Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 67

=MYRON'IC ACID.= HC_{10}H_{18}NS_{2}O_{10}. Bussy has given this name to an inodorous, bitter, non-crystallisable acid, obtained by him from black mustard, in which it exists as myronate of pota.s.sium. It is soluble in water and alcohol.

=MYROSIN.= _Syn._ EMULSIN OR BLACK MUSTARD. A name given by Bussy to a peculiar substance, soluble in water, and which possesses the power of converting myronic acid, in the presence of water, into the volatile oil of mustard seed.

=MYROSPERMIN.= The name given by Richter to the portion of the oil of balsam of Peru, which is soluble in alcohol.

=MYROX'ILIN.= The name given by Richter to the portion of the oil of balsam of Peru which is insoluble in alcohol. By oxygenation it forms myroxilic acid.

=MYRRH.= _Syn._ MYRRHA (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L. "Gum resin exuded from the bark of _Balsamodendron myrrha_." (B. P., Ph. L.)

_Pur._--1. Triturate a small quant.i.ty of the powder of the suspected myrrh with an equal amount of chloride of ammonium, adding water, gradually; if the whole is readily dissolved, the myrrh is genuine; otherwise it is sophisticated with some inferior substance. (Righini.)--2. When incinerated it should not leave more than 3-1/2 to 4% of ashes.

_Uses, &c._ Myrrh is a stimulating aromatic bitter and tonic, and is given in several diseases accompanied by relaxation and debility; especially in excessive secretions from the mucous membranes, and in disorders of the digestive organs. _Externally_, as an ingredient in dentifrices and rashes, in caries of the teeth, spongy and ulcerated gums, &c.--_Dose_, 10 to 30 gr.; either alone or combined with aloes or chalybeates.

=NAILS (The)= should be kept clean by the daily use of the nail-brush and soap-and-water. After wiping the hands, but whilst they are still soft from the action of the water, the skin, which is apt to grow over the nails, should be gently loosened and pressed back, which will not only preserve them neatly rounded, but will prevent the skin cracking around their roots (agnails, nail-springs), and becoming sore. The free ends or points of the nails should be pared about once a week; and biting them should be particularly avoided, as being at once destructive to their beauty and usefulness. "The (free) edge of the scarf-skin should never be pared, the surface of the nail never sc.r.a.ped, or the nails cleaned with any instrument whatever saving the nail-brush." (Eras. Wilson.)

The consequences of wearing a shoe that is obviously too short for the foot are thus described by the above authority:--"In this case Nature gives us warning, by means of her agent, pain, that such a proceeding is contrary to her laws. We stop our ears, and get accustomed to the pain, which, perhaps, is not severe, and soon goes off; the shoes get a scolding for their malice, and we forget all about it for a time. But does Nature check her course to suit the convenience of thoughtless men? No, no. In a short time we find that the nail, intercepted in its forward course, has become unusually thick and hard, and has spread out so much upon the sides, that it is now growing into the flesh, and so makes a case for the doctor. Or, perhaps, the continuance of pressure may have inflamed the sensitive skin at the root, and caused a sore and painful place there. And instances are by no means infrequent in which the power of production of the nail at the root becomes entirely abrogated, and then it grows in thickness only."

When the nails are stained or discoloured, a little lemon juice, or vinegar-and-water, is the best application. Occasionally, a little pumice-stone, in impalpable powder, or a little 'putty powder,' may be used along with water and a piece of soft leather or flannel for the same purpose. The frequent employment of these substances is, however, injurious to the healthy growth of the nail.

=NANKEEN'.= The coloured cotton cloth which bears this name was originally brought from Nankin, the ancient capital of China, and was prepared from a native cotton, of a brownish-yellow hue. It is now successfully imitated in England, and at the present time the English manufacturers supply the Canton market. In this country the colour is generally given to the cloth by successive baths of sulphate of iron and crude carbonate of soda or lime water.

=NANKEEN DYE.= The liquid sold under this name in the shops is a solution of annotta. It is employed to dye white calicoes of a nankeen colour; but chiefly to restore the colour of faded nankeen clothing.

=NAPH'THA.= _Syn._ MINERAL NAPHTHA; NAPHTHA, L. A name given to the limpid and purer varieties of PETROLEUM (which _see_), or ROCK OIL, which exudes from the surface of the earth in various parts of the world.

