m.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1894. 
Myrica  Asplenifolia. 
211 
from  II  to  14  per  cent,  of  tannin.  If  we  may  conclude  that  this 
tree  is  the  M.  rubra,  Sieb.  et  Zucc,  then  it  is  synonymous  with  M. 
Nagi,  Thunberg,  the  very  tree  under  discussion. 
A  sample  of  Kaiphal  bark,  from  Bombay  contained  1 1  per  cent, 
of  moisture  and  yielded  7-17  per  cent,  of  ash.  Estimated  in  the 
manner  above  mentioned,  for  tannin,  it  afforded  13-7  per  cent.  The 
lead  compound  of  the  organic  acid  contained  30  72  per  cent,  of 
oxide,  a  result  which  compares  very  closely  with  the  amount  found 
in  the  compound  separated  from  the  "  Kino,"  namely,  31-88  and 
30  36  per  cent,  in  two  estimations,  The  tannic  acid,  separated  from 
the  tincture  by  evaporation  and  treatment  with  water,  gives  a  bluish- 
purple  color  with  ferric  chloride,  but  on  adding  this  reagent  to  a 
decoction  of  the  bark,  a  dirty  green  precipitate  is  formed. 
Beyond  determining  the  amount  of  tannic  acid  in  an  authentic 
specimen  of  this  bark,  and  obtaining  indications  of  an  alkaloidal 
principle,  I  have  not  had  opportunity  for  further  examining  the 
drug.  It  may  on  closer  research  be  found  to  contain  interesting 
crystalline  principles,  such  as  those  recently  separated  from  its  neigh- 
boring plants,  species  of  the  Ficus  and  Casuarina. 
MYRICA  ASPLENIFOLIA  L.  
By  Charles  C.  Manger,  Ph.G. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
No.  134. 
An  analysis  of  the  rhizome  of  this  plant  was  published  by 
J.  C.  Peacock,  in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1892,  p.  303. 
The  present  analysis,  which  was  carried  out  under  the  supervision 
of  Prof.  Henry  Trimble,  was  made  with  the  view  of  adding  to  the 
results  of  the  above  work  and  of  contributing  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  constituents  of  the  leaves  of  this  plant. 
All  the  plant  material  used  in  this  work  Was  collected  by  the 
writer  near  Haddonfield,  N.  J. 
After  having  been  finely  ground,  50  grams  each  of  the  leaves 
and  rhizome  were  submitted  to  proximate  analysis,  Dragendorff 's 
scheme  being  followed  in  the  main. 
The  quantities  of  the  different  constituents  in  the  aliquot  parts  of 
the  extracts  used  are  eliminated,  and  in  their  places  are  stated  the 
percentages  calculated  on  the  above  quantity. 
