attained with the help of a pill machine. Bacillula are made from 0.3 to 0.6 Gm. (4-9 grains) in weight, and from 1.0 to 1.5 Cm. (- inch) in length. Bacillula are given in cases where the patient has a repugnance to pastilles, or when the physician wishes to administer a medicine of small volume or in a different form. The division of the mass from which bacillula are made is done by means of the pill machine in precisely the same manner as that employed for pills, except that the pill strand is not formed into pills, but only cut into pieces and each portion rolled lightly under the middle finger on the board of the pill machine, in the direction of its long axis, so that the somewhat rough places at which the pieces were attached to each other are to some extent smoothed off. Bacillula are consperged with lycopodium if no other is prescribed. The bacillula, when finished, are allowed to dry for an hour at the ordinary temperature, and then for half an hour in a moderately warm place. The manufacture of from 20 to 50 becillula requires about two hours. SUGAR GLOBULES-SUGAR LOZENGES. SUGAR GLOBULES, SUGAR LOZENGES, Rotulæ Sacchari, are white cakes, each about one centimeter in thickness, in the shape of segments of a sphere, which, when saturated IMPROVED VAPOR AND DRAUGHT CHAMBER. PROF. CLEMENS WINKLER has introduced, in his labora tory, a series of improved vapor and draught closets, one of which is here illustrated and described (after Berichte, 1888, 3,563). The closets are built against a wall lined with tiles, and into which are built draught-holes communicating with the large chimney. In front of each draught-hole (an elongated rectangular opening) is placed a water bath of the usual cast-iron style, supplied with an automatic water regulator, placed in front where its action can always be properly watched. The regulator has two descending tubes, one for the influx of water, and the other for the overflow. The latter, being of glass, has a bulb, which enables the operator to better observe the rate of flow. This latter must be so regulated that only a very small quantity of water actually flows off. Behind the water-baths, and surrounding the rectangular opening in the wall, are projecting tile-shelves, and supports with a movable cover. The latter is shown behind the middle water-bath (see cut) as turned up and leaning against the wall. In the left-hand water-bath, it will be seen that the tile-cover has been tilted over, so that the flap of it is directly over the capsule on the waterbath, thus insuring a better draught. The latter may be still more increased by introducing a small burner in a suitable part of the chimney. Each water-bath is heated by a Bunsen burner. Water and gas are controlled by .A The Source of Jamaica Sarsaparilla. THE uncertainty existing as to the species of Smilax which is cultivated in Jamaica has been somewhat cleared up recently by Sir Joseph Hooker, who has carefully gone over all the available information on the subject, and has just published his conclusions. While admitting the vagueness and uncertainty of the information possessed on the subject, Flückiger and Hanbury in the "Pharmacographia" incline to believe that the sarsaparilla cultivated in the island of Jamaica, though of a light brown color and more amylaceous than the Jamaica sarsaparilla of commerce, is botanically identical with it. Specimens of this cultivated plant, but without flowers or fruit, which were sent to Flückiger and Hanbury and planted in the Botanical Gardens at Kew, some twenty years since, have quite recently flowered for the first time, and it is this occurrence which has attracted Sir Joseph Hooker's attention to the subject. The latter authority has. after an examination of these flowers and all the available information, concluded that the specimen in question is not the Smilax officinalis H. B. K., and has, therefore, described it anew under the name Smilax ornata Hook. f., believing it to be probably identical with the Smilax ornata Lemaire, described in "Illustrations Horticoles." The real difficulty which exists as to the placing of the specimens of Smilax in regard to their species lies in the fact that, the flowers being dioecious, it is necessary to obtain both a male and a female plant in order to be perfectly accurate in the description. The plant which flowered in the Kew Gardens proved to be a male, the female flowers being still unknown.-Chem. and Drugg. Ice in the Sick-room.-A saucerful of shaved ice, says the New York Medical Times, may be preserved for twentyfour hours with the thermometer in the room at 90° F., if the following precautions are observed: Put the saucer containing the ice in a soup plate and cover it with another. Place the soup plates thus arranged on a good heavy pillow, pressing the pillows so that the plates are completely imbedded in them. An old jack plane set deep is a most excellent thing with which to shave ice. It should be turned bottom upward, and the ice shoved backward and forward over the cutter. Winkler's Vapor Chamber. stop-cocks placed outside of the closets, and the watercock is so arranged that it cannot be opened further than is necessary to furnish an amount of water which can be carried off by the overflow. Each closet is, besides, provided with a separate opening near the top, which can be kept closed as long as the draught through the rectangular slit and chimney is operative, but may be opened when additional outlet