566  Recent  Contributions  to  Pharmacy.  {Am6aTer?wlm- 
The  dried  leaves  are  known  as  Talispatra  in  India,  and  are  regarded  as  car- 
minative, expectorant,  stomachic,  tonic  and  astringent. 
A  small  quantity  of  bark  from  this  fir  has  been  received  from  A.  E.  Wild, 
Conservator  of  Forests,  Bengal,  India.  This  bark,  on  investigation,  yielded 
the  following  results  : 
Per  Cent. 
Moisture  11*69 
Ash  in  dry  material   1  '90 
Tannin  in  dry  material   7*8i 
The  tannin  was  separated  from  the  remainder  of  the  bark,  and,  after  purifi- 
cation, it  yielded  the  following  percentage  composition  on  ultimate  analysis: 
Carbon  59 '9 1 
Hydrogen    5*. 12 
These  results  indicate  it  to  belong  to  the  oak-tannin  group. 
{To  be  continued.) 
RECENT  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  PHARMACY. 
MESCAL  BUTTONS. 
Ervin  E.  Ewell,  in  a  recent  article  on  "  The  Chemistry  of  the 
Cactaceae "  (Jour.  Am.  Chem.  Soc.  18,  624),  gives  an  interest- 
ing account  of  this  substance,  which,  in  its  commercial  form  among 
the  Indians  of  the  Southwestern  United  States,  appears  to  be  the 
dried  cactus,  Anhalonium  Lewinii.  Other  members  of  the  order 
Cactaceae  are  possibly  also  used,  and  likewise  other  species  of  the 
genus  Anhalonium. 
The  plant  is  held  sacred  by  the  Indians,  and  the  "  buttons  "  are 
consumed  in  some  of  their  religious  ceremonies. 
Dr.  Lewin  announced  an  alkaloid  in  Anhalonium  Lewinii,  in  1888. 
This  alkaloid  has  been  prepared  by  Mr.  Ewell,  in  considerable 
quantity,  and  in  a  high  state  of  purity.  The  chloride  crystallizes 
from  alcohol.  A  second,  and,  very  recently,  a  third  alkaloid  have 
been  separated  from  the  drug.  All  three  of  these  alkaloidal  prepa- 
rations have  been  subjected  to  physiological  tests,  and  the  results 
will  soon  be  published.  The  third  alkaloid  has  been  found  to  be 
much  stronger  than  any  other  alkaloid  hitherto  separated  from  any 
member  of  the  genus  Anhalonium,  as  0  02  to  0-025  gramme  of  its 
hydrochlorate  per  kilo  of  body  weight  is  fatal  to  rabbits,  and  0-03 
gramme  suffices  to  kill  a  full-grown  guinea  pig.  Further  work  is  in 
progress  on  this  drug.  • 
