152 
The  Ptomaines. 
(  Lm.  Jour.PhanB, 
X      April,  1882. 
The  residue,  percolated  with  10  per  cent,  ammonia,  gave  a  brown 
solution  which  Avas  decolorized  by  animal  charcoal. 
Percolation  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  now  gave  a  light  colored  solu- 
tion which  was  decolorized  by  animal  charcoal. 
One  hundred  grains  of  the  root  (air  dry  ?)  burned  in  a  platinum 
crucible  gave  an  ash  weighing  6*5  grs.,  of  which  3'75  grs.  was  soluble 
in  water.  The  ash  was  found  to  contain  carbonates,  sulphates,  chlor- 
ides and  phosphates  of  potassium,  calcium  and  magnesium. 
Under  a  mi(;roscope  magnifying  40  diameters,  the  mericarps  are 
seen  to  be  deeply  grooved  along  the  commissures,  giving  a  cross-section 
the  appearance  of  a  horse-shoe.  Beneath  the  epidermis  are  the  five 
characteristic  ribs  which  are  composed  of  wood  bundles.  The  embryo 
is  of  the  same  shape  as  the  mericarp,  wliite,  and  appears  to  be  composed 
of  a  number  of  almost  square  cells  arranged  in  layers  parallel  to  the 
groove. 
The  rhizome  shows  three  or  four  wood  rings  of  a  yellow  color,  tra- 
versed by  numerous  broad  medullary  rays;  the  pith  is  regularly  divi- 
ded transversely  by  air  cavities.  The  root  consists  of  a  number  of 
delicate  wedges,  arranged  somewhat  pentagonally  around  a  large  pith 
and  traversed  by  broad  medullary  rays ;  the  whole  structure  is  of  a 
yellowish-white  color,  the  wood  being  slightly  darker.  The  rhizome 
and  roots  are  covered  by  a  yellowish  epidermis  through  which  are 
scattered  numerous  cells  containing  a  yellow,  resinous  or  coloring 
matter. 
This  plant  has  never  been  recognized  by  medical  authorities,  but  is 
to  some  extent  used  throughout  the  country  as  a  mild  carminative  and 
expectorant  in  the  form  of  infusion  and  fluid  extract. 
THE    PTOMAINES    AND    THEIR    SIGNIFICANCE  IN 
JUDICIAL  AND  TOXICOLOGICAL  CHEMISTRY. 
By  Prof.  Th.  Husemann. 
Translated  from  "Arcliiv  der  Phann.,"  xvi,  December,  1881,  pp.  415-424,  by  Fred.  B.  Power. 
When  the  formation  of  ptomaines  is  particularly  frequent  in  corpses 
which  have  been  subjected  to  a  slow  process  of  decomposition,  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  the  same  will  be  not  unfrequently  observed  in  the 
cadavers  of  persons  which  have  been  destroyed  by  acute  arsenical 
poisoning.  To  such  a  probability  Selmi  had  already  poiuted;  but  it 
was  only  some  years  later  that  he  succeeded  in  furnishing  the  ])roof 
