ON  FLUID  EXTRACTS. 
521 
form  from  them  combinations  to  suit  their  own  ideas,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  case  before  them.  To  prepare  combinations  be- 
forehand, calculated  to  meet  all  circumstances  in  disease,  is  not 
the  business  of  a  manufacturing  pharmaceutist,  but  is  generally 
claimed  as  the  right  of  those  who  vend  patent  medicines.  It 
has  always  appeared  to  me  that  to  decide  upon  the  therapeutic 
value  of  any  remedy,  was  the  task  and  privilege  of  the  physi- 
cian, and  that  all  that  is  required  of  the  manufacturer  is  to  be 
able  to  say,  "  Whatever  virtues  the  raw  materials  rn^y  possess, 
the  same,  unaltered,  will  be  found  in  this  Extract." 
In  order  to  produce  reliable  Fluid  Extracts  the  following 
points  are  to  be  studied  :  selection  of  raw  material,  exhaustion 
of  strength,  concentration,  and  preservation. 
The  selection  of  raw  material  requires  knowledge  and  experi- 
ence, and  should  be  made  with  great  care.  It  is  obvious  that 
for  a  preparation  of  this  kind,  no  stock  except  the  very  best 
should  be  used.  We  often  hear  it  remarked,  that  a  lot  of  mer- 
chandise, just  received,  which  is  good  enough  for  tinctures  and 
extracts,  can  be  sold  very  low ;  but,  unfortunately  for  him  who 
purchases,  the  quality  of  the  resulting  preparation  is  generally 
low  in  proportion  ;  therefore  the  quality,  not  the  price  of  raw 
material  should  be  the  criterion.  Notwithstanding  the  varia- 
tions which  exist  in  the  medicinal  strength  of  roots,  herbs,  and 
barks,  it  is  a  fact  that  they  can  always  be  found  in  the  market, 
of  good  quality  ;  for  the  rules  which  should  govern  the  gathering 
and  curing  of  vegetable  remedies  are  now  well  understood  and 
extensively  practised.  He  who  by  experience  has  acquired  the 
requisite  skill,  can  generally  judge  by  the  evidence  of  his  own 
senses,  its  looks,  taste  and  smell,  and  for  doubtful  cases,  or 
remedies  like  cinchona  and  jalap,  he  has  the  chance  to  apply 
chemical  tests  and  actual  experiment,  which  will  with  certainty 
show  its  value.  One  who  watches  the  market,  and  "  seizes  upon 
opportunity,"  will  seldom  fail  procuring  satisfactory  material.  I 
take  it  to  be  a  general  law,  that  nothing  can  be  worked  over, 
without  incurring  some  loss,  some  waste — that  through  the  whole 
range  of  manufactures  this  is  true.  How  important  then  that 
in  this  operation  of  making  Fluid  Extracts,  where,  with  the 
most  dextrous  and  careful  manipulation,  some  loss  may  be  in- 
curred, the  material  used  should  be  of  the  very  best. 
The  present  state  of  Pharmacy  points  at  once  to  the  fact, 
