ON NEUTRAL MIXTURE. 
189 
grain in conjunction with some inert body, or combined with 
the extracts of lettuce, hyosciamus, or belladonna. Its effects, 
when taken internally, have been asserted to be those of a 
a drastic purgative; but these have not been fully realized. 
In large doses tetanus is the consequence, followed by death. 
ART. XXX.— ON NEUTRAL MIXTURE. By John Goodykar. 
f Extracted from an Inaugural Thesis. J 
Some two or three years since, an article was published in 
the Journal of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, of which 
Mr. Joseph Scattergood was the author, on the subject of 
Neutral Mixture. The object of the author seemed to be to 
expose the great diversity then, and still, existing in the pre- 
scriptions of physicians for that remedy, when their object 
was, and is, in the majority of cases, to use a medicine of 
uniform strength; and to propose a form or forms which 
would meet the views of practitioners in general, and render 
it specific in its composition, and essentially the same. A 
single glance at the prescriptions cited by him as of every 
day occurrence, is sufficient to convince any person who has 
the least knowledge of medicine, that there is not only great 
room for improvement, but great need of it. The object of 
the author seemed to be, also, to induce physicians to substi- 
tute for the ordinary prescription of lemon juice and the car- 
bonate of potassa, the citrate of potassa, as prepared by the 
manufacturing chemist, dissolved in water. This, with some- 
thing to render it pleasant, would no doubt be a good substi- 
tute; and, taking into consideration that prescriptions are not 
always compounded by the most skilful and experienced 
pharmaceutists, would probably be the best form of adminis- 
tering this remedy. But doubts exist whether or not it 
makes so desirable a preparation as the recent lemon juice 
VOL. III. NC. III. 24 
