AFe£Z\y^m7-\  $yruP  of  Ferrous  Iodide.  75 
Mr.  A.  Bradley,  at  a  meeting  of  the  North  Carolina  Pharmaceu- 
tical Association,  in  1893,  recommended  the  addition  of  three  fluid 
drams  of  hypophosphorous  acid,  10  per  cent.,  to  1  pint  of  syrup  of 
ferrous  iodide.  Mr.  Bradley  adds  the  hypophosphorous  acid  to  the 
finished  syrup. 
Mr.  C.  Levy  (American  Druggist  and  Pharmaceutical  Record,  1894) 
recommended  the  addition  of  hypophosphorous  acid  to  the  solution  of 
ferrous  iodide  to  prevent  oxidation,  and  which,  he  says,  is  not  objec- 
tionable from  a  therapeutic  point  of  view.  Mr.  Levy  uses  8  grammes 
of  10  per  cent,  hypophosphorous  acid  to  750  grammes  of  a  20  per 
cent,  solution  of  ferous  iodide. 
The  editor  of  the  Pharmaceutical  Journal  (Pharm.  Journal,  March 
14,  1896)  in  a  series  of  criticisms  and  suggestions  respecting  the 
syrups  of  the  British  Pharmacopoeia,  suggested  the  addition  of  40 
minims  of  hypophosphorous  acid  to  2  pounds  and  10  ounces  of  the 
finished  syrup,  the  hypophosphorous  acid  being  added  to  the 
solution  of  ferrous  iodide  before  adding  the  syrup. 
Dr.  A.  R.  L.  Dohme,  in  a  report  to  the  Maryland  Pharmaceutical 
Association,  in  1897,  proposed  a  formula  for  syrup  of  ferrous  iodide 
in  which  5  c.c.  of  50  per  cent,  hypophosphorous  acid  are  used  to 
preserve  1,000  c.c.  of  the  syrup. 
In  1900,  Mr.  Haussmann  (Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,  1900,  p.  216)  pro- 
posed a  modification  of  the  formula  suggested  by  Dr.  Dohme, 
namely,  reducing  the  quantity  of  sugar  from  850  grammes  to  600 
grammes  and  the  substitution  of  20  c.c.  of  the  diluted  hypophospho- 
rous acid  of  the  U.S.P.  (10  per  cent.)  for  the  5  c.c.  of  the  50  per 
cent.  acid. 
Mr.  F.  W.  Haussmann  (Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,  I90i,p.  17)  claims  that 
"  the  discoloration  of  the  syrup  of  ferrous  iodide  on  keeping  is  mainly 
due  to  caramelization  of  the  sugar ;  in  exceptional  cases  only  to  the 
oxidation  of  the  ferrous  salt.  In  an  examination  of  some  fifteen 
discolored  samples  not  one  reacted  for  the  presence  of  ferric  com- 
pounds." The  interesting  question  here  is,  if  the  discoloration  is 
due  to  caramelization,  why  does  not  the  discoloration  take  place 
immediately  on  preparing  the  syrup,  as  the  caramelization  would, 
no  doubt,  be  caused  by  the  heat  employed  in  preparing  the  syrup 
and  not  by  old  age.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Haussmann  did  not  find  any 
ferric  salts  in  the  samples  of  discolored  syrup  examined  by  him, 
would  indicate,  also,  the  absence  of  free  iodine  in  those  samples ;  for 
