May 1, 1895.] Supplement to the "Tropical Agriculturist. 
773 
BAZAAR DRUGS JN VETERINARY 
PRACTICE. I. 
Most of the common drugs mentioned in tlie 
Pharmacopoeia are, to a certain extent, obtainable 
in our bazaars. They are no doubt far from pure, 
but they recommend themselves on account of their 
cheapness, and the ease with which they can be 
procured, especially in places where a chemist's 
shop or a dispensary is hardly ever to be met 
with. There is on the other hand some little 
difficulty in utilizing these drugs. First and 
foremost, there is the difficulty as regards their 
names. The bazaar parlance is different from the 
chemist's, and even the common names of the 
drugs are seldom known to the retailers in the 
bazaar, who have their own names for the differ- 
ent articles they expose for sale, some of which 
are Sinhalese, some Tamil, or corruptions of other 
Indian lingos. 
The second difficulty experienced is in regard to 
the purity of the drugs, which are not subjected 
to any process of purification before they are ex- 
posed for sale. Hence, it is of great importance 
to know the likely impurities which they may 
contain, and t he best method of getting rid cf 
them. It is also important, that the purchaser of 
bazaar drugs should be able to distinguish the dif- 
ferent products from one another, as it frequently 
happens that the bazaar man himself is quite ig- 
norant of the substances with which he deals. 
He no doubt labels his different drugs, but if by 
some means these labels are lost, one cannot pos- 
sibly depend on his knowledge to classify and 
name the drugs on his own account. Again, fail- 
ures are often experienced in the use of drugs ob- 
tained from the bazaars on account of their 
being spoilt through being kept in stove for a 
long period. All these difficulties have to be fully 
realized in using these drugs. But the advant- 
ages set forth, viz., cheapness and accessibility, 
are two important factors to be considered, and 
with a little care and trouble bazaar drugs could 
be utilized to great advantage. The few notes 
appended hereto regarding some of these drugs 
will, it is to be hoped, help in some way in ex- 
tending their use: — 
Nitre— Saltpetre Potasste Nitras, Potassium 
Nitrate. Shu/., Vedilunu ; Tamil, Pettiluppu; 
Indian, Shoiakar. 
This salt is met with in many parts of Northern 
India, Persia and Egypt in t lie form of an incrus- 
tation on the surface of the soil. The incrustal ion 
itself is not pure nitre, but contains a large pro- 
portion of the substance. The formation of this 
deposit is due to the potash found in these soils, 
coming in contact witli nitric acid. The crude 
rtatter is purified by dissolving in water and by the 
addition of potasli carbonate, obtained by burning 
plants. Repeated solutions in water ami subse- 
quent evaporations make the material more or less 
pure. The chief impurities met with are common 
salt, and nitrate of lime, but none of these im- 
purities affect the value of nitre as a drug. 
Another method of preparing nitre is i;i vn»m' in 
Frtfnce and other European countries. Manure 
ami vegetable and animal refuse are collected in 
heaps, and to these are added froni time to time, 
lime in different shapes, whether it be plastering 
trom old buildings or gypsum, &C| the heaps are 
sheltered from ruin, but freely exposed to the action 
of the air. They are thus left for over two years, 
and at the expiration of the period are dissolved 
and purified much in the same way as in the case 
of natural deposits. It is stated that at one time 
nitre was prepared in Ceylon from bats' dung, 
large deposits of which are often found in caves and 
under ledges of rock in the less populated regions of 
the island. Nitre in the bazaar is generally seen in 
the form oi white (generally dirty white) crystal- 
line fragments. It gives a peculiar cold tingling 
sensation when placed on the\ tongue 4 When a 
piece of nitre is thrown into fire or on red hot char- 
coal it deflagrates. If a small quantity of the salt 
is dissolved and mixed with a few drops of sul- 
phuric acid and warmed in a test tube it gives off 
red fumes. 
The action of nitre is very rapid, it enters the 
blood easily and in its course reduces blood pres- 
sure; further, it promotes perspiration and increases 
the How of urine. It also acts beneficially on the 
lungs. In all febrile diseases, repeated doses of 
nitre prove to be of great use. It has also slight 
laxative properties. Horses may be given an 
ounce at a time and cattle one to two ounces ; 
dogs take from four to eight grains and cats half 
this quantity. In large doses nitre is a poison. 
In man an ounce of nitre generally produces toxic 
effects, whereas horses and cattle tolerate large 
quantities, from i a pound to a pound being re- 
quired to produce poisonous effects. A solution 
of nitre in water applied externally is a good re- 
frigerant. Nitre does not spoil by keeping. A 
pound of it costs from 20 to 25 cents in the bazaar. 
2. Alum. — Alumen, Aluminium Potassium sul- 
phate ; Sing., Sinnakkaram ; Tamil, Phitkari : 
Hindi., Phitkari. 
There are three varieties of alum known in 
commerce ; of these the principal and the most 
commonly used is potash alum, the other two 
being known as soda alum and ammonia alum. 
Potash alum is prepared by calcining shale or clay 
and treating it with sulphuric acid. The result- 
ing liquor contains sulphate of aluminum, to 
which is added potash, when alum is formed. Alum 
is found in the bazaars in the form of white crys- 
talline masses, having a sweet-acid-astringent 
taste. Ammonium sulphide and strong ammonia 
solution added to a solution of ulum gives a white 
precipitate. Alum is an astringent used both in- 
ternally and externally. Internally administered 
it arrests the various secretions such as sweat, 
urine, milk, &C. It is useful in diarrhoea end 
dysentery. Externally it is a useful application 
in wounds and also in diseases of the eye. It 
also arrests bleeding. 
Wi A. D. S. 
REVIEW. 
In our issue of July 1892, we began a series of 
Zoological Notes for agricultural students, and 
by way of preface said that agricultural student* 
generally experience much difficulty in isolating 
from large and comprehensive text-books, such 
matter for study as would give them a know- 
ledge of animals, whether they belong to highest 
or lowest orders of the kingdom, whose life- 
history is more or less of interest to the agricul- 
turist.' Our object as then stated was to supply the 
want of a convenient collection of notes for agricul- 
tural students, 
