about thirty to be seen at one time. Lately attempts have been made to introduce ipecacuanha grown in the East Indies, but the attempt has not been successful, owing to its inferior quality, and the few bales that have been disposed of have realized such low prices that there is not much chance of the attempt being made again. The East Indian root is in thick, short pieces, somewhat similar to the Carthaginian species, but paler in color, and is said to be totally deficient in the properties which render the South American root of value. The various descriptions of sarsaparilla are always plentifully exhibited, and the visitor may be sure of seeing nearly every kind. The Jamaican is the most valuable, and comes in large bales made up of small, roughly done-up bundles. There is also what is called "native Jamaica," which is easily distinguished from the real Jamaica by its red color, and seldom or never coming in bundles, being generally packed loose in bales. The Honduras kind is always done up in neat, tightly bound bundles, or bobbins, and is generally covered at each end with hides in addition to being iron hooped. Other inferior kinds are the Guatemala, Guayaquil, Lima, Jamaica, and Mexican, the latter being generally of very indifferent quality. Aloes of all sorts take up a considerable share of the room, and display infinite variety in the mode of packing. East India socotrine aloes are almost always in kegs; Zanzibars are either in tin-lined cases or else are packed in the skins of monkeys. The cases generally fetch more money, and therefore it is sometimes the practice to run those in skins into cases and resell them. Curaçoas are sometimes in boxes, but as often in gourds, and the different qualities of these are almost endless, the low dark predominating and the fine bright livery being scarce. Gum Benjamin is another article of which plenty can be seen by the visitor. The Siam quality is the most esteemed, and when in bold, flat pieces commands a high price. Of this gum a very fine specimen may be seen in the museum referred to, being a piece of the identical gum which was used at the funeral obsequies of the Emperor Nicholas, of Russia, and which then realized £120 per cwt. Sumatra and Penang kinds are of about equal value, and are of nearly similar quality, the Penang having a more glassy appearance than the Sumatra. This gum is always packed in large, square blocks, which have to be cut open before the quality can be discerned. In former days, it was the practice to saw the blocks in halves across the middle, but the shippers of the gum acquired a knowledge of this practice, and utilized it by packing the ends with gum of inferior quality, so that now it has become necessary to cut one or two blocks diagonally in order to discover the deception, and it is needless to say that this has been of great effect in preventing the fraudulent practice which we have mentioned.

[ORIGINAL COMMUNICATION.] PHARMACOGNOSTICAL NOTES.

No. 6.-INSECT FLOWERS.

BY JOS. SCHRENK.

THE in
THE contradictory and, in many re-spects, incomplete

We have not space here to give details of all the goods which may be seen in these warehouses, but they comprise a host of drugs, among which may be mentioned gamboge, myrrh, dragon's blood, gums of all sorts, jalap, sarsaparilla, rhubarb, scammony, and other drugs too numerous to mention. The valuable goods, such as musk, ambergris, civet, castor, etc., are shown in a separate room, and are equally open to inspection by the public. On a long table, running down the centre of the room, are laid out the various tins and bottles of these goods. A custodian is appointed by the Dock Company to watch the valuables and pilot the visitor on his voyage through the room. Most of my readers will be familiar with the appearance of musk in the pod, but, perhaps, some of them have only seen what are now called the old-fashioned pods, that is to say, the pods which have a thick under and upper skin. The attention of these must be called to what are called the thin-skin pods. These pods have the usual thick skin underneath, but the upper skin is simply a thin bladder, generally of a blue tint, the slightest prick in which would be sufficient to release the treasure confined beneath. These pods at the present moment realize about 958. per oz., whereas the old-fashioned pods fetch about 10s. under that figure. The musk offered for sale is all of it sorted over by the warehouse keeper, and classified either as pile 1, 2, or 3, according to quality, the worst pods being of course put in the third category. False packing is of frequent occurrence with musk; John Chinaman being by no means above inserting lumps of lead and other foreign substances into the pods, and it is marvellous how cleverly they sometimes adulterate a pod which, to all external appearance, has never been tampered with. Russian cabardine pods have been greatly improved in appearance during the last few years, some fine parcels of thin-skinned pods having been on the market recently. Ambergris is also shown in all qualities, from fine light and gray down to black substances, which cause wonder as to what purpose they can be applied to.

Want of space compels me to forego a more full description of the articles of interest to druggists that can be seen at the Fenchurch Street warehouse, but I can only invite the visitor to London to include the “drug show room in the programme of his tour, and can safely promise that he will derive both amusement and instruction from the experiment.

