■June 22, 1872.] 
; THE PHARM ACEUTEOAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
1033 
to call it the “ light powder.” It is often adulterated, as 
Mr. Daniel Hanbury has pointed out in his valuable 
Notes on Chinese Materia Medica,’ with selenite, or 
sulphate of lime, which happens to be of nearly the same 
weight and crystalline form. There are some seven or 
-eight manufacturers of this drug in Hankow. It sells at 
a price varying from sixpence to a shilling per ounce. 
Corrosive sublimate, called literally “ white precipi¬ 
tate,” is also made in Hankow by a very complicated 
way, by fusing together nitre, mercury, borax, sal am¬ 
moniac, orpiment and massicot, and subliming the mass 
in the same way as the calomel. A very good crystal¬ 
line preparation is obtained, which is used only exter¬ 
nally as a caustic. The lead is added on medical, and 
not on chemical grounds, as it is supposed to correct the 
poison of the salt. Red precipitate is made by putting- 
nitre into a small boiler and melting it, alum being after¬ 
wards melted and incorporated with it. Some mercury 
is put into the middle of the mass ; and, after covering 
it over with a small dish, the whole is heated for about 
an hour and a half. The heat is at first gentle, and is 
then gradually increased. The red precipitate, or rod 
oxide of mercury as it is, is taken out in the form of 
sublimated scales, of a bright brick-red colour. A 
nitrate of mercury, mixed with the red oxide, is sold 
under the same names as the red precipitate. A tur- 
hith mineral, or yellow sulphate of mercury, is also 
sometimes made by the Chinese. 
Several metallic substances, such as minium and mas¬ 
sicot, have been purposely passed over in this very brief 
and hurried sketch. 
One more chemical substance, of an organic or ani¬ 
mal character, shall be named as the last of this list. 
Urea, called Ts iu-shih, is a regular article of manufac¬ 
ture from human urine at Ngan-king-fu and Chi-chau- 
fu, in Nganhwci province. This substance, mixed with 
the other constituents of the excretion, is obtained by 
Toiling down urine, sulphate of lime or common salt 
being added to hasten the crystallization and to increase 
the quantity obtained. It is used to soften fresh meat 
required for immediate use, and is used in medicine. 
Sufficient evidence, it is hoped, has been produced to 
;show that there is such a thing as chemistry in China, 
■and that those who take upon themselves to teach the 
Chinese chemistry would do well to first address them¬ 
selves to the explanation of processes and terms already 
in the hands and mouths of the Chinese for many hun¬ 
dreds of years. 
THE BARK OF JUGLANS CINERSA. 
BY CHAItLES 0. TIIIEBAUD.* 
A quantity of the fresh bark was gathered, carefully 
dried and powdered. From a portion of this a decoction 
was made, and the following reactions observed. No 
precipitate occurred after acidulation with nitric acid by 
iodo-hydrargyrate of potassium, thus proving the ab¬ 
sence of an alkaloid. Dilute solutions were reddened 
upon the addition of an alkali. The vapour arising from 
both the decoction and aqueous extract gave acid indica¬ 
tion to moistened litmus, the vapour from the extract turn¬ 
ing it a decided cherry-red colour. A portion of the pow¬ 
dered bark, moistened with water slightly acidulated with 
sulphuric acid, and introduced into a retort, gave a straw- 
coloured distillate with a faint fusel oil odour, acid to 
litmus, and reddened by alkalies. This being made 
slightly alkaline by ammonia and set aside in a drying- 
closet, after evaporation to dryness, yielded a small 
quantity of slightly yellowish prismatic crystals, scarcely 
.soluble in alcohol, and with acid reaction. The bark 
distilled with pure water gave a distillate with acid re¬ 
action, but deposited no crystals upon evaporation. The 
•distillate obtained by treating the bark with water ren¬ 
dered slightly alkaline by carbonate of soda was neutral 
to test paper. These experiments prove a volatile acid 
to be present in the bark. 
The decoction was treated by acetate of lead, the pre¬ 
cipitate suspended in water, freed from lead by satura¬ 
tion with hydrosulphuric acid and filtration; the solu¬ 
tion evaporated to dryness on a water-bath, exhausted 
by alcohol, and the alcoholic solution evaporated in the 
drying-closet to a resin-like extract. This was redis- 
solvcd in alcohol, and set aside in a cool place. After a 
few days small acicular crystals were found floating on 
the liquid. These crystals were in small quantity 
colourless, and coloured litmus red. 
The filtrate was freed from lead by hydrosulphuric 
acid, and evaporated to dryness on a water-bath; the 
residue, exhausted by alcohol and evaporated, yielded a 
bitter extract-like mass, soluble in both alcohol and 
water. 
These results not proving satisfactory by the isolation 
of an acid in quantity sufficient for further examination, 
the peculiar solvent properties of true benzole were 
brought into requisition. 
A portion of the freshly dried and powdered bark was 
macerated in this menstruum for four days. The ben¬ 
zole, which at first was colourless, after separation from 
the refuse matters by expression and filtration, was of a 
decided bright yellow colour. This was set aside and 
allowed to evaporate spontaneously. After the evapora¬ 
tion had been carried on until the residue ceased to lose 
weight, the capsule was found to contain a thick oily 
substance, and the sides were covered by short acicular 
crystals of a bright orange-yellow colour. These ex¬ 
hibited decided acid properties to litmus, were soluble in 
alcohol and ether, but scarcely so in water. They vola¬ 
tilized without fusing, in solution were reddened by am¬ 
monia, and turned pale violet by potassa, afterwards 
becoming red. The oily residue remaining after the 
evaporation of the benzole was exhausted with alcohol 
and the alcoholic solution by spontaneous evaporation 
yielded crystals similar in form, size and reaction to 
those deposited on the side of the capsule. The residue 
insoluble in alcohol was taken up by ether, allowed to 
evaporate spontaneously to a syrupy consistence, and 
spread on bibulous paper; thin tabular crystals were 
obtained which were colourless, acid to litmus, insoluble 
in water, scarcely so in alcohol, but readily taken up by 
ether, which solution was not precipitated by chloride of 
calcium and not affected in colour by ammonia or po¬ 
tassa. They wero fusible, but being further heated 
partly volatilized, leaving behind a charred mass, which 
burned without residue. The crystals when fused were 
changed to a dark red liquid, which when treated by- 
ether became decolorized. 
Chrysophanic acid is soluble in benzole; and since 
from Jug Ians , by the use of the same solvent, a product 
is obtained which exhibits some of the characteristics of 
the former, we may regard the two acids as closely re¬ 
lated. The proper name of this constituent would be 
juglandic acid. 
Solution of sulphate and tincture chloride of iron pro¬ 
duced dense dark-coloured precipitates, but other tests 
did not prove the presence of tannin. 
The decoction affords precipitates, and hence is in¬ 
compatible with the sesqui- and proto-salts of iron, bi¬ 
chromate of potassium, sulphate of copper, acetate of 
lead, and nitrate of silver. No effect is produced by 
yellow and red prussiates of potassium, tannin, and an- 
timonial salts. 
The bark contains bitter extractive, a large amount of 
oily matter, juglandic acid (which appears to be related 
to chrysophanic acid), an acid. crystallizing in tabular 
colourless crystals, a volatile acid, and no tannin. The 
ashes were found to contain a considerable percentage of 
potassium, wdth traces of sodium, calcium, and alumi¬ 
nium.— Amcr. Journ. Pharm. 
* From an Inaugural Essay. 
