Am  jJner'i8P84arm'}       Tasteless  and  Odorless  Ammonium  Valerate.  313 
17  per  cent,  of  moisture);  and  when  the  air  dry  extract  is  exhausted 
with  water  of  not  more  than  50°C,  the  insoluble  residue,  after  being- 
dried  in  the  Avater-bath,  should  not  exceed  25  per  cent.  Calculated 
for  the  dried  extract,  the  limit  of  insoluble  matter  is  30  per  cent.,  and 
the  requirement  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  should  likewise  be  inter- 
preted as  being  for  the  extract  dried  at  100°C.  But  if  it  be  conceded 
that  the  pharmaceutical  and  perhaps  also  the  medicinal  value  of  extract 
of  liquorice  depends  upon  the  glycyrrhizin,  the  percentage  of  soluble 
matter  alone  can  give  no  indication  of  the  correct  value ;  and  a  process 
for  accurately  estimating  the  glycyrrhizin  is  still  unknown. 
TASTELESS  AND  ODOELESS  SOLUTION  OF  AMMONIUM 
VALEEATE. 
By  R.  Bother. 
The  sharp,  unpalatable  flavor  and  repulsive  odor  of  ammonium 
valerate  have  not  greatly  diminished  its  rather  extensive  application. 
This  fact  certainly  indicates  that  the  compound  is  possessed  of  some 
peculiar  merit.  Now,  if  by  some  simple  and  legitimate  means,  these 
objectionable  features  could  be  repressed,  or  favorably  modified,  a 
much  higher  degree  of  usefulness  might  be  expected.  An  elixir  has 
thus  far  been  the  most  agreeable  form  of  administration.  But  it  is 
scarcely  necessary  to  remark  that  the  powerful  and  persistent  repug- 
nant qualities  have  yielded  to  but  little  if  any  modification. 
It  has  been  customary  to  exhibit  the  salt  in  a  slightly  alkaline  form 
of  solution.  Some  elixirs  of  this  salt  are,  however,  to  be  found  having 
a  very  decided  acid  reaction.  Formerly,  when  solutions  of  ammonium 
valerate  were  prepared  from  valeric  acid  and  ammonium  carbonate, 
neutral  and  slightly  alkaline  solutions  were,  as  a  consequence,  more 
in  vogue  than  now.  At  present,  the  elixir  is  almost  exclusively  made 
from  the  crystallized  salt.  When  these  crystals  are  mixed  with  water, 
they  form,  to  a  large  extent,  an  oily  layer  which  floats  on  the  surface 
of  the  mixture,  but  subsequently  dissolves  on  the  addition  of  the  alco- 
hol. In  explanation  of  this  result  it  was  stated  that  water  decomposes 
the  crystallized  salt  into  valeric  acid  and  free  ammonia.  To  obviate 
this  effect  the  salt  was  directed  to  be  dissolved  in  the  alcohol  first,  as 
then  the  subsequent  admixture  of  water  would  not  effect  its  decompo- 
sition.   The  truth,  however,  is  that  the  crystals  are  in  the  main  an 
