I have also had occasion to examine some specimens of iodide of potassium, procured from some of the first druggists in the city.
Specimen No. 1, contained: Iodide of Potassium, 64 per cent. Chloride of Potassium, 36 per cent. ──── 100
No. 2. Iodide of Potassium, 70 per cent. Chloride of Potassium and Carbonate of Potassium, 30 per cent. ──── 100
No. 3. Iodide of Potassium, 35 per cent. Chloride of Potassium and Chloride of Sodium, 65 per cent. ──── 100
In numerous examinations made of the bitartrate of potassa and of the iodide of potassium from foreign sources, I have never detected in the iodide of potassium more than 15 per cent of impurities, nor in the bitrate of potassa, as imported from France, more than 8 per cent. Of course the crude commercial argol always contains a small amount of tartrate of lime.
In a sample of so called “cod liver oil,” submitted to me for examination by Professor Davis, of the New York Medical College, I am unable to detect a single trace of iodine. The { 77} oil is rank, _almost black_, and is evidently a mixture of whale oil and linseed oil; in fact it contains no cod liver oil whatever. This article has been sold by a fellow professing to be a druggist and physician.
It is certainly most important that druggists and their employers should possess a sufficient knowledge of chemical tests to enable them to detect sophistications. I propose to give hereafter the details of examinations of adulterated medicines and the simplest methods I can devise for the detection of such adulterations, and I trust others beside myself will turn their attention toward a subject so fraught with interest to the Pharmaceutist.
A NOTE READ TO THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, BY M. U. BERNARD, IN HIS OWN NAME, AND THAT OF M. PELOUZE.
Woorara is a violent poison, prepared by some of the tribes inhabiting the forests bordering the Upper Oronoco, the Rio Negro, and the Amazon.
Although the existence of this poison has been long known, very vague notions are still entertained regarding its component parts. Amongst the savages who sell or barter it, its preparation remains secret; and has only been made known through their priests or sorcerers. According to Humboldt, woorara is simply a watery extract of a creeper, belonging to the genus Strychnia. According to M. M. Boussingault and Roulin, it contains a poisonous substance, analagous to a vegetable alkali, woorarine. The information given us by M. Houdet, differs from that of M. Humboldt only in this respect, that he observes, before the extract is quite dry, the Indians of Messaya pour on it a few drops of the venom gathered from the glands of the most venomous serpents. This last circumstance is important, as we shall see that the physiological effects of woorara must { 78} cause us to regard its mode of action as entirely analogous to that of venoms.