1054 Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters. 
Taste: The taste is bitter and somewhat spicy, like that of 
cnbeb, only more pronounced. 
Consistence: The oleoresin is, as a rule, a rather thin liquid 
when compared with the other members of this class of prepara¬ 
tions. Its consistence, however, varies to a considerable extent 
owing to a difference in the volatile oil content. 1 Some of the 
preparations examined in the laboratory were so thick that they 
could only be poured with difficulty. 
Solubility: The official preparation forms clear or slightly 
cloudy solutions with alcohol, acetone, ether, chloroform, carbon 
disulphide, and glacial acetic acid. It is almost completely 
soluble in petroleum ether. The solubility of the European 
product, which is usually prepared with a mixture consisting 
of equal parts of alcohol and ether, is about the same. 
Specific gravity: The oleoresins prepared in the laboratory 
in 1916 showed a specific gravity of 0.99 + at 25° C regardless of 
whether the solvent employed in extracting the drug was alcohol, 
acetone or ether. The uniformity is attributed to the fact that 
particular pains were taken to evaporate the solvent under the 
same conditions in each case, thereby insuring approximately 
the same volatile oil content for each of the finished prep¬ 
arations. The variation in specific gravity due to a difference 
in volatile oil content is shown in the data given for the first 
four of the laboratory preparations. The commercial samples 
examined also show a variation due to this influence, except, in 
the case of the low specific gravity observed by Procter, which 
was stated to be due to the presence of unevaporated solvent 
(ether). Tables illustrating these points follow: 
Table 49 — Specific gravities of laboratory preparations. 
Sample 
No. 
Date 
Observer 
Solvent 
Specific 
gravity 
1. 
1866 
Procter . 
Alcohol. 
At 76° F 
0.985 
2. 
Ether. 
0.967 
3. 
«• 
“ 
Benzin. 
0.932 
mo 
DuMez & Netzel. 
Alcohol.. 
At 25° C 
0.980 
2. 
Acetone. .. 
0.994 
3. 
“ 
“ 
Ether..... 
0.985 
] . 
1916 
DuMez.... 
Alcohol. .... 
1.049 O) 
0.994 
2. 
3... 
“ 
“ 
Acetone. 
0.999 
4.. 
•« 
Ether. 
0.993 
5.. 
« 
** 
Petrol, ether... 
0.963 
1 A thick preparation containing only 4.71 per cent, of volatile matter. 
1 See under “Chemistry of the drug and the oleoresin”. 
