174  Liquor  Hydrargyri  Chloridi  Corrosivi.  {^"'iprii^'ilS*'^"'' 
closing  them  in  gelatin  capsules  also  assists.  Care  must  be  taken 
that  the  complete  conversion  of  the  entire  mass  into  carbonate  has 
taken  place,  or  the  escape  of  carbonic  acid  would  destroy  the  pills  or 
render  them  full  of  fissures  and  unsightly.  In  appearance  they  are 
green,  the  same  color  as  Y allet's  mass,  which  contains  42  %  of  FeCOg ; 
they  possess  the  same  medicinal  properties  and  contain  theoretically  33  % 
ferrous  carbonate ;  hence  the  use  of  Blaud^s  pills  would  seem  needless 
when  we  have  such  an  efficient  and  superior  substitute  in  Vallet^s 
mass  to  take  its  place;  but  methods  are  oftentimes  staunchly  ad- 
hered to,  even  whilst  the  adoption  of  a  new  method,  process  or  sug- 
gestion, no  matter  how  excellent  it  may  be  in  itself,  becomes  a  matter 
for  consideration. 
LIQUOE  HYDRARGYRI  CHLORIDI  CORROSIYI. 
By  E.  H.  Naudain,  Ph.  G. 
In  the  compounding  of  prescriptions  containing  small  quantities  of 
bichloride  of  mercury  such  as  J  or  J  of  a  grain,  which  quantities  are 
now  largely  prescribed  by  physicians  in  antiseptic  solutions,  eye  wa- 
ters, injections,  etc.,  almost  every  druggist  has  no  doubt  been  forcibly 
reminded  of  the  great  inconvenience  attendant  upon  the  weighing  and 
dividing  of  a  body  so  specifically  heavy  as  this  salt. 
Having  been  called  upon  recently  to  compound  a  large  number  of 
prescriptions  containing  J  or  J  grain  of  bichloride,  I  was  led  to  pre- 
pare a  standard  solution,  one  fluid-ounce  of  which  contained  2  grains 
of  the  salt.  This  solution  has  been  of  the  greatest  convenience,  at  the 
same  time  its  use  insures  a  far  greater  accuracy  than  the  weighing  and 
dividing. 
It  appears  to  me  that  such  a  solution  would  be  worthy  of  intro- 
duction into  the  next  Pharmacopoeia  under  the  name  of  Liquor  Hy- 
drargyri Chloridi  Corrosivi,  and  if  so  introduced  would  be  a  prepara- 
tion of  the  greatest  value  both  to  the  physician  and  the  druggist. 
There  is  already  a  preparation,  similar  to  the  one  proposed,  officinal 
in  the  British  Pharmacopoeia  and  also  in  the  French  Codex,  neither  of 
which,  however,  are  applicable  to  the  wants  of  the  physicians  and 
druggists  of  this  country. 
I  would  propose  a  solution  of  which  one  fluid-ounce  represents  two 
grains  of  bichloride  of  mercury  (1  part  in  about  225) ;  by  making  it 
this  strength,  the  i  or  ^  grain  is  more  easily  measured.    J  or  1  fluid 
