November 2(5, 1970.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
423 
(0.) Spec. Grav. -871. 
Fractional distillation 
Temperature. 
Quantity distilled. 
70° to 80° Cent. . 
. . . . *0 
80 „ 90 ... 
.... 28-8 
90 „ 100 ... 
.... 335 
100 „ 110 ... 
.... 10-7 
110 „ 120 ... 
. . . . 5b 
120 „ 130 . . . 
.... 29 
Residue in retort 
.... 10-2 
Loss in distillation . 
.... 19 
(y ) Spec. Grav. 'Sod. 
80° to 90° Cent. 
.3-8 
90 „ 100 . . 
.129 
100 „ 110 . . 
.10-2 
110 „ 120 . . 
.99 
120 „ 130 . . 
.14-3 
130 „ 140 . . 
.28*9 
140 „ 150 . . 
.30 
150 „ 100 . . 
.2T 
Residue in retort 
.127 
Loss. 
.1-0 
100-0 
A glance at tliese tables will clearly show the 
great difference in the various specimens examined. 
The deviation from the correct boiling-point, evi¬ 
dently indicates that in specimen y more especially, 
crude or merely rectified fousel oil was used for its 
preparation, without any previous subjection to frac¬ 
tional distillation. 
Specimen /3 was certainly some little better, but 
far from perfection; upon a care had evidently been 
bestowed, but this doubtless might be considerably 
improved. 
Surely with such a valueless basis as fousel oil, 
greater pains might be taken for the production of 
pure amylic alcohol as a starting-point, in order to 
produce a nitrite that would be reliable, instead of 
one likely to become a source of annoyance to the 
profession, and a disgrace to our art. 
Laboratory , 40, Aldersyate Street , E.C. 
ALOES. 
BY WILLIAM A. TILDEN, B.SC., E.C.S. 
The appearance of a note by the Messrs. Smith on 
the “Purgative Action of Aloes” affords me an op¬ 
portunity for explaining one or two points in my 
paper on an allied subject which are not quite so 
clearly stated as I could wish. 
Under the head ‘ Aloetin ’ in my paper, the view 
is expressed that it is a mixture of anhydrous aloin 
with a brown oxidized substance “ referred to, further 
on.” By an absurd oversight, which can only be 
explained by the hurried manner in which the ac¬ 
count of these experiments was collated from my 
notebook, definite allusion to this oxidized substance 
is altogether omitted in the subsequent part of the 
paper. An apology for tliis omission is therefore 
due to the Conference, and acknowledgment to the 
Messrs. Smith for taking the trouble to draw atten¬ 
tion to it. The following passage, however, does 
occur in the original paper:—“ It is, of course, al¬ 
ready known that if kept in a moist state in the 
water-bath for some time, the pure substance be¬ 
comes gradually brown, and assumes the appearance 
of Socotrine aloes.” And again, in paragraph IV. 
“ The acidity to test-paper presented by an infusion 
of aloes is a property of the half-oxidized substance 
contained in the unciystallizable aloetin .” This was 
the brown substance to which I intended to refer. 
In the absence, as I fancied, of any evidence point¬ 
ing to aloin as the active part of aloes, in presence 
of the experiments adduced by Robiquet (The Che¬ 
mist , 1850), and of the fact that I have myself re¬ 
peatedly taken in the course of these experiments 
doses of A grain and 1 grain of pure crystallized 
aloin without discovering the cathartic action with 
which it is credited, I attributed to this substance in 
my own mind the qualities for which aloes as a drug 
is valued. I am, however, perfectly open to receive 
information on this point, and to modify my opinion 
accordingly. My desire was to express that opinion 
with due caution and reserve. AVitli reference to 
the employment of aloin in medical practice I must, 
however, say that in my own experience, and in that 
of pharmacists of whom I have made inquiries, 
aloin is but rarely prescribed here in the south, and 
indeed there are few druggists who keep it in stock. 
The action of the air upon alkaline solutions of 
aloin or of aloes is to produce a body, or mixture of 
bodies, whose distinguishing characteristic is abso¬ 
lute freedom from bitterness. It was certainly not 
this substance which I desired to indicate as that to 
which preparations of aloes owe their activity, nor 
do I believe it to be a constituent of aloes in its or¬ 
dinary condition, at least to more than a trifling ex¬ 
tent. The main point in my paper was to furnish 
an answer to the question, why does decoction of 
aloes lose its bitterness ? I reply that it is in con¬ 
sequence of the absorption of oxygen by the aloin ; 
this extreme stage of oxidation being scarcely ob¬ 
tainable except in the presence of free alkali. 
IMPROVED MOULD FOR SUPPOSITORIES 
AND PESSARIES. 
BY A. W. GERBARD, 
Dispenser , Guy's Hospital. 
Between three and four years ago the subject of 
medicated suppositories and pessaries, and the best 
kind of mould for casting them, engaged the attention 
of pharmacists, and a paper was read before the 
Pharmaceutical Society by Mr. H. B. Brady, in 
which he discussed the various means employed for 
moulding them, and rightly came to the conclusion 
that metal moulds would be found the most con¬ 
venient, giving the best results. At the same time 
he introduced a mould, made at his suggestion, by 
Messrs. Maw and Son, which, I believe, has come 
into general use. 
On examining Mr. Brady’s pattern (an illustra¬ 
tion of which may be seen in the number for May, 
1800), it will be observed that it is a piece of metal 
divided into three by a longitudinal section passing 
through each row of holes, these tlrnee pieces open 
upon two hinges for the purpose of removing the 
cones ; there is also a fastening at each end w liich 
holds it firmly together. Whilst using one of these, 
it seemed to my mind unnecessarily complicated, 
and that one could be made simpler and cheaper, 
giving equally good results. 
The mould which forms the subject of the accom¬ 
panying illustration is the result of my experiment. 
It is composed of two pieces of metal, one lying upon 
the other, kept in position by a pin at each end ; the 
holes are drilled through the top into the bottom 
