IODINE NOT AN ANTIDOTE FOE STRYCHNINE. 
535 
buy commercial bismuth, -which, after fusion, etc., will give no indication of 
copper when so treated ; for within the last month I have obtained three 
trade samples, and have been so far successful with each. 
Bat granting that in a strictly literal sense purified bismuth “ almost inva¬ 
riably ” contains traces of copper, too minute to be detected by ammonia, 
does this establish the correctness of Mr. Schacht’s statement, that the Phar¬ 
macopoeia preparation retains “ all the soluble impurities notoriously pre¬ 
valent in metallic bismuth, such as arsenic, copper, antimony, etc.” ? 
I think, on the contrary, all practical men will agree with me, after what 
has passed, that no “ important difference,” such as Mr. Schacht alleges, 
really exists between the liquor of the Pharmacopoeia and his own. The 
former avowedly contains nitrate of ammonia ; the latter does not. But if 
the Medical Council consider the presence of this salt to be of no consequence, 
we can hardly presume to contradict them. In saying this, I do not wish in 
the slightest degree to disparage Mr. Schacht’s preparation, for I can bear 
willing testimony to its invariable purity and excellence. 
I am, etc., 
C. H. Wood, F.C.S. 
IODINE NOT AN ANTIDOTE POP STRYCHNINE. 
BY S. DARBY. 
A short paper in the ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal ’ for April, taken from the 
‘ Lancet,’ is entitled “ Iodine an Antidote for Strychnine.” The conclusions 
arrived at by the author appeared so contrary to what would have been expected, 
from the properties usually ascribed to compounds of iodine with the alkaloids, 
that it seemed worth while supplementing the experiments with a few further 
tests. The result of these does not verify the deduction to be drawn from the 
title to the paper, and as this latter might, if left unnoticed, lead to some se¬ 
rious misapprehension, a publication of them may not be thought out of place. 
Solution of strychnine (British Pharmacopoeia preparation) was treated with 
tincture of iodine (also prepared according to the Pharmacopoeia) in the pro¬ 
portions mentioned by Dr. Fuller, viz. one part of the latter and three parts 
of the former ; the resulting reddish- brown precipitate was collected, washed 
with distilled water, dried, and then warmed on a water-bath to dissipate any 
free iodine. 
One grain of the dried precipitate was mixed with a small quantity of milk, 
and a portion given to a strong full-grown young cat. In the act of adminis¬ 
tration some of the milk and strychnine compound was lost, and a considerable 
portion of the latter remained deposited in the rounded part of the syringe; so 
that, judging roughly, from one-fourth to half a grain was taken. In two 
minutes, the cat became restless and uneasy in its movements ; in four and a 
half minutes, the first severe spasmodic jerk occurred; others followed at 
intervals until ten minutes had elapsed, when, with strong convulsions and in¬ 
tense rigidity of the back, it fell over and died. 
A portion of the powder was now digested for three hours, with frequent 
agitation, in distilled water at a temperature of 90° F. ; then filtered at this 
temperature ; and one fluid ounce of the filtrate, which possessed a decidedly 
bitter taste, was evaporated to dryness on a water-bath. It yielded a slightly 
yellow residue, weighing yj^ths of a grain, and treated with one drachm of 
distilled water, tasted intensely bitter. Another portion was digested, also at 
temperature of 90° F., and for a similar time, in a mixture of three parts dis¬ 
tilled water and one part dilute hydrochloric acid, Pharmacopoeia strength ; of 
