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PRACTICAL  NOTES  ON  PHARMACY.  103 
ties  of  syrup  on  their  sides,  is  improper,  they  should  be  either  stood 
up,  or  inverted.  Last  summer  a  fermentable  syrup  was  introduced 
while  hot  into  two  tall  square  bottles,  nearly  filling  them;  the  bot- 
tles were  corked,  sealed  and  placed,  one  standing,  the  other  on 
its  side,  in  a  situation  where  the  temperature  was  about  80-85°. 
In  one,  a  surface  of  about  three  square  inches  of  syrup  was  exposed 
to  the  action  of  the  small  amount  of  air  contained  within  the  bottle  ; 
in  the  other  about  eighteen  square  inches  were  exposed,  and  in  a 
few  days  the  syrup  began  to  ferment,  and  burst  the  bottle,  while 
the  other  remained  unchanged  until  some  four  or  five  weeks  after- 
wards when  it  was  uncorked.  I  come  now  to  the  formulas  for 
some  of  the  syrups. 
Syrup  of  Ipecacuanha,  as  generally  prepared,  is  very  liable  to 
spoil,  owing  probably  to  the  presence  of  gum  and  coloring  matter 
derived  from  the  root,  and  dissolved  by  the  tincture  prepared  in 
the  first  part  of  the  process.* 
An  alcoholic  tincture  of  ipecacuanha  has  not  near  as  much  color, 
nor  does  it  on  evaporation  yield  as  much  extract  as  a  tincture 
made  with  diluted  alcohol ;  showing  that  there  must  be  some  sub- 
stance which  is  soluble  in  the  latter,  but  not  in  the  former  men- 
struum. The  liability  of  the  officinal  syrup  to  undergo  fermentation, 
is,  probably,  owing  to  the  presence  of  this  substance.  A  syrup  of 
ipecacuanha,  which  I  have  found  to  keep  about  as  well  as  simple 
syrup,  is  made  as  follows  :  Eight  ounces  (Troy)  of  powTdered 
ipecacuanha  are  mixed  with  twelve  fluid  ounces  of  alcohol,  (sp.  gr. 
.835,)  the  mixture  is  allowed  to  stand  12  hours ;  sufficient  alcohol 
is  mixed  in  to  make  it  of  the  consistence  of  syrup,  and  the  whole 
introduced  into  a  suitable  displacer,  in  which  it  gradually  settles 
down  as  the  alcohol  percolates;  a  piece  of  muslin  is  laid  on  the 
surface,  and  when  it  has  settled  down  uniformly,  more  alcohol  is 
added  until  the  filtered  liquid  measures  half  a  gallon.  The  first 
half  pint  that  comes  through  is  reserved  ;  the  remainder  is  distilled 
*It  is  not  perhaps  generally  known,  that  gum  is  soluble  to  some  extent 
in  diluted  alcohol,  if  gum  arabic  be  allowed  to  remain  an  hour  or  two  in 
diluted  alcohol,  the  liquid  filtered,  and  solution  of  sub-acetate  of  lead  be 
added,  a  copious  precipitate  is  occasioned. 
Starch  also  is  soluble  in  boiling  diluted  alcohol,  which,  after  cooling  and 
the  greater  portion  of  the  starch  has  precipitated,  yields,  when  filtered, 
a  very  deci  ded  blue  color  with  iodine. 
