PREPARATIONS  OF  THE  U.  S.  PHARMACOPEIA ;  1860.  403 
visors  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  accomplish  this  end,  but  unfor- 
tunately the  effect  of  the  presence  of  alcohol  was  not  sufficiently 
considered  in  its  relation  to  the  solubility  of  sugar,  which, 
though  retained  in  solution  for  awhile,  is  gradually  precipitated . 
Prof.  Graham  has  suggested  the  use  of  a  menstruum  consisting 
of  two  parts  of  alcohol  to  one  of  water  with  aromatics  in  sub- 
stance, thus  operating  on  all  and  evaporating  to  one-fourth  of 
the  bulk  of  the  tincture  collected,  and  adding  sugar  in  the  pro- 
portion of  six  ounces  to  the  pint  of  fluid  extract.  The  proba- 
ble remedy  is  either  to  evaporate  the  first  solution  farther  to 
rid  it  as  far  as  possible  from  alcohol,  to  add  the  sugar  in  the 
form  of  a  hot  syrup  made  with  the  evaporated  second  liquid  of 
the  recipe  so  as  to  make  a  pint ;  or,  if  the  alcohol  is  left  in  the 
preparation  then  to  use  less  sugar  and  more  liquid.  The  writer 
has  suggested  the  former  plan  in  his  paper  on  Fluid  Extracts, 
(Proceedings  Amer.  Pharm.  Assoc.,  1863,  p.  239). 
The  reader  will  also  observe  the  absence  of  the  aromatics  of 
Pharm.  1850.  This,  by  unmasking  the  natural  odor  of  the 
drug,  renders  it  easier  to  judge  the  preparation,  affords  a  means 
of  making  the  simple  syrup,  and,  when  needed,  the  aromatics 
can  be  added. 
Extract.  Sarsaparillce  Fluidum  is  a  new  preparation,  a  simple 
fluid  extract,  offering  the  physician  a  means  of  associating  this 
drug  in  mixtures  or  syrups  in  any  proportion  he  pleases.  The 
sarsaparilla  should  be  as  fine  as  a  fifty  mesh  sieve  will  make 
it.  In  this  condition  it  becomes  somewhat  glutinous  on  adding 
the  diluted  alcohol,  but  the  lumps  formed  should  be  rubbed 
between  the  hands  until  a  uniformly  damp  powder  is  obtained ; 
by  then  packing  this  moderately  in  the  percolator  a  dense  so- 
lution passes  as  the  diluted  alcohol  traverses  the  powder,  and 
the  drug  is  exhausted  with  less  diluted  alcohol  than  the  formula 
indicates.  The  same  remarks  apply  to  the  preparation  of  the 
sarsaparilla  in  the  compound  fluid  extract,  which,  unless  the 
other  ingredients  are  all  equally  well  ground,  should  be  moist- 
ened separately ;  but  when  all  are  in  powder,  as  directed,  there 
is  an  advantage  in  mixing  the  dry  powders  intimately  before 
moistening,  which  in  great  measure  prevents  the  sarsaparilla 
