ON  OXALATE  OF  IRON. 
Ill 
ON  OXALATE  OF  IRON. 
By  J.  B  Moore. 
The  publication  in  the  January  number  of  the  American 
Journal  of  Pharmacy,  of  the  communication  of  Mr.  Simms, 
accompanied  by  the  letter  of  Dr.  SchsefFer,  of  Washington  City, 
on  the  Oxalate  of  Iron,  has  stimulated  a  demand  for  it  among  the 
apothecaries  of  this  city.  I,  like  perhaps  many  others  in  my 
profession,  have  received  prescriptions  for  the  article  without 
being  able  to  supply  it,  and  in  the  absence  of  any  definite  form- 
ula for  its  manufacture,  devised  the  following,  which  I  here  pre- 
sent for  the  convenience  of  those  who  may  have  occasion  to 
make  it. 
Take  of  Protosulphate  of  Iron,  (pure)  5  xviij.  grs.  xxxij. 
Oxalic  Acid,  3  viij.  grs.  xxiv\ 
Water,  three  and  a  half  pints. 
Dissolve  the  sulphate  of  iron  and  oxalic  acid  separately ;  the 
acid  in  one  and  a  half  pints  of  the  water,  and  the  sulphate  of  iron 
in  the  remaining  two  pints.  Strain  both  solutions  through 
muslin,  to  remove  any  accidental  impurities  ;  then  mix  them,  and, 
having  stirred  the  mixture,  set  it  by,  that  the  precipitate  may 
subside.  Collect  the  latter  upon  a  filter  and  wash  with  water 
until  the  washings  pass  devoid  of  acid  reaction  upon  litmus  paper. 
Then  dry  the  precipitate  at  a  temperature  not  exceeding  120°. 
To  facilitate  solution,  the  acid  in  the  above  formula  may  be 
powdered,  and  the  sulphate  of  iron  finely  bruised  and  both 
afterwards  weighed,  any  loss  occuring  during  the  process  being 
supplied  by  fresh  additions  of  either  substance. 
As  the  oxalate  is  slightly  soluble  in  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  a 
small  loss  of  the  precipitate  is  sustained  by  a  portion  being 
carried  off  in  the  supernatant  liquid. 
Oxalate  of  iron  is  a  beautiful  canary-colored  powder,  nearly 
devoid  of  smell  or  taste,  and  decomposed  by  the  alkalies  and 
their  carbonates.  These  substances  are  therefore  incompatible 
with  it  in  prescriptions. 
The  oxalate  being  a  pure  and  permanent  proto-salt  of  iron, 
and  possessing  little  or  no  astringency,  and  not  liable  to  produce 
constipation  nor  any  functional  excitement  or  derangement, 
which  the  use  of  other  chalybeate  salts  often  induces,  and  being 