_Prop._ Naphtha possesses a penetrating odour and a yellow colour, but may be rendered colourless by distillation; it usually begins to boil at a temperature of about 180 Fahr., but, being a mixture of several different hydrocarbons, it has no fixed boiling-point; it is very inflammable; it does not mix with water, but imparts to that fluid its peculiar taste and smell; mixes with alcohol and oils, and dissolves sulphur, phosphorus, camphor, iodine, most of the resins, wax, fats, and spermaceti; and forms with caoutchouc a gelatinous varnish, which dries with very great difficulty.

_Pur._ Mineral naphtha is very frequently adulterated with oil of turpentine, a fraud which may be detected by--1. The addition of some oil of vitriol, which will, in that case, thicken and darken it.--2.

Hydrochloric acid gas pa.s.sed through the liquid for an hour, will occasion the formation of hydrochlorate of camphine, either at once or after a few hours' repose, even if only 5% of oil of turpentine is present. (Dr Bolley.)--3. If a few grains of iodide of pota.s.sium and a little water are rubbed with the suspected sample, the colour of the water should continue unchanged; the presence of 1/300th part of oil turpentine will cause it to a.s.sume a red or orange colour. (Saladin.)

_Uses._ Naphtha is chiefly employed for the purposes of illumination, as a solvent for india rubber, and in the preparation of a very superior black pigment. It has been highly spoken of as a remedy for cholera, by Dr Andreosky, a Russian physician. See PETROLEUM, and _below_.

=Naphtha, Coal-tar.= _Syn._ NAPHTHA, COAL N. A mixture of volatile hydrocarbons, obtained by distilling coal-tar. It is one of the first products which comes over, and flows from the still as crude coal naphtha.

To obtain rectified coal naphtha, this crude liquid is distilled, and the product agitated with 10% of concentrated sulphuric acid; when cold, the mixture is treated with 5% of peroxide of manganese, and the upper portion is submitted to further distillation. The specific gravity of this purified product is 850. It is extensively used as a solvent of caoutchouc, and other allied substances, also of resins for the preparation of varnishes. By repeated purification and fractional distillation, benzol, the chief and most important const.i.tuent of coal naphtha, is obtained. See BENZOL.

=Naphtha, Wood.= See PYROXYLIC SPIRIT.

=NAPH'THALIN.= C_{10}H_{9}. _Syn._ NAPHTHALINE, NAPHTHALENE. A white crystallisable, odorous, volatile substance, obtained from coal-tar.

_Prep._ The last portion of the volatile oily product is collected separately, and allowed to repose, when crude naphthalin separates in the solid state. By pushing the distillation until the residuum in the still begins to char, a further portion of dark-coloured naphthalin may be obtained. It is purified by resublimation a second, or even a third time.

_Prop., &c._ Soluble in alcohol and ether; slightly soluble in boiling water; melts at 176 Fahr.; boils at 412; highly inflammable, burning with a red and smoky flame; with sulphuric acid, it unites to form sulpho-naphthalic acid. By the action of nitric acid upon naphthalin, numerous substances may be formed, the most interesting being nitro-naphthalin. Naphthalin has lately been extensively employed as a stimulating expectorant.--_Dose_, 5 to 20 gr.; or, preferably, 1/2 gr., frequently. _Externally_, made into an ointment, in dry tetters, psoriasis, &c. 30 gr. may be mixed with 1 oz. of lard.

=NA'PLES YEL'LOW.= See YELLOW PIGMENTS.

=NAR'CEIA.= C_{23}H_{20}G_{9}. _Syn._ NARCEINA, NARCEIA. A peculiar substance discovered by Pelletier in opium. It is obtained from the aqueous solution of opium, after it has been freed from morphia, and narcotina, by ammonia, by adding to it hydrate of lime, or preferably, baryta. On boiling the filtered solution, to expel the ammonia, and evaporating the liquid, crystals of narceine are gradually deposited. It may be purified by solution in hot alcohol and recrystallisation.