Creosote is said to be rendered tasteless by administering it in brandy and carbonated water.

flowers furnishing insect powder, contained in recent publications,* was noticed when I had occasion to refer to them during an examination of some samples of the powder. In this brief note I will discuss only those points which seem to have been overlooked by former observers.

The ridges on the stems of the flower-heads of Chrysanthemum cinerariæ folium Benth. and Hook. (furnishing the Dalmatian flowers) consist of collenchyma tissue, which surpasses in bulk the bast and woody tissues of the fibro-vascular bundles; we find, therefore, in the powder fragments composed of collenchyma cells. It is evident that their number must vary in proportion with the quantity of stems ground with the flowers; in a good powder they should be met with only sparingly, but as their thickened walls consist of cellulose, they can be easily detected by the use of Schulze's reagent (chloroiodide of zinc). In Chrysanthemum roseum Weber & Mohr (the principal species furnishing the Persian insect powder), even the depressions between the ridges are lined with a layer of these cells, so that a closed ring of collenchyma is seen at the circumference of the cross-section of the stem.

The scales of the involucre are always strengthened and stiffened on their outer side, over and on both sides of the midrib, by a coherent layer of sclerenchyma cells, many of which are elongated, with oblique, often even pointed ends, and joined in the manner of prosenchyma cells. In the smallest quantity of the powder we find some fragments entirely consisting of these sclerotic cells, which are recognized as such by their thick walls pierced with narrow canals. These fragments are much more numerous in the Persian than in the Dalmatian powder; this is readily accounted for by the fact that the greater portion of the very rigid, greenish involucral scales (with the exception of the dark reddish-brown scarious margin) consists of sclerenchyma cells.

On the outer surface, and along the membranaceous edges of the scales of the Dalmatian flowers, there are numerous hairs of a very characteristic structure. A long cell with attenuated ends is placed horizontally on a stalk formed of from one to three cells arising from the epidermis. Usually the terminal, horizontal cell is bent and twisted in various ways (Figs. 1 and 6), frequently hooked at the end (Figs. 3 and 4), so that a dense, felt-like layer is formed, especially on the outermost scales. The point of insertion of the stem of the trichome also varies; frequently it is shifted to near the extremity of the terminal cell (Fig. 6), which is particularly the case with the hairs at the margin, near the apex of the scales. The flower stems are also densely covered with hairs of the same kind.

Unger noticed similar trichomes on the stem of C. roseum cultivated near Berlin, and calls them "glandular hairs (colleters)." If they are of the same nature as those observed by myself, as I must assume from Unger's description and figure, they cannot be glandular hairs or colleters. Neither their contents nor the shape and structure of their walls compel us, in the absence of any observed secretion, to assign to them the function of glands, especially as the flowers of our plant are abundantly supplied with another kind of trichomes which are unmistakable epidermal oil-glands.‡

Unger states expressly § that C. (Pyrethrum) cinerariæfolium is glabrous. Numerous samples of the best quality of Dalmatian flowers, both closed and open, obtained from reliable commercial sources, invariably exhibited the hairs described. It is barely possible that Unger has in view the flowers of C. cinerariæfolium growing spontaneously, which I had no opportunity to examine. If so, the general statement that the flowers are glabrous is, to say the least, misleading, for all the commercial Dalmatian insect flowers are obtained from cultivated plants. In any case, I must consider the occurrence of these characteristic hairs of great diagnostic importance, for, as the scales form a considerable portion of the flowers, the hairs always ought to be seen in the powder. In fact, I never

*An article by J. Hart (British and Colonial Druggist, reprinted in Pharmaceutical Record, Oct., 1888) is accompanied by some drawings which are intended to illustrate the tissues met with in the different parts of the flower. They are, however, so indistinct and devoid of minuteness of detail, that they are of little practical use. The elaborate paper by H. Unger in Pharmaceutische Zeitung, vol. xxxii., p. 685, and vol. xxxiii., p. 81 and p. 131, contains, besides the literature of the subject, valuable information, chiefly in reference to the amount and composition of the ash of various samples of the powder. There is also found a good morphological description of the flowers, while the histological characteristics are not completely stated.

In an article by G. M. Beringer on the" Hungarian Daisy" (Amer. Journal of Pharm., 1889, No. 1), which came to my notice after these notes had been written, the anatomical structure does not receive any attention. The only allusion to a microscopical examination is found on p. 4: "Microscopically no difference could be detected between the two powders," i. e., those of the "Daisy" and the insect flowers. (!)

+ L. c.

failed to find them in good Dalmatian powder, at least the large terminal cells, either entire or broken.

