TARTAR. 



■II the form of ferous ftools ; tlic difchargc by urine being 

 alio augmented. The water in the cavity of the abdomen is 

 thus rapidly caiTied oH" ; and the chances of a return of the 

 difeafe are fuppofed to be fewer than when other diuretics 

 are employed. It is remarked, that they do not readily 

 pafs off by the kidnies, unlefs they are taken with a large 

 quantity of water ; and, therefore, when intended as a diu- 

 retic, they ought to be given in a liquid form, as Dr. 

 Holme has dircded. It has been fuggefted, that, in cafes 

 complicated with hepatic obftruclions, the efFefts of this 

 remedy are very uncertain. It may be advantageoufly united 

 with fquills ; and, on account of the exhauilion which it 

 occafions, the ufe of it Ihould be followed by preparations 

 of iron, and other tonics. As a purgative and hydragogue, 

 the dofe is from jiv to 3vj, in the form of eleftuary ; and 

 for the latter purpofe, this dofe muft be repeated until the 

 kidnies are affefted ; diluting freely during its ufe. Thcfe 

 falls enter feveral officinal compofitions : fuch as " carbonas 

 potaffix puriffimus," Ed. Ph. ; " ferrum tartarizatum," 

 L. D. ; " pulvis jalaps compoiitus," E. ; " pulvis fcam- 

 monii compoiitus," E. ; " pulvis fennas compofitus," E. ; 

 " potaffoe tartras," L.E.D. ; " autimonium tartarizatum," 

 L.E.D. ; " foda tartarizata," L.E.D. Woodville. T. 

 Thomfon. 



Tartar, Emetk. See Antimony. 

