422  Scammony  and  its  Adulteration.     {AMse™t  m^' 
colorizing  the  alcoholic  solution  with  animal  charcoal,  distilling  off 
the  spirit,  and  repeated  washing  of  the  separated  resin  with  hot  water. 
Professor  Spirgatis  was  not  able  to  observe  any  difference  between 
the  scammonin  so  prepared  and  that  previously  obtained  from  Aleppo 
scammony,  some  of  which  he  had  still  in  his  possession.  Both  bodies 
are  amorphous,  colorless,  transparent,  without  smell  or  taste,  present- 
ing the  same  phenomena  in  combustion,  and  presenting  also  precisely 
the  same  behavior  to  solvent  and  chemical  reagents,  such  as  alcohol, 
■ether,  chloroform,  petroleum,  oil  of  turpentine,  acetic  acid,  concen- 
trated sulphuric  acid,  caustic  potash  and  soda  and  their  carbonates, 
ammonia,  and  in  alcoholic  solution  with  acetate  of  copper,  acetate  of 
lead,  nitrate  of  silver  and  chloride  of  iron. 
Finally  the  scammonin  prepared  from  the  root,  dried  at  100°  C, 
gave  in  three  experiments  the  composition — 
1.  2.  3. 
C  56-62  56-59  56-62 
H  7-75  7  70  7-88 
Whilst  a  fresh  combustion  of  some  of  the  old  resin  under  similar  con- 
ditions gave,  as  on  the  former  occasion,  the  figures — 
C  56-60 
H      .       .  7-76 
0  — 
The  author  considers  it,  therefore,  unquestionable  that  the  scammonin 
prepared  direct  from  the  root  is  identical  with  that  formerly  prepared 
by  him  from  Aleppo  scammony. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  July 
25,  1874. 
SCAMMONY  AND  ITS  ADULTERATION. 
By  A.  F.  Haselden,  F.L.S. 
Authors  have  stated  that  chalk,  starch,  gum,  common  resin, 
guaiacum,  jalap  resin,  decoction  of  jalap,  and  of  the  leaves  and 
twigs  or  villous  stems  of  the  scammony  plant,  senna,  manna,  gam- 
boge and  ivory  black,  are  used  for  the  purpose  of  adulterating 
scammony. 
The  following  form  for  making  spurious  scammony  has  been  pub- 
lished as  being  followed  by  some  dealers  : 
Gum  Scammony,  ...  6-  pounds. 
Gum  Arabic,  .  .  .  .6  pounds. 
Calomel,    .....  2  ounces. 
Aleppo  Scammony,    .  .  .  .1  pound. 
Ivory  Black  and  Water,    .  .  .  q.  s. 
