V
BERKELEY \
LIBRARY
UNIVERSfTY Of CAUF0Rf4IA
6iosclenc€i & hteturag' Resources library
ESSAYS
ON SOME or THE MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLKi
or THE
MATERIA MEDZCA,
COMPBISIXa
▲ ?X7Ll A<:C0I71!rT OP ALL THE ITKW PROXIMATE PRII7CIFKXS, i.K1l
THB POPULAH MEDICINES LATELY INTIIOUUCED IN PRACTICl,
BETArLINO THK FOBMCLAS POR THEIR PREPARATION",
THSIB HABITUDES AND PECULIARITIES, DOSES AS»
KODES OF ADMIXISTRATIOK, WITR
REMARKS
^ ON THE
Most Eligible Form of their Exhibition :
TO WHICH IS Aiy}EI),
A CATALOGUE OI' MEDICINES,
Surgical Instrunienis^ A*c. rf'c,
ADAPTED POa
A PHYSICIAN AT THE OUTSET OF HIS PRACTICE, "WITH THB
Dos6i and Effects attached to each Medicine^ <^c. c^c.
By Geo. W. Carpenter.
PHILADELPHIA,
Geo, TT. Carpenters** Chemical Warehvuie, 301 Market 8t.
EA5 TFJJN DISl niCT OF PENNSYLVANIA, TO WIT;
^\VV*^y , Be it kkmembehkd, That on the twelfth day of -^^W^^^ Juli", Anno Domini, one thousand eig-ht hundred iM>^^and thirty-one, GEORGE VV. CARPENTKR, of
■ict, haih deposited in this office the >k, the title of vvhicli is in the words following', to wit:
Essays on some ofihe most important articles in the Materia Medica, comprising a full account of ail the new Proximate Principles, and the Popular Medicines lately introduced in Practice, detailing tlie Formulas for their preparation, their habitudes and peculiarities, doses and modes of Administra- tion, with Remarks on the most eligible Form of their Exhi- bition; to which is added, a Catalogue of Medicines, Surgical Instruments, &c. SiC. adapted for a Physician at the outset of his practice, with the Doses and Effects attached to each Medi- cine, &,c.Scc. By Geo W. Carpenter.
The ri^ht wereof he clairns as Author, in conformity with an Act of Congress, entitled "An Act to amend the several Acts respecting Copy-Rights."
D. CALDWELL,
Clerk of the District.
■^-8.5 15-3
TO THE
MEDICAL CLASS
0? THB
UiVIFERSITY OF PElVJVSYIiVANIA,
Tins WORK is HUMBLY SUBMITTED,
BY THE AUTHOR.
t\^->71.^45
PREFACE.
In submitting the following pages to the Medical community, it will be necessary lor me first to apologize for their imperfections, and I feel satisfied they will indulge me under the circumstances of the case. They were penned during the short intervals of suspense amidst the bustle and toil of an active business, and my object was more for the purpose of keeping up strict habits of in- dustry and close application, than for any be- nefit which I could anticipate to result fl^om their publication. The former I am certain to have attained, and should the latter result, I shall be doubly rewarded. I have at various times contributed essays on the different ar- ticles of the materia medica to our medical journals, particularly to the Philadelphia Journal of Medical and Physical Sciences, and to the recent highly valuable periodical the American Journal of Medical Sciences. My Medical friends have frequently called upon me for copies of these essays, until I had distributed several thousand of each, when I was earnestly solicited for some time (hav- ing exhausted all the loose copies I had print- ed,) to publish them together, and in coni- pUance with these requests, I have introduc- ed this work to public attention. I rely upon my Medical friends for its support, r/id
A 2
Vl PREFACE.
I purpose, if sufficiently encouraged, to pub* lish a more enlarged view of the articles of the materia medica generally, under the title of Pharmacologia. In the present work I iiave added considerably to the essays above alluded to, by introducing a full description of the new and popular medicines which I have lately brought into notice, and which I now exclusively manufacture. I have also embraced in the present work, a concise ac- count of some of the new and valuable medi- cines introduced to public attention by the excellent treatise of Majendie, and have quo- ted the formulas vvhich he has laid down for their preparation, because I consider them a standard, which all the apothecaries and phy- sicans should invariably adhere to, in order that we may have uniform preparations. I repeat again tliat these formulas are from -Magendie, for not having adverted to it in the places where they have been given, I wish it here particularly understood, for there will be, no doubt, some of my competitors seeking every little avenue of this publication to hunt out and magnify any little weak points, (more or less of which may be called out of the most valuable productions,) while tlie brilliant iight of truth and information which they contain, generally drives them in despair be- fore they have fully completed their worthy intentions; hence it is we find men of the most depraved talents undervaluing master* jy eompositioos, because they do not fully un- derstami them. Axjd how often in our daily
PREFACE. Ml
Avalks in life, and in our intercourse with tlie world, do we lind these circumstances mani- fested. How^ many able speeches and ora- tions do we see tattered and torn, by persons unable to speak, or with capacity to under- stand. But what does it cii'ect? And what is its influence? They are generally ere long defeated by their own language, and the ora- tor stands the same, and the oration has lost no more by their condemnation than it would have gained by their applause.
I do not by any means wish to condemn criticism, it is the very life and essence of writing, and vrhen it is done impartially, and without prejudice, should always be invited by the author.
There is no circumstance which evinces more strongly the progress of Medical Sci- ences, than the general and increasing spirit of emulation, and the ardour with which mai^y of its votaries apply in developing and sub- stantiating new facts, as the fruitful res'ilt of their researches and discoveries. Chemisty and Pharmacy have contributed more largely to the grand fund of solid and substantial in- formation, than any other branches of the Medical Sciences. It is to tljis department we are indebted for the valuable acquisition of Quinine, Morphine, Pipeline, and other proximate principles; and, a number of high- ly valuable improved and cmiccntrated pre- parations, -as the Compound Fluid Extract of Sarsaparilla, &.c. &lc. all of which have be- come perfectly estabiislied in Medical prac-
VIU ^ PREFACE.
tice, and their particular eifects can now be relied upon with as much certainty as Calo- mel and Opium. While speaking of Sarsa- parilla, I cannot refrain from expressing in this place, the valuable properties of the Fluid Extract, which possesses so many advantages over the syrup, decoction, and solid extract, which is proved in the subsequent pages of this work. Physi- cians can now rely upon an uniform prepara- tion, and can conveniently prescribe it; and the patient vAW now be relieved from the trouble and difficulties of preparing the de- coction, which was seldom sufficiently boiled, ajid otherwise improperly made by those un- acquainted with phamaceutical preparations. I have seen very silly objections made to this preparation by one of my competitors in trade, who is ever ready to speculate on the analysis of articles v/hich he is unacquainted with, and thus frequently makes excessive blundt-M's; tliis is to be pitied, since he might at once Gtrike upon a much more successful effort in quoting the analysis and composition ofiheimproiVid water colours, which he must necessarily be more acquainted with, and which, in fact, might be an interesting disclo- sure. We m I3t, however, expect to meet with the coUisi.m of opposite opinion, and at the present epoch, we cannot expect that we .should all agice upon any one subject, though it were as manife-it as the unobscured sun at noonday. We must, therefore, expect to meet with opposition in tho most useful dis-
PREFACE. IX
coveries. Hence we frequently find a person opposing articles, their usefulness and supe- riority fully established by well attested facts, and by the experience of some of the most distinguished men; and all this without advancing arguments, or producing facts. I say we object to an individual less able to judge, than perhaps any one of those he is opposing, to advance his opinion against a host of men eminent in the profession, and to offer his opinions as a pattern to be followed, when in truth, they are an obstacle to be shunned; but such is the blindness of human nature, that men are too apt to set themselves up as guides, when they should be satisfied to serve as beacons. There is no doubt they may now and then meet with a follower or disciple, who will catch at their opinions and support them as an expedient, but they gene- rally in a short time die away for want of support, while articles they have expended themselves upon, appear to have taken fresh roots from the nourishment, and the branches to have extended themselves in all directions far and wide. Thus we find the Saratoga powders described in the following pages to have become every year more and more po- pular, and their usefulness to be more and more appreciated, and the demand for them co-extensive with their increased reputation. They have been introduced in every section of the United States, and have given in all cases the most decided and unequivocal sa- tisfaction, and produced the mo;st salutary
X PREFACE.
and beneficial effects, and have elicited front the faculty and highly distinguished indivi- duals in various places, voluntary acknow- ledgments of satisfaction, and expressions of high commendation on their character and properties, while the miserable objections and defective analysis of an apothecary have long since slumbered in forgetfulness. Thus it was with Quinine, the same objections were made to it when first introduced, and much clamour and opposition raised, one said it was too acrid, another too uncertain, and a third too costly, that it would never be used. But these objections one by one gra- dually subsided, while Quinine raised its as- piring head, and its extensive usefulness soon became manifest to the total obscuration and entire oblivion of the foolish objections which had been started, and we may venture to say there is not a single practitioner of medicine who will not admit its value and superiority to the bark.
Thus it is with the Fluid Extract of Sar- saparilla, the clamours which was raised against it by a competitor in trade, as clear- ly growing out of envy and prejudice, as any fact which could possibly be proven by cir- cumstantial evidence, has already been annihilated, while this preparation is ra- pidly increasing in reputation, and is now prescribed by the most distinguished physi- cians in the United States, and with the most decided satisfaction, it is certainly an article which should receive their support and ap-
PREFACE. XI
probation, as it would have a tendency of putting down, in a great measure, the vari- ous nostrums which are sold under different names, and which are in fact nothing but Compound Syrup of Sarsaparilla, which is most frequently improperly made, as the venders and manufactures of them in most cases, never been brought up in the profes- sion, are ignorant of pharmacy, and their preparations will, therefore, be very defec- tive. There is nothing concealed in the composition of the Com[>ound Fluid Extract of Sarsaparilla, being made from the articles composing the Lisbon Diet; its value and superiority over other preparations is owing entirely to the peculiar manner in which it is made, by which all the medical virtues are extracted from the roots by the most efficient process, based on chemical principles, ob- tained from the result of numerous experi- ments made exclusively for the purpose of as- certaining the same. There will be found in this work a description of a number of new medicines prepared and introduced by me, which have all been sufficiently tested and proved by ample experience by some of our most eminent physicians, to possess fully the virtues and properties which have been as- signed to them. The Compound Extract Buchu, Oil of Cantharidin, Compound Tonic Extract, Citrated Kali, &c. &.c. ^c. will all be found on trial to be valuable medicines, and I feel satisfied will prove useful to the
Xll PREFACE.
practitioner, and meet with the decided ap- probation of the faculty, as they have been wherever yet introduced.
DC7" I would beg leave particularly to in- form the faculty that there has been various imitations of my Compound Extract of Sar- saparilla, Saratoga powders and several other preparations, and that sales of them have been effected on the reputation of mine. They are put up in the same form, the name borrowed, also part of the description and directions so as to imitate externally as closely as possible, my prepa- rations. The faculty, therefore, in making out their orders, who wish those prepared by me should express it decidedly in their direc- tions, or they might perhaps get another ar- ticle. I have heard frequent complaints from physicians in the country who had or- dered my preparations and received instead of them spurious and inferior imitations, which was the cause of so much displeasure, that they immediately sent their orders di- rect to me. I think the original inventor should receive the benefit of his improve- ments, and that spurious imitations of every kind should not receive encouragement but the disapprobation and censure of the community.
OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIME?rr5
OH OPIUM.
>-<•«•<
Its varieties and appearance in com- inerce^ S^c, S^c,
'J'his important article, from its extensive useful- ness, in modifying and alleviating the most afflicting and painful diseases incident to human nature, merits perhaps the most conspicuous place in the materia medica; yet from heing injudiciously administered, and more particularly from its pharmaceutical pre- parations, being improperly made, it frequently pro- duces injurious and distressing consequences. With the hope of remedying some of these inconveniences, I have made a series of experiments, the results of which are contained in the following observations. Before, however, entering upon the pharmaceutical preparations, it may not perhaps be improper to offer a very concise view of the natural history and phy- sical characters of this article, as it occurs at the present day in our commerce. Opium is the pro- duct of the Papaver somniferum, and is the inspissa- ted juice of the capsules of that plant. It has been improperly termed a gum by many authors, and the error prevails to the present day. It is a native of
A
^ OPItJISI.
ihe southern paris of Asia. It maj, however, he i;\iscd in our gardens, and is now cuUivated in Eng- land on an imposing scale, which has been increas- ing for several years. It possesses the sameproperties as the Turkey or East India opium^ and is more pure, containing a larger portion of soluble matter. The Turkey opium has hitherto possessed the best repu- tation, and has been considered superior to any other. Dr. Thomson*' informs us, that he obtained from Turkey opium nearly three times more morphia than was yielded by the same quantity of East India. I have treated equal quantities of Turkey and English opium by the same process, and obtained twenij per cent, more morphia from the latter than the former; this w^ould sanction the belief of the supe- riority of tlie English; which superiority^ I think, h lo be attributed to the careful manner in which it is prepared. The following are the prominent cha- racters of the several varieties of opium, and by which they may be easily distinguished.
Turkey opium is of a reddish-brown colour, pos- gessin"- a strons; narcotic odour, of a solid and com- pact consistence, v^'hcn dry has a shining and uniform fracture of a dark-brown colour producing a reddish- brow^n powder; the best kind is generally in flat pieces.
East India opium is of thin consistence, sometimes almost like that of honey ; when dry it is more fria- ble, its colour nearly black, and possesses less bitter and a more nauseous taste than the Turkey; it has a
•London Dispensatory..
OPIUM.
:$
strong empyreumatic odour, and not the narcotic lieavv one which is so sensible in the Turkey •, it is considerably cheaper and much inferior in strength to the latter, and according to Dr. Thomson contains "but one-third the quantity of morphia and a larger poition of narcotine, which renders it a far ]c^s de- «irable article. Dr. Coxe, in his valuable Americau DispcTisatory, remarks, that one-eighth the cakes is allowed for the enormous quantity of leaves witii which they are enveloped. This opium is little used ill this country, and is seldom, if ever to be (ov.n(\ in the shops of our druggists.
F2nglisk oYAum is generally in smaller cake?, fre- quently thill and flat, of a more permanent consist- ence, of a clear smooth fracture, and is destitute of leaves, stalks, and other impurities which generally accompany opium. It has the general character of being superior in quality to the Turkey, which che^u- ical analysis^ has determined. The quality of opiunt*
* It is i.0 chemistry that we are indebted for many Impor- tau: facts in relation to opium, and for the knowledge ofmo;-- pb-a and narcotine, the two active pr'nciples of opium — two principka of a directly opposite nature existing in the same Eubstance, and exercisinj^ individually their particular eftccU on the constitution. MaSiy are opposed to chemical analysis &3 a meaps of discoverinij the virtues of medicines, and among others Dr. Ydung.f whe states as an argument that Geoffror discovered by chemical analysis that the soporific quality of opium depended upon its sulphur. We might agree with Dr. Voung, if the science of chemistry liad not advanced since the period alluded to, and did experiments upon opium now le^d to timilar conclusions. We might as well reject ss us«l«S)? tUa I Young on Opium.
4 OPIUM.
differs very materiallj, even that from the same country, climate, soil, &;c. which arises no doubt in many instances from the manner in which it is pre- pared and cultivated. It is frequently found in our market mixed with leaves, stalks, seeds^ &c.and from the great proportion of these admixtures in some opium, it would lead to a conjecture, that tlie leaves were worked in when the opium was in a very soft and recent state, for the purpose of increasing the weight and consistence. I have even seen opium whose external characters possessed all the features of superior quality, and when broken, ex- posed a large proportion of the leaves and capsules of the poppy, which, although it does not alter the particular effects, must diminish the activity of the opium in direct proportion to the quantity and weight of these extraneous and insoluble matters, and I have ascertained by careful experiments that the quantity of soluble or extractive matter bj the same menstrua and process, yielded by different parcels of opium, varies from four and a half and five lo six drachms in the ounce.
analysis of cinchona bark, because a chemist has asserted that the comparative quantity of the active principles, (quinine and cinchonine,) yielded by the Carthagena bark, was in pro- portion to the quantity yielded by the Calisaya as 1 to 70. If errors so palpable would have retarded the inquiries and la- bours, or diminished the zeal of the scrutinizing chemist, ihc science, instead of holding the elevated rank it now possesses» would long since have dwindled into obscurity. Errors and absurdities will naturally creep into every department of sci-. cnce.
OPIUM. «>
The consumption of opium is almost incredible. !n the year 1800, 46,808 lbs. were consumed in Eu- rope. In the year 1 809, the revenue ^vhich the Ben- gal governmet derived from the sale of opium, wat 594,978/, and the exports of opium from Calcutta \o China alone, in 181 1-12, amounted to 4,542,968 sicca rupees — 567,871/.* The supply for Calcutta for 1827, is rated at 13,700 chests. The supply for 1 826 was 10,300 chests, making an increase of 3,400 chests in the last year.
Although opium is prohibited by the Chinese gOY- crnment, yet about 2000 chests are annually import- ed into Canton, the average sale price being 120O dollars per chest, making the amount annually ex- pended by Canton for this drug, the enormous sum -of 24,000,000 dollars.. About 40,000 pounds are annually imported into London.
In the provinces of Bahar and Banares, among the most productive of the East Indies, the common product of opium is twenty-four pounds to an acre, besides which the cultivator reaps about fortr pounds of seed. The preparation- of the raw opium is under the immediate superintendence of the com- pany's agent, who adopts the following method to prepare it. It consists in evaporating, by exposun: to the sun, the watery particles, which are replaced by oil of poppy seeds, to prevent the drying of the resin. The opium is then formed into cakes, and covered with the petals of the poppy, and when suf- ficiently dried, it is packed in chests witii the frag-
•Ham"'Iton*s Esst India Gazetteer, A 2
6 OPJUM.
ments of the capsules, from which poppy seeds have been threshed out. It is said opium is sometimes vitiated with an extract from the leaves and stalks of the poppy and with the gum of the mimosa.
The cultivation of opium in England, if extensive, will no doubt influence the price of this article in our market.*
It has lately been more successfully cultivated by a Mr. Young, than any other person who has yet attempted its culture in Great Britain,! and from which more flattering expectations are entertained of its success. Dr. Coxe, however, in his standard work, the American Dispensatory, observes, it is
• Messrs, Cowley ami Stain?, of "Winslow, in the season of 1322, raised 143 lbs. of excellent opium from eleven acres and five poles of land, for which they received a premium from the society instituted at London, for the encouragen,ent of arts, manufactures and commerce. A medal has been given by the society to i. VV. Jeston, Esq. Surgeon, for an improvement In collecting the juice of the poppy, which consists in collecting it immediately after it exudes from the capsules, instead of allowing it to be inspissated on the capsule. The capsule is scarified with a sharp instrument, gauged to a proper depth, when the juice is scraped ofF with a kind of funnel-form scoop, fixed into the mouth of a vial; when one vial is filled, the scoop is removed to another, and the juice is evaporated in shallow- pans; some varieties are much more productive than others. (See Transactions of the Society for the encouragement of Arts, Man, and Com. Vol. 41.)
Mr. Ball, in 1796, received a premium from the society for the encouragement of arts, for a specimen of British opium» little inferior to the Oriental. (Transactions of the Society of Arts, vol. xiv. pp. 260; 270.)
|Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, No. II. page 262.
OPIUM. 7
npprehended, the climate of Great Britain is an in- superable obstacle to its becoming a profitable branch of agriculture. It has been obtained in the United States, where this objection will not prevail.* 1 think the southern states, particularly the Caro- linas and Georgia, are admirably adapted, from cli- mate and soil, for the cultivation of the poppy, and if properly managed, would no doubt yield a source of considerable profit to the cultivator, if not an im- mense revenue to the states, and a most important addition to the productions of our country.
The opium raised in England, has been used for several years by physicians and surgeons, who pro- nounce it superior to the best Turkey and East India opium. One thing is very certain ; it is pre- pared with more care and attention, and is more free from leaves and other impurities ; the fracture of English opium when dry, is as smooth and uniform as liquorice ; what I have seen has been put up in small flat cakes, and of a good consistence. Opium is frequently put up in a soft state, and packed with a large proportion of leaves to prevent the lumps adhering ; these leaves adhering to the sides, are gradually taken into the body of the opium, which, with that previously incorporated with it, is the cause of seeing opium in the condition of impurity as al- ready described.
Extract of Opium. — Among the advantages whicii the extract of opium possesses over the crude opium of commerceis, thatall the faeculencies and impurities
•Philadelphia Medical Museum, Vol. 11. page 428.
8 opiutt*
having been separated, you obtain the soluble and ac- tive portion of the opium in a pure state, and as the in- Boluble and impure parts exercise no effect, and coA* stitute a considerable proportion of bulk and weight, the opium of commerce must differ in proportion to the amount of these impurities, and consequent!/ cannot be depended upon so well as the extract for activity or uniformity of strength. The extract of opium, as it is generally made, is very objectionable, not being more active than crude opium, and conse- <iuently is seldom or ever employed by our ph)iji- cjans. From various modes and different menstrua which I have tried, I iind the following to make the most eligible preparation, possessing most advan- tages both in the activity and persistency of the ex- tract, as well as having the decided superiority over crude opium, by affording all its desirable effects, without any of its inconveniences or disadvantages.
Denarcotised acidulous Extract oj Opium. — Digest ^i. coarsely powdered opium i^i. sulphuric asther oi the specific gravity .735 for ten days,"*^ occasionally fubmitting to a moderate heat in a water bath, distil off the aether and add fresh portions until it ceases to take up narcotine or act at all upon the opium, which may be readily known by dropping a little oa a clean pane of glass which will leave no trace when the opium is completely exhausted, the second or third distillation will prove sufficient, most of the
• Where it is necessary to prepare it ia haste, less t rne may be employed by aabiriltlng- it more frequently to the temperature of ebullitioQ,
OPIUM. 9
?Ether maj be saved if prepared with care and in a |iroper apparatus. Professor Hare* recommends the digestion of the opium in aether,«to be performed in the Papin's digester, submit the opium thus treated , to the action of spt. vin. rect. 5viii. acetic, acid, fort. 3J.t aqua ovii. and digest for seven dajs, filter and evaporate in a water bath to the consistence of an extract. This in fact will be an impure acetate of morphia, possessing most of the advantages of that valuable medicine. One ounce of the best Turkey <^pium yielded by this process 5vi. of extract. Laud- anum and other preparations may be made of the usual standard, calculating 5vi. of the extract equiv- .alent to 51. of opium.
Denarcotised acidulous Tincture of Opium. — Digest ^i. of coarsely powdered opium in one pint of sulph. asther,s, g. .735 for ten days, occasionally sub- mitting it to the influence of a moderate heat, until it ceases to act upon the opium, separate the opium and dry it, then digest in spt. vin. rect. 5viii. acetic, acid. fort. ^ii. aqua. ^vi. for seven days, and filter. This preparation will be found to possess great ad- vantages over laudanum and the black drop of the shops, to which it w^ill be much preferable, inasmuch as it will be destitute of the stimulating principle, (narcotine,) wdiich produces such distressing effects, and frequently forbids the administration of opium, where it might otherwise be extremely useful, the
• See Philaaelphia'Journalof the Med. and Phyt. Science!, No. IX. New Series, p. 78.
Aclt.1 pyrolig-ncoua, pure, (concentrated.)
10 OPIUM.
addition of acetic acid will contribute much to in^- crease the calming or sedative elfecis, which are most generally desired, and for which opium is par- tkalarly given. By its union with the morphia, it forms in solution the active sedative salt of opium, (acetate of morphia,) and differs only from the solu- tion of the acetate of morphia of the shops, in it« state of parity, and as the extraneous matter with which it is associated has no effect on the animal sys- tem, it may be considered as good an article, and should be preferred for general use, in consequence/ x>f being much less expensive. As this preparation will always possess uniform strength, and a like proportion of opium, it certainly deserves a con- spicuous place among our pharmaceutical prepara- tions, and justly merits to supersede entirely the common black drop of our shops, which is a very uncertain preparation, differing every where in ac- tivity from the indefinite and vague manner it is <lirected to be made, to say nothing of the worse than useless articles which enter into its composition, such as yeast, nutmeg, and saffron."^ The black drop
* It is a singular circumstance, that so Imperfect and unsci- tntific a preparation should so long have maintained a place in our materia medica. I believe there is no formula, not eren for the most innocent compound, so extremely indefi- nite, and allowing- so great a scope to the judgment of the operator. In the first place, the vinegar containing the op I- wm, nutmeg, and saffron, is directed tabe boiled to a proper ©oiisistence. The activity of the preparation will consequent- ly be subject to as much variation as the ideas of persons may differ in relation to what is termed a proper consistence, '.iP.4
opruitf. 11
f)wcB its supcrioritj over laudanum to the acetic r.cld of its composition, and to that alone^ and it will he admitted by those conversant with the articles in question, that acetic acid exercises a most powerful influence in modifying the effects of opium. This I can account for in no other way than by its uniting wilh the morphia, thereby rendering it. much more soluble, and consequently facilitating its effects on the constitution, which are directly sedative, while
while one person after evaporallng perhaps one-eighth of the menslrua, would consider it of proper consistence, another might think it necessary to reduce it one -fourth, a third might conceive that even one-half was the right consistence, and the strength of the preparation would consequently be subject to a like enormous variation. In the second place we are di- rected to dig'est for seven weeks, and then place in the open air until it becomes a syrup; we cannot see the propriety of digest- ing so loQg a time, if at all, when the menstrua, if not saturat- ed by the previous boiling, has- at least, taken up all its solu- ble matter. Exposing it to the air until it becomes a syrup, h subject to as many objections as boihrig to a proper consis- tence, and is almost as indefinite, as the consistence of a syrup is of no fixed standard, but varies from a thin fluid, to the den- sity of honey. It is lastly directed to be bottled, and to add a little sugar to each bottle, what quantity is meant by a little sugar, and what size the bottles are, to wliich it is to be added, we are left to conjecture ; independent of the useless addition of sugar to what is already a syrup ; the strength of the article must be diminished in proportion to the sue of the bottles, and quantity of sugar to be added ; we think an arti- cle so active as the black drop, should be prepared with more care, and particular and specific directions given for the mode of its preparation. An ingenious essay upon this subject «» given by Mr. Tuoxas Evaxs, in the Journal of the Philadet - phia College of Pharmacy.
1!8 OPIUM.
U\e effects of opium in its natural state are stimii- hiting.*^
It has been recommended, by Mr. Robiquet, U> make a watery infusion of the opium, and evaporate the aqueous sokition to the consistence of thin honey. which is to be digested in aether, instead of the pow- dered or shaved opium, (as described in the above, and Dr. Harems formula given in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, No. IX. New Series.) I consider this a worse than use- less expenditure, for the aether will act fully as well, if not more readily, upon opium inpowderthan upoii an extract containing water, and it is generally ad- mitted, at least by the best authorities, Coxe, Thom- son, and Paris, that the narcotic powers of opium are impaired by boiling in water, under exposure to air, hence it is that the officinal preparation,* opium purificatum, which formerly was highly recommend- ed, is found to be no better, if not less active, than crude opium, from which circumstance it has become almost obsolete, and, rarely to be found in our shops. Under this article. Dr. Coxe, in his Amcricn Dispen-
♦ Dr. Joseph Hautshohjte, in consequence of the uncer- tainty of the'strength of the black drop of the shops,has adopted the following preparation, which has been extensively employ- ed, and found to possess all the advantages of that article j— »
Turkey opium, • . .5J. Strong Vinegar, . . . ^vj. Alcohol, . . . . ^iv.
Triturate the opium with rinegar, add the alcohol.lind digest for ten days.-
I.
OPIUM. 13
satory, very justly observes, lliat in consequence of the changes which opium undergoes by solution and subsequent evaporation, (alluding to the opium puri- ficatum,) well selected pieces are to be preferred to this preparation. I cannot see the object in, or the advantage that can result from, making a watery extract, as the opium deprived of narcotine, will be quite as subject to the action of proof spirits, or any other menstrua, with its faeculencies, as the crude opium. We do not make a watery extract of opium ill the preparation of laudanum, and it would be quite as necessary in this case as in the former. Besides, w^ater is noc the most eligible menstrua for the solution of the active matter of opium. Morphia is sparingly soluble in Vv'ater, and the raoconiate nearly the same, you, therefore, obtain but a portion of the sedative principle, as a part of the morphia will re- main with the faeculencies undissolved, consequently, with an increased labour and expense, a less active preparation is obtained, than if the crude opium were at once submitted to the action of aether, and the residue to proof spirits, as in the above formula, to which the addition of acetic acid is an admirable improvement, rendering the morphia more soluble, aad consequently more active, in the same manner, and nearly the same ratio, as sulphuric acid united with quinine, (by increasing its solubiHty,) renders it much more active and efficient. Dr. Thomson, speaking of morphia, observes, that it being scarcely soluble in water, or in the fluids of the stomach, in its uncombined state, does not display in a striking
B
14 OPIUM.
manner its properties when exhibited alone, but these are very striking when combined with .an acid, particularly the acetic. 1 would here remark, that the acetate of morphia,'' of the shops, is a sub- acetate, and is less active than the acetate or super- acetate, which, being a dcliquesent salt, must neces- sarily be kept in solution ; it is, therefore, requisite in making the solution from the sub-acetate, to add acetic acid rather in excess tlian under neutraliza- tion. The following is the formula I have adopted, which will make a handsome solution, and is a pre- paration that will keep: —
Sub-acetate of morphia, - - grs. xii.
Alcohol, acidulated with twelve drops of acetic acid (pure concentrated pyroligneous acid,) - - - ^\.
Distilled v.-ater, - . - - gj.
Dissolve the morphia in the acidulated alcohol, and add by de2;rees the water, and filter. Dose of the solution, from fifteen to twenty drops.
This preparation has been very successfully used by Dr. Holcombe, of Allentown, andDr. Canfielp, of Arneytown, New Jersey, in cases wdiere other preparations of opium could not be administered, in consequence of producing those unpleasant and dis-
* I found, ill one instance, tlie morphia under the name of acetate of morphia, perfectly uncombined with acid. This 13 a much less active medicine, and it is therefore highly im- portant to test this salt where you wish to administer it in sub- stance. When in solution it must be united with acid, as mor- phia is insoluble in water.
OPIt'M. 11^
tieshing sensations which frequently result from their use. This preparation is now extensively employed, and is attended with the most desirable con^'e- ()ucnces.
Narcotine. — By the following process I obtained narcotine in a perfectly pure state.
Digest 5i. of coarsely powdered opium in or.e pint of cether, for ten days, frequently submitting it to ebullition in a water bath, separate the yether and add fresh portions until the opium is exhausted, <-va- porate at the common temperature of the atmos- phere, by placing the a^therial solution in a salt- mouth bottle, remove the stopper, and cover the mouth with bibulous paper, to prevent impurities falling in, and prot^ac^ the evaporation. As the tether recedes, it leaves the sides of the bottle coated with crystals of ncrcotine, as the solution becomes more dense, the crystals enlarge and accumulate, and the bottom of the vessel is covered with large trans- parent crystals, accompanied with a brown viscid liquor, and extract, which contains an acid, re^^iu, caoutchouc, <^c. Separate these substances from ihe crystalline mass and wash the salt in cold (Ether, to separate more efTectually the extract or colouring matter. After the crystals have been sufficiently washed, dissolve tliem in warm aether, evaporate as before, when most beautiful snow white crystals of perfectly pure narcotine will adhere to the sides of the vessel. Those on the sides of the bottle assumtj phnnose and arborescent forms, which, being made i'p of delicate acicular crystals of a somewhat silkr
16
OPIUM.
lustre, exhibit a most beautiful appearance. As the cetherial solution becomes more dense by evapora- tion, the crystals enlarge, and the b®ttom of the ves- sel, as before, is covered with pure narcotine, as- suming the rhombodidal prismatic form, with some beautiful modifications of macled crystals. By pick- ing out the largest and most regular crystals and again dissolving them and evaporating and repeating the same process, each time selecting the largest and best crystals, I obtained crystals one-eighth of an inch in diameter, and I believe by continuing in the same manner, much larger might be obtained, as they increase in size by every crystallization.
Resin., Caoutchouc, Oil, and Acid. — These sub. stances are the constituents of the extractive matter which covers the crystals, and is separated in the manner above described; on evaporation it forms an extract without signs of crystallization. This substance appears to possess all the heavy narcotic odour of the opium. The narcotine, when perfectly separated from this substance, has -very little odour, and the denarcotised extract and laudanum posses- ses less; in fact, so little, that it could hardly be de- tected as a preparation of opium by the odour, the strong odour of the extract arises from the oil of opium which it contains. The activity of Baume's celebrated extract, is considered by Neumann, to reside in the oil and resin. The acid which exists iji this compound, has not been sufficiently examined to say any thing definite in relation to it. The cha- racters of the caoutchouc are very prominent, f
OPIUM. 17
have not yet tried the effects of this combination upon animals, nor have I seen any description of it, hut judging merely from its sensible characters, it would appear more active than the narcotinc.
Morphia. — This substance exists in opium, united with meconic acid ; its action on the human body is that of a direct sedative, and possesses all the ad- vantages which we may expect to find in opium, without any of its inconveniences. DilFerent m.odes for the preparation of this article have been de-- fecribed by R-gbiiuet, Derosne, Choulant, Ster- i UERN'ER, and others ; Dr. Thomson gives an easy method to obtain it in a state of purity. He employs ammonia instead of magnesia to decompose the natural meconiate, «fcc. (see Annals of Philosophy for June, 1820.) The sedative powers of morphia becomes more manifest when combined with an acid, particularly the acetic, which arises from increasing its solubihty. Morphia is very soluble in olive oil, and according to the experiments of Mr. Majexdie, the compound acts with great intensity. 1 am indebted to Dr. Coxe, for the following interesting history of the crystalline forms of its saline compounds.
The carbojiat crystallizes in short prisms.
Acetate in soft silky prisms, is very soluble, and extremely active — more so than any of its combi nations.
Sulphate in arborescent crystals, next iasolupility TO the acetate, and rather less active,
Jluriate in plumose crystals, much less sohiblt
B2
18 OPIUM.
when evaporated, it concentrates into si shining white plumose mass on cooling.
}{itrctte in prisms grouped together.
Mtconiate m oblique prisms sparingly soluble.
Tartrate in prisms.
From either of the above combinations, morphia maybe separated by ammonia.
The acetate of morphia is the most active prepa- ration, and as it is a very deliquescent salt, is ex- tremely difficult to obtain in crystals; under these circumstances the following process has been re- commended to convert the morphia into the a&etatc. Take morphia, four parts, distilled water, eight parts : dilute the morphia in a procelain vessel, afterwards add acetic acid, sp.gr. ].07'5, or pure con- centrated pyroligneous acid until turnsole paper be- comes scarcely converted red, evaporate the solution to the consistence of syrup, continue the evaporation slowly, either in the sun or in a stove, collect ths salt and reduce it to powder."^
The sulphate is the next most active salt of mor- phia, and is ei-nployed where patients have been ac- customed to the use of the acetate, for generally, by varying the salts ofalkahne medicines, their action may be kept up longer without increasing the dose too considerably. Formulas for the preparation of the acetate and sulphate in solution, syrup, pills, &c. are given in Hayden^'s Formulary and Formulaire do Montpellier. The other combinations of morphia with the exception of the citrate, tartrate, and me- coniate, have not yet been employed in medicine. • Pharmacopia Gallica, 1818, p. SST.
