ON  THE  DEPOSIT  IN  FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  CLOVES.  47 
Four  samples  are  presented  to  the  Association  for  inspection. 
Sample  'No.  1  is  a  very  fair  specimen  made  by  the  trituration 
process  ;  it  contains  nearly  the  full  amount  of  mercury,  and  but 
•008  per  cent,  of  suboxide  and  -372  per  cent,  of  oxide,  and  has 
about  the  normal  color.  Sample  No.  2  shows  the  effect  of  a 
very  slight  proportion  of  suboxide  of  mercury  on  the  color ;  it 
differs  very  slightly  in  composition  from  the  first,  but  contains 
•08  per  cent,  of  suboxide.  Sample  No.  5  is  a  very  bad  speci- 
men ;  the  pinkish  tinge  is  very  well  marked,  as  it  contains  25*6 
per  cent,  of  oxide.  Sample  No.  7  was  made  by  succussion,  and 
shows  the  characteristic  color  of  a  preparation  so  made — being 
much  lighter  in  color — containing  no  trace  of  suboxide.  These 
four  samples  are  representatives  of  Hydrargyrum  cum  Greta  as 
found  in  commerce.* 
—Proc  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.  1868. 
BrooUyn,  Sept.  Sth,  1868. 
ON  THE  DEPOSIT  IN  FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  CLOVES. 
By  J.  F.  Llewellyn. 
Query  Sth. — What  is  the  nature  of  the  deposit  in  fluid  extract  of  Cloves 
on  long  standing,  made  by  the  process  of  Prof.  Procter,  reported  to 
this  Association?  Is  it  present  in  the  drug,  or  the  result  of  the  oxida- 
tion of  the  oil  ? 
In  order  to  determine  whether  this  deposit  exists  in  the  drug 
or  results  from  oxidation  of  the  oil,  I  obtained  the  cloves  from 
the  inner  portion  of  a  mat  opened  that  day,  ground  and  perco- 
lated them  the  same  day.  The  weather  becoming  very  cold, 
within  a  week  a  deposit  of  about  twenty  grains  was  separated 
from  the  percolate  from  four  ounces  of  the  drug ;  as  there  was 
no  room  for  the  oil  to  oxidize,  it  may  safely  be  inferred  that  this 
deposit  exists  in  the  drug. 
Repeated  efforts  to  sublime  it  failed,  but,  when  continuously 
heated,  long  silky  crystals  effloresced  upon  the  surface. 
*  It  has  long  been  the  opinion  of  several  good  pharmaceutists,  that  this 
preparation,  as  made  by  the  officinal  process,  should  be  abandoned,  and 
a  new  formula  adopted,  containing  saccharine  matter,  as  in  blue  mass.  It 
is  possible  that  glycerin  might  be  used  in  minute  quantity. — Editor  Am. 
Jour.  Pharm. 
