266  Active  Principle  of  Indian  Hemp.  {^'"'Ma^'iSr''"'' 
soluble  in  water'');  and  frequently  shaken  up  with  ether.  The  ethereal 
layer  was  then  siphoned  off  and  the  ether  driven  off  by  evaporation  on  the 
water-bath,  giving  about  "2  of  a  gram  of  ati  am()rj)h'ms  light  brown  sub- 
stance, wliich  was  soluble  in  about  twenty  times  its  weight  of  distilled 
water.  This  watery  solution  w^as  neutral  in  reaction.  Half  of  it  was 
injected  hypodermically  into  the  thigh  of  a  cat  without  any  positive  result. 
It  will  thus  be  seen  that  although  operating  on  so  large  a  quantity  of  the 
plant  of  ascertained  activity,  we  were  unable  to  find  any  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  such  a  principle  as  Dr.  Hay  describes. 
As  many  of  those  addicted  to  the  hashish  form  of  intemperance  obtain 
the  intoxicating  eft'ects  by  sjnoking  the  plant  in  a  pipe,  it  is  to  be  expected 
that  destructive  distillation  of  the  freshly  prepared  resin  might  yield  up  the 
active  principle.  This  process  was,  therefore,  resorted  to.  By  the  destruc- 
tive distillation  of  the  freshly  prepared  alcoholic  extract  of  the  plant  to 
which  an  excess  of  caustic  potash  solution  had  been  added,  an  amber  col- 
ored oil  was  obtained,  which,  by  exposure  to  the  air  or  the  action  of  alka- 
lies, rapidly  became  of  a  dark  reddish-brown  color.  This  oil  had  a  mildly 
empyreumatic  odor  which  was  distinctly  tobacco-like.  Its  taste  was  warm, 
aromatic  and  somewhat  terebinthinate.  The  oil  contained  phenol,  ammo- 
nia and  several  other  of  the  usual  products  of  destructive  distillation. 
The  nicotine-like  principle  contained  in  this  oil  appeared  to  be  alkaloid. 
It  formed  salts  whicli  evolved  a  strong  nicotine-like  odor  when  acted  on  by 
alkalies.  B  it  physiologically  it  was  found  to  be  inert,  and,  therefore,  was 
evidently  not  identical  with  nicotine. 
The  oil  as  a  whole  was  also  found  to  be  devoid  of  any  narcotic  or  irritant 
qualities.  About  one-eighth  of  an  ounce  was  introduced  into  the  stomach 
of  a  cat  without  producing  any  sensible  eflect.  These  results  do  not  coin- 
cide with  those  of  Personne,  who  asserted  that  the  active  principle  of  the 
plant  resided  in  the  volatile  oil.  It  is  just  possible  that  the  active  principle 
was  deconjposed  by  the  high  temperature  necessary  for  destructive  distilla- 
tion. 
The  principle  which  represents  the  full  activity  of  the  plant  has  yet  to  be 
isolated.  If  the  active  principle  be  a  body  which  is  actually  distinct  from 
the  resin,  the  tact  of  its  being  so  intimately  associated  with  the  resin  renders 
its  separation  a  matter  of  peculiar  difficulty,  for  it  is  remarkably  difficult  to 
deal  chemically  with  resinous  compounds. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans. ^  Janu- 
ary 17,  lS8o,  p.  574.   
Value  of  C'onvallaria  Majalis.— The  glitter  of  novelty  is  wearing 
away,  and  after  two  or  three  years  of  universal  praise  we  find  that  Lily  of 
the  Valley  is  exciting  some  doubts  as  to  its  medical  value.  Leubascher 
affirms  that  grains  i  of  convallarin  produces  paralysis  and  loss  of  refiex 
activity  in  frogs,  and  in  animals  a  progressive  fall  of  arterial  pressure,  with 
slowing  of  the  pulse  and  final  diastolic  arrest  of  the  heart.  Pel.  Leyden 
and  Stiller  agree  with  Leubascher  in  finding  no  therapeutic  utility  in  its 
employment.  Prof.  E.  T.  Bruen,  in  our  own  country,  says  that  it  can  be 
employed  with  reasonable  confidence  in  functional  cardiac  disorders  and 
in  mitral  obstruction,  and  that,  in  comparison  with  digitalis,  it  acts  more 
as  a  cardiac  regulator,  but  much  less  as  a  cardiac  stimulant. — Therapeutic 
Gazette  ;  Paoif.  Med.  and  Surg.  Jour.^  Aiiril,  1885. 
