12  Improved  Assay  of  Cantharides.       f  Am.  Jour.pnarm. 
Jan.,  1891. 
inferior  in  its  production  of  essential  oil.  About  4,500  pounds  'of 
oil  of  E.  globulus  is  produced  in  Algeria,  but  this  is  insufficient  to 
meet  the  demand.  There  are  more  than  120  species  and  varieties 
of  Eucalyptus  now  grown  in  Algeria,  and  some,  like  E.  citriodora, 
are  capable  of  yielding  agreeable  essences. 
Punica  Granatum. — The  pomegranate  is  much  cultivated,  and 
furnishes  to  Materia  Medica  the  bark  of  its  root  and  branches,  its 
floral  buttons,  known  as  Balaustas,  an  acid  juice  and  the  astringent 
bark  or  peel  of  its  fruits.  The  house  of  Legout  &  Peyron,  of 
Algiers,  alone  export  annually  5,000  to  7,000  pounds  of  pome- 
granate bark,  employed  either  directly,  or  for  the  extraction  of 
pelletierine. 
Lythrarie.^ — Lawsonia  inermis. — The  henna  leaves  are  much 
employed  by  the  natives  to  color  their  nails  and  hair,  as  a 
vulnerary  and  a  remedy  for  leprosy.  There  is  an  important 
commerce  in  henna  in  Algeria. 
[  To  be  continued.^ 
IMPROVED  ASSAY  OF  CANTHARIDES. 
The  following  process  of  assay  is  offered  as  being  suitable  for 
pharmacopceial  purposes : 
Moisten  10  grams  of  the  drug,  in  moderately  fine  powder,  with 
sufficient  solution  (10  per  cent.)  of  sodium  hydrate  to  render  the 
mixture  strongly  alkaline,  and  digest  six  hours  in  a  warm  (1300  F.) 
place  until  the  mass  becomes  somewhat  brittle ;  add  dilute  hydro- 
chloric acid  until  a  decided  acid  reaction  is  retained ;  again  dry 
at  a  low  temperature  (about  1300  F.)  and  pulverize;  transfer  to  a 
modified  Soxhlet  extractor  and  exhaust  the  powder  with  hot  chloro- 
form by  repercolation.    (50  cc.  CHC13  is  sufficient.) 
After  three  or  four  hours  of  percolation,  evaporate  or  recover  the 
chloroform  by  distillation  from  the  flask ;  add  CS2 ;  transfer  the 
contents  to  a  filter  and  continue  to  wash  with  CS2  as  long  as  it  takes 
up  soluble  matter.  Allow  the  filter  to  dry  spontaneously;  treat 
with  hot  chloroform,  collect  the  filtrate  and  pass  through  a  small 
quantity  of  purified  charcoal,  thoroughly  washing  with  CHC13,  and 
evaporate  the  chloroform  solution  in  a  tared  capsule ;  dry  the  resi- 
due (crystals)  in  a  warm  place  or  over  H2S04  (cantharidin  being 
volatile  at  21 2°  F.)  to  a  constant  weight  and  weigh  as  cantharidin. 
Yield  1  per  cent,  on  an  average.  J.  B.  Nagelvoort. 
