492  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.    { Aloctober,Pi902r.rr1, 
The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  essential  results  of  the  experi- 
mental work  of  the  author ;  the  alkaloid  which  it  is  said  occurs  in 
the  bark  could  not  be  obtained.  The  bark  contains  9-3  per  cent,  of 
tannin,  which  is  colored  greenish  with  ferric  chloride.  It  also  con- 
tains capric  acid,  arachidic  acid,  stearic  acid,  ceryl  alcohol  and  two 
isomers  of  cholesterol ;  there  are  present  two  resins,  the  one  being 
soluble  in  chloroform  and  the  other  insoluble  in  chloroform,  a  por- 
tion of  which  consisted  of  a  glucoside ;  the  tonic  action  of  derris  on 
fish  appears  to  be  due  to  some  constituent  of  that  portion  of  the 
resin  which  is  soluble  in  chloroform  and  not  to  the  tannin. 
The  Anatomy  of  the  Stem  of  Derris  Uliginosa  Benth. 
(An  Eastern  Fish  Poison.) 
By  P.  E.  F.  Perredes. 
Derns  uliginosa  is  very  abundant  in  Wakaya,  where  it  is  known 
as  "  Duva,"  but  on  the  other  islands  of  the  Fiji  Group  it  is  some- 
what scarce  on  account  of  having  been  largely  used  by  the  natives 
as  a  fish  poison.    The  author  described  in  detail  the  anatomy  of 
the  stem,  which  was  accompanied  with  numerous  well-executed 
drawings. 
The  Quantitative  Estimation  of  Strychnine  in  Mixtures  of 
Strychnine  and  Brucine. 
By  H.  M.  Gordin. 
The  author  has  worked  out  the  following  method  for  the  separa- 
tion of  strychnine  and  brucine  : 
The  mixed  alkaloids,  for  example,  the  residue  of  total  alkaloids 
obtained  in  the  assay  of  nux  vomica  from  8  or  10  grammes  of  drug, 
is  dissolved  in  15  c.c.  3  per  cent,  sulphuric  acid  by  the  aid  of 
water-bath  heat,  the  solution  is  cooled  to  ordinary  temperature  and 
3  c.c.  of  a  previously  prepared  and  cooled  mixture  of  equal  parts  of 
strong  nitric  acid  (sp.  gr.  1-42)  and  water  added  to  the  alkaloidal 
solution.  The  liquid  is  set  aside  for  exactly  ten  minutes,  shaking  it 
gently  three  or  four  times  during  this  time.  The  red  liquid  is  now 
transferred  to  a  separator  containing  20  or  25  c.c.  of  10  per  cent, 
sodium  hydroxide  solution,1  and  the  vessel  in  which  the  digestion  of 
1  It  is  best  to  place  the  alkali  in  the  separator  while  the  alkaloids  are  being 
digested  with  the  acids  so  that  after  the  lapse  of  ten  minutes^  when  the  acid 
liquid  is  poured  into  the  separator,  the  action  of  nitric  acid  upon  the  strychnine 
is  quickly  arrested. 
