272 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1920. 
out  the  flask,  then  the  filter,  twice  with  5  Cc.  of  methyl  alcohol; 
allow  the  filter  to  dry;  then  place  the  filter  and  the  flask  in  a  cold 
oven  and  gently  heat  to  100°,  allow  them  to  remain  at  100°  for  one 
hour;  then  weigh.  The  amount  of  filicic  acid  contained  in  the  flask, 
phis  the  filicic  acid  on  the  filter  multiplied  by  25,  gives  the  content 
of  filicic  acid  in  100  grams  of  the  extract;  the  amount  should  be  from 
3.5  to  9  per  cent.,  according  to  the  date  of  harvesting  the  male  fern; 
while  the  content  of  filicin  scarcely  varies,  the  amount  of  filicic  acid 
present  is  higher  in  autumn  than  in  spring.  (From  The  Chemist  and 
Druggist,  January  10,  1920.) 
FraudulKnT  Cocaine;. — Samples  of  a  substance  carefully  packed 
in  tins  and  labelled  cocaine  hydrochloride  and  sold' on  the  German 
market  have  been  found  to  consist  of  magnesium  sulphate  in  un- 
usually minute  crystals  which  seem  to  have  been  especially  prepared 
to  perpetrate  the  fraud.  {The  Pharm.  Jour,  and  Pharmacist,  Septem- 
ber 27,  1919  )  J.  F.  C. 
Poisoning  Crows  with  Strychnine:. — Crows  have  become  a 
serious  menace  to  the  almond  crop  in  Klicktat  County,  Wash. 
Green  almonds  impregnated  with  strychnine  (strychnine  sulphate?) 
have  been  found  very  satisfactory  in  exterminating  the  birds. 
(Weekly  News  Letter,  U.  S.  Dept.  Agric,  January  28,  1920.) 
J.  F.  C. 
SiMPUFiED  Method  for  Detection  and  Estimation  of  Dis- 
tribution OF  Morphine:. — The  presence  of  morphine  in  food,  or 
in  tissues  and  body  fluids,  has  been  determined  by  Morgulis  and 
Levine  by  heating  with  2  per  cent,  tartaric  acid  (if  solid,  the  material 
should  first  be  ground  or  finely  minced)  to  convert  all  morphine 
into  the  soluble  tartrate.  The  mixture  is  rapidly  cooled,  prefera- 
bly on  ice,  to  solidify  the  fatty  material  The  solid  residue  is  re- 
moved by  straining  through  cheese-cloth,  and  is  washed  until  the 
washings  are  no  longer  acid  to  litmus.  The  liquid,  after  being  fil- 
tered through  paper,  is  evaporated  to  a  pasty  consistency.  The 
tartrate  is  then  decomposed  by  the  addition  of  an  excess  of  sodium 
bicarbonate  which  sets  the  alkaloid  free.  The  evaporation  is  then 
continued  to  complete  dryness,  and  the  mass  is  powdered  and  ex- 
tracted with  chloroform  to  remove  the  free  morphine.  The  volume 
of  the  chloroform  extract  is  noted,  and  the  smallest  quantity  of  the 
