^JeUi*9?7harm*  }      Some  Constituents  of  Jambul.  257 
The  standard  of  the  United  States  Pharmacopeia  is  0.4  atropine 
in  belladonna,  and  the  average  sample  found  in  the  markets  varies 
from  this  minimum  to  about  0.6.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  nearly  70 
per  cent,  of  the  plants  were  above  the  standard  in  chemical  content, 
and  that  six  of  them  yielded  1  per  cent,  or  more  of  atropine — a  re- 
markably high  percentage.   They  were  as  follows : 
1.020 
1. 000 
1. 100 
1.230 
1.030 
1.039 
Avg.  1.07 
Interest  naturally  centered  on  these  plants,  and  a  study  of  the 
records  showed  that  every  one  of  them  was  small  at  the  time  of 
harvest,  while  practically  all  the  plants  which  yielded  .01  or  less  were 
large  and  vigorous  in  growth.  Furthermore,  the  six  high  plants  all 
had  light  stems,  while  the  plants  yielding  .1  or  less  had  dark  stems. 
These  characters  were  the  only  ones  found  which  seemed  to  give  a 
clue  to  the  chemical  constitution  of  the  plants,  but  they  were  marked 
enough  to  warrant  especial  attention  during  the  coming  season,  when 
a  selected  second  generation  will  be  grown. 
In  conclusion,  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  work  covers  only 
one  season  and  hence  must  be  regarded  as  merely  preliminary.  It  is 
highly  encouraging  to  us,  however,  in  indicating  the  extreme  variation 
of  atropine  content  in  the  belladonna  plant  and  giving  hope  that 
valuable  commercial  results  can  be  secured  by  selection. 
SOME  CONSTITUENTS  OF  JAMBUL.1 
By  Merrill  C.  Hart  and  Frederick  W.  Heyl. 
The  Jambul  Tree  {Syzygium  Jambolana) ,  well  known  to  the 
natives  of  the  East  Indies  and  Malay  regions  from  China  to  New 
South  Wales,  for  its  edible  fruit,  is  a  large  tree  belonging  to  the 
Myrtaceae,  sometimes  attaining  the  height  of  ninety  feet.  A  care- 
ful gleaning  of  the  medical  literature  finds  that  three  parts,  the  seed, 
1  Reprinted  from  the  Journal  of  the  American  Chemical  Society,  Vol. 
XXXVIII,  No.  12,  December,  1916. 