for vapors is wanted. Examination of Vermicelli, etc., for Foreign Colors. -100 Gm. of the sample are dried, powdered, treated with 200 Gm. of alcohol for twenty-four to thirty-six hours, and the filtrate is concentrated to 10 C.c. If saffron is present, the extract is yellow and has an odor of saffron. The yellow coloring matter of safflower does not dissolve in alcohol. The yellow of turmeric is taken up by alcohol, and the extract smells of turmeric. Coal-tar colors dissolve in alcohol, and can be extracted from the concentrated aqueous residue by amylic alcohol. If Martin's yellow is present, the aqueous extract is decolorized by hydrochloric acid and the yellow color is restored on neutralizing with ammonia. Sam Jones on the Faith Cure. -In a recent sermon Sam Jones delivered himself as follows concerning the faith-cure brethren: "I'll tell you where this faith cure comes in. There's an old brother and sister who have been taking all the nasty quack patent medicines on the market for the past two years. Somebody comes along and prays over 'em, and they quit using patent medicines, and they are well again. They say it was faith that cured. It was faith. It was the faith which caused them to quit taking old patent nostrums which cured them." Separation of Morphine in Forensic Investigations. BY D. H. DIXON, PH.G., OF OMAHA, NEB. IN the determination of organic poisons in portions of a cadaver, articles of food, etc., the difficulty has to be contended with that with the isolation of the poison, coloring matters and other constituents of the subject under examination are at the same time isolated and interfere with the reactions. This is especially the case with morphine, which is usually extracted by means of warm amylic alcohol, this, indeed, being best adapted to the purpose, but at the same time taking up many impurities. Since morphine is abstracted from the alkaline solution by amylic alcohol, it is customary, for the removal of the impurities, to first agitate the acid solution with amylic alcohol. If, however, for the purpose of further treatment, the acid solution is rendered alkaline, forms of impurity are again produced which pass into the amylic alcohol. If the liquid be again acidulated and the operation repeated, the danger is incurred of losing much of the sought-for poison. After a series of experiments for obtaining the alkaloid in a pure state, with the use of various ethereal and other liquids, the author has come to the conclusion that a mixture of 10 parts of ether and 1 part of alcohol is well adapted to the purpose. For such cases, therefore, in which the separation of small amounts of morphine is required, the following method is proposed: The finely divided portions of the cadaver are repeatedly extracted with acidulated water (urine and other liquids being first concentrated by evaporation), the combined liquids filtered, evaporated to nearly a syrupy consistence on a water-bath, extracted with from four to five times its volume of 95-per-cent alcohol, again filtered, the filtrate freed from alcohol by distillation, the residue in the flask or retort again filtered and then shaken with amylic alcohol as long as coloring matters continue to be abstracted. Thereupon the acid solution is heated to from 50° to 60° C., an equal volume of amylic alcohol added and agitated, the liquid then made alkaline with ammonia water and again agitated for some time. After the separation and removal of the amylic alcohol from the aqueous liquid, the operation is repeated by agitation with a fresh portion of amylic alcohol. The amylic alcohol liquids are then distilled or allowed to volatilize on a water-bath, the residue evaporated to dryness and, by the aid of a gentle heat, repeatedly extracted with slightly acidulated water. The acid liquids are then filtered and the filter carefully washed. It is advisable to again agitate the acid filtrate with amylic alcohol for the removal of the coloring matter, and then to pour upon the separated acid liquid the above-mentioned mixture of 10 parts of anhydrous ether and 1 part of 95-per-cent alcohol, make alkaline with ammonia water, and agitate. This agitation with etheralcohol is to be repeated several times. In this way the morphine may be obtained so deprived of coloring matters that all the reactions of the alkaloid may at once be applied. Arsenic in Wall Paper.* BY D. H. GALLOWAY. A LARGE number of samples of wall paper were obtained from many different sources, paper hangers, stores, imported samples, and from friends, those from the latter being papers already upon their walls or about to be put on. I made a determination of the arsenic in one hundred samples. These samples were taken at random and included all colors, styles, figures, and prices, the latter ranging from four cents to two dollars per rolí, and some that were sold by the yard at a much higher price. When I began this work, nearly a year ago, I supposed that, after a time, I would be able to tell by appearances whether a paper contained arsenic or not. This expectation has not, however, been realized, and I am now convinced that it is impossible to say, before examination, whether a given sample contains arsenic or not. [The author here inserts a table in which he quotes the numbers of the samples and their respective contents of arsenious acid in Mg.; 25 samples were found free from it; 20 contained traces; the remainder from 1 to 600 Mg., though only a small number