100  Jervia  in  Veratrum  Yiride.  {AMMi?™;S^M* 
From  the  above,  when  the  size  of  the  plant,  its  luxuriant  growth, 
etc.,  are  taken  into  consideration,  the  culture  of  it  must  be  a  very 
exhausting  one  upon  the  soil,  the  fertility  of  which  must  be  rapidly 
decreased  by  the  drain  of  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  Whether  it 
is  the  custom  to  restore  to  it  the  stalks  and  leaves  after  the  crop  of 
seed  has  been  gathered,  I  do  not  know ;  but  they  should  be,  and  thus 
by  their  decay  restore  these  again  to  it:  or  that  they  be  burnt  and  the 
ash  scattered  broadcast  upon  the  land  from  which  the  plants  have 
been  taken. 
Cincinnati,  February,  1874. 
JERVIA  IN  VERATRUM  VIRIDE. 
By  Chas.  L.  Mitchell. 
Since  the  discovery  and  isolation  of  two  alkaloids  in  Veratrum 
viride  by  Mr.  Charles  Bullock  in  1865,  no  additional  researches  seem 
to  have  been  made.  Simon  obtained  jervia  from  Veratrum  album 
some  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago,  but  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Veratrum  viride  is  so  similar  in  almost  every  respect,  up  to  this  date  I 
can  find  no  record  of  any  attempt  having  been  made  to  prove  the 
presence  of  jervia  in  the  latter  root. 
While  recently  preparing  specimens  of  the  Veratrum  viride  alka- 
loids according  to  the  process  given  by  Mr.  Bullock,  my  attention 
was  drawn  to  the  circumstance,  that  when  the  precipitate  produced  in 
the  acetic  solution  by  sodium  carbonate  was  treated  with  warm  di- 
luted sulphuric  acid,  a  considerable  amount  of  a  granular,  whitish 
powder  separated  on  cooling.  I  at  first  supposed  it  was  sulphate  of 
calcium,  but  a  closer  examination  revealed  the  fact  that  it  was  of 
organic  composition,  and  after  several  different  trials,  I  succeeded  in 
proving  it  to  be  an  alkaloid  identical  with  the  jervia  of  Simon.  It 
may  be  obtained  in  its  pure  form  by  the  following  process  : 
Veratrum  viride  finely  powdered  is  thoroughly  exhausted  with 
stronger  alcohol,  the  tincture  distilled  to  a  small  bulk,  acidulated  with 
acetic  acid  and  precipitated  in  water.  The  resin  is  then  separated  by 
filtration  from  the  aqueous  solution  of  the  alkaloids  and  the  filtrate 
concentrated  by  evaporation  and  rendered  strongly  alkaline  with  so- 
lution of  carbonate  of  sodium.    The  precipitate  thus  obtained  is 
