^"'b-LTrirso^'"''}  Preparation  of  Syrups  by  Percolation,  597 
centimeters  of  water  to  each  liter,  or  14  fluidrachms  to  each  gallon  of 
syrup.  But  for  all  practical  purposes  this  is  unnecessary,  as  the  syrup 
will  keep  better  if  not  diluted.  Thus  obtained  it  is  similar  in  all  respects 
to  that  obtained  by  the  officinal  process,  but  is  free  from  the  steam-like 
odor  which  may  often  be  noticed  in  that  obtained  by  heat,  and  also  has 
a  clearer  and  more  glittering  appearance. 
The  medicated  syrups  which  I  first  prepared  in  this  way  were  the 
syrups  of  ginger  and  of  tolu.  These  were  readily  obtained,  and  many 
of  the  officinal  syrups  were  successfully  made  in  like  manner.  The 
syrup  of  orange  flowers  is  exceedingly  delicate  and  fragrant  prepared 
in  this  way,  more  so  than  obtained  as  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia, 
as  the  heat  there  employed  drives  ofF  a  portion  of  the  volatile  odorous 
principles. 
For  the  syrup  of  ipecacuanha  I  have  adopted  the  following  formula  : 
'Take  of  fluid  extract  of  ipecacuanha  f^ii  ;  add  to  it  f^vi  of  water; 
put  it  in  a  vial,  cork  and  shake  it ;  then  let  it  stand  for  a  day,  in  order 
that  the  apotheme  may  be  precipitated.  Pour  the  liquid  upon  a  filter, 
and  add  sufficient  water  through  the  filter  to  make  the  filtered  liquid 
measure  f^xii.  Then  take  of  granulated  sugar  5xxi ;  place  in  a  fun- 
nel as  previously  directed  and  percolate  with  the  liquid  obtained.  To 
the  percolated  syrup  add  sufficient  simple  syrup  to  bring  the  measure 
up  to  two  pints,  and  mix  well  by  agitation.  The  result  is  a  syrup 
having  the  same  strength  as  that  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia, 
free  from  any  flocculent  precipitate  and  lighter  in  color.  Sjme  writers 
have  inferred  that  the  apothemical  m.atter  precipitated  in  this  manner 
contains  a  portion  of  the  emetia,  which  is  the  active  principle  of  ipeca- 
cuanha. In  order  to  ascertain  if  such  were  the  case  I  took  the  amount 
of  precipitate  resulting  from  one  fluidounce  of  fluid  extract  of  ipeca- 
cuanha, but  did  not  experience  any  uncomfortable  result  therefrom, 
thus  showing  the  above  assertion  to  be  incorrect. 
Syrup  of  wild  cherry  is  expeditiously  prepared  by  this  process,  not 
requiring  as  much  labor  nor  consuming  as  much  time  as  when  prepared 
as  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia. 
Compound  syrup  of  squill  was  also  readily  obtained  by  following 
nearly  the  directions  of  the  Pharmacopoeia,  but  differing  in  reserving  a 
fluidounce  of  the  water  directed,  dissolving  the  tartar  emetic  therein, 
adding  it  to  the  rest  of  the  liquid,  and  percolating  the  sugar  therewith 
as  indicated. 
Syrup  of  iodide  of  iron  and  syrup  of  acacia  are  the  only  officinal 
