ON  A  METHOD  OF  PRESERVING  ERGOT. 
309 
toxide,  deutoxide,  &c.  ;  they  are  neater,  shorter,  and  there- 
fore easier  remembered.  And  if  the  rule  is  universally  adopted 
among  chemists  (as  it  seems  likely  to  be)  that  such  pre- 
fixes shall  always  denote  the  state  of  oxidation,  we  shall  gain  a 
clear  and  comprehensive  mode  of  expression.  But  the  law  I  have 
been  defending  must  be  acknowledged  and  observed  first,  or  this 
latter  one  fails  of  expressing  distinctly  the  composition  of  salts. 
Perspicuity,  exactness  and  brevity  are  the  three  desiderata  in  a 
nomenclature ;  and  I  leave  the  reader  to  judge  between  the  fol- 
lowing expressions,  supposing  for  the  sake  of  argument  that 
there  were  two  systems,  upon  either  of  which  we  might  base  our 
expressions,  instead  of  only  one,  as  I  have  already  shown. 
Monosulphate  of  the  protoxide  of )  ^   ,     ,  ,   ,     v  . 
. r  r  V  rrotosulphate  ot  iron, 
iron.  j  r 
Tersulphate  of  the  sesquioxide  of )  «       -it,*     e  • 
r.  1  >  feesquisulphate  ot  iron, 
iron.  3       1  r 
Bisulpbate  of  the  deutoxide   of?  n    ,     ,  ,   ,  n 
r  >  Deutosulphate  ot  mercury- 
mercury.  3  L  J 
It  strikes  me  that  any  one  having  an  ordinary  acquaintance 
with  chemistry  would  pronounce  the  latter  superior  in  all  three 
points  to  the  former. 
Philadelphia,  May  31,  1855. 
ON  A  METHOD  OF  PRESERVING  ERGOT. 
By  Dr.  R.  J.  Nunn,  of  Savannah,  Georgia. 
The  effectual  preservation  of  ergot  of  rye  has  always  been  a 
matter  of  considerable  moment.  The  following  method,  there- 
fore, which  I  have  adopted  and  successfully  used  for  many  years, 
may  not  be  uninteresting  to  some  of  your  readers. 
The  object  to  be  attained  in  all  such  attempts,  must  be  to  in- 
sure the  perfect  exclusion  of  atmospheric  air  and  moisture,  and 
at  the  same  time,  preserve  the  material  from  the  action  of  parasites, 
these  requirements  may  be  perfectly  fulfilled  by  treating  the  sub- 
stance in  the  following  way  : 
Having  obtained  some  ergot  on  the  quality  of  which  reliance 
can  be  placed,  let  it  be  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder,  (for  which 
purpose  an  ordinary  coifee  mill  will  amply  suffice)  and  made  as 
dry  as  convenient — it  is  preferable  but  not  absolutely  necessary 
