796 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 5, 1873. 
bismuth, and which would, he believed, practically be 
found to supersede it, and be even more valuable as a 
medicine, than the trisnitrate, so-called, or the car¬ 
bonate, and that was the citrate. The citrate of bismuth 
was easily formed ; the solution of nitrate of bismuth and 
citrate of soda mixed together in proper proportions—gave 
a precipitate, insoluble in water, which could be washed 
and dried, and was a permanent and beautiful body. It 
was a substance which would in the human system have 
all the effect of a carbonate or any other organic salt of 
bismuth,—that was to say, it would be decomposed by 
the action of the stomach ; and there was also this great 
advantage that the ammoniacal solution could atoneebepro- 
duced, as the citrate of bismuth dissolved in ammonia 
solution as freely as sugar in water. It struck him that 
that would be a better form to have introduced into the 
Pharmacopoeia than the oxide of bismuth, for it was a 
definite and beautiful salt deserving the attention of 
pharmacists generally. 
Upon being asked to explain how he got the citrate of 
bismuth,— 
Mr. Williams said he diluted the solution of nitrate of 
bismuth with as much water as it would bear, then added 
to that a solution of citrate of soda, taking care not to 
employ an excess as the precipitate would then be redis¬ 
solved ; the precipitate formed could be well washed, and 
any copper present was thus, together with free acid, got 
rid of entirely ; so that although the bismuth might con¬ 
tain copper, that objectionable impurity could be entirely 
got rid of. He had for a long time made liquor bismuthi 
by taking five grains of the citrate, which represented, if 
he remembered rightly, three of oxide of bismuth, and 
about g of liquor ammonias to each fluid dram of water. 
No citrate of ammonia was produced ; the preparation 
never decomposed or grew mothery, and the solution was 
practically as perfect as it could be. Of course this 
preparation required the addition of a new substance into 
the Pharmacopoeia, for citrate of bismuth must be an in¬ 
dividual entity. But he thought that was not objection¬ 
able, and it would be, he considered, of great value as a 
medicine. He had made a note about compound powder 
of elaterium. It was a valuable suggestion that they should 
reduce the strength of a powerful medicine by means 
of sugar of milk ; but would every pharmacist promise to 
make his own powder, and prepare it from the true 
English elaterium ? If pharmacists would do that, he 
quite agreed that such a preparation would be an im¬ 
provement upon the use of the crude drug. 
Mr. Gerrard said that since the last meeting he had 
made a number of experiments with regard to suppositories, 
and the result of his investigations was to have been 
brought that evening before the Obstetrical Society by 
Dr. Phillips, but he was prevented from doing so through 
indisposition. The basis he (Mr. Gerrard) had decided 
upon for giving the best result was a mixture of oleic acid, 
lard, and paraffin. Paraffin had this advantage,—it had a 
melting point 20 degrees lower than stearin, and was 
much nearer the temperature of the human body. It was 
also possessed of much better keeping properties, and had 
not that rancid or unpleasant odour which stearin or 
oleic acid had. When combined in proper proportion with 
paraffin, it formed an unctuous substance, spreading itself 
over the surface of the body with which it was brought in 
contact, and was absorbed in that manner. He had some 
specimens of the paraffin there. It was a most harmless 
substance, remarkable for its want of chemical properties, 
and it was, moreover, only about one half the price of 
cacao butter, and formed an elegant suppository* 
Professor Bentley presumed that this was not the time 
to refer to the general construction of the Pharmacopoeia. 
At the same time perhaps he might be allowed to suggest 
that, in any future Pharmacopoeia they should follow in 
some respects, the example furnished by the United States’ 
Pharmacopoeia, and have a secondary list of the materia 
medica. It would save a great deal of trouble and be ad¬ 
vantageous in a variety of ways, if they had such a list 
compiled. He thought it must be evident to everyone that 
there were several substances in the present Pharmacopoeia, 
which were to a certain extent, upon their trial, and which 
therefore should be placed in a secondary list. He would 
mention one substance particularly as being on its trial at 
the present time, and that was guarana. If a new Pharma¬ 
copoeia were about to be published at the present moment, it 
would be difficult to exclude this substance, although it had 
not by any means yet had a sufficient trial in this country 
to warrant its insertion. Then, there was another substance, 
podophyllum, which, if twenty years ago they had had a 
Pharmacopoeia with a secondary list, would never have 
been left till 1864 before it was put into the Pharmaco¬ 
poeia. This was a substance which had been in the 
United States’ Pharmacopoeia ever since the year 1820, 
and yet its use had been almost ignored in this country 
until lately, simply because it had not been sufficiently 
brought forward. He thought that in future Pharmaco¬ 
poeias it would be very desirable to omit all descriptions of 
materia medica,—all botanical descriptions, for instance,— 
unless they were perfect descriptions. The descriptions 
given of elder flower and aconite, for example, were no 
descriptions at all. A chemical test was a test, and on 
that account was extremely valuable ; and in the same 
way a description of a flower or leaf that was not a test, or 
not one by which they could readily distinguish that flower 
or leaf, was better out of the Pharmacopoeia altogether. 
The Pharmacopoeia was not a materia medica book, but it 
was a book that ought to give descriptions of drugs, so far 
as those descriptions were requisite, in order to indicate 
adulterations. With regard to the proposed introduction 
of a compound elaterium powder into the proposed ap¬ 
pendix, he should like to ask Professor Redwood what 
was the great objection to using in the composition of the 
powder, instead of the present uncertain elaterium, its 
active principle elaterin, it appeared to him that such a 
compound powder would be a very desirable introduction 
into the Pharmacopoeia. 
Professor Redwood could not conceive that it would be 
at all out of order to discuss the question of a secondary 
list in the Pharmacopoeia on the present occasion. The 
proposed appendix was a sort of secondary list, and it was 
quite open to the consideration of the Pharmacopoeia 
Committee of the Medical Council as to whether a se¬ 
condary list, in addition to the appendix, might not be 
introduced at the present time. 
Mr. Williams said that, if that were the case, he 
should like to suggest that some compounds which were 
now in great use, and which were of great value, might 
be added to such a secondary list, such, for instance, as 
the sulphocarbolates. These articles were largely con¬ 
sumed, and the consumption was constantly increasing. 
He had been told that the effect of both sulphocarbolate 
of zinc and of sodium was very beneficial medicinally. 
Another series of bodies which ought to receive the earnest 
attention of those drawing up a secondary fist were the 
preparations adopted for hypodermic injection. That 
seemed to him to be the mode of administering medicines 
in the future ; but at present there was a difficulty in 
making satisfactory hypodermic solutions. They must be 
quite neutral, or they would cause intense pain in their 
administration; and they must be very concentrated. 
He thought this matter was well worthy of the attention 
of the Pharmacopoeia Committee and of the Medical 
Council, to see whether it were not possible to intro¬ 
duce preparations somewhat different from those now used 
for hypodermic injection. The sulphovinate of quinine, 
as lately mentioned in the Pharmaceutical Journal, 
was a very valuable salt for that purpose. He had pre¬ 
pared some and found it was soluble—although a di-salt, 
and therefore perfectly neutral—in its own weight of water. 
Such salts were evidently indicated as valuable for the 
purpose of hypodermic injection. 
Mr. Martindale remarked, with reference to the use of 
paraffin in pessaries and suppositories, that he could not 
conceive that it would be absorbed in such a ready manner 
