INFLUENCE  OF  DRYING,  ETC. 
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The  leaves  of  Anemone  pulsatilla,  collected  in  April,  yielded 
fresh,  but  not  dried,  anemonin,  little  amorphous  alkaloid  and  a 
yellow,  very  acrid  resinous  matter. 
Chelidonium  majus^  (herb)  collected  in  July,  yielded,  after 
drying,  only  chelidonina,  but  no  chelerythrina. 
Nicotiana  tabacum,  (leaves)  collected  in  July,  yielded  two  grm. 
pure  nicotina  ;  after  drying  scarcely  half  the  quantity. 
Digitalis  purpurea,  (leaves,  June).  The  extract  yielded  to 
alcoholic  ether  0-60  grm.  of  a  straw  yellow,  very  bitter  substance; 
from  the  dried  leaves  a  little  less  and  deeper  yellow. 
Menyanthes  trifoliata,  (leaves,  August),  yielded  0*45  grm. 
menyanthin ;  from  the  dried  leaves  uncrystallizable. 
Marrubium  vulgare,  (leaves  and  tops,  June),  yielded  0*70 
crystallized  marrubiin  ;  from  the  dried,  about  one  half. 
Tanacetum  vulgare,  (flowers,  July).  Bitter  principle,  darker 
from  the  dried. 
Absinthium  vulgare,  (leaves  and  tops,  cultivated,  July).  The 
dried  yields  less  aromatic  preparations  and  an  extract-like,  bitter 
principle. 
Ergot,  (July).  Carefully  dried  and  powdered,  it  was  divided' 
into  two  parts,  one  of  which  was  kept  under  alcohol  in  a  well 
filled  bottle,  the  other  kept  dry  in  a  paper  box  for  ten  months, 
after  which  time  it  was  macerated  for  fifteen  days  in  the  same 
quantity  of  alcohol.  The  two  portions  were  then  treated  exactly 
alike.  The  ergot  was  exhausted  with  alcohol  in  a  displacement 
apparatus,  the  tincture  evaporated  in  a  water-bath  and  finally 
over  sulphuric  acid.  The  extract  was  treated  with  distilled 
water,  and  the  filtrate  concentrated  at  the  ordinary  temperature 
over  sulphuric  acid. 
The  extracts,  exhausted  by  water  (loss  about  one-fourth,) 
yielded  to  ether  about  five-sixths  of  their  weight,  and  the  residue, 
about  one-eighth  of  the  alcoholic  extract,  was  a  red  granular 
powder — Wiggers'  ergotin.  The  etherial  solution,  on  evaporation, 
yielded  fixed  oil  and  crystallized  cholesterin.  The  fixed  oil,  from 
the  old  ergot,  was  orange  red,  that  from  the  fresh  (kept  under 
alcohol)  was  thinner  and  orange  yellow.  No  other  difference 
was  thus  far  observed. 
The  concentrated  aqueous  solution  of  the  alcoholic  extract  had 
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