203 



A paper dealing with the preparation and properties of 

 piturine was published some yeara ago by Professor Liversidge, 

 "The Alkaloid from Piturie."* It is a liquid strongly re- 

 sembling nicotine in proiperties. 



Its physiological action is discussed by J. N. Langley, F.R.S., 

 and W. Lee Dickenson, M.B., M.R.C.P., of Cambridge, in a 

 paper entitled "Pituri and Nicotine/'f In this paper the 

 authors state that "The main results of our experiments, as 

 far as the action, of pituri is concerned, can be given in a few 

 words. The physiological action isi identical with that of nico- 

 tine." 



Tlie material handed to m© for analysis by Professor Stii^ling 

 consisted of several small branches with the leaves attached. 

 The locality from which it was obtained is the Warburton 

 River, near the north-east corner of Lake Eyre, and it was 

 determined by the late Professor! Tate to be the Acacia salicina. 

 A quantity of the' leaves was burnt in a platinum dish, and 

 heated till all organic matter was destroyed. The ash waa 

 strongly alkaline to litmus paper, and was ailmost completely 

 soluble in hydrochloric acid w^ith evolution of a little carbon 

 dioxide gas. 



The results of the analysis were as follows : 



100.00 



These results may be^ a little low as regards the potash and 

 soda., because no special precautions were taken tO' prevent loss 

 of these substances by volatilization. The temperature at 

 which the leaves were bui'ned was not, however, high. 



It will be seen from the analysis that this ash contains a 

 vei-y high percentage of lime and sulphuric anhydride. The 

 latter, calculated as calcium sulphate, shows 51.15 per cent, 

 of that substance. This leaves 21.06 per cent, of lime present 

 as CaO and Ca COg. As already mentioned, there was only 



* Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, vol. xiv., 

 p. 123. 

 t Journal of Physiology, vol. xi., p. 265. 