OPIUM, N 19
Mtconic acid exists in combiiiatioa with morphia in crude opium, forming a meeoniate of morphia; it is to this salt that laudanum owes its narcotic ef- iects. Our distinguished chemist, Dr. Hare, has given, in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, No. IX. New Series, an easy pro- cess for obtaining this acid, and also a very delicate 4est and easy mode of detecting minute quantities of opium in solution; his observations on this subject are well worthy the attention of the chemist and pharmaceutist,
FcBculencies, (^c. — Faeculencies and insoluble mat- ter consist chiefly of the leaves, capsules, and stems of the poppy ; besides these, however, extraneous matters are frequently found, having been fraudulent- ly introduced to increase its weight. The insoluble matter in different parcels of opium vary from one and a half to near three drachms in the ounce.
The effects of opium are generally so well knowo, that it is unnecessary to give a description ;* it some-
• The following- particular account of the efTects of opium on the Turks, by Baron de Tott, may be interesting to many reacfcrs. Speaking- of those who give themselves up to its im- moderate use, he says: — Destined to live agreeably only when in a sort of drunkenness, these men present above all a curious spectacle, when they are assembled in a part of Co«- etantinople, called TBiiiAKTTCHARCHissT.the market of opium- eaters. It is there that, towards evening, one sees the lovera of opium arrive by the different streets which terminate at the Solymania, whose pale s.nd melancholy countenances would inspire only compassion, did not their stretched necks, their heads twlst-ed to the ri^it and left, their back tones -crooked, •icaie shoulder up to the cars, and a numfeex of other *«^himBlcfil
20 OPIUM.
times, however, exercises very remarkable and singular effects on the constitution, differing mate-
attitu'Ies, which are the consequences of the disorder, present the most ludicrous and the most langbi\b]e picture. A long row of little shops is built against one of the walls of the place where the mosque stands. These shops are shaded by an ar- >jour, which communicates from one to the other, and under which every merchant takes care to place a small sofa for his customers to sit on, without hindering the passage, v.'ho place themselves in succession to receive a dose proportioned to the degree of habit and want they have contracted. The pills are soon distributed ; the most experienced swallow four of these* larger than olives, and every one drinking a large glass of cold water upon it, waits in some particular attitude for an agreea- 'hle reverie, which at the end of three quarters of an hour, cr an hour at most, n^jver fails to aninnate these macliines, and make them gesticulate in a hundred different manners, but they are always very extraordinary and very gay. This is the moment when the scene becomes most interesting, all the ac- tors are happy,, each of them returns home in a state of tot.u ebriety, but in the full and perfect possession of an happines> which reason is not able to procure him Deaf to. the hoot- ings of the passengers they meet with, who divert themselves l^y making U^.em talk nonsense, every one of them firmly be- lieves him^elf in possess'on of what he wishes ; they have t.he appearance and the feeding of it; the reality frequently does not produce so much pleasure. The same thing huppuns in private houses, Avhere the master sets the example of this strange debauch. The men of the law are most subject to it; and alKhe dervises used to get drunk with opium, beforejthey learned to prefer the excess of wine. There are instances of persons getting drunk indifFereutly with opium or with bran- dy. There is a decoction which is made of the shells and seeds bf the poppy; this the Persians c?.ll locjiieno)\ t'ley sell it publicly ill all their cities, as they do coffee. The Persians •«ay it entertains their fancies with pleasant visions and a kind of rapture ; they very sooo grow merry, tben burst into 3k
OPIUM. 21
riaiiy in its action on diiTerent individuals. A case is mentioned in the Archives Generales de Medicine ibr Dec. 1826, of a lady of nervous temperament, who on taking a draught in which there was half a grain of acetate of morphia, suddenlj^ sunk into a state of syncope, which continued for two or three hours ; it was several times repeated at several inter- vals of an hour or two, and attended with the same results. Dr. Dewees met with an, instance in which the opium invariably purged, and was in the Iiabit of employing it as a purgative in this case, in doses of two grains, purgatives not producing their usual effects ; he has also met with one instance in which opium excited violent coughing, even when administered in enema.* Jir. Rousseau informed me he had a case somewhat similar to the former, (an unmarried lady of thirty-four years,) where opium universally acted as a purgative ; the denar-
laugh, which continues till^ they die away in a swoon. It is found by those who have a disposition for jesting- to increase that extrennel3\ After the operation of this remedy, the body grows cold, pensive, and heavy ; and in this dull and indolent situation it remains till the dose is repeated. It is curious to observe the countenances of those who use this decoction, be- fore its operation, and when its effects have taken place. — When they come into the decoction-house, they are dull, pale, and languid ; but as soon as the remedy begins to operate, they are quite changed; they run into all the extravagancies of mirth and laughter, and such an uproar is produced, that it would be more proper to give it the name of the mad-house than decoction-shop. — (Crumpe on Opium,)
• See the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, No. IX. New Series, p. 147.
*22 OPITM.
cotised laudanum administered by Dr. Rousseau to the same patient, did not produce this singular effect, although continued for several days."^ This same gentleman also informs me that it is not unfrequent in his practice to meet with cases in which opium aclj as a purgative, and has discovered that the addition of tartaric acid increases considerably its purgative directs.
The several preparations of opium as above des- cribed, may be procured at Carpenter's Chemical Warehouse, No. 301, Market street, Philadelphia.
It is stated that highly rectitied a3ther is the only- meisstruafor the solution of narcotine. If this is the fact, I cannot understand how laudanum contains this principle when itsf menstrua is nothing stronger than proof spirits, and that nearly saturated with the gummy, resinous, and other soluble matters of the opium.
I am about instituting some experiments upon the residue of opium after laudanum has been made, and also upon the matter precipitated from laudanum after long standing, the results of which I hope to •ubmit in a subsequent number of the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Phy?ical Sciences.
• Dr. Rousseau has since informed me, that on further con-, tinuiiig- the use of the denarcotised tincture, the purgative ef-' fects recurred, and he was consequently obliged to suspend its administration.
OPIUM. 23
Additional Retyiarks on the Dtnarcotsied Acidulous Tincture of Opiitm^ Subsequent experiments have decidedly given pre- ference to tlie acidulous tincture of denarcotiscd opiurn, it is certainly one of the most valuable pre- parations of this article, and is a highly valuable sub- stitute for the black drop, which is preferred to lau- danum on account of its small dose, and not produc- ing nausea or tlie unpleasant stimulating effects of opium, it is, however, objectionable as Ijcfore stated, for the uncertainty of its strength resulting from the vague and indefinite mode of its preparation. My friend, Dr. Samuel Jackson, of Northumberland has corroborated this statement in his valuable paper m the American Journal of Medical Sciences, No. XL for August, 1830, page 319, speaking of the use of Dr. Plartshorne's acetated tincture of opium, nvhich is the same as my acidulated denarcotiscd tincture, with the exception of using common opium instead of denarcotiscd. He there-states, " This is a substi- tute for the uncertain preparation, black drop, and is supposed to be suitable to those constitutions on which laudanum and common opium act in a wtH known unfriendly manner, this proposition is true in part only, for while it comforts some of these excita- ble persons, it distresses others in the usual way of common laudanum. Here, then, we have the most happy resource in the denarcotiscd opium, which we confidently believe, from much experience brings comfort to all. But " nil omni parte beatum," it oc- casions costiveness like common laudanum. Whe-
2i OPllTM^
ther this evil, with all the rest, is avoided hy Carpen« ter's acidified tincture of denarcotised opium, we have not satisfactorily ascertained : but from exp^- rienee zoe are ready io believe that it is the best prepa- ration of opium now before the public.'''' Numerous testimonies of like import to Dr. Jackson's just given might be cited in favour of this preparation, but it* increasing popularity and extensive use among the faculty, will go farther to support itz character than any thing which can be written in relation to il.
Oil the Cultivation of the Poppy and the Manufacture of Opium. The southern section of the United States is adapted in ewQiy point of view for the cultivation of the poppy, and the manufacture of opium ; cli- mate, soil and slave population is in every respect- favourable, and it is a matter of great surprise that the United States ere this, has not been conspicu- ous for supplying her own territories as well foreign markets with this expensive, highly valuable and in- dispensible article of the materia medica. The in- timation which I threw out in a former paper, pub- lished in our valuable periodical, the American Jour- nal of Medical Sciences, induced several of my medi- cal friends in the South to undertake the experiment, and for this purpose I furnished them with the seed of the papaver somniferum, obtained from Messrs. Landreth's, and 1 was pleased to hear the first ex- periment resulted by no means discouraging, and I have not the least doubt but by persevering they
OPIUM. 25
will prove successfiil, and compensate for labour more than anv product now yielded by their soil. Having had frequent applications for anaccountofthe natural history ofthepapaver, its mode of cultivation, and the manner of preparing the opium, I will give the following succinct statement, for which I am partly indebted loDr. Crump's treatise on opium. Opium, like Peruvian Bark, has been the subject of consid- erable controversy ; various authors have differed essentiallj' in their views of this article, differing not only in the investigation of its constituent principles and modus operandi, but in the most obvious facts of its natural history. These controversies have now been settled by careful experiments, and the manner of its production and preparation is now perfectly understood, so as to remove difference of opinion on these points.
Opium is produced in various parts of the world. That of our shops is generally imported from Smyr- na, and is commonly called Turkey opium, it comes in cakes from four ounces to a pound in weight, and generally in cases of about one hundred poundr or more. There is considerable difference in the quality of this opium as regards its purity, some of it appears to be full of the capsules of the poppy, and other ve- getable impurities, leaves, &;c. in some instances amounting to as much as twenty-five per cent. ; in- deed I have seen it in some instances with only suf- ficient of the inspissated juice to make these impuri- ties in a mass, by iii\ ing adhesion and consistence to them; there is aU :^ »i her fraud practised by intro-
20
OPIUM.
ducing foreign substances to increase ita vfeigbt^ «uch as stones, pieces of lead, bullets, &c. which in some instances amount to a considerable percentage. I recollect once having sent to a physician a few pounds of opium, which externally had the appear- ance of the best quality, which it was, with the ex- ception of small pebbles, w^hich had been introduced in it when prepared, as its external parts were en- tire, and of a hard consistence. The physician was highly incensed, and at the spur of the moment he inclosed the rocks, as he called them, to me in a letter, which would have amounted to several dollars postage. He however sent them entirely to the wrong place, and I returned them to him through the same channel, requesling him to send them to the Turks where they had been introduced, I have Invariably found the flat pieces of opium to be the best, much more free from impurities, and have fre- quently found in the same case of opium the flat pieces to break with a short clear fracture, while the thick round pieces were full of leaves and impurities, and I am thus always particular in selecting opium to reject the nodular pieces. Opium is prepared and consumed in considerable quantity over all the warmer regions of Asia, in Egypt and other parts of Africa, where the Mahometon religion prevails, being deprived by the tenets of their religion from the use of wine and ardent spirits, they hare recourse to the use of opiiim. Egypt, and especially the Thebes, was long famous for the quantity and excel- knee of its opium, and hence the term Thabiic h
OPIUM.
2*
»tiil given to some of its preparations. Whererer opium is manufactured, large fields are tilled for the cultivation of the poppy, and the sales of opium con- stitutes no inconsiderable branch of commerce. Tb« pieces of opium are generally covered with the dried leaves of the poppy, and sometimes with the husk« and seeds of some of the lapatha or dock kind — an observation long since made by Dr, Alston. These also enter into the mass of the nodular pieces whicii constitutes part of the feculencies and impurities. — That opium is the product of the poppy, appears th« only fact which writers do not more or less differ in. There are no less than nine species of the papaver, but that from which opium is principally obtained is the seventh or "papaver somniferum," although this species is preferable to the others in conse- quence of yielding*a larger quantity of opium, yet they all afford opium of equal quality, but th« Bmallness of their heads must yield it in much lest quantity. Dr. Crump states that he obtained from the papaver rhcas opium perfectly similar to that got from the somniferum.
Much difference of opinion prevails as to th« manner in which the opium that is imported into Europe is obtained from the poppy, some state that it is obtained from the heads, stalks and leaves by boiling and inspissation, some that it is merely the expressed juice inspissated by heat, and others, that it was obtained from the milky juice by wounding the heads. In those countries where opium is manu- factured, that an extract is obtained from the popp/
28 0PIU3I.
plant bj boiling cannot be denied. Dioscorides* takes particular notice of it, and distinguishes it from the juice obtained by woundii-g the heads of the poppy, which he says is the true opium, by the name of Meconium. Plinyt makes a similar distinction, as does Ka^mpfer in his Amoenitate Exotica, and Bontius in his Medicina Indorum. Many have con- cluded from the large quantities of opium which is consumed, and from its generally moderate price, that our opium is merely an extract. Of this opinion are Prosper AlpinusJ Lemery,§ Savory,|| Conda- minelF and others. I cannot, however, for various reasons accede to it, the only one of its advocates who could determine from actual experience, was Prosper Alpinus, and he probably was led into a mis- take, from Egyptians adulteratjng the real opium with meconium. I lately received from my friend, Mr. J. H. Parmele, of Zanesville, Ohio, an extract from the heads of the white poppy after the opium had been separated in the usual way by incisions. Mr. Parmele sent me rather more than half a pound of this extract, by which I had am- ply sufficient for full experiments with it, and I found it possessed little or none of the effects of
♦ De Materia Medics, lib. 4, c. 25. t Natural! Historia, lib. 20, c. 18. t Medicina Egyptiorum, lib. 4, c. 2. >§ Uictionnaire des Drogues, art. opium. 3 Dictionnaire de Cominerce.
^ Mem. de 1' Academic des Sciences pour i* an. 1/32, p. 421.
OPIUM.
29
opium, in small doses it had no effect, and taken in large doses, it rather nauseated than produced any anodyne effects which proves their opium if at all judi- ciously managed, must be obtained by incision, as the additional quantity which would be obtain- ed by boiling or expression, would only increase the weight, without adding strength, and consequent- ly much reduce the activity of the opium, as also to make it very uncertain, varying according to the quantity of extractive matter which might be mixed with the opium, which would never be uniform, but differ more orless whenever it was prepared. Keemp- fer, who lived two years in Persia, asserts positively that the opium is obtained from the heads by incision and particularly describes the operation. The in- cision, he says, are made with a fine edged kni^e ia the evening, and the juice being collected next day, is inspissated to the consistence of opium.* A sim- ilar account is given by Garcias.t But that opium is obtained by incision, is placed beyond a doubt by lilr. Ker, who has given a very accurate description of the manner in which the poppy is cultivated, and the opium obtained from it by incision, in the pro- vince of Bahar, in the East Indies. The seeds, according to him, are sown in quadrangular areas, the intervals of which are formicd into aqueducts for conveying water to each area. The plants are al- lowed to grow six or eight inche. from each other,
* Amanitates Exoilca, Fasc. 31b .15. •j- Historiua aramatum and simplicium lib. 1, c. 4 C 2
30 OPIUM.
and are plentifullj supplied with water till thej ^rc lix or eight inches high, when a nutrient com- post of dung, ashes, and nitrous earth, is laid over the areas. A short time previous to the appearance of the flowers, they are again weil watered, till the capsules arc half grown, when the watering is stop- ped and they begin to collect the opium. The pro- cess by which it is elTected, is simply by making at sun-set two longitudin«il incisions from below up- wards, without penetrating the cavity, with an in- gtrument which has two points, which should lie as sharp as a lancet, the incisions should be repeated every evening until each capsule has received six or eight wounds, and they are then allov\^ed to ripen their seeds. The juice which exudes is collected in the morning, and being inspissated to a proper con- sistence by working it in an earthen pot in the sun's heat, is formed into cakes for sale. (See Medical Observations and Inquiries, vol. 5, Article 28; also, in support of the same opinion, Chardin's Travels into Persia.
In addition to this very particular account given by an ocular witness, of the manner in vv'hich opium is extracted by incision in the East Indies; we have further proof that the whole quantity produced ia Persia, Natolia, and other countries, is obtained in a similar way, from considering that opium may be extracted by incision from the poppies of our own climate, perfectly similar to that imported from these ■ countries; while neither the extract of the poppies produced by boiling, nor the inspissated expressed juice, bear any resemblance to it. These facts, il
OPIUM. 31
appears, were fifst ascertained by Dr. Alston.* 1 have myself, says Dv, Crumpe, extracted from our •own poppies a pretty considerable quantity oi opium, which dillers from that of th.e shops, only in sinelling stronger, and being to the taste more bitter and pungeiit, its superiority, however, in thete respects, seemed gradually to diminish. In obtain- ing it I follovv'cd sometimes the method mentioned by Ka^mpfer, making tive incisions at a time, some- times that described by Mr. Ker, making but two, and think the one answers in the end just as well m • the other. Opium is frequently of a very dark co- lour, which arises sometimes from the iron instru- ments eiTiployed in collecting it; the chalybeate striking a black colour with the astringentmatter of the juice. For when opium (as has been proved by experiment, was collected by making the incision* with a sharp piece of g]asj,aRd a shell to collect the juice, it produced opium of a clearer reddish brovrm than is usually observable.
Notwithstanding that pure opium is obtained by incision alone, it must be admitted that opium is al- most always more or less adulterated, and sometime* mixed with the expressed juice, extract of the plant, and other foreign substances hi twelve parts of opium officinarum there will be generally found from three to three and a half of feculcficies insolu- ble in water or alcohol ; and Dr, Crump states, thai in the opium which he collected, there were but two parts insoluble, which seemed principally compos*?-!
* Medical Essays, vol. V.
32 OPIUM.
of the e3E:ternal cuticle of the capsule which was separated in scraping off the juice. 1 have no doubt it nnight be collected perfectly pure bj a little more care in its preparation, or the juice might be strained when liquid, or rendered more limpid by the addition ©fa little spt. of wine, by which it could be filtered and inspissated in the sun as usual ; and I would par- ticularly suggest to those who may think proper to cultivate the poppy and prepare the opium, to be very particular in getting it as free from feculencies as possible, and thus let the American opium be dis- tinguished for its purity. I have remarked that the English opium w^as much superior to the Turkey, being much purer, and more active in the same doses, and producing more morphia, and command- ing a higher price in the market, which arose entirely in consequence of the particular care in its prepara- tion. Mr. Ker supposes that the poppy may be cul- tivated to advantage on ground of little value. An acre, he says, yields in the East Indies, sixty pounds of opium, which at the usual price, would be between 2 and 300 dollars. 1 have no doubt it might be made to yield nearly the same amount in this coun- try ; the experiment, at all events, may easily be made, and seems worthy of attention. If any over- plus remained after our own demands, a ready mar- ket would be found for it in the East Indies, where its consumption is very considerable, and price gene- rally high. Several of my medical friends havesuc- «essfully prepared the opium Irom seeds which 1 sent them. Dr. Chas. S. Lucae, of Mount Meigs,
OPIUM. 33
Alabama, cultivated the poppy and prepared opium fully equal to the Turkey', and if the price of labour was lec3 expensive, he informs me he could advan- tageously cultivate it in preference to cotton, which is the staple commodity of that country ; my friend Dr. A. Jones, of Lexington, Georgia, to whom I sent some of Messrs. Landreth's seeds, has also been suc- cessful in his experiments. I am indebted to him for the following interesting facts in relation to the same, as extracted from his letter to me, of July 12th, 1830: — The seed came to hand about the middle of March ; about the end of the same month I sowed on a square of my garden, about half of the seeds you sent me, reserving the balance till later in the spring. The piece of ground I sowed the first seed on, was of a light, loose, and rather sandy soil, which was well manured for the purpose, and comprehend- ed a space of about twenty-five feet long by ten or twelve feet wide. They were sown and covered shallow, and came up very thick ; so much so that I had to thin out more than one half; they were drilled in rows about eighteen inches or two feet apart. By working them they grew up very finely and flowered by the first of June ; by the fifteenth of the same month the capsules were sufficiently ma- tured to allow incision. I made my incisions diag- op.ally up and down the heads ; 1 found if I made them longitudinally, a great deal of juice would fall from their heads to the ground. I repeated the incisions until six or eight were inflicted, 1 then left them to go to seed. I also left a large number of heads for
34 OPIUM.
«eed, without interrupting them. Soon after I began my incisions a severe drought set in, in this part of the state, which parched up the leaves of niy plants, and caused the further growth of the heads to cease ; many of them withered and died while young and tender, so that I do not think upon the whole, that I gathered half the opium which I could have done Hnderfavourable circumstances. The other half ofthe leed 1 planted in the same kind of soil, and not one of them came up ; I distributed a few of them among my friends, but none of their seed came up.* From the first seed I planted I procured one fourth of a pound of good hard opium, and one and three quar- ters of a pound of seed. I would send you a speci- men of my opium if I had a good opportunity. Many ofthe capsules attained the size of a common man'i fist. I am sure one hand could cultivate as much ground in poppies as he could in cotton. My ex- periments have not been sufficiently extensive to say how profitable may be lU culture in the south, they have however been thus far very flattering and en- couraging. It will be some time however before it •will be extensively raised, as people change very dowly from one object of cultivation to another. Since I gathered my seeds, I have placed parcels in *everal physicians hands, who have promised to make very careful experiments with them so that the ftuccess of their profitable culture will be fully tested m a short time.
* This lias resulted in consequence ofthe seeds having bee» •own too late in the season, but as they lay uninjured in tha •til during the winter, they viU come up the ensuing spriog
OPIUM. 35
My ingenious friend, I. H. Parmele, Esq. of Zanes- ▼ille, Ohio, has also successfully experimented upon the poppy, and prepared opium fully equal to the best Turkey. He informs me that incisions on the head of the poppy are immediately followed by a copious flow of juice, which gradually concretes, it can be taken from the head a short time after it flows, as it soon becomes indurated , but even after it has become inspissated to a proper degree to be re- moved from the heads, the loss of weight is very great. In one instance I weighed carefully a fresh gathering from the heads, and found it weighed 105 grains, in twenty-four hours after I weighed the same again and found it to be 44 grains, so that the los»
was 62 grains.
The great desideratum is expedition in making the incisions, to be effected by some implement that shall encompass the heads, adapted to any size, and which will incise them all around at one stroke ; it should consist of a circle of elastic lances, to proceed coni- cally from a stem ; the lancets to be guaged at the end, and furnished with guards, and encompassed with a sliding ring by which the lancets could be held adjusted to the size of a poppy head as thejr were pushed down over it. It should be made of the best steel and well tempered ; this instrument once made aiid successfully applied, would give a cw impulse to the cultivation of the poppy. I have a fine piece of land selected, which I design for the cultivation of the poppy, and will commit to you the reauU of my experimenti.
36 OPIUM.
I think it an object for our southern planters to turn their attention to the cultivation of the poppy, as prospects of the successful manufacture of opium in this country are very encouraging, and all the ex- periments which Jiave yet been made upon the sub- ject, have produced the most favourable results.
OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS
ON
?sPv-jv:ait BAnz.
The cinchona, or as it is more generally denomi- nated, Peruvian Bark, is the product of several spe- cies of tlie genus C^'inchona, which in botanical ar- rangement, belongs to the class Pentandria, order Monogynia, and to the natural order Contorta.
The descriptions of tlie species of this genus, from the hmited and imperfect nature of the information possessed, have been generally so confused and inde- finite, as to convey little or no information.
Cinchona is found in various parts of South Amer- ica, always inhabiting mountainous tracts, where it grows from a few inches in diameter to the thickness of a man's body. The bark is collected in the dry season, say from September till November, and after being well dried in the sun, is packed up in skins, forming what is called seroons, weighing from fifty to one hundred and fifty pounds.
Several species are frequently mixed together in these seroons, which are afterwards separated, ac- cording to quality ; it is not, however, uncommon to find several species mixed together on their arrival at our markets. The tree has never yet been culti- vated bv thg Spaniards, who procure it by stripping
D
*18 OBSERVATIONS AM) EXPEHIMENTS
the natural trees of their bark, which ultim;;tcly must destroy tlie genus, as they always die after tl-.e operation.
Most of the varieties of cinchona being highly val- uable, and consequently ycry liable to be adulterated with various substances, it is tlierefore important to adhere to a critical examination of ah its characters.
The accounts of the discovery of cinchona arc yery numerous, and many from their singularity and improbability, are no doubt founded in fiction. It has long been esteemed a valuable medicine in Peru, where it is said the natives have adopted itp use, from observing that animals recur to it. Be tlie source of its first employment what it may, it was not used by Europeans until the year 1640, when the countess Cinchon, wife of the Spanish viceroy, w^as cured of the ague by means of it, and hence the derivation of its name, cinchona. As frcvquently occurs on the in- troduction of any 7iezo rernecb/^ consHJcrablc noise was made, and opposition raised against it by several eminent physicians ; but w hen admitted to proper experiments, its eflicacy soon suppressed the ground- less clamor which had been too hasti'y excited.
The principle, says Dr. Paris, on which the toni( and febrifuge properties of bark depend, has ever been a fruitful source of controversy. Deschamps attributed it to cinchonate of lime. Westering con- sidered tannin as the active principle; while 31. Seguin assigned all the virtues to the principle which precipitates gallic acid. Fabroni concluded from his experiments, that the febrifuge power of the bark
ON PERUVIAN BARK, , 39
ili'i not belong exclusively and essentially to the astringent, bitter, or to any other individual princi- ple ; since the quantity of these would necessarily be increased by long boiliiiiij; whereas the virtues of the bark are notoriously diminished by protracted ebullition.
Perhaps no vegetable substance, underwent so many analyses, by the most distinguished chemist^ of Europe, as the cinchona ; and yet so little positive knowledge was obtained of its true constituents, and iuch was the very obscure condition of our informa- tion of the active principle of cinchona, w^hen the scrutinizing, critical and successful researches of Felletier and Caventou, detected the existence of two salifiable bases, in peculiar states of combina- tion, in the diiXerent species of cinchona. The med- ical profession is therefore indebted to these in- telligent and enterprising chemists, for one of the most valuable additions ever made to the materia medica^
Among all the late discoveries in vegetable chem- istry, there is none which claims so much attention from extensive usefulness, as that of quinine. This principle contains all the tonic and febrifuge proper- ties of Peruvian bark, in their most concentrated ttate. By the substitution of this preparation for the crude bark, the physician can conveniently adminis- ter it to the most delicnte constitution, in an eligible form, and by no means an iVoplcasant dose, what pre- viously was considered the ii-;ost nauseous and dis- agreeable medicine, and frequently^ from its bulky
40 OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS
nature, (when administered in less than ordinary doses,) was rejected by the stomach.
In consequence of the prevaiHng endemics, ague and remittent fevers, which, of late years, have visit- ed almost every section of our country, the article cinchona has increased very much in practice and demand, and become one of the most important ar- tides of the materia medica.
The descriptions which have been given by most authors, to distinguish the many species and varie- ties of this extensive and important genus, are so im- perfect and confused, that they tend rather to involve research in more dense obscurity, than to develope any information. It is admitted, there is no method so well calculated to ascertain, with any degree of certainty, the comparative activity of the different species of Peruvian bark, as that of analysis; and from this circumstance, 1 have made trial of some of the most important species, which now occur in our commerce, for the purpose of determining their qualities, which I have done by extracting the alka- line principle, upon which their virtue as a medicine entirely depends, and from the product of which, their comparative strength may be accurately and readily ascertained.
It is a source of regret, that many of our country physicians so little appreciate the quality of cinchona, as to be governed entirely by the price, which from the following statement, will appear to be the most remote and inaccurate grounds for calculation, as the cheapest or lowest priced bark in the market, is
ON PERUVIAN BARK. 41
far dearer to the practitioner, and particularly to the {)atient, than that which commands the highest price ; for it not only requires the patient to swalJow tweWe times the quantity to produce the same effect, inde- pendent of the loss of time, but also by charging the Etomach, when in a weak and debilitated state, with 60 large a portion of ligneous and insoluble matter, may give rise to diseases more serious than those for which it was administered as a remedy."
'i'he bark of commerce, in this country and in England, is generally designated under the limited i.omenclaturc of red, pale and yellow. There are now no less than twenty-five distinct "species of cin- chona, independent of any additions we may owe to the zeal of Humboldt and Bonpland, as well as of Mr. A, T. Thompson, who states, that in a large collection of dried specimens of the genus cinchona in his possession, collected in' 1805, both near Loxa and Santa Fe, he finds many specimens which are not mentioned in the works of any Spanish botanist.
Dr. Paris, in his valuable Pharmacologia, justly re- marks, that notwithstanding the labours o[ the Span- %ih botanists, the history of this important genus ii still involved in considerable perplexity ; and owing; lo the mixture of the barks of several specief, and their importation into Europe under one com- mon name, it is extremely difficult to reconcile tb« contradictory opinions which exist upon this lub- ject. Under the trivial name oflicinalis, Linnae*« confounded no less than four distinct species of cin- fibona ; and under the same denomination, th« Un^
D2
42 OBSERVATIONS AISD EXPEKIMEISTS
tish Pharmacopoeias for a long period placed as varie- ties, the three barks known in the shops *, this error indeed is still naaintained in the Dublin Pharrnaco- poeia, but the Londonand Edinburgh colleges, hiive at length adopted the arrangenaent of Mutis, a. cele- brated botanist who has resided in South AmeriCcV, and held the ofFicial situation of director of the im- portation of bark for nearly forty years.
The apothecaries of this country and England, nt the present day, distinguish (lie denomination of their bark, by terms expressive of ihe colour; and it is a source of still ^;reater surprise, to find the orders and prescriptions <>[ some of our njost intelligent physi- cians, designating the species of bark they wish to employ, by no other than one of the terms signifying red, pale or yellow ; thus reducing the extensive genus cinchona, of not less than twenty-five species into three varieties, awd leaving it entirely to the discretion of the apothecary, to give him any species., of a colour correspondent to that ordered. Indepen- dent of the great insufficiency of these terms to dis- tinguish the numerous species, the colour of the powder, is one of the most uncertain and inaccurate methods which could be adopted, of classing or as- sorting the cinchonas ; as under the same denomina- tion, the best species of bark in commerce, (calisaya arrollenda,) would be confounded with the most in- ferior, (carthagena,) as the colour of the powders of both is yellow ; hence a physician writing for yellow bark, leaves it to the choice of the apothecary, to give him what species he may think proper, of a cor-
on PERUVIAN BARK. 43
respondent colour, but varying in quality from calis- nya to carthagena, or in medicinal activity as from 12 to 1.
'J'he importance therefore of adopting terms more definite to distinguish the several species of Peruvian bark must be obvious, and that the botanical nomen- clature of these species is imperfect and inadequate, is equally so^ The quality of i*eruvian bark appear* ta be mo-lided and influenced by locality, produced by dilTerence in soil, altitude of situation, exposure, or some other circumstances peculiar to the location, hence the diiFerent provinces of Peru afibrd bark dif- fering very materially in their physical characters and particularly in the activity of their medical qualities, from which circumstances it would appear that a nomenclature derived from the names of the provinces in which the different species grow, v/ould be a systematic arrangement.
The following are some of the most important spe- cies whicii now occur in commerce, which 1 have submitted to experiments, and have given to each the comparative proportion of quinine and cincho- nine which they respectively contain. The name* which are given to distinguish these several species, are derived from the provinces in which they grow, which at present, (in consequence of the confusiou in the botanical history and arrangement of cin- chona,) is the most direct and certain mode of dis- tinguishing those species of bark which now are found in our shops.
4i OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS
Calisaya Bark — tivo varieties.
Of this very important species there are two varie- ties in commerce.
Ist. Calisaya arrollencla, (Quill CaUsaya). This rariety is in quills from three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, and from eight inches to a foot and a half in length. The epidermis is thick and may be readily removed from the bark: and hence you find in the seroons or cases a great pro- portion deprived of this inert part. It is generally Mil ported in seroons weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds, and very seldom comes in cases ; it has many deep transversal fissures running parallel, the fracture woody and shining, the interior layer is fi- brous and of a yellow colour, and the taste is slight- ly astringent and very bitter.
This species of bark will yield a much larger pro- portion of the active principle, (quinine,) than any other bark in commerce, and consequently may be justly esteemed the best.
2nd. Calisaya Plancha, (fiat Calisaya). This variety consists of flat, t-liick, woody pieces, of a red- dish brown colour, deprived of its epidermis, and the interior layer more fibrous than that in the quill. This variety yields from twenty to twenty-five per cent, less quinine than the arrollenda, and is conse- quently a less desirable article.
0:S PERUVIAN BARK. 45
Supericf Loxa or Crown Bark,
Loxa is the name of the province and port, where this bark is obtained and from which it is exported. In this province cinchona was originally discovered. This bark has been highly esteemed by the royal family, and is that whicii has been selected for their use ; hence, the name of Crowii Bark. The follow- ing are the characters which distinguish this bark.
The Loxa bark occurs in small quills, the longitu- dinal edges folding in upon themselves forming a ^abe about the circumference of a goose quill, and from half a foot to a foot and a half in length. It is of a greyish colour on the exterior, and covered with small transverse fissures or cracks, the interior sur- face is smooth and in fresh or good bark, of a bright orange red ; it is of a compact texture and breaks with a short clean fracture, it is the bark of the cin- chona condamina, and is known at Loxa by the name of cascarilla fina. Yet, notwithstanding this bark appears to have held the decided preference to all other species, analysis fully indicates that it is not equal in medicinal strength by at least twenty-five percent, to that denominated Calisaya ; this bark is more astringent and less bitter than the calisaya.
This species yields from twenty-five to thirty per cent, less cinchonine and quinine, than the caylisaya arrollenda does quinine, and the proportion of cin- chonine is much greater than that of the quinine.
46 OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS
Cinchona OblGngifolia or^Rcd Bark.
The above term appears to be more applicable to the species in question, than any other which can be «electecl, as under that denomination the best red bark has always been well known, and as theire is but oae other species affording a red powder, it k not likely to be confounded. The inferior red bark of which there is a considerable quantity in our mar- ket, is no doubt more frequently obtained by colour- ing low priced yellow bark, than from the product of a distinct species.
There is but one species of bark in addition to the Oblongifolia as before stated, producing a red pow> der which is called Rosea, and as that species is sel- dom or never known in our commerce, there can be little or no powder produced by it; hence, all the in- ferior kinds of red bark of which there is no small quantity to the discredit of those who sell it, evi- dently must be either such of the Oblongifolia as has been rendered almost inactive, by age, weather, or some other exposure, or as before surmised, is inferior yellow bark, coloured; and as the product of the for- mer must be small, it in all probability proceeds from the latter source ; hence the price of red bark is as Tarious, (and the qualities corresponding loith th(5 prices,) as the yellow bark, although the number of species of which we are acquainted is not one eighth the number of the latter.
