18 
PHARMACEUTICAL  GLEANINGS. 
a  valuable  substitute  for  quinia.  It  is  easily  prepared  from 
carbolic  acid,  (coal  tar  creasote,)  and  Mr.  R.  Warrington 
observed,  that  the  acid  can  be  made  from  the  Australian  product, 
called  "  black  gum,"  by  acting  on  it  with  nitric  acid,  at  the 
small  price  of  one  shilliDg  sterling  a  pound. — (Pharm.  Jour.') 
This  acid  is  also  formed  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  on  indigo? 
salicine,  silk,  aloes,  oil  of  gaultheria  and  other  substances.  The 
nitric  acid  should  be  fuming  and  the  action  assisted  by  heat.  The 
acid  should  be  purified  by  solution  in  boiling  water,  and  crystal- 
lization by  cooling.  This  acid  forms  with  potash  a  slightly  solu- 
ble salt,  and  is  employed,  as  a  test  for  that  alkali. 
Carbolic  acid.  Prof.  Calvert  on  the  same  occasion  stated 
that  carbolic  acid  was  an  excellent  antiseptic,  and  that  a  bird 
stuffer  of  his  acquaintance,  at  Manchester,  preserved  the  skins  of 
birds  by  merely  washing  the  insides  with  this  acid.  It  was  also 
used  for  injecting  dead  bodies  for  dissection  to  preserve  them 
from  change.  For  this  purpose  the  acid  is  mixed  with  water, 
and  it  was  found  not  to  materially  affect  the  appearance  of  the 
tissues.  Dr.  Calvert  farther  stated  that  in  Manchester,  carbolic 
acid  can  be  procured  at  50  cents  per  gallon  ! — (Pharm.  Jour.) 
Preservation  of  Milk.  At  the  same  meeting,  the  Abbe 
Moigno  described  the  following  method  of  preserving  both  milk 
and  cream  sweet  and  sound  for  six  months.  The  milk  is  intro- 
duced into  cylindrical  iron  bottles  fitted  with  a  leaden  tube  or 
neck  at  top,  at  the  boiling  temperature,  so  as  to  exclude  all 
atmospheric  air,  and  the  neck  is  then  pinched  a  little  below  the 
top  so  as  to  effectually  close  it,  after  which,  the  part  above  the 
contraction  is  cut  off ;  by  this  means  every  particle  of  air  is  ex- 
cluded, and  the  agent  of  decomposition  not  being  present,  the 
milk  keeps  well.— [Pharm.  Jour.) 
Preservation  of  flesh  meat.  It  is  well  known  that  in  the 
region  of  South  America,  which  affords  the  largest  supply  of 
hides  to  commerce,  an  immense  quantity  of  beef  is  annually 
left  to  decay,  after  the  removal  of  the  hides  from  the  slaughtered 
animals.  The  idea  of  bringing  this  beef  into  market  having  been 
suggested  by  mercantile  gentlemen  of  Liverpool,  George  Hamil- 
ton, Esq.,  undertook  a  series  of  experiments,  with  the  view  of 
preserving  the  meat  in  a  fresh  state  during  its  transportation  to 
Europe.  The  plan  adopted,  as  a  basis,  was  to  enclose  the  flesh 
in  a  suitable  vessel,  and  displace  the  atmospheric  air  completely. 
