316       NOTES  ON  THE  FLUID  EXTRACTS  OP  BUCHU,  ETC. 
the  raw  material,  a  standard  I  think  properly  to  be  adopted  for 
all  preparations  of  this  class,  the  oleo  resins  of  course  excepted, 
and  which  standard  strength  has  met  with  the  approval  of  our 
medical  friends. 
The  specimen  of  fluid  extract  of  arnica  was  made  by  me 
three  years  ago ;  being  intended  for  external  use,  it  could  not 
be  preserved  by  sugar,  and  alcohol  had  to  be  resorted  to.  To 
test  its  preserving  qualities,  I  filled  the  vial  immediately  after 
the  extract  was  finished,  and  it  has  never  been  opened  since, 
until  it  was  placed  in  your  hands,  so  that  no  evaporation  could 
take  place  ;  notwithstanding  this,  a  precipitate  is  found  adhering 
to  the  sides  of  the  vial.  The  same  experience,  I  think,  has, been 
made  by  every  pharmaceutist  with  the  officinal  fluid  extract  of 
valerian.  Mr.  Grahame's  fluid  extract  of  savin  and  the  fluid 
extract  of  ergot,  as  proposed  by  you,  have  the  same  tendency, 
but  both  in  a  degree  much  less  than  any  other  alcoholic  fluid 
extract  that  I  am  acquainted  with.  On  the  other  hand,  I  have  a 
few  fluid  extracts  on  hand  made  by  myself  some  two  years  ago, 
and  preserved  by  the  agency  of  sugar,  without  any  addition  of 
alcohol ;  they  have  been  kept  in  well  stopped  vials,  in  a  room 
where  they  have  been  under  the  influence  of  all  changes  of  tem- 
perature during  at  least  two  summer  and  two  winter  seasons. 
I  shall  be  happy  to  show  them  to  you  at  my  earliest  opportunity, 
you  will  find  them  neither  fermented  nor  the  sugar  crystallized ; 
their  appearance  is  still  unobjectionable,  but  as  I  have  not  un- 
corked the  vials  for  probably  over  a  year,  I  cannot  at  present 
speak  of  their  other  sensible  properties. 
I  remain,  yours,  very  respectfully, 
J.  M.  Maisch.* 
*  Note  by  the  Editor. — Some  months  ago,  Mr.  Maisch  having  presented 
us  with  samples  of  several  fluid  extracts,  which  appear  to  possess  decided 
merit,  so  far  as  judged  by  their  sensible  properties,  we  requested  to  have 
notes  of  the  formulae  used,  and,  though  intended  for  private  information 
in  connection  with  some  labor  in  the  same  direction  for  the  Association, 
injustice  to  the  writer  we  have,  with  his  consent,  printed  the  letter,  so 
that  others  similarly  engaged  may  avail  themselves  of  the  suggestions,  if  ap- 
proved. Theoretically  there  seems  to  be  too  much  alcohol  to  enable  the 
sugar  to  be  retained,  yet  in  only  the  extract  of  buchu  has  any  crystalliza- 
tion occurred  ;  owing  to  the  greater  sp.  gr.  of  the  these  syrupy  extracts, 
-the  tendency  of  the  separated  oleo-resinous  matter  is  to  the  surface  ;  all 
