
tensive surface to the action of the solvent; and previous maceration for some 
time in water is occasionally useful by overcoming the cohesion of the vegeta- 
ble fibre. Should the physician not happen to prescribe this preliminary com- 
minution, the apothecary should nevertheless not omit it. 
All vegetable substances are not proper objects for decoction. In many tho 
active principle is volatile at a boiling heat, in others it undergoes some change 
unfavourable to its activity, and in a third set is associated with inefficient or nau- 
seous principles, which, though insoluble, or but slightly soluble in cool water, 
are abundantly extracted by that liquid at the boiling temperature, and thus 
encumber, if they do not positively injure, the preparation. In all these instances, 
infusion is preferable to decoction. Besides, by the latter process, more matter 
is often dissolved than the water can retain, so that upon cooling a precipita- 
tion takes place, and the liquid is rendered turbid. When the active principle 
is thus dissolved in excess, the decoction should always be strained while hot; 
so that the matter which separates on cooling, may be mixed again with the 
fluid by agitation at the time of administering the remedy. 
In compound decoctions, the ingredients may be advantageously added at 
different periods of the process, according to the length of boiling requisite for PART IT. 
Decocta. 
1095 
extracting their virtues; and, should any one of them owe its activity to a vola- 
tile principle, the proper plan is, at the close of the process, to pour upon it the 
boiling decoction, and allow the liquor to cool in a covered vessel. 
As a general rule, glass or earthenware vessels should be preferred; as those 
made of metal are sometimes corroded by the ingredients of the decoction, 
which thus becomes contaminated. Vessels of clean cast-iron or common tin, 
or of block tin, are preferable to those of copper, brass, or zinc; but iron pots 
should not be used when astringent vegetables are concerned. 
Decoctions, from the mutual reaction of their constituents, as well as from 
the influence of the air, are apt to spoil in a short time. Hence they should 
be prepared only when wanted for use, and should not be kept, in warm 
weather, for a longer period than forty-eight hours. 
The new directions for decoctions in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia meet, as a 
general rule, all the requisitions above mentioned, and are remarkably neat and 
precise. It is, however, to be feared that, in the aim at uniformity, in itself 
very desirable, the peculiar qualities of the substances submitted to the pro- 
cess, requiring peculiar treatment, have, in some instances, been overlooked. 
The directions, moreover, are adapted to the wants of the pharmaceutist, and 
cannot always be conveniently carried out in families, to whom the prepara 
tion of this class of medicines must often be confided. In such instances, it 
might be better for the physician simply to order the drug to be boiled in a cov- 
ered vessel, for a certain length of time, or down to a certain amount, in a given 
quantity of water; as directed in former editions of the TJ. S. Pharmacopoeia. 
Our list of officinal decoctions had been on former occasions so well freed from 
useless formulas that, at the recent revision, there did not seem to be sufficient 
cause to dismiss a single one from the list; while, in the British Pharmaco- 
poeia, not less than 17 of this class, formerly directed by the three Colleges, 
were discarded. These were the Decoctions of Pipsissewa, Pale and Bed Cin- 
chona, Quince Seed, Bittersweet, Galls, Pomegranate Bind, Guaiacum Wood, 
Mezereon, Myrrh, Seneka, Tormentil. Elm Bark, and Uva Ursi, and the Com- 
pound Decoctions of Barley, Flaxseed, and Broom. Of these the Decoction of 
Elm Bark has been restored in the present edition. W. 
DECOCTUM ALOES COMPOSITUM. Br. Compound Decoction 
of Aloes. 
“ Take of Extract of Socotrine Aloes one hundred and twenty grains; Myrrh, 
Saffron, of each, ninety grains ; Carbonate of Potash sixty grains; Extract of 
Liquorice one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Compound Tincture of Cardamoms eight 
ftuidounces; Distilled Water a sufficiency. Reduce the Extract of Aloes and 
Myrrh to coarse powder, and put them together with the Carbonate of Potash 
and Extract of Liquorice into a suitable covered vessel with a pint [Imperial 
measure] of Distilled Water; boil gently for five minutes, then add the Saf- 
fron. Let the vessel with its contents cool, then add the Tincture of Carda- 
moms, and, covering the vessel closely, allow the ingredients to macerate for 
two hours; finally strain through flannel, pouring as much Distilled Water 
over the contents of the strainer as will make the strained product measure 
thirty fluidounces.” Br. 
This is essentially the former process of the British Colleges. The direction 
is propeidy given to rub the aloes, myrrh, and carbonate of potassa together 
before the addition of the other ingredients. The effect of the alkaline car- 
bonate is, by combining with the resin of the myrrh, and the insoluble portion 
(apotheme of Berzelius) of the aloes, to render them more soluble in water, 
while the liquorice assists in the suspension of the portion not actually dis- 
solved. The tincture of cardamom is useful not only by its cordial property, but 
also by preventing spontaneous decomposition. This decoction is said not to 
filter clear when first made, but, if kept for some time, to deposit insoluble mat- 
ter, and then to become bright and clear on filtering. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 491.) 
Long boiling impairs the purgative property of aloes; and the same effect is 
thought to be produced, to a certain extent, by the alkalies, which certainly 1096 
Decocta. 
PART IT. 
qualify its operation, and render it less apt to irritate the rectum. This decoc- 
tion, therefore, is milder as a cathartic than aloes itself, and not so liable to 
produce or aggravate hemorrhoidal disease. At the same time it is more tonic 
and cordial from the presence of the myrrh, saffron, and cardamom, and derives 
antacid properties from the carbonate of potassa. It is given as a gentle ca- 
thartic, tonic, and emmenagogue; and is especially useful in dyspepsia, ha- 
bitual constipation, and those complicated cases in which suppressed or re- 
tained menstruation is connected with enfeebled digestion and a languid state 
of the bowels. The dose is from half a fluidounce to two fluidounces. The 
decoction should not be combined in prescription with acids, acidulous salts, or 
other saline bodies which are incompatible with the alkaline carbonate. W. 
DECOCTUM CETRARIaE. JJ. S., Br. Decoction of Iceland .Moss. 
“ Take of Iceland Moss half a troyounce ; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Iceland Moss in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain with compression, 
and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure 
a pint.” U. S. 
“ Take of Iceland Moss one ounce [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water one pint 
[Imperial measure]. Wash the Moss in cold water, to remove impurities ; boil 
it with the Distilled Water for ten minutes in a covered vessel, and strain, 
with gentle pressure, while hot; then pour Distilled Water over the contents 
of the strainer until the strained product measures a pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
The directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 were to boil half an ounce 
of the Moss with a pint and a half of Water down to a pint, and to strain 
with compression ; and this process is preferable when the object is to extract 
not only the bitter principle, but also the whole of the demulcent and nutritive 
matter. As the bitter principle is dissolved along with the starch-like matter of 
the moss, this decoction unites an unpleasant flavour to its demulcent properties; 
but the plan which has been proposed of first extracting the bitterness by ma- 
ceration in water,or a very weak solution of an alkaline carbonate,and afterwards 
preparing the decoction, is inadmissible ; as the peculiar virtues which distin- 
guish the medicine from the ordinary demulcents are thus entirely lost. (See 
Cetraria.) A pint of the decoction may be taken during the day. W. 
DECOCTUM CIIIM APII [ L AE. U. S. Decoction of Pipsissewa. De- 
coction of Winter Green. 
“ Take of Pipsissewa, bruised, a troyounce ; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Pipsissewa in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
Though, in our estimation, a very valuable medicine, this decoction does not 
appear to be much used abroad, and has been omitted in the British Pharma- 
copoeia. The U. S. directions of 1850 were to boil an ounce of the bruised leaves 
with a pint and a half of water to a pint, and strain ; and, having been much in 
the habit of using the decoction thus prepared, and found it to answer our pur- 
poses well, we must confess a wish that the same direction in reference to the 
amount of boiling had been retained. 
The medical properties and uses of pipsissewa have been detailed under the 
head of Chimaphila. One pint of the decoction may be given in the course of 
twenty-four hours. W. 
DECOCTUM FLAYJ&. U.S., Br. Decoction of Yel- 
low Cinchona. Decoction of Yellow Bark. 
“ Take of Yellow Cinchona, braised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quan- 
tity. Boil the Yellow Cinchona in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, 
and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure 
a pint.” U. S. 
“ Take of Yellow-Cinchona Bark, in coarse powder, one ounce and a quarter 
[avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten 
minutes in a covered vessel. Strain the decoction, when cold, and pour as much PART II. 
Decocta. 
1097 
distilled water over the contents of the strainer as will make the strained pro- 
duct measure one pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. W. 
DECOCTUM CINCHONUE RUBRML U.3. Decoction of Med 
Cinchona. Decoction of Med Bark. 
“ Take of Red Cinchona, braised, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Boil the Red Cinchona in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add 
sufficient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint ” 
U. S. 
The British Council has discarded this decoction, and there is no necessity for 
making distinct formulas for the several varieties. It would, we think, he better 
to have but one formula for all the varieties, with the general name of Decoctum 
Cinchonae, and to leave to the physician the special designation. 
The virtues of Peruvian bark, though extracted more rapidly by decoction 
than by infusion, are materially impaired by long boiling, in consequence of the 
changes effected in its constituents, either by their mutual reaction, or by the 
agency of atmospheric oxygen, or by both causes united. To prevent this result, 
the process should be performed in a covered vessel, and continued only ten or 
at the furthest fifteen minutes. But, even with these precautions, a considerable 
precipitate takes place in the decoction upon cooling, which is thus rendered 
turbid. According to Pelletier, besides the kinates of cinchonia and quinia, the 
water dissolves gum, starch, yellow colouring matter, kinate of lime, tannin, and 
a portion of cinchonic red, with a minute quantity of fatty matter. But the tan- 
nin and starch, at the boiling temperature, unite to form a compound insoluble 
in cold water ; and, when the decoction is allowed to cool, this compound is pre- 
cipitated, together with a portion of the cinchonic red and fatty matter, which 
carry with them also a considerable quantity of the alkaline principles of the bark. 
(Journ. de Pharm., vii. 119.) Hence, the decoction is ordered to be strained 
while hot, so that the portion of active matter precipitated maybe mingled by 
agitation with the liquor, and not be lost. Pelletier recommends that a larger 
proportion of water, sufficient to retain the alkaloid in solution, be employed, that 
the decoction be filtered when cold, and then sufficiently concentrated by eva- 
poration. A better mode is to add to the liquid some acid which may form with 
the quinia and cinchonia compounds more soluble than the native salts. Lemon 
juice has been long employed as a useful addition to the decoction of cinchona, 
and we can now understand the manner in which it acts. Sulphuric acid in ex- 
cess answers the same purpose. By acidulating the pint of water employed in 
preparing the decoction with afluidrachm of the aromatic or diluted sulphuric 
acid, we shall probably enable the menstruum to extract all the virtues of the 
bark. The propriety of such an addition is confirmed by the experiments of 
MM. Henry, jun., and Plisson, who ascertained that portions of the alkaloids 
exist in the bark connected with the colouring matter in the form of insoluble 
compounds, and that it is impossible, therefore, completely to exhaust the bark 
by water alone. There may, however, be some diversity of action in the different 
salts of quinia and cinchonia ; and the native kinates may, under certain circum- 
stances, be most efficient. 
Numerous substances produce precipitates with this decoction ; but compara- 
tively few affect its activity as a medicine. (See Infusum Cinchonae.) Tannic 
acid and the substances containing it should be excluded from the decoction ; as 
it forms salts with the alkaline principles of the bark, which are either insoluble 
or but slightly soluble in water. The alkalies, alkaline earths, and salifiable 
bases generally should also be excluded; because, uniting with the kinic acid, 
they precipitate the alkaloids. 
The dose of the decoction is two fluidounces, to be repeated more or less fre- 
quently according to circumstances. Two drachms of orange peel, added to the 
decoction while still boiling hot, improve its flavour, and render it more accept- 
able to the stomach. W. 1098 
Decocta. 
pam n. 
DECOCTUM CORNtfS FLORIDAE. U. S. Ltcociion of Dogwood. 
“ Take of Dogwood, bruised, a troyounce ; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Dogwood in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” TJ. S. 
This decoction has been proposed as a substitute for that of Peruvian bark : 
but, though possessed of analogous properties, it is much inferior in efficacy, 
and is not likely to be extensively employed so long as the Peruvian tonic is 
attainable. The dose is two fluidounces. W. 
DECOCTUM U. S. Decoction of Bittersweet. 
“ Take of Bittersweet, bruised, a troyounce ; Water a sufficient quantity. 
Boil the Bittersweet in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add suffi- 
cient Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
This has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia, and an infusion substi- 
tuted ; but why, we are at a loss to say; for there is no reason to suppose that 
the virtues of bittersweet are materially impaired by boiling; and the twigs, 
having a somewhat ligneous texture, require a more thorough operation of the 
menstruum than many other substances. Indeed, this is one of the decoctions 
in which we are disposed to prefer the formula of 1850, which directed that an 
ounce of the twigs should be boiled with a pint and a half of water to a pint. 
The properties and uses of this decoction have been already detailed under 
the head of Dulcamara. The dose is from one to two fluidounces three or four 
times a day, or more frequently. W. 
DECOCTUM GRARATI RADICIS. Br. Decoction of Pomegranate 
Boot. 
“Take of Pomegranate Root Bark, sliced, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Dis- 
tilled Water two pints [Imperial measure]. Boil down to a pint [Imp. meas.], 
and strain, making the strained product up to a pint [Imp. meas.], if necessary 
by pouring distilled water over the contents of the strainer.” Br. 
For the uses and dose of this decoction, see Granati Radicis Cortex. W. 
DECOCTUM ILEMATOXYLI. U.S.,Br. Decoction of Logwood. 
“Take of Logwood, rasped, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Logwood in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
“Take of Logwood, in chips, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Cinnamon, in coarse 
powder, sixty grains; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil the 
Logwood in the Water for ten minutes in a covered vessel, adding the Cinna- 
mon towards the end. Strain the decoction, and pour as much distilled water 
over the contents of the strainer as will make the strained product measure a 
pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
We prefer the old U. S. formula, which ordered an ounce of the logwood to 
be boiled with two pints down to a pint, and doubt much whether the wood is 
exhausted by a boiling of ten or fifteen minutes. The cinnamon of the Br. form- 
ula is in general a very suitable addition; but there might be circumstances 
under which it would be better avoided; and in this case, as in others, any addi- 
tion to the simple decoction might be left to the judgment of the prescriber. 
This is an excellent astringent in diarrhoea; particularly in that form of it 
which succeeds the cholera infantum of this climate,or occurs as an original com- 
plaint in children during summer. The dose for an adult is two fluidounces, for 
a child about two years old, two or three fluidrachms, repeated several times a 
day. A little bruised cinnamon may often be added with advantage at the end 
of the boiling, as directed in the British process. W. 
DECOCTUM HORDEI. U.S.,Br. Decoction of Barley. 
“ Take of Barley two troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Having washed 
away the extraneous matters which adhere to the Barley, boil it with half a pint 
of Water for a short time, and throw away the resulting liquid. Then, having PART II. 
Decocta. 
1099 
poured on it four pints of boiling Water, boil down to two pints, and strain/’ 
U. S. 
“ Take of Pearl Barley two ounces [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one pint 
and a half [Imperial measure]. Wash the Barley in cold water, and reject the 
washings; boil the washed barley with the Distilled Water for twenty minutes, 
in a covered vessel, and strain.” Br. 
Barlei/ water, as this decoction is usually called, is much employed as a nutri- 
tive drink in febrile and inflammatory complaints, and, from the total absence 
of irritating properties, is peculiarly adapted to cases in which the gastric or 
intestinal mucous membrane is inflamed. As the stomach of those for whom it 
is directed is often exceedingly delicate, and apt to revolt against anything hav- 
ing the slightest unpleasantness of flavour, it is important that the decoction 
should be properly made; and, though the office of preparing it generally falls 
to nurses, yet the introduction of the process into the Pharmacopoeia is not with- 
out advantage; as a formula is thus ever before the physician, by which he may 
give his directions, with the certainty, if obeyed, of having a good preparation. 
The use of the washing with cold water, and of the first short boiling, is com- 
pletely to remove any mustiness, or other disagreeable flavour, which the barley 
may have acquired from exposure; and the British Pharmacopoeia has probably 
erred in abandoning the second of these precautions. W. 
DECOCTUM PAPAVERIS. Br. Decoction of Poppies. 
“Take of Poppy Capsules, bruised, two ounces [avoirdupois]; Distilled 
Water a pint and a half [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten minutes in a covered 
vessel, then strain, and pour as much distilled water over the contents of the 
strainer as will make the strained product measure a pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This decoction is used as an anodyne fomentation in painful tumours, and 
superficial cutaneous inflammation or excoriation. It is recommended not to 
reject the seeds, as their oil, suspended in the water by the mucilage of the cap 
sules, adds to the emollient virtues of the preparation. W. 
DECOCTUM PAREIRMS. Br. Decoction of Pareira. 
“ Take of Pareira Root, sliced, one ounce and a half [avoirdupois] ; Dis- 
tilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for fifteen minutes in a covered 
vessel, then strain, and pour as much distilled water over the contents of the 
strainer as will make the strained product measure a pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This is apt to remain turbid after straining, but, if allowed to stand, gradually 
deposits insoluble matter, and then filters perfectly clear. (Pharm. Journ , xiv. 
491.) The dose is from one to two fluidounces three or four times a day. W. 
DECOCTUM QUERCtJS U.S. Decoction of White-oak 
Bark. Decoctum Quercus. Br. Decoction of Oak Bark. 
“ Take of White-oak Bark, braised, a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity 
Boil the White-oak Bark in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add 
sufficient Water,through the strainer,to make the decoction measure a pint. ” U. S. 
“ Take of Oak Bark [bark of Quercus pedunculata], bruised, one ounce and 
a quarter [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil 
for ten minutes in a covered vessel, then strain, and pour as much distilled water 
over the contents of the strainer as will make the strained product measure a 
pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850 directed to boil an ounce of the bruised bark 
with a pint and a half of water down to a pint; and we have little doubt that the 
result was a more complete exhaustion of the bark than bj the present process. 
This decoction contains the tannin, bitter principle, and gallic acid of oak 
bark. It affords precipitates with the decoction of Peruvian bark and other 
substances containing vegetable alkaloids, with solution of gelatin,and with most 
metallic salts, particularly those of iron. Alkaline solutions diminish or destroy 
its astringency. Its uses have been already detailed. The dose is a wineglassful, 
frequently repeated. W. 1100 
Decocta. 
PART II. 
DECOCTUM SARSyE. Br. Decoction of Sarsaparilla. 
“ Take of Jamaica Sarsaparilla, cut transversely, two ounces and a half 
[avoirdupois] ; Boiling Distilled Water one pint and a measure]. 
Digest the Sarsaparilla in the Water for an hour; boil for ten minutes in a 
covered vessel, cool, and strain, pouring distilled water, if required, over the 
contents of the strainer, or otherwise making the strained product measure a 
pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
An idea was long entertained that the virtues of sarsaparilla resided in its 
fecula, the extraction of which was, therefore, the main object of the decoction. 
Hence the long boiling formerly ordered by the London and Edinburgh Colleges. 
But this opinion is now admitted to have been erroneous. The activity of the root 
is believed to depend upon one or more acrid principles,soluble to a certain extent 
in water cold or hot, and either volatilized, or rendered inert by chemical change, 
at the temperature of 212°. This fact appears to be demonstrated by the expe- 
riments of Pope,* Hancock,f Soubeiran,j Beral, and others. Soubeiran mace- 
rated one portion of bruised sarsaparilla in cold water for twenty-four hours; 
infused another portion in boiling water, and digested with a moderate heat for 
two hours ; boiled a third portion bruised, and a fourth unbruised, in water for 
two hours; and in each instauce used the same relative quantities. Testing these 
various preparations by the taste, he found the cold and hot infusions scarcely 
different in this respect; and both possessed of a stronger odour and more acrid 
taste than the decoctions, of which that prepared with the bruised root was the 
strongest. Beral has proved that sarsaparillin,which is believed to be the active 
principle of the drug, is volatile. From these facts the inference is obvious, 
that the best method of imparting the virtues of sarsaparilla to water is either 
by cold or hot infusion. Digestion for some hours in water maintained at a tem- 
perature of 180°, or somewhat less, in a covered vessel, has strong testimony in 
its favour. Percolation in a displacement apparatus, if properly conducted, is a 
convenient and no doubt efficient mode of exhausting the root, so far as water 
will effect that object. Decoction is the worst method; and the longer it is con- 
tinued, the weaker will be the preparation. Accordingly, in the edition of the 
D. S. Pharmacopoeia for 1850, an infusion of sarsaparilla was substituted for 
the simple decoction, though abandoned in the present edition as superfluous. 
It is probable that, as in the case of the Peruvian bark, a boiling of ten or fif- 
teen minutes might be advantageously resorted to, when circumstances require 
the preparation to be made in less time than is requisite for infusion. In every 
instance the root should be thoroughly bruised, or reduced to a coarse powder, 
thus obviating the necessity for a long maceration, merely to overcome the co- 
hesion of its fibres. These principles, so far as refers to the menstruum, have 
been recognised by the framers of the present British Pharmacopoeia, in which 
long boiling has been abandoned. The unsplit root, however, is ordered, from 
the conviction, probably, that the internal amylaceous part is inert; but there 
can be no doubt that the drug yields its virtues more readily when well bruised 
or otherwise comminuted than in the natural state. 
Precipitates are produced by various substances with this decoction; but it 
has not been ascertained how far such substances interfere with its activity. 
Those which merely throw down the fecula do not injure the preparation. 
By this preparation it is possible to administer sarsaparilla in the form of 
decoction, without combination with other medicines, as in the Compound 
Decoction; and hence it may be considered as a desirable officinal. 
The decoction of sarsaparilla may be administered in the dose of four or six 
fluidounces four times a day. W. 
* Trans, of the Medico-chirurg. Society of London, vol. xii. p. 344. 
f Trans, of the Medico-botan. Society of London. See also Journ. of the Philad. Col. of 
Pharm., vol. i. p. 295. The observations of Dr. Hancock are entitled to much credit, as 
he practised long in South America, in the neighbourhood of the best sarsaparilla regions 
J Journ. de Pharmacie, tom. xvi. p. 38. PART II. 
Decocta. 
1101 
DECOCTUM SARSAPARILLA COMPOSITUM. U.S. Decoo- 
tum Compositum. Br. Compound Decoction of Sarsaparilla. 
“ Take of Sarsaparilla, sliced and bruised, six troyounces; Bark of Sassa- 
fras Root, sliced, Guaiacum Wood, rasped, Liquorice Root, bruised, each, a 
troy ounce; Mezereon, sliced, one hundred and eighty grains; Water a suffi- 
cient quantity. Macerate with four pints of Water for twelve hours; then boil 
for a quarter of an hour, strain, and add sufficient Water, through the strainer, 
to make the decoction measure four pints.” U. S. 
“Take of Jamaica Sarsaparilla, cut transversely, two ounces and a half; 
Sassafras Root, in chips, Guaiac Wood turnings, Fresh Liquorice Root, bruised, 
each, a quarter of an ounce; Mezereon Bark sixty grains; Boiling Distilled 
Water one pint and a measure]. Digest the solid ingredients 
in the Water for an hour; then boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel; 
cool and strain, pouring distilled water, if required, over the contents of the 
strainer, or otherwise making the strained product measure a pint [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. The ounce employed in this process is the avoirdupois ounce. 
This decoction is an imitation of the celebrated Lisbon diet drink. The sar- 
saparilla and mezereon are the active ingredients; the guaiacum wood impart- 
ing scarcely any of its virtues, and the sassafras and liquorice serving little 
other purpose than to communicate a pleasant flavour. 
If prepared with good sarsaparilla, and with a due regard to the practical 
rules which may now be considered as established, the decoction may be used 
with great advantage as a gentle diaphoretic and alterative in secondary syphi- 
lis, either alone, or as an adjuvant to a mercurial course; also in certain scrofu- 
lous and other depraved conditions of the system, in chronic rheumatism, and in 
various obstinate cutaneous affections. The dose is from four to six fluidounces 
three or four times a day. The patient during its use should wear flannel next 
the skin, and avoid unnecessary exposure to changes of temperature.* W. 
DECOCTUM SCOPARII. Dr. Decoction of Broom. 
“Take of Broom-tops, dried, one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water one 
pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten minutes in a covered vessel, then strain, 
and pour as much distilled water over the contents of the strainer as will make 
the strained product measure a pint [Imp. meas.].” Br. 
This decoction is used as an adjuvant to more powerful diuretics in dropsy. 
From half a pint to a pint may be taken during the day, in doses of from two 
to four fluidounces. W. 
DECOCTUM SENEGA. U.S. Decoction of Seneka. 
“Take of Seneka, bruised, a troy ounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil 
the Seneka in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient 
Water, through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia the decoction of seneka has been superseded 
by the infusion. (See Infusum Senegae.) 
* The Decoction of Zittmann (Decoctum Zittmanni) is a preparation of Sarsaparilla much 
used in Germany, for similar purposes with our compound decoction of sarsaparilla; and, 
as it has attracted some attention in this country as a remedy in obstinate ulcerative affec- 
tions, we give the formula of the Prussian Pharmacopoeia, which is generally followed 
in its preparation.—“Take of sarsaparilla twelve ounces; spring water ninety pounds. 
