THE
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY.
JANUARY, 1861.
FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY.
By Epwarp Parris anp C. Bakes,
The legitimate enterprise of our progressive age, heightened by the competition resulting from the overcrowding of educated pharmaceutists in large cities, continually exhibits itself in ‘some new phase of practice, sometimes destined to be perma- nently incorporated into the arcana of the profession, but often too ephemeral to deserve more than a passing nOtice. As the dress and address of our remote ancestry will occasionally loom up amid the ever-changing fashions of modern society, so do we occasionally find the almost forgotten institutions of by-gone pharmacy frequently dressed in the popular guise of new remedies.
In the present essay, we propose to describe some rare prepa- rations now called for in Philadelphia. Though they may seem to readers in other localities of too trivial importance to occupy @ position in the Journal, we are sure they will not be without their use in this particular pharmaceutical centre.
COATING PILLS.
In the last century, the practice was not unfrequently resorted to, of coating freshly made pills with silver or gold-leaf, and in some of the long established pharmaceutical stores in London, facilities are always at hand for finishing pills in this way, when in request. Some very particular people of the old school oc- casionally bring an ancient recipe, at the foot of which is writ-
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2 FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY.
ten deaurentur pilule, meaning, let the pills be gilt, and might not be satisfied with a less spiendid surface than that of the gilded pill.
With us, the demard has become quite frequent of late for silver and gold coated pills, several eminent practitioners pre- scribing this elegant finish, and we have acquired some ex- perience in the manipulation.
The above represents an apparatus we have had turned to order from hard wood for use in this process. In rolling the pills, care is taken to use no dusting powder of any kind, and to have them moderately damp, otherwise we moisten them with a little syrup, and then introduce them into the hollow sphere along with the requisite quantity of silver or gold leaf; a rapid motion is now given to the globe, and in a few seconds the pills are removed wjth a clear and bright coating. One dozen pills of average size, require one sheet of foil, and larger numbers in the same proportion. Some difficulty is experienced in giving a handsome coating to pills of Quevenne’s Metallic Iron, on ac- count of their black color ; this can only be obviated by the use of a larger proportion of foil, which may be objectionable as in- terfering with their solubility notwithstanding its extreme tenuity.
The taste of the pills is of course disguised in proportion to the completeness of the coating; in dispensing, no powder is necessary, the tendency to adhere to each other being ob- viated.
Some of the old recipes direct to use a gallipot laid against the palm of the hand, for coating pills with the foil. We have found two porcelain capsules fitted to each other, the opening at the lips being covered by the thumb, to serve a very good purpose ; but there is a decided saving in the use of an appara- tus as above figured, any portion of the foil not adhering to one -charge of pills will be ready for the next, besides the advantage which is gained by the leverage of the handle.
FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY. 3
In what is here said, we have ventured no opinion! upon the effect of this treatment upon the solubility and consequent activity of pills. We learn from a physician who has prescribed them, that the conclusion often hastily drawn against their eligibility is not borne out by experience. Another remark needs to be made; not only is the quality of the foil important with reference to the lustre of the coating, but Dutch metal, which is so often substituted for gold foil, is quite unsuitable from containing copper and zine.
For sugar-coating, our apparatus offers facilities over some other contrivances ; the sugar being triturated with gum arabic into a dust-fine powder, and introduced into the spheres, can be readily transferred to the moistened pills, but we believe there is no good way of giving the desirable surface to these « dragees’’ without the application of carefully regulated heat.
DISPENSING.
The mode of dispensing pills has sometimes an importance which is overlooked by pharmaceutists. In England, the prac- tice obtains among those who cater to the taste of the wealthy, of sending out pills in vials, which are regularly made and sold by the dealers in Druggists’ Sundries, of the proper sizes for one, two, or three dozen pills ; these have cork stoppers capped with turned tops of satin or box-wood, and are certainly well adapt- ed to the purpose, especially where.pills are deliquescent, or have a special tendency to become dry and hard. The construction of pill boxes has especially engaged our attention of late, from observing the rather unsightly, though otherwise superior description imported from Germany. Improving upon them in style, we have adopted the same mode of construction, and have
produced a very superior pill box, such as is shown in the oY) drawing. Instead of the top and bottom piece being as in the common kind, cut out of such size as to fit into the cylinder, constitu- ting the sides of the box, they are so large as to extend over its edge, on which they are secured by a margin of fancy paper covering the projecting ridge. Every pharmaceutist of experi- ence must have noticed how often pill boxes are returned with
4 FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY.
the bottom or top, or both, loosened and sometimes lost, to the great annoyance of the purchaser, and requiring a new box with every renewal of the prescription; this is obviated by the use of the box now described. A flat shape is not without ad- vantage, being convenient for the waistcoat pocket, and allow- ing ample space on the top for labelling, which the somewhat lengthy directions occasionally required.
