290 
Fluid  Extract  of  Gossypium. 
(Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       July,  1875. 
Afterwards,  another  of  our  city  apothecaries,  in  speaking  of  this  pre- 
paration (fluid  extract  of  gossypium),  mentioned  the  variable  appearance 
of  the  different  lots  of  extracts  he  had  found  upon  the  market ;  for., 
while  some  specimens  were  of  a  brownish-yellow  color,  others  would  be 
of  a  deep  red,  and  the  question  which  presented  itself  to  him  in  connec- 
tion with  the  above-mentioned  facts  was  whether  some  of  them  were 
not  prepared  from  spurious  barks  ? 
Messrs.  Wallace  Brothers,  of  Statesville,  N.  C,  may  be  considered 
excellent  authority  upon  the  subject  of  the  crude  root,  its  collection, 
&c.,  and  in  a  letter  to  me  they  say  :  "  The  root  and  bark  of  the  root 
are  gathered  in  October,  immediately  after  the  cotton  is  harvested,  before 
the  wet  weather  sets  in ;  for  at  this  time  they  turn  to  a  deep  brown  color, 
and  become  unfit  for  use."  I  have  seen  specimens  of  bark  upon  the 
market  corresponding  with  the  above  description  of  the  injured  (deep 
brown)  bark,  and,  indeed,  have  attempted  to  prepare  an  extract  by  way 
of  experiment  from  the  same.  The  experiment  was  a  failure,  however ; 
for,  although  the  preparation  possessed  some  of  the  characteristics  which 
pertain  to  extracts  prepared  from  good  bark,  any  one  with  much  experi- 
ence would  readily  perceive  it  to  be  a  very  inferior  article,  but  could 
scarcely  confound  it  with  any  other  fluid  extract. 
The  bark  of  the  Gossypium  herhaceum^  when  prime,  is  of  a  yellowish- 
brown  color  externally,  while  internally  it  is  much  lighter,  almost  ap- 
proaching in  some  instances  to  white  ;  when  chewed,  it  imparts  merely 
a  sweetish  astringent  taste.  When  the  fluid  extract  is  prepared  from 
the  above-named  quality  of  bark  by  the  ofliicinal  process,  it  is  at  first  often 
of  a  brownish-yellow  color,  without  a  tinge  of  red  ;  to  the  taste  it  is  a  true 
representation  of  the  bark  with  the  exception  of  the  increased  sweet- 
ness, which  is  imparted  by  the  glycerin.  It  is  neutral,  altering  neither 
the  color  of  reddened  nor  blue  litmus  paper.  It  contains  a  large  amount 
of  tannin  and  considerable  glucose.  Upon  standing,  the  extract  under- 
goes a  chemical  alteration  ;  it  gradually  changes  (sometimes  quite  rapidly) 
to  a  reddish  color,  ultimately  becoming  of  a  very  beautiful  bright  red, 
while  at  the  same  time  it  becomes  very  acid,  immediately  changing  blue 
litmus  paper  to  red,  and  even  effervescing  with  bicarbonate  of  potas- 
sium. This  alteration  proceeds  as  readily  in  the  dark  as  when  exposed 
to  the  light,  while  securely  protecting  it  from  the  atmosphere  will  neither 
retard  nor  increase  the  decomposition.  The  above  striking  alteration 
I  consider  peculiar  to  this  extract,  for,  although  many  of  our  fluid  ex- 
