326 
Varieties. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t     July  1,  1871. 
has,  from  his  earliest  years,  an  invincible  repugnance  against  wine,  milk,  fish, 
and  various  vegetables,  none  of  which  he  ever  partakes  of,  but  for  all  that  it 
would,  of  course,  be  absurd  to  deny  the  nutritive  properties  and  value  of  these 
substances, — Chem.  News.  March  31st,  1871. 
The  After-taste  of  Quinine. — In  practice  there  is  often  experienced  a  great 
difficulty  in  getting  patients  to  take  quinine,  because  of  its  after-taste,  which 
to  some  is  simply  unbearable,  and  when  antipathy  thus  exists,  combined  with  a 
difficulty  in  swallowing  pills,  the  therapeutic  value  of  an  important  drug  is  lost. 
We  find,  and  the  fact  may  not  be  generally  known,  that  the  mastication  of 
some  acid  fruit,  as  an  apple  or  a  pear,  will  permanently  remove  the  disagree- 
able after-taste  of  quinine.  The  first  mouthful  of  food  should  be  well  masti- 
cated and  rolled  through  the  mouth,  so  as  to  cleanse  the  teeth,  etc.,  and  then 
ejected.  The  second  morsel  may  be  swallowed,  when  it  will  be  discovered  that 
all  taste  of  tlie  quinine  will  be  removed. — Boston  Med.  and  Surg.  Journal,  June 
Qth,  1811, from  Med.  Press  and  Circular. 
Styptic  Wool. — The  following  is  quoted  from  the  Lancet  by  the  America^i 
Journal  of  Dental  Science  : 
Dr.  EiiRLE,  of  Isny,  makes  known  a  very  simple  preparation  of  wool  that  he  has 
found  very  serviceable  in  arresting  hemorrhage  after  operations  or  from  wounds. 
To  prepare  it  he  boils  the  finest  carded  wool  for  half  an  hour  or  an  hour  in  a 
solution  containing  four  per  cent,  of  soda,  then  thoroughly  washes  it  out  in 
cool  spring  water,  wrings  it  and  dries  it.  The  wool  is  thus  effectually  purified, 
and  is  now  capable  of  imbibing  fluids  uniformly.  It  is  then  to  be  dipped  two 
or  three  times  in  fiuid  chloride  of  iron  diluted  with  one  third  of  water,  expressed 
and  dried  in  a  draught  of  air,  but  not  in  the  sun  or  with  high  heat;  finally 
it  is  carded  out.  Thus  prepared  it  is  of  a  beautiful  yellow  color,  and  feels  like 
ordinary  dry  cotton  wool.  As  it  is  highly  hygroscopic,  it  must  be  kept  dry, 
and  when  required  to  be  transported  must  be  packed  in  caoutchouc,  or  bladder. 
Charpie  may  be  prepared  in  a  similar  manner,  but  on  account  of  its  coarse 
texture  is  not  so  effective  as  cotton  wool,  presenting  a  less  surface  for  coagula- 
tion. When  the  wool  is  placed  on  a  bleeding  wound,  it  induces  moderate 
contraction  of  the  tissue,  coagulation  of  the  blood  that  has  escaped,  and  sub- 
sequently coagulation  of  the  blood  that  is  contaiued  within  the  injured  vessels, 
and  this  arrests  the  hemorrhage.  The  coagulating  power  of  the  chloride  of 
iron  is  clearly  exalted  by  the  extension  of  its  surface  that  is  in  this  way  affec- 
ted. The  application  of  the  prepared  wool  is  not  particularly  painful,  whilst, 
by  sucking  up  the  superfluous  discharge  and  prevenring  its  decomposition,  it 
seems  to  operate  favorably  on  the  progress  of  the  wound.  The  unpleasant  secon- 
dary results  that  have  led  many  practical  surgeons  to  discard  the  use  of  the 
perchloride  of  iron  do  not  occur  with  the  wool  when  it  is  properly  made  and  ap- 
plied. In  case  of  wounds  where  the  bleeding  proceeds  from  large  and  deep 
seated  vessels,  it  may  be  used  as  a  compress,  a  bandage  being  applied  over  it, 
or  the  wonnd  may  be  plugged  with  it.  It  may  also  be  employed  with  advantage 
in  cases  of  profuse  suppuration,  to  imbibe  the  discharge  and  purify  the  surface. 
He  recommends  that  a  small  portion  should  be  given  to  every  soldier  on  going 
into  action. — Med.  and  Surg.  Journal. 
