178 
ON  ISOMERIC  ALKALOIDS. 
FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  BURDOCK. 
By  Israel  J.  Grahame. 
Some  demand  for  this  preparation,  having  arisen  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  writer,  and  not  finding  a  published  formula 
for  it,  the  following  is  suggested  as  productive  of  a  result  every 
way  satisfactory. 
It  is  believed  that  this  fluid  extract  might  be  advantageous- 
ly substituted  for  that  of  sarsaparilla,  as  a  more  efficient  and 
reliable  alterative,  or  at  least  as  a  valuable  addition  to  it. 
Take  of  Burdock,  in  powder,  No.  50,  .  .  sixteen  ounces. 
Diluted  Alcohol  (Alcohol  4|  parts,  Water  3j  parts,) 
a  sufficient  quantity. 
Dampen  the  powder  with  the  menstruum  and  pack  it  in  a 
suitable  glass  displacer  ;  having  covered  the  surface  with  a  piece 
of  muslin  or  perforated  filtering  paper,  pour  on  the  menstruum 
and  continue  the  percolation  to  exhaustion,  reserving  one  and 
a  half  ounce  of  the  first  runnings,  evaporate  the  remainder 
over  a  water  bath  until  reduced  to  nine  fluid  ounces,  to  which 
add  four  ounces  of  sugar  and  dissolve.  Strain,  if  necessary, 
and  add  the  reserved  portion. 
The  dose  of  the  extract  is  one  teaspoonful,  representing  eighty 
grains  of  the  root — Joum.  and  Trans.  Med,  Col.  Fharm. 
ON  ISOMERIC  ALKALOIDS. 
By  C.  Greville  Williams. 
While  investigating  the  organic  alkaloids  produced  by  de- 
structive distillation,  I  was  struck  by  the  almost  entire  coinci- 
dence of  the  formulae  of  the  bodies  found  from  the  most  opposite 
sources.  Thus  coal,  bituminous  shale,  Dippel's  oil  (bone  oil), 
and  cinchonine,  all  appeared  to  yield  alkaloids  belonging  to  the 
same  series.  But  although  the  composition  of  the  same  alka- 
loids from  each  source  was  identical,  and  even  their  boiling 
points  agreed  as  well  as  could  be  expected,  yet  there  were  dif- 
ferences in  the  smell,  power  of  forming  crystalline  salts,  &c. 
which  presented  themselves  during  the  course  of  these  long  in- 
vestigations, and  at  times  almost  induced  a  belief  that  I  was 
