592  Sodium  Salicylate.— Street  Bust.  {A%{7%£7h*rm- 
There  is  no  spilling  of  menstruum  from  tilting  or  liability  of  frac- 
ture to  the  apparatus,  as  is  frequently  the  case  where  funnels  are 
inserted  into  narrow-mouthed  bottles  and  there  become  tightly  jammed. 
When  required,  muslin  strainers  may  be  used  upon  it  for  collecting 
precipitates  by  tacking  the  corners  of  a  square  or  oblong  piece  of  muslin 
upon  the  horizontal  strips,  using  a  dish  to  collect  the  liquid  upon  the 
counter.  It  may  also  be  used  as  a  retort  stand  for  holding  flask,  retort 
or  still,  for  recovering  alcohol  under  certain  circumstances. 
Philadelphia,  Eleventh  month  15th,  1877. 
SODIUM  SALICYLATE. 
By  George  W.  Kennedy,  Ph.G. 
Read  at  Social  Alumni  Meeting,  November  1,  1877. 
Sodium  salicylate  having  rapidly  gained  favor  in  my  section  of  Penn- 
sylvania as  a  remedy  for  rheumatism,  I  have  been  compelled  to  make 
it  for  the  use  of  our  practitioners.  At  first  my  method  was  to  saturate 
the  acid  with  sodium  bicarbonate  at  the  time  of  dispensing  the  prescrip- 
tion. This  plan  was  slow  and  unsatisfactory,  and  to  replace  it  I  have 
devised  the  following  :  Take  of  solution  of  pure  white  caustic  soda, 
of  20  per  cent,  strength,  at  pleasure,  saturate  with  salicylic  acid  of 
known  purity  by  adding  the  acid  until  no  longer  dissolved  ;  filter,  and 
evaporate  on  a  water-bath  until  by  stirring  a  fine  white  powder  is 
obtained. 
As  thus  prepared,  salicylate  of  sodium  is  freely  soluble  in  glycerin, 
making  a  straw-colored  solution,  and  in  water  to  the  amount  of  50 
per  cent.,  which  solution  is  yellowish,  of  a  sweetish  taste  at  first, 
becoming  quite  acrid  and  unpleasant  after  a  little  time.  It  is  insoluble 
in  the  fixed  oils,  oil  of  turpentine,  benzin  and  bisulphide  of  carbon, 
sparingly  so  in  ether  and  95  per  cent,  alcohol,  though  more  freely 
when  hot.  Its  exhibifion  in  the  dose  of  about  30  grains  daily  has  been 
attended  with  some  quite  remarkable  effects  in  some  cases  of  rheuma- 
tism in  which  other  remedies  have  failed. 
STREET  DUST. 
By  Henry  G.  Debrunner,  Chemist. 
It  has  been  lately  stated  in  several  scientific  periodicals  that  the  dust 
of  the  active  thoroughfares  of  Paris,  London  and  other  large  European 
