436  Extracts  of  Vanilla  and  Lemon.  {^^^S: 
0.2  c.c.  to  0.5  c.c.  The  dilution  of  the  mixed  fluidextracts  and  oils 
with  water  and  filtration  and  subsequent  exposure  to  heat  as  directed, 
likewise  occasions  loss  of  flavoring  and  the  product  has  no  advan- 
tage over  that  produced  by  the  customary  practice  of  adding  the 
mixed  fluidextracts  and  essential  oils  to  syrup.  The  Pharmacopoeia 
could,  with  no  loss  of  authority,  be  made  in  this  to  conform  to  the 
very  general  custom.  As  "  oil  of  gaultheria  '.'  is  very  rarely  obtain- 
able, oil  of  betula  should  be  officially  substituted. 
Tincture  of  Cantharides. — Here  the  addition  of  10  c.c.  glacial  acetic 
acid  to  the  alcohol  directed  for  maceration  is  recommended  so 
that  the  combined  cantharidin  will  be  liberated  and  the  preparation 
represent  the  full  activity  of  the  drug. 
Compound  Tincture  of  Gentian. — The  menstruum  adopted,  6  of 
alcohol  to  4  of  water,  it  was  hoped  would  yield  a  stable  product,  but 
experience  shows  that  the  present  official  preparation  precipitates 
quite  as  much  as  that  of  the  previous  revision. 
Tincture  of  Strophanthus. — The  increase  in  the  drug  strength  of 
this  preparation  from  5  to  10  per  cent,  has  not  resulted  in  doubling 
the  strength  of  the  tincture,  as  the  drug  is  never  exhausted  by  the 
menstruum.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  movement  of  the  U.S. P. 
increasing  the  strength  of  this  tincture  is  contrary  to  the  British 
Pharmacopoeia,  where  the  5  per  cent,  tincture  of  strophanthus  offi- 
cial in  the  1885  edition  was  reduced  in  the  later  revision  to  2^  per 
cent. 
The  official  formula,  by  using  a  menstruum  composed  of  650  c.c. 
alcohol  and  350  c.c.  water,  aims  to  leave  the  disagreeable,  odorous 
and  nauseous  fat  in  the  marc,  but  this  is  not  successfully  accom- 
plished, and  I  would  strongly  urge  the  preliminary  extraction  of 
the  fat  and  oils  from  the  powdered  drug  with  purified  benzin  and 
then  drying  before  proceeding  to  extract  for  tincture. 
COMPARISON  OF  EXTRACTS  OF  VANILLA  AND  LEMON 
AS  SOLD  BY  GROCERS  AND  THOSE  PREPARED 
BY  THE  U.S.P.  FORMULAS.1 
By  M.  R.  Dickson. 
There  is  perhaps  not  another  class  of  pharmaceuticals  more  widely 
known,  used,  and  distributed,  than  the  flavoring  extracts,  particularly 
t Bulletin  of  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  May,  1908,  p.  22. 
