liebig's  extract  of  meat. 
143 
to  be,  as  stated  on  the  label,  which  claims  that  the  solution  con- 
tains sixteen  grains ;  the  deficiency  of  six-tenths  of  a  grain  in 
a  fluid-ounce  being  so  small  that  it  may  be  referred  to  the  loss 
consequent  on  the  manipulation  in  making  the  assay. 
No.  2.  A  colorless  liquid,  having  an  alcoholic  odor  and  a  spe- 
cific gravity  of  *995 ;  it  was  free  from  flavor  and  sugar,  having 
only  an  alcoholic  flavor,  and  the  peculiar  metallic  after-taste  of 
ammonio-citrate  of  bismuth.  The  average  result  of  four  assays 
was  five  and  six-tenths  grains  of  ter-sulphide  of  bismuth,  equal  to 
five  and  eight-hundreths  grains  of  ter-oxide  of  bismuth,  or  ten 
and  sixteen-hundreths  grains  of  ammonio-citrate  of  bismuth.  The 
label  on  the  bottle  of  this  liquor  bismuthi  states  that  each  tea- 
spoonful  of  the  solution  contained  two  grains  of  the  ammonio- 
citrate  of  bismuth,  which  would  be  sixteen  grains  of  the  bismuth 
salt  in  each  fluid-ounce.  The  quantity  found  was  only  1046 
grains,  showing  a  deficiency  of  about  six  grains  in  each  fluid- 
ounce. 
The  writer  has  found  the  loss  of  citrate  of  bismuth  in  his  prac- 
tice to  be  about  seven  per  cent.,  a  quantity  too  small  to  pay  for 
the  time  and  trouble  of  regaining  by  the  use  of  sulphuretted 
hydrogen,  but  by  the  use  of  sulphide  of  sodium  it  may  be  readily 
recovered ;  yet,  unless  the  quantity  is  large,  it  will  not  pay.  In 
working  with  twenty  ounces  of  subcarbonate  of  bismuth  it  will 
require  about  six  gallons  of  water  to  free  the  citrate  of  bismuth 
from  the  nitrate  of  potassa  formed  in  the  process,  and  in  these 
washings  the  small  portion  of  citrate  of  bismuth  is  found  in  a 
very  dilute  solution. — Proceed.  Amer,  Pharm  Assoc.,  1866. 
LIEBIG'S  EXTRACT  OF  MEAT. 
The  following  communication  from  Baron  Liebig  appears  in 
the  Pharmaceutical  Journal  for  November  : — 
In  the  last  number  of  your  journal  (October,  p.  196),  I  find 
an  excellent  contribution  from  Messrs.  Deane  and  Brady  on 
"  The  Results  of  the  Micro-Chemical  Examination  of  Extract  of 
Elesh." 
1  beg  you  will  allow  me  to  make  a  few  remarks  which  may 
form  a  proper  basis  of  judgment  of  extract  of  meat,  and  partic- 