JELLIES,
Jellies made of fixed oils, have the advantage of diminishing the adhesion of these to the mouth, which is the most disagreeable property of this class of remedies. Cod-liver and castor oil jellies, as patented by Queru, of New York, enjoy a large sale, and are much prescribed by physicians ; without interfering with this patent, the physician may prescribe jellies of any of the fixed oils or of copaiva, by a recipe somewhat like the following :
Take of The fixed oil, an ounce. Honey, ‘ Syrup, of each, half a fluid ounce. Powdered gum arabic, two drachms. Russian isinglass, forty grains. Orange flower water, six fluid drachms.
Dissolve the isinglass by the aid of heat, in half an ounce of the orange flower water, replacing the water as it evaporates. Triturate the other ingredients with the remainder of the orange flower water, into a homogeneous mass in a warmed mortar, then form an emulsion by adding the solution of isinglass, stir as it cools and set aside to gelatinize.
This is an opaque emulsion, but possesses all the advantages of this form of preparation. The flavoring ingredient may be changed to suit the taste, bearing in mind the ascertained fact that the bitter almond flavor most completely disguises that of cod liver, and perhaps of most other oils.
WAFER ENVELOPES.
The wafer is a preparation rarely used in this country, but much employed abroad for enveloping doses of medicine, espe-
FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY. 5
cially in the form of powder. We have met with no recipe for its preparation in any of the works on pharmacy, and have heretofore obtained only those imported from France.
In the absence of any directions in the books, we have adopted the following process with complete success :
Two sad-irons are warmed to a temperature at which they may be touched without burning the fingers, not so hot as to occasion a globule of water to run off when thrown on the level surface. One of the irons is maintained at a slightly increased temperature by inverting it over the gas furnace; a very little oil of almonds or butter, on a fragment of cotton cloth, is now rubbed over the surface of each iron. A portion of the finest wheaten flour, mixed with water into a smooth batter or thin paste, is now poured on the inverted iron, and the other iron is immediately pressed firmly upon it. After a minute or two the wafer is re- moved and trimmed into shape. The French wafers are cut into circular disks of about 24 inches diameter, which appears to be done by the use of annular steel punches. We think the square wafer possesses some advantage for enveloping powders and pills, by folding the corners into the centre. In using the
wafer, it is to be moistened by dipping into a tumbler of water, laid on the palm of the hand, the powder or pill dropped in the centre, the edges folded over it, when it may be swallowed like an oyster, without tasting its contents.
SUPPOSITORIES.
‘«« Machine-made Suppositories,” of elegant quality and finish, made of cocoa butter, with a variety of medicinal ingredients, have lately been introduced in this city, and have led to enquiries among our pharmaceutists as to the best arrangements for pro- ducing them.
To what has been already published by A. B. Taylor, vol. xxiv. p- 211 of this Journal, and in Parrish’s Pharmacy, second edit. p- 611, we mayeadd a few practical suggestions, the result of recent experience in this manipulation. The consistence of cocoa butter alone is not well adapted to the preparation of an elegant and firm suppository. It is a good basis when combined with a harder and rather less fusible material. We have found wax, in
6 FANCY AND FASHION IN PHARMACY.
the proportion of one part to five of the cocoa butter, to answer a very good purpose.
