Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
May,  1882,  / 
Practical  Notes. 
243 
«arly  as  1839,  it  had  been  recommended  to  wash  ergot  with  alcohol 
previous  to  pulverizing  it,  but  that  the  proposition  had  been  opposed 
by  Soubeiran,  and  that  last  year  Baudrimont  opposed  the  official 
recognition  of  powdered  ergot  by  the  new  Codex.  Insects  are  not  the 
«ole  cause  of  the  deterioration  of  ergot,  and  it  still  remains  to  be 
proven  whether  ergot  which  has  been  kept  for  a  long  time  in  the  state 
of  powder  has  preserved  its  medicinal  properties  unimpaired. 
Simple  Syrup,  if  prepared  from  refined  sugar  with  distilled  water  or 
with  water  free  from  lime,  according  to  Lacombe,  does  not  need  clari- 
fication with'  albumen  to  become  clear;  while  on  the  other  hand 
ordinary  w^ater,  containing  lime  yields  a  turbid  syrup,  requiring  clari- 
fication.— L' Union  Phar. 
Vinum  Condurango. — Dr.  Albert  Hoffinann  of  the  Medical  Clinic 
of  Basel  again  calls  attention  to  condurango  of  Ecuador  as  a  useful 
remedy  in  cancer.  Of  20  cases  treated  with  it  improvement  was 
noticed  in  40  per  cent.,  uncured  10  per  cent.,  and  died  50  per  cent. 
The  most  advantageous  form  of  administration  was  the  wine,  prepared 
as  follows :  2J  kilos  of  coarsely  powdered  condurango  bark  are 
macerated  for  2  days  in  10  liters  of  cold  water  and  the  infusion 
strained  ;  the  residue  is  again  mixed  with  10  liters  of  cold  water,  boiled 
iov  an  hour,  allowed  to  cool  and  again  strained  ;  the  residue  is  treated 
for  two  days  with  5  liters  of  alcohol,  expressed,  the  alcohol  distilled 
off,  the  residuary  liquid  mixed  with  the  aqueous  liquids  and  the  whole 
evaporated  to  the  consistence  of  an  extract  which  is  to  be  dissolved 
in  2J  liters  of  Malaga  wine,  decanted  from  the  sediment  and  filtered. 
This  preparation  has  an  agreeable  bitter  taste  and  is  readily  taken  by 
the  patients.  Prepared  with  condurango  from  Venezuela  it  has,  how- 
ever, an  acrid  peppery  taste  and  is  either  not  taken  by  the  patients  or 
does  not  agree  with  them. — Schweiz.  Woch.  f.  Phar.,  1882,  No.  4. 
Wash  for  Fissures  from  Frostbites. — Borax  4  grams,  rose-water 
200  grams,  glycerin  50  grams,  tincture  of  tolu  10  grams  ;  mix. — 
La  Presse  Med.,  Feb.,  1882,  p.  30. 
Disinfecting  Liquid,  Fonssagrives\ — Dissolve  ferric  sulphate  500 
^m.,  and  phenol  1  gm.,  in  10  liters  of  water.  Revue  de  Therap.,  March, 
1882,  p.  163. 
Carbolic  tablettes  arc  prepared  b^  G.  Schweitzer  by  intimately 
mixing  20  i)arts  of  powdered  talc  with  50  parts  of  plaster  Paris  and 
10  parts  of  carbolic  acid ;  sufficient  water  is  then  added  to  form  a 
mass  which  is  poured  into  small  paper  capsules  prepared  for  the  pur- 
