366 
Bromide  of  Zinc. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     Aug.  1, 1873. 
one  case  they  are  nearly  cubical,  with  rather  thin  walls,  containing  a 
blackish  granular  matter,  which  is  the  fleshy  portion  of  the  pericarp  ; 
in  the  other,  the  cells  forming  the  endocarp,  they  are  cuneiform,  often 
slightly  curved,  and  their  very  thick  walls  are  canaliculate.  The  au- 
thor found  their  mean  size  to  be  0*025  mm.  wide  by  0*062  mm.  long. 
Potato  starch  is  easily  distinguished  from  that  of  pepper  by  its  simple, 
more  or  less  rounded  or  ovoid  or  irregularly  trigonal,  strongly  refrac- 
tive grains.  The  largest  measure  0*180  mm.  All,  except  the  small- 
est (which  measure  about  0*010  mm.),  have  a  conspicuous,  often  stel- 
late hilum,  and  their  concentric  zones  are  clearly  visible.  Dilute  solu- 
tion of  caustic  potash  attacks  them  very  rapidly.  A  yellow  tissue 
contained  in  several  of  the  specimens  examined  was  distinguished 
easily  by  its  elongated  polygonal  cells,  with  thin,  clear,  yellow  walls, 
enclosing  a  slightly  darker  granular  substance.  It  probably  belonged 
to  some  oleaginous  cruciferous  seed,  or  to  linseed. 
In  consideration  of  the  great  skill  with  which  pepper  is  now  adul- 
terated, M.  Bouchardat  recommends  that  dealers  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  buy  their  pepper  whole  and  grind  it  themselves. — Pharm. 
Jour.  (Lend.),  June  14,  1873. 
BROMIDE  OF  ZINC. 
Richmond,  June  20th,  1873. 
Mr.  Editor. — I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  your  readers  to  the 
Bromide  of  Zinc  as  a  substance  promising  to  be  of  value  as  a  thera- 
peutic agent,  and  to  ask  a  trial  of  it  in  suitable  cases,  in  order  that 
its  true  value,  if  any,  may  be  determined. 
I  was  led  some  weeks  ago,  by  theoretical  considerations,  to  con- 
clude that  this  would  probably  prove  a  useful  combination,  and  I 
therefore  requested  Mr.  J.  N.  Willis,  corner  4th  and  Franklin  streets, 
to  undertake  the  preparation  of  it,  in  order  that  it  might  be  duly  sub- 
mitted to  trial.  I  was  led  to  this  conclusion  by  the  belief  that  the 
sedative  and  nervine  properties  of  the  bromides,  and  the  tonic  and 
antispasmodic  properties  of  the  preparations  of  zinc,  would  harmonize 
very  well  together,  and  by  the  knowledge  that  the  two  classes  of  pre- 
parations are  very  much  employed  in  the  same  category  of  diseases, 
viz.:  epilepsy,  chorea,  whoopiitg  cough  and  other  spasmodic  and  ner- 
vous affections.  In  epilepsy,  for  instance,  Hammond  and  other 
writers  recommend  the  bromide  of  potassium  or  sodium  and  the  oxide 
of  zinc,  given  at  the  same  sime,  the  one  in  solution,  the  other  in  pill. 
