168 



C. U. C. P. ALUMNI JOURNAL 



Mercier and J. Chevalier have investi- 

 gated this plant along botanical, chemical 

 and physiological lines, using the plant 

 as obtained from its natural source and 

 specimens obtained from the Museum of 

 Paris and report the presence of an alka- 

 loid, which they have named parquine, 

 and a glucoside, concerning which the 

 chemical examination is not yet com- 

 plete. They give the following formula 

 for parquine: C2iH,39NOs. The taste of 

 the alkaloid is exceedingly bitter, re- 

 sembling that of strychnine. It is insol- 

 uble in water, petroleum ether and ben- 

 zene, sparingly soluble in ether, but read- 

 ily soluble in alcohol and chloroform. 

 Its melting point lies between i8o and 

 i8i° C. The aqueous solutions of the 

 salts of parquine are unstable, becoming 

 colored deeply yellow in a short time. 



Determination of Water Content by 

 Means of Calcium Carbide. 



Roberts and Fraser and others have 

 employed calcium carbide for the deter- 

 mination of the water content of such 

 substances as wool, wood-pulp, tobacco, 

 cotton, soil, guano, coal, paper and many 

 others. The determination is based on 

 the well known property of calcium car- 

 bide to react with water, forming acety- 

 lene and calcium hydroxide, as follows : 

 CaC + 2H,0 = QH, -f Ca(OH), 



The substance whose water content is 

 to be determined is placed in a properly 

 fitted tube, and weighed. It is then cov- 

 ered with a layer of sand, and finally 

 with a layer of the carbide. Upon the 

 application of heat the water is removed 

 and reacts with the carbide. The acety- 

 lene thus formed is collected and its vol- 

 ume determined. The experimentors 

 found that for each 18.0 milligrammes 



of water, 10.5 mils of gas were obtained 

 at 0° C, and 760 mm. of pressure. Ac- 

 cording to theory 11.2 mils of gas would 

 be obtained. Substances of a fatty nat- 

 ure are first dissolved in benzine to facili- 

 tate the action of the carbide. 



Assay of Opium for Morphine. 



G. Guerin, in Journ. Pharm. Chim , 

 'suggests the following procedure : 7.5 

 grammes of opium, dried at 60° C, are 

 triturated, carefully and thoroughly, with 

 3 grammes of slaked lime, after which 

 30 mils of distilled water are added to 

 the mixture. This is then transferred to 

 a glass-stoppered flask, having a capacity 

 of about 125 mils. The mortar and pes- 

 tle are washed with 45 mils of distilled 

 water, and the washings added to the 

 contents of the flask. 



The mixture is allowed to stand for 

 a period of about two hours, and shaken 

 frequently during this time. It is then 

 filtered, and 52 mils of the filtrate col- 

 lected in a wide-mouth Erlenmeyer flask, 

 having a capacity of from no to 120 

 mils. I gramme of ammonium chloride 

 and 5 mils of acetone are next added to 

 the filtrate, the whole thoroughly ad- 

 mixed and set aside for twentv-four 

 hours to crystallize. The crystals are 

 collected on a tared filter, and washed 

 carefully with distilled water, until the 

 last trace of chlorides has been removed. 

 The crystals are further washed with 

 four portions of 15 mils each, of an- 

 hydrous acetone, which has been previ- 

 ously saturated with morphine, then 

 dried at 100° C, and weighed. The 

 quantity of morphine obtained will rep- 

 resent that which was contained in 5 

 grammes of opium. Extract of opium 



