positively the presence of cotton-seed oil; there is, however, with cotton-seed oil always a grayish film separated on the sides of the test tube, with mustard and rape oils a film is formed which is of a black color, the color being due possibly in the first case to metallic silver, in the second case to sulphide of silver. Arachis oil with silver nitrate develops in a few minutes a red color which then passes into a dark brown in the course of fifteen minutes; this test is apparently characteristic for arachis oil among the vegetable oils but is also given by some of the fish oils. Cotton-seed oils may differ in the rapidity with which they react with both Au Cl, and Ag NO,, this no doubt being due to the manner and completeness of the purification of the oil by chemicals; there is also a difference in their behavior to sulphuric acid. To ascertain something of the nature of the body giving the reaction with Au Cl ̧, a portion of cotton-seed oil was mixed with alcohol and some pieces of potassium hydrate; after shaking a few minutes a clear solution was obtained which was poured off from the undissolved potassium hydrate into a large volume of water; by this means the unsaponified oil was again separated, the soap remaining in solution; the separated oil was now saponified and from the two soap solutions were precipitated the fatty acids. The acid obtained from the easily saponified portion of the oil contained a liquid and a solid portion which could be separated by cooling the mixture; with Au Cl, a very fine red coloration was produced; the acid from the more difficultly saponified portion of the oil was solid and gave only a momentary red color, changing into a violet and depositing a dark precipitate. The cause of the red color is hence to be found in the liquid acid. 2. COMMERCIAL OILS. Au Cl3. Ag NO3. Red color, a, dark; b, very thick. a, no change; b, brownish black, a, no change; b, gray black, ppe. a, gray green. ppe.; b, no change. Jour. Pharm , 1889 Attention should be called to the difference between the poppy-seed oils; No. 1 is an imported oil, Nos. 2 and 3 were made from black poppy-seed by expression. The difference is so great that the oils were possibly made from different kinds of seed, the imported probably from white poppy-seeds. Regarding these oils, some show adulteration: Almond, 1 with arachis oil; almond, 2 with peach-kernel oil; olive 1, the adulterant possibly a mixture; olive 3, with cotton-seed oil; salad, a mixture of arachis and sesame oils. 3. COMMERCIAL OILS. Au Cl3. Ag NO3. a, reddish; b, fluorescent, dark red, thick. a, reddish; b, fluorescent, dark red, thick. a, no change; b, dark green, solid. a, dark brown; b, no change. a, pale red; b, gray brown. a, dark red; b, no change. a, greenish; b, solid. a, yellowish; b, brownish, solid. a, red brown; b, dark brown, thick. a, b, greenish, ppt. a, brown; b, no change. a, light brown; b, green black, ppt. Finally a few mixtures of olive and cotton-seed oils were made containing one, five and ten per cent. of the latter oil and subjected to the gold chloride test; the ten per cent. mixture gave on warming for 12 minutes a red color, very distinctly; the five per cent. mixture did not react in twenty minutes but if heated for one-half hour slowly deposited a precipitate of metallic gold; the one per cent. mixture showed no color whatever with gold chloride but with silver nitrate gave a slight deposit on the sides of the test tube. The separation of metallic gold by a number of the oils is probably traceable to the amount of reducing acid present being insufficient to give the red color. Aqua chloroformi has not only antiseptic and anaesthetic properties (AM. JOUR. PHAR., 1888, pp. 408, 475), but according to Ullrich (Prag. Med. Wochenschr., 1888, No. 33), is also an effective hæmostatic, very useful in bleeding from the gums after the extraction of teeth. , 1889 Jour. Pharm ON SOME DRUG CONSTITUENTS. Abstracts from Theses. Chamomile Flowers.-On exhausting the flower heads of Anthemis nobilis with petroleum benzin, Ella Amerman, Ph. G., obtained a green wax, which after six recrystallizations from alcohol was nearly white, bitter and crystalline, and melted at about 130° C. On exhausting the drug now with ether, and treating this extract again with ether, as recommended by Camboulises in 1871, a crystalline substance, distinctly acid, and of a glucosidal nature was obtained. A small quantity of similar crystals was also obtained by Werner's process (1867) by exhausting with dilute acetic acid, concentrating, precipitating with alcohol, treating with chloroform, evaporating, exhausting with ether and treating this extract with warm distilled In a third experiment the alcoholic tincture of the flowers was concentrated, precipitated by water, the filtrate treated with chloroform, the solvent evaporated and the residue treated with water. The aqueous solution of the crystals, on being boiled with hydrochloric acid, became opalescent, emitted a honey-like odor, and with Fehling's solution now gave evidence of the presence of glucose. There was no evidence of the presence of an alkaloid. Diospyros virginiana, Lin.