18  ON  FLUID  EXTRACTS  OF  ERGOT  AND  CINCHONA. 
the  fact,  that  a  large  amount  of  sugar  in  fluid  extracts  some- 
times causes  nausea  in  a  stomach  weakened  by  sickness. 
The  manipulations  I  have  adopted  are  the  same  in  making  the 
two  extracts,  and  a  description  of  one  will  be  a  full  description  of 
the  other. 
I  take  it  to  be  a  generally  acknowledged  fact,  that  the  effects 
of  ergot  are  best  developed  when  freshly  powdered  ergot  is  ad- 
ministered in  substance.  But  this  form  of  the  remedy  is  liable 
to  two  objections — the  bulk  and  unpleasantness  of  the  dose,  and 
its  liability  to  lose  strength  by  keeping.  The  fluid  extract  is 
proposed  as  a  form  of  the  remedy  which  obviates  these  objec- 
tions, and  that  extract  which  most  nearly  resembles  the' raw  ma- 
terial, would  seem  to  be  the  most  perfect  preparation.  As  a 
general  principle,  I  have  always  believed  that  extracts  should,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  represent  the  raw  material,  and  that  the  ex- 
tract in  solution  should  contain  all  the  principles  of  the  plant, 
without  change  by  heat,  oxygen  or  chemical  agents. 
I  should  define  a  perfect  fluid  extract  of  ergot  to  be — a  per- 
manent solution  of  the  principles  of  ergot  in  their  original  com- 
bination, each  drop  representing  one  grain  of  the  raw  material. 
To  ascertain  the  value  of  diluted  alcohol  as  a  menstruum,  a 
portion  of  ergot  having  been  properly  percolated  with  this  spirit 
was  carefully  dried,  a  part  macerated  in  water,  a  part  in  alcohol 
76  per  cent.,  and  a  part  in  ether.  On  evaporation  the  water 
yielded  albumen  and  vegetable  matter,  the  alcohol  no  apprecia- 
ble residue,  and  the  ether  a  small  proportion  of  fixed  oil,  more 
limpid  than  that  obtained  from  fresh  ergot,  less  easily  congealed, 
with  no  ergot  odor,  resembling  fresh  cod  liver  oil.  Diluted  alco- 
hol, as  a  menstruum,  has  this  advantage,  that  the  precipitates 
which  form  during  evaporation,  are  easily  redissolved  when  alco- 
hol is  added  to  the  extract.  The  amount  of  alcohol  to  be  added 
is  lessened  by  the  addition  of  sugar,  which  should  be  placed  in 
the  still  with  the  tincture,  as  it  protects  the  extractive  matter 
somewhat  from  the  effects  of  heat,  and  prevents  its  solidifying  on 
the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  pan.  The  method  I  have  adopted  is 
based  upon  the  above  reasoning. 
Eeduce  to  coarse  powder  100  pounds  of  fresh  ergot.  Place  it 
in  a  suitable  vessel  and  pour  dilute  alcohol  upon  it  until  covered. 
As  the  liquid  is  absorbed  and  the  mass  swells,  stir  and  loosen  it 
