1 62  Pharmacopceial  Preparations.  {AmAP™%*arm' 
SOME  SHORTER  PROCESSES  FOR  THE  PRODUCTION 
OF  PHARMACOPCEIAL  PREPARATIONS. 
By  F.  W.  B.  Stkdem. 
The  writer  desires  to  call  your  attention  this  afternoon  to  some 
methods  in  use  by  authority  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  which,  in  his 
judgment,  could  be  modified  to  advantage.  It  is  not  his  purpose 
to  pose  as  the  author  of  any  .of  these  modifications  or  changes.  He 
wishes  simply  to  add  testimony  as  to  their  usefulness  and  empha- 
size the  desirability  of  their  adoption  in  future  publications  of  the 
Pharmacopoeia.  A  few  samples  are  submitted  as  specimens  ol 
finished  products  made  by  the  methods  described.  Most  of  the 
processes  outlined  have  been  in  use  by  various  pharmacists  for 
years,  and  bear  the  stamp  of  approval  of  some  of  the  best  men  of 
the  land.  We  will  first  consider  some  of  the  tinctures  of  the  Phar- 
macopoeia/ 
Tincture  Asafetida,  as  you  are  all  aware,  is  directed  to  be  made 
by  maceration  and  then  to  filter,  adding  alcohol  through  the  filter 
until  the  desired  quantity  is  obtained.  This  preparation  can  be 
made  by  percolation.  Select  the-  asafetida  and  reduce  to  a  coarse 
uniform  powder.  Introduce  into  a  percolator  prepared  in  the  usual 
way,  add  alcohol  in  suitable  quantity,  macerate  for  forty-eight  hours 
and  proceed  with  the  operation  of  percolation.  The  advantages  are 
all  those  of  concentration  of  effort,  avoiding  the  necessity  of  filtra- 
tion, reducing  the  uses  of  utensils  and  vessels  to  the  minimum  and 
obtaining  a  tincture  of  reliable  and  standard  quality  in  at  most  three 
or  four  days. 
Tincture  Calumba. — Scarcely  a  month  goes  by  without  the  appear- 
ance of  an  article  in  some  one  of  the  pharmaceutical  journals  relat- 
ing to  this  tincture  and  the  difficulty  of  preparation  when  the  Phar- 
macopceial process  is  followed.  The  whole  difficulty  can  be  obviated 
by  carefully  preparing  the  powder  No.  20  and  proceeding  with  the 
percolation  and  observing  the  precaution  of  packing  loosely,  not 
moistening  the  drug,  as  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Tincture  Guaiac  and  Ammoniated  Tincture  of  Guaiac. — These  can 
be  easily  and  quickly  prepared  by  reducing  a  selected  resin  to  fine 
powder  in  a  mortar  and  adding  the  necessary  menstruum  gradu- 
ally, triturating  constantly.  When  most  of  the  resinous  matter  is 
dissolved,  transfer  to  a  prepared  filter  and  wash  the  residue  and  filter 
