The drug was then treated with stronger ether, which dissolved four per cent. The dry extract was treated with boiling distilled water and lost three-tenths of one per cent. It gave a bitter taste to the water, but yielded no precipitate to tests for alkaloids. On evaporating the ether there were formed some fine needle-shaped crystals. The extract was dissolved in alcohol, the chlorophyll removed by animal charcoal, and several attempts were made to obtain the crystals in a purer state, but without success. There was, however, a resin present that had a tendency to crystallize.

Absolute alcohol was the next menstruum used, and the extract obtained was five per cent. of the drug. About one and a half per cent. was soluble in water. The portion that did not dissolve in water was a greenish-yellow powder and had a lasting unpleasant taste. Tannin was found in the soluble portion, but the percentage was not determined. The aqueous solution was made acid and agitated successively with petroleum, benzol and chloroform. It was then made alkaline and the same treatment repeated. The resulting liquids were evaporated, but nothing found in the petroleum or benzol. There was a deposit of crystals, however, from both the acid and alkaline liquid with chloroform. Nothing else of importance was found in the alcoholic extract.

The residue, after exhaustion with alcohol, was macerated with water, which dissolved thirteen per cent. of the drug, containing mucilage, coloring matter and ash, but no sugar, nor anything else of special importance.

The residue insoluble in water yielded to solution of caustic soda mucilaginous substances and albuminoids amounting to four per

cent.

Diluted hydrochloric acid dissolved two per cent. of the drug, and of this six-tenths of one per cent. was oxalate of calcium. No starch was found.

On treatment with chlorine water the loss was six per cent. lignin ; and with chlorate of potassium and nitric acid the loss was two per

cent.

Three pounds of the fresh drug were distilled with water. From the distillate, by shaking with ether, was obtained a volatile oil of a bright green color with a penetrating odor, resembling that of fennel or anise, but more pleasant. The yield was very small, about one drachm being obtained from the three pounds. While the solution of

. Pharm

oil in the ether was filtering the rapid evaporation of the ether caused crystals to form on the edge of the filter, but they soon volatilized and no examination was made of them.

In order to determine the nature of the crystals formed by the use of chloroform from the aqueous solution of the alcoholic extract, one pound of the original drug was packed in a percolator and exhausted with wood alcohol; the alcohol was recovered by distillation and distilled water added to the residue; the solution was filtered and agitated with chloroform, but crystals were not obtained. These extracts had a bitter taste, imparted fluorescence to the chloroform solution and after boiling with acid, reduced Fehling's solution. The principle seems to differ from the magnolin of Mr. Procter.

NOTE BY THE EDITOR.—It does not appear to be generally known that the fresh leaves of Magnolia glauca may be used in the place of indelible ink for the marking of linen and other fabrics, by placing upon the latter the lower surface of a leaf, and tracing upon the upper surface with a blunt peg, using some pressure, the desired characters. The writing appears upon the fabric at first of a grayish green color, which gradually becomes darker, and does not disappear on washing.

METHYSTICIN FROM PIPER METHYSTICUM.

BY ROBERT GLENK.

On evaporating an alcoholic tincture of the root to a small bulk, a crystalline precipitate forms, which is obtained snow-white on dissolving in boiling water (to separate resin) and allowing to cool. This principle is the methysticin first observed by Morton, in 1844, and further examined, in 1860, by Cuzent, Gobley and O'Rorke. Crystallized from alcohol, it forms fine needles, which are odorless and tasteless, and freely soluble in ether, benzol and benzin; very soluble in boiling alcohol, slightly soluble in the cold; soluble in about 60 parts of boiling water, but sparingly soluble in the cold, separating as a crystalline feathery precipitate. Its solution in hot water is of a neutral reaction, and is not precipitated by alkaloidal reagents.

When placed in a test tube kept in mercury, the principle melts at 133°C; by heating on platinum foil it burns with a smoky flame, and is finally consumed without residue. It does not reduce an alkaline solution of copper.

Concentrated sulphuric acid forms immediately an intense carmine

color, which changes to a brown in one or two hours. Concentrated nitric acid dissolves it with a reddish-brown color. Concentrated hydrochloric acid gives an orange red color.

With oxidizing agents, like permanganate of potassium, chromic acid (K,Cr2O,+H2SO,), or nitric acid, it is decomposed, with the production of a strong heliotropin-like odor, which is quite characteristic, being produced even in very dilute solutions. A cold solution of methysticin in diluted alcohol, on being boiled for a few seconds with dilute nitric acid, gives a decided odor of heliotrope. This does not occur with other oxidizing agents in such dilute solutions.

The color, with concentrated sulphuric acid, is also quite characteristic, a bright carmine red being produced, in rather dilute solutions, on adding to four or five drops of the latter about ten drops of the acid.

ANALYTICAL NOTES.

Abstracts from Theses.