Di gest for twenty-four hours; then introduce, enclosed in a small bag, an ounce and a 
half of sugar of alum (saccharum aluminis seu saccharum aluminatum, consisting of equal 
parts of powdered alum and the whitest sugar), half an ounce of calomel, and a drachm of 
cinnabar. Boil to thirty pounds, and near the end of the boiling add of aniseed, fennel- 
seed, each, half an ounce, senna three ounces, liquorice root an ounce and a half. Put aside 
the liquor under the name of THE strong decoction. To the residue add six ounces of sarsa- 
parilla and ninety pounds of water. Boil to thirty pounds, and near the end add lemon- 
peel, cinnamon, cardamom, liquorice, of each, three drachms. Strain and set aside the 
liquor under the name of the weak decoction.” Mercury was detected by Wiggers in 
thia decoction in very small proportion. It should not be prepared in metallic vessels 
lest the mercurial in solution should be decomposed. The decoction may be drunk freely 1102 
Decocta.—Digitalium. 
PART II. 
This is one of the decoctions in which experience has shown that long boil- 
ing impairs the activity of the medicine; and the substitution in our Pharma- 
copoeia of a moderate boiling, for the former direction to boil down from a pint 
and a half to a pint, was certainly judicious. 
It is customary to add to the seneka in decoction an equal weight of liquor- 
ice root, which serves to cover its taste, and in some measure to obtund its 
acrimony. The virtues and practical application of seneka have been already 
treated of. (See Senega.) The dose of the decoction is about two Jluidounces 
three or four times a day, or a tablespoonful every two or three hours. W. 
DECOCTUM TARAXACI. Br. Decoction of Taraxacum. 
“ Take of Dried Dandelion Root, sliced and bruised, one ounce [avoirdu- 
pois]; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten minutes in 
a covered vessel, then strain, and pour as much distilled water over the con- 
tents of the strainer as will make the strained product measure a pint [Imp. 
meas.].” Br. 
This decoction is most efficient when prepared, as in the present British 
Pharmacopoeia, from the root alone. The dose is a wineglassful two or three 
times a day. (See Taraxacum.) W. 
DECOCTUM ULMI. Br. Decoction of Elm Bark. 
“ Take of Elm Bark, cut in small pieces, two and a half ounces [avoirdu- 
pois] ; Distilled Water one pint [Imperial measure]. Boil for ten minutes in a 
covered vessel, then strain, and pour as much distilled water over the contents 
of the strainer as will make the strained product measure a pint.” Br. 
For the uses of this preparation, see the article on Elm Bark in Part I. The 
dose is from two to four fluidounces. W. 
DECOCTUM UVAE URSI. U. S. Decoction of Uva Ursi.. 
“ Take of Uva Ursi a troyounce; Water a sufficient quantity. Boil the Uva 
Ursi in a pint of Water for fifteen minutes, strain, and add sufficient Water, 
through the strainer, to make the decoction measure a pint ” U. S. 
The decoction of uva ursi has been superseded, in the British Pharmacopoeia, 
by the infusion. (See Infusum Uvae Ursi.) 
The preparation contains the tannin, extractive, and gallic acid of the leaves. 
For an account of its uses, see Uva Ursi. The dose is from one to two fluid- 
ounces three or four times a day. W. 
DIGITALIUM. 
Digitalin. 
DIGIT ALINUM. Br. Bigitalin. 
“ Take of Digitalis Leaf, in coarse powder, forty ounces [avoirdupois]; 
Rectified Spirit, Distilled Water, Acetic Acid, Purified Animal Charcoal, Solu- 
tion of Ammonia, Tannic Acid, Oxide of Lead in fine powder, Pure Ether, of 
each, a sufficiency. Digest the Digitalis with a gallon [Imperial measure] of the 
Spirit for twenty-four hours at a temperature of 120° ; then put them into a per- 
colator, and, when the tincture has ceased to drop, pour a gallon [Imp. meas. J 
of Spirit on the contents of the percolator, and allow it slowly to percolate 
through. Distil off the greater part of the Spirit from the tincture, and evapo- 
rate the remainder over a water-bath until the whole of the alcohol, has been 
dissipated. Mix the residual extract with five [fluid]ounces of Distilled Water 
to which half an ounce [avoird.] of Acetic Acid has been previously added, and 
digest the solution thus formed with a quarter of an ounce of Purified Animal 
Charcoal; then filter, and dilute the filtrate with Distilled Water until it meas- 
ures a pint [Imp. meas.]. Add Solution of Ammonia nearly to neutralisation, and 
afterwards add one hundred and sixty grains of Tannic Acid dissolved in three 
[fluidJounces of Distilled Water. Wash the precipitate that will be formed 
with a little Distilled Water ; mix it with a small quantity of the Spirit and a PART II. 
Digrtalatm.—Emjplastra. 
1103 
quarter of an ounce of the Oxide of Lead, and rub them together in a mortar. 
Place the mixture in a flask, and add to it four [fluidjounces of the Spirit; 
raise the temperature to 160°, and keep it at this heat for about an hour. Then 
add a quarter of an ounce of Purified Animal Charcoal; put it oil a filter, and from 
the filtrate carefully drive off the Spirit by the heat of a water-bath. Lastly, 
wash the residue repeatedly with Pure Ether.” Br. 
The above process is that of Homolle simplified by M. 0. Henry, which has 
long occupied a place in this Dispensatory, and has been continued in the pre- 
sent edition, under the head of Digitalis in Part I. Everything has been there 
said which the subject seems to require. We do not think that the Council 
have been happy in their title of the preparation, made by affixing a Latin 
termination to the French. Digitalium is the proper Latin name for the active 
principle of digitalis, unless found to be alkaline, as it probably some time will 
be, when it should be called digitalia. The dose to begin with should not ex- 
ceed the fiftieth or sixtieth of a grain. W. 
EMPLASTRA. 
Plasters. 
Plasters are solid compounds intended for external application, adhesive at 
the temperature of the human body, and of such a consistence as to render the 
aid of heat necessary in spreading them. Most of them have as their basis a 
compound of olive oil and litharge, constituting the Emplastrum Plumbi of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia. Those plasters which contain none of the compound of 
oil and litharge owe their consistence and adhesiveness to resinous substances, 
or to a mixture of these with wax and oleaginous matter. 
In the preparation of the plasters, care is requisite that the heat employed be 
not sufficiently elevated to produce decomposition, nor so long continued as to 
drive off any volatile ingredient upon which the virtues of the preparation may 
in any degree depend. After having been prepared, they are usually shaped into 
cylindrical rolls, and wrapped in paper to exclude the air. Plasters should be 
firm at ordinary temperatures, should spread easily when heated, and, after being 
spread, should remain soft, pliable, and adhesive, without melting, at the heat 
of the human body. When long kept, they are apt to change colour and to be- 
come hard and brittle ; and, as this alteration is most observable upon their sur- 
face, it must depend chiefly upon the action of the air, which should therefore 
be as much as possible excluded. The defect may usually be remedied by melt- 
ing the plaster with a moderate heat, and adding a sufficient quantity of oil to 
give it the due consistence. 
Plasters are prepared for use by spreading them upon leather,linen, or muslin, 
according to the particular purposes they are intended to answer. Leather is 
most convenient when the application is made to the sound skin, linen or muslin 
when the plaster is used as a dressing to ulcerated or abraded surfaces, or with 
the view of bringing and retaining together the sides of wounds. The leather 
usually preferred is white sheep skin. A margin about a quarter or half an inch 
broad should usually be left uncovered, in order to facilitate the removal of the 
plaster, and to prevent the clothing in contact with its edges from being soiled. 
An accurate outline may be obtained by pasting upon the leather a piece of paper, 
so cut as to leave in the centre a vacant space of the required dimensions, and 
removing the paper when no longer needed. The same object may often be ac- 
complished by employing two narrow rulers of sheet tin graduated in inches, 
and so shaped that each of them may form two sides of a rectangle. (See the 
figure, p. 936.) These may be applied in such a manner as to enclose within 
them any given rectangular space, and may be fixed by weights upon the leather 
while the plaster is spread.* For any other shape, as in the instance of plasters 
* We are informed by a good practical pharmaceutist that this proposed plan of regu- 
lating the size and shape of plasters is not successful in practice; as, unless the tin is 1104 
Emplastra. 
PART II. 
for the breast,pieces of tin may be employed naving a vacuity within,correspond- 
ing to the required outline. The spreading of the plaster is most conveniently 
accomplished by means of a peculiar iron instrument employed for the purpose; 
though a common spatula will answer* This maybe heated by means of a spirit 
lamp. Care must be taken that the instrument be not so hot as to discolour or 
decompose the plaster; and special care is requisite in the case of those plasters 
which contain a volatile ingredient. A sufficient portion of the plaster should 
first be melted by the heated instrument, and, having been received on apiece 
of coarse stiff paper, or in a shallow tin tray open on one side, should, when 
nearly cool, be transferred to the leather, and applied quickly and evenly over 
its surface. By this plan the melted plaster is prevented from penetrating the 
leather, as it is apt to do when applied too hot. Before removing the paper from 
the edge of the plaster, if this has become so hard as to crack,, the iron should 
be drawn over the line of junction. When linen or muslin is used, and the di- 
mensions of the portion to be spread are large, as is often the case with adhe- 
sive plaster, the best plan is to pass the cloth “ on which the plaster has been 
laid through a machine, formed of a spatula fixed by screws at a proper distance 
from a plate of polished steel.” A machine for spreading plasters is described 
by M. Herent in the Journ. de Pharm. (3e s6r., ii. 403).f W. 
kept in close contact with the leather or cloth by some steady and equable pressure, the 
plaster is apt to pass beneath the edge, and thus make an irregular outline; nor do the 
weights on the corners obviate the difficulty. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 
* The common plaster spatula is too well known to need description. In the Am. Journ. 
of Pharm. (xxv. 29) are figures of a plaster spatula, with an instrument employed for heat- 
ing it, the invention of Mr. Stockton, of Brompton, England, which present certain advan- 
tages that render them worthy of notice. We introduce the figures here, with the following 
description, taken from the Lond. Pharm. Journ. for Nov. 1853. “ The blade is a hollow 
case into -which the heater is inserted, having a door (A) at one end, and connected at the 
other, by a hollow tube, with the handle. The heater (C) is supported on a lever, which 
passes through the hollow tube, and terminates in a thumb-button (B). By depressing the 
Dutton the heater is raised so as not to be in contact with the lower part of the spatula. On 
removing the thumb when more heat is required, the heater is depressed, and produces the 
desired effect. The heater, which consists of a hollow tube of thick copper, slides on a pin 
which forms the termination of the lever, and which regulates its position in the box. 
Some heaters are perforated, to admit of their being easily heated by means of gas. The 
chief advantage of the spatula consists in the facility with which the heat may be regu- 
lated by means of the lever and button, which latter is quite under the control of the 
thumb. The box containing the heater is of brass, and, not being inserted in the fire, may- 
be more readily kept clean than the common spatula. When several plasters are required, 
the heater may be removed and another inserted with facility.” To the Am. Journ. of 
Pharm. (xxvi.- 15) the reader is referred for the figure of another spatula which maybe 
found convenient. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 
•j- Within a few years it has been customary with apothecaries to employ an apparatus, 
such as that figured on the next page, for spreading quantities of plasters. An oblong rect- 
angular block of hard wood (a e) has its upper surface (c) gently convex. To this is at- 
tached by a movable joint (atr) a sheet iron frame (b), with an opening (w) of the dimen- 
sions of the plaster to he spread, and clasps (d) at the other end, by which this may be fixed 
to the block. Another portion of the apparatus is a wooden measure (m), by which the 
leather is cut out, and the margin marked. The leather thus prepared is laid on the 
convex surface of the block (c); the sheet iron frame is brought down on it evenly (as 
at hi)', the piaster, previously melted, is poured on the leather in the centre, and, by 
means of an iron Instrument (g) previously heated by a spirit lamp, is spread uniformly PART II. 
Emplastra. 
1105 
EMPLASTRUM AMMORTACI. U.S. Plaster of Ammoniac. 
“ Take of Ammoniac five troyounces; Diluted Acetic Acid half a pr)r.i. Dis- 
solve the Ammoniac in the Diluted Acetic Acid, and strain; then evaporate 
the solution by means of a water-bath, stirring constantly until it acquires a 
proper consistence.” U.S. 
This plaster has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
As ammoniac is not usually kept purified in our shops, the straining of the 
solution in the diluted acid is directed, as the most convenient method of sepa- 
rating impurities. Dr. Duncan remarked that the plaster, prepared in iron ves- 
sels, “acquires an unpleasant dark colour, from being impregnated with iron, 
whereas, when prepared in aglass or earthenware vessel,it has a yellowish-white 
colour, and more pleasant appearance.” Care should also be used to avoid iron 
spatulas in its preparation, as the acetic acid acts on that metal, and discolours 
the plaster. The use of a moderate heat will facilitate the action of the diluted 
acid ; and at best it is a thick creamy mass that is obtained, which requires the 
aid of the hand to strain it properly. 
Medical Properties. The ammoniac plaster is stimulant, and is applied over 
scrofulous tumours and chronic swellings of the joints, to promote their resolu- 
tion. It often produces a papular eruption, and sometimes occasions consider- 
able inflammation of the skin. W. 
EMPLASTRUM AMMONIACI CUM HYDRARGYRO. U.S., 
Br. Plaster of Ammoniac with Mercury. 
“Take of Ammoniac twelve troyounces; Mercury three troyounces; Olive 
Oil sixty grains; Sublimed Sulphur eight grains. Heat the Oil, and gradually 
add the Sulphur, stirring constantly until they unite; then add the Mercury, 
and triturate until globules cease to be visible. Boil the Ammoniac with suffi- 
cient water to cover it until they are thoroughly mixed ; then strain through a 
hair sieve, and evaporate, by means of a water-bath, until a small portion taken 
from the vessel hardens on cooling. Lastly, add the Ammoniac, while yet hot, 
gradually to the mixture of Oil, Sulphur, and Mercury, and thoroughly incor- 
porate all the ingredients.” U. S. 
“Take of Ammoniacum twelve ounces [avoirdupois]; Mercury three ounces 
[avoird.] ; Olive Oil one ftuidrachnx; Sublimed Sulphur eight grains. Heat 
the Oil, and add the Sulphur to it gradually, stirring till they unite. With this 
mixture triturate the Mercury until globules are no longer visible; and, lastly, 
add the Ammoniacum, previously liquefied, mixing the whole carefully.” Br. 
The only use of the sulphur is to aid in the extinguishment of the mercury; 
over the surface, the thickness being regulated by the frame against which the iron is 
pressed. Any ej.cess of plaster is thus pressed over upon the frame. The point of a sharp 
instrument (l) is then drawn along the interior edge of the frame so as to separate th« 
plaster from it, after which the clasps are unfastened and the plaster removed. 1106 
Emplastra. 
PART II. 
as the compound formed by it with the metal is probably inert. When ammoniac 
not previously prepared is used, as it is not fusible by heat, it must be brought 
to the proper consistence by softening it in a small quantity of hot water, strain- 
ing, and evaporating. 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plaster unites with the stimulant power 
of the ammoniac the specific properties of the mercury, which is sometimes ab- 
sorbed in sufficient quantity to affect the gums. It is used as a discutient in en- 
largement of the glands, tumefaction of the joints, nodes, and other indolent 
swellings, especially when dependent on a venereal taint. It is also sometimes 
applied over the liver in chronic hepatitis. W. 
EMPLASTRUM ANTIMOHTI. U.S. Plaster of Antimony. 
“Take of Tartrate of Antimony and Potassa, in fine powder, a troyounce;■ 
Burgundy Pitch four troyounces. Melt the Pitch by means of a water-bath, 
and strain ; then add the powder, and stir them well together until the mixture 
thickens on cooling.” U. S. 
This is a useful formula, as it will probably supersede the former irregular 
methods of preparing the antimonial plaster, of which the most primitive was to 
sprinkle the tartar emetic in powder upon the surface of adhesive plaster, some- 
what softened with heat. It affords one of the most convenient methods of ob- 
taining the local pustulating effects of tartar emetic. For its effects and uses, see 
Antimonii et Potassse Tartras, page 1020. W. 
EMPLASTRUM ARTICLE. U.S. Plaster of Arnica. 
“ Take of Alcoholic Extract of Arnica a troyounce and a half; Resin Plas- 
ter three troyounces. Add the Extract to the Plaster, previously melted by 
means of a water-bath, and mix them.” U. S. 
These ingredients incorporate readily, and form a good plaster. The prepa- 
ration was introduced into the Pharmacopoeia, to enable the apothecary to 
meet the demand for a convenient preparation of arnica for external use. It is 
supposed to be useful in sprains and bruises, and sometimes probably acts 
beneficially by its stimulant properties in chronic rheumatism and other chronic 
external inflammations. (See Arnica.) W. 
EMPLASTRUM ASSAFCETIDAE. U.S. Plaster of Assafetida. 
“Take of Assafetida, Plaster of Lead, each, twelve troyounces; Galbanum, 
Yellow Wax, each, six troyounces; Alcohol three pints. Dissolve the Assa- 
fetida and Galbanum in the Alcohol by means of a water-bath, strain the liquid 
while hot, and evaporate to the consistence of honey; then add the Plaster 
and Wax previously melted together, stir the mixture well, and evaporate to 
the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This plaster has been omitted in the British Pharmacopoeia. 
The directions of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia indicate the mode in which the 
gum-resins may be brought to the liquid state, before being incorporated with 
the other ingredients. Galbanum melts sufficiently by the aid of heat to admit 
of being strained ; but this is not the case with assafetida, which must be pre- 
pared by dissolving it in a small quantity of hot water or alcohol, straining, 
and evaporating to the consistence of honey; and even galbanum may be most 
conveniently treated in the same way. Formerly these gum-resins were ordered 
merely to be melted and strained. 
This plaster maybe advantageously applied over the stomach or abdomen, 
in cases of hysteria attended wTith flatulence, and to the chest or between the 
shoulders in hooping-cough. W. 
EMPLASTRUM BELLADOKNAE. U.S.,Br. Plaster of Belladonna. 
“ Take of Alcoholic Extract of Belladonna a troyounce; Resin Plaster two 
troyounces. Add the Extract to the Plaster, previously melted by means of a 
water-bath, and mix them.” U. S. 
“Take of Extract of Belladonna, Resin Plaster, each, three ounces [avoir- 
dupois]; Rectified Spirit sir. fluidounces [Imperial measure]. Rub the Ex- PART II. 
Emplastra. 
1107 
tract and Spirit together in a mortar, and when the insoluble matter has sub- 
sided, decant the clear solution, remove the spirit by distillation or evapora- 
tion, and mix the alcoholic extract thus obtained with the Resin Plaster melted 
by the heat of a water-bath, continuing the heat until with constant stirring 
the plaster has acquired a suitable consistence.” Br. 
The most convenient method of forming this plaster is to rub the ingredients 
together in an earthenware mortar, placed in hot water, and then, having re- 
moved the mortar from the water-bath, to continue the trituration till the mix- 
ture cools. It was formerly prepared with the extract made from the inspis- 
sated juice of the leaves, and is so still in the British process ; but, in the pres- 
ent edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, the alcoholic extract has been substituted 
with the effect of rendering the plaster easier to be spread and more adhesive. 
The preparation is a useful anodyne application in neuralgic and rheumatie 
pains, and in dysmenorrhoea. We have seen the constitutional effects of bella- 
donna result from its external use. W. 
EMPLASTRUM CALEFACHEN'S, Br. Warm Plaster. 
See EMPLASTRUM PICIS CUM CANTHARIDE. U.S. 
EMPLASTRUM CANTHARLDIS. Br. Cantharides Plaster. Blis- 
tering Plaster. 
See CERATUM CANTHARIDIS. U. S. 
EMPLASTRUM CERATI SAPONIS. Br. Soap Cerate Plaster. 
“Take of Hard Soap, in powder, ten ounces [avoirdupois]; Yellow Wax 
twelve and a half ounces [avoird.] ; Olive Oil one pint [Imperial measure] ; 
Oxide of Lead fifteen ounces [avoird.] ; Vinegar one gallon [Imp. meas.]. 
Boil the Vinegar and Oxide of Lead together, by the heat of a steam-bath, 
constantly stirring them until the Oxide has combined with the Acid; then 
add the Soap and boil again until most of the moisture is evaporated ; finally, 
add the Wax and Oil melted together, and stir the whole continuously, main- 
taining the heat until by the evaporation of the remaining moisture the pro- 
duct has acquired the proper consistence for a plaster.” Br. 
This is the old Ceratum Saponis Compositum of the London College, the 
name of which has been changed in the British Pharmacopoeia, because, the 
former class of Cerates having been abandoned, it was necessary to put the 
preparation into another class with a different title. It is not strictly a plas- 
ter, as this term is understood in American pharmacy; for heat is not re- 
quired to spread it, being applied to the leather or cloth by means of a spatula, 
like our Cerates, to which it properly belongs. Indeed, it is essentially the 
same preparation as the U. S. Ceratum Saponis, consisting like that of soap 
plaster with wax and olive oil, though made differently, and containing some 
acetate of soda, as an incidental result of the process. In the British formula, 
subacetate of lead is first formed by the boiling of litharge or oxide of lead 
with vinegar; and the subacetate is then converted, by double decomposition 
with hard soap, into a compound of the oxide of lead and the fatty acids of 
the soap, and acetate of soda, which, with some glycerin formed in the process, 
remains as an ingredient of the lead plaster. The process is completed by in- 
corporating this with the melted wax and oil, thus in fact converting the prepa- 
ration into a cerate. The U. S. Ceratum Saponis was formerly prepared in the 
same way; but the process was superseded in the last revision of the Pharma- 
copoeia by the neater one now officinal. For the uses of this preparation, see 
Ceratum Saponis, page 1082. W. 
EMPLASTRUM FERRI. U. S., Br. Emplastrum Roborans. Plas- 
ter of Iron. Chalybeate Plaster. Strengthening Plaster. 
“ Take of Subcarbonate of Iron three troyounces ; Plaster of Lead twenty- 
four troy ounces; Burgundy Pitch six troyounces. Add the Subcarbonate of 
Iron to the Plaster and Burgundy Pitch, previously melted together, and stir 
them constantly until the mixture thickens on cooling.” U.S. 1108 
Emplastra. 
PART II 
“Take of Hydrated Peroxide of Iron, in fine powder, one ounce ; Burgundy 
Pitch two ounces; Lead Plaster eight ounces. Add the Peroxide of Iron to 
the Burgundy Pitch and Lead Plaster, previously melted together, and stir 
the mixture constantly till it stiffens on cooling.” Br. 
This preparation has enjoyed some popular celebrity, under the impression 
that it strengthens the parts to which it is applied ; whence it has derived the 
name of strengthening plaster. It is used in those conditions of the loins, larger 
muscles, and joints, which, though usually ascribed to debility, are in fact most 
frequently dependent on rheumatic or other chronic inflammatory affection, 
and, if relieved by the plaster, are so in consequence of the gentle excitation 
produced by it in the vessels of the skin, or of the exclusion of the air. It may 
also, in some instances, give relief by affording mechanical support; but neither 
in this, nor in any other respect, can it be deemed very efficient. W. 
“ Take of Galbanum, Ammoniacum, Yellow Wax, of each, one ounce; Lead 
Plaster eight ounces. Melt the Galbanum and Ammoniacum together, and 
strain. Then add them to the Lead Plaster and Wax, also previously melted 
together, and mix the whole thoroughly.” Br. 
The galbanum and ammoniac are best prepared by dissolving them in a small 
quantity of hot water or diluted alcohol,, straining the solution, and evaporating 
it to the proper consistence for mixing with the other ingredients. W. 
EMPLASTRUM GALBANY Br. Galbanum. Plaster. 
EMPLASTRUM GALBANI COMPOSITUM. U.S. Compound 
Plaster of Galbanum. 
“ Take of Galbanum eight troy ounces; Turpentine a troyounce ; Burgundy 
Pitch three troyounces ; Plaster of Lead thirty-six troyounces. To the Galba- 
num and Turpentine, previously melted together and strained, add first the 
Burgundy Pitch, and afterwards the Plaster melted over a gentle fire, and mix 
the whole together.” U. S. 
Before being employed in this process, the galbanum should be purified, as 
it often contains foreign matters which must injure the plaster. It may be freed 
from these by melting it with a little water or diluted alcohol, straining, and 
evaporating to the due consistence. 
This and the preceding plaster act as an excellent local stimulant in chronic 
scrofulous enlargements of the glands and joints. We have employed the com- 
pound plaster in obstinate cases of this kind, which, after having resisted 
general and local depletion, blistering and other measures, have yielded under 
its use. As a discutient it is also employed in the induration which sometimes 
remains after the discharge of abscesses. It is said to have been useful in rickets, 
applied over the whole lumbar region, and has been recommended in chronic 
gouty and rheumatic articular affections. It should not be used in the discus- 
sion of tumours in which any considerable inflammation exists. W. 
EMPLASTRUM HYDRARGYRI. JJ. S., Br. Mercurial Plaster. 
“ Take of Mercury six troyounces ; Olive Oil, Resin, each, two troyounces ; 
Plaster of Lead twelve troyounces. Melt the Oil and Resin together, and, 
when they have become cool, rub the Mercury with them until globules of the 
metal cease to be visible. Then gradually add the Plaster, previously melted, 
and mix the whole together.” U. S. 
