188 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 2,187k 
The influence of forests upon tlie climate of a 
country, and tlie relation of tlie vegetation to the 
local peculiarities of a district, lias often been ob¬ 
served. A fresh illustration is to be found in the 
Italian province of Oneglia, where for the last two 
years the olive crop has suffered from drought. It 
has been noticed that in recent years the rain that 
has fallen on this coast has been much less in 
quantity than formerly; and olive plantations, which 
were considered safe and lucrative property, are 
now looked upon as a bad speculation. The want 
of rain is generally attributed to the reckless way 
in which the mountains above the oil range have, 
especially of late years, been cleared of the forests 
which clothed them. From time immemorial the 
wood has been cut without any system of replanta¬ 
tion ; but, until about twenty years ago, there being 
no very great demand, and the mountains being 
utterly without roads, the quantity brought down to 
the coast was not large. Since that time the 
country has been opened up to a certain degree by 
roads, there has been an enormously increased 
demand for beech and oak for shipbuilding and 
chestnut for housebuilding, and some of the woods 
have been absolutely swept away without a tree 
being left. A society has been formed, having for 
its object to stop these reckless clearances, and to 
induce proprietors to replace, by degrees, the timber 
in those positions which do not allow of tillage. 
Her Majesty's Consul at Santa Martha, New 
Granada, reports that although the cinchona bark 
shipped at that sea-port, and brought from the states 
of Tolima, Boyaea and Cimdinamarca, is not so 
highly appreciated in European markets as that 
from the state of Cauca, known as Pitayo bark, and 
exported through the port of Buenaventura, yet its 
quality has of late greatly improved. The quantity 
exported from Santa Martha hi 1809—amounting to 
upwards of 12,000 serous—-was greatly in excess of 
any previous year, and nearly four-fifths of it was 
sent to England. 
The cinnabar mines discovered in Borneo are now 
being worked by the Borneo Company. Betorts 
were erected last year, and a fair quantity of quick¬ 
silver obtained. The great difficulty of transport, 
however, enhances the cost of working very con¬ 
siderably. The antimony mines are also reported 
to be yielding good ore in fair quantities. 
An association has been organized at Washington 
under the name of the Columbia Pharmaceutical 
Association. Some of the principal pharmacists of 
the city have taken an active part in its institution. 
Jiramhiufs of SdcitMc jiffrkties. 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
Tuesday Afternoon, August 1. 
The Conference resumed at two o’clock; Mr. Stod- 
dart, President, in the chair. 
Dr. Attpield read the following paper:— 
The Compound Hon Mixture of the Pharmacopoeia.. 
BY C. A. STAPLES. 
This has always been a favoiuite medicine, and, when, 
carefully prepared, is perhaps one of the safest and 
most efficacious of the tonic chalybeate emmenagogues,. 
and, consequently, it is -the one most frequently pre¬ 
scribed, but it has always been exposed to the great ob¬ 
jection that its extemporaneous preparation takes con¬ 
siderable time, and it cannot he kept ready for use as its- 
character soon changes,—a few hours making a percep¬ 
tible difference in its appearance, even if it does not in. 
its medicinal efficacy. To remedy this defect, I em- 
deavoured to prepare it in a concentrated form in two 
bottles. After a few experiments, I adopted the follow¬ 
ing formula, which I have used for a number of years, 
and the result has been so satisfactory as to leave nothing, 
to be desired:— 
Id. Gum. Myrrh, ^ij 
Potas. Carb. £j 
Sp. Myrist. ^viij 
Aq. Eos® ad ffisuc. 
The myrrh should be very carefully selected,—clean 
pale pieces, presenting an opaque fracture being the 
best. Beat it as fine as possible in a large mortar, then 
add the carbonate of potash with a little rose-water and 
grind it to a smooth paste, gradually add about half a 
pint of rose-water to make a fine emulsion, add the spirit 
of nutmeg and as much more rose-water as will make it 
twenty ounces; preserve it in a stoppered bottle, la¬ 
belled “ Concentrated Myrrh Emulsion pro Mist. Ferri 
Co. 5j to *j.” 
For the other bottle, boil 2 fluid ounces of distilled, 
water in a glass flask; add ^j of sulphate of iron, purn 
and free from oxide, dissolve and filter it into a 6-ounce- 
bottle and fill it up with simple syrup, label it “ Syrup 
of Sulphate of Iron gr.j in ravj, or irxv to each ounce- 
of Mist. Ferri Co.” 
These preparations will be found very convenient; as- 
for each ounce of the mixture, you have merely to mea¬ 
sure 5j of the emulsion and irxv of the syrup, dilute 
each with a portion of rose-water, mix and fill the bottle- 
with rose-water, and mist, ferri co. of excellent quality is. 
made in a few seconds. 
Both preparations keep well; the quantity of spirit in 
the enmlsion preserves it from decomposition, and it 
rather improves by keeping ; and the syrup will be found, 
to keep free from oxide, which the crystals rarely are,, 
however pure they may appear to be ; it may also be- 
used for dispensing sulphate of iron in other mixtures, 
where the sugar is not an objection, for this purpose I 
make the above solution of *j of sulphate into an 8-ounce • 
bottle of syrup, this gives one part of sulphate in eight 
measures of syrup, which I find more convenient for- 
general dispensing, but it contains too much sugar for - 
the mist, ferri co. as directed in the present edition of' 
the Pharmacopoeia. 
The Chairman said that the quantities seemed to bo 
very handy, and he believed it made a very good mix¬ 
ture. 
Mr. Horncastle said he would like to know whether - 
the emulsion formed in this way was as good as other¬ 
wise. He had not been so well satisfied with the appear¬ 
ance of the emulsion as when it was prepared at the 
time. He had found that sulphate of iron might be 
preserved with the greatest ease by avoiding putting it. 
