504  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.      { A'october, i9o£m' 
even  citric  acid  in  alcoholic  solution  converting  it  into  the  Cornutine 
of  Kobert.  Ten  per  cent,  hydrochloric  acid  will  do  the  same  thing, 
and  from  this  product,  ether  will  only  remove  but  little  unaltered 
Ergotinine,  while  chloroform  or  ethyl  acetate  will  remove  remaining 
cornutine  Whatever  alkaloid  is  present  in  ergot  is  there  uncom- 
bined,  and  can  be  shaken  out  with  ether.  Hager  says  that  the 
Spasmotine  or  Spacelotoxine  of  Jacobi  is  not  a  homogeneous  body, 
but  consists  principally  of  Sphacelinic  acid  together  with  some  alka- 
loid. Although  Jacobi  claims  therapeutic  activity  for  his  Chryso- 
toxin  C21H24O10,  an  anthracene  or  phenanthrene  derivative,  Seca- 
linotoxin  C13H24N202  an  alkaloid,  and  Sphacelinotoxin  a  resin, 
especially  for  the  last  named,  still  Hager  says  a  corroboration  is 
necessary  before  this  can  be  accepted.  The  balance  of  the  evidence, 
according  to  Hager,  points  to  the  therapeutic  activity  being  cen- 
tered in  Tanret's  Ergotinine,  and  its  decomposition  product,  Robert's 
Cornutine.  Robert's  Sphacelinic  acid,  identical  with  Wigger's 
Ergotin,  is  an  acid  poisonous  resin,  and  the  cause  of  ergotism,  but 
not  of  ergot's  therapeutic  action.  Holding  rather  to  Keller  than  to 
Tanret  or  to  Jacobi,  we  have  always  assayed  ergot  by  the  alkaloid 
obtained  by  his  process  of  assay,  and  which  he  saw  fit  to  name 
Cornutine,  and  which  we  have  always  named  the  Cornutine  of 
Keller,  to  distinguish  it  from  Robert's  Cornutine.  Whether  or  not 
it  is  identical  with  Tanret's  Ergotinine,  we  are  not  prepared  to 
prove,  and  we  will  accept  Hager's  claim  that  it  is.  We  have  for 
some  years  successfully  assayed  ergot  and  its  preparations,  by 
Keller's  method  of  assay,  and  we  believe  we  can  present  some  facts 
that  will  pharmacologically  verify  our  view.  The  method  consists 
of  the  following  processes  : 
The  fluid  extract  is  evaporated  on  water-bath  to  remove  the  alco- 
hol, and  the  residue  is  rubbed  up  with  magnesia  and  water.  This 
alkaline  mixture  is  shaken  for  two  hours  with  stronger  ether,  and 
the  ether  drawn  off  and  in  turn  shaken  with  weak  solutions  of 
hydrochloric  acid.  The  acid  solutions  are  made  alkaline  with 
ammonia  and  again  shaken  out  with  ether.  The  resulting  ethereal 
solution  is  then  evaporated  in  a  tared  capsule  and  weighed. 
Whether  or  not  this  yields  us  absolutely  pure  Cornutine  does  not 
especially  concern  us  at  this  time,  as  long  as  we  know  it  represents 
all  the  therapeutic  activity  of  the  drug  and  the  alkaline  mother 
liquors  from  which  it  was  extracted  do  not  any  longer  contain  any 
