16 
AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  PRACTICAL  PHARMACY. 
mainder  of  the  water,  adjust  the  corks,  and  add  to  each  bottle  about  sy  of 
crystallized  bicarbonate  of  potassa. 
If  the  maguesia  is  rather  poorly  calcined,  and  contains  some  carbonate, 
it  may  be  best  to  increase  the  proportion  from  105  to  110,  or  even  120  grains, 
though  this  must  be  done  with  great  caution,  as  the  slightest  excess  may 
occasion  the  precipitation  of  a  large  amount  of  the  hydrated  citrate.  If  the 
preparation  is  not  decidedly  acid,  it  will  be  disagreeable  to  take,  and  will 
possess  no  advantage  over  common  saline  cathartics,  but  if  too  strongly 
acid,  it  will  be  almost  equally  objectionable.  The  bicarbonate  of  potassa 
has  the  great  advantage  of  neutralizing  a  portion  of  the  acid,  while  it  forms 
a  very  soluble  and  agreeable  salt.  If  carbonate  of  magnesia  were  used,  in 
the  proportion  of  the  Fharmaeopoeia  formula,  the  tendency  to  deposit  would 
be  increased,  which  is  the  greatest  practical  difficulty  with  this  solution." 
The  officinal  preparation  is  one-fourth  stronger  than  the  solu- 
tion made  by  the  above  formula. 
We  copy  from  the  chapter  on  "  Opium,"  the  following  cha- 
racteristic remarks  on  the  abuse  of  this  potent  drug  : — 
"The  Abuse  of  Opium. — The  habitual  use  of  the  preparations  of  opium  as 
a  means  of  intoxication,  is  an  evil,  the  extent  of  which  is  scarcely  appre- 
ciated by  the  profession,  or  by  the  community  at  large.  There  are  shops 
in  the  outskirts  of  our  large  cities  in  which  the  sale  of  landanum.  forms  one 
of  the  principal  items  of  business.  These  peddle  it  out  to  every  poor  victim, 
who  can  produce  a  few  pennies  to  purchase  a  temporary  relief  from  im- 
aginary pains.  So  common  is  this  article  of  trade,  that  even  little  children 
are  furnished  with  it,  on  application,  as  if  it  were  the  most  harmless  drug. 
It  is  sold  in  these  shops  at  half  the  price  maintained  by  respectable 
establishments,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  its  intoxicating  effects  are 
sought  by  many,  who  use  it  as  a  substitute  for  alcoholic  drinks.  Individu- 
als who  would  shrink  from  the  habitual  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  employ 
this  medicine,  under  a  false  persuasion  that  it  is  useful  or  necessary  to  allay 
some  symptom  of  a  chronic  disease,  until  they  become  victims  to  one  of  the 
worst  of  habits.  There  is  scarcely  an  apothecary  in  our  large  cities  who 
cannot  relate  instances  of  opium  intoxication  that  have  come  under  his  own 
notice,  and  been  served  at  his  own  counter.  Females  afflicted  with  chronic 
disease  ;  widows  bereft  of  their  earthly  support ;  inebriates  who  have  aban- 
doned the  bottle  ;  lovers  disappointed  in  their  hopes  ;  flee  to  this  powerful 
drug,  either  in  its  crude  form,  in  the  form  of  tincture,  or  some  of  its  salts, 
to  relieve  their  pain  of  body  or  mind,  or  to  take  the  place  of  another  re- 
pudiated stimulant.  Such,  too,  is  the  morbid  taste  of  these,  that  they  think 
they  require  the  soporific  influence  of  opium  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their 
life  enjoyment,  just  as  the  drunkard  is  wedded  to  his  cups,  or  the  tobacco- 
user  to  the  weed. 
The  prevalence  of  this  kind  of  indulgence  is  liable  to  increase  in  propor- 
tion as  legal  restrictions  are  placed  upon  the  sale  of  alcoholic  stimulants. 
