Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
March,  1900.  / 
Synthetic  Chemicals. 
115 
with  proteid  bodies,  and  the  combinations  formed  are  very  stable 
ones ;  but  that  a  preparation  made  by  treating  egg  albumin  with 
an  iron  salt  produces  a  single  definite  chemical  compound  is  alto- 
gether improbable.  In  fact,  it  is  disproved  by  the  very  variable 
quantity  of  combined  iron  found  in  such  preparations,  as  will  be 
seen  by  the  analyses  which  follow.  No  proteid  bodies,  therefore, 
have  been  exempted  except  one,  protargol,  this  having  been 
included  with  the  articles  passed  upon  in  Justice  Brown's  decision. 
Some  of  the  difficulties  experienced  in  marking  out  the  line  of 
division  between  compounded  and  uncompounded  chemicals  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  two  closely  allied  preparations  called  creosotal 
and  duotal.  The  latter,  being  the  carbonate  of  a  single  definite 
body,  viz.,  guaiacol,  is  itself  definite,  having  a  crystalline  structure 
and  constant  melting  point.  It  is,  therefore,  a  distinct  chemical 
compound  and  entitled  to  exemption.  Creosotal,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  prepared  by  the  action  of  phosgene  gas  upon  beechwood 
creosote.  It  contains,  therefore,  carbonates  of  the  various  pheno- 
loid  bodies  contained  in  creosote,  consequently  is  a  "mixture  of 
different  substances  in  indefinite  proportions,  and  not  an  uncom- 
pounded chemical. 
Pyoktanin  blue  and  pyoktanin  yellow  are  two  aniline  dyes  used 
in  medicine.  The  yellow  is  exempt,  being  a  single  definite  chemi- 
cal compound ;  the  blue  is  not,  being  a  mixture  of  the  hydro- 
chlorides of  penta  and  hexa  methyl  para  rosaniline. 
Two  very  interesting  preparations  used  in  latter-day  medicine 
are  colloidal  silver  and  mercury,  known  under  the  trade  names  of 
collar golum  and  hyrgolum,  respectively.  In  both  preparations  the 
intention  has  been  to  produce  the  metal  in  a  colloidal  state,  the 
advantage  for  medicinal  purposes  being  the  solubility  in  water  of 
metals  in  this  condition.  Colloidal  silver  or  mercury  would,  of  course, 
fully  answer  the  requirements  of  the  definition  of  a  distinct  chemi- 
cal entity,  being  simple  elements.  Upon  examination,  however, 
the  samples  submitted  were  found  to  contain  such  considerable  pro- 
per Cent. 
Total  Proteids 
N  X  6-25 
Per  Cent. 
Iron 
Fe 
Ferratin     .  . 
Iron  somatose 
Hemol   .  .  . 
Hemogallol  . 
89'25 
84-87 
88-  8i 
89-  94 
7-i8 
1-52 
0*30 
026 
