32 
Maceration  and  Percolation. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\    January,  1910. 
weight,  while  the  "  Verduenter  Weingeist "  of  the  German  Pharma- 
copoeia contains  60  to  6 1  per  cent,  by  weight  of  alcohol.  In  this  test 
the  sugar  of  milk  is  digested  with  diluted  alcohol  and  the  filtered 
liquid  should  remain  clear  after  mixing  with  equal  volume  of  absolute 
alcohol,  and  if  evaporated  on  a  water-bath  there  should  not  be  a 
greater  residue  than  0.03  Gm. 
From  all  the  foregoing  it  would  seem  that  further  study  must  be 
given  to  the  Pharmacopoeia.  While  it  is  desirable  that  a  high 
standard  should  be  set  for  all  medicinal  chemicals,  in  accordance 
with  the  steady  advance  of  modern  times,  yet  the  requirements 
should  not  be  fixed  on  a  plane  beyond  practical  attainment,  and  such 
tests  for  purity  as  may  be  established  should  be  so  well  proven  that 
they  will  show  the  correct  result  when  properly  applied. 
HISTORY  OF  MACERATION  AND  PERCOLATION.* 
By  Otto  Raubenheimer,  Ph.G.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
In  connection  with  this  symposium  held  at  the  oldest  College 
of  Pharmacy  in  the  U.  S.  it  occurred  to  me  that  a  historical  sketch 
on  maceration  and  percolation  might  be  of  interest  to  the  members. 
MACERATION. 
Etymology  of  the  word :  In  Latin  it  is  maceratio,  the  art  of  soak- 
ing, derived  from  macero,  to  make  soft,  to  soak,  which  again  is 
derived  from  macer,  lean  or  meagre. 
This  process  has  been  in  use  from  times  immemorial. 
The  earliest  known  solvents  in  ancient  times,  besides  water, 
were  wine  and  wine  vinegar. 
Wine,  as  we  all  know,  has  been  and  is  to-day  used  as  a  beverage 
by  all  nations,  with  the  exception  of  the  Mohammedans,  being 
prohibited  by  the  Koran  on  account  of  its  intoxicating  properties. 
(I  am,  however,  informed  that  the  Sultans  drink  champagne,  which 
they  do  not  consider  as  a  wine.)  As  a  medicine,  wine  has  been 
and  is  to-day  used  over  the  entire  world,  and  medicated  wines  have 
been  employed  in  ancient  times  and  continue  to  hold  their  place  in 
the  various  pharmacopoeias  of  the  present. 
*  Read  at  the  November  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy. 
