PREPARATION  OF  SOME  NARCOTIC  EXTRACTS. 
539 
growth,  just  as  he  has  large  and  small  potatoes  produced  from 
similar  eyes. 
[Since  this  article  was  printed  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  As- 
sociation, Dr.  Thomas  has  made  the  following  further  observa- 
tions in  reference  to  the  imperfect  fruiting  of  the  new  garlic. — ■ 
Editor  Am.  Journ.  Pharm. 
Capsule  supported  by  the  persistent  perianth,  3-angled,  split- 
ting at  the  angles  into  three  valves.  Each  valve  is  subdivided  by  a 
central  dissepiment  into  two  compartments,  each  of  which  con. 
tains  a  single  aborted  seed.  The  capsule  is  3-celled,  each  cell 
being  completed  by  the  junction  of  two  adjacent  valves.  A  care- 
ful examination  of  the  capsules  of  two  entire  heads  failed  to  de- 
tect a  single  perfect  seed.] 
REMARKS  ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  SOME  NARCOTIC 
EXTRACTS. 
By  "William  S.  Thompson. 
In  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1850  the  extracts  of  the  leaves  of 
several  narcotic  plants,  viz.:  aconite,  belladonna,  conium,  hyos- 
cyamus  and  stramonium,  are  directed  to  be  prepared  after  two 
different  methods  :  first  from  the  fresh  leaves  by  inspissating 
the  juice  previously  heated  to  the  boiling  point  to  remove  he 
albumen.  Preparations  of  this  class  are  termed  extracts.  Ex- 
tracts of  the  other  class  are  designated  by  the  prefix  alcoholic, 
and  are  prepared  from  the  dried  leaves  treated  by  percolation 
with  diluted  alcohol.  Of  the  two  processes  the  latter  is  doubt- 
less preferable,  and  when  the  plants  are  gathered  at  the  proper 
period  and  carefully  cured,  afford  preparations  unexceptionable, 
both  as  to  therapeutical  efficacy  and  permanence  of  condition. 
In  England  where  the  cost  of  alcohol  is  so  great  as  to  almost 
preclude  its  use  in  the  preparation  of  extracts,  the  plan  of  pre- 
paring them  from  the  juices  of  fresh  plants  is  extensively  prac- 
tised. In  this  country,  where  there  is  no  excise  duty  on  alco- 
hol, it  is  within  the  reach  of  every  pharmaceutist  at  a  compara- 
tively low  price,  and  no  good  reason  exists  why  the  inspissated 
juices  or  watery  extracts  should  be  retained  in  the  Pharmaco- 
