Am.  Jour.  Pharm  > 
Feb,  1879.  1 
Aceto-Nitrate  of  Iron, 
95 
from  acidity,  and  not  by  any  means  as  disagreeable  as  the  tincture  of 
the  perchloride. 
Unfortunately,  a  difficulty  attends  the  keeping  of  solutions  of  this 
salt,  which,  up  to  the  present  time,  I  have  not  succeeded  in  overcom- 
ing. Both  the  aqueous  and  alcoholic  solutions  are  liable  to  gelatinize 
after  being  kept  a  few  days  or  weeks.  Tinctures  made  with  absolute 
alcohol,  rectified  spirit  and  proof  spirit  equally  pectized  after  a  time.  I 
thought  a  tincture  made  with  equal  parts  of  rectified  spirit  and  water 
was  successful,  but  it  went  at  last  very  suddenly  and  apparently  with- 
out cause,  it  having  been  liquid  in  the  morning  and  a  jelly  in  the  after- 
noon. I  am  still  trying  the  effects  of  spirit  of  various  strengths,  in 
hope  of  obtaining  a  solution  which  will  prove  permanent.  The  addi- 
tion of  free  acetic  acid,  I  may  mention,  has  also  been  tried,  but  did  not 
prove  effectual. 
At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Holmes,  I  have  lately  made  a  solution  in 
dilute  glycerin:  1  oz.  of  glycerin,  3  ozs.  of  water  and  2  drachms  of 
nitro-acetate.  The  solution  is  perfect,  and  up  to  the  present  time  has 
kept  well,  and  I  think  promises  to  be  a  success,  but  what  effect  the 
glycerin  might  have  upon  the  medicinal  properties  of  the  salt  I  am 
unprepared  to  state.  I  should  add  that  the  tinctures  I  have  been 
experimenting  upon  were  all  made  of  the  strength  of  1  oz.  troy  of  the 
crystallized  salt  to  the  pint  (imperial).  This,  I  calculated,  would  about 
represent  the  strength  of  the  tinct.  ferri  acetatis  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
There  is  no  doubt,  I  think,  that  this  curious  compound,  the  nitro 
acetate  of  iron,  imperfect  as  it  may  be  in  some  respects,  may  probably 
be  used  with  advantage  in  medicine.  There  has  been  a  want,  long  felt, 
of  a  definite,  crystallized,  non-deliquescent  per-salt  of  iron,  and  the 
present  salt  could  be  administered  in  the  form  of  pills  with  facility,  and 
also  in  mixtures  when  the  medicine  is  not  intended  to  be  kept  long, 
but  taken  within  a  few  days  of  being  dispensed.  There  is  also  prob- 
ably an  advantage  in  the  fact  of  the  salt  containing  a  large  proportion 
of  an  organic  acid  and  only  a  small  quantity  of  a  mineral  one,  and 
we  should  be  able  to  get  over  the  difficulty  of  keeping  a  solution  suited 
for  dispensing  purposes,  I  think  the  compound  would  prove  of  very 
considerable  use  as  a  medicinal  agent. 
Although  the  experiments  I  have  described  may  be  considered  to 
have  resulted  in  failure  as  far  as  a  very  essential  point  is  concerned,  still 
I  trust  the  subject  will  prove  to  have  sufficient  interest  to  excuse  my 
bringing  the  matter  before  the  Society  in  its  present  incomplete  form. 
— Pharm,  Journ.  and  Trans.,  Dec.  7,  1878. 
