AVayT,  iP873RM  }    Value  of  Certain  Salts  of  Iron,  etc.  217 
salt.  This  last  reaction  is  important,  as  iodate  of  potassium  is  deemed 
poisonous  by  some  physicians. 
Tasteless  Chloride  of  Iron. 
Sesqui-chloride  of  iron,  the  salt  which  enters  in  the  preparation 
generally  known  as  tincture  of  muriate  of  iron,  has  the  property  of 
forming  combinations  precisely  similar  to  those  of  the  sesqui-iodide* 
If  an  alkaline  citrate  be  added  to  a  solution  of  sesqui-chloride  of  iron,, 
in  the  proportion  of  two  equivalents  of  the  former  to  each  three  equiv- 
alents of  chlorine,  a  new  salt  will  be  obtained  of  a  green  color,  quite 
tasteless,  and  miscible  with  vegetable  preparations  such  as  infusions, 
of  bark,  quassia,  etc.,  without  change  or  discoloration. 
This  tasteless  muriate  of  iron  may  be  dissolved  in  diluted  alcohol 
in  the  proportion  required  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  ; 
it  forms,  then,  a  tincture  of  muriate  of  iron,  which  is  as  superior  to- 
the  old  one  as  a  civilized  man  is  above  a  barbarian.  Its  effects,  I 
know,  from  experience,  are  fully  equal  to  those  of  the  officinal  tinc- 
ture. 
I  cannot  give  the  exact  weight  of  citric  acid  required  for  a  given 
quantity  of  the  officinal  tincture  of  muriate  of  iron,  on  account  of 
the  great  variation  in  the  strength  and  acidity  of  that  preparation^ 
but,  on  an  average,  120  to  140  grains  of  citric  acid  saturated  with 
either  soda  or  ammonia  will  answer  for  one  fluid-ounce  of  the  tincture. 
This  is  to  be  added  to  the  iron  solution  before  the  alcohol,  and  the  al- 
coholic strength  of  the  tincture,  when  finished,  must  not  be  more  than 
30  or  40  p.  c.  instead  of  70  p.  c,  as  usual. 
The  sesqui-sulphate  and  the  sesqui-nitrate  of  iron  form  also  combi- 
nations precisely  alike  to  those  described  above,  but  present  no  spe- 
cial interest  to  be  entitled  to  more  than  a  simple  mention. 
All  these  combinations,  however,  lack  the  property  of  coagulating 
the  blood,  and  for  that  reason  cannot  be  used  as  styptics  in  cases  of 
hemorrhagia,  etc.  The  old  officinal  pre  parations  will  have  to  be  re- 
tained for  external  use,  the  only  thing  they  are  fit  for  in  a  civilized 
community. 
Note. — The  tasteless  Iodide  of  Iron  has  been  patented,  but  with  no  inten- 
tion of  interfering  with  any  Druggist  who  wishes  to  make  it  himself  for  his  owii 
dispensing. 
