248  Contributions  to  Pharmacy.  {^^mt™' 
inorganic  substances ;  the  hot  alcoholic  extraction  of  the  dried  bulb 
upon  cooling  deposited  a  substance  to  be  mentioned  later.  The 
aqueous  extraction  contained  no  volatile  acids,  but  oxalic,  malic  and 
citric  acids  were  identified. 
For  the  preparation  of  the  bitter  principle  the  alcoholic  extract 
from  25  kilos,  of  squill  was  taken;  the  precipitate  obtained  in 
the  cooling  of  the  alcoholic  extraction  was  collected  separately. 
The  alcoholic  extract  was  dissolved  in  water  and  the  solution  heated 
for  two  days  in  a  water-bath  with  elutriated  lead  oxide ;  after  filter- 
ing and  washing  the  dissolved  lead  was  precipitated  as  sulphide,  the 
excess  of  hydrogen  sulphide  removed  by  heat  and  the  bitter  prin- 
ciple removed  by  digestion  with  animal  charcoal;  the  charcoal  was 
collected  on  a  filter,  washed  with  water  until  the  washings  ceased  to 
affect  Fehling's  solution,  and  the  bitter  principle  dissolved  out  again 
by  repeatedly  boiling  with  absolute  alcohol.  The  evaporation  of 
the  alcohol  left  a  yellowish-brown  residue ;  this  by  oft-repeated 
treatment  with  charcoal  was  finally  obtained  as  a  pale  yellow, 
amorphous  mass  which,  by  all-known  methods  of  solution  and 
evaporation,  could  not  be  obtained  in  a  crystalline  form  ;  kept  in 
vacuo  under  phosphoric  oxide  it  hardened  and  then  broke  with  a 
vitreous  fracture.  The  principle,  scillain,  so  obtained  is  readily  solu- 
ble in  water  and  alcohol,  especially  when  heated,  but  is  difficultly 
soluble  in  ether;  it  has  an  intensely  bitter  taste,  neutral  reaction  and 
has  no  effect  upon  alkaloidal  reagents  ;  it  is  free  from  nitrogen,  not 
yielding  a  cyanide  when  heated  with  a  metal,  like  sodium,  nor  yield- 
ing ammonia  when  heated  with  soda-lime.  Dried  to  constant 
weight  under  reduced  pressure  and  in  the  presence  of  phosphoric 
oxide,  it  has  the  composition  C  53  80  per  cent.,  H  7-305  per  cent., 
O  (by  difference)  38-895  per  cent.,  which,  expressed  in  simplest  pro- 
portion, would  give  the  formula  C6H10O3.  A  concentrated  aqueous 
solution  was  decomposed  by  warming  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and 
then  the  solution  distilled  in  an  atmosphere  of  carbon  dioxide  by 
the  use  of  steam  heat ;  the  distillate  wa3  only  slightly  opalescent, 
had  an  acid  reaction  and  an  agreeable  odor  ;  no  test  for  furfurol 
with  anilin  acetate  was  obtainable.  The  distillate  neutralized  with 
sodium  carbonate  was  agitated  with  ether  and  the  two  solutions 
separated;  the  ethereal  solution  had  an  agreeable  odor,  and  upon  the 
distillation  of  the  ether  and  spontaneous  evaporation  of  the  last 
portions,  left  a  neutral,  pale  yellow  liquid,  changing  upon  exposure 