contained over 12 Mg.] Mr. T. N. Jamieson gave me several thousand samples that had been sold to pay duty at the custom house. Twelve of these, picked out at random, showed arsenic in every case, ranging, however, quite low, from 2 to 6 Mg. These samples were, presumably, of German manufacture. The uniformity of the amount of arsenic in these papers would seem to indicate that it had been used as an antiseptic in the paste with which the pigment was applied to the paper. The two samples, 9 and 81, containing 200 Mg. each, are probably of the same lot, as the colors are identical, though the figures are quite different. No. 100 contains an average of about 600 Mg. per square * Paper read at the meeting of the Amer. Pharm. Assoc, at San Francisco. meter, the arsenic being almost entirely in the red, a square meter of which, therefore, contains over 1 Gm. of arsenious oxide. No. 56 looks like the same paper, although it contains only about 50 Mg.; however, it is difficult to get a fair sample of a pattern containing figures so large and varied. There is scarcely room for difference of opinion as to the injurious effects of large amounts of arsenic in wall paper upon those who are exposed to its influence. There is little doubt that the air in the rooms papered with arsenical wall paper becomes contaminated with arseniuretted hydrogen, particularly in damp weather. This gas is extremely poisonous, and, though in very small quantities, sometimes gives rise to most alarming symptoms. Even if this decomposition did not take place, the air of the room must be filled with arsenic dust, particularly after sweeping and dusting, and thus cause more or less irritation of the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat, similar to the symptoms of catarrh or a cold. Some of it is swallowed with the saliva, giving rise to intestinal and constitutional disturbances of a more or less serious character, as indigestion, nausea, diarrhoea, general debility, nervous prostration, etc. Numbers of cases of fatal poisoning, in this manner, are on record, as well as many others in which the cause was discovered in time, and on the removal of which the patients recovered. The extreme difficulty of tracing to their proper source symptoms of this character must be plain to every one. How frequently we hear the diagnosis 'general debility," "nervous prostration," "indigestion, etc., the symptoms resisting all treatment until, perhaps, "rest and a change of air" are prescribed, when recovery follows, the symptoms returning, however, when the patient resumes his former work and surroundings. many of these cases are due to arsenic in the wall paper there is abundant proof; that there are thousands suffering from this cause, of which they and their physicians are totally ignorant, is a conclusion well warranted by the evidence. That Prof. Edward S. Wood gives (Report Mass. Board of Health, 1883) a list of forty-two cases of arsenical poisoning, most of which were due to wall paper. Prof. Wood mentions a great many other articles in which arsenic has been found; among them are the following: Dress goods, muslins, linen, artificial flowers, curtains, lambrequins, gloves, calico, cloth, boot-linings, paper collars, linen collars (one collar contained 10.4 grs. of As2O), hat linings, colored stockings, linings in baby carriages, bed hangings, colored wax candles, confectionery, etc., etc. The presence of arsenic is so widespread that perhaps it would be impossible to exclude it entirely from such articles, but the deliberate use of it as a coloring for such purposes should not be tolerated. An attempt was made ip Massachusetts a few years ago to secure the enactment of laws on the subject, placing the limit of arsenic in wall paper at 7 Mg. to each square meter; but the wall paper manufacturers were too influential with the legislators, and the bill failed to become a law. There is no excuse for the presence of such quantities of arsenic in wall paper, as all the colors produced by it can be made by other means, and, in view of the helplessness of the average individual in the presence of such an insidious poison, its use as a pigment in all cases should be prohibited by stringent laws. CHICAGO COLLEGE OF PHARMACY. India Rubber. PROBABLY no article of merchandise has been studied so well with a view to adulteration as rubber. We have met with many samples of rubber goods wherein the added matter averaged half the total weight, but in a recent trial it has been proved that 55 per cent of foreign materials is not an uncommon thing to find in even what are considered good samples of commercial rubber. The rubber in question contained 45.27 of pure rubber, and 54.73 [51.68 ? of mineral matter in the 100 parts, the mineral ingredients being made up as follows: The vulcanization of this mixture with rubber was effected by heating for ninety minutes at 287° F., or equivalent to 40 pounds steam pressure. Of course, we do not wish to infer that the mixing of the foregoing ingredients with rubber must necessarily be looked upon as a sophistication. There are many purposes to which pure rubber could not be applied; but seeing that the usual trade mixtures enable it to be put to such diverse uses, consumers should be able to specify the exact kind they require. It is an acknowledged fact that the use of rubber has, to a large extent, been given up in chemical works, on account of the uncertainty of its longevity, and this notice has been prompted by the sight of a rubber cord that has preserved its original character very well after being in use twenty-five years; but it only contains 12 per cent of mineral matter.