334 
Pharmaceutical  Notes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1887. 
PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES. 
(Abstracts  from  Theses.) 
Fluid  extract  of  Scutellaria,  as  seen  in  the  shops  usually  has  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  precipitate.  Edward  Pennock,  Ph.  G.,  states  that  the 
formation  of  this  precipitate  may  be  prevented  or  considerably  less- 
ened by  using  a  menstruum  containing  5  per  cent,  of  glycerin;  the  per- 
centage of  alcohol  is  not  stated. 
Distilled  water  of  witchhazel. — John  Keifer,  Ph.  G.,  obtained  from 
a  large  distiller  in  Connecticut  particulars  as  to  the  manufacture  of 
the  distillate,  of  which  the  following  is  an  outline  :  The  twigs  of  hani- 
amelis  are  collected  with  the  buds  in  the  fall  and  early  winter,  are  cut 
into  pieces  from  6  to  12  inches  in  length,  and  then  distilled  from  cop- 
per stills  in  the  presence  of  water,  and  usually  by  means  of  steam. 
The  first  portion  of  the  distillate  is  milky,  subsequently  it  is  clear. 
About  a  ton  of  twigs  is  used  to  produce  one  barrel  of  distillate  to 
which  is  added  from  5  to  7  gallons  of  alcohol  as  a  preservative,  a 
pound  of  the  finished  product  representing  from  6  to  8  pounds  of 
twigs.  This  so-called  distilled  extract  is  clear,  colorless,  entirely  vol- 
atile and  has  a  somewhat  pungent  aromatic  odor. 
Myrrh-gum  has  been  experimented  with  by  H.  E.  Emerson,  Ph.  G. 
The  residue  of  myrrh  left  after  the  preparation  of  the  tincture,  was 
washed  with  alcohol,  and  dried,  and  subsequently  dissolved  in  one, 
two  and  four  parts  of  water.  After  straining  the  yellowish  opaque 
mucilage  its  adhesive  properties  were  tried  and  found  to  be  rather  supe- 
rior to  gum  arabic,  since  it  causes  labels  to  adhere  tightly  to  glass, 
wood,  tin,  etc,  Though  its  want  of  transparency  detracts  somewhat 
from  its  usefulness,  it  has  the  advantage  of  keeping  unaltered  for  a 
long  time. 
The  results  corroborate  those  of  E.  B.  Shuttle  worth  (Am.  Jour. 
Phae.,  1871  p.  369)  and  C.  E.  Escott  (ibid.,  1887  p.  69).  Mr.  Shut- 
tleworth  suggested  the  addition  of  a  little  molasses  to  the  mucilage  to 
increase  its  adhesive  properties. 
Chloral  and  Camphor. — A.  G.  Georges,  Ph.  G.,  made  some  investi- 
gations on  the  behavior  of  chloral  hydrate  and  powdered  camphor;  ic 
is  not  stated  whether  the  latter  was  absolutely  free  from  alcohol  or 
other  liquid  possibly  used  in  powdering.  Triturating  together  one 
part  of  the  camphor  and  two  parts  of  chloral  hydrate,  a  colorless  syrupy 
liquid  of  1*280  specific  gravity  was  obtained.  Using  equal  parts  of  the 
two  substances,  the  density  of  the  liquid  was  1*210,  and  it  dissolved 
