98 
Alkaloids  in  Belladonna  Plant. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
X     March,  1914. 
secured  for  the  experiment,  but  these  four  were  typical  of  the 
entire  plot. 
The  green  or  aerial  portion  of  each  plant  was  separated  into  the 
following  parts:  (i)  Flowers,  (2)  flowering  tops,  (3)  small  and 
large  leaves,  and  (4)  small  and  large  stems.  All  the  parts  were  im- 
mediately weighed  so  that  the  percentage  of  moisture  could  be  de- 
termined. The  flowers  included  only  the  open  flowers.  The  flower- 
ing tops  consisted  of  the  tops  of  the  branches,  including  about  three 
or  four  inches  of  the  young  stems  and  the  small  and  young  leaves 
and  flower  buds.  The  small  leaves  were  mostly  of  the  younger 
growth,  located  largely  near  the  upper  part  of  the  plant;  a  few, 
however,  growing  at  the  juncture  of  the  old  leaves  and  the  stems. 
The  large  leaves  were  picked  close  to  the  stem,  and  the  petioles 
at  the  base  of  the  leaves  were  removed  and  kept  separate.  The  large 
stems  were  separated  from  the  small  ones,  the  latter  including 
those  above  the  point  where  the  large  stem  forks.  The  small  stems 
as  a  rule  were  quite  small  and  tender,  averaging  about  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  in  diameter.  The  large  stems  were  split,  the  thin  bark 
peeled  off,  and  the  pith,  which  constitutes  the  bulk  of  the  interior 
of  the  stem,  was  scraped  out.   Each  part  was  weighed  separately. 
The  roots  were  carefully  dug  out  and  thoroughly  washed  to  re- 
move all  dirt.  The  small  roots,  which  consisted  mainly  of  the  young 
slender  ends  of  the  tap  roots  and  secondary  fibrous  roots,  were  then 
separated  from  the  large  ones.  The  large  roots,  or  thick  tap  roots, 
were  separated  into  two  parts,  the  wood  and  the  bark. 
After  being  thoroughly  air-dried,  all  parts  of  the  plants  were 
dried  to  constant  weight  in  a  hot-air  oven  at  a  maximum  temperature 
of  60  degrees  C.  The  alkaloids  were  determined  by  the  method  de- 
scribed, and  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  each  of  the  four  plants 
are  shown  in  Table  I,  which  is  summarized  at  the  close,  in  order 
to  compare  the  percentages  of  alkaloids  in  the  several  parts  of  the 
individual  plants. 
First- Year  Plants. 
There  were  six  of  the  first-year  plants,  and  these  were  analyzed 
in  September,  when  the  flowering  was  over  and  all  but  a  few  of 
the  berries  were  ripe.  The  serial  portion  of  each  plant  was  separated 
into  the  following  parts:  (1)  Small  and  large  leaves,  (2)  young 
sprouts,  (3)  fruit,  (4)  small  and  large  stems.  The  fruits  or  berries 
were  picked  with  the  stem  and  calyx  attached,  the  latter  being  after- 
