Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ) 
August,  1899.  J 
Aral ia  Nn d tea u lis . 
375 
tinned  copper  still  connected  with  a  tinned  worm.  The  drug  rested 
on  a  perforated  tinned  diaphragm.  Steam  was  conducted  beneath 
the  diaphragm  and  allowed  to  slowly  pass  into  and  through  the 
powder,  finally  reaching  the  condenser,  from  which  the  condensed 
water  was  run  into  a  ioo-gailon  glazed  stone  jar.  Every  part  of  the 
apparatus  was  perfectly  clean  and  kept  closely  covered  during  dis- 
tillation. The  distillation  continued  for  four  days,  the  oil  being 
skimmed  from  the  water  daily.  The  operation  was  finished  when 
100  gallons  of  distillate  had  been  obtained,  it  being  then  shown 
that  no  additional  oil  appeared.  The  oil-saturated  water  was  then 
shaken,  a  portion  at  a  time,  with  chloroform,  the  chloroform  being 
separated  from  each  portion  and  used  to  abstract  each  succeeding 
portion.  Th^  chloroform  solution  and  essential  oil  were  contained 
in  the  two  bottles  sent  you,  and  close  investigation  of  the  drug  in 
the  still  demonstrated  that  no  oil  remained  with  it.  The  condensed 
water  that  trickled  from  the  drug  gave  no  evidence  of  volatile  oil. 
"  During  the  period  of  distillation,  a  separate  portion  of  the  steam 
used  was  condensed  in  order  to  determine  that  no  oil  passed  from 
the  boiler.    It  gave  clean  condensed  water." 
The  quantity  of  oil  gained  at  the  two  distillations  varied  greatly ; 
in  1897  about  60  c.c.,  or -12  per  cent.,  were  obtained,  while  the 
second  yield  was  only  about  20  c.c,  or  -04  per  cent.  Concerning 
this  difference  Professor  Lloyd  writes : 
"  I  pushed  the  distillation  to  the  utmost  limit,  carrying  it  as  far  as 
any  yield  whatever  of  oil  could  be  observed,  and  the  difference  in 
the  amount  I  obtained  this  time  and  that  I  obtained  before  lies  in 
the  variation  of  the  quality  of  the  drug.  Now,  inasmuch  as  the 
drug  was  dug  by  the  same  party  each  time  and  the  same  time  of 
year  and  in  the  same  locality,  the  variation  results  from  the  different 
quality  of  the  drug,  for  the  manipulation  was  exactly  the  same  in 
both  instances.  I  will  add  that  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  at  the  out- 
come, for  my  experience  in  indigenous  drugs  is  to  the  effect  that 
such  variations  are  to  be  expected.  They  result  from  local  con- 
ditions, such  as  drought,  atmospheric  influences,  etc.,  and  they  are 
to  be  expected  rather  than  not  expected." 
After  the  oil  of  aralia,  as  received  from  Professor  Lloyd,  had  been 
freed  from  chloroform  by  distillation,  it  was  dried  over  calcium 
chloride.  This  oil  had  a  peculiar  pleasant  aromatic  odor,  resembling 
young  carrots,  and  was  of  a  clear  light  yellow  color. 
