« 
74  PODOPHYLLUM  PELTATUM. 
ounces  nitric  acid,  1*42  ;  place  the  retort  in  the  water-bath,  con- 
nect with  the  well-cooled  receiver  ;  place  the  thermometer  in  the 
water-bath,  and  at  the  temperature  of  175°  F.  distil  over  12 
fluidounces.  Keduce  now  the  water  in  the  water-bath,  with 
enough  cold  water,  to  the  temperature  of  60°  or  65°  F.,  and 
pour  through  the  funnel  into  the  retort  J  fluidounce  more  nitric 
acid,  and  resume  the  distillation  till  15  fluidounces  are  in  the  re- 
ceiver.   This  ether  mix  with  2  pints  stronger  alcohol. 
Remove  the  copper  wire  from  the  retort,  wash  well,  and  keep 
it  for  the  next  operation. 
The  cost  of  the  three  pints  of  ether  will  be  not  over  $1.77, 
and  it  answers  all  the  tests  of  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
For  my  part,  I  herewith  tender  to  Prof.  Redwood  my  obliga- 
tion for  his  disinterested  labor  and  genial  character. — Proc.  Am. 
Pliar m.  Association,  1867. 
ON  THE  RELATIVE  YALUE  OF  THE  RHIZOMA  AND 
RADICAL  FIBRES  OF  PODOPHYLLUM  PELTATUM  IN 
THE   MANUFACTURE   OF  PODOPHYLLIjN. 
By  Wm.  Saunders. 
In  commerce  it  is  well  known  that  samples  of  the  rhizoma  of 
Podopliyllum  peltatum,  freed  from  the  radical  fibres,  are  pre- 
ferred, and  command  a  higher  price  ;  and  also  that  the  presence 
of  an  unusually  large  proportion  of  fibres  is  regarded  as  an  evi- 
dence of  inferiority.  This  preference  may,  in  some  cases,  origi- 
nate from  the  fact  that  the  fibres  are  often  associated  with  a 
considerable  quantity  of  dust  and  other  foreign  matter,  but  how- 
ever clean  they  may  be  made,  the  prejudice  still  exists  in  their 
disfavor. 
To  determine  how  far  this  objection  is  grounded  on  any  de- 
ficiency of  strength  in  the  fibres  as  compared  with  the  rhizoma, 
the  following  experiments  were  tried  : 
Eight  ounces  of  the  rhizoma,  carefully  freed  from  fibres,  were 
ground  in  a  Swift's  drug  mill  sufficiently  fine  to  pass  through  a 
sieve  of  twenty-five  meshes  to  the  inch.  Eight  ounces  of  root 
fibres,  free  from  rhizoma,  were  treated  in  a  similar  manner. 
These  were  each  moistened  with  four  ounces  of  alcohol,  and 
packed  in  separate  percolators.    After  macerating  for  twenty- 
