742 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
to liberall and bountiful Jupiter. The 
Bladder of Gall containes in it the heat and 
fury of Mars. The flaggy flesh of the Milt, 
being the receptacle of the Melancholy hu¬ 
mour, doth very well resemble the cold and 
malevolent Planet of Saturn.” He “passes 
by with silence the twelve signes of the 
Zodiack, elegantly pourtrayed in Mans 
body, for those things are old and common,” 
and proceeds to develope, in a manner 
doubtless strictly original, “the Meteoro¬ 
logy of the Microcosms.” 
“ Do but see the Meteors of the Micro¬ 
cosms ! The fiery rednesse of sore Eyes 
doth represent the Lightniug, and so doth 
the brightnesse that shines from thence. 
The noises, murmurings, roarings of the 
Guts, belchings, and other crackings, are 
not unlike to Thunder. The tinkling and 
singing of the Eares doe prognosticate the 
invasive blasts and turbulent tempests of 
the Winde. The Distillations that flow up 
and down the Jawes, Throat, and Breast 
are to be likened to raine. The round dots 
which are spit out of the mouth, doe bear 
the similitude of haile. Teares are com¬ 
pared to the dew. Mines are found in our 
bodies, out of which Metals and Stones doe 
come, not to build up, but to dissolve our 
Earthly Tabernacles. Therefore the Stones 
of the Eeines and Bladder doe carry along 
with them the similitudes of subterranean 
Stones and Mineralls 
Having thus picked out some of the ab¬ 
surdities of our author, it would, I think, 
be but fair to state that his descriptions of 
the several organs of the body are by no 
means badly done, and allow him to con¬ 
clude his work in his own way, which he 
does wisely and well in this fashion:— 
“ Some have admired the Labyrinth of 
Dcedalus, others the Pyramids of Egypt and 
the tomb of the Mausoleum; but if a man 
doe but consider the Labyrinths that be 
about himselfe, he will be forced to cry out 
with the Apostle, O the height, breadth, and 
depth of the infinite Wisdome of God, 
whose tvayes are unsearchable and past 
finding out in the little World of Man ! 
“ Let us therefore, notwithstanding the 
saying of Pythagoras, —Finis Philosophic 
est nihil admirari,—and especially Philoso¬ 
phers, learne to admire our Creator, and 
not only to admire him, but adore him, who 
with his Sonne, and the Holy Spirit, liveth 
and reigneth one God, world without end. 
Amen.” 
Thomas B. Groves. 
Weymouth. 
The Examination and Sale op 
Petroleum and Benzole. 
Sir,—Decent writers on this subject in 
your Journal do not seem to be aware that 
their recommendations respecting the im¬ 
portance of legally fixing the length of time 
to be occupied in testing petroleum were 
anticipated in the schedule of the Petroleum 
Bill of last session—a Bill that will doubt¬ 
less, sooner or later, be reintroduced in an 
improved form. With regard to the omis¬ 
sion of this point in the schedule of the 
present Petroleum Act, reference to the 
‘ Votes and Proceedings of the House of 
Commons ” will show that the method of 
testing proposed by the chemists who were 
consulted by the Government was not 
adopted in its entirety, hence subsequent 
difficulties. It is to be regretted that scien¬ 
tific advice was not taken on the Act itself; 
its vexatious, though evidently unintended, 
interference with chemists and druggists 
w T ould then have been foreseen and avoided. 
I am, etc., 
John Attpield. 
What is the Specific Gravity of 
Tinctura Ferri Perchloridi P 
Sir,—In the course of an inquiry I was 
pursuing, I was led to determine the specific 
gravity of tinct. ferri perchloridi, and found 
it to be *9771 instead of - 992, as given in the 
Pharmacopoeia, and repeated by Mr. Squire 
with an amendment. As the number given 
in the Pharmacopoeia is so far from what is 
correct, and may involve an honest man in 
trouble, and allows a less scrupulous one an 
advantage, I think you will agree with me 
that it ought to be recorded. 
I am, Sir, yours respectfully, 
F. M. Bimmington. 
Bradford, April 22nd, 1870. 
Extractum Ergots Liquidum and 
Emplastrum Belladonnas. 
Dear Sir,—I see by the report of last 
Pharmaceutical Meeting you expressed sur¬ 
prise that you had not had some suggestions 
or statements of practical results on the 
preparation of extractum ergotse liquidum, 
and asked for experience on the question. I 
have had considerable practice in this pre¬ 
paration, a large quantity being used by the 
medical men in the neighbourhood for tic 
and neuralgic pains, with marked success. 
About twelve months ago my attention 
was drawn to the fact of it not being neces¬ 
sary to get rid of the oil and of ether. I 
was asked for a sample of the oil of ergot, 
and, not having any reserved, I made some 
from the marc used for tincture, which sug¬ 
gested to me the idea that it was not neces¬ 
sary to displace the oil with ether first. I 
argued that if it was not soluble in proof 
spirit, it would not be dissolved by water; so 
I tried the experiment, and found I could get 
as good results without as with, and thus get 
over the trouble of drawing off the ether and 
cleaning a retort, which I had previously 
found troublesome; the oil of ergot is not 
