''^"May'^iS?'^"™'}        Fharmaceutical  Preparation  of  Corn  Silk.  243 
Tincture  of  Corn  Silk, 
Take  of  corn  silk,  green,  twenty-four  parts,             .            .  .  24 
Diluted  alcohol,  sufficient  to  make  one  hundred  parts,  .  100 
Cut  the  silk  into  small  pieces,  either  with  a  large  pair  of  scissors 
•or  a  tobacco  cutter;  after  which,  place  in  a  mortar  and  beat  into 
;a  pulp  with  a  small  quantity  of  the  diluted  alcohol.  Prepare  a  cylin- 
drical glass  percolator,  by  closing  the  lower  orifice  with  a  cork ;  trans- 
fer the  silk  pulp  to  the  percolator,  and  add  sufficient  of  the  men- 
struum to  form  a  layer  over  the  pulp ;  cover  the  percolator  closely  and 
;-allow  to  macerate  for  forty-eight  hours ;  then  loosen  the  cork  enough 
to  permit  percolation  to  proceed  at  the  rate  of  forty  drops  per  minute ; 
add  enough  diluted  alcohol  and  continue  the  percolation  until  one 
hundred  parts  are  obtained.  The  tincture  possesses  the  characteristic 
•odor  of  corn  silk,  is  of  a  yellow  straw  color,  and  of  a  pleasant,  sweet- 
ish taste.    Dose  for  an  adult,  one  or  two  fluidrachms  (gra.  4 — 8). 
Fluid  Extract  of  Corn  Silk. 
'Corn  silk,  green,  two  hundred  grammes,     ....  200 
Glycerin,  twenty  grammes,      .....  20 
Diluted  alcohol,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  one  hundred  cubic  cen- 
timeters, .......  100 
Cut  the  silk  into  small  pieces.  Mix  the  glycerin  with  eighty 
grammes  of  diluted  alcohol.  Place  the  cut  corn  silk  into  a  mortar, 
and  beat  into  a  pulp  with  a  portion  of  the  menstruum ;  after  which, 
pack  in  a  cylindrical  glass  percolator ;  add  sufficient  of  the  mixture  to 
€Over  the  pulpy  mass,  and  when  the  liquid  commences  to  drop  from 
the  percolator  close  the  lower  orifice ;  cover  the  percolator  tightly,  and 
allow  to  macerate  for  forty-eight  hours ;  then  permit  percolation  to  go 
on  slowly,  about  forty  drops  per  minute ;  add  the  remainder  of  the 
glycerin  mixture,  and  then  diluted  alcohol  until  the  drug  is  exhausted, 
reserving  the  first  seventy  cubic  centimeters  of  the  percolate ;  evapo- 
rate the  remainder  to  thirty  cubic  centimeters,  and  mix  with  the 
;reserved  portion,  making  in  all  one  hundred  cubic  centimeters.  The 
•odor  and  taste  is  similar  to  that  of  the  tincture,  but  much  stronger, 
and  a  shade  or  two  darker.    Dose  for  an  adult  from  half  to  one  fluid- 
drachm  (gm.  2 — 4). 
Syrup  of  Corn  Silk. 
Fluid  extract  of  corn  silk,  12  parts,  .  .  .  .12 
8yrup,  eighty-eight  parts,  .  .  .  .  .88 
To  make  one  hundred  parts,         ....  100 
Dose  from  one  to  two  fluidrachms  (gm.  4 — 8). 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  April,  1883. 
