AmAug"ri87h8arm  }  Dialysed  Iron  as  an  Antidote  for  Poisoning.  399 
hold.  It  is  not,  however,  always  made  from  this  stock,  but  often  of 
other  vegetable  and,  perhaps,  animal  oils,  and  is  then  colored  in  the 
manner  I  have  indicated.  Under  the  name  Sapo  Viridis  it  is  official  in 
the  German  Pharmacopoeia,  but  this  authority  does  not  afford  any  other 
information  than  that  the  soap  is  "  a  lubricous,  soft,  yellowish-green 
mass,  of  a  nauseous  smell."  A  tincture,  or  solution  in  spirit,  is  used 
in  some  parts  of  this  country,  but  I  am  not  aware  of  the  exact  strength. 
—  Canadian  Pbarm.  Journ.,  June,  1878,  p.  345. 
Toronto,  May  ioth,  1878. 
DIALYSED  IRON  AS  AN  ANTIDOTE  FOR  POISONING 
BY  ARSENIOUS  ACID. 
By  W.  Gibbons. 
It  has  already  been  proposed  that  the  solution  of  dialyzed  iron 
should  be  used  as  an  antidote  in  cases  of  poisoning  by  arsenious  acid, 
but  up  to  this  time  no  one  has  given  any  proof  as  to  the  value  of  these 
suggestions.1  The  supposition  was  founded  on  the  knowledge  that 
freshly  prepared  peroxide  of  iron  was  the  usual  remedy  used,  as  it 
formed  with  the  arsenious  acid  held  in  solution  in  the  stomach  an 
insoluble  substance,  having  the  formula  Fe32As04.  This  fact  was 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Bunsen  about  fortv  years  ago. 
On  hearing  this  I  was  induced  to  make  the  following  experiments  : 
I  heated  \  liter  of  water  in  a  flask  to  the  temperature  of  the  human 
body  (98,4°F.)  and  mixed  with  that  7*1  cc.  (f^ii  about)  of  an  acid  solu- 
tion containing  1  grain  of  As2Os  in  the  quantity  taken  (Liq.  Arsen. 
Hydrochlor.  B.P  ),  to  that  I  added  14-2  cc.  of  the  solution  of  dialysed 
iron  (strength  2  gr.  in  f^i)  and  kept  this  mixture  at  a  constant  tempera- 
ture, i.  e.  98'4°F.,  for  about  one  hour  without  obtaining  any  result. 
Now  as  the  usual  method  of  administering  moist  ferric  oxide  is,  first 
to  give  a  dose  of  a  solution  of  some  precipitant  such  as  bicarbonate  of 
soda,  or  a  mixture  of  magnesia  and  water,  followed  by  a  large  dose  of 
the  solution  of  perchloride  of  iron,  I  determined  to  follow  up  that 
method.  I  took  all  as  before,  but  in  addition  I  used  a  small  quantity 
of  a  solution  of  bicarbonate  of  soda.  I  then  found  that  the  arsenical 
solution  was  acted  upon  and  the  desired  result  obtained.    In  the  first 
1  Some  experiments  in  this  direction  by  Mr.  Mattison,  which  the  author  appears 
to  have  overlooked,  are  recorded  in  the  present  volume,  before. — Ed.  Ph.  J. 
