22 
Citric  and  Salicylic  Acid. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharni^ 
I      Jan ,  1881. 
NOTES  ON  CITEIC  AND  SALICYLIC  ACIDS. 
By  F.  C.  Clayton. 
In  the    Standard  "  of  September  1 4th  there  appeared  the  following 
paragraph  : 
"  For  the  period  during  which  the  autumn  manoeuvres  will  last  near- 
Berlin  large  quantities  of  citric  acid  have  been  served  out  to  the  troops- 
of  the  guards  and  third  army  corps  who  are  taking  part  therein.  The 
experience  of  previous  years  has  shown  that  this  material  is  not  only 
an  excellent  preservative  against  sunstroke,  but,  dissolved  in  water^ 
makes  a  refreshing  drink.  Another  chemical  preparation  which  has- 
been  distributed  among  the  troops  at  the  manoeuvres  this  year  is- 
salicylic  acid,  in  the  form  of  a  powder,  an  excellent  remedy  for  such; 
maladies  of  the  feet  as  soldiers  mostly  suffer  from.'' 
As  a  manufacturer  of  citric  acid  I  was  naturally  interested  in- 
obtaining  some  further  information  as  to  this  new  use  for  it  as  a  pre- 
servative against  sunstroke,  and  more  especially  as  my  friend  Mr.  D.. 
W.  Greenhough,  chemical  broker  of  Mincing  Lane,  had  previously 
informed  me  that  he  had  purchased  120  tons  for  the  use  of  the  Russian 
army  during  their  campaign  in  Turkey  three  or  four  years  since. 
I  therefore  wrote  to  the  foreign  office  authorities,  encloshig  a  copy 
of  the  above  paragraph,  and  asking  them  to  obtain  further  information 
on  both  acids  at  Berlin  and  St.  Petersburg,  which  they  have  kindly 
done  through  our  representatives  there.  That  information  is  as 
follows,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  statement  as  to  the  use  of  citric 
acid  in  the  above  campaign  is  contradicted,  but  Mr.  Greenhough  is 
confident  that  the  purchase  was  intended  for  the  Russian  army  though 
it  may  never  have  been  used: 
"Memorandum. 
' '  Germany. 
"  No  citric  acid  has  been  issued  to  the  men  in  the  guard  corps  and  in  the 
third  army  corps,  only  to  the  twenty-fourth  regiment. 
"One  junior  surgeon  in  this  regiment  gave  it  to  some  of  the  hospital 
orderlies  for  them  to  give  to  such  people  as  should  require'it  when  exhausted 
on  the  march.  It  is  considered  to  be  a  refreshing  drink  in  hot  weather,  of 
a  better  flavor  than  water  with  vinegar,  which  has  been  given  for  years  to 
men  who  begin  to  be  affected  by  the  heat. 
"  The  surgeon-general  in  the  guard  corps  states  that  there  is  no  decided 
proof  of  the  benefit  of  this  acid  against  sunstroke,  but  it  seems  to  have 
answered  in  the  twenty-fourth  regiment. 
