AmNov.?if9b3arm  }  Revision  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia.  525 
and  as  an  emulsionizing  agent  tragacanth  with  oil  of  almonds  to 
furnish  blandness  displaces  the  yolk  of  egg.  This  change  is  not 
approved. 
There  are  thirty-three  extracts  official.  The  Pharmacopoeia  of 
1880,  added  in  the  directions  accompanying  the  formulas,  permis- 
sion to  incorporate  5  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  extract,  of 
glycerin  to  maintain  its  proper  consistence.  The  Pharmacopoeia  of 
1890,  in  a  preliminary  note  (p.  XLII),  recommends  10  per  cent.  It 
is  obvious,  that  in  many  cases  this  will  be  entirely  too  large  a  propor- 
tion. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  of  1880  directed  the  use  of  tartaric  acid  in 
the  menstruum  of  all  aconite  preparations,  because  Duquesnel  had 
proposed  its  use  in  the  extraction  of  the  root  for  alkaloid.  It  is 
noticeable  that  tartaric  acid  is  now  omitted  in  'all  the  official  formu- 
las for  aconite  preparations. 
The  formula  for  Compound  Extract  of  Colocynth  directs  that  the 
purified  aloes  should  be  melted,  then  the  alcohol,  soap,  extract  of 
colocynth  and  resin  of  scammony  added  and  the  heat  continued 
until  a  homogeneous  mass  yielding  a  brittle  thread  be  obtained ;  the 
cardamom  is  then  added  and  the  product  powdered.  Starting  with 
purified  aloes  and  powdered  resin  of  scammony  and  extract  of 
colocynth  and  cardamom,  why  not  direct  the  soap  in  fine  powder  and 
reduce  the  mixed  products  to  a  powder  by  triturating.  The  heating 
on  the  water-bath  with  alcohol  to  produce  a  mass  to  be  then  reduced 
to  a  powder  seems  wasteful  of  both  time  and  material.  In  both 
the  Extract  and  Fluid  Extract  of  Conium  acetic  acid  is  directed  in 
place  of  the  hydrochloric  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1880.  Extract 
of  Ergot  is  directed  to  be  made  by  evaporating  the  fluid  extract  to 
a  pilular  consistence  and  not  to  a  definite  weight  as  in  1 880.  The 
extract  of  ergot  should  be  an  aqueous  extract,  yielding  a  product 
entirely  soluble  in  water  and  made  by  extraction  with  water  con- 
taining only  sufficient  alcohol  to  prevent  fermentation  of  the  ergot. 
I  would  suggest  the  following  process  as  yielding  an  excellent  pro- 
duct suitable  alike  for  internal  administration  or  hypodermatic  injec- 
tion. The  ergot  in  moderately  fine  powder  is  extracted  by  percola- 
tion with  purified  benzin,  then  dried  and  then  percolated  with  a 
menstruum  of  1  part  by  volume  of  alcohol  and  9  of  water.  The 
alcohol  is  recovered  by  distillation  and  the  product  evaporated  to 
the  proper  consistence. 