The use of metallic moulds for making suppositories, though no doubt convenient and readily obtained at moderate expense from syringe makers, is quite unnecessary, as the paper cone is convenient, always accessible, and may be adapted to any size _ required. Perhaps the most suitable weight for a suppository is 25 grains, and there seems no advantage in departing from this standard for ordinary purposes. They are readily introduced when much larger, as indicated in the prescriptions of Drs. Pan- coast and S. W. Mitchell, published in the paper already referred to; but on the other hand, they are perhaps equally efficacious when still smaller, the butter of cocoa being merely used as a vehicle, to be increased or diminished at pleasure. The object in having this preparation of an uniform size is to facilitate the construction of the paper moulds, which, when a suppository of 25 grains is prescribed, may be made as follows:
A piece of very stout glazed paper is cut up into oblong pieces, 2} inches long by 14 wide, and rolled into a cone, which should be 1§ inches long and half an inch at the base; the free end of the paper is secured by a tip of sealing wax, and at the ex- treme point of the cone an eighth of an inch is clipped off, and the opening sealed up. The object is next to arrange these cones with the open end in a proper position to be filled with ingredients; this is conveniently done in a shallow vessel of flaxseed— sand is objectionable from its liability, if accidentally thrown into the cone, to produce irritation when the supposi- tory is applied. The butter of cocoa and wax should be melted by a gentle heat, and then the active ingredients added and con- stantly stirred until it begins to chill, then poured into the paper cones and set aside to harden. The paper should not be removed from the suppository until it has become thoroughly hardened, and by this means it will acquire a clear, polished surface. The time required to prepare a dozen or more suppositories is from half an hour to an hour; the physician should be reminded in advance that they cannot be furnished without some little delay.
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ON CHELIDONIUM MAJUS.
ON CHELIDONIUM MAJUS, Liv. By Joun M.
It may be considered the duty of the American pharmaceu. tist and physician to explore the bountiful flora of our continent, and among the numberless plants indigenous to this hemisphere, to search for new remedies, which may tend to fill a place hitherto vacant, or which may answer as a substitute for more costly exotics. In this connection we shall have to turn our attention likewise to those plants which, though indigenous to foreign countries, have gradually become naturalized to our soil and climate, and grow to perfection without any cultivating care being bestowed upon them. The great variety of soil in a country, stretching from the coast of the Mexican Gulf where the very word of cold is scarcely known, far to the Northern boundaries, where winter reigns supreme for nearly one half of every year, ought to enable us to procure a home for most of the valuable trees, shrubs and plants, no matter whether they require a barren or rich, a dry or moist, a low or hilly or rocky ground. If more general attention had been paid to this matter, we might doubtless now count among our naturalized plants many which are of indispensable necessity.
It cannot be denied, that besides, or probably with, such plants as are used for food or in the arts, for culinary or ornamental purposes, a number of weeds have been introduced, which in some instances have become a nuisance to farms and gardens, and cannot now be extirpated. If possible, we ought to turn such weeds to some use, and it is with this object in view I now desire to call attention to an European plant.
Chelidonium majus, Lin., (English, celandine ; French, grande éclair or chelidoine; German, Schgllkraut, Schwalbenkraut ; Spanish, Celidonia mayor) belongs to the natural order Papa- veracez, and to the Linnean class and order Polyandria, Mono- gynia. It is a perennial plant, indigenous to the southern and middle sections of Europe, and extensively naturalized in the northern and middle States of the Union, where it grows in waste places, among rubbish, along hedges, fences and walls.
The root consists of a cylindric or conical caudex, about one inch to an inch and a half in length, of the thickness of a quill
8 ON CHELIDONIUM MAJUS.
to the size of a finger, frequently hollow or channelled by the rotting away of one side, when growing in rather moist places ; it is but slightly branched, except at the lower end, where it is divided into numerous fibres, $ to 2 lines thick, and frequently 6 to 8 inches in length. When the root has been dried, it is fragile, longitudinally rugose, the caudex of a dirty brown, in- ternally bright red and white, the fibres of a brownish orange, and internally of a whitish color. It is inodorous, and possesses a taste, which is at first bitter and slightly mucilaginous, after- wards persistently acrid and biting. The stem is erect, about two feet high, dichotomously branched above, somewhat pilose. The alternate leaves grow from four to five inches in length, are glaucous beneath, slightly pilose, and pseudopinnate ; the late- ral segments—usually four in number—are ovate, obtuse, un- equally and obtusely incised-serrate, and mostly confluent at the principal midrib; the terminal segment is cuneate-obovate and frequently three-lobed, with the lobes obtusely incised. The flowers occur in umbels of 4 to &, terminating the solitary peduncles, which grow in the axils of, or opposite to the leaves ; the pedicels are bracteate at the base. The calyx consists of two caducous sepals, which are nearly ovate and pilose exter- nally. The four petals are elliptic, entire and yellow. The capsule resembles a pod, is about an inch long and one-tenth of an inch broad, sublinear, swelling somewhat into ridges, one- celled, and opens at maturity by two valves from the base. The numerous roundish-oblong seeds are of a brown or brownish black color, shining, bear an elevated ridge and are affixed to two marginal placente.
