208        CAULOPHYLLUM  THALICTROIDES,  (BLUE  COHOSH.) 
fully  corroborating  his  statement  in  regard  to  a  body  analo- 
gous to  saponin,  I  was  wholly  unable  to  obtain  a  crystalline  body 
when  manipulating  with  the  greatest  care  with  a  pure  article  of 
the  root;  and  it  is  possible  that  Prof.  Mayer,  like  myself,  was 
deceived  by  employing  an  impure  sample  of  the  drug.  Having 
made  a  watery  decoction  of  six  pounds  of  the  root,  I  evaporated 
this  to  an  extractive  consistence,  and  extracted  this  with  boiling 
alcohol,  rp.  gr.  -835.  This  was  freed  from  the  alcohol  by  va- 
porization, and  again  dissolved  in  sufficient  water,  and  the  fol- 
lowing processes  for  alkaloids  were  tried.  The  process  with  ace- 
tate and  subacetate  of  lead,  that  with  oxide  of  lead,  with  lime, 
and  with  magnesia,  in  neither  case  could  I  obtain  a  crystalline 
body  by  carefully  following   the  processes  laid  down. 
Inorganic  Constituents. 
Eight  hundred  grains  of  the  root  when  incinerated,  yielded 
twenty  grains  of  a  light  colored  ash. 
A  portion  of  this  ash  was  treated  with  boiling  water;  the  so- 
lution was  filtered  and  tartaric  acid  added  in  excess,  when  a 
white  crystalline  precipitate  of  bitartrate  of  potassawas  obtained. 
Another  portion  of  the  solution,  when  tested  with  nitrate  of 
silver,  produced  a  curdy  white  precipitate,  which  blackened  on 
exposure  to  light  and  which  was  entirely  soluble  in  aqua  ammo- 
nia, proving  the  presence  of  a  chloride. 
Another  portion  of  the  solution  gave,  with  chloride  of  barium, 
a  white  precipitate,  which  was  not  soluble  in  boiling  nitric  acid? 
proving  the  presence  of  sulphuric  acid.  The  insoluble  portion  of 
the  ash  was  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  in  which  it  was  partly 
soluble.  A  portion  of  this  acid  solution,  gave,  with  ferrocyanide 
of  potassium,  a  blue  color,  indicating  the  presence  of  a  salt  of 
sesquioxide  of  iron. 
On  the  addition  of  phosphate  of  soda  and  ammonia  to  another 
portion,  a  white  precipitate  was  obtained,  indicating  the  presence 
of  magnesia. 
Another  portion  of  the  acid  solution,  when  neutralized  with 
ammonia,  gave,  with  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  magnesia,  a  white 
precipitate,  this  being  again  soluble  in  nitric  acid,  proving  the 
presence  of  phosphoric  acid. 