“ Take of Mercury three ounces; Olive Oil one jluidrach m ; Sublimed Sul- 
phur eight grains; Lead Plaster six ounces. Heat the Oil and add the Sul- 
phur to it gradually, stirring until they unite; with this mixture triturate the 
Mercury until globules are no longer visible, then add the Lead Plaster, pre- 
viously liquefied, and mix the whole thoroughly.” Br. The ounce employed 
in this process is the avoirdupois ounce. 
The U. S. and former British processes may be considered as identical in 
their results. The sulphuretted oil which was employed in the process of the 
London College to facilitate the extinguishment of the mercury was abandoned PART II. 
Emptastra. 
1109 
in the first British Pharmacopoeia, as, just in proportion to the increased facility 
of the process, it lessened the efficacy of the resulting plaster; sulphuret of mer- 
cury being wholly inert. Nevertheless, the Pharmacopoeia has in its late re- 
vision gone back to the old London formula. Mr. Thomas Blunt has found it 
almost impossible to divide the mercury sufficiently by trituration with oil and 
resiu, and the resulting plaster was so crumbly that it could not be formed 
into rolls; but, by substituting a weight of Venice turpentine equal to that of 
the oil and resin combined, he found it to answer completely. An objection, 
however, to the turpentine is, that it might render the plaster too irritant for 
susceptible skins. (Pharm. Journ. and Trans., July, 1864, p. 56.) 
This plaster is employed to produce the local effects of mercury upon vene- 
real buboes, nodes, and other chronic tumefactions of the bones or soft parts, 
dependent on a syphilitic taint. In these cases it sometimes acts as a powerful 
discutient. It is frequently also applied to the side in chronic hepatitis or 
splenitis. In peculiarly susceptible persons, it occasionally affects the gums. 
From observations made in France by M Serres and others, it appears that 
the mercurial plaster of the Codex {Emplastrum de Vigo cum Mercurio) has 
the power, when applied over the eruption of smallpox, before the end of the 
third day from its first appearance, to check its progress, and prevent suppura- 
tion and pitting. This operation of the plaster, so far from being attended with 
an increase of the general symptoms, seems to relieve them in proportion to 
the diminution of the local affection. It is also thought that the course of the 
disease is favourably modified when the mercurial impression is produced upon 
the system. That the local effect is not ascribable to the mere exclusion of the 
air is proved by the fact, that the use of lead plaster was not followed by the 
same results. It is probable that other mercurial preparations would answer 
the same purpose; and the common mercurial ointment has, in our own hands, 
proved effectual in rendering the eruption upon the face to a considerable ex- 
tent abortive, in one bad case of smallpox. But as the most successful results 
were obtained with the plaster above mentioned, we give the formula of the 
French Codex for its preparation. The weights mentioned are those of the 
French metrical pound. (See table in the Appendix.) 
Emplastrum de Vigo cum Mercurio. “ Take of simple plaster [lead plaster] 
two pounds eight ounces; yellow wax two ounces; resin two ounces; ammo- 
niac, bdellium, olibanum, and myrrh, each, five drachms ; saffron threedrachms; 
mercury twelve ounces ; turpentine [common European] two ounces; liquid 
storax six ounces; oil of lavender two drachms. Powder the gum-resins and 
saffron, and rub the mercury with the storax and turpentine in an iron mortar 
until completely extinguished. Melt the plaster with the wax and resin, and 
add to the mixture the powders and volatile oil. When the plaster shall have 
been cooled, but while it is yet liquid, add the mercurial mixture, and incorpo- 
rate the whole thoroughly.” This should be spread upon leather or linen cloths, 
and applied so as effectually to cover the part to be protected. W. 
EMPLASTRUM OPII. U. S., Br. Plaster of Opium. 
“ Take of Extract of Opium a troyounce; Burgundy Pitch three troyounces ; 
Plaster of Lead twelve troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Mix the Ex- 
tract with three fluidounces of Water, and evaporate, by means of a water- 
oath, to a fluidounce and a half. Add this to the Burgundy Pitch and Plaster, 
melted together by means of a water-bath, and continue the heat for a short 
time, stirring constantly, that the moisture may be evaporated.” TJ.S. 
“Take of Opium, in fine powder, one ounce; Resin Plaster nine ounces. 
Melt the Resin Plaster by means of a water-bath; then add the Opium by 
degrees, and mix thoroughly.” Br. 
We decidedly prefer the extract of opium, as employed in the present U. S. 
process, to the opium itself of the British formula. It not only forms a better 
plaster, but, being soluble, is more likely to produce the anodyne effect desired, 
by being brought by the perspiration to the liquid state necessary for its ab- 
sorption. The use of water in the former process is also an advantage, as it 1110 
Emptastra. 
PART II. 
enables the opium to be more thoroughly incorporated with the other ingre- 
dients; but care should be taken that the moisture be well evaporated. 
The opium plaster is thought to relieve rheumatic and other pains in the 
parts to which it is applied. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS. Br. Pitch Plaster. 
“ Take of Burgundy Pitch twenty-six ounces; Common Frankincense [Te- 
rebinthina, U. S.] thirteen ounces ; Resin, Yellow Wax, of each, four ounces 
and a half; Expressed Oil of Nutmeg one ounce; Olive Oil, Water, of each, 
two fuidounces. Add the Oils and the Water to the Frankincense, Burgundy 
Pitch, Resin, and Wax, previously melted together; then, constantly stirring, 
evaporate to a proper consistence.7’ Br. The ounce used in this process is the 
avoirdupois ounce, and the fluidounce that of the Imperial measure. 
This is a rubefacient plaster, applicable to catarrhal and other pectoral affec- 
tions, chronic inflammation of the liver, and rheumatic pains in the joints and 
muscles. It often keeps up a serous discharge, which requires that it should bo 
frequently renewed. The irritation which it sometimes excites is so great as to 
render its removal necessary. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS BURGUNDICaE. U.S. Plaster of Bur- 
gundy Pitch. 
“Take of Burgundy Pitch seventy-two tr oy ounces ; Yellow Wax six troy- 
ounces. Melt them together, strain, and stir constantly until they thicken on 
cooling.” U. S. 
In this formula, the object of the wax is simply to give a proper consistence 
to the Burgundy pitch, and to prevent it from breaking in cold weather. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS CANADENSIS. U.S. Plaster of Canada 
Pitch. Hemlock Pitch Plaster. 
“Take of Canada Pitch seventy-two troyounces; Yellow Wax six troy- 
ounces. Melt them together, strain, and stir constantly until they thicken on 
cooling.” U.S. 
The yellow wax, in this preparation, answers the same purpose as in the 
Burgundy Pitch Plaster, and is even more necessar\r, in order to give addi 
tional consistence to the Canada Pitch, which, when pure, is somewhat too soft, 
at the temperature of the body, for convenient application. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PICIS CUM CANTIIARIDE. U.S. Emplas- 
trum Calefaciens. Br. Plaster of Pitch with Cantharides. Warming 
Plaster. 
“ Take of Burgundy Pitch forty-eight troyounces; Cerate of Cantharides 
four troyounces. Melt them together by means of a water-bath, and stir con- 
stantly until the mixture thickens on cooling.” U. S. 
“ Take of Cantharides, in coarse powder, Expressed Oil of Nutmeg, Yellow 
Wax, Resin, of each, four ounces [avoirdupois]; Soap Plaster three pounds 
and a quarter [avoird.] ; Resin Plaster two pounds [avoird.] ; Boiling Water 
one pint [Imperial measure]. Infuse the Cantharides in the Boiling Water for 
six hours; squeeze strongly through calico, and evaporate the expressed liquid 
by a water-bath till reduced to one-third. Then add the other ingredients, and 
melt in a water-bath, stirring well until the whole is thoroughly mixed.” Br. 
This Plaster is an excellent rubefacient, more active than Burgundy pitch, 
yet in general not sufficiently so to produce vesication. As prepared by the 
former U. S. process, it occasionally blistered; and the proportion of cantha- 
rides has, therefore, been considerably diminished in the present formula; but, 
while such a reduction may render the plaster insufficiently active in most 
cases, it does not entirely obviate the objection; as the smallest proportion of 
flies would vesicate in certain persons, and even the Burgundy pitch alone 
sometimes produces the same effect. In whatever mode, therefore, this plaster 
may be prepared, it cannot always answer the expectations which may be en- 
tertained ; and the only plan, when the skin of any individual has been found PART II. 
Emplastra. 
1111 
to be very susceptible, is to accommodate the proportions to the particular 
circumstances of the case. Much, however, may be accomplished by care in 
the preparation of the plaster, towards obviating its tendency to blister. If the 
flies of the Geratum Cantharidis have been coarsely pulverized, the larger par- 
ticles, coming in contact with the skin, will exert upon the particular part to 
which they may be applied their full vesicatory effect, while, if reduced to a very 
fine powder, they would be more thoroughly enveloped in the other ingredients, 
and thus have their strength much diluted. Hence the cerate, when used as an 
ingredient of the warming plaster, should contain the cantharides as minutely 
divided as possible ; and, if that usually kept is not in the proper state, a portion 
should be prepared for this particular purpose. A good plan, we presume, would 
be to keep the cerate used in this preparation, for a considerable time, at the tem- 
perature of 212°, and then strain it so as to separate the flies (See Geratum 
Gantharidis.) The mode frequently pursued of preparing the warming plaster 
by simply sprinkling a very small proportion of powdered flies upon the surface 
of Burgundy pitch is altogether objectionable. The U. S. process is that of the 
old Dublin Pharmacopoeia. We strongly approve of that portion of the British 
process which uses an inspissated infusion of the flies, as an equable distribution 
of these is thus ensured. 
It has been objected to the U. S. plaster that it is apt to be too soft in hot 
weather. Mr. G C. Close, ascribing this inconvenience to the proportion of 
lard in the cerate employed, proposes to obviate it by substituting Burgundy 
pitch plaster for Burgundy pitch, and powdered cantharides for the cerate, and 
offers a formula in compliance with this suggestion. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Jan. 1867, p. 20; from Proceed of Am. Pharm. Association, 1866.) 
The warming plaster is employed in chronic rheumatism, and various chronic 
internal diseases attended with inflammation or an inflammatory tendency; such 
as catarrh, asthma, pertussis, phthisis, hepatitis, and the sequelae of pleurisy and 
pneumonia. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PLUMBL U.S.,Br. Emplastrum Lithargyri. 
Br. 1864. Plaster of Lead. Litharge Plaster. 
“ Take of Oxide of Lead [Litharge] in fine powder, thirty troyounces; Olive 
Oil fifty-six troyounces; Water a sufficient quantity. Sift the Oxide of Lead 
into the Oil, contained in a suitable vessel, of a capacitj' equal to twice the bulk 
of the ingredients. Then add half a pint of boiling Water, and boil the whole 
together until a plaster is formed ; adding from time to time, during the process, 
a little boiling Water, as that first added is consumed.” U. S. 
“ Take of Oxide of Lead, in fine powder, four pounds ; Olive Oil one gallon; 
Water three pints and a half. Boil all the ingredients together gently by the 
heat of a steam-bath, and keep them simmering for four or five hours, stirring 
constantly, until the product acquires a proper consistence for a plaster, and 
adding more water during the process if necessary.” Br. The weights used 
in this process are the avoirdupois, and the measures the Imperial. 
The importance of this plaster, as the basis of most of the others, requires 
a somewhat detailed account of the principles and manner of its preparation. 
It was formerly thought that the oil and oxide of lead entered into direct 
union, and that the presence of water was necessary only to regulate the tem 
perature, and prevent the materials from being decomposed by heat. The dis- 
covery, however, was afterwards made, that this liquid was essential to the 
process ; and that the oil and oxide alone, though maintained at a temperature ol 
220°, would not combine; while the addition of water, under these circum- 
stances, would produce their immediate union. It was now supposed that the 
oil was capable of combining only with the hydrated oxide of lead, and that the 
use of the water was to bring the into that state ; and, in support of this 
opinion, the fact was advanced that the hydrated oxide of lead and oil would 
form a plaster, when heated together without any free water. But, since the 
general reception of Chevreul’s views in relation to oils, and their combinations 
with alkalies and other metallic oxides, the former opinions have been abandoned; 1112 
Emplaslra. 
PART II. 
mid it is now admitted that the preparation of the lead plaster affords a genuine 
example of saponification, as explained by that chemist. A reaction takes place 
between the oil and water, resulting in the development of a sweetish substance 
called glycerin, and of two acid bodies, the oleic and margaric acids, to which, 
when animal fat is employed instead of olive oil, a third is added, namely the 
stearic. The plaster is formed by a union of these acids with the oxide, and, 
prepared according to the directions of the Pharmacopoeias, is in fact an oleo- 
margarate of lead. The glycerin remains dissolved in the water, or mechan- 
ically mixed with the plaster. That such is the correct view of the nature of 
this compound is evinced by the fact, that, if the oxide of lead be separated 
from the plaster by digestion at a moderate heat in very dilute nitric acid, the 
fatty matter which remains will unite with litharge with the greatest facility, 
without the intervention of water. According to a more recent chemical view, 
the fixed oils are compounds of the oily acids mentioned and oxide of glyceryl. 
When boiled with the oxide of lead and water, the oily acids combine with the 
metallic oxide to form the plaster, and the oxide of glyceril takes an equivalent 
of water and becomes glycerin. Glyceryl is a hypothetical compound of car- 
bon and hydrogen (OfiH7), which unites with five equivalents of oxygen to 
form oxide of glyceryl (CfiH705), also a hypothetical substance, and additionally 
with an equivalent of water to form glycerin (CgH705-}-110). 
Other oleaginous substances and other metallic oxides are susceptible of the 
same combination, and some of them form compounds having the consistence 
of a plaster ; but, according to M. Henry, of Paris, no oily-matter except animal 
fat can properly be substituted for olive oil, and no metallic oxide, not even 
one of the other oxides of lead, for litharge. He ascertained, moreover, that 
the English litharge is preferable for the formation of lead plaster to the Ger- 
man. From more recent experiments of Soubeirau, it appears that massicot or 
even minium maybe substituted for litharge, and a plaster of good consistence 
be obtained; but that a much longer time is required for completing the pro- 
cess than when the officinal formula is followed. When minium is used, the 
necessity for its partial deoxidation renders a longer continuance of the process 
necessary than with massicot. Accordingto M. Pavallon, Professor in the School 
of Medicine and Pharmacy at Lyons, it is important that the olive oil employed 
should be pure; for when adulterated, as it frequently is in commerce, it yields 
an imperfect product. Mr. N. S. ThoVnas prepared a good plaster by substituting 
lard for olive oil, in the proportion of eight pounds of lard to five of litharge (Am. 
Journ. of Pliarm., xix. 175); and we are told that it is a common practice, in 
this country, to make lead plaster with a mixture of lard oil and olive oil. 
Lead plaster has also been prepared by double decomposition between soap 
and acetate or subacetate of lead; but the results have not been so advantage- 
ous as to lead to the general adoption of this process. For particular informa- 
tion on the subject, the reader is referred to the American Journal of Phar- 
macy (ix. 127), and to the Journal de Pharmacie (xxiii. lt>3 and 322).* 
Preparation. The vessel in which the lead plaster is prepared should be of 
such a size that the materials will not occupy more than two thirds of its ca- 
pacity. The oil should be first introduced, and the litharge then sprinkled in 
by means of a sieve, the mixture being constantly stirred with a spatula. The 
particles of the oxide are thus prevented from coalescing in small masses, which 
the oil would not easily penetrate, and which would therefore delay the proces-j. 
While the water exerts an important chemical agency in the changes which oe- 
* M. de Mossy, physician of the hospital de la Pitie, having witnessed inconveniences 
from lead plaster in consequence of the absorption of the lead, substituted for it a plaster 
with a basis of oxide of zinc, which he has found to answer very well in practice. It tan- 
not be made by direct combination of the oxide; and it is necessary to have recourse to 
the method of double decomposition. Solutions of white olive oil soap and of sulphate of 
zinc being mixed, a copious precipitate takes place of oleo-margarate of zinc, which, after 
being washed and dried, may be combined with resins, oil, and wax, to give it the neces- 
sary consistence. This preparation, however, is not likely to supersede the officinal. 
\Journ. de Pharm., xxvii. 100.)—Note to the eleventh edition. PART II. 
Emplastra. 
1113 
cur, it is also useful by preventing too high a temperature, which would decom- 
pose the oil, and cause the reduction of the oxide. The waste must, therefore, 
be supplied by fresh additions as directed in the process; and the water added 
for this purpose should be previously heated, as otherwise it would not only 
delay the operation, but by producing explosion might endanger the operator. 
During the continuance of the boiling, the material should be constantly stirred, 
and the spatula should be repeatedly passed along the bottom of the vessel, from 
side to side, so as to prevent any of the oxide, which is disposed by its greater 
density to sink to the bottom, from remaining in that situation. The materials 
swell up considerably, in consequence partly of the vaporization of the water, 
partly of the escape of carbonic acid gas, which is liberated by the oily acids from 
some carbonate of lead usually contained in the litharge. The process should 
not be continued longer than is sufficient to produce complete union of the 
ingredients, and this may be known by the colour and consistence of the 
mass. The colour of the litharge gradually becomes paler, and at length almost 
white when the plaster is fully formed. The consistence increases with the pro- 
gress of the boiling, and is sufficiently thick, when a portion of the plaster, taken 
out and allowed to cool upon the end of a spatula, or thrown into cold water, 
becomes solid, without adhering in this state to the fingers. The portion thus 
solidified should not present, when broken, any red points, which would indicate 
the presence of a portion of uncombined litharge. When the plaster is formed, 
it should be removed from the fire, and after a short time cold water should be 
poured upon it. Portions should then be detached from the mass, and, having 
been well kneaded under water, in order to separate the viscid solution of 
glycerin contained in the interior, should be formed into cylindrical rolls, and 
wrapped in paper. Such at least has been the course of proceeding usually re- 
commended. But M. Davallon maintains that the presence of glycerin in the 
plaster is useful by keeping it in a plastic state, and that wmshing and knead- 
ing are injurious, the former by removing the glycerin, the latter by introducing 
particles of air and moisture into the mass, which is thus rendered more dis- 
posed to rancidity. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., xv. 274; from Journ. deCliim. Med.) 
By employing steam heat in the preparation of this plaster, the risk of burning 
it is avoided. For a good arrangement for this purpose, see Mohr and Red- 
wood's Pharmacy, edited by Prof. Procter, p. 420. 
Mr. C. Lewis Diehl has found it almost impossible, in following the U. S. 
directions, to obtain a plaster wholly free from uncombined litharge. He ob- 
viates the difficulty by first rubbing the sifted litharge with about half its weight 
of oil, then stirring the mixture with the remainder of the oil, in a tinned copper 
kettle, adding the water, and heating to 212° until a uniform plaster is formed. 
This occupies from one to two days. The boiling of the plaster, which, as it 
requires the use of dry heat, is apt to cause the product to be burned, is not 
essential. (Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1867, p. 385.) 
Medical Properties and Uses. This plaster, which haslong been known under 
the name of diachylon, is used as an application to excoriated surfaces, and to 
slight wounds, which it serves to protect from the action of the air. It may also 
be beneficial by the sedative influence of the lead which enters into its composi- 
tion. A case is on record in which lead colic resulted from its long-continued 
application to a large ulcer of the leg. (Am. Journ. of Med. Sci., xxiii. 246.) Its 
chief use is in the preparation of other plasters. While in its yet incomplete 
state, it is used in the preparation of glycerin.* 
* Logan's Plaster. Take of Litharge, Carbonate of Lead, each, a pound) Castile Soap 
twelve ounces; Butter (fresh) four ounces; Olive Oil two and a half pints; Mastic, in pow- 
der, two drachms. It is to be understood that the pound and ounce are of the avoirdu- 
pois weight. Having mixed the Soap, Oil, and Butter, add the Litharge, and boil the 
mixture gently, constantly stirring, for an hour and a half, or until it shall assume a 
pale-brown colour; then increase the heat somewhat, and continue to boil, until a por- 
tion of the liquid, dropped on a smooth board, is found npt to adhere to it on cooling; 
then remove it from the fire, and mix the mastic with it, Logan’s plaster has long been 
In popular use in Philadelphia, and is considerably employed by regular practitioners 
as a protective and discutient application. 1114 
Emplastra. 
PART II. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Assafoetida, U. S.; Emp. Ferri; Emp. Galbani, Br.', 
Emp. Galbani Compositum, U. S.; Emp. Hydrargyri; Emp. Opii, U. S.; Emp 
Resinae ; Emp. Saponis. W. 
EMPLASTRUM PLUMBI IODIDI. Br. Iodide of Lead Plaster. 
“ Take of Iodide of Lead one ounce ; Soap Plaster, Resin Plaster, each, four 
ounces,. Add the Iodide of Lead, in fine powder, to the Plasters previously 
melted, and mix them intimately.” Br. 
This is a local discutient plaster, which may also be used with other means 
to affect the system. (See Plumbi Iodidum, Part II.) W. 
EMPLASTRUM RESINAE. U. S., Br. Resin Plaster. Adhesive 
Plaster. 
“ Take of Resin, in fine powder, six troyounces; Plaster of Lead thirty-six 
troyounces. To the Plaster, melted over a gentle fire, add the Resin, and mix 
them.” U. S. 
“ Take of Resin four ounces; Lead Plaster two pounds ; Hard Soap two 
ounces. To the Lead Plaster, previously melted with a gentle heat, add the 
Resin and Soap, first liquefied, and stir them until they are thoroughly mixed.” 
Br. The weights here referred to are the avoirdupois 
This preparation differs from the lead plaster in being more adhesive and 
somewhat more stimulating. It is the common adhesive plaster of the shops, 
and is much employed for retaining the sides of wounds in contact, and for 
dressing ulcers according to the method of Baynton, by which the edges are 
drawn towards each other, and a firm support is given to the granulations. As 
prepared by the Dublin College it contained soap, which gave it greater plia- 
bility, and rendered it less liable to crack in cold weather, without impairing its 
adhesiveness ; and the process of that College has been adopted in the British 
Pharmacopoeia It is usually spread upon muslin ; and the spreading is best 
accomplished, on a large scale, by means of a machine, as described in the gene- 
ral observations upon plasters. It is kept in the shops ready spread ; but, as the 
plaster becomes less adhesive by long exposure to the air, the supply should be 
frequently renewed. When the skin is very delicate, it occasionally excites some 
irritation, and, under these circumstances, a plaster may be substituted contain- 
ing a smaller proportion of resin. That originally employed by Baynton con- 
tained only six drachms of resin to the pound of lead plaster. To obviate the 
same evil, M. Herpin recommends the addition of tannate of lead, the propor- 
tion of which, when adhesiveness is required in the plaster, should not exceed 
one-twentieth, but, under other circumstances, maybe increased to one-twelfth 
(Bullet. de Therap., xlviii. 155.) 
In order to render the plaster more adhesive, and less brittle in cold weather, 
it is customary with many apothecaries to employ a considerable proportion of 
Burgundy pitch or turpentine in its preparation; but these additions are object- 
ionable, as they greatly increase the liability of the plaster to irritate the skin, 
and thus materially interfere with the purposes for which the preparation was 
‘hiefly intended.* 
Plaster of Carbonate of Lead. This was originally introduced into our Pharmacopoeia as a 
substitute for Mahy's plaster,at one time much em ployed in some parts of the United States; 
but was omitted in the edition of 1840. It is a good application to surfaces inflamed or ex- 
coriated by friction ; and may be resorted to with advantage in those troublesome cases of 
cutaneous irritation, and even ulceration, which are apt to occur upon the hack and hips 
during long-continued confinement to one position. We give the process as contained in the 
Pharmacopoeia of 1830. “ Take of Carbonate of Lead apound; Olive Oil two pints; Yellow 
Wax four ounces; Lead plaster apound and a half; Florentine Orris, in powder, nine 
ounces. Boil together the Oil and Carbonate of Lead, adding a little water, and con- 
stantly stirring, till they are thoroughly incorporated; then add the Wax and Plaster, 
and, when these are melted, sprinkle in the Orris, and mix the -whole together.” By 
this process, a good plaster may he prepared, rather too soft at first, hut soon acquiring 
the proper consistence. 
* An adhesive plaster, exempt from oxide of lead, is prepared by Pettenkofer. It con- 
sists of calcareous soap incorporated with turpentine and suet, and may be prepared in PART II. 
Emplas tra.—Enema ta. 
1115 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Arnicse, U. S.; Emplastrum Belladonnae ; Emp'ast. 
Calefaciens, Br.; Emplast. Opii, Br.; Emplast. Plumbi Iodidi, Br. W. 
EMPLASTRUM SAPONIS. U. S., Br. Soap Plaster. 
“ Take of Soap, sliced, four troyounces; Plaster of Lead tliirty-six troy- 
ounces ; Water a sufficient quantity. Rub the Soap with Water until brought 
to a semi-liquid state ; then mix it with the Plaster previously melted, and boil 
to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Hard Soap six ounces ; Lead Plaster two pounds and a quarter ; 
Resin one ounce. To the Lead Plaster, melted by a gentle heat, add the Soap 
and the Resin, first liquefied; then, constantly stirring, evaporate to a proper 
consistence.” Br. The avoirdupois weights are used in this process. 
The present U. S. formula is an improvement upon that of a former edition 
of the Pharmacopoeia. The proportion of soap in the old process was so large 
as to render the plaster friable. It has been diminished from six to four ounces. 
