38     REMOVAL  OF  ODOROUS  COMPOUNDS  FROM  ALCOHOL,  ETC. 
ing  in  its  death.  An  equal  amount  of  the  neutral  product  sirni- 
larly  administered  to  a  kitten  caused  no  manifest  inconvenience. 
It  is  therefore  to  be  presumed  the  principle  soluble  in  alcohol, 
and  which  is  also  dissolved  by  diluted  alcohol  and  hot  water,  is 
the  representative  principle  of  the  drug,  and  which,  if  isolated 
in  quantity,  would  prove  to  be  its  equal  in  therapeutic  power. 
I  am  pleased  to  be  able  to  state  that  arrangements  are  being 
made  to  experiment  with  a  large  quantity  of  the  bark  of  the  root 
by  one  of  our  most  competent  associates ;  and  the  Association 
may  hope  to  have  a  full  account  of  the  therapeutic  action  of  this 
alkaloid  at  a  future  meeting — probably  the  next.  • 
The  wood  of  the  root  can  be  safely  asserted,  from  careful  ex- 
periment, to  contain  none  of  the  alkaloid. 
The  full  amount  of  leaves  in  my  possession  (13J  ozs.)  were 
powdered  and  percolated  by  strong  alcohol  to  exhaustion,  con- 
centrated, strongly  acidulated  by  acetic  acid,  allowed  to  rest  for 
a  day,  filtered  and  evaporated  to  a  syrupy  consistence  by  gentle 
heat.  To  this,  alcohol  containing  one-tenth  part  of  sulphuric 
acid  was  added,  and  digested. 
This  was  neutralized  by  lime  in  slight  excess,  concentrated 
and  allowed  to  rest,  diluted  with  water  and  filtered;  the  precipi- 
tate was  washed  with  diluted  alcohol,  and  the  liquid  decolorized 
with  animal  charcoal,  filtered  and  evaporated  by  water  bath  to 
dryness.  The  residue  powdered,  exhausted  by  alcohol  with 
animal  charcoal,  filtered  and  evaporated  spontaneously.  This 
manipulation  should  exhibit  the  presence  of  the  alkaloid  in  the 
leaf,  should  any  exist.  1  have  not  entirely  finished  my  examina- 
tion of  it,  but  will  communicate  to  Prof.  Maisch  the  result  of 
the  investigation. — Proc.  Amer.  JPharm.  Assoc.,  1868. 
ON  THE  EEMOVAL  OF  ODOROUS  COMPOUNDS  FKOM 
ALCOHOL  BY  PERMANGANATES. 
By  Geo.  F.  H.  Markoe,  of  Boston. 
Query  22. — What  are  the  practical  reactions  between  the  permanga- 
nates and  alcohol  of  various  strengths  and  degrees  of  cleanness ;  and  how 
far  can  such  reactions  be  made  available  for  prodjicing  deodorized  alco- 
hol, cologne  spirit,  or  clean  alcohol,  upon  a  small  scaile,  with  special 
reference  to  the  alcohol  recovered  from  fluid  extracts,  and  other  Galenical 
preparations  ? 
