48 
METHOD OF PREPARING EXTRACTS AND SIRUPS. 
passes, into the vessel by means of a tube adapted for that purpose. 
Continue the distillation in this manner, until the herbs or roots 
are all as soft as mush ; then remove them from the fire, and by 
means of a screw press, press out all the fluid, until the articles are 
left dry in the press, remembering to add to it the two gallons 
of water which had been used to soften. Place this expressed 
liquor in a barrel by itself, and well closed. In like manner, obtain 
the expressed liquid of each article separately. To prepare a 
sirup : pour into a barrel churn the necessary quantity of each in- 
gredient, together with sufficient molasses or sirup to sweeten; 
churn the articles together, for half an hour, then bottle and cork 
tight. The dose of any purifying sirup thus made, is one teaspoon 
full, three or four times a day, and it will keep well in any cli- 
mate. 
" If, however, it is inconvenient for a physician thus to pre- 
pare his sirups, he can make a very pleasant cordial, as follows : 
take one pound of any mixture required, and in a coarse, bruised 
state ; place it in a vessel, and add to it three pints and a half of 
alcohol, place it over a fire till it boils, then cover tightly and re- 
move from the fire. When cold, pour off the alcohol into a sepa- 
rate vessel, and add more alcohol, merely sufficient to cover the 
articles ; let this stand three days, and pour it into the same vessel 
with the other. To the mixture of roots, add six pints of boiling 
water, and when cold add the alcoholic tincture and six pounds of 
loaf sugar. Let it stand for one week, frequently shaking it, and 
it will be fit for use. Dose ; from a tablespoon half full, to a wine- 
glass half full, three times a day." 
As this subject is of essential importance to the best interests 
of the physician, I have not deemed the above suggestions super- 
fluous or uncalled for, and trust that every practitioner and well- 
wisher to the science of medicine will investigate this subject still 
further. 
