THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[January 11, 1S73. 
5 M 
of distillate was found to contain 480 milligrams 
of ammonia. 
Similarly TOO milligram, O'50 milligrams and 
0‘20 milligrams of ammonia were dissolved in a 
litre of water, and tlie solutions distilled. Tlie first 
50 c. c. of distillate contained 0 - 50 ; 0‘235, and 0*095 
milligram of ammonia respectively. 
Collecting the results in a tabular form we have— 
Ammonia in litre of water 
before distillation. 
Milligram. 
Ammonia in first 50 e. e. of 
distillate. 
Milligram. 
I. . . 1000- . . . 
II. . . l-oo . . 
III. . . 0-50 . . 
IV. . . 0-20 . . 
....4S0- 
. . . . 0-50 
.... 0-235 
. . . . 0-095 
Showing that the strength of the distillate is 
proportional to the strength of the original liquid, 
and that when ; ,l of a dilute solution of ammonia is 
distilled off, that distillate will contain T \f- of the 
original quantity of ammonia. 
It will beobvious, on reflection,that the second 50c.c. 
of distillate (or the second of distillate) must con¬ 
tain about fbh of the original quantity of ammonia, 
and the third 50 c. c. of distillate of the original 
ammonia, etc.; and this is borne out by actual ex¬ 
periment. An important use may be made of these 
data. We are now in a position to tell whether am¬ 
monia is originally present in a solution, or whether 
it is formed during the distillation ; furthermore, we 
can tell whether it is rapidly formed or slowly formed, 
and thus are provided with new analytical data 
which may be used in distinguishing organic nitro¬ 
genous compounds. 
KOUMISS, BLAND A, SYRE, SIGRE, OR AIREN.* 
by james t. george, m.r.c.s.e., Keith , Banffshire. 
For upwards of twenty years I have used as a restora¬ 
tive medicine the vinous liquor procured by the fermenta¬ 
tion of cows’ milk ; and although a liquor has been for 
some ages employed by several tribes of Tartars, as 
procured from the fermentation of mare’s milk, it was 
with difficulty I could learn the particidars of the mode 
of preparing it. The books which I consulted, which 
were various, gave me little satisfaction concerning it. 
All writers say it is a vinous liquor obtained by the 
fermentation of milk, but none describe the mode of pre¬ 
paring it, or the purposes in medicine to which it is 
applicable. M. Paulus Yenetus, in a work published in 
the thirteenth century, only mentions it to be a common 
beverage among the Tartars. Another writer on the 
Russian Empire gives a formula which, if followed, could 
not be attended with success; for he mentions that the 
Kalmucks take off the thick substance, which, when 
sour, rises to the top of the milk, and employ this in 
food, and the remaining liquor is drank. But should 
any part of the milk be taken away, no fermentation will 
or can take place ; all the parts of the milk must be left 
in their natural proportion. The method which I have 
adopted in my own practice with success, and which was 
communicated to me by a Russian gentleman, is as 
follows :— 
“ Take of newly-drawn milk any quantity; add to it 
a little water, and pour the mixture into any vessel. Use 
as a ferment an eighth part of the sourest cows’ milk that 
can be got—but at any future preparation a small portion 
# Reprinted from the ‘ British Medical Journal.’ 
of old koumiss will better answer the purpose. Cover 
the vessel with a thick cloth, and set it in a place of 
moderate warmth. Leave it at rest twenty-four hours, 
at the end of which time the milk will have become sour, 
and a thick substance will gather on the top ; then with 
a stick, made at the lower end like a churn staff, beat it 
until the thick substance be thoroughly blended with 
the subjacent fluid. Leave it again at rest for some 
time ; repeat the beating, after which pour it into a 
narrow vessel like a churn, agitate the liquor until it be 
perfectly homogeneous. In this state it is called airen .” 
Its taste, if properly prepared, ought to be a pleasant 
mixture of sweet and sour (agitation must be employed 
every time before use). AVhen it is necessary to have it 
quickly made, heat the milk before applying the sour 
milk, and agitate every hour or half hour. By doing 
this it is obtained in twelve hours. If well secured in 
close vessels, and in a cool place, it can be kept a long 
time without injury to its qualities. There appear to be 
three things necessary to the vinous fermentation of milk; 
heat, souring, and agitation, the chief being agitation. 
In fermenting vegetable juices nature is sufficient to 
keep the parts of the fluid in mutual action, while milk 
is no sooner soured than a separation of its parts takes 
place ; the cream rises to the top, while the cheese either 
falls to the bottom, or is suspended in the whey. When 
these parts are brought into close contact with one 
another by agitation, frequently repeated, a vinous liquor 
is produced, which, in my practice, I have found highly 
beneficial as a dietetic, and of considerable virtue as a 
medicine. 
In cases of general debility I have given it largely, 
with essential service, as a nutritive. AY. G-., aged twenty- 
six, was sent to this place from Edinburgh for change of 
air. He had been under a mercurial course for a venereal 
affection, which left him in a very weak state. He was 
much emaciated; his face of a leaden hue; hi3 eyes 
sunken; he had slight cough, with expectoration of 
toughish phlegm ; his appetite was impared, and he was 
feverish toward night. On using the wine for about two 
months he got perfectly well and fat. He drank daily 
two quarts with a relish, and without any intoxicating 
effect. During the time he was under the medicine he 
required no purgative, and it seemed to act as a diuretic. 
I have found it of great use in typhoid fever, the patients 
using it for meat and drink. In a few cases no other 
remedy was used, young and old taking it. In nervous, 
dyspeptic, and hypochondriac subjects, its use for some 
time has a powerful restorative effect, giving flesh and 
strength. Invalids, not only without disgust, but with 
a sort of pleasure, drink it in large quantities, and, even 
when they do so, without headache or other unpleasant 
feelings, which the abuse of other fermented liquors pro¬ 
duces. As stated, I have used it in various complaints 
with success above my most sanguine expectations; and, 
in pulmonary consumption, when cod-liver oil cannot be 
taken, I have found it (but at the same time using whisked 
cream) equally, if not more efficacious, in relieving cough 
and giving plumpness to the body. From its mild acid, 
its vinous spirit, and its oily qualities, I consider it to be 
a cooling antiseptic, a mild stimulant and tonic, and a 
valuable nutrient. In acute diseases, with marks of 
weakness and putridity, in cases of excessive irritability, 
in dyspepsia, in phthisis, and in hectic, from ulceration 
or suppuration. 
I again repeat, that all that is necessary for its pre¬ 
paration is, after it is sour, frequent agitation. No spirit 
cam be produced from any one of the constituent parts of 
milk taken separately, nor any two of them unless mixed 
with the third. The closer it is kept the more spirit is 
obtained. If made in a glass vessel, that is to say if it 
undergo fermentation in it, it must not be more than 
two-thirds filled in case the bottles burst. When it is 
bottled for keeping any time, the bottles must not be 
full, and the corks must be fastened as in lemonade 
bottles. 
