596 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [January 20, 1872. 
applied to other cases. There was no magic in the pro¬ 
portions of proof spirit which rendered it necessarily the 
most suitable solvent for all materials. The author con¬ 
sidered that the strength should he increased in the case 
of calumba to the proportions of 2 parts rectified and 1 
part water, and that proof spirit was decidedly too weak 
lor operating upon sumbul, which was much more satis¬ 
factorily treated with rectified spirit, although possibly 
an intermediate strength might afford equally good re¬ 
sults. The older Pharmacopoeias recognized this view, 
and the example of tinct. aloes and tinct. rhubarb was 
quoted. These preparations perhaps scarcely deserved 
the name of tinctures , in the form in which they were pre- i 
sented by the London Pharmacopoeia, 1821,* but those 
formulae were evidently based upon a rational recogni¬ 
tion of the objects to be attained which we fail to dis¬ 
cover in more recent editions, where the choice is limited 
to two strengths somewhat accidentally established. 
Mr. Stoddart exhibited a sample of iodide of potas¬ 
sium, supposed to be of German origin, which he had 
ascertained to be contaminated with 10 per cent, of iodate 
of potash. 
Each of these communications received ample discus¬ 
sion. 
The subject of early closing was then introduced by 
the President, and continued by several members. 
Finally, the following resolution, proposed by the Pre¬ 
sident, and seconded by Mr. Giles, was passed, “ That 
the Council be requested to take the subject of the hours 
of closing into consideration, and to report thereon.” 
HramMngs jof SfiatMc jsoiwtks. 
SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
Dyes and Dye-Stupes other than Aniline. f 
BY DR. CRACE-CALVERT, E.R.S. 
Lecture IV. 
Quercitron, Fustic, Persian Berries, TTelcl, Aloes , Turmeric , 
Annatto, Ilixanthine , LaJcao, Tannin matters , Gall-nuts, 
Sumach , Pivi-divi, Myrobalans , Catechu. 
[Continuedfrom gwge 575.) 
Ilixanthine is the name given to the pale primrose- 
yellow crystals obtained by Dr. Schunck from the leaves 
of the Polygonum Fa gap gram, or common buckwheat. 
This body, to which he gives the formulae C 30 H 20 O 20 , 
is only sparingly soluble in hot and cold water, but’more 
soluble in alcohol. Strong sulphuric acid changes its 
colour to a deep yellow without decomposition. It yields 
on a piece of calico mordanted with alumina a dark 
yellow colour, with tin a light yellow, and with oxide 
of iron various shades of yellowish-brown, according to 
the strength of the mordant employed. 
Lo-lcao. —In 1851 and in 1852 public attention was 
drawn by several English gentlemen to samples of a 
green colouring-matter imported from China; in 1853, 
Messrs. Guinon, of Lyons, imported such quantities as 
to enable them to dye silk for the requirements of the. 
trade. The silks so dyed were known by the names 
Vert-Venus, T crt-Azof and Vcrt-Iumiere, and were es¬ 
pecially admired from their remaining green in artifi¬ 
cial light. They are not, however, now produced, as 
the colours were unstable, and Messrs. Guinon, Mamas 
and Bonnet found that they could produce greens which 
maintain their colour in artificial light by first dyeing 
the silks in Prussian blue, and then immersing them in 
an acidulated bath of picric acid. It is interesting to ob- 
* Tincture of Aloes. Tincture of Rhubarb. 
Rectified Spirit . 1 part. Rectified Spirit . 10 parts. 
Mater .... 4 pai'ts. Water .... 18 parts. 
1" Cantor Lecture, delivered Tuesday, Feb. 28. Reprinted 
from the Journal of the Society of Arts. 
serve that, if indigo be substituted for Prussian blue, the 
colour appears blue by artificial light. 
Lo-lcao is the only substance with which I am ac¬ 
quainted capable, with proper reagents, of producing 
the seven colours of the spectrum. 
M. Charvin, of Lyons, obtained lo-kao from a weed 
indigenous to Europe, the Phamnus catharticus , and re¬ 
ceived for his discovery a gold medal, worth 6000 francs, 
from the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons. All these 
vert-lumieres are, however, now replaced by the brilliant 
greens obtained from aniline. 
Tannin matters can be divided into two classes, those 
which give a blue-black precipitate with persalts of iron, 
—such as gall-nuts, sumach, divi-divi, myrobalans and 
valonia,—and those which give a green coloration with, 
persalts of iron, such as catechu, gambier, gum kino, 
and elder, larch and willow barks. 
The first class are characterized by containing twe 
acids, which have received the names of tannic and 
gallic acids. 
Tannic acid, which is the all-important compound in 
this class of substances, was extracted some years ago by 
the following simple process, devised by M. Pelouze. 
It consists in treating in a displacement apparatus, 
coarsely ground gall-nuts with ether which has been 
previously well shaken with water (during this process 
it has taken up one-tenth of its weight of the water). 
The ethereal solution, on being allowed to stand, sepa¬ 
rates into two layers, the upper one being nearly pure- 
ether, and the lower one being an aqueous syrupy solu¬ 
tion of tannin, which only requires to be evaporated in a. 
water-bath to obtain the tannic acid as a pale yellow 
spongy mass, inodorous, and having a most astringent 
taste. As is seen by the process of extraction, it is so¬ 
luble in water, but insoluble in ether. It is soluble in 
alcohol. It is characterized by giving a blue-black pre¬ 
cipitate with persalts of iron, but none with protosalts, 
and a white precipitate with tartar emetic or salts of 
lead. It gives a precipitate with gelatine and the vege¬ 
table alkaloids, and turns rapidly brown or black in 
presence of air and caustic alkali. 
Tannic acid is a glucoside, decomposed by acids into a 
peculiar sugar and gallic acid, as seen by the following 
formulae :— 
C., ; H a 0 17 + 4H.0 = 3 (C 7 H 6 0 5 ) + C 6 H 12 0 6 . 
Tannic acid. W ater. Gallic acid. Sugar. 
[To be continued .) 
Iprliamttttarg an!) ghto fromimtgs. 
Alleged Poisoning of a Medical Officer. 
On Wednesday evening, January 10th, about eight 
o’clock, Mr. Andrew Harris, the senior assistant medical 
officer at the AYorkhouse Hospital, New Bridge Street, 
Manchester, died suddenly, and the circumstances at¬ 
tending his death were such as to excite grave suspicions 
that he had been poisoned. The inquiries made resulted 
.in Mrs. Hannah Steele, the head nurse of the lunatic 
ward, being apprehended on the charge of having caused 
his death. On Thursday morning she was brought up 
at the City Police Court, charged with having caused 
the death of Mr. Andrew Harris, and with also having* 
poisoned two attendants in the workhouse. The prisoner 
is about fifty years of age. 
Mr. AY. A. Patchett, surgeon at the Manchester AVork- 
house, said : Between a quarter and half-past eleven 
yesterday morning was the last time I saw Mr. Harris 
alive. He was conscious, and he said when I entered 
the room, “ Patchett, my dear fellow, I have been 
poisoned.” I had seen him the night before in good 
health. Yesterday morning when I saw him he com¬ 
plained of a burning pain in the throat. He was sitting* 
in his chair*. He said, “ They have put something in 
my milk.” I asked where the milk was, and he said. 
