Acetum Cantharidis. Lond. Vinegar of Can-tharidis

"Take of cantharides, rubbed to powder, two ounces; acetic acid, a pint. Macerate the cantharides with the acid for eight days, frequently shaking: lastly, press and strain."

For raising a sudden blister.

Acetum Colchici. Lond. Vinegar of Meadow Saffron

"Take of fresh meadow saffron, cormus, sliced, an ounce; distilled vinegar, sixteen fluid ounces; proof spirit, a fluid ounce. Macerate the meadow saffron cormus with the vinegar in a covered glass vessel, for three days; afterwards press and strain and set it by, that the dregs may subside: lastly, add the spirit to the clear liquor.

When dug up in July, the bulb contains that principle for which it is employed in the greatest perfection, and of which vinegar is a good solvent. This solution is now introduced as a better form of preserving the virtues of the remedy than the oxymel. It is given as a diuretic in ascites and hydro-thorax; but it is less to be depended on than the squill. It should be prepared with the dried bulb, in which case the proportion should be six drachms to a pint of vinegar. It is employed in gout. The dose is from f 3ss. to f 3j., united with any bland fluid.

Acetum Opii. Dub. Vinegar of Opium

"Take of Turkish opium, four ounces; distilled vinegar, a pound. Rub the opium into a pulp with a little of the vinegar, then add the remainder of the vinegar. Macerate the mixture in a stoppered bottle, shaking it frequently, for seven days. Pour off the supernatant solution; and, finally, filter."

This is an admirable addition to the preparations of opium of the British pharmacopoeias. It contains an acetate of morphia, the most active form of the narcotic principle; and resembles closely the celebrated black drop. The dose is from ten drops to twenty.

Acetum Scillae. Lond. Vinegar of Squill

"Take of fresh dried squill, fifteen ounces; distilled vinegar, six pints; proof spirit, half a pint , Macerate the squill in the vinegar with a gentle heat, in a covered vessel, for twenty-four hours; then express the liquor, and set it aside that the feculencies may subside; lastly, add the spirit to the clear liquor.

Acidum Aceticum Scilliticum, Edin. Vinegar of Squill.

"Take of squill root (bulb), dried, one ounce; distilled vinegar, fifteen ounces; alcohol, one ounce and a half. Macerate the squill with the acid for seven days; then express the liquor, and add to it the alcohol; and when the feculencies have subsided, pour off the clear fluid."

Acetum Scillae, Dub. Vinegar of Squill.

"Take of fresh squill root (bulb), dried, half a pound; wine vinegar, three pints; rectified spirit, four fluid ounces. Digest the squill with the vinegar for four days in a glass vessel, with frequent agitation; then express the vinegar, and after the feculencies have subsided, add to it the spirit."

Syn. Vinaigre scillitique (F.), Meerzwiebelessig (G.).

Vinegar extracts and holds in solution the scillitina, the active principle of the squill, upon which its efficacy as a remedy depends. This preparation has long been used as an expectorant and diuretic in chronic catarrh, humoral asthma, and dropsies. The dose is from f 3 ss. to f 3ij., given in cinnamon or mint water. In large doses it produces vomiting; and is occasionally used as an emetic in the above diseases, when the stomach is loaded.

When kept, the vinegar of squill deposits a precipitate, which consists of citrate of lime and tannin.1

Officinal preparations. - Oxymel Scillae, L. Syrupus Scillae, E.