236  ON  SACCHARATED  EXTRACT  OF  IPECACUANHA. 
obviously  become  dry  first,  and  acquire  a  temperature  sufficient 
to  set  up  a  reaction  between  the  sulphuric  acid  and  the  carbona- 
ceous substance.  He  therefore  interrupted  the  distillation  at 
this  moment,  and  after  well  stirring  the  contents  of  the  retort 
continued  it  again.  By  repeating  this  two  or  three  times  he  suc- 
ceeded in  drawing  over  almost  the  whole  of  the  acetic  acid  clear 
and  colorless. 
The  product  thus  obtained,  of  course  contained  sulphurous  acid, 
and  traces  of  sulphuric  acid,  carried  over  mechanically.  This 
objectionable  circumstance  cannot  be  altogether  avoided,  even 
when  pure  acetate  is  used ;  but  both  substances  may  be  easily 
separated  by  the  addition  of  a  little  peroxide  of  manganese  or 
lead,  together  with  a  simple  redistillation. 
The  form  of  apparatus  afterwards  employed  by  the  author  was 
a  basin-shaped  vessel  of  cast-iron,  with  a  broad  flat  rim,  upon 
which  fitted  a  flat  lid,  with  a  copper  dome  in  the  centre,  capable 
of  being  cooled  by  a  stream  of  water.  The  iron  lid  may  be  re- 
moved at  intervals,  when  the  distillation  is  interrupted  for  the 
purpose  of  stirring  the  contents  with  shovels.  He  has  thus  been 
able  to  prepare  about  a  hundred-weight  of  pure  concentrated  ace- 
tic acid  daily.. — London  Pharm.  Journ.,  March,  1854,  from  Jahr- 
huch  der  K.  K.  geologischen  Reichsanstalt,  Jahrg.  iii.,  No.  2. 
ON  THE  SACCHARATED  ALCOHOLIC  EXTRACT  OF 
IPECACUANHA. 
By  A.  G.  Dunn,  late  Apothecary  to  Kings  County  Hospital,  L.  I. 
The  Cephselis  ipecacuanha,  being  a  most  efficient  remedial 
agent,  and  at  the  same  time  a  very  safe  and  mild  one,  has  been 
and  is  still  most  extensively  used ;  but,  owing  to  numerous  adul- 
terations, the  dose  is  rendered  quite  uncertain,  whether  given  in 
pill,  powder,  or  otherwise.  The  tincture,  wine  and  syrup,  are 
likewise  of  unequal  strength,  being  made  after  many  different 
formulae.  The  chief  objection  to  the  powder,  however,  is  its  ab- 
solute insolubility,  thereby  causing  an  unpleasant  mixture  when 
prescribed  with  liquids. 
Taking  into  consideration  these  facts,  and  from  reading  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences,  No.  xlv.  p.  229,  an  arti- 
cle on  various  saccharine  forms  of  medicines,  we  were  led  to  at- 
