VARIETIES. 
281 
[In the last Edition of the United States Pharmacopoeia, the Committee 
of Revision and Publication retained the Copyright of the work, in view 
of the possibility of a difficulty of the kind above noticed, so that its pages 
might be open to all medical writers and commentators. — Ed. Amer. Jour, 
of Pharmacy. 
Statement of the Relative Produce of Taraxacum Root at Different Periods 
of the year. — Mr. Jacob Bell, in giving the following statement, observed, 
that it was not the result of experiments made for the purpose, but an 
average deduction from his laboratory-book during several years. The pro- 
duce in November had sometimes been quite as great as that in October 
and December, although on the average it appeared to be less. The gene- 
ral result tended to confirm the opinion of Mr. Squire, stated in an early 
meeting of the Society, that the best time for making the extract is towards 
the end of the year, it being generally considered that the quality of the 
extract is the best when the root is in the greatest perfection, of which the 
amount of produce affords some criterion. 
Produce of extract from 1 cwt. of taraxacum root: — 
Jan. I Feb. I March I April I Aug. I Oct. I Nov. I Dec. 
% I 6f a 6 I 5 I 6 I 9 I 8| I 9 
The Chairman inquired whether it had been ascertained what the nature 
of the soil was from which the roots had been taken, in the several cases 
referred to in Mr. Bell's paper. He (Mr. Squire) had been accustomed to 
ascertain this point whenever it is practicable, for he thought it very im- 
portant to collect exact data of this kind with reference to extracts. Much 
yet remained to be made out with reference to this class of preparations. 
Mr. Davenport preferred using the roots which had been grown in a rich 
and highly cultivated soil. 
Mr. Bell said he had not ascertained what kind of soil the roots had been 
taken from ; indeed, he should feel little confidence in the accuracy of the 
representations made by herb-collectors. He could not account for the fact 
that the proportion of extract obtained from the root was smaller in Novem- 
ber than in October or December, as he considered the root in perfection 
about November, after which time it was liable to deterioration in case of 
frost. 
Dr. Eadcliffe observed, that it had been found in many instances that the 
juices of plants take a downward direction in frosty weather, which might 
to some extent influence the quantity of extract obtained from the juice of 
the root in frosty weather. 
The Chairman said, he had noticed that the juice of taraxacum root 
became more sweet in frosty weather. He considered the root to be in the 
best state for making extract when there was least of the plant above 
ground. 
Mr. Cracknell thought November was the best month for collecting tarax- 
acum root for making extract. The extract made at this period was less 
25 
