140 
BITTER  WINE  OF  IRON. 
quite  as  effective  as  the  sulphate  of  quinia :  in  the  Philadelphia 
Dispensary  it  is  used  altogether  as  a  tonic  and  anti-periodic 
with  complete  success ;  and  Dr.  John  Conrad,  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Hospital,  who  has  had  extensive  experience  in  regard  to 
it,  thinks  it  equally  certain,  when  given  in  rather  larger  doses 
than  the  quinia.  This  being  the  case,  economy  would  point  to 
its  introduction  into  the  preparation  under  consideration,  while 
the  facility  of  manipulation  with  the  salts  instead  of  ext.  of 
bark,  and  the  elegance  of  appearance  in  the  result,  are  addi- 
tional reasons. 
The  following  is  a  recipe  by  which  I  have  made  the  article 
for  a  long  time  with  satisfactory  results,  and  combines  to  some 
extent  the  desirable  points  enumerated  above : 
Take  of  Sulphate  of  cinchona,  3vj. 
"       of  quinia,  3ij. 
Citrate  of  iron,  giv. 
Citric  acid  3j. 
Sherry  wine,  Oiv. 
Alcohol,  Oj. 
Orange  syrup,  Oj. 
Dissolve  the  sulphates  and  citric  acid  in  a  pint  and  a  half  of  hot 
water,  and  the  citrate  of  iron  in  half  a  pint  of  the  same ;  mix 
the  solutions,  and  add  the  other  ingredients. 
This  contains  about  half  a  grain  of  the  cinchona  salts  and  two 
grains  citrate  of  iron  in  each  teaspoonful,  and  is  much  stronger 
in  tonic  power  than  most  of  the  articles  made  by  other  apothe- 
caries, and  consequently  is  not  quite  so  pleasant  to  the  taste.  It 
must  be  impossible  to  give  cinchona  or  its  salts  in  sufficient 
doses  to  be  effectual  without  a  decided  bitterness,  or  at  least  no 
soluble  preparation  is  now  known  that  is  free  from  such  taste. 
The  pharmaceutist  who  can  show  the  physician  a  capital  for- 
mula, and  at  the  same  time  please  the  patient  with  an  agreeable 
and  attractive-looking  medicine,  is  the  one  to  succeed,  but  the 
two  things  are  often  incompatible  with  a  strict  observance  of 
said  formula. 
The  materials  above  given  are  on  the  shelves  of  every  apothe- 
cary, and  may  be  put  together  in  fifteen  minutes,  forming  an 
