Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 5

=Ferrous Acetate.= Fe(C_{2}H_{3}O_{2})_{2}. _Syn._ FERRI ACETAS, L.

_Prep._ 1. From freshly precipitated ferrous carbonate dissolved in dilute acetic acid.

2. By adding a solution of calcium acetate to another of ferrous sulphate, and evaporating the filtered liquid, out of contact with the air. Small, colourless, or pale-greenish needles or prisms, very soluble and p.r.o.ne to oxidation.

=Ferrous a.r.s.enate.= Fe_{3}(AsO_{4})_{2}. _Syn._ FERRI a.r.s.eNIAS, L. _Prep._ 1. From a solution of sodium a.r.s.eniate, added to a solution of ferrous sulphate, the precipitate being collected, washed in a little cold water, and dried.--_Dose_, 1/20 to 1/12 gr., made into a pill; in lupus, psoriasis, cancerous affections, &c. Externally, combined with 4 times its weight of ferrous phosphate and a little water, as a paint to destroy the vitality of cancerous formations. An ointment (20 to 30 gr. to the oz.) is also used for the same purpose. They are all dangerous remedies in non-professional hands.

2. (B. P.) _Prep._ Sulphate of iron, 9 oz.; a.r.s.eniate of soda dried at 300 F., 4 oz.; acetate of soda, 3 oz. Dissolve the a.r.s.eniate and the acetate of soda in 2 pints, and the sulphate of iron in 3 pints, of boiling distilled water, mix the two solutions, collect the white precipitate which forms on a calico filter, and wash until the washings cease to be affected by a dilute solution of chloride of barium. Squeeze the washed precipitate between folds of strong linen in a screw-press, and dry it on porous bricks in a warm air-chamber whose temperature shall not exceed 100 F.--Dose, 1/16th of a gr.

=Ferrous a.r.s.enite.= Fe(AsO_{2})_{2}. _Syn._ FERRI a.r.s.eNIS, L. From the pota.s.sium a.r.s.enite, and ferrous sulphate, as the last. A yellowish-brown powder, occasionally used in medicine as a tonic, alterative, and febrifuge.--_Dose_, 1/16 to 1/12 gr.

=Ferrous Bromide.= FeBr_{2}. _Syn._ FERRI BROMIDUM, L. _Prep._ (Moir.) Bromine and iron filings, of each 1 part; water, 3 parts; mix in a stoppered phial, set it aside, occasionally shaking it, for 2 or 3 days, and when the colour of the bromine has disappeared, and the liquid becomes greenish, filter and evaporate to dryness.--_Dose_, 1 to 6 gr., as a tonic, diuretic, and resolvent, in similar cases to those in which iodide of iron is given.

FERROUS CARBONATE. Fe(CO_{3}). _Syn._ PROTOCARBONATE OF IRON; FERRI CARBONAS, F. SUBCARBONAS, L. This occurs in nature as SPATHOSE ORE, the chief const.i.tuent as of CLAY IRONSTONE, and in many CHALYBEATE WATERS.

_Prep._ (B. P.) Ferrous sulphate (sulphate of iron), 2; ammonium carbonate, 1-1/4; boiling distilled water, 320; refined sugar, 1. Dissolve the sulphate and ammonium carbonate each in 1/4 of the water, and mix; allow to stand for 24 hours and decant, of the clear solution, add the remainder of the water to the precipitate, stir well, allow to settle, and decant off. Collect the deposit in a calico filter, press, rub in the sugar in a porcelain mortar, and dry at a temperature not exceeding 212 Fahr. Small coherent grey lumps. Precipitate a solution of ferrous sulphate with a solution of sodium carbonate, well wash the green powder with water which has been boiled, and dry it out of contact with the air.

On the slightest exposure to air it is converted into ferrous hydrate or oxide. This change is for the most part prevented by combining it with sugar, as in the following preparation.

With sugar: FERRI CARBONAS SACCHARATA, B. P.; SACCHARINE C. OF I.; FERRUM CARBONIc.u.m SACCHARATUM, FERRI CARBONAS c.u.m SACCHARO--Ph. L., FERRI CARBONAS SACCHARATUM--Ph. E. & D. L.--(Ph. L.) Ferrous sulphate, 4 oz.; sodium carbonate, 4-1/4 oz.; dissolve each separately in quart of boiling water, and mix the solutions whilst hot; after a time collect the precipitate, wash it frequently with water, and add of sugar, 2 oz., previously dissolved in water, 2 fl. oz.; lastly, evaporate the mixture over a water bath to dryness, and keep it in a well-closed bottle.

