Pharmaceutical Notices. 
285 
The roots are to be contused, and placed in an earthern 
vessel with eight or ten times their weight of pure cold water. 
They are to be permitted to macerate for twelve hours, the 
liquid decanted, and the process repeated till the water comes 
away tasteless. The exhausted roots are then to be pounded 
in a marble mortar with a wooden pestle, till they are re- 
duced to a thin pulp. During this operation much resin will 
adhere to the pestle, and is much increased in quantity by 
adding ten or twelve times its weight of water to the pulp. 
The whole is then to be expressed through a coarse cloth. 
The product is milky, and deposites a little resin and much 
starch. The resin adhering to the pestle and sides of the mor- 
tar is to be removed with an iron spatula, and placed in an 
earthern vessel. The marc is to be a second time pounded 
with an additional quantity of water, and any resin that sepa- 
rates is to be collected and added to the first. 
The resin which is soft, and of a brownish gray colour, is 
far from being pure ; it contains ligneous particles, a little 
starch and extractive. It can be purified by stirring it 
with an ivory spatula for some time in a large quantity of wa- 
ter, the starch, extractive and almost all the ligneous particles 
are then separated. This is completely effected by heating it 
with three times its weight of highly rectified alcohol, over a 
water bath, the solution is to be filtered and the resin precipi- 
tated by the addition of water. The product properly dried, 
is friable, transparent, of a greenish yellow colour, soluble 
without residue in absolute alcohol. 
Kermes Mineral. — The following method of making Kermes 
mineral, for which we are indebted to Liebig, is said to afford 
a more beautiful product than any other. 
One part of dried carbonate of soda is to be mixed with 
four parts of pulverized sulphuret of antimony, and the mix- 
ture melted at a red heat, taking care that no iron instrument 
be used to stir it. The melted mass, is to be poured out on a 
tile or marble, and when perfectly cold, reduced to a fine 
powder. One part of this powder is to be boiled for an hour 
in sixteen parts of water, in which two parts of crystalized 
