Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume Ii Part 218

=Sodium, Hyposul'phite of.= Na_{2}S_{2}O_{3}. _Syn._ SODae HYPOSULPHIS, L.

_Prep._ 1. Dried carbonate of sodium, 1 lb.; flower of sulphur, 10 oz.; mix, and slowly heat the powder in a porcelain dish until the sulphur melts; stir the fused ma.s.s freely to expose it to the atmosphere until the incandescence flags, then dissolve the ma.s.s in water, and immediately boil the filtered liquid with some flowers of sulphur; lastly, carefully concentrate the solution for crystals.

2. A stream of well-washed sulphurous anhydride gas is pa.s.sed into a strong solution of carbonate of sodium, which is then digested with sulphur at a gentle heat during several days; by evaporating the solution at a moderate temperature, the salt is obtained in large and regular crystals.

3. (Capaun's process.) Boil a dilute solution of caustic soda with sulphur to saturation, then pa.s.s sulphurous acid gas into the solution until a small portion, when filtered, is found to have a very pale yellow colour; when this is the case, it must be filtered and evaporated, as before.

4. (P. Cod.) Dissolve carbonate of sodium, 8 parts, in water, 16 parts; add of sublimed sulphur, 1 part, and pa.s.s sulphurous acid gas, in excess, into the solution; next boil the liquid in a gla.s.s matra.s.s for a few minutes, filter, gently evaporate the filtrate to 1-3rd its volume, and set it aside in a cool place to crystallise.

_Prop., &c._ Hyposulphite of sodium crystallises in four-sided prisms, which, in the dry state, are unalterable in the air; it is freely soluble in water. It may be perfectly freed from sulphide of sodium by agitating it with about half its weight of alcohol; the alcohol dissolves out the sulphide, which may then be easily separated. This salt is now very extensively used in the practice of photography, also as an 'antichlore,'

to extract the last traces from paper pulp.

=Sodium, Iodide of.= NaI. _Syn._ SODII IODIDUM. _Prep._ As IODIDE OF POTa.s.sIUM. This, as well as the bromide, crystallises in clear or whitish cubes, deliquescent, and soluble in water. Used in medicine in the same manner as the corresponding pota.s.sium salts.

=Sodium and Iron, Pyrophosphate of.= _Syn._ SODae ET FERRI PYROPHOSPHAS, NATRUM PYROPHOSPHORIc.u.m FERRATUM. (Ph. G.) _Prep._ Dissolve 20 oz. of pyrophosphate of soda in 40 oz. of cold distilled water, and add, gradually, to the solution, and with constant stirring, 8 oz. (by weight) of solution of perchloride of iron (Ph. G.), previously diluted with 22 oz. of distilled water, as long as the precipitate is redissolved. Filter, and to the clear, bright green liquid thus obtained pour in 100 oz. (by weight) of rectified spirit, wash the precipitate with more spirit, press it between blotting paper, and dry by a gentle heat.

=Sodium Lactate.= _Syn._ SODII LACTAS. _Prep._ Let lactate acid be diluted with three parts of water; saturate whilst boiling with sodium bicarbonate; then evaporate, and run into flakes.

Sodium lactate is a very deliquescent salt. The solution evaporated to the consistence of a syrup deposits flattened prismatic crystals, and stellar groups of needles.

=Sodium, Ni'trate of.= NaNO_{3}. _Syn._ CHILI SALTPETRE, CUBIC NITRE; SODae NITRAS, L. This salt occurs native like ordinary nitre, and is chiefly imported into England from South America. It is largely employed as a manure, in the preparation of nitric acid, and, recently, in the manufacture of fireworks, on account of the comparative slowness with which it burns. It is deliquescent and very soluble in water.

=Sodium, Nitrite of.= _Syn._ SODae NITRIS. (B. P., 1864.) Mix nitrate of soda, 1 lb., and charcoal, recently burned, and in fine powder, 1-1/4 oz., thoroughly in a mortar, and drop the mixture in successive portions into a clay crucible, heated to a dull redness. When the salt has become quite white, raise the heat so as to liquefy it, pour on to a clean flagstone, and when it has solidified break into fragments, and keep in a stoppered bottle.

=Sodium, Oxide of.= Na_{2}O. _Syn._ ANHYDROUS SODA. _Prep._ By burning dry metallic sodium in air. White powder, very deliquescent, and soluble in water, forming pure sodium hydrate.

