110 
THE AUSTBAL ASIAN JOUENAL OF PHAEMACY. 
mtix 
AN AMEEICAN CUBE FOE SNAKE-BITE. 
Dealing with the subject of hydrophobia, a writer in the Scientific 
American (16th January) extols the virtues of a “positive” remedy in use in 
New Granada and Guatemala for the bites of a number of varieties of poisonous 
snakes, as well as scorpions, tarantulas, and other reptiles and animals. The 
remedy referred to is the seeds of a small tree of the order Simarubcea , 
indigenous to Granada, Guatemala, and Mexico. The seeds are known as cedron 
seed, and the tree as simaba cedron. A fruit with a single seed, like the peach 
or olive, is grown, and the seed is from an inch to one and a half inch in 
length, four-fifths of an inch in width or more, and half an inch in thickness ; 
flat or concave on one side, and convex on the other; hard, and when cut with 
a knife shows almost a metallic lustre ; very bitter indeed. The writer states 
that the natives cut the seed, and chew and swallow pieces of the bean. Some- 
times, if spirits are available, they dip slices or chips of the bean in brandy, 
whisky, or other spirits, and then wash the wound, swallowing meanwhile other 
portions. When thus armed with the cedron seeds, “ they have a reliable anti- 
dote, and seemingly do not care much about a snake-bite, if only the cedron 
seeds are at hand.” The analysis of the seed has not, so far as the writer 
is aware, been made, but it is a somewhat curious fact, he adds, “ that cedron 
seed should be so completely an antidote to the rattlesnake poison, which 
contains formic acid, and also for the specific virus of the rabid dog, wolf, cat, 
fox, or other animal, and is, practically, the first really reliable cure of rabies 
known.” 
THE WONDEES OF COAL TAE. 
Thirty years ago the problem with gas manufacturers was to get rid of 
this foul and then utterly useless refuse of the retorts, coal tar. The aid of 
chemistry was sought in working out the solution. With no thought beyond 
the utter eradication of the offensive tar, the chemists discovered naphtha, which, 
however, could not be applied with safety to any practical purpose. The naphtha 
being extracted, the tar was left in the form of a heavy oil, which was still 
more of a nuisance than the original oil, as it was more difficult to store and 
handle. Belliel discovered a channel for this oil, which partially relieved the 
tar nuisance. Then Faraday came into the field with his discovery of benzine 
as a product of the coal tar. In 1857 Perkins demonstrated the great value 
of coal tar by his discovery of its anoline properties, a discovery that has almost 
revolutionised the dye-stuff trade. Perkins took coal tar naphtha, and, boiling 
it in a retort, obtained a chemical action, which resulted in benzole and nitro- 
benzole. Adding water to this, the nitro-benzole was deposited in the form of 
a thick oily mass. This he experimented upon, and, finally, by the addition of 
acid and iron filings, he produced the colourless fluid, aniline. This liquid he 
treated with various chemical salts, and the result was green crystals of a 
metallic lustre. These he found were capable of producing, under different 
chemical reactions, the most brilliant and gorgeous dyes — the aniline hues of the 
paint and dye trades of to-day. From the light oil of the tar a valuable 
naphtha solvent for india rubber was next obtained, and then the invaluable 
discovery of carbolic acid was made. And, “ last not least,” in 1869 the great 
discovery of allizerene resulted from further exjDeriments with the refuse of the 
once worthless and troublesome coal tar. 
