Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  j 
April,  19 1 8.  J 
Method  of  Cleaning  Digitalis. 
247 
small  proportion  of  number  80  powder  which  may  run  high  in  ash, 
depending  upon  the  thoroughness  of  the  cleaning  process  and  the 
character  of  the  soil  in  which  the  plant  is  grown,  i.  e.,  fine  clay  or 
coarse  sandy  humus. 
In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  many  of  the  ash 
determinations  reported  in  the  literature  for  digitalis  and  based 
upon  examination  of  drug  prepared  from  wild-growing  plants  rep- 
resent low  ash  figures.  It  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  wild-growing 
plants  well  mulched  with  roadside  grass,  leaves  or  other  organic 
material  would  be  protected  to  a  greater  degree  from  inorganic  con- 
tamination than  field-grown  plants  under  intensive  cultivation. 
Fig.  3.  Owens  Superior  Fanning  Mill,  used  for  special  preparation  of 
digitalis  for  infusion,  the  cleaning  of  drug  seeds,  fruits  and  other  purposes, 
Drug  Milling  Laboratory,  College  of  Pharmacy,  University  of  Minnesota. 
Preparation  of  Digitalis  for  Infusion. — A  portion  of  the 
cleaned  digitalis  leaves  was  to  be  used  for  the  manufacture  of  the 
official  infusion.  The  leaves  were  to  be  packed  in  number  10  one- 
ounce-capacity  gelatin  capsules,  each  containing  3.75  grammes,  suffi- 
cient to  prepare  250  mils  of  infusion,  the  usual  amount  prescribed. 
The  U.  S.  P.  directs  that  bruised  digitalis  be  used  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  infusion.  An  attempt  to  bruise  the  properly  prepared 
digitalis,  produced  in  Minnesota,  resulted  in  the  immediate  produc- 
tion of  a  very  fine  powder  due  to  the  fact  that  the  drug  contains 
