H2SO; the base liberated with NaOH, collected, dried and extracted with boiling alcohol. The alcoholic solution was concentrated to one-half, when water was added until a precipitate formed. The mixture was boiled and filtered; solanine was deposited from the filtrate as it cooled, in long silky needles. It was recrystallized from alcohol 80 per cent.; then again converted into salts and reliberated, finally recrystallized again from the same menstruum. The pure base thus obtained discolours at 245°C., turns brown at 255°C., commences to melt at 260° and is entirely melted, with decomposition at 262-263°C. When dried in vacuo at 105°C., it gives analytical figures corresponding to the formula C32H51011N. On hydrolysis it gives a solanidine, m.p. 210-215°C. The shoots yield about 2.5 per cent. of crude solanine and the flowers 6 to 7 per cent.

Spearmint, English, Essential Oil of. H. J. Henderson. (Pharm. Journ. [4], 25, 506.) Two samples of the oil distilled at Hitchin from plants grown locally, in 1906 and 1907 respectively had the following characters: 1906 oil;-sp. gr. 0-931 ; solubility in alcohol 90 per cent., 11; a-50° at 21.5°C., 1907 oil-sp. gr. 0-927; solubility in alcohol 90 per cent., 1: 1; a-50° at 20°C. These oils have a greater solubility in alcohol than required by the B.P. 1898. But although they are soluble 1:1, on adding more alcohol a slight turbidity results.

Spermaceti, Testing of. H. Dunlop. (Journ. Soc. Chem. Ind., 27, 63.) The following table summarizes the characters of genuine spermaceti, as found in an exhaustive practical paper on the testing of sperm oil and spermaceti :

physiol. Chem., 53, 126; Journ. Pharm. Chim. [6], 27, 251.) The silk examined is spun by a large Malagasy spider, Nephila madagascariensis, and is of a bright orange colour. It differs from silkworm silk in the small amount of sericin, the portion soluble in hot water. Of this it only contains about 3 per cent., whereas ordinary silk gives 30 per cent. The orange-coloured threads of spider silk part with their colouring matter when treated with alkaline solutions, becoming almost colourless. The portion insoluble in hot water is analogous too, if not identical with, fibroin of true silk. Like that substance, it is liquefied by HCl and the acid solution when poured into alcohol gives a Cl-free product insoluble in water, named sericoin by Wehl. When hydrolized by acids spider silk yields almost the same products as fibroin. The amounts of glycocall, alanine, tyrosine and leucine are practically identical; but the quantity of proline and of diamine acids is somewhat higher. Spider silk contains a small quantity of glutamic acid, which is not found in ordinary silk; on the other hand, the latter contains serine which is not found among the products of hydrolysis of the silk of the spider.

Storax (Evans' Analyt. Report, 1907, 44.) This substance is still subjected to much adulteration, fatty matter being the most common admixture.

The following results have been obtained :

The cinnamic acid was estimated by saponification and crystallization from water.

Strontium Salts, Preparation of Free, from Barium. H. Caron and D. Raquet. (Répertoire [3], 20, 241.) The purity as regards the presence of Ba of the salts of Sr met with in French commerce leaves much to be desired. Of 50 specimens examined, 5 only were pure; 6 contained more than 1 per cent. of Ba, and 6 more than 2 per cent. The process for the preparation of Ba-free SrCO, in the Codex Supplement is not satisfactory, and may be improved as follows: To a 10 per cent. solution of commercial Sr2NO, add one-tenth its volume of K2CrO, solution, 3 per cent.; after allowing to stand for 24 hours, filter. The filtrate, which should be distinctly yellow, is then poured slowly, with agitation, into excess of 10 per cent. Na2CO3 solution. Wash the precipitated SrCO3 by decantation, collect, drain and dry. From this any desired salt may be prepared by neutralizing with the appropriate acid. It is important that the solution of SrCrO, should be poured into the Na2CO3 solution as directed, and not vice versâ. The Codex directions for testing SrCO, are also unsatisfactory. This is better performed as follows: Ten c.c. of 10 per cent. HCl is treated with excess of the SrCO, to be tested, and the neutral solution filtered. The filtrate is made up to 20 c.c. and treated with 2 c.c. of 3 per cent. K2CrO4 solution. No precipitate should appear after standing some hours.

