Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
Dec,  1878.  j" 
Laboratory  Notes. 
$65 
3.  Wedges  which  make  up  the  woody  column  of  the  root. 
The  elongated  fibres  are  partly  united  into  liber  bundles  and  partly 
formed  into  a  net-work,  making  a  very  loose  and  open  structure.  Oc- 
casionally masses  of  resin  are  found  occupying  three  or  four  absorbed 
cells.  The  wood  is  traversed  by  numerous  medullary  ravs,  which 
have  the  same  structure  as  those  of  the  bark.  The  vessels  are  grouped 
together  in  bundles  of  from  three  to  five,  and  branch  and  anastomose, 
forming  a  net-work  like  that  of  the  liber.  The  cells  of  the  wood 
parenchyma,  as  well  as  those  of  the  bark,  are  thin-walled  and  nearly 
cubical  in  shape.  Some  needle-shaped  crystals  of  calcic  oxalate  were 
found  in  the  cells  surrounding  the  liber.  Solution  of  iodine  imparts  an 
orange  hue  to  the  whole  root,  proving  the  absence  of  starch. 
The  chemical  examination  was  conducted  as  follows  :  The  dried 
and  ground  root  was  digested  in  water,  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid 
for  twenty-four  hours,  strained  through  muslin  and  filtered.  The  fil- 
trate was  nearly  neutralized  with  solution  of  baric  hydrate,  and  evap- 
orated on  the  water-bath  to  the  consistency  of  a  thick  paste,  then 
treated  with  hot  alcohol  and  digested  for  several  hours.  The  solution 
was  decanted,  the  residue  washed  with  absolute  alcohol  and  the  alcohol 
recovered  from  the  solution  by  distillation.  The  residual  water  solu- 
tion was  diluted  with  acidulated  water,  and  the  acid  solution  was  then 
washed  with  ether.  The  decanted  ether  gave  only  a  slight  residue.  The 
solution  was  then  made  alkaline  with  ammonia  and  again  washed  with 
ether  This  ethereal  solution  had  a  disagreeable  odor,  a  yellow  color 
and  a  deep  blue  fluorescence.  Allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously,  it 
left  a  brownish,  waxy  residue,  which  was  onlv  sparingly  soluble  in  pure 
water,  but  was  dissolved  readily  by  water  acidulated  with  sulphuric  or 
oxalic  acid.  This  solution  gave  precipitates  with  potassic  mercuric 
iodide,  metatungstic  acid,  phosphomolybdic  acid  and  solution  of  iodine 
in  iodide  of  potassium.  The  precipitate  formed  by  tannic  acid  was  re- 
dissolved  in  an  excess  of  the  acid.  Strong  sulphuric  acid  gave  a  bright 
Ted  color,  turned  to  brown  by  heating.  Phosphomolybdic  acid,  fol- 
lowed by  ammonia,  gave  a  deep  blue  solution.  The  solution  was  found 
to  contain  nitrogen  upon  being  tested  by  Wanklyn  and  Chapman's 
method.  It  was  attempted  to  purify  of  all  non-alkaloidal  matter  by 
precipitating  the  solution  with  phosphomolybdic  acid,  washing  the  pre- 
cipitate with  a  small  quantity  of  water,  mixing  with  a  quantity  of  baric 
carbonate,  drying  at   ioo°C,  and  extracting    with    boiling  alcohol 
