AmMa°rch,S!'m-}      The  Tubers  of  Dioscorea  Species.  125 
so  50  grams  of  this  amount  were  reserved  in  order  to  make  special 
tests  for  the  glucoside.  The  amount  of  glucoside  extracted  from  this 
quantity  was  very  small,  so  no  further  experiments  could  be  made, 
but  to  prove  the  presence  of  the  glucoside. 
In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  the  principal  constituents  of 
this  drug  are  those  usually  found  in  plants,  together  with  a  gluco- 
side obtainable  by  exhausting  the  drug  with  alcohol,  evaporating 
the  solvent,  dissolving  the  residue  in  water  and  agitating  with  ether, 
which  removes  the  glucoside. 
Results  of  the  analysis  of  Dioscorea  Batatas  : 
{Glucoside,  undetermined  amount. 
Fat,  
Wax  
I  Dextrin,  . 
Aqueous  extract,  \  Saccharose, 
j  Glucose,  
[  Undetermined  organic  matter,  . 
Alkaline  aqueous  extract, 
I  Undetermined  organic  matter, 
.   -j  -,  ,  ,      ,     f  Calcium  oxalate  and  pararabin, 
Acidulated  aqueous  extract,  <  F  ' 
I  Undetermined  organic  matter, 
Boiling  aqueous  extract, 
•38 
•02 
•40 
•20 
'20 
•36 
72 
2  OO 
3-4* 
3'oo 
3*40 
6 '40 
2'00 
2  00 
4*00 
1-64 
io-8o 
12  '44 
Chlorine  water,                        Ivignin,   -12 
Residue,                                 Cellulin,   3-64 
Original  drug,  { Moisture,   61  62 
*            5                       ^Ash   1-62 
Total,   9372 
Loss,   6  28 
IOO'OO 
ON  THE  TUBERS  OF  DIOSCOREA  SPECIES. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
In  1886  I  received  a  few  axillary  tubers,  said  to  belong  to  Dios- 
corea bulbifera ;  on  being  planted  in  the  open  air  in  the  following 
spring,  a  small  plant  was  raised,  which  produced  neither  flowers  nor 
axillary  tubers.  Since  the  species  named  is  strictly  tropical, 
and  the  root  of  the  plant  in  question  was  not  taken  up  in  the 
