236 
Bismuth  Oxyiodide. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm . 
May,  1889. 
CLEANING  OF  MORTARS  AND  GRADUATES. 
By  Hans  M.  Wilder. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  April  16th. 
Mr.  Meyer's  remarks  at  the  last  meeting,  about  the  mischief  occa- 
sionally caused  by  using  mortars  which  have  been  imperfectly  cleaned, 
makes  me  think  that  a  "  wrinkle  "  I  was  taught  in  my  apprenticeship 
days  may  be  of  use,  especially  to  my  younger  colleagues.  When  I 
have  cleaned  my  graduates,  mortars,  etc.,  thoroughly — at  least  judging 
from  the  appearance — I  am  in  the  habit  of  catching  the  last  drop  of 
the  final  rinsing  water  on  my  tongue,  and  also  taking  a  strong  sniff. 
In  this  way  the  last  trace  of  any  acrid,  bitter  or  odorous  substance  is 
easily  detected,  in  which  case,  of  course,  the  washing  or  rinsing  is  con- 
tinued. If  substances  with  marked  chemical  reactions  have  been  in 
the  graduates  or  mortars  (for  instance  salicylic  acid,  tannin,  iron  com- 
pounds, etc.),  I  use  a  few  drops  of  an  appropriate  reagent  in  order  to 
make  sure  of  the  absence  of  even  traces.  When  cleaning  the  scale- 
pan,  used  in  weighing  out  aniline  colors,  I  always  apply  at  the  very 
last,  a  few  drops  of  alcohol  to  the  apparently  thoroughly  clean  pan, 
when  the  merest  speck  of  aniline  color  present  will  reveal  itself  instantly. 
The  idea  of  keeping  separate  mortars  and  utensils  for  poisons, 
strongly  odorous  and  bitter  substances  is  a  good  one,  provided  the 
utensils  be  marked  unmistakably  and  kept  in  a  separate  place.  In 
my  store  I  was  in  the  habit  of  keeping  separate  graduates  for  tinctures 
of  valerian,  asafoetida  and  spirit  of  peppermint,  which  graduates  were 
put  behind  the  respective  shelf  bottles  on  a  small  tray  or  a  piece  of 
hatter's  felt. 
BISMUTH  OXYIODIDE. 
By  Frank  X.  Moerk,  Ph.  G. 
The  last  issue  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy  contains 
the  thesis  of  Mr.  Chas.  E.  Greene  upon  the  subject  "  Bismuthyl 
Iodide/'  in  which  said  writer  comments  upon  two  papers  published 
by  me.  Regarding  these  comments,  answer  could  be  made,  but,  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  the  Am.  Jour,  of  Pharm.,  1888,  385,  contains 
a  third  article  by  me  in  which  after  the  first  two  papers  "  touched 
the  extremes "  I  must  have  covered  "  the  happy  medium,"  there 
can  be  no  object  in  replying.  This  last  paper  is  entirely  ignored  by 
Mr.  Greene,  although  it  certainly  would  have  been  of  value  to  him 
