Am.  Jour.  Pharai.  ) 
Sept.,  1882.  i 
Pracficdl  Notes. 
465 
casks,"  to  crystallize.  After  seven  or  ten  days  the  staves  of  these 
casks "  are  taken  off,  and  a  complete  shape  is  left  of  crystallized 
alum.  A  few  holes  are  made  in  the  side  of  this  mass,  and  the  mother- 
liquors  allowed  to  drain  off ;  then  it  is  broken  and  packed  for  sale. 
Other  makers^  instead  of  adding  ammonia  in  a  state  of  vapor,  more 
generally  used  the  chloride  or  sulphate  made  by  neutralizing  ammo- 
niacal  gas  liquor  with  hydrochloric  or  sulphuric  acid ;  tlie  former  of 
the  two  solutions  was  mostly  used,  on  account  of  the  amount  of  iron 
contained  in  the  crude  aluminum  sulphate.  Following  the  latter  of 
the  two  processes  just  mentioned,  I  would  suggest  a  short  mode  for 
the  preparation  of  ammonio-aluminic  sulphate,  easy  in  manipulation, 
adaptable  to  small  laboratories,  and  satisfactory  in  result.  Take  of 
aluminum  sulphate  (cake  alum)  14  pounds,  ammonium  sulphate  3J 
pounds,  warm  water  4  gallons ;  dissolve  the  ammonium  sulphate  in 
half  a  gallon  of  water  and  the  aluminum  sulphate  in  the  remainder, 
filter  the  solution  to  free  it  from  the  finely  divided  silica,  and  to  the 
filtered  liquid  add  the  ammonia  solution  ;  then  apply  heat  until  the 
solution  boils,  pour  off  into  a  suitable  vessel  to  crystallize.  After  a 
few  days  draw  off  the  mother-liquor ;  then  drain  the  crystals  on^a 
loosely  stopped  funnel.  One  hundred  grains  of  ammonia  aluminic 
sulphate  made  by  this  process,  on  being  incinerated,  left  a  residue 
which  on  cooling  weighed  54  grains,  corresponding  to  the  require- 
ments of  the  Pharmacopoeia. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  July  8,  1882. 
PRACTICAL  NOTES  FKOM  VARIOUS  SOURCES. 
By  thp:  Editor. 
Carbolic  add  liniment,  prepared  by  dissolving  carbolic  acid  1  part 
in  olive  oil  100  parts,  is  recommended  for  the  cure  of  itch,  for  which 
purpose  two  applications  are  said  to  be  sufficient. — Zeits.  f.  Diagn.,  i, 
p.  80. 
Preparation  of  Crystallized  Hyoscyamine. — Duquesnel  recommends 
the  following  process :  Displace  2,000  parts  of  powdered  hyoscyamus 
seed  with  boiling  90  per  cent,  alcohol,  containing  1  part  of  tartaijic 
acid ;  distil  the  tincture ;  decant  the  green  oil,  weighing  about  one- 
third  of  the  seed,  from  tlie  syrupy  layer,  and  agitate  the  former  with 
dilute  sulphuric  acid.  The  acid  solution  is  nearly  neutralized  with 
[)otassium  bicarbonate,  filtered  and  evaporated  in  a  water-bath.  Cool 
the  syrupy  residue,  exhaust  it  with  alcohol  which  leaves  potassium 
80 
