AmiuTyr;i89h3?rm'}  Mexican  Valerian.  329 
habits  and  life  history  of  insects  injurious  to  drugs,  it  is  very  proba- 
ble that  easy  means  of  preservation  and  prevention  of  insect  destruc- 
tion might  be  used. 
University  of  Kansas,  Lawrence. 
MEXICAN  VALERIAN. 
By  Raphael  McLaughlin,  Ph.G. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
No.  125. 
This  particular  variety  of  valerian  (from  Valeriana  officinalis)  is  a 
beautiful  herbaceous  plant,  very  commonly  found  in  the  woods  and 
damp  places  of  Eastern  Mexico.  It  has  a  perennial  root,  an  erect 
channelled  stem,  is  from  three  to  six  feet  high,  and  terminates 
in  flowering  branches.  The  flowers  are  whitish  or  rose-colored 
and  are  faintly  perfumed  ;  the  fruit  is  a  capsule  containing  one 
oblong  ovate  seed  ;  the  leaves  of  the  stem  are  attached  by  short 
broad  sheaths,  the  radical  leaves  being  larger  and  standing  on  long 
footstalks. 
The  roots  are  found  in  the  Mexican  market,  either  in  slices  or 
fleshy  discs,  from  one-half  to  one  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter 
or  in  voluminous  tubers ;  externally  grayish,  internally  yellowish ;. 
hard  and  tough  ;  fracture  granular  when  dry;  possessing  an  unpleas- 
ant odor  and  a  bitter  taste. 
Upon  plant  analysis  the  constituents  of  the  root  were  found  to  be. 
as  noted  in  the  following  summary : 
Volatile  oil,  ,  .  3  33 
Oleoresin,   4 '3° 
Wax  and  fat,   1  '09 
Valerianic  acid,   0*91 
Mucilage,   4*50' 
Pectin,   1-35 
Undetermined  extractive,   22 'So 
Pararabin,   115 
Lignin,    9*68 
Cellulin,   30*84 
Loss,   170 
Moisture,   11*65 
Ash,  ,   670 
100  *oo 
In  addition  to  the  above,  there  were  obtained  distinct  quantities 
of  a  glucoside  in  a  crystalline  condition,  by  pouring  a  concentrated 
