Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Feb.,  1888. 
Syrupus  Laduearii. 
71 
it  into  a  wide-mouth  bottle  of  the  capacity  of  about  48  parts  of  water, 
add  the  benziii,  cork  tightly,  and  macerate,  with  frequent  agitation,  for 
twenty-four  hours.  Then  let  it  stand  for  about  twenty-four  hours,  or 
until  the  lactucarium  subsides  and  the  benzin  solution  becomes  clear 
or  nearly  so.  Decant  the  benzin  solution,  transfer  the  lactucarium  to 
a  stone  or  glass  slab,  spread  it  as  thin  as  possible,  and  allow  it  to  re- 
main^ there  until  it  is  completely  dry  (at  least  twenty-four  hours). 
Then  rub  it  in  an  iron  mortar  with  an  equal  weight  of  clean  sand,  in- 
troduce it  into  a  conical  percolator,  first  prepared  with  a  disk  of  flan- 
nel and  a  thin  layer  of  sand,  pack  tightly  and  add  diluted  alcohol  to 
a  depth  of  several  inches.  When  the  liquid  begins  to  drop,  close  the 
orifice  of  the  percolator  with  a  cork  and  allow  it  to  stand  at  rest,  well 
covered,  for  twenty- four  hours.  !N"ow  remove  the  cork  and  collect  4 
parts  of  percolate,  which  set  aside.  Continue  the  percolation  until  the 
lactucarium  is  exhausted,  recover  the  alcohol  from  the  percolate  by 
distillation  from  a  water-bath,  and  evaporate  the  residue  on  a  water- 
bath  to  10  parts.  Mix  this  with  the  reserved  portion,  filter  and  wash 
the  filter  with  enough  diluted  alcohol  to  make  the  whole  product  weigh 
16  parts. 
In  this  process  the  lactucerin  is  not  entirely  removed.  That  por- 
tion of  the  benzin  remaining  in  the  lactucarium  after  decanting,  which 
is  considerable,  remains  saturated  with  lactucerin,  sufficient  to  leave 
the  lactucarium,  on  drying,  of  a  gummy  tendency  and  difficult  to  pul- 
verize and  sufficient  to  be  extracted  by  the  subsequent  treatment  with 
diluted  alcohol,  and  to  render  the  syrup  made  therefrom  decidedly 
turbid. 
If,  however,  the  lactucarium  after  decanting  the  clear  layer  of  ben- 
zin is  thrown  on  a  double  paper  filter  and  then  washed  with  about  half 
the  quantity  of  benzin  first  used,  this  dissolved  portion  will  be  forced 
out  and  the  lactucarium  remaining  will  dry  and  be  easily  pulverized 
and  extracted. 
The  Pharmacopoeia  of  1880  instituted  a  new  departure,  adopting  a 
formula  for  a  fluid  extract.  The  aim  of  this  formula,  as  of  all  recent 
formulae  and  investigations,  was  to  furnish  a  preparation  from  which 
a  perfectly  clear  and  acceptable  syrup  could  be  made  by  simple 
admixture.  The  officinal  formula  devised  by  Prof.  C.  L.  Diehl  is 
remarkable  for  its  complexity.  ISTo  attempt  is  made  to  remove  the 
lactucerin ;  the  treatment  with  ether  merely  aiming  to  disintegrate 
and  separate  it  from  the  other  ingredients,  and  leave  it  in  such  a 
