Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
July,  1878.  J 
Varieties. 
355 
but  the  most  efficacious  in  syphilis  is  the  root,  either  as  a  watery  infusion  or  a  tinc- 
ture made  by  adding  1,000  grams  of  80  per  cent,  alcohol  to  339  grams  of  the 
powdered  root.  The  strong  tincture  thus  obtained  is  to  be  diluted  by  the  addition 
to  it  of  1,000  grams  of  rectified  spirits.  Of  this,  14  drops  is  the  maximum  dose  for 
an  adult. 
Ambrosoli,  who  has  used  it  freely  in  the  Maggiore  and  Sifilo-comio  hospitals  of 
Milan,  reports  favorably  on  its  use  in  syphilis,  and  states  that  the  skin  affections, 
ulcerations  and  swellings  of  the  glands  are  promptly  relieved  by  it.  Veladini  reports 
"  brilliant  results,"  as  do  also  Magri,  Strambio,  Bazzoni  and  others.  Gamba,  how- 
ever, in  the  Syphilitic  Hospital  for  Women  in  Turin,  has  not  had  such  satisfactory 
results.  Ziessl,  of  Vienna,  states  that  he  has  seen  no  injurious  results  from 
tayuya,  and,  after  giving  it  a  fair  trial,  he  greatly  prefers  it  to  mercury  in  the  early 
stages  of  syphilis.  He  is  not  yet  prepared  to  express  a  positive  opinion  as  to  its 
value  in  the  later  stages  of  the  disease. — Virginia  Medical  Monthly,  April,  from  Allg. 
Wien.  Med.  Zeitung,  No.  3, 1878. 
Antidote  to  Phosphorus. — Hager  recommends  old  oil  of  turpentine  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  states  that  the  rectified  oil  is  entirely  unreliable  as  such. — Phar.  Central/?., 
March  28,  1878,  p.  120. 
Pitcherine— A  New  Stimulant. — The  British  Medical  Journal  has  a  long  ac- 
count of  a  new  stimulant,  which  has  been  lately  described  by  the  papers  of  Austra- 
lia. It  is  called  by  the  natives  pitcherine,  and  is  used  as  we  use  tobacco,  for  both 
smoking  and  chewing.  The  effect  is  that  of  pleasant  exhilaration  5  when  long  con- 
tinued, intense  and  continuous  excitement  follows.  It  is  used,  when  on  long  foot- 
journeys,  to  invigorate  and  keep  up  the  strength  or  excite  them  to  courage  in  battle ; 
large  doses  are  said  to  infuriate  all  the  passions.  Some  of  the  natives  make  a 
plaster  of  this  plant  and  place  it  back  of  the  ears,  believing  they  are  influenced  by 
\t.—Virg.  Med.  Monthly,  April. 
Plastilina  is  a  permanently  plastic  mass,  which  has  been  recently  introduced  for 
the  use  of  artists.  F.  Giesel  has  analyzed  it,  and  gives  the  following  formula  for  its 
preparation:  300  grams  oleic  acid  and  43  of  zinc  oxide  are  heated  together  until 
combined  ;  this  zinc  salt  is  fused  together  with  60  grams  of  wax  and  130  of  olive 
oil,  and  the  fused  mass  intimately  mixed  with  250  grams  of  sulphur  and  118  grams 
of  clay,  both  in  the  form  of  impalpable  powder. — Ber.  Deutsch.  Chem.  Ges.,  1878, 
p.  3io.  ,   
Plating  Iron  with  Platinum;  By  I.  H.  Johnson. — The  iron  is  first  coated  with 
lead  and  copper,  by  applying  with  a  fine  brush  a  paste  made  by  mixing  22  parts  of 
borate  of  lead  and  4.}  parts  of  oxide  of  copper  with  a  little  oil  of  turpentine.  The 
iron  is  then  heated  and  immersed  in  the  solution  of  platinum  ;  after  which  it  is 
allowed  to  dry,  and  then  baked  at  a  moderature  temperature.    The  solution  of  pla- 