-Chemical Trade Journal. MANUFACTURE OF PEEL ESSENCES. ITALY TALY has always been the home of the orange and those of its congeners from which we derive the essences, such as lemon, bergamot, and cedron, which are of so great importance in the perfumery and beverage industries. It might have been expected that the Paris Exhibition would have contained a more representative as well as a greater number of exhibits in this class than it does. But although we were somewhat disappointed on this score, we were at least pleased to note one or two exhibits of a very superior character in the Italian Court, and we were fortunate in meeting an attendant at one of them who displayed a remarkable amount of enthusiasm regarding his native industry, and was commendably liberal in meeting our request for some information regarding his methods of working. This gentleman was Mr. C. Rizzuto, of Reggio-de-Calabre, an Italian town of 37,000 inhabitants, situated opposite Messina. Mr. Rizzuto is senior partner in the firm of C. Rizzuto et Fils, whose manufactures, in conjunction with those of Françoia Genoese Labocetta, a relation, are exhibited by Pierro Merlino et Fils Cadet, of 67 Rue d'Hauteville, Paris, in the Italian Court of the Exhibition. Mr. Rizzuto is a typical specimen of the robust Italian, grizzled by the hardships of the Garibaldian campaigns and the wars under Victor Emmanuel which gave Italy her freedom. A tough old soldier he is, bearing still the scars of wounds received when serving his country. But it is of his manufactures rather than his personality that we have to report. He tells us that the finest products are made by the old-fashioned sponge method. This method is very simple, and is used for the production of the finest essences. There are, we may state, nine different varieties or odors, lemon and bergamot being the chief. The trade names under which these and their varieties go are: FIG. 1. Bergamote," "Bergamote dorée (mûre)," "Bergamote extrait à la main," "Citron (limone),' ""Citron vert (cru)," "Portugal," "Portugal muscade," "Bigarade," "Mandarine," "Limette," "Cédrin" (cedrino)," and "Cédrat (cedrone)." By "à la main " is meant the sponge process, which consists simply of taking the whole fruit, dividing it into four parts, and pressing the external part of the peel against a sponge, which sucks up the essence as it is ejected from the oil sacs. Although this is a very primitive process, the essences that are obtained by it are far and away the best, but the loss of essence is so great and the process so tedious that it is only applicable for those products which fetch a good price. Still, Mr. Rizzuto told us, several famous perfumers will only use lemon, bergamot, etc., prepared in this way; and King Humbert, who has a liking for a single drop of "Cedrino" in his coffee, gets the à la main essence, costing 110 francs per kilo. in first hands. This flavor is also much used for ices. are For ordinary commercial purposes, the essences pressed out of the peel by means of a machine, which we illustrate, and which, we believe, has not previously been shown, although four years ago we announced the fact that it had come into use in Italy. This machine is entirely constructed of wood, saving the handle which turns the wheel. Contact with metal seriously affects the quality of the essence. The machine stands about four feet in height, and its structure is simple and clearly shown in the engraving. The whole fruits are placed under the central circular portion, where the lower and upper surfaces are corrugated so as to press the peel unequally in order to break the oil sacs, One of the corrugated por 66 tions is shown at the bottom right-hand side of the engraving (Fig. 2). The expressed essence is collected in a vessel below, and after settling for some time it is filtered through felt bags, as shown in Fig. 2. Essences prepared by this method are what are known in commerce as the finest, those being made by the sponge process being scarcely regarded as commercial, their high price necessarily confining their use to those who specially order them. But it is, of course, possible to have different qualities of the machine-made essences, as quality greatly depends upon the condition of the fruit. There is still some doubt existing regarding the characters which true essence of bergamot ought to present. Some say it should be brownish yellow, pale yellow (as lemon is), or green. It is the last color that druggists are most familiar with, and, addressing Mr. Rizzuto on this point, we asked him what he thought about it. His reply was given in Calabrian French, and its expressiveness is lost in putting it down in cool English, but it had in it a wholesome repug nance towards much of the green essence which is in the market. Bergamot fruit, he told us, ripens in January, and at that stage the essence which it yields is golden in color and of very fine bouquet, but much weaker, or, as Mr. Rizzuto put it, not so strong in odor as the essence made from the green fruit in November. That essence is, of course, green, as it is pressed from the fruit and retains the color after filtration. At this point we inspected specimens of both kinds, amongst them essences made in the 1884 and 1885 seasons, which are still