_Prop., &c._ A sweet-tasted greenish ma.s.s or powder, consisting chiefly of carbonate of iron. It is one of the best of the chalybeates.--_Dose_, 5 to 10 gr. When pure, it should be easily soluble in hydrochloric acid with brisk effervescence.

=Ferrous Chloride.= FeCl_{2}. _Syn._ PROTOCHLORIDE OF IRON; MURIATE OF IRON; FERRI CHLORIDUM, L. _Prep._ 1. (Anhydrous.) By pa.s.sing dry hydrochloric acid gas over ignited metallic iron. The chloride sublimes in yellowish crystals.

2. (Hydrated.) Dissolve iron filings or scale in hydrochloric acid, evaporate and crystallise. Soluble green crystals.

=Ferrous Citrate.= Fe_{3}(C_{6}H_{5}O_{7})_{2}. _Syn._ PROTOCITRATE OF IRON, CITRATE OF PROTOXIDE OF IRON. This salt is easily formed by digesting iron filings or wire with citric acid, and evaporating the solution as quickly as possible out of contact with the air. It presents the appearance of a white powder, nearly insoluble in water, and rapidly pa.s.sing to a higher state of oxidation by exposure to the air. Its taste is very metallic. It is exhibited under the form of pills, mixed with gum or syrup, to prevent it from being prematurely decomposed.

=Ferrous Ferricy'anide.= _Syn._ FERRIDCYANIDE OF IRON. _Prep._ By adding a solution of pota.s.sium ferricyanide ('red prussiate of potash') to a solution of ferrous sulphate (or any other soluble ferrous salt), and collecting and drying and precipitate. A bright-blue powder. (See TURNBULL'S BLUE.)

=Ferrous Hydrate.= Fe_{2}(HO)_{2}. See under FERROUS OXIDE.

=Ferrous Hydrate.= Fe(HO)_{2}. May be precipitated from ferrous solutions as a white powder, by alkaline hydrates. It rapidly absorbs oxygen, and turns first green, and then red, by exposure to the air. Both the oxide and hydrate are very powerful bases, neutralising the acids and forming stable salts, which, when soluble, have commonly a pale green colour, and a nauseous metallic taste.

=Ferrous Hypophosphite.= _Syn._ FERRI HYPOPHOSPHIS. From the double decomposition of hypophosphite of lime and sulphate of iron, as hypophosphite of potash.

=Ferrous Iodide.= FeI_{2}. _Syn._ PROTOIODIDE OF IRON, IODIDE OF IRON; F.

IODIDUM, FERRI HYDRIODAS, F. IODURETUM, L. _Prep._ (B. P.) Fine iron wire, 1; iodine, 2; distilled water, 10. Introduce the iron, iodine, and 8 of water into a flask, heat it about ten minutes, and boil until all the red colour is gone. Filter through paper into a polished iron dish, washing with the rest of the water, and boil until a drop of the solution taken out on iron wire solidifies on cooling. Pour on porcelain and cool. (Ph.

L. 1836.) Iodine, 6 oz.; iron filings, 2 oz.; water, 4-1/2 pints; mix, boil in a sand bath until the liquid turns to a pale green, filter, wash the residuum with a little water, evaporate the mixed liquors in an iron vessel at 212 Fahr. to dryness, and immediately put the iodide into well-stoppered bottles.

Iodine, 1 oz., and clean iron filings or turnings, 1/2 oz., are put into a Florence flask with distilled water, 4 fl. oz., and having applied a gentle heat for 10 minutes, the liquid is boiled until it loses its red colour; it is then at once filtered into a second flask, the filter washed with water, 1 fl. oz., and the mixed liquid is boiled down, until it solidifies on cooling.

