220 
BEITISH PPIAKMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
more convenient exhaustion of vegetable substances in a minimum quantity 
of water, having proved very satisfactory in the preparation of infusum cin- 
chonae spissatum, and other allied liquors of ordinary and extensive use in 
pharmacy, I have thought it worthy of a few remarks at the present meeting, 
I do not desire to see Pharmaceutical Chemists become manufacturers, but I 
strongly believe that the natural mode of advancing the practice of pharmacy 
amongst the many in our profession is to give them a practical interest in the 
processes of the art, beginning with the most simple ; and that the commu¬ 
nication of simple forms of apparatus which will have the ad.vantage of ren¬ 
dering ordinary processes easy and profitable, is one of the best means ot 
attaining this object. I may take this opportunity of saying that the esta¬ 
blishment of a Museum of Pharmaceutical Apparatus at Bloomsbury Square 
has long been an object of solicitude to me ; and I trust that the present ex¬ 
hibition may ultimately result in such an institution, which we may hereafter 
consult with advantage and economy, and the origin of which we may plea¬ 
santly associate with this our agreeable visit to Nottingham. 
The apparatus needs little description to those who have seen the model. 
It consists of a series of eight cone-shaped macerators, each provided with its 
receiver, and the water used for maceration is passed successively through 
the material divided amongst the eight cones—the material being reduced to 
a convenient state of pulverization, and each maceration being continued for 
such periods (varying from 1 hour to 12 hours) as may be appropriate to the 
character of the particular substance treated. 
The advantage of this arrangement is that—with little more water than is 
required to moisten the whole—each of the eight portions receives eight suc¬ 
cessive macerations, which is sufiicient to exhaust even such stubborn mate¬ 
rials as cinchona bark. Other substances are exhausted with greater facility 
and, of course, require a correspondingly smaller quantity of water. If it is 
said that a similar result may be attained by a process of percolation in a 
single vessel, I can only reply that I shall be obliged to any gentleman who 
will teach me how to avoid the practical difficulties of accomplishing this. I 
have utterly failed to do so, and out of these failures, and by successive steps 
I have arrived at the present expedient, which, according to my experience, 
leaves nothing to be desired. 
Subjoined is a table showing the results obtained from the treatment ot 
56 lb. of cinchona bark in the manner suggested. It is necessary to say that 
the progressive increase of density is sometimes affected by disturbing 
causes (e. g. the unequal duration of maceration in certain infusions which 
have stood all night), and that the success of the operation must be estimated 
by its general character, without expecting absolute uniformity in the inter¬ 
mediate stages. 
Specific Gravity oe Inphsions recovered successively from Eight Mace¬ 
rating Vessels, each containing Seven Pounds Pounded Cinchona Bare. 
Quantity 
recovered. 
Macerating Vessels. 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
1st Maceration 
li gallons 
1017-6 
1026-0 
1034-0 
1040-5 
1044-1 
1052-2 
1057-7 
1060-5 
2nd. 
1 
1004-6 
1012-0 
1016-1 
1020-3 
1025-5 
1028-2 
1032-3 
1038-0 
3rd 
1 
1002-9 
1006-7 
1011-3 
1013-6 
1017-1 
1021-3 
1026-3 
1029-3 
4th 
1 
1002-6 
1005-0 
1007-4 
1010-0 
1012-9 
1014-2 
1020-3 
1021-5 
5th 
1 
1002-6 
1003-8 
1005-4 
1007-7 
1009-7 
1012-0 
1014-0 
1016-5 
6th 
1 
1001-6 
1002-3 
1004-3 
1006-0 
1007-9 
1009-9 
1011-6 
1013-3 
7th 
1 
1001-1 
1002-1 
1003-7 
1005-7 
1006-5 
1007-9 
1009-8 
1010-8 
8th 
1 
>y 
1000-9 
1001-8 
1003-4 
1004-2 
1005-2 
1006-3 
1007-8 
1008-0 
Total . 
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