20 
Flesh  in  Pharmany. 
f  A.m.  Jour.  Pharin 
\    January,  1895. 
that  moistening  the  powdered  bark  develops  almost  instantly  the 
odor  of  wintergreen.  Attention  is  called  to  the  development  of  the 
wintergreen  odor  in  the  alcoholic  tinctures,  and  that  the  indicated 
decomposition  of  the  gaultherin  continues  during  the  evaporation 
of  the  solutions.  A  complete  decomposition  of  the  glucoside  during 
the  evaporation  was,  however,  never  observed.  To  prevent  this 
decomposition  various  experiments  were  made  to  render  the  ferment 
inactive;  drying  the  powder  at  110°  C.  for  some  hours,  and  the 
employment  of  mercuric  chloride  solution,  were  without  effect ; 
adding  the  powdered  bark  to  boiling  water  somewhat  interfered 
with  the  ferment,  as  decidedly  smaller  yields  of  volatile  oil  were 
then  noticed ;  the  use  of  lead  acetate  proved  to  be  the  simplest  and 
most  reliable  method  of  preventing  the  decomposition  of  gaultherin 
by  the  ferment.  (This,  possibly,  is  then  the  explanation  of  the 
remarkable  behavior  of  gaultherin  noticed  by  Procter  when  he 
added  lead  sub-acetate  to  an  ammoniacal  solution  of  gaultherin  and 
tried  the  effect  of  the  original  filtrate  and  of  the  filtrate  resulting 
from  the  decomposition  of  the  precipitate  with  dilute  sulphuric 
acid  upon  some  of  the  exhausted  bark  without  getting  the  odor 
of  wintergreen  from  either  solution.)1 
An  extended  chemical  investigation  of  gaultherin  was  intended, 
but  was  frustrated  by  the  disappointingly  small  yield  of  gaultherin 
from  a  second  lot  of  bark  imported  especially  for  this  work ;  the 
cause  of  this  small  yield  cannot  be  positively  stated,  as  it  may  be 
due  to  the  time  of  collecting  the  bark  or  to  a  decomposition  of  the 
greater  portion  of  the  glucoside  by  some  unknown  cause. 
FLESH  IN  PHARMACY. 
By  William  B.  Thompson. 
Gland  extract,  and  its  utility  as  a  therapeutic  agent,  is  just  now  a 
debatable  subject  in  medical  circles.  When  experiment,  obser- 
vation, and  experience  establish  something  definite,  and  this  is 
favorable,  the  pharmacist  may  prepare  for  an  era  in  animal  pro- 
ducts. We  do  however  have  some  connecting  links  with  this  series  of 
actual  body  parts  as  internal  remedies — in  musk,  castor  and  fel 
bovis — to  which  might  be  added  cod  liver  oil ;  but  a  revival  such  as 
is  discussed  would  almost  seem  like  a  return  to  the  cauldron 
1  vSee  pievious  part  of  this  paper. 
