even catechu; and the tincture newly prepared, may be advantageously exhibited in those cases of diarrhoea in which astringents are admissible. But as far as my experience goes, the tincture, possibly from being made with spirit of insufficient strength, speedily undergoes decomposition; becoming turbid in a few days, and forming at length a copious precipitation. This circumstance indicates the necessity for a farther analysis, for the purpose of detecting the presence of other constituents than those which alone were the object of Mr. Rootsey's enquiries. 14, Octagon, Plymouth, 18th February, 1846. ON DRAGÉES MINERALES, A RECENTLY PROPOSED METHOD OF ADMINISTERING ARTIFICIAL MINERAL WATERS. BY MR. MORSON. THE attention of Medical Practitioners in London having been lately called to a new form of medicine, recently introduced from Paris, a few observations on the subject may not be altogether uninteresting to some of the Members and Associates of this Society. The preparations in question are called Dragées Minerales; they resemble badly formed sugared almonds, and weigh from 25 to 30 grains each. On breaking them a small fragment of a crystal of tartaric acid, weighing about four grains, is found in the centre. The enveloping coat consists of tartaric acid and sesquicarbonate of soda, part being in the state of tartrate of soda, but by far the larger portion in an uncombined state. When these dragées are placed in water they dissolve slowly, with evolution of carbonic acid; and, if we believe the statement of the inventor, produce a glass of Seltzer or other mineral water inferior only to that of the natural spring taken at its source; for he will not admit the goodness of bottled waters, since they lose so much of their carbonic acid, which he is enabled to store up in his dragées. The dragées intended to form chalybeate water contain an admixture of a soluble salt of iron; and those intended for sulphurous water of an alkaline sulphuret, the proportion of which may probably be varied according to the water they are intended to represent. Carbonate of soda and tartaric acid form the basis of all. In some of the Dragées de Spa, which I have examined, no central nucleus of tartaric acid was found, but small fragments disseminated throughout the entire mass. In addition to the medicinal dragées, the inventor advertised for sale, at all the coffee-houses in Paris, dragées for the instan taneous preparation of effervescing lemonade; and these contained an excess of acid and a little essence of lemon, which, when added to sugar and water, produced the beverage in question. He further extends this class of preparation by his carbonic. acid pills, which, when taken into the stomach, evolve a given quantity of carbonic acid, and, according to his statement, effectually prevents sea-sickness. His dose is from 20 to 100, certainly rather a large number to take at one time, and enough to frighten an unfortunate patient. These preparations were introduced in Paris in 1841, by M. Jourdain, a Pharmacien, as authorized by royal ordonnance; but I should think the authorization was a mistake, as the words are carefully erased from the lately-circulated prospectus, and, in fact, the preparations themselves are no longer obtainable in Paris, although lately introduced to our notice in London. It is for medical men to determine the medicinal value of these preparations. It has been stated, that as the carbonic acid is slowly evolved during their solution, a much larger quantity of it remains than would have been retained had powder been employed-the tumultuous effervescence in the latter case causing a more complete disengagement of the gas; but if the substance be employed in fragments this would be avoided. Of course these preparations produce solutions quite unlike the waters they purpose to represent, and in that respect resemble Seidlitz and other powders; in fact, it is impossible to imitate a water containing free carbonic acid by the solution of any powder, unless we find means to render carbonic acid, in its solid state, permanent. Many however of these substitutes are elegant and convenient forms of medicine, and the extensive use of some of them is proof of their utility; as such they deserve the attention of the Chemist and Druggist, but how far this new form of a dragée is desirable remains to be proved. I have seen them prescribed and recommended; and being an uncommon form, they may attract some attention for a time. It may therefore be useful for you to know how they may be formed, and you can exert your ingenuity in their manufacture. Dragées are better known in this country to the Confectioner than the Druggist; in fact, it is only in the laboratory of the former they are well prepared. The manufacture of them is a curious and interesting operation, and requires, to obtain successful results, great dexterity in the operation-a dexterity which, I fear, would throw most of our Pharmaceutical manipulations into the shade. As you may not all be aware how they are prepared, and they appear to have some relation to Pharmacy at present, may venture a few words on the subject. I Dragées are known in this country under the various names of sugared almonds, comfits of various kinds, and nonpareils. They all consist of some body coated with sugar, generally applied in successive layers. The almond forming the nucleus in the first; in the second, which are of less size, a seed or a small fruit; and in the case of the nonpareil, a small grain of sugar, often of extreme minuteness. These nuclei generally receive, in the first place, a coating of gum and starch, and are then placed in a large heated pan, with a quantity of very concentrated syrup, and rapidly agitated and moved about with the hand, until they are equally coated and have become dry. When this is the case a second portion of syrup is added, and another coat of sugar thus given to them; and this operation is repeated until the desired thickness is obtained. This operation requires to be rapidly performed: it is very fatiguing: yet a workman is expected to produce a daily average of forty pounds weight. There are manipulators so dexterous in performing this operation, that scarcely any difference can be detected in the weight of sugar on the separate nuclei. A French Pharmacien, named Hippolyte Mége, applies this process to coat five-grain pills of a resinous preparation of copaiba, which are sold under the title of copaiba Mége, and appear to have been used in some of the French hospitals, and obtained from the medical faculty honourable notice. They are not difficult to prepare, and certainly have an attractive form. The dragées, which more