-The bark of this tree is of a tan color, and has a mucilaginous bitterish, then sweetish and astringent taste. Experiments made by Frank E. Murphy, Ph. G., gave the following results: The powdered bark yielded to petroleum benzin 0.9 per cent. of an amber colored extract, free from volatile oil. Ether took up 1.4 per cent., the extract yielding to alcohol a wine colored mass, which deposited from chloroform in stellate or granular crystals. The alcohol extract of the bark amounted to 25 per cent. and was partly soluble in water. The water extract weighed 12 per cent. and contained mucilage and dextrin. The extracts thus far obtained yielded a purple color with alkalies, the reaction being due to yellow coloring matter. On treating the exhausted bark with weak solution of soda, the mixture also acquired a deep purple color, and ultimately became gelatinous. The acid infusion of the residuary bark gave with ammonia a purple colored precipitate; calcium oxalate was not found. A quantity of the partially ripe fruit was dried and treated with Feb., 1889 Jour ether; on evaporating the solvent a granular extract was left, which became purple by alkalies from the presence of yellow coloring mat ter. Eriodictyon californicum, Bentham.-An analysis of the leaves yielded to Oliver F. Lenhardt, Ph. G., 7.6 per cent. of moisture, and 4.25 per cent. (or for the anhydrous drug 5·14 per cent.) of ash. Of the latter 26-66 per cent. was soluble in water, 63.4 per cent. soluble in HCl, and 3.5 per cent. soluble in solution of KHO. Petroleum benzin extracted, including volatile oil, 2.63 per cent., of which 39 was wax which separated from hot alcohol amorphous and melted at 61°C. With ether 15.3 per cent. of extract was obtained, of which three-fifths (9 per cent.) was a brittle, fragrant, and slightly acid resin soluble in 80 per cent. alcohol; a little tannin was also present, and the green tenacious residue was partly soluble in benzol, and entirely soluble in carbon disulphide, and in chloroform; alkaloids and glucosides were absent. The exhausted leaves yielded to absolute alcohol 3.64 per cent. of extract, fully one-third of which was soluble in water, among other constituents tannin and a glucosidal compound being dissolved. The watery extract of the exhausted leaves weighed 22-3 per cent., was of a brown color, had a pleasantly sweetish and somewhat acrid taste, and contained tannin. Lycopus virginicus, Lin.-Sherman F. Hennessy, Ph. G., experimented with air dry bugle weed, containing 9 per cent. of moisture. Cold water dissolved 10-4 per cent. of constituents, consisting of albuminoids, gummy matter, a little tannin, and extractive. Alcohol now took up 12.8 per cent. of chlorophyll, resin, bitter extractive, etc. A small quantity of a lemon-yellow volatile oil was obtained by distilling the herb with water. Stigmata Maydis.-John Rea, Ph. G., determined in the cold. water infusion of corn silk (fresh?) the sugar by means of Fehling's solution, which indicated 0.88 per cent.; after boiling the infusion for one hour with hydrochloric acid, 1.42 per cent. of sugar was found. Commercial Kino.-Chas. H. Breidenbach, Ph. G., examined five samples of Malabar kino and four samples of powdered kino, of which F and G were odorless and had a red-brown color, while H and I had a slight aromatic odor and a very dark-red grayish-brown color, and yielded a gray-brown ash, that of the other samples being white. The results are as follows: . Jour. Pharm , 1889 The ether soluble portion dissolved readily in alcohol, and this solution gave, with ferric chloride, a deep-green color. The portions insoluble in absolute alcohol yielded from 65 to 92 per cent. to water, except for H and I, which residues were completely insoluble in water. Of the same two samples the residues left by water treatment yielded to alcohol 98 per cent., while the corresponding residues of the remaining seven samples contained between 77 and 90 per cent. of alcohol soluble matter. A quantity of gelatinized matter from old tincture of kino was procured and proved to be insoluble in acids, alkalies, alcohol, ether and water; but was not further examined since the kino which had yielded it could not be obtained. Tincture of kino was made from some of the above samples the menstruum used being 1, the officinal one; 2, alcohol 85, glycerin 15; 3, dilute alcohol; 4, water 75, alcohol 25; 5, absolute alcohol, and 6, 95 per cent. alcohol. The best results were obtained with menstruums 4 and 5, the tinctures with 5 being practically free from precipitates; those with 4 containing a distinct precipitate, and the remainder showing, after a month or two, indications of gelatinizing. Tincture of kino yields with lead acetate a dark bluish precipitate; the same reagent gives with tincture of catechu a light yellow, and with tincture of kino containing 10 per cent. of catechu, a dingy gray green precipitate. Pills of Thymol are conveniently made by using soap as an excipient, and are prepared by Dr. Frederic-Henry (Jour. de Méd.) in the treatment of various intestinal disorders. The thymol is given in doses of 0.12 to 0·15 gm. every six hours. |