2S2 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
[October 7,1871. 
occurred, and they were lost, having been burnt. 
The residue was black and charred (carbonaceous). 
The experiment was made with the view of isola¬ 
ting an alkaloid. A resin was separated (the powder 
before mentioned); it was combustible, burning with 
a clear flame; also, a bright yellowish-coloured 
fragrant oil. This fragrant oil was also obtained by 
distilling the expressed juice of the fresh and succu¬ 
lent young shoots. It comes over with the water, 
rendering it very fragrant. A solution of sodium 
chloride added to this fragrant water (it being pre¬ 
viously shaken up with a little potash) immediately 
curdles it. 
About three ounces of leaves were exhausted by 
percolation with precipitate and benzine succes¬ 
sively. The benzine solution contained nothing of 
importance. The alcoholic solution was treated in 
the same manner as that of the young shoots; it 
contained the fragrant oil, it was also poisonous, but 
when lime was substituted for the acetate of lead, 
no alkaloid was found, and altogether it was a most 
unsatisfactory experiment. I thought the principles 
were lost. 
Three-quarters of a pound of the bark was next 
examined. It was in a bad condition, and had been 
taken off a part of the trunk of a tree near the 
ground; it had been submerged during a flood of the 
Hokitika river. This was treated in the same 
manner as the young shoots, with the exception that 
lime was used, but yielded nothing besides a trace 
of the fragrant oil and some resinous matter. 
Some of the seeds of the fruit (three-quarters of 
an ounce), all that could be obtained, the season 
being so far advanced, were macerated in alcohol 
and evaporated. To this alcoholic extract a little 
powdered lime was added and mixed. It was then 
well washed with spt. vin., ether and chloroform in 
succession. Neither of the latter two yielded any¬ 
thing upon spontaneous evaporation. The alcoholic 
solution evaporated ; the residue was treated with 
acid sulpli. dil., filtered, and pot. carb. added in 
excess caused a fiocculent precipitate. The solution 
separated, the precipitate was treated with alcohol 
and filtered. As the solution became more concen¬ 
trated, a heavy olive-coloured oily fluid separated. 
Some shoots of the tree gathered 3rd December, 
1869, yielded this oily fluid. It is of a most poison¬ 
ous nature, half a drop administered to a terrier ex¬ 
citing most severe symptoms (vomiting and convul¬ 
sions) . After further concentration, ether was added, 
when a yellowish precipitate formed, the oily fluid 
separating of a clear olive-green colour. As the 
ether volatilized, the precipitate was redissolved by 
the alcohol; the oily fluid remained. Chloroform 
added caused a pure snow-white precipitate, which 
floated, the oil still remaining unaffected. It was 
then separated from the precipitate, dissolved in 
alcohol and filtered. Upon evaporating spontane¬ 
ously, it deposited feathery crystals of a dingy colour 
(impure or contaminated with the oil}' fluid). Be¬ 
fore all the alcohol had evaporated, chloroform 
always gave a pure snow-white precipitate. The 
crystals were extremely deliquescent. I thought 
this oily-looking fluid was a liquid alkaloid similar 
to conia. It was soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in 
both ether and chloroform. The alcoholic solution 1 
of this oily substance and white alkaloid possessed 
very energetic properties,—an all but inappreciable I 
quantity bringing on, almost immediately, a very 
distressing suffocating sensation, and an unpleasant ( 
feeling of roughness and insensibility of the palate. 
Not any of the fragrant oiLwas found. 
Respecting the opinion that the oily-looking fluid 
is a liquid alkaloid, and at least holds in solution a 
salt (supposed alkaloid), the following may tend a 
little to uphold it. 
It is very remarkable that this oily fluid is per¬ 
fectly insoluble both in ether and chloroform, and 
soluble in alcohol and a mixture of alcohol and 
water; and whatever the poisonous principle or 
principles may be, that slacked lime made into a 
thin cream with water instantly destroys it or them, 
with or accompanied by the evolution of ammoniacal 
vapour. The fragrant oil is soluble in ether and 
chloroform, and I imagine it to possess emetic pro¬ 
perties only, as will be seen when treating of the 
antidote. 
Moreover, a portion of alcoholic extract was mixed 
with distilled water introduced into a pint retort and 
heated in an oil-bath. The extract was fragrant, 
and as a consequence, the fragrancy of the essential 
oil passed over with the first quantity of water as 
was intended and was removed. When the extract 
thickened, a good heat being applied (350° to 400° F.), 
I found snow-white acicular crvstals sublimed in a 
4/ 
ring all round the neck of the retort, two inches from 
the stopper. Watching how they formed, I saw 
drops of oily fluid of an olive-green colour (the same 
oil apparently as that before mentioned), settling 
v^ry curiously (as drops, I suppose owing to the re¬ 
pulsion of the glass from the high temperature em¬ 
ployed, and the low degree of volatility of this oil), 
on the neck of the retort, which being very hot, these 
drops, as they slowly volatilized, left snow-wliite 
acicular crystals, and similarly to those before men¬ 
tioned, extremely deliquescent, and very soluble in 
alcohol. Some were preserved, mounted and ex¬ 
amined with the microscope, and I thought they 
were oblique rectangular prisms. As far as I was 
able to judge, these were exactly similar to those 
before described as having been lost. I imagine that 
the charring of the first ones, and the extreme de¬ 
liquescence of these, altogether set aside the opinion 
of their being ammonium chloride, which was sug¬ 
gested to me by Mr. Skey. The crystals taken from 
the neck of the retort gave precipitates with the 
iodide of mercury and tannic acid respectively. An 
unused portion of the extract experimented upon, 
was treated with slacked lime (it was the first time 
that slacked lime was used), when strong ammo- 
niacal vapour was discharged, and the extract be¬ 
came a solid mass. Suspecting the alkaloid, or 
whatever it was, to be destroyed, just as anticipated, 
although great and unusual care was used towards 
isolating the various principles, yet not a trace of 
anything was found, as was the case with the other 
portion subjected to distillation with water. It was 
from the consideration of this strange reaction that 
it occurred to me that lime would be of avail in cases 
of poisoning. 
From another quantity of the shoots of the tree, 
crystals were obtained of a very mixed character, 
which gave precipitates with iodide of mercury, also 
the bichloride of mercury. These had a very pecu¬ 
liar taste, saline and bitter and very biting, and were 
poisonous, half a grain causing slight nausea and 
exciting symptoms similar to the oil, but milder. 
In all my experiments, the ether, alcohol, chloro¬ 
form, etc., used, were the commercial articles. 
(To be continued.) 
