AmjJne,ri8^5.arm'}  An  Examination  of  Commercial  Fluid  Extracts.  293 
In  the  last- mentioned  extract,  the  exact  alcoholic  percentage  of 
the  menstruum  cannot  be  stated,  as  the  Pharmacopoeia  directs  the 
drug  to  be  macerated  with  a  mixture  of  water  and  glycerin,  to  be 
followed  by  percolation  with  a  mixture  of  85  parts  alcohol  and  15 
parts  water. 
The  largest  percentage  of  alcohol  in  fluid  extracts,  whose  men- 
struum consists  entirely  of  that  liquid,  was  found  in  F.  E.  Cimicifuga, 
the  smallest  in  F.  E.  Buchu. 
The  two  samples  examined  of  the  latter  were  from  different 
manufacturers,  and  a  glance  upon  the  table  will  reveal  a  decided 
difference  in  their  respective  alcohol  percentages.  Fluid  extracts 
for  which  the  Pharmacopoeia  directs  a  menstruum  of  2  parts  of 
alcohol  to  1  of  water,  contained  a  comparatively  larger  alcohol 
percentage  than  those  for  which"  the  same  authority  requests  an 
alcoholic  menstruum  of  3  parts  of  alcohol  to  1  part  of  water.  F.  E. 
of  Calumba,  which  belongs  to  the  latter  class,  was  found  to  contain 
only  34  per  cent,  of  absolute  alcohol,  while  F.  E.  Phytolacca, 
representing  the  former,  contained  5  I  per  cent. 
A  small  alcoholic  percentage  was  also  found  in  a  syrupy  F.  E. 
Hydrastis. 
Remarkable  variations  were  found  in  fluid  extracts  with  a  sup- 
posed-to-be diluted  alcohol  menstruum.  The  largest  percentage 
found  was  in  F.  E.  Stillingia,  36  per  cent.,  which  is  closely  approxi- 
mate to  the  pharmacopceial  requirement. 
F.  E.  Cascara  Sagrada  and  Taraxacum  contained  only  12  per 
cent,  of  alcohol,  by  weight. 
Compound  F.  E.  Sarsaparilla,  with  a  menstruum  of  30  per  cent,  of 
alcohol,  was  found  to  contain  6  per  cent.,  by  weight,  while  F.  E. 
Glycyrrhiza,  with  the  same  alcoholic  menstruum  'percentage,  con- 
tained 23  per  cent. 
GLUCOSE  IN  FLUID  EXTRACTS. 
The  syrupy  condition  of  some  commercial  fluid  extracts,  and 
the  sweet  taste,  occasionally  observed  in  preparations  from  bitter 
or  acrid  drugs,  induced  the  writer  to  determine  the  percentage  of 
glucose,  or,  what  is  perhaps  a  more  correct  statement,  an  allied 
substance,  which  likewise  has  the  property  of  giving  the  various 
glucose  reactions. 
In  addition  to  this,  the  negative  result  experienced  in  some 
instances,  where  the  preparations  were  made  from  drugs,  which  are 
