THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 29, 1871 
801 - 
root bark and leaf, and operate for liimself; tlie re¬ 
sult will amply repay tlie labour, and he has the 
self-gratification of knowing that what he sells is 
pure and unsophisticated. If the performance of 
these duties were the rule instead of the exception, 
we should not hear so much of the neglected appren¬ 
tice, for had he the opportunity of handling the spe¬ 
cimens and assisting to obtain then* products, it 
would leave a far deeper impression on his memory 
than cramming from books, and fill him with that 
spirit of emulation which is the road to excellence. 
THE ARTIFICIAL PREPARATION OF 
MANNITE.* 
BY JOSEPH M. HIRSH, OF CHICAGO. 
The preparation of artificial mannite, attempted 
at the instance of this honourable body, has been 
but a partial success, in so far as I could not in 
every instance obtain a product of exactly the same 
composition from the raw material, commercial glu¬ 
cose. Trials with pure grape-sugar invariably failed, 
in my hands, to produce that peculiar nauseous prin¬ 
ciple characteristic of manna. 
For the sake of brevity, I shall mention the out¬ 
lines of my experiments in this direction. 
I made glucose in the usual manner from starch, 
leaving about 10 per cent, of dextrine in the same 
undecomposed, but did not concentrate the glucose 
more than to 15° Beaume. To this solution I added 
5 per cent, of wheat flour, 5 of molasses, and as 
much of common malt vinegar, when the mass was 
at a temperature of 100° F. In twenty-four hours a 
lively fermentation had set in, which continued for 
three days, when I concentrated the liquid, which then 
showed the peculiar nauseous taste and odour of 
manna. Digested with alcohol, mannite dissolved, 
crystallizing upon evaporation of the alcohol, while 
dextrine and other impurities remained behind un¬ 
dissolved. 
The peculiar nauseous principle appears to be 
partly decomposed matter, undergoing a gradual 
change into humus. Whoever has been in a vinegar 
factory, badly conducted, where poor ventilation 
produces an incomplete oxidation of the alcohol, but 
rather decay, must at once be struck by the resem¬ 
blance of tliis odour to that of manna. It was this 
experience which induced my experiments in the 
manner mentioned above, the gluten of the wheat- 
flour forming, together with the vinegar, an excellent 
ferment of putridity, which not only produces the 
nauseous, humus-like parts existing in manna, but 
also the molecular change of cane- and grape-sugar 
which converts it into mannite. 
This artificial manna, in its action as a laxative, 
equals the true manna ; and very likely the presence 
of a substance in a state of change, the active prin¬ 
ciple, is the same both in the true and the artificial 
manna. The mannite produced in this manner does 
not reduce aklaline cupric tartrate, showing the 
complete change of the glucose; but your reporter 
would beg leave to complete his researches, viz. on 
the elementary analysis of the artificial product, 
* Paper read at the meeting of the American Pharmaceu¬ 
tical Association, in answer to the query, “ Can mannite be 
prepared artificially ? and if so, how ? And has it the same 
physiological properties ?” 
which pressure of business has prevented him from 
completing. 
An accompanying sample of the manna produced 
will show how far my attempts have been successful. 
— Proc. Amer. Pharm. Assoc. 1870. 
KOUMISS. 
BY VICTOR JAGIELSK.I, M.D. 
The modem progress of physiological chemistry has 
advanced the position of dietetic remedies to great pro¬ 
minence in the practice of medicine. A particular know¬ 
ledge of their properties becomes indispensable, there¬ 
fore, to every physician who would keep pace in learn¬ 
ing with the obligations due to his patients. Presuming, 
then, upon my long experience in the science and art of 
the subject, I offer these remarks upon Koumiss, for I 
was the first to introduce it to the British medical pro¬ 
fession. 
Koumiss accomplishes the twofold beneficence of a 
grateful food, which nourishes the debilitated body, and 
a potent physic that renews its failing vitality. It is 
the most important derivative of milk, which latter, in 
its various forms, has risen to such a value as a dietetic 
remedy, that special institutions in connection with its 
use in the treatment of disease are multiplying yearly 
throughout the Continent. Already 150 are in exist¬ 
ence, with double that number of physicians attending 
at them, and many of these physicians are eminent in 
their profession. 
In these milk institutions milk is used in its normal 
state—as buttermilk, as thick milk, and as whey, and 
sometimes even in association with mineral waters. 
Although there are no institutions of the kind in this 
country, yet milk and its derivatives are daily assuming 
a greater importance as aids to other systems of treat¬ 
ment in British medical practice. 
In certain severe diseases, accompanied by emaciation 
and debility, they have recently established a high cha¬ 
racter as restoratives. Remedies of this kind, more 
especially in the expectant mode of treatment, have the 
advantage over hazardous medicines in being harmless 
at the worst. They are free from any anxiety to the 
physician, and are much more likely to produce the 
good effect which he desires in his patient; especially 
are they the more rational means with which to com¬ 
mence the treatment, for they may soon produce results 
in a comfortable way, which will dispense with the ne¬ 
cessity of co-operative medicines. 
To the habitual use of these natural hygienic beve¬ 
rages the inhabitants of certain territories owe their 
immunity from particular diseases. In that district 
called the Steppes of Russia, lying between lat. 55° 30' N. 
to 40° N., and long. 40° E. to 79° 50' E., and bordered 
by the river Don and the Lake of Baikal, inhabited by 
Kirgheses, Tartars, Bashkurs, etc. consumption is un¬ 
known. Moreover, the people of these lands are distin¬ 
guished by their robust health and iron constitutions, 
notwithstanding that their nomadic habits subject them 
to a life of exposure and poverty; and yet almost their 
only food and drink is koumiss, for their religion, which 
is Mahommedan, forbids the use of other liquors. 
The exemption of these people from phthisis was so 
remarkable as to induce travellers to comment upon it 
on their return home. Their reports soon attracted the 
attention of the Russian Government, and led to the 
organization of a scientific commission of inquiry into 
the general character of the country. One of the results 
of these investigations was to settle the fact that the 
health of the inhabitants is due chiefly to their simple 
diet of koumiss, which combines all the elements of nu¬ 
trition in most digestible and assimilable forms. 
The origin of the word Koumiss is unknown, but in 
the Tartar language it signifies ‘ silver.’ This definition 
is probably intended to be suggestive of the noble qualities 