With sugar: SACCHARINE IODIDE OF IRON, SACCHARUM FERRI IODIDI, FERRI IODIDUM SACCHARATUM, L. Iron (in powder), 1 dr.; water, 5 dr.; iodine, 4 dr.; obtain a solution of iodide of iron, as above, and add to it of sugar of milk (in powder), 1-1/4 oz.; evaporate at a temperature not exceeding 122 Fahr., until the ma.s.s has a tenacious consistence, then further add of sugar of milk, 1 oz., reduce the mixture to powder, and preserve it in a well-stoppered bottle. Every 6 gr. contains 1 gr. of iodide of iron.

From "syrup of iodide of iron" exposed in a shallow vessel, in a warm place, until it crystallises; the crystals are collected, dried, and powdered. A simpler plan is to gently evaporate the whole to dryness, and to powder the residuum. The saccharine iodide may be kept for some time in a corked bottle without undergoing decomposition.

_Obs._ The preparation of the above compound, like that of the citrates, has formed a fertile subject during some years for pharmaceutical amateurs to dilate upon. There is in reality not the least difficulty in the process. As soon as iodine and iron are mixed together under water much heat is evolved, and if too much water be not used the combination is soon complete, and the liquor merely requires to be evaporated to dryness, out of contact with the air, at a heat not exceeding 212 Fahr. This is most cheaply and easily performed by employing a gla.s.s flask, with a thin broad bottom and a narrow mouth, by which means the evolved steam excludes air from the vessel. The whole of the uncombined water may be known to be evaporated when vapour ceases to condense on a piece of cold gla.s.s held over the mouth of the flask. A piece of moistened starch paper occasionally applied in the same way will indicate whether free iodine is evolved; should such be the case, the heat should be immediately lessened.

When the evaporation is completed, the mouth of the flask should be stopped up by laying a piece of sheet india rubber on it, and over that a flat weight; the flask must be then removed, and when cold broken to pieces, the iodide weighed, and put into dry and warm stoppered wide-mouth gla.s.s phials, which must be immediately closed, tied over with bladder, and the stoppers dipped into melted wax.

_Prop., &c._ Ferrous iodide evolves violet vapours by heat, and ferric oxide remains. When freshly made it is totally soluble in water, and from this solution, when kept in a badly stoppered vessel, ferric hydrate is very soon precipitated; but with iron wire immersed in it, it may be kept clear in a well-stoppered bottle.--_Dose_, 1 to 3 gr., or more, as a tonic, stimulant, and resolvent. It has been given with advantage in anaemia, chlorosis, debility, scrofula, and various glandular affections.

=Ferrous Lactate.= Fe(C_{3}H_{5}O_{3})_{2}. _Syn._ PROTOLACTATE OF IRON; FERRI LACTAS, FERRUM LACTIc.u.m, L. _Prep._ Boil iron filings in lactic acid diluted with water, until gas ceases to be evolved, and filter whilst hot into a suitable vessel, which must be at once closely stopped; as the solution cools, crystals will be deposited, which after being washed, first with a little cold water, and then with alcohol, are to be carefully dried. The mother liquor, on being digested, as before, with fresh iron, will yield more crystals.

Into sour whey, 2 lbs., sprinkle sugar of milk and iron filings, of each, in fine powder, 1 oz.; digest at about 100 Fahr., until the sugar of milk is dissolved, then add a second portion, and as soon as a white crystalline powder begins to form, boil the whole gently, and filter into a clean vessel; lastly, collect, wash, and dry the crystals as before.

_Prop., &c._ Ferrous lactate is a greenish-white salt; and when pure, forms small acicular or prismatic crystals, which have a sweetish ferruginous taste, and are soluble in about 48 parts of cold and in 12 parts of boiling water. It has been regarded by many high authorities as superior to every other preparation of iron for internal use, as being at once miscible with the lactic acid of the gastric juice, instead of having to be converted into a lactate at the expense of that fluid, as it is a.s.serted is the case with the other preparations of iron.--_Dose_, 2 to 6 gr., frequently, in any form most convenient.

=Ferrous Ma'late (Impure).= _Syn._ FERRI MALAS IMPURUS, L. _Prep._ (P.

Cod., 1839.) Porphyrised iron filings, 1 part; juice of sour apples, 8 parts; digest for 3 days in an iron vessel, evaporate to one half, strain through linen whilst hot, further evaporate to the consistence of an extract, and preserve it from the air.--_Dose_, 5 to 20 gr., where the use of iron is indicated.

