December 23, 1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
500 
rent, when it is borne in mind that it offers an addi¬ 
tional explanation to those already published of the 
manner in which calomel enters the circulation in order 
that it may exercise the many therapeutic actions with 
which it is accredited. Whether or not oxide, of anti¬ 
mony, sulphide of antimony and other so-called inso¬ 
luble remedies, are dissolved by pepsin and dilute acid, 
is a problem which remains to be solved. The influence 
of different acids, the chemical composition and cha¬ 
racters of the dissolved mineral, and its behaviour when 
subjected to dialysis, also the action, if any, of peptones 
on inorganic bodies, have likewise to be determined; 
but these matters, together with many others, will form 
the subject of future communications. 
THE ACTION OP PHOSPHORUS DISSOLVED IN 
CARBON DISULPHIDE ON A SOLUTION OP 
BLUE VITRIOL. 
BY WERNER SCHMID.*' 
A clear solution of phosphorus in carbon disulphide, 
when shaken up with excess of a solution of pure cupric 
.sulphate, yields a filtrate which acts but slightly upon 
solutions of silver, or upon an acidulated solution of 
potassic permanganate, thereby showing that it contains 
only traces of hypophosphite and phosphite. It acts, 
however, strongly upon litmus, cane-sugar, and ammonic 
molybdate, owing to the presence of free sulphuric and 
phosphoric acids. 
The spongy voluminous precipitate is washed first 
with water, then with alcohol, and lastly with carbon 
disulphide, and pressed between bibulous paper. It dis¬ 
solves only partially in highly-diluted hydrochloric acid. 
The solution is colourless, and becomes blue by being- 
shaken up with ammonia only in the presence of air. 
This shows the presence of a cuprous compound. Con¬ 
centrated hydrochloric acid likewise dissolves the preci¬ 
pitate merely partially, yielding a brownish-yellow solu¬ 
tion which turns blue with ammonia in presence of air, 
and reduces ammonic molybdate to an intensely azure- 
blue solution. The latter is decolorized by nitric acid, 
and yields a yellow precipitate. On treating with con¬ 
centrated nitric acid, the spongy precipitate dissolves 
-completely with evolution of nitric oxide and formation 
of cupric sulphate and phosphate. Fusion with salt¬ 
petre effects the same. Sodic hydrate evolves non-sponta- 
neously inflammable phosphine. It follows from all these 
observations that the precipitate consists of cuprous 
oxide, cuprous or cupric sulphide, and phosphide. Mi¬ 
nute scales of metallic copper were observed only when 
the solution of the copper salt was allowed to float 
quietly on the phosphorus solution, although no metallic 
copper could be detected in the precipitate.— Journal of 
the Chemical Society. 
PREPARATION OF HYDROCHLORATE OF 
CREATININE FROM URINE. 
BY R. MALY.f 
A few litres of human urine are evaporated to about 
one-third of the original volume, and the liquid, after 
being decanted from the salts which crystallize out, is 
precipitated with lead acetate. The filtrate is freed from 
lead by sodium carbonate or sulphuretted hydrogen, and 
after having been neutralized, either with acetic acid or 
sodium carbonate, precipitated with mercuric chloride. 
The precipitate, a combination of creatinine with the 
mercury salt, is decomposed under water with sulphu¬ 
* Zeitschr. f. Anal. Cliem. x. 205. 
+ Ann. Chem. IP harm. clix. 279-280. 
retted hydrogen, and the liquid, after treatment with 
animal charcoal, is evaporated. On crystallizing the 
crystalline residue once or twice from alcohol, pure crea¬ 
tinine hydrochloride is obtained in white crusts or hard 
shining prisms. The same results were obtained with, 
horses’ urine..— Journal of the Chemical Society. 
ACTION OF HYDRACIDS ON THE QUININE 
ALKALOIDS. 
BY W. ZORN.* 
When cinchonine sulphate was heated in sealed tubes 
with concentrated hydrochloric acid for some hours to 
140°-150°, the contents of the tubes yielded on evapora¬ 
tion crystals not unlike those of cinchonine sulphate, 
but differing therefrom essentially in their insolubility 
in acids. After one recrystallization these crystals do 
not contain a trace of sulphuric acid; their solution is 
strongly acid, but is no longer fluorescent. They are 
anhydrous. Chlorine determinations prove that they 
contain three atoms of chlorine, two of which are readily 
and completely removed by silver nitrate, the third with 
difficulty. The mother-liquor from the above crystals 
yields on further evaporation a second crop of different 
aspect, but also free from sulphuric acid. 
Quinine sulphate similarly treated gives crystals, 
which also do not contain any sulphuric acid; these 
yield a strongly acid solution, which is non-fluorescent, 
and coloured only very slightly green on addition of 
chlorine water and ammonia. Potassium ferrocyanide 
produces a yellow precipitate, insoluble in excess, but 
soluble on boiling. The base is precipitated by ammonia, 
and is readily soluble in ether, also in an excess of am¬ 
monia and in boiling water. In its behaviour with am¬ 
monia and chlorine-water, and with ferrocyanide, this 
new body resembles cinchonine; like quinine, it is rea¬ 
dily soluble in ether, but differs from both by its solu¬ 
bility in ammonia and in boiling water. 
By the action of hydriodic acid on cinchonine sulphate, 
products are obtained, the examination of which, and of 
the above, the author is prosecuting. 
THE EMULSION OF VEGETABLE TAR AND 
SAPONIN. 
M. Lucien Leboeuf, in a paper published in the 
Journal cle Fhannacie et de Chimie , recommends the for¬ 
mation of an emulsion of vegetable tar by means of 
saponin as a means of obviating the difficulty met with 
in the administration of that medicament, arising from 
its slight solubility in water. A tablespoonful (20 
grammes) of such an emulsion containing 2 per cent, of 
tar would represent 0‘40 grm. of tar, that is to say, the 
quantity contained in a litre of the hydrolate of tar of 
the Codex. By the addition of a little sugar the acridity 
of the tar is covered, and the mixture is rendered 
palatable. 
Saponin, being a neutral substance, exercises no che¬ 
mical action upon the tar, while the quantity required 
to effect the emulsion, about 1 part in 500 of such a 
preparation as that described above, is so small that 
M. Lebteuf considers its possible effect upon the system 
would be so slight as to make it unnecessary to take it 
into account. It is suggested that this new pharmaceu¬ 
tical preparation of tar, diluted more or less with water 
or glycerine, might be used with facility in lotions, 
injections and gargles, etc. 
* J. pr. Chem. [2], iv. 44, and Journal of the Chemical 
Society. 