Besides, by the present mode of proceeding, it is more thoroughly incorporated 
with the plaster. The same end of greater plasticity is accomplished, in some 
degree, in the British process by the resin. In preparing the U. S. plaster, Mr. 
<J. Lewis Diehl has found some difficulty in rubbing the soap up perfectly and 
rapidly with the water, and has, therefore, adopted the plan of first rubbing 
the soap with its weight of water, then straining the mixture through coarse 
muslin, and lastly reducing the residue with a proportionate quantity of water, 
before stirring the whole into the melted plaster. {Am. Journ. of Pharm., 
Sept. 1867, p. 386.) 
Soap plaster is considered discutient, and is sometimes used as an applica- 
tion to tumours. 
Off. Prep. Ceratum Saponis, U. S.; Emplastrum Calefaciens, Br.; Emplas- 
trum Plumbi Iodidi, Br. W. 
ENEMATA. 
Clysters. 
These can scarcely be considered proper objects for officinal direction; but, 
having been introduced into the former British Pharmacopoeias, and retained in 
the present, the plan of this work requires that they should be noticed. They 
are substances in the liquid form, intended to be thrown up the rectum, with the 
view either of evacuating the bowels, of producing the peculiar impression of a 
remedy upon thelower portion of the alimentary canal and neighbouring organs, 
or of acting on the system generally through the medium of the surface to which 
they are applied. They are usually employed to assist the action of remedies 
taken by the mouth, or to supply their place when the stomach rejects them, or 
is insensible to their impression. Sometimes they are preferably used when the 
seat of the disorder is in the rectum or its vicinit}7. As a general rule, three 
times as much of any remedy is required to produce a given impression by 
enema, as when taken into the stomach ; but this rule should be acted on with 
caution, as the relative susceptibilities of the stomach and rectum are not the 
same in all individuals ; and, with regard to all very active remedies, the best 
plan is to administer less than the stated proportion. Attention should also 
be paid to the fact, that, by the frequent use of a medicine, the susceptibility 
of the stomach may be in some measure exhausted, without a proportionate 
diminution of that of the rectum. 
When the object is to evacuate the bowels, the quantity of liquid administered 
should be considerable; for an adult, from ten fluidouuces to a pint; for a child 
the following manner. A solution of soap is decomposed by a solution of chloride of cal- 
cium. The precipitate, having been expressed and dried, is powdered with half its weight 
of turpentine dried by heat; and the mixture is melted, along with an eighth part of suet, 
in boiling water. The mixture is boiled until the mass melts into a homogeneous fluid, 
when it is worked by the hand, in the ordinary manner, in cold water. Should portions 
of the calcareous soap not melt, they should he separated by straining through flannel. 
t Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., x. 358; from Repertorium far die Pharm., xiii. 40.) 1116 
Enemata. 
PART II. 
of eight or ten years, half that quantity ; for an infant within tLe year, from one 
to three fluidounces. Much larger quantities of mild liquids may sometimes be 
given.with safety and advantage ; as the bowels will occasionally feel the stimu- 
lus of distension, when insensible to irritating impressions. 
When the design is to produce the peculiar impression of the remedy upon 
the neighbouring parts, or on the system, it is usually desirable that the enema 
should be retained, and the vehicle should therefore be bland, and as small in 
quantity as is compatible with convenient administration. A solution of starch, 
flaxseed tea, or other mucilaginous fluid should be selected, and the quantity 
should seldom exceed two or three fluidounces. In every case, the patient should 
be instructed to resist any immediate disposition to discharge the injected fluid ; 
and his efforts to retain it should be assisted, if necessary, by pressure with a 
warm folded towel upon the fundament. The best instrument for administering 
enemata is an accurate metallic syringe. W. 
ENEMA ALOES. Br. Enema of Aloes. 
“Take of Aloes forty grains; Carbonate of Potash fifteen grains ; Mucilage 
of Starch ten fluidounces. Mix, and rub together.” Br. 
This is intended as a formula for the use of aloes in cases of ascarides in the 
rectum, and of amenorrhoea attended with constipation. W. 
ENEMA ASSAFCETILL'E. Br. Enema of Assafetida. Enema 
F(ETIdum. Ed., Dub. Fetid Enema. 
“Take of Assafetida thirty grains ; Distilled Water four fluidounces. Rub 
the Assafetida in a mortar with the Water added gradually, so as to form an 
emulsion.” Br. 
This is carminative and antispasmodic as well as laxative. In the former 
Br. Pharmacopoeia it was directed to be made by mixing the tincture and Dis- 
tilled Water; and, in commenting on it, we stated that we should prefer a 
preparation consisting of the gum-resin rubbed up with water; as the alcohol 
of the tincture might in some instances prove injurious. In the present formula 
this plan has been adopted. The whole quantity directed may be administered 
at once. W. 
ENEMA MAGNESIAE SULPIIATIS. Br. Enema of Sulphate of 
Magnesia. Enema Catiiarticum. Ed., Dub. Cathartic Clyster. 
“ Take of Sulphate of Magnesia one ounce [avoirdupois] ; Olive Oil one 
fluidounce ; Mucilage of Starch fifteen fluidounces Dissolve the Sulphate of 
Magnesia in the Mucilage, add the Oil, and mix.” Br. 
The laxative enema, most commonly employed in this country, consists of a 
tablespoonful of common salt, two tablespoonfuls of lard or olive oil, the same 
quantity of molasses, and a pint of warm water. It has the advantage of con- 
sisting of materials which are always at hand in families, and is in all respects 
equal to the officinal preparation. W. 
ENEMA OPII. Br. Enema of Opium. Enema Opii vel Anodynum. 
Ed. Anodyne Enema. 
“ Take of Tincture of Opium half a fluidrachm ; Mucilage of Starch two 
fluidounces. Mix.” Br. 
This formula is unobjectionable. It must have happened to every one in the 
habit of prescribing opium in this way, to have seen a much greater effect pro- 
duced by a certain amount of laudanum injected into the rectum than by one- 
third of the quantity swallowed. The fluidrachm contains at least one hundred 
drops of laudanum of the ordinary size, and not less than one hundred and twenty 
as they are often formed. From twenty to twenty-five drops are usually con- 
sidered as a medium dose by the mouth; so that sixty drops, equivalent to 
about thirty minims, are abundantly sufficient by enema. As the object is that 
the enema should remain in the rectum, the smaller the quantity of the vehicle 
the better; and a mucilaginous fluid is preferable to water, as it involves the 
tincture, and prevents the irritation of the alcohol before the opium begins to PART II. 
Enemata.—Extracta. 
1117 
take effect. The ordinary anodyne enema, employed in this country, consists 
of about sixty drops of laudanum and one or two fluidounces of flaxseed tea or 
solution of starch, conforming precisely with the present British formula. 
This is an admirable remedy in obstinate vomiting, strangury from blisters, 
painful affections of the kidneys, bladder, and uterus, and in the tenesmus of 
dysentery. It may also frequently be employed to produce the effects of opium 
upon the system, when circumstances prevent the administration of that medi- 
cine by the mouth. . W. 
ENEMA TABACI. Br. Enema of Tobacco. 
■ “Take of Leaf Tobacco twenty grains; Boiling Water eight fluidounces. 
Infuse in a covered vessel, for half an hour, and strain.” Br. 
The whole quantity is to be given at once. The dose is somewhat less than 
that usually employed in this country. (See Infusum Tabaci.) W. 
ENEMA TEEEB1NTHINAE. Br. Enema of Turpentine. 
“Take of Oil of Turpentine one fluidounce; Mucilage of Starch fifteen 
fluidounces. Mix.” Br. 
For the dose of this preparation, see Oleum Terebinthinse. W. 
EXTRACTA. 
Extracts. 
Extracts, as the term is employed in the Pharmacopoeias, are solid substances, 
resulting from the evaporation of the solutions of vegetable principles, obtained 
either by exposing the vegetable to the action of a solvent, or by expressing its 
juice in the recent state. A distinction was formerly made between those pre- 
pared from the infusions, decoctions, or tinctures, and those from the expressed 
juices of plants, the former being called Extracta, the latter Sued Spissati; but 
the distinction has been generally abandoned. There is no such essential differ- 
ence between these two sets of preparations as to require that they should be 
separately classed ; and something is gained in the simplicity of nomenclature, 
as well as of arrangement, which results from their union. We shall consider 
them under the same head, taking care, however, to detail distinctly whatever 
is peculiar in the mode of preparing each. 
The composition of extracts varies with the nature of the vegetable, the cha- 
racter of the solvent, and the mode of preparation. The object is generally to 
obtain as much of the active principle of the plant, with as little of the inert 
matter as possible ; though sometimes it may be desirable to separate two active 
ingredients from each other, when their effects upon the system are materially 
different; and this may be accomplished by employing a menstruum which, 
while it dissolves one, leaves the other untouched. The proximate principles 
most commonly present in extracts are gum, sugar, starch, tannin, extractive, 
colouring matter, salts, and the peculiar principles of plants; to which, when a 
spirituous solvent is employed, may usually be added resinous substances, fatty 
matter, and frequently more or less essential oil; gum and starch being excluded 
when the menstruum is pure alcohol. Of these substances, as well as of others 
which, being soluble, are sometimes necessarily present in extracts, we have 
taken occasion to treat under various heads in the Materia Medica. There is 
one, however, which, from its supposed almost uniform presence in this class of 
preparations, and from the influence it is thought to exert upon their character, 
deserves particular consideration in this place. We allude to extractive, or, as 
it is sometimes called, extractive matter. 
It has long been observed that in most vegetables there is a substance, soluble 
both in water and alcohol, which, in the preparation of extracts, undergoes che- 
mical change during the process of evaporation, imparting to the liquid, even if 
originally limpid, first a greenish, then a yellowish-brown, and ultimately a deep- 
brown colour, and becoming itself insoluble. This substance, originally called 1118 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
sapor aceous matter by Scheele, afterwards received the more expressive name 
of extractive, derived from its frequent presence in extracts. Its existence as a 
distinct principle is denied, or at least doubted, by some chemists, who consider 
the phenomena supposed to result from its presence, as depending upon the mu- 
tual reaction of other principles; and, in relation to Peruvian bark, it appears 
to have been proved that the insoluble matter which forms during its decoction 
in water is a compound of starch and tannin. A similar compound must also be 
formed in other cases when these two principles coexist; but they are not always 
present in the same vegetable, nor can all the changes which have been attri- 
buted to extractive be accounted for by their union, even when they are present; 
so that, till further light is shed on the subject, it is best to admit the existence 
of a distinct substance, which, though not the same in all plants, possesses suf- 
ficient identity of character to be entitled, like sugar, resin, &c., to a distinctive 
name. The most interesting property of extractive is its disposition to pass, by 
the influence of atmospheric air at a high temperature, into an insoluble sub- 
stance. If a vegetable infusion or decoction be evaporated in the open air to the 
consistence of an extract, then diluted, filtered, arid again evaporated, and the 
process repeated so long as any insoluble matter is formed, the whole of the 
extractive will be separated from the liquid, while the other ingredients may re- 
main. If chlorine be passed through an infusion or decoction, a similar precipi- 
tate is formed with much greater rapidity. The change is usually ascribed to 
the absorption of oxygen by the extractive, which has, therefore, been called, in 
its altered condition, oxidized extractive; but De Saussure ascertained that, 
though oxygen is absorbed during the process, an equal measure of carbonic acid 
gas is given out, and the oxygen and hydrogen of the extractive unite to form 
water in such a manner as to leave the principle richer in carbon than it was 
originally. The name of oxidized extractive is, therefore, obviously incorrect; 
and Berzelius proposed to substitute for it that of apotheme, synonymous with 
deposit. According to Berzelius, apotheme is not completely insoluble in water, 
but imparts a slight colour to that liquid when cold, and is rather more soluble 
in boiling water, which becomes turbid upon cooling. It is still more soluble in 
alcohol, and is freely dissolved by solutions of the alkalies and alkaline carbon- 
ates, from which it is precipitated by acids. It has a great tendency, when pre- 
cipitated from solutions, to unite with other principles, and to carry them along 
with it; thus acquiring properties somewhat different according to the source 
from which it is obtained. In this way, also, even when the extractive of a plant 
is itself medicinally inert, its conversion into apotheme may be injurious by caus- 
ing a precipitation of a portion of the active principle ; and, in practical phar- 
maceutic operations, this change should always, if possible, be avoided. With 
these preliminary views, we shall proceed to the consideration of the practical 
rules necessary to be observed in the preparation of extracts. We shall treat of 
the subject under the several heads of, 1. the extraction of the soluble principles 
from the plant; 2. the method of conducting the evaporation; 3. the proper 
condition of extracts, the changes they are liable to undergo, and the best me- 
thod of preserving them; and 4. the general directions of the Pharmacopoeias 
in relation to them. 
1. Extraction of the Soluble Principles. 
There are two distinct modes of obtaining, in a liquid state, the principles 
which we wish to extract; 1. by expression alone; 2. by the agency of a sol- 
vent, with or without expression. 
1. By Expression. This method is applicable to recent vegetables. All plants 
cannot be usefully treated in this way, as many have too little juice to afford an 
appreciable quantity upon pressure, and of the succulent a considerable portion 
do not yield all their active principles with their juice. Succulent fruits, and 
various acrid and narcotic plants, are proper subjects for this treatment. The 
plants should be operated upon, if possible, immediately after collection. Mr. 
Battley, of London, recommended that, if not entirely fresh, they should be re- PART II. 
Extracta. 
1119 
vived by the immersion of the stalks in water for twelve or eighteen hours, and 
those only used which recover their freshness by this management. They should 
then be cut into pieces, and bruised in a stone mortar till brought to a pulpy 
consistence. When the plant is not very succulent, it is necessary to add a little 
water during this part of the process, in order to dilute the juice. After sufficient 
contusion, the pulp is introduced into a linen or canvas bag, and the liquid parts 
expressed. Mr. Braude states that light pressure only should be employed; as 
the extract is thus procured greener, of a less glutinous or viscid consistence, 
and, in his opinion, more active than when considerable force is used in the ex- 
pression. (Manual of Pharmacy.) The juice thus obtained is opaque and usu- 
ally green, in consequence of the presence of green wax or chlorophyll, and of 
a portion of the undissolved vegetable fibre in minute division. By heating the 
juice to about 160°, the albumen contained in it coagulates, and, involving the 
chlorophyll and vegetable fibre, forms a greenish precipitate. If the liquid is 
now filtered, it becomes limpid and nearly colourless, and is prepared for eva- 
poration. The clarification, however, is not absolutely necessary, and is gene- 
rally neglected. Sometimes the precipitate carries with it a considerable portion 
of the active principle ; in which case it should be subsequently incorporated 
with the juice, when reduced by evaporation to the consistence of syrup. Ether 
added to the expressed juices of plants enables them to be kept long without in- 
jurious change. M. Lepage, of Gisors, France, has kept the juice of belladonna 
in this way more than 10 years, and found it, at the end of that time, to yield an 
extract, identical in physical, chemical, and physiological properties with that 
obtained from the fresh juice, if this fact is found to be of general applicability, 
it will be of considerable importance, as enabling the pharmaceutist to supply 
himself, at pleasure,with extracts to be relied on, without reference to the season. 
(Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1863, p. 361.) 
2. By Solution. The active principles of dried vegetables can be extracted 
only by means of a liquid solvent. The menstruum usually employed is either 
water or alcohol, or a mixture of the two. Water, on account of its cheapness, 
is always preferred, when circumstances do not strongly call for the use of 
alcohol. It has the advantage, moreover, that it may be assisted in its action, if 
necessary, by a higher degree of heat than the latter. Pump water is often unfit 
for the purpose, in consequence of the quantity of its saline matter, which, in 
some instances, may exert an unfavourable influence on the active principle, and 
must always be left in the extract. Rain, river, or distilled water should be pre- 
ferred. Alcohol is employed when the principles to be extracted are insoluble, 
or but slightly soluble in water, as in the case of the resins; when it is desirable 
to avoid in the extract inert substances, such as gum and starch, which are dis- 
solved by water and not by alcohol; when the heat required to evaporate the 
aqueous solution would dissipate or decompose the active ingredients of the 
plant, as the volatile oils and the active principle of sarsaparilla; when the re- 
action of the water itself upon the vegetable principles is injurious; and, finally, 
when the nature of the substance to be exhausted requires so long a macera- 
tion in water as to endanger spontaneous decomposition. The watery solution 
requires to be soon evaporated, as this fluid rather promotes than counteracts 
chemical changes; while an alcoholic tincture maybe preserved unaltered for 
an indefinite period. An addition of alcohol to water is sufficient to answer 
some of the purposes for which the former is preferable ; and the employment 
of both fluids is essential, when the virtues of the plant reside in two or more 
principles, all of which are not soluble in either of these menstrua. In this 
case it is usually better to submit the vegetable to the action of the two fluids 
successively, than of both united. Extracts obtained by the agency of water 
are called watery or aqueous extracts; those by means of alcohol, undiluted 
or diluted, alcoholic or spirituous extracts. Sometimes the term hydro-alco- 
holic is applied to extracts obtained by the joint agency of alcohol and water. 
The method of preparing the solution is not a matter of indifference. The 
vegetable should be thoroughly bruised, or reduced to a coarse powder, so as to 1120 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
allow the access of the solvent to all its parts, and yet not so finely pulverized 
as to prevent a ready precipitation of the undissolved and inactive portion. 
When water is employed, it has been customary to boil the medicine for a con- 
siderable time, and, if the first portion of liquid does not completely exhaust it, 
to repeat the operation with successive portions, till the whole of the active mat- 
ter is extracted. This may be known by the sensible properties of the liquid, 
and by its influence upon reagents. But the boiling temperature produces the 
decomposition of many vegetable principles, or at least so modifies them as to 
render them inert; and the extracts prepared by decoction are usually less effi- 
cient than those made with a less degree of heat. From numerous experiments 
upon extracts, Orfila concluded that their virtues were less in proportion to 
the heat employed. It has, therefore, been recommended to substitute for de- 
coction the process of maceration, digestion, or hot infusion; in the first of 
which the liquid acts without heat, in the second is assisted by a moderately 
increased temperature sustained for a considerable time, and in the third is 
poured boiling hot upon the vegetable matter, and allowed to stand for a short 
period in a covered vessel. When the active principles are readily soluble 
in cold water, maceration is often preferable to the other modes, as starch, 
which is inert, is thus left behind ; but in many instances the preparation would 
spoil before the extraction would be completed. By digestion, though the solvent 
power of water is moderately increased, the advantage is often more than coun- 
terbalanced by the increased disposition to spontaneous decomposition. Hoi 
infusion, therefore, is to be preferred where the vegetable does not readily 
yield its virtues to cold water. It has the advantage, moreover, in the case of 
albuminous substances, that the albumen is coagulated, and thus prevented 
from increasing the bulk of the extract, without adding to its virtues. A con- 
venient mode of performing this process, is to introduce the solid material into 
a vessel with an opening near the bottom temporary closed, or into a funnel 
with its mouth loosely stopped, then to pour on the boiling water, and, having 
allowed it to remain a sufficient length of time, to draw it off' through the 
opening. This operation may be repeated till the water comes away without 
any obvious impregnation. It is always desirable to obtain the solution in the 
first place as concentrated as possible, so as to prevent the necessity of long- 
continued evaporation, which injures the extract. It is better, therefore, to incur 
the risk, both when decoction and infusion are employed, of leaving a portion 
of the active matter behind, than to obtain a very weak solution. When suc- 
cessive portions of water are employed, those which are least impregnated 
should be brought by evaporation to the strength of that first obtained before 
being mixed with it, as the latter thus escapes unnecessary exposure to heat. 
Sometimes the filtering of a turbid infusion or decoction, before evaporation, 
causes the resulting extract to keep better, by removing substances which, 
besides undergoing decomposition themselves, may act as a ferment, and thus 
occasion the decomposition of the active matter of the extract. 
When alcohol is employed as a menstruum, the vegetable should be mace- 
rated in it for one or twro weeks, and care should be taken that the tincture be 
as nearly saturated as possible. The extraction may be hastened by substi- 
tuting digestion for maceration; as the moderate heat emploj'ed, while it fa- 
cilitates the action of the alcohol, has in this case no effect in promoting decom- 
position, and the influence of the atmospheric air may be excluded by perform- 
ing the process in close vessels. When alcohol and water are both used, it is 
best, as a general rule, to exhaust the vegetable with each separately, as the 
two menstrua require different modes of treatment. In whichever of these 
modes the extraction is effected, it requires the assistance of occasional agita- 
tion; and, when the vegetable matter is very porous, and absorbs a large 
quantity of the solvent, expression must be resorted to. 
Acetic acid has been introduced into use as a menstruum in the preparation 
of extracts. It is supposed to be a better solvent of the active principles of 
certain substances than cither water or alcohol alone. According to Girolamo PART II. 
Extrada. 
1121 
Ferrari, the acrid narcotics, such as aconite, hemlock, hyoscyamus, and stramo- 
nium, yield much stronger extracts with distilled vinegar than with water, and 
still stronger with alcohol to which strong acetic acid has been added. (Journ. 
de Pharm., 3e ser., i. 239.) This acid is used in the preparation of the acetic ex- 
tract of colchicum. 
Ether also is now used to a considerable extent in the preparation of certain 
extracts. Having the property of dissolving volatile oil and resin, and of evapo- 
rating at a temperature insufficient to volatilize the oil, it is admirably adapted 
for the preparation of extracts from those substances, the virtues of which reside 
in the two principles referred to. An ethereal tincture is (irst prepared by the 
process of percolation or displacement, and the ether is then either allowed to 
escape by spontaneous evaporation, or is distilled off at a very moderate heat. 
The oleoresinous extracts thus obtained are usually of a thick fluid or semi-fluid 
consistence For more precise information as to the mode of preparing them, 
the reader is referred to a paper by Prof Procter, in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. 
(xxi. 114). Several of them are now ranked among the officinal preparations, in 
the U. S. Pharmacopceia, under the title of Oleoresins. 
The process of percolation or displacement has within a few years been very 
advantageously applied to the preparation of extracts, both with water and spi- 
rituous menstrua. It has the following great advantages: 1. that it enables the 
soluble principles to be sufficiently extracted by cold water, thereby avoiding 
the injury resulting from heat in decoction and hot infusion; 2. that it effects 
the extraction much more quickly than can be done by maceration, thereby not 
only saving time, but also obviating the risk of spontaneous decomposition; and 
3. that it affords the opportunity of obtaining highly concentrated solutions, thus 
diminishing the injurious effects of the subsequent evaporation. While thus ad- 
vantageous, it is less liable in this particular case than in others to the objection 
of yielding imperfect results if not well performed ; for, though an inexpert or 
careless operator may incur loss by an incomplete exhaustion of the substance 
acted on, and the extract maybe deficient in quantity, it may still be of the in- 
tended strength and quality, which is not the case with infusions or tinctures 
unskilfully prepared upon this plan. In the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, all the extracts 
to which the process is applicable are prepared by percolation, and, with a very 
few exceptions, without previous maceration or digestion, which, as a general 
rule, is useless if not injurious. In the British Pharmacopoeia, the process is 
applied, as it were, hesitatingly to a portion of the extracts, and withheld in 
others to which it seems equally appropriate ; and, as if there was an unwilling, 
ness to trust this exotic method entirely, previous maceration for a greater or less 
length of time, never less than twelve, and more generally for twenty-four hours, 
is with a single exception universally adopted, whenever percolation is employed. 
In this respect British pharmacy is, we think, behind that of the United States. 
For an account of the mode of operating in the process of displacement, and of 
the instruments used, the reader is referred to pages 931 and 942. 
Repercolation. In consequence of the existing high price of alcohol, and of 
the liquids prepared from it, as ether and chloroform, it is important to adopt 
some plan by which, while the ends aimed at are attained, the consumption of 
the menstruum used in percolation may be diminished. This object has been 
accomplished, to a considerable extent, by Dr. Ed. R. Squibb, of Brooklyn, H. 
Y., by a modification of the process of percolation to which he has given the 
name at the head of the present paragraph. As defined by Dr. Squibb, reper- 
colation consists in the successive application of the same percolating menstruum 
tc fresh portions of the substance to be percolated. The result is that the same 
menstruum, acting repeatedly on unexhausted portions of the medicine, be- 
comes concentrated to the greatest possible extent; so that much of the men- 
struum is saved, while the amount of the subsequent evaporation is dimin- 
ished, which is itself an object of great importance in the preparation of ex- 
tracts. It is obvious that repercolation is not applicable to the preparation of 
infusions, decoctions, tinctures, &c., in which the object in general is less a high 1122 
Ext'acta. 
PARI II. 
degree of concentration than precision in the strength of the preparation, and 
consequently in the dose. It is to the extracts that the process is peculiarly 
adapted. One of its disadvantages is that the substance treated is less completely 
exhausted than when the proceeding is inverted, and fresh portions of men- 
struum are made to act on the same material until the latter is deprived of all 
its soluble matter. But the loss in this way is trifling, compared with the gain 
where a high-priced menstruum, as alcohol at the present time, is employed. 
