374 
Aral  ia  Nu  die  a  u  lis . 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\      August,  1899. 
D  ' 
K  being  the  constant  for  benzol,  P  the  percentage  of  the  oil  in  the 
solvent  and  D  the  depression  of  the  freezing  point.  As  the  same 
apparatus  with  the  same  benzol  was  used  in  both  experiments,  it 
was  to  be  expected  that  the  figure  of  the  second  determination 
would  be  a  little  higher  than  the  one  of  the  first  determination,  as 
the  evaporation  of  some  benzol  could  not  be  prevented,  and  the 
solution  had  therefore  a  higher  than  the  calculated  percentage. 
From  the  elaidin  test,  previously  mentioned,  the  presence  of  olein 
was  indicated,  and  from  this  fact  and  the  calculated  molecular 
weight  (907  -J-)  it  appears  probable  that  the  larger  part  of  this  oil 
consists  of  triolein,  C3H5(C18H3302)3  (molecular. weight,  884). 
As  the  summary  of  the  investigations  of  the  fixed  oil  of  aralia 
nudicaulis,  the  following  is  presented  : 
Dark  red  color;  specific  gravity,  -921  at  200 ;  soluble  in  petro- 
leum-benzin,  benzin,  ether,  chloroform,  sparingly  soluble  in  abso- 
lute alcohol,  insoluble  in  alcohol  and  water ;  acrid,  pungent  taste, 
slightly  resembling  castor  oil  in  flavor.  At  ordinary  temperature 
thick,  not  drying,  solidifying  at  30,  forming  elaidin  with  nitrous 
acid;  acid  figure,  7-39;  saponification  figure,  192;  iodine  figure, 
106;  molecular  weight,  about  900;  constitution,  largely  triolein, 
C3H5(C18H3302)3. 
THE  VOLATILE  OIL. 
Together  with  the  fixed  oil,  the  petroleum-benzin  dissolved  a 
small  quantity  of  a  volatile  oil,  the  presence  of  which  in  the  plant 
had  already  been  established  by  the  microscopical  examination  of  the 
bark  of  the  rhizome.  In  order  to  obtain  a  larger  amount  of  this 
oil,  50  kilos  of  finely  powdered  aralia  were  distilled  with  steam. 
Owing  to  the  absence  of  convenient  apparatus,  this  work  was  done 
at  the  pharmaceutical  laboratories  of  Lloyd  Brothers,  Cincinnati, 
O.,  through  the  kindness  of  Prof.  John  Uri  Lloyd.  Two  different 
lots  of  50  kilos  each  were  distilled  at  two  different  times,  the  first 
•  in  the  fall  of  1897,  the  second  in  the  fall  of  1898.  In  both  cases 
the  drug  was  expressly  gathered  by  competent  root  collectors  and 
examined  as  to  its  purity  by  the  writer.  The  process  of  distillation 
was  described  by  Professor  Lloyd  as  follows  : 
"  Fifty  kilos  of  the  fresh  root  were  ground  coarsely  and  put  in  a 
