Am'Jc0t"ri876?rm"}  Gleanings  from  the  Foreign  Journals.  465 
ing  vessel  with  a  fragment  of  blue  litmus  paper,  and  dilute  hydro- 
bromic  acid  is  added  drop  by  drop,  until  the  litmus  paper  commenced 
to  turn  red,  the  liquid  which  was  at  first  yellow  has  then  a  rose  tint. 
The  crystallization  quickly  commences,  and  the  evaporation  may  be 
expedited  by  a  gentle  heat  ;  there  will  no  longer  be  any  smell  of  conia. 
The  hydrobromate  of  conia  crystallizes  in  colorless  prismatic  nee- 
dles that  are  very  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  but  less  so  in  ether  and 
chloroform.  The  crystals  are  not  deliquescent;  they  are  odorless  and 
have  only  a  slight  taste  ;  but  when  crushed  between  the  fingers  they 
give  off  a  strong  odor  of  conia.  When  exposed  to  the  air  the  salt  is 
colored  red,  like  many  other  hydrobromates,  but  does  not  decompose  ; 
in  the  dark  it  remains  white.  It  supports  a  tolerably  high  tempera- 
ture, melts  at  about  ioo°C,  and  above  that  point  volatilizes,  giving  off 
an  odor  of  conia.  It  contains  about  one  third  its  weight  of  bromine, 
but  the  author  has  not  yet  made  an  exact  analysis. 
The  salt  is  reported  to  have  been  administered  in  hourly  doses  of  2 
milligrams  to  infants  one  year  old  suffering  from  whooping-cough,  with 
good  results,  and  in  5  milligram  doses  to  a  child  three  years  old.  Dr. 
Regnault  has  also  injected  equal  to  5  milligrams  in  the  case  of  an  adult 
suffering  from  sciatic  pains,  repeating  the  dose  at  an  interval  of  three 
days,  after  which  the  pains  ceased. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  July 
8,  1876. 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  FOREIGN  JOURNALS. 
BY    THE  EDITOR. 
Ferric  Phosphate  with  Citrate  of  Sodium. — In  a  paper,  commenting  on 
Creuse's  tasteless  iron  salts  ("Am.  Jour.  Phar.,"  1873,  P-  2I4-)>  J» 
Martenson  recommends  as  especially  useful  the  above  combination, 
for  the  preparation  of  which  he  gives  the  following  directions  :  358 
parts  of  crystallized  phosphate  of  sodium  are  dissolved  in  10  to  15 
times  the  quantity  of  hot  water,  the  solution  is  precipitated  by  a  solu- 
tion of  ferric  chloride,  excess  being  avoided,  and  the  precipitate  well 
washed.  It  is  transferred  to  a  porcelain  capsule,  137  parts  of  citric 
acid  are  added  and  a  moderate  heat  applied  \  the  liquid  is  neutralized 
with  sodium  carbonate,  and  the  heat  continued  until  complete  solution 
is  effected,  after  which  it  is  filtered,  and  by  means  of  a  water-bath 
evaporated  to  dryness.  The  anhydrous  compound  contains  25  per 
cent,  of  ferric  oxide,  but  is  capable  to  combine  with  more  ferric  phos- 
30 
