Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 238

With acids it forms various salts, of which the carbonate is a white insoluble powder, and the nitrate a white crystalline salt, soluble in 5 parts of cold water, and in alcohol; communicating a brilliant red colour to flame.

=STROPH'ULUS.= A papular eruption peculiar to infants. There are several varieties:--In strophulus intertinctus, red gum, or red gown, the pimples rise sensibly above the level of the cuticle, possess a vivid red colour, and are usually distinct from each other; they commonly attack the cheeks, forearm, and back of the hand, and, occasionally, other parts of the body.--In strophulus albidus, or white gum, there are a number of minute whitish specks, which are, sometimes, surrounded by a slight redness. The two preceding varieties commonly occur during the first two or three months of lactation.--In strophulus confertus, rank red gum, or tooth rash, which usually appears about the fourth or fifth month, the pimples usually occur on the cheeks and sides of the nose, sometimes on the forehead and arms, and still less frequently on the loins. They are smaller, set closer together, and less vivid, but more permanent than in the common red gum.--In strophulus volaticus small circular patches or cl.u.s.ters of pimples, each containing from 6 to 12, appear successively on different parts of the body, accompanied with redness; and as one patch declines another springs up near it, by which the efflorescence often spreads gradually over the whole face and body.--In strophulus candidus the pimples are larger than in the preceding, and are pale, smooth and s.h.i.+ning; it princ.i.p.ally attacks the upper parts of the arms, the shoulders, and the loins. The last two varieties commonly appear between the third and ninth month.

The treatment of the above affections consists chiefly in removing acidity and indigestion and duly regulating the bowels by an occasional dose of magnesia or rhubarb, or both combined. Diarrha may be met by the warm bath and the daily use of arrowroot (genuine), to which a teaspoonful or two of pure port wine has been added; and itching and irritation may be alleviated by the use of a lotion consisting of water, to which a little milk, lemon juice, borax, or glycerin, has been added.

=STRYCH'NINE.= C_{21}H_{22}N_{2}O_{2}. _Syn._ STRYCHNINA, STRYCHNIA (B.

P., Ph. L., E., & D.), L. _Prep._ 1. Dissolve hydrochlorate or sulphate of strychnine in distilled water, and throw down the alkaloid with ammonia, carefully avoiding excess; redissolve the precipitate in hot rectified spirit, and collect the crystals which form as the liquid cools.

2. (Ph. D.) Nux vomica (in powder), 1 lb., is digested for 24 hours in 1/2 gall. of water acidulated with 2 fl. dr. of sulphuric acid, after which it is boiled for half an hour, and the decoction decanted; the residuum is boiled a second and a third time with a fresh 1/2 gall. of water acidulated with 1 fl. dr. of the acid, and the undissolved matter is finally submitted to strong expression; the decoctions are next filtered and concentrated to the consistence of a syrup, which is boiled with rectified spirit, 3 pints, for about 20 minutes, hydrate of calcium, 1 oz., or q. s., being added in successive portions during the ebullition, until the solution becomes distinctly alkaline; the liquid is then filtered, the spirit distilled off, and the residuum dissolved in diluted sulphuric acid, q. s.; ammonia, in slight excess, is added to the filtered solution, and the precipitate which falls is collected upon a paper filter, and dried; it is next redissolved in a minimum of boiling rectified spirit, and digested with 1/2 oz. of animal charcoal for 20 minutes; the filtered liquid, as it cools, deposits strychnine, in crystals.