Celandine begins to tlower in May and to ripen the first fruit about July, but continues to bear fruit and flowers until October. The whole plant abounds in an orange colored juice, which exudes from it when wounded. The herb requires some careful attention while drying, to prevent it from turning black; when fresh it possesses a nauseous odor, but is inodorous after drying ; it resembles the root in taste, which is first bitterish and some- what mucilaginous, afterwards acrid and biting. The seeds pos- sess an oily taste, free from acrimony.
In this plant we meet with some of the same constituents that are found in one of our own American plants, which is held in con-
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ON CHELIDONIUM MAJUS. 9 siderable repute in regular and domestic practice, and which belong to the same natural order as celandine. The following comprises the chemical history of the latter plant :
Chevallier and Lassaigne subjected, in 1817, the juice to chemical analysis, but although they supposed the presence of an alkaloid, they were unable to isolate it; among the inorganic constituents they found organic limesalts, phosphate of lime, nitrate of potassa and chloride of potassium; also albumen. No better results were obtained by Godefroy in 1824, who sup- posed the acrid principle to be volatilized on distilling with water. The analysis of Dr. Probst, of Heidelberg, published in 1838, is still the most complete one which we possess of the various parts of celandine.
He proved the presence of chelidonina, chelerythrina, cheli- donic acid, and a yellow coloring matter, chelidoxanthin. The largest amount of the first three bodies he found in the root. 40 pounds of the fresh herb yielded him but one grain of cheli- donina, which is the bitter alkaloid, and crystallizes best in a free state from a solution in acetic acid. Chelidonic acid re- sembles citric acid in its behaviour to limesalts. Chelerythrina is the acrid alkaloid of celandine, and was discovered by the same chemist in 1840, likewise in the root of Glaucium luteum, another p{paveraceous plant, and announced by him as identical with sanguinarina, discovered by Dana. The identity of these two alkaloids was proven by elementary analysis, by Dr. James Schiel, of St. Louis, in 1855.
Chelidoxanthin is precipitated by acetate of lead together with chelidonic acid, and after decomposition by sulphuretted hydrogen the latter is dissolved by water, the former extracted from the sulphide of lead by hot alcohol; it has a very bitter taste, and, according to Probst, probably imparts to the flowers - their yellow color.
Other analyses by Leo Meyer, John, Polex.and Reuling agree in their main results withthe above, though they were generally not so successful. Lerch found free malic acid and the largest proportion of chelidonic acid at the time of flowering. He as- certained in 1847 that it is a tribasic acid, of the composition 3HO, C,, H, O,, + 2Aq; the monobasic salts are of a lemon yellow color, only those with the alkalies are readily soluble in water and crystallizable.
10 ON CHELIDONIUM MAJUS.
Of the various analyses of chelerythrina or sanguinarina, the latest is by Dr. Schiel, and probably the most correct one; he found C,, H,, NO,. The composition of chelidonina has been given as C,, H,, N, O,.
The latest discovery of a new constituent has been made by Zwenger, who isolated a new strong organic acid, chelidoninic acid, of the composition C,, H,, 0, The plant it appears, therefore, has the following composition: Chelidonina, chelery- thrina (sanguinarina), chelidonic, chelidoninic and malic acid, chelidoxanthin, albumen, phosphate of lime, nitrate of potassa, chloride of potassium ; probably, also, an acrid volatile principle, which is dissipated by drying.
To judge from the composition, celandine ought to possess some valuable remedial properties, and indeed it has been held in high repute in Europe for many centuries, and is officinal in most of the European Pharmacopeias. Although the root ap- pears to contain the largest proportion of the alkaloids and some of the acids, and though the root and flowers have been occa- sionally employed, still the flowering herb is the part usually ordered by the Pharmacopeias. It is gathered during the months of May and June and carefully dried.
According to Orfila’s experiments on animals, celandine be- longs to the acrid poisons, while in its fresh state, but is more harmless after drying. It is then regarded to contain resolvent, diuretic, diaphoretic and laxative properties, to possess a pecu- liar action on the liver, the uterine and hemorrhoidal vessels, and in larger doses to exert the influence of the pure acrid remedies in general. It has, therefore, been highly recommended in jaundice and other chronic diseases of the liver, in uterine and hemorrhoidal disorders, and in certain dropsical, scrofulous and venereal affections. Externally it has been employed in some diseases of the eye, in various swellings and pussy gatherings, and the fresh juice against warts, after they have been previ- ously somewhat cut off.
