296 
liebig’s extract of meat. 
because the yellow tint of such waters is generally owing to the presence of 
peaty matter, which, though innocuous, has the power of decolorizing perman¬ 
ganate of potash.” 
(To be continued.) 
UPON THE EXTRACTION OF CANTHARIDINE. 
BY DR. A. FUMOUZE. 
It was shown by Robiquet that the remarkable action of Canthdris vesicatoria resides 
in the properties of the cantharidine; and he extracted this principle by exhausting the 
flies with alcohol, distilling off the excess of the solvent, and leaving the residue to de¬ 
posit crystals. Procter suggested a few years ago to replace the alcohol by chloroform, 
inasmuch as this latter liquid dissolves cantharidine with much greater facility than 
alcohol. 
But there arises in both processes the same difficulty in separating the cantharidine 
from the fatty and other matters by which it is accompanied. To overcome this diffi¬ 
culty it would be necessary to find a liquid which, whilst exerting no action upon the 
cantharidine, should have the property of dissolving the substances which have been 
simultaneously extracted. Bisulphide of carbon possesses this property; and, by taking 
advantage of this circumstance, it becomes an easy task to prepare cantharidine in a state 
of purity. 
The process is simply as follows:—The crushed flies are exhausted by chloroform, the 
solution is distilled to dryness at a very gentle heat, and the green residue heated by bi¬ 
sulphide of carbon. By this means the fatty, resinous, waxy, and other matters are 
dissolved, and the cantharidine remains; this last is thrown upon a filter washed with 
bisulphide of carbon, and crystallized from chloroform. 
It is obvious that, omitting the crystallization, this is at once a quantitative process 
for the estimation of the blistering principle. 
Cantharidine exists in good samples of the flies to the amount of from 4 to 5 parts in 
1000; its formula, as usually given, C 5 H 6 0 2 , demands revision. Chloroform is the best 
solvent of this principle, but it dissolves also in acetone, the oils and fats, and, to a 
smaller extent, in alcohol and ether. 
It may be sublimed without change, but its well-known serious effects upon the 
animal economy render it necessary to use all caution in this experiment. Accompany¬ 
ing this crystalline body, upon which the activity of cantharides depends, is a number of 
others, the most notable of which as regards quantity is the fat. 
The following are the substances which have been extracted from the blistering- 
beetle, together with the action of various solvents. 
1. Cantharidine; soluble in chloroform, insoluble in bisulphide of carbon. 
2. Fat. 
3. Resinous matter; soluble in chloroform and in bisulphide of carbon. 
4. Waxy matter; soluble in bisulphide of carbon and in boiling alcohol, less soluble 
in chloroform. 
5. Yellow matter. 
6. Red matter. 
7. Extractive; soluble in water. 
8. Acetic and uric acids. 
9. Essential oil. 
10. Parenchymatous matter; insoluble.— Journ. de Pkarmacie et de Chinde. 
LIEBIG’S EXTRACT OF MEAT. 
Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company (Limited) versus Hanbury. 
A case involving points of much interest to many of our readers was decided by Vice- 
Chancellor Sir W. Page Wood on the 20th November. 