The cinchona oblongifolia is the magnifolia of the
ON PERUVIAN BARK. 4t
flora Peruvianna, and is known in Spain by the name of Colorada, and is what constitutes the red bark of commerce ; it occurs generally in large thick pieces, being the product of the largest tree of the genus cinchona. There are two varieties of this species.
1st. Colorada Canan, or Quill Red Bark which occurs in quills of various diameters, from one fourth of an inch to two inches in thickness. The' epider- mis is white or grey, with transversal fissures or watery concretions of a reddish colour, the interior \a of a brick red colour, the cross fracture short and fibrous, the longitudinal fracture compact and shin- ing, the taste not so bitter as that of the calisaya.
2d. Colorada Plancha, or Flat Red Bark. Thii bark is in very large thick pieces, from half an inch to two inches in thickness, and from one to two feet in length, the epidermis brown, thick and rug- ged with cracks running in various directions. The fracture very fibrous inside, is of a deep brick colour, the taste is less bitter than that of the quill, and of course much less so than that of the calisaya.
These two varieties frequently come in the same aeroon, and from their appearance are no doubt thr product of the same species, or perhaps the same tree; the quill being produced by the branches, and the flat thick pieces from the trunk, or the former from young and the latter from older trees.
This bark is generally more scarce in-our market than the yellow or pale, and commands a hiejher price; within a short period however, about fifty
48 OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS.
seroons of this bark have been imporled from Guay- aquil by Mr. John R. Neff, which has in a small de- gree influenced the price of the article. I am in- formed by a respectable druggist of this city, who has been a long time established in business, that this is the only arrival in quantity, of red bark, di- rect from South America within his recollection, the supplies heretofore having been received from Eu- rope. These seroons averaged about one hundred pounds each. The bark was very fresh and of a very superior quality. The large flat pieces and quills were indiscriminately mixed and in some se- roons in very nearly equal proportions. This bark when first received, was of a very deep and bright colour, and particularly the powder produced by the fl[at pieces ; after being exposed however, in a dry place for about six months, it faded considerably, insomuch that any one not in possession of the proof of the fact, would have doubted whether the powder had been produced from the same bark.
From experiments on the above bark, I procured twenty per cent, less cinchonine and quinine, taken together, than the amount of quinine produced by the same quantity of calisaya arrollenda bark; and the proportion of cinchonine, was rather more than half of the product of quinine.
It will appear therefore, from what has been said, that notwithstanding the great prejudices, both of eminent au'thors and skilful practitioners, which have so long existed in favour of the superiority of the obloitgifoUa, (red bark,) over other species; that it
A L
ON PERITVIAW BARK. 4f
ii decidedly inferior to the calisaya^ (yellow bark,) as the whole product, as before stated, of its active principles, does not equal that of the calisaya and cinchonine, constituting rather more than half the product, wtiich, according to an eminent author, ia five times less active than the quinine ; this point however, I think is very far from being settled. An interesting paper was read before the Academy of Medicine at Paris, which is published in the Bulletii ties Sciences Medicales, for November, 1825, in which M. Bally states that he has experimented upon the sulphate of cinchonine, with a view to de- termine its febrifuge qualities. He administered thii sulphate in twenty-Beven cases of intermittent feveri, of difterent types, in doses of two grain pills, giving three or tour ia the interval of paroxysms ; by which treatment he cured the disease as effectually and a» speedily as with the quinine : of which twenty-seven cases, there were sixteen tertian, nine quotidian and two quartan. He remarked further, that the cin- chonine has properties less irritating than those of quinine, and that consequently its employment should be more general, and preferred in all simple casei. I believe few or no experiments have been made bj the physicians of this country upon the medical pro- perties of the cinchonine ; it consequently must be Tery little known by them from their own experi- ence, but it certainly is a medicine which deservei at least a trial.
From the preceding description, the several sp** cies of Peruvian bark most commonly met with at
50 OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS
the present day, may be readily recognised, as the physical characters are prominent and distinctive in each variety ; after however selecting the best spe- cies of Peruvian bark, by the several distinguishing and specific characters, one very important adven- titious condition yet remains to be investigated. It is a fact established beyond controversy; that age is a very powerful agent in deteriorating the active prop- erties of bark, insomuch that the best species of Peru- vian bark when old, is little superior and sometimes even inferior to the Carthagenian bark when fresh ; hence it is, that large parcels of a superior species of Peruvian bark, which would have commanded two dollars per pound at Cadiz, when fresh, has been offered publicly in this city for one-eighth the sum, twenty-five cents, and that without a purchaser ; and which it appears has been operated upon by no other unfavourable circumstances but age. In what man- ner or by what prosess age, or rather the circumstan- ces connected with it, act upon bark other than by a combination with oxygen or a volatilization of its active principle, I know not. Fabroni states with truth, that cinchona loies its solubility, and conse* quently its activity, by long exposure to the air, but does not give his opinion as to the manner in which itj is thus affected. I cannot, however, conceire under existing circumstances, how the 'solubility of Peruvian bark can be diminished, except through the agency of oxygea, and it is by this means the ex- tract of bark, prepared according to the common formulas of our dispensatories, is rendered devoid of
ON PERUVIAN BARK. 51
utility ; for owing to the oxigenizement of the ex- tractire matter, the solubility of the extract is so di- minished during its formation, that scarcely one half is soluble in water.
From a number of experiments which I have made upon Peruvian bark in different states, 1 have observed as an unequivocal result, that the same species of bark which when fresh is very productive of quinine, when old will produce little or none of this active principle, upon which its virtue as a med- icine entirely depends.
It will appear therefore an important duty, criti- cally to examine the state of bark as to age, and it may perhaps be useful in this place, to describe the physical characters of bark in this state, and by which it may be readily known. The prominent features which characterise old bark, and distinguish it from recent, are the following. Old bark has lost nearly all that bitter and astringent taste and peculiar aromatic odour, which are such prominent character- istics of recent bark of good quality. The specific gravity is also sensibly diminished, and the fracture instead of being shining and compact, is dull, fibroui, and of a loose texture, and the colour very frequent- ly passes from a bright orange to a dull brown, as the bark advances in age, particularly if much exposed. By attention to these few conspicuous characters, taste, smell, specific gravity, fracture and colour, no mistake can arise in the selection of good bark, unless there is a gross deficiency in judgment. Yet not- withstanding the distinguishing characters of Peru-
Bt OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENT*
▼ian bark in these tvTo states are so prominent and striking, we regret to say, that gross mistakes have been made pubhc in this particular, bj men whom we might suppose most capable of appreciating the quality, under the influence of every incidental cir'. cunastance.
Di\ Paris in the sixth edition of his Pharmacologia, makes the following remarks under the article cin- chona. The frauds committed under this head are most extensive ; it is not only mixed with inferior bark, but frequently with genuine bark, the active constituents of which have been extracted by '.'ccoc- tion with water. In selecting cinchona bark, the fol- lowing precautions may be useful ; it should be dense, heavy and dry, not musty, nor spoiled by moisture ; a decoction made of it should have a red- dish colour]when warm, but when cold it shoidd" be- come paler, and deposit a brownish red sediment. When the bark is of a dark colour, between red and yellow, it is either of a bad species or it has not been well preserved. Its taste should be bitter, with a slight acidity, but not nauseous nor very astringent ; when chewed, it should not appear in threads nor of much length, the odour is not very strong, but when bark is well cured it is always perceptible, and the ttronger it is, provided it be pleasant, the better ma/; the bark be considered. In order to give bark tho form of quill, the bark gatherers not unfrequently eall in tlie aid of artificial heat, by which its virtues are deteriorated, the fraud is detected by the colour "being much darker, and upon splitting the bark, by
ON PERUVIAN BARK. 53
the inside exhibiting stripes of a whitish sickly hue. In the form of powder, cinchona is always found more or less adulterated. This must he recollected as applying to the English market. During a late oljicial inspection of the shops of apothecaries and druggists, the censors repeatedly met with powdered cinchona having a hard metallic taste, quite foreign to that which characterises good bark.* The best test of the goodness of bark, is afforded by the quan- tity of cinchona or quina that may be extracted from it ; and the manufacturer should always institute such a trial before he purchases any quantity, taking a certain number of pieces indiscriminately from the bulk.
Before concluding, it may not be out of seaion to remark, that the sulphate of quinine, as it is generally termed, is not a perfectly neutral salt, but in the state of a sub-sulphate, and is only partly soluble in water. Its exhibition in water, is rendered much more elisji- ble by the addition of a drop of sulphuric acid to each grain of the salt, which makes a perfectly trans- parent solution, and which, I think, from its obvious advantages, should entirely supercede the common for- mula: with sugarand gum arabic, a few grains of citric or tartaric acid will have the same effect in dissolving
• Mr. Thompson has suggested the probability of this cir- cumstance having arisen from the admixture of a species of bark, lately introduced into Europe from Martinique, resejn- bhng the cinchona Jloribunda, and which by an analysis of M. Cadet was found to contain iron.— London Disp. Edit. 3, p. 247.
E2
54 OESERVATiONS AND EXPERIMF2ST8.
the quinine as (he sulphuric acid, and has been pre- ferred by some.
Dr. Parrii?,* on tho exhibiiion of quinine, states that he lately saw a prescription in which the sait is directed to be rubbed with a few grains of cream of tartar, and then to be dissolved in mint water. This, he continues, is obviously injudicious, since tartaric acid decomposes (he sulphate, and occasions an insoluble tartrate which is precipitated.
With due deference to the exalted judgment ot' Dr. Paris, I must however, on the folio Vv-ing grounds, dissent from his opinions. The cream of tartar i» objectionable, merely from the circumstance that the active part of the compound may be obtained in a more direct and speedy process by the tartaric. The combination of cream of tartar and sulphate of qui- nine in the above prescription, does produce decom- position as Dr. Paris has observed, but the virtue of the medicine is not in the least efrected by it, and the precipitate, instead of being an insoluble tartrate of quinine as he observes, is sulphate of potass; tartrate of quinine is a very soluble salt, and is held in solu- tion while the water becomes slightly turbid by the precipitation of sulphate of potass, which however from its extreme minute division is speedily taken up by the water, when you have a transparent solutiou of tartrate of quinine and sulphate of potass, and as the latter answers neither a good nor a bad porpose, it of course can very conveniently be dispensed with.
• Pharm«cologi», Edit. 6, vol, ii. p. 163,
ON PERUVIAN BARK. 55
and therefore, as before stated, the tartnric acid thotild be preferred as having -a more speed/ and direct action.
Pipcrine has proved a valuable adjunct <o quinine: equal proportions of each will act with much more encriry than the whole quantity of quinine or piper- inc alone. Dv. Chapman informi us, he has met with mucfc success in the treatment of intermittent fevers by employing i]\e following prescription.
R. Quinine gra X Pipcrine grsX M.ft. PillNoX
One to be taken every hour in absence offerer.
Oil , of black pepper is much more active thaa piperine, one drop being fully equal to three grains of piperine, three drops of oil of black pepper added to ten grains of quinine, will greatly increase the powers of this remedy, oil of black pepper alone ii a valuable stimulant in typhus fever, and is a valua- ble adjunct to many medicines.
All the preceding varieties of bark, sulphate of quinine, cinchonine, and all the preparations of bark and quinine, may be procured at Geo. W. Carpen- ter's Chemical Warehouse, 301 Market street, Phi- ladelphia.
J\''o{e. — An alkaline substance somewhat analagow to quinine, has recently been discovered in the cor- nus florida, which has been denominated cornine. and which has been very carefully and accurately described by Dr. Samuel G. Morton in the Pbiladel-
56 OBSERVATIONS, EXPERIMENTS, &C.
phia Journal of Medical and Physical Sciences. From the most respectable sources in the medical profession, from various parts of the United Statei where the article has been sent, the nnost favourable accounts have been received of the unequivocal suc- cess of the cornine in the treatment of intermittent fevers in the same doses as the quinine, and the only circumstance which precludes its competition with that substance, is the extremely minute comparative proportion of cornine yielded by the cornui florida.
ON A NEW PREPARATION
OF
BALSAM COFAIVA.
Balsam Copaiva being a medicine used in ihs practice of almost every physician, its characters, t(- f?c(s and uics are conscvquenlly familiar to them. It is admitted by all, to be one of the most nausco«f and disagreeable articles of the materia medica. Di«- g'lised or mixed as it may be, its unpleasant nature is Siiil manifest, and little if at all dixninished, com- municating its nauseous taste and imparting to the breath its disagreeable odour which is experienced for several hours after each dose, and frequently acting as an emetic, or cathartic* From these cir- cumstances, its use is frequently abandoned in caiie*
• Our distinguished Professor of Practice, in the 1st volurae ot his Therapeutics, page 417, observes, that two circumstan- ces frequently interfere with the exhibition of copaiva, and detract fi'ora its utility. It sometimes purges, and when it doe?, its efficacy is lost or greatly diminished. If laudanum does riot check this injurious tendency, it must be discontin- ued till the bowels recover their tone. To the stomachs of some persons the copaiva is so exceedingly ofFenslvc, that it cannot be retained. As it is hardly possible to disguise the taste of the article, it is sometimes very difficult to OTer«oine this prejudice. — See Chapman's Thcr.ipcutics,
r^ KEW PREPARATION OF
where it otherwise would be of the highest utiUtj, and even where it is almost indispensable, and other lemedies much less efficient are substituted, thus protracting the cure which would have been speedilj eQected bj the copaiva.
Since the introduction of this remedj down to th€ present period, it has ever been a desideratum to ob- viate these inconveniences, and it is a circumstance not less unfortunate and much to be regretted, than it is singular in its character, that amidst the rapid march of improvement and discoveries, (which forms a peculiar character in modern chemistry and phar- maceutical knowledge,) an improvement in the ex- hibition of copaiva, should so long have evaded the vigilant researches of the critical and scrutinizing chemist, and pharmaceutist. With these premises, I feel happy to inform the medical faculty that 1 hare succeeded in consolidating copaiva to a proper con- sistence, for being formed into pills. The consoli- dated copaiva is the oil and resin united, and conse- quently possesses all the properties of the balsam. It may be made into four grain pills, and one oi two pills taken three times a day ; two pills are equal to thirty drops of the balsam. These pills may be taken without the least inconvenience, neither communica- ting taste, nor imparting odour to the breath, it is also retained without the least disquietude or measinesi to the stomach, and I am informed by Dr. Rousseau, that in large doses it does not purge.
This article differs, very essentially, from what is termed extract, or resin copaiva, being not la the least
BALSAM COPAIVA, 59
deteriorated in the preparation, nor at all weakened by admixture of any foreign substance for the purpose of giving consistence. It is particularly recommend- ed to the faculty for its numerous advantages over the balsam^ and all its preparations. As the oil of co- paiva is an active preparation, it is the best mode of using this article, for being united with the resin it may li^made into pills which can be taken without experiencing the nauseating taste of the oil, while the oil alone cannot be taken otherwise than ia draught, which will subject it to the same inconvc- niences with the fluid balsam, having its disagreeable taste with its unpleasant effects.
The consolidated copaiva is manufactared and gold at Geo. W. Carpenter's Chemical Warehouse, No. 301, Market street, Philadelphia.
•BSEHVATIONS ON A NEW VAIlIBTIc
or
PERUVIAN BARS,
WITH SOME REMAriKS
Qfi tht Alkaline Bases, Quinine and Cmckonin€,
PiRUviAN bark, one of the most important article! ©f the materia medica, embraces a number of species, in the medicinal qualities of which (here is a vast dii- parity. It is therefore peculiarly unfortunate that its natural history and classification should be so en- Teloped in ambiguity, the nomenclature of the dif- ferent species so inadequate and defective, and the various writers so opposed in their opinions on the subject, as to render the investigation of the stident from books almost fruitless. The attention of our pharmacologists should be particularly directed to the cinchona, for the purpose of determining a spe- cific classification of those species ndw occurring ia commerce, and of establishing a nomenclatiire for them, by which each variety could be readily par- ticularised, and at once understood by its name, which, in its present unsettled history, is impossible. In the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Phy- sical Sciences, Vol. XI. I called the attention of the (acuity to this subject, and described the severai
MAR AC Al BO BARK. 01
fpccies of Peruvian bark which then occurred in commerce, as carefully and accurately as possible from specimens before me, so that the several spe- cies might be readily known and contradistinguished. f then suggested, as the most appropriate nomencla- ture, the names of the provinces in South America from which the different species w^ere collected, as Calisaya, Loxa, &:c. 6zc. and wdiich, I am pleased to hnd, has become generally adopted, and is now the most familiar mode of distinguishing the barks of commerce. The terms Calisaya, Losa, and Cartha- gena, conveys at once the particularkind of bark, and is perfectly understood, while the terms lancifolia and cordifolia involve in ambiguity as to the kind intended, inasmuch as several varieties of different qualities come under the same term, and it is impos- sible to determine wd:iich is intended ; for example, the Calisaya and Carthagena, (the former the best, and the latter the worst species in commerce,) being both yellow bark, would come under the name of cordifolia; hence, if cordifolia was ordered, it would be difficult to determine whether the Carthagena or Calisaya was intended, or some intermediate quality. Having devoted considerable attention to this val- uable article of our materia medica, 1 have deter- mined to describe every nev/ species which I may meet with ; and as there has appeared, since my des- cription of Peruvian bark alluded to, a species not hitherto observed in our market, and unnoticed by any of the writers on the subject, I propose to des-
F
62 MATIACAIBO BARK,
cribe il in the present communication. This bark I denominate Maracaibo, being brought from IhaL place, generally in bales from serenty to one hur- dred pounds, and the importation of it is likely to h? continued, so that we may calculate upon a regular supply. This bark is much superior to the Charthu- gena or com.mon bark, producing more than double the amount of saline matter composed of cinchonine and quinine ; also a larger quantity of extractive matter than the latter, and is therefore of at least more than double the value of the same. As the former can be purchased at the same price as the latter, it will be advantageous for the practitioner to be acquainted with its distinguishing characters, that he may be enabled to discriminate it among the dif- ferent species and varieties of common bark.
It occurs in flat, short, and broken pieces, as if separated from the tree with difficulty, mostly of from one to three inches in length, and half to one inch broad, and rather thinner than Carthagena bark. Occasionally small quills are found, the lon- gitudinal edges folding together, forming tubes from a fourth to a half inch in diameter. It is of a deep yellow colour; the epidermis is extremely thin, smooth, of a light gray colour, and is generally re- moved from the bark. It may be distinguished from the Carthagena bark, by being more compact, by break- ing with a short and cleaner fracture, and more par- ticularly by its taste, which is much more intensely bitter. Jt is quite as strong a bitter as the Loxa
CINCIIONINE AND QUININE. 63
bark, but does not possess the astringency of the latter. The internal layer is fibrous, but iii a less degree than the Carthagena. This bark has only appeared in our market within a year or two, and as it will supply the place of a much inferior article, is of high importance to the profession.
The quality of barks depend*unquestionably upon the product of cinchonine and quinine they respec- tively contain, and the separation of these alkalies, is a very valuable mode of discovering with precision the comparative quality of different species of bark. Dilferent barks, however, produce various /?ro/?or- lions of th^se two salts; thus we fmd the Calisaya produces most quinine, the Lo>:a most cinchonine, and the red or oblongifolia both these salts in nearly equal proportions. What is the comparative value of these two salts is yet a subject of controversy, a considerable majority however are in f.ivoar of the quinine, perhaps because most of them liave net had an opportunity of employing the cinchonip.e. Dr. Paris goes so far as to state that cinchonine is tive times less active th:\n quinine, others contend tlie reverse. In an interesting paper read before the Academy of Medicine at Pario, and published in the Bulletin dcs Sciences Medicales, for November, 1325, M. Ballt states that he has experimented upon the sulphate of cinchonine, with a view lo de- termine its febrifuge qualities. He administered this sulphate in twenty-seven cases of intermittent fever* of different types, in doses of two grain pilb, giving-
64 SULPHATE OF QUININE.
three or four in the interval of paroxisms, by which treatment he cured the disease as effectually and as speedily as with the quinine, of w'hich twenty-seven cases, there were sixteen tertian, nine quotidian, and two quartan. He remarks further, that the cincho- nine has properties less irritating than those of qui- nine, and that consequently its employment should be more {^ene^ai and preferred in all simple cases ; I believe few or no experiments have been made by the physicians of this country upon the medical pro- perties of the cinchonine, it consequently must be very little known to them, from their own experience. It most certainly deserves at least a trial.
The high price which the sulphate of quinine has always commanded, and the increasing demand which its character and reputation has constantly kept up, has been an inducement for imposition and fraud ; and it is much to be regretted that this valu- able article of our materia medica, like others of an expensive kind, has been mixed with foreign sub- stances of inert character, for the base consideration of reducing the cost and enhancing the profit on its sale, and all this at the expense of the health of the suffering patient, and to the great disappointment of the practitioner, and not unfrequently to the injury of the general character and reputation of the gen- uine medicine. It is of high importance therefore to be acquainted with the most efficient means of testing its character, where we have any doubts of its purity. The following are the characters and
Sl'LPHATE OF QUIMNE. G5
propcities of the sulphate oi" quinine, and tlic mofct simple and effectual meiliod of discovering fraud and adulteration in its coniposilion.
Ist. The sulphate ot' quinine must he soluble in reciilied alcohol at a modei-ate heat, xind if it contain sulphate of lime, soda,, potash or any other substance insoluble in alcohol, the adulteration will easily U-t detected. ■ r.
2d. It is soluble in acidulated water; say cue drachm of sulphuric acid to an ounce of water, which will readily dissolve the quinine. By this means if there is any stearine or acid margaridc, (substances prepared expressly for adulterating this article,) they will float on the surface.
3d. It should give by sal ammoniac a w'hite pre- cipitate rather flaky, which is soluble in alcohol, and which on being exposed to a gentle heat, v.'ill con- sume without leaving the least residuum.
4th. After having dissolved it in acidulated water, it can be decomposed by means of a little sal ammo- niac, it must then be filtered and evaporated. If sugar has been introduced into it, it will be easily detected by the taste, or by fire, which will produce its peculiar odour.
5th. If a white substance, insoluble in cold water, be found in the sulphate of Quinine, heat the mix- ture to about 170 degrees of Fahrenheit. This will render the starch soluble, and its presence may be determined by the addition of an aqueous solution of iodine, which will immediately occasion a blur
F 2
06 SULPHATE OF QtI!<^IN£.
coloar, aed eventiially a blue precipitate. The io- dine must be added in very small quantities, and very slow, or the experiment will fail.
Physicians will be supplied with specimens of all the species of Peruvian bark which occurs in com- merce, neatly put up in bottles, with a full descrip- tion of each, with a treatise on cinchona, for Five Dollars, at Geo. W. Carpenter's Chemical Ware- house, No. 301, Market street, Philadelphia-
FORMl'LA
Foa TirE
tSULPBATE OF ESUBARB.
Forrwdafor the preparation tjf Sulphate, of Rhubarb,, rviih some remarks on Rhuharb and its preparatioi%.
Boil for half an hoar six pounds of coarsely pow~ dered Chinese rhubarb in six gallons of water, acid- ulated with two and a half fluid ounces of sulphuric acid, strain the decoction, and submit the residue to a second ebullition in a like quantity of acidulated water, strain as before, and submit it again to a third ebullition; unite the three decoctions, and add, by small portions, recently powdered pure lime, con- stantly stirring it to facilitate its action on the acid decoction. When the decoction has become slight- ly alkaline, it deposits a red flocculent precipitate, and the fluid is changed from a yellow to a crimson colour, the precipitate is then to be separated by passing it through a linen cloth, and dried, after which reduce it to powder, and digest in three gal- lons of alcohol, at thirty-six degrees, in a water bath, for several hours, at a moderate heat ; separate this solution from the calcareous precipitate, and dis- til otT three-fourths of the alcohol, there then remains A strong solution of rhubarbine, to which add aa much
68 SULPHATE OF RHUBARB.
sulphuric acid as will exactly neutralize it, evapo- rate this slowly to dryness without having access to atmospheric air, the residuum will be of a brownish- red colour, intermingled with brilliant specks, pos- sessing a slightly pungent styptic taste, soluble in water, and its odour that of the native rhubarb.
This preparation is a concentrated form of that valuable cathartic, separated from the ligneous and mucous portions, and bears a similar relation to the crude substance that quinine does to the Peruviaa bark.*
From the experiments which I have made upon several varieties of rhubarb, I found the Chinese to be the most active, and that variety which has been denominated in the market Russian, and which com- mands double the price of the Chinese, produced about one half of this principle, and consequently is much less active than the former. This rhubarb, in fact, appears to be nothing more nor less than the English variety, suitable pieces of which have been selected, bored, rasped, &;c. in imitation of the Russian, but which wants in degree all the charac- teristic properties of weight, solidity, compact frac- ture, and particularly the essential quality of cathar- tic energy, which are all so strikingly exhibited in the Russian variety, and in corroboration of which Dr. Paris, in his excellent work the Pharmacologic,
• By subsequent experiments I have proved the sulphate of
rhvibarb to be much less active than the alcoholic extract on the next pag^e, as will be seen by additional remarks on this preparation in a subsequent part of this work.
SULPHATE OF RHUBARB. 69
under the article rhubarb, states that inferior kinds of Russian, East India, and English rhubarb are artfully dressed up and sold under the name of Turkey, and I am well informed that a number of persons in this town, known by the name ofRussifiers, gain a regular livelihood by the art of dressing this article; by boring, rasping, and colouring the inferior kinds, for which they charge at the rate .of eighteen pence per pound. I had not an opportunity of making any ex- periment on the 'Turkey rhubarb, as I could not pro- cure what accorded with the physical characters of the genuine article. The ditTerence in the medical activity of these several varieties must essentially rie- pend upon climate and cultivation, as it is asserted by Dr. Rehman, that they are the roots of the same species, Rlieum Palmatum, (although the Dispensa- tories and Pharmacologia consider them distinct species,) and ascribe the Chinese to be the product of the Rheum Undulatum, and the Turkey of the Rheum Palmatum^ and it is established beyond controversy that climate and cultivation are two of the most powerful agents in modifying the condition of vegetable matter.
On the preparaiion of Spiced Syrup of Rhubarb, — Paris in his Pharmacologia states, that water at two hundred and twelve degrees takes up twenty- four, and Thompson thirty parts in sixty, and by decoction its purgative quahties are destroyed, which decoction is extremely turbid and deposits a copious precipitate on cooling, and will be decom- posed by standing a few days, whilst alcohol takes
70 REMARKS ON RLBAR3.
up two and one-seventh from ten parts without the mucous portion, and ii pcrfectlj transparent, and will remain unaltered by keeping. Hence as water takes up a larger proportion of mucous and inactive matter, and as decoction destroys its purgative pro- perties, 1 think a very important alteration might be made in the formula of the preparation of syrup of rhubarb of the shops,' by substituting a concentrated spirituoui tincture of the rhubarb, spices, &c. in place of the aqueous decoction of the same, and to add it near the conclusion of the formation of syrup of pro- per consistence. The alcohol in tiiio mode cannot be made, an objection, as it need not much exceed, if any, the proportion of spirit in the former method to .prevent the fermentation of the aqueous decoc- tion, and if these circumstances are correct it cer- tainly will be a more active and eligible preparation, and well deserves the practical investigation of the faculty. This preparation does not enter the works of Paris or Thompson in any shape, but is given by Dr. Coxe in the late editions of his standard work, the American Dispensatory, in the manner now pre- pared, and is very extensively employed in this city, perhaps as much so as any other pharmaceutical compound, and if its activity could be increased ife no doubt would be a very desirable object, it now requires a large dose to be effectual, and sometimes frequently to be repeated, insomuch that its use is almost exclusively confined to children, the dose for adulti frequently exceeding two ounces, which is cer-
REMARKS ON RHUBARB. ti
Uiiulv objeclional,and excludes its use in many cases where, if more active, it would no doubt be exten- sively employed to advantage.
Extract of Rhubarb. — This preparation, accord- ing to the method now pursued, is very feeble ; tlie protracted heat necessary to evaporate the water, and the absorption of oxygen, acts so unfavourably during its formation, that its purgative properties, although not entirely destroyed, are so greatly im- paired that its use has become almost abandoned by the profession. Bj the following process, however, a much more active preparation may be obtained, and where the use of the extract is approved, this will be found to possess the proper characters.
Take of coarsely powdered Chinese rhubarb, ifcj. digest in six pints of alcohol for leven days, and filter ; distil off the alcohol in a w^ater bath to the consistence of thin honey, then evaporate to a proper consistence in a water bath saturated with muriate of soda.
By this process much less heat and time is re- quired to evaporate the menstruum, and owing to the alcohol much less oxygen is absorbed, and an extract of much more activity is thus obtained. This mode is certainly more expensive ; but if the product is more effectual as a medicine, this small difference should not constitute an objection, as much of the alcohol is saved by distillation, and in the preparation of all medicines, a preference should be given to that method which will render them
72 KEMAaKu o:f RnrsAiiB.
more aetive and effectual without regard to expense, unless it be exorbitant and the difference inconsid- erable, for where health is implicated, interest should be suspended.
Professor Cose Ims the abore article introdtaced iii the la§t edition ot his valuable dispensatorr.
REMARKS
ON THE
USE OF PIFERZNE.
Htmarks on the use of Piper ine^ with the formula for its mcnufacture, together with observations and ex- periments on the Piper Nigrum and its prepara- tions.
SiKct: the discovery of quinine and cinchonine by the celebrated chemists Pelletier and Caventou, vegetable chemistry, previously almost unknown as a science, has made rapid advancement; and the still further successful experiments and discoveries since made upon vegetable matter,have not only swell- ed the catalogue of highly important and useful mate- rials, but have given an additional stimulus for the undertaking, and created an ardent zeal for investi- gation in those already engaged in researches, as well as opened a field of encouragement, in which numberless votaries have appeared. By these means this department of science, having emerged from a stage of neglect and obscurity, has risen with unpar- alleled rapidity, even within the space of a few years, to its present exalted position ; and the numer- ous advantages and useful discoveries, resulting from
E
74 • REMARKS ON THE
its rapidly improving condition, have caused it to rank as one of the nriost important branches of chem- ical science.
Every vegetable substance in the materia medica, which has yet been subjected to chemical analysis, has produced an elementary or alkaline principle, upon which the virtues and activity of the medicine entirely depend. An instance is found even in opium, which, acting in a double capacity, both as a stimu- lant and sedative, has aiTorded two principles, cor- responding with the operations of the crude material: one is stimulating, the other sedative. When ad- ministered in combination, acting like the crude sub- stance ; when separate, individually exercising the sedative or stimulating effects, as one or the other may be employed. These isolated substances pos- sess many and great advantages over the crude ma- terials. The activity of those particular effects, which are desired from the administration of the medicine, being concentrated, and consequently greatly increased by the separation of the inert and injurious portions, obviates almost entirely the diffi- culty of exhibition, as well as facilitates a more spee- dy and certain action on the constitution.
It is well known that many substances, in their crude state, in consequence of bulk and insolubilit}-, cannot be administered in many stages of debility in sufficient quantity to produce the desired effect. In such instances, the alkali is well adapted to form a substitute ; for being separated from the more gross, ligneous, and inert portions, it requires a compa*
rsr: OF riPERiNE. 75
ratively small dose, and constitutes a valuabJc icinedjr in cases whore thq former would be vcjected. Another, and no less important advantage in favour of the alkaline principles is, the uniform persistency of their strength. No one will for a monKnt ques- tion the many inconveniences and evils, resulting from the great uncertainty of effects and difference of activity, in most of the crude materials ; and soit"' of the most important arc subject to these defrr Peruvian bark, for example, is composed of twcitf- five species, and each one dififering in strength. Bark, even of the same species, from a difference in ad- ventitious circumstances,"* to which it is always ex- posed, (although its external characters are some- times scarcely affected, its quality is always injured) is scarcely ever found alike. I have met with bark in the preparation of quinine of the same species and of the same importation, differing twenty-five per cent, in the product of the active alkalies. The physician, therefore, would have been deceived in the strength and consequent effect of this bark, while the quinine is universally the same. For example, the quinine, produced by the inferior bark, although much less in quantity, was fully equal in quality. If the practitioner, therefore, may be so much deceived by the difference of strength of the same species, how much more would he be disappointed by those w^hich produced but one-eighth or one-twelfth the quantity — and some yield even .but a trace of the
* See Carpenter on Cinchona.
76 REMARKS ON THE
principles upon which their ftbrifuge piopeitica ex- clusively depend.
The preceding observations in support of concen- trated medicines, are made in consequence of there existing, even at this period of time, some few who disapprove of vegetable alkalies, and reject their ase on all occasions, by giving preference to the crude material. If their conclusions were drawn from ex- periment they would most certainly be entitled to credit and respect; but where a determination is made against admitted facts, without advancing new grounds drawn from argument or reason, and where new discoveries are denounced witliout even a single experiment or authority of any kind, 1 am sorry to say that such a course can be attributed only to preju- dice, and should accordingly be so appreciated.
There is another class of opposcrs, governed by envy ; this is a worse species than the former ; they are, however, of little importance as to injiuenct. It has ever been a grievous circumstance, that, in almost every department of science, criticism is so easy a task, that the least informed and most unin- telligent will make bold opposition against the most useful and important researches, and sometimes from no other cause than that they themselves were not the authors. Their efforts are, however, overbal- anced by the happy consequence, that sentiment and expression do not, in the least, alter or modify the condition of matter: and follies of this nature, therefore, so far from eilecting an injury or causing the least impediment to the march of science^ merely
USE OF PIPERINE. 77
ofl'er an exposition of error, either to be dispersed by truth, or corrected by the light of science.
The object of the present communication is, to describe a new principle recently discovered in black pepper, which has been denominated piper- ine, and whicji is proved from careful experiments, to be a successful remedy in intermittent fevers, and has been employed with advantage in typhus fever and periodical headache; and from the respecta- bility of the authorities given in its support, bids fair to become an important addition to the materia medica. It may be given in doses of from one to four grains. It has been employed in doses of one grain every hour, in several cases of intermittent fever, with as much success as the quinine. It is found to be a valuable adjunct to that substance, equal parts acting with more energy and success than the whole quantity of quinine.
Black pepper, in its crude state, has long been known as a valuable medicine, and is stated to be an excellent adjunct to bark, in intermitfents, and the author* observes that Mr. Brande must certainly be mistaken when he says, it acts only as a warm condiment, agreeable to the stomach.!
* Rennie*s Supplement to the Pharmacopzelas of London, Edinburgh, Dublin, and Pari?,
j It may be observed, with deference to Mr. Brando's opin- ion, tl>at there never has been a medicine yet discovered, res- pecting whose qaalities, some diversity of opinion has not ex- isted, and every medicine, however valuable, has rac*- .;'/i some opposition,
G 2
78 REMARKS ON THE
It is mentioned in Dr. Coxe's valuable dispcnsnt-o- rj, under the article piper, that Dr. Frank, physi- cian to Iter Majesty, Maria Louisa, recommends the. black pepper in diilerent species of intermittent ic- vers.
