^"'■june^S^''"'*}        Elixirs  in  the  Pharmacopoeia.  285 
Mr.  W.  L.  Turner  of  Philadelphia  in  his  analysis  of  1,000  prescrip- 
tions (see  Proceedings  Penn.  State  Pharm.  Assoc.,  1886)  reports  59 
prescriptions  containing  elixirs,  the  most  frequently  used  being  the 
elixir  of  iron,  quinine  and  strychnia  16  times  and  elixir  of  cinchona 
17  times.  He  likewise  compares  his  figures  with  those  given  by  Dr. 
Eccles  for  San  Francisco  and  Brooklyn.    I  abstract  as  follows : 
San  Francisco,  Brooklyn,  Phila. , 
Elixirs  in  1,000  B  54  108  .  59 
Elixir  calisaya  "  37  29  17 
The  figures  given  by  Mr.  Turner,  tally  very  closely  with  my  own 
observations,  and  indicate  that  elixirs  are  not  of  local  use  only,  but  are 
used  more  or  less  throughout  the  entire  country. 
In  connection  with  this  subject,  it  is  worth  mentioning  that  the  pop- 
ularity of  elixirs  seems  to  be  extending  to  foreign  countries.  The 
Pharmacopoeia  Germanica,  1882,  contains  formulae  for  elixir  amarum, 
elixir  aurantiorum  compositum,  and  elixir  e  succo  liquiritise.^ 
The  Pharmacopoeia  Belgica,  1885,  formulae  for  elixirium  cocse,  elix- 
irium  Gari  and  elixirium  Stoughton.  The  Farmacopea  Mexicana, 
1884,  has  formulae  for  five  elixirs.  The  Farmacopea  Italiana,  1887, 
contains  formulae  for  55  elixirs,  among  them  being  elisir  china 
china,  elisir  di  citrolattato  di  ferro,  elisir  di  coca  di  Fournier,  elisir 
di  pepsina  di  Mialhe. 
There  being  no  officinal  formulae  for  elixirs  every  manufacturer 
and  every  pharmacist  has  his  own  ideas  as  to  how  they  should  be 
made.  Under  the  present  conditions  a  physician  prescribing  elixir 
cinchonse  may  obtain  from  the  druggist  a  preparation  containing  1,  2 
or  5  grains  of  alkaloids  of  cinchona  to  each  fluidounce.  A  prescrip- 
tion for  elixir  of  iron,  quinine  and  strychnia  may  be  compounded  with  a 
preparation  containing  2  grs.,  4  grs.,  or  8  grs.  of  quinine  to  the  fluidounce; 
strychnia  ^-^  gr.,  ^  gr.  or  ^  gr.  to  the  teaspoonful.  His  elixir  of 
pepsin  may  be  2  grs.,  3  grs.  or  5  grs.  to  the  teaspoonful;  while  his 
elixir  of  guarana  may  vary  from  10  grs.  of  guarana  to  80  grs.  to  the 
fluidounce.  The  various  preparations  sold  vary  as  much  in  appear- 
ance as  in  strength.    That  from  such  a  variety  of  preparations  of  vary- 
1  These  three  elixirs  and  several  of  those  following  have  been  used  in  Europe 
for  a  century  or  more.  Several  dozen  formulas  for  elixirs — however  differing 
in  their  nature  from  those  now  in  use  here — were  published  sixty  years  ago 
in  the  Universal  Pharmacopoeia,  edited  by  A,  J.  L.  Jouedan,  and  subsequentlj' 
a  larger  number  in  Geiger's  Universal  Pharmacopoeia,  edited  by  Fr.  Mohr 
— Editor  Am.  Jour.  Phar. 