In Persian insect powder I could detect only very few hairs, and the flowers of C. roseum which I subsequently examined proved to be almost entirely glabrous, only at the region where the stem widens into the receptacle, was the surface of the stem as well as the base of the outermost scales found covered with a white hoariness. The hairs were of the same structure as those described above, but the terminal cells were muceh longer. Very rarly a few scattered, very long hairs were found along the midrib, near the apex of the scale. The flowers examined had been imported from Batum, and answered in every respect the description of C. roseum,* so that Unger's assumption (based on the examination of some specimens raised in the botanic garden at Würzburg), that the spontaneously growing plants of C. roseum have no hairs at all,+ does not seem to be correct, and it will be hardly necessary to consider the hairs found on the stems of the plants cultivated in the vicinity of Berlin as a specific distinction. Still, the scarcity of these trichomes on C. roseum-provided it proves to be constant -combined with the comparative abundance of the sclerenchyma cells mentioned above, would enable us to tell the powders obtained of the two species of Chrysanthemum from one another.

or

These hairs are entirely absent from the involucre and the stem of a spurious insect flower known to the trade as the "Hungarian" "Russian daisy," which seems to have been used as an adulterant of the Dalmatian flowers for some time. The admixture of this article to the true flowers, could, therefore, eventually be detected by the scarcity of the hairs; by a careful comparison with a standard powder even the relative proportions might be approximately computed. As a positive characteristic I would mention the small several-celled hairs which I detected on the apparently glabrous scales of these spurious insect flowers in considerable numbers. At first all of them presented themselves as simple, straight, four to ten celled trichomes (Fig. 11), but the peculiar abruptness of the terminal cell caused me to inspect a large number of hairs, when I noticed some which showed at their end the remnants of what must evidently have been a large inflated cell (Fig. 12). At last I detected a few hairs with a much elongated and thin-walled end-cell (Fig. 13). There seems to be little doubt that these are glandular hairs. The inflation and rupture of the terminal cell is a striking peculiarity of histological interest and deserves closer investigation. Another form of glandular trichome, consisting of 10 or 12 cells which form a globular head supported on a short stalk, occurs on the scales of these flower-heads.

sume a yellow color. At the same time, of course, starch, a very common adulteration of insect powder, will become plainly distinguishable, if present.

College of Pharmacy of the City of N. Y., Jan. 11th, 1889.

1

3

2

13

Most conspicuous among the fragments of the marginal corolla in insect powder are the papillæ covering the upper epidermis (Fig. 10). Their much-thickened striate walls do not seem to be easily broken up during the process of grinding. But as the petals of other related species are similarly constructed, this is of little practical importance. Merely for the sake of placing the observa tion on record, I mention the occurrence of stomata on the marginal corolla of C. cinerariæfolium, which are remarkably numerous, especially on the lower side.

The pollen grains are not perfectly globular, as might be inferred from some descriptions and figures, but on an optical cross-section present the appearance illustrated by Fig. 7, which shows the three depressions in the very much thickened, prickly exine, at which the intine breaks through when the pollen-sacks are formed (Figs. 8 and 9). The spurious insect flowers mentioned above have pollen grains of very similar structure and size, so that the comparatively large amount of pollen in a powder is not eo ipso a proof of its genuineness.

The insect flowers raised in California (Buhach), ¶ which belong to C. cinerariæfolium, do not show any structural difference from the flowers grown in their native country.

Besides the usual fluids for clearing up or bleaching the tissues, Schulze's reagent will prove very useful in examining the powder. It will bring out very clearly the hairs and the collenchyma cells, which are stained blue, while the sclerenchyma cells and the pollen grains will as

7

EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.

6

10

The mixture of glycyrrhiza, sugar, and gum-arabic is tied up in a bag. Having mixed the other ingredients, with the exception of the ammonia water, place them in a wide-mouthed bottle and suspend the bag in the liquid. In two days the solids will be dissolved, when the ammonia may be added and the whole made to measure one pint by the addition of water.-Am. Jour. of Pharm.

"Encrivoir," a solution which easily remove the stains of ink and iron rust, is said to be a solution containing two parts each of alum, tartaric acid, and distilled water.

Testing the Purity of Reagents.

99 66

pu

UP to the present time, manufacturing chemists have been in the habit of putting on the market various qualities of chemicals, the better grades of which have usually been distinguished by the designations "purum,' rissimum," chemically pure," etc. But it is well known that the purity of the articles was only a relative one, there being scarcely any which fully deserved the appellation. It is a well-known fact that when, for instance, "Sulphuric Acid, C. P." is ordered from one of our manufacturing chemists, the question is usually asked: "Do you want the ordinary C. P. acid, or do you want the really C. P., that is, the distilled?" Analytical chemists have, for a long time past, ceased to have faith in the labels of the chemicals which were purchased, even from the best houses, and usually were compelled to work them over if they wanted them really pure.

