514 
WINE  OF  COLCHICUM  SEEDS. 
was  separated  by  the  filter,  which  I  have  saved  for  further  ex- 
amination. The  oxydized  oil,  however,  gave  no  indication  of 
yielding  a  substance  similar  to  the  acrid  principle  mentioned. 
WINE  OF  COLCHICUM  SEEDS. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy: 
Dear  Sir, — With  regard  to  a  question  asked  by  a  correspon- 1 
dent  from  Portland,  Me.,  on  page  397  of  this  Journal,  concern- 
ing the  best  method  to  reduce  colchicum  seed  to  powder,  you 
will  permit  me  to  say  a  few  words.  Drying  them  well  and  bruis- 
ing them  in  small  quantities  under  a  heavy  pestle  in  an  iron 
mortar,  is  the  way  usually  followed  on  the  continent  of  Europe; 
or  else  they  are  ground  in  a  sharp  coffee  mill,  a  small  number 
only  being  put  in  at  a  time.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the 
operation  of  reducing  these  seeds  to  a  bruised  condition  is 
among  the  most  tedious  and  laborious  the  pharmaceutist  has  to 
perform  ;  a  method,  therefore,  which  will  save  some  time  and 
labor  will  be  welcome  to  him.  ♦ 
In  preparing  the  wine  of  colchicum  seed,  I  have  adopted  the 
following  way  for  some  time  past,  and  always  with  a  satisfactory 
result :  I  put  the  whole  seed  in  a  bottle  together  with  about  one- 
third  or  one-fourth  of  the  required  quantity  of  wine,  and  mark 
the  level  of  this  mixture  with  a  strip  of  paper.  After  macerat- 
ing the  seeds  for  two  or  three  days,  I  empty  the  bottle  into  a  suit- 
able vessel,  decant  the  liquid  and  bruise  the  seeds  in  a  clean 
iron  mortar,  throwing  in  not  more  than  one  or  two  tea-spoonfuls 
at  a  time.  The  maceration  softens  the  seeds  somewhat,  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  them  to  be  mashed  with  some  exertion.  Proper 
care  must  be  taken  in  this  manipulation  to  avoid  a  loss  of  the 
seeds  or  the  liquor.  When  well  bruised  in  this  way,  they  are 
put  back  into  the  bottle  with  the  liquid,  and  wine  added  to  make 
up  the  deficiency  occasioned  by  evaporation.  With  the  remain- 
ing two-thirds  or  three-fourths  of  the  wine,  all  the  vessels  and 
instruments  used  ought  to  be  well  washed,  the  wine  then  added 
and  the  preparation  completed(according  to  directions.  By  follow- 
ing this  way  I  have  succeeded,  with  patience  and  unwearied 
labor,  to  bruise  six  ounces  of  the  seeds  in  hardly  more  than  two 
hours,  which  I  think  is  quite  a  satisfactory  result. 
Yours,  very  respectfully,  J.  M.  Maisch. 
Philadelphia,  Oct.  1856. 
