AmjJu°nUe%897arm'}  A  Sample  of  Scammony.  313 
about  6  cents  an  ounce  avoirdupois)  as  against  70  grammes  of 
metallic  mercury  (costing  about  5  cents  an  ounce,  avoirdupois),  to 
make  the  official  quantity  of  ointment,  or  a  little  over  2  pounds,, 
is  of  no  practical  moment  whatever. 
A  sample  of  the  ointment  made  on  March  17,  1897,  by  ^ne  use 
of  red  mercuric  oxide,  is  presented  to  this  Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
While  it  has  slightly  darkened  in  color,  it  has  retained  its  smooth- 
ness, and  has  undergone  no  hardening  whatever. 
NOTE  ON  A  SAMPLE  OF  SCAMMONY. 
By  I.  W.  Thomson. 
Some  time  ago  a  parcel  was  handed  to  me,  marked  "  Scammo- 
nium,"  accompanied  by  a  statement  that  it  contained  84-864  per 
cent,  of  scammonium,  and,  that  there  might  be  no  mistake,  gave 
the  chemical  formula,  which  is  generally  accepted  as  representing 
that  body  C32H56016.    It  was  said  to  be  of  German  origin. 
A  very  cursory  examination  of  the  sample  so  completely  belied  its 
certificate  of  character,  that  I  concluded  it  could  hardly  claim  more 
than  a  very  remote  relationship  with  scammony. 
Having  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  Mr.  Hill,  he  suggested 
that  I  might  exhibit  the  sample  and  submit  the  result  of  my  exami- 
nation of  it  at  an  evening  meeting. 
The  sample  consists  of  irregular  broken  pieces,  apparently  por- 
tions of  a  cake,  about  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  greenish-black, 
hard  and  horny,  breaking  with  a  resinous  fracture,  and  very  diffi- 
cult to  powder.  On  submitting  it  to  a  systematic  examination,  the 
following  results  were  obtained  : 
Per  Cent. 
Soluble  in  ether   04 
"       "  alcohol   2*0 
"       "  water   42*6 
Starch  and  a  little  cellular  tissue   43*0 
Moisture   12*0 
I0O"O 
It  yielded  2-12  per  cent,  of  ash,  of  which  0-93,  equal  to  43  6  per 
cent,  was  soluble  in  water.  The  ash  contained  K,  Mg,  Ca,  Fe,  and 
Si,  as  carbonate,  sulphate,  and  a  trace  of  chloride. 
The  water-soluble  portion  was  evidently  gum,  apparently  gum 
