394     PREPARATIONS  OP  THE  U.  S.  PHARMACOPOEIA,  1860. 
continuing  the  percolation  with  diluted  alcohol.  The  new  pro- 
cess limits  the  temperature  to  160°  Fahr.,  which,  if  literally  fol- 
lowed, will  sacrifice  all  the  menstruum.  In  the  same  manner  it 
is  directed  to  prepare  the  alcoholic  extracts  of  conium,  digitalis, 
stramonium,  helleborus  and  valerian,  the  two  last  from  the  roots 
and  the  former  from  the  leaves. 
Since  the  publication  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  the  extraordinary 
rise  in  the  price  of  alcohol,  due  to  the  revenue  tax  on  whisky, 
renders  the  literal  observance  of  this  formula  for  these  extracts 
highly  expensive,  as  for  each  12  troy-ounces  of  material  2J  pints, 
or  about  one  dollar's  worth  of  alcohol,  is  lost  in  obtaining  about 
four  ounces  of  extract.  It  is  believed  that  by  careful  and  slow 
distillation  with  a  water  bath  heat  the  alcohol  of  the  second  liquid 
may  be  regained,  or  if  a  vaccuum  evaporator  can  be  used  the 
whole  may  be  separated.  This  points  to  the  importance  of  such 
an  apparatus  being  at  command,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  atten- 
tion of  some  pharmaceutical  engineer  will  be  directed  to  getting 
up  an  arrangement  sufficiently  cheap  to  be  within  the  reach  of 
an  apothecary  who  desires  to  prepare  his  own  extracts.  We  pre- 
sume, with  a  strongly  made  gallon  still,  a  common  exhausting 
syringe  might  reduce  the  temperature  of  ebullition  sufficiently 
low  to  save  the  alcohol  and  avoid  injury  to  these  preparations, 
provided  the  joints  could  be  rendered  sufficiently  tight  in  an 
economical  manner. 
The  alcoholic  extracts  of  belladonna  and  hyoscyamus  are  di- 
rected to  be  made  from  the  powdered  leaves  by  means  of  a  men- 
struum two-thirds  alcohol  and  one-third  water,  instead  of  equal 
parts  as  before,  and  the  evaporation  being  limited  to  a  water  bath 
heat  admits  of  distillation  to  recover  the  alcohol. 
There  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  why  stramonium  leaves 
should  be  treated  differently  from  belladonna  leaves,  being  no 
more  susceptible  to  injury  by  heat ;  yet  we  find  the  alcoholic  ex- 
tract of  stramonium  ranged  with  aconite,  digitalis  and  conium,  in 
relation  to  the  avoidance  of  temperature. 
The  inspissated  juices  of  belladonna,  conium,  hyoscyamus  and 
stramonium  are  prepared  as  in  the  old  edition. 
Eztracturn  Arniaoe  Alcoholicum  is  a  new  preparation,  solely 
