304 
Liniment  Iodide  of  Ammonia. 
1  Am.  Jour.  Pharm, 
/       June,  1877. 
facture  of  pyroxylon  on  the  large  scale  I  cannot  say,  not  having  worked 
on  more,  at  any  one  time,  than  one  ounce  of  cotton. 
I  have  pyroxylon  on  hand,  prepared  according  to  this  formula  two- 
and-a-half  years  ago,  which  has  not  undergone  the  slightest  change,  but 
is  as  soluble  now  as  when  first  made.  It  has  been  kept  in  the  dry  state 
in  a  common  flint-glass  ground  stoppered  bottle,  and  not  protected 
from  the  light.  Some  other  specimens,  treated  the  same  way  appar- 
ently, would,  in  the  course  of  a  couple  of  months,  decompose.  This 
is  a  tolerably  certain  indication  that  the  washing  was  defective.  This 
ought  to  be  done  in  a  most  thorough  manner,  first  using  clear  water, 
then  some  alkaline  solution  to  saturate  any  trace  of  acid,  and  lastly, 
again  clear  water,  and  then  boiling  water  to  remove  tht  alkali.  Cotton, 
when  changed  to  pyroxylon,  increases  considerably  in  weight  ;  180 
grains  were  found  to  weigh  290  grains,  or  61  per  cent,  increase  in 
weight. 
Finally,  I  cannot  but  say  that  although  the  formulae  of  the  "  Phar- 
macopoeia," if  strictly  followed,  will  give  good  results,  still,  even  if  not 
very  strictly  followed  or  not  very  carefully  manipulated,  by  the  nitrate 
of  potassium  formula  I  have  always  obtained  uniformly  soluble  pyroxy- 
lon. 
Lowell,  N.  St.  Louis,  Mo. 
LINIMENT  IODIDE  OF  AMMONIA. 
By  Theodore  G.  Davis,  Ph.G. 
I  was  induced,  from  the  large  amount  of  advertising  and  high  testi- 
monials given  to  "  Giles'  Liniment  Iodide  of  Ammonia,"  to  look 
into  its  composition  with  a  view  of  framing  a  satisfactory  formula, 
should  such  prove  a  desirable  addition  to  our  list  of  liniments.  It 
smells  strongly  ammoniacal,  slightly  camphoraceous  and  lavender-like  ; 
when  mixed  with  water  it  becomes  milky,  and  globules  of  oil  may  be 
seen  floating  on  the  surface.  Iodine  could  not  be  detected  by  chlorine 
water  and  starch,  nor  was  any  precipitate  produced  when  boiled  with 
hydrate  of  potassium  until  all  odor  of  ammonia  had  disappeared,  acid- 
ulated and  tested  with  acetate  of  lead  and  mercuric  chloride.  A  quan- 
tity was  evaporated,  by  means  of  a  water-bath,  to  a  small  bulk,  thus 
getting  rid  of  the  oil  of  lavender,  alcohol,  and  greater  part  of  the  am- 
monia ;  water  was  added,  and  the  whole  thrown  on  a  filter,  thus  sepa- 
