METHOD  OF  PRESERVINa  DRUGS  PERFECTLY  DRY.  253 
secure  the  salt  in  large,  handsome  scales.  This  remark  is  ap- 
plicable to  all  of  the  scaled  preparations  of  iron,  and  is  of  some 
practical  utility. — The  Pharmacist,  Chicago,  March^  1870. 
METHOD  OF  PRESERVING  DRUGS  PERFECTLY  DRY. 
M.  A.  Melsens  directs  attention  to  the  circumstance  that 
dried  leaves,  roots,  herbs,  flowers,  and  other  drugs  are  often 
kept  in  drawers  or  places  in  which  they  are  imperfectly  protec- 
ted from  humidity.  In  damp  weather  or  moist  situations  such 
substances  absorb  an  appreciable  amount  of  moisture.  As  a 
consequence  they  are  apt  to  deteriorate  in  quality,  losing  their 
color,  acquiring  a  musty  odor,  or  becoming  mildewed.  Even  in 
establishments  possessing  a  properly  warmed  store-room,  it 
might,  nevertheless,  be  of  advantage  to  possess  a  simple  means 
of  preserving  the  contents  of  the  shop-drawers  in  a  state  of  per- 
fect dryness. 
The  method  which  he  suggests  for  this  purpose  is  inexpensive 
and  readily  applied.  It  is  to  place  a  shallow  sheet-iron  tray, 
fitted  with  a  cover  of  metallic  gauze  or  muslin  at  the  bottom  of 
the  drawer  or  box,  which  should  also  be  furnished  with  a  good 
tight-fitting  lid.  Fused  carbonate  of  potash  is  placed  in  the 
tray,  and  the  drugs  allowed  to  rest  on  its  porous  cover.  It  is 
easy  with  this  apparatus  to  effect  the  perfect  desiccation  of 
drugs ;  and  substances  possessing  delicate  odors  which  it  is  de- 
sired to  preserve  are  better  dried  by  this  means  than  any  other. 
Squills  which  have  become  damp  and  acquired  an  unpleasant 
smell,  if  placed  in  a  box  furnished  with  a  tray  of  carbonate  of 
potash,  will  in  a  short  time  lose  their  odor  completely  and  be- 
come dry  and  brittle,  so  that  they  may  be  readily  powdered. 
Rose  leaves  may  be  thus  dried  perfectly,  their  perfume  being  ad- 
mirably preserved. 
The  author  prefers  fused  carbonate  of  potash  to  chloride  of 
calcium,  quick-lime,  or  any  other  desiccating  agent.  In  cases 
where  the  substance  to  be  dried  contains  a  great  deal  of  water, 
it  is  necessary  to  change  the  carbonate  of  potash  once  or  twice 
and  re-fuse  it. — (7.  H.  Wood,  F.O.S.,  in  Pharm.  Jour.,  Lon- 
don, Dec,  1869. 
