ground up in a mortar to a mixture of coarse and fine powder, and then 5 c. c. 80 minims of stronger ether. Cork the flask and shake it vigorously until by means of the glass all the alkaloids have been detached from the flask and ground up in the presence of the ether into fine particles. In this way the definite quantity of ether, which is large enough to dissolve all the quinia that could possibly be present, becomes entirely saturated with alkaloids in the proportion of their solubility, and the solution will necessarily embrace all the very soluble ones as the quinia.

Next, mark two test tubes at the capacity of 10 c. c.=160 minims each, and place a funnel and filter of 7 c. m. 2.8 inches diameter over one of them. Wet the filter well with ether, and then pour on to it the mixture of alkaloids, ether and glass, from the flask. Rinse the flask out two or three times onto the filter with fresh ether, and then wash the filter, and percolate the glass with fresh ether, applied drop by drop from a pipette, until the liquid in the test tube reaches the 10 c. c. 160 minim mark. Then change the funnel to the other test tube, and continue the washing and percolation with ether until the mark on the second test tube is reached by the filPour the contents of the two test tubes into two small tared capsules, evaporate to a constant weight and weigh them. The first capsule will contain what may be called the ether-soluble alkaloids. Subtract from the weight of these the weight of the residue in the second capsule, and the remainder will be the approximate weight of the quinia extracted from the 5 grammes of bark. These weights multiplied by 20 will give the percentage of ether-soluble alkaloids and of quinia.

trate.

The explanation upon which these conclusions are based is as follows:

The quantity of ether used is abundant to dissolve all the quinia and most of the quinidia and cinchonidia, and presumably does so, and dissolves beside all that it is capable of holding of the less soluble alkaloids. This saturated solution is filtered off, displaced and washed out. Then an equal volume of the solvent ether is applied to the residue containing the less soluble alkaloids, and is presumably nearly saturated by these, but contains no quinia and but little quinidia perhaps, though it contains as much of all the other alkaloids as did the first portion. If the two equal volumes of solvent, then, contain nearly equal quantities of the less soluble alkaloids, while the first contains nearly all of the more soluble ones, then it only needs that the weight of the second residue be subtracted

from the weight of the first to leave only the weight of the more soluble alkaloids, such as quinia and quinidia, if the latter should be present.

In two good critical assays, one of red and the other of yellow cinchona, made for the purposes of this paper at this time, the red cinchona (succirubra of Ceylon) gave 335 grammes of total alkaloids, which is (335X20) 6.7 per cent. These total alkaloids then gave 210 grammes of ether-soluble alkaloids, which is equal to (210×20=) 4.2 per cent., and this corrected by subtracting 015 grammes of less soluble alkaloids or ('015×20=) 3 per cent., gives (4.2-3) 3.9 per cent. of quinia. Then, as the ordinary sulphate of quinia contains about 73.5 per cent. of quinia, this 3.9 per cent. of quinia would be equal to (as 73.5: 100 :: 3.9) 5.3 per cent. of sulphate.

The yellow bark assayed at the same time (Cinchona officinalis from the Ootacamund) gave of total alkaloids 7.3 per cent. Ethersoluble alkaloids 3.48 per cent. Quinia 2.76 per cent. Equal to sulphate of quinia 3.75 per cent.

In connection with these two assays it is worthy of remark that here, as is very rarely the case in the experience of this writer, the red cinchona yields the smaller percentage of total alkaloids with the larger percentage of quinia. Usually the proportions are just the reverse of this between the red and yellow barks.

POPULAR MEDICATION.

The epidemic of "St. Jacob's Oil," from which this whole country has been suffering for some time past, and which more recently attacked this locality, deserves a little variation in the mode by which the oil is advertised.

In this vicinity the epidemic has been very severe in character, but in its onset it has not varied from the usual type in its spread. Commencing in the newspapers, it rapidly spread to the fences and dead walls of all the streets, and thence infected the passers-by. So virulent was the attack, that common rumor has it that through an expenditure of some $400,000, in advertising, the whole country is now suffering at the rate of about $40,000 a week

of total sales. If this be true or anywhere near the truth, the latter sum forms a very respectable item in the interest account of the national debt to the patent medicine business,-a branch of mercantile enterprise exceeded by none.

It is estimated on a basis that can hardly be called statistical, though it may be reasonable and probable, that the people of this country consume between five and six times more medicine per capita than any other nation of the world, and yet the people are taxed for it in such a way that they hardly seem to feel it. Or rather the quack medicine tax is so much better managed than the spirit and tobacco taxes, that it does not cost anything like as much to collect it. A very interesting question in political economy is how much better off would the nation be if these taxes were saved by the cure of these mild but not harmless forms of insanity, which cause the irrational use or abuse of patent medicines spirit and tobacco ?