A little pamphlet has recently been published by Dr. C. Krauch, the chemist of E. Merck, of Darmstadt, in which the decisive tests of purity of the usual chemical reagents are enumerated and discussed. At the same time, the announcement is made that from this time forward the firm would vouch for the purity of their reagents, to the extent of the degree or limits given by Dr. Krauch.

As this subject is of very great importance, and the text of Dr. Krauch's pamphlet contains many data which will be of utility to the next Committee of Revision of the U. S. Pharm., we give its essential portions in translation.

1. Acidum Aceticum purissimum concentratum (C2H,O2). Clear and colorless. Spec. gr. 1.064. Every 100 parts contain 96 parts of absolute acetic acid. (Quantitative determination by normal potassa solution.)

Volatile: On evaporating 10 Gm., no weighable residue should remain.

Note. If larger quantities of strong acetic acid are evaporated, there often remain traces of a residue which is partly combustible (organic). But 50 Gm. of the pure acid should leave, on evaporation, not more than 1 milligramme of residue.

Test for heavy Metals and Earths: On diluting 10 Gm. with water to 100 C.c., the liquid shows no change, neither upon being supersaturated with ammonia, nor after addition of sulphide or oxalate of ammonium, even when allowed to stand for some time in a warm place. On diluting 20 Gm. of the acid to 100 C.c., and mixing it with fresh solution of hydrosulphuric acid, no brown color should be developed.

Test for Sulphuric Acid: Dilute 10 Gm. of the acid with 150 C.c. of water, heat to boiling, add chloride of barium, and set aside for several hours. The liquid must remain clear.

Hydrochloric Acid: Dilute 5 Gm. to 50 C.c., add silver nitrate and nitric acid. No change must occur.

Empyreuma: On diluting 5 Gm. with 15 C.c. of [pure] water, and adding 3 C.c. of a normal solution of potassium permanganate, the tint produced by the latter should not fade within 15 minutes.

2. Acidum Chromicum Purissimum (CrO3).

Small, red, dry crystals. On dissolving 2 Gm. in 20 C.c. of water, a clear solution is produced which, upon addition of some drops of hydrochloric acid and of chloride of barium solution shows no alteration after ten minutes.

Note.-Commercial chromic acid is mostly contaminated with considerable amounts of sulphuric acid and sulphates.

3. Acidum Citricum Purissimum (C.H8O7).

Large, colorless, transparent crystals, permanent in the air, but efflorescing at a gentle heat, melting at about 165° C., and carbonizing when ignited. Soluble in 0.54 parts of water, 1 part of alcohol, and about 50 parts of ether.

[The reactions given are those of the Pharm. Germ., and need not be quoted here. In subsequent articles we shall omit such portions as can be easily supplemented by consulting the U. S. Pharm.]

4. Acidum Hydrochloricum purum concentratum. Contains about 38% HCl. Spec. grav. 1.190. Clear and colorless; after dilution with water, odorless.

Tests for Sulphuric Acid: a. Dilute 5 Gm. with 50 C.c. of water, and add chloride of barium. No reaction should appear within 12 hours.

b. Limit: 100 Gm. of the acid should contain not more than 1 milligramme of absolute sulphuric acid. To determine this, 500 Gm. of the acid are slowly evaporated, on a water-bath, to about 1 C.c., and the sulphuric acid determined in the residue.

Note.-Regarding the tests for sulphuric acid, the author refers to Biltz, who found that acetic acid and acetates interfere least with the barium reaction; hydrochloric and nitric acid interfere most, between the two stand chlorides and neutral nitrates.

[From this it would follow, that acetate of barium would be preferable as a reagent when testing for free sulphuric acid, of course, provided HCl and HNO, are absent.]

Volatility.-On evaporating 10 Gm. of the acid, not more than a very minute, and scarcely weighable residue should remain.

Note, -On evaporating larger quantities of the pure acid,

there will almost always be found traces of residueprobably lime derived from the glass and porcelain vessels-also sulphuric acid. The author usually obtained 1 milligramme of residue on evaporating 50 Gm. of the acid in a porcelain capsule. The preparation of an absolutely chemically pure hydrochloric acid is difficult. The author has in vain attempted to procure any from other chemical factories.

Tests for heavy metals, alumina, and lime:

a. Dilute 10 Gm. of the acid with 10 C.c. of water, pour upon this, contained in a test-tube, a layer of 5 C.c. of fresh solution of hydrosulphuric acid, and allow to stand for one hour. At the end of this time, either with or without heat, no color should appear between the two layers, nor a yellow ring (arsenic).

