225 



Wash with cold watei' and recrystallise iii alcohol. — -Forms 

 colourless needles; reddens moist litmus paper; loses water on 

 heating and becomes opaque, fuses and sublimes completely; 

 dissolves slowly in cold, more readily in boiling water, readily in 

 alcohol, not in ether. The Yeratrates of alkalies are crystallisable 

 and soluble in water, those of silver and of lead dissolve si^aringly. 



Veratrili=Cc4 H52 N2 0iß. Alkaloid of the seeds of Schceno- 

 caulon officinale and of some allied plants. Exhaust with alcohol 

 of 70% to 80%, add a little water to the tinctures and distil the 

 alcohol, evaporate the remaining liquid imder addition of pul- 

 verised charcoal to dryness, triturate the mass, treat with water 

 mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid, filter, precipitate the 

 solution with carbonate of soda, wash the deposit, divide in 

 water, and add slowly and gradually diluted sulphiiric acid to 

 redissolution, digest the solution with animal charcoal, filter, 

 })recipitate with ammonia and dry the deposit after washing. 

 To free the Yeratrin from resin, dissolve in alcohol of 60%, filter 

 if necessarj'-, and evajjorate. A white crystalline powder is formed, 

 mixed with a brown resinous matter, which is i-emovable by 

 washing with cold water. The crystalline Yeratrin has to be 

 recrystallised from strong alcohol. — A tolerably white, light, 

 amorphous powder, or, in the purest state, small, colourless 

 crystals of an extremely acrid burning taste, inodorous, the dust 

 of which produces violent sneezing and irritation, fuses and 

 decomposes in higher temperatures, is insoluble in water, dissolves 

 in 3 parts alcohol of 80% at the ordinaiy temjjeratui-e, much more 

 when boiling hot, the solution being of strongly alkaline reaction; 

 dissolves also readily in ether when the })roduct is quite pure, 

 but the amorphous Y. only in 50 parts. Concentrated sulphuric 

 acid colours it passingly yellow, then carmine-red; concentrated 

 hjalrochloric acid produces, especially on warming, a deep dark- 

 violet solution, on the suiface of which small drops of oil begin to 

 form. 



Yerati'iu Resin = Helonin. 



Vilietill = OXYACANTHIN. 



Violin, Alkaloid of all parts of Yiola odorata, Free the alco- 

 holic extract of the root from chlorophyll and fat by means of 

 ether, boil the residue with diluted sulphuric acid, in order to 

 volatilise acetic acid, add hydi-ated oxyd of lead in excess, dry,, 

 treat with alcohol and evaporate the solution. — Pale-yellow 

 powder, bitter, fusible, inflammable like a resin in higher tempera- 

 tures; dissolves in water more and in alcohol less than emetin, not 

 in ethei", combines with acids. 



A'ii'idic Aeid. See Caffeic Acid. 



