^'"^  Ma?ch!^r92o:}     Suggestions  for  National  Formulary.  171 
productive  of  benefit,  but  even  then  it  is  usually  more  practical  to 
merely  obtain  the  yield  of  fluid  extract  by  slow,  careful,  direct 
percolation  to  yield. 
Fluid  Extract  Cubeb. — An  assay  based  on  the  U.  S.  P.  process 
for  the  determination  of  "volatile  extractive,  soluble  in  ether," 
in  the  crude  drug,  might  be  included  in  the  next  edition,  in  order  to 
establish  uniformity  in  the  market  supplies  of  this  fluid  extract. 
The  following  method  has  yielded  excellent  results  for  purposes  of 
standardization : 
Sample  10  Mils.  Place  on  10  Gms.  of  oak  sawdust  contained  in 
a  6-inch  evaporating  dish.  Mix  well  and  allow  to  dry  spontaneously 
for  exactly  six  hours  at  room  temperature,  stirring  occasionally. 
Place  impregnated  sawdust  in  a  bottle.  Add  100  Mils,  of  ether, 
which  has  been  previously  dried  over  anhydrous  calcium  chloride. 
Shake  the  bottle  and  contents  for  four  hours.  Filter  off  a  50  Mils, 
aliquot  and  place  it  in  a  250  Mils,  beaker,  allowing  the  ether  to  evap- 
orate spontaneously,  and  as  soon  as  all  the  ether  is  off,  place  the  beaker 
in  a  sulphuric  acid  desiccator  and  allow  it  to  remain  there  for  ex- 
actly 18  hours.  Weigh.  Then  place  the  beaker  in  an  oven  at 
110°  C.  until  the  weight  is  constant.  The  loss  in  weight  during  the 
heating  represents  "volatile  extractive,  soluble  in  ether." 
A  standard  of  not  less  than  8  Gms.  of  "volatile  extractive,  soluble 
in  ether"  per  100  Mils,  of  fluid  extract  would  answer  all  standardiza- 
tion purposes. 
The  standard  for  crude  drug  is  10  per  cent.,  but  it  is  not  practical 
to  completely  exhaust  the  drug. 
Fluid  Extract  Jalap. — An  assay  process  and  standard  for  total 
resins  might  be  included  in  the  next  edition  in  order  to  establish 
uniformity  in  market  supplies  of  this  product. 
The  following  assay  process,  based  upon  the  U.  S.  P.  assay 
process  for  Jalap  drug,  has  rendered  excellent  service : 
vSample  10  Mils.  Dilute  with  alcohol  to  100  Mils.  Place  20 
Mils,  of  this  dilution  (corresponding  to  2  Mils,  of  fluid  extract)  in  a 
separator  and  proceed  as  in  the  assay  of  Jalap  U.  S.  P. 
As  tandard  of  7  Gms.  total  resins  per  100  Mils,  can  be  recommended 
as  being  commercially  obtainable,  and  representing  the  drug,  Gm. 
per  Mil. ;  the  U.  S.  P.  standard  for  the  drug  being  7  per  cent,  total 
resins. 