Strychnine and Brucine, Two New Acids from. H. Leuch s. (Berichte, 41, 1711.) By oxidizing strychnine and brucine in acetone solution by means of KMnO4, two new acids, strychninonic acid, C21H20O6N2, and brucinonic acid, C23H24O8N2, which differ from the original alkaloids in the addition of 4

atoms of O and the removal of 2 atoms of H from the molecule. By the above method they occur as K salts. On liberating the acids, brucinonic acid separates out from hot aqueous solution in small prisms. Strychnonic acid forms incised prisms containing 2 mols. H2O. Both acids are monobasic, bitter, and non-toxic.

Strychnine and Cocaine, Characteristic Crystalline Double Salts of with Bismuth Iodide. E. Pozzi-Escot. (Annales Chim. analyt., 12, 357.) When strychnine solutions are added to a very dilute solution of BiCl, in presence of a little alcohol and a large excess of KI and HCl, a crystalline double iodide of bismuth and strychnine is thrown down as a heavy chocolatecoloured precipitate of micro-needles. Under similar conditions cocaine also gives a crystalline precipitate after standing for some hours exposed to light, in the form of red needles. Most alkaloidal precipitates thus obtained are amorphous, so it is suggested that these crystalline forms may serve for the identification of strychnine and cocaine. The crystals are soluble in alcohol, but cannot be recrystallized therefrom.

Strychnine, Toxicological Detection of. G. Welborn. (Pharm. Journ. [4], 25, 639.) Transfer a portion, or the whole, of the contents in the stomach to a wide-mouthed, stoppered bottle, and add thereto a mixture consisting of 3 vols. of distilled water, acidified with acetic acid, and 1 vol. of alcohol, sp. gr. 0.834, so as to thoroughly immerse the material under examination, and digest at a temperature of 60°C. for the space of 3 hours. The greater part of the solid matter may be separated from the liquid portion by filtration through muslin and pressing the magma left thereon. It will generally be found that the filtrate thus obtained passes through a wetted paper filter readily, if not rapidly, owing to the presence of alcohol.

Evaporate the filtrate on the water-bath until it attains the consistence of a thin syrup. If oil or fatty matters be present they may be removed at this stage by agitation of the extractive with petroleum ether or benzene in a separating funnel.

Finally, draw off the acid aqueous solution into a glass or porcelain vessel, affuse the extractive with a sufficiency of CHCl3 to wash out the alkaloid, and immediately afterwards add an excess of Na2CO3, which has been previously heated to redness and afterwards reduced to powder, until the insoluble

matters assume a pasty or granular condition. The clear solution of the alkaloid may immediately be poured into a porcelain basin, and the CHCl, driven off on a water-bath. If strychnine be present, it is generally found to be sufficiently purified to admit of the application of the usual tests. Should colouring matters, however, still remain, as shown by evaporating a few drops of the CHCl, solution and warming with concentrated H2SO4, if any brown colour or blackness appear, the recovered alkaloid should be dissolved in a small quantity of very dilute acetic acid, and then shaken out in a separating funnel with benzene or petroleum ether, and evaporating the acid solution to obtain the purified alkaloid; or purification may be effected by solution in warm alcohol and recrystallizing.

Strychnos aculeata, Constituents of Fruits of. A. Hébert. (Journ. Pharm. Chim. [6], 27, 151.) The fruits of Strychnos aculeata from the Ivory Coast are spherical, 8 to 10 cm. in diameter and weigh from 100 to 150 Gm. They contain a spherical seed. They are used by the natives of West Africa as a fish poison. No strychnine, or curarine, and only a very little brucine was found, nor did the liquids which would contain any toxic alkaloids exercise any poisonous action on fish. Aqueous extracts of both the pericarp and the seed, however, were found to be extremely fatal to fish when introduced in the water, yet were apparently inert when administered hypodermically to frogs and guinea pigs. It is probable that the poison is a nonvolatile glucoside.

Styrax obassia, Constituents of Fruit of. Y. Asahina. (Archiv. Pharm., 245, 325.) Two species of Styrax grow in Japan, S. japonica and S. obassia. Keimatsu has examined the former, which is used as a fish poison, and isolated therefrom a sapotoxin, styrasapotoxin, C38H60O18. The author has obtained a sugar, styracite, C6H12O5, allied to mannite, from the pericarps of the latter, freed from seeds. The material was extracted with alcohol 60 per cent.; after distilling off the solvent, the residue was treated with MgO, and extracted with alcohol 80 per cent. The alcoholic solution, when concentrated, deposited crystals of styracite, which was purified by re-solution in water, and treatment with alcohol 90 per cent. Styracite occurs in snow-white prisms; m.p. 155°C; a 20-71·72°; very soluble in water; almost insoluble in strong alcohol; soluble in strong H2SO, and HNO, without colour; sweet in