ON COMMERCIAL WINE OF IRON. 
279 
They were first examined by evaporation to dryness in a platinum crucible 
over a water-bath, the residue in each case being submitted to a temperature 
of 300° F. in an oven, to remove, if possible, all moisture. All the sam¬ 
ples were operated upon at the same time, and therefore the results were 
comparatively reliable. After remaining in the oven five hours the capsules 
were removed, cooled under a bell-glass, and weighed. This was done with 
a view to find the quantity of sugar, etc., present in the sherry from which 
the respective specimens were made. 
The next step was to burn off these residues till all carbon was destroyed, 
dissolve the oxide of iron remaining in the smallest possible quantity of dilute 
hydrochloric acid, reduce the peroxide to protoxide by zinc, then estimate 
the quantity of metallic iron present by a standard solution of permanganate 
of potash. 
The weight of saccharine residue in each sample, together with the amount 
of metallic iron present, is shown in the following table :— 
Saccharine residue Metallic iron 
per ounce of wine. per ounce of wine. 
Sample No. 1 . 23*84 grains. 031 grain. 
No. 2. 24*50 
No. 3. 14*22 
No. 4. 20*91 
No. 5. 51*27 
No. 6. 17*10 
No. 7. 28*24 
5? 
0*35 
0*70 
0*51 
1*76 
1*08 
0*43 
» 
55 
5} 
Leaving out of the question sample No. 5, which was found to be made 
with tartarized iron, there is apparently a very close connection between the 
quantity of sugar present in the original wine and the amount of iron dis¬ 
solved. The results obtained seem to point to the conclusion, that where the 
amount of sugar in the sherry is largest the amount of iron dissolved is, 
generally speaking, less than wdien a small proportion of sugar is present. It 
is of course a well-known fact that the presence of sugar retards the peroxi¬ 
dation of the proto-compounds of iron ; but the probability is that in these 
cases the wines used were not of genuine composition,—deficient in natural 
acidity, and manufactured by boiling down the commoner kinds of must, 
adding sugar and brandy to bring up the taste and strength. 
The sample No. 6 was made, I fully believe, from iron filings or wire, and 
not from any soluble salt of iron. This special sample was of bright appear¬ 
ance and possessed the fine aroma of first-class sherry, and as may be seen by 
the above analysis, contained more than three times as much iron as the 
average of Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 7, which all contained larger quantities of sac- 
-eharine residue. 
Considered in the light of ferruginous medicines, these latter samples are 
nearly worthless, and yet these were all doubtless made in good faith and 
strictly according to the directions of the London Pharmacopoeia. 
My experience as to the manufacture of steel wine from metallic iron leads 
to the conclusion that it is necessary to choose a light, sound sherry (ascer¬ 
tained to be free from excess of sugar by evaporating a specimen to chyness), 
and using clean iron filings in preference to wire, allowing at the same time 
at least three or four months’ digestion, instead of one month. 
With respect to the preparation ordered in the new British Pharmaco¬ 
poeia, there can be no doubt that it has the advantage over the old method 
in securing a more uniform amount of dissolved iron. The quantity it should 
theoretically contain is 1*45 grain per ounce, but from an examination of 
several samples prepared strictly according to the British Pharmacopoeia, I 
find the average amount of dissolved iron to be IT grain. The difference 
