248 Phillips' Remarks on the 



miiriato is by the old and expensive method cf decomposing 

 corrosive sublimate by means of antimony. 



The antimonial basis used in making emetic tartar is the 

 glass or sulphuretted oxide of antimony ; this is not the most 

 eligible substance to be employed, but I shall not, on the 

 present occasion, repeat observations which I have formerly 

 made on this subject. The proportions are 240 of tartar to 

 160 of the finely-powdered glass of antimony. Now as tartar 

 actually dissolves -^^^ of the glass, it is evident that of the 

 whole 160 were soluble, that nearly 30 more would be re- 

 quired to saturate the tartar ; and I find after repeated ex- 

 periment, that there ought to be at least one-tenth more of 

 glass used than of tartar, so that the 160 parts directed 

 should have been 264, and in consequence of this deficiency at 

 least half the tartar will be unconverted into tartarized antimony. 



In the appendix we find " Nouvelle methode pour preparer 

 le tartrate de potasse et d'antimoine ;" it is stated to be taken 

 from the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia of 1813, a work which 

 never contained it. It was probaljly copied from Dr. Duncan's. 

 Dispensatory, and I need merely add that the process consists in 

 employing subsulphate of antimony, as was I believe first re- 

 commended by me in the Experimental examination of the 

 London Pharmacopoeia. The differences made in the process 

 are two ; first, the proportions of antimony and sulphuric acid 

 are to each other as 50 to 75 instead of 1 to 2, as I advised ; 

 the smaller quantity of sulphuric acid not being sufficient 

 to oxidize the antimony, the process is not improved. The 

 other alteration consists in using equal weights of tartar and 

 subsulphate of antimony, instead of 10 to 9 as I advised; 

 this alteration is merely wasteful. There are directions also 

 for the preparation of kermes mineral and the golden sulphur 

 of antimony. The methods are^ slightly altered from those 

 usually practised, and, as far as I can observe, without any ad- 

 vantage whatever. 



The preparations which I shall now notice are those of iron ; 

 they arc very numerous, and it may be asserted without hesita- 

 tion, that many are needless even if all are good. 



