EDITORIAL.  ^°  i 
sulphate  of  Beberia.     The  sulphate  of  an  alkaloid,  C^  H21,  N06,  HO, 
S03,  prepared  from  Beberu  Bark. 
Another  peculiarity  is  the  complete  ignoring  of  the  United  States  as  a 
commercial  source  of  drugs,  which  is  intensely  English.  For  instance, 
Guaiac  wood  is  referred  to  St.  Domingo  and  Jamaica  ;  Kino  to  Malabar  ; 
Rhatany  to  Peru  ;  Jalap  to  Mexico,  but  Tobacco  is  cultivated  in  America. 
Serpentaria  from  the  southern  parts  of  North  America ;  whilst  Senega, 
Sassafras,  Podophyllum  and  Lobelia  are  all  attributed  to  North  America, 
and  Canada  Balsam,  which  is  specially  North  American,  is  referred  to 
Canada!  It  follows  from  this  that,  in  British  geography,  North  America 
is  a  country  identical  with  the  United  States  ! 
The  second  part  of  the  work  is  occupied  with  the  preparations  arranged 
in  classes  in  alphabetical  order.  There  are  no  medicinal  vinegars.  Among 
the  acids  there  are  formulas  for  glacial  Acetic,  purified  Arsenious,  Citric. 
Hydrochloric,  Nitric,  Sulphurous,  and  Tartaric  acids,  besides  others  in  our 
own  codex.     The  formula  for  Aconitia  is  analogous  to  that  in  the  U.  S 
Pharmacopoeia,  but  removes  the  fixed  oil  from  the  extractive  matter  and 
aconitia,  by  distilling  off  all  the  alcohol,  diluting  with  water,  and  filtering 
when  cold,  instead  of  agitating  with  the  evaporated  liquid,  a  portion  of 
Ether  after  sulphating  it.    The  solid  aconitia  obtained  by  Ether  is  re-dis- 
solved in  acidulated  water  and  precipitated  by  ammonia  to  get  it  in  a 
pulverulent  form.     This  prevents  the  disagreeable  necessity  of  pulverizing 
the  alkaloid.    The  continuous  process  for  Ether  is  adopted,  the  product 
being  afterwards  purified  and  concentrated  by  agitation  with  quick  lime 
and  Chloride  of  Calcium.  Benzoate  and  Phosphate  of  Ammonia  are  intro- 
duced ;  Tartar  Emetic  is  called  Antimonium  Tartratum.  All  the  medicated 
waters  are  made  by  distillation  except  camphor  water,  the  recipe  for  which, 
half  an  ounce  of  camphor,  broken  into  pieces  and  enclosed  in  a  muslin  bagr 
is  retained  for  at  least  two  days  at  the  bottom  of  a  jar  containing  a  gallon  of 
distilled  water.    Made  in  this  wny  camphor  water  must  be  very  much  less 
active  than  when  prepared  by  Hodgson's  process  with  carb.  magnesia,  as 
in  the  U.  S.  Pharm.    In  the  process  for  nitrate  of  silver,  refined  silver  is 
directed,  which  in  the  appendix  is  stated  to  be  pure  metallic  silver. 
The  process  for  atropia  is  the  complicated  one  of  Thein,  and  by  no  means 
so  simple,  and  easy  of  execution,  as  that  in  the  U.  S.  Pharm.,   in  which 
the  agency  of  chloroform  is  called  in.     Subnitrate  of  Bismuth  is  called 
Bismuthum  Album.   Calomel  is  called  simply  Calomelas,  and  is  placed 
under  this  head,  and  not  with  the  other  mercurials. 
We  must  here  close  for  the  present,  and  in  a  future  number  propose  to 
continue  this  notice  in  reference  to  some  of  the  more  important  prepara- 
tions, more  or  less  peculiar  to  British  Pharmacy.  The  English  Journals 
teem  with  severe  criticisms  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  and  the  profes- 
sors of  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  have  each  been  lecturing  on  it  to  large 
audiences  of  the  members,  showing  up  what  are  deemed  its  numerous  im- 
perfections. 
