ON THE PROCESS FOR PREPARING JAMEs’s POWDER. 
145 
which was minutely crystallized, and was deposited by the dense white smoke 
which issued from the skittle-pot every time the cover was removed, and ceased 
when it was replaced. At the bottom of the skittle-pot was a small quantity of 
yellow powder. It was remarkable that although many processes had been 
conducted in this fire-grate in all respects in the same manner, except that the 
fire had been maintained for two hours only, the powder had always turned out 
white, a significant fact which seemed strongly to indicate that the heating had 
been continued too long, and perhaps too intensely. It also agreed with the 
two cases already described, in which the intense heat of the furnace during two 
hours had produced the same injurious effect. It corresponded also with the 
fact already stated, that a portion which had been adequately raked was ren¬ 
dered perfectly white in the crucible by fifteen minutes’ red heat in a strong 
fire, the same effect not being producible by a weaker heat for a much greater 
length of time. 
In due time, after finishing a quantity of my James’s powder, I was anxious 
to know something of its medical effects, and with this view gave it to several 
friends for trial, and used it also in my own person. But in most of the cases 
tried, the powder had a rough action, producing sickness, and sometimes vomit¬ 
ing. I had used equal quantities of bone-ashes and sulphuret of antimony as 
directed by Pearson, and followed in the pharmacopoeias, but this proved to be 
too much of the sulphuret. I therefore made new trials of the process with 
half the quantity of antimony. In these proportions the difficulty and uncer¬ 
tainty of the process were greatly diminished ; the powder almost always turned 
out snow-white, and when used as a medicine in due doses was for the most 
part easily borne in the primse vise. But it is very probable that Dr. James 
employed a less ratio of sulphuret of antimony even than one-half ; he some¬ 
times prescribed his powder in doses of ten grainfe every six hours, and even 
twenty grains at once, without much effect on the stomach, bow r els, or skin. 
There is a slight objection to conducting the process of roasting in an iron 
ladle, and raking with an iron rake ; minute particles of protoxide of iron are 
found in the resulting powder, very small in quantity, but unpleasant in ap¬ 
pearance. This may be remedied by substituting an earthen dish, and it was 
such a vessel that Pearson used in his experiments; but the iron ladle is far more 
convenient. 
I believe that James’s powder may be prepared in the following manner :— 
Let any quantity, say eight ounces, of bone-shavings be heated in an earthen¬ 
ware dish or an iron ladle over a moderate fire, and frequently stirred or raked 
during its incineration. When burnt to a black powder and ammoniacal fumes 
are no longer perceptible, let four ounces of levigated sulphuret of antimony be 
thrown in, and let stirring with an iron rod from the bottom and all parts be 
immediately commenced and. rapidly continued, so that the sulphureous fumes 
shall have a free issue and be no longer discoverable. This is most important. 
During the desulphuration the heat should be kept as low as may be sufficient 
to cause the discharge of the vapour. In the dark, the powder should show r a 
thin, blue flame, as faint as possible ; but as often as this flame disappears, the 
heat should be gently raised until it again appear. But neither the bottom of 
the ladle nor the powder should be allowed to become red-hot while vapours are 
discharged, or while there is blue flame from the burning sulphur. At length 
even a higher heat will not expel any more sulphur. During this roasting, 
innumerable bright spiculge of metallic antimony will sparkle through the 
powder. The ladle and its contents may be allowed to become red-hot for 
two or three minutes, the raking being continued. If the process has been 
rightly conducted, the powder, at this stage, will have assumed the colour of the 
dust of Bath brick. 
The contents of the ladle should now be powdered, sifted, transferred to a 
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