ON  SOME  PREPARATIONS  OF  CALAMUS  ROOT.  113 
which  process  took  place  slowly  but  completely;  the  sediment 
proved  to  be  entirely  composed  of  larger  and  smaller  globules  of 
oil.  I  have  separated  a  portion  of  this  oil  by  means  of  a  pipette, 
and  distilled  it  from  a  solution  of  common  salt  in  a  small  flask ; 
the  milky  distillate,  as  well  as  the  residue,  was  shaken  with 
ether,  and  the  ether  allowed  to  evaporate  in  a  watch  crystal. 
The  ether  from  the  distillate  left  after  evaporation  a  trace  of  vola- 
tile oil;  that  from  the  residue  in  the  retort  left  a  semi-fluid  oleo- 
resinous  mass,  of  a  taste  which  was  at  first  insipid,  somewhat 
resembling  the  taste  of  good  olive  oil,  but  subsequently  reminded 
strongly  of  the  peculiar  hot  aromatic  taste  of  calamus  root ;  this 
latter  product  is  doubtless  the  soft  resin  of  TrommsdorfF ;  the 
quantity  obtained  was  too  small  to  institute  any  further  investi- 
gations. From  the  fact,  however,  that  this  resin  was  but  par- 
tially soluble  in  alcohol  of  .835,  while  a  large  portion  of  it  sepa- 
rated in  oily  drops,  which  were  not  soluble  in  alcohol,  soluble  in 
ether,  and  left  a  grease  spot  on  paper,  we  have  to  conclude  that 
calamus  root,  besides  those  constituents  found  by  Trommsdorff, 
also  contains  some  fixed  oil.  It  must  be  remarked,  that  the 
root  used  for  these  experiments  was  derived  from  our  indigenous 
plant  and  had  not  been  peeled. 
Syrupus  Calami. 
Take  of  Fluid  extract  of  Calamus,       one  fluid  ounce, 
Sugar,  fifteen  ounces, 
Water,  half  a  pint. 
About  one-half  of  the  sugar  is  to  be  triturated  with  the  fluid 
extract  of  calamus,  and  the  mixture  exposed  to  a  moderate  heat 
until  all  the  alcohol  has  been  evaporated  ;  the  remainder  of  the 
sugar  is  then  added,  and  after  the  addition  of  the  water,  the 
whole  is  raised  to  the  boiling  point  and  strained.  One  pint  of 
syrup  is  thus  obtained  which  possesses  the  virtues  of  an  ounce  of 
the  root ;  it  is  turbid  like  the  syrups  of  tolu  and  ginger  prepared 
in  a  similar  manner.  Incidentally,  I  may  remark  here,  that  in 
the  syrups  mentioned,  we  ought  not  to  sacrifice  strength  to  ap- 
pearance; the  tinctures  of  tolu  and  ginger  when  triturated 
with  magnesia,  and  freed  from  alcohol  by  evaporation,  will  cer- 
tainly yield  a  clear  filtrate  with  water,  and  a  transparent  syrup 
on  the  addition  of  sugar ;  but  the  resins  are  wholly  left  behind 
8 
