PHARMACEUTICAL  NOTES. 
179 
my  mind  that  this  yellow  bark,  of  which  a  very  large  quantity 
still  remains  unsold,  is  identical  with  the  Abeocouta  bark,  and 
should  at  least  be  tried  for  similar  purposes. 
As  regards  the  proximate  principles  of  this  bark,  they  are 
in  every  respect,  except  proportion,  analogous  to  those  of  the 
officinal  Berberis,  from  which  latter  I  have  lately  separated  the 
pure  saponaceous  glucoside,  and  also  to  those  of  Caulophyllurn 
thalictroides,  which  latter,  however,  contains  no  trace  of  berbe- 
rina  or  any  other  yellow  coloring  matter.  As  to  the  white  alka- 
loid of  Berberis, — oxyacanthia, — as  prepared  by  the  former 
method,  it  differs  from  that  of  Hydrastis  and  Caulophyllurn  only 
because  it  contains  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  kinovin-like, 
lower  glucoside  of  these  plants,  which  is  especially  represented 
very  largely  in  Caulophyllurn. 
Sacred  Bark.  Under  this  name  the  aromatic  bark  of  some 
large  oriental  tree  has  been  offered  here,  and  has  been  referred 
by  several  to  a  Laurinea.  It  occurs  in  flat,  irregular,  heavy 
pieces,  from  one-half  to  an  inch  in  thickness,  bearing  the  marks 
of  a  large  axe  or  similar  sharp  cutting  instrument.  It  has  a  fo 
liated  pale  reddish  yellow  liber,  covered  with  a  more  or  less  res- 
inous, reddish  envelope  and  a  corky  layer,  which  is  deep  brown 
beneath  and  rough  and  paler  brown,  or  sometimes  ash-colored, 
without.  It  has  a  not  over  strong  odor  of  Peruvian  balsam,  or 
rather  of  a  mixture  of  cinnamon  and  sassafras.  The  outer  bark 
burns  with  a  smoky  flame  like  incense.  Mr.  Kramer,  of  Phila- 
delphia, suggested  that  it  resembled  storax  bark.  In  fact,  as  I 
afterwards  found  on  examination,  it  contains  a  soft  resin  with 
the  odor  of  storax,  but  rather  rancid,  and  on  being  digested  in 
a  warm  solution  of  carbonate  of  soda  yields  principally  cinnamic 
acid,  which,  when  precipitated  from  the  alkaline  liquid  by  means 
of  sulphuric  acid,  at  once  gives  the  odor  of  bitter  almonds  with 
permanganate.  While,  therefore,  this  drug  in  all  probability  be- 
longs to  a  liquidamber,  it  has  no  resemblance  to  what  is  ordinarily 
known  as  storax  bark,  cortex  thymiamatis,  as  described  by  Gui- 
bourt  and  others,  but  bears  the  greatest  resemblance  to  the  de- 
scription of  the  trunk-bark  of  Liquidamber  altingiana,  Blume, 
as  given  by  Lindley,  {Flora  Med.,  p.  321,)  in  Hayne's  Arzney 
