281 
ON TANNATE OF BISMUTH. 
By M. Cap. 
Tannate of bismuth has been introduced in France as 
a remedy for obstinate diarrhoea. It is prepared by flrst 
precipitating the oxide of bismuth from a solution of forty- 
four parts of the crystallized nitrate, by means of an excess of 
strong caustic soda. The precipitate is collected on a cloth 
and carefully washed. It is then triturated in a mortar 
with twenty parts of pure tannin. The magma is then 
diluted with water, the whole is thrown on a cloth, washed, 
and afterwards dried either in the open air or in a slightly 
heated closet. 
The salt has a yellowish appearance; is insoluble, and 
consequently almost tasteless. It is easily suspended in a 
mucilaginous vehicle, in syrup, or in glycerine, and can also 
be administered in the form of pills. 
Some practitioners have thought that the tannate of 
alumina would be preferable as an astringent. It may be 
made by mixing together equivalent proportions of tannic acid 
and recently precipitated alumina. 
EFFECTS OF LEAD ON ANIMALS. 
M. Pecault Taschereau, of Tours, has published some 
curious observations relative to the effects produced by the 
salts of lead on certain species of domestic animals. These 
salts, which produce the most poisonous effects upon man, 
appeared to be perfectly innocuous with dogs. Horses, cats, 
and even rats, were, however, found to be susceptible of its 
poisonous influence. Cats that inhabit white-lead factories 
are exceedingly short-lived; the horses, also, employed in 
such factories suffer from a very curious malady, namely, a 
paralysis or obstruction of the larynx. The animals thus 
affected were subjected to the operation of tracheotomy, and 
with complete success, by M. Delaunay, a veterinary surgeon, 
who remarked that the horses thus operated upon were not 
attacked again with the same affection. 
