■^"'Marissr'"'}      ^^^^  ^^^^     Extract.  Physostigmatis.  229 
Second  Experiment. — 12  lbs.  peach  kernels  were  broken  up  coarsely 
in  a  mill  and  then  finely  powdered,  the  oil  expressed  (yield,  3  lbs. 
by  weight),  the  press  cake  powxlered,  divided  into  three  portions  and 
treated  as  above,  but  the  distillate  was  separated  as  received  in  portions 
of  10  fluidounces  each,  and  numbered  I  to  VI.  Nos.  I,  III  and  VI 
were  examined  for  hydrocyanic  acid,  and  found  to  contain,  respectively, 
2,  f  and  ^  per  mille  of  hydrocyanic  acid. 
Upon  further  examination,  and  estimating  after  mixing  Nos.  I,  II, 
III  and  IV,  a  water  was  obtained  of  the  required  strength,  i.  e.,  con- 
taining 1  per  mille  of  hydrocyanic  acid.  Nos.  V  and  VI  had  to  be 
rejected,  being  too  weak.  There  was  no  observable  difference  in  the 
•odor  or  appearance  between  the  peach  seed  water  and  that  of  the  bitter 
almonds,  and  the  yield  was  larger ;  the  fatty  oil,  after  being  filtered, 
Jiad  all  the  qualities  of  fresh  oil  of  sweet  almonds,  and  was  bland, 
<;lear  and  bright. 
Summary. — The  well-known  therapeutic  advantages  of  hydrocyanic 
acid  admitted,  its  waning  employment  can  only  be  attributed  to  the 
unreliability  in  quality ;  bitter  almond  or  peach  seed  water  preserves 
its  strength,  if  properly  kept,  for  a  year  at  least,  and  can  be  dispensed 
in  an  invariable,  measurable  quantity,  the  relative  dose  being  ^  to  1 
iluidrachm.  Hydrocyanic  acid  cannot  be  given  without  a  vehicle, 
therefore  every  point  is  in  favor  of  bitter  almond  water  or,  which  is 
in  fact  the  same,  that  of  peach  seeds. 
The  distillation  was  done  in  a  Beindorff  apparatus,  made  by  Wolff 
&  Sons,  of  Heilbronn,  with  a  single  French  disc  burner,  Xo.  2,  and 
when  the  operation  was  under  way  the  gas  had  to  be  turned  off  one- 
third.    The  apparatus  is  on  the  first  floor,  the  cooler  in  the  cellar. 
Covington,  Ky.,  April  16th,  1881. 
THE  DOSE  OF  EXTRACTUM  PmSOSTIGMATIS. 
Bv  Phil.  Hoglai 
On  April  11,  the  following  prescription  w^as  handed  me  to  dispense: 
R    Extract,  belladonnse, 
"       nuc.  vomicae, 
"       physostigmatis,        .  gr.vi 
Make  into  12  pills.    Dose,  one  at  bed  hour. 
As  each  pill  would  contain  one-half  grain  of  extract,  physostigma- 
tis, I  hesitated  in  filling  it,  as  the  U.  S.  Dispensatory,  14th  edition, 
p.  1189,  gives  the  dose  of  this  extract  from  one-sixteenth  to  one-sixth 
