520  British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  {Am'oct^i£7arm" 
ether,  which  on  evaporation  left  about  half  a  gram  of  a  thickish  oily  yel- 
lowish matter  that  readily  dissolved  in  acetic  acid,  the  solution  giving  pre- 
cipitates characteristic  of  alkaloids.  A  watery  solution  of  the  substance 
reddened  phenolphthalein  paper,  but  the  redness  quickly  disappeared,  in 
consequence,  it  is  supposed,  of  the  volatilization  of  the  alkaloid,  which  it  is 
proposed  to  call  "katine."  A  crystalline  acetate  of  katine  was  also  stated 
to  have  been  obtained.  The  authors  confirmed  previous  statements  as  to 
the  absence  of  caffeine. 
Aconitine. — Continuing  his  experiments  on  the  preparation  of  aconitine, 
Mr.  John  Williams  has  worked  out  a  new  process,  a  description  of  which 
he  now  communicated  to  the  Conference.  It  consists  essentially  in  ex- 
hausting with  amyl  alcohol  the  coarsely-ground  root  of  Aconitum  Nopellus 
dried  at  a  moderate  temperature,  shaking  the  amylic  solution  with  dilute  acid 
and  water,  and  precipitating  the  acid  liquor  with  sodium  carbonate.  The 
crude  alkaloid  is  then  dissolved  either  in  ether  or  alcohol  and  allowed  to  crys 
tallize.  Mr.  Williams  especially  insists  upon  the  necessity  of  ensuring  that 
the  root  operated  upon  is  derived  from  A.  Napellus,  and  he  uses  a  fusel  oil 
free  from  ordinary  spirit.  It  will  be  noticed  that  Mr.  Williams  does  not 
acidulate  the  percolating  menstruum  with  tartaric  or  any  other  acid.  Mr- 
Williams  recommends  that  in  the  next  edition  of  the  pharmacopoeia  the 
alkaloid  in  its  crystallized  state  should  be  authorized  in  the  place  of  the 
amorphous  aconitine  now  official.  In  reply  to  Mr.  Holmes,  the  author  said 
he  was  not  quite  sure  as  to  the  quality  of  the  roots  he  had  operated  upon, 
as  he  had  been  dependent  for  his  supply  upon  the  ordinary  market.  But 
when  Mr.  Holmes  had  carried  out  the  experiment  he  had  undertaken  on 
behalf  of  the  Conference,  and  was  in  a  position  to  supply  aconite  roots  of 
undoubted  botanic  origin,  he  would  be  glad  to  repeat  his  experiments  upon 
them.  In  reply  to  another  question  Mr.  Williams  said  he  believed  the  yield 
of  crystallized  aconitine  by  this  process  was  larger  than  by  any  other,  proba- 
bly because  there  was  not  so  much  loss  through  decomposition. 
The  Conference  then  adjourned  for  luncheon. 
Ipecacuanha. — On  resuming  the  second  sitting  of  the  Conference  was  com- 
menced by  the  reading  of  a  paper  on  the  Estimation  of  Emetine  in  Ipeca- 
cuanha, by  Mr.  F.  Ransom.  The  principal  novelty  in  this  paper  was  the 
suggested  use  for  the  percolation  of  the  root  of  chloroform  rendered  alka- 
line by  shaking  it  with  a  strong  solution  of  ammonia.  The  alkaloid  is 
removed  from  the  percolate  by  means  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  and  esti- 
mated with  Mayer's  reagent.  The  author  has  ascertained  that  contact  with 
the  ammoniated  chloroform  does  not  decompose  the  alkaloid.  Ten  samples 
of  root  tested  by  this  process  yielded  proportions  of  emetine  varying  from 
1*3  to  23  per  cent.,  the  average  strength  being  T66.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  paper,  Mr.  Naylor  expressed  some  surprise  at  the  high  results  obtained 
by  Mr.  Ransom,  and  remarked  that  hitherto  no  published  process  had  quite 
satisfied  him,  as  they  all,  in  his  hands,  had  yielded  varying  results. 
Mackay  bean. — The  enormous  bean  known  as  the  Mackay  Bean,  the  seed 
of  Entada  scandens,  was  the  subject  of  the  next  communication,  by  Mr. 
John  Moss.    It  consisted  of  an  account  of  a  chemical  investigation  of  the 
