ON  AMMONIO-FEKRTC  ALUM. 
305 
ON  AMMONIO-FERRIC  ALUM. 
By  William  Hodgson,  Jr. 
Dr.  James  Darrach,  of  this  city,  requested  me  to  prepare  for 
him  some  of  the  "iron  alum"  mentioned  by  Dr.  Wm.  Tyler 
Smith,  of  London,  in  his  recent  work  on  "  The  Pathology  and 
treatment  of  Leucorrhoea."  So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  article 
mentioned  had  not  been  used  in  medicine  in  the  United  States  ; 
nor  has  its  mode  of  preparation  been  hitherto  distinctly  stated 
in  any  pharmaceutical  publication  here  or  abroad.  A  few  re- 
marks on  its  character  were  re-published  in  the  American  Jour- 
nal of  Pharmacy  for  1854,  page  159,  copied  from  the  London 
Pharmaceutical  Journal,  in  which,  on  Dr.  W.  T.  Smith's  authori- 
ty, the  "iron  alum  "  is  mentioned  as  "  a  more  powerful  astrin- 
gent than  common  alum,  and  not  liable  to  produce  the  stimulat- 
ing effects  of  other  salts  of  iron."  But  the  paper  seems  to  have 
attracted  no  attention  here,  nor  are  any  specific  directions  therein 
contained  to  enable  the  druggist  readily  to  prepare  this  so-called 
alum. 
Dr.  Smith  says  of  the  use  of  this  salt  in  the  above  disease  : — 
"In  1852,  I  began  to  administer  it."  *  *  *  *  «  I  found 
it  remarkably  efficacious,  and  have  constantly  prescribed  it  since 
that  time.  I  certainly  do  not  know  of  any  other  internal  remedy 
which  at  all  equals  it  in  leucorrhoea.  Since  I  began  to  use  it, 
it  has  been  employed  by  my  colleagues,  and  by  other  physicians, 
but  sometimes  other  compounds  have  been  used  under  the  name 
of  iron  alum."  *  *  *  *  "The  genuine  iron  alum  contains 
no  alumina  whatever.  There  are  two  preparations  of  iron  alum  : 
one  of  them  is  a  double  sulphate  of  potash  and  iron,  and  the 
other  a  double  sulphate  of  ammonia  and  iron."  [He  might 
have  added  a  third,  with  soda  in  place  of  potash  or  ammonia.] 
*  *  *  *  "I  have  prescribed  the  iron  alum  with  ammonia, 
(which  I  now  prefer,  in  most  cases,  to  the  similar  salt  with  pot- 
ash, because  of  its  greater  solubility,)  in  doses  of  from  3  to  6 
grains,  in  infusion  of  columba,  or  in  simple  water,  with  some 
warm  tincture,  three  times  a  day.  It  is  similar  in  its  aetion  to 
the  sesquichloride  of  iron,  but  while  it  is  equal  to,  or  perhaps 
more  effective  than  this  medicine  as  an  astringent,  it  is  less 
stimulating,  more  easily  assimilated,  and  seldom  causes  any 
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