234 
Compound  Syrup  of  White  Pine. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1896. 
come  into  my  hands.  Therefore,  the  manufacturers  either  do  not 
put  in  as  much  as  they  state  or  it  is  lost  by  evaporation  before  it 
reaches  the  retail  trade.  All  of  the  samples  of  the  syrup  on  the 
market  which  I  have  examined  contain  coloring  substances.  I  made 
my  first  lot  of  syrup  by  exhausting  the  drugs  with  a  hydro-alcoholic 
menstruum,  and  dissolving  the  morphine  sulphate,  chloroform  and 
sugar  in  the  medicated  percolate.  This  procedure  yielded  an  un- 
satisfactory product,  yet  it  was  very  much  like  the  numerous  syrups 
on  the  market.  In  a  second  attempt  I  exhausted  the  drugs  with  a 
menstruum  composed  of  2  parts  of  glycerin  and  I  part  of  water, 
and  dissolved  the  morphine,  chloroform  and  sugar  in  the  medicated 
percolate.  This  method  gave  a  better  product  than  the  first  did, 
but  it  was  not  as  satisfactory  as  the  preparation  yielded  by  the 
following  plan,  which  has  given  the  best  results  so  far : 
White  pine  bark  .  ■) 
Wild  cherry  bark  }  of  each 65 '°  grammes. 
Balm  of  Gilead  buds  ^ 
Spikenard  root.  .  .  }  ofeach 8'7 
Sanguinaria  root   6 '5 
Sassafras  bark  .   4*4 
Morphine  sulphate   0*4 
Chloroform   4*0  c.c. 
Glycerin   150*0  " 
Sugar   700*0  grammes. 
Water,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  1,000  cubic  centimetres. 
Mix  the  glycerin  with  300  cubic  centimetres  of  water.  Having  mixed  the 
white  pine  bark  and  other  vegetable  drugs,  reduce  them  to  a  No.  40  powder. 
Moisten  the  powder  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  menstruum,  and  allow  it 
to  macerate  for  twenty-four  hours  ;  then  pack  it  firmly  in  a  cylindrical  glass 
percolator,  and  gradually  pour  on  the  remainder  of  the  menstruum.  When 
the  liquid  has  disappeared  from  the  surface,  follow  it  with  water,  continuing 
the  percolation  until  500  cubic  centimetres  are  obtained.  Dissolve  the  mor- 
phine sulphate  and  chloroform,  and  then  the  sugar,  in  the  percolate  by  agita- 
tion without  heat,  strain  and  pass  enough  water  through  the  strainer  to  make 
the  product  measure  1,000  cubic  centimetres. 
Each  30  cubic  centimetres  of  the  product  represent : 
White  pine  bark   2*000  grammes. 
Wild  cherry  bark   2*000 
Balm  of  Gilead  buds   0*250 
Spikenard  root   0*250 
Sanguinaria  root   o*  180 
Sassafras  bark   0*120 
Morphine  sulphate   0*012 
Chloroform   0*120  c.c. 
