AmAp°rnr;  mtm- }  Preparations  of  Phosphates  of  Iron,  etc.  1 79 
probably  insufficient  to  produce  any  decided  influence  upon  the 
human  economy. 
The  possible  influence,  which  such  impure  preparations,  if  taken 
continually,  may  have  upon  the  system  belongs  to  the  domain  of 
medicine  rather  than  pharmacy. 
But  as  the  supply  is  furnished  by  the  pharmacist,  the  responsi- 
bility arising  therefrom  necessarily  rests  upon  him. 
It  is  therefore  his  duty  to  exercise  the  utmost  care  in  the  selec- 
tion as  well  as  preparation  of  those  articles  which  are  liable  to  this 
and  similar  impurities. 
In  this  he  must  be  aided  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  which,  by  giving 
the  proper  directions  for  the  detection,  must  call  attention  to  their 
possible  presence. 
As  such  is,  with  but  one  exception,  not  the  case  with  citrates, 
this  addition  to  the  present  Pharmacopoeia  may  perhaps  be  sug- 
gested. 
EXAMINATION  OF  COMMERCIAL  PREPARATIONS  OF 
PHOSPHATES  OF  IRON  AND  ALKALOIDS. 
By  Milton  F.  Schaak. 
Perhaps  no  class  of  pharmaceutical  preparations  has  been  more 
widely  discussed,  and  with  less  satisfactory  results  than  the  above. 
The  object  of  all  this  discussion  has  been  to  show  how  to  produce 
preparations  of  proper  strength,  palatability,  bright  color,  misci- 
bility,  and,  above  all,  to  prevent  the  precipitation  of  some  of  the 
ingredients. 
While  the  pharmacist  has  despaired  of  success  in  some  of  these 
requirements,  there  are  nevertheless  preparations  upon  the  market 
that  apparently  possess  all  of  the  desirable  physical  qualities ;  and, 
according  to  the  label,  the  proper  quantity  of  ingredients. 
In  order  to  ascertain  by  analysis  the  composition  of  these  com- 
mercial preparations,  this  work  was  undertaken.  In  order  to  make 
the  quantitative  determination  of  important  constituents  as  rapidly 
as  possible,  and  with  sufficient  accuracy  the  following  process  was 
devised  and  followed. 
Five  to  ten  grams  were  taken,  diluted  with  water,  heated  to  expel 
alcohol,  put  into  a  separating  funnel,  ammonium  citrate  added  (when 
needed),  made  alkaline  with  sodium  hydrate  and  shaken  with  3  or 