3. (Ph. B.) Nux vomica 1 lb., acetate of lead 180 gr., solution of ammonia q. s., rectified spirit q. s., distilled water q. s. Subject the nux vomica for two hours to steam in any convenient vessel; chop or slice it; dry it in a water bath or hot-air chamber, and immediately grind it in a coffee mill. Digest the powder at a gentle heat for 12 hours with two pints of the spirit and 1 pint of the water, strain through linen, express strongly, and repeat the process twice. Distil off the spirit from the mixed fluid, evaporate the watery residue to about 16 oz., and filter when cold. Add now the acetate of lead, previously dissolved in distilled water, so long as it occasions any precipitate; filter; wash the precipitate with 10 oz. of cold water, adding the was.h.i.+ngs to the filtrate; evaporate the clear fluid to 8 oz., and when it has cooled add the ammonia in slight excess, stirring thoroughly. Let the mixture stand at the ordinary temperature for 12 hours; collect the precipitate on a filter, wash it once with a few ounces of cold distilled water, dry it in a water-bath or hot-air chamber, and boil it with successive portions of rectified spirit, till the fluid scarcely tastes bitter. Distil off most of the spirit, evaporate the residue to the bulk of about 1/2 oz., and set it aside to cool. Cautiously pour off the yellowish mother-liquor (which contains the brucia of the seeds) from the white crust of strychnia which adheres to the vessel. Throw the crust on a paper filter, wash it with a mixture of two parts of rectified spirit and one of water, till the was.h.i.+ngs cease to become red on the addition of nitric acid; finally, dissolve it, by boiling it with 1 oz. of rectified spirit, and set it aside to crystallise. More crystals may be obtained by evaporating the mother-liquor. [Strychnine is more readily obtained, and in greater purity, from St Ignatius's Bean.] The usual dose of strychnia and its salts to commence with is from 1/30th to 1/12th of a grain, to be very slowly increased, carefully watching its effects. Magendie says the salts are more active than their base.

_Prop._ A white, inodorous, infusible powder; or small, but exceedingly brilliant, transparent, colourless, octahedral crystals; soluble in about 7000 parts of water at 60, and in 2500 parts at 212 Fahr.; freebly soluble in hot rectified spirit; insoluble in absolute alcohol, ether, and solutions of the caustic alkalies; imparts a distinctly bitter taste to 600,000 times its weight of water (1 part in 1,000,000 parts of water is still perceptible--Fownes); exhibits an alkaline reaction; and forms salts with the acids, which are easily prepared, are crystallisable, and well defined.

_Tests._--1. Pota.s.sium hydrate and the carbonate produce, in solutions of the salts of strychnia, white precipitates, which are insoluble in excess of the precipitant, and which, when viewed through a lens magnifying 100 times, appear as aggregates of small crystalline needles. In weak solutions the precipitate only separates after some time, in the form of crystalline needles, which are, however, in this case, perfectly visible to the naked eye.--2. Ammonia gives a similar precipitate, which is soluble in excess of the precipitant.--3. Bicarbonate of sodium produces, in neutral solutions, a like white precipitate, which is insoluble in excess, but which redissolves on the addition of a single drop of acid; in acid solutions no precipitate occurs for some time in the cold, but immediately on boiling the liquid.--4. Nitric acid dissolves pure strychnia and its salts to colourless fluids, which become yellow when heated. Commercial strychnine, from containing a little brucine, is reddened by this test.--5. A minute quant.i.ty of strychnine being mixed with a small drop of concentrated sulphuric acid, placed on a white capsule or slip of gla.s.s, forms a colourless solution, but yields, on the addition of a very small crystal of b.i.+.c.hromate of pota.s.sium, or a very minute portion of chromic acid, a rich violet colour, which gradually changes to red and yellow, and disappears after some time. The 1/1000th of a grain yields very distinct indications.--6. Pure oxide or peroxide of lead produces a similar reaction to the last, provided the sulphuric acid contain about 1% of nitric acid.

_Pois._ The characteristic symptom is the special influence exerted upon the nervous system, which is manifested by a general contraction of all the muscles of the body, with rigidity of the spinal column. A profound calm soon succeeds, which is followed by a new tetanic seizure, longer than the first, during which the respiration is suspended. These symptoms then cease, the breathing becomes easy, and there is stupor, followed by another general contraction. In fatal cases these attacks are renewed, at intervals, with increasing violence, until death ensues. One phenomenon which is only found in poisonings by substances containing strychnine is, that touching any part of the body, or even threatening to do so, instantly produces the tetanic spasm.

