Am.  Jour.  Pharru.  \ 
September,  1898.  J 
Cotton  Root  Bark. 
427 
ing  500  grammes  of  the  bark  with  an  alcohol  of  78  per  cent, 
strength.  The  extract  was  concentrated  by  distilling  off  the  alcohol 
until  about  100  c.c.  of  liquid  remained  in  the  flask.  This  liquid 
was  poured  into  a  beaker  containing  30  grammes  of  quicklime, 
which  had  been  previously  slaked  with  enough  water  to  make  a 
thick  paste.  The  milk  of  lime  and  concentrated  extract  were  inti- 
mately mixed,  the  mixture  allowed  to  stand  in  a  warm  place  for  a 
half  hour,  then  strained,  and  the  residue  pressed.  The  liquid  was 
then  filtered  through  paper  to  obtain  it  in  a  clear  condition.  Water 
was  now  added  to  the  clear  filtrate  until  the  latter  was  rendered 
slightly  turbid.  The  liquid  was  then  set  aside  for  crystallization  to 
take  place.  After  two  or  three  days  crystals  separated  upon  the 
sides  and  bottom  of  the  beaker.  They  were  accompanied  by  a 
resinous  substance,  from  which  they  were  purified  by  recrystalli- 
zation  from  alcohol.  By  adding  water  to  the  mother-liquor  from 
these  crystals,  a  second  crop,  still  more  impure,  was  obtained.  These 
crystals  possessed  all  of  the  properties  assigned  to  piscidia  by  Hart. 
✓  
COTTON  ROOT  BARK. 
By  Frank  Wii/wam  Morgan,  P.D. 
Cotton  root  bark  was  first  introduced  to  the  attention  of  the  medi- 
cal profession  by  Dr.  Bouchelle,  of  Mississippi,  who,  in  an  article  in 
the  Western  Journal  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  August,  1840,  stated 
it  to  be,  in  his  opinion,  an  excellent  emmenagogue,  and  not  inferior 
to  ergot  in  promoting  uterine  contraction.  He  stated  that  it  is 
habitually  resorted  to  by  the  slaves  of  the  South  for  producing 
abortion,  and  thinks  it  acts  in  this  way  without  injury  to  the  gen- 
eral health.  To  assist  labor  he  used  a  decoction  (4  ounces  to  a 
pint)  the  dose  of  which  was  a  wineglassful. 
In  the  Nashville  Journal  of  Medicine  and  Surgery,  July,  1855, 
Dr.  J.  T.  Shaw  stated  that  he  esteemed  it  as  superior  to  any  other 
emmenagogue,  and  equal  to  ergot  as  a  parturient,  while  attended 
with  less  danger.  He  used  a  tincture  made  by  macerating  8  ounces 
of  the  dried  bark  in  2  pounds  of  diluted  alcohol  for  two  weeks.  Of 
this  he  used  a  drachm  three  or  four  times  daily. 
Mr.  Weatherby  (Amer.  Jour.  Pharm.,  May,  1861)  denies  the 
statement  that  this  bark  is  used  as  an  abortificant  by  the  slaves  of 
the  South.  He  states  that  for  about  a  year  he  was  in  one  of  the 
finest  cotton-growing  districts  of  the  South,  and  that  he  asked  some 
