390 
PHAUMACEUTICAL MEETING, EDINBURGH. 
of theriaca seems to be out of the question; but that may be said of many a simpler 
medicine. Perhaps there may be some principle involved in it, however, not unlike 
that which guided the physician whose prescriptions were very composite, the idea being, 
as he said, that failing all the rest, one chance at least might hit the mark and cure the 
disease. Or there may be some classified antagonistic action produced, possibly some¬ 
what on the principle mentioned by Dr. Paris, in his story of the practitioner who ad¬ 
ministered three draughts to a lady—one to warm her, the second to cool her, and the 
third to moderate the too violent effects of either ! But to return from this digression. 
AlcooJalures. —This name is applied to alcoholic tinctures made with recent plants, 
especially those containing energetic principles which would be injured by drying. The 
tinctures of aconite, belladonna, digitalis, hyoscyamus, and others enter into this group. 
There is also another class of tinctures {Etherolei) in which ether is used as the solvent, 
several of the substances already mentioned being repeated in this form ; thus there are 
ethereal tinctures of digitalis, belladonna, conium, hyoscyamus, valerian, assafcetida, 
balsam of tolu, castor, ambergris, musk, camphor, mastic, and cantharides. 
Medicated Beers.—T\ie?>Q are preparations in which beer is used as the solvent; they 
are chiefly prepared from magistral formulas, and in small quantities, as they are ex¬ 
ceedingly prone to change. The Codex gives only one officinal formula, for what is 
called Antiscorbutic Beer; it consists of the leaves of Cochlearia qfficinafis, the root oi 
Cochlearia Armoracia, and dried fir-tops, macerated for four days in fresh beer, then ex¬ 
pressed and filtered. 
Bxtracts. —The extracts of the Codex are divided into five classes, namely—1. Those 
made with the juice of fruits ; 2. Those prepared with the juices of entire plants, or 
portions of them ; 3. Aqueous extracts ; 4. Alcoholic extracts; 5. Ethereal extracts. 
Syrups. —The Codex is remarkably rich in syrups, having no less than one hundred 
and fifteen, of which, how'ever, only forty-seven bear the asterisk of importance. 
Chocolates —Are medicines of the nature of conserves, having a mixture of cacao and 
sugar for a basis: there are several formulae for their preparation, as for simple chocolate, 
chocolate with vanilla, chocolate with Iceland moss, chocolate with salep (also with 
arrowroot, tapioca, and other feculas), and qjiocolate with iron-filings. 
Gelees. —The jellies of the Codex are of tw o kinds, medicinal and alimentary ; they 
owe their consistence either to animal gelatine, or to a variety of vegetable principles, 
such as pectine, feculse, etc. The formulsa of the Codex are for hartshorn, Iceland moss, 
Iceland moss and quinine. Carragheen, and Corsican-moss jellies. 
Pates. —The pastes of the Codex are substances of firm but plastic consistency, and 
which, though soft, do not stick to the fingers. They consist essentially of sugar and 
gum, dissolved either in simple or aromatic water, or in water containing medicinal 
principles. There are two varieties of pates, transparent and opaque, the difference 
arising in the mode of preparation. The transparent kind is prepared without agitation, 
it is run into moulds, and reduced to a suitable consistence by a gentle stove-heat evapo¬ 
ration. The opaque kind is kept on the fire, and constantly stirred, until it is sufficiently 
thickened ; its opacity is due either to the action of the atmosphere, caused by the stir¬ 
ring, or to the presence of wffiite of egg. Both varieties may be covered with a layer of 
crystallized sugar, which preserves them for a long time; they are then know'n as pates 
au candi. These preparations resemble our jujubes, and are not to be confoimded Avith 
another kind of pates, which are caustic, such as those of arsenic, phosphorus, etc. The 
officinal pates are termed respectively gum arabic, jujubes, pectoral, lichen (Iceland 
moss), and two of liquorice, brown and black. 
Ole'o-saccharures are mixtures or compounds of essential oils with sugar. They are 
made in one of tw'o ways, either by simply saturating the oil with the sugar in a mortar, 
or by rubbing lump-sugar upon the rind of the fruit Avhich contains the oil, and then 
pow'dcring it in a mortar. Oleo-saccharnres are kept in the form of powders, but should 
be miscible with water, so that they may be added to powders, mixtures, or other pre¬ 
parations, Anise, lemon, bergamot, and orange are the officinal oleo-saccharures. 
Saccharures are pulverulent substances, consisting of sugar and certain medicinal 
principles, derived from vegetable juices. The officinal saccharures are those of Iceland 
moss and Carragheen. 
Tableites et Pastilles are solid substances, consisting of sugar and one or more medi¬ 
cinal principles. The name tablctte (i. e. lozenge) is generally applied to those Avhich 
have as their basis finely-pow'dered sugar, made into a paste by the aid of mucilage ; 
