June 11, 1897.] 



SCIENCE. 



911 



peptone, transformed starch into sugar, and 

 split neutral fat into fatty acid and glycer- 

 ine, thus proving to be pancreatic fluid. 

 The flow of this pancreatic secretion was 

 observed during 48 consecutive hours. The 

 quantities collected each hour were meas- 

 ured and the amount of solids and ash de- 

 termined in each sample. The quantities 

 secreted each hour were represented in a 

 curve. This curve showed a striking re- 

 semblance to the curve representing the 

 flow of bile, observed in a case of biliary 

 fistula, which was reported by Dr. Pfaff at 

 the last Christmas meeting of the Society. 

 The total quantity of pancreatic fluid col- 

 lected during 2-4 hours was much larger 

 than is generally admitted for human 

 beings. Some observations were also made 

 on the composition of the urine and the 

 faeces during the time that the fistula- was 

 patent. 



a-Methyl-quinoline as a Constituent of the Secre- 

 tion of the Anal Glands of Mephitis Mephitica. 

 T. B. Aldkich (with Walter Jones). 

 In a paper published recently by the 

 author it was stated that the secretion of 

 the skunk. Mephitis mephitica, can be sharply 

 separated by distillation into two ap- 

 proximately equal portions, and the more 

 volatile portion was shown to be a mix- 

 ture of mercaptans. From the portion of 

 higher boiling point the authors have since 

 succeeded in isolating a compound which 

 can easily be identified as a-methyl-quino- 

 line. The method of isolation is as follows : 

 The higher boiling fraction of the original 

 secretion is shaken several times with a 50 

 per cent, solution of caustic potash and 

 then washed with water until all the alkali 

 is removed. The product thus freed from 

 all traces of mercaptans is extracted with 

 several portions of \&vy dilute hydrochloric 

 acid, and the united acid extracts are evap- 

 orated to dryness on a water bath. The 

 residue is taken up in a little water that 

 has been acidified with hydrochloric acid. 



and is treated with a solution of zinc chlor- 

 ide, when a finely crystalline precipitate of 

 the zinc chloride addition product with the 

 base is formed, which can be purified by 

 crystallization from water. This compound 

 is decomposed with an excess of sodium 

 hydroxide, and the base thus liberated is 

 distilled with steam. The distillate is ex- 

 tracted with ether and the ether is allowed 

 to evaporate. There remains a practically 

 colorless, highly refracting oil whose phj'si- 

 cal properties accord with those of a-methyl- 

 quinoline. Two portions of the oil were 

 dissolved in hydrochloric acid and treated, 

 one with platinum chloride and the other 

 with gold chloride. In each instance a 

 beautifully crystalline precipitate was ob- 

 tained, which on complete analysis gave re- 

 sults which show the base to be correctly 

 represented by the formula Ci^HgN". The 

 composition of the double compounds are 

 in accordance with the formulas (Cj^H^TST.- 

 HCl), PtCl, and C,„H,N".HCl.AuCl3. 



A compound having the properties and 

 composition of this base could only be one 

 of the methyl-quinolines and, as only one 

 of these isomeric substances forms an an- 

 hydrous double compound with platinum 

 chloride, the identity of the natural base 

 seems to be detei'mined. This conclusion 

 was confirmed hy comparison of the base 

 with artificially prepared a-methyl-quino- 

 line. 



Upon the afternoon of Wednesday, May 

 5tb, in the National Theatre, the Society 

 joined with the Association of American 

 Physicians and the American Pediatric 

 Society in a public discussion before the 

 Medical Congress. The subject of the dis- 

 cussion was ' Internal secretions considered 

 in their phj^siological, pathological and 

 chemical aspects.' The Society was repre- 

 sented by two speakers : a paper by Pro- 

 fessor AV. H. Howell upon ' The General 

 Physiologj- of Internal Secretions ' was read 

 by the Secretary in the absence of Professor 



