ON  NEW  ENGLAND  ISINGLASS. 
513 
5.  Wax. 
6.  Inert  resin. 
7.  Salts  of  soda,  potassa  and  lime. 
8.  Lignin. 
In  answer  to  the  questions  proposed  at  the  last  meeting  of 
the  Association,  in  1856,  I  would  submit  the  following,  as  war- 
ranted by  the  above  data. 
1st.  The  activity  of  Spigelia  Marylandica  resides  in  an  acrid, 
bitter,  proximate  principle,  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  insolu- 
ble in  ether ;  it  is  not  volatile,  is  uncrystallizable,  neutral  and 
deliquescent. 
2nd.  The  volatile  oil,  to  which  the  feeble  odor  of  the  root  is 
believed  to  be  due,  exists  in  small  quantity  only,  and  does  not 
appear  to  contribute  essentially  to  its  activity;  this  odor  is 
strongest  in  the  fresh  root,  and  as  all  vegetable  remedies  de- 
teriorate by  exposure  and  age,  the  odor  of  the  root  is  an  indica- 
tion *of  its  freshness  only,  and  as  such  valuable,  but  cannot  be 
regarded  as  an  invariable  criterion  of  activity. 
3rd.  Water  and  alcohol  are  equally  good  solvents  of  the 
active  principle. 
4th.  The  carbonated  alkalies  do  not  diminish  its  activity. 
From  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Association,  1857,  / 
REPORT  ON  NEW  ENGLAND  ISINGLASS. 
By  Charles  T.  Carney,  of  Boston,  Mass. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  this  Association,  in  Baltimore,  was 
committed  to  me  for  investigation  the  substance  known  in 
commerce  as  New  England  Isinglass,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining 
where  and  by  whom  the  article  is  prepared  and  its  mode  of 
manufacture. 
I  have  the  honor  to  submit  herewith  such  information  as  I 
have  been  able  to  gather  upon  this  subject,  and,  in  addition,  I 
venture  some  remarks  upon  other  kinds  of  fish  isinglass,  and 
modes  of  manufacturing  the  same,  believing  it  a  subject  worthy 
attention. 
Ichthyocolla,  from  two  Greek  words,  meaning  fish  and  glue, 
is  mentioned  by  both  Dioscorides  and  Pliny ;  the  latter  of  these 
writers  ascribes  its  invention  to  Daedalus.    It  is  obtained  from 
33 
