ON  PIL.  FERRI  CARBONATIS  AND  P.  FERRI  IODIDI.  183 
a  moment  believe  it,  since  I,  doubtless  in  common  with  many  others,  have 
for  years  used  hydraulic  and  other  pressure  for  precisely  the  same  purposes 
and  in  the  same  way.  For  instance,  I  know  of  no  way  to  make  the  offici- 
nal extract  of  jalap  with  the  proper  due  proportion  of  watery  extract  in 
it,  upon  the  large  scale,  without  using  Thomas'  plan  ;  and  I  have  used  it, 
and  with  hydraulic  pressure,  too,  for  at  least  four  years  past.  To  moisten 
the  dry  jalap  powder  with  alcohol  and  attempt  to  press  it  is  futile  and 
useless,  because  the  resin,  thick  from  solution  in  a  small  quantity  of  spirit 
refuses  to  flow  out,  and  you  might  as  well  try  to  press  the  white  turpen- 
tine out  of  fine  sawdust  to  the  point  of  practical  exhaustion.  But  after 
the  resin  is  well  washed  out  by  percolation  with  its  proper  solvent,  the 
residue,  no  matter  how  coarse  the  solvent  within  reasonable  bounds,  if  in 
large  quantities,  will  either  absolutely  refuse  percolation  by  water,  or  will 
percolate  so  slowly  that  fermentation  sets  in  long  before  the  prescribed 
amount  of  percolate  can  be  obtained.  The  remedy  is  to  moisten  the  jalap 
(after  the  alcoholic  percolation  is  finished)  and  submit  it  to  pressure  re- 
peatedly, until  the  press  liquors  yield,  on  evaporation,  about  twice  the 
weight  in  watery  extract  that  has  been  previously  obtained  of  alcoholic 
extract.  That  is  to  say,  a  specimen  of  jalap  which  yields,  by  a  critical 
application  of  the  officinal  process,  40  per  cent,  of  officinal  extract,  will 
yield  about  13  or  14  per  cent,  of  resin  to  alcohol." 
We  regret  Br.  Squibb's  unwillingness  to  publish  his  results, 
without  authority  from  the  Committee  of  Revision,  and  believe 
it  would  be  better  to  ventilate  the  subject  in  print  by  giving 
practical  results  as  a  basis  upon  which  to  justify  a  convocation 
of  the  Committee,  if  it  be  possible.  We  have  thus  called  atten- 
tion to  this  subject,  and  shall  be  pleased  to  receive  comments 
from  other  observers  and  thinkers  who  may  be  disposed  to  com- 
municate their  views  or  results. 
ON  PIL.  FERRI  CARBONATIS  AND  P.  FERRI  IODIDI. 
By  P.  W.  Bedfoed. 
[In  a  letter  recently  received  from  Mr.  P.  W.  Bedford,  of  New 
York,  the  following  remarks  occur,  which,  with  permission,  are 
inserted  in  the  Journal.'] 
"  I  send  you  a  sample  of  Pil.  Ferri  Carbonatis  made  some 
three  months  ago,  in  which  the  weight  of  honey  and  sugar  are 
exchanged,  or  in  other  words  three  troyounces  of  sugar  and  two 
troyounces  of  honey.  Mr.  Neergaard  uses  the  proportions  of 
four  of  sugar  to  one  of  honey. 
