PHARMACY  OF  THE  CINCHONAS. 
407 
but  a  large  proportion  is  deposited  on  cooling.  When  dissolved 
in  an  equal  weight  of  Glycerin  this  dense  solution  is  soluble  in 
all  proportions  in  Alcohol,  Diluted  Alcohol,  Brandy  and  Whis- 
key, but  makes  a  turbid  solution  with  wines.  The  permanence 
of  these  solutions  cannot  of  course  be  determined  within  the 
few  weeks  embraced  in  these  experiments. 
From  these  results,  affecting  the  pharmaceutical  management 
alone,  (having  established  the  chemical  and  physical  equality  of 
the  two  menstrua,)  it  will  probably  be  admitted  by  all,  that 
Alcohol  is  the  best  menstruum  for  pharmaceutical  use  with  the 
Cinchonas,  and  this  point  is  considered  by  the  writer  as  es- 
tablished. 
The  advantages  of  Glycerin  over  Sugar  are  too  apparent  and 
too  decided  to  admit  of  doubt,  or  to  warrant  any  farther  detail, 
and  it  is  considered  that  nothing  short  of  some  unexpected  de- 
velopment of  time  in  the  keeping  of  the  preparations  can  over- 
turn the  conclusions  of  Mr.  A.  B.  Taylor  on  this  point,  and 
these  may  therefore  be  accepted  as  also  established. 
Then  the  only  notable  objection  to  reducing  the  volume  of 
the  fluid  extract  to  an  accordance  with  the  fluid  extracts  in 
general,  is  that  it  doubles  the  strength  of  a  preparation  now 
pretty  well  known  and  in  established  use,  a  change  always  very 
objectionable,  though  in  this  instance  not  dangerous,  whilst  it  is 
supported  by  considerations  of  convenience,  economy,  and 
uniformity,  and  by  the  increased  probability  of  being  beyond 
future  change  or  discredit.  Taking  all  the  circumstances  into 
consideration,  the  writer  recommends  the  next  Committee  of 
Final  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  to  adopt  these  changes, 
provided  the  preparations  keep  well ;  and  to  test  this  last 
point,  a  set  of  specimens  are  preserved  by  the  writer,  duly 
labeled  with  references  to  this  paper,  and  these  specimens  are  how 
placed  at  the  service  of  the  future  Committee  of  1870,  in  case  of 
casualty  to  the  writer.  Portions  of  the  preparations  have  also 
been  placed  in  the  hands  of  judicious  physicians  for  critical  trial 
in  practice. 
It  now  remains  only  to  give  the  detailed  formulas  which  are 
based  upon  the  foregoing  observations  and  deductions,  with  the 
necessary  comments  upon  their  practical  application.  These  are 
given  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  found  in  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