=Sodium, Phos'phate of.= Na_{2}PO_{4}.12Aq. _Syn._ COMMON TRIBASIC PHOSPHATE OF SODA, RHOMBIC P. OF S.; SODae PHOSPHAS (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.). _Prep._ 1. (Ph. E.) Take of powdered bone ashes, 10 lbs.; sulphuric acid, 44 fl. oz.; mix, add gradually of water 6 pints, and digest for 3 days, replacing the water which evaporates; then add 6 pints of boiling water, strain through linen, and wash the residue on the filter with boiling water; mix the liquors, and, after defecation, decant and evaporate to 6 pints; let the impurities again settle, and neutralise the clear fluid, heated to boiling, with a solution of carbonate of sodium in slight excess; crystals will be deposited as the solution cools, and by successively evaporating, adding a little more carbonate of sodium to the mother liquor till it is feebly alkaline, and cooling, more crystals may be obtained; these must be kept in close vessels. The formula of the Ph.

D. is nearly similar. It is placed in the Materia Medica of the B. P. and Ph. L.

2. (Funcke.) To ground calcined bones, diffused through water, add a little dilute sulphuric acid to saturate any carbonate of calcium present; when effervescence ceases, dissolve the whole in nitric acid, q. s.; to this solution add as much sulphate of sodium as the bone ash used, and distil the whole to recover the nitric acid; the residuum is treated with water, and the resulting solution filtered, evaporated, and crystallised.

_Prop., &c._ It forms very beautiful oblique rhombic prisms, of the formula Na_{2}H,PO_{4},12H_{2}O, which effloresce in the air, dissolve in about 4 parts of cold water and in 2 parts at 212 Fahr., and fuse when heated. As a medicine it is mildly aperient, in doses of 1/2 to 1 oz., or even more; and antacid in doses of 20 to 30 gr., frequently repeated. It has a purely saline taste, resembling that of culinary salt, and is commonly taken in broth or soup.

=Sodium Pyrophosphate (Crystallised).= _Syn._ SODae PYROPHOSPHAS CRYSTALLISATA. (P. Cod.) _Prep._ This salt may be obtained by heating, gently at first, and afterwards to a red heat, crystallised phosphate of sodium in a platinum crucible until all the water is driven off, and the salt has become fused. Dissolve the fused ma.s.s in water, filter, and concentrate until it has a density of 120, and crystallise in the cold.

=Sodium, Salicylate of.= _Syn._ SODae SALICYLUS. _Prep._ Made by neutralising a solution of pure salicylic acid with caustic soda, and evaporating to dryness. It must be purified by crystallisation from alcohol. Antipyretic; given in acute rheumatism.--_Dose_, 10 to 20 grams.

=Sodium Santonate.= _Syn._ SODae SANTONAS. This salt is made by digesting an alcoholic solution of santonic acid with carbonate of soda, evaporating, redissolving in strong alcohol, and crystallising.

=Sodium, Sesquicarbonate of.= Na_{4}H_{2}(CO_{3})_{3}. A salt found native on the banks of the soda lakes of Sotrena, in Africa, whence it is exported as 'Trona.'

=Sodium Silicate.= See GLa.s.s, SOLUBLE.

=Sodium, Stan'nate of.= Na_{2}SnO_{3}. _Prep._ (Greenwood & Co.) Caustic soda, 22 lbs., is heated to low redness in an iron crucible, when nitrate of sodium, 8 lbs., and common salt, 4 lbs., are added; when the mixture is at a 'fluxing heat,' 10 lbs. of feathered block tin is stirred in with an iron rod, both the stirring and heat being continued until the ma.s.s becomes red hot and 'pasty,' and ammoniacal fumes are given off. The product may be purified by solution and crystallisation. Patented. (See _below_.)

=Sodium, Stan'nite of.= _Prep._ (Greenwood & Co.) From caustic soda, 13-1/2 lbs.; feathered block tin and common salt, of each 4 lbs.; as the last. Patented. Both the above are used to prepare tin mordants (about 12 oz. to water, 1 gall.). The stannate and stannite of pota.s.sium are prepared in a similar manner.

=Sodium Sulphate.= _Syn._ SODae SULPHIS. _Prep._ Pa.s.s sulphurous acid to saturation through a solution of carbonate of soda. Used internally for sarcina ventriculi, and externally as an application in skin diseases of fungous origin. Hyposulphate of soda is employed in the same cases.

