-Jauuary 4, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
537 
the filter with the sulphate of soda. As there is no ele¬ 
vation of temperature, the chance of loss is avoided. 
I he whole is thrown upon a filter and the sulphate of 
s .U 1S w ashed with a little alcohol. The liquid is then 
distilled and evaporated in a water-bath to crystalliza- 
tion. Should the crystals retain any of the colour of 
the mother-liquor, it is only necessary to redissolve them 
an water and evaporate to a density of 36° to 38° to ob¬ 
tain perfectly white crystals. 
In a footnote the editors of the Journal de Fharmacie 
et de Chimie state that when sulphovinate of soda is pre¬ 
pared by saturating sulphovinic acid with carbonate of 
baryta, anti decomposing the sulphovinate of baryta thus 
formed either by sulphate or carbonate of soda, it might 
happen that the whole of the sulphovinate of baryta was 
not decomposed, and then that dangerous salt would re¬ 
main mixed with the sulphovinate of soda. M. Duques- 
nel has recently recommended that sulphovinate of soda 
should be carefully tested with dilute sulphuric acid for 
baryta, and with chloride of barium for carbonate of 
soda. 
J'k® lr hroductory meeting of the session of the 
‘k_c.iool of Pharmacy, M. Bussy delivered an address to 
the students. He illustrated his advice to them to make 
the best use jf their opportunities by referring to two 
illustrious men, A auquelin and Parmentier, whose busts 
have recently been placed in the entrance hall. 
Vauquelin, starting from the lowest position, as a 
laboratory boy in a provincial pharmacy, became by 
persevering labour one of the most distinguished che¬ 
mists of his time; to him we are indebted for many dis¬ 
coveries important to science and industry, among which 
may be mentioned those of chromium and glucina. As 
■a colleague of Fourcroy, professor at the School of 
Mines, at the Museum of Natural History, and the 
-Faculty of Medicine, he formed part of the glorious con¬ 
stellation who, under the impulse of Lavoisier, laid the 
foundation of modern scientific chemistry. Named di¬ 
rector of the School of Pharmacy at the time of its insti¬ 
tution, ho then became connected with the establishment 
in which he had left such pleasant memories. Many of 
those present, amongst them the speaker, could remem¬ 
ber the inexhaustible kindness which was the principal 
Irait and particular charm of his character. 
Parmentier, like Vauquelin, commenced his career 
under the most unfavourable conditions; like him, too, 
starting from the modest laboratory of a provincial phar¬ 
macy, he attained by labour the highest positions and 
considerable fame. He is honoured particularly for the 
benefits he conferred upon France by his successful 
•efforts to introduce the potato as an article of diet; 
efforts which have been recognized by the public in con¬ 
ferring upon it the name of parmentiere. Parmentier 
occupied for a long time the highest post in the corps of 
military pharmaciens; but neither personal abnegation 
nor devotion to his duties prevented him from the culti¬ 
vation of science, and by his merits he placed himself in 
the front ranks among such men as Bayen, Laubert, 
Boudet, Serullas, and Millon. 
M. Bussy concluded with a reference to the death of 
M. le Canu, who was long a professor in the school. 
The box stated by prisoner to be of cedar wood was 
merely stained deal. The bottles labelled for the “ heart,” 
^ appetite, rheumatism” “kidneys,” “lungs,” and 
blood, contained a simple salme solution. There were 
about eight grains of chlorate of potash in each bottle. 
I he spikenard ointment was cocoa-nut oil mixed with 
lard# 
Cross-examined: Chlorate of potash was not a stimu¬ 
lant. It was a refrigerant, and was formerly thouo-ht to 
be a diuretic It was thought that it gave oxygen to 
the blood, but that was a fallacy. Chiretta, which some 
of the medicines contained, was a nice tonic for a 
person who had a weak stomach. 
Dr. Walton said that the eight-guinea bottle called 
restorer of life contained water with a little sulphuric 
i ^° 1 nt ? nts of the bottle would not be worth 
bd.' ihe bottle itself would be worth about 2d, It was a 
tonic and astringent. The “sediment of gums” was 
only bay salt, and would be worth about 2d. 
Cross-examined: Thought the solution of sulphuric 
acid might excite the appetite and promote digestion, and 
would.be a proper thing to give to a man in a similar 
condition to that in which prosecutor said he was. In 
his analysis he found no_ trace of any tincture of buchu. 
The bottle said to contain myrrh no doubt did contain it. 
My nil liad the reputation of being* a stimulant-tonic. 
Examination resumed : The “ bread of life ” was gra¬ 
nulated effervescent magnesia. A smaller bottle la¬ 
belled “ The. Indian Remedy ” also contained water 
acidulated with sulphuric acid. The guinea bottle said 
to contain chiretta did contain diluted tincture. It 
would be worth about 'M. 
Prisoner, who said it was very hard that he should 
have to neglect his business through other people’s false 
statements, was further remanded. —Eastern Mornina 
News. J 
Accidental Poisoning by Arsenic. 
On Thursday, December 12th, an inquest was held at 
Ivilgananagh, in the neighbourhood of Antrim, on the 
body of a woman named Margaret Carlisle, thirty-five 
years of aire, wife of a respectable farmer of that place, 
whose death was caused under the following circum¬ 
stances :—On the previous Tuesday deceased’s husband 
had gone to the market at Antrim, where he was to have 
been joined by his wife, who shortly afterwards left 
home for that purpose. Previous to leaving, however, 
feeling not very well, she went to a drawer to get a little 
cream of tartar, which she occasionally took when she 
felt unwell, but in mistake she took half a teaspoonful 
of arsenic (a small quantity of which was in a paper in 
the same drawer), instead of the cream of tartar, and on 
reaching Antrim she became so ill that Dr. Taggart was 
sent for, but death put an end to her sufferings 
next morning. The jury returned a verdict “That the 
deceased died from the effects of poisoning by arsenic, 
which she had taken in mistake for cream of tartar.”— 
Belfast News Letter. 
VACANCIES AND APPOINTMENTS IN CONNEC¬ 
TION AVITH PHARMACY. 
parliatmtars aitir fato froitctagf. 
The Charge oe Fraud against a Herbalist. 
On Saturday, Dec. 21, the hearing of this case w r as re¬ 
sumed. Dr. Munroe, who, with Dr. AValton, had made an 
analysis of a great part of the articles supplied to the pro¬ 
secutor, said the glass into which Richardson was to blow 
through a tube contained a solution of lime. One of the 
glasses called by the prisoner “ pulse glasses ” was 
merely an air thermometer toy. The other tubes were of 
•a similar character, and were not of Indian manufacture. 
The Editor will he glad to receive early notice of any 
vacancies of pharmaceutical offices connected with public 
institutions, and likeivise of appointments that are made, 
—in order that they may be published regularly in the 
Journal. 
APPOINTMENT. 
Mr. Oswald A. Reade, pharmaceutical chemist, of Belfast, 
has been appointed Dispeuser to Her Majesty’s Naval Hos¬ 
pital at Ascension, with charge of stores. 
VACANCIES. 
Dispensers possessing the Major qualification of the Phar¬ 
maceutical Society are required for service in Her Majesty’s 
hospitals. Particulars may be obtained at the Medical De¬ 
partment of the Navy, Admiralty, Somerset House. 