Note. An acid which stands this test for arsenic is suitable for most analytical purposes. For special toxicological investigations, the absolute absence of arsenic is required. This is shown when several liters, after evaporation with addition of chlorate of potassium, yield no reaction by Marsh's test. According to Otto and Beckurts, an acid of this degree of purity (from arsenic) may be obtained by treating ordinary hydrochloric acid with hydrosulphuric acid or with ferric chloride.

b. Dilute 20 Gm. with water, supersaturate with a slight excess of ammonia, then add a few drops of sulphide of ammonium and oxalate of ammonium. Even on protracted standing, no alteration, and particularly no dark tint, should be produced.

c. On diluting 5 Gm. with water to 25 C.c., and adding a few drops of sulphocyanide of potassium solution, no reddish tint should be produced.

Test for Sulphurous Acid: On adding a few C.c. of the previously diluted acid to water rendered faintly blue by iodide of starch, the color should not be destroyed.

Test for Chlorine. To 5 C.c. of highly dilute solution of starch add a few drops of solution of iodide of potassium, afterwards one drop of diluted sulphuric acid, and then 1 C.c. of the previously diluted hydrochloric acid. No blue color should appear.

5. Acidum Hydrofluoricum fumans purissimum (HFl). Hydrofluoric acid is colorless, though sometimes it is found to have a slight tint, which is probably due to long contact with the interior of the caoutchouc container.

On evaporating 10 Gm. in a platinum capsule, and igniting, not more than a minute and scarcely weighable residue should remain. On thus evaporating 50 Gm., this residue should not exceed two milligrammes.

Test for sulphuric acid: Dilute two Gm. with 50 C.c. of water, then add some hydrochloric acid, and a drop of solution of chloride of barium. No precipitate should occur within five minutes.

Tests for arsenic, heavy metals, earths, etc.:

Dilute 10 Gm. to 40 C.c., warm, and pass hydrosulphuric acid gas, which should not produce either a yellow (arsenic) or dark-colored precipitate (heavy metals). On diluting 5 Gm. with 50 ̊C.c. of water, supersaturating with ammonia, and adding [to separate portions] sulphide of ammonium, carbonate of ammonium, and phosphate of ammonium, no cloudiness should occur.

6. Acidum Hydrofluoscilicicum purissimum (SiFl.H2). On evaporating 5 Gm. in a platinum capsule, no residue should remain. If 5 Gm. are diluted with 10 C.c. of water, the liquid mixed with a little hydrochloric acid, and then with solution of hydrosulphuric acid, no precipitate should

occur.

On diluting 5 Gm. with 10 C.c. of water, and adding a solution of nitrate of strontium, no cloudiness should appear within five minutes.

7. Acidum Molybdicum purum.

A white powder, containing about 85 per cent of molybdic anhydride, and about 15 per cent of nitrate of ammonium and moisture.

A solution of one part of the substance in five parts of dilute ammonia is clear, and is not altered by addition of sulphide of ammonium.'

Test for phosphoric acid:

Dissolve 10 Gm. of the substance in 25 C.c. of water, and 15 C.c. of water of ammonia (sp. gr. 0.910), and add 150 C.c. of nitric acid (sp. gr. 1.200). No yellow precipitate (of ammonium phosphomolybdate) should appear within two hours, even when the mixture is exposed to a very gentle heat.

8. Acidum Molybdicum purissimum, sine ammonia (Mo.O3).

Containing about 100% of the pure acid. This has a faint bluish tint, caused by very minute traces of molybdic oxide.

On adding 2 Gm. to 10 C.c. of water and 5 C.c. of water of ammonia (sp. gr. 0.910), and gently warming, complete solution takes place in a short time. Sulphide of ammonium, added to the solution, produces no change. Test for phosphoric acid: As in the preceding.

9. Acidum Nitricum Purum.

Contains about 33 per cent of the absolute acid, is clear and colorless. Spec. grav. 1.200.

On evaporating 10 Gm. in a porcelain capsule, not more than a very minute and scarcely weighable residue should remain.

The author adds that when larger quantities were evaporated there was always a weighable residue (lime); 50 Gm. of the acid yielded usually 2 to 3 milligrammes of residue.

Many are in the habit of testing for the absence of fixed residue by evaporating a few drops on platinum foil. But this is not sufficient. It is often of importance to ascertain the residue left by larger portions, and in this case this is best done by making a duplicate trial, in a porcelain and in a platinum capsule.

The tests for impurities given by the author are about the same as those in the U. S. P.

10. Acidum Oxalicum purissimum (H,C,O..2H2O). Colorless crystals without any traee of efflorescence. On igniting 10 Gm. in a platinum capsule, no weighable residue must remain.

