894  POWDER  OF  THE  TURBIT-NITROUS  MINERAL. 
The  oil  of  matico  is  first  reddened  and  afterwards  blackened 
by  sulphuric  acid ;  nitric  acid  turns  it  yellow. 
From  the  experiments  that  I  have  tried  with  matico,  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  does  not  contain  any  principle 
similar  to  piperine  or  cubebine,  and  that  its  medicinal  virtues 
depend  on  the  volatile  oil  and  the  soft  resin. 
POWDER  OF  THE  TURBIT-NITROUS  MINERAL. 
By  Prof.  J.  F.  Aentle,  of  Havana. 
(Translated  from  the  Spanish  by  F.  A.  Figueroa.) 
The  therapeutical  agent  whose  name  heads  this  article,  has 
been  known  of  immemorial  time  by  the  Germans,  and  has 
never  been  employed  in  the  treatment  of  disease  any  where  but 
in  the  Island  of  Cuba.  Proclaimed  by  many,  praised  by  others, 
and  proscribed  by  some  from  the  Materia  Medica — its  applica- 
tion has  remained  unchanged  to  this  time.  Eminent  practi- 
tioners have  observed  its  favorable  results,  and  we  not  being 
exclusivists  consider  it  as  one  of  the  heroic  medicaments  that 
enrich  the  Materia  Medica.  Administered  by  skilful  professors 
who  would  watch  the  opportunity  for  its  application,  its  effects 
are  nearly  infallible.  By  this,  however,  we  do  not  mean  to 
consider  it  a  universal  medicine,  or  a  panacea  applicable  to  all 
cases,  contending  against  the  fanaticism  of  many.  But  we  are 
not  prepared  to  say  that  this  medicine  has  been  studied  with  as 
much  attention  as  its  important  applications  deserve. 
In  the  year  1810,  a  native  of  this  Island,  (Cuba,)  Dr.  Jose 
Raphael  Ugarte,  having  made  applications  of  this  new  powder, 
whose  composition  was  then  unknown,  its  composition  and 
secrecy  was  considered,  and  it  became  a  subject  of  inquiry. 
Its  composition  was  finally  discovered  in  1811,  through  the 
experiments  of  Dr.  Jose  Estevez,  chemist,  of  Havana,  who 
analyzed  it. 
Having  present  the  number  of  metals  which  were  known, 
and  judging  by  the  weight  of  the  powders  and  other  character- 
istics that  it  was  a  metallic  preparation,  and  by  its  energetic 
action  on  the  animal  economy  that  it  was  a  combination  of 
oxygen,  Dr.  Jose  Estevez  therefore  commenced  his  examination, 
and  by  careful  observation  and  the  use  of  reagents,  succeeded, 
