278 
Resin  of  Podophyllum. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharni 
June,  1894. 
at  a  future  time,  when  I  may  be  fortunate  enough  to  discover  a 
simpler  and  more  wieldy  method  than  that  referred  to,  and  when  I 
may  obtain  a  fresh  supply  of  the  American  Colocynth. 
As  a  result  of  this  crude  analysis,  I  would  say,  in  closing,  that  I 
am  of  the  opinion  that  the  watermelon  patch,  although  quite  remote 
from  the  bitterapple  patch,  must  have  had  a  slight  influence  upon 
the  product  of  the  latter.  Lawrence,  Kan. 
THE  SOLUBILITY   OF   RESIN   OF  PODOPHYLLUM  IN 
CONNECTION  WITH   THE   TESTS    OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  PHARMACOPCEIA,  1890.  _ 
By  J.  B.  Nagelvoort. 
Contribution  from  the  Pharmaceutical  Laboratory  of  Parke,  Davis  &  Co. 
American  pharmacy  is  under  obligation  to  Mr.  Geo.  M.  Beringer 
for  the  courageous  expression  of  his  opinions  in  his  "  Critical  Review 
of  the  Seventh  Decennial  Revision  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  of  the 
United  States."  The  figures,  by  which  he  proves  that  the  Pharma- 
copoeia bears,  on  p.  338,  an  erroneous  statement,  to  the  effect  that 
the  resin  of  the  root  of  Podophyllum  peltatum  is  soluble  in  boiling 
water,  are  of  considerable  importance  to  us  American  pharmacists. 
Inasmuch  as  the  bulk  of  podophyllin  consumed  in  the  world  is 
probably  manufactured  in  the  United  States,  a  conflict  with  Euro- 
pean consumers,  in  regard  to  the  qualities  of  the  article  might 
seriously  disturb  the  market.  Wholesale  dealers  could  insist  on 
the  identity  reactions  of  the  U.  S.  P.  in  their  purchases. 
I  venture  to  hope  that  the  following  contribution  will  be  accepted 
in  that  spirit  of  tolerance  with  which  Mr.  Beringer's  critique  ought 
to  be  greeted.  It  has  seemed  to  me  important  that  a  statement  of 
parallel  experiences  respecting  the  solubility  of  Resin  Podophyllum 
appear  on  record  in  the  same  journal.  Year  after  year,  a  wealth  of 
information  is  treasured  up  in  our  records,  upon  which  the  profession 
has  a  perfect  right  to  draw.  The  following  data  are  offered  here, 
since  they  do  not  appear  in  print  in  the  form  of  a  separate 
publication. 
The  tabulated  report  below  represents  the  actual  status.  The 
five  samples  were  original  samples  and  none  were  over  two  years  old- 
I  am  perfectly  aware  that  a  dilemma  confronts  me  here :  Does  a 
Podophyllin  answering  to  the  requirements  of  the  U.  S.  P.  contain 
more  of  the  active  portions  than  the  product  at  present  in  the  mar- 
ket?   This  query  immediately  gives  rise  to  another:  Is  it  possible 
