370 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [November 5,1870. 
case, although, no doubt, they would go into solution at 
about the same rate as other substances. 
The Chairman said the remark of Dr. Attfield sug¬ 
gested the desirability of carrying these experiments fur¬ 
ther ; but, whatever might be the result of such re¬ 
searches, it was evidently of importance to pharmacists 
to know that, in case of necessity, they might make an 
infusion in half an hour as well as in one or two hours. 
He was sorry to say that prescribers did not order infu¬ 
sions as much as formerly, because, in his opinion, a good 
fresh infusion, if employed as a stomachic, was much 
better than a tincture of the same substance. He be¬ 
lieved, however, the great difficulty w r ith medical men 
had been the delay which was necessary in the prepara¬ 
tion, which often could not be allowed; and other prepa¬ 
rations were therefore had recourse to. He believed this 
matter was well worthy of the attention of the Pharma¬ 
copoeia Committee whenever they sat. 
Mr. Bass asked if Mr. Barnes had tried the experiment 
of redissolving the extract in the same amount of water 
required to make the infusion; and, if so, whether the 
difference in smell, taste, and general appearance was 
very perceptible, or whether he found much difficulty in 
redissolving the extract. 
Mr. Barnes said he had not made the experiment 
referred to, but in washing out the dishes he found the 
extract very readily soluble. 
Mr. Carteighe said the paper was one of great prac¬ 
tical value, but he believed it was possible to carry the 
experiments further, and, by increasing the quantity of 
ingredients, get quite as satisfactory results in a quarter 
of an hour. It would certainly be a great desideratum 
if any infusion in the Pharmacopoeia could be made in 
ten minutes or a quarter of an hour; and he could not 
help thinking that very often, if they were content to 
waste a little more of the drug, it would, in the long-run, 
be much more economical than waiting so long as they 
were in the habit of doing. 
Mr. Umney said he did not suppose that, in the case of 
infusions made at a very high temperature, the extract 
would be redissolved very readily, on account of the al¬ 
buminous matter being coagulated, but those obtained 
at the temperature of boiling water would probably be 
readily soluble. 
Mr. Tilden said, no doubt the suggestion made by 
Mr. Carteighe was one founded on practical experience; 
but he fancied that increasing the proportion of the in¬ 
gredients, and using a shorter time, would hardly be a 
fair way of altering the mode of preparing infusions. 
For instance, in the case of an infusion of orange or of 
buchu, if such a plan were adopted, the result would be 
very different to what it would if the infusion stood for 
a longer time. A cup of tea that had stood for a long 
time was not exactly the same as one made quickly. 
Mr. Carteighe said, no doubt the thing must be done 
cautiously, but the experiments showed such a trifling 
difference in the most extreme cases that a slight in¬ 
crease in the ingredients would probably reduce the time 
materially. 
Mr. Barnes did not think that the dry extract of 
buchu, if dissolved in water, would represent the infu¬ 
sion, and the same with gentian. 
Professor Redwood said, all facts of this kind must 
be of importance to those engaged in revising the Phar¬ 
macopoeia; and, no doubt, it was desirable to reduce the 
time required for making infusions, but still there were 
other points to be taken into consideration in connection 
with that object. This matter received attention at the 
time the last edition but one of the Pharmacopoeia was 
being prepared; and the whole of the infusions were 
submitted to a careful examination, with the view of 
determining the beat proportion in which to use the in¬ 
gredients, the best time during which to conduct the 
maceration, and the best temperature for the water. 
He was not prepared to offer any specific opinion 
with reference to the points specially alluded to by Mr. 
Barnes ; but he must say he did not consider the shorten¬ 
ing of the time during which the infusion stood was the 
most important point to attend to. Indeed, he believed 
the product might be considerably deteriorated by aim¬ 
ing too much in that direction. For instance, in tea¬ 
making there was a certain specific time, which was 
found to be most advantageous for making a good in¬ 
fusion ; and all tea tasters had come to the conclusion 
that seven minutes was the period during which tea 
ought to be infused. In order to bring out the best 
qualities of the tea, this time should be neither longer 
nor shorter. It was the same with several of the in¬ 
fusions orderd in the Pharmacopoeia. For instance, 
in the case of chiretta it had been found that water 
at 120° yielded a more agreeable infusion, and one- 
which was considered to act better as a tonic than when 
made with water either hotter or colder. The mere 
amount of the extract, therefore, was not the only point 
to be considered, nor did ho suppose that Mr. Barnes 
had confined his attention solely to that. At any rate 
the subject was one deserving of attention, and if it- 
were found that the time could be shortened without de¬ 
triment, there was no doubt that it would be advanta¬ 
geous, but he believed many chemists were under the im¬ 
pression that there was more difficulty in keeping fresh 
infusions fit for use than the facts would fully warrant* 
It was by no means difficult to keep even those most 
susceptible of change, in a fit state for use, not only 
for days, but weeks, and in some cases he had done so 
for months, by properly preparing and bottling them, 
either with stojipers or with cotton-wool in the neck of 
the bottle, so that no unfiltered air could reach the con¬ 
tents. In such cases, therefore, the time occupied was of 
comparatively little importance. 
Mr. Barnes said he was led to make these experi¬ 
ments by having to make an infusion of serpentaria one- 
day, when, the patient being very unwell, it was wanted 
in a great hurry, and he found that by the method sug¬ 
gested the infusion was'made in half the prescribed time 
(two hours) equally agreeable and as good in every 
respect. When half a pint of an infusion which had 
macerated half an hour, was evaporated to dryness, the 
resulting extract weighed and found to be the same- 
weight, or within a centigramme or two over or under 
the amount obtained from the same quantity of infu¬ 
sion which had taken one hour to make,—he could not 
conceive how it was possible to suppose that the one- 
infusion was not as good as the other. 
The Chairman] said Mr. Barnes had chosen a very 
fair way of arriving at something like a definite conclu¬ 
sion ; and certainly, for his own part, if he were to make 
two infusions of the same drug, allowing them to stand 
different times, he should scarcely like to rely upon his 
own judgment in tasting and smelling the results as a 
means of judging whether they were precisely alike. 
He should almost want a committee to decide upon such a 
point. Dr. Redwood had referred to the system of fill¬ 
ing up bottles with fresh infusions, which had been 
adopted over and over again, and no doubt they would 
keep good in the ordinary sense for a considerable time, 
that is to say, they did not turn mouldy or sour, but he 
did not think there was the same aroma as when freshly 
made. That was why he suggested at one time that in¬ 
fusions intended for keeping should have a small quan¬ 
tity of alcohol added to them, which from some experi¬ 
ments seemed to have the effect of retaining the odour 
and aroma. He had known infusions carefully made go- 
bad in twelve hours in hot weather,—senna, for instance, 
—even when kept in a cool place. 
Mr. Bland said the remarks of Professor Redwood 
showed the necessity for caution in the mode of prepar¬ 
ing infusions, and it must be remembered that even if 
they could be made in ten minutes the patient could not 
take the medicine boiling hot. With regard to cin¬ 
chona, he was quite satisfied that in most of the pro¬ 
cesses given for its preparation a large quantity of the 
