MATERIA MEDICA, AND THERAPEUTICS. G09 
the powder of the bark of the root of mudar {Calotropis gigantea) an excellent 
substitute for ipecacuanha in the treatment of dysentery amongst the native 
population. In every acute case in which he prescribed mudar it either effected a 
complete cure in a few days, or at once changed the character of the disease 
from bloody and mucous to bilious diarrhoea. He administers it in similar 
doses to what are usually given of ipecacuanha, never beginning with less than 
one scruple, and seldom going beyond one drachm. He usually gives it alone, 
but when a weak stomach is suspected in the patient he combines it with carbo¬ 
nate of soda, creasote, bismuth, prussic acid, etc. Like ipecacuanha, mudar, in 
large doses, is a reliable cholagogue; it is also a sedative to the muscular fibres 
of the intestines, particularly of the rectum and colon, rapidly allaying all pain, 
tenesmus, and irritation, and putting a stop to dysenteric action. Its most 
marked efiect is the production of a copious flow of bile, which follows its use 
in about twenty-four hours.— Amer. Journ. Aied. Sci. 
On the U’se of Spider's "Web as a Styptic. 
Mr. Robertson states in the ‘Dental Cosmos,’ that—On one or two former 
occasions I have written something on the use of the spider’s web as a styptic 
in cases of excessive hsemorrhage after extracting a tooth. I now wish to add 
the result of my experience in another case. I do it with the hope and belief 
that it may be an essential service to some of my professional brethren, and 
perhaps to some of their patients. It may be thus serviceable on two accounts. 
Hirst, it can always be obtained, and everywhere, and sometimes when other 
more popular remedies cannot so readily be obtained ; and second, because in 
my hands it has proved efficient where everything else has failed. 
About a year ago a young man, about eighteen years of age, came to my 
office to have a lower molar tooth extracted. I examined the tooth, took my 
forceps and extracted. The operation required rather less force than usual. 
The tooth came out entire, and clean, and with no laceration of surrounding 
parts, except the necessary severing of the periosteum. But from the first, 
blood flowed more freely than usual. I directed my patient to rinse his mouth 
with cold water, Vvdiich he did considerably longer than the usual time of the 
flow of blood in such cases, but with no diminution of its flow. I then applied 
tannin on pledgets of moistened cotton, filling the socket with them. After 
repeating this application two or three times, the bleeding ceased, and he left. 
In about three hours after, he returned, bleeding as profusely as ever, I then 
filled the socket from whence the tooth came with cotton saturated with per- 
chloride of iron. This I repeated several times, with a delay of a few minutes 
between the applications, without any apparent effect. I next applied the per¬ 
sulphate of iron, full strength, in the same manner, and with no better result. 
Finally, I procured some spider’s web, with which I filled the socket, as I had 
before done v/ith the cotton, when—I need not say that I was gratified to see 
•—the bleeding stopped almost immediately, and there was no more recurrence 
of it.— Amer. Journ. FJiarm. 
THE PROPOSED PHARMACY BILL. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL. 
Sir,—I notice in your Journal for this month (March) that, at a conference 
held at the rooms of the Pharmaceutical Society, between the Council of the 
Pharmaceutical Society and gentlemen not connected with the Pharmaceutical 
Society, it was arranged that in the forthcoming Pharmacy Bill all “Chemists 
and Druggists” in business at the time of the passing of the “Bill” should 
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