fresh, odorous, and perfectly free from terebinthinate taint. Mr. Rizzuto explained that the keeping properties are entirely due to the fruit being carefully selected and equally carefully expressed. "What becomes of the spoilt fruit?" was the question which naturally followed this explanation. "It is used for making the ordinary green essence. It is done in this way." And here Mr. Rizzuto submitted a photograph of the apparatus. This apparatus consists of three parts: (1) a boiler, (2) a still, and (3) a condenser. The bergamot peel is placed in the still, which is provided with a false bottom. The boiler is for the production of steam, which is passed into the still, from the bottom of which it rises, carrying with it the essential oil, and this is duly condensed and separated from the aqueous portion. The essence so obtained is of inferior odor and is water white. Before it can possibly be placed on the market as green bergamot, it must be skilfully "doctored," to bring up both the color and the odor. Copper is the colorant. It is remarkable how easily the peel essences take up copper. Lemon becomes quite green in a day if a few chips of bright copper are immersed in it, and all the others take up the metal equally readily. Body is given to the distilled essences by adding artificial perfumes, such as the paraffin ethers, to them; and it is at this stage that sophistication sometimes takes place. It may be useful to state here what Mr. Rizzuto considers to be the common adulterants of bergamot. First, there is the adulteration of the true expressed essence with the distilled oil. It is practically impossible to detect this admixture, as the distilled oil only reveals itself in the course of time through its terebinthinate odor. The second class of adulterants comprises rectified petroleum, turpentine, and olive oil, which are easily detected by shaking one volume of the essence with four volumes of alcohol (alcohol 6, water 1), and after an hour the adulterant, if any is present, sinks to the bottom. This method is not applicable, however, to lemon and the other essences, the purity of which may be judged roughly by mixing a few drops with a morsel of sugar, and judging the odor and taste in comparison with a standard sample. One of the most lamentable features of this industry is that adulteration is not only openly practised, but is considered to be indispensable. At first sight the reason for this does not seem to be clear; but when we keep in mind the very large number of people engaged in it, and the consequent competition, it is not so surprising. The truth is, indeed, that manufacturers have to "meet" the market. Mr. Rizzuto was careful to explain to us that his connection with the distilled oils goes only so far as their sale in the state that they are produced by distillation. Yet the demand for "fabricated" essences he believes to be enormous. This is directly traceable to consumers, especially aërated-water makers who sell lemonade at 10d. or 1s. per dozen. Cheap essence of lemon appears to be necessary for that; yet it would be better to pay 10s. or 12s. per pound for a pure lemon than 4s. or 5s. for an article heavily loaded with turpentine or petroleum. little of the pure essence gives a good flavor, whereas A more of a sophisticated essence destroys the lemon and imparts a foreign flavor. And what is true of beverages ought to be doubly so, if that were possible, in regard to perfumes; for after all the nose is the best analyst, the most delicate sense which we have, and anything indefinite or foreign in the components of a perfume is apt to throw the whole compound out of gear, and to destroy what might otherwise be a delicious and refreshing odor.Chem. and Drugg., Aug. 24th. Pancreatin.* BY E. G. EBERHARDT, OF INDIANAPOLIS. OUR knowledge of pancreatin is very fragmentary, more so than in the case of pepsin, because of its greater complexity. Our methods of testing it are very crude and unsatisfactory. Let us first glance at the composition and functions of the pancreatic juice. Origin and Composition-A clear, viscid, strongly alkaline liquid secreted within the pancreas by cells resembling those of the salivary glands. It contains upward of 90 per cent of water and various albuminoids; among these the ferments trypsin, amylopsin, and steapsin, which are coagulated by heat and destroyed by pepsin in acid solution. Trypsin does not exist in the pancreas itself, but a zymogen that is its antecedent. Functions.-It is the office of the pancreatic juice to finish the work left uncompleted by the saliva and gastric juice, namely, to digest fats and the remainders of starchy and albuminous matter. We therefore find in it trypsin, a peptonizing ferment, amylopsin, a starch-converting ferment, and steapsin, an "emulsifying" ferment. These act only in alkaline solution, and the food pulp on entering the duodenum is rendered alkaline by the joint action of the bile and pancreatic secretion. The former undoubtedly plays also an important part in the digestion of fats. Steapsin has been differently stated to emulsify, saponify, and decompose fats. It is but rational to assume that fats must be in a soluble form before they can be assimilated. Solutions of pancreatin become more pronouncedly alkaline as they grow old. A mixture of pancreatin with a little sodium bicarb., moistened and kept warm, soon evolves carbon dioxide and volatile alkali. Is it not possible, then, that this "emulsifying" ferment