4i  6  Liniment  urn  Terebinthina  Aceticum.  {Km'&Z'£n™~ 
state  or  mixed  with  sugar,  when  the  curious  observation  was  made  that 
this  substance — insoluble  in  water — was  easily  and  rapidly  dissolved 
and  absorbed. 
Scillitoxin  also  acts  upon  the  heart :  it  is  a  decided  heart  poison,  but 
far  more  intense  in  its  action  than  scillipicrin.  Whilst,  as  above  men- 
tioned, the  minimum  lethal  dose  of  the  latter  for  frogs  is  o'oi  gram, 
one-eighth  of  a  milligram  of  scillitoxin  suffices  to  bring  the  heart  to  a 
standstill ;  but,  contrary  to  scillipicrin,  scillitoxin  causes  the  stoppage 
of  the  heart  in  systole.  The  author  thinks  that  it  is  probably  in  scilli- 
toxin that  the  peculiar  active  principle  of  the  squill  is  to  be  looked  for^ 
Scillin  is  a  light  yellow  crystalline  tasteless  powder.  It  is  difficultly 
soluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  alcohol  and  boiling  ether,  from  which  it 
again  separates  in  the  crystalline  condition.  Concentrated  sulphuric 
acid  colors  it  red-brown  ;  nitric  acid  colors  it  first  yellow  and  then 
green  to  dark  green,  especially  when  heated.  It  is  contained  in  the 
squill  in  small  quantity. 
Scillin  has  of  the  three  substances  the  least  activity.  It  does  not 
approach  the  action  on  the  heart  of  the  other  two  ;  on  the  other  hand 
it  appears  to  produce  the  subsidiary  actions  of  the  squill,  such  as  numb- 
ness, vomiting,  etc. 
The  author  infers  from  the  foregoing  that  the  first-mentioned  two 
preparations — scillipicrin  and  scillitoxin — are  those  worthy  of  attention,, 
though  which  will  have  the  advantage  as  a  diuretic  in  practice  must  be 
decided  by  experiment.  But  he  considers  their  noteworthy  antagonism 
in  paralyzing  the  heart — the  one  causing  cessation  in  diastole  and  the 
other  in  systole — proves  without  doubt  that  neither  the  extractum 
scillae,  the  so-called  scillitin,  nor  the  squill  itself,  presents  the  best 
means  of  administration,  which  can  only  be  obtained  by  the  separation 
of  the  active  constituents  and  the  simultaneous  removal  of  scillin,  the 
cause  of  the  injurious  subsidiary  actions  — Pharm.  Jour.  Trans. 
[Lond.],  June  21,  1879. 
LINIMENTUM  TEREBINTHIN/E  ACETICUM. 
By  H.  Collier,  Teacher  of  Pharmacy,  Guy's  Hospital 
Linimentum  terebinthinae  aceticum  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  perfect 
preparation.    It  is  composed  of  equal  parts  of  a  fixed  oil  holding  cam- 
phor in  solution,  a  volatile  oil,  and  a  watery  acid  fluid,  and  the  imper- 