_Treat._ The stomach should be immediately cleared by means of an emetic, tickling the fauces, &c. To counteract the asphyxia from teta.n.u.s, &c., artificial respiration should be practised with diligence and care. "If the poison has been applied externally, we ought immediately to cauterise the part, and apply a ligature tightly above the wound. If the poison has been swallowed for some time, we should give a purgative clyster, and administer draughts containing sulphuric ether or oil of turpentine, which in most cases produce a salutary effect. Lastly, injections of chlorine and decoction of tannin are of value."

According to Ch. Gunther, the greatest reliance may be placed on full doses of opium, a.s.sisted by venesection, in cases of poisoning by strychnia or nux vomica. His plan is to administer this drug in the form of solution or mixture, in combination with a saline aperient.

_Uses, &c._ It is a most frightful poison, producing teta.n.u.s and death in very small doses. Even 1/24 gr. will sometimes occasion tetanic twitchings in persons of delicate temperament. 1/4 gr. blown into the throat of a small dog produced death in 6 minutes. In very minute doses it acts as a useful tonic in various nervous diseases, chronic diarrha, leucorrha, &c.; in slightly larger ones, it has been advantageously employed in certain forms of paralysis, in tic douloureux, impotence, &c.--_Dose_, 1/24 to 1/16 gr. (dissolved in water by means of a drop of acetic or hydrochloric acid), gradually and cautiously increased until it slightly affects the muscular system. Externally, 1/8 to 1/4 gr. at a time.

The Edinburgh College ordered the nux vomica to be exposed for two hours to steam, to soften it, then to chop or slice it, next to dry it by the heat of a vapour bath or hot air, and, lastly, to grind it in a coffee-mill. In the process of the Ph. L. 1836 magnesia was employed to effect the precipitation. In the last Ph. L. strychnine appears in the Materia Medica. Most of that of commerce is now obtained from St Ignatius's bean, which, according to Geiseler, yields 1-1/4% of it; whereas 3 lbs. of nux vomica produce little more than 1 dr. Commercial strychnine may be freed from brucine by digesting the powder in dilute alcohol.

The salts of strychnine, which are occasionally asked for in trade, are the acetate (strychniae acetas), hydrochlorate or muriate (s. murias--Ph.

D.), hydriodate (s. hydriodas), nitrate (s. nitras), phosphate (s.

phosphas), and sulphate (s. sulphas). All of these may be easily formed by simply neutralising the acid previously diluted with 2 or 3 parts of water, with the alkaloid, a.s.sisting the solution with heat; crystals are deposited as the liquid cools, and more may be obtained by evaporating the mother-liquor.

=STRYCHNOS.= See NUX VOMICA and BEAN, ST IGNATIUS'S.

=STUC'CO.= The name of several calcareous cements or mortars. Fine stucco is the third or last coat of three-coat plaster, and consists of a mixture of fine lime and quartzose sand, which, in application, is "twice hand floated and well trowelled." See CEMENTS.

=STUFFING.= Seasoning, placed in meat, poultry, game, &c., before dressing them, to give them an increased relish. The same materials formed into b.a.l.l.s, are added to soups, gravies, &c., under the name of FORCEMEAT.

_Prep._ 1. (For fowls, &c.) Shred a little ham or gammon, some cold veal or fowl, some beef suet, a small quant.i.ty of onion, some parsley, a very little lemon peel, salt, nutmeg, or pounded mace, and either white pepper or cayenne, and bread crumbs, pound them in a mortar, and bind it with 1 or 2 eggs.

2. (For hare, or anything in imitation of it.--Mrs Rundell.) The scalded liver, an anchovy, some fat bacon, a little suet, some parsley, thyme, knotted marjoram, a little shalot, and either onion or chives, all chopped fine, with some crumbs of bread, pepper, and nutmeg, beaten in a mortar with an egg.