The author states that "purissimum "acid occurs in the market which contains potassa, and leaves behind, on ignition, a strongly alkaline residue.

On dissolving 5 Gm. in 100 C. c. of water, and adding a few drops of hydrochloric acid and solution of chloride of barium, no cloudiness or precipitate should appear after standing for several hours in a warm place (absence of sulphuric acid).

A solution of 1 in 10 should not be altered by addition of ammonia and sulphide of ammonium (absence of heavy metals).

Test for ammonia: (a) 2 Gm. are warmed with an excess of solution of soda in a test tube. No odor of ammonia should be given off. Moistened turmeric paper should not be rendered brown by the escaping vapors. (b) 2.5 Gm. are dissolved in 30 C. c. of water, the solution supersaturated with caustic potassa (purified by alcohol), and about fifteen drops of Nessler's reagent added. No distinctly yellow or brownish-red color should be developed. NOTE.-Oxalic acid containing ammonia has at times been sold in the market.

Note on Sulphurous Acid and Sulphites.

IN a recent paper on "The sulphurous acid and sulphite of sodium of pharmacy," published in the Pharm. Journal (Jan. 19th), Mr. Barnard S. Proctor criticises the process of assay directed by the British Pharmacopoeia as unnecessarily scientific and troublesome. He suggests an improved method, which yields practically as good results, and is more easily executed by the average pharmacist. The British Pharm. requires liquid sulphurous acid to contain 5 per cent of sulphurous acid gas (SO2), or 6.4 per cent of real sulphurous acid (H.SO.). Upon this basis, Mr. Proctor's process is as follows:

Put into a 1-ounce vial 11 grains of iodine and 15 grains of iodide of potassium, pour upon them 1 fl. drachm (Brit.) of the acid to be tested, rinse the measure with a drachm of water, adding this to the contents of the vial, and shake well. The iodine color should disappear if the acid be of full strength; this, however, is not often the case, and the degree of deficiency may be roughly estimated by adding successive portions of the acid, say 10 minims at a time, until the brown color disappears. [Applied to the U. S. Ph. acid, the above quantities may be altered to 7 grains of iodine, 10 grains of iodide of potassium, and 50 grains of the acid.] One hundredth of a grain of free iodine gives a distinct brownish-yellow color to a drachm of solution, but though this color entirely disappears when there is just sufficient sulphurous acid to convert the iodine into hydriodic acid, a few drops more of sulphurous acid again develop color, this time a lemon-yellow, removable by a small further addition of iodine or a free dilution with water. This lemon-yellow color, produced by any considerable excess of sulphurous acid, need not cause any hesitation in the use of this method, as the difference between the lemon and the brown tint is sufficiently distinct, and the former is accompanied with the odor of free sulphurous acid. In the Brit. Pharm. [and also the U. S. Ph.] the sulphurous acid is diluted with a large bulk of water; but this water requires to be recently boiled and cooled, otherwise the oxygen contained therein would vitiate the results. When the test is performed in the manner above directed, the reaction is quite sufficiently sharp.

Regarding sulphite of sodium, the author recommends a similar method. Take 10 grains of resublimed iodine (assuming this to be pure), put it into a measuring glass or mortar, and rub it with a drachm of water. Then weigh 10 grains of the sulphite, and add the bulk of it to the contents of the mortar, reserving about half a grain; triturate for a moment. The iodine should all dissolve and be nearly decolorized. The addition of the last half-grain should totally decolorize the iodine solution, if the sulphite be in good condition. If decolorization takes place before the last half-grain is added, the salt has probably lost water by efflorescence; and if the brown color remains after this addition, the salt has probably been partly oxidized to sulphate.

Solubility of Sulphite of Sodium.-The author finds the rate of solubility of this salt to differ from that given by the Pharmacopoeias and other authorities.

Recently recrystallized sulphite of sodium requires 1.7 parts of water at 58° F. for solution, and about 100,000 parts of alcohol (Brit. Ph.; sp. gr. 0.838).

ESCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNICA AS A SOPORIFIC.

Es

SCHSCHOLTZIA CALIFORNICA Cham., belonging to the natural order Papaveraceæ, is a native of western North America, and is principally found in California. It is a herbaceous, glabrous, glaucescent plant, with alternate, petiolated, many-lobed leaves possessing linear lobes, and no stipules. The flowers are terminal, and are borne on long peduncles. The golden yellow corolla is formed of four sessile, fragile petals. The two valvate sepals are united throughout their whole length, and can be detached, at the base, in shape of a funnel. The fruit is small, oblong, dry, and capsular, longitudinally traversed by ten prominent ribs, and dehiscent, down to the base, into two stiff valves, bearing the seeds at the edges.