=Sodium, Sul'phate of.= Na_{2}SO_{4}.10Aq. _Syn._ GLAUBER'S SALT; SODae SULPHAS (B. P., Ph. L., E., & D.), SAL CATHARTICUS GLAUBERI, L. This is obtained as a secondary product in various chemical processes; but it may be easily formed directly from its const.i.tuents.

_Prop., &c._ It forms transparent, six-sided, irregular, channelled prisms, with dihedral summits, of the formulae Na_{2}SO_{4}10H_{2}O, which effloresce in the air, and fall to an opaque white powder; soluble in about 3 parts of water at 60, and in considerably less at 100 Fahr., but at a higher temperature its solubility rapidly lessens; insoluble in alcohol; fuses when heated. It is seldom wilfully adulterated. When pure the solution is neutral to test paper; nitrate of silver throws down scarcely anything from a dilute solution; nitrate of baryta more, which is not dissolved by nitric acid. It loses 555% of its weight by a strong heat.

_Uses._ It is purgative, but being extremely bitter-tasted, is now less frequently used than formerly. Its nauseous flavour is said to be covered by lemon juice.--_Dose_, 1/2 to 1 oz. The dried salts (SODae SULPHAS EXSICCATA) is twice as strong. LYMINGTON GLAUBER'S SALT is a mixture of the sulphates of soda and pota.s.sa obtained from the mother liquor of sea salt.

=Sodium, Sul'phide of.= _Prep._ (P. Cod.) Saturate a solution of caustic soda (sp. gr. 1200) with sulphuretted hydrogen, closely cover up the vessel, and set it aside that crystals may form; drain, press them in bibulous paper, and at once preserve them in a well-closed bottle. Used to make mineral waters, and in certain skin diseases.

Of this salt Dr Ringer says--"it possesses the property of preventing and arresting suppuration, and stopping the formation of pus. Given for boils and carbuncles; it also produces excellent results.--_Dose._ For adults, 1/10th of a grain, mixed with sugar of milk every hour or two on the tongue.

The anhydrous sulphides resemble closely and are prepared in the same manner as the pota.s.sium sulphides.

=Sodium, Sulpho-Carbolate.= _Syn._ SODae SULPHO-CARBOLAS. (Pareira.) _Prep._ Mix two volumes of pure carbolic acid with one volume of sulphuric acid in a flask, and heat the mixture to 280 or 290 F. for five minutes.

Let cool, dilute, and saturate with carbonate of soda, evaporate, and crystallise. The other sulpho-carbolates may be prepared in the same manner.--_Dose_, 10 to 30 gr., in phthisis and zymotic diseases; externally, as a lotion in ozaena and fetid ulcers.

=Sodium, Sulpho-Salicylate of.= _Syn._ SODae SULPHO-SALICYLAS. Mr J.

Williams obtains this salt by treating very pure salicylic acid with about twice its weight of sulphuric acid, then adding carbonate of barium, and decomposing the sulpho-salicylate of barium by sulphate of soda (see 'Pharm. Journ.,' Sept. 30th, 1876).

=Sodium Sulphovinate.= _Syn._ SODII SULPHOVINAS. _Prep._ Sulphovinic acid is first prepared by pouring gradually, with great care, and increasingly stirring with a gla.s.s rod, 1000 grams of 60 sulphuric acid into 1000 grams of rectified 96 alcohol. The mixture is left for some hours in contact, then diluted with 4 litres of distilled water, and afterwards saturated with pure barium carbonate.

When the saturation is complete the barium sulphate is allowed to deposit on a filter. The solution of barium sulphovinate is then decomposed with pure carbonate of soda until it ceases to give a precipitate.

The liquid, evaporated in a water bath, is left to crystallise. If necessary the crystals are purified by recrystallisation. They should be kept in well-closed flasks.

Sodium sulphovinate crystallises in hexagonal tables, which are slightly unctuous to the touch, and very soluble in water and in alcohol. If heated in a capsule they give off, at 120, the alcohol which they contain in combination. They become gradually deprived of bitterness. Sodium sulphovinate ought not to contain sulphuric acid, nor have an acid taste.

It should not be precipitated by barium chloride, and especially by soluble sulphates. The possession of either of these properties is a proof of faulty preparation, and that a portion of the sulphovinic acid has been decomposed. In such a case it should be rejected.

Sulphovinate of soda is said to be a very effective, and by no means unpleasant, saline aperient, and to be unattended with subsequent constipation. The dose is from 5 to 6 dr.