This had previously been used in the cast, \vitli success, after every known means had been ineilcc- tually tried. The dose is five to ten grains, twice a day; and Dr. Gliigini reports ten cases cured by it, Dr, Frank mentions seventy patients, who came un- der his notice between April and June, of wliom fifty-two had tertian, ten ([uotidian, and eight tlie oiuartant fever. Fifty-four were completely cured within a week or so, without any subsequent relapse. He dips the seed of black pepper into a mucilage of gum arabic, and subsequently into powdered Colom- bo, to disguise it, and gives from five to eight pills twice a day. None of his patients required more than from seventy to eighty pills for a complete cure. Dr, Frank recommends to the profession to try the extract of black pepper, in intermittent fevers. This preparation was tried on nine individuals, affected with intermittent fevers of different types, in doses of four, eight, ten, or twelve grains, dissolved in water in some cases, and given in the form of pills in others, by Dr. Clock, of Trent ; and the effects surpassed his warmest expectations.
From these experiments it is concluded, that the extract of pepper is not only one of the best succe- daneums for the bark, but that it is even preferable to it, on several accounts.
trSE OF PIPLRINE. 79
First. It never produces disturbance in the sto- niach or bo\vel^.
Second. It never fails in producing a cure.
Third. Those who were cured did not in any one instance experience a relapse.
Fourlh. It produces a regular alvine discharge, as well as the excretion of urine and sweat.
Fifth. None of those who were cured, experienced that sensation of langour, so comnion to a state of convalescence.
The following cases, treated with piperine, are i:iven by Dr. J.. Gordoni, physician to the hospitals of Livournc *.'''
Cleonice, of Paoli^ entered the hospital in the •month of March, 1824, to be treated of an incipient ])hlhisis, in combination with amenorrhfea, a treat- ment lightly depleting for several months produced sensible advantages ; and although the disease could not be called perfectly cured, a strong indication of a speedy recovery was apparent, for the crachats presented a better iippearance, the cough was dimi- nished, and the plethoric habit, accompanied with a kind of melancholy, had disappeared ; when to- wards the end of September, of the same year, she was attacked with a violent intermittent fever, hav- ing the type uf a double tertian. This disease was treated without sjuccess, by the sJcillful Dr. Guidotti, both by quinine in substance, and the sulphate of quinine in pilh. On the iGlh of October, having .succeeded Dr. Guidotti in the hospitals, I fownd the * Jju'.lelin des Sclecces 'Mcdicales, Avril, 1826,
80 REMARKS ON THiE
patient much dejected and disgusted with the insuf- ficiency of the means employed. Supposing the failure of the quinine depended upon some neglect in its administration, or that the pills were perhaps difficult of solution, I prescribed three doses of the same substance, in powder, to be taken daily. Two days after this treatment the fever stopped short, and the patient recovered a repose, which she had lost for a month. The remedy was continued for six days, which prevented a relapse, which had al- ways been dissipated by the same remedy ; but every time the use of it was suspended, the fever invaria- bly returned. As there were not sufficient symp- toms to consider it of an inflammatory nature, I de- termined, on the 2d of November, to substitute for the sulphate of quinine, eight grains of piperine, to be taken in three doses, as the sulphate, and with the same precautions. The fever ceased the first day, and never returned. The piperine was continued several days after, and I assured myself of the cer- tainty *of the cure, having attended the patient t'rom her first disease until the end of December.
Second, A man aged thirty years, at Castiglionc, on the sea' shore, in the beginning ofDecernbej', was seized with a tertian fever, which obliged him to enter the hospital of St. Antoine, of Livourne. Dr. Nicholas Orisini, being assured that the patient had never before been afilicted with a like fever, nor C-. or made use of the quinine, thought proper, as a good opportunity, to em.ploy in this case the piper- ine, to assure himself of its efficacy, l^ith this view,
TItE OF PIPERINE.
81
he let the fever run out one of its intermission?, without ennploying any remedy, in order to be bet- ter acquainted with the nature of tlie disease. He then ordered a scruple of piperine, divided into six •pills, to be taken in three doses, the last of the^e doses to be ^ivcn two hours before the fever, and tlie two others at intervals of two hours preceding. After the administration of this remedy the paroxysm did not appear, the patient, who believed himself cured, wished to leave the hospital, notwithstanding the remonstrances of the physician, who assured him he could not calculate yet upon an entire cure. The patient soon repented not having taken counsel, for on his way to the shore, he had a fresh attack of the fever, and was obliged to return to the hospital. He again made use of the piperine, and having continu- ed it for several days, he went out perfectly cured.
Third. Joseph Torsi, aged twenty-six years, en- tered the hospital of St. Antoine, the evening of the sixth of September, 1824; had been attacked six days before, with a true quotidian fever, and it was the first he had ever experienced. On the morning of the 1 7th, sixteen grains of piperine were ordered to he divided into eight pills, of which, four should be taken every two hours before the fit ; but before the Jast dose was taken, the fever returned in spite of these means. The piperine was then carried to eigiiteen grains, to be taken in the same manner — when the fever disappeared ; and the use of the remedy being continued for several days, preserved the patient entirely from all symptoms of rccidiva-
82 REMARKS ON THE
tion. Dr. Orisini, who directed the treatment, was fully convinced of the perfect recovery and cure of the patient, who, having entered the hospital three months after, to be treated for peripneumonia, as- assured him that he had no accession of fever since he left the hospital.
From these observations, and many others, Mr» / Gordon! draws the following conclusions : —
1. That the piperine will cure intermittent fevers, in the dose of eight or even six grains.
2. That it will cure fevers which have resisted the sulphate of quinine.
Finally : That it will prevent a relapse of fever better than that substance.
M. Meli* has also successfully employed the piper- ine, and considers it more certain, as a remedy in intermittents, than the sulphate of quinine.
For the following interesting communication on the use of piperine, I am indebted to Dr. J. S. Rose, of Philadelphia, who was the firit to employ it in this city.
I have employed the piperine, prepared by Mr. Carpenter, in twenty cases of intermittent fevers, and am decidedly of the opinion that it will be found by all who may be disposed to try its virtues, a more certain and efficient remedy than any preparation of bark heretofore used.
I have also used it in two cases of low nervous fever or typhus. I was induced to employ it in these cases by observing, that in intermittents it did •Aipslie's Materia Indica, vol. 2 page, 62?
VHE OF riPEUIXE. 83
not prevent (in the first intermissions) all the stages \ of paroxysm ; at the time the patient expected his chill he found a gentle diaphoresis, which continued to increase for two, three, and in some cases, for four hours ; on the next day, however, (of the expected return) there was nothing like diaphoresis or fever; the patient passed this period without the least in- convenience, and remained exempt from a relapse, which is not always the case after the use of qui* nine. These facts led me to believe, that in typhus, when we wish a stimulating diaphoretic, nothing is better adapted, not evien volatile alkali, which I have proved satisfactory to myself. In this form of febrile action, when the animal powers are about to yield to the influence of disease, and the patient falls a victim to the timidity of the practitioner, 1 have boldly withheld all other remedies, and ad- ministered the piperine in doses of two grains every two hours, until eight grains had been taken ; in one of these cases, the low, muttering deleiium now be- gan to subside, the skin became moist, and the pa- tient, sensible of his improvement, ])rGnounced him- self better. On the following day, the same doses were administered and repeated, for three, four, or live days, when I found no fever ; the etrength in- creased, and the patient, with an inclination for food, was certainly convalescent. These two were the onlj cases of typhus I have treated since I became acquainted with this valuable remedy. But these alone would incline me to say, with one of our pro- fessors, "as well might weieny the power of bark
84 REMARKS ON THE
in jnlermittents, or mercury in syphilis,'' ss- piperine in the cases alluded to. Yet I am not prepared to. adopt his language fully and call it a Panacea..
J. S. R.
I subjoin the following important results from the. use of piperine, By Dr. J. C Rousseau, of Philadel- phia, whose experience with the articles of our materia niedica, entitles his observations to the high- est confidence and estimation.
Dear Sir,
In compliance with your request to state my opin- ion upon the efficacy of the piperine in the cure of intermittent fever, 1 can testify, that although I have been able to administer this new article of the mate- ria medica in few cases, it is satisfactory to inform you, that it has been successful in every one. The paroxysms left the patients on the tirst, and never later than the second day.
Some few remarks may with propriety be added to this succinct account, which may become instruc- tive, and inculcate the necessity of caution in pre- scribing it in too large doses; the following case will illustrate this position :
A young girl, about twelve years of age, having^ had a return of intermitting fever, that had been stopped by the sulphate of quinine, was directed to take one grain of the piperine, made into a pill, with conserve of roses. She was a short time after seiz- ed with a vomiting, which was repeated to the num- ber of seven times in the space of two hours. It
USE OF riPERINE. 85
then began to promote alvine evacuations to the ex- tent of twelve or fifteen (innes. The fever did not return, and she was directed to continue one grain of the medicine night and morning. It invariably produced alvine discharges in an unusual quantitv.
In another case, a subject of about forty: it pro- duced a radical cure in the dose of three grains, taken every twenty-four hours, and continued for some days after ; and it is so much the more remark- able, as this patient had taken the sulphate of quinine for some days, in the quantity of thirty grains in every twenty-four hours, as he informed me, remarking at the same time, that during the use of it, he was under a most violent and painful state of excitement.
I can state with confidence, that this preparation
of the black pepper, may be as useful and beneficial
as the like preparation of the Peruvian bark, and I
entertain no doubt of the probability of obtaining
similar products, from all the other peppers, having
been for many years, in the habit of administering the
black and red peppers, with decided success, in the
cure of intermittent fevers. Yours, &c.
J. C. Rousseau, M. D. Geo. W, a
I have just received the following valuable illus- tration of the effect of piperine, from my friend Dr. J. R. Black, of Philadelphia, which is an additional strong testimony of the success of this medicine, in the cure of intermittent fevers.
Mr. S. aged about forty years, during the first part of last moQthj applied to me, with a severe quotidian
H
so 11 EM ARKS ON THE
fever, attended with rejections from the stomach, and with violent pain, and great determination of blood to the head, ciurin-- the hot stage, with cold feet and slight delirium.
The case was treated with the lancet, emetics and purges, wdiich on the third day changed its tjpe to the tertian. On the day of intermission, sul. quinine was administered, whicli was often rejected, while it always increased the patient's natjseau, and head ache. Piperine was substituted in doses of one grain every hour, to the number of ten a day. The par- oxysms immediately ceased, and the patient w^as in a few days discharged, radically cured. J. R. B.
Numerous other cases might be quoted in which this medicine has been employed, with the like happy results ; but I think sufficient has been advanced, to satisfy the most sceptical, of its active properties.
Alcohol and sulphuric sethcr are the best men- strua, for the active properties of the pepper, which very soon impart its acrimony to these fluids. Mr. Brande gives alcohol and water ; I am surprised that Mr. Brande should have omitted aether, since it is the most powerful solvent, and particularly that he ehould quote water, since it requires five hundred and fifty pints to extract the sapidity of one lb. of pepper. Water appears to be the best solvent for the colouring matter, for after pepper ha« been ex- hausted of its acrimony, by aither and alcohol, water will make a dark solution, which on evaporation, produces an extract exhibiting little of the pungency of pepper.
USE OF PIPERINi:. 87
Tlic pipcrlne, employed in the above cases, I pre- pared accordii)^ to the following formula.
Digest one pound of eoarsely powdered black pepper, in one gallon of alcohol, for ten days, distil off one half of the alcohol in a water bath, add by degrees, diluted muriatic acid, to hold in solution the piperine, then add water suflicient to precipitate the resin, and separate the oil; a muriate of piperine re- mains in solution, concentrate this solution by evapo- ration, and add pure potass to decompose it, and neu- tralise the acid, when the piperine, in consequence of the diluted state of the alcohol, and the absence of the muriatic acid, will be deposited in yellowish transpa- rent crystals. The crystals may be obtained per- fectly colourless, by observing great care in separa- ting the oil and resin, but as there is no disadvantage in the colour, the additional trouble and expense would not be compensated. The piperine, in a colourless state, is insipid and inodorous ; but united with as much resin as enters into its crystallization, its taste is extremely powerful, possessing in an in- tense degree, all the heat and acrimony of the pep- per, with considerable of its odour, and I think is a more active preparation than the former, it was in this form exhibited in the treatment of the cases above described. I have obtained larger crystals, by employing sulphuric aether ai a menstruum, in- stead of alcohol.
'J'he crystals of piperine are transparent, of a straw colour, and assume the tetrahedral prismatic form, with oblique summits; I have obtained them
88 REIWARKS ON THE
larger than the ordinary crystals of sulphat of mag- nesia.
Extract of Black Pepper,
Digest eight ounces of black pepper coarsely ground, in four pints of diluted alcohol, for four days, occasionally submitting it to a temperature near ebullition ia a water bath, filter and evaporate to the consistence of an extract. This is found also to be an active remedy in intermittent, in doses of two or three grains. In a soft state it has proved very con- venient to give consistency to piperine or quinine for the formation of pills, while at the same time it in- creases their activity, particularly the latter ; it is certainly preferable to the conserve of roses, or gum arabic, which enlarge the pill without increasing the effect.
The extract of pepper in every formula I have seen, is directed to be prepared with water. This forms a much less active preparation and possesses several inconveniences, to which the above is not subject.
I have employed the white and black peppers in the above preparations, and aUhough it is stated that the«white pepper is milder than tlie black, I have found it to yield more piperine and an extract of much more acrimony and activity, and to contain much less colouring matter.
The constituent principles of pepper, are pipe- rine, oil, resin, extract, colouring and fecular matters.
Subsequent experiments have proved the oil of
USE OF PIPERIWE. 89
black pepper to possess all the valuable properties of piperine in a superior degree, one drop being equal in energy to three grains of the latter. I have com- bined^quinine, piperine, oil of black pepper, cornine, gentianine, and several other tonic vegetable princi- ples, in the form of a mass, which I have denomina- ted compound tonic extract, and which has proved much more efficient in intermittents than any of the articles used singly, even in double doses. This arti- cle is now much used in the southern states, and has given the highest degree of satisfaction.
H 2
ox
On the Division or Extinction of Mercury by Tritura- tion : with Observations and Experiments on the Blue Mass and other preparations of Mercury,
Mercury has been considered by some writers to produce no action on the bodj, when taken internal- ly in the metallic state; this has been doubted with sufScient reason by Orfila in his Toxicology,
Blue mass, Pil. Hydrargyri, or Blue Pill, as it is commonly termed, has heretofore been always esteemed, one of the most valuable preparations of mercury, being mild and at the same time more cer. tain and efficacious in many diseases, than any other preparation of that valuable mineral ; hence it has been, and continues to be, very extensively employ- ed in most cases where mercurial action on the con- stitution is required, and when properly made, and in like manner administered, has invariably support- ed its wonted and established reputation.
In the preparation of it, the most viscid and tena- cion? ^ubstaiices arc emnloyed, as conjcrvc?, honey,
AND BLUE MASS. 91
rnanna, o^c. for the more speedy extinction of the mer- ury as it is generally termed, or more properly its ninute division, after which some vegetable powder , of wliich starch is most proper,) is added, to give the mass a proper consistence for the formation of pills. ;■: has generally been supposed that the mercury by liis process was converted into the state of a pro- toxyde, but late careful experiments, prosecuted ex- clusively for the purpose of ascertaining the condi- tion of the mercury, have satisfactorily proved the contrary.
From the remarks and experiments of Mr. Joseph Roux, (Pharmacien a Nimes,) addressed to Mr. Planche, in the Journal de Pharmacie, tome XI. page 215, it will appear that, (although from the various discussions of chemists, on the method of reducing mercury, a conclusion has generally been drawn in favour of those substances which contain the most oxygen^) turpentine and liquid styrax will as speedily and elTectually extinguish or reduce the mercury as the oxygenous fat, and that the various conserves, syrups, extracts, oils, meals, feculse, and vegetable powders all produce the same results in that speedy and effectual reduction of the mercury in proportion to the tenacity of the substance employed ; for ex- ample, the extracts succeed better than the conserves, the conserves better than the syrups, the syrups than the oils, &c. These different experiments led to the conclusion that oxygen was not essential for the extinction of mercury, and to prove which, it Tvas acted upon by substances destitute of \h\- rle-
92 EXPERIMENTS ON MERCURY
ment ; bitumens were accordingly selected such as petroleum, and maltha.* Having reduced the petroleum to a more than syrup consistence, the re* suit was perfectly satisfactory, and Mr. Roux ob- serves, 1 was then authorised to think my conjecture was correct, but in order to assure myself positively of the fact, I acted upon it free from the con- tact of atmospheric air. I accordingly placed a vessel containing the mercury and maltha, (reduced to a consistence that allowed the pestle to work,) in the receiver of an air pump, and after having made a vacuum I put in motion, by the means of a handle, a pestle surrounded by a brass stem, a little bent at the lower part, which passed through the bell and the copper framing, by which it was surmounted. This experiment succeeded as well as any of the others and established beyond a doubt the fact that mercury may be extinguished without the aid of oxygen.
Mr. Planche observes, (Journal de Pharmacie,) that from the ingenious experiments of Mr. Roux on the division of mercury in vacuo, by means of a sub- stance containing no oxygen, it has been proved, that the mercury in the ointment and other preparations exists in the state of minute division, and not in that of an oxyde, which is no longer a subject of doubt to a great many.
This may readily be proved by melting the oint- ment in hot water, or by washing the blue mass in cold water, decanting the saccharine and feculent » pitch and wax melted together.
AND BLUE MASS. 93
matter, and placing the remainder, (carefully washed from the vessel with a little water,) on a filter of paper, and left to stand until perfectly dry, when nearly ail the mercury used in its formation may be collected ; a small portion necessarily will be lost in its preparation, together with more minute globules which cannot be collected. I treated'in this manner Sg. of the blue mass manufactured at Apothecaries' Hall, London, in which the mercury was more effect- ually reduced than any I had ever seen, and obtained from it sixteen grains of metallic n^ercury, within four grains of the quantity originally employed in making the mass ; small globules were also visible in the residuum which I could not collect ; on exam- ining several drops of the liquor 1 decanted, which had accidentally fallen on some white paper and dried, it had a shining metallic appearance, and evi- dently contained metallic mercury, which was proved after two days standing, by the aggregation of glo- bules. Mr. Thomas Evans, an intelligent druggist of this city, in a paper published in the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, states that from one hundred grains of blue pill, which had been tri- turated for many days, twenty grains of running mercury were easily collected and mtmcrow* globules were still visible in the residuum.
An elTect takes place in making the pommade mercuriellc, a preparation employed extensively in France, which goes strongly to prove that the mer- cury in this preparation is not in the state of an oxyde, as well as all the others ; for it is admitted
94 EXPERIMENTS ON MERCURY
by all without the least doubt, that in all cases where mercury is reduced bj simple trituration, it exists in the same condition. In making this preparation, if it happens that the butter of cocoa, {beurre de cacao,) which enters its composition, be too suddenly cool- ed, the mercury, which previously had every appear- ance of perfect extinction immediately appears in large globules ; to reduce them it is only necessary to gently heat the pestle and stir the pommade a few- minutes, when the mercury is again reduced. I will ask if any man acquainted with the laws of chemis- try, can for a moment suppose that the mercury in this preparation is in any other than the metallic state, or attribute so sudden a reduction of the mer- cury, to the absorption of oxygen, when eight days trituration would not be sufficient to effect it by the ancient process?
Besides these, there are other preparations of mercury where it has been triturated with pulveru- lent substances, as chalk, magnesia, sugar, &;c. in all which cases, the mercury exists in the same condi- tion as in the ointment, mass and pommade, that is in a state of minute metallic division, and not of an oxyde. From a portion of hydrargyrum cum creta, imported by Charles Marshall from the Apothecaries Hall, London, in which the mercury was apparently oxydized, inasmuch that not a globule was visible, (when meet favourably exposed on paper,) even with the assistance of a good microscope, I put a small quantity in vial and agitated it a short time in cold water; when subsided, I decanted the water and
AND BLUE MASS. 05
after gevcral wasliings and dccantations in tiie same manner, the sub-carbonate of lime was separated, and there remained a greyish powder, which I placed on a filter of paper, which by simple imbibition of the paper, without pressure or trituration, the mercury assumed the form of globules, in weight nearly equal to the quantity originally employed in the composition.
Mercury reduced by trituration with sugar may most readily be tested by dissolving the sugar, which will leave the mercury in its metallic state. From the suggestions of Mr. Phillips, of London, I treated a portion of the hydrargyrum cum creta with acetic acid, having placed a small quantity of the powder in a vial and washed it in successive portions of the acid until the sub-carbonate of lime was dissolved ; then I threw the whole on a filtre of paper, which when dry exposed the mercury entire.
As the above experiments are in the reach of any one desirous of proving the fact, I hope advantage 'will be taken of them and little doubt will hereafter exist as to the state in which the mercury exists in these several preparations. Although differing from jthe opinion of many^authors of established reputation, I feel confident in stating the fact, ina^uch as I be- |lieve,(from Iheir own expressions,) their conclusions were drawn from external characters without ex- periment; as in most instances where these prepara- tions are spoken of, it is remarked that the mercury is in the state of minute division, and probably con- verted into the black oxyde ; the word probably im-
96 ESPERIMEJ^TS ON MERCURY
plies a direct incertitude, and speculation as to the real state in which the mercury exists in these pre- parations, and indicates that they have never heen examined with a view to discover its condition, oth- erwise their descriptions must have been more definite.
Mr. Rennie in his late valuable supplement to the pharmacopoeias, observes, that chemically, the blue pill is described in two ways. One party of chem- ists say that the mercury is unchanged and exists in a state of extreme division, whilst another party as- sert unconditionally, that mercury is converted into a black oxyde, which is a protoxyde. Mr. Phillips, on the other hand, more justly observes, that experi- ments are still wanting to explain the subject, but that it probabh/ contains a sub-oxyde, as he supposes to be the case with the h) drag, cum creta.
It may be remarked by some, if the mercury exist in its metallic state, why resort to the tedious method of its division? It may be readily answered, that independent of increased action by its minute divi- sion, mercury, from its fluidity and volubility, could not be administered in its metallic state, in the various doses, forms and compounds, in which the blue mass has been so conveniently and successfully exhibited. It has also been proved by experience, that the mass which contains the mercury in the most minute division is preferable on account of a more speedy action, as well as being less liable to lose the' mercury by exudation. Hence it is that the blue mass and other preparations of the mercury
AND KLUE MASS, 97
mamif^ictured at Apothecaries' Hall, London,* and nt the laboratory of Mander & Co. of Wolverhamp- ton, have justly been preferred as more eligible pre- parations, at which places they possess considerable advantages of improved machinery by steam power for the more speedy and effectual reduction of the fnercury. It has been suggested and recommended to use the black oxyde of mercury as a substkute for the blue pill. However valuable a medicine the black oxyde may be, it cannot be substituted for the blue pill, on the ground of being the active principle of that substance; although i do not doubt that a few grains out of a hundred may be in the state of a sub- oxyde, but most certainly not in sufficient quantity to have the sole agency in the effect of the blue pill, but on the contrary, from its minute proportion, to have little or none. The black oxyde of mercury, however, is no doubt a most valuable medicine, and from the careful and correct experiments of Dr. Benjamin H. Coates, of this city, its efficacy has been (My established.
As the blue mass holds an important place in the materia medica, and is perhaps more extensively cm- ployed than any other compound, it will no doubt be desirable to have a formula which will most readily reduce the mercury. After a number of ex-
• The mass is prepared at Apothecaries* Hall, London, bj& machine consisting of an iron mortar and four wooden pestle< ^ven by a steam engine. This both triturates and rolls the mass, and the pills are said tu be stronger than those inad« If tht Wivd.—Ren»ie's Supplement, he.
I
•^8 EXFEUISIENTS^ ON MERCURY'-
j^eriments, with a view to discover what combination and proportion of substances most speedily and ef- fV^ctuallv reduce the mercury, and at the same time preserved the mass longest of a pilular consistence,. 1 have adopted the following formula and process as j>ossessing the greatest advantages. This forms a mass more like that manufactured at the Apothe- caries' Hall, London, than by any other process ^vhich 1 have seen. The globules of mercury are eliectually reduced in a short time, and are perfectly mvisible ; wiien rubbed on white paper and inspect- ed with a microscope. The mass is of a fine blue colour, and will preserve a pliable consistence a long time.
R. Hydrarg. Pur - - - ,lis5.. Manna Pinguia - - - iiss. Meh desp. - - • §ss.
Amyli - . - - • ^i.
M. S. A.
As the mercury of commerce is frequently adul- terated with lead, bismuth, tin and zinc, it is im- portant to have it distilled previous to employing it in the above preparation.
The manna and honey in the blue pill are better than any other substance yet employed, and reduce the mercury more speedily and effectually than the conserve of roses, over which they have other ad- vantages. The conserve of roses is objectional also from occasionally containing sulphuric acid which has been added to increase its colour ; hence a poi-
ARD BLUE MASS, 99
sonous sub-sulphate of mercury may be formed dar- ing the trituration. Dr. Coxe justly remarks in the fifth edition of his Dispensatory, (although conserve of roses is in the formula he has selected) that experi- jp.ents fairly made, would sanction the manna as pre- ferable to any other substance for the speedy and 'cff'ectual extinction of the quicksilver; and what- ever may be thought of the conserve of rose?, it ap- pears probable that its use is only depen'dent on the sugar in its composition.
In making this preparation the vvhole ajnount of mercury should be triturated with a small part of the -manna and honey, until reduceil, (which will be more speedy than if worked wit'i all the iiigredients :) the remaining portion of manna and honey is then to be added, and the whole heat up till well incorporated ; to which then add the starch to give it a proper con- sistence. This mass, when finished, has a fme blue colour, no globules visible when exposed on paper, even with the assistance of an ordinary microscope ; it is of proper consistence for the formation of pills, and will retain its moisture for a long time; a quan- tity made according to the above formula has been kept for upwards of a year, when its consistence was nearly as good fis at the time of its formation, and no globules discoverable when carefully exam- ined. It is a desirable thing that the mass should re- main soft which the above formula will particularly
effect. I have seen blue mass become perfectly hard, sufficiently so to powder, in consequence no
doubt of having gum Arabic in its composition. Li-
too EXPERIMKNTS ON MERCURY, SlC,
quorice root and rhubarb enter into some receipts for the preparation of the blue pill, but the mass which contains them may be known by ila dirty grey colour, and frequently becoming mouldy after a short time.
As a great quantity of blue mass is badly made, and I believe more from not having a proper formula than from any'vvant of art or attention in its reduction, I am induced to offer the above, under a full assur- ance, from careful experiment, of its superiority to the cominou formula with conserve of roses; and should it prove useful in the hands of those who may think proper to adopt it, the author will have ybtaim^d liifi object of thiB publicatm;.;.
ON IODINE,
AND ITS PREPARATIONS.
This is one of the most valuable and important of the medicines recently irxtroduced. It is soluble m aether and in alcohol ; the lalter dissolving it pro- portionable to its degree of rectification. V\ ater does not dissolve more than ,;^ of its weight.
It is extracted from the mother waters of soda, pre- pared from sea weed, where it exists in the state of hy-
iodate of Potass. 'Jliese waters are obtained by i-urnlng the fuci that are found on the coast of Nor- mandy, draining the water through ihe ashes and concentrating the liquor.
To obtain the iodine, an excess of concentrated acid is added to these waters, and the liquor is grad- ually brought to ebullition in a glass retort, furnished with a receiver. The acid seizes on the basis of the hjdriodate, and on the hydrogen of the hydriodic acid, so that ihe result is sulphate of potass, water, sulphurous acid and iodine, wliich rises in violet coloured vapours, passes into the receiver witli a small quantity of acid, and in tliat state is condensed. :;ln order to purify it, it must be washed, mixed with »-,"water. containing a little potasp, and again distilled.
i02 on IODINE
Dr. Coindit of Geneva was the first to use ihe iodiriC as a medicine, which he employed with remarkable success ia the treatment of goitre •, it has since been used both in Swilzerland and France, by several physicians, who speak very highly of its eflects as a medicine in goitre, in scrofulous ulcers, &c. and quote a number of cases of the successful treatment of tliese diseases, by the use of iodine. The iodine is now used in this country to a considerable extent; it is generally employed in the form of tincture and ointment, formulas for the preparation of which will be given hereafter. Dr. Gaixliner has published ia England a very interesting memoir on the effects of iodine, on the animal economy, and on its advantagers in the treatment of goitre and scrofulous, and taberculous affections of the thorax and abdomen.
Dr. Barron appears to have employed the remedy with some success in the treatment of scrofuioua^ phthisis, and certain other tuberculous affections
TINCTURE OF IODINE.
Take of alcohol 36** 1 ounce.
Iodine 48 grains.
The iodine should be triturated fine with the alcohol in a mortar, and occasionally rubbed down in iu after standing 24 hours, it is fit for use, and should be filtered before using, as there is generally a portion of the iodine undissolved.
It is given to adults in the dose of from 4 to 10 clrops, three times a day m a glass of sweetened wator; the quaati.ty may be gradually increasied to
AND rrS PREPARATIONS. 103
^120 drops, (which contains about one grain of iodine) ^three times a day.
Solution of Hydriodate of Potass,
Take'X)rHydriodate of Potass 36 grains. Distilled water I ounce.
This solution is still capable of dissolving iodine, and of thus forming an ioduretted hydriodate oi potass. If we wish to procure the solution called coindet'*, 10 grains of pure iodine must be added to the solution of the hydriodate of potass describe^d i\bove.
These preparations, whose mode of exhibition <s the same as that of the tincture of iodine, are
• employed as well as it in the treatment of goitre anrd scrofula, in the latter case some tonic is general!/ combined with it.
M. Magendie has for some time mr.de use of the solution of hydriodate of potass both in hospital and private practice ; he is confident the dose of tlus solution- may be increased to three gros per diem^ without any unpleasant consequences ; debilitated and very nervous women have taken this quantity for many weeks, without the least appearance of derangement in any function. In this dose two case*
• of cancer of the tongue recovered in the space of -a. fortnight, in the incurable wards of V Hospice dt la Salpetrierc, The women were aiiected with thii disgusting and horrible disease for many year^, anil
■ admitted into the hospital as incurables, one still re- -4JiaiRs there, having beea three months- under Irefit-
104 ON IODINE
ment and is going on very well. la the same placcj a woman who had for a long time suifered under ulcerations of the tongue, has just received a com- plete cure fr^m the use of the hjdriodate of potass.
Ointment of the Hydriodate of Potass,
Take ofHydriodate of Potass ^ drachm. Axunge J ^ ounce.
Mix. — This may be used to the extent of half a drachm night and morning in the way of friction upon a goitre or glands, enlarged with scrofula; at the end of a week, the quantity may be increased to a drachm or more, according to the age of the patient and ex- tent of the tumour. Sometimes by these means a complete resolution of tremours is effected, which could not be removed entirely by saline solutions. This ointment has been successfully used in variou* cases of enlargement of the testicles, which had re- sisted other means. Sometimes, however, mere f/iction will not do, and recourse must be had to both modes of exhibition, buf, in general, more ad- vantage seems to be derived in scrofulous atfec- iions from the saline solutions. The activity of this ointment may be increased by adding from 10 to hS grains of pure iodine to form whatis called ointment ofioduretted Hydriodate of Potass.
Ointment of Iodine.
Take of Iodine - - . 1 drachmo
- Axunge, » - = i ounce.
AND ITS PREPARATIONS, 105
Powder the iodine and triturate it with the lard in a glass mortar. This ointment is used in the same manner as that of the hjdriodate, in about the same quantity; it is, however, not as much used as the hydriodate ointment, which latter is in every way preferable.
lodurets of Mercury.
The ProtO'lodurct of Mercury is prepared by uniting solution of hydrate of potass and protonitrate o( mercury, which precipitates the proto-ioduret, Jt is of a yellow colour and insoluble in water, ac- cording to Dr. Thompson, 162 parts contain 62 of iodine and 100 of mercury, or 25 of mercury and 156 of iodine.
The deuto-ioduret is prepared by dissolving sepa- rately 70 parts of corrosive sublimate, (deuto-chloru- ret of mercury) and 100 parts of the hydriodate of potass, and uniting the solution when the deuto-iodu- ret of mercury will be precipitated, it is very solu- ble in the hydriodate of potass and in mercurial salts,
'60 that care must be taken not to apply an excess of
'either of them. This preparation contains 250 parts of mercury and 312 of iodine. Hydriodic acid may be substituted for the hydriodate of potass in the pre- paration of these iodurets.
These preparations are employed in the form of ointment, tincture, solution and pills, and have proved
I'a valuable remedy in chronic syphilis and venereai
'-ulcere.
106 ON IODINE
Ointment of Proto-ioduret of Mercury.
Take of proto-ioduret of mercury, 20 grains. Axunge • - U ounce.
This ointn:ient has been highly recommended in the treatment of inveterate venereal ulcers, in which it is said to accelerate the cicatrization.
Ointment of the deuto-ioduret of Mercury,
Take of deuto-ioduret of mercury, 20 grain?. Axunge, - - I4 ounce.
This preparation is more active than the preced- ing, and is therefore to be used in smaller quantities^
Tincture of Deuto-ioduret of Mercury .
Take of deuto-ioduret of mercury, 20 grains. Mix. Alcohol at 36°, - 1^ ounce.
Twenty-six drops of this tincture are nearly equiv- alent to one-eighth of a grain of the deuto-ioduret itself, it may be given to the extent of 10, =15 or 20 drops in a glass of distilled water. We are assured that it has succeeded in scrofulous complaints coni^ plicated with syphilis.
Sulphuric JEther with Deuto-ioduret oj Mercury.
Take of sulphuric asther 1 jounce.
'Mix. Proto or deuto-ioduret of mercury 20 grain?.,
This being a more active dose than the precedin must be administered, in smaller doses.
A-ND ITS PREPARATIONS!. 107
Pills of the Deuio-Iodiiret of Mercury,
■ Take of Deuto-Ioduret of Mercury 1 grain.
Extract of Juniper 12 grains.
Liquorice Powder q. s.
Mix and make into 8 pills, two to be taken at first morning and evening, augmenting the dose subse- quently to four at the same periods.
Pills of the ProtO'Ioduret of Mercury,
May be made in the same manner, and taken in the same dose.
The combination of mercury and iodine must certainly be a medicine of considerable activity, and 'from the effects of each of them on the system in glandula affections, we might anticipate the most favourable results from the compound in scrofulous and venereal diseases.
Alcoholic Extract of Nux Vomica,
The nux vomica is one of the most active articles of the materia medica, and has lately been success- fully employed in the treatment of paralysis. M. Fouquier who has had much experience with its use and action, gives it in the form of pills, consisting of two grains each. The dose is two pills daily for the commencement, and gradually increased to 10 or 12, a number rarely exceeded.