According to Green (Pittonia I, 43), there are ten varieties of this plant, which differ but little from each other.

Aqueous and Alcoholic Extract of Eschscholtzia. The following process is given: Reduce 100 parts of the whole plant (root, stem, leaves, flower, and fruit) to as fine a state as possible, and digest it with 500 parts of alcohol of 80%. After six days separate the liquid from the drug by decantation and expression, and filter. Again macerate the drug with 300 parts of alcohol of 80% during twentyfour hours, and pour off the liquid portion. Filter this, concentrate it by evaporation, and add it to the liquid ob

V. Bonnet

Eschscholtzia Californica, Cham.

tained in the first operation. Filter the whole, and evaporate, on a water bath, to pilular consistence.

The alcoholic extract thus obtained is very resinous, deep green, and has a strong, very agreeable, and peculiar odor, and a very bitter taste. Every 100 parts of the plant yield about 20 parts of extract, containing about 3 parts of resinous substances.

In the same manner an aqueous extract may be made, substituting water for alcohol. The yield of aqueous extract is 15 per cent.

[Note by Ed. Am. Dr.-As the plant is probably not injured by heat, it will be preferable to dry and powder it, and to use the process of percolation for the purpose of exhausting it.]

Chemical Composition.-It has been ascertained so far, though not yet with absolute certainty, that the plant contains, besides a small quantity of morphine, a larger quantity of another base, and probably a glucoside.

Result of Physiological Experiments.-The latter have shown that the plant, or its abstract, at first accelerates, and afterwards retards respiration; the extract as obstained by the above-given process causes, when given in full dose, a rise of temperature. When it has been deprived of resin, it lowers the temperature. Its action upon the nervous system is only noticeable when it is administered in very large doses.

Therapeutic Effect.-The authors tried the alcoholic extract upon 13 patients, suffering from chronic bronchi

tis, phthisis, Bright's disease (commencing stage), sciatica, nephritis, and other diseases, giving it first in doses of about 12 grains and gradually augmenting up to about 120 grains. It produced no disagreeable symptoms whatever, except in the case of consumptives, who cannot bear the drug. The extract was administered in syrup of acacia. [Incidentally, the authors say that "in America, the dose of this extract is 2 tablespoonfuls corresponding to 6 grammes of extract for an adult in 24 hours. We think the authors meant to say that the fluid extract could be taken in doses of 6 Gm.-ED. AM. DR.]

The effect produced by the drug is the same as that produced by morphine, without the inconveniences of the latter. Some of the patients took the extract during six consecutive days, and suffered not the least discomfort, nor constipation.

The experiments thus far conducted show that Eschscholtzia californica is a valuable and harmless soporific and analgesic, particularly in cases where the use of morphine would be followed by inconveniences.

As it contains, itself, but a very small quantity of morphine, it might be used as a substitute of the latter particularly in the treatment of children.

The authors employ the drug in the following forms, in which we have translated the metric quantities into the nearest approximate U. S. weights and measures:

Preservative for Milk Samples.

OWING to the fact that milk undergoes rapid changes on keeping, and that it is impossible to withdraw uniform samples from milk which has undergone separation and decomposition, it is necessary that any sample of milk intended for analysis shall reach the chemist without delay, and that the latter shall take it at once in hand. But there are many reasons why some efficient preservative should be found, so as to permit the analysis being performed at any time within a reasonable period after the sample has been taken. Either the chemist prefers a delay, as he may be engaged upon other work which should not be interrupted. Or, he may wish to put aside a sample, so as to be able to check his results in case of doubt. Or, a sample may be put by for future use, perhaps as a corpus delicti in a prosecution or law suit.

With a view towards accomplishing this, Prof. Allen some years ago devised a method to preserve milk with alcohol. But it is necessary to add a large amount of this, and in very exact proportions. Moreover, it is doubtful whether the analysis of a sample so preserved would be of any value in a law court.

Mr. H. Droop Richmond, endeavoring to find a better method, successively tried carbon bisulphide, ether (both of these already used for this purpose by Hehner), dichlorophenol,chloroform, terpenes and hydrofluoric acid. Chloroform which kept the milk in a fluid state, and the fat in an easily miscible condition, proved to be the most unreliable. Carbon bisulphide kept the milk fluid, but allowed the cream to rise so as to form a cake at the top, which could not be easily worked again. Dichlorophenol preserved the milk fairly well, but the cream rose. Ether and terpenes were of little use. But hydrofluoric acid [the ordinary acid of commerce], of which 0.5 per cent of the weight of the milk was added, or one drop to every 10 C.c. of milk, preserved the latter almost perfectly. Of course, it precipitated the casein, but a vigorous shake brought this into so finely divided a state that sampling was quite easy, the fat being evenly mixed. There was not the slightest blackening of the total solids after preservation, showing that decomposition had not taken place.

