498 
Iodide  of  Iron  Pills}  etc. 
5  Am.  Jour.  Phabm. 
\    Nov.  1, 1873. 
Letheby  exhibited,  at  a  lecture  before  the  Society  for  the  Encourage- 
ment of  Art,  cans  of  mutton  which  had  been  packed  forty-four  years 
before,  and  had  been  exposed  for  some  years  during  summer  and  win- 
ter to  an  Arctic  climate.  They  were  still  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation. 
The  business  of  canning  goods  received  its  first  impetus  from  the- 
necessity  of  supplying  Arctic  and  other  voyagers  with  palatable  food;: 
when  it  was  found  that  this  could  be  done  with  ease  and  profit  the 
trade  was  soon  extended,  and  it  has  now  become  one  of  the  leading 
industries.  The  amount  of  capital  invested  is  very  great,  and,  con- 
trary to  general  opinion,  the  profits  are  but  small. 
While  the  general  process  of  canning  is  free  to  all,  there  is  scarcely 
a  packer  but  who  has,  or  imagines  he  has,  some  special  secret  by 
which  he  is  enabled  to  put  up  either  a  better  or  cheaper  article  than 
any  one  else.  The  business  requires  considerable  experience  to  carry 
it  on  successfully,  and  considerable  cash  capital,  as  labor  and  materials 
must  all  be  paid  for  with  cash,  and  returns  are  often  slow,  a  heavy 
stock  having  at  times  to  be  carried  over. 
The  number  of  cans  of  peaches  packed  last  year  approximated 
about  twelve  million,  tomatoes  eighteen  million,  and  corn  from  six  to 
eight  million.  The  headquarters  of  peach  canning  are  in  Maryland 
and  Delaware,  more  than  half  the  peach-packing  firms  hailing  from 
Baltimore  alone.  Large  quantities  of  oysters  are  also  put  up  along 
the  Chesapeake.  Tomatoes  come  chiefly  from  New  Jersey,  although 
many  are  packed  in  Baltimore,  New  York,  and  in  the  Eastern  States. 
The  best  corn  comes  from  Maine,  where  are  also  situated  the  largest 
lobster  establishments. — Journ.  of  App.  Chem.,  Aug.,  1873. 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  AND  COATING  OF  IODIDE  OF  IRON 
PILLS* 
By  Mr.  Magnes-Lahens. 
The  conditions  which  assure  the  best  preparation  and  conservation 
of  the  iodide  of  iron  pills,  are  as  follows  : 
1.  For  the  preparation  of  iodide  of  iron,  to  be  used  for  pills,  em- 
ploy very  little  water,  so  that  a  pill  mass  of  good  consistence  may  be 
obtained  with  very  little  evaporation. 
2.  Avoid  the  filtration  of  the  solution  of  iodide  of  iron  ;  it  alters 
the  salt,  and  a  portion  of  it  is  lost  by  being  retained  in  the  filter. 
♦Translated  from  Journ.  de  Pharm.  et  de  Ohim.,  1873,  Oct.,  p.  328—330. 