In deciding when to adopt it, the operator will of course be influenced by the 
relative value of the drug and the menstruum, and decide in its favour only 
when the former is not so great as to overbalance the saving from the reduced 
quantity of the latter. In carrying repercolation into effect, in order to secure 
the most favourable results, certain methods of proceeding are advisable in 
various steps of the process, differing with the character of the substance to' 
be acted on; and this can be determined only by a careful study, confirmed 
by repeated experiment. Dr. Squibb has applied it especially to the prepara- 
tion of an extract of cinchona ; and, by px-esenting in a note below an abstract 
of his plan of proceeding in this case, and the accompanying explanations, we 
can more forcibly impress on the mind of the pharmaceutical student the 
lessons applicable to the case than by absti-act rules.* 
* Dr. Squibb's Process for Extract of Cinchona by Repercolation. Take of Cinchona, in 
very fine powder, forty-eight troyounces, Alcohol ten pints, Water a sufficiency. Divide 
theCinchona into three equal parts. Mix one part thoroughly with two pints of the 
Alcohol; allow the mixture to stand in a covered vessel for half an hour, and then trans- 
fer it to a ten-inch glass funnel for percolation; return the first two or three fluidounces 
that pass to the funnel; and pour in first five pints of the Alcohol, in portions of a pint 
each, waiting after each addition till the liquid has disappeared; and afterwards 20 fluid- 
ounces of Water. Continue the percolation till 6-5 pints have passed; dividing the per- 
colate as it appears into portions, the first of two pints, and the remainder of a pint each, 
except the last, which is to be half a pint. 
Mix the second part of the Cinchona with the first two pints of the percolate obtained, 
and proceed as with the first part, using the successive portions of percolate in the place 
of alcohol, until the last portion disappears. Then pour into the funnel a pint of the Al- 
cohol, and when this has disappeared 20 fluidounces of Water. Continue the percolation 
till 7-5 pints have passed; separating the percolate into portions as before. 
Mix the third part of the Cinchona with the first two portions of the percolate of the 
last operation, and proceed as with the second part, except that the remaining two pints 
of the Alcohol are to be poured into the funnel after the percolate and before the Water, 
and that the percolation is to continue till 9-5 pints of percolate are obtained, or till 
water appears in the percolate. 
Recover the alcohol from the percolate by distillation for future use, and prepare the 
extract in the form directed. 
The following explanatory observations by Dr. Squibb in relation to the foregoing pro- 
cess are important. The cinchona for percolation should be in the finest powder possible, 
and perfectly dry. The exhaustion is less economically eflected with smaller quan- 
tities than 16 troyounces, used in each operation of the process; and a 10 or 10-5 inch 
funnel is of a convenient size. The mixture of the powder and alcohol, which should be 
made in a vessel of a capacity not less than half a gallon, may be eflected by means of a 
v/ooden spatula, and should be free from lumps. After the magma has been put into 
the funnel, from 4 to 6 ounces of percolate may drain from it without the addition of 
menstruum; but this is not desirable, as the magma becomes impacted, and is less easily 
penetrated by the menstruum. The first two or three fluidounces that pass, being weak 
and sometimes turbid, are returned into the funnel, and the menstruum is to be imme- 
diately added, to prevent shrinking and impaction. The surface of the mass in the fun- 
nel, in the first part, should always be kept covered, when the alcohol is added; and, 
when the percolate is used in successive portions, one portion should be allowed to sink 
into the magma before another is applied; because these portions are successively weaker, 
and consequently better adapted to the more exhausted magma; but the surface should 
not remain long uncovered between the additions, as shrinking might take place and the 
percolation cease. Should it, however, have remained so, as when unwatclied in the 
night, the whole surface should be gently pressed down in order to close the cracks ; and 
this may be done without removing the paper from the surface. The percolate should 
throughout be perfectly transparent, and should pass at the average rate of a pint in 12 
hours; though more rapid with the first portion, and slower with the third. The first part 
of each percolation is slower; and the rapidity increases with the exhaustion. To pre- 
vent loss of alcohol by evaporation, in consequence of the slowness of the percolation, thf PART II. 
Eztracta. 
1123 
Some prefer the mode of expression to that of displacement. This also is ap- 
plicable both to watery and alcoholic menstrua. The substance to be acted upon 
is mixed with the menstruum, cold or hot according to circumstances; and the 
mixture is allowed to stand from twelve to twenty-four hours. The liquid part 
is then filtered off, and the remainder submitted to strong pressure, in a linen 
bag, by means of a common screw press,or other convenient instrument. Another 
portion of the menstruum may then be added, and pressure again applied ; and, 
if the substance is not sufficiently exhausted, the same operation may be per- 
formed a third time. Frequently only a single expression is required, and very 
seldom a third. The quantity of menstruum added must vary with the solubility 
of the principles to be extracted. According to Mohr, the method of expression 
has the advantages over that of displacement, that it yields solutions of more 
uniform concentration, that it does not require the materials to be so carefully 
powdered, or otherwise so skilfully managed in order to ensure favourable re- 
sults, and finally that it occupies less time. 
2. Mode of conducting the Evaporation. 
In evaporating the solutions obtained in the modes above described, attention 
should always be paid to the fact, that the extractive matter is constantly be- 
coming insoluble at high temperatures with the access of air, and that other 
chemical changes are going on, sometimes notless injurious than this, while the 
volatile principles arc expelled with the vapour. The operator should, there- 
fore, observe two rules: 1. to conduct the evaporation at as low a temperature 
as is consistent with other objects; 2. to exclude atmospheric air as much as 
possible, and, when this cannot be accomplished, to expose the liquid the shortest 
possible time to its action. According to Berzelius, the injurious influence of 
atmospheric air is much greater at the boiling point of water than at a less heat, 
point of the funnel should pass well into the flask, and the funnel should be kept closely 
covered by India-rubber cloth, or oiled cloth or silk, and a plate. 
Two accidents may occur here, either of which may spoil a process or even group of 
processes. If in emptying the funnel and preparing for a new percolation, the blanket 
or cork be left wet or even very damp, the new percolate will pass turbid from the be- 
ginning, and will often stop entirely. If, moreover, the tube of the funnel tit closely, 
as it should do, in the neck of the receiver, and its oritice do not project into the wider 
portion of the flask below, the interstice between the end of the funnel and neck of the 
flask is liable to be closed by the dropping liquid, so as to prevent the escape of air, and 
thus cause the percolate to pass upward through the interstice, and escape over the top of 
th •-> receiver; and when this course is established, not a drop appears to fall into the flask. 
After the last pint of the alcohol has been added, and disappeared beneath the surface, 
the water is poured into the funnel to displace the last portion of the spirituous men- 
struum, and is known to have sufficiently accomplished its object when it begins itself 
to appear in the percolate, as indicated by the turbidness produced by it in the tincture; 
and the process should be closely watched, so as to be suspended at this moment. 
The percolate is very bitter, and deeply coloured; the tint varying with the variety 
of the bark; being of a deep, port-wine colour with the red, and nearly as dark as brown 
sherry with the yellow. If loss by evaporation be avoided, full 0-5 pints of alcoholic per- 
colate may be obtained from the 7 pints of alcohol first employed; and a similar propor- 
tion from the other two parts, making altogether 9-5 pints. In obtaining this product 
from 10 pints of alcohol, about half a pint from the last percolation will contain some 
water, but not sufficient materially to interfere with the result. 
The first part of the percolate is very dense, the last almost syrupy; and, were the pro- 
cess to bo carried to the fourth percolation, it would become quite syrupy, so as to in- 
terfere with the passage of the liquid in any further repetition of the process; and a 
natural limitation of repercolation is thus afforded. The first pint of percolate is usually 
obtained in about 10 hours; the first from the second percolation in about 16 hours; that 
from the third in 24 hours; and the last pint of each, with little variation, in 8 or 10 hours. 
The alcohol recovered by distillation is ready for use with other portions of cinchona; 
and the loss in the process varies from 20 to 30 per cent., according to the efficiency of 
the distillatory apparatus, and the care and skill employed. The alcohol used in percola- 
tion with the red bark retains a brown tint, that with the yellow is nearly or quite colour- 
less. (Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A.D. 1867, p. 393 ; see also Pharmacy 
of the Cinchonas, AmJourn. of Pharm., 1867, pp. 289, 398, and 513.)—Note to the thir- 
teenth edition 1124 
Extrada. 
PART II. 
even allowing for the longer exposure in the latter case ; and, therefore, a slow 
evaporation at a moderate heat is preferable to the more rapid effects of ebulli- 
tion. Bearing these principles in mind, we shall proceed to examine the different 
modes in practice. First, however, it is proper to observe that decoctions gen- 
erally let fall upon cooling a portion of insoluble matter; and it is a question 
whether this should be rejected, or retained so as to form a part of the extract 
Though it is undoubtedly in many instances inert, as in that of the insoluble 
tanuate of starch formed during the decoction of certain vegetable substances, 
yet, as it frequently also contains a portion of the active principle which a boil- 
ing saturated solution necessarily deposits on cooling, and as it is difficult to 
decide with certainty when it is active and when otherwise, the safest plan, as a 
general rule, is to allow it to remain. 
The method of evaporation usually resorted to in the case of aqueous solu- 
tions is rapid boiling over a fire. The more quickly the process is conducted the 
better, provided the liquid is to be brought to the boiling point; for the tem- 
perature cannot exceed this, and the length of exposure is diminished. But, even 
where this method is employed, it should not be continued till the completion of 
the evaporation ; for, when most of the water has escaped, the temperature can 
no longer be kept down to the boiling point, and the extract is burnt. The cau- 
tion, therefore, should always be observed of removing the preparation from the 
fire before it has attained the consistence of thick syrup, and completing the 
evaporation, either by means of a water-bath, or in shallow vessels at a moderate 
heat. When large quantities of liquid are to be evaporated, it is best to divide 
them into portions and evaporate each separately ; for, as each portion requires 
less time for evaporation than the whole, it will thus be a shorter time exposed 
to heat. (Mohr.) But the mode of evaporation by boiling is always more or less 
objectionable, and should be employed only in cases where the principles of the 
plant are so fixed and unchangeable as to authorize their extraction by decoction. 
Evaporation by means of the water-bath, from the commencement of the pro- 
cess, is safer than the plan just mentioned, as it obviates all danger of burning 
the extract; but, as the heat is not supplied directly from the fire, the volatili- 
zation of the water cannot go on so rapidly, and the temperature being nearly 
the same, when the water-bath is kept boiling, there is greater risk of injurious 
action from the air. The liquid should be stirred during the process. The use 
of the vapour-bath, as suggested by M. Henry, is perhaps preferable; as it re- 
quires a smaller consumption of fuel, and the heat imparted to the liquid, while 
sufficient to evaporate it, is less than 212°. We take the following description 
of the apparatus, employed at the Central Pharmacy of Paris, from M. Cheval- 
lier’s highly useful Manual. It consists of a covered boiler, containing water, 
the vapour of which is conducted through a pipe into evaporating vessels, com- 
municating with each other by means of metallic tubes. These vessels have the 
form of an ordinary copper basin, over the top of which is soldered a shallow 
tin capsule, intended to contain the liquor to be evaporated. The vapour from 
the boiler circulates through these vessels, and the water into which it condenses 
is allowed to escape through a stop-cock attached to the bottom of each vessel. 
From the last one of the series a tube passes into a vessel of water, so as to 
afford a slight pressure against the escape of any excess of vapour. The liquid 
to be evaporated is first distributed in two or three capsules, but, when consider- 
ably concentrated, is transferred to a single one, where it is stirred towards the 
close of the process to hasten the evaporation. The heat applied to the liquid, 
if there are four vessels, is in that nearest the boiler about 198° F., in the fourth 
or most remote, about 185°. An incidental advantage of this apparatus is, that 
it affords a large supply of distilled water. 
As the heat capable of being applied by a boiling water-bath to the evapo- 
rating liquid does not exceed 200° F., while that by steam can, by a moderate 
pressure, be increased to the boiling point or beyond it, the evaporation by the 
latter agency may be much more rapid than by the former, according to Mr 
Redwood, twice as rapid, when the pressure is from ten to twenty pounds to PART II. 
Extrada. 
1125 
the square inch; so that there is a temptation to raise the heat to a degree se- 
riously injurious to the product. Evaporation, therefore, by steam heat always 
requires caution, while the water-bath is much less liable to be abused. In this 
respect, the latter method has the advantage. 
A good plan of evaporation, though slow, is to place the liquid in a broad, 
shallow vessel, exposed in a stove or drying room to a temperature of about 
100°, or a little higher, taking care that the air have free access in order to 
facilitate the evaporation. This mode is particularly applicable to those cases 
in which maceration or infusion is preferred to decoction for extracting the 
active principles. Berzelius says that we may thus usually obtain the extract 
in the form of a yellowish transparent mass, while those prepared in the ordi- 
nary way are almost black, and are opaque even in very thin layers. Even when 
the liquid is boiled at first, the process may often be advantageously completed 
in this manner. It has been proposed to effect the evaporation at the common 
temperature, by directing a strong current of air, by means of a pair of smith’s 
bellows, over the surface of the liquid; and, in reference to substances which 
are injured by heat and not by atmospheric air, the plan will be found useful. 
Plans have been proposed and carried into execution for performing evapo- 
ration without the admission of atmospheric air. The apparatus for evapora- 
tion in vacuo, invented by Mr. Barry, and described in the LoncL. Journ. of 
Science and Arts (vol. viii. p. 860), is well calculated to meet this object, at the 
same time that, by removing the atmospheric pressure, it enables the water to 
rise in vapour more rapidly, and at a comparatively low temperature. The 
method of Barry consists in distilling the liquid into a large receiver, from 
which the air has been expelled by steam, and in which the vapour is con- 
densed by cold water applied to the surface of the receiver, so as to maintain 
a partial vacuum. Mr. Redwood has modified this process by keeping an air- 
pump in action during the evaporation, thus removing not only the air, but the 
vapour as fast as it forms, and maintaining a more complete vacuum than can 
be done by the condensation of the vapour alone. (Journ de Pharm., 3e ser., 
i. 231.) Another method is to place the liquid under an exhausted receiver, 
together with some concentrated sulphuric acid or chloride of calcium, which, 
by its affinity for water, promotes the evaporation of the liquid. But, from the 
expense and trouble of these modes of evaporation, they are not calculated for 
general use. Dr. Christison recommends as probably the most perfect and con- 
venient method, especially with watery infusions and decoctions, to evaporate 
the fluid in a vacuum to the consistence of syrup, and then to complete the 
process in shallow vessels, exposed to a current of air without heat.* 
A convenient plan of excluding the air, though it does not at the same time 
meet the object of reducing the requisite degree of heat, is to distil off the water 
in close vessels. Berzelius says that this is the best mode of concentration next 
to that in vacuo. Care, however, must be taken that the fire be not too long ap- 
plied, lest the extract should be burnt. The process should, therefore, be com- 
pleted by means of the water-bath. 
* M. Grandval has described an apparatus for evaporation in vacuo, for the preparation 
of extracts, in the Journ.de Pharm. (xv. 82). In the same journal (xxiii. 1), MM. Sou- 
beiran and Gobley have described and figured an apparatus, founded upon that of M. 
Grandval, but modified so as to be adapted to operations on a small scale, and to be within 
the reach of apothecaries who may desire to prepare their own extracts. Messrs. Til- 
den & Co., of New York, employ a vacuum apparatus analogous to that used in refining 
sugar. The vacuum is obtained and continued by the constant action of a powerful steam- 
driven pump. Their apparatus includes two evaporating pans; one large, having a 
capacity of several hundred gallons, used to concentrate the solutions for extracts to a 
syrupy consistence; the other, holding about fifty gallons, in which the evaporation is 
finished. The latter is furnished with an opening of such size as to permit the operator 
to remove the residual extract. The temperature during the evaporation is from 120° to 
140° F., and is derived from steam pipes, placed within the boiler in the large evapora- 
ting pan, and a steam jacket beneath the smaller one. Very fine extracts are prepared in 
this way. (Note to the ninth and tenth editions.) 
We are told that the vacuum pan is now much more used by pharmaceutical chemists 
than formeily. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 1126 
Exlrada. 
PART n. 
In the concentration of alcoholic solutions, distillation should always be per- 
formed; as not only is the atmospheric air thus excluded, but the alcohol is 
recovered, if not absolutely pure, certainly fit for the purpose to which it was 
originally applied. Here also the water-bath should be employed, to obviate 
any possible risk of injury from the fire. When the decoction or infusion, and 
tincture of the same vegetable have been made separately, they should be 
separately evaporated to the consistence of syrup, and then mixed together, 
while they are of such a consistence as to incorporate without difficulty. The 
object of this separate evaporation is, that the spirituous extract may not be 
exposed to the degree of heat, or lengthened action of the air, which is neces- 
sary in the ordinary mode of concentrating the infusion or decoction. 
In every instance, care should be taken to prevent any portion of the extract 
.from becoming dry and hard on the sides of the evaporating vessel, as in this 
state it will not readily incorporate with the remaining mass. The heat, there- 
fore, should be applied to the bottom, and not to the sides of the vessel 
3. Condition and Preservation of Extracts. 
Extracts are prepared of two different degrees of consistence; soft so that 
they may be readily made into pills, and hard that they may be pulverized. Jn 
astringent extracts, the evaporation should be carried to dryness. Those ob- 
tained from the expressed juices of plants are apt to attract moisture from the 
air, in consequence of the deliquescent nature of the salts existing in the juice. 
They are thus rendered softer, and more liable to become mouldy upon the 
surface. Others, especially such as contain much chlorophyll, harden by time, 
in consequence of the escape of their moisture; and it not unfrequently hap- 
pens that small crystals of saline matter are formed in their substance. Most 
extracts, especially those containing azotized principles, are capable, when left 
to themselves, of producing nitrates. Mr. John Attfield, of London, has made 
a chemical examination of the crystals found in numerous extracts, and ascer- 
tained that, in a large number, they consisted of chloride of potassium, and, in 
a comparatively few, of the nitrate of potassa.* The air, moreover, exercises an 
unfavourable chemical influence over the softer extracts, which are enfeebled, 
and ultimately become nearly inert, by the same changes which they undergo 
more rapidly in the liquid state at an elevated temperature. If an extract be 
dissolved in water, and the liquid be saturated with common salt, or any other 
very soluble salt of difficult decomposition, the greater part of it will be pre- 
cipitated, in consequence of the insolubility of this class of substances in saline 
solutions. The precipitate may be again dissolved in pure water. 
Extracts,in order that they may keep well, should be placed in glazed earthen- 
ware, glass, or porcelain jars, and completely protected from the access of the 
air. This may be effected by covering their surface with a layer of melted wax, 
or with apiece of paper moistened with strong spirit, then closing the mouth of 
the vessel with a cork, spreading wax or rosin over this, and covering the whole 
with leather, or a piece of bladder. {Duncan.) The dry extracts, being less 
liable to be affected by atmospheric oxygen, do not require so much care. The 
application of alcohol to the surface has a tendency to prevent mouldiness A 
method of protecting extracts from the action of the air, frequently resorted to,J 
is to cover them closely with oiled bladder; but this, though better than to leave) 
them uncovered, is not entirely effectual. Should the extract become too moist, 
it may be dried by means of a water-bath; should it, on the contrary, be too 
dry, the proper consistence may be restored by softening it in the same manner, 
and incorporating with it a little distilled water. (Chevallier.) 
Some extracts when powdered have a tendency to cohere again. According 
to Geiseler, this may be obviated by the addition of sugar of milk or powdered 
* Tims, chloride of potassium was detected in the extracts of belladonna, hemlock, sar- 
saparilla(compound), colchicum seeds, stramonium seeds, and aconite; nitrate ofpotassa 
in extracts of belladonna, hyoscyamus, and lettuce; and sulphate of soda in extract of 
stramonium seeds. (Pharm. Journ., March, 1862, p. 448.) PART II. 
Extrada. 
1127 
liquorice-root; two or three parts of the former, and one part of the latter to 
one of the extract being sufficient for the purpose. (Pharm. Cent. Blatt, A. D. 
1850, p. 238.) Mohr recommends the following plan of drying and preserving 
extracts. Take equal parts of powdered liquorice-root and of the extract, rub 
them well together in a mortar, put the resulting paste into an earthen vessel 
with a flat bottom, place this in another of iron, a little deeper, containing chlo- 
ride of calcium thoroughly dried by heat insufficient to melt it; then enclose the 
whole with a cover fitted to the iron vessel, and allow them to stand for a day 
or more. When the mixture is quite dry, powder it, and add so much of the 
powdered root as to make the weight double that of the original extract. (Ibid. 
p no.) 
The incorporation of a little glycerin with extracts by adding it to the mate- 
rials in the course of their preparation has been of late highly recommended, 
and by some carried into effect. By its unchangeable liquid character it keeps 
the extract soft, so as to be readily made into pills, and exercises also a favour- 
able influence through its chemical properties; protecting in some degree 
against the oxidation of certain principles which render them insoluble, and 
dissolving apotheme already formed, as well as other principles that may not 
be soluble in the menstruum employed, as resin when water is used as the 
solvent. Mr. T. S. Wiegand considers glycerin as the best excipient for ex- 
tracts given in the form of liquid mixture, or applied externally ; equal parts 
being used in the former case, and a double proportion of glycerin in the latter. 
(Am. Journ. of Pharm., March, 1863, p. 117 ) 
Extracts from recent plants should be prepared at the season when the plant 
is medicinally most active; and a good rule is to prepare them once a year.* 
4. General Officinal Directions. 
“In preparing the Extracts, unless otherwise directed, evaporate as quickly 
as possible, in a broad, shallow vessel, by means of a water-bath, until they have 
acquired the consistence proper for forming pills; and, towards the end of the 
process, stir them constantly with a spatula. Sprinkle upon the softer Extracts 
a small quantity of Alcohol.” U. S. 
EXTRACTUM ACOXITI. Br. Extract of Aconite. 
“Take of the fresh Leaves and Flowering Tops of Aconite one hundred and 
twelve pounds [avoirdupois]. Bruise in a stone mortar, and pi’ess out the 
juice ; heat it gradually to 130°, and separate the green colouring matter by a 
calico filter. Heat the strained liquor to 200° to coagulate the albumen, and 
again filter. Evaporate the filtrate by a water-bath to the consistence of a thin 
syrup; then add to it the green colouring matter previously separated, and, 
stirring the whole together assiduously, continue the evaporation at a tempera- 
ture not exceeding 140°, until the extract is of a suitable consistence for form 
ing pills.” Br. 
The extract from the fresh leaves of aconite has been abandoned in theU. S. 
Pharmacopoeia, probably because the plant is not generally cultivated in this 
country. It will be perceived that, in the British process, not the leaves only, 
* M. Lepage, of Gisors, gives the following method of testing the quality of the narcotic 
extracts, and determining whether they contain any of the alkaloids to which they owe 
their efficiency. Take a gramme (15-3 grs.) of the extract, dissolve it in twice its weight of 
distilled water, introduce the solution into a test-tube, and add from 25 to 30 centigrammes 
(4 or 5 grs.) of powdered bicarbonate of potassa. When effervescence has ceased, add to 
the mixture 5 or 6 times its bulk of pure ether, cork the tube, and shake briskly three 
times in 2 or 3 minutes. Then let the mixture rest; and, when the ether has become trans- 
parent, decant, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously. Dissolve the residue in 6 or 8 
grammes (fgiss to fjij) of water, acidulated with a drop or two of muriatic acid. If the 
extract be good, the solution will be rendered very turbid by a few drops ff a solution of 
the double iodide of mercury and potassium, and will give a flocculent precipitate with 
solution of tannic acid. (Journ. de Pharm., Mai, 1863, p. 362.) This test is applicable to 
the extracts of aconite, belladonna, liyoscyamus, and conium. (Note to the twelfth edition.) 1128 
Extracta. 
PART II, 
but the flowering tops also are used, as experience has shown that these are at 
least equally efficient. The process consists essentially in the evaporation of the 
expressed juice; and the product, therefore, ranks with inspissated juices. 
In relation to the preparation of this extract, as well as of all others derived 
from the expressed juices of narcotic plants, the following summary of the plan 
pursued by Mr. Battley, an experienced apothecary of London, may be of ser- 
vice. Having passed the expressed juice through a fine hair sieve, he places it 
immediately upon the fire. Before it boils, a quantity of green matter rises to 
.he surface, which in some plants is very abundant. This is removed by a per- 
forated tin dish, and preserved. It ceases to appear soon after the liquid begins 
to boil. The boiling is continued till rather more than half the fluid has been 
evaporated, when the decoction is poured into a conical pan and allowed to cool. 
An abundant dark-green precipitate forms, from which the supernatant liquid is 
poured off; aud this, having been reduced one-half by a second boiling, is again 
allowed to stand. The precipitate which now falls is less green than the first. 
The remaining fluid is once more placed over the fire, and allowed to boil till it 
assumes the consistence of syrup, when it is removed. The matter at first col- 
lected by skimming, together with that precipitated, is now incorporated with 
it, and the whole placed in a metallic pan, and by means of a water-bath evapo- 
rated to the consistence of an extract. In the latter part of the process, care 
is necessary to prevent the extract from hardening on the sides of the vessel, 
as it thus loses its fine green colour, and becomes proportionably feeble. 
The superiority of this plan over a continuous boiling is, that the portions of 
active matter which are deposited at different stages of the process are subjected 
for a shorter time to heat than if allowed to remain in the liquor, and are con- 
sequently less deteriorated. The matter which coagulates before the fluid boils 
is chiefly albumen, embracing portions of chlorophyll and of the undissolved 
vegetable fibre. It might probably be thrown away without diminishing the vir- 
tues of the extract; but as chlorophyll, though itself inactive, has often associ- 
ated with it a portion of the active principle, it is the most economical plan to 
incorporate it with the other matters, and, besides, its presence in the mass is 
said to render it easier to be worked into pills. Mr. Brande states that one cwt. 
of fresh aconite yields about five pounds of extract. According to Geiger, one 
pound yields an ounce and a half. 
