134  Abstracts  from  t lie  French  Journals.  [AlVaTch1Ii]!»onn' 
that  crayons  of  iodide  of  potas-ium,  phenic  acid,  etc.,  may  be  made 
in  the  same  way. 
Sulphuric t Acid  Ointment. — M.  P.  Vigier  learned  that  anoint- 
ment peddled  by  a  charlatan  was  giving  surprisingly  good  results 
in  sciatica,  swollen  articulations  of  rheumatic  origin,  etc.  Procuring 
some  of  the  preparation,  he  analyzed  it  and  found  it  to  contain  : 
Sulphuric  acid,  t  part;  lard,  7  parts.  Vigier  made  up  some  of  it 
for  distribut'on.  The  reports  were  very  favorable.  It  caused  con- 
siderable  redness  but  no. blistering.  The  pain  seems  to  have  been 
relieved  in  all  cases.1 
Administration"  of  Exalgin. — The  formula  used  by  Dr.  Dujar- 
din-Beaumetz  is  given  in  various  journals,  as  follows:  Exalgin,  2-50 
gm  ;  tr.  orange,  5  gm.;  water,  120  gm.;  syrup  of  orange-peel,  30 
gm.  A  tablespoonful  (containing  25  cgm.  of  exalgin)  may  be  given 
mtorning  and  night.  Desnos  is  said  to  have  given  1-50  gm.  of 
exalgin  without  causing  disturbance.  According  to  Dr.  Dujardin- 
Beaumetz,  this  substance  "is  very  active  against  the  element  of 
pain,  whatever  may  be  its  origin,  and  is  especially  useful  in  essen- 
tial or  sympathetic  neuralgia,  tabetic  pains  and  angina  pectoris." 
Administration  of  Caffeine. — Tanret's  formula  is  used  by  Dr. 
Misrachi  in  puerperal  hemorrhage;  it  is  thus  given  in  the  Aouv. 
Arch.  d'Obstet.:  Benzoate  of  sodium,  3  gm.;  caffeine,  2-50  gm.,  dis- 
tilled water,  6  gm.,  or  q.  s.  to  make  10  ccm.  The  solution  is  to  be 
made  with  warm  water  ;  each  ccm.  contains  25  cgm.  of  caffeine. 
Sixty  to  eighty  cgm.  of  caffeine  injected  hypodermically  is  said  to 
arrest  post-partum  hemorrhage  with  great  rapidity. 
Estimation  of  Uric  Acid. — Arthaud  and  Butte,  in  a  communi- 
cation to  the  French  Biological  Society,  propose  the  following 
method,  founded  apon  the  property  possessed  by  uric  acid  of  form- 
ing an  insoluble  urate  with  copper.  Their  reagent  is  formulated 
as  follows  :  Sulphate  of  copper,  1-484  gm.;  hyposulphite  of  sodium, 
20  gm.;  tartrate  of  potassium  and  sodium,  40  gm.;  distilled  water, 
q.  s.  to  make  one  litre  of  solution.  Contact  with  the  hyposulphite 
reduces  the  copper  salt,  and  the  excess  of  the  former  contributes  to 
maintain  the  copper  salt  unchanged,  and  to  give  stability  to  the 
1  Jourdan's  Pharmacopce  Universelle  (1828),  I,  p.  50,  contains  seven  formulas 
for  sulphuric  acid  ointment,  which  was  used  externally  in  chronic  ophthalmia, 
psoriasis  and  paralysis,  and  internally  in  dropsy  and  jaundice. — Editor  Am. 
Jour.  Phar.  .  % 
