140 
ACETUM  IPECACUANHA. 
accordingly  tried  the  experiment  of  making  an  acetic  solution  of 
the  root,  which  I  did  in  the  following  manner  : — 
Two  and  a  half  ounces  of  ipecacuanha  were  finely  bruised, 
and  allowed  to  macerate  for  twelve  hours  in  five  fluid  ounces  of 
acetic  acid.  Thirty-five  ounces  of  water  were  then  added,  and 
the  maceration  continued  for  twenty -four  hours  longer,  with  fre- 
quent shaking.  The  solution  was  then  filtered,  and  the  residuum 
strongly  pressed.  The  resulting  solution  is  of  a  rich  brown 
color,  very  similar  to  well-made  ipecacuanha  wine,  and  when 
tested,  either  chemically  or  medicinally,  is  nearly  double  the 
strength  of  that  preparation. 
Being  carefully  neutralized  with  ammonia,  and  treated  with  a 
few  drops  of  tincture  of  galls,  a  precipitate  of  tannate  of  emeti- 
na  is  produced,  much  larger  in  amount  than  that  from  an  equal 
quantity  of  ipecacuanha  wine  similarly  treated.  I  have  sup- 
plied two  medical  friends  with  a  portion  of  the  preparation,  and 
they  report  very  favorably  as  to  its  effects,  both  as  an  expector- 
ant and  emetic.  One  of  them  administered  fifteen  drops  to  one 
of  his  own  children,  about  one  year  and  a  half  old,  audit  produced 
instantaneous  vomiting ;  and  in  another  child  of  five  years  old 
the  same  quantity  produced  nausea  and  retching. 
This  preparation  has  several  important  advantages  over  the 
ipecacuanha  wine,  among  which  I  suggest  the  following: — 
1st.  It  is  cheaper,  not  being  half  the  price  of  the  old  prepara- 
tion, and  if  introduced  into  the  Pharmacopoeia  it  would  be  a 
boon  to  medical  men  who  dispense  their  own  medicines,  and 
particularly  to  the  medical  officers  of  hospitals  and  dispensaries, 
who,  from  motives  of  economy,  frequently  use  tartar  emetic  as 
an  expectorant,  when,  if  there  was  any  cheap  preparation  of 
ipecacuanha,  they  would  gladly  and  frequently  substitute  it. 
2d.  This  preparation  could  be  made  of  a  uniform  strength, 
and  might  always  be  depended  on,  whilst  the  wine,  containing  a 
variable  per  centage  of  alcohol,  will  vary  in  a  like  proportion  in 
the  quantity  of  active  matter  dissolved. 
3d.  The  acetum  ipecacuanhce  will  keep  for  a  long  time  with- 
out undergoing  decomposition  or  depositing  a  sediment.-  Ipe- 
cacuanha wine,  however  well  prepared,  or  however  bright  it  may 
be  when  recently  made,  soon  becomes  cloudy,  and  deposits  a 
dirty  sediment.     This  most  probably  represents  a  portion  of  its 
