2 
Canella  Alba. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1      Jan.,  1884. 
and  the  other  lighter  than  water.  The  latter  is  neutral  to  litmus,  and 
when  treated  with  sulphuric  acid  turns  to  blood-red,  but  nitric  acid 
and  ferric  chloride  do  not  affect  it.  The  heavy  oil  was  in  such  small 
quantities  that  enough  could  not  be  obtained  to  ascertain  its  nature. 
The  resin,  which  was  obtained  by  exhausting  the  drug  with  alcohol, 
evaporating  and  pouring  the  concentrated  tincture  into  water,  is  of  a 
pale  yellowish  color,  destitute  of  odor  and  taste,  soluble  in  ether  and 
chloroform,  slightly  soluble  in  cold,  more  so  in  boiling  solution  of 
potassa;  insoluble  in  turpentine  or  cold  and  hot  water.  The  solu- 
tion in  potassa  is  precipitated  on  the  addition  of  hydrochloric  acid, 
and  the  alcoholic  solution  is  precipitated  by  triplumbic  acetate,  but  not 
by  normal  acetate.  Both  chloroform  and  ether  solutions  have  a  dis- 
tinct acid  reaction.    When  incinerated  it  yields  a  pale  yellowish  ash. 
A  crystalline  principle  was  obtained  by  exhausting  the  bark  with 
hot  water,  evaporating  the  solution  to  a  very  small  bulk,  and  allowing 
this  to  stand  in  a  warm  place  for  a  few  days,  when  the  whole  mass 
became  crystalline ;  it  was  then  recrystallized  from  hot  alcohol,  the 
solution  being  filtered  warm  through  animal  charcoal ;  on  the  slow 
evaporation  of  the  alcoholic  solution  rather  large  crystals  will  form. 
It  crystallizes  from  water  in  colorless  rhombic  prisms,  and  from  hot 
alcohol  in  fine  needle-like  crystals.  They  are  freely  soluble  in  cold 
and  hot  water ;  sparingly  in  cold,  but  readily  in  boiling  alcohol,  again 
crystallizing  out  upon  cooling;  insoluble  in  ether,  and  when  heated  on 
a  platinum  dish  wholly  volatilize.  This  is  the  crystalline  principle 
which  was  called  by  some  of  the  older  writers  "  Canellin,"  but  which 
Mayer  and  Von  Reiehe,  in  1843,  showed  to  be  mannit.  By  a  series  of 
tests  made  in  comparison  with  mannit  from  manna,  I  have  found  the 
two  to  be  identical. 
Wax  was  found  in  small  quantities  by  treating  the  residue  exhausted 
with  alcohol  with  chloroform.  Starch  is  present  in  considerable  quan- 
tities, as  was  shown  by  the  iodine  test.  The  presence  of  gum  was 
shown  by  a  solution  of  triplumbic  acetate  and  ammonium  oxalate. 
Albumen  is  present  and  can  be  detected  with  mercuric  chloride,  or  by 
coagulating  with  heat.  The  bitter  principle  is  isolated  with  much  dif- 
ficulty ;  it  is  soluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  and  is  not  precipitated  by 
triplumbic  nor  normal  acetate.    The  bark  is  entirely  free  frm  tannin. 
Water  extracts  22  per  cent,  and  alcohol  10  per  cent,  of  the  consti- 
tuents of  the  bark.  A  tincture  and  fluid  extract  prepared  some  time 
ago  remain  perfectly  clear.    The  tincture  represents  10  per  cent,  of  the 
