1010 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[June 21, 1873. 
diseases, on account of the large proportion of iodine 
which it contains, but did not meet with much favour. 
Whether it deserves the position it has obtained has 
yet to be proved. The rest of the new remedies are 
well known in this country, and it is to be hoped 
that the more important of them, physostigma, chloral, 
ammonii nitras, and acidum carbolicum impurum 
will be included in the proposed Appendix to the 
P. B. About the importance and extensive use of 
chloral there can be no question; a syrup or solution 
of which one fluidounce should represent one ounce 
or half an ounce of chloral, would have been an ex¬ 
ceedingly useful and convenient preparation, espe¬ 
cially if combined with some really efficient flavour¬ 
ing agent to disguise its very disagreeable taste. It 
is much to be regretted that such a solution was not 
introduced among the preparations. Acidum car¬ 
bolicum impurum is frequently ordered by medical 
men as a disinfectant, and varies greatly in appear¬ 
ance and in quality, some specimens being more 
offensive than the impurities they are intended to 
remove. Two medicines, however, which are in con¬ 
stant use, and which might be supposed to have at 
least an equal claim with such substances as iodoform 
and oxalate of cerium, appear to have been over¬ 
looked. These two are pepsine and a preparation to 
represent chlorodyne.* An official recognition of the 
former with appropriate tests for ascertaining its 
purity and strength, is certainly a desideratum. With 
regard to the latter, it is, I believe, as largely pre¬ 
scribed in America as it is in this country, and is 
quoted in most wholesale drug-lists. Several formulae 
have been published, and each manufacturer proba¬ 
bly uses the formula he finds most advantageous, or 
such a modification of it as his experience may sug¬ 
gest. Many retail chemists also make their own 
chlorodyne. Hence it is most desirable that so 
powerful and useful a remedy should have a recog¬ 
nized standard of strength and composition. 
Many of the most useful remedies in the Pharma¬ 
copoeia are imitations of secret preparations formerly 
introduced by enterprising and clever men. Charta 
sinapis, ext. cinchon. fluid, liq. potass, arsen., liq. potass, 
permang., mist, ferri co., pil. antim. co., pulv. ipecac, 
co., tinct. cinchon. co., etc., owe their origin to patent 
medicines or secret preparations. Indeed, it is very 
probable that if a little trouble were taken to trace 
the history of Pharmacopoeia preparations, at least 
one-half would be found to have originated in a simi¬ 
lar manner. There could therefore be no objection, 
on the ground of countenancing secret remedies, to 
the introduction of an equivalent for this excellent 
preparation. 
Two of the preparations, valerianic acid and valeri¬ 
anate of zinc, have been removed to the primary list. 
This small number might perhaps have been con¬ 
siderably increased, as there are many preparations 
which it is impossible for the maj ority of chemists to 
manufacture with convenience or profit on their own 
premises, and these would find a more fitting position 
in the materia medica, provided that the descriptions 
and tests appended to each were thoroughly practical 
and easily applicable. 
Three of the articles in the secondary list of the 
last edition, have been removed to the primary list 
in the present one. These are—gelsemium, hydrastis, 
and ruta. 
* Although scarcely within the province of materia 
medica, but belonging rather to the preparations, the im¬ 
portance of chlorodyne may excuse a reference to it here. 
Gelsemium. —This is certainly a powerful remedy, 
and worthy of the attention of therapeutists in this 
country. According to King’s 1 Dispensatory’ it re¬ 
moves nervous irritability more completely than any 
other known agent. It is much used in America as a 
febrifuge. The peculiarity of its action seems to be 
that it causes a most complete relaxation of the mus¬ 
cular system, so that the patient is unable even to raise 
the eyelids. This effect, however, passes off in a few 
hours, and leaves the patient refreshed. On account 
of this action it has been recommended in the treat¬ 
ment of tetanus, and spasm of the glottis, etc. In¬ 
stances of death resulting from large doses being 
taken are on record. It has been stated, however, 
but the statement seems to require further investi¬ 
gation, that these fatal results have been owing to 
the admixture of the root of a plant very similar to 
it in appearance, which is known as the white jessa¬ 
mine, or white poison vine, Gelsemium sempervirens 
being called the yellow jessamine in America. In 
this country it is known as the Carolina jessamine. 
Hydrastis canadensis , or golden seal.—A full ac¬ 
count of the properties and uses of this plant have 
been given in a former volume of the Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Journal, by Professor Bentley, and therefore 
it need not be alluded to here.* 
Ruta graveolens. —Rue appears to be one of those 
drugs, the use of which is more or less influenced by 
fashion. Long used as a domestic remedy, and pos¬ 
sessing some powerful properties, it occasionally finds 
its way into Pharmacopoeias. It is rather surprising, 
however, to find it in the primary list, since there 
are other remedies for the complaints for which it is 
used, which are more pleasant and safer to administer. 
The other changes which have taken place in the 
primary list consist in the transference of extractum 
cannabis to the preparations under the name of ex¬ 
tractum cannabis inclicse, and in the dismissal of 
oleum bubulum or neat’s foot oil. 
With regard to the secondary list, three new arti¬ 
cles have been introduced— 
Asclepias incarnata. 
Asclepias syriaca. 
Castanea. 
Asclepias incarnata and syriaca were dismissed 
from the U. S. Pharmacopoeia of 1864. It has been 
stated that this was done on insufficient grounds. 
They possess alterative properties, and are used in 
the United States in scrofula, etc. For this purpose 
A. syriaca is more particularly used. It appears 
somewhat doubtful, however, whether the root which 
gives the best results is yielded by either of the 
above-mentioned species. 
Castanea .—This must not be confounded with the 
Castanea pumila or chinquapin, which was formerly 
officinal. The present Castanea is the C. vesca, or 
Spanish chestnut, as it is called in this country. The 
leaves of this plant have been strongly recommended 
of late years as a specific for whooping-cough. In 
the only case which has come under my observation, 
the decoction of these leaves effected a speedy cure. 
As we have no specific for this distressing malady, 
the remedy is well worthy of a trial in this country. 
One article only has been transferred from the 
primary to the secondary list, and this fact appears 
to have escaped the notice of the compilers of the 
Pharmacopoeia. The article alluded to is gillenia. 
It includes the root of two species, G. stipulacea and 
* Pharmaceutical Journal, 2nd Ser., Yol. III. p. 540. 