Gallic acid.-Specimens of gallic acid from different manufacturers were procured by Fred. Wm. Meissner, Jr., Ph. G., and subjected to the pharmacopoeial tests. The saturated aqueous solutions yielded no precipitates with an alkaloidal salt, albumen or gelatinized starch, but produced heavy white precipitates with a solution of tartar emetic and ammonium chloride. Even in very dilute solutions of gallic acid a distinct precipitate was obtained by this test, and previous continued washing with cold water did not prevent the precipitation. Gallic acid was then prepared by Liebig's process from tannin by boiling with sulphuric acid, recrystallizing and decolorizing with animal charcoal, remaining traces of tannin being removed by solution of lead acetate, as suggested by Watt. The crystals thus obtained answered all the pharmacopoeial requirements; the result may, perhaps, have been caused by the presence of a slight amount of acetic acid. The albumen and alkaloid tests are regarded as sufficiently delicate for the detection of tannin in gallic acid, one part in thirty being easily indicated.

Five samples of gallic acid on being heated to 100° C. lost respectively 9.5, 9.6 9.75, 9.75 and 10.5 per cent. of water.

Granular salts of caffeine.-William Kuder, Ph. G., procured a sample of crystallized citrate of caffeine, which was of neutral reaction, and volatilized completely when heated on platinum foil. A so

lution of 0.50 gm. of this sample in distilled water was made alkaline with sodium hydrate, repeatedly agitated with chloroform, the chloroform solution evaporated spontaneously, and the crystals thoroughly dried; the weight of caffeine was 0-427 gm., corresponding to 0.466 gm. of crystallized alkaloid. Citric acid was absent.

Some of the commercial granular effervescing salts were examined in the same manner, except that one or two gm. was used for each assay, which gave for

"

I. 19 per ct. dry alkaloid, corresponding to 2:061 per ct. crystallized alkaloid II. 4.84 111. 1.5

66 5.28 1.628

Nos. I. and II. were granular citrates; No. III. contained bromides.

Assays of Milk.-The standard for pure milk, adopted in different localities, is given by Albert James Lynch, Ph. G., as follows:

During the winter of 1887-88, the author examined a number of samples of milk procured in the Philadelphia market, with the following results:

Fat......

I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. 5.21 3.63 2.61 2.70 3.51 2.65 5'04 3.75 Other solids............ 15'60 9.26 9.01 9.22 9:08 9.18 10:46 9.21

Total solids.......... 20'81 12.89 11.62

11.92 12.59 11.88 15.50 12.96

No. I. was Alderney milk; the solids consisted of fat 5-21, sugar 4.20, casein and albumen 5-69, ash 0.71. No. VII. was also sold as Alderney milk.

An analysis of a so-called catarrh cure was made by Otto Prochaska, Ph. G. One of the powders was white, the other of a pink color; the coloring matter was not taken up by alcohol, but was dissolved by ammonia, with an intense red color, which was destroyed by hydrochloric acid. In other respects the two powders showed no difference. They had an alkaline reaction, on ignition lost 28 per cent. without charring, yielded nothing to ether or chloroform, and in aqueous solution, to which ammonium chloride had been added, gave, with ammonium sul

Jour

phide, a slight black precipitate, and the filtrate a slight white precipitate with ammonium phosphate. Sodium was the remaining base found, and besides carbonic, no other acid could be detected. The powders consist of commercial sodium bicarbonate, one of them being colored with a little carmine.

An analysis of a so-called invisible toilet powder was made by Owen C. Spear, Ph. G. Ether dissolved the volatile oil, and on evaporation left a trifling amount of fatty matter. When ignited the odor of burning sugar was given off. Cold water took up nothing; on boiling with water and cooling a gelatinous liquid was formed, which turned blue with iodine. After exhausting with boiling water, the residuary powder did not blacken when ignited; hydrochloric acid dissolved a portion of this residue, containing Zn and a little Fe, Al and Ca, but no other metals. The undissolved powder was ignited with Na2CO3, then treated with water and HCl, when the presence of silica and magnesia, with traces of Fe and Al was shown. The toilet powder proved to be a mixture of starch, talc, zinc oxide and calcium carbonate.

For quantative analysis the powder was ignited and the starch estimated by the loss. Treatment of the residue with HCl left the talc undissolved; the solution treated with ammonia yielded a precipitate, which after ignition was weighed as Fe2O, and Al2O. From the ammoniacal filtrate the zinc was precipitated by NH,HS, converted into chloride, precipitated as carbonate, and weighed as oxide. The lime was precipitated from the mother liquor, and weighed as carbonate. The analytical results were:

The toilet powder was probably made by mixing together commercial starch 18, tale 52, and zinc oxide 30 parts.

To remove hiccough, Dr. Böttrich (Therap. Monatsh., June, 1888,) has found the best proceeding, to take a very deep inspiration and hold the breath as long as possible. If the breath be kept just past a rising singultus, the latter generally ceases.