300 
ON  THE  RESINOIDS. 
ciple,  combined  with  a  fixed  and  volatile  oil,  contained  in  some  of 
the  leading  and  most  useful  plants. 
My  first  experiment  with  the  roots  of  the  Helleborus  Niger, 
was  with  the  view  of  obtaining  the  so-called  active  principle  in  a 
crystalline  form,  said  to  have  been  isolated  by  Mr.  William 
Bastick,  and  written  upon  by  him,  and  read  before  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Society  of  London.  The  researches  of  Yauquelin  and 
Capron,  who  gave  this  subject  particular  investigation,  point  to 
the  conclusion  that  no  such  principle  exists  in  a  crystalline  form, 
but  that  the  activity  of  the  root  is  due  solely  to  a  fatty  oil  in 
combination  with  a  volatile  acid^  which  they  separated  from 
it. 
Doubting  the  truth  of  their  conclusions,  I  supposed  by  the  im- 
proved methods  of  research  of  the  present  day  that  an  organic 
base  might  be  eliminated  from  it.  Of  the  two  processes  given  by 
Mr.  Bastick  for  eliminating  the  active  principle,  the  following  I 
manipulated  with  great  care  and  accuracy. 
Experiment  Ist.  Five  pounds  of  the  root  Helleborus  Niger 
was  reduced  to  a  coarse  powder,  and  macerated  in  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  alcohol  for  fourteen  days :  it  was  then  percolated, 
hy  funnel  process.  The  tincture  was  filtered,  then  diluted  with 
water,  the  alcohol  evaporated  olF,  again  filtered  in  order  to  re- 
move the  separated  resin,  and  the  solution  afterwards  evaporated 
and  set  aside  to  crystallize:  after  allowing  it  sufficient  time,  and 
finding  no  crystals,  the  resulting  liquor  was  again  evaporated  to 
the  consistence  of  an  extract ;  it  was  triturated  with  carbonate  of 
magnesia  in  order  to  neutralize  any  free  acid  which  might  exist, 
to  prevent  its  crystallization  :  it  was  then  washed  with  hot  water, 
and  thrown  on  a  filter,  and  additional  water  added  ;  the  filtered 
liquor  thus  obtained  was  evaporated  and  set  aside  to  crystallize  ; 
and  obtaining  no  crystals,  I  was  induced  to  examine  his  first 
method. 
Experiment  2d,  Two  pounds  more  of  the  root  were  finely 
bruised,  and  macerated  in  alcohol  containing  l-50th  part  of  strong 
sulphuric  acid  •  after  standing  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  the  tinc- 
ture was  expressed,  and  filtered,  and  supersaturated  with  cal- 
cined magnesia  :  the  liquid  was  then  filtered,  and  sufficient  sul- 
phuric acid  added  to  it  to  render  it  slightly  acid ;  it  was  again 
filtered  to  remove  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  formed.    The  fil- 
