538 
Eastons  Syrup. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t       Nov.,  1893. 
been  boiled)-  and  applied  to  the  affected  part.  This,  next  to  the 
serpent's-bone  necklace,  is  the  favorite  treatment  for  the  complaint. 
(5)  Akra  flowers  [Hibiscus  esculentus)  are  to  be  heated  in  a  closed 
pot  and  applied  with  ghee  (clarified  butter)  to  the  affected  part. 
The  book  under  review  contains  many  more  items,  both  interest- 
ing and  amusing,  but  space  forbids  more  being  detailed  at  present. 
Many  of  the  remedies  mentioned  appear  absurd  to  our  eyes,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  these  remedies  are  all  prepared  and 
administered  by  the  hakim  himself,  and  in  many  cases  simply  act  as 
a  mask  or  blind  while  the  patient  is  being  subjected  to  rigorous 
hygienic  treatment,  otherwise  it  would  be  difficult  to  account  for 
the  many  wonderful  and  authentic  cures  wrought  by  the  native 
medicine  men  of  this  and  similar  countries. 
NOTE  ON  EASTON'S  SYRUP.1 
By  R.  Wright,  Pharmaceutical  Chemist. 
The  original  formula  for  this  syrup,  as  published  by  Dr.  Aitken, 
in  his  "  Science  and  Practice  of  Medicine,"  included  (1)  the  prepara- 
tion of  ferrous  phosphate  by  precipitating  a  solution  of  ferrous  sul- 
phate with  an  excess  of  sodium  phosphate,  (2)  the  preparation  of 
quinine  hydrate  by  treating  an  acid  solution  of  the  sulphate  with  a 
slight  excess  of  ammonia,  and  (3)  the  solution  of  the  well-washed 
precipitates,  together  with  a  fixed  quantity  of  strychnine,  in  dilute 
phosphoric  acid  ;  the  process  being  completed  by  the  addition  of 
sugar,  which  was  dissolved  in  the  solution  without  the  employment 
of  heat. 
As  originally  devised,  the  syrup  was  intended  to  contain  the 
equivalent  of  1  grain  quinine  sulphate,  ^  grain  strychnine  (alka- 
loid), and  1  grain  hydrous  ferrous  phosphate  in  each  fluid  drachm. 
The  process  published  by  Dr.  Aitken  was  faulty  in  more  than  one 
respect,  and  although,  judging  from  the  quantities  given  in  the 
formula,  the  evident  intention  was  to  produce  24  fluid  ounces  of 
syrup,  the  wording  of  the  recipe  was  so  vague  and  indefinite,  that 
in  the  hands  of  different  operators  it  might  yield,  as  shown  by  P. 
W.  Squire  {Chemist  and  Druggist,  vol.  xlii,  795),  25,  29  or  31  fluid 
ounces. 
1  Condensed  from  Pharm.  Jour.  Trans.,  Sept.  2,  1893,  p.  191. 