The constant effect of this substance is to produce first in the paralyzed parts, and afterwards in the
106 ON IODINE.
rcfit of the body, a succession of shocks or contrac- tions, similar to those occasioned by galvanism,
Magendie recommends the pills to be made of one grain each, and to commence with one or two daily, increasing the dose until the desired effect is produced. This is the dose I have generally seen prescribed by the physicians of this city, A tincture may also be employed according to the following formula.
Tincture of Nux Vomica.
Take of Alcohol at SG*' 1 ounce.
Dry extract of I^ux Vomica 3 grains. Dissolve, Of this a few drops may be given in any simple vehicle. In this form it may also be used by fric- tion upon the parts affected, it is a mode much em- ployed in Italy, and from which M. Magendie hasi iseen great effects result in his own practice.
Strychnine,
U would appear to be almost useless labonr ex- pended to obtain a more concentrated preparation than the nux vomica, or the extract. The crude iubstance, however, like all other articles of the materia medica, is subject to vary in quality and ' strength, and to be affected by various circumstan- CCS, to which it may be exposed, thus making the strength of the crude material vary ; and conse- qu«Dt]y tli€ extract difieriDg in proportion to th«
STRYCHMNE. IGD
acting of the Nux Vomica, ami also in the variable modes of its prepiinUion.
Strjchninc as we generally see it is of a greyish white, granular or in powJer, this is owing to its too rapid crystaUiz.i'ion, ifcareruily pr(M)ar(vd it is l.\ ihe form of minute crystals, wliich by the aid of the mi- criscope are fonnd to con-i^t of four sided prisms ter- minated by pryramids with four depressed faces. The sigii of its p nity is n;)t reddeisi ijc with nitric acid, a degree ahrjost unattainable in strychnine procured from nux vomica. Tiiat obtnined from St. Iu;natius* bean is purer, but the purest and most easily obtain- ed is furnished by the Upas, it is also obtaiijeJ from the snake root."* The brucine exists with the stry- chine in all tiie above articles, but iii less proporlion in the St. Ignaiius:and iM, Majendie observes it is un- fortunate that the bean of St. Ignatius is so r.ire an article in commerce, as the strychnine contained ia it is nearly fiec from brucine and could be readiljr obtained from it in a state of purity.
Its action on thesystem is the same as that of the ex- tract of nux vomica, and is applicable in the same cases though much more powerful and requirir.g a less dose, and it might be entirely unnecessai-y to have recourse to strychnine, if the extract of the nux vomi- ca were always prepared in the same manner, and exempt from those variations in their effects arising from the different modes in which they ai-e prepared; in consequence of the greater uniformity of thd
• Lignum or Strychnos Colubrinura*
k
i 10 STRYCHNINE
•trjchninc ili^bis respect, it is in general preferred. In Germany and Italy accounts have been published of its successful employment. It is generally efViploy- ed in the form of pills which are made from the fol- lowing formula:
Pills of SlryeJiiiine.
Take of Pure strychnine 2 grains.
Conserve of roses ^ drachm»
Mix accurately and divide into 24 pills.
Tincture of Strijclinine,
Take of Alcohol at 36 deg. 1 ounce.
Strychnine. 3 grains.
Mix.
Dose from 6 to 24 drops in draughts or common drink.
The pills were they can be taken are preferable to the solution, in consequence of the extreme bitter. ness and unpleasant taste, for although nearly insolu* ble in water 6,667 times its weight, at a temperature of 10 deg. its bitterness will be distinctly perceptible. If a solution of strychnine made in cold water, and consequently not containing above gooo P^^^ ^^ ^^s ^^' lime, be even still diluted in a hundred times the quantity of the same fluid.*
The strychine is certainly a valuable remedy in paralysis, if we regard the writings of some of th«
•Majendie*s FormularjTa
AND ITS PREPARATIONS. Ill
most distinguished physicians. Dr. Ratier statcb he had occasion to see it administered to a young man aflected with paralysis in pills, containing each a ouarter of a i^rain. In the dose of a grain and a half, it occasioned, but in a more considerable degree, the phenomena proper to the nux vomica; viz. a general titanic rigidity, with twitchings, which supervened every two or three minutee. These efTects, which had at (irst alarmed the patient and assistants, termi- nated gradually in about three or four hours, and without any troublesome consequences.
Strychnine readily unites with acids, and forms salts, which are crystallized and are soluble; this must be remembered when giving strychnine in common h'ink, for lemonade and all acids very much increase its activity. The following are some of the salts of strychnine, sub-carbonate, sulphate, hydrochlorate, phosphate, nitrate, iadate and hydriodate, it also forms salts with the acetic, oxalic, tartaric and hy- drocyanic acids, all of which are readily obtained, and form crystallizable salts.
The salts of strychnine in consequence of their greater solubility are more active, and consequently more intensely poisonous than their base, when the patient is habituated to the action of strychnine, it may sometimes be advantageous to substitute the salts for the strychnine itself witiiouc increasing the dose. M. Magcndie has used none of the salts ex- cept the sulphate which has produced most decided relief in a case of paraplegia, given in a dose of a twelfth of a grain.
112 BRUCiNE.
JBruclne,
This exists as before stated in nux vomica, an^4 several ofthe articles containlngstrychnine, itis anal- agous to strychnijie l);it less intense, being in the pro^ portion to that of [)nrc strychnine as one to twelve, or according to M. Andrai,jr. six grains of brucine are equal lo one of impnre, and a quarter of a grain | of pure strychnine; it i.- generally given in the forni of pills or tincture, increasing; the dose gradually. In medical use, that which is obtained from the bark of {, the brucea antitlysintcrica should be preferred,* as that furnished by the nux vomica is rather apt to be mixed with a portion of strychnine, which increases its power and deranges our calculation as to the ef- fects. As it possesses the properties of strychnine in a milder degree, it may be i;iven to the extent of one, tvi^o, or even three grains, without apprehension as to the consequences in the same cases as the prepa- rations of nux vomica are found to benefit. It is probable that much larger doses may be given, but
• Brucine is obt lined by suhjectiiig" tiic inner baric of the brucea antlchsiterica to a s'nnlar process to tliat directed for tlie preparulio:i of strychni «, witU tliis diR'crjnce, tb^it tha magnesian precipitate mu-.l not be so elaborately wajihed.— Cnicine beinij ni'icli more sohtble in water than strychnine, on account of ihe c^reater qimiiiy of colonrn^- mister wl^icli it contains. By evaporating the alcoholic liquors, the brucine 13 readily obtai'»ed in a rtsinons form, not being yet sufficient- ly pure to crystaiizi. In its purification it mus- be conibined with oxalic acid vvliich is to be :<gain decomposed by m:<gne- Via, and the brucine separate*! by a!colu)l, which being slowlj^ evap )r:ite I in the open air, bruc.ne wib be obtained in a cryi. Ullizcd form.
MORPHIA. M$
we must be attentively npon oar guard. M. AnJral has given it in cases of palsy with advantage, from ^ half a grain to five grains. M. Magendie has used it successfully in tvi'o cases of atrophy, one of the arm and the other of the leg. The patient took six pills daily of one-eighth of a grain. As it* is subject- to variation or strength from the frequent admixture of strychnine in it, the latter should be preterred as being a more active and uniform medicine.
Pills of Bruciiie and the Tincture may be made in the same marmer as those of the strychr.ine. Brucine forms salts in the same manner as the strychnine, and being more soluble than bru( i»e itself, is more ac- tive, and possesses some advantages.
Morphia,
This is the anodyne or sedative principle of opium, M. Robiquet prepares it by precipitating a strong infusion of opium by means of caustic ammonia, filt- ers and evaporates the liquid down to a &ixth part of its bulk, to this he again adds ammonia and obiauis a fresh precipitate of pure morphia which he re- ceives on a filter and washesit with cold water, when well dried he sprinkles it with a little al< ohol, and passes the spirituous liquors through a filter, which carries with it a large portion of the colouring matter and also a small quantity of morphine, fie then ilisolves the morphine in acetic acid, and treats the solution with ivory black. This mixture being agi- tated frequently, daring twenty-four hours, i« K 2
114 NARCOTINB.
finally projected on the filter, and p^^sses tliroagh 'is the receiving vessels entirely colourless. He next applies ammonia, and the morphia is precipitated in the form of a white powder, if this be again dissolved in alcohol, and allowed to evaporate spontaneously, the morphine will be found in tine regular, white crystals, four sided rectangular prisms. Dr. Staples, -an ingenious chemist of this city, has obtained the morphia by a more simple process, his formula is published in the North America Medical and Surgi- cal Journal of this city.
Morphia unites with most of the acids, forming va- rious salts of these preparations, the acetate and su1» phate have hitherto obtained the preference. Their proportion in respect to the opium is an eighth of a -grain for a grain. M, Magendie recommends the eyrup of these salts, four grains of the salt to a pound of syrup. The sulphate is preferable to the acetate on account of its solubility. Seing perfectly soluble in cold water; the acetate is also rendered perfectly soluble in water by adding a few drops of acetic acid to it.
For a further description of morphia and its pre«^ '^aralions, see the article opium.
Narcoline,
This preparation is not used as a medicine. For particulars, see description of it under the head oi •^pium, in a preceding part of this work.
■EMETINE. 115
Emetine.
jThis is a peculinr principle lately found in the ipc- •cacuiinha. M. M. Pelletier and Ma«^endic states that this substance being much more active than the Ipe- cacuanha itself, without possessing its disagreeable taste or nauseous. smell, nught upon all occasions be substituted for it with Bdvanlage. Emetine is little 4ised in this country, much less than most of the other proximate principles.
To prepare emetine, the ipecacuanha is reduced ^to a coarse powder and digested in aether at 60®, to 'dissolve the fatty odorous matters. Then exhaust it by alcohol in successive portions. Place the al- •coholic tinctures in a water bath and re-dissolve the Tesidue in cold water, it thus loses a portion of the •%vax and a little of tlie fitty matter which still re- Tnainedjit is only necessary further to macerate it on carbonate of magnesia, by which it loses its gallic acid, to re-dissolve it in alcohol and to evaporate it t« "dryness.
The emetine obtained in this way is not perfect!/ pure, but is the kind altogether in use here, the ex» needing high price of the perfectly pure and white emetine has excluded it altogether from use here. The emetine obtained in the above process presents 'itself in the form of transparent scales of a reddish *brown colour- having scarcely any smell, but a bitter ithough not disagreeable taste.
The action of the pure emetine to that of the co« floured, is as one to four; particular car^ should there^
116 i:metine
fore be observed in prescribing emetine to distinguish which kind you intend, or serious mistakes might^c- cur. In prescribing emetine it should be recollected •that it is httle soluble in water, and when we wish to give it in an aqueous vehicle, it should previousljr be dissolved in a little acetic or sulphuric acid; eme- tine is administered under the form of sjrup or pas- tiles. M. Magejidie has proposed emetic pastiles as a convenient form for children, who cannot be mad«^ without difiicuhy, to swallow liquids.
Take of refined sugar 4 ounces,
coloured emetine 32 grains.
From this make pastiles of 1 8 grains, one of whick ^aufikes for children and three or four for adults.
Pectoral Pastiles of Emetine,
Take of Refined Sugar 4 ounces.
Coloured Emetine 32 grains.
For pastiles of nine grains, one is given everj boor; ^i more frequently, nausea will be excited.
Syrup-^f Emetine.
Take of Simple Syrup ib'.
Coloured Emetine 3 6 grains.
Make a Syrup.
The above syrup may be substituted for the syrep «f ipecacuanha used in France.
AND ITS PREPARATIONS. J 17
Tlie Pasliles and Sijrup of Emetine,
Maj bcmride in the same manner as the above bj osing t^nc fourth the quantity of pure emetine, that is, € grains instead of the 32 grains of coloured emetine.
For the alcalies of cinchona bark, see the article cinchona.
Quinine arid Cinclionine.
The sulphate of quinine is preferred and in gene- ral use, if is prescribed generally in pills of one or two grains each, or in the form of mixture with gum arai)ic and cinnamon water, the mixture is objection- able on account of W^q quinine being only partly so- luble in water, and is merely suspended for a short time by the mucila^^c of the gum arabic. The fol- lowing I consider a more eligible mode of exhibition as it forms a perfectly transparent and entire solution, wljich will keep unaltered for any length of time.
Take of Sulphate of Quinine 8 grains. Alcohol vn.
Acid Sulphuric 6 drops.
Aqua C'innamon 1 ounce.
Reduce the quinine in powder, and add by degrees Sii of water, in which the sulphuric acid is mixed, and as soon as dissolved, add the remainder of the cinnamon, water, and alcohol.
Veralrlne.
This \Q.Ty acrid alkalive principle is met in all the plants of the family of veratrum, and especially in ibc sabadiila,, colchicum and white hellebore; on ac-
120 ^ ^TRINE
This tincture nia; oe given in the quantity offron^ 10, 15 to 25 drops, .n a cupful of any mild or simple drink. It ma^ - administered internally instead of the liiiCtu-c 0, caichicum in anasarca and other va- n-ties ef dropsy, and externally in frictions in the lamc disease^', and also in gout. Q^ln Ratier's formulary one ounce of veratrine is diiected to he used with four ounces of alcohol, and the dose is directed in the same quantity as the above prepared with four grains. This is certain- ly a very great error and might lead to very seri- ous accidents.^CO
Solution of Veratrine.
Take of Sulphate of Veratrine 1 grain. Distilled Water 2 ounces.
To be substituted for eau medicinale of Husson^
Ointment of Veratrine,
Take of Veratrine 4 grains.
Axunge 1 ounce.
In external applications In cases, of chronic rbea* matism, anasarca and gout.
PRUSsia Acm.
•©«--
This very powerfal medicine was discovered by Scheele in 1770, although he could only obtain it mixed with variable proportion of water. To M, Gay Lussac wo are indebted for its acquisition in the state of purity.
For the preparation of prussic acid see Coxe's dis- pensatory, and most of the chemical works.
Prussic acid is readily decomposed if left to itself in well stopped vessels, it sometimes decomposes in less than an hour, and it can rarely be preserved for any length of time. This circumstance forms a con- iiderable objection to its use. It should be kept in black bottles, as light is found to decompose it rapid* Jy; its taste at first is an agreeable freshness, but soon becomes acrid and irritating. Its odour is powerful and noxious, being insupportable when not mixed with a considerable quantity of air, it then resembles the smell of bitter almonds. Its action on animals is very powerful one drop of the pure acid introduced into the fauces of a remarkable strong dog killed him instantly; a few particles applied to the eye will pro- duce effects almost equally sudden. The acid which we receive is not so strong, and is called medicinal prussic acid; prepared no doubt from the formula of Scheele, or the acid of Gay Lnssac diluted. . Prussic L
122 PKUSSIC ACID.
acid diluted according to the formulas we are about to give, has been successfuU}- employed in all cases of morbid irritability of the pulmonary organs, it is also advantageously employed in the treatment of nervous and chronic coughs, asthma and hooping cough, and where this symptom is sympathetic with an affection of some other organ, as also in dispepsia.
The acid prepared by Scheele's process, is very ▼anable, in consequence of the arbitrary discretion which the process allows the operator. That of Gay Lussac is much better adapted for use when properly diluted being of more uniform strength. It is to be mixed with six times its volume of distilled water. This is the preparation which M. Magendie has given the name of medicinal prussic acid, and is about th strength of the prussic we now receive, so that phy- sicians can prepare it according to the following for- mular:
Pectoral Mixture,
Take of Medicinal Prussic Acid ^i.
Distilled Water Ifci.
Refined Sugar ^ij. Mix.
Of this mixture a tablespoonful may be taken nighc and morning. The dose may be gradually increased to five or six times this quantity, it is very important that the mixture should be well shaken immediately before using it, to avoid serious consequences, as the acid sometimes floats on the surface of the water.
CYANURET OF ZIKC 123
Cyanic Syrzip*
Take of Simple Syrup 1 pound.
Medical Pnissic Acid ^i. Make a Syrup,
This preparation is used in common pectoral drinks, and as a substitute for other syrups.
In consequence of the variable strength of the prussic acid, and preparations made by different pro- cesses being indiscriminately sold; the faculty should be cautious in their prescriptions for it, to ascertain if possible the strength of it, or to begin with a very small dose, which can be gradually augmented until he discovers what quantity would be most judicioui to employ.
Cyanuret of Pure Potassium.
M. M. Robiquet and Villermer have proposed the solution of the cyanuret of potassium as a substitute for the prussic acid, its action on the animal system being the same; which being an uniform preparation, will obviate the inconvenience of the variable strength of the prussic acid. This preparation has not yet been used in this country.
Cyanuret of Zinc,
This preparation of late has been employed in Germany instead of the hydrocyanic acid, and has obtained the reputation of possessing decided vermi- fuge powers. The following is the mode of prepar-
124 CYANURET OF lODINlS.
ing a composition which is apparently the one ia vogue in Germany,
M. Pellctier has succeeded in obtaining this pre- paration by the following process: Sulphate of zinc « precipitated by hvdrocyanate of potass; which forms a triple hydrocyanate of zinc, which being well dried and calcined at a dull red heat, is converted into cyanuret of zinc. It always contains however, cyanuret of potassium.
This preparation may be given in the same doses as cyanuret of potass, beginning with one fourth of a grain, and advancing gradually to a grain and a half in a mixture to be taken by spoonful. But cau- tion should be particularly observed in its administra- tion.
Dv. Henning reports (in Hufleand's Journal for 1823) that this medicine has been successfully em- ployed in all cases vsdiere prussic acid is applicable, more especially among children in cases of worms. He there gave one grain with powder of jalap.
Cyanuret of Iodine.
This preparation has not yet been used in medi- cine, nor its effects on the animal system yet ascer- tained. M. Serullas is of the opinion from its compo- iition, that it ought to produce powerful effects on the animal economy, and tliat probably as a medicine occasion maybefoutid for its employment. Itdoesnot however appear to be so deleterious as the nature of its elements would lead us to suppose. M. Serullas tasted it, and several persons in his laboratory, M.
SOLANINE. 125
Thenard h'ad furnished M. Magendic with a sufficient quantity of this substance but was not able to repori yet upon its mode of action.
Solamiie,
This alkahne principle exists in the leaves of the solanum dulcamara, and is also found in the greatest abundance in the berries of the solanum nigrum, where it exists in the state of malate. In order to obtain it the juice of these berries when filtered, is to be treated with ammonia, which produces a grey co- loured precipitate, thisdeposite collected on a filter, .washed and treated with boiling alcohol, yields by evaporation a salafiable base, which if the berries have been perfectly ripe is in effect sufficiently pure. If the berries were green the solanine will contain a portion of green colouring matter, which is with dif- ficulty separated. Introduced into the stomach of a cat to the amount of two to four grains, it produces violent vomiting, followed quickly by a state of drow- siness which lasts several hours. The acetate is the only salt of solanine which has been tried upon the human species. In the dose of a quarter of a grain it produces nausea but the tendency to sleep has not been remarked.
From what has been reported of it, it appears that
solanine like opium may produce vomiting and sleep,
but its emetic powers seem to be more decided than
those of opium, the narcotic properties are evidently
much less so. It has not jetbeengiven in cases of disease,
but it may be employed wherever the extract of sola-
uum nigrum or that of dulcamara may be indicated. 1. 2
126 DELPHIWE, ITREA, &C.
Delphine,
• This alkali was detected in 1819 in \\\q seeds of
the delphinum staphisagria. It has not jet been em- ployed as a medicine, but if the stavesacre possesses any medical power it no doubt resides in this alkali, it may therefore be employed where this plant is appli- cable to diseases, and the salts, of which it forms the base, will there be preferable on account of their lo- lability.
Urea»
Is the immediate principle of the urine of mammi« ferious animals. It is obtained by evaporating the urine to the consistence of syrup, forming a superni- trate of urea by nitric acid, and decomposing again . by sub. carb. potass, by which the urea is obtained in crystals.
M. Fouquicr has employed the urea as a diuretic, though to M. Bailey it docs not appear to possess that property, the dose is from 50 to 60 grains. It does not appear to be a medicine likely to prove very im- portant.
Thrydace or Lactucarium,
M. Bidault de Villers had for a long time employed the inspissated juice of the garden lettuce, and M, Francois has proposed to renew its use under the name of thridace. He ascribes to this substance a sedative action milder than that of opium, inasmuch «i it is accompanied neither with constipation not
tfOLD, FLATINA AND LI7PULINE. 127
«tupor. The dose is two grains. It is necessaVj says M. Francois, to increase rapidly the doses and for one or two days to interrupt its exhibition, as the sto- mach very soon act ustonis itself to its action. It nnaj be carried to the extent of eight grains taken ia 3 doses during the 24 hours without any inconveni- ence.
Preparations of Gold and Platina*
The preparations of gold have been highly extolled in inveterate syphilitic aiTections. With M. Culle- rier who has given thein a persevering trial, they have not succeeded. They are difficult to manage, 8S much on account of their great activity, as on ac- count of the facility with which they are decomposed. The dose ought to be extremely small, not exceeding the fifteenth or twentieth of a grain. The same ob- icrvations may be applied to the salts of platina.
Four preparations of gold are now employed in m*- dicine.
1st. The chlouret or muriate of gold.
2. The chlouret or muriate of gold and soda.
3. Ths oxide of gold.
4. The oxide of gold by tin or purple powder of • cassiu!.
The muriate of gold is that most generally employ- ed in medicine and is preferable to the other prepa^ rations,
Lupuline,
h the active principle of the hop, (Humulus Lupo-
128 LUPULINE.
lus) it is in the form of small shini/igyellowishgrains^ which cover the hase of the strobiles of the hop, it is of a golden yellow colour, of an aromatic odour and pulverulent. Upon analysis it is found to consist es- sentially of rosin, a little volatile oil, and a bitter prin- cle; its taste is extremely bitter. Magendie states it is soluble in water, alcohol and aether. I have on! found it partly so in asther, and that alcohol was the best menstrua. M. Magendie has not recognized in •lupuline, the narcotic properties advanced by Profes- sor Ives, of New York; although this is one of the properties he observes most readily manifested in his •experiments with it on animals.
It may be administered in the form of powder, pills, tincture, or syrup. It can be readily reduced to pow- der, by mixing it with two parts of sugar and tritura- ty, then gradually pound them together in a mortar.
Pills of JjupuLine.
May be made of two grains each, it may be beaten into a pillularmass without any adjuvant.
Tincture of Lupuline.
Take of Powdered Lupuline 1 ounce. Alcohol at 36" 4 ounces.
Digest it tor six days in a close vessel, strain, press li strongly and filter: Magendie directs it made with two ounces of alcohol, and when pressed, sufficient alcohol is added to m:ike up three ounces of tincture; this is certainly objectionable, for the quantity of ai-
OIL OF CUOTON. 129
«ohol which is added to the tincture, would certain- \y be preferable to add while digesting, as the two ounces of alcohol docs not exhaust the lupuline, and barely covers it, four ounces is quite srnall enough; and I even think that six or eight ounces of alcohol would be preferable, and would then be considerablj stronger than the tincture of hops.
Syrup of Lupuline.
This is made by adding the tincture of lupuline to simp'e syrup. The doses of these preparations are not yet accurately fixed, but as the lupuline pos- sesses no poisonous quality, the dose may easily be de- termined by the practitioner.
Lupuline has generally beenprescribed, in this city, in doses of two or three grains; and I have been inform- ed by several of the faculty, that it possessed ano- dyne properties, and was a highly valuable substitute for the hop.
Oil of Croton.
This is a very powerful purgative oil, it possesses a strong peculiar smell and a very acrid and spicy taste, it is extracted from the seeds of the croton tig- lium, a shrub of the family euphorbia, which grows in the East Indies. It was introduced in 1630, and was employed by several physicians w'ith complete success in dropsy, constipation, &c. one drop in Ca- nary wine was at that time a common purgative. The medicine however had entirely fallen into ne- glect in Europe, when Mr. E. Conwell, in the Ec-
130 OIL OF CROTON.
glish East India Company''s service at Madras, re- called attention to it. It is generally enciployed in India, and has been lately introduced into England.
It is obtained from the seeds by expression and boiling, similar to obtaining tiie castor oil. Dr. Nim- mo of Glasgow has obtained the oil by digesting the braised kernels in sulphuric aether, by this process he obtained from 300 grains of the seed two drachms of the oil; which had the taste and medicinal properties of the common oil of croton.
The croton seeds will yield about fifty per cent, of oil.
The oil of croton may be employed as an ordina- ry purgative, when there does not exist any symp- toms of irritation about the stomach or intestinal ca- nal; it should especially be preferred when common purgatives have been administered without success in apoplexies, in dropsies, and when mechanical or other obstacles oppose the action of usual purgatives, but above all when it is requisite to produce action on the bowels speedily.
It is recommended by Dr. Ainslie of Madras, to be externally used in cases of rheumatic affections.
A number of cases of obstinate constipation is ci- ted by Dr. Kinglake as having been cured by a single drop of this oil given in the form of a pill.
In this manner he cured a patient labouring under colica pictonem (see Bulletin des Sciences Medjcales Feyrier, 1824, page 145.)
OIL OF CROTON. 131
Soap of the Oil of Croton.
M. Caventon, to obviate the inconveniences aris- ing from the variation in the size of drops, has pre- pared a soap according to the following method. Two parts of the oil, and one part of the liquid caustic so- da of the French pharmacopea, are to be triturated together without heat. When it has acquired con- sistence, it is poured into a paper mould, and cut in slices to be kept in a large mouth stoppered bottle.
This soap has been given by M. Bailey, in doses of from two to three grains, in pills or solution, and the effect has been the same as oil of croton.
The oil of croton may be advantageously used as an adjunct to other cathartic medicines, which would increase the activity and not enlarge the bulk.
Professor Coxe, sugsjests that a similar acrid and powerful oil exists in the skins of the castor oil bean, 1 and suggests the importance of experimenting upon them ; the seeds when taken into the stomach, most ,certainly in small quantities excites very considerable and increased action, more than equal to the quan- tity of oil which would result from ten times the quantity of seeds, it therefore must be evident that there is still a very active principle left in the resi- dium of the beans after the oil has been expressed; and hence it is, that the hot pressed oil is more ac- tive than the cold pressed, which, no doubt, arises from pressing the seeds more closely, and the heat separating a portion of this acrid oii, from the skins. There can be no doubt bat that the opinion of Fro*
132 OIL OF EUPHORBIA.
fessor Coxe would be verified by experiments upoD. this article.
Oil of Eupliorhia Latliyris.
Dr. Carlo Calderino obtained an oil from the seeds of the euphorbia lath} rus, or spurge, which may be used with advantage for the oil of croton ligliuni, and which, like it, acts in a very small dose.
The oil is obtained by simple process ofexpres* sion, 14 ounces of seeds will yield six ounces of verj prime oil.
My friend, Dr. Milnor, of Allentown, New Jer- sey about a year since, sent me some of the seeds of the euphorbia, which grew in the neighbourhood, very abundantly. 1 have expressed the seeds, and obtained the oil similar to that imported; since which Mr. Thomas Bellanger, of New Jersey, has sowed an acre of this plant, and manufactured considerable of the oil. The euphorbia grows abundantly in this country and will no doubt be extensively cultivated ahould full experience with the article justify its value as a medicine.
The oil differs from croton in not being acrid, nor possessing an unpleasant flavour; it very much resembles the castor oil; it has the same colour, but not quite so dense, and does not possess any odour. It forms like croton oil soap with alkalies. The ac« tion of the oil of euphorbia is purgative, and its ef- fects is very certain and prompt. It is to be con- lidered, says the Italian author, as a very mild pur« gative; it does not produce vomiting, colic, or
GENTIAKINE. 133
tenesmus; it may be administered even in dyser*- taries, when there is irritation in the intestinal canal. It may be employed in all cases where it is desirable to purge geRtly, and with a small dose of medicine. The dose of the oil of spurge is from 4 to 8 drops — children of two or three years, may take a dose of 3 drops in chocolate. To very irritable subjects an emulsion may be given, made with ei':^ht drops of the oil, some aromatic water, and syrup of orange peal ; this has in several cases produced very good effects.
Gentianine.
This is the active principle of the gentian root of commerce. It is little soluble in cold water, but dissolves in boiling water ; it is yellow, inodorous, possessing very strongly the aromatic bitter taste of the gentian. All which I have seen imported is of a dark brown colour, and is no doubt very impure, resembling m.ore a common extract than any other of the alkaline or proximate principles.
The gentianine is obtained by digesting the pow- der of gentian in cold aether, which furnishes a green tincture ; this being filtered and poured into an open vessel, if sufficiently concentrstted, will deposit a yellow crystaline mass ; this mass is to be treated with alcohol, which filtered and exposed to a strong heat, the ) ellow crystaline substance begins to ap- pear, assuming at the close of the evaporating pro- cess a solid mass, extremely bitter ; taken up again by alcohol it is partially dissolved. This last spirit- uous solution, besides the bitter principle o( ths
M
134 GENTIANINE.
gentian, contains an acid substance and the odorous principle also. Upon evaporating this liquid to dryness, washing the residuum in water, adding a little ealcincd and well washed magnesia, boiling and evaporating in a water bath, the greater part of the odorous matter of the Gentian is driven oif, the acidity is removed by the magnesia, and the bitter principle remains partly free and partly in a state of combination with magnesia, to which it imparts a beautiful yellow colour. Then upon boiling this magnesia with agther, the greater part of the bitter principle is obtained pure and is insulated by evapo- ration. The tincture is the most preferable form for its administration, and it may be made in the follow- ing manner.
Take of alcohol at 24° 1 ounce»
Gentianine 5 grains.
This may be substituted for the tincture of gentian^ and used in the same circumstances.
Syrup of Gentianine,
Take of simple syrup Ibi.
Gentianine 16 grains.
Make a syrup. This is one of the best bitters that can be cm- ployed in scrofulous affections.
CHLORURETS OF LIME AND SODA. 135
CMorurets of Lime and Soda.
The advantages of these substances were n».:id€ known in 1812, by M. Mazuyer, professor to the ik^ culty of medicine at Strasburg. At that time lie cn^- ployed them with great success, in the wards of hos- pitals in which typus fevers was then raging, and for the puriiication of the theatres of anatomy. M. La- barraque has demonstrated by a great number of ex- periments, that the chloruret of soda was one of the most powerful agents for the instantaneous annihilia- tion of that disgusting fetor, wdiich is produced by the maceration of intestines in water. The same gen- tleman extended the use of the chlorurets to the pu- riiication of all animal substances under putrefaction, and many distinguished physicians have used them as medical agents. A prize of three thousand francs to M. Labarraque, and two thousand to M. Mazuyer, was decreed by the Academy of Sciences, for this useful discovery.
The method for preparing the chlorurets, although known for a long time, it will nevertheless be useful to describe the manner in which M. Labarraque pre- pares them in order to obtain always the same com- pound:
The Chloruret of Soda
Is prepared by dissolving five pounds of pure car- bonate of soda^' in 20 pounds of distilled water. Put
• Soda Sub. Carbonai.
136
€HLORURETS OP
theliquoY into a flask of sufficient size, that it may be about three fourths full. Expose a glass balloon suf- ficiently large to contain four pints, having a long neck with a wide mouth, introduce into it 5G 7 grammes of hydrochlorate of soda, and 448 of tlie per- oxide of magnesia; lute to the mouth of the globe a large curved tube, and a tube with a double curve for the introduction of the weak acid : place the first tube into a ilt^sk containing a small quantity of water for the purpose of washing the gas ; and from this flask should proceed a large cur\ed tube, com- municating with the vessel containing the sahne so- lution.
The apparatus being properly disposed, and the iuiing very dry, pour into the bent tube the diluted acid cold, and having been mixed for some hours with water, apply fire to the sand bath and continue the heat until chlorine ceases to be disengaged. The operation being finished, examine the strength of the product, by- its action in decomposing the sulphate of indigo.
The chloruret of soda has chiefly been employed in medicine, and has produced highly satisfactorj results, and has succeeded in all cases in which it has been used for the removal of general or local iafections. Thus in carbuncle, in hospital gangrene, bad venereal ulcers, sloughing wounds, or those of the phagedenic kind, rapid advancement has been observed towards cicatrization, by the employ- ment of the chloruret diluted in 10 or 15 parts of water. In numerous patients affected with ulcera-
LIME AND SODA. 137
ted cancer of the breast, or of the uterus, which were in the hospital, it has been used daily ai a lotion at the time of dressing ; by this means the fetor of the discharge has been destroyed, and the sufferings of these unfortunate women have been much meliorated ; and they have found from the use of these lotions, their sleep has been more tran- quil. M. Alibert has prescribed similar lotions with advantage for herpes exedens. M. M. Roche and I. Cloquet have found it equally useful in the worst cases of gangrenous ulcers. M. I. Cloquet directs the diseased limb to be bathed in a solution of one part of the chloruret, with from 10 to 15 of water, and administer 25 or 30 drops of it in a pint of barley water. It has been used as a gargle in sore throat, as a lotion in ulcerated gums, exhaling an offensive odour. M. Lisfranc has used it extensively in burns and common ulcerations; for this purpose a solution of the chloruret, marking three degrees of the chlorometer of Gay Lussac.
The chloruret of lime is prepared by placing the hydrate of lime on shelves of a convenient distance from each other. The gas is disengaged from a similar mixture to that employed for the chloruret of godoa, and passed into a chamber containi.._, iha lime, which must be occasionally stirred, so that the chlorine may act equally on all parts of it; the hy- drate of lime sufficiently charged' with chlorine, becomes moist, by which it is ascertained that the •operation is about to terminate. M 2
138 CHLORURET OF LIMfi.
This is a very powerful disinfecting agent, an^ can be used in the following manner. Previous to exannining an animal body in a putiif) ing state, it Tvill be only necessary to procure a bucket, and mix the chlorate of lime with v/ater. Let a sheet be completely moistened with this solution, and wrapt about the whole subject, so that every part of it may be covered. The putrid odour will soon cease. U there be an unpleasant smell in passages, stair cases, &c. let them be sprinkled with the liquid. Care should be taken to sprinkle the cloth which covers the body frequentl}' with this liquid, by which means the offensive odour will be prevented. The chloru- ret of lime may be used with advantage for the dis- infection of privies, water closets, ships, stables, hos- pitals, wards, &:c. for which purpose it will be- suf- ficient to dilute the chloruret in 60 times its weight of water, and to sprinkle the clear solution over the surface of the objects or places which are intended to be purified ; a broom or watering pot may be used for the purpose, and a few minutes will be suffi- cient to complete the disinfection.
In wards with patients the solution is to be poured into deep plates, and placed under the beds. The infectious odour cannot spread, because it is des- troyed in proportion to its formation, in consequence of the continual disengagement of chlorine.
