ANTIDOTE TO THE SALTS OP COPPER. 341 
ART. LXIV.— ANTIDOTE TO THE SALTS OF COPPER. By 
W. Benoist, Pharmaceutist at Sancoius, (Chev.) 
Liquid albumen is at present almost exclusively adopted as 
an antidote for the salts of copper, since it possesses the 
property of decomposing and precipitating almost all the 
metals, and of forming albuminous compounds with the 
metallic oxide and the acid. But we are exposed to serious 
consequences in poisoning, if after having excited and facili- 
tated emesis, we should administer to the patient a large 
amount of albumen, for the purpose of more certainly neutral- 
izing the poison; what happens? The cupreous precipitate 
will be dissolved in the excess of albumen. If on the contrary, 
too small a quantity of this latter is employed, it will remain 
dissolved in the excess of solution of copper. To obviate this 
inconvenience, we have no means, for we do not know what 
amount of albumen is necessary to neutralize a given quantity 
of any salt of copper; and were this positively known, we 
could not properly estimate r the quantity remaining in the 
stomach after emesis. 
I am about to propose another agent which does not offer 
the same inconvenience; I mean, a solution of carbonate of 
soda, which forms with the salts of copper precipitates of a 
green color, insoluble in water, carbonate of copper. It is on 
account of its insolubility in water, that this carbonate has no 
action on the animal economy. I have experimented on 
animals; some I caused to take acetate of copper, others the 
sulphate, and to others I gave at the same time both the salt 
of copper and the alkaline solution. In every case the results 
were satisfactory. I caused a dog of moderate size to take 
35 grains of saturated solution of carbonate of soda. This 
quantity, more than sufficient to neutralize the poison, did not 
produce any unpleasant effects. I judge that this salt may be 
exhibited with impunity, in large amounts, as in the above 
cited case it only produced some alvine evacuations. The 
