July 29, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
83 
and botany ; 4th year, natural philosophy (2nd part) 
and zoology; 5th year, mineralogy, geology, and 
mining. For practical instruction the university 
possesses museums for zoology, mineralogy, conclio- 
logy, and for physics; also a chemical laboratory, 
and a splendid botanical garden, which may rival 
with any other in Europe. The last was founded 
in 1773, and is now under the direction of Dr. A. J. 
H. Vidal; the gardener is a native of Schleswig- 
Holstein, Mr. E. Goetze, who was recently sent to 
the Azores, whence he brought home many exotic 
plants. 
There is also a museum for medical chemistry, 
which is open for pharmaceutical students, contain¬ 
ing in two large rooms collections of apparatus and 
preparations. The dispensary attached to the uni¬ 
versity serves for iwactical instruction; it contains 
rooms for dispensing, the hospitals in connection 
with the university being supplied with medicines 
from here, store rooms and a large lecture-room. 
Dr. A. de Vascoricellas, the director, lectures here 
on pharmacy and materia medica for medical stu¬ 
dents ; the pharmaceutical course in the laboratory 
lasts two years, while the third and fourth years are 
reserved for practice in the dispensary. 
The want of a pharmacopoeia in Portugal has been 
felt for a long time ; true there was a Pliarmacopea 
llegal published by Tavaxes in the last century, but 
it did not keep pace with the progress in science ; it 
was followed by a Codigo Pliarmaceutico, by Dr. A. 
Albano da Silveira Pintro, and in 1838 a commis¬ 
sion was appointed to draw up a codex for medical 
men and pharmacists. The result of their labour 
was the Pharmacopoea Lusitana, but the one now in 
force is nothing more than a revised edition of Dr. 
Albano’s Codex. The Sociedade Pliarmaceutica hold 
their meetings at Lisbon ; one of the leading members 
is Henrique Jose de Sousa Telles. There are several 
pharmaceutical journals in Portugal, the most im¬ 
portant of which at home is the lie vista de Pharmacia 
e Sciencias Accessorias do Porto, while the Archivo 
de Pharmacia e Sciencias Accessorias da India Por- 
tugueza , publicado e redigido por Antonio Gomes 
Roberto, professor of pharmacy at the medical school 
at Nova Goa, Portuguese India, represents the in¬ 
terests of the Transatlantic possessions; it appears 
in monthly numbers, and it may be interesting to 
give the contents of a recent number, as showing the 
position of the profession in the far away countries ; 
they are, analysis of a mineral from the province 
Cauacorea by Cabo de llama, merely showing clay 
and iron p 3 T rites ; a paper on the climate of the island 
of Mozambique, b} r Dr. C. A. de Macedo e Valle; 
several formulas, such as syr. tolutanus, syr. sar- 
saparillie, syr. rhatanke, inf. aur. co. aquosum, liq. 
spir. tolutan., and letters on the medico-chirurgical 
school and on experimental physiology, and finally, 
a report on insalubrity by Sr. Bartholomew do 
Clioras, and on stagnation of saline waters in Vargea 
Cadlem do Bairo Paudi Vaddo, by Dr. F. M. da 
Silva Torres. 
As a special branch of science, pharmacy in Por¬ 
tugal is far behind England, Germany or France, 
and a wide field for investigation is still open, espe¬ 
cially in two directions, viz. in organic chemistry, 
physiological as well as pathological, and in ana- 
lj’ses of mineral waters, in which the country is 
particularly rich. 
FLUID EXTRACTS AND THEIR MENSTRUA. 
BY EDWARD R. S4UIBB, M.D. 
{Concluded from page 65.) 
FLUID EXTRACT OF CONIUM SEED, NOT OFFICIXAL. 
But should be. One hundred pounds of green unripe 
fruit or seed, yield about thirty-five pounds of dried un¬ 
ripe fruit, which when properly dried retain their green 
colour. The best fluid extract of this very tender and 
sensitive drug, is made by crushing the fresh unripe 
seed with a small proportion of stronger alcohol slightly- 
acidulated with hydrochloric acid, and pressing out the 
liquid by a powerful press, and evaporating, without 
heat, by enclosing it over lime, until three pounds of tho 
fresh unripe fruit is represented by one pint of the pre¬ 
paration. 
An excellent preparation may also be made from the 
dried unripe fruit in fine powder, by repercolation with 
stronger alcohol slightly acidulated with hydrochloric 
acid. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF ERGOT, OFFICIXAL. 
Ergot cannot be obtained in fine powder without ma¬ 
terial injury. It should be had in as fine a powder as 
practicable without drying, and this grinding should be 
done at the time when it is to be percolated. Skilfully 
repercolated with diluted alcohol acidulated with one per 
cent, of acetic acid, the preparation appears unexception¬ 
able. A pint of the menstruum, at 25° C. = 77° F., 
weighs about 6824 grains, and a pint of the finished pre¬ 
paration weighs about 7224 grains, giving a difference 
of about 400 grains. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF IPECACUANHA, OFFICINAL. 
This preparation is very much in need of special study 
and research, the present formula being troublesome and 
uncertain in regard to the precipitation of the resin, and 
yielding a preparation not uniform in appearance and 
properties. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF PAREIRA BRAVA, NOT OFFICINAL. 
But should be. This drug from its density is a re¬ 
fractory substance to percolate. It should be in the 
finest possible powder, and be percolated very slowly 
with the mixture of alcohol, glycerine and water. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF VILD CHERRY BARK, OFFICINAL. 
This is, perhaps, the most troublesome of the officinal 
formulas, and requires more knowledge and skill than 
repercolation does. If the menstruum be watery enough, 
and contain but little alcohol, the reaction between the 
constituents of the bark for the production of hydrocy¬ 
anic acid and oil of bitter almonds takes place during 
the maceration, and thus saves the circuitous route by 
emulsion of almonds. The mixture of alcohol, glycerine 
and water is well adapted to this percolation, and yields 
a preparation having much more of the sensible proper¬ 
ties of the drug than the officinal process. It should 
also be made double the present officinal strength. 
A pint of the menstruum weighs about 7540 grains at 
mean temperatures, and a pint of the preparation of full 
strength about 82S0 grains, giving a difference of about 
750 grains. Or, for the present officinal half strength, 
the weight of a pint would be about 7915 grains, with a 
difference of about 375 grains. 
The hydrocyanic acid and oil of bitter almonds of this 
preparation seem to suffer spontaneous decomposition, as 
the proportion, always very small, appears to diminish 
somewhat rapidly. As the physician often needs these 
sedative constituents, they should be added at the time of 
prescribing. 
FLUID EXTRACT OF RHUBARB, OFFICINAL. 
The rhubarb should be in very fine powder, and bo 
repercolated with the mixture of one part glycerine and. 