Several physicians and surgeons of the hospital haYe made a useful application of these substances in the treatment of burns, chronic inflammation of
DIGESTITE LOZENGES. 139
the mucous membrane, &c. M, Lisfranc has used the foilovving preparation successfully in burns:
Chloride of calcium (marking 3 degrees of the the chlorometre of Gaj LussacJ | 4
Water ibi.
This solution has also been used as an injection in the case of chronic catarrh of the vagina or blad« der, and has been equally employed in the treatment of gangrene. Besides iti utility as a disinfecting agent, it appears also to exert a beneficial influence on the progress of cicatrization.
Lozenges of Blcarhonate of Soda^ or Digesike Lozenges,
These lozenges have proved highly beneficial in the treatment of dispepsia, and have been found use- ful in promoting digestion by saturating the free acid of the stomach which is essential to the com- :plete solution of the aliment.
Formula for preparing the digestive lozenge* of M. D'Arcet:
Take of dry pure bi-carbonate of soda 5 gramme^ Fine white sugar in powder 95 da. Mucilage of gum tragacanth
prepared with w^ater q. «,
Kssential oil of mint 2 or 3 drops.
Let the bi-carbonate of soda and refined sugar, -each reduced separately to a fine powder, be p«t into a very dry bottle. Shake the bottle well that the ;powder may be thoroughly mixed. Take any quan- •llty of this powder, let it be well mixed on a Kiarble
140 BIGITALINE.
filab, with a siifficieMt quantity of mucilage of gum tragacanth, and oil of mint; form the mass into lozen* ges, weighing about one drachm, dry them in the air or on a stove. As these lozenges attract slightly the moisture of the atmosphere, they ought to be kept in well stopped bottles, or in a dry place. They may be flavoured with any other essential oil, or with the balsam of tolu, which is very suitable for that purpose.
Much benefit has been obtained from the u?e of these lozenges, taken immediately when the func- tions of the stomach are found to be in a deranged state ; if taken before a meal, the digestive functions will be performed with m.ore facility. These lo- zenges being very useful to assist digestion, ought to be prescribed before and after a meal to patients effected with gout or calculi.
Digltallne.
M. Augusti Leroyer has obtained the active prin- ciple of digitalis, which he has obtained in well de- fined crytals of various forms. M. Leroyer has inade the following experiments with it : he dis- solved a grain of digitaline in three gros of distilled •water, which he injected into the abdomen of a middle sized rabbit ; after some minutes the respi- ration became slower, the pulse whch w^as rapid fell to 60, and became very irregular; all the vital phenomena became gradually extinct; it died with- out agitation and without distress, like falling asleep. A grain and a half of dj;3italine was dissolved in half
t»HOSPHQRUg. 141
an ounce of water, and was injected into the jugular vein of a middle sized dog ; he died in 15 minutes. The arterial blood of the animals which hare been killed by this substance, present a very strong venous colour, &c. &:c. It appears that the deleterious principle in soktioQ in the blood, acts directly upon the nervous system.
This subtance has not yet been employed as a medicine, and nothing therefore can yet be said of its action on the human system.
Phosphorus.
This substance has been little used in medicine. It has lately been much extolled by Dr. Lobstein; the diseases in which it has been given with great success, according to the author, are extreme prostra- tion of strength, obstinate intermittent fevers, rheu- matic and gouty affections, &c. &c.
Bertrand Pelletier, who has made very extensive and useful researches respecting phosphorus, has pointed out a very excellent method of preparing this substance for medical purposes. This process consists of putting six'grains of phosphorus, cut into small pieces, in an ounce of sulphuric aether; this mixture must be occasionally agitated, for 3 or 4 days. The dose of this medicine is from 10 to 15 drops in a glassful of barley water, or any conve- nient vehicle, and repeated, so that from 120 to 150 drops may be taken in the space of 3 or 4 da3*s. This liquid may be used in frictions also when such are deemed necessary. BI, J. Pelletier objects to
142
SALACINE.
these preparations in which the phosphorus is dis solved in a volatile fluid, only such as asther and essential oil, because exposed to the air and heat of the body driving olTthe menstruum the phosphorus remaining per se. may influence by heat and friction, but with fat or fixed oil this inconvenience will not take place, because the substances not being volatile, cannot leave the phosphorus.
Salacine.
This new and valuable article of the materia med- ica, is the alkaline principle of the willow bark, and has acquired considerable reputation in Europe as a substitute for quinine. The following is the pro- cess for preparingit, as recommended by M. Peschier. The bark of the willow is to be dried, crushed, boiled for one or two hours in water, and the liquid sepa- rated by a cloth, and powerful pressure. Sub. acetate of lead is to be added as long as precipitation occurs ; the whole filtered ; the clear liquor boiled with carbonate of lime sufficient to decompose the excess of acetate of lead ; saturate the acetic acid, and remove the colour. Being left to settle, the clear liquor is to be decanted, the deposit is to be washed twice or thrice, the washing liquor added to the formel*, and the whole evaporated to the con- sistence of an extract. This extract, w^hile hot, is to be put on bibulous paper and pressed for some hours; after which, it is to be digested in alcohol of s. g. 0.347, the fluid filtered and concentrated, when it will yield crystalised salacine, very white
'
SALACINE. 143
and pure. Salacine when thus prepared, and ad- ministered in doses of 3 to 5 grains, repeated at In- tervals of one hour during the apyrexia of intermit- tent fevers, is said to be found effectual in arresting their progess with more certainty than the sulphate of quinine. Salacine (according to M. M. Pelouze and Jules Gay Lussac) when pure, forms white crystaline prismatic needles. It has a bitter taste and somewhat the odour of willow bark. One hundred parts of water dissolve 5. 6 parts of sala- cine at 67° F. at 212® F. it appears to dissolve in any proportion. It is equally soluble in alcohol, but aether and oil of turpentine takes up no portion of it.
This article has lately been introduced here, and as lar as it has been yet used, has given the most en- tire satisfaction. Dr. Miller of Lancaster informs me he has successfully treated several cases of intermit- tents, in which quinine appeared to have no effect, and which readily yielded under the use of the sala- cine; and from the experiments which he has made with it, is fully of the opinion that it is a very valua- ble medicine, and more efficient than the quinine*
SMILAX
This highly valuable article of our materia medica* has been variously represented. The greater part of our most respectable physicians however concur in the opinion that it is a medicine of very useful pow- ers in venereal scrofulous, and mercurial diseases. "When combined with mezerion,guaiacum, sassafras, dulcamara, &c. &c. becomes one of the most efficient compounds for depurating the blood and removing most constitutional diseases arising from this cause.
This preparation has been much recommended in scrofulous and rheumatic affections, and in some of the chronic diseases of the skin. Quarin regarded the compound decoction of sarsaparilla, as the most useful remedy we possess in gout: Sydenum also con- iidered it useful in this affectioia, and"Scudemors ■ays it sometimes proves beneficial during the state of convalescence. The mezerion, one of the ingre- dients of the compound sarsaparilla, is recommen- ded in venereal and mercurial diseases, and in chro- nic cutaneous eruptions. Dr. Cullen states that he found it successful in diseases of this kind. Lauris •assafras, another of the constituents of the compoui..^
SARSAPARILLA. 145
sarsaparilla, has also been recommended by some of the best authors. Alibert speaks very favourable of its virtues in rheumatic affections, he administered it frequently at the hospital St. Louis, and it always appeared to him, he observes, to exert a manifest action on the cutaneous emunctories. He mentions a case of chronic rheumatism which yielded to the infusion of sassafras, after a great variety of other re- medies had been tried inefTectually. He also speaks of two cases of goutjin which the sassafras was employ- ed with complete success. Professor Eberle also states that he has known the continued use of an in- fusion effectually to cure a case of inveterate rheu- matism, he further states that it has generally been employed in the form of infusion, but the oil is the most eflicient, and therefore the best preparation. Guaiacum another of the ingredients of compound /sarsaparilla, stands high in the estimation of almost every physician. In the treatment of rheumatism, says a distinguished author, it has long been consi- dered as peculiarly serviceable, and is unquestionably a remedy of very considerable value in this disease. It has also been prescribed, continues the author, in affections ari sins; from the influence of jnercurv, and in such cases I have had several striking examples of its usefulness. Mr. Pearson says, I have given the decoction of guaiacum with the best effects, to a great number of patients, in cutaneous diseases, in ozasna and scrofulous affections of the membranes and liga- ments. From what has been said from the moat respecta- N
146 SARSAPARILLA.
ble sources of authority, in support of the different articles constituting the compound sarsaparilia, it would appear most unquestionably to be a medicine, when combined and properly prepared, posiessing the most valuable properties, and deserving the par- ticular attention of the faculty.
The preparations of sarsaparilla has most general- ]y been improperly made, and there can be no doubt, but the variable opinions which have been entertain- ed of its properties by ditferent physicians and writers^ have arisen entirely from the various modes of it3 preparation. The compound decoction of sarsapa- rilla, requires considerable boiling to take up its ac- tive and soluble matter, this I do not say from specu- lation, as many have done, but from actual experi- ments repeatedly made for the purpose, expressly for ascertaining and establishing the fact, and I have found, that after several days boiling, these ingredi- ents, (and particularly the sarsaparilla,) contained a very considerable proportion of extractive matter quite as active as that obtained by the first boiling. It has been foolishly suggested that decoction injures its active properties, and that it should be only ma- cerated and not boiled, this would merely wash off the dirt which adheres to the roots, together with some of the decayed corticle fibre which is more or less found among the freshest roots which we receive, this may give a little colour to the decoction, and may be mistaken for its active principle. After under- going this operation the root would be in good con- dition to begin the decoction. I have experimeoted
SARSAPARILLA. 147
with various menstruum upon the roots of sarsapa- rilla, and find that water is the best, producing a more active preparation of the root than anj other, and in a larger quantity. Alcohol is the next most active menstruum, but it is altogether objection- able from the increased expense incurred in its pre- paration, producing an extract possessing no advan- tage -whatever ever that of the water.
Numerous preparations of sarsaparilla and various modes of preparing them have been given, all of which of course will diifer according to the mode of preparation which each individual maj adopt. It in Ihereibre an object of the highest consideration and importance, that we should have a standard prepara- tion of uniform strength, and possessing the most advantages ; also, the trouble and difficulty which patients are subjected to in making the decoction and syrup, has rendered it a still further object of importance to procure'a preparation of it in a mor« convenient form, than those usually prescribed. Sar- saparilla, as before stated, requires considerable boil- ing, to take up the extractive matter, and it has consequently, most frequently been improperly made, by those unacquainted with pharmaceutical pre- parations. To obviate these difficulties, I have made a number of experiments to ascertain th« most effectual means of extracting the virtues oC the compound sarsaparilla, and to discover the most eligible form of preparing it for exhibition, which has resulted to my most entire satisfaction, and it is with much pleasure I now offer to the faculty my
148 SARSAPARILLA.
compound fluid extract of sarsaparillay which posses- ses all the virtues of this medicine in a highly con* centrated degree. It possesses numerous advantages over sarsaparilla, its syrup, decoction, and solid ex- tract, and is intended as a preparation of much easier portability — not liable to injury by long keeping, and consequently better adapted to the use of persons travelling or residing abroad.
The fluid extract of sarsaparilla is a more conve- nient article than the solid, the latter requiring some trouble and difficulty to dissolve it, while the former is immediately dissolved when it is put into water, and is consequently immediately fit for use.
As the decoction will rarely keep more than twenty-four hours, particularly in warm weather, it would be exceedingly troublesome for the patient, put under a course of sarsaparilla, which has to be taken for some time, to be obliged to prepare the decoction every day, besides getting a very weak and inferior preparation from the short time he would have to boil it, not taking up perhaps one fourth of its active principle.
The syrup, which is the common preparation generally used, has still further objections ; it being the decoction prepared in the common way, over- loaded with sugar, which is exceedingly objectiona- ble, as it will be necessary for the patient to surfeit, and not unfrequently nauseate his stomach with a large portion of saccharine matter in taking a dose of the decoction, which is generally weak, so that not unfrequently it might be said with propriety that he
SARSAPARILLA. 149
is taking a dose of sugar rather than sarsaparilla, as the former exists in a larger proportion in the prepa- ration. We frequently hear o[ concentrated syrups of sarsaparilla, which is simply change of name for the same article, as it is impossible when a fluid is satu- rated with sugar, to take up an extra portion of any f ubstance ; and if the decoction is much concen- trated, a portion of the fluid extract which it holds, would be precipitated by the sugar. 1 will not in this place call in question the essays of one of my fellow competitors to support or refute the value of the extract of sarsaparilla, but might quote numerous authors, whose opinions would h'd\e weight andinjluence^ and whose experience and observations would entirely sink and outweigh those little acquainted with the subject, who from want of experience aided by pre- judice, have fallen into the greatest absurdities, I will simply select one on the present occasion, which is published in the Medico-Chirurgical Re- view, for July 1830, Vol. 18, No. 41, page 162 — *' Observations on the Extract of Sarsaparilla in vene- real alTections, &:c. by Benjamin Tra verb's F. R. S. &;c, &:c.'' Speaking of the compound of syphilis and mer- cury, he states that no remedy, next to the adjust- ment of diet, is equal to the extract of sarsaparilla. The extract dissolved in water or milk, is the men- struum which I rely most upon in these cases, its pow- er is extraordinary, more so than any other drug which I am acquainted with. To regard it as inert, as a mere diluent or an offensive nutrient, is eitlier a proof of very limited experience or very prejudiced N2
150 SARSAPARILLAe
observation. It is in Ihe strictest sense a tonic, witk this invaluable attribute, that it is applicable to a itate of the system so sunken, and yet so irritable as renders other aubslances of the tonic class unavaila- ble or injurious.
We tiike ihe liberty of marking in italics, says the distii]guished editor, Dr. Johnson, the passage respect- ing sarsapariila, because we most cordially concur with Mr. Travers in the statement, which it con- tains in favour of the valuable properties of the ex* tract of sarsaparilla.
The compound iluid extract of sarsaparilla, which I have prepared has decidedly proved one of the most popular medicines ever introduced in Philadel- phia. There has been a little clamour against it by- some of my worthy competitors in trade, (this must be expected in all valuable and extensively used ar- ticles, it was so with quinine, and some of our most inestimable medicines,) but it all sinks into insignifi* cance when compared with its general approbation by the faculty, and its extensive use by some of our most distinguished physicians. It has already been gent to almost every populated section of the United States, and whether in town or country, hospital or private practice, it has invariably given to patient and practitioner, the most decided and unequivocal satisfiiction, and produced the most salutary and be- neficial effects. Numerous letters have been receiv- ed from some of the most distinguished physicians in the country, and from the professors of several me* dical colleges, all recommending in the highest terms.
SARSAPARILLA. 151
the value of this medicine, and its superiority over other preparations of sarsaparilla. Several cases of secondarj syphilis, mercurial and scrofulous diseases, have entirely recovered in the incurable wards of our public institutions, which had for many years resisted every mode of treatment which could be devised. These cases furnish striking examples of the salutar/ ^ effects of this medicine in arresting some of the most f inveterate diseases after the glands were destroyed and the bones already afifected.
The dose of the fluid extract is two teaspoons full, morning and night, in a glass of water. Two tablo- id spoons added to fifteen ounces of simple syrup, im- \ mediately produces a mixture similar to a pound of " the compound syrup of sarsaparilla, and the same quantity added to fifteen ounces of water instantly forms a mixture, equivalent to a pint of the Lisbon diet drink.
One bottle of the fluid extract of sarsaparilla, if fully equal to a gallon of the syrup or decoction at is generally made.
Two grains of corrosive sublimate carefully dissol- Ted in a small partion of alcohol or water, and added to the syrup above form.ed, will be similar to the anti- scrofulous and syphilitic remedies lately introduced under various names.
The fluid extract of sarsaparilla is now prescribed by some of the most distinguished physicians in this =city, and has been more efhcient in practice, than any |)reparatioD. of sarsaparilla yet ofTered to the public ^&r the advantages it possesses -ov^^r the ordinary
152 SARSAPARILLA,
preparations. See professor Dewees valuable work on the Practice of Physic, and most of the late stand- ard works on medicine.
- It is highly aproved of and recommended by pro- fessor Gibson, who has prescribed it very successful- ly in his practice and prefers it to any other prepara- tion of sarsaparilla.
Professor Eberle in the last edition of his Thera- peutics, vol. 2nd, page 20G, makes the following re- marks: "Carpenter's compound fluid extractof sar- saparilla is a very neat and excellent preparation. It pos- sesses all the active properties of the root in a highly concentrated state, a tablespoon full being equivalent to half a pint of the ordinary decoction. I have used it in several instances with decided benefit. From the smailness of the dose it is peculiarly adapted for administering this remedy to children."
Professor Frost of the Medical College of South Carolina has written to me of the salutary effects of this medicine, in a ca?e of secondary syphilus by us- ing two bottles, united with small doses of the per- cLlurideof mercury, and his high opinion of this medi- cine and its superior advantages over the ordinary preparations of sarsaparilla.
I might quote numerous authorities in addition, of the most respectable character, but sufficient has been said to establish the character of this preparation, and its decided superiority to the ordinarj^ preparatioiis of sarsapariila.
OIL OF BLACK PEPPER. 153
CAUTION.
After the reputation of any valuable medicine is established with considerable expense, trouble, and many experiments by the proprietor, he should re- ceive the benefit of it. He is sometimes, however, interrupted by spurious imitation of his preparations, made by the ignorant who prepare inferior and fre- quently entirely different compounds, and sell them under the same name, and on the reputation of the genuine medicine, copying the directions, and putting a up in the same bottles and form. Thus frequently deceiving the public and injuring the reputation of valuable medicines. Under these circumstances, 1 would beg the faculty to be extremely particular in their orders for the extract of sarsaparilla, and to observe that each bottle will have my written sig- nature without which none will be genuine.
A copperplate label is also on the outside of each bottle, on coloured paper, as a caution.
Oil of Black Pepper.
This article is precipitated in the preparation of piperine. It contains all the heat and acrimony of the pepper in a very powerful degree, and is no doubt the active principle of it. A portion of this oil is always combined with the piperine, to which it no doubt owes its effects. We find all the f nsible characters of the piperine to increase or ■ninisli in proportion to its degree of purity, or as it may be more or less combined with the oil ; hence
154 OIL or BLACK PEPPER.
it is that the pure white crystals of piperine are with- out taste, the yellow crystals possessing considerable heat and acrimony, and the dark greenish crystals are extremely active and powerful, containing nearly Mty per cent, of oil. One drop of the oil of black pepper is equal to four grains of piperine. One drop of the oil of black pepper added to three grains of quinine, will greatly increase the powers of that remedy.
CAUTION. Physicians should be extremely particular in their orders for this article, as an oil of pepper has been obtained by distillation, which is eetirely different from the above preparation, possessing comparatively little ornone of the active principle of the pepper — the above preparation is a fixed oil, and of course can not be obtained in this way. The object was no doubt, to obtain a cheaper preparation, but it will not answer the purpose at all, and would there- fore be dear at anj^ price. As it has been sold for the true preparation, 1 make these observations that physicians may be on their guard in relation to it. I received some time since a letter from a highly re- spectable* physician in Virginia, stating that he had been induced to make trial of the oil of black pepper from reading an article of mine on the subject in the American Journal of Medical Sciences, that he had written for some of it, and had obtained an article which did not in any way correspond with my des- cription of it, either in the appearance of the article ^ 0T in any of its sensible characters. 1 requested
OIL OF COPAIVA. 155
him to send me on some of it to exmaine, and I was much surprised to find it was the distilled oil of pep- per which had been sent to him instead of that ob. tained In the process of piperine ; and it it more thaa probable others have been equally disappointed.
Oil of Copaiva.
This- oil is obtained bj distillation, from the bal- •am, and is a valuable preparation. It contains all the virtues of the balsam in a concentrated state, and being more limpid than the balsam, it is admin- istered with less inconvenience, and is altogether a very considerable improvement in the exhibition of copaiva, and altogether preferable to the common balsam. The dose of this oil is 5 to 8 drops. When distilled in glass vessels and pure, it is preferabU to iDaptha for preserving potassium.
Oil of Cuhehs.
This oil is obtained by distillation from the cubebs- t is a very active preparation and possesses all the i^irtues of the cubebs; and being a very concentrated preparation, is much preferable to the crude sub- itance, which is objectionable from the bulk of the lose, which is otherwise unpleasant. This is a val lable adjunct to the oil or balsam copaiva, ten t> wenty drops to an ounce of balsam, will greatly n- Tease the powers of that remedy in gonorrhcea.
CARPENTER'S CITRATED HALI,
For making Saline Draught or Xtutral Mixture,
I know of no article so desirable to the practitioner as the above preparation, for either city or country practice. When made extemporaneously for prescrip- tions with the lemon juice and salt of tartar, it is frequently not exactly neutralised, and the object and effect of the medicine is thus lost. It is also much more convenient, and at the same time less expensive, and being identical with the mixture fresh made with lemon juice and salt of tartar, is certainly in every respect preferable. It only requires to dlissolve one drachm of this salt in four ounces of water, and you have at once the neutral mixture similar and fcqual in every respect as before said to that prepared with fresh lemon juice and salt of tartar. To the country practitioner this preparation is inestimable, as it furnishes him the means of access to a highly val^^ble medicine, which he otherwise would be cut of from, by the scarcity, difficulty and frequent impossibility of getting lemons in inland towns, and they are frequently not to be had in some parts of the season in our ports. It is unnecessary to quote any thing in relation to the value of this medicine as a
SOLIDIFIED COPAIVA. 157
refiigerent in fevers, &lc. &lc, as it is appreciated and highly valued by every intelligent physician.
This article will no doubt be altogether used when its properties become generally known. Wherever it has yet been used, ii has given the highest degree of satisfaction and produced the most beneficial effects.
Solidified Copaiva,
Balsam copaiva is admitted by all to be one of the most nauseous and disagreeable articles of the ma- teria medica. Disguised or mixed as it may be, its unpleasant nature is still manifest, and little if at all diminished, communicating its nauseous taste, and imparting to the breath its disagreeable odour which is experienced for several hours after each dose, and frequently acting as an emetic or cathartic. From these circumstances, its use is frequently abandoned"*^ in cases where it otherwise might be of the highest utility, and even where it is almost indispensible, and other remedies much less efficient are substitu- ted, thus protracting the cure which could have been speedily effected by the copaiva.
• Our distinguished professor of practice, in the first rel- ume of his therapeutics, page 417, observes, that two circum- stances frequently interfere with the exhibition of copaiv», and detracts from its utility. It sometimes purges, and when it does, its efficacy is lost or greatly diminished. If laudanum does not check ihis injurious tendency, it must be discontinu- ed; till the bowels recover their tone. To the stomachs of some persons, the copaiva is so exceedingly offensive, that it cannot be retained, as it is hardly possible to disguise the taste of the article: it is sometimes very difficult to overcomQ this prejudice. (See Chapman's Therapeutics.)
0
158 SOLIDIFIED COrAIVA.
Since tlic introduction of this remedy down to the present period, it has ever been a desideratum to ob- viate these inconveniences, and it is a circumstance not less unfortunate, and much to be regretted, than it i? singular in its character, that amidst the rapid march of improvement and discoveries, (v>diich forma •A pecuhar character in modern chemistry and phar- maceutical knowledge) an improvement in the exhi- bition of copaiva, should so long have evaded the vi- lillent researches of the critical and scrutinising che- mist. Under these circumstances 1 am pleased to i^ubmit mv preparation of solidified copaiva, which will obviate all the disadvantages possessed by the fluid balsam, and will present a preparation which can be conveniently administered in the form of pills, without communicating its unpleasant taste, or im- parting odour to the breath. The solidified copaiva which I prepare, contains an extra portion of the oil of copaiva, which is united to the balsam and solidifi- ed together. See my formula for its preparation, in the last (eighth) edition of Professor Coxe's valuable dispensatory. The addition of the oil of copaiva in- creases its activity considerably; and it is ascertained by careful experiments, that eight grains of this pre- paration is equal to 30 drops of pure copaiva. The dose therefore is two pills, four grains each, three or four times a day. Solidified copaiva is prepared by mam', simply by adding calcined magnesia to bal- liam, without the addition of oil; this is a much weak- i:r preparation, requiring double the number of pills, lle/iu or extract of copaiva, is also sold ; this arti-
BLACK OXIDE OF MERCURY. 159
cle is almost entirely inert, as the oil to wliich the activity of copaiva depends is driven olf, it is tasteless, and nearly without odour, and of dark colour.
This article therefore, dillers from the solidified copaiva as commonly made, as well as from the rt- zin, being not the least deteriorated in the prepara- tion, or \veakei\ed by foreign substances for the pur- pose of giving consistence. It is particularly re- commended to the faculty for its many advantages over the balsam and all its preparations.
The oil of copaiva is an active preparation, and it is the best mode of using this article, for being united with the balsam and solidified it can be made into pills, which can be taken without experiencing the nausea- ting taste of the oil, while the oil alone cannot be taken otherwise than in draughts, which will subject it to the same incoixveniences with the fluid balsam, having its disagreeable taste with its unpleasant cf. fects.
Black Oxide of Mercury,
For extemporaneously making the blue piilaccoTd- ing to the popular opinion, that the mercury i? in the state of oxide in blue mass.
One fourth of a grain of the black oxide is equal to three grains of blue pill. This medicine is highly approved of by many physicians, and preferred by them to the blue masj.
160 COMPOUND TONIC EXTRACT.
Carpenter's Compound Tonic Extract.
This article is a compound of some of the most ac- tive vegetable alkalies, being composed of corrmie, quinine^ piperine^ capsicine, ^c. ^c. It has proved more efficient than any preparation yet employed in the treatment of intermittents. Arresting the par- oxysms in cases which had resisted quinine, and other remedies in large doses. For an account of the cornine, see Dr. Morton's valuable paper in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sci- ences. For an account of the piperine, see my paper in the American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
CavJtion,
This compoutid is entirely original with me, and eeveral of the constituents only prepared by me, yet the name has been borrowed for another preparation, and my directions copied word for word, and has no doubt been sold on the reputation of mine. I would recommend the faculty to be extremely cautious and particular in their orders for this preparation, and 1 am sure they will not be disposed to patronize inno- vations of this kind, but give preference to the true and original article.
TEXT. SEM. STRAMONII, SlC, 161
Ext* Sem, Stramonii.
This is a very active and highly valuable medicine 'Dose one fourth of a grain. For a full account of ^this article, see a paper published in the 7th volunie of the Medico-Chirurgical Transactions.
Extract of Qidnlne,
This is the residuum of the preparation of quinine and is preferred by some to the sulphate, as it comes mach lower than the former, being but one third the price, it would be well for physicians to satisfy them- selves of its value. Two grains are considered equal to on© grain of the sulphate of quinine.
CARPENTER'S
Selection of Cinchona or Peruvian Barks.
There is no article of the materia medica, in which there has been more fraud and deception than Peru- vian bark, the author, under these circumstances, has been extremely particular in the selection of these species, and has them put up in packages with his written signature on each, as a guarantee of their purity, aiad his responsibility if they should prove ^otherwise.
Superior Red Bark. Selected with great care from the cinchona oblon- •gifolia, and put up in pound and ounce sealed cy- iindrical packages. The red when pure, is the best species of Peruvian bark, it contains both the alka- 'iies, quinine and cinchonine, in considerable propor- tions.
O 2
162 CINCHONA OR PERUVIAN BARKS.
Superior Calisaya Bark*
(CALISAYA ARROLLENDA.)
This 13 the best species of yellow bark, and derived its name from the province in which it is collected. It is the bark which yields quinine in greater propor- tioLi than other species, it is neatly put up in sealed cylindrical packages of pounds and ounces.
Superior Loxa or Crown Baric,
This bark was more esteemed in Spain than any other species, and was selected for the royal family, hence the name crown bark. This is a milder bark than the red or calisaya, its product is cinchonine. It agrees better with the weak and delicate stomach than the stronger barks. This, like the preceding, b put up in sealed packages of pounds and ounce?.
3Iaracaibo Bark,
This is the best species of what is called common or low priced bark, the best bark is cheaper at a high- er price, than the present ditrerence which exists be- t-ween the different kinds of bark; there is no advan- tage whatever in using inferior bark, but all the dis- advantages arise from it; still there ure many that will have it, because it is lower priced. To such I would recommend the Maracaibo bark, being much . superior to the Carthagena, and at an equally low ,cnce.
-For a full asd detailed account of all the varietieg of bark which occur in commerce, see the article <;incbon3,iii a. preeeeding part of this work.
SULPHATE OF COR NINE, &C. 163
Sulphate of Cor nine.
ft gives me much pleasure to announce Ihe disco- very whicli I made of an alkaline base in the cornus Florida, Vvhich 1 have denominated corninc, and which, with acids tbrm neutral salts, the sulphate ol' which has proved a highly valuable tonic and febri- luij;e. This article has been very carefully and ac- curately described by Dr. Sumuel G. Morton of this city, in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences, and from the most respectable sources in ihe Medical profession from various pari? of the United States, where this article has been sent, the most corroborating evidences have been received of the unequivocal success of the cornine in the treat- ment of intermittent and remittent fevers, in the same doses as the quinine, and the only circumstance which precludes its competition with that substance, is the minute comparative proportion of cornine yielded by the cornus Florida. If, however at any lime, we should fail in our supplies of cinchona, which is not impossible, or even improbable, we shall then be able to supply its place by this principle of the cornus Florida,
Extract of the Cornus Florida.
The cornus Florida yields a beautiful extract re- sembling very closely that of cinchona, differing how- ever in its sensible characters from the extracts of :he superior species of Peruvian bark, by being lef« -l'itler-i\n^ more as(rlnc;cnt. The following ir the
1(54 EXTRACT OF CORNUS CIRCINATA.
most eligible mode for preparing this extract, erapo- rate in a sand or water bath, a tincture of the bark, made by digesting it in proof spirits, in the propor- tion of two ounces of the former to a pint of the latter, suflferinEf it to stand for at least a week before strain- ing, and occassionally during this time submit it for a few hours to a moderate lieat, thereby facilitat- ing the solution.
This extract from its most prominent and sensible characters, is unquestionably much more active than the common extract of Carthagena bark, and is a preparation admirably adapted in all cases where the cornus may be employed with advantage, and in consequence of being a concentrated preparation, se- parated from the ligneous and'insoluble portions, and containing less gum and mucous matter, (which constitutes so large a proportion) is certainly much preferable to the crude substance, and no doubt will be resorted to by many country practitioners as a useful expedient, particuiary in those places where this article is in profusion, and where bark of good quality is frequently very scarce, and sometimes e\ en ♦unknown.
Extract of Cornus Circinata.
The cornus circinata is a more astringent substance Hhan the iiorida, an extract may be made from it by the same process as that ofthe former, 'i'he cornus ^circinata has been very successfully administered in ^cases of dysentery by Professor^Ives, of New Haven; f(see Dr. Robisoh-s interesting essay on this article in ithe North American Medical and Surgical -Journal,)
CARPENTER'S OIL, OF CANTHARIDI^.
This is a new and highly valuable article, and I have no doubt, from the many advantages which it possesses, that it will entirely supercede the common mode of blistering; a few drops rubbed two or three times on the part, will effectually draw a full and complete blister, with little or no pain, and without the necessity of applying any thing on it to assist the operation. This is certainly preferable to applying a plaster which often gets removed from one place to another, and thus frequently vesicates a greater sur- face than was intended or required, and sometimes from this frequent transition, only partly vesicates and causes considerable pain without having pro- duced the effect intended, or being any benefit what- ever to the patient. A piece of paper which has been made to imbibe this oil, forms an excellent blister, which may be accommodated accurately to the shape of any part, however irregular. The vesication thus produced is so exactly circumscribed, that the blister formed corresponds with the sharpest angles which may be given to the paper employed. One drop is sufficient to make a blister of the size of a quarter of a dollar. On such places ■where the skin is thicker or more solid than those
166 OIL OF CANTIiAHIDIN.
which are less exposed and covered with clothing itrequii-es that the oil be applied two or three tinries in the course of one or two hours, or that the part to be blistered be covered rather more with the oil; this however will be seldom necessary, as blisters arc most frequently applied on parts which does not require this particularity.
It begins to draw in four, five or six hours, accord- ing to the place where it is applied.
In some cases it may be advisable to cover the part with a little soft paper or linen where it will likely get rubbed ; but in most cases no protec- tion whatever is necessary. After the blister is cut and the lymphatic water is discharged, it will be of great service to press the epidermis close to the skin and in most cases it heals in twenty to forty-eight hours.
When a rubefacient is wanted, one drop dissolved in ten or fifteen drops of sweet oil, or mixed with lard, will answer that purpose and for its convenience and ready application, will be better adapted than any preparation I am acquainted with.
One ounce of this oil contains the vesicating pro- perties of nearly one pound of cantharides. Its use is so mild that generally speaking it produces a blister without the least disagreeable sensation, except on those places where muscles, nerves, or tendons are in a state of compression. We trust, an article pos- sessing so many advantages will receive the sanction of the faculty.
EXTRACT OF BLACK PEPPER. 167
P. S. We are pleased to find, since the above })aj been written, that a number of experiments made by several distinguished members of the faculty, have resulted in the most satisfactory manner, and entirely corroborates the above statements. We therefore can offer the above preparation with the higheU de- degree of conhdence.
CautiGn.
To guard against spurious imitations of this article, each vial will have the written signiture of the pro- prietor on the outside envelope of the same.
Extract of Black Pepper.
Digest one pound of coarsely ground black pepper in four pints of diluted alcohol for four days, occa- sionally submitting it to a temperature near ebulli- tion, in a water bath, filter and evaporate to the con- sistence of an extract.
This is found also to be an active remedy in inter- mittents, in doses of 2 or 3 grains. In a soft state it has proved very convenient to give consistency to piperine and quinine, for the formation of pills, while at the same time it increases their activity. The ex- tract of pepper in every formula I have seen is di- rected to be prepared with water. This forms a much less active preparation, and possesses several inconveniences to which the former is not subject.
1 have employed both the white and the black pepper in the above preparations; and although iti*.
168 CALOMEL,
stated bj most authors that the white is milder than the black, I have found it to yield more piperine, and an extract of much more acrimony and activity, and to contain much less colouring matter. The consti- tuent principles of pepper are piperine, oil, resin, fecula, and colouring matter.
Calomel,
This is decidedly the most valuable of the mercurial preparations, and there is no article of the materia medica which a physician should be more particular in than calomel, as it is more liable to be improperly prepared without any evident signs of the fact than any other preparation. It frequently contains a portion of corrosive sublimate, which does not in the least alter its external appearance. It is therefore an object of the highest importance for the physician to test his calomel before using it, unless he gets it where he can place the most implicit confidence. Corrosive sublimate may be detected if present in calomel, by precipitation being produced by the carbonate of potash, in a solution made by boiling the suspended sample with a small portion of muriate of ammonia in distilled water. A more simple mode, and one which will generally answer the purpose, is by rub- bing the calomel with the pure water of ammonia ; it should become intensely black, and not to exhibit any trace of an orange hue — also lime water, which is a more delicate test than ammonia, for the corro- sive subhmate. The mode of preparing calomel is various; that by sublimation appears to be preferable
CALOWIEL.
