[G6Tanuki]

Here's what I reckon some of them are:

Argent Nit. Silver Nitrate - used in eye drops as an antibacterial.
Tinct Digital Tincture of Digitalis (Foxglove) - used as a cardiac stimulant
Tinct Stramon Tincture of Stramonium (Datura) - used as a treatment for asthma, and as a painkiller. Rather poisonous!
Tinct Aconiti Tincture of Aconite: once used as an anti-inflammatory to treat gout, but it's also a favourite thing for poisoners to use in Victorian crime-stories!
Tinct Iodi Tincture of Iodine - used as a disinfectant on wounds.
Pot Binoxal
Liq Potassae
Pulv Digital Powdered Digitalis (foxglove) again
Antim Tartarat Antimony Tartrate - used as an emetic to treat poisoning!
Tr Iodi Mit

a "tincture" is basically a solution of something in alcohol, often jocularly used to refer to a spirit such as gin. "have we got time for a swift tincture before the play starts?"


As to Mercury, I remember that in O-level physics the working of an electric motor was explained using an ancient demonstration-piece involving a star-shaped wheel on a spindle, a horseshoe-magnet and a dish of mercury. The magnet fitted round the wheel, positioned above the dish of mercury so one 'leg' of the star touched the surface at any one time. DC applied between the wheel-spindle and the mercury tray created a magnetic field as current passed through the 'leg' of the star, so the star-shaped wheel rotated. Each time the end of the star-leg came out of the mercury tray there was a brief flash and a puff of mercury-vapour was produced; this vapour was allowed to disperse into the room to be breathed by the 30-odd viewers!