CG 8 
TIIE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [February is, 1371. 
whole mixed; a well-refrigerated receiver being adapted, 
forty-two parts of distillate are obtained by means of a 
sand-bath heat. To free the product from acidity, it is 
shaken with about half a part of calcined magnesia till 
neutral and then redistilled. Sp. gr. ‘815 to -820. This 
product has also been called Spiritus Salt's Dalcis. 
The French use a preparation called Esprit de Scl dul- 
cife, which is a simple mixture of 1 part of muriatic acid 
and 3 parts of alcohol.— American Journal of Pharmacy. 
PHARMACEUTICAL INFELICITIES IN ENGLAND. 
Under the above title, the following editorial note 
appears in the Chicago Pharmacist for January :— 
Our city and country are not the only places where 
physicians and apothecaries sometimes disagree, as we 
learn in perusing our foreign exchanges. A bitter wordy 
strife, instigated by the attacks of the Lancet , has been 
waged for some time between these highly respectable 
and scientific bodies, and, as usual in such cases, some 
tender spots have been bared on either side. The phy¬ 
sicians are incensed at the extent to which counter-pre¬ 
scribing- is carried on by pharmaceutical chemists, and 
incidentally aver that the charges upon their prescrip¬ 
tions are extortionate. 
We must acknowledge that on the first ground the 
physicians have just cause of complaint. The system of 
combining the vocations of prescriber and dispenser can 
scarcely be said to exist in this country. It is con¬ 
demned. by our pharmaceutical associations, and no 
member can indulge in such a practice without violation 
of the ethical code. 
We regard this as eminently just and proper; and 
however much our English brethren may exceed us in 
some respects, they are certainly far behind in this. 
The discussion has naturally brought forward some of 
the shortcomings of certain doctors of fair repute, and it 
seems that they are fully up to the standard allotted to 
quackery in our own community. We allude to the 
practice of certain so-called physicians who, from private 
motives, well understood by the favoured but equally 
unscrupulous apothecary, designate preparations by 
secret names or hieroglyphics, which to the uninitiated 
are about as intelligible as so much Chinese. 
A certain Watson Bradshaw having indited such a 
prescription, which went astray, a copy of it was sent to 
the London Pharmaceutical Journal for publication 
and elucidation. The latter request could not be com¬ 
plied with of course, but its publication called forth a 
note from the prescriber, correcting the “ false Lati- 
nities” which the published formula ascribed to him. 
This the editors allowed to pass unnoticed, whereat the 
critical Bradshaw waxed wroth, and demanded an apo¬ 
logy or satisfaction. The editors kindly granted him the 
latter by publishing a facsimile of the original prescrip¬ 
tion. . The writing is itself a curiosity, and scarcely 
more intelligible than the ingredients of his prescription. 
The eminent Bradshaw has now no cause of complaint, 
since full justice has been rendered him—a justice which 
he doubtless enjoys, as did a certain Shy lock in urging 
his rapacious claim. 
Bleaching- Sponges.— Sponges can be bleached by 
first soaking them in hydrochloric acid, diluted with Im¬ 
parts water, until no more carbonic acid is given off; 
then wash in pure water, and afterwards leave in a bath 
composed of 2 lb. hyposulphite of soda, 12 lb. water, 
and 2 lb. hydrochloric acid. If the sponge be afterwards 
dipped in glycerine and well pressed, to remove excess 
of liquid, it remains elastic, and can be used for mat¬ 
tresses, cushions, and general upholstery. Sponge mat¬ 
tresses prepared in this way are now finding great 
favour. It is, of course, not necessary to bleach the 
sponge where it is intended to be used for such purposes. 
—Journal of Applied Chemistry. 
Pills of Sulphate of Quinine.— In order to ensure- 
the solubility of quinine when made into pills, M. Cazac 
{Iiev. Med. de Toulouse) proposes to mix the sulphate with 
tartaric acid. This had already been recommended, but 
the quantity of acid proposed -was too large. M. Cazac 
uses one part of tartaric acid to five of sulphate of qui¬ 
nine, making up the pills with conserve of dog-rose.— 
British Medical Journal. 
Parasite on theI»emon. —At a recent meeting of the 
Scientific Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
Mr. Alfred Smee exhibited some lemons from Sicily 
which had been attacked by a species of coccus , quite dis¬ 
tinct from the well-knowui coccus of the orange, and 
apparently an undescribed species. It -was stated that 
nearly the whole of the lemon crop in Sicily is attacked 
by this parasite, -which renders it almost valueless for 
the English market. Although the juice is not much 
affected, the skin is completely spoiled, and rendered 
uncrystallizablo. The root appears to be at the same 
time attacked by a fungus.— Nature. 
Eucalyptus Lteaves. —The Rev. M. J. Berkeley men¬ 
tions in the Gardeners' Chronicle, on the authority of a letter 
received from Cannes, that Dr. Gimbert has introduced 
a new r method of dressing v'ounds by using eucalyptus 
leaves in the X'lnco of lint. The leaves, which have a 
“catty” smell, are merely laid on the wounds. The 
balsamic nature of them not only cures, but after a few 
hours all the unpleasant odour of the matter ceases. 
Incompatibility of Quinine and Veratrum Vi- 
ride. —Dr. Bradly, of .Marys, Ohio, reports that w-hen a 
patient is under the influence of Veratrum id ride, it is 
highly dangerous to administer quinine. The effects- 
are most alarming, immediate sinking and irregularity 
of the pulse, which in some instances reaches collapse. 
He ran great risk of losing three patients before he be¬ 
came aw-are of the actual cause.— Medical and Surgical 
Reporter. 
DRUG MARKET NOTES. 
The following are a few of the principal parcels of 
drugs offered for sale lately:— 
Rhubarb, 107 chests; China, 80 cases. 
Cantharides, 2 cases. 
Nutmeg Oil, 9 cases. 
Musk,—Tonquin, 77 caddies; Grain, 4 caddies. 
Musk Skins, 1 package. 
Squills, 54 bags. 
Ergot of Eye, 5 barrels. 
Bark,—Calisaya, 94 serous; Soft Columbian,. 
280 serons ; lied, 7 cases; Yellow, 50 serous; Bitayo, 
52 bales ; Crown, 27 serons. 
Castor Oil, 250 cases; Italian, 20 cases. 
Jalap, 10 bales. 
Honey, Chilian, 89 casks. 
Cod-Liver Oil,—Newfoundland, 88 casks; Nor- 
wegian, 57 casks. 
Patchouli Leaves, «C bales. 
Blackboy Gum, 30 casks. 
Japan Wax, 324 boxes. 
Orris lloot, 1 cask. 
Aloes,—Cape, 40 cases; East Indian, 29 cases, 
7 boxes. 
Cardamoms,—Malabar, 32 cases. 
Ipecacuanha, 10 serons and 1 case; Cartlragena, 
6 barrels. 
Chiretta, 75 bales. 
Cassia Fistula, 8 cases and 47 bags. 
Canella Alba, 15 packages. 
Camphor,—China, 115 cases. 
Ambergris, 7 tins and 54 oz. 
Turmeric—Madras, 320 bags. 