In the new process of the British Pharmacopoeia, it will be perceived that a 
discrimination is made between the chlorophyll and albumen; the former, which 
coagulates at 130°, being at first separated in order to prevent the continuous 
action of heat upon it, and afterwards added to the extract; the latter, coagu- 
lating at 200°, is separated and rejected The rejection of the albumen is alto- 
gether advisable, as it is not only inert, but renders the extract more liable to 
decomposition. The chlorophyll is retained for the reasons stated in the pre- 
ceding paragraph; and also to give a greenish colour to the extract, which has 
come to be associated in general opinion with its goodness of quality. 
When properly prepared, this extract has a greenish-brown colour, with a 
disagreeable narcotic odour, and the acrid taste of the plant. It may be given 
in the dose of one or two grains, night and morning, to be gradually increased 
till the system is affected. Twenty grains or more have been given in the 
course of a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM ACOXITI ALCOIIOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Aconite. 
“ Take of Aconite Leaf, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces, 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been ab- 
sorbed by the powder, pour on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture has been 
obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spontane- 
ously until ’’educed to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Diluted PART II. 
Extracta. 
1129 
Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder is ex- 
hausted ; then evaporate by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup, and add the three fluidounces of 
tincture first obtained. Lastly, continue the evaporation, at a temperature not 
exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The exhaustion of the aconite in this process is indicated by the absence of 
its peculiar taste in the liquid which passes. 
Bv the former U. S. process the alcohol in the evaporation was recovered by 
distillation and saved. In the present, this is impossible at the low temperature 
at which the evaporation is directed, unless by the aid of a vacuum apparatus; 
but, at the present high price of alcohol, it would be advisable for every apo- 
thecary, who prepares these alcoholic extracts, to be provided with such an in- 
strument. The attempt to save the alcohol by ordinary distillation would imply 
an elevation of the heat above that officinally ordered, and thus endanger the 
decomposition of the active principle of the aconite; and views of economy 
should never be allowed to interfere with the efficiency of medicines. 
If made from recently dried leaves, which have not yet been impaired by 
time, this is a good preparation of aconite; and it is believed to be more pow- 
erful, and to keep better, than the inspissated juice. According to Prof. Schroff, 
of Vienna, it has four times the strength of that preparation. The dose is half 
a grain or a grain, to be gradually increased if necessary. 
An alcoholic extract prepared from the root is stronger, and may be given in 
the dose of one-sixth or one-quarter of a grain three times a day, to be gradu- 
ally increased until its effects are experienced.* W. 
EXTRACTUM ALOES BARBADEXSIS. Br. Extract of Bar- 
badoes Aloes. 
“ Take of Barbadoes Aloes, in small fragments, one pound [avoirdupois] ; 
Boiling Distilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Add the Aloes to the 
Water, and stir well until they are thoroughly mixed. Set aside for twelve hours; 
then pour off the clear liquor, strain the i*emainder, and evaporate the mixed 
liquors by a water-bath or a current of warm air to dryness.” Br. 
EXTRACTUM ALOES SOCOTRESEE. Br. Extract of Socotrine 
Aloes. 
This is prepared precisely as the Barbadoes Aloes. 
The object of these processes is to separate from Aloes the resinoid matter, 
the apotheme of Berzelius, which is supposed to irritate the bowels, without 
possessing purgative properties; but the truth appears to be, that, when de- 
prived of a small proportion of adhering extractive, this matter is quite inert. 
It cannot, therefore, injuriously affect the virtues of the medicine; and, as it 
exists in comparatively small proportion, and during the process a part of the 
extractive becomes insoluble, the preparation may be considered as at best 
unnecessary. The dose of the purified aloes is from two to ten grains.f 
Off. Prep. Decoctum Aloes Compositum, Br.; Extractum Colocynthidis 
Compositum, Br. W. 
* Plaster of Aconite. It is often desirable to employ aconite externally in the form of a 
plaster, and for this purpose the alcoholic extract of the root may be advantageously re- 
sorted to. Professor Procter prepares such a plaster by the following process. Mix four 
ounces of the coarsely powdered root with six fluidounces of alcohol (sp. gr. 0-835), ma- 
cerate for 24 hours, then submit the mixture to percolation with alcohol, so as to obtain 
a pint of tincture. Prom this distil off three-fourths of the alcohol, and evaporate the 
residue by a water-bath to a syrupy consistence. While it is still hot, add three ounces 
and a half of adhesive plaster, previously melted, and stir the mixture constantly till it 
cools. About four ounces of plaster are thus obtained. (Am. Journ. of Pharm.,xx\. 202.) 
— Note to the tenth edition. 
f Glycerate of Aloes. Glycerole of Aloes. Under the latter name, M. Chausit brought to 
the notice of the profession a preparation consisting of an alcoholic extract of aloes dis- 
solved in glycerin. Mr. Haselden prepared this in the following method. Macerating half 
an ounce of aloes in four fluidounces of alcohol until dissolved, he filtered the tincture 
through bibulous paper, evaporated it to the consistence of molasses, and, while it was 1130 
Ex.tr acta. 
PART II. 
EXTRACTUM ANTIIEMIDIS. Br. Extract of Chamomile. 
“Take of Chamomile Flowers one pound [avoirdupois]; Oil of Chamomile 
fifteen minims; Distilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Boil the 
Chamomile with the Water until the volume is reduced to one-half, then 
strain, press, and filter. Evaporate the liquor by a water-bath until the extract 
is of a suitable consistence for forming pills, adding the Oil of Chamomile at 
the end of the process.” Br. 
According to Mr. Braude, one cwt. of dried chamomile flowers affords upon 
an average 48 pounds of extract. 
This extract has a deep-brown colour, with the bitter taste and aroma of 
chamomile. It much better represents the chamomile than the old Edinburgh 
extract, which, being obtained by decoction and inspissation, contained none of 
the volatile oil of the plant. In the present British process, not only is care taken 
to avoid boiling, but also to supply any possible loss of oil during the cautious 
evaporation, by the addition of a small portion near the close of the process. 
The extract may be given for the same purposes as the flowers, but is most used 
as a vehicle for other tonics in the pilular form. The dose is from ten to twenty 
grains. An extract may be prepared, having the peculiar flavour as well as 
bitterness of chamomile, by macerating the flowers in water, and evaporating 
the infusion in vacuo. W. 
EXTRACTUM ARNICA ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Arnica. 
“ Take of Arnica, in moderately coarse powder, twenty-four troyounces, 
Alcohol four pints ; Water two pints ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
Mix the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with a pint of the mix- 
ture ; then pack it firmly in a cylindrical percolator, and gradually pour on the 
remainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until 
six pints of tincture have passed. Lastly, evaporate this, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This extract very well represents the virtues of arnica, and is a convenient 
form for its administration. According to Prof. Procter, it amounts, in the soft 
state, to 33 per cent, of the flowers. The dose is from five to ten grains. But 
the chief employment of the extract is in the preparation of the plaster. (See 
Emplastrum Arnicee.) 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Arnica?, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM BELLADONNA. U.S.,Br. Extract of Belladonna. 
“ Take of Belladonna Leaf, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Leaf in a 
stone mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice ; then, having 
heated this to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate to the proper consist- 
ence.” U. S. 
The British Pharmacopoeia takes the “fresh leaves and young branches of 
Belladonna,” and prepares the Extract from them in the same manner precisely 
as Extract of Aconite. (See Extraction Aconiti.) 
The U. S. Pharmacopoeia directs this extract to be prepared from the leaves 
till warm, added enough glycerin to make four fluidounces. Finding that the aloes was 
wholly dissolved, with the exception of a little impurity, he concluded that the spirit 
might very well be dispensed with, and the aloes used directly in the process. Accord- 
ingly, ho proposes to substitute the following method. Mix well in a mortar half an ounce 
of Socotrine aloes, in fine powder, and four fluidounces of glycerin; transfer the mixture 
to a bottle, and agitate occasionally for several days ; if the aloes be not now dissolved, 
heat for fifteen minutes by a water-bath, and strain through linen to separate impuri- 
ties. The resulting liquid is of a bright mahogany colour, and of the consistence of gly- 
cerin. The preparation has been recommended as an external remedy in lichen agrius 
and the excoriations of eczema, applied by means of a camel’s-hair brush . (Pharm. Journ., 
Dec. 1859, p. 322.) It is unfortunate, we think, that the French name of glycerole has 
been employed to express solutions in glycerin, as this termination has been adopted for 
certain proximate principles. It appears to us that the t°rm glycerate would be unex- 
ceptionable; as it is sufficiently expressive, and no confusion could result. For the 
mode of preparing a fluid extract of aloes with the aid of glycerin, by Prof. Procter, see 
Proceed, of Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1863, p. 240. (Note to the twelfth edition.) PART II. 
Exiracta. 
1131 
of the plant, the British from the leaves and young branches. The latter direc- 
tion was probably based on experiments by Mr. Squire, of London, who found 
that an extract prepared from the soft herbaceous parts of the plant generally, 
including leaves, (lowers, and young stalks, not only has a better consistence, 
and is less apt to become mouldy by keeping, than that made from the leaves 
exclusively, but is more effectual in. the same quantity. (Pharm. Journ., Dec 
1881, p. 300.) There is little doubt of the accuracy of these results, and it is to 
be hoped that, in a future edition of our officinal standard, should they be con- 
firmed by further observation, the same measure may be adopted. It is probable 
that these remarks are as applicable to other extracts prepared from fresh leaves 
as to that of belladonna, at least in relation to perennial plants. 
From the experiments of M\l. Solon and Soubeiran, it appears that, in relation 
to this extract, the insoluble matter separated from the expressed juice by filter- 
ing, and that coagulated by heat, are nearly if not quite inert; so that advantage 
results from clarifying the juice by these means before evaporating it. So far as 
the albumen is concerned, there can be no doubt of the accuracy of this state- 
ment ; but it is questionable whether the same remark is applicable to the chlo- 
rophyll which first separates, and which is reserved in the British process. (See 
Extractum Aconiii, page 1127.) Mr. Brande states that one cwt. of fresh bel- 
ladonna yields from 4 to 6 pounds of extract. According to M. Ilecluz, nearly 
ten parts may be obtained from one hundred. The best extract is brought chiefly 
from England; but Mr. Alfred Jones has found that it maybe prepared ot 
equally good quality from the plant grown in the United States. (Am. Journ. 
of Pharm , xxiv. 108.) It has usually a dark-brown colour, a slightly narcotic 
not unpleasant odour, a bitterish taste, and a soft consistence which it long re- 
tains. Asparagin has been found in this extract. (Journ. de Pharm., xxi. 178.) 
Its medical properties and uses have been detailed under the head of Bella- 
donna. A few words in relation to its mode of application may be proper here. 
For the dilatation of the pupil, it is either mixed with water to the consistence 
of cream and rubbed on the brow and eyelids, or dissolved in water and dropped 
into the eye. In rigidity of the os uteri, it is applied at intervals to the neck of 
the uterus, mixed with simple ointment in the proportion of two drachmstoan 
ounce; but care must be taken not too powerfully to affect the system ; and the 
preparation, therefore, should be used in a small quantity at first. In irritability 
of the bladder, chordee, spasm of the urethra, and painful constriction of the 
rectum, it may either be rubbed in the form ofointmentupon the perineum, along 
the urethra, &c., or may be used in the form of enema; but care is requisite not 
to introduce it too freely into the bowel. It is sometimes smeared upon the 
bougie, mixed with oil, in the treatment of stricture of the urethra. In the form 
of ointment it has been beneficially employed in pbymosis and paraphymosis, 
and in that of plaster or ointment, in local neuralgic or rheumatic pains. (See 
Emplastrum Belladonna.) The dose of the extract is uncertain on account ot 
its variable strength. The best plan is to begin with one-quarter or one-half 
of a grain, repeated two or three times a day, and gradually to increase the 
dose till the effects of the medicine are experienced. To a child two years old 
not more than one-twelfth of a grain should be administered at first. 
Of. Prep. Emplastrum Belladonna, Br.; Unguentum Belladonnce. W. 
EXTRACTUM ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alco- 
holic Extract of Belladonna. 
“• Take of Belladonna Leaf, in fine powder, twenty-four troyounces; Alco- 
hol four pints ; Water two pints ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Mix 
the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with a pint of the mixture, 
then pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually pour upon it the re- 
mainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol until 
six pints of tincture have passed. Lastly, evaporate this, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is a good preparation, though less necessary than some other spirit! ous 1132 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
extracts of the narcotic plants; as the inspissated juice, or common extract of 
belladonna, can generally be procured of good quality. It is one of the officinals 
of the French Codex. The dose to begin with is half a grain. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Belladonnae, U. S. W 
EXTRACTUM CALUMBAE. Br. Extract of Calumba. 
“ Take of Calumba Root, cut small, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water 
four pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Calumba with two pints of the 
Water for twelve hours, strain and press. Macerate again with the same quan- 
tity of Water, strain and press as before. Mix and filter the liquors, and eva- 
porate them by the heat of a water-bath until the extract is of a suitable con- 
sistence for forming pills.” Br. 
AVe prefer the Br. process of 1864, in which proof spirit was employed as a 
menstruum. As proof spirit takes up all the active matter of columbo, leaving 
the starch and albumen behind, the extract prepared according to that formula 
had, in a comparatively small bulk, all the powers of the root, except those of 
the small proportion of volatile oil which maybe dissipated in the process. In 
the present process, though the starch is left behind, the albumen is taken up, 
and adds to the bulk of the extract. Besides, the alcoholic preparation has the 
advantage of requiring less heat in the evaporation, and consequently of re- 
taining more of the volatile oil in the product. Its only disadvantage is its 
greater costliness. The extract may be given in the dose of from five to fifteen 
grains three times a day. W. 
EXTRACTUM CAXXABIS PURIFICATUM. U. S. Extractum 
Cannabis Indict. Br. Purified Extract of Hemp. Extract of Indian 
Hemp. 
“ Take of Extract of Hemp two troyounces ; Alcohol a sufficient quantity. 
Rub the Extract with two fluidounces of Alcohol until they are thoroughly 
mixed; and, having added twelve fluidounces of Alcohol, allow the mixture to 
macerate for twenty-four hours. Then filter the tincture through paper, passing 
sufficient Alcohol, through the filter, to exhaust the dregs completely. Lastly, 
by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 160°, evaporate to 
dryness.” U. S. 
“Take of Indian Hemp, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Recti- 
fied Spirit four pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Hemp in the Spirit for 
seven days, and press out the tincture. Distil off the greater part of the Spirit, 
and evaporate what remains by a water-bath to the consistence of a soft ex- 
tract.” Br. 
These are not identical preparations; the U. S. purified extract being made 
from the impure extract imported from India, the British extract from the dried 
plant. It is probable that the former would be found most efficient. 
Prof. Procter has investigated the subject of the tests for the purified extract 
resin, and come to the following conclusions. Its peculiar odour when mode- 
rately heated, its indifference to alkalies, and its solubility in alcohol, ether, chlo- 
roform, benzole, and oil of turpentine are characteristic though not entirely dis- 
tinctive properties. The best test, he thinks, is nitric acid (sp. gr. 1 38), which acts 
slowly when cold, but with heat rapidly, evolving red fumes, and converting the 
resin into an orange-red resinoid substance,which,when washed and dried,closely 
resembles gamboge in colour. (Proceed. of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., A .D. 1864.) 
For remarks in relation to the doses of this preparation, see Ex- 
tractum Cannabis, in Part I. (page 392). It is no doubt of more uniform 
strength than the crude extract, but cannot always be relied on as equable in this 
respect, and therefore should be prescribed with caution in relation to the dose. 
Off. Prep. Tinctura Cannabis, U.S.; Tinetura Cannabis Indicae, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM CINCHOM). U.S. Extract of Cinchona. 
“Take of Yellow Cinchona, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol four 
pints; Water a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, previously mixed PART II. 
JExtrada. 
1133 
with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical glass percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid ceases to pass, pour 
upon the residue sufficient Water to keep its surface covered, until four pints ol 
tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until six pints 
of infusion are obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, and evaporate 
the infusion until the liquids respectively are brought to the consistence of thin 
honey; then mix them, and evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The yellow or Calisaya bark is selected for this preparation, as it can always 
be relied on as efficient. By this process all the virtues of the bark are extracted; 
the parts soluble in alcohol being first taken up, and afterwards those in water, 
and the tincture and infusion thus obtained separately. This proceeding has the 
great advantage that no more heat is necessary to evaporate the tincture than 
the alcoholic menstruum requires ; while, if the two liquids were mixed, it would 
be necessarily subjected to a longer continuance if not a higher degree of the 
heat; and the advantage is the greater as most of the active matter is extracted 
in the first percolation with alcohol. If proper care be taken in executing the 
process, both in relation to the percolation, and the avoidance of too high a 
temperature, the extract will fully represent the virtues of the bark. 
In relation to this process, Dr. Squibb, though stating that it yields a very 
good extract, considers it capable of improvement. Three fluidounces of alco- 
hol, directed to be mixed with the powder previously to its introduction into 
the percolator, is insufficient to moisten the cinchona for packing. In a formula 
of his own for the extract he first mixes sixteen ounces of cinchona with thirty 
fluidounces of alcohol, and, having allowed the mixture to stand for half an 
hour in a covered vessel, then pours it into the glass funnel, and proceeds to 
percolate with alcohol, as in the officinal process. The subsequent percolation 
with water to obtain an infusion he considers entirely useless, as very little 
that is of any value is extracted ; the cinchona having in effect been exhausted 
by the alcohol; or at least it would be so if the percolation were carried some- 
what further. Hence in his formula he omits the water except merely for dis- 
placing the alcohol, and uses a somewhat larger proportion of alcohol. Dr. 
Squibb thinks that the extract is improved by a little glycerin, and conse- 
quently adds a proportion equivalent to six troy drachms to the extract while 
yet hot after the evaporation, and rubs them well together. (Pharmacy of the 
Cinchonas, p. 25.) 
The former extracts of cinchona of the British Colleges are all omitted in the 
new British Pharmacopoeia, which directs in their place a fluid extract, under 
the name of Extractum Cinchonae Liquidum, which will be treated of among 
the Fluid Extracts. 
A very good extract of bark was formerly prepared, in the shops of Philadel 
phia, by macerating cinchona for a considerable length of time in a large pro 
portion of water, and slowly evaporating the infusion, by a very moderate heat, 
in large shallow dishes placed upon the top of a stove. Before the use of sul- 
phate of quinia had superseded that of most other preparations of bark, we em- 
ployed this extract with success in the treatment of intermittents, and found ten 
grains of it equivalent to nearly a drachm of the powdered cinchona. 
The extract should always be brought to the hard dry state in which it may be 
pulverized; as it is thus less apt to be injured by exposure, and in the state of 
powder may be more uniformly incorporated with other substances. Though 
directed officinally to be prepared from the yellow or Calisaya bark, it would 
no doubt be equally efficient if made from the red.* 
* Quinium. Under this name a preparation has had some reputation in Europe, made 
by mixing quinia and cinchonia barks in such proportion that there should be about two 
parts of the former alkaloid to one of the latter, with half their weight of slaked lime, 
exhausting the mixture with alcohol, and then distilling and evaporating to dryness. 
The resulting quinium should yield one-third of its weight of the two alkaloids. The dose 
is three grains. The disadvantage of this as of all the amorphous preparations of the cin- 
chona alkaloids, is the want of that protection against adulteration which is afforded by 
the crystalline form of the pure principles. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., Sept. 1858, p. 
400.)—Note to the twelfth edition. 1134 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
Medical Uses. The extract of Peruvian bark is at present much less employed 
than before the discovery of quinia. It is still, however, occasionally prescribed 
as a tonic in combination with other medicines ; and, as it possesses, when pro- 
perly prepared with a spirituous menstruum, almost all the active principles as 
they exist in the bark itself, it may be used in preference to the sulphate of 
quinia, whenever it is supposed that the latter is incapable of exerting all the 
edrative influence of cinchona. We are told, however, that, on account of the 
high price of Calisaya bark, much of the extract as at present in the shops is 
prepared from inferior varieties. The dose is from ten to thirty grains, equivar 
lent to about a drachm of the powdered bark. VV. 
EXTRACTUM COLCIIICI. Br. Extract of Colchicum. 
“Take of Fresh Colchicum Corms, deprived of their coats, seven pounds 
avoirdupois]. Crush the Corms; press out the juice; allow the feculence to 
subside, and heat the clear liquor to 212°; then strain through flannel, and 
evaporate by a water-bath, at a temperature not exceeding 1G0°, to a suitable 
consistence for forming pills.” Br. 
There scarcely seems to be occasion for both this and the following extract. 
The dose is one or two grains. 
In Great Britain a preparation called preserved juice of colchicum is given 
in the dose of five minims or more. It is made by expressing the fresh bulb, 
allowing the juice to stand for forty-eight hours'that the feculent matter may 
subside, then adding one-quarter of its bulk of alcohol, allowing it again to stand 
for a short period, and ultimately filtering. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLCJJICI ACETICUM. U.S.,Br. Acetic Extract 
oj (Mchicum. 
“Take of Colchicum Root, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Acetic Acid four fluidounces; Water a sufficient quantity. To the Acetic 
Acid add a pint of Water, and mix the resulting liquid with the Colchicum 
Root. Transfer the mixture to a conical glass percolator, and pour Water 
gradually upon it until the liquid passes with little or no taste. Lastly, evapo- 
rate the liquid, in a porcelain vessel, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this extract is directed to be prepared as the 
preceding, except that six fluidounces of Acetic Acid (Br.) are to be added to 
the crushed corms before expression, and that the strained liquor is to be eva- 
porated to the consistence of a soft extract. 
As the fresh colchicum bulb is rarely to be had in this country, the U. S 
Pharmacopoeia employs the dried bulb ; and its process, if properly conducted, 
will afford a very efficient extract. Some inconveniences are experienced in 
preparing the extract, according to the London process, from the recent bulb 
by expression, which would seem to render the U. S. process under all circum- 
stances preferable. (Pharm. Journ., xiii. G2.) 
The use of the acetic acid, in this preparation, is to render more soluble the 
alkaline principle upon which the virtues of meadow-saffron are thought to de- 
pend. The acetic extract of colchicum is highly commended b}r Sir C. Scuda- 
more, who prefers it made by evaporating, to the consistence of honey, a satu- 
rated acetic infusion of the dried bulb. (Bond. Med. Gazette, Dec. 10, 1841.) 
The dose of the extract is one or two grains, to be repeated two or three times 
a day, and increased if necessary. W. 
EXTRACTUM COLOCYXTHIDIS ALCOHOLICUM. U.S. 
Alcoholic Extract of Colocynth. 
“Take of Colocynth forty-eight troy ounces ; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Dry the Colocynth, and, having removed the seeds, and reduced it to 
coarse powder by grinding or bruising, macerate it in eight pints of Diluted A l- 
cohol for four days, with occasional stirring; then express strongly, and strain 
through flannel. Pack the residue, previously broken up with the hands, firmly 
in a cylindrical percolator, cover it with the strainer, and pour Diluted Alcohol PART II. 
Extracta. 
1135 
upon it, until the tincture and expressed liquid, taken together, measure sixteen 
pints. Mix the tincture with the expressed liquid, and, having recovered from 
the mixture ten pints of alcohol by distillation, evaporate the residue to dryness 
by means of a water bath. Lastly, reduce the dry mass to powder, and keep it 
in a well-stopped bottle. The Extract obtained by this process weighs about 
seven troyounces.” U. S. 
Colocynth should be deprived of its seeds, as directed by the U. S. Pharma- 
copoeia, before being submitted to the action of the menstruum. Dr. Duncan 
found half a pound of colocynth to contain 2170 grains of seeds, which, boiled 
by themselves, yielded almost nothing to water. Dr. Squibb found selected 
fruits to yield from 25-8 to 34 percent, of medullary part; and this, when well 
exhausted by diluted alcohol, to yield GOT to 60’8 percent, of dry extract; while 
Tom the whole fruit, including pulp and seeds, from 15'G9to20 6 per cent, was 
obtained according to the degree of dryness. (Am. Journ. of Fharm., Jan. 1857 
p. 98.) Boiling water extracts so much poetic acid and mucilage from eolo 
cynth, that the decoction or hot infusion gelatinizes on cooling; and the extract 
made by means of it is loaded with inert matter, and, besides, is apt to become 
mouldy, or so tough and hard as to resist trituration and formation into pills. 
Hence the London College, following in this respect the French Codex, di- 
rected, in the last edition of its Pharmacopoeia, maceration with cold water; but 
diluted alcohol has been to be a much better menstruum, and has been 
adopted in the U. S. process; while, in the British Pharmacopoeia, the simple 
extract has been discarded altogether. The chief, if not exclusive use of the 
alcoholic extract is in the preparation of the compound extract. 
Off. Prep. Extractum Colocynthidis Compositum, U. S. W. 
EXTEACTUM COLOCYXTIIIDIS COMPOSITUM. U. S., Br. 
Compound Extract of Colocynth. 
“ Take of Alcoholic Extract of Colocynth, in fine powder, three troyounces 
and a half; Socotrine Aloes, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; llesin of 
Scammony, in fine powder, three troyounces; Cardamom, in fine powder, a 
troyounce; Soap, in fine powder, three troyounces. Mix the powders tho- 
roughly, and keep the mixture in a well-stopped bottle.” U.S. 
