266 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[October 1, 1870. 
or acids, like other substances that approximate to albu¬ 
men, is a colloid.* 
To finish this brief history of the chemistry of mustard 
it may he added that the white contains much mucilage, 
and that its ash contains 10 per cent, of sulphate of 
potash, arising from the destruction of the sinapisine. 
If now -we take advantage of the knowledge previously 
acquired, we shall be enabled perhaps to raise a corner 
of the veil which has hitherto hidden the mysterious 
therapeutic virtues of white mustard. 
The purgative properties of this seed have been ex¬ 
plained as a mechanical action of carrying through and 
expulsion,—a sweeping of the intestine. The purifying 
properties have been attributed to the presence of sul¬ 
phur and to a specific action which, considering the in¬ 
tegrity of the mustard in the fecal matter, is not very 
clear. 
If we examine a mustard-seed by the eye or under a 
microscope, we see that it is nearly round, scarcely 
wrinkled at the surface, neither very large nor very small. 
Left in cold water, it soon becomes ropy and very muci¬ 
laginous, acquiring a perceptible, but not disagreeable, 
flavour. The action of warm water produces this result 
much more rapidly. The seeds then roll one upon an¬ 
other with the greatest facility. 
It is to these peculiarities that it appears in part to 
owe its purgative property. Seeds of larger size, the 
surface of which could not be acted upon by the liquids 
of the stomach and intestines, might, without doubt, 
purge more or less, but would greatly fatigue the organs, 
which could not support a large quantity of them; be¬ 
sides, the total surface being much less, the mucilaginous 
principle would be dissolved in smaller quantity. 
Very small seeds, like the poppy, for instance, would 
be often arrested in the long course that they have to 
run; soon the whole intestinal passage would be covered, 
and there would be no progression of the mass. Black 
mustard, independently of its very irritating properties, 
is too small. 
The extreme readiness with which white mustard gives 
with water an abundant mucilage (for which reason that 
having a thin perisperm should be chosen) adds to the 
facility, already very great, of the movement of the seed 
due to its convenient size and round form. Until the 
contrary is proved, it would appear that it is to this 
union of properties that white mustard owes its value as 
a purgative. 
The depurative properties of this seed do not appear 
so easy to explain, since it is rejected in the excreta ap¬ 
parently without having undergone any modification. 
But this appearance is deceptive. The penetration of a 
liquid into seeds which have not a thick perisperm is 
easy. By osmose a very rapid exchange takes place with 
uncontrollable force, between the liquid charged with the 
soluble substances of the seeds and the liquid that sur¬ 
rounds them. Moreover, we know by the law which go¬ 
verns dialysis, which has been so well explained by the 
late Mr. Graham, that membranes allow crystalloids to 
exude easily (sinapisine is a crystalloid) while they retain 
colloids (myrosine is a colloid). It is not impossible, 
then, that sinapisine should be rapidly carried off from 
the mustard-seeds, although they remain intact, to be 
absorbed by the liquids of the digestive canal, and trans¬ 
ferred by assimilation into the entire organism. That 
the sinapisine should be carried off as such, or that it 
should be transformed beforehand into sulphocyanate of 
sinapine, would matter little, sulphur being found in 
both substances. 
Sulphocyanate of sinapine is, without doubt, an ener¬ 
getic poisonous principle, but it is among such substances 
we find the most medicines. It is only necessary that 
the doses should be so suitably apportioned, that they 
may not accumulate in the stomach, and that the elimi- 
* See the researches of M. Bussy and MM. Boutron and 
Fremy upon myrosine, myronic acid and sinapisine. 
nation or destruction should keep pace with the adminis¬ 
tration of a fresh quantity, without which there would 
soon be symptoms of poisoning. 
The less energetic character of black mustard, and its 
apparent inertness when employed as a condiment, should 
not be quoted in opposition to these views ; for there the 
sulphocyanic acid is not combined with a base but with 
an alcohol radical, forming the sulphocyanate of allyle, a 
very irritating substance; not a salt, but an ether,— 
that is to say, a substance absolutely different.— Journal 
de Pharmacie et de Chimie. 
Fire and Loss of Life at a 'Wholesale Che¬ 
mist's. —A fire, involving a serious destruction of pro¬ 
perty and the loss of four lives took place on Tuesday 
afternoon last at No. 30, Liverpool Street, Bishopsgate 
Without. The premises in which the disaster took place 
were occupied by Mr. John Bush, wholesale chemist, 
and were of considerable extent, consisting of stores, 
packing-rooms and receiving offices. Whilst the hands 
were employed on the ground floor packing goods, some 
one in the warehouse gave the alarm that the place was 
on fire. At that time only a slight blue glimmering 
light could be seen at the end of the warehouse, and 
those present, instead of at once sending across the road 
to call the engines, tried with the aid of buckets of 
water to subdue the fire. The flames, however, soon 
reached the bottles of tinctures which were on the 
shelves, bursting and then seizing on the carboys of 
spirits. On the first floor two females and a lad were 
employed in cutting and preparing labels. These poor 
creatures were either blown into or took refuge in a 
cupboard, where they were found dead, shrivelled up 
and burned in a dreadful manner. Mr. James Woolley, 
the manager, was suffocated by the fumes of the ignited 
chemicals while making an effort to save the other 
people employed on the premises, as well as his wife, 
who was in the first floor. His wife, who was with diffi¬ 
culty rescued, was in such a state as to necessitate her 
immediate removal to the hospital. The fire was not 
extinguished until that part of the building where it 
had originated was considerably damaged.— Times. 
Adulteration of Saffron with Chalk. —M. Con¬ 
stantin, of Brest, has pointed out this adulteration in the 
August number of L' Union Pharmaceutique. The sample 
he examined was obtained from a drug house of good 
repute, but it contained as much as 15 per cent, of chalk. 
The observations of Mr. Hanbury and Professor Maisch, 
to the same effect, would appear to indicate that this, 
adulteration is extensively practised. 
University of Edinburgh. —It is announced that 
Professor Allman is about to resign the chair of Natural 
History in the University of Edinburgh, which he has 
held since 1855, on account of ill-health. It is also said 
that Sir Roderick Murchison has resolved to give £6000 
towards the endowment of a chair of Geology and Mine¬ 
ralogy in the University, if the Government show equal 
liberality in the matter. 
Puff-Balls for the "Wounded. —It has been sug¬ 
gested that dry puff-balls, which are frequently used in 
some country districts for stanching blood, might be 
employed with advantage in the place of lint for dressing 
the wounds of the sufferers in the war. They possess 
the property of adhering closely to the wound, which is 
rather a merit, perhaps, when it cannot be frequentl)” 
dressed, and at present they might be obtained in great 
abundance. 
Hydrochlorate of Quinine in "Whooping Cough- 
—Dr. Breidenbach calls attention to the benefit that 
may be derived from this remedy when other means have 
failed. It requires to be administered in comparatively 
large doses. To a child of three weeks Dr. Breidenbach. 
gave a grain and a half per diem; and to one of eight 
years as much as fifteen grains per diem.— Lancet. 