3. (For goose.) From sage, onion, suet, and crumb of bread. Geese are now, however, more commonly stuffed with veal stuffing.

4. (For veal--Soyer.) Chop 1/2 lb. of suet, put it into a basin with 3/4 lb. of bread crumbs, a teaspoonful of salt, a 1/4 do. of pepper, a little thyme or lemon peel chopped, and 3 whole eggs; mix well.

_Obs._ 1 lb. of bread crumbs and one more egg may be used; they will make it cut firmer. This, as well as No. 1, is now commonly employed for poultry and meat. Ude, a great authority in these matters, observes that "it would not be amiss to add a piece of b.u.t.ter, and to pound the whole in a mortar." "Grated ham or tongue may be added to this stuffing."

(Rundell.) This is also used for turkeys, and for 'forcemeat patties.'

=STUFFING (Birds, &c.).= The skins are commonly dusted over with a mixture of camphor, alum, and sulphur, in about equal quant.i.ties; or, they are smeared with Becur's a.r.s.enical soap, noticed under SOAP. According to Crace Calvert, carbolic acid, which is worth only about 2s. per gall., is superior to all other substances for preserving the skins of birds and animals, as well as corpses. See TAXIDERMY, PRACTICAL.

=St.u.r.dY.= This disease, known also by the name of GAD, which attacks cattle and sheep, but more particularly the latter, is caused by the presence in the brain of the animal, of a hydatid--a creature enclosed in a sac of serous fluid. This hydatid develops from the ova of the tape worm, in the animal's body, whence it has gained an entrance, with the gra.s.s which const.i.tutes the cattle or sheep's food upon which it has been voided by dogs and other animals.

It is most common in sheep of from 6 to 8 months old, and, as might be expected, with those which feed in damp meadows. The animals attacked by it turn round and round in one position, lose their gregarious habits, seem dazed, and refuse their food; which latter circ.u.mstance frequently causes death by inducing starvation.

As regards the treatment of this disease Mr Finlay Dun writes: "A stout stocking wire thrust up the nostrils has long been used with occasional success, to get rid of the hydatid; but the use of the trocar and canula now sold by most surgical instrument makers is much safer and better. The sheep is placed with its feet tied upon a table or bench, and the head carefully examined, when a soft place may often be detected, indicating that the hydatid lies underneath. A portion of the skin is dissected back and the trocar and canula introduced, when the hydatid will often come away as the trocar is withdrawn." Mr Dun says "that, should the trocar fail to extract it, it must be drawn to the surface by a small syringe made for the purpose. Furthermore, the wound, after the removal of the hydatid, must be treated with a cold water dressing."

All cattle similarly affected should be treated as above.

=STUR'GEON.= Several species of _Acipenser_ pa.s.s under this name. The common sturgeon is the _Acipenser sturio_ (Linn.). The roe is made into 'caviare,' the swimming-bladder into 'isingla.s.s.'

=STY.= _Syn._ STYE, STIAN; HORDEOLUM, L. A small inflamed tumour, or boil, at the edge of the eyelid, somewhat resembling a barleycorn. It is usually recommended to promote its maturation by warm applications, since "the stye, like other furunculous inflammations, forms an exception to the general rule, that the best mode in which inflammatory swellings can end is resolution."

=STYP'TICS.= _Syn._ STYPTICA, L. Substances which arrest local bleeding.

Creasote, tannic acid, alcohol, alum, and most of the astringent salts, belong to this cla.s.s.

=Styptic, Brocchieri's.= A nostrum consisting of the water distilled from pine tops.

=Styptic, Eaton's.= A solution of sulphate disguised by the addition of some unimportant substances. "Helvetius's styptic was for a long time employed under this t.i.tle." (Paris.)

=Styptic Helvetius's.= _Syn._ STYPTIc.u.m HELVETII, L. Iron filings (fine), and cream of tartar, mixed to a proper consistence with French brandy.