Suppose there were only fifty patent medicines, with an aggregate sale of $20,000 a week each. That would be a million dollars a week, or fifty-two millions of dollars a year, and this sum if capitalized at 4 per cent. per annum would represent thirteen hundred millions of dollars.

"St. Jacob's Oil" appears to be a feeble and badly made aconite liniment, and it consists mainly of water, ether, alcohol, turpentines, and a small proportion of aconite with red coloring matter. Its whole function is to make money for the enterprising merchants who own it, and in this it is by no means a delusion or a snare.

Its enormous sale is not only of great service in helping the poor to stay poor, but it also relieves a great many people of their money, who are not poor in anything but common sense, and who take their medicines as they do most of their other deceptions, namely, by being advertised into them, since without advertising not one hundred dollars' worth of St. Jacob's Oil could ever have been sold.

This writer has for many years known that his valued friend, Dr. W. C. Reiter, of No. 328 Penn avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., had suffered from inherited psoriasis, and had accidentally met with a very simple plan of treatment which had relieved him in more than one recurrence of the disease. He has also known that Dr. Reiter as an excellent general practitioner, with a large practice, has been successful in relieving a number of cases similar to his own by the same plan of treatment, and that this treatment was so simple and easy as to be within easy reach of every physician in the United States, without recourse to the druggist or pharmacist, or to anything except the common burdock weed which grows at his door. It was also known that Dr. Reiter would only be too glad to tell all he knew for the benefit of his brother physicians and their suffering patients. But his treatment was so simple, not needing even a fluid extract, that there was danger that if published in these days it would pass as an unscientific vagary, or a small thing. It may therefore be useful to assume, on behalf of Dr. Reiter, the character of the servants of Naaman, and say to the readers of this pamphlet," If the prophet had bid thee do some great thing wouldst thou not have done it?"

The following account was sent by Dr. Reiter some time ago, but not with any view to its publication. Lately, however, his permission has been asked for and obtained for its publication, and the readers are congratulated on the agreeable contrast between his style and anything they are used to find here. Hence his

pleasant letter is given just as it was received from him, with the omission only of proper names.

DR. REITER'S LETTER.

LAPPA MAJOR.

Radix bardan, P.G.-Bardane, Fr.-Burdock, E.-Klettenwurzel, G.-Nat. Ord. Compositæ. Cynareæ.

Heads discoid, homogamous; involucre globous, the scales imbrecated and hooked at the extremity; receptacle bristly; pappus bristly, scabrous, caducous, (2) Coarse. European herbs. Leaves alternate, large. Lappa Major, Gaert. Leaves cordate, unarmed, petioled. Common in waste and uncultivated grounds and fields in the New England, Middle and Western States. Each plant is a large, conical ill-scented and coarse-looking mass of vegetation, surmounted by a branching irregular panicle of ovoid heads, with tubular corollas of an exceedingly delicate pink color. The leaves are very large, with wavy edges. It has a wonderful design for the dispersion of its seeds. The scales of the involucre all end in a minute, firm hook, which seizes hold of everything that passes by.

The root has long been used as a medicine, particularly in Germany; and alterative, diuretic and diaphoretic properties were ascribed to it. It was prescribed for invalids suffering with rheumatism, skin and other chronic diseases, in powder, infusion, decoction, syrups, etc.,-but never attained a greater popularity than mint, chamomile, balm and other remedies which the good housewife stores in her medical armamentarium.

It was my misfortune to inherit, from my father, Psoriasis Inveterata, which he told me he had inherited from a long line of progenitors. In youth I had spots on my skin foretelling what adult age developed-psoriasis on left leg and ankle-the same place on my body perfectly imitating my father's plague. He was never healed, although he sought medical advice in Europe.

I was a country doctor, and carried a cane on horseback to relieve the agonizing itching of my leg in warm weather. One warm afternoon (about 1840, I think), I was going to visit a patient with an old farmer, when he exclaimed, "What makes you tear your leg so furiously with the end of that hickory stick?" I replied, "To relieve the maddening itch of my accursed tetter." He said I must cure it; told me he had been afflicted with it on his hands so severely that he had lost his nails. He said I should gather burdock seed and put whisky on it, and take internally. I obeyed; put quite a quantity into gallon bottles and added whisky, of which I had but little; in the others I put alcohol, and stood them in a warm place. After some weeks I began to take a table-spoonful thrice daily, using that steeped in whisky first.