120  Fluid  Extracts  of  the  New  Pharmacopoeia.  { ^'^Mar '1883'™' 
FLUID  EXTRACTS  OF  THE  NEW  PHARMACOPCEIA. 
By  Alonzo  Robbins. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting,  February  20. 
(Continued  from  page  75.) 
ExTRACTUM  Cypeipedii  Fluidum. — Fluid  Extract  of  Cypripe- 
dium. — This  newly  introclaced  preparation  is  one  of  the  eleven  added 
to  the  list  by  the  Committee  of  Revision^  it  was  under  consideration 
by  the  Committee  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  but  was 
finally  rejected,  on  the  ground  that  little  or  no  demand  existed  for  the 
preparation.  Tlie  officinal  menstruum  is  alcohol,  but  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  a  menstruum  composed  of  two  parts  of  alcohol,  and  one  part 
of  water,  would  have  been  sufficiently  strong. 
ExTRACTUM  Digitalis  Fluidum. — Fluid  Extract  of  Digitalis. — 
The  menstruum  directed  for  this  preparation  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  of 
1870,  was  alcohol  twelve  fluidounces,  glycerin  three  fluidounces,  and 
water  one  fluidouncc,  finishing  the  percolation  with  diluted  alcohol, 
and  adding  one  fluidounce  of  glycerin  to  the  dilute  percolate  before 
evaporation.  The  j^resent  Pharmacopoeia  directs  a  mixture  of  three 
parts  of  alcohol,  and  one  part  of  water ;  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy  recommended  alcohol,  and  several  previous  investigators 
have  also  recomuiended  the  same  menstruum.  A  sample  prepared  in 
December,  1879,  with  a  menstruum  composed  of  two  parts  of  alcohol 
and  one  part  of  water,  deposited  a  considerable  precipitate  soon  after 
it  was  finished  ;  another  sample  prepared  at  the  same  time,  with  alco- 
hol, kept  with  only  slight  precipitation  for  nearly  two  years,  and  even 
at  the  present  time,  there  is  only  about  one-fourth  as  much  deposit  in 
it,  as  there  is  in  the  other  sample,  but  there  is  also  deposited  on  the 
sides  of  the  bottle  a  thin  waxy  coating,  from  which  the  other  sample 
is  quite  free  ;  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  officinal  menstruum  is  the 
best  for  this  preparation ;  should  it  still  after  a  time  precipitate,  the 
addition  of  five  or  ten  per  cent,  of  glycerin  would  most  likely  render 
it  permanent.  These  experiments  were  made  with  the  English  leaves, 
results  obtained  from  the  use  of  the  cheap  commercial  leaves  might 
have  been,  and  probably  would  have  been,  quite  different. 
ExTRACTUM  DuLCAMAR.^:  Fluidum. — Flukl  Extract  of  Dulcamara. 
— For  this  preparation  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  1870  directed  alcohol 
eight  fluidounces,  glycerin  three  fluidounces,  and  water  five  fluidounces, 
finishing  the  percolation  with  diluted  alcohol,  and  adding  one  fluid- 