_Prop., &c._ White, silky, acicular prisms; neutral; inodorous; bitter; pungent; soluble in 375 parts of water at 60, and in 330 parts at 212 Fahr.; insoluble in ether; does not neutralise the acids, and is dest.i.tute of basic properties. It is distinguished from morphia by its easier fusibility (190), and by forming a blue liquid with the dilute mineral acids, which on gradual dilution changes to violet and rose red, and ultimately becomes colourless. It does not strike a blue colour with ferric chloride, like morphia, but forms a blue compound with iodine, which is decomposed by boiling water. It appears to be inert, and has not been applied to any useful purpose.

=NAR'COTICS.= _Syn._ STUPEFACIENTS; NARCOTICA, STUPEFACIENTIA, L.

Medicines which produce drowsiness, sleep, and stupor. In small doses, narcotics mostly act as stimulants, but in larger ones they produce calmness of mind, drowsiness, and torpor; and in poisonous doses, delirium, coma, and death. The general objects in the administration of these agents are the production of sleep and the alleviation of pain.

Their action is modified to a greater degree by idiosyncrasy and habit than that of, perhaps, any other cla.s.s of medicines. Hence the care necessary in their administration. Alcohol, camphor, chloroform, chloral hydrate, ether, foxglove, hemlock, henbane, morphia, opium, and tobacco, are narcotics.

=NAR'COTINA.= C_{22}H_{23}NO_{7}. _Syn._ NARCOTINE, L.; SEL D'OPIUM, MATIeRE DE DEROSNE, Fr. A peculiar crystalline substance, found by Derosne in opium, and on which its stimulant property was at first supposed to depend.

_Prep._ 1. From opium exhausted of soluble matter by cold water, by treating it with water acidulated with acetic or hydrochloric acid, filtering, neutralising, with ammonia, and dissolving the washed precipitate in boiling alcohol; the narcotine is deposited as the liquid cools, and may be purified by solution in ether.

2. By acting on opium, previously exhausted by cold water, with ether.

_Prop., &c._ White, inodorous, fluted, or striated prisms; neutral to test paper; insoluble in cold water; sparingly soluble in boiling water; freely soluble in boiling alcohol and in ether. It is only feebly basic.

Narcotine is distinguished from morphia by its insipidity, solubility in ether, insolubility in alkalies, giving an orange tint to nitric acid, and a greasy stain to paper when heated on it over a candle. Another test for narcotina, said by Orfila to be characteristic, is to add to a little of the suspected substance a drop or two of oil of vitriol, and then to add a very small fragment of nitrate of pota.s.sium; the liquid speedily acquires a deep blood-red colour if narcotina is present. Morphia treated in the same way strikes a brown or olive-green colour.

_Obs._ The physiological action of narcotina is differently stated by different authorities. 1 gr. of it, dissolved in olive oil, killed a dog in 24 hours: but 24 gr. dissolved in acetic acid were given with impunity.

(Magendie.) In the solid state it is inert; 120 gr. at a dose scarcely produce any obvious effects. (Bally.) Scruple doses have been given without injury. (Dr Roots.) It has been recently proposed as a subst.i.tute for quinine in the cure of agues. For this purpose the sulphate or hydrochlorate is preferable. 200 cases of intermittent and remittent fevers have been thus successfully treated in India. (Dr O'Shaughnessy.)--_Dose_, 3 to 10 gr., as an antiperiodic sedative, &c.

Turkey opium contains about 1%, and East Indian opium about 3%, of narcotine.

=NA'TRIUM.= See SODIUM.

=NA'TRON.= Native carbonate of soda.

=NAU'SEA.= See SICKNESS.

=NAU'SEANTS.= _Syn._ NAUSEANTIA, L. Substances which induce an inclination to vomit, without effecting it. See EMETICS.

=NAVEL, Starting of.= To remedy this, take a slice of cork about the circ.u.mference of a shilling, and a little thicker; and having covered the projecting navel with a small circular piece of clean, soft linen, place the cork on the linen, strapping it into position by means of cross strips of _white_ sticking plaster (simple lead plaster) over which the usual roller is to be adjusted. Be careful to have the plaster of sufficient length, and to see that it adheres tightly to the skin.

=NEC'TAR.= The fabled drink of the mythological deities. The name was formerly given to wine dulcified with honey; it is now occasionally applied to other sweet and pleasant beverages of a stimulating character.

