THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY, 
SEPTEMBER,  1873. 
ON  THE  NEW  SYRUP  OF  THE  IODIDE  AND  TINCTURE  OF 
THE  CHLORIDE  OF  IRON. 
By  Joseph  P.  Remington. 
The  so-called  tasteless  iron  combinations,  which  have  recently  been 
brought  to  notice  by  J.  L.  A.  Creuse,  of  New  York,  have  attracted 
much  attention  of  late,  and  an  entire  revolution  in  the  manner  of 
making  a  most  useful  class  of  preparations  has  been  threatened. 
The  advantages  claimed  for  the  innovations  are  numerous  :  freedom 
from  nauseous  taste  (they  cannot  certainly  be  called  tasteless),  ready 
solubility  in  water,  non-liability  to  change  in  dispensing,  little  or  no 
destructive  action  on  the  teeth,  miscibility  without  decomposition 
with  bark  and  other  desirable  tonic  preparations. 
Setting  aside  for  the  present  the  theories  which  may  be  brought 
forward  to  prove  their  composition  (the  rationale  of  new  compounds 
often  being  mere  collections  of  symbols  twisted  into  a  shape  that  will 
explain  on  paper  a  reaction),  the  first  thoughts  that  occur  to  a  prac- 
tical pharmacist  in  connection  with  them,  are  : — 
Can  they  thoroughly  replace  the  old  and  disagreeable  remedies 
that  have  been  prescribed  for  years  past  ? 
Can  desirable  processes  be  devised,  whereby  every  pharmacist  may 
make  in  his  own  store  the  new  preparations  ? 
Is  the  claim  for  stability  sustained  by  experience? 
It  is  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  attempt  to  answer  these  ques- 
tions. 
First,  in  regard  to  replacing  the  old  remedies.  Iodide  of  iron  has 
been  used  constantly  since  1824,  and  it  is  regarded  as  one  of  the 
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