434  Fluid  Extract  of  Cimicifuga.         { Amsept%87h8arm' 
Dissolve  the  potassa  in  the  distilled  water,  and  allow  the  solution  to 
stand  until  the^sediment  subsides  ;  then  pour  off  the  clear  liquid  and 
keep  it  in  a  well-stopped  bottle  of  green  glass.  The  specific  gravity 
of  the  preparation  of  this  formula  is  1-065,  and  48-02  grams  of  it  will 
take  50  cc.  of  volumetric  solution  of  oxalic  acid  for  complete  neutral- 
ization. 
LABORATORY  NOTES  ON  FLUID  EXTRACT  OF 
CIMICIFUGA. 
By  J.  U.  Lloyd,  Cincinnati,  O. 
(Continued  from  page  15.) 
The  formula  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  carefully  followed,  did  not  yield 
a  fluid  extract  representing  the  powdered  cimicifuga.  The  formula 
suggested  for  solid  extracts,  on  page  1164,  U.  S.  D.,  was  inferior. 
The  operation  of  repercolation  slightly  excelled  the  officinal,  but  was 
surpassed  by  simple  percolation  without  maceration,  which  excelled  all. 
The  experiments  offered  show  that  height  of  powder  exerts  a  direct 
influence  upon  the  extractive  power  of  the  menstruum,  up  to  fifteen 
inches  (beyond  this  none  were  offered),  increasing  the  amount  of 
material  dissolved,  as  the  perpendicular  height  of  the  powder  increased. 
Theory  indicates  that  this  must  be  a  natural  law,  and  the  writer 
believes  that  a  comparison  of  processes,  if  just,  must  establish  this 
point. 
Thirty-four  experiments,  heretofore  introduced,  were  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparing  the  several  processes  of  percolation  under  the 
circumstances  given  ;  and  under  like  conditions  only  can  just  com- 
parisons be  made. 
I  now  continue  the  subject  and  give  two  tables,  in  which  critical 
comparisons  are  made  of  fractional  parts  of  the  percolate  at  each  stage 
of  the  operation. 
The  first  column  of  the  tables  gives  the  number  of  the  percolate 
and  the  amount.  The  second  column  the  grains  of  dry  extractive 
matter  in  each  cc.  after  an  exposure  of  twenty-four  hours  in  a  watch 
crystal,  in  a  drying  room,  temperature  I40°F.  The  third  column 
gives  the  number  of  grains  contained  in  each  fluidounce  of  the  perco- 
late. It  was  obtained  by  multiplying  the  amount  in  each  cc.  by  20/52. 
The  fourth  column  expresses  the  number  of  ounces  the  entire  perco- 
late represented,  calculating  seventy  grains  extractive  matter  in  each 