The following LIQUEURS are so called:--

_Prep._ 1. Chopped raisins, 2 lbs.; loaf sugar, 4 lbs.; boiling water, 2 galls.; mix, and stir frequently until cold, then add 2 lemons, sliced; proof spirit (brandy or rum), 3 pints; macerate in a covered vessel for 6 or 7 days, occasionally shaking, next strain with pressure, and let the strained liquid stand in a cold place for a week to clear; lastly, decant the clear portion, and bottle it.

2. Red ratafia, 3 gall.; oils of ca.s.sia and caraway, of each 25 drops (dissolved in); brandy, 1/2 pint; orange wine, 1 gall.; sliced oranges, 6 in no.; lump sugar, 2 lbs.; macerate for a week, decant and bottle. See ARRACK (Fact.i.tious.)

=NE'GUS.= A well-known beverage, so named after its originator and patron, Colonel Negus. It is made of either port or sherry wine, mixed with about twice its bulk of hot water, sweetened with lump sugar, and flavoured with a little lemon juice and grated nutmeg, and a small fragment only of the yellow peel of the lemon. The addition of about 1 drop of essence of ambergris, or 8 or 10 drops of essence of vanilla, distributed between about a dozen gla.s.ses, improves it.

=NEPEN'THE.= A drink calculated to banish the remembrance of grief. In the "Odyssey" Homer describes Helen as administering it to Telemachus. Nothing is known respecting the composition of the ancient nepenthe. The name is applied to a preparation of opium by many old writers, and is now employed by a Bristol firm to designate a preparation resembling in all essential points Battley's 'LIQUOR OPII SEDATIVUS,'

=NER'VOUSNESS.= The indescribable derangement of health, and the complication of disagreeable sensations which are popularly described under this name, quite as much deserve the serious attention of both patient and physician as any other affection to which the human frame is liable. Although, in itself, not a definite disease, it is indicative of the vital system being out of order, that its energies are failing or overtasked, and that the functions of some of its organs are languidly or imperfectly performed. This condition, if not removed, may gradually lead to the development of actual disease, and imperil life if the conditions whereon it is dependent be not detected and subdued.

The _treatment_ of nervousness consists mainly in restoring the healthy action of the stomach and bowels, and in the use of proper exercise, especially in the open air. The stomach should not be overloaded with indigestible food, and the bowels should be occasionally relieved by the use of some mild aperient. Mental as well as bodily relaxation should be sought, and the pleasures without the vices of society should be indulged in as discretion and inclination may direct. Abernethy's injunction to a nervous and dyspeptic lady, "Dismiss your servants, madam, and make your own beds," should be recollected by all, and may be taken as a proof of the importance that eminent surgeon attached to exercise; his advice to the indolent and nervous dyspeptic should not be forgotten, "Live on sixpence a day--and earn it." See EXERCISE, FLATULENCE, HYPOCHONDRIASIS, HYSTERIA, INDIGESTION, &c.

=NESSLER'S TEST for ammonia, &c.= This, the most delicate test for ammonia, was devised by Nessler. It is prepared by saturating a solution of iodide of pota.s.sium with the biniodide of mercury, and then adding a weak solution of hydrate of sodium. The addition of a few drops of this solution, to one containing ammonia, produces a yellowish tint when only a trace of ammonia is present, but a dark brown precipitate when the ammonia is present in larger quant.i.ty. The composition of the precipitate may be represented thus:--NHg_{2}I. A modification of this test is applied to the detection of wood spirit in common alcohol. A dilute solution of the iodides in question in pure alcohol is formed, in the proportion of 2 or 3 gr. of the salts to 100 c.c. of alcohol. About 4 c.c. of the suspected alcohol are taken, to which are added 2 or 3 drops of the test solution, a few drops of alcoholic ammonia, and, lastly, a little alcoholic potash; if wood spirit be present, the solution will remain clear, but if the alcohol be pure, the characteristic reddish brown precipitate will appear. The precipitate is soluble in acetone, which is always present in wood spirit.

Professor w.a.n.klyn gives the following formulae for the preparation of the Nessler test:--Mercuric chloride in powder, 35 grammes; iodide of pota.s.sium, 90 grammes; water, 1-3/4 litres; heat gently till dissolved (say 20 minutes) in a large basin. Then add of stick caustic potash, 320 grammes, and 50 c.c. of saturated solution of mercuric chloride. The above will be ready for use in 2 hours, and gives maximum colour in 3 minutes.