170 
Oleoresin  of  Male  Fern. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pbarm. 
I      April,  1889. 
liquid.  Deodorized  benzin  and  absolute  alcohol  both  seemed  to 
answer  very  well  with  the  small  portion  tried ;  but  anxious  to  know 
whether  there  was  a  difference,  I  experimented  further,  and  found 
that  after  dissolving  the  oil  and  decanting,  then  washing  the  sediments 
with  the  respective  liquids  until  the  washings  were  nearly  colorless, 
and  then  drying  the  sediments,  that  the  quantity  of  sediment  from 
the  benzin  was  much  greater  than  the  yield  from  the  alcohol,  had 
more  color,  and  seemed  to  consist  principally  of  resinous  matter,  with 
a  few  white  specks  mixed  with  the  brown  powder.  The  quantity  of 
sediment  from  the  absolute  alcohol  was  comparatively  small,  and  con- 
sisted largely  of  the  white  portion,  with  a  small  quantity  of  the  brown 
powder. 
The  quantity  of  the  oil  from  the  benzin  was  correspondingly 
smaller,  as  the  yield  of  sediment  was  larger  than  that  from  the  abso- 
lute alcohol,  and  consisted  principally  of  the  oil,  while  that  from  the 
alcohol  deposited  after  standing  several  weeks  quite  a  quantity  of 
resin,  which  I  found  to  be  insoluble  in  benzin,  thus  explaining  the 
larger  yield  of  sediment  from  the  benzin. 
As  I  desired  to  separate  the  sediment  I  concluded  from  the  above, 
that  deodorized  benzin  would  be  the  better  liquid,  and  prepared  sev- 
eral doses  in  this  manner. 
But,  after  doing  all  that  I  could  do  myself,  I  experienced  a  good 
deal  of  trouble,  owing  to  the  difficulty  in  getting  a  physician  to  aid 
me  who  would  be  willing  to  experiment  with  his  patient.  However, 
after  several  disappointments  I  was  enabled  to  try  the  virtue  of  the 
overlying  oil  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Frank  Greenawalt,  then  a 
medical  student  in  our  town,  who  administered  the  dose  of  oil  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1887.  The  dose  was  taken  at  6  o'clock  A.  M.,  the 
patient  having  taken  no  nourishment  the  previous  evening  other  than 
a  glass  of  milk,  and  a  glass  of  milk  in  the  morning.  At  8  o'clock,  an 
ounce  of  castor  oil  was  given,  and  between  the  hours  of  12  o'clock 
noon,  and  4  o'clock  P.  M.  about  15  feet  of  tapeworm,  with  the  head, 
was  passed. 
This  was  certain  evidence,  that  there  is  virtue  in  the  oil ;  but  now 
the  trouble  was  to  test  the  sediment,  and  I  experienced  the  same  diffi- 
culty as  before,  but  finally,  after  waiting  nearly  two  years,  I  had  an 
opportunity  to  try  it,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  P.  Brough  Mont- 
gomery, who  administered  the  dose  of  sediment  on  the  evening  of 
February  8th,  1889,  the  patient  having  fasted  during  the  day.  The 