“Take of Colocynth Pulp six ounces; Extract of Socotrine Aloes twelve 
ounces; Resin of Scammony four ounces; Hard Soap, in powder, three 
ounces; Cardamom Seeds, in fine powder, one ounce; Proof Spirit one gal- 
lon [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Colocynth in the Spirit for four days; 
press out the tincture, and distil off the Spirit; then add the Aloes, Scammony, 
and Soap, and evaporate by a water-bath until the extract is of a suitable consist- 
ence for forming pills, adding the Cardamoms towards the end of the process.” 
Br. The ounce employed in this process is the avoirdupois. 
The present TJ. S. formula differs from that of 1850, in taking the alcoholic 
extract of colocynth already prepared, instead of directing its preparation from 
the colocynth, and in substituting resin of scammony for the scammony itself. 
The former provision ensures uniformity of result so far as the colocynth is 
concerned ; whereas, by the old formula, this was impossible, owing to the va- 
riable quality of the colocynth employed, unless an unusual amount of care was 
taken in its selection. The second change contributes to the same result of 
uniformity; because the resin of scammony is very nearly of equable strength, 
while scammony is notoriously otherwise; and it has the additional advantage 
of yielding a stronger extract, as the resin is much more energetic in an equal 
dose than the crude drug as ordinarily found in the market. The object of the 
soap in this formula is to improve the consistence of the mass, which, when 
hardened by time, it renders more soluble in the liquors of the stomach. It 
may possibly also serve the purpose of qualifying the action of the aloes. In 
the U. S. process the extract is in the form of powder, which is very convenient 
for admixture with other substances; while, if given uncombined, it may be 
readily made into pills by suitable additions. The alternative of using the 1136 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
scammony or its resin, in the first British formula, which appeared to us very 
objectionable, has been abandoned in the present edition, and the resin only 
directed. It has been objected to the present IT. S compound extract, that it 
is apt to gripe in consequence of deficiency in the proportion of the aromatic 
ingredient; and the addition of some aromatic oil, as oil of cloves, has been 
recommended. The plan of having the powders simply mixed is liable to the 
objection, that the mixture is apt not to be thoroughly effected, so as to obtain 
a uniform result; and hence it is suggested, in accordance with Dr. Squibb’s 
plan, to melt together all the ingredients unpowdered, except the cardamom, 
and when the mixture is thoroughly made, to stir in the powdered aromatic. 
(Procter, Am. Journ. of Pharm., Jan. 1807, p. 20.) 
This extract is an energetic and safe cathartic, possessing the activity of its 
three purgative ingredients, with comparatively little of the drastic character 
of the colocynth and scammony. It may be still further and advantageously 
modified by combination with rhubarb, jalap, calomel, &c., with one or more of 
which it is often united in prescription. In such combination it is much em- 
ployed whenever an active cathartic is desirable, particularly in the commence- 
ment of fevers and febrile complaints, in congestion of the liver or portal sys- 
tem, and in obstinate constipation. In small doses it is an excellent laxative 
in that state of habitual costiveness, depending on a want of the due irrita- 
bility of the bowels, which often occurs in old people. The dose is from five to 
thirty grains, according to the effect to be produced, and the susceptibility of 
the bowels. A very eligible combination is the compound cathartic pill of the 
U. S. Pharmacopoeia. We are informed that much of the extract sold in this 
country is made with inferior scammony and aloes, and an insufficient propor- 
tion of colocynth, so that it is comparatively inert. Cheap compound extract 
of colocynth should be looked on with suspicion, and the apothecary should 
prepare it for himself.* 
Off. Prep. Pilulse Catharticse Compositae, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM COXII. U. S., Br. Extract of Hemlock. 
“ Take of Hemlock, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Hemlock in a stone 
mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice, then, having heated 
this to the boiling point, filter it, and evaporate to the proper consistence, either 
in a vacuum with the aid of heat, or in shallow vessels, at the ordinary tempera- 
ture, by means of a current of air, directed over the surface of the liquid.” U. S. 
The directions of the British Pharmacopoeia for this extract are precisely 
the same as those for the extract of aconite, the fresh leaves and young branches 
of conium being used. 
The most important point in the preparation of this extract is to evaporate 
the juice without an undue degree of heat. At a temperature of 212° or upwards, 
its active principle undergoesrapid decomposition, being converted into resinous 
matter and ammonia. This is detected by the operator by the ammoniacal odour 
mixed with that which is peculiar to the plant. The juice always to a certain 
extent undergoes this decomposition when evaporated over a fire, and is not ex- 
empt from it even when the heat is regulated by a water-bath. Hence the pro- 
priety of the directions in the U. S. and British Pharmacopoeias. An excellent 
plan in the evaporation is to conduct it first in a vacuum, and afterwards in 
shallow vessels with a current of air at common temperatures. By the direc- 
tion to heat the juice to the boiling point, or 200° (Br.), and then to filter, where- 
by the inert albumen is coagulated, and, with the equally inert chlorophyll and 
vegetable fibre, is separated from the liquid before evaporation, the extract is 
procured in a more concentrated state, and, besides, deprived of substances 
which might favour its decomposition. Long-continued exposure to the air is 
* See in the American Journal of Pharmacy for March, 1857 (xxix. 97), and in the 
Proceedings of the Am. Pharm. Assoc., 1858 (p. 411), some useful practical observations 
by Dr. E. R. Squibb, upon the best method of preparing this extract, so as to secure uni- 
formity and efficiency. part ir. 
Extracta. 
1137 
productive of the same result as too much heat, so that old extracts are fre- 
quently destitute of activity. {Journ. de Pharm., xxii. 416.) No one of the ex- 
tracts is more variable in its qualities than this. The season at which the herb 
is collected, the place and circumstances of its growth, the method of preparing 
the extract, are all points of importance, and are all too frequently neglected. 
(See Conii Folia.) In this country the process has often been carelessly con- 
ducted; and large quantities of an extract, prepared by boiling the plant in 
water and evaporating the decoction, have been sold as the genuine drug. The 
apothecary should always prepare the extract himself, or procure it from persons 
in whom he can have confidence. That imported from London has usually been 
considered the best; but we have seen and tried the extract prepared by the 
Messrs. Tilden & Co., of New York, by evaporation in vacuo at a low heat, and 
have found it superior to any that we had previously employed. It is not impro- 
bable that, as suggested to us by Professor Procter, the addition of a portion of 
acetic acid to the juice, before evaporation, might tend to fix the conia, and 
enable it better to resist the influence of heat than its native combination. The 
activity of any specimen of the extract may be in some measure judged of by rub- 
bing it with potassa, which, disengaging the conia and rendering it volatile, gives 
rise to the peculiar mouse-like odour of that principle. If no odour be evolved 
under these circumstances, the extract may be deemed inert. 
The extract of- hemlock prepared without separating the chlorophyll has a 
fresh olive or green colour, but, according to the U. S. process, is brownish. It 
should have a strong narcotic, somewhat fetid odour, and a bitterish saline taste. 
According to Brande, from three to five pounds are obtained from one cwt. of 
the leaves. M. Recluz got rather more than an ounce from sixteen ounces. Of 
the medical properties and application of this extract, we have spoken under 
the head of Conii Folia. The dose is two grains, two, three, or four times a 
day, to be gradually increased till evidences of its action upon the system are 
afforded. It may be administered in pill or solution. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Conii Composita, Br.; Yapor Coniae, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM COXII ALCOIIOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic Extract 
of Hemlock. 
“Take of Hemlock, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been ab- 
sorbed by the powder, pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint of tincture has 
been obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spon- 
taneously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Di- 
luted Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder 
is exhausted; then evaporate this liquid, by means of a water-bath, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three 
fluidounces of tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a tem- 
perature not exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consist- 
ence.” U. S. 
This is one of the French officinal extracts, and, Avhen well made from recently 
and carefully dried leaves, is a good preparation. The same caution is requisite 
in evaporating in this case as in that of the inspissated juice or common extract. 
It will be noticed that care is taken in the formula to prevent injury from too 
great a heat, by first passing alcohol, which forms a highly concentrated tinc- 
ture. and allowing this to evaporate spontaneously to three fluidounces, which is 
not added to the remainder until but little of the menstruum remains ; and the 
process is completed at the low heat of 120°. This caution is necessary from the 
great facility with which conia is decomposed by heat. The proportion of ex- 
tract yielded by dried hemlock, by percolation with alcohol, is, according to 
Messrs. Yielguth and Nentwich, 21-3 per cent. (See Am. Journ. of Pharm., 1138 
Extracia. 
PART IT. 
May, 1859, p 237.) The dose, to begin with, is one or two grains, to be in- 
creased if necessary. W. 
EXTRACTUM DIGITALIS ALCOHOLICUM. U. S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Digitalis. 
“ Take of Digitalis, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troyounces; 
Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, 
previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a percolator, and pour upon 
it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has all been absorbed by the 
powder, pour Diluted Alcohol upon it until a pint of tincture has been obtained. 
Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate spontaneously until 
reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with Diluted Alcohol 
until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the powder is exhausted j1 
then evaporate this liquid, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three fluidounces of 
tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a temperature not ex- 
ceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is a new officinal of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, though less needed than 
many others, because the dose of digitalis itself is small; and nothing is gained 
on the point of equability of strength ; as the really active part of digitalis con- 
stitutes but a small proportion even of the extract, and might be altogether 
wanting without observably affecting its bulk. The same cautioh is used, in pre- 
paring this extract, against the injurious effects of heat as in the instance of the 
extract of conium. The skill, exhibited by the revisers of the Pharmacopoeia 
in the application of the process of percolation to pharmaceutical purposes, is 
evinced nowhere more strongly than in the directions for preparing extracts, 
fluid extracts, and oleoresins. The alcoholic extract of digitalis contains all the 
virtues and may be used for all the purposes of the powdered leaves. Accord- 
ing to Messrs. Vielguth and Nentwich, the amount of alcoholic extract obtained 
from dried digitalis by cold displacement is 27 T percent. (See Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., May, 1859, p. 237 ) The dose, therefore, of this extract to begin with 
should not exceed one-fourth of a grain. W. 
EXTRACTUM DULCAMARAS. U. S. Extract of Bittersweet 
“ Take of Bittersweet, in moderately fine powder, twelve troy ounces; Diluted 
Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Bittersweet with four fluidounces of 
Diluted Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and pour Diluted Alcohol gra- 
dually upon it until the tincture passes but slightly impregnated with the pro- 
perties of the Bittersweet. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture until reduced 
to one-half; then strain, and, by means of a water-bath, evaporate to the proper 
consistence.” U. S. 
This preparation is well known on the continent of Europe, but comparatively 
little used in the United States or Great Britain. The substitution, in the late 
revision of the Pharmacopoeia, of diluted alcohol for water as the menstruum is 
a decided improvement. The dose is from five to ten grains ; but much more 
may be given with safety. W. 
EXTRACTUM GENTIAXvE. U. S., Br. Extract of Gentian. 
“ Take of Gentian, in moderately coarse powder, twelve troyounces; Water 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Gentian with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Gentian. Boil the 
liquid to three-fourths of its bulk ; then strain, and, by means of a water-bath, 
evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Gentian Root, sliced, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Boiling Distilled 
Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Infuse the Gentian in the Water for 
two hours, boil for fifteen minutes; pour off, press, and strain. Then evapo- 
rafe the liquor by a water-bath until the extract is of a suitable consistence 
fbi forming pills.” Br. PART II. 
Extracta. 
1139 
The U. S. plan of percolation with cold water is admirably adapted to the 
extraction of the active matter of gentian, and even the Britisn method of ma- 
ceration with hot water is much better than the old method of decoction. By 
the use of cold water starch and pectic acid are left behind, while any albumen 
that may be taken up is got rid of by the boiling and straining. 
The extract, however, may be advantageously made by macerating the root 
in two parts of water for thirty-six hours, then expressing in a powerful press, 
again macerating with additional water, and in like manner expressing, and 
evaporating the united expressed liquors. MM. Guibourt and Cadet de Yaux 
obtained by maceration in cold water an extract not only greater in amount, 
but more transparent, more bitter, and possessing more of the colour and smell 
of the root than that prepared by decoction. Guibourt attributes this result to 
the circumstance that, as gentian contains little if any starch, it yields nothing 
to boiling which it will not also yield to cold water; while decoction favours 
the combination of a portion of the colouring matter with the lignin. But this 
opinion requires modification, now that it is understood that gentian contains 
pectic acid, which water will extract when boiling hot, but not when cold. For 
observations in relation to the best modes of evaporation in the formation of 
extracts, the reader is referred to page 1123. Gentian, according to Brande, 
yields half its weight of extract by decoction. 
As ordinarily procured, the extract of gentian is nearly inodorous, very bit- 
ter, of a dark-brown colour approaching to black, shining, and tenacious. It is 
frequently used as a tonic, in the form of pill, either alone or in connection with 
metallic preparations. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
EXTR ACTUM HAEMATOXYLI. U.S.,Br. Extract of Logwood. 
“Take of Logwood, rasped, twelve troyounces; Water eight pints. Boil 
down to four pints, and strain the decoction while hot; then evaporate to 
dryness.” U.S. 
“Take of Logwood, in fine chips, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Boiling Dis- 
tilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure]. Infuse the Logwood in the water 
for twenty-four hours, then boil down to one-half, strain, and evaporate to dry- 
ness by a water-bath, stirring with a wooden spatula. Iron vessels should not 
be used.” Br. 
This is one of the few instances in which decoction in the preparation of ex- 
tracts is not considered objectionable. Iron vessels should not be employed in 
the process, in consequence of the presence of tannic acid. The evaporation 
should be carried so far that the extract may be dry and brittle when cold. 
About 20 lbs. of it are obtained from one cwt. of logwood. (Brande.) It is of 
a deep-ruby colour, and an astringent, sweetish taste, and has all the medical 
virtues of the wood. If given in pills, these should be recently made, as, when 
long kept, they are said to become so hard as sometimes to pass unchanged 
through the bowels. The extract, however, is best administered in solution. 
The (lose is from ten to thirty grains. This extract is said to be prepared 
largely in Yucatan and other parts of Mexico. W. 
EXTRACTUM IIELLEBORI ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Extrac- 
tum IIellebori. U.S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Black Hellebore. Ex- 
tract of Hellebore. 
“Take of Black Hellebore, recently dried and in fine powder, twelve troy- 
ounces; Alcohol a pint; Diluted Alcohol a sufficient quantity. Introduce the 
powder, previously mixed with one-third of the Alcohol, into a conical perco- 
lator, and pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid has 
all been absorbed by the powder, pour on Diluted Alcohol until a pint of tincture 
has been obtained. Set this aside in a warm place, and allow it to evaporate 
spontaneously until reduced to three fluidounces. Continue the percolation with 
Diluted Alcohol until two pints more of tincture have passed, or until the pow- 
der is exhausted; then evaporate, by means of a water-bath, at a temperature 
not exceeding 160°, to the consistence of syrup. To this add the three fluid- 1140 
Exb'acta. 
PART II. 
ounces of tincture first obtained, and continue the evaporation, at a temperature 
not exceeding 120°, until the whole is reduced to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In consequence, probably, of the injurious influence of heat upon black helle- 
bore, the watery extract prepared by decoction is little if at all stronger than 
the root. The process of percolation with cold spirit was, therefore, adopted 
in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1850, and has been retained with improvement 
in the present edition; and, if proper care be taken to conduct the evaporation 
at as low a temperature, and with as little exposure to the air as possible, an 
efficient extract will be obtained. Any resin which may be deposited during 
the evaporation should be separated from the sides of the vessel, and mixed 
with the rest. If the hellebore itself be of good quality, the extract will operate 
as a drastic purge in the dose of from five to ten grains. 
The former French Codex contained a process for preparing the extract of 
hellebore, according to the method of Bacher. Two pounds of the root and half 
a pound of carbonate of potassa are digested, with a moderate heat, for twelve 
hours, in eight pounds of alcohol of 22° B ; the tincture is strained with ex- 
pression; the residuum is again digested with eight pounds of white wine for 
twenty-four hours; the wine is expressed, and, having stood four hours to 
settle, is decanted; the liquors are then mixed, and with a gentle heat evapo- 
rated to the consistence of an extract. One ounce of this extract, mixed with 
the same quantity of myrrh, and with ten scruples of the powdered leaves of 
Centaurea benedicta, and made into pills of one grain each, constitutes the 
preparation known as the tonic pills of Bacher, formerly much used in amcn- 
orrhcea and dropsy, and probably not without advantage, especially in the former 
of these diseases. The dose is from ten to twenty pills during the day. An ad- 
ditional quantity of diluted alcohol might, without disadvantage, be substituted 
for the wine in the preparation of this extract. W. 
EXTRACTUM HYOSCYAMI. U.S., Br. Extract of Henbane. 
“ Take of Henbane Leaf, fresh, twelve troyounces. Bruise the Leaf in a stone 
mortar, sprinkling on it a little water, and express the juice; then, having heated 
this to the boiling point, strain, and evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia this extract is prepared from “ the fresh Leaves 
and Young Branches of Hyoscyamus” in the same manner precisely as Ex- 
tract of Aconite. (See Exlractum Aconiti.) 
MM. Solon and Soubeiran have shown that the insoluble matter separated 
from the expressed juice of henbane by filtering, and that coagulated by heat, 
are nearly if not quite inert; so that the juice may be usefully clarified before 
evaporation. (Amer. Journ. of Pharm.,\\n 228.) The retention of the chlo- 
rophyll, however, as provided for in the British formula, is thought to be ad- 
vantageous. Extract of Henbane has been chiefly derived from England, but it 
is at present prepared by Messrs. Tilden & Co., of New York, by the vacuum 
process. Mr. Braude says that one cwt. of the fresh herb affords between four 
and five pounds. M. Recluz obtained about one part from sixteen. 
The extract is of a dark-olive colour, of a narcotic rather unpleasant odour, 
and a bitterish, nauseous, slightly saline taste. It retains its softness for a long 
time; but at the end of three or four years becomes dry, and exhibits, when 
broken, small crystals of nitrate of potassa and chloride of sodium. (Itecluz.) 
Like all the inspissated juices, it is of variable strength, according to its age, the 
care used in its preparation, and the character of the leaves from which it was 
procured. (Sec Hyoscyamus.)* In its use, therefore, it is advisable to begin with 
* Much depends on the choice of the leaves; and too little attention is paid to this 
point. In reference to the biennial plant, there seems to be no doubt that the leaves of 
the second year are much more efficacious than those of the first, and should, therefore, 
always he selected. It is stated under Hyoscyamus, in the first part of this work, that 
the leaves should ho gathered soon after the plant has flowered. Mr. Charles Cracknell 
gives more particular directions. He thinks that the plant is in a fit state for collection 
only d iring a very short period; when the flowers at the top are blown, but have not 
yet begun to fade, and the seed-vessels and seeds which have been formed are still soft PART II. 
Extracta. 
1141 
a moderate dose, two or three grains for instance, and gradually to increase the 
quantity till some effect is experienced, and the degree of efficiency of the par- 
ticular parcel employed is ascertained. It is usually given in pill. It is some- 
times used externally for the same purposes as extract of belladonna. 
Off. Prep. Pilula Colocynthidis et Hyoscyami, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM IIYOSCYAMI ALCOIIOLICUxM. U.S. Alcoholic 
Extract of Henbane. 
“ Take of Henbane Leaf, recently dried and in moderately fine powder,/teen/y- 
four troyounces; Alcohol four pints ; Water two pints ; Diluted Alcohol a 
su fficient quantity. Mix the Alcohol and Water, and moisten the powder with 
a pint of the mixture; then pack it firmly in a conical percolator, and gradually 
pour upon it the remainder of the mixture. Continue the percolation with Diluted 
Alcohol until the tincture measures six pints. Lastly, evaporate this, by means 
of a water-bath, to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
The alcoholic extract of henbane, if prepared from recently dried leaves, is 
thought to be more uniform and powerful than the inspissated juice or common 
extract. It is one of the preparations of the French Codex. The dose is one or 
two grains, to be gradually increased until its effects are obtained. W. 
EXTRACTUM IGXATJXE ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Alcoholic Ex- 
tract of Ignatia. 
“Take of Ignatia, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol a sufficient 
quantity. Mix the Ignatia with four fluidounces of Alcohol, and allow the mix- 
ture to stand for an hour. Then introduce it into a cylindrical percolator, press 
it firmly, and gradually pour Alcohol upon it until three pints of tincture have 
slowly passed. Distil oft' the Alcohol, by means of a water-bath, until the tincture 
is reduced to half a pint, and evaporate this to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This was newly introduced into the present edition of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia, 
not so much because the preparation is needed; for it is essentially the same in 
remedial properties and applications as the extract of nux vomica; as in order 
to give due officinal sanction to a preparation already in popular use, and, by 
regulating it duly, to prevent serious consequences from so powerful a medicine.* 
For the uses of the extract the reader is referred to the article on Ignatia in 
Part I. The dose is from half a grain to three times that quantity, to be repeated 
three times a day until its effects begin to be experienced. W. 
EXTRACTUM JALARMS. U.S.,Br. Extract of Jalap. 
“ Take of Jalap, in moderately line powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol four 
pint*; Water a sufficient qua/ntity. Introduce the powder, previously mixed 
with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the liquid ceases to pass, pour upon 
the residue sufficient water to keep its surface cowered, until four pints of tinc- 
ture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the percolation until six pints of 
and juicy. For other observations on the preparation of this extract, see a paper by Mr. 
Craeknell in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (xxiii. 245), from the Pharm. Journ., March, 1851. 
An important contribution to our knowledge, as to the proper choice of the parts of this 
plant to be expressed, has been made by Mr. T. B. Groves, of England. Whatever may 
be the case with those plants, such as aconite, the roots of which are active, and in which 
the juice, containing the active matter, on its way from the leaves to the root, might be 
supposed to exist in the young stems, this does not appear to be the case with the Hvoscy- 
amus; and, accordingly, an extract obtained by inspissating the juice of the stems was 
found altogether inferior to another obtained in like manner from the leaves, being not 
only less in amount, but less bitter and odorous, and more saline, showing that it contained 
more of the ordinary salts of the plant, and less of its active matter. (Pharm. Journ., 
Jan. 1812, p. 376.)—Note to the tenth and twelfth editions. 
* According to Prof. Procter, a portion of fixed oil is extracted by the alcohol, which 
separates when the concentrated tincture is allowed to stand, and, being in itself inert, 
might be rejected with advantage, care being taken to wash it first with weak alcohol, 
biJ add the washings to the liquid. The same result does not happen when diluted alco- 
hol is used as the menstruum; as this does not take up the oil. 1142 
Extraeia. 
PART IT 
infusion have been obtained. Distil off the alcohol from the tincture, and eva- 
porate the infusion until the liquids respectively have been brought to the con- 
sistence of thin honey; then mix them, and evaporate to the proper consist- 
ence.” U. S. 
“Take of Jalap, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Kectified Spirit 
four pints [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water one gallon [Imp. meas.]. Ma- 
cerate the Jalap in the Spirit for seven days; press out the tincture, then filter, 
and distil olf the Spirit, leaving a soft extract. Again macerate the residual 
Jalap in the Water for four hours, express, strain through flannel, and evapo- 
rate by a water-bath to a soft extract. Mix the two extracts, and evaporate, at 
a temperature not exceeding 140°, until it has acquired a suitable consistence 
for forming pills.” Br. 
Jalap contains a considerable quantity of starch, which is extracted by decoc- 
tion, but left behind by cold water; and, as this principle serves only to impede 
the filtration or straining, and augment the bulk of the extract, without adding to 
its virtues, cold water is very properly used in both the U. S. and Br. processes. 
The use both of alcohol and water has been deemed necessary, in order to extract 
all the medicinal qualities of the drug; and they are employed successively,under 
the impression that the previous removal of the resin by the former facilitates 
the action of the latter * The use of percolation, as directed by the U. S. Phar- 
macopoeia, enables the cold water to extract the soluble parts without the long 
maceration which would otherwise be necessary. According to Cadet de Gassi- 
court, water at ordinary temperatures, and in the old mode, acts so slowly, that 
fermentation takes place before the active matter is all dissolved. Hence, if the 
extract be prepared without percolation, the residuum, after the tincture has 
been decanted, should be digested with water at a heat of about 90° or 100° F., 
which, while it is insufficient for the solution of the starch, enables the solvent 
to take up the active matter with sufficient rapidity. 
One cwt. of jalap affords, according to Mr. Brande, about fifty pounds of 
aqueous extract and fifteen of resin. The product of the former is somewhat 
less by infusion than decoction ; and the extract is proportionably stronger. 
There is reason to believe, as we have been informed on good authority, that 
what is sold for extract of jalap is sometimes prepared from tubers which had 
been previously exhausted of their resin by alcohol; and a spurious substance 
has been offered in considerable quantities in our markets for extract of jalap, 
which, on examination by Messrs. Ch. Bullock and Ed. Parrish, proved to owe 
its purgative property to 42 per cent, of gamboge. {Am. Journ. of Pliarm., 
March, 1862, p. 113.) 
Extract of jalap is of a dark-brown colour, slightly translucent at the edges, 
and tenacious when not perfectly dry. It contains the resin and gummy extract- 
ive, and, consequently, has all the medical properties of the root; but it is not 
often exhibited alone, being chiefly used as an ingredient of purgative pills, lor 
which it is adapted by its comparatively small bulk. It is most conveniently 
kept for use in the form of powder, which, however, is apt to attract moisture 
and to aggregate into a solid mass, unless carefully excluded from the air. The 
dose is from ten to twenty grains, or rather more than half that of jalap.f 
Of. Prep. Pilulee Cathartic* Composite, U. S. W. 
