ON  MEDICINAL  EXTRACTS,  ETC.  171 
moulds  and  spoils  ;  for  it  should  be  remembered  that  we  have  to 
make  a  plaster  as  well  as  an  ointment  with  it. 
But  then  comes  the  question,  Is  the  extract  made  from  these 
other  soft  parts  equal  to  that  of  the  leaves  in  power?  To  ascer- 
tain this,  I  made  solutions  of  the  same  strength,  of  the  extract 
of  the  leaves,  and  of  that  prepared  from  the  other  parts.  The 
solution  from  the  stalks,  &c,  was  marked  A,  that  from  the  leaves 
B.  These  solutions  were  put  into  the  hands  of  several  gentle- 
men for  experiment  upon  the  pupil  of  the  eye  ;  and  by  noting 
the  time  each  required  to  dilate  the  pupil,  and  the  degree  of  di- 
latation, they  were  able  to  ascertain  which  of  them  acted  most 
powerfully.  I  may  mention,  that  I  have  received  reports  from 
Dr.  Garrod,  who  says  that  in  twenty  cases  the  results  indicated 
that  solution  A  possessed  a  decidedly  greater  power  of  dilating 
the  pupil  of  the  eye  than  solution  B.  Mr.  Dixon,  of  Portman 
Square,  says  that  he  has  only  been  able,  from  the  short  notice 
that  I  gave  him,  to  try  it  in  a  few  cases,  but  he  would  say  that 
the  solution  marked  A  was  more  efficacious  than  that  marked  B. 
Mr.  White  Cooper  had  not  tried  the  solutions  sufficiently  to 
satisfy  himself  in  giving  an  opinion,  and  wanted  more  time.  Mr. 
Streatfield  gave  a  decided  opinion  in  favor  of  A.  Mr.  Robert 
Taylor,  of  the  Central  London  Ophthalmic  Hospital,  says  the 
solution  A  acts  much  more  rapidly  and  energetically  upon  the 
pupil  of  the  eye  than  that  marked  B.  Mr.  Wordsworth  decides 
in  favor  of  A.  A.U,  therefore  agree,  that  solution  A — viz.,  that 
made  from  the  stalks — is  the  more  active. 
We  cannot,  therefore,  I  think,  resist  the  conclusion,  that  the 
extract  from  the  young  stalks,  flowers,  and  fruit,  taken  together, 
is  really  the  better  extract  of  the  two ;  and  although  we  may 
condemn  the  practice  of  disobeying  the  Pharmacopoeia,  we 
cannot  but  regret  that  directions  should  have  been  given,  which 
entail  upon  the  manufcturer  the  loss  of  at  least  one-third  of  his 
produce,  yield  a  less  efficient  preparation,  and  one  that  is  of  a 
bad  consistence,  and  that  will  not  keep  longer  than  a  few  weeks. 
In  looking  back  into  former  Pharmacopoeias,  we  find  no  men- 
tion of  preparations  corresponding  to  extracts  from  the  green 
plants  until  1746,  when  the  leaves  of  rue  and  those  of  savine 
were  ordered  to  be  employed  for  the  purpose,  and  were  directed 
to  be  boiled,  strained,  and  evaporated.    In  1788  an  extract  of 
