ON GLYCERINE. 
3 
glycerine in diseases of the ear, giving a number of cases in which it had 
proved a cure for deafness. In the number of the 23rd of the same month, 
his results were confirmed by letters from Mr. Erasmus Wilson and Dr. 
Gardner, the latter of whom drew attention to the fact that glycerine should 
be free, not only from any trace of lead, but also as much as possible from 
water. His theory was, however, better than his practice ; for the glycerine 
he speaks of using, sp. gr. 1’280, being above the density of anhydrous 
glycerine, must have been impure. 
“ Isolated applications of glycerine had thus been suggested ; but M. Cap 
appears to have been the first to see its extraordinary value in a great 
variety of medicinal preparations. His very valuable and interesting papers 
were published in the Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie , and translated into 
the Chemist. I shall give two short extracts from them. 
“ M. Cap, in his first paper (, Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, February, 
1854, Chemist, April, 1854), begins by attacking the process of purifying 
glycerine given in the Erench chemical books, and shows its defects. He 
then gives his own process, remarks upon the great value of glycerine in 
slcin diseases, and after suggesting a number of valuable uses, proceeds as 
follows : 
“ * Glycerine dissolves the vegetable acids, the deliquescent salts, the 
sulphates of potassa, soda, and copper, the nitrates of potassa and silver, the 
alkaline chlorides, potassa, soda, baryta, strontia, bromine, iodine, and even 
oxide of lead. It dissolves or suspends the vegetable alkaloids in the same 
manner as the aqueous liquids, and at the same time the resulting products 
inay be used for the same purposes as though mixed with oil. Thus 1 lie 
salts of morphia dissolve in it completely, even cold, in all proportions. 
Sulphate of quinine, in the proportion of one-tenth, dissolves in it when hot, 
but when cold separates into clots, which, when triturated with the super- 
natant liquid, give it the consistence of a cerate very useful for frictions 
and embrocations. It is the same with the salts of brucine, strychnine, 
veratrine, and most preparations of the same order, which enables us to 
consider that we have now, if not medicinal oils with a vegetable alkaloid 
base, at least a series of new preparations which will fulfil a perfectly 
analogous use in therapeutics.’ 
“ M. Cap,|in his second paper ( Chemist , Oct. 1854), states that he employed 
glycerine of 28 Beaume, or containing 88 per cent, of anhydrous glycerine, 
and speaks of it as a solvent of sulphuret of potassium, and sulphuret of 
lime, of iodine, iodide of sulphur, iodide of potassium, iodide of mercury, of 
some chlorides, aud of quinine, and sulphate of quinine. 
“ In the Chemist of Eebruary, 1855, Dr. Crawcour, of New Orleans, 
states that for twelve months past he had been in the habit of usino- 
glycerine very extensively in those cases requiring cod-liver oil, in which 
the nauseous taste of the latter medicine rendered its exhibition impossible, 
and that now, in his practice, it had entirely superseded cod-liver oil. 
“ In a paper read at the meeting of the Royal Institution of the 30th of 
March, 1855, by the llev. John Barlow, E.R.S., attention was again drawn 
to the great preservative power of glycerine upon meat. On this occasion 
Mr. Barlow showed specimens of flesh which had been immersed, some 
partially and some wholly, in glycerine, for more than a month. I can 
answer for the flesh having appeared to be perfectly fresh.” 
Mr. Wilson then proceeds to contrast the method resorted 
to by M. Cap, to obtain pure glycerine, with that proposed 
and adopted by himself. As this, however, would not inte- 
rest the practitioner of veterinary medicine, it is omitted. 