A further trial of this method showed that hydrofluoric acid only exercises a preservative action when added

while the samples are fresh. If decomposition has once commenced, it is of very little use.

The author recommends to add to every sample of milk, at the time of receipt, 0.5 per cent of commercial hydrofluoric acid, and then to securely seal the bottle. The amount is so small that no allowance for increase of volume need be made.-After The Analyst, Jan., 1889.

[Note by Ed. Am. Drugg.-In the discussion upon this paper it was pointed out that it would be of the greatest advantage if milk could be treated with a preservative at the time when the samples are taken from the dealers' cans. On the other hand, it was deemed improper to permit inspectors or other non-scientific agents to add anything whatever to the milk, as this might invalidate any prosecution. This is, of course, an important point, and cannot be gainsaid. But, possibly, there is a way out of the difficulty, provided that is found that fluorides possess the same preservative powers as free hydrofluoric acid. In general, it is known that free acids (such as salicylic, boric, etc.) are more active anti-fermentatives than the respective salts. And this may be the case also with hydrofluoric acid. But, perhaps, an increase of the corresponding fluoride may make up for this. Supposing, then, that this is found feasible, then we would suggest that the authorities procure a uniform style of bottle for samples; that they be made absolutely clean and dry, and that a quantity of, say fluoride of potassium (under proper precautions to prevent access of moisture), be introduced into the bottle, and the latter then securely sealed. When an inspector goes around to collect samples, he takes a number of these sealed bottles with him. Upon entering a place where he wishes to collect samples, he takes out the requisite number of bottles, opens and fills each one to the proper mark, and then seals them up. One of these bottles, according as the law directs, may be handed over to the dealer, or sent to a central authority.]

The Estimation of Glycerin.

DR. OTTO HEHNER recently read a paper before the Society of Chemical Industry on the methods which have been most recommended for estimating glycerin. Two of these methods, viz., by converting glycerin into a leadsalt and that by permanganate, were found so unreliable that it is not worth while to consider them. Among the remaining methods, Dr. Hehner regards the bichromate and the triacetin methods to be the most trustworthy, and he advised both of these to be used, a mean of the results being taken as the percentage of glycerin in the liquid under examination. Although he does not place the ether-alcohol method on a level with the preceding, yet he mentions it, and for the sake of completeness we give all three methods below:

1. Ether-Alcohol Method. In this the glycerin is removed from the liquid by ether-alcohol, and after evaporation the residue of the ether-alcohol solution is weighed as glycerin. Dr. Hehner pointed out several sources of error in this method, more especially that the solvent extracts from the lyes [viz., soap-lyes; in mixtures free from such impurities the results are more exact.-ED. A. D.] other organic matters, such as fatty acids. Speaking of the volatility of glycerin, he said that experiments which he had made all pointed to the fact that, as long as there was twenty-five per cent of water in the mixture it might be boiled for hours without any loss of glycerin.

2. Bichromate Oxidation Method. In this a measured portion of the sample is treated with bichromate of potassium and sulphuric acid. The glycerin is oxidized wholly to carbonic dioxide (CO2), which in the original process was measured, and from the factor obtained the amount of glycerin was calculated. Dr. Hehner therefore prefers to determine the amount of bichromate used, and from this to calculate the amount of glycerin present. The standardized solution contains 74.86 grains of pure potassium bichromate per liter, and the check solution 240 grains of ammonio-ferrous sulphate per liter. Seven parts of bichromate are considered to be sufficient for the oxidation of one part of glycerin. With this proportion it is therefore mixed in a beaker, a large excess of sulphuric acid added, and the whole heated until decomposition is complete. The excess of bichromate is then determined by means of ammonio-ferrous sulphate. Several precautions are necessary, chief of which are the removal of chlorine and chlorine compounds with oxide of silver, and the precipitation of impurities with acetate of lead. If these are not removed, the results are a trifle high, but otherwise the method is accurate, easy, and reliable.

3. Triacetin Method.-In this the sample is heated with acetic anhydride and dry sodium acetate, an inverted condenser being used to insure the return of all free acid which may distil; when the reaction is complete, the mixture is filtered from insoluble matter, a portion of the filtrate saturated with alkali in excess, and immediately titrated back with standard acid. The precautions which must be observed in this process are that the sodium acetate must be perfectly dry, otherwise the glycerin is imperfectly converted owing to hydrolysis, which increases with time. Alkali has even a greater effect in this direction, hence the titration must be conducted as rapidly as possible.-After Chem. and Drugg.