BUREAU OF CHEMISTRY. 227 



tircly to tlie State of Texas. Department Circular 28, "Cotton Gin 

 Fires,'' issned diirin<2; the year, was distributed ainono- cotton giii- 

 ners, insurance agencies, and others interested throughout the South. 

 Though still unfinished, the work was closed at the end of the fiscal 

 3'ear, no appropriations being available thereafter. 



DRUGS AND PHARMACOLOGY. 



. A series of researches upon crude drugs have been published under 

 the following titles: "Commercial ^'iburnum Barks and Prepara- 

 tions;" "Karaya Gum, a Substitute for Tragacanth;" ^'' Ballot a hir- 

 suta Benth.. an Adulterant of Horehound {Mamihlum vulgarc L.) ;" 

 " Piptostegia Root, PipfGstegia Plsonis Mart, so-called Brazilian 

 Jalap;'- "Botanicals of the Blue Ridge;" '"'' Con'tum macuJafum L., 

 and Aetjivsa cynajnum L., an Adulterant; " and " So-called Sj^rian 

 Alkanet, MacrotomUx cephalotcs^ D. C." Manuscripts have been sub- 

 mitted for publication under the titles: ^'"Santolina cliaemacyparlssus 

 L., an Adulterant of Matricaria chamomiVa L. ; " " The Structure of 

 Bermuda Grass Compared with that of Triticum;" and " Somo 

 Effects of the War upon Crude Drug Importations." 



Evidence has been obtained that the part of ipecac which is often 

 referred to as " stems " consists largely of the underground part of 

 the axis, more properly referred to as rhizome. The young and 

 smooth roots at times ma}' also be considered as stem, since they re- 

 semble tlie rhizome rather closely in appearance. These parts, evi- 

 dently referred to by mistake as stem, were found to contain appreci- 

 able quantities of ether-soluble alkaloids. It appears quite probable 

 that the problem concerned with the utilization of this now rejected 

 but valuable part of the ipecac plant can be solved by modifying the 

 definition for ipecac to read : " The dried roots and rhizomes * * *." 



The optical crystallographic properties of the cinchona alkaloids 

 have been determined, so that a new method for their identification, 

 even when present in small amounts if they can be obtained in crys- 

 talline form, is now available. An inquiry into the occurrence of 

 lead in pharmaceutical zinc oxid has been published. A paper upon 

 the preparation of sodium-p-h3Tlroxyphemd-arsenate, an intermedi- 

 ate in tlie manufacture of arsphenamine, and one entitled "A Review 

 of the American Patent Literature on Arsphenamine (Salvarsan) 

 and Other Arsenicals " have been issued. 



A new method for determining the toxic effect of various agents 

 administered over long periods of time in small dosage has proved of 

 service. Young rats are placed upon such a standard, adequate diet 

 as has been introduced by Osborne and Mendel and by McCollum. 

 To the diet the substance under investigation is added, and the 

 growth curve of the young animals plotted. Disturbances of health 

 usually become evident when such growth curves are compared with 

 those of normal animals. It is hoped that by this method it may be 

 possible to determine the lower limit of toxicity of many substances. 

 Such an investigation upon cadmium, which during the war it was 

 proposed to substitute in part for tin in solder and other alloys, has 

 been completed. 



An extensiA'c study on the toxic action of gossypol, a phenol found 

 in cotton seed, to which the poisonous action of some cottonseed meal 



