600 
Phytolacca  Baccce, 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t      Dec,  1881, 
tals  were  found  on  the  bottom  of  the  vessel.  They  gave  an  acid 
reaction  with  litmus  and  were  of  a  strongly  acid  taste.  They  were 
dissolved  in  a  small  quantity  of  water  and  freed  from  the  trace  of 
coloring  matter  adhering  to  them  by  passing  through  animal  charcoal. 
To  the  solution  lime  water  was  added  and  no  precipitate  formed ;  on 
the  addition  of  alcohol  to  the  mixture  a  white  precipitate  was  formed, 
and  this  was  taken  as  presumptive  evidence  that  the  crystals  contain 
malic  acid.  In  order  to  obtain  positive  proof,  the  precipitate,  sup- 
posed to  be  malate  of  calcium,  was  dissolved  in  water  and  a  few  drops 
of  solution  of  acetate  of  lead  added ;  the  precipitate  thereby  formed 
was  collected  on  a  filter,  dried,  and  then  boiled  in  a  test  tube  with 
acetic  acid.  It  was  entirely  soluble ;  and,  on  cooling,  separated  in 
small  needle-like  crystals,  proving  it  to  be  malate  of  lead. 
The  washings  of  the  lead  precipitates  were  freed  from  lead  and 
found  to  contain  gum,  sugar  and  a  little  coloring  matter,  and  the 
washings  of  the  sulphide  of  lead  nothing. 
The  results  of  the  analysis  show  that  the  juice  of  pokeberries  con- 
tains gum,  sugar,  malic  acid  and  a  coloring  matter  which,  on  account 
of  its  susceptibility  of  change,  makes  a  closer  investigation  difficult. 
The  cake  left  in  the  press,  after  all  the  juice  and  red  color  had 
been  extracted  from  it,  was  dried,  powdered  and  percolated  with  90 
per  cent,  alcohol.  The  tincture  was  of  a  green  color  and,  on  evapor- 
ation, the  residue  was  found  to  consist  of  a  dark-green  resin,  entirely 
insoluble  in  water,  and  a  yellow  gummy  matter,  insoluble  in  alcohol 
but  soluble  in  water.    The  two  products  were  not  further  examined. 
Five  hundred  grains  of  the  fresh,  ripe  berries,  freed  from  their  ped- 
icles, were  set  aside  in  a  protected  place  at  a  temperature  of  about 
70°  to  75°F.  After  twenty  days,  they  weighed  226  grains,  after 
thirty-five  days  176,  when  they  were  found  to  be  air-dry,  as  they  had 
lost  no  more  in  weight  when  tested  ten  days  later.  They  were  then 
powdered,  dried  quickly  over  a  water- bath  and  weighed  150  grains, 
which  proves  the  fresh,  ripe  berries  to  contain  just  70  per  cent,  of 
moisture. 
The  amount  of  ash  was  ascertained  to  be  5  per  cent,  of  the  dry, 
powdered  berries,  62  per  cent,  of  the  ash  was  soluble  in  water  and 
contained  a  considerable  amount  of  potassium. 
The  berries  used  in  these  examinations  were  collected  by  the  writer 
in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  in  the  last  week  of  September. 