Only the extract has been admitted as an officinal preparation in the various Pharmacopeias. Most of them prepare it of the consistence of a stiff extract ; that of Bavaria gives the follow- ing directions: The fresh herb is bruised in a stone mortar with a wooden pestle, and expressed ; the residue is digested
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ON TINCTURA ARNICA. 11
with some water, at a temperature ranging between 70 and 75° C. (158 to 167° F.) for half an hour or an hour, and then ex- pressed. The mixed liquor is evaporated in a steam bath to a syrupy consistence, then mixed with an equal weight of alcohol, and after 24 hours strained. The residue is again macerated with one fourth of alcohol of -900 spec. grav. and expressed.
‘After filtration, the liquor is evaporated with constant stir- ring to the consistency of a pill mass. Thus prepared it is of dark brown color, and yields with water or diluted alcohol an almost clear solution; it may be given in doses of from 5 to 15 grains twice or thrice a day.
Rademacher employed a tinctura chelidonii, prepared by di- gesting the fresh herb with its own weight of alcohol, and employed it in doses of from 15 to 30 drops, two, three or four times a day.
It is frequently prescribed with ammonia, assafoetida, tarax- ucum, rhubarb, ox-gall, conium, soap, and preparations of anti- mony and mercury. A favorite prescription of some physicians of my acquaintance has been: Powdered rhubarb and chloride of ammonium, of each one drachm, extract of celandine two drachms; to be made into 120 pills, of which from 3 to 6 are given twice or three times a day.
Philadelphia, Dee. 4th, 1860.
ON TINCTURA ARNICZ. By Procter, Jr.
It is well known that this preparation is now largely employed by the public as an external application for bruises, and notwith- standing the contempt with which its powers have been spoken of by eminent members of the medical profession it has gradually gained ground among practitioners of medicine and ‘may now be considered as among the probable novelties of the revised edition of the U. S. Pharmacopceia :—
In view of this probability it is desirable that a recipe should be adopted that will merit in all respects the confidence of the physician. Various formulas have been published in which the strength varies from two to four ounces to the pint, with men- strua ranging from diluted alcohol to alcohol of 95 per cent.
The points to be accomplished in the successful preparation of this tincture are that, being for external application, it should
12 ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS.
bestrong; next that the menstruum used should be the right solvent for the principles to be extracted ; and lastly, that it should not be so alcoholic as to evaporate too rapidly, or to be too stimula- ting. The following recipe which I have used for many years, was adopted by the revisional committee of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, and is worthy of attention. Take of Arnica Flowers, six ounces,
Alcohol,
Water, of each a sufficient quantity.
Mix three parts of alcohol -835, with one of water, and having sprinkled the flowers with a small portion to prevent dust, bruise them thoroughly until fit for percolation, then pack the arnica in a percolator, and pour on the menstruum so that it shall pass slowly until two pints of tincture are obtained.
This tincture has a dark greenish brown hue, quite different from that made with alcohol alone, a decided odor of the drug, and its activity in full, as I had occasion to learn from the acci- dental swallowing of a teaspoonful of it by a lady, who took it instead of Warner’s cordial—the symptoms of poisoning (as stated by the authorities) being rapidly manifested.
ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS. By Wm. R. Warner.
It has occurred to me that the pharmaceutist is illy supplied with cheap and efficient means of conducting many processes and operations which it would appear to be his duty to per- form. We rely upon the manufacturer for the supply of prep- arations which the pharmaceutist should prepare himself, if not as a duty, at least as a matter of pecuniary interest or pastime. But the want of appropriate apparatus within our reach, well adapted to our purposes, falls greatly in the way of officinal manufacturing ; such as may properly belong to the scope of ordinary shop duties. While we believe there is a great defi- ciency in these aids, there is much room for improvement in pro- cesses and the means of conducting them, and proportionably as we can avail ourselves of these facilities we are able to perform our work better. It certainly detracts from our scientific claims if the necessities of the case do not stimulate invention to re- lieve our wants, whilst ingenious manufacturers prompted by the demand, exert themselves to invent apparatus and discover
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ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS. 13
processes to create a supply. I am not prepared to censure the manufacturer who thus subserves wants which our own ingenuity should supply, because he is prompted only by pecuniary interest, as has too often been done. It is true that we do not labor under the same necessities as the great Davy, Dalton and others, to make use of cups, vials and tobacco pipes, etc., but we must ac- knowledge a deficiency of such certain means as I have alluded to; we must charge ourselves with a want of ingenuity and ne- glect of interest; and if we cannot see our interests involved, or are not impelled by the many obvious reasons to do so, we are not scientific pharmaceutists, but mere merchants.
