THE  AMERICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
NOVEMBER,  1877. 
IRON   AND   ITS    CONSTITUENTS   IN    REGARD  TO 
PHARMACEUTIC  PREPARATIONS. 
By  Henry  G.  Debrunner,  Chemist. 
It  may  be  deemed  excusable  for  a  Pittsburgher  to  entertain  a  very 
high  opinion  of  iron,  and  if  a  Pittsburgh  chemist  particularly  dwells  on 
this  subject  it  can  hardly  be  taken  amiss.  When  we  consider  that  this 
element  is  one  of  the  chief  constituents  of  the  earth's  solid  crust, 
varying  in  quantities  from  two  to  ten  per  cent,  in  the  primary  rocks, 
besides  its  general  presence  throughout  the  animal  and  vegetable  king- 
doms, a  closer  examination  of  its  character  will  be  justifiable.  The 
manifold  useful  applications  of  iron  in  the  arts  and  manufactures,  its 
occurrence  in  numerous  ores  and  minerals,  in  the  green  pigment  of 
plants  and  the  red  one  of  blood  ;  its  presence  even  in  the  sun  and  the 
far  distant  fixed  stars,  where  it  has  been  detected  by  aid  of  the  spectro- 
scope, render  it  an  article  of  universal  interest. 
When  making  ferruginous  preparations,  which  are  used  in  consider- 
able quantities  on  account  of  their  great  therapeutic  value,  it  is  the 
aim  of  the  pharmacist  to  procure  the  purest  iron  in  the  market. 
Chemically  pure  iron  (Fe)  is  not  an  ordinary  commercial  article.  The 
finest  Pittsburgh  tool  steel,  which  fully  equals,  if  not  surpasses,  the 
best  of  Sheffield  make,  contains,  besides  combined  carbon,  0*05  per 
cent,  of  silicon,  croo8  per  cent,  of  phosphorus,  0*006  per  cent,  of 
sulphur,  01  to  0*2  per  cent,  of  manganese,  and  minute  traces  of  various 
other  elements,  while  cast  iron  contains  from  88  to  97  per  cent,  of 
pure  Fe  and  a  high  percentage  of  manganese. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  recommends  iron  wire  as  material  for  iron  pre- 
parations •,  musical  wire,  being  steel  and  therefore  purer,  is  also  often 
applied  and  will  yield  sufficiently  pure  preparations.  Their  analyses 
are  as  follows  : 
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