oSober,'^i92cr™" }       Purification  of  Crude  Cocaine.  739 
Wales  without  adding  to  the  number  the  French  red  poppy,  which, 
hke  the  Scotch  thistle,  may  first  be  cultivated  as  a  garden  plant,  but 
on  being  allowed  to  spread  may  prove  difficult  of  eradication.  The 
lantana  or  Cape  stink  weed  is  an  evidence  of  the  danger  that  may 
arise  from  the  introduction  of  a  flowering  plant  into  a  climate  and 
country  particularly  suitable  for  its  propagation.  The  foxglove  has 
become  a  noxious  weed  in  New  Zealand,  and  among  the  tobacco 
crops  of  New  England  there  has  been  a  difficulty  in  eradicating  the 
henbane.  Sweet  fennel  is  classed  among  the  noxious  plants  by  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  of  this  state,  and  its  cultivation  is  pro- 
hibited. 
Mr.  C.  G.  Orr,  pharmacist,  of  Port  Macquarie,  has  been  experi- 
menting in  growing  several  tropical  plants,  and  is  said  to  have  met 
with  considerable  success  in  the  cultivation  of  the  Cavendish  banana 
and  the  pineapple.  Mr.  George  Turvey  is  another  pharmacist  who 
has  been  studying  the  cultivation  of  medicinal  plants  on  his  allot- 
ment at  French's  Forest.  The  work  of  Mr.  Orr  has  been  favorably 
commented  upon  by  the  agricultural  editors  of  the  daily  press. 
F.  W. 
THE  PURIFICATION  OF  CRUDE  COCAINE.* 
The  separation  of  the  various  bases  obtained  during  the  process 
of  extracting  coca  leaves  with  sodium  carbonate  and  petroleum 
ether  has  been  made  the  subject  of  an  exhaustive  study  by  Dr.  L. 
R.  de  Rosemont,  of  the  University  of  Geneva  {Jour.  Suisse  de  Pharm., 
April  29,  1920).  He  first  established  the  solubility  of  the  various 
bases  in  different  solvents,  and  foimd  that  cocaine,  cinnamyl-cocaine, 
isococaine,  and  isotropyl-cocaine  were  all  easily  soluble  in  ether, 
alcohol,  chloroform,  ligroin,  and  benzene.  Crude  cocaine  is  partly 
soluble  in  water,  and  contains  about  10  to  13  per  cent,  of  sodium 
carbonate  and  bicarbonate,  in  addition  to  chlorides  and  alkaline 
sulphates. 
Dr.  de  Rosemont  describes  twelve  different  methods  he  investi- 
gated for  obtaining  pure  cocaine,  including  a  study  of  the  processes 
described  in  four  German  patents.  The  process  he  considers  best 
(it  yields  from  79  to  81  per  cent,  of  chemically  pure  cocaine)  is  as 
follows:  Ten  grams  of  crude  cocaine  is  dissolved  in  hot  water  con- 
taining 5  grams  of  /3-naphthalene-sulphonic  acid,  and  the  solution 
*  From  The  Chemist  and  Druggist,  July  3,  1920. 