With these preliminary remarks I will claim the attention of the reader to two pieces of apparatus which in my hands have proved highly efficient and useful. The first is designed for fil- tering fixed oils ; the second, for condensing vapors in the distilla- tion of watery, alcoholic or ethereal liquids.
The oil filter consists of an upper cy- lindrical tinned iron vessel A, about 22 inches high and ten inches in diameter, with a flanch rim soldered on the bot- tom, of rather less diameter, and about an inch wide, so as to fit firmly into the open top of another cylindrical tin ves- sel of the same diameter and eighteen inches high. The upper vessel is fur- nished with a lid, and with an L shaped tube and stop cock ¢ which penetrates the side close to the bottom and fits into another tube d at e which tube opens into the lower vessel close to its bottom, and is secured to the side of B by a strong tubular stay.
The filtering medium is a cone of hat-felt, projecting upwards from near q the bottom of the lower vessel. The
me manner in which this important part St AU of the apparatus is arranged is as fol-
lows: just above the bottom on the in-
side a tinned iron ring of the same diameter as the inside of the vessel, an inch wide and s quarter of an inch thick, is securely
14 ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS.
soldered to the sides forming a projecting ledge about three quar- ters of an inch above the bottom. The ring is penetrated with six holes, with threads cut in them, in which fit pointed thumb-screws with shoulders. On this ring fits a similar tinned iron ring of slightly less diameter furnished with correspond- ing holes of such size that the thumb-screws pass easily through them as far as the shoulders which thus are capable of binding the two rings closely together, when screwed down. The felt filter having been cut to the diameter of the vessel, is slipped down so as to rest evenly upon the lower ring ; the upper ring is then placed upon it carefully so as to avoid any overlap- ping of the felt ; and then the points of the thumb-screws being pushed through the felt are securely screwed into the lower ring which binds the rings so closely as to make a tight joint. The lower vessel is also provided with a stop-cock at f to draw off the filtered oil when it has accumulated sufficiently.
The apparatus is used in the following manner. The stop cock ¢ being closed, the upper vessel is fitted in its place, and the tube joint e rendered tight by wrapping twice around it a strip of isinglass plaster well moistened. When this is dry, the upper vessel is filled with the crude oil, and the stop-cock e¢ opened that the oil may flow into the open space below the filter. To facilitate the passage of the oil, the apparatus should be sup- ported above a stove, or other source of heat, so that its tem- perature may rise to 120 degrees; and in the case of castor oil this is really necessary owing to its consistence. As the filtered oil accumulates in B, it should be drawn off, as any large amount greatly retards the process by decreasing the force of the col- umn bearing on the filter. The fact that the filtration occurs from below upward is esteemed an advantage as the tendency of the impurities is to settle away from the filtering surface and not to accumulate upon and clog it.
An instrument of this size properly attended should filter a barrel of oil in a day with ease, and the whole arrangement is so symmetrical that it may stand in the shop without offending the sight or interfering with other operations. The oil may be drawn from the vessel B directly into bottles if desired, or by means of a gum tube drawn over the mouth of the cock it may be conveyed into any large receptacle placed near it.
Believing that the utility of an efficient and convenient ap-
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ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS. 15
paratus to facilitate the filtration of fixed oils, syrups and viscid solutions would be readily acknowledged, and would fill a desider- atum arising from the necessity for such an arrangement, has led me to this effort to supply it. We have had hitherto no arrange- ments or apparatus well adapted to our wants in this respect, and the simple filter bag or Hippocrates’ sleeve, though good enough for some purposes, is as primitive as the name might suggest, and has been mostly the only means employed by wholesale dealers and others, some of whom have several apartments for the filter- ing of castor oil, and extensive arrangements for heating in order to render more fluid the oils which are filtering in these apartments.