See POWDER, HELVETIUS'S.

=STY'RAX.= _Syn._ STORAX, STORAX BALSAM; STYRAX (Ph. L., & E.), L. "The liquid balsam of an uncertain plant." (Ph. L.) The "balsamic exudation of _Styrax officinale_, Linn." (Ph. E.), or cane storax tree. Two or three varieties are known in commerce:--Liquid storax (_styrax liquida_), lump of red storax (_s. in ma.s.sis_), which is generally very impure; storax in tears (_s. in lachrymis_), and storax in reeds (_s. calamita_). The last are now seldom met with in trade.

PREPARED STORAX (_styrax colata_; _s. praeparata_, B. P., Ph. L.) is obtained by dissolving storax, 1 lb., in rectified spirit, 4 pints, by a gentle heat, straining the solution through linen, distilling off greater part of the spirit, and evaporating what is left to a proper consistence by the heat of a water bath. It is less fragrant than the raw drug.

Storax is stimulant, expectorant, and nervine. It was formerly much used in menstrual obstructions, phthisis, coughs, asthmas, and other breath diseases. It is now chiefly used as a perfume.--_Dose_, 6 to 20 or 30 gr.

(10 to 20 gr. twice a day, B. P.).

=A fact.i.tious strained Storax= is made as follows:--1. Balsam of Peru, 1 lb.; balsam of tolu, 4 lbs.; mix.

2. Gum benzoin, 8 lbs.; liquid storax, 6 lbs.; balsam of tolu and Socotrine aloes, of each 3 lbs.; balsam of Peru, 2 lbs.; N.S.W. yellow gum, 7 lbs.; rectified spirit, 7 gall.; digest, with frequent agitation, for a fortnight, strain and distil off the spirit (about 5-1/2 galls.) until the residuum has a proper consistence. _Prod._ 28 lbs.

3. Liquid storax, 1 oz.; Socotrine aloes, 1/4 lb.; balsam of tolu, 2 lbs.; rectified spirit, q. s.

=SUB-.= See NOMENCLATURE and SALTS.

=SU'BERIC ACID.= Obtained by boiling rasped cork for some time in nitric acid.

=SUBLIMA'TION.= The process by which volatile substances are reduced to the state of vapour by heat, and again condensed in the solid form. It differs from ordinary distillation in being confined to dry solid substances, and in the heat employed being, in general, much greater.

=SUB'STANTIVE COLOURS=, in the art of dyeing, are such as impart their tints to cloth and yarns without the intervention of a mordant; in contradistinction to adjective colours, which require to be fixed by certain 'intermedes,' or substances which have a joint affinity for the colouring matter and the material to be dyed.

=SUCCIN'IC ACID.= C_{4}H_{4}O_{4}H_{2}. _Syn._ ACIDUM SUCCINIc.u.m. _Prep._ From amber, in coa.r.s.e powder, mixed with an equal weight of sand, and distilled by a gradually increased heat; or from the impure acid obtained during the distillation of oil of amber; the product in both cases being purified by wrapping it in bibulous paper, and submitting it to strong pressure, to remove the oil, and then resubliming it.

From malic acid, by fermentation, or by digestion with hydriodic acid in sealed tubes.

_Prop., &c._ Colourless; inodorous (when pure); crystallises in oblique rhombic prisms; soluble in 5 parts of cold and in 2-1/2 parts of boiling water; fusible and volatile, without decomposition. Its salts are called 'succinates,' most of which are soluble. Succinate of ammonium is used as a test for iron. Succinic acid is distinguished from benzoic acid by its greater solubility, and by giving a brownish or pale red bulky precipitate with ferric chloride in neutral solutions; whereas that with benzoic acid is paler and yellower.

_Uses, &c._ Succinic acid is antispasmodic, stimulant, and diuretic, but is now seldom used.--_Dose_, 5 to 15 gr.