350 
MISCELLANY. 
extract of hyoscyamus, also exhibited, had been preserved for a similar 
period, without being in the slightest degree impaired, either in appear- 
ance, chemical properties, or narcotic effects. Solubility is a test of the 
purity of this extract. Its dose is two grains and a half. 
Dr. Thomson called the attention of the Society to a new preparation, 
the kinate of quinin, from the cinchona cordifolia, in which the quinin, in- 
stead of being in combination with sulphuric acid, as in the form in which 
that medicine is usually administered, is retained in union with its native 
acid, and presented in the same form in which it exists in bark. The 
aromatic and astringent principles of the bark are also retained in this 
preparation, so that it actually comprises in a concentrated form all the 
active principles of the bark. It is pale yellow, quite soluble in water, 
and in doses of five grains forms a more powerful remedial agent than sul- 
phate of quinin. Dr. T. observed, that in favour of the employment of 
this remedy, he might state that in the course of his experience in China, 
he had found bark much more effective in the cure of intermittent fever 
than sulphate of quinin, showing that the astringent principles of bark 
possessed a powerful influence on the human constitution. The great 
objection, however, to the use of the bark, is its bulky form. This ob- 
jection is remedied by the kinate of quinin, which, from numerous trials, 
has been proved to possess fully the properties of bark. 
American Journal of Medical Sciences. — lb. 
Purgative without Nauseous Taste. — The following preparation is said 
to possess a quality much desiderated in purgative medicines, it not being 
offensive to the taste. R. Fol. senna?, gij., Aq. font. f. ^viij. Infuse 
during ten or twelve hours in a covered vessel ; then strain and make a 
cup of common coffee with this infusion, to which one-third milk is to be 
added. This purgative coffee may be taken without any disagreeable 
taste being perceptible. M. Baudelocque has experimented a number of 
times at the children's hospital, with this preparation, and it has constant- 
ly produced from two to six stools in the twenty-four hours, and does not 
occasion either griping, vomiting, or intestinal irritation. 
Amer. Jour, of Med. Sciences. — Bulletin de Therapsutique, 1835. 
Bangers from Certain Cosmetics. — The public seem not to be sufficiently 
aware of the danger incurred by the use of many of the cosmetics sold for 
dying the hair. One of the numbers of the Annates d' Hygiene et de Med. 
legale of last year, contains some interesting cases in which very disas- 
trous effects followed the employment of these preparations. A young 
lady of 18, who used the powder of iris flris germanica J to her hair, 
was attacked with convulsions and delirium, from which she did not en- 
tirely recover for three months. Two similar cases were communicated 
to the Academy of Medicine by M. Aumont. 
