AmNov.?i886arm'}    Practical  Notes  from  Various  Sources.  535 
dages,  lint,  etc.,  aseptic  being  prepared  of  1  part  of  the  double  salt  to 
100  parts  of  water,  colored  by  a  little  aniline  blue,  1  in  10,000, 
the  latter  becoming  reddish  on  coming  in  contact  with  an  alkaline 
discharge. 
From  the  accounts  published  in  medical  journals  the  pure  double 
salt  seems  to  be  used,  prepared  by  sublimation.  This  has  the  compo- 
sition NH4Cl.HgCl2,  and  may  be  obtained  by  subliming  a  mixture  in 
molecular  weights  of  ammonium  chloride,  53'4,  and  mercuric  chloride, 
270*5.  Davy  found  that  the  sublimate  usually  contains  a  little  calo- 
mel and  hydrochloric  acid  from  partial  decomposition.  When  the 
mixture  of  the  two  salts  is  crystallized  from  water,  the  double  salt  is 
obtained  either  anhydrous  in  rhombohedrons,  or  in  long  silky  needles 
containing  1H20.  Lister's  solution,  however,  can  be  readily  made 
from  the  salts  by  dissolving  21  grains  of  ammonium  chloride  and 
100  grains  of  mercuric  chloride  in  12,100  grains  (27-f  oz.  av.,  or  26f 
fluidounces,  U.  S.  measure),  and  adding  1\  grains  aniline  blue. 
The  British  Pharmacopoeia  directs  a  liquor  hydrargyri  perchloridi 
prepared  from  10  grains  each  of  mercuric  chloride  and  ammonium 
chloride,  and  1  Imperial  pint— 8750  grains  of  distilled  water.  This 
solution  contains  the  Sal  alembroth  of  the  alchymists ;  but  when  this 
is  evaporated  and  the  dry  residue  is  heated,  the  sublimate  is  not  of 
uniform  composition,  since  the  ammonio-mercuric  chloride  volatilizes 
at  a  temperature  much  higher  than  those  at  which  ammonium  chlo- 
ride or  mercuric  chloride  sublime.  The  double  salt  (NH4Cl)2.HgCl2, 
is  decomposed  by  heating  it  to  sublimation  and  the  sublimate  is  not 
of  uniform  composition. 
Narceine  has  been  successfully  employed  by  Dr.  Brown-Sequard 
( Gaz.  hebd.  de  med.  et  de  chir.),  in  doses  of  \  to  1  grain,  as  an  expec- 
rant  in  bronchitis  accompanied  by  profuse  viscid  expectoration. 
The  spontaneous  transformation  of  morphine  into  apomo7phine  is 
reported  in  the  Brit.  Med.  Jour.,  June  26,  1886.  A  solution  of  mor- 
phine hydrochlorate,  which  had  been  employed  subcutaneously,  eleven 
months  later,  was  found  to  be  violently  emetic,  and  was  ascertained 
to  contain  apomorphine.  Such  solutions  should  be  kept  on  hand 
only  for  a  few  weeks. 
A  case  of  Cocaine  poisoning)  causing  deafness  and  loss  of  vision, 
motion  and  sensation,  was  rapidly  relieved  by  Dr.  Schilling,  through 
the  inhalation  of  nitrate  of  amyl.  (Centralbl.  f.  d.  ges.  Ther.,  Feb. 
1886.) 
