ON  PILLS  OF  IODIDE  OF  IRON. 
201 
C40  H31  06.  By  distillation  an  amber- colored  oil,  dammarol,  is 
obtained^  C40  H28  03,  or  the  resin  deprived  of  3  atoms  of  water. 
Distilled  with  lime  it  yields  dammarone  C38  H30  0,  by  the  re- 
moval of  2  atoms  of  carbonic  acid,  and  1  atom  of  water." — (B. 
H.  Thompson.)  The  only  use  to  which  kowrie  resin  has  been 
applied  is  that  of  making  varnish,  and  it  would  appear  that  it 
is  only  used  in  this  country  for  that  purpose,  as  every  author  I 
have  consulted  (who  speaks  of  kowrie)  makes  mention  of  the 
Americans  using  it  extensively  as  a  varnish.  I  have  been  told 
by  persons  in  the  varnish  trade,  that  nearly  all  of  that  article 
which  comes  from  New  York  to  the  Philadelphia  market,  is 
made  from  kowrie  resin.  As  a  varnish  it  is  not  so  durable  as 
that  made  from  copal,  and  is  very  difficult  to  work  ;  but  still  it 
makes  a  very  good  common  varnish,  drying  quickly,  and  of  a 
lighter  color  than  the  varnishes  usually  made  from  resin  and 
other  impure  substances.  Its  price  varies  from  4  to  6  dollars 
per  100  lbs. 
ON  PILLS  OF  IODIDE  OF  IRON. 
By  William  Procter,  Jr. 
In  the  formula  at  present  in  the  Pharmacopoeia,  these  pills  are 
directed  to  be  made  by  triturating  together  iodide  of  potassium 
and  proto-sulphate  of  iron  until  double  decomposition  ensues, 
when  by  aid  of  sugar  and  tragacanth  a  pill  mass  is  formed  and 
divided  into  pills.  The  ready  decomposition  of  these  pills,  thus 
made,  has  rendered  this  recipe  nearly  obsolete.  Henry  W. 
Worthington,  in  1843,  published  a  formula  in  which  a  solution  of 
the  iodide  was  mixed  with  tragacanth  paste  and  honey  and  eva- 
porated to  the  pilular  consistence.  His  pill  mass,  owing  to  its 
elasticity,  was  quite  difficult  to  divide  into  pills,  and  when  made 
they  easily  lost  their  spherical  shape.  Within  a  few  years  past 
the  pills  of  M.  Blancard  of  Paris,  owing  to  the  perfection  of 
their  preservation,  have  come  much  into  use,  but  it  is  certainly  to 
be  regretted  that  in  a  preparation  so  much  used  as  this  salt,  we 
should  be  compelled  to  send  to  France  to  get  it  made  into  pills. 
After  various  trials,  with  the  view  of  improving  the  method  of 
making  these  pills,  the  following  recipe  has  resulted,  which, 
when  followed  with  ordinary  care,  produces  a  pill  entirely  satis- 
