Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1876. 
Extract  of  Jalap. 
263 
ounces,  showing  a  loss  of  2  fluidounces.  The  process  was  conducted 
in  a  common  J  gal.  glass  percolator,  without  air-tight  lid.  The  orifice 
of  the  percolator  was  then  closed,  the  mass  well  stired,  and  poured  on 
a  star  filter.  Gradually  pouring  water  on  the  filter,  after  twelve  hoursy 
4  pints  of  infusion  had  been  obtained,  and  the  jalap  was  almost  ex- 
hausted, at  least  so  much  so,  that  the  additional  extract  to  be  gained 
would  not  compensate  further  percolation  and  cost  of  subsequent  evap- 
oration. After  concentration  and  evaporation  to  the  proper  consistence, 
the  product  was  found  to  weigh  ounces — being  54  per  cent,  of  the 
jalap  employed. 
To  see  whether  percolation  by  water  would  proceed  more  favorably 
with  coarse  powder,  •  since  moderately  fine  powder,  as  seen  above,, 
whether  firmly  or  loosely  packed,  or  only  loosely  placed  in  the  perco- 
lator, when  left  undisturbed  would  not  let  the  water  pass  ;  I  took  one 
pound  of  jalap  root,  ground  so  as  to  pass  through  a  sieve  of  sixteen 
meshes  to  the  linear  inch,  moistened  it  with  4  fluidounces  of  alcohol, 
and  packed  it  very  tight  in  an  air-tight  glass  percolator,  and  poured  on 
alcohol  gradually,  until  4  pints  had  been  used.  From  the  use  of  this 
quantity  of  alcohol  the  jalap  seemed  to  be  exhausted  ;  water  was  then 
poured  on,  and  it  took  about  an  hour  to  displace  the  remaining  alco- 
holic tincture.  The  tincture  measured  3  pints,  15J  fluidounces,  show- 
ing that  only  J  fluidounce  of  alcohol  had  been  lost.  The  dark  line 
between  the  alcoholic  tincture  and  the  water  could  not  be  well  dis- 
cerned until  the  latter  had  penetrated  very  near  to  the  bottom.  As 
already  mentioned,  it  took  an  hour  for  the  water  to  penetrate  the  jalap. 
Dropping  was  at  first  slow — the  infusion  being  thick  like  honey — but, 
by-and-by,  it  got  thinned,  and  the  drows  fell  faster.  When  2  pints  of 
infusion  had  been  obtained,  percolation  ceased  altogether, — the  powder 
in  the  percolator  having  in  the  mean  time  swollen  to  two  and  a  half 
times  its  original  bulk,  and  would  not  let  any  more  water  pass.  The 
respective  liquids  were  evaporated,  mixed,  brought  to  the  proper  consis- 
tence, and  the  product  was  found  to  weigh  7  ounces,  or  43*75  per  cent, 
of  the  root  employed. 
There  is  another  method  for  preparing  the  extract,  obviating  the 
drying  and  the  very  disagreeable  work  of  powdering  the  root.  It  is  : 
To  place  the  whole  root  in  a  vessel  with  a  perforated  bottom,  and  to 
suspend  it  in  a  vessel  of  water  in  such  a  manner  that  all  of  the  root 
will  be  immersed  in  it.    The  heavy  infusion  will  sink  to  the  bottom, 