=Ferrous Nitrate.= (FeNO_{3})_{2}. _Syn._ PROTONITRATE OF IRON, NITRATE OF PROTOXIDE OF IRON; FERRI NITRAS, L. By dissolving ferrous sulphide in dilute sulphuric acid, in the cold, and evaporating the solution _in vacuo_. Small green crystals, very soluble, and p.r.o.ne to oxidation.

=Ferrous Oxalate.= (U. S.) _Syn._ FERRI OXALAS. _Prep._ Sulphate of iron, 2 oz.; oxalic acid, 396 gr.; distilled water, q. s. Dissolve the sulphate in 30 oz. (old measure), and the acid in 15 oz. (old measure) of distilled water. Filter the solutions, mix them, shake together, and set aside until the precipitate is formed. Decant the clear liquid, wash the precipitate thoroughly, and dry it with a gentle heat.

=Ferrous Oxide.= FeO. _Syn._ PROTOXIDE OF IRON, FERRI PROTOXYDUM, L. This substance is almost unknown in a pure state, from its extreme p.r.o.neness to absorb oxygen and pa.s.s into the sesquioxide.

=Ferrous Phosphate.= _Syn._ PHOSPHATE OF IRON, NEUTRAL P. OF PROTOXIDE OF IRON, BIMETALLIC FERROUS ORTHOPHOSPHATE (Odling); FERRI PHOSPHAS (Ph. U.

S.), L. A salt formed from ordinary or tribasic phosphoric acid.

_Prep._ (B. P.) Ferrous sulphate, 3; sodium phosphate, 2-1/2; sodium acetate, 1; boiling distilled water, 80; dissolve the sulphate and sodium salts, each in half the water, mix, and stir carefully, filter through calico, wash with hot distilled water until it ceases to give a precipitate with barium chloride, dry at a heat not exceeding 120 Fahr.

(Ph. U. S.) Ferrous sulphate, 5 oz.; sodium phosphate, 6 oz.; dissolve each separate in 2 quarts of water, mix the solutions, and after repose for a short time wash and dry the precipitate.

_Prop., &c._ A slate-coloured powder; insoluble in water; soluble in dilute nitric and hydrochloric acid.--_Dose_, 5 to 10 gr.; in amenorrha, diabetes, dyspepsia, scrofula, &c.; and _externally_, as an application to cancerous ulcers.

=Ferrous Sulphate.= FeSO_{4}.7Aq. _Syn._ PROTOSULPHATE OF IRON, SULPHATE OF IRON, COPPERAS, GREEN VITRIOL, SHOEMAKER'S BLACK; FERRI SULPHAS (B. P., Ph. L. E. & D.), VITRIOLUM FERRI. The crude sulphate of iron or green vitriol of commerce (FERRI SULPHAS VENALIS, Ph. L.) is prepared by exposing heaps of moistened iron pyrites or native bisulphuret of iron to the air for several months, either in its unprepared state or after it has been roasted. When decomposition is sufficiently advanced, the newly formed salt is dissolved out with water, and the solution crystallised by evaporation. In this state it is very impure. The ferrous sulphate or sulphate of iron employed in medicine is prepared as follows:--

_Prep._ (B. P.) Iron wire, 4; sulphuric acid, 4; distilled water, 30. Pour the water on the iron, add the acid, and when the disengagement of gas has nearly ceased, boil for ten minutes. Filter through paper. Allow to stand twenty-four hours, and collect the crystals. Sulphuric acid, 1 fl. oz.; water, 4 pints; mix, and add of commercial sulphate of iron, 4 lbs.; iron wire, 1 oz.; digest with heat and occasional agitation until the sulphate is dissolved, strain whilst hot, and set aside the liquor that crystals may form; evaporate the mother-liquor for more crystals, and dry the whole.

Dissolve the transparent green crystals of the impure sulphate of iron in their own weight of water, acidulated with sulphuric acid, and re-crystallise.

The formula of the Ph. U. S. is similar.

Dried; FERRI SULPHAS EXSICCATA, B. P.; FERRI SULPHAS EXSICCATUM--Ph. E., F. S. SICCATUM--Ph. D. From ferrous sulphate, heated in a shallow porcelain or earthen vessel, not glazed with lead, till it becomes a greenish-grey ma.s.s, and then reduced to powder. The heat should be that of an oven, or not exceeding 400 Fahr. Five parts of the crystallised sulphate lose very nearly 2 parts by drying.

