ON  FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  ERGOT. 
519 
process  of  drying  for  powdering,  but  if  so  it  will  be  wrell  for 
preseribers  to  be  certain  that  they  are  not  defrauded  of  the 
article  they  order, 
•     FLUID  EXTRACT  OF  ERGOT. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmac}\ 
Dear  Sir: — While  located  in  your  city,  I  was  requested  by 
Dr.  Ellerslie  Wallace  to  prepare  a  concentrated  fluid  preparation 
of  ergot,  which  would  be  reliable  and  combine  smallness  of  dose 
with  the  desirable  property  of  not  undergoing  change  by  keeping. 
The  following  preparation  having  upon  trial  successfully  answer- 
ed these  requirements,  I  present  it  to  your  notice,  that  you  may, 
if  you  think  proper,  give  it  a  place  in  the  Journal  of  Pharmacy. 
The  oil  of  ergot  does  not  enter  into  the  composition  of  this 
preparation  as  I  believe  it  to  be  inert,  and  its  virtue  as  prepared 
(with  ether)  to  be  due  entirely  to  some  principle  extracted  along 
with  it  by  the  menstruum.  With  the  above  in  consideration,  the 
following  process  was  pursued  in  making  this  preparation,  which 
I  have  called 
Fluid  Extract  of  Ergot. 
Freshly  powdered  ergot,  4  oz,  (troy) 
Diluted  alcohol,  made  by  mixing  one  part 
of  95  per  cent,  alcohol,  with  four  parts 
of  water,         .....  one  pint. 
Water,  .....  sufficient  quantity. 
Alcohol,  6  fluid  ozs. 
Macerate  the  ergot  in  the  diluted  alcohol  for  four  days,  then 
transfer  to  a  percolator,  and  when  the  liquid  ceases  to  pass,  pour 
on  water  until  two  pints  have  come  through  ;  by  means  of  a  water 
bath  evaporate  to  six  fluid  ounces,  to  this  add  the  alcohol  and 
mix  ;  let  it  stand  with  occasional  agitation  for  twelve  hours,  and 
filter.  When  finished  it  is  of  a  dark  Maderia  wine  color,  possess- 
ing a  strong  odor  and  taste  of  ergot.  One  fluid  drachm  or  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  this  fluid  extract  represents  one  scruple  of  ergot. 
This  preparation  has  been  fully  tested  with  satisfactory  re- 
sults, by  Dr.  Ellerslie  Wallace,  of  your  city,  and  Drs.  J.  G. 
Clark  and  H.  11.  Harrison,  of  Staten  Island,  and  in  hopes  that 
it  might  be  of  service  to  others  of  the  profession,  I  submit  it  for 
trial.  Very  truly,  yours,  W.  J.  Watson. 
North  Shore,  Staten  Island,  September  15th,  1856. 
