Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1887. 
Carmine  Solution. 
331 
The  advantages  that  would  be  gained  by  substituting  the  use  of  the 
gramme  and  cubic-centimetre  for  "  parts  by  weight "  are  those  which 
belong  then  to  the  use  of  "  solids  by  weight  and  liquids  by  measure/'' 
and  although  this  change  would  be  in  the  writer's  opinion  a  great 
improvement,  there  seems  to  be  so  much  opposition  to  the  use  of  the 
metric  system  in  this  country  that  it  is  very  doubtful  at  this  time 
whether  the  gramme  and  cubic  centimetre  could  be  adopted  with  a 
reasonable  chance  of  its  universal  use  without  legislative  aid ;  and 
even  then  its  success  would  be  problematical.  The  metric  system  is 
undoubtedly  the  most  simple,  comprehensive  and  beautiful  system 
that  has  ever  been  devised,  and  if  its  one  great  defect  of  binary  divisions 
and  subdivisions  could  be  overcome,  its  inherent  advantages  would  be 
so  apparent  that  pharmacists  everywhere  would  be  glad  to  adopt  it  for 
its  intrinsic  worth ;  but  even  with  this  defect  it  is,  in  the  writer's 
opinion,  greatly  to  be  preferred  (if  the  measures  are  used)  for  pharma- 
ceutical practice  than  parts  by  weight. 
CARMINE  SOLUTION. 
By  Joseph  W.  England,  Ph.  G. 
Read  before  the  Pennsylvania  Pharmaceutical  Association,  June  16. 
As  a  rich,  deep  red  coloring  agent  for  various  elixirs,  syrups  and 
mixtures,  cochineal,  or  its  more  concentrated  representative — carmine,, 
probably  stands  unequalled  by  any  other,  in  popular  favor  and  usage,, 
but  there  are  several  features  in  connection  with  its  use,  that  seriously 
interfere  with  and  restrict  its  more  general  employment,  and  these  are,, 
that  the  various  solutions,  as  generally  made,  are  either  too  weak  in 
the  quantity  of  their  dissolved  carmine,  or  unstable  or,  if  made  strong, 
they  contain  such  an  excess  of  ammonia  water  or  potassium  carbonate, 
that  their  addition,  as  colorants,  to  alkaloidal  solutions  is  contraindi- 
cated  through  their  well  known  precipitating  influence  upon  alkaloids- 
Again,  more  especially  in  concentrated  solutions  where  water  of  am- 
monia is  used  as  a  solvent,  the  gradual  evaporation  of  the  dissolved 
ammonia  gas,  on  exposure  to  air,  is  accompanied  by  deep  turbidity  of 
the  transparent  solution,  gradual  deposition  of  precipitated  carmine, 
followed,  on  standing,  by  decomposition.  Lastly,  as  a  further  objec- 
tion, solutions  of  carmine  in  alkalies,  do  not  give  the  true  shade  of 
carmine,  but  a  violet  or  purplish  red,  essentially  distinct  from  that 
characteristic  red  color. 