169
and is the process now generally adopted in (he pre- paration of calomei. It has been suggested that the precipitated calomel is more free from corrosive sub- limate : this is altogether a mistaken notion, as the precipitated is quite as liable to contain the muriate? and also the sub-nitrate. When properly made, the sub-muriate obtained by precipitation, scarcely differs from that obtained by sublimation. Gottling found * no other diiTcrcnce, than that the precipitated sub- muriate became gray when triturated with lime water, whereas the sublimed sub-muriate becomes black. But he exposed to heat, halfanci.nceof thepre. cipitatcd sub-muriate inasubiimingapparatus; scarce- ly a grain of a reddish matter remained tixed, and the sublimed matter now became black when trituated with lime water, and differed in no respect from the sub-muriate prepared in the ordinary way by sublima- tion. It would therefore seem to be an improvement in the process to sublime the sub-muriate, after it is precipitated, especially as by that operation it would be most effectually separated from any sub-nitrate which might be mixed with it. Colomel can be rendered completely free from corrosive sublimate by repeated washings in large quantities of water, the latter being soluble while calomel is not. The En- glish Calomel is generally prepared with great care, and free from corrosive sublimate, and has consequent- ly been preferred by our physicians who prefer giv» ing a high price for it, to be more certain of obtaining a pure article. I am exceedingly pleased, however, to find that the calomel prepared by Messrs. Farr an^ P
170 TARTAir E3IETiC, SlC
Kunzic, of our own citj^, is equal to any of the En- glisli I have ever seen, and physicians and others can safely reiv upon this calomel being equal to any of the im:>orted, which is obtained by sublimation or precipitation.
Tartar Emetic.
This article so important to the physician, is ano- ther which he should be extremely careful in pur- chasing, as it is liable to vary considerably in activi- ty. It should always be purchased by him in crys^ tals. The folio w^ing are the characteristics of its pu- rity: A solution of it in distilled water ought to fur- nish a gold coloured precipitate wdth acetate of lead,- soluble in nitric acid, and w-ith lime water a vrhite and extremely thick precipitate dissolving with faci- lity in pure nitric acid. If the crystals deliquesce, the presence of other salts may be inferred, and they ought to readily and totally clissohe in water, form- ing a clear sohilio?!, both previous too, and after add- ing the wine, in making the anlimonial wine.
PyroUgneous Acid Purified,
This is made of various degrees of strength, from number four to twelve. These numbers correspond with its strength compared wnth the common distilled vinegar of the shops, number eight is the most useful, and is more sold than any other. This acid is eight times the strength of the distilled vinegar generally Bold. Thus, one pint of this acid added to seven pints of water, instantly produces a pure vegetable
PYR0LIGNE0U3 ACID PURIFIED. l?l
colourless vinegar, of the proper stren^tlribr the use or:ipotherarics and druggists.
In diluting the acid with water, it is only necessa- ry to shake theni well together. I'his acid is a pow- erful anliceptic in contagious di^ieaGcs, and lias the •valuable effect of preserving meat and all animal i'ood for days and weeks in the hottest weather, and will by washing the part afiected, corr.pletely remove must, taint, and incipient putrefaction from ani- mal matter. It is particularly gratetlil and erU- ciciit as a funr'gator.
Pyroligneous acid will no doubt entirely supersede the distilled vinegar in medicine and the arts. U has been so completely separated from all impurities and foreign matter, as lO furnish a perfectly pure acetic acid, invariable in its acid powers, and unilbrm in its chemical properties. It is entirely free from any iinp'casant taste, colour, or sediment, and forms a limped colourless solution with ammonia. The com- mon distilled vinegar of the shops varies essentially in strength as well as purity, its acid powers diiiering from thirty to forty per cent, in value, and it is some- times 7°, and at other times 5° by the revenue acetometer, and hence the difhculty of getting an uni- form article for medical application. The diliiculty appears now entirely obviated by means of the pyro- ligneous acid which will be of standard strength, ac- cording to the numbers, and we think it will imme- diately supersede the distilled vinegar en the substan- tial ground of its preference.
172 VEGETABLE EXTRACTS, ^-C
Vegetable Extracts.
These are a highly valuable and important class of medicines, and there is none in which there is a greater disparity in the quality, some of them are ex- , tremely active, while the same is almost inei t at other times, owing to the various modes of preparation, the tinae it has been kept, and other circum.stances which influences its condition. It requires the physician to be more discriminating in this class of articles, than any other in the catalogue of medicines, he should be particularly guarded in the purchase of them, also in keeping them well protected from the air and light in a cool situation, and not accessible to dampness, he should be particular in ascertaining the manufac- turer of the extracts, in order that he may know whose preparation he can rely most upon, and having discovered a person who makes good extracts, he should under no circumstance use any other. I have found of the imported extracts those made by Man- der, Weaver & Mander, are superior to any I have ev<jr seen, they are of uniform strength, and can al- ways be safely relied upon, I have made arrange- ments to be constantly supplied with extracts from this house, and physicians can always receive these extracts at my Chemical Warehouse, 301 Market street.
Carbonate of Iron,
The carbonate of Iron is one of the most excellent and safest chalybeates, it may be given from five to ^0 grains, but all chalybeates answer better in small
CARBOXATE OF IRO:i. 173
doses frequently repeated; hence it is the chal) bcatc water?, aided by saliixC medicines are so benetical.
Pl.ysicians should always prefer the precipitated carbonate, which he should alio be particular ia knowing it to be properly made. The rubigo fcrri (sub. carb. ferri) is a very impertcct preparatioji, and hr^e quantities of it is now manuflictured in a very rough and careless manner; I have seen considerable of it, which 1 found on examination to be near one half whiting. In the Medico Chirurgical Review, vol. xviii. No. 42, for October, 1330, b an interesting paper fiom the Glasgow Journal, on the pharmaceu- tical preparations of the precipitated carbonate of iron. The British pharmacopass direct a waters so- lution of sulfhaie of iron and sub-carbonate of soda to be mixed, and the resulting precipitate to be col= Iccted on a-iiiter and dried. The precipitate at first is white, but soon becomes of a dark ii^rien colourj and very bulky in substance. Exposed to the air, the colour ciianges to a rusty yellow, the efTect of oxygen. A decomposition is produced according to our author in the following manner.
The precipitated carbonate of iron consists of car- bonic acid combined with the black oxide, which black oxide readily combines with more oxygen, for- ming the red oxide of iron, but as the red oxide can- not like the black, retain cnrbonic acid in combina- tion, this acid Hies off. So that in the yellow mat- ter alluded to, an additional dose of oxygen has tal.ea the place before held by crrbonic ac' -^ Theyeilor/ colour is owin!]j to the red oxide ex\iu\)]^ in cbmbiria=
n ^ -'^ ■■■-■■' -f
1*74 CARBONATE OF IRON.
tion with water, or to use (he language of modern chemistry, a hydrate, and the yellow colour is chan- ged to red whenever we apply so much heat as will drive ofTthe combined water. Then the red oxide of iron, or colcothar of vitriol alone remains. The con- sequence is, that what is sold in shops for precipita- ted corbonate of iron, contains no more than a trace of that substance, and is frequently nothing more than ; colcothar of vitriol. This colcothar the author ob- serves, is not less diff(*rent from carbonate of iron m its medicinal eiTects, than its chemical properties.
I have seen patients of ditFerent ages and sexes "swallow for a fortnight, at the rate of half an ounce per day of colcothar of vitriol, without producing any apparent eiFect, except that thicir stools were colour- ed by the powder to a reddish hue, indicating that it had passed through the body unaltered. Whereas, I have seen a healthy man made sick by a dose of a quarter of a drachm of genuine carbonate of iron, and made to pass in consequence dark greenish black stools, for two days after, and I have seen similar de- fects produced on patients, who had been unaffected by colcothar of vitriol. The sikness however is not produced after the first or second day.
These observations deserve the attention of the profession in these days when carbonate of iron is so much in use.
We give the remaining part of the paper in the au- thor's own words.
From the preceding observation it is easy to ga- ther, that the two defects to be avoided are exposure
CARBONATE OF IRON. 175
io air and exposure to lieat. Both of these defects I propose to avoid by forming the precipitated carbo- nate into an electuary, thus:
Take of sulphate of ironand sub-carbonate of soda each eight ounces, powder each salt and dissolve them separately in warm water, if necessaiy tilter. Being tiltered and cool, mix tije solutions in a deep vessel capable of holding one or two gallons of water, which till up cold, stir, let it subside, and then decant the clear liquor from the precipitate, fill up again with water and likewise again decant, and repeat this operation two or three times, so as to separate the solublcsalt?, next put the precipitate on a filter of cotton or linen cloth, supported hy a square frame. When the wa- ter has ceased to pass, gather into one hand the edges of the filter, so as to make it a sort of bag, and with the other twist round from the holding hand, down- wards, so as to squeeze out the remaining water. The precipitate will now have the appearance of clay, loo soft for moulding. With soft sugar and aro- matic powder in suitable proportion?, make it into an electuary.
Thus we obtain a carbonate of iron uniform in its properties, hardly deteriorated by the process it under- goes, and little liable to change by keeping.
The precipitated carbonate of iron Vvhile yet moist, is soluble m carbonic acid. Hence a teaspoonful of the above electuary is soon dissolved in a glass of ginger beer, except the aromatic powder it contains, it may be asked therefore, whether an eligible me- dicine might not be obtained by unitingthis.prepara-
17G CARBONATE or IRON.
tion with the ginger beer powder?; the excess- of car- boMiC acid in them would dissolve the iron, and you would have a higlily agreeable draught w'ith all the chalybeate properties of this valuable niediciiie.
G. VV. Carpenter is pleased to inform the laculty he has prepared the above preparations in the most caretul manner, and given them the following names, by which physicians can always designate them wdien they -wish these preparations prepared by me.
Itkromatlc CJtalybeate Oenjecilon.
This article since I have had the pleasure of pre- paring it, has been used by a. number oTthe most re- spectable physicians, and has given the highest de- gree of satisfaction, and who accord fiilly wiih the writer in the revievv\
CARPENTER'S Chahjheate Ginger Beer Powders,
These powders form an extremely pleasant and agreeable draught, and from- their tonic and chalybeate properties, aided by the stomachic eirects of the tine puritied ginger in their composition, render them an extremely valuable medicine, and adapted to many cases of weak and diseased state of the stomach and bowels. They have already been extensively used, and have given in all cases the highest degree of satis- faction, and produced the niost salutary and beneii- cial circcts.
CARBONATE OF TRON. 177
From full experiments carefully made with the preparations of iron, as suggested above, the most sa- tisfactory results have occurred, and there appears to be no doubt but that it deserves all the attention of the faculty, which the writer claims^ and that it will receive their sanction and approbatioji from its deci- ded superiority to the ordinary preparations of iron, vill entirely supercede their use.
COMPOUND FLUID EXTRACT OF
For BUeases of the Bladder^ Obdructlons of Urine, Chronic Gonnorhea, and Gleets of long standing.
The Buchu leafs (Diosma Crenata) ha%'e been high- ly recommended for diseases of the bladder, by some of the most distinguished physicians in Europe; and when united with cubebs and diuretics, have eilected some extraordinary cures, a few cases of which will be given hereafter. In order that physicians may have a uniform preparation of this valuable medicine, made in a careful manner, with proper proportions and specific dose adapted to the disease ; George W. Carpenter is pleased to announce his Compound Ex- tract of Buchu, which he recommends to the medi- cal profession as a concentrated preparation of this article, and the most convenient mode in which it can be exhibited, and which will obviate the necessity of preparing the decoction, which is ahvays attended with trouble and expense, and always differs more Of less -in strength, according to the mode of prepa- ration, which different individuals adopt, and not u!i- frequently much impaired, if not totally rendered inert, by the injudicious and unskilful management of those unacquainted witli pharmaceutical prepara- tions. This compound will therefore overcome all
JEXTRACT OF BUCKU. 179
llicse difficulties, and being of uniform strength, and ready prepared for the patient, can be administered with more certainty of success by the practitioner, and with less trouble and expense to the patient. Under these circumstances, this medicine has been prepared expressly for the use of the faculty, and will no doubt receive their approbation and encourage- ment.
Among various liighly satisfactory accounts of the value of the Buchu in diseases of the bladder, ob- structions of urine, chronic gonnorhea, gleets of long standing, &c. I will quote a few cases and remarks by Dr. Ephriam McDowell, a highly distinguished physician and member of the Royal College of Sur- geons in Ireland, published in the transactions of the King and Queen College Physicians.
A variety of remedies have been advised, says Dr. jicDowell, for chronic inflammation of the blidder, &c. which vvhen neglected, extends to the ureters and kidneys, producing a train of severe local as well as constitutional symptoms. Its original cause fre- quently cannot be discovered in many cases; we will however find it frequently succeeding to mismanaged gonnorhea, neglected retention of urine, diseases of the prostate glands, strictured urethra, or calculous afTections.
In some cases, as for example, when it depends on diseases of the prostate gland, we can do little more than palliate urgent symptoms; in other instances much may be efTected.
A variety of remedies have been advised for these
180 EXTRACT OF BLCHU.
diseases, most of them I have repealediy tried willr little or no cfTect, beyond (hat of being in sonne de- gree paliative. The Compound Buchu having been lately strongly recommended, 1 was induced to make trial of it, and my experiments have resulted in the most satisfactory manner, having succeeded in saving the most inveterate cases, in which I had no hopes of success. 1 will quote a few for example.
Case First,
The first case in which I used it, was apparentlv a hopeless one, recommended to me by a medical friend in December, 1821. James Thompson,
set upwards of six years ill, emaciated and
greatly debilitated, lower extremities paralytic. When he passed iiis urine, it was generally either with great difficulty from its being loaded with a large quantity of slimy, tenaceous and stringy matter, or else involuntarily. His bowels were habitually cos- tive, appetite totally gone. He had been under the care of so many medical practitioners, without the least benefit, that I feared little could be done for him. I passed a bougie in the first instance, to ascer- tain the state of urethra, which I found rather irrita- table. I also used several of the common remedies for irritable bladder with no efTect, at the same time closely attending to the state of the digestive organs; lastly I gave the Compound Buchu, which gave im- mediate relief. In six days after I found his appe- tite and strength improved, able to walk firmly, the mucous much diminished in quantity, capable of re-
Bucnu, 181
(aiiiinghis urine ?ome hours, and no longer passing it involuntarily. His own words to a medical friend were nearly the following:
"Instead of being disturbed every five minutes dur- ing the night by painful erections, or by the desire of making water, I can sleep some hours at a time; no involuntary passing of urine. I can walk stoutly through my room, and even up stairs without help; my appetite is excellent; the heartburn gone; the se- diment in the urine greatly diminished. I feel a strength in my back and loins unknown to me for } ears." He continued to improve for a considerable time, but being unable to obtain any more of the Bu- chu, he in some degree relapsed; his condition how- ever infinitely improved, and a short further continu- ance of the Buchu would restore him to entire health..
Case Second,
Philip Dwyer, aged ^xty-seven years, sallow com=.. plexion, emaciated, ill for three years; complains of severe pain in the pubic region, particularly before he passes water. Great irritability of bladder, passing water in small quantities every quarter or half hour during the night; during the day can occasionally re- tain it for two or three hours. Less irritability when using much walking exercise; when sitting, is effec- f ^ed with a stinging or scalding sensation in the pros- tate region. Urine generally white or muddy. Fre- quently passes a large quantity of slimy, pale yellow coloured, mucous, voided with great difficulty, and foon putrefying, is much relieved by its expulsioq
Q
from the bladder, is greatly debilitated, end has lost much weight. Tongue loaded with yellowish mu- cous. Thirst. No appetite. Bowels generally con- stipated. No enlargement of the prostate gland*
could be felt.
Previous History. — Never had gonnorhcea. Has
been a temperate liver. The disease commenced three years ago, first with slowness and difficulty in passing water, which was followed by frequent mic- turition. He attended the Talbot dispensary for five months, and left town apparently cured. He re- lapsed however, in a month, and returned to the dis- pensary, May 1 3, 1 822. He was ordered a pint of the Aqua Calcis daily, twenty drops of the muriatcd tincture of iron three times daily, an opium supposi- tory (three grains) every night, and purgative pills to be taken occasionally.
May 24. Up five times last night to pass water; slime in less quantity; can expel his urine with more force.
May 29. Worse; op fifteen times last night. The ilime has not been discharged for some days; since its stoppage great irritability of the bladder has exis- ted. Prescribed the Buchu and continued the use of muriated tincture of iron.
May 31. Reports that he has been better for the last two nights than for years previous. Passed a large quantity of slime yesterday, which came awaj readily: up but four times last night.
June 7. Continues better. June 9. Great irritability of the bladder A paio-
BrcHC. 183
ful swelling in pubic region; no mucoui discharged for some days. This relapse arose from not being able to procure the Buchu during the last v/eek. The Buchu repeated as before, also (he muriatcd tincture of iron.
June 21. Much better. The shme was dischar- •ged after taking the medicine twice; up bat twic« last night.
The Buchu continued as before,
July 5. Continues mending.
August 4. Called on me to say he continues well, and has been able to follow his ordinary occupation as a labourer, for the last month, and considers him- self radically cured,
Henderson Waters, a debilitated and emaciated man, aged thirty-one j-ears, visited me, August 4, 1822, with my friend Dr. Gumming; found him la- bouring under much fever. Urine dribbling almost constantly from him, or else passing it in the quanti- ty of half an ounce every five minutes; the urine loaded with slime; lower extremities totally paraly- sed; the upper nearly so. His lower limbs rigid, and frequently jerked up under him by painful spasms; fcvere pains in the soles of his feet; much irritabilitv of the rectum. The glans penis in a state of slough, -from keeping it constantly immersed in the urinal The last dorsal vctrebraB more prominent than usual; no pain caused by its forcible pressure. The usual remedi=3S were applied by two eminent physicians
lS4 fetrciiu.
who had been attending him without success or be- nefit.
June 8. Put on the use of the Buchu as the last case.
August 10. Can retain his urine for half an hour at a time; Httle or no pain in the bladder; strength and appetite improved. The sloughs detached from penis, sore healthy; a sUght slough over the trochan- ter major, from pressure and debility; ordered nour- ishing diet, and to continue the Buchu.
August 20. (Reported by Dr, Gumming.) In every respect better; can now retain his urine for two or three hours at a time; no uneasiness in the bladder. For some days past, sitting up; looks greatly improv- ed. Tongue, pulse, and bowels natural. Paralytic affections of lower extremities, as before.
August 30. At his work as a watchmaker. Can retain urine for four or five hours; health good; limbs much stronger,
January 8. Continues as last reported, and is en* tirely recovered.
In dispepsia it appears to be ^ valuable auxiliary to other medicines. I had an opportunity of meeting with a case of gravel, of the uric acid kind, in a se* dentary and dispeptic individual; the attack coming on whenever the digestive organs were deranged, and frequently lasting with much severity for three days, attended with violentpain, shooting in the course of the ureter to the groins, testicles, and anterior part of the thigh; much fever, restlessness, and irritability; any excess in drinking wine, invatiably produced au
fiucHU. 185
-Sittack. He has been in the habit, for the last three years, of taking the Aqua Kali Caustica, whenever attacked, and usually continued it for a considerable time, in quantities of one ounce daily. In a late pa- roxysm, he took it along with the Buchu; a white precipitate in the urine in large quantities resulted; he then omitted the alcali and took the Buchu alone- He recovered rapidly; both the white and red preci- pitate ceased to recur, and he has had no attack of it since.
The above accounts of Dr. McDowell are entitled to the highest degree of confidence, being a man highly distinguished in the medical profession, and of large experience from the most extensive practice.
'Catition.
After the reputation of any valuable medicine is established with considerable expense, trouble and many experiments by theproprietor,heshould receive some benefit from it. He is sometimes, however, disappointed by the spurious imitation of his prepara- tions, made by the .ignorant, who prepare inferior and frequently entirely different compounds, and sell under the same name, and on the reputation of the genuine medicine, copying the directions, and putting it up in the same bottles and form, and thus frec^f^nt- ly deceiving the public, and injuring the repi'tati n of valuable medicines. Under these circum-itanc 3 I would beg the faculty to be extremely pnrtictlar in their orders, and to observe that each bottle *vill
vhave my written signature, without which none WiU
y^e genuine,
Q2
'CARPEf^TER'S
nAIilLTOGA POWDERS,
FOR MAKING
Congress Spring or Saratoga Waters,
There is perhaps scarcely an individual in the Uni" ted States, who is not acquainted, either bj experi- ence or report, with the salutary effects of the Con- gress Waters at Saratoga. From thirty to fifty thou- sand persons annually visit these Springs, many from the remotest sections of the United States, and some from the West Indies, and other foreign places. The great expense in visiting the Springs, excludes the greater portion of the community, (more than nine out of ten,) and the bottled water, from its high price, prevents its use to the extent of being serviceable, and confines it to a small number; it appears to be a serious evil that so valuable an article should be so restricted, that comparatively few should be able to enjoy what is so conducive to general health in the hot weather of our summer months. From these circumstances, Geo. W. Carpenter is pleased to an- nounce the preparation of the above powders, con- taining all the essential substances with which these celebrated Springs are impregnated, and from which the waters of the Congress Springs at Saratoga are precisely and effectually imitated. With a view to accommodate the public, and to bring into general iwe so conveQient and valuable a substitute for these
SARATOGA rOWDERS. 1S7
waters, he has been induced to go very tjxtcnsivelj into the manufacture of them, and to put them at a price to be within the reach of most persons. For the accommodation of the pubhc, agents have been appointed in all the cities and principal inland town?^ to give a general circulation to so usetul an article throughout the country. The public are recommen- ded to make trial of these pawders, as he tindc by ex- perience, and from the opinion of the most cmijient of the faculty, that the water made from them posses- ses the same medical qualities, is as effectual in its operations, and precise in taste as that taken imme- diately from the Springs. These powders are there- fore recommended as a valuable remedy in all caseg where Saratoga Vvaters are prescribed.
Persons on sea voyages, or fesiding at a distance from the Springs, and in warm climates, will at once perceive the great advantage of making use of these powders, which besides being more portable, and less expensive than the bottle water, will keep without injury for any length of time; and as they are equal in medical effect to that taken fresh from the Springs, they are certainly much preferable from the many ad- vantages they possess.
These powders are superior to the Seidlitz, inas- much as the} are equally aperient and agreeable, and at the same time possessing tonic and chalybeate qualities in a superior degree, and are consequently better adapted to weak and debilitated constitutioni than any other cathartic in use.
It is now scarcely two years since the introductioo
1^ SARATOGA POWDEltS.
of these powders, in which time thej have been^erfi to almost every populated section of the United States, and have given in all places the highest de- gree of satisfaction. They are now extensively used throughout the Southern States, where they are high- ly appreciated by the faculty, and extensively em- ployed by the most distinguished physicians. They have elicited from the professors of several medical institutions, and from highly distinguished individuals in various places, voluntary acknowledgements of high commendation on their valuable properties. The reputation and demand which Carpenter^s Saratoga Powders have acquired, will no doubt be an induce- ment for the ignorant to attempt their preparation, the proprietor has already received frequent com- plaints that spurious and inferior imitations have been made, and that sales are ctlected on the repu- tation and character of his preparation. I deem it justice to the community to apprise them of these facts, that they may be on their guard. They should be particular to specify in their orders "Carpenter's Saratoga Powders," otherwise they may get a differ- ent article from what they intended.
f)^We are pleased to tind that the imitation pow- ders are not patronized by the faculty, but are objec- ted to wherever they are known, in many cases, how- ever, they are purchased by individuals who are not acquainted with the circumstances, and do not disco- ver the fact until they begin to make use of them. The proprietor has received numerous letters on the subject of this grievance, and a number of expri^s-
^SARATOGA POWDERS. 189
flions of dissatisfaction have appeared in various jour* nals and Gazetts of the Southern States, where these powders are most used. The following is from the Southern Times and State Gazette, of July 11, 1831, published at Colombia, Sojth Carolina.
" I copy with pleasure the editorial article* from the National Gazette, of Philadelphia, because I can safely and honestly say, the compliment is deserved. There are some very inferior imitations of Carpen- ter's Saratoga Powders, which are by no means worthy of public notice, compared to Carpenter's. As a summer laxative, equally pleasant and etKca- cious as tUe water; these powders may be relied upon."
♦ See National Gazette of June 22, 1831
COMPOUND
37RUF OF LIVERWORT.
Hepatica Triloba*
This plant has proved to be a safe and valuable medicine for Coughs, Spitting of Blood, Consump* tion, and Liver Complaints.
Most of the medicines made use of for the above diseases, are of a stimulating nature, composed gene- rally of Rezins and Balsams, in alcoholic solutions, which, although sometimes giving temporary relief, in almost every mstance where they are freely used, aggravate the disease and reduce the strength of the patient.
This article possesses superior advantages over these preparations, its action being of a tonic, invigo. rating and strengthening nature, thus overcoming the disease, by promoting expectoration and gradually increasmg the strength of the patient, and this with- out being attended with any unpleasant effects; it also agrees with the stomach in all cases, and is a pleasant and agreeable medicine to take.
It has generally been administered in the form of tea or decoction; this has most frequently been im- properly made by those unacquainted with pharma- ceutical preparations, and has brought this medicine in disrepute, preventing its application in many casesj
SYKUP OF LIVERWORT. 191
where it would otherwise have proved highly useful afid beneficial.
To guard against these inconveniences, and to bring before the public a concentrated preparation of this valuable article of uniform strength; George VV, Carpenter is pleased to announce the preparation of Compound Syrup of liverwort, which will obviate all the disadvantages above described. This prepa- ration is as active as it can be made from the fresh plant, and the virtues considerably improved by the tonic and expectorant medicines which have beeo se- lected as adjuvants.
Directions. — Dose for grown persons, a table- epoonful three or four times a day when the Cough is troublesome; for children a tea-spoonful may be ta- ken in the same manner.
N. B. During the cough, the patient will find much advantage from taking a dietical jelly, made of the flour of Slippery Elm.
RKMARK^
ON
CARFEUTER'S Compound Syrup of Liverwort,
It is scarcely one year since the introduction of this preparation, in which time it has been sent to almost every populated section of the United States, and has in all places been highly approved of by the fa- culty, and prescribed by the most distinguished phy- licians, and has given in all cases the most decided and unsquivocal iatisfaction, and produced the most salti-
192^ SYRUP OF IJVERWORT;
lary and beneficial effects — and in numerous instan- ces elicited, from the most distinguished members of the medical profession, (for whose use, and under whose direction the article is expressly prepared and respectful!}' submitted,) voluntar}' acknowledgements of high commendation upon the valuable properties of this medicine.
The following are a few extracts from letters of highly respectable physicians, addressed to the sub-, scriber on the subject of the above preparation.
From Dr. T. P. Hereford of Hai/rnarket, Virginia. Whose observations on the Liverwort are entitled to the highest consideration. His experience with this plant is perhaps, superior to any other medical, man in our country, and the public are indebted to him for many valuable and interesting essays on the iubject,in our periodical journals and papers..
From the National Intelligencer.
As Phthisis Pulmonalis or Consumption of the Lungs has been emphatically styled an approbium medicorumy and as it has for ks victims all ages and •exes, and a large portion of the young and beautiful, it becomes the paramount duty of every humane phy- sician, to contribute in any way he can towards ar* resting in its march, this terrible disease. With an eye to this purpose, I have strenuously recommended, and do still recommend, the Liverwort, particularly Carpenter's Compound Syrup, which I consider the most Taluable mode it can. be exhibited* being a
SYRUP OF LIVERWORT. 193
concentrated preparation of the fresh plant, with valuable expectorant medicines selected as adjuvants, and although I have never recommended it as a medicine, indiscriminately adapted to all cases, yet I am fully persuaded that it has done more signal service than any other single remedy, so far as experi- ments with it have been made, or according to the extent it has acquired the public confidence; but we are too apt to appreciate lightly, or invest with little consequence, things which have the external appear- ance of simplicity; while those which are enrapt in secrecy, or have a mysterious character, allure, fas- cinate or inspire us with confidence and admiration. T. P. HEREFORD, M. D. Jan. 18, 1830. Hay market, Virginia,
From Dr. William Watson, a highly respectable physician of Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania; whose extensive practice and experience entitles his ob- servations to the highest public confidence.
Bedford, June 27thi 183a Dear Sir — You were pleased to send with my medicines, two bottles of your Compou^nd Syrup of Liverwort. I have a favourite servant boy, who was taken with pneumonia inflammation, in Novem- ber last, which resisted all the remedies and means 1 have been able to apply. For some time 1 have con- sidered him to be in the hectic state of phytisis, having purulent cough, much expectoration, night sweats, great emaciation, &c. Under these cir- cumstances, without any expectation of benefit, I, R
194 SYRUP OF LIVERWORT.
gave hirn the two bottles you gent me as directed, and immediately the fever and expectoration dinran- ished, the sweats were renioved, and his strength and cheerfulness inerca&ed. I had a quantify of the herb gathered, a syrap madie in the usual \vay^ but Dotwithslanding the free use of tliis synip, he imme- dia(ejy declined, and he is now in the state in which he was when he comnieneed with your preparation. 1 believe a cure would have been clfected by a few fnore !>ottles of your syrup. As I wish to give it a fair trial, you will please send me a dozsn. bottles by the earliest opportunity, and oblige, Yours, (Sic.
WILLIAM W- WATSON. M. D. To G. W. CAHPfijfTErx.
We are pleased to hear the above case of Dt, Watson's is recovering unt'^er the further continuance of this preparation. The following extract from Dr. Thos. F.. Slaughter, a highly respectable and skilful phj^sician of Orange Court House, Virginia, is additional evidence of the valuable properties of this medicine.
Orange Court House^ Virginia^ Jun^- 1, 1830.
Dear Sir — 1 made trial of Carpenter's Com- pound Syrup of Liverwort, in case of a lady, an old patient of mine, who had been afflicted for some time -^ as I siijjposed with asthma^ and who had been re- duced from extreme corpulency and robust health by her disease, to the verge of the grave; she used oniy one bottle of it, aod has ever since been rapidlj improviiig in health and appearance, which is attri-
SYRUP OF LIVERWORT. !95
butable to the use of this medicine. She is solicit- ous for its further use, which 1 cunnot gratify her in till I receive more of the article. I am anxious to make a fair trial of it in this case, as vvcli lor scien- tific purposes, as for the great value of the life of the patient.
Yours, respectfully^
THOMAS F. SLAUGHTER.
To Geo. W. Carpsnteii.
The following extract from Dr. Richard M. Hill, fi very respectable Physician of Gholsonville, Vir- ginia, is an additional testimony of the value of this preparation.
Dear Sir- — I am now making trial of your Com- pound Syrup of Liverwort, a few bottles of which 1 obtained in Petersburg, and so far, am highly pleased with its effects, and consider it admirably suited to the cases in which it is recommended.
Yours, truly,
RICHARD M. HILL, M. D. To Geo. V/. C'ARrENTER.
It is much to be regretted, that every valuable preparation will be imitated by the ignorant. The subscriber has already received frequent complaint* that spurious and inferior preparations have been offered, and that sales have been effected solely on the reputation of his preparation. He begs leave to .apprize the faculty of these circumstances, and to in- 'form them that each bottle of his preparation will have his written signature " Geo. VV. Carpenter;*^ on the bottle, without which, none will be genuine.
G. W. C
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES,
Shop Furniture <S^ Surgical Instrumetits^
For a Physician at the outset of his Practice;
PREPARED AT
No. 301,
X1.HKKT STREET, PHIKADXI.FHI1.;
Where the artieles can be procured of the most imex-- ceptionahle quality^ put up in the neatest and most careful manner^ and as low as those of like charac-^ 'ier can be had in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
It is often a difficult task for the young practitioner to call to mind the various articles which he will re- quire at the outset of his practice, and particularly to proportion the quantities. In the annexed list are all the essential articles required for practice in the proportion which they are generally consumed. The quantities are made small, which is preferable at the commencement of practice, as they can be in- creased as they may be required. Those residing at a considerable distance, and require some time te
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES. 197
receive their medicines after they are ordered, it would be advisable to increase the (juantities of some of the most important articles.
lb. 02.
Antimony, Tartrat. - - 4
Emetic purgative and diaphoretic, dose half grain to one scruple.
Febrifug, (James's Powder) '4
Diaphoretic, 5 to 10 grains.
Alcohol, 36, . - . . 2
Stimulant, used as a menstruum or vehicle for other medicines.
i\qua Ammonia, ... 8
Stimulant and diaphoretic, dose 10 drops diluted with ft^ater; externally in frictions,
Acid, Muriatic, - - - 4
Stirnulant, dose ex'ernally 2 to 4 ounces in foot baths, internally, half drachm to 1 diachm in each pint.
AcidT^itric, - , . 4
StimMlant diuretic. In lemonade by drops until an agreeable acidity is produced.
Acid Sulphuric, - - . 8
Stimulant, dose 20 to 30 drops in 2 pounds of water.
Acid, Pyroligneous Concentrated, .4
Astringent, refrigerant when diluted, dose of th^ conceniruted acid 1 scuple to 1 drachin, or com- mon acid 1 ounce.
One pint of this concentrated acid added to seven pin^s of water, instuntly produces a mix*ure similar and equal in every respect to the distilled vinegar of ihe shops.
Acid, Tartaric, ... 4
Refrigerent, dose 12 to 36 grains in solution.
Acid, Critic, - - . \
iiefri^erant, dose, 10 to 15 grains in a pint of liquid, K 2
198 CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES.
lb. o>. One drachm of this salt dis-^olved in 2 oz. of water, instantly produces a mixture equal to a like quantity of fresh lemon juice, and for many pur- poses of medicine is even preferable, being always of uniform strength.
Acid (or Flor.) Benzoin, » sf.
Stimulant, dose 10 to 20 grains. Ammonia, Carbonate, - - 4
Stimulant, dose 5 grains to 1 scruple. Anodyne, Hoffman's, - - S
Antispasmodic and anodyne, dose ^ to 2 drachms.
Arsenic, alb. crude, - - 1
Tonic, (externally an eschartic,) dose 1-10 to i grain.
Fowler's solution of, ► 4
Febrifuge;^ 5 to 15 drops.
^ther. Sulphuric, - - 4
Diffusible stimulant and antispasmodic, dose 10 to 36 drops.
Spt. Nitre, dulcis, - - 1
Refrigerant, diuretic and antispasmodic, dose 20 to 40 drops.
Aqua Rosarum, - . - \
Slightly Astringent, Arrow Root, Bermuda, * - 1
Nutrient. Argent Nitrat, - - -= i
Tonic, antispasmodic and escharotic ^ to 4 grains. Blue Pill Mass, ... 5
Stimulant, and antisyphilitic, dose 5 to 8 grains. Boras, Sodas, ... 4
Detergent, 1 scruple to 1 drachm, in gargles. Bismuth, oxyd. alb. - - 1
Tonic and antispasmodic, dose 2 to 12 grains.
