714 , 
THE PREPAllATIONS OF CONfU^I 
passed over, f 5 V water, containing 50 grains of caustic potash, were now 
added to the contents of the retort, and distillation continued as long as alkaline 
fluid passed, ^vi ss of fluid in all, was obtained. The conia was obtained from 
this by neutralization with sulphuric acid, evaporation, separation of the sul¬ 
phate of ammonia, decomposition of the sulphate of conia with HOKO, and 
separation of the alkaloid by eether. It weighed only 0*2 of a grain. 
2 . Cy the process adopted in the separation of the conia from the ordi¬ 
nary extract (see above), I obtained from the same quantity (250 grs.) of 
this extract without chlorophyl exactly one grain of bright yellowish-brown 
oily fluid, which almost wholly dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid. It was, 
therefore, nearly pure conia. 
3, February 13, 18G7. I licked-up 5 grains of this extract. March 10 . 
10 grains. April 2: 15 grains. April 3: 20 grains. No effects followed 
either dose ; nor could I obtain the slightest physiological action in the persons 
of twm delicate women by giving the extract in the above-mentioned doses. To 
produce the slightest evidence of the presence of hemlock, 50 grains at least 
would have been required, but the doses were not further increased ; for to be of 
any practical value, the extract should contain such a proportion of conia that 
its effects may be manifested after a dose of 10 or, at most, 20 grains. 
It would not be fair, perhaps, to conclude from the foregoing experiments 
that all extract of conium is as deficient in medicinal power as the samples em- 
plo^md in these experiments have pjroved to be. Still, side by side with the 
facts referred to in this paper, they strongly persuade one to this view. The 
facts, indeed, of the particidar case before us are very strong. The juice em¬ 
ployed in the preparation of the extracts has been proved, both physiologically 
and chemically, to be replete in active properties,—f §j of the “ Succus Conii ” 
f 5 vj of the juice of the plant, and 30 grains of extract, has been shown to 
contain 0'42 grains of conia; and every precaution was taken with the ex¬ 
pressed juice to prevent decomposition by exposure to the air, to a high tempe¬ 
rature, or to prolonged heat; and yet we find that 250 grains of it retain only 
a grain of the alkaloid. Again, two ounces of the dried leaf—equivalent to 
f 3 vj of the juice of the plant, and to very nearly 4 grains of conia—retain less 
than half a grain of the active principle. I say, then, that in face of these facts, 
there is a very strong body of evidence against the medicinal value of the extract. 
y/ith a view of determining what becomes of the conia during the process of 
evaporation, I have conducted the following experiments :— 
1. Evaporated f ^j of the Succus Conii, F. B., No. 1, over a water bath to the 
ordinary consistence of the extract. About an hour was required for the opera¬ 
tion. After liberating the conia, and completely removing it, I found that it 
weighed 0 30 of a grain, 0T2 less than I obtained by the same process from 
the same quantity of the succus, to which I had previously added f 3 SS of dilute 
sulphuric acid, P. B., in order to fix the conia. 
2. Placed f ^j of the same sample of “ Succus Conii” in a retort, and dis¬ 
tilled f 5 iiis 3 by the aid of a water bath. The distillation occupied three hours. 
The first f 5 iss passed over during the first fifteen minutes, and was collected 
separately. Excepting that the first fluid was chiefly spirit, the distillates did 
not appear to differ ; both possessed a stronger odour of the plant than the 
succus itself; both gave out an extremely faint odour of conia on the addition of 
caustic potash, both were rendered faintly opalescent by the addition of nitrate 
of silver and of chloride of mercury. The remainder was transferred from the 
retort to an evaporating dish, and exposed to the heat of a water bath for an¬ 
other hour. The syrupy residue was then mixed with potash, and thoroughly 
washed with aether. 0T9 gr. of conia was obtained, being OTl gr. less than was 
obtained by the first experiment, and less than half of the quantity contained in 
the ounce of “ succus.” 
