146 
Varieties. 
( Am.  Jour,  Pharm. 
t      March,  1888. 
of  cinchona  were  successfully  introduced  to  cultivation  in  the  British  prov- 
inces. 
It  is  to  be  noticed  here  that  the  result  is  not  so  much  due  to  the  British  gov- 
ernment as  to  a  few  earnest  individuals.  The  government  itself  did  only  what 
was  barely  necessary  to  render  the  project  possible,  and  it  did  this  grudgingly. 
It  must  ever  be  a  stain  upon  English  history,  that  an  accomplishment  of  so 
much  economic  value  to  England,  and  of  such  vast  benefit  to  humanity, 
should  so  long  have  gone  unacknowledged.  But  such  is  the  fate  which  through- 
out all  time  has  attended  efforts  of  this  class.  The  individual  or  association, 
who  shall  explore  in  new  and  so-called  unpromising  fields,  must  summon  all 
their  fortitude  to  endure  the  malicious  persecution,  the  cowardly  indifference 
and  ignorant  misconception  which  for  the  most  part  attend  such  efibrts.  He 
who  engages  in  such  a  work  must  be  buoyed  up  by  a  consciousness  that  he 
works  for  eternity,  and  that  the  best  part  of  right  is  its  righteousness.  At 
about  the  time  that  the  plants  exported  to  India  had  begun  to  produce  seeds, 
the  native  supply  of  South  America  had  become  exhausted,  and  those  whose 
business  had  thus  failed  were  obliged  to  invest  their  capital  in  the  planting  and 
culture  of  the  tree.  So  it  happens  that  at  the  present  time  no  bark,  except  an 
occasional  bale,  reaches  the  market  which  is  riot  the  product  of  cultivated 
trees.  I  had  men  out  for  two  months  searching  the  forests  for  wild  trees,  and 
so  scarce  is  it  that  I  assure  you  I  succeeded  in  obtaining  only  three. 
VARIETIES. 
Influence  of  potassium  iodide  upon  the  elimination  of  mercury. — According  to  Dr. 
Souchow  the  elimination  of  mercury  commences  later,  and  the  quantity  elimi- 
nated is  relatively  less  in  those  cases  in  which  the  patient  takes  potassium  iodide 
in  conjunction  with  the  mercurial  preparation.  If  the  iodide  is  administered 
during  or  after  the  mercurial  course,  the  quantity  of  mercury  eliminated  daily  is 
lessened.  The  iodide,  therefore,  appears  to  prevent  the  elimination  of  mercury, 
instead  of  hastening  it,  as  has  been  believed  by  some,  and  would  seem  to  be 
useful  in  cases  of  mercurial  poisoning. — Boston  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour. ;  Jour.  Am. 
Med.  Assoc. 
Tonic  and  alterative  properties  of  ferrous  iodide. — Iodide  of  iron,  according  to  Dr. 
Delmis  {Progres  Med^  belongs  to  those  preparations  of  iron  which  possess  the 
best "  tonianaleptic  "  properties,  combining  the  strengthening  iron  and  the  altera- 
tive iodine  efiects.  Its  efficacy  is  seen  in  chlorosis  and  anaemia,  and  it  is  of  the 
highest  value  in  tuberculosis,  scrofalosis,  and  syphilis.  Iodide  of  iron  is  easily 
soluble  and  soon  passes  into  the  blood,  where  it  is  rapidly  split  up  and  elimina- 
ted. In  the  urine  the  iodine  appears  quickly  as  sodium  iodide ;  the  iron,  as  iron 
oxide,  is  excreted  more  slowly.  It  is  excreted  as  iodide  of  iron  by  the  saliva, 
the  milk,  the  sweat,  and  the  bronchial  mucus. 
Acid  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate  as  disinfectants. — Laplace  has  made  a  study 
of  the  eff'ects  of  acid  solutions  of  corrosive  sublimate  as  disinfectants,  and  con- 
cludes as  follows  from  his  w^ork,  which  w'as  done  in  Koch's  laboratories,  at  Ber- 
lin: Sublimate,  with  tartaric  acid  in  solution,  can  be  recommended  as  a  surgical 
disinfectant  dressing  for  the  following  reasons  : 
By  combining  the  action  of  tartaric  acid,  we  obtain  the  full  action  of  sublimate 