Granulated; FERRI SULPHAS GRANULATA, L. (B. P.) A solution of iron wire, 4 oz., in sulphuric acid, 4 fl. oz., diluted with water, 1-1/2 pint, after being boiled for a few minutes, is filtered into a vessel containing rectified spirit, 8 fl. oz., and the whole stirred until cold, when the granular crystals are collected on a filter, washed with rectified spirit, 2 fl. oz., and dried, first by pressure between bibulous paper, and next beneath a bell-gla.s.s over sulphuric acid, after which they are put into a stoppered bottle, to preserve them from the air.

_Prop., &c._ Ferrous sulphate forms pale bluish-green rhombic prisms, having an acid, styptic taste, and acid reaction; it dissolves in two parts of cold and less than one part of boiling water; at a dull-red heat it suffers decomposition; sp. gr. 182. It is perfectly soluble in water; a piece of iron put into the solution should not be covered with metallic copper. By exposure to the air it effloresces slightly, and is partly converted into a basic ferric sulphate.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 4 gr., in pills or solution; externally, as an astringent or styptic. In the arts, as sulphate of iron (copperas), it is extensively used in dyeing, and for various other purposes. The dried sulphate (ferri sulphus exsiccatum) is chiefly used to make pills.

Crude sulphate of iron is frequently contaminated with the sulphates of copper, zinc, manganese, aluminium, magnesium, and calcium, which, with the exception of the first, are removed with difficulty. It also contains variable proportions of the neutral and basic ferric sulphates. The preparation obtained by direct solution of iron in dilute sulphuric acid should, therefore, be alone used in medicine.

In commerce there are four varieties of crude sulphate of iron or copperas known,--greenish-blue, obtained from acid liquors,--pale green, from neutral liquors,--emerald green, from liquors containing ferric sulphate,--and ochrey brown, which arises from age and exposure of the other varieties to the air. Even the first two of these contain traces of ferric sulphate, and hence give a bluish precipitate with ferrocyanide of pota.s.sium; whereas the pure sulphate gives one which is at first nearly white.

=Ferrous Sulphide.= FeS. _Syn._ SULPHURET OF IRON, SULPHIDE OF I., PROTOSULPHIDE OF I.; FERRI SULPHURETUM (Ph. E. & D.), L. _Prep._ (Ph. E. & D.) Expose a bar of iron to a full white heat, and instantly apply a solid ma.s.s of sulphur to it, observing to let the melted product fall into water; afterwards separate the sulphide from the sulphur, dry, and preserve it in a closed vessel.

From sublimed sulphur, 4 parts; iron filings, 7 parts; mixed together and heated in a common fire till the mixture begins to glow, and then removing the crucible from the heat, and covering it up, until the reaction is at an end, and the whole has become cold.

Hydrated; FERRI PROTOSULPHURETUM HYDRATUM, L. By adding a solution of ammonium sulphide or of pota.s.sium sulphide to a neutral solution of ferrous sulphate made with recently distilled or boiled water; the precipitate is collected on a filter, washed as quickly as possible with recently boiled water, squeezed in a linen cloth, and preserved in the pasty state, under water, as directed under ferric hydrate.

_Prop., &c._ The sulphide prepared in the dry way is a blackish brittle substance, attracted by the magnet. It is largely used in the laboratory as a source of sulphuretted hydrogen. The hydrated sulphide is a black, insoluble substance, rapidly decomposed by exposure to the air. Proposed by Mialhe as an antidote to the salts of a.r.s.enic, antimony, bis.m.u.th, lead, mercury, silver, and tin, and to a.r.s.enious acid; more especially to white a.r.s.enic and corrosive sublimate. A gargle containing a little hydrated sulphide of iron will instantly remove the metallic taste caused by putting a little corrosive sublimate into the mouth. (Mialhe.) On contact with the latter substance it is instantly converted into ferrous chloride and mercurous sulphide, two comparatively inert substances. It is administered in the same way as ferrous hydrate. When taken immediately after the ingestion of corrosive sublimate, it instantly renders it innocuous; but when the administration is delayed until 15 or 20 minutes after the poison has been swallowed, it is almost useless.