Am.  Jour,  Pharm.  1 
Sept.,  1883.  J 
Varieties. 
473 
preserved  during  slumber.  Guachama  seems  likely  to  be  a  valuable  hyp- 
notic, but  further  experiments  are  needed. — Goillard^s  Med.  Jour.,  April 
28,  1883. 
Extract  of  Calabar  Bean.— This  medicament  has  been  recommended 
as  an  heroic  remedy  in  obstinate  constipation.  Recent  experiments  under- 
taken in  the  service  of  Prof.  Ley  den,  of  Berlin  ("Deutsche  Medic.  Woch."), 
demonstrate  that  this  extract  has  a  very  rapid  and  sure  action  in  atonic 
states  of  the  intestine,  characterized  by  flatulence,  meteorism  occurring  just 
after  meals,  a  sensation  of  weight  in  the  epigastrium,  habitual  constipation, 
etc.    The  medicament  was  given  in  this  form  : 
B       Ext.  calabar  bean  1  centigram. 
Glycerin  30  grams. 
M.      S.— Ten  drops,  daily. 
The  patients  are  greatly  relieved,  but  the  benefit  is  rarely  durable,  and  if 
the  remedy  is  continued  for  any  length  of  time,  toxic  accidents  are  apt  to 
supervene. — Med.  and  Surg.  Rep.,  May  5,  1883. 
Apomorphine  in  Poisoning.— Dr.  Routh  ("Lancet,"  December  23, 
1882)  insists  upon  the  great  value  of  apomorphine  in  -^-^  to  \  grains  as  a 
ready  and  safe  emetic  in  cases  of  poisoning.  Emesis  occurs  in  from  two  to 
five  minutes ;  the  contents  of  the  stomach  being  voided  in  a  rush  without 
previous  nausea,  but  with  visible  action  of  the  stomach. — Oaiilard^s  Med. 
Jour.,  April  7,  1883. 
Iodine  an  Antidote  for  Snake  Bite. — Dr.  George  H.  Carpenter,  of 
Moorefield,  West  Virginia,  writes  to  the  "Medical  News."  April  21,  1883, 
that  he  has  secured  excellent  results  in  two  cases  of  poisoning  by  the  bite 
of  the  copperhead,  from  the  internal  administration  of  tinct.  iodinii  comp., 
fifteen  drops  in  a  third  of  a  glass  of  water,  and  the  local  application  of  the 
tincture  of  iodine  to  the  bitten  limb  or  part.  -  Med.  and  Surg.  Rep.,  May  26. 
The  Employment  of  Iodine  for  the  relief  of  the  vomiting  of  preg- 
nancy has  been  somewhat  in  vogue  for  a  number  of  years.  And  while  the 
suc^3ess  attending  its  use  has  been  pointed  out  with  more  or  less  enthusiasm? 
its  exact  value  has  never  been  established.  Dr.  T.  T.  Gaunt  ("  Amer.  Jour. 
Med.  Sci.,"  April,  1883)  has  for  a  number  of  years  been  employing  the  com- 
pound tincture  of  iodine  in  drop  doses  in  nearly  all  forms  of  emesis,  and 
reports  thirteen  cases  of  the  most  varied  character,  in  all  of  which  vomit- 
ing was  promptly  arrested  by  the  use  of  the  drug. —  Weekly  Med.  Review, 
April  28,  1883. 
Pop-Corn  has  been  introduced  to  the  materia  medica  by  Dr.  F.  C.  Wal- 
lace ("Medical  and  Surgical  Reporter")  as  a  remedy  for  the  vomiting  of 
pregnancy.  It  is  to  be  prepared  in  the  usual  way  in  a  wire  popper  and 
sprinkled  lightly  with  salt,  and  is  to  be  eaten  freely.  He  speaks  from  an 
experience  of  several  cases  in  which  it  served  a  good  purpose,  and  reports 