=Sodium, Tartrate of, and Pota.s.sium.= KNaC_{4}H_{4}O_{6}.4Aq. _Syn._ TARTRATE OF POTa.s.sA AND SODA, ROCh.e.l.lE SALT, SEIGNETTE'S S., TARTARISED SODA; SODae TARTARATA (B. P.), SODae, POTa.s.sIO-TARTRAS (Ph. L.), SODae ET POTa.s.sae TARTRAS (Ph. E. & D.), SODA TARTARIZATA,, L. _Prep._ (Ph. L.

1836.) Take of carbonate of sodium, 12 oz.; boiling water, 2 quarts; dissolve, and add, gradually, of powdered bitartrate of pota.s.sium, 16 oz.

(or q. s.); strain, evaporate to a pellicle, and set it aside to crystallise; dry the resulting crystals, and evaporate the mother liquor that it may yield more of them. The formulae of the other colleges are nearly similar.

_Prop., &c._ Large, transparent, hard, right rhombic prisms, often occurring in halves; slightly efflorescent; soluble in 5 parts of water at 60 Fahr. Its "solution neither changes the colour of litmus nor of turmeric. On the addition of sulphuric acid, bitartrate of pota.s.sium is thrown down; on adding either nitrate of silver or chloride of barium nothing is thrown down, or only what is redissolved by the addition of water." (Ph. L.) By heat it yields a mixture of the pure carbonates of pota.s.sium and sodium.

Pota.s.sio-tartrate of sodium is a mild and cooling laxative.--_Dose_, 1/4 to 1 oz., largely diluted with water. It forms the basis of the popular aperient called SEIDLITZ POWDERS.

=Sodium, Vale"rianate of.= NaC_{5}H_{6}O_{2}. _Syn._ SODae VALERIANAS (Ph.

D.), L. _Prep._(Ph. D.) Dilute oil of vitriol, 6-1/2 fl. oz., with water, 1/2 pint; then dissolve of powdered b.i.+.c.hromate of pota.s.sium, 9 oz., with the aid of heat, in water, 3-1/3 pints; when both solutions have cooled, put them into a matra.s.s, and having added of fusel oil (alcohol amylic.u.m--Ph. D.) 4 fl. oz., shake them together repeatedly until the temperature, which first rises to 150, has fallen to 80 or 90 Fahr.; a condenser being connected, next apply heat so as to distil over about 4 pints of liquid; saturate this exactly with a pint, or q. s., of solution of caustic soda, separate the liquid from the oil which floats upon the surface, and evaporate it until the residual salt is partially liquefied; the heat being now withdrawn, and the salt concreted, this last, whilst still warm, is to be divided into fragments, and preserved in well-stopped bottles.

_Obs._ This salt is intended to be used in the preparation of the VALERIANATES OF IRON, QUININE, and ZINC.

=SOILS.= These are cla.s.sified by agriculturists according to their chief ingredients, as loamy, clayey, sandy, chalky, and peaty soils. Of these the first is the best for most purposes, but the others may be improved by the addition of the mineral const.i.tuents of which they are deficient. Sand and lime or chalk are the proper additions to clayey soils, and clay gypsum, or loam, to sandy and gravelly ones. Clayey soils are expensive to bring into a fertile state; but when this is once effected, and they are well manured, they yield immense crops of wheat, oats, beans, clover, and most fruits and flowers of the rosaceous kinds.

The fertilisation of soils is suggested partly by chemical a.n.a.lysis, practical experience, and geological observations. In cases where a barren soil is examined with a view to its improvement it is, when possible, compared with an extremely fertile soil in the same neighbourhood, and in a similar situation; the difference given by their a.n.a.lyses indicates the nature of the manure required, and the most judicious methods of cultivation; and thus a plan of improvement is suggested, founded upon scientific principles.

The a.n.a.lysis of soils may be briefly and generally described as follows:--

1. The general character of the soil, as loamy, sandy, stony, rather stony, &c., being noted, 3 or 4 lbs. of it, fairly selected as an average specimen, may be taken during a period of ordinary dry weather. From this, after crus.h.i.+ng or bruising the lumps with a piece of wood, all stones of a larger size than that of a filbert may be picked out, and their proportion to the whole quant.i.ty duly registered.

2. 1000 grains of the remainder may be next dried by the heat of boiling water, until the ma.s.s ceases to lose weight; and, afterwards, exposed to a moist atmosphere for some time. The loss of weight in the first case, and the increase of weight in the second, indicate the absorbent powers of the soil.