 A confiderable diverfity has occurred in the method of pre- 

 paring this tartar, probably from want of confidering, that the 

 emetic quality of this preparation proceeds from the metallic 

 earth being diflblved by the acid of tartar, and forming with 

 it a kind of foluble tartar, a true neutral fait, no lefs capable 

 of a very exa£t folution than the vegetable fait, the fait of 

 feignette, and all the otlier foluble tartars. By confidering 

 this faturation as a fixed point, tliere may be produced only 

 one kind of emetic tartar, always equally ftrong. See a 

 detail of M. Geoffroy's experiments on this uibjeft, in 

 Mem. Acad. Par. for 1734. M. Beaume direfts it to be 

 prepared by mixing together equal parts of cream of tartar, 

 and of porphyrifed glafs of antimony, or rather a larger 

 quantity of the latter ingredient. This mixture is to be 

 thrown gradually into boiling water ; and the boiling muft 

 be continued gently, till there is no efFervefcence, and till the 

 cream of tartar be entirely faturated. The liquor is to be 

 filtrated ; and when it is cooled, there will be formed in it 

 fine cryftals, in the form of pyramids with triangular bafcj, 

 which arc a foluble tartar perfectly faturated with glafs of 

 antimony. Thefe are tranfparent while moiil ; but by ex- 

 pofure to a dry air, they lofe a part of the water of their 

 cryftalhzation, and become opaque and white. Emetic 

 tartar thus prepared, very well produces an emetic effett 

 when taken from a grain to two and a half, or three, accord- 

 ing to the conftitution of the patient. The refult of 

 M. Beaume's experiments on the manner and duration of 

 boiling this preparation is, that veffels of iron and copper 

 ought to be avoided, and thofe of filver or glafs ufed, 

 hecaufe in thefe it may be boiled for any length of time, 

 without being decompofed ; and that as the intention of the 

 operation is to perfeftly faturate the cream of tartar, the 

 boiling muil be continued till this faturation be effetted, 

 which requires a long time, when the glafs of antimony is 

 grofsly pounded, but a much lliorter time when it is well 

 porphyrifed. Macquer, in the Chemical Dsftionary, ob- 

 ferves, that we are not certain that the emetic tartar, pre- 

 pared by faturating tartar with glafs of antimony, has 

 always an uniform and conftant emetic power. And there- 

 fore he recommends the powder of algaroth, or mercury of 

 Ufe, which, however dangerous in itfelf, may be rendered 

 fafe, by waflijng it with a little fixed alkali, which will 



fcparate all that marine acid that communicates to it a cer- 

 tain degree of cauftic quality. The powder thus waflied, 

 he fays, is altogether foluble by cream of tartar, and con- 

 vertible into a foluble emetic tartar, perfcdlly neutral, by 

 boiling it, and faturating it with cream of tartar, and treat- 

 ing it iu the manner above direfted, for the preparation of 

 emetic tartar with glafs of antimony. The powder of 

 algaroth, tinis prepared, is a calx of antimony conftantly 

 of the fame degree of emetic ftrength. The total eva- 

 poration of the fluid appears to be the beft way of fecuring 

 uniformity of ilrength to the medicine ; and the folubility 

 of the compound affords one of the bell means for eftimat- 

 ing its ftrength, or the degree of its impregnation with the 

 antimony. 



Dr. Saunders relates, that an ounce of cold water, about 

 the middle temperature of the air, diffolved, of fome of the 

 common emetic tartars of the fhop, not thirty-two grains. 

 or one-fifteenth of its own weight ; whereas of a well fatu- 

 rated fort, which he had himfelf prepared by long boiling, ^ 

 the fame quantity of water diffolved fifty-two grains, or near T 

 one -ninth of its own weight. 



The beft way, probably, of obtaining a faturated and 

 uniform preparation of this kind, would be to digeft the 

 common emetic tartar in eight times its weight, or lefs, of 

 cold water, and evaporate the filtered yellow folution to 

 drynefs ; or to continue the boDing of the glafs of anti- 

 mony and tartar for twelve hours, or longer, adding water 

 occafionally to keep the tartar always diffolved, and at 

 length to let the water wafte fo far, as not to exceed eight 

 times the quantity of the tartai- employed, after which the 

 hquor is to be fuffered to cool, and then filtered and evapo- 

 rated. The dofe of this preparation, as an emetic, is from 

 two or three to fix or eight grains. It may be given alfo 

 as an alterative, or diaphoretic, in dofes of a quarter of a 

 grain, or half a grain, or more, and added, in the quantity 

 of a grain or two, as a ftimulus to the milder vegetable 

 cathartics. Lewis's Mat. Med. by Aikin. 



Tartar, Foliated, is a preparation of tartar withdiftilled 

 vinegar, which reduces it into white leaves. See Acetas 

 PoTASs.'E, and Terra Foliata. 



Tartar of Iron. See Tartrite of Potafs and Iron. 

 Tartar, OU of, is the fait of tartar expofed to the air 

 for fome days in an open veffel, in a moift place, till it dif- 

 folvc into a fluid ; though it is improperly called an oil, 

 being no more than a diffolved fait. 



Oil of tartar per deliquutm is held the beft counter-poifon 

 to corrofive fubhmate. 



Tartar, Regenerated. When cream of tartar has been 

 made foluble by any alkaline fubftance whatever, it may 

 be revived, or regenerated, into cream of tartar again ; its 

 acid in this ftate has diffol-ved the alkaline matter prefented 

 to it, and that has been itfelf attenuated in fuch a manner as 

 to render it capable of infinuating itfelf between the mole- 

 cules or integrant parts of the conftituent matter of the 

 cream of tartar ; on this only depends the folubility of this 

 preparation : and to render the whole of its primitive nature 

 again, there requires no more than the addition of a new 

 acid, which fliall free the tartar from this alkali ; but this 

 muft neceffarily be ftronger than that naturally in the tartar. 

 Thus fpirit of nitre, or oil of vitriol, regenerate the foluble 

 tartar in a moment, as being more powerful acids than that 

 in the cream of tartar, and therefore taking from it all its 

 alkali. The acid of dillilled vinegar, which is not only a 

 vegetable acid, but the fame with that of tartar, is alfo able 

 to regenerate the foluble tartars. It might feem wonderful 

 that this fhould be able to effeft this change without any 

 fuperiority of force : but it is to be obferved, that in the 



cream 



