18       EXTRACTUM  COLOCYNTHIDIS  ALCOHOLICUM,  U.  S.  P. 
of  seed,  but  also  all  grades  of  condition  and  color  between  them, 
and  judgment  is  necessary  to  decide  upon  the  proportion  in 
which  the  mature  seed  occur  in  different  parcels  or  shipments." 
The  careful  manner  in  which  these  results  were  obtained  and 
recorded,  the  large  quantities  treated  and  the  remarkable  ap- 
proximation of  the  yields  entitle  them  to  credit  as  a  valuable 
addition  to  our  knowledge. 
The  colocynth  used  in  my  experiment  was  unbroken,  gener- 
ally of  good  shape  and  no  excess  of  seeds,  which  were 
mostly  well  matured.  As  the  letter  of  Br.  Squibb  does 
not  allude  to  the  quantity  of  menstruum  used,  the  inference 
is  that  he  employed  the  officinal  quantity.  In  my  perco- 
lations most  of  the  solid  extract  was  obtained  in  the  first 
third  of  the  percolate,  and  the  only  way  to  reconcile  the 
difference  between  our  results  is  either  by  supposing  a  differ- 
ence in  the  proportion  of  soluble  matter  in  the  drug  or  that  the 
menstruum  varied  in  strength  or  quantity. 
When  the  present  formula  for  compound  extract  of  colocynth 
was  adopted  the  Committee  of  Revision  determined  to  use 
scammony  resin  in  lieu  of  the  variable  scammony,  employing 
75  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  scammony  formerly  directed. 
The  idea  of  the  present  pulverulent  form  of  the  extract  was 
suggested  by  Dr.  Squibb,  (see  Amer.  Jour.  Pharmacy,  vol.  v. 
3d  series,  p.  97,  1857.)  The  proportion  of  simple  extract  of 
colocynth  to  substitute  the  original  six  troyounces  of  pulp  was 
also  adopted  from  the  results  of  that  paper,  viz. :  three  and  a 
half  troyounces,  or  about  60  per  cent.  Now  a  question  worthy 
of  investigation  is  to  ascertain  if  the  simple  extract  as  obtained 
from  several  lots  of  colocynth  is  the  same  in  strength — or  is 
variable — and  whether  the  increased  proportion  of  extract  is 
made  up  of  inert  matter.  On  this  will  depend  the  propriety  of 
returning  to  the  use  of  the  extract  from  a  given  weight  of  pulp 
rather  than  to  fix  the  quantity  of  simple  extract.  Perhaps  the 
case  could  be  met  by  using  alcohol  of  85  per  cent.,  so  as  to  take 
out  only  the  resinoid  matter. 
Whilst  on  this  subject  it  may  be  well  to  mention  that  several 
physicians  have  found  fault  with  the  officinal  compound  ex- 
tract of  colocynth  because  of  its  great  activity  and  griping 