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES. 199
lb. OS.
Burgundy pitch, - - - 1
'Exlernally rubefacient.
Black drop, - - - %
Anodyne and sudorific, 5 to 15 drops.
Balsam copaiva, - . - S
Astrihg-ent, dose 20 to 63 drops in any emollent mixture.
Solidified copaiva - - 5
Two four grain pills are equal to a dose of the balsam
Oil of Copaiva, in vials - ^ doz.
This may be used In the same manner as tba
balsam, dose 5 to 10 drops. Balsam tola, ... 1
Dose, 6 to 24 grains.
Black Ox} de of Mercury, - 1
For extemporaneously making Blue Pills, ^ grain equal to 4 grains of the latter.
Bac. Juniper, ... S
Diuretic and cordial, infusion, a teacup full erery 3 or 4 hours.
Cubebs, - - - - 4
la gonnorhea, 20 to 30 drops.
Oil of cubebs, . . -. ^
This is a valuable adjunct to copaira, 10 or 15 drops added to a copaiva mixture will increase iti virtues considerably in cases of gonnorhea.
Sulphur, sublimed.
Laxative and diapjioretlc, dose 1 to 3 drachms.
Bol armeuia^, ... 1
Perkins's blister cloth, - - I box. 4
A very convenient article for the country phy- sician, being ready spread for immediate use.
Creta, ppt. - - - 8
Antacid and absorbent, dose 10 grains to 2 scruples.
200 CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES.
lb, G2.
Carb, Ferri, ^ . , 4
Tonic and emmenagogiie, dose from 4 to 20 grains twice a day.
Magnesia, - - - 4
Absorbaiit, purgative, used for acidity in the prima- via, and cases of poisjiiing by suTphuric acid, dose from 1 scruple to 1 drachm.
Canella alba, ... 4
Stimulant and slightly tonic, dose from 19 grains to 1 drachm.
Citrated Kali, ... 1
'J Ills is a very valuable medicine in fevers; I drachm dissolved in 4 oz. of water instantly pro- ;
duces the saline mixture, similar and equal in every respect to that prepared with fresh lemon juice, and salt of tartar.
Pulv. Coloc} nth, ... 1
Drastic purgative, doTie 10 grains to I scruple.
Cream of Tartar, - - - 2
Purgative, diuretic and rcfrigerent, dose 4 to 6 drachms.
Catechu, .... 2
Astringent, dose 2 scruples to 1 drachm in inPusion or mixture.
Cochineal, ... \
Antispasmodic and anodyne, in whooping cough.
Cort Peru Rub. ... 1
Tonic, febrifuge and antiseptic, in adynamic inter- mittent fevers, scorbutus, gangrene, &.c.
Cort Peru (connmon,) or Carthagtna. 8
1-12 the value of the former.
Cort. aurant, - - - I
Kefrigerant. In fevers and iiifiammations 1 scru- ple to 1 drachm.
Mazerion, , . . ^
-^tinoolating diaphoretic, dose 1 to 4 graljWo
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES. ^Ol
lb. 01.
Caryophillum, . - - 4
Tonic, stomachic, and eramanagague, dose 6 to 13 grains.
Cassia, .... 4
Stimulant, cordial, doss 10 to 20 grains.
Calomel, - - - - 8
Purgative, vermifuge and syphilitic, dose 1 to \)t grains.
Corrosive sublimate, . * 1
Dose i to i grain in solution. Cera, alb. . - ^ 8
External application in the composition of cerate.
Denarcotised acidulous tincture of Opium, 8
This will be found very useful in cases where opium and common laudanum disagrees with the patient. This is sedative without the stimulating properties of opium. Dose 15 to 25 drops.
Secale Cornut. pulv. - - 1
In parturition, dose 20 to 30 grams in powder-
Emplast Epispastic, - - 8
adhesive, • - 8
ditto, spread on linen, • ^</.
Dyacylon, simple, - t
ditto, cum. gum. - 8
Roborans, - ♦ '8
Ext^a^ct Gentian, - - - 1
Tonic and stomachic, dose 1 to 4 grains.
Colocynth, comp. - 1
Cathartic, 5 to 10 grains.
Hyociami, - - 1
Narcotic, antispasmodic and resolvent in all ner- vous disorders, dose 1 to 2 grain*.
Cicuta, - . - 1
Narcotic, anodyne, and resolvent, dose 2 to 10 grsMM.
^0!l CATAlvOGUE OF MEDICINES.
Ih, oz. esternaUy in cataplasms, lotios, &,c. in scinhovig and cancerous aliections.
Stramonii,
Narcotic, and resolvent in epilepsy, hlbteria, corea and cancer.
Gljcyrrhlza, - - I
DemuJcent in allaying- coughs, dose 2 to 6 grains.
Quinine, - - - I
Two grains of this exti*act arc equal to one grain of the sulphate, and is at one third the price.
Carpenter's Compound Fluid Extract of
Sarsaparilla, - - - ^ doz.
One tablespoon ful of this extract added to a pint of water, instantly produces the Lisbon 13ict Drinlc of the usual strength. It is particularly recom- mended to the faculty as an active preparation of Sarsaparilla, and for its convenience and portability.
CAUTION.
The reputation and demand for this article has induced base imitations of it, against which the faculty should be on their guard.
Caustic, potass, - . - 3
Used externally as an escharotlc.
Cantharides, ... 4
Internally, stimulant and diuretic; and externally rubefacient and epispatic, dose 1 too grains.
Conserv. rosarum, - - 4
As a vehicle for other remedies. Elaterium, (Clutterbuck,) - 1-8
Uosel-8 to 1-4 grain.
Fior. Channomile, - - 4
Aromatic and emmenagogue, dose, in infusion, from 2 scruples to 2 drachms.
Fol. Senna Alexandrin, - - 5
Purgative, 2 drac'ur.a to 1 ounce, in infusion.
catal(k;ue of medicines* 203
lb . oz,
Fol. Digitalis, - . . 2f Diuretic unci sedative, dosi 1 grain to 1 scruple.
Uva Ursi, ... 4
Astringent and diuretic, dose 1 scruple to 1 drachm two or three times a day.
Sabina, ^ . . 4
A powerful stimulant, with diaphoretic emana- go£j-ue and r.nlhclnnintic properties, dose 5 to 10 grains two or three times a day.
Opium, - - - »- <-
Narcotic, anodyne andsudorificj dose ^ to3~^ains,
Manna Flake, ... 4
Laxative, dose for children 1 to 4 drachms, adults, 1 to 2 ounces.
Camphor, . . - 4
Sedative , vermifuge and sudorific, dose 2 to 20 grains suspended in emulsion.
Gum Myrrh, Pulv. - - 2
Tonic, vermifuge, emmsnagogue and stimulant, scarcely used except externally, dose 15 to 30 grains.
Assafoetida, .... S
Antispasmodic, dose 12 to 30 grains; in enema ^ drachm.
Guaiac, ... 4
Sudorific and antisyphilitic, in gout, rheumatism, syphilis, £<.c. dose ^ to 1 drachm in powder; tinct. 1 drachm to ^ ounce.
Aloes, ... S
Drastic purgative, dose 5 to 30 grains.
Ammoniac, - . - - 4.
Stimulant and expectorant, dose 6 to 20 grains ia emulsion
Kino, ... X
Tonic, astringent »nd febrifuge, tincture i t« I Urachm; powder 15 taSQ grains.
?i04 CATALOGUE OF MEDXCIK£S.
lb. oz. Gamboge, ... 2
Drastic purg-ative, in passive dropsy, chronic jaun- dice, vermes, &c. dose i to 15 grains.
Scammony, - - - \
Drastic purgative, dose 5 to 20 grains. This is the Aleppo scammony, the Symrna is very inferior^ and should not be used.
Arabic, - - - 4
Demulcent and pectoral, dose ^ to 1 ounce. Glyster Pipes, - - - ^ doz.
Hydriodat Potass, - - 1
See the remarks on this article and Iodine in a pre- ceding part of this work.
Iodine, ... - 1
Kermes Mineral, . - - 1
Diaphoretic expectorant and emetic, dose 1 to 2
grains. Patent Lint, ... 4
Magnesia, Calcined, - - 4
Antacid and purgative, dose 1 to 2 drachms. Oleum Olivarum,- - - 1 bot.
Purgative, emetic and demulcent, dose ^ to 4 oz.
Bergamot, - - - 1 oz.
Used in giving fragrance to cologne water and other article*
Lemon, - , . 1
Used the same.
Ricini, - - - ^bot,.
Purgative, dose ^ij to ^ij.
Cinnamon, - - - 1
Stimulant, Cordial, dose 2 to 5 drops.
Caryopbilli, - - - ^
Tonic, stomachic, and emxoanagogue, dose 5. to 10 drops.
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES. 205
lb. 02.
Oleum Carui, ... i
Stimulant and carminative, used as an adjunct to 'purgative pills, dose 1 to 10 drops.
Juniper, Carminitive, diaphoretic and diuretic, dose from 2 to 10 drops. It is sometimes given in dropsy and may be added to Foxglove when given in pills.
Lavender, - - -
Stimulant and cordial, do»e 1 to 4 drops.
Sabina,
Stmulant, diajihoretic and emmenagogue, dose from 2 to 6 drops.
"Wormseed, - Anthelmintic, 10 to 20 drops.
Menth. Pip. - Stimulant and carminitive, dose 1 to 3 drops.
Sassafras, - - -
Stimulant, sudorific and diuretic, in chronic rheuma- tism and cutaneous affections, dose 2 to 10 drops.
Croton Tig. - - - 1 vial.
Purgative, 1 to 2 drops. See full account of it in a preceding part of this work.
Oil of Black Pepper, - - 1 vial.
This is much more active than the piperine, one drop of which is equal to 3 grains of the latter. It is a valuable adjunct to Quinine, 1 or 2 drops added to 6 grains will greatly increase the powers of that medicine.
Oil of Amber, rectified,
Stimulant, antispasmodic and rubefacient, dose from ' 5 to 12 drops.
Aniseed,
Carminative, dose from 5 to 15 drops.
Merc. Precipit. Alb.
Bxternally in the form of oil for cutaneous erup- tions.
S
206 CATALOG!: 1-: of medicines.
lb, oz. Merc. Precipit. Rub. - - 4
Escharotic, externally incorporated with cerate or other ointm&nts.
Fiperine, - - - - \
This is highly approved of by the facully as an adjunct to quinine in intermittent fevers. For a full and detailed account of this article, see my paper in the American Journal of Medical Sci- ences.
Pill Boxes, - - 2 papers,
Pulv. Jalap, ... 8
Purgative, dose in powder 15 to 30 grains.
Fulv. Rhei, ... 8
Purgative, dose 30 to 40 grains.
Pulv. Ipecac. . . - 4
Emetic, purgative and diaphoretic, dose in powder 15 to 30 grains.
Quicksilver, (Hydrargyrum,) - 4
Vermifuge, in decoction 1 pouiid of mercury to 2 pounds of water.
Rass, \a^. Quassia, - - 4
Tonic, stomachic, febrifuge, dose in powder from 1 scruple to 1 drachm, infusion 1 to 2 drahms, tinc- ture ^ drachm to 1 ounce.
Rad Gentian, ... 8
Bitter, tonic and febrifuge, tincture ^ to 2 drachms.
Colombo, ... 1
stomachic and anti-emetic. Employed in nervous af- fections of the stomach, dose ^ drachm to 1 ounce.
Do. Pulv. - - 8
Serpentaria, - - 4
Tonic, f"' 'fuge and diaphoretic, dose from 1 to 2 drachms lu infusion.
Senega, , . . 4
Stimulant, expectorant and diaphoretic, dose de- coction, ^ to 1 ounce, powder 10 grains to half drachm.
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES- 201
Spigela, - • - - S
Vermifuge, dose 2 to 4 drachms in infusion.
Sarsaparilla, ... 1
Sudorific, in syphilis, diseases of the skin, gout, and rheumalirsm; dose, decoction 1 to 2 ounces; the fluid extract is the best preparation, see a preceding part of this work.
Scilla, ... 4
Diuretic, emetic and expectorant, in dropsies, kc. dose from 4 to 12 grains, oxymel and syrup, 2 drachms to ^ an ounce.
Glycjnhiza, - - 8
Mild demulcent, in decoctions generally, and joined to other remedies.
Valerian, ... 4
AntispasTiodic, tincture 25 to 60 drops, dose in. power 20 to €0 grains.
Sponge, fine, ... 2.
Sem. Foeniculi, - . , 4
Carmative, used with senna and other purgative medicines.
Anisi, - - - 4
Used same as the above. Sulphate Quinine, - - i
Tonic and febrifuge, dose 1 to 5 grains.
Compound Sjrup of Hepatica, - i doz.
This is a valuable tonic and expectorant medi- cine, and will be highly useful in most cases of pulmonic and hepatic affections. For a full ac- count of this article see a preceeding part of this work.
Sub. Carb. Soda, ... 4
Stimulant, diuretic .ind sodorific, dose 20 to 40 grains.
Sapo. Castile, ... 4
Aperative and dissolvent, used as an adjunct to aloes and other purgatives in pills, externally in fo- mejitations, lotions and baths.
8
208 CATALOGITE OF MEDICINES.
Ih. 02.
Spermaceti, ... 1
Demulcent, emolient, dose 5 to 1 drachm, in the form of emulsion, externally in the composition of several ointments.
Salts, Glauber, - - - 2
Epsom, ... 6
Purgatire, I3 to 3 ounces.
Sal. Tartar, (Sub. Carb. Potass.) - 4
Deobstruent, diuretic and antacid, used in saline drau|»hts neutralised with lemon juice.
Rochelle, - - - 8
Purgative, ^ to 2 ounces.
Soda, (sub. carb.) - - 4
Antacid diuretic, dose 10 to 20 grains.
Ammonia, (muriate,) - 4
Diaphoretic, diuretic, febrifuge and tonic, dose 10 grains to 2 scruples, externally discutient,.
Nitri, ... 4
Refrigerant and diuretic, and when externally ap. plied, cooling and detergent; dose 10 to 15 grains,
Martis, - - . 4
Tonic and febrifuge, dose from 1 scruple to 2 ounces in solution or pills.
Sac. Saturni, - . . 3
Styptic and antisudorific, dose externall^'S drachms to 1 ounce in a pound of water, internally 1 grain in pills or solution.
Sulph. Potass, - - - 4
Purgative, dose J to 2 ounces in water. Ung. Merc. Fort. - - 4
Externally applied.
Citrini, - - - $
Externally applied, stimulating and detergent in herpatic and other cutaneous eruptions.
CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES. 209
lb. oz. Carpenter's Saratoga Powders, - ^ doz.
This is a valuable medicine where tlie stomach is debilitated, and ordinary medicines cannot be retained. It is much preferable to the Seidlitz Powders, being- equally aperient, and at the same time possessing valuable tonic and chalybeate efFects.
CAUTION.
This article has been imitated, and the faculty should be particular or they may get the spurious kind.
Carpenter's Compound Extract of Buchu.
This is a new article and will be found higkly valuable in diseases of the bladder. It is recom- mended by some of the most distinguished phy- sicians in the English Medical Journals. For a full account of it see a preceding part of this work.
|
Composition Mortar and Pestle, |
x\0. |
1 |
|
|
Glass Funnel, |
(I |
1 |
|
|
Graduated Measure, |
i( |
1 |
|
|
Scales and Weights, |
- 1 sett. |
||
|
Spatulas, different sizes, - |
u |
2 |
|
|
Sheep Skin, |
(I |
1 |
|
|
Syringes, Penis, - |
u |
6 |
|
|
Do. Female, |
i; |
3 |
|
|
Do. Enema pint, |
4( |
1 |
|
|
Stomach Tube, Elastic, - |
il |
1 |
|
|
Scarificstor, |
U |
1 |
|
|
Cupping glasses, - |
(( |
6 |
|
|
Thumb Lancets, - |
u |
2 |
|
|
Catheters, Elastic, |
u |
6 |
|
|
Bougies, - |
;( |
6 |
|
|
Pocket Case of Instruments, |
. I sett. |
||
|
Teeth Extracters, in case, |
- I do. |
mo CATALOGUE OF MEDICINES.
|
Breast Pipe, - . . - |
No. 1 |
|
|
Nipple Shells, |
u 4 |
|
|
Quart Specie Bottles, |
u 12 |
|
|
Do. Tinctures, - |
" 12 |
|
|
Pint Species, - - - |
«' 12 |
|
|
Do. Tinctures, |
" 12 |
|
|
Half pint Salt mo. |
" 6 |
|
|
Do. Tinctures, - - - |
6 |
|
|
4 oz. Tinctures, - |
'* 6 |
|
|
Wrapping Paper, blue and white, |
(jrs. 3 |
|
|
Assorted Vials, |
gross, i |
|
|
Vial Corks, - - - |
do. 1 |
|
|
The following articles can alioays he |
had |
at Carpen- |
|
ier^s Chemical Warehouse^ and |
are |
frequently |
|
wanted by the physician who has become established |
||
|
in successful practice. |
||
|
French Skeletons on Wires — Male and |
Female. |
These are very superior, the bones are white as aoow, the teeth perfect, and put togetlier in the most ne;U and substan- tial manner, and with the most anatomical precision.
Arterial Preparations.
Very complete arteries and veins injected, and muscles displayed.
Dissected Heads and Separated Craniums.
Heads sawed in various ways.
Ditto, with Dr. Galls Phrenological marks, illus- trating his System of Phrenology, and referring by numbers to his work.
French Anatomical Preparations, preserved in alcohol.
G. W. C. always keeps on hand a large assort-
CATALOGUE OF INSTRUMENTS. Ill
ment of London and American Surgical Instruments of all descriptions, of the most superior quality.
He will also at any time have made to order, any description of Surgical Instruments which may be wanted.
Very superior setts of Cupping instruments, in mahogany case, with exhausting syringe, &;c. They Tire now in general use in this city, and are much preferable to the ordinary mode of cupping.
Pill Machines, to make from 12 to 24 pills, and •size from 1 to 4 grains. They will be found a very convenient, and higlily useful article for the physi- cian w^ho has a large practice.
Superior French Syringes, of every description, for the Ear and Kyc, Penis, Female, Enema, Sto- mach Pumps, &ZC. &;c. These are made of block tin, and are much superior to the pewter Syringes, they are made very true, being bored and turned, instead of cast, and work as true as an air pump.
Eye Glasses, to wash the eye without the neces- sity of bathing it with a cloth, which frequently irri- tates, and only has access to the exterior.
Very neat small cases for filing, plugging, and scal- ing the teeth.
Obstetrical Models, or machines of leather, with mannakin, complete, for illustrating the practice of obstetrics.
Obstetrical Instruments of every description, all complete and of the best quality.
Splints for the thigh, each arm and legs, all com- plete.
212 INSTRUMENTS, SlC,
Amesburj's Apparatus for Fractures of the Leg and Thigh.
Vaccine Virus Bottles for preserving the virus.
Having made arrangements with one of the Vac- cine Physicians of this city, Physicians in the coun- try will be supplied with fresh Virus, by application to the subscriber on the lowest terms.
Having made preparations particularly for supply- ing physicians in the country, they can at all times depend upon receiving every article carefully select- ed of the choicest and most unexceptionable quality, and their orders will receive the most prompt and particular attention.
i
I
OF
SURGICAL INSTRUMENl'S, Used ill Practice, &c.
It will no doubt be interesting to the practitioner, to have a list of the Surgical Instruments now in use, with a description of the contents of the ditFerent «ett3 and cases, which are put up under various names.
JLythotomy,
In a neat mahogany case, containing the follow ing instruments.
Dr. Physic's Gorget, with 6 blades of different sizes, 4 pair Forceps, ditFerent sizes, 4 Male Sounds, 4 Male Staffs, 1 Female Sound,
1 Staff,
1 Scoop,
1 Hamula,
1 Scalpel,
1 pair of Forceps with a screw for breaking stone
Amputating.
In a neat mahogany case, containing the following: 1 Capital Saw, 1 Metacarpal, do.
^211 CAT.^OGUE OF
2 Capital Knives,
1 Catline Knife,
1 pair Artery Forceps with Slider,
1 Scalpel, steel handle,
1 pair Bone Nippers,
1 Tourniquet,
12 Curved Needles,
1 Tenaculum.
Trepanning*
In a mat mahogany cas-e.^ conUnnit^g (he foH<jwiug:
2 Trephines,
I Elevator,
1 Hey's Saw,
1 Scalpel with Raspiter,
1 Brush.
Midwifery,
In a neat leather case, contaimngthe, follozoing:
1 pair Forceps,
1 Vectis,
1 Crotchet,
1 Perforatins; Scissors,
1 Blunt Hook.
Dissecting.
In a neat mahogany or morocco case containing the fotloroing: 6 Scalpels, 1 Single Hook, 1 Double Hook with a joint, 1 pair Forceps, 1 Silver Blow Pipe, 1 pair Scissors.
SURGICAL SNSTRUMENTS. 215
Pocket Instruments, No, 1,
In a neat morocco case irith a lock or 4 foldy containing the folloiving:
1 pair crooked Scissors, ^
1 straight do.
1 Dressing Forceps,
1 Dissecting do.
I Director,
1 Spatula,
2 Silver Probes,
1 Tonsil Forceps,
1 Curved probe pointed Bistoury,
1 Large Scalpel,
1 Gum Lancet,
1 Abscess Lancet,
1 Tenaculum,
I. Small Scalpel,
1 Straight Spear,
1 Silver Female Catheter,
1 Physic's Forceps and Needle,
1 Thumb Lancet,
6 Curved Needles.
Pocket Instruments, No, 2,
In a neat morocco case with a lock or Sfoid^ con- taining the following:
1 Pair crooked Scissors,
1 Dressing forceps,
1 Dissecting do.
1 Director,
1 Spatula,
2 Probes,
1 Tonsil Forceps,
1 Curved probe point Bistoury,
1 Straight Spear do.
1 Large Scalpel,
216 CATALOGUE OF
1 Tenaculum 1 Abscess Lancet, 1 Gum do.
1 Thumb do. 6 Curved Needles.
Pocket Instruments, No. 3.
In a neat morocco case with a lock^ or 2 fold, con- taining:
1 large Scalpel,
1 pair straight Scissors,
1 Curved Spear Bistourv,
2 Probes,
1 Tenaculum,
1 Spatula, 'I
1 Pair Dressing Forceps,
1 Director,
1 Gum Lancet,
1 Thumb Lancet,
6 Curved Needles.
Eye Instruments.
In a neat case, containing:
3 Knives,
1 Iris Knife,
2 Needles, curved and straight, 1 Curette and Hook,
1 silver Speculum,
1 pair Forceps,
1 Curved Scissors.
Phlebotomy.
Silver Sping Lancets, Button-trigger, Do. do. do. Lerer, Brass do. do. do.
— Horse do. do.
SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS. 217
Thumb Lancets, Lancet Phlemes.
Cupping*
III a neat mahogany case containing:
6 Glass Cups with brass caps and valves, 1 Brass Pump or Exhauster, 1 *Scariticator improved. *0r with German Scarificator.
Plain Sets of Cupping.
In a 7ieat mahogany case, 6 Glass or Tin Cups, 1 ^Scarificator, improved, 1 Brass Spirit Lamp. •Or with German Scarificator.
Pessaries.
Doctor Dewees's Silver gilt,
do. do. plain,
do. Flexible Metalic,
do. Ivory,
do. Wood,
Gum Elastic,
Glass Pessaries, a new article^ and recommended by Professor Dewees.
Teeth Extractors.
In a neat morocco case, containing the following'. 1 Foxe's Key, spring bolt, 1 Curved Forceps, double joints, 1 Straight do. do.
T
218 CATALOGUE OF
1 Tooth Punch, 1 Gum Lancet.
Any other Key can he substituted for Foxe^s if desired, but it is decidedly the best for extracting teeth generally.
Instruments for scaling and plugging the teeth, in neat morocco cases, containing:
12 Scalers and Borers assorted. Also cases of Six do.
These are very neat instruments and are much used, the price being very low.
Teeth Instruments,
Hinge Fulcrum Key with a spring bolt, ivory handles.
Do. do. ebony do.
Dr. Fox's Key, springholt, ivory handles,
Do. ebony do.
Dr. Clarke's improved Spring Key, with a pivot,
ivory handles.
Do. do. do. ebony do. Curved turn Key with a pivot, Plain Fox's Key, ebony handles, Curved Common Key, Straight, do. do. Curved Forceps, double joints, Straight do. do. ^^
Hawk's Bill do. do.
Pelican do. do.
Forceps, common joints, Curved Tooth Punches, Straight do. do.
Tooth Files, Gum Lancets,
SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS. 219
Trusses.
Eberlc's ivoiy patent, Do. do. double. Do. wood do. Do. do. do. double. Ivory Turnpads,
Do. do. double, Wood do.
Do. do. double, Leather do.
Do. do. double, Plain Ivory Turnpads,
Do. do. double,
Oppositesided do.
Do. do. double,
Bellows Head do.
Do. do. double.
Common spring Turnpads,
Do. do. double,
Children's do.
Do, do. double,
Umbelical, Suspensory.
CatJieters,
Silver Male,
Do. Female, Flexible Metallic Male,
Do. do. Female, Gum Elastic Male,
Bougies^
Flexible Metallic do.
Miscellaneous >
Curved Trochars for bladder.
220 SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS.
Straight do. Lancet pointed,
Do. do. Angular,
Polypus Forceps,
Double Canulas for extracting polipi, Tubes for Tracheotomy, Dr. J. K. Mitcheirs Spine Apparatus,
Do. do. with improved chair, Bulloeg's Sound, Bullet Forceps,
Doctor Physic's Tonsil Instrument, Scarificator for Tonsils, Dewees's Obstetrical Forceps,
do.
do.
do.
do.
do.
Improved Breast Glasses and Pump, in case. Syringe and Elastic Tube for extracting poison from
stomach. Doctor Bond's Oesophagus Forceps, Stethoscopes, Cooper's Bistoury, Doctor Physick's Guarded Bistoury, improved Womb Syringes, in cases,
t)o. Ear do. Hare-Lip Pins, Silver Lachrymal Pins, Probangs.
In addition to the above, the author will have made to order any description of histruments used in the practice of surgery.
|
Heighton's |
do. |
|
Boudelocque's |
do. |
|
Hall's |
do. |
|
Davis's |
do. |
|
Seabold's |
do. |
i!wmmM<.
»©s
A
|
Acetate of Morphia, solution of |
14 |
|
|
Acetate of Morphia, - |
- |
18 |
|
Acid Meconic, |
. |
19 |
|
Prussic, - |
- |
121 |
|
Pyroligneous pure, |
- |
170 |
|
Antimony Tart, |
- |
170 |
|
B |
||
|
Bark, Peruvian, |
37 |
|
|
Cahsaya, |
44-162 |
|
|
Loxa or Crown, |
45-162 |
|
|
Red, (Oblongifolia,) |
46-161 |
|
|
Maracaibo, |
60-162 |
|
|
Blue Mass, |
90 |
|
|
Brucine, |
112 |
|
|
Black Pepper, Extract, |
88-167 |
|
|
Oil of - |
153 |
|
|
Buchu, Compound Extract, |
178 |
|
|
C |
||
|
Cinchona, History of - |
37 |
|
|
Calisaya, |
44-162 |
|
|
Loxa or Crown, |
45-162 |
|
|
Oblongifolia, |
46-161 |
|
|
Cornine, Sulph. |
55 |
|
|
Copaivt, Solidified, |
57 |
|
|
Cinchona Maracaibo, - |
60 |
|
|
Cinchonine, |
63-117 |
|
|
Cyanic Syrup, |
123 |
|
|
Cyanuret of Potassium, |
123 |
|
|
Zinc, |
123 |
|
|
Iodine, |
124 |
T 2
222 INDEX.
♦
Confection Aromatic Ghalvbeate, - 176
Croton, Oil, - - "' - - 129
Chloruret of Lime, " - - 137
Soda, - - - 136
Copaiva, Oil of - - - 1-55
Cubeb3,Oilof - - - 15o
Citrated Kali, - - - - 156
Cornus Florida, Extract, ^ - - ' 163
Circinata, Extract, - - 16 4
Canthaiidin, Oil of - - - 165
Calomel, ... - 168
Carbonate of Iron, - - - 172
Congress Spring Powders, - - - 186
Catalogue of Medicines, - - 196
Instruments, - - 211-220
D
Denarcotized Extract of Opium, - ^
Acid Tincture of Opium, 9
Delphine, - - - " ^26
Digestive Lozenges, - - ^ 139
Digitaline, ... - 140
Diosma Crenata^ Extract, - - 178
Doses of Medicine, - - - 1^6
K
English Opium, . - - 2
East India Opium, - - - 2
Extract of Opium, - - - -^
Denarcotised Acidulous, - 8
Extractof Black Pepper, - - 88-167
Nux Vomica Alcoholic, - 107
Emetine, - - - " ^ ^ ^
Pastiles and Syrup, - - 116
Euphorbia Lathjris, on, - - 132
Extract, Sarsaparilla Fluid, - - 148
Extract, Compound Tonic, - - 160
Sem. Stramonii, - - 16i
INDEX. 223
|
Extract, Quinine, Cornus Florida, Circinata, I'metic, Tartar E^xtract, Buchu compound, |
- |
161 163 164 170 173 |
|
F |
||
|
Fluid Extract of Sarsaparilla, |
- |
118 |
|
G |
||
|
(?finger Beer Powders, Gelil^ Muriate and Oxide, (icntianine, Tincture and Syrup, |
- |
17G 127 133 134 |
|
H |
||
|
Hydriodate, Potass, Solution, Ointment, Hepatic a Triloba, Sjrup, |
- |
lO.j 104 190 |
|
I |
||
|
Iodine, Tincture of lodurets of Mercury, Ointment and Iodine, Cjanuret of Iron, Carbonate of |
Tincture, |
101 102 105 lOG 124 172 |
|
K Kali, Citrate-d, |
15G |
|
|
I. |
Loxa or Crown Bark, - - 45-120
Lactucarium, - . - 126
Lupaline, - - - - 127
Pills and tinctures, - - 128
Syrup of - - 129
Lime, Chloruret - - - 137 Lozenges, Digestiveor bi-carbonate of Soda^ 139
Liverwort, Compound Syrup of - lOO
224
INDEX.
M
Morphia, Acetate Solution of - Merphia, - . - .
Salts of - - -
Meconic Acid,
IMaracaibo Bark, . - -
Mercury, Division of, in Blue Mass, Proto and Deuto lodurets, Ointment, Tincture, Sulph. yEther,
Morphia,
Mercury, Black Oxide,
Medicines, Catalogue of
P
:n^
Narcotine, Nux Vomica Alcoholic Extract, Tincture,
14
17
13
19
GO-162
31
105
106
106
206
107
113
159
196
15
-114 109 103
O
Opium, Turkey, - . - 2
East India, - - - 2
English, . - - 3
Consumption of - - 5
Extract of - - - 7
Denarcotised Acidulous Extract, 8
Tincture, - 9-23
RezinCoutchouc, Oil and Acid, 16
Fceculencies, - - - 18
Manufacture of - - 24
Ointment Hydriodate of Potass, - 104
Proto and Deuto loduret Mercury 106
ofVeratrine, - - 120
OilofCroton, - ~ - - 129
Soap of - . - 129
Euphorbia Lathyris, - - 132
Black Pepper, - - - 153
INDEX,
225
|
Oil of Copaiva, |
- |
155 |
|
Cubebs, |
- |
155 |
|
Oxide of Mercury, Black |
- |
159 |
|
Oil of Cantharidin, |
- |
165 |
|
P |
||
|
Poppy, on the Cultivation of - |
- |
24 |
|
Peruvian Bark, |
- |
37 |
|
Piperine and Quinine combined, |
55 |
|
|
Pipcrine, |
- |
73 |
|
Potass, Hydriodate Solution, - |
- |
103 |
|
Ointment, |
- |
104. |
|
Pills, Proto and Deuto lodurets of Mercury, |
107 |
|
|
Strychnine, |
110 |
|
|
Pastiles of Emetine, |
116 |
|
|
Pills of Veratrine, |
119 |
|
|
Prussic Acid, - |
121 |
|
|
Pectoral mixture, |
122 |
|
|
Potassium, Cyanuret, |
123 |
|
|
Platina, Salts of |
127 |
|
|
Pills of Lupuline, |
128 |
|
|
Phosphorus, |
141 |
|
|
Powders, Ginger Beer, Chalybeate, |
176 |
|
|
Powders, Saratoga, |
186 |
|
|
a |
||
|
Quinine, Sulphate, remarks on, , |
- |
•53-117 |
|
Quinine, Extract of |
• |
161 |
|
n |
||
|
Red Bark, |
- |
46-161 |
|
Rhubarbaine, |
- |
67 |
|
Rhubarb, i^i varieties. Sulphate of Morphia, - |
- |
68 |
|
„ |
18 |
|
|
Quinine, |
- 53- |
-64-117 |
|
Cornine, |
- |
163 |
|
Solidified Copaiva, |
. |
57 |
226
INDEX.
|
Sulphate of Cinchonine, |
. |
G3-117 |
|
Rhubarb, - |
- |
67 |
|
Solution, Hydriodate Potass, |
- |
103 |
|
Strychnine, |
- |
108 |
|
Pills and Tincture, |
- |
110 |
|
Syrup of Emetine |
- |
11(> |
|
Solution of Veratrine, - |
- |
120 |
|
Syrup, Cyanic, - |
- |
123 |
|
Salanine, |
- |
125 |
|
Syrup of Lupuline, |
- |
129 |
|
Gentianine, - |
- |
134 |
|
Soda, Chloruret, |
- |
13^ |
|
Salacine, |
. |
142 |
|
Sarsaparilla, |
- |
144 |
|
Compound Fluid Extract, - |
148 |
|
|
Strammonii, Extract Sem. |
- |
161 |
|
Saratoga Powders, |
. |
186 |
|
Syrup of Liverwort, - |
. |
190 |
|
Surgical Instruments, |
- |
211-220 |
|
T Turkey Opium, |
_ |
^i |
|
Tincture Deuto-loduretof Mercurj^, - |
106 |
|
|
Nux. Vomica, |
- |
108 |
|
Strychnine, |
- |
110 |
|
Veratrine, |
. |
119 |
|
Thrydace or Lacutacarium, |
- |
126 |
|
Tincture of Lupuhne, |
- |
128 |
|
Gentianine, |
- |
134 |
|
Tonic Extract, Compound, |
- |
160 |
|
Tartar Emetic, |
- |
170 |
|
V |
||
|
Veratrine, |
_ |
118 |
|
Pills and Tincture, |
_ |
119 |
|
Solution and Ointment, |
120 |
|
|
Urea, - |
. |
126 |
|
Vegetable Extracts, |
- |
172 |
Zinc, Cyanuret,
Z