especially form the subject of this notice, differ essentially from the common ones-they are not sugar-plums-the coating on them consisting, as I have before stated, of a mixture of sesquicarbonate of soda and tartaric acid. Yet they are hard solid masses, perfectly dry, and containing much carbonic acid. This, at first, appeared to me very curious, and I expected to find them composed of alternate layers of acid and soda, separated by a slight coating of gum. Examination, however, proved this not to be the case, as every part of the dragée effervesced when placed in water, and on reflection it would be difficult to adjust the proportion of acid and alkali in such a process. They may, however, be readily formed, by mixing the proper proportions of acid, and soda, and such other ingredients as you may wish to introduce, into a pillular mass with syrup, mucilage, or a mixture of syrup and mucilage, taking care to add the smallest possible quantity, and operate rapidly; they can then be easily moulded with the hand with the loss of only a portion of the carbonic acid; and a fragment of tartaric acid may be enclosed in the interior if desired, which, however, is not essential. In this way they are readily formed, and may be dried on a moderately heated stove. The carbonic acid pills would be prepared in the same way. beautiful dragées containing a liquid inclosed in a case of crystallized sugar; they are prepared in the following manner :— A tray being filled with finely-powdered starch, and carefully smoothed on its surface, impressions are made in it of the forms designed to be executed. A syrup is then prepared with fine sugar, and highly concentrated by boiling, to a point midway between that required for barley-sugar and our usual syrup; this is removed from the fire whilst rapidly boiling and without agitation. A small quantity of rum, maraschini, or other liquor, not containing an acid (which must be avoided) added; this addition will cause a sudden ebulition, which is sufficient to mix it; the hot mixture is now poured into the mould through a paper cone, and in a few minutes begins to set ; a small quantity of the powdered starch is then dusted over the surface, the tray covered, and placed in a warm situation; in an hour or two they are finished, and will be found to be a case of sugar enclosing a liquid, which may be preserved for years in that state if not broken. I am not aware that this form has yet been applied to Pharmaceutical purposes, yet such may probably soon be the case, for who could have imagined that the nonpareils so well known and valued by us, in our childhood, under the delightful name of harlequin's eggs, would in a few years attain the honour and dignity of Homopathic Globules? yet such is the case. In many cases they are still sugar, but in others, sugar of milk has been substituted, for fear, no doubt, that common sugar should prove too active. THE Chairman drew the attention of the meeting to several specimens of the sugar-cane, batatas, cactus coccinillifera, and other vegetable and mineral productions from the island of Madeira, which had been presented to the Society by Signor Nobreiga, one of the pupils in the laboratory. There were also on the table some specimens of two kinds of tube employed by Mr. Webb, of Islington, in the manufacture of Soda and other aërated waters. One kind of tube, which is used where the pressure is not very great, was made of stoneware, or Wedgwood-ware, the different lengths being united by a ball and socket-joint, a contrivance which Mr. Webb had applied in this case, and had found to answer very well. It was stated that Mr. Webb had suggested the use of pipes of this kind for conveying water for domestic use, in those cases where the water was found to act on lead pipes. The other kind of tube used by Mr. Webb in his soda-water manufactory, for conveying the waters when fully charged with gas, and under considerable pressure, was made of pure silver, covered on the outside with pure tin of great thickness.-The above specimens were presented by Mr. Webb to the Pharmaceutical Society. ORIGINAL AND EXTRACTED ARTICLES. CONTROVERSY BETWEEN LIEBIG AND THE CHEMICAL PROFESSORS IN FRANCE. In the Annalen der Chemie, for last January, Professor, now Baron, Von Liebig has inserted a critical diatribe, entitled "M. Gerhardt and Organic Chemistry," and a similar article has appeared in the Lancet on the 24th of the same month, headed "The present State of Organic Chemistry in France,"-a rather unfelicitous title, since only one really French Chemist is there roughly handled, along with the above-named German Chemist. The readers of Liebig's Chimie Organique are aware that this work was translated into French by M. Gerhardt, for which service the Professor, at the end of his Preface, addresses his special thanks, calling him his old friend and pupil, who had been pleased to take an active part in the compiling of his work, and had made numerous and important improvements in it, in consequence of his residence in Paris. His concluding sentence merits peculiar notice: "I feel the necessity of expressing keenly the wishes which I form, that his distinguished talents, and profound knowledge, may enable him to run his career with all the happiness and success which he deserves." After this high, and no doubt just eulogium, the scientific world must peruse with sorrow and regret the language of bitter reprobation used by the master against his quondam assistant. From the evidence adduced in this first article, much provocation has undoubtedly been given by M. Gerhardt, and his co-operator, M. Laurent; since several of the Professor's most elaborate researches and valuable discoveries have been travestied, and in some measure disfigured by these scientific censors to make them pass for their own. M. Gerhardt, now Professor of Chemistry in the University of Monpellier, has unluckily laid himself open to animadversion, by a series of chemical faux pas, such as, first, pretending to produce nitrous ether by dissolving brucine in nitric acid, where no alcoholic or etherous principle is present;second, the production of valerianic acid by the action of hydrate of potash upon indigo at a high temperature—a result quite unattainable in practice and at variance with all theory ;third, his denial of the existence of the nitrate of oxide of ethyle, or nitrous ether, which has been so fully demonstrated by Professor Liebig-fourth, M. Gerhardt's statements on the composition of chinoline, chinine, and chinchonine, subjects in which he has conjured up a series of fictitious formulæ, calculated to throw discredit on this seductive but most fallacious mode of |