542  State  Pharmaceutical  Associations.     { A?oTJmberf im" 
Compound  Tincture  of  Gentian. 
By  Bloomfield  Hulick. 
The  author  states  that  the  change  of  the  menstruum  from  diluted 
alcohol  to  a  stronger  alcoholic  menstruum,  while  of  some  help  in 
preventing  precipitation  of  the  U.S. P.  tincture,  yet  it  does  not 
accomplish  all  that  was  expected.  Some  experiments  made  by  per- 
colating the  drug  with  the  addition  of  glycerin  to  the  menstruum 
showed  a  preparation  of  decided  superiority  over  the  present  for- 
mula. One  preparation  made  with  120  c.c.  of  glycerin  to  each 
1000  c.c.  gave  a  clear  tincture  that  showed  no  precipitate  after 
standing  three  months. — N.  J.  Pharm.  Assoc. 
Some  of  the  Syrups  of  the  U.  S.  Pharmacopoeia  and 
National  Formulary. 
By  George  M.  Beringer  and  George  M.  Beringer,  Jr. 
The  writers  give  the  results  of  a  series  of  experiments  upon 
some  official  syrups  with  the  object  in  view  of  establishing  for- 
mulas by  which  the  pharmacist  can  manufacture  all  of  his  syrups 
from  the  drugs  without  depending  upon  the  manufacturing  pharma- 
cists. In  the  preparation  of  their  syrups  most  foreign  pharmaco- 
poeias keep  this  desirable  object  always  in  mind.  It  was  also  decided 
by  the  authors  to  see  if  the  use  of  fluidextracts  could  be  eliminated 
in  the  preparation  of  syrups. 
The  preparation  of  syrups  from  fluidextracts  causes  considerable 
precipitation  in  many  of  them  because  of  the  alcohol  present,  which 
extracts  from  the  drugs  extractive  and  resinous  matter;  the  small 
amount  of  alcohol  generally  encourages  fermentation. 
The  successful  use  of  glycerin  and  water  as  a  menstruum  in 
extracting  many  drugs  proves  that  alcohol  is  unnecessary  and  the 
authors  sought  to  determine  how  far  this  method  would  answer 
in  the  preparation  of  syrups.  That  glycerin  has  an  inhibitory  action 
upon  some  forms  of  decomposition  that  occur  in  syrups  is  a  fact 
that  our  own  Pharmacopoeia  recognizes  in  so  far  that  it  directs  its 
use  in  several  of  them.  This  fact  was  recognized  in  the  last  revision 
of  the  Pharmacopoeia  Helvetica,  which  directs  the  use  of  glycerin 
in  quite  a  number  of  syrups. 
The  authors  give  in  detail  a  considerable  number  of  formulas  for 
syrups  that  are,  they  say,  the  results  of  many  experiments. 
