94 
Correspondence. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm 
i    February,  1901. 
solubility  of  the  quinine  alkaloid  in  the  resultant  tincture.  Still,  I 
would  add  it,  as  there  is  a  reason  given  for  its  presence  in  the  for- 
mula, that  it  corrects  "  the  otherwise  extremely  acrid  taste  of  the 
tincture.'' 
I  have  seen  bottles  of  the  tincture,  that  were  prepared  under  the 
direction  of  the  late  Dr.  Warburg,  which  were  free  from  sediment, 
and  must  necessarily  have  been  filtered  at  last.  Mr.  Sieker  says  the 
quantity  of  myrrh  ordered  in  the  National  Formulary  contains 
"  about  thirteen  times  as  much  myrrh  as  the  original  ;  "  this  is  incor- 
rect. The  original  formula,  to  which  I  have  referred,  did  not  con- 
tain "electuary  of  myrrh,"  but  "myrrh  elect,"  that  is,  "picked  myrrh." 
The  preparation,  as  used  in  England,  I  think  is  always  prescribed 
with  the  aloes.  What  its  merits  are  due  to  besides  quinine,  I  can- 
not say,  but  I  have  known  cases  in  which  it  produced  a  marvellous 
effect,  far  beyond  that  of  an  equivalent  dose  of  quinine.  The  dose 
is  i  to  4  drachms,  but  in  India  it  is  given  more  heroically.  There, 
Professor  Maclean  says :  "  The  tincture  is  administered  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner :  ]/2  ounce  (half  of  a  bottle)  is  given  alone  without 
dilution,  after  the  bowels  have  been  evacuated  by  any  convenient 
purgative,  all  drink  being  withheld ;  in  three  hours  the  other  half 
of  the  bottle  is  administered  in  the  same  way.  Soon  afterwards, 
particularly  in  hot  climates,  profuse,  but  seldom  exhausting,  perspi- 
ration is  produced ;  this  has  a  strong  aromatic  odor,  which  I  have 
often  detected  about  the  patient  and  his  room  on  the  following  day. 
With  this  there  is  a  rapid  decline  of  temperature,  immediate  abate- 
ment of  the  frontal  headache — in  a  word,  complete  defervescence, 
and  it  seldom  happens  that  a  second  bottle  is  required.  If  so,  the 
dose  must  be  repeated  as  above.  In  very  adynamic  cases,  if  the 
sweating  threatens  to  prove  exhausting,  nourishment  in  the  shape 
of  beef  tea,  with  the  addition  of  Liebig's  extract,  and  some  wine  or 
brandy  of  good  quality  may  be  required." 
Dec.  17,  1900. 
Yours  obediently, 
Wm.  Martindale,  F.L.S.,  F.C.S. 
TINCTURA  ANTI-PERIODIC  A— WARBURG'S  TINCTURE. 
Grains 
Socotrine  aloes,  bruised 
Rhubarb,  bruised    .  .  . 
Angelica  fruit,  bruised  . 
Elecampane  root,  bruised 
Saffron  
240 
So 
80 
40 
40 
