344  PREPARATIONS  OF  TARAXACUM. 
To  this  I  myself  must  in  candor  plead  guilty,  but  the  expres- 
sion is  likely  to  mislead.    If  it  be  supposed  that  this  whitish 
flocculent  liquid  is  at  all  similar  to  the  milky  juice  that  exudes 
spontaneously  from  the  transversely  cut  root,  nothing  can  be 
more  erroneous.    In  the  first  place,  it  is  not  milky  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term  ;  and  secondly,  it  does  not  half  so  well  repre- 
sent the  medicinal  virtues  of  the  plant.    Pereira  quotes  the  ana- 
lysis by  John  of  this  milky  juice,  and  finds  caoutchouc,  bitter 
matter,  &c.    It  is,  of  course,  to  the  former  it  owes  its  milkiness: 
to  the  latter  its  comparatively  powerful  medicinal  effect.    I  have 
not  found  anywhere  the  proportion  of  caoutchouc,  but  should 
myself  estimate  it  at  not  less  than  25  per  cent,  of  the  dried,  or, 
on  the  average,  8  per  cent,  of  the  fresh  juice — a  very  consider- 
able proportion.    I  have  on  more  than  one  occasion  found  small 
lumps  of  nearly  pure  caoutchouc  adhering  to  roots  that  had  burst 
by  lying  in  water  a  few  hours.    It  will,  perhaps,  suggest  to  some 
individual  to  collect  sufficient  for  a  fair  trial  of  its  medical  virtues 
when  exhibited  in  pills.     I  have  examined  the  expressed  juice, 
and  the  sediment  produced  in  it  by  rectified  spirit,  I  find  a  por- 
tion of  this  sediment  to  be  inulin,  the  remainder  albumen,  gum, 
&c.  ;  in  fact,  matters  of  no  value  whatever.    I  will  finally  sug- 
gest a  formula  for  the  future  preparation  of  a  standard  liquor — 
that  prepared  from  the  extract  I  dismiss  at  once.    Collect  the 
roots  in  the  latter  part  of  September  or  beginning  of  October  ; 
clean  and  thoroughly  bruise  them  without  unnecessary  delay 
(though  a  few  days  lying  in  the  dirt,  as  when  taken  from  the 
ground,  does  not  hurt  them)  ;  express  the  juice,  and  should  it 
not  equal  in  weight  the  mark  left  in  the  press,  add  the  quan- 
tity of  water  requisite  for  making  up  the  amount,  and  after  two 
hours  again  express,  (this  is  to  compensate  for  dry  seasons,  and 
thus  conduce  to  uniformity)  ;  evaporate  the  juice  to  one-half, 
and  when  cold  add  to  it  one-fourth  its  volume  of  rectified  spirit. 
Finally,  filter,  and  cautiously  express  the  residuum.    I  have 
tried  less  proportions  of  rectified  spirit,  but  one-fourth  has  appear- 
ed to  me  to  be  the  least  that  will  effectually  preserve  it.  I 
take  the  liberty  of  offering  the  Museum  a  specimen  of  inulin  I 
have  lately  extracted  from  the  taraxacum  root,  of  which  I  be- 
lieve the  Museum  is  at  present  deficient.    It  was  prepared  from 
the  root  after  the  expression  of  the  juice,  as  to  have  prepared  it 
