174 
ON  MEDICINAL  EXTRACTS,  ETC. 
softer  parts  of  belladonna  had  yielded,  in  1859,  1  lb.  9^  ozs.  of  extract;  in 
1860, 1  lb.  10|  ozs.;  and  in  1861,  2  lbs.  4  ozs.,  at  a  temperature  below  100°  F. 
Mr.  Hills  thought  that  the  rejected  coarse  stems  amounted  to  three-fourths 
of  every  hundred  weight. 
[The  discussion  was  continued  at  an  adjourned  meeting,  the  notice  of 
which  was  published  in  the  Pharm.  Jour,  for  January,  from  which  we 
abridge  the  following. — Ed.] 
Mr.  Squire,  in  opening  the  subject,  desired  to  say  that  nothing  which  had 
been  brought  forward  at  the  last  meeting  should  be  understood  as  justify- 
ing a  deviation  from  the  Pharmacopoeia,  for  the  preparations  it  ordered ; 
but,  that  while  adherence  to  that  authority  was  important,  it  was  highly 
important,  also,  that  its  processes  should  be  such  as  practical  men  could 
adopt,  and  which  would  realize  the  object  of  the  framers.  Since  the  last 
meeting  he  had  had  further  testimony  in  regard  to  the  extract  marked  A, 
from  Mr.  Cooper,  whose  results  indicated  that  it  was  one-fourth  stronger 
than  the  extract  of  the  leaves  alone.  He  then  passed  in  review  the  pro- 
cesses of  the  foreign  Pharmacopoeias,  as  follows  : — 
The  Prussian  Pharm.  orders  10  lbs.  of  the  leaves  and  flowering  branches, 
bruised  with  1\  lbs.  water,  pressed  ;  the  marc  treated  with  more  water, 
and  pressed  again  ;  the  liquor  strained,  evaporated  to  2  lbs.,  mixed  with 
2  lbs.  of  alcohol  filtered  and  evaporated  to  an  extract. 
The  Belgian  Pharm.  of  1854,  orders  the  flowering  herb  to  be  bruised, 
with  a  small  quantity  of  water,  pressed,  strained  ;  the  liquor  evaporated 
to  one-fourth  or  to  a  syrupy  consistence,  then  spread  on  dishes  and  evapo- 
rated to  dryness. 
The  Austrian  Pharmacopoeia  of  1855  is  like  the  Belgian  process,  except 
that  the  juice  is  evaporated  at  once  to  dryness. 
The  United  States  Pharmacopoeia  of  1850  directs  the  juice  of  the  leaves 
to  be  evaporated  after  the  separation  and  rejection  of  the  chlorophyll  and 
albumen. 
The  Norwegian  Pharm.  of  1854  employs  the  dried  leaves,  to  be  treated, 
first  with  water  and  then  with  spirit,  and  the  liquors  evaporated  and 
mixed. 
Dr.  Redwood  regretted  his  absence  at  the  previous  meeting,  and  felt  dis- 
satisfied with  the  result  of  the  discussion,  in  three  points  of  view;  first,  he 
feared  that  an  implied  justification  of  deviation  from  the  Pharmacopoeia 
by  manufacturers  was  apparent,  which  should  be  avoided  in  any  paper 
emanating  from  the  Society.  He  also  believed  that  a  false  impression  was 
gained  from  the  paper  of  Mr.  Squire,  in  regard  to  the  relative  value  of  the 
extracts  from  the  leaves  and  stalks  of  belladonna ;  that  the  so-called  ex- 
tracts of  the  stalks  of  Mr.  S.,  was  from  the  small  stalks,  flowers  and  fruit ; 
and  no  evidence  was  produced  that  the  stalks  in  the  abstract  yielded  an 
efficacious  extract;  that  such  an  opinion  gaining  credence  would  cause 
manufacturers  to  use  only  the  other  parts  of  the  plant,  and  keep  the  leaves 
for  selling  as  such  in  a  dried  state,  or  in  powder ;  and  that  such  a  result 