is, after all, an alkaliforming ferment, producing, in conjunction with the bile, alkali wherewith to saponify and render soluble fats? To properly value a pancreatin, then, requires a series of tests. Its proteolytic activity is determined by allowing it to act upon milk until nitric acid no longer produces a precipitate. The National Formulary requires 5 grains to peptonize 1 pint of milk in thirty minutes. Milk thus peptonized assumes a yellowish color, becomes more limpid and develops a bitter taste. All of this I have observed, but have never, even with the best sample under observation, been able to reach a point where the milk no longer precipitates with nitric acid. The end of the reaction seems to be reached when diluted nitric acid produces only a finely granular precipitate that does not separate as a curd. The starch test is made by allowing it to act upon starch paste. The liquefaction is apparent to the eye, and the result can be checked by the reducing effect of the product upon alkaline copper solution. Iodine has been recommended as an indicator, but is not reliable, as it seems in some manner to be used up itself. If added to pancreatized starch paste in sufficient quantity, a blue color is produced that fades more or less rapidly, reappears on continued addition of iodine solution, fades again, and so on until a point is reached where the color seems to be permanent. The emulsifying test, made by agitating together definite volumes of pancreatic solution and some fixed oil, I consider utterly worthless, as it is made under conditions_differing so radically from those existing in the body. I have not been able in this way to produce a permanent emulsion. Of many samples tested, the majority were found wanting; and of five samples of which I have a record, one only was in a measure satisfactory, the others being deficient in one, two, or all directions. This may be partly because of the differing solubilities of the pancreatic enzymes, the alcoholic strength of the precipitating liquor thus determining the preponderance of one or the other of the ferments. Pancreatin also differs with the source, herbivorous animals yielding a product rich in amylopsin, carnivora one rich in trypsin, and omnivora would occupy an intermediate position. For this reason, pancreatin of the hog is preferred. In connection with this subject is Query No. 16.-Liquid pancreatin, N. F., develops a putrid odor on standing a few weeks; what is the cause, and how can it be obviated? The odor resembles somewhat that of lye, and has just a tinge of putridity. The preparation has then a strongly alkaline reaction, effervesces copiously with acids, and evolves volatile alkali on heating. This is the result of the pancreatic decomposition of the albuminous and mucous matter present in commercial pancreatin. The difficulty can, of course, be obviated by leaving out the bicarbonate of sodium and rendering the preparation slightly acid. On * Paper read at the annual meeting of the Indiana Pharm. Assoc. and occurs in colorless, odorless crystals, which have a faintly bitter taste, and which melt at 115° C. It is soluble in ten parts of cold water and one part of absolute alcohol. It is more readily soluble in warm water, yet the temperature must not be raised above 140 F., since at this point separation of the two components readily occurs. Weak acids or nitrate of silver have no effect upon this solution; while, on the other hand, it is decomposed by caustic alkalies and alkaline carbonates. The name chloralamide is by no means a satisfactory one, since the substance is a chemical compound of chloral and formamide, and should, therefore, be described as a chloral formamide or as formidate of chloral. Professor Rabow states that numerous experiments on animals and men proved that this remedy, in doses of from 15 to 60 grains, is capable of producing sleep, and although sleep does not follow its administration as soon as after the use of chloral hydrate, it yet appears much earlier than after the use of sulphonal. The writer claims that he never observed any unfavorable influence of this substance on the digestive organs, but he states that he does not feel warranted in giving any opinion as to its action on the circulation, leaving that to be determined by subsequent study. He claims, however, that the uncomfortable and prolonged after-working of sulphonal is not produced by chloralamide, while its solubility is a further recommendation of the latter. The doses which he administered varied between 15 and 60 grains, given in the form of a powder, in capsules, or dissolved in wine or beer, recommending as the best means of administration that it be given in tea or mulled wine To produce satisfactory sleep chloralamide must be given in somewhat larger doses than chloral hydrate, 45 grains of the former corresponding to about 30 of the latter. In the author's experiments, sleep followed within twenty-five to thirty minutes after its administration, and lasted from six to eight hours.