As™ptembe?,hi9oa'}  Inter -national  Pharmaceutical  Congress.  453 
amongst  the  latter  the  processes  of  the  Swiss  and  British  Pharma- 
copoeias being  specially  mentioned.  Many  results  obtained  by  the 
author  were  given,  and  the  monograph  included  a  careful  study  of 
the  volumetric  methods  of  assay,  Dieterich's,  Beckurt'sand  Keller's 
being  as  far  as  possible  compared.  The  author  also  submitted  the 
necessity  for  uniform  methods  for  estimating  moisture,  ash  and  po- 
tassium carbonate  in  the  ash.  The  following  are  his  recommenda- 
tions ,: 
Extract  of  Aconite. — The  root  to  be  exhausted  with  a  menstruum 
composed  of  tartaric  acid  1,  alcohol  15,  and  water  30  (all  by  weight), 
by  maceration  (twenty-four  hours)  and  percolation,  the  exhaustion 
being  continued,  if  necessary,  with  a  mixture  of  water  2,  and  alco- 
hol I.  From  100  parts  of  aconite  the  first  80  parts  of  percolate 
should  be  reserved  and  the  rest  concentrated  to  20.  This  100  parts 
to  be  mixed  well  with  100  parts  of  alcohol.  After  standing  forty- 
eight  hours  the  clear  liquid  is  decanted.  The  residue  is  dissolved  in 
10  parts  of  water,  and  30  parts  of  alcohol  added.  After  twenty-four 
hours  the  solution  is  filtered,  mixed  with  the  first  clear  portion,  and 
evaporated  to  dryness. 
Tests. — Twenty  centigrammes  of  this  extract  is  treated  with  I 
c.c.  water,  8  c.c.  ether  and  5  drops  of  10  percent,  solution  of  sodium 
hydrate,  the  ether  decanted  and  evaporated.  The  residue  should 
give  a  violet-brown  coloration  with  phosphoric  acid.  Moisture, 
2-49  to  5- 10  per  cent;  ash,  174  to  4*56;  K2C03  in  ash,  27-6  to  50 
per  cent.;  and  the  extract  should  contain  1  per  cent,  of  alkaloids. 
Extract  of  Belladonna. — The  method  is  similar  to  the  foregoing, 
but  the  menstruum  is  equal  parts  by  weight  of  alcohol  and  water. 
Belladonna-root  is  recommended. 
Tests. — The  residue  from  the  ether  and  alkali  (ammonia)  treat- 
ment should  give  a  violet  coloration  with  alcoholic  solution  of 
potash  (Vitali's  reaction),  and  it  is  to  be  distinguished  from  extract  of 
henbane  by  the  blue  fluorescence  of  the  chloroformic  residue  treated 
with  ammonia  (presence  of  chrysatropic  acid).  Moisture,  1-5  to  46 
per  cent.;  ash,  4-45  to  8  per  cent.;  K2C03  in  ash,  46  to  56  per  cent.; 
alkaloids,  1  per  cent. 
Extract  of  Henbane. — Prepared  from  the  leaves  with  a  menstruum 
consisting  of  water  30,  and  alcohol  15. 
Tests.— Vitali's  reaction:  moisture,  1*43  to  5  per  cent.;  ash,  8-04 
to  12*3 ;  K2C03in  ash,  34  to  6o-2  per  cent.;  alkaloids,  0-5  per  cent. 
