Saline is a term applied to a very popular effervescent powder used as a gentle aperient. It is sold under all kinds of fancy titles, but essentially consists of a mixture of bicarbonate of soda, sugar, and tartaric acid, with a minute trace of Epsom salts or chlorate of potash.
Saline
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 9: Bound to Swansea, p. 106
Source scan(s): p. 0117