-Therap. Gaz. In addition to statements previously made regarding this new hypnotic, the following note by R. Caswell Harrison in the Pharm. Journ. (Sept. 7th) will be of interest. The solubility is stated to be 1 in 9 of water. I have failed to dissolve 20 grains in 240 fluid grains of water, the actual solubility being about 1 in 14. On heating in a dry test tube it melts and gives a strong smell of chloral, which condenses on the sides of the tube; and on further heating, chars, and gives a peculiar smell recalling hydrocyanic acid and onions. Heated with solution of potash, it gives off a smell of chloroform and ammonia. H.SÓ, ÉNO., HCl, and Fe,Cl. respectively have no apparent action in the cold. On adding a few grains to a mixture of 3 ss. of strong sulphuric acid and 4 drops of 90-per-cent carbolic acid, and warming, the mixture boils almost immediately, and quickly changes to a bright red color, with a strong chloral odor. This test will distinguish it from most of the new synthetical products, if applied as above, the reactions being shown by the following table: [ORIGINAL TRANSLATION.] Estimation of Morphine in Opium.* BY F. A. FLUECKIGER. A QUANTITY of 3.483 Gm. of opium (marked "B"), dried (before being weighed) at 100° C., was mixed with 9 Gm. of recently ignited powdered pumice, the mixture inclosed in a paper bag, transferred to an apparatus for continuous extraction (of the form recommended by Prof. Flueckiger), and exhausted with officinal chloroform. Upon evaporation of the latter, there remained, after drying at 100 C., 18.9 per cent of a smeary, dark-brown residue, in which colorless radiated crystal groups could be recognized. Eight Gm. of the same powdered opium were pressed with some force into a flat-folded filter of 10 Cm. diameter, placed into a funnel, and 30 C. c. of chloroform gradually poured upon it, the funnel being covered in the intervals. It was found that the escape of the chloroform from the stem of the funnel could be but slightly hastened by tapping the latter. Upon evaporation of the chloroform, the residue amounted to only 6.6 per cent of the powdered opium. When the experiment was modified so that the powdered opium was packed in the filter with less force, the residue left upon evaporating the chloroform rose to 10.15, 10.27, 11.0, 11.5, and once even to 14.2 per cent. Another sample of powdered opium, of equal fineness, which may be designated as "G," yielded, by simple washing upon a filter, 18.8 per cent of residue after evaporation of the chloroform. It is evident that the amount of this residue will be very unequal from different kinds of opium. Even when using the excellent filters of Schleicher & Schuell, the washing of opium with chloroform may consume easily from one to two hours. This amount of time is, however, scarcely objectionable, since it enables the removal of 10 to 18 per cent of noxious ingredients. It is preferable to use folded filters, not because the chloroform passes through them more readily than through a flatfolded filter, but because the opium may more easily be detached from the former, particularly if it is opened out at the right time, while the powder is still somewhat moist. Of course, the powdered opium may also be agitated with the chloroform in a flask, and the mixture then transferred to a filter. The same flask may be used again to receive the opium after the chloroform adherent to it has been dissipated. A much more efficient method of purifying opium, however, consists in this, that the powdered opium is packed in a folded filter by tapping, and then moistened with a mixture of 10 C.c. of ether and 10 C.c. of chloroform. Next, 10 more C.c. of chloroform are poured on, and may be followed with advantage by 10 or 20 C.c. more. On using 10 C.c. of ether and 20 C.c. of chloroform upon the opium marked "B," 11.6 per cent of chloroformic residue were obtained, that is, nearly as much as when chloroform alone was used. Hence it is always advisable to replace a portion of the chloroform by ether. Opium purified in this manner looks very much better than the original powder, and, after being dried, is very easily penetrated by water. When assaying extract of opium, the treatment with chloroform is of no advantage. If the residue which is obtained by means of chloroform and ether, or by chloroform alone, be warmed with water and the liquid filtered, the filtrate will be yellowish and slightly redden blue litmus paper. Neither iodic acid nor ferricyanide of potassium with ferric chloride reveals any traces of morphine in it. Ammonia, however, causes a copious precipitate of narcotine. Iodine water, iodine with iodide of potassium, tannic acid and iodohydrargyrate of potassium show the presence of a considerable quantity of alkaloid, which turns out to be narcotine, as it is precipitated by acetate of sodium. (This reaction was discovered by Plugge; see Arch. d. Pharm., 1887, 344.) The aqueous liquid also contains meconic acid. The above mentioned smeary (chloroformic) residue, which consists mostly of caoutchouc and wax (see Flueckiger, "Pharmakognosie," 1883, 167), can only with difficulty be exhausted by water. After this has been accomplished as far as possible, acetic acid will still extract some narcotine from it, but no meconic acid. Sometimes, but not always, it is also found that the extract obtained by acetic acid liberates a doubtful trace of iodine from iodic acid. It may therefore be conceded that traces of morphine may be extracted from opium by chloroform, though the quantity is exceedingly minute. In other words, though morphine and its salts are regarded as insoluble in chloroform or ether, this insolubility must not be taken as absolute. Since the aqueous extracts of opium redden blue litmus paper, the question arises: What causes the acid reaction? Besides meconic acid, scarcely anything but sulphuric acid can be thought of here; but