394  Fluid  Extract  of  Jaborandi.         { AmAJ;gu;-^arm' 
proper  effects  of  the  medicine  with  the  preparations  used  by  them,  and 
as  I  know  bv  experience  that,  as  far  as  the  fluid  extract  is  concerned,  a 
convenient  and  reliable  preparation  can  be  made  with  very  little  diffi- 
culty ;  I  deem  it  advisable  to  call  attention  to  some  points  in  regard  to 
physical  characters  of  the  jaboradi  leaves,  which,  I  believe,  will  account 
for  the  failures  that  have  been  experienced  in  making  the  fluid  extract. 
On  examining  a  leaflet  of  jaborandi,  we  find  that  it  is  coriaceous  in 
texture,  and  that,  in  addition  to  a  prominent  mid-rib,  it  contains  a  large 
number  of  veins  which,  leaving  the  mid-rib  at  an  angle  of  about  6o°, 
run  in  a  parallel  line  to  within  a  quarter  of  an  inch  of  the 
margin,  where  they  anastomose.  The  cellular  tissue,  which  is 
covered  with  a  tough  epidermis,  is  studded  with  numerous  receptacles 
of  secretion, which  give  the  leaflets  their  pellucidly  punctate  appear- 
ance, when  held  up  to  the  light.  As  the  result  of  this  peculiar 
construction,  when  the  leaves  are  ground  in  a  mill,  the  woody 
structure  is  readily  reduced  to  powder  or  verv  fine  fibres,  while  the 
cellular  portion  is  merely  broken  up  into  small  fragments,  still  cov- 
ered by  the  epidermis.  If  the  material  be  moistened  in  this  state  with 
the  menstruum,  and  placed  in  a  percolator  in  small  quantities  at  a  time, 
it  will  be  found  in  packing  it,  that  it  will  spring  up  against  the  fingers 
as  soon  as  the  pressure  is  removed,  and  if,  notwithstanding  this  fact, 
the  percolation  is  proceeded  with,  on  the  addition  of  more  menstruum 
the  material  will  separate  into  several  portions  or  layers,  and.  the  opera- 
tion be  thus  rendered  a  failure.  To  prevent  this  separation,  I  have 
found  it  to  be  essential  to  reduce  the  leaves  to  a  moderately  fine  powder; 
but,  as  even  in  this  condition  the  cellular  tissue  was  not  so  thoroughly 
disentegrated  as  to  entirely  overcome  the  tendency  to  the  formation  of 
channels  in  the  packed  mass,  I  furthermore  adopted  the  plan  of  placing 
a  thick  layer  of  well-washed  sand  on  top  of  the  cloth  covering  the 
material,  and  in  this  way  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  satisfactory  percolate. 
The  menstruum  that  I  have  used  to  exhaust  the  jaborandi  leaves 
has  invariably  been  a  50  per  cent,  alcohol,  which  extracts  the  active 
principle  promptly,  as  it  is  quite  soluble  in  both  alcohol  and  water. 
With  the  above  explanation  of  what  I  consider  to  be  the  cause  of 
the  failures  that  have  hitherto  occurred,  I  would  suggest  the  following 
formula  and  directions  : 
