CONCENTRATED  WINE  OF  ASSAFETIDA.  217 
without  any  thought  as  to  the  consequences,)  prepared  by  adding 
tincture  to  the  required  quanity  of  water  until  it  has  acquired 
the  proper  degree  of  milkiness  to  resemble  the  officinal  mixture,  a 
practice  which  cannot  be  too  highly  censured,  as  it  contains  a 
great  deal  of  alcohol,  and  is  of  unknown  strength.  I  have  made 
a  preparation  bearing  the  name  at  the  head  of  this  article,  which 
I  think  will  remove  some  of  the  objections  to  this  officinal,  as  it 
is  in  a  concentrated  form,  easily  prepared,  containing  but  little 
alcohol,  is  of  known  strength,  and  can  always  be  kept  on  hand. 
Take  of  Assafetida    .       .       ,  3ss.  troy 
White  wine  f .  3x. 
Rub  the  assafetida  in  a  mortar  to  a  coarse  powder,  then  add 
the  wine  gradually,  triturating  until  all  the  assafetida  is  sus- 
pended. Wine  of  assafetida  as  thus  prepared  is  white,  of  the 
consistence  of  syrup,  and  has  the  odor  of  the  drug  fully  developed. 
This  quantity  yields  two  troy  ounces  of  wine,  and  as  each  troy 
drachm  contains  fifteen  grains  of  assafetida,  the  mixture  or 
common  milk  of  assafetida  is  easily  prepared  by  weighing  the 
required  quantity  into  a  bottle,  adding  the  water,  and  shaking 
them  well  together.  For  instance,  in  making  one  fluid  ounce  of 
mixture  of  assafetida,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  weigh  out  one 
drachm  of  the  wine  and  add  seven  drams  of  water,  and  shake  them 
together  ;  this  forms  a  perfectly  even  mixture  without  any  of  the 
usual  inconveniences.  The  quantity  of  alcohol  in  a  fluid  ounce 
of  this  mixture  is  so  small  as  not  to  be  objectionable,  and  in  the 
wine  it  is  an  advantage,  as  it  tends  to  preserve  it.  I  have  kept 
it  in  ordinary  corked  vials  three  months,  partly  during  summer, 
without  the  least  perceptible  change. 
The  assafetida  used  should  be  free  from  all  impurities,  and 
the  wine  thoroughly  shaken  up  before  using,  as  it  is  impossible 
to  suspend  perfectly  for  an  indefinite  period  so  large  a  quantity 
of  the  gum  resin  in  so  small  a  quantity  of  the  menstruum.  The 
object  of  making  it  so  concentrated  was  that  the  alcohol  of  the 
wine  might  not  be  present  in  any  considerable  amount.  The  un- 
pleasant odor  of  assafetida  can  be  somewhat  disguised  by  making 
the  mixture  with  peppermint  or  spearmint  waters  where  they 
would  not  be  objectionable.  I  have  tried  the  same  experiments 
with  ammoniac,  and  with  similar  results. 
Philadelphia,  March  4,  1855. 