the latter is not present in the free state, since the extract, though reddening litmus, does not affect tropæoline. Even free meconic acid *From the original published in Archiv d. Pharmacie, 1889, 721-732. has not been encountered, at least in one experiment (Flueckiger in Arch. d. Pharm., 1885, 259). Regarding the latter, however, more experiments and on a more extended scale are necessary. The acid reaction of the extract is therefore probably due only to salts of narcotine, because the latter is incapable of neutralizing acids, while sulphate of morphine (for instance) on the other hand is indifferent to litmus. Hence we may assume that there are present meconate and sulphate of narcotine, and perhaps also acid meconate of morphine, and the question now arises how solvents behave towards these salts, which are but little known, though Dott has paid some attention to the two former. If we assume meconic acid to have the formula two meconates will have to be taken into consideration in each case. Dott (Pharm. Journ., 1884, 581) has only analyzed the sulphate of narcotine (C2H2NO), H2SO..4H2O, and did not succeed in overcoming the difficulties connected with the preparation of the meconates. An exact investigation of these salts, though desirable, not being rendered necessary for present purposes, I contented myself with merely preparing the salts. On adding to 1 mol. of narcotine a suitable quantity of water and 1 mol. of meconic acid, or using 2 mol. of the former and 1 mol. of the acid, a syrup is obtained which sinks to the bottom in the water. On shaking the aqueous solution with chloroform and evaporating the latter, a residue is left behind which crystallizes after some time, and in which meconic acid and narcotine can be detected. Since the residue is soluble in chloroform (in fact, had been obtained by means of this solvent), it can be nothing but meconate, because free meconic acid is insoluble in chloroform. An analysis of the narcotine meconates could not be undertaken, as they turned out to be mixtures. Whether they still contained free narcotine or not is of no importance here. The only object was to prove that not only narcotine but also its meconates are abundantly dissolved by chloroform; the same is true for the syrup above mentioned. At all events, on evaporating 1 mol. of meconic acid with water, and 1 or 2 mol. of narcotine, a mass is obtained which is easily soluble in chloroform. The same is the case with the sulphates of narcotine. These are always slowly soluble in water, remarkably freely in chloroform, less so in alcohol, and still less in ether. An absolutely pure sulphate could not be obtained; the results of the analyses agreed neither with an acid nor a neutral salt. It was sufficient to show that they are most easily dissolved by chloroform. If sulphate of narcotine is present in opium, it is probable that it is the salt containing 2 mol. of the base. Hence I prepared the sulphate by bringing together, under most gentle heat, dilute sulphuric acid with a large excess of narcotine, separating the salt which crystallized on cooling in small needles, drying, and washing with ether. Of course, litmus is strongly reddened by this "neutral" sulphate; but even if some more sulphuric acid is carefully dropped upon it, it has no effect upon tropæoline. From the aqueous solution of this sulphate, the base is withdrawn by chloroform. If 1 or 2 mol. of morphine and 1 mol. of meconic acid are brought together with water, crystalline groups are soon noticed. The needles obtained from equal molecules strongly redden litmus paper, but the meconate containing 2 mol. of morphine is neutral. The neutral salt is so little soluble in chloroform that at 20° C., 2553 parts of the latter are required to dissolve 1 part of the salt. Still more chloroform is required to dissolve the acid meconate of morphine. The meconates of morphine are, therefore, practically insoluble in chloroform. Acid sulphate of morphine cannot be prepared. I have also found that the neutral sulphate, which is entirely insoluble in chloroform, is not rendered soluble therein by the addition of sulphuric acid. It is seen from these facts that the meconates and sulphates, which alone need be considered here, behave very differently. Those of morphine are insoluble, and those of narcotine very soluble in chloroform. It is therefore plain that the extraction of the latter from opium, by means of chloroform, must be advantageous. Formerly, I proposed ether for this purpose (Arch. d. Pharm., 1885, 298, 475). But this is not as good a solvent as chloroform for the narcotine salts. Moreover, free narcotine requires more than 100 parts of ether, but only 2 parts of chloroform for solution. All indications render it highly probable that morphine is contained in opium as neutral sulphate (Arch. d. Pharm., 1885, 265); narcotine chiefly in a free state, to a less extent as meconate. The latter is probably one of the causes of the acid reaction of extracts of opium, but not the only one. Possibly there is also an acid meconate of morphine. If opium is completely extracted with chloroform, so as to remove the meconate of narcotine, and if the opium is then extracted with water, the resulting filtrate, containing most of the meconic acid, reddens litmus quite strongly. Addition of ferric chloride produces a very dark red color. Hence a part of the meconic acid must have existed either in a free state or combined with morphine |