The invention which I have endeavored to illustrate embraces the essential ideas of filtration upwards, the employment of the law of liquid pressure, and the application of heat to increase fluidity of substances filtering, the importance of all of which I think is apparent and requires no comment.
Some eight years since Prof. Procter invented an apparatus, as he informs me, for filtering oils, which embraced the principle of upward filtration, of this arrangement, but none of its other advantages.
The entire exclusion of dust, which the exposed oils so readily catch, is effected, and the oxidation of them from pro- tracted and tedious filtering by the ordinary method, are all prevented by this apparatus.
The Condenser (or ‘jack in the box,” as our smith calls it) ¥ is especially applicable to the condensation of alcoholic va- pors. It consists of a square tinned iron box of twice the height of its diameter with a canister like flanch and lid at the top. A few inches below the top is a diaphragm of tinned iron soldered in diagonally so as to be lower at one corner than at the other three. At this lowest corner a vertical tube is eoldered in the dia- phragm which descends in that
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16 ON SOME PHARMACEUTICAL APPARATUS.
corner of the box nearly to a lower diaphragm. Between this diaphragm and the upper one the space is separated into two equal parts by a series of transverse, partial partitions or plates, meeting alternately at acute angles within an inch of the oppo- site sides of the box, so as to separate the water for condensing, which passes down through the tube and gradually fills one side, from the condensing surface and space for the vapor which en- ters at a conical neck ¢ just below the upper diaphragm. The condensed liquid escapes below the lower diaphragm at the side opposite from the neck. As the number of zigzag plates may be increased, the amount of condensing surface may — be greatly increased, and to render the action of the apparatus yet more efficient, a series of plates are soldered to the side pene- trated by the neck so as to extend into the condensing spaces, but not to reach the partitions, and thus compel the vapor to take a zigzag course from a to 6 as indicated by the arrows, in which it is brought into contact with every part of the conden- sing surface. As the cold water reaches the lower surfaces first, and the water in contact with the upper surfaces gets heated most, it follows that in its descent the vapor will meet with sur- faces increasingly cold until they are effectively reduced to the liquid state and run out at the exit d. The hot water escapes at c, and by admitting a strong current of cold water at f the amount of condensing power is really surprising.
This apparatus is not unsightly, occupies but a small space, and may be lacquered or painted, which to some extent will pro- mote radiation of heat from outer surfaces. The thin conduct- ing material of which it is constructed admits of rapid trans- mission of heat from surface to surface. Its essential merit is its condensing power, which I will illustrate as follows:
If this condenser be 24 inches high, and 12 by 18 in diameters, with twenty four 12 inch partitions, (occupying in all slightly more than two cubic feet), it will give a condensing surface of 28 square feet ; or 4032 square inches. Now compare this with the ordinary worm condenser of one inch diameter, and 72 feet long, 6 feet coil and 4 inches fall; filling a space 3 by 5 feet will give but 2592 square inches. It is therefore apparent that this apparatus, occupying slightly more than two cubic feet, is capa- ble of doing the work of a worm 112 feet long. In conclusion
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ON AN ADULTERATION OF CARMINE. 17
I will state, that by attaching the apparatus to a hydrant by a caoutchouc tube, and the opening d to a large receptacle, a large operation may be performed without any attention to the conden- sing arrangement after it is set fairly at work.
Philad. Dec. 10th, 1860.
ON AN ADULTERATION OF CARMINE. By J. M. Maiscu.
That adulterators are everywhere busily engaged in the sophistication of many articles of daily use, is well known, and this business will continue to be a profitable one so long as the purchaser prefers to rely on other people’s assertions, instead of examining for himself,and thus becoming convinced of the purity of the article which he may wish to buy. This nefari- ous business is not confined to America, as will be admitted by all who are in some measure acquainted with the commerce in foreign countries ; and if a proof was demanded, we may simply point to the journals, whose columns occasionally take notice of some gross fraud. The object of these publications is obvious, to put the buyer on his guard, and make him acquainted with the various substances used for adulteration. If every one would spend a few moments in chemically investigating a newly bought article, return the same if adulterated, and re- port to some influential journal the results, a more effectual stop would be put to sophistication than could be effected by the most stringent laws.
