82 
VARIETIES. 
stop-cock.  A  small  lot  of  cotton  is  placed  in  the  lower  part  of  the  funnel, 
and  upon  this  is  thrown  the  ipecac,  cubebs,  sarsaparilla,  or  other  substance 
of  which  a  fluid  extract  is  desired.  The  can  or  reservoir  is  filled  with 
diluted  alcohol  or  other  liquid,  and  fitted  to  its  place  above  the  cylinder 
containing  the  drug.  The  space  between  the  cylinders  is  partly  filled  with 
water  by  a  small  tube,  and  alcohol  for  burning  and  heat-making  is  poured 
into  the  spaces  made  by  the  rims,  referred  to  above.  Fire  is  then  applied 
to  the  alcohol  in  the  rim  above,  and  the  liquid  in  the  can  is  heated  hot. 
As  it  becomes  heated,  the  steam  arising  passes  down  through  the  tube  on 
to  the  drug.  At  the  same  time  the  alcohol  in  the  lower  rim  is  fired,  and 
it  heats  the  water  between  the  cylinders  and  makes  steam  of  it. 
The  drug  in  the  inside  of  the  apparatus  is  soon  moistened  and  heated 
by  the  steam  coming  down  from  the  can  above,  and  is  also  surrounded  by 
a  hot  steam  bath.  This  heat  tends  to  separate  the  volatile  oil  and  all  the 
essential  constituents  from  the  drug,  without  burning  them,  and  then  the 
valve  in  the  bottom  of  the  can  above  is  opened,  and  the  finished  extract 
trickles  down  through  the  cotton  into  the  bottle  or  receiver.  The  volatile 
oils,  not  being  able  to  escape  during  the  heating  process,  and  not  being 
injured  by  the  tempered  steam  heat,  are  condensed  and  pass  down  with 
and  in  the  extract. 
An  opportunity  was  afforded  us  a  few  days  ago  of  witnessing  the  working 
of  this  admirable  apparatus,  and  we  saw  an  extract  made  in  a  quarter  of 
an  hour,  which,  according  to  the  method  in  the  Dispensatory,  requires  a 
long  period  of  soaking.  We  examined  a  number  of  extracts  made  in 
almost  incredibly  short  spaces  of  time  with  it,  and  they  all  appeared  to  be 
excellent.  Other  persons,  who  should  be  good  judges  of  such  things,  pro- 
nounce them  excellent.  The  invention  is,  of  course,  valuable  chiefly  to 
druggists  and  physicians  ;  but,  if  valuable  to  them,  it  is  or  should  be  in- 
teresting to  the  whole  community. — San  Francisco  Bulletin. 
An  Apparatus  for  Corking  Bottles  has  been  devised.  This  instrument 
which  compresses  the  cork  and  shoots  it  into  the  neck  of  the  bottle,  is  a 
piece  of  hard  wood  about  six  inches  long,  divided  in  the  centre  by  a  hinge. 
At  the  centre  the  circumference  is  about  three  inches,  tapering  down  to 
about  an  inch.  The  lower  part  is  hollow,  into  the  upper  portion  of  which, 
above  the  hinge,  a  piston  is  fitted;  and  into  the  lower  cavity  a  cork  is  put, 
the  hinge  is  then  closed.  The  lower  portion,  which  is  scooped  out  so  as 
to  fit  the  top  of  a  bottle  is  laid  on  a  bottle,  the  piston  is  then  smartly  tapped 
on  the  head,  and  it  shoots  the  cork,  with  unerring  certainty,  into  the  neck 
of  the  bottle,  and  level  with  the  top,  and  with  more  firmness  than  any 
known  operation  at  present  in  use.  The  whole  operation  of  corking  a 
bottle  of  any  size  with  any  sized  cork,  does  not  occupy  a  second  of  time 
and  no  matter  how  large  the  cork,  it  is  compressed  to  fit  the  bottle  in  its 
operation  downwards,  and  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  the  bottle  to  ,be 
