Am'Augr'ig^aTm  ^    Changes  in  United  States  Pharmacopeia.  351 
extract  so  obtained  mixed  with  flexible  collodion.  The  resulting 
product  usually  gelatinized  or  precipitated  in  a  short  time  and 
became  worthless.  The  extraction  with  a  mixture  of  acetone  and 
acetic  acid  now  directed  yields  an  active  and  permanent  preparation. 
In  flexible  collodion  of  the  revision,  by  the  use  of  camphor  and 
castor  oil  in  appropriate  proportions  a  closely  adhering  stronger 
and  more  flexible  film  is  produced  than  that  yielded  by  the  old 
formula  with  larger  quantities  of  Canada  turpentine  and  castor  oil 
and  does  so  at  considerable  saving  in  cost. 
Elixir  glycyrrhiza  is  now  the  official  title  instead  of  elixir  ad- 
juvans,  the  slight  increase  in  the  amount  of  the  fluidextract  of 
glycyrrhiza  directed  only  rounding  out  the  proportion  of  I  to  7 
of  elixir. 
In  modern  pharmaceutical  practice,  emplastra  do  not  play  a  very 
important  role.  The  preparation  of  adhesive  plaster  and  belladonna 
plasters  now  used  can  only  be  attempted  on  a  large  scale  and  with 
special  machinery ;  hence,  formulas  for  these  are  omitted. 
Lead  plaster,  instead  of  being  prepared  by  decomposing  soap 
by  lead  acetate,  as  in  the  U.  S.  P.  VIII  is  now  directed  to  be  made 
by  boiling  with  water  equal  weights  of  lead  oxide,  olive  oil  and  lard. 
If  ingredients  of  proper  quality  be  used,  the  resulting  product  will 
no  doubt  be  satisfactory. 
In  infusion  of  digitalis,  we  note  a  change  of  doubtful  propriety, 
namely,  the  omission  of  alcohol.  The  argument  used  in  favor  of 
this  change  was  that  the  alchohol  played  no  part  in  the  extraction 
of  the  drug  or  the  therapeutic  activity  of  this  preparation  and  that 
it  gave  a  false  impression  as  to  the  stability  SO'  that  the  infusion 
probably  would  not  be  made  and  used  as  fresh  as  it  should  be. 
While  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  the  alchohol"  is  not  necessary 
for  the  making  of  the  infusion,  it  is  nevertheless  uncertain  if  it  did 
not  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  the  formula.  Infusion  of  digitalis 
is  not  administered  while  freshly  made  and  warm  and  in  large  doses, 
as  are  many  of  the  common  infusions.  The  physician  usually 
directs  a  dose  of  from  one  to  four  fluid  drachms2  several  times  a 
day  and  prescribes  sufficient  for  several  days.  The  10  per  cent, 
of  alchohol  formerly  directed  was  sufficient  to  preserve  the  infusion 
for  this  limited  period  and  I  am  not  convinced  that  it  did  not  like- 
2  It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  average  dose  of  the  U.  S.  P.  VIII  was  given 
as  2  fluid  drachms  and  the  U.  S.  P.  IX  now  states :  Average  dose  1  fluid 
drachm. 
