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te1BM^r,n"}    An  Improved  Preparation  of  Ergot.  5  8 1 
NOTE  ON  AN  IMPROVED  PREPARATION  OF  ERGOT. 
By  A.  W.  Postans,  F.C.S. 
Read  at  the  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference. 
It  is  only  right  to  preface  my  remarks  on  this  subject  with  a  state- 
ment to  the  effect  that  the  liquid  extract  I  desire  to  bring  before  the 
Conference  is  what  I  have  considered  to  be  an  improvement  on  the 
process  given  in  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
.and  the  resulting  preparation  is  possessed  of  stability,  activity  and  good 
keeping  power. 
It  is  at  once  obvious  that  however  highly  esteemed  by  some  medical 
men  the  freshly-powdered  ergot  may  be,  yet  a  fluid  extract  on  which 
reliance  can  be  placed  has  such  manifest  advantages  in  convenience  of 
exhibition,  accuracy  of  dosage,  etc.,  that  to  find  one  even  equal  to  the 
ifreshlv-powdered  ergot  is  a  gain. 
In  the  following  observations  I  do  not  propose  to  analyze  the  differ- 
ent samples  of  ergot,  although  that  is  a  most  important  starting  point. 
I  do  not  propose  to  suggest  any  new  method  for  the  preservation  of 
-ergot  itself,  nor  to  assert  positively  to  what  it  owes  its  activity,  and 
the  general  history  of  the  drug,  as  well  as  its  adulterations  and  occa- 
sional admixture  with  ergot  of  wheat,  ergot  of  oat,  and  various  other 
inferior  ergots,  is  so  exhaustively  dealt  with  in  Pharmacographia  that 
I  may  fairly  pass  on  ;  with  the  intimation,  however,  that  I  shall  hope, 
-on  a  future  occasion,  to  give  an  account  of  the  value  of  liquors 
-obtained  from  ergot  of  oat  and  ergot  of  wheat. 
The  process  I  have  adopted  is  as  follows  : 
To  20  ounces  of  freshly-powdered  ergot  packed  in  a  percolator,  the 
extremity  of  which  had  been  closed,  was  added  a  mixture  containing 
ten  ounces  each  of  rectified  spirit  and  glycerin,  and  5  ounces  of  water; 
the  whole  was  then  allowed  to  macerate  for  a  week,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  time  the  percolation  was  proceeded  with,  and  the  subsequent 
•displacement  continued  with  distilled  water  until  the  drippings  almost 
ceased  to  have  any  taste  or  color.  Eighteen  ounces  having  been  col- 
lected of  the  first  liquid,  the  remainder  was  evaporated  gently  in  a 
water-bath  to  2  ounces,  and  then  mixed  with  the  previous  quantity,  so 
that  20  ounces  of  this  fluid  extract  exactly  represents  20  ounces  of 
freshly-powdered  ergot;  and  I  am  told  by  several  obstetricians  of 
eminence  that  it  is  highly  satisfactory. 
In  conclusion,  1  desire  to  point  out  that  the  main  difference  between 
