292 
Progress  of  Pharmacy. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1902. 
ented  chemicals  under  a  non-trade-marked  name,  this  name  must 
first  be  popularized,  so  as  to  induce  medical  practitioners  to  use  it 
instead  of  the  more  familiar  and  usually  widely  advertised  name 
given  by  the  original  manufacturer  or  the  patentee. 
There  have  been  a  number  of  reports  on  original  investigations  of 
drugs  containing  alkaloids.  One  of  the  more  interesting  is  an  inves- 
tigation of  the  Alkaloids  of  Tobacco,  by  Pictet  and  Rotchy.  (Quoted 
by  the  Apothek.  Zeit.,  1902.)  These  investigators  have  isolated 
three  new  alkaloids  from  tobacco.  Two  of  these  may  be  separated 
from  nicotin  by  fractional  distillation,  not  being  as  volatile  as 
nicotin.  One  of  these  newly  discovered  alkaloids  is  a  liquid,  and 
named  by  the  investigators  nicotein  ;  it  has  the  supposed  chemical 
composition  of  C10H12N2,  is  volatilized  at  a  temperature  of  2660  or 
2670,  and  is  soluble  in  water  and  the  usual  organic  solvents. 
Another,  nicotellin,  has  the  composition  of  C10H8N2,  and  requires  a 
heat  of  more  than  3000  to  vaporize  it.  At  ordinary  temperatures  it 
is  solid,  and  by  recrystallizing  from  alcohol  may  be  obtained  in  the 
form  of  white  prismatic  needles.  It  is  present  in  tobacco  in  but 
small  quantities. 
The  third  alkaloid  is  very  volatile  and  is  found  mixed  with  the 
nicotin.  It  occurs  in  very  small  quantities  and  has  as  yet  not  been 
satisfactorily  studied. 
Among  changes  in  the  sources  of  old  drugs  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  ginger  is  being  cultivated  in  Brazil  and  also  in  Central 
America.  A  sample  of  the  Brazilian  product  has  reached  the 
European  markets,  and  is  said  to  be  particularly  firm,  light  in  color, 
and  to  have  a  pleasantly  aromatic  odor  and  taste. 
According  to  the  Pharmaceutische  Zeitung,  a,  new  process  for 
obtaining  iodine  from  seaweeds  has  been  patented  in  England. 
According  to  the  specifications  of  this  patent,  seaweeds  are  treated 
at  high  temperatures  with  diluted  sulphuric  or  other  mineral  acids, 
and  from  the  resulting  liquids  iodine  may  be  obtained  by  various 
chemical  means.  The  accompanying  potassium  salts  are  obtained 
by  crystallizing,  and  the  residue  is  to  be  washed,  dried,  and  subse- 
quently used  as  fertilizer. 
The  same  paper  [Pharmaceutische  Zeitung),  in  commenting  on 
sugar  of  milk,  says  that  the  American  product,  while  inferior  to 
the  German,  has  entered  largely  into  competition,  even  in  the  Ger- 
man markets,  with  the  usual  result  of  producing  a  decided  decrease 
in  price. 