* Mr. A. B. Taylor has satisfactorily determined that the substance which water will 
extract from jalap, previously exhausted by alcohol, has no observable influence on the 
system ; having taken 240 grains of the matter thus extracted without effect. (Proceed- 
ings of the Am. Pharm. Association, A.D. 1864, p. 215.) But it does not follow that this 
material is useless in the extract; for it is highly probable that the irritant properties 
of the resin, which is the real purgative principle of jalap, are so mechanically modified 
by association with the gum in the root as to render jalap a less irritant cathartic than 
its extracted resin; and that consequently the present hydro-alcoholic extract, repre- 
senting the root as it does in this respect, while not less energetic, in proportional doses, 
as a purgative than the resin, is less apt to provoke irritation of the alimentary mucous 
membrane. (Note to the thirteenth edition.) 
j- Fluid Extract of Jalap. The following process has been proposed by Prof. Procter. 
Take of jalap, in coarse powder, 3xvi; sugar sjviij ; carbonate of p'otassa alcohol, PART II. 
Extra da. 
1143 
EXTRACTUM JUGLANDIS. U. S. Extract of Butternut. 
“ Take of Butternut, in moderately coarse powder, twelve troyounces ; Water 
a sufficient quantity. Moisten the Butternut with four fluidounces of Water, 
pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the in- 
fusion passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Butternut. 
Boil the liquid to three-fourths of its bulk; then strain, and, by means of a 
water-bath, evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This extract was formerly for the most part prepared by the country people, 
who are said to have used the bark of the branches and even the branches them- 
selves, instead of the inner bark of the root; and to have injured the prepara- 
tion by too much heat. That it should have proved uncertain in the hands of 
many physicians is, therefore, not a matter of surprise. It should be prepared 
by the apothecary, and from the inner bark of the root gathered in May or 
June. Experiments are yet wanting to prove that water is the best solvent of 
the active principles of this bark. Prof. Procter informs us that he has found 
an extract of the fresh bark prepared with diluted alcohol to have much more 
of the pungency of the bark than the officinal. 
The extract of butternut is of a black colour, sweetish odour, and bitter astrin- 
gent taste. In the dose of twenty or thirty grains, it acts as a mild cathartic. 
(See Juglans.) W. 
EXTRA CTUM KRAMER IJE. U. S., Br. Extract of Rhcitavy. 
“ Take of Rhatany, in moderately line powder, twelve troyounces ; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the astringent property of the Rhatany. 
Heat the liquid to the boiling point, strain, and, by means of a water-bath, at a 
temperature not exceeding 160°, evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Rhatany Root, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Dis- 
tilled Water a sufficiency. Macerate the Rhatany in a pint and a half [Im- 
perial measure] of the Water for twenty-four hours ; then pack in a percolator, 
and add more Distilled Water, until twelve pints [Imp. meas.] have been col- 
lected, or the Rhatany is exhausted. Evaporate the liquor by a water-bath to 
dryness.” Br. 
In selecting a plan for the preparation of this extract, it was undoubtedly 
wise to adopt the mode of displacement, with cold water as the menstruum. (See 
page 516.) It is absolutely necessary to the success of the process, that the root 
should be well and uniformly comminuted ; and the “ moderately fine powder” 
of the U. S. Pharmacopoeia is, therefore, preferable to the “coarse powder” of 
the British. The wood of the root yielded to Prof. Procter only 6 8 per cent, 
of extract, while the bark separated from the wood yielded 33 percent. As the 
wood is of difficult pulverization, the inference is obvious, that, in powdering 
the roots, the ligneous portion may be rejected with advantage. {Am. Journ. of 
Pharm., xiv. 270.) As a prolonged exposure of the infusion to the air is at- 
tended with the absorption of oxygen, and the production of insoluble apotheme, 
it is desirable that the evaporation should be conducted rapidly or in a vacuum. 
There scarcely appears to be occasion, in the case of rhatany, for heating and 
filtering the infusion before evaporation, the only use of which is to get rid of 
albumen, which is not among the recognized ingredients of the root. 
Very inferior extracts of rhatany are often sold. Such is the South American 
water, each, q. s. Add to the jalap one pint of a mixture consisting of two parts of alco- 
hol and one of water, and set aside for twenty-four hours. Then put the mixture into a 
percolator, and pour on it diluted alcohol until half a gallon has passed. Evaporate the 
filtered liquid one-half, add the sugar and carbonate of pote.ssa, and evaporate to 12 
fluidounces. Put the liquid, while warm, into a pint bottle, add four fluidounces of alco- 
hol, and mix. The carbonate of potassa renders the resin soluble in water, and probably 
favourably qualifies the irritating properties of the jalap. A fluidrachm of this extract 
would represent a drachm of jalap, so that the dose should be from 15 to 30 minims, 
{Am. Journ. of Pharin., xxix. 108.)—Note to the eleventh edition. 1144 
Extracta. 
PARI II. 
extract, which has been occasionally imported. As the product obtained by de- 
coction is greater than that afforded by the officinal plan, the temptation to sub- 
stitute the former is not always resisted, although it has been shown to contain 
nearly 50 per cent, of insoluble matter. Some druggists prepare the extract 
with an alcoholic menstruum, with a view to the greater product; but the extract 
thus prepared has from 20 to 30 per cent, less of the active principle than the 
officinal. A substance has been shown to us, said to have been imported as ex- 
tract of rhatanyfrom Europe, which was nearly tasteless, and was con- 
jectured to be the dried coagulated matter of old tincture of kino. Indeed, we 
are informed that very little of the genuine extract, prepared according to the 
officinal directions, is to be found in the shops. From a notice by Prof. Procter 
in the Am. Journ. of Pharm. (May, 1862, p. 209), it would appear that the rha* 
tany now imported is much inferior to that formerly in use, having a larger pro- 
portion of wood, and yielding much less extract; and a specimen carefully ma- 
nipulated by himself, gave but 9T4 per cent. 
Extract of rhatany should have a reddish-brown colour, a smooth shining 
fracture, and a very astringent taste ; and should be almost entirely soluble in 
water. Its virtues may be considered as in proportion to its solubility. It is much 
used for all the purposes for which the astringent extracts are employed. The 
dose is from ten to twenty grains. 
Off. Prep. Syrupus Krameriae, U. S. W. 
EXTRACTUM LACTUCUE. Br. Extract of Lettuce. 
In the British Pharmacopoeia, this extract is prepared from “ the Flowering 
Herb of Lettuce.” in the same manner precisely as Extract of Aconite. (See 
Extractum Aconiti.) For the medical properties and uses of extract of lettuce 
the reader is referred to the article on Lettuce in Part I. The dose is from 
five to fifteen grains. W. 
EXTR ACTUM LUPULI. Br. Extract of Hop. 
“ Take of Fop one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified Spirit one pint and a 
half [Imperial measure] ; Distilled Water one gallon [Imp. meas.]. Macerate 
the Hop in the Spirit for seven days ; press out the tincture, filter, and distil off 
the spirit, leaving a soft extract. Boil the residual Hop with the Water for one 
hour, press out the liquor, strain, and evaporate by a water-bath to the con- 
sistence of a soft extract. Mix the two extracts, and evaporate at a tempera- 
ture not exceeding 140° until it has acquired a suitable consistence for form- 
ing pills.” Br. 
This is a great improvement on the old Lond and Ed. process by maceration 
with water and evaporation. Alcohol is necessary for the exhaustion of the hop, 
and very cautious evaporation, to preserve the aroma in the extract. But since 
the discovery of the fact that the active properties of hops reside chiefly in the 
lupulin, the extract has been to a great extent superseded by that substance in 
this country, and has been little used. Lupulin may be advantageously substi- 
tuted for it in all cases in which it was formerly employed. Mr. Brande says 
that the average yield of one cwt. of hops is 40 lbs. of the extract. The dose is 
from ten to thirty grains. 
Under the inappropriate name of humuline, an extract has been prepared 
by first treating hops with alcohol and subsequently with water, evaporating the 
tincture and infifsion separately, and mixingtheproducts. (Pharm. Journ.,xlii. 
221.) W. 
EXTRACTUM MEZEREI Br. Ethereal Extract 
of Mezereon. 
“Take of Mezereon Bark, cut small, one pound [avoirdupois]; Rectified 
Spirit eight pints [Imperial measure] ; Ether one pint [Imp meas.]. Mace- 
rate the Mezereon in six pints of the Spirit for three days, with frequent agita- 
tion ; strain and press. To the residue of the Mezereon add the remainder of 
the Spirit, and again macerate for three days, with frequent agitation; strain PART II. 
Extracta. 
1145 
and press. Mix and filter the strained liquors; recover the greater part of the 
Spirit by distillation, evaporate what remains to the consistence of a soft ex- 
tract; put this into a stopped bottle with the Ether, and macerate for twenty- 
four hours, shaking them frequently. Decant the ethereal solution ; recover 
part of the Ether by distillation, and evaporate what remains to the consist- 
ence of a soft extract.” Br. 
This is the process of the present French Codex, with slight modifications, 
which do not atfect the result. In the Codex the mezereon is exhausted by 
means of percolation, instead of by a double maceration; and in this respect 
the process is, we think, preferable, in the hands of a skilful operator. With 
those not experienced in percolation, it may be better to follow the British 
Pharmacopoeia. 
By the method of proceeding in the preparation of this extract the irritating 
properties of mezereon are concentrated in a small bulk; all the ingredients of 
the bark not soluble both in alcohol and in ether being excluded. For external 
use this is probably desirable; and the extract is therefore chiefly useful as 
an external irritant; for which purpose it is brought into the state of an oint- 
ment, as in the French “pommade epispastique au garou,” or used in lini- 
ments, as in the British “ compound liniment of mustard.” The French “pom- 
made,” which might properly be designated as Unguentum Mezerei, or Oint- 
ment of Mezereon, is prepared in the following manner. 
“ Take of Ethereal Extract of Mezereon forty parts; Lard nine hundred 
parts; White Wax one hundred parts; Alcohol ninety parts. Dissolve the 
Extract in the Alcohol, add the Lard and Wax, and heat moderately, with 
continual agitation, until the alcohol is evaporated. Pass through linen ; pour 
into a pot, and shake until the ointment is partly cooled.” (Fr. Codex.) 
The object of this preparation is to act as an irritant agent, and especially 
as a dressing for issues and blistered surfaces to keep them open. For this 
purpose it is preferable to the ointment of cantharides, in all cases in which 
the latter is disposed to cause strangury. Such a preparation is much needed. 
An ointment of mezereon was directed in our Pharmacopoeia ; but was rejected 
at the revision for the present edition, probably on account of its inelficiency 
from improper mode of preparation. It would, we think, have been better to 
improve the process. 
Off. Prep. Linimentum Sinapis Compositum, Br. W. 
EXTEACTUM NUCIS VOMICLE ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Ex- 
tractum Nucis Vomkle. Br., U.S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Nux Vo- 
mica. Extract of Nux Vomica. 
“Take of Nux Yomica, in fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alcohol a suffi- 
cient quantity. Mix the Nux Yomica with four fiuidopnces of Alcohol, and 
allow the mixture to stand for an hour. Then introduce it into a cylindrical 
percolator, and gradually pour .Alcohol upon it until the tincture passes without 
bitterness. Distil off the alcohol, by means of a water-bath, until the tincture is 
reduced to half a pint, and evaporate this to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“Take of Nux Yomica one pound [avoirdupois] ; Rectified Spirit a suffi- 
ciency. Apply steam to the Nux Vomica until it is thoroughly softened, then 
dry rapidly, and reduce to fine powder. Exhaust the powder by boiling it with 
successive portions of the Spirit until the latter comes off nearly free from bit- 
terness. Strain, distil off the spirit and evaporate by a water-bath to the con- 
sistence of a soft extract.” Br. 
In both the U. S. and Br. Pharmacopoeias the nux vomica is directed in fine 
powder; but in the latter only are we told how to reduce it to that state. Another 
method, formerly employed by the Ed. College, was to grind it in a cofi'ee-mill. 
The method of percolation in the U. S. process is preferable to that of decoc- 
tion in the British, for exhausting the drug. We prefer the simple British name, 
which was that of our Pharmacopoeia of 1850, to the more prolix one adopted 
in the late revision As there is no other extract of nux vomica, it appears to 1146 
Extracta. 
PART II. 
us to have been an unnecessary precision to add the epithet alcoholicum, which 
renders the title more unwieldy, without making it more distinctive. This is one 
of the few instances in which the U. S. Pharmacopoeia deems a preliminary ma- 
ceration advisable. It is said that, when the extract is kept in powder, it is apt 
to agglutinate into a tough mass. According to Zippel, this may be prevented 
by adding a little water before the close of the evaporation, and then continuing 
the evaporation to dryness. {Arch, der Pharra., July 24, 1859.) 
This extract is an active preparation, though not always of uniform strength, 
owing to the variable proportion of strychnia in the nux vomica M. Recluz 
obtained from sixteen ounces of nux vomica the average product of one ounce 
and a quarter. The dose of the extract is from half a grain to two grains, to be 
repeated three times a day.* W. 
EXTRACTUM OPII. U. S., Br. Extract of Opium. 
“Take of Opium twelve troyounces; Water five pints. Cut the Opium into 
small pieces, macerate it for twenty-four hours in a pint of the Water, and reduce 
it to a soft mass by trituration. Express the liquid, and treat the residue with 
each of the four remaining pints of water successively in the same manner. 
Having mixed the liquids, filter the mixture, and evaporate, by means of a water- 
bath, to the proper consistence. ” U. S. 
“Take of Opium, in thin slices, one pound [avoirdupois]; Distilled Water 
six pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Opium in two pints of the Water 
for twenty-four hours, and express the liquor. Reduce the residue of the Opium 
to a uniform pulp, macerate it again in two pints of the Water for twenty-four 
hours, and express. Repeat the operation a third time. Mix the liquors, strain 
through flannel, and evaporate by a wrater-bath until the extract has acquired 
a suitable consistence for forming pills.” Br. 
These processes are essentially the same. An advantage of the preparation is 
that, by the solubility of the extract in water, it affords a convenient method of 
obtaining quickly an aqueous solution of the active ingredients of opium. It is 
exceedingly doubtful whether anything is left behind after the opium has been 
exhausted by water, which materially modifies the action of its anodyne prin- 
ciple; and the extract probably has no advantage on this account over opium. 
Nor has it the advantage of greater uniformity; as the gum, extractive, &c., 
taken up by the water, bear no fixed proportion to the active ingredients. But, 
as purely aqueous preparations of opium have been found to agree better with 
certain individuals than opium alone or its alcoholic preparations, there is reason 
to believe that there are in the crude drug one or more principles, capable of 
causing nausea, headache, nervous disturbance,&c.,which are insoluble in water, 
though extracted by alcohol or ether. M. Guibourt states that this extract, w hen 
kept, is apt to swrell up, owing, as he at first supposed, to the fermentation of 
glucose; but he now ascribes the phenomenon to the change of meconic acid 
into the parameconic, with the escape of carbonic acid. {Journ. de Pharm., 
A out, 1860, p. 138.) 
Denarcotized Extract of Opium. Under the impression that the stimulating 
and unpleasant effects of opium are owing to the narcotina, it has been proposed 
to separate that principle by treating the extract with ether, which dissolves the 
narcotina, and leaves the morphia with the other ingredients. Robiquet em- 
ployed cold ether; but M. Dublanc, convinced that the whole of the narcotina 
wras not thus extracted, proposed the following plan. “ Take of watery extract 
of opium 16 ounces; dissolve it in 8 ounces of distilled water ; introduce the 
solution into the wrater-bath of a still; pour upon it 104 ounces of pure ether; 
* Professor Procter informs us, as the result of his own observation, that in the alco- 
holic extract of nux vomica there is a considerable proportion of fixed oil (giij in 
of the seeds), which will not remain mixed with the other ingredients, becoming fiu'id in 
summer, and concreting in cold weather. This he thinks should he separated from the 
extrac*, and shaken with a little diluted alcohol, which takes from it any adhering active 
matter. The washings should be evaporated, and the residuum mixed with the extract, 
the fatty matter being thrown away. (Note to the tenth edition.) PART [I. 
Extracta. 
1147 
distil off 24 ounces of the ether; take apart the apparatus, and decant the 
ether which floats on the top of the extract; wash the latter while hot with the 
distilled ether; concentrate the residual matter, dissolve it in distilled water, 
filter the solution, and evaporate to a proper consistence.” It is doubtful whe- 
ther any useful end is gained by this operation commensurate with its costliness; 
as there is reason to think that narcotina does not in fact produce the unpleasant 
effects which have been ascribed to it; and the noxious principles in opium, of 
which ether is capable of depriving it, are probably left behind, for the most part 
at least, in the formation of the aqueous extract. 
Recluz obtained from sixteen ounces of opium an average product of nine 
ounces b) hot water and six by cold; and Prof. Procter informs us that the U. S. 
formula usually yields about seven and a half ounces from the same quantity 
The dose of the extract of opium is about one-half that of opium itself. 
Off. Prep. Emplastrum Opii, U. S.; Extractum Opii Liquidum, Br.; Tro- 
chisci Opii, Br.; Vinum Opii, Br. W. 
EXTRACTUM PAPAVERIS. Br. Extract of Poppies. 
“Take of Poppy Capsules, dried, freed from the seeds, and coarsely pow- 
dered, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Rectified Spirit two ounces [avoird.].; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water a sufficiency. Mix the Poppy Capsules with two pints [Im- 
perial measure] of the Water, and infuse for twenty-four hours, stirring them 
frequently; then pack them in a percolator, and, adding more of the Water, 
allow the liquid slowly to pass until about a gallon [Imp. mens J has been 
collected, or the Poppies are exhausted. Evaporate the liquor by a water- 
bath until it is reduced to a pint [Imp. meas ], and, when cold, add the Spirit. 
Let the mixture stand for twenty-four hours; then separate the clear liquor by 
filtration, and evaporate this by a water-bath, until the extract has acquired a 
suitable consistence for forming pills.” Br. 
The Extract of Poppy Capsules was an officinal of the Lond. and Edin. Col- 
leges, but was abandoned in the formation of the first British Pharmacopoeia. 
It has, however, been introduced into the present edition of that work, though 
with a process somewhat modified. The London Pharmacopoeia merely di- 
rected the maceration of the capsules in hot water, boiling down and strain 
ing, and then evaporating to a proper consistence. Mr. Brande observed, in re- 
lation to the extract thus made, that, if boiled over an open fire, it is often nearly 
inert. He stated, moreover, that it was apt to have a troublesome consistence, 
being too hard to be formed into pills, and too tough to be pulverized. It was, 
we presume, in reference to these objections that the present modifications of 
the old method were adopted. Decoction has been superseded by maceration 
and percolation, and evaporation by the water-bath is directed in order to avoid 
an excessive heat. The addition of the spirit is probably intended to produce 
coagulation of the albumen, which was effected by heat in the former process. 
The present formula is no doubt a great improvement upon that of the colleges. 
According to Brande, one cwt. of the capsules without the seeds yields the 
average product of 35 pounds of extract. Mr. Jos. Ince, in reference to the 
London process, recommends that the strained hot decoction, after having been 
brought by evaporation to a syrupy consistence, should be diluted with eight 
times its bulk of water, then filtered, and ultimately evaporated. In this way 
substances which had become insoluble in the evaporation were separated. 
Thus made, the extract will keep well. (Pharm. Journ., xiv. 489.) M. Meu- 
rein gives particular directions for making an alcoholic extract of poppy cap- 
sules, which may be consulted with advantage by those who may be called 
on to supply any demand for this preparation. (See Journ. de Pharm., 3e ser., 
xxiii. 341.) We are told that an extract is prepared in this country from the 
whole herb, cut after the fruit has formed, but while it is still green. The cap- 
sules exclusively should be used; and the best time for collecting them is im- 
mediately after they have begun to become yellowish. The extract possesses 
the' virtues of opium, but is greatly inferior, and less uniform in strength. The 
dose is from five to ten grains. W. 1148 
Extracta. 
PART IL 
EXTRACTUM PAREIRAE. Br. Extract of Pareira. 
“ Take of Pareira Root, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Boil- 
ing Distilled Water one gallon [Imperial measure], or a sufficiency. Digest 
the Pareira with a pint [Imp meas.] of the Water for twenty-four hours; 
then pack in a percolator, and, adding more of the Water, allow the liquor 
slowly to pass until a gallon [Imp. meas.] has been collected, or the Pareira 
is exhausted. Evaporate the liquor by a water-bath until the extract has 
acquired a suitable consistence for forming pills.” Br. 
Like the preceding extract, this was formerly directed by the London and 
Edinburgh Colleges, was omitted in the first British Pharmacopoeia, and has 
been adopted again in the present edition. By the formula of the London 
College, it was prepared by boiling the root in water, straining wh.le hot, and 
then evaporating to dryness. The British Pharmacopoeia more wisely exhausts 
the root by percolation, and evaporates by a water-bath, thus avoiding the bad 
effects of long-continued heat. The dose is from ten to thirty grains. W. 
EXTRACTUM PHYSOSTIGxMATIS. Br. Extract of Calabar 
Bean. 
“Take of Calabar Bean, in coarse powder, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Rec- 
tified Spirit four pints [Imperial measure]. Macerate the Bean for forty-eight 
hours with one pint [Imp. meas.] of the Spirit in a close vessel, agitating oc- 
casionally, then transfer to a percolator, and, when the fluid ceases to pass, 
add the remainder of the Spirit so that it may slowly percolate through the 
powder. Subject the residue of the Bean to pressure, adding the pressed liquor 
to the product of the percolation; filter, distil off most of the Spirit, and evapo- 
rate what is left in the retort by a water-bath to the consistence of a soft 
extract.” Br. 
As alcohol is a much better solvent than water of the active principles of 
the bean, it is preferred in making the extract. For the uses of the extract, see 
Physostigmatis Faba in Part I (page 672). The dose for internal use is from 
one-sixteenth to one-fourth of a grain. W. 
EXTRACTUM PODOPIIYLLI. V. S. Extract of May-apple. 
“Take of May-apple, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Alco- 
hol four pints; Water a sufficient quantity. Introduce the powder, previ- 
ously mixed with three fluidounces of Alcohol, into a conical percolator, and 
pour upon it the remainder of the Alcohol. When the tincture ceases to pass, 
pour gradually upon the powder sufficient Water to keep its surface covered, 
until four pints of tincture have passed. Set this aside, and continue the per- 
colation until six pints of infusion have been obtained. Distil olf the alcohol 
from the tincture, and evaporate the infusion, until the liquids respectively 
have been brought to the consistence of thin honey; then mix them, and 
evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
This is possessed of the purgative properties of the root, and may be given 
in the dose of from five to fifteen grains. It might be substituted in all cases 
for the extract of jalap. 
From experiments made by Mr. John R. Lewis, it is probable that the alco- 
holic extract would be much more powerful as a purgative than the officinal 
preparation; but it does not follow that it would be more serviceable. (See 
Am. Journ. of Pharm., xix. 170.) W. 
EXTRACTUM QUASSUE. U. S., Br. Extract of Quassia. 
“Take of Quassia, in moderately fine powder, twelve troyounces; Water a 
sufficient quantity. Moisten the Quassia with four fluidounces of Water, pack 
it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour Water upon it until the infusion 
passes but slightly impregnated with the properties of the Quassia. Boil dowr 
the liquid to three-fourths of its bulk; then strain, and, by means of a water- 
bath, evaporate to the proper consistence.” U. S. 
“ Take of Quassia Wood, rasped, one pound [avoirdupois] ; Distilled Water PART II.. 
Extrada. 
1149 
a sufficiency. Macerate the Quassia with eight fiuidounees of the "Water for 
twelve hours; then pack in a percolator, and adding more of the Water allow 
the liquor slowly to pass until the Quassia is exhausted. Evaporate the liquor; 
filter before it becomes too thick; and again evaporate by a water-bath until 
the extract is of a suitable consistence for forming pills.” Br. 
According to M. Ilecluz, sixteen ounces of Quassia jneld by infusion in 
water seven drachms of extract; by maceration in alcohol of 19° Baume, two 
ounces five drachms and a half. The difference between these quantities is so 
great that we suspect some mistake in the table of the Dictionuaire des 
Drogues from which we quote. 
The extract of quassia is dark-brown or black, and excessively bitter. It is 
apt to become dry and disposed to crumble by time. It concentrates a greater 
amount of tonic power within a given weight than any other extract of the 
simple bitters; and may, therefore, be given with great advantage in cases in 
which it is desirable to administer this class of substances in as small a bulk, 
and with as little inconvenience to the patient as possible. The dose is about 
five grains, to be given in the form of pill. W. 
EXTRACTUM RIIEI ALCOIIOLICUM. U.S. Extract™ 
Riiei. Br.,U.S. 1850. Alcoholic Extract of Rhubarb. Extract of Rhubarb. 
‘‘Take of Rhubarb, in moderately fine powder, hceZoe troyounces; Alcohol 
a pint; Diluted Alcohol a su fficient quantity. Moisten the powder with four 
fluidounces of the Alcohol, pack it in a conical percolator, and gradually pour 
upon it, first the remainder of the Alcohol, and afterwards Diluted Alcohol