72  Examination  of  Commercial  Peppers.     { AFebiuaryTSm' 
have  been  removed  by  immersion  in  water  and  subsequent  rubbing 
with  the  hands ;  it  is  also  made  commercially  by  rubbing  the  hull 
off  of  the  dried  black  pepper  by  friction  in  a  machine  designed  for 
the  purpose,  in  which  case  it  is  smaller  than  when  made  from  the 
ripe  fruit. 
White  pepper  made  from  the  ripe  fruit  consists  of  the  seed, 
which  is  covered  with  a  whitish  coat,  having  10  to  14  lines  run- 
ning from  base  to  apex  ;  under  this  is  a  reddish-brown  testa,  very 
thin,  next  the  hard  inside  layer,  and  lastly  around  the  central  cavity 
is  a  mealy  portion  relatively  thick.  This  is  a  general  description  of 
the  two  peppers.  The  different  varieties  which  have  been  exam- 
ined will  be  taken  up  separately. 
The  writer  has  examined  13  different  kinds  of  peppers,  all  type 
samples,  9  of  which  were  black  peppers  and  4  white  peppers  ;  they 
were  as  follows  :  Black  peppers — Lampong,  4  samples ;  Lienburg,  4 
samples ;  Singapore,  4  samples  ;  Tellicherry,  4  samples ;  Trang,  2 
samples  ;  Aleppy,  2  samples ;  Acheen  A,  4  samples ;  Acheen  D,  2 
samples;  West  Coast  Sumatra,  2  samples. 
White  peppers — Coriander,  4  samples;  Singapore,  3  samples; 
Penang,  3  samples;  Decorticated,  3  samples.  The  hull  was  also 
examined  in  the  same  manner  as  the  pepper. 
The  following  determinations  were  made :  Ash,  ether  extract, 
piperin  and  oleo-resin  as  being  of  the  highest  importance. 
The  following  methods  were  used  as  being  the  simplest  that  could 
be  devised.  These  can  be  used  by  almost  any  pharmacist  without 
much  expense. 
Ash. — For  the  determination  of  the  ash,  1  gm.  of  the  ground 
pepper  was  heated  to  redness  in  a  tared  porcelain  crucible,  and  main- 
tained at  that  temperature  for  one  hour,  weighed,  and  reheated 
until  the  weight  remained  constant. 
Ether  Extract. — This  was  determined  as  follows:  10  gm.  of  the 
ground  pepper  were  packed  in  a  small  cylindrical  percolator,  which 
was  connected  with  an  Erlenmeyer  flask  by  means  of  a  perforated 
and  well-fitted  cork.  Into  this  cork  a  glass  tube  was  also  inserted 
and  connected  by  means  of  a  rubber  tubing  with  another  glass  tube 
of  equal  caliber,  inserted  in  a  cork  fitted  to  the  top  of  the  perco- 
lator. This  constituted  the  ether-extractor,  and  from  40  to  50  c.c. 
of  ether  were  used  for  making  an  extraction.  The  percolate  ob- 
tained was  transferred  to  a  weighed  beaker,  the  flask  being  washed 
