Am.  Jour.  Phaem.  ") 
Feb.  1,  1873.  / 
A  Defence  of  Elixirs,  etc. 
53 
to  my  syr.  phosph.  iron  and  potash  citrate,  which  is  prepared  on  pre- 
cisely the  same  principle  as  Mr.  Rother's,  yet  scarcely  equals  it  in 
merit. 
By  using  phosphate  of  ammonia  in  a  saturated  solution,  I  have  suc- 
ceeded very  well  in  dissolving  the  magma  thrown  down  from  the 
sesqui-salts  of  iron  by  phosphate  of  soda,  the  liq.  tersulphate  perhaps 
giving  the  best  result ;  but  the  subsulphate  is  very  eligible.  Any  of  the 
alkali  salts  will  dissolve  the  sesqui-salts  of  iron  if  the  acid  be  somewhat 
in  excess,  but  ammonia  possesses  greater  solvent  power  than  any 
other,  the  citrate  of  ammonia  being  the  best  preparation  for  this  pur- 
pose. By  using  the  exact  chemical  equivalent  of  the  phosphate  of 
soda  necessary  to  precipitate  one  pint  of  liq.  tersulphate  of  iron  (which 
is  about  ten  ounces),  as  fine  scales  as  those  obtained  of  the  pyrophos- 
phate can  be  as  easily  made,  and  which  are  really  more  soluble.  The 
olive  green  color  heretofore  alluded  to  contrasts  in  a  marked  de- 
gree with  the  apple  green  of  the  pyrophosphate. 
The  chemical  character  of  the  phosphate  of  iron  with  ammonio- 
citrate  (Fe2O3,PO5-|-10  HO),  indicates  that  it  contains  a  larger  amount 
of  iron  and  a  smaller  amount  of  phosphoric  acid  than  the  pyrophos- 
phate (2  Fe30\  3  PO5  f  9  HO).  This  salt  of  iron  is  worthy  of  fur- 
ther investigation. 
A  DEFENCE  OP  ELIXIRS,  ETC. 
By  James  W.  Long. 
In  the  January  number  of  the  u  Journal  of  Pharmacy"  there  ap- 
pears an  article  on  Elixirs,  which  is  so  unjust  that  I  think  a  few  words, 
however  weak,  in  reply  will  do  no  harm. 
The  writer  of  the  article  referred  to  states  that  they  have  "  grown 
into  an  undeserved  popularity,  both  with  physicians  and  the  commu- 
nity at  large." 
While  not  having  space  in  this  article  to  quote  ad  libitum  from  Dr. 
Polk's  essay,  still  the  general  tenor  of  it  seems  to  be  that  most  of 
these  elixirs  are  "utterly  worthless,"  and  that  the  remedy  seems  to 
lie  in  a  universal  formula  being  adopted — "  formulas  that  every  retail 
druggist  can  follow." 
Now,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  rather  a  serious  charge  to  state  that 
many  of  our  very  finest  manufacturing  chemists  are  placing  in  the 
market,  endorsed  by  their  label,  a  line  of  articles  the  most  of  which 
are  utterly  worthless. 
