234      ON  THE  MATERIA  MEDICA  OF  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. 
Take  of  Musk  root,  four  ounces  (troy) 
Ether,  four  fluid  ounces. 
Alcohol  and  water,  of  each,  q.  s. 
Bruise  the  musk  root,  moistened  with  a  little  alcohol,  until  re- 
duced to  a  coarse  powder  ;  mix  the  ether  with  twice  its  volume 
of  alcohol,  pour  it  on  the  musk  root,  macerate  in  a  covered 
vessel,  for  24  hours,  and  introduce  the  mixture  into  a  suitable  per- 
colator. The  absorbed  tincture  (which  has  a  light  brown  color) 
is  displaced  slowly  by  alcohol  (sp.  gr.  -835)  until  twelve  fluid 
ounces  are  obtained,  when  the  process  is  continued  with  a  mix- 
ture of  alcohol  and  water  (equal  parts)  until  a  pint  has  passed. 
Water  is  then  poured  on  the  residue  until  a  pint  of  liquid  has 
filtered.  The  ethereo-alcoholic  tincture  is  suffered  to  eva- 
porate in  a  warm  place  until  reduced  to  two  fluid  ounces  ;  the 
hydro-alcoholic  tincture  is  concentrated  on  a  water  bath  to  the 
same  bulk ;  and  the  watery  infusion  evaporated  to  one  fluid 
ounce.  The  two  last  liquids  are  now  mixed,  three  fluid  ounces 
of  pure  alcohol  added  to  the  first  (ethereal)  liquid  to  dissolve  the 
oleo-resin,  and  the  other  mixture  added  gradually  with  agitation, 
so  that  the  whole  shall  measure  eight  fluid  ounces,  the  mixture 
being  afterwards  shaken  occasionally  for  24  hours.  A  portion 
of  oleo-resin  and  some  gummy  extractive  remain  undissolved, 
and  must  either  be  removed  by  filtration  or  left  as  a  sediment. 
When  the  ethereo-alcoholic  tincture  is  evaporated  to  one-sixth, 
nearly  all  the  oleo-resin  separates,  and  hence  the  necessity  of 
redissolving  this  by  alcohol  before  adding  the  other  liquids. 
The  dose  of  this  fluid  extract  is  from  15  minims  to  a  fluid 
drachm.  The  properties  of  the  preparation  are  analogous  to 
those  of  valerian,  and  are  used  in  hysteria,  dysmennorhoea,  and 
other  nervous  disorders,  and  Dr.  Wood  informs  us  that  it  is 
highly  valued  in  Moscow  as  a  remedy  in  delirium  tremens. 
ON  THE  MATERIA  MEDICA  OF  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS. 
By  Luther  H.  Gulick,  M.  D.,  of  Ascension  Island. 
[The  following  notices  taken  from  a  paper  on  the  "  Climates,  Diseases 
and  Materia  Medica  of  the  Sandwich  (Hawaiian)  Islands,"  by  Dr.  Gulick, 
published  in  the  New  York  Journal  of  Medicine  and  Collateral  Sciences  for 
March.  It  is,  in  reality,  a  matter  of  secondary  moment,  whether  these 
Islands  belong  to  the  United  States  or  not,  but  it  is  of  great  importance 