The paper by J. Attfield, copied on page 361 of the Ameri- Journal of Pharmacy, 1860, is a very interesting one. I was, indeed, surprised at the extent of the sophistication of carmine by chrome red and vermillion, carried on or counte- - nanced by leading drug establishments of London; though it cannot be justified, it is possible that the specimens examined were the low-priced commercial varieties.
Within the last ten years, I have examined a number of finer qualities of carmine occurring in our commerce ; the test employed by me was treatment with cold liquor ammonia, which will dissolve pure carmine. This test I believe to be sufficient for all practical purposes, In most instances I found
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18 BITTER WINE OF IRON.
the carmine to be perfectly soluble ; but as I do not know from what manufacturers the article had been obtained at different times, I cannot say to what extent its sophistication is practised among us.
Lately, the residue from two ounces of carmine No. 40, left after treatment with ammonia, was handed me for examination. It settled upon the filter to a stiff mass, which, with great diffi- culty, was deprived of nearly all its color and weighed, after drying, 500 grs. It was free of lead and mercury, insoluble in cold water, soluble in hot water and gelatinized on cooling. A solution of iodine produced a deep blue color, and when incin- erated in a crucible, it left a charcoal which burned with diffi- culty leaving 4 per cent. of ashes. The carmine was adulter- ated with about 57-14 per cent. of starch.
It appears from this, that our sophisticators understand their business better than their London brethren; the latter employ some coloring matter which is at least worth some trifle per ounce, while the former manufacture for the same amount of money from } to 4 Ibs. of carmine.
Philadelphia, Dee. 10, 1860.
BITTER WINE OF IRON. By Wittram Procter, JR.
Under this caption a preparation was introduced into use in this city many years ago, by the late Dr. Physic, which was made from cider, iron filings, orange peel, and ginger, and is yet kept by several apothecaries :
If we are rightly informed, this preparation was first made by Frederick Brown of this city. The kind of cider proper for this purpose, is that known as hard cider, a strong cider deci- dedly acid from the presence of malic acid.
The following is the recipe:
Take of Iron filings, three ounces.
Ginger, bruised,
Gentian bruised, each an ounce. Orange peel bruised, half an ounce. Strong old cider, a pint.
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BITTER WINE OF IRON. 19
Macerate in a bottle loosely corked, for two weeks or longer, then express and filter for use.
A reaction occurs between the iron filings and the acid of the cider, resulting in the formation of malate, and perhaps some acetate of protoxide of iron, with the evolution of hydrogen gas, which swells up the ingredients, and requires that the mas- ceration should be conducted in a bottle of twice the capacity of the ingredients.
This preparation has a dark almost black color, very bitter aromatic taste, and is a good, though not an elegant chalybeate, in the dose of a teaspoonful.
BITTER WINE OF IRON.
(Hubbell’s Recipe.)
For some time past, Mr. O. S. Hubbell, of Philad., has pre- pared a « Bitter Wine of Iron,”’ which has been much prescribed by several physicians. The peculiarity of this preparation is, that it consists of iron and cinchona, and yet is free from any inky taste or appearance, is perfectly transparent, of a light brown color, not very different from that of sherry wine, and a
bitter, not disagreeable taste.
The label claims for it the presence of citrate of the mag- netic oxide of iron, as the ferruginous ingredient.
On applying to Mr. Hubbell for the recipe for publication, he freely gave me sufficient data with which to make the following formula :
Take Citrate (of magnetic oxide) of Iron, 128 grains. Precipitated éxtract of Calisaya bark, 256 grains. White wine (sherry), a pint,
Curagao (the best), five fluid ounces and a third.
Dissolve the precipitated extract of bark in the wine by aid of a sufficient quantity of citric acid, then add the citrate of iron, filter the solution, and add to it the Curacao and mix.
The precipitated extract of bark employed by Mr. Hubbell is not the commercial extract, or yet that of Wetherill, or of Ellis, but is made by himself, by a process based on that of Mr. Herring, of London, for the manufacture of quinine.
Any quantity of Calisaya bark is treated with a solution of
20 ON COMMERCIAL IRON BY HYDROGEN.
caustic soda, (2 parts to 100 of water,) until it has removed the coloring matter, kinic and tannic acids and extractive matters. The residue is washed with water, dried, and extracted with al- cohol till exhausted, and the alcohol distilled off so as to obtain an extract. The extract consists almost wholly of quinia and cinchonia, and is free from tannin, and though not soluble in wine alone, becomes so by aid of citric acid.
The