Am.  Jour.  Pharm.l 
June,  1891.  J 
Geranium  Maculatitm. 
265 
GERANIUM  MACULATUM. 
By  Henry  Trimble  and  Josiah  C.  Peacock. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. — 
No.  87. 
Read  at  the  Pharmaceutical  Meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy,  May  19. 
In  this  journal,  1889,  page  238,  was  published  the  results  of  a 
proximate  analysis  of  this  drug  by  Henry  J.  Mayers,  who  undertook 
the  investigation  with  the  object  of  determining  the  constituents  as 
well  as  the  amount  of  tannin.  Bowman,  this  Journal,  1869,  p.  193, 
found  13-41  and  17-25  per  cent,  of  tannin,  but  Mayers  found  in  a 
commercial  powdered  sample,  from  a  reliable  source,  only  4-25  per 
cent.,  and  in  a  sample  powdered  by  himself  11-53  Per  cent,  of 
tannin.  He,  as  well  as  Dr.  Edward  Staples,  this  Journal,  1829,  p. 
171,  reported  gallic  acid. 
The  above,  somewhat  conflicting  results,  together  with  the 
thought  that  the  time  of  collection  might  affect  the  tannin  strength, 
were  the  inciting  causes  for  the  following  investigation. 
Fourteen  collections  of  the  rhizome  were  made  between  May  I, 
1889,  and  May  13,  1891  ;  the  locality,  Fairmount  Park,  was  the 
same  for  all  but  three.  The  rootlets  and  adhering  earth  were  care- 
fully removed  and  the  tannin  determined  as  soon  as  practicable  after 
the  collection,  always  within  twenty-four  hours.  The  moisture 
was  determined  at  the  same  time.  The  method  employed  for 
determining  the  tannin  was  to  make  a  decoctionW  the  drug,  precipi- 
tate with  gelatin  and  alum,  wash,  dry  and  weigh  the  precipitate 
and  calculate  54  per  cent,  of  it  as  tannin.    The  average  of  three 
closely  agreeing  results  was" 
used. 
Per  cent,  of  tannin. 
Time  of 
collection. 
Condition. 
In  the  moist 
drug. 
Calculated  for 
absolutely  dry 
drug. 
Moisture. 
January, 
March, 
April, 
April, 
May, 
May, 
May, 
July, 
October, 
I/eaves  absent, 
Leaves  absent, 
Before  blooming, 
While  blooming, 
Before  blooming, 
While  blooming, 
After  blooming, 
4'34 
3'6i 
6-76 
5'85 
4*13 
3-22 
3-60 
3'63 
'3-68 
11*72 
12-  82 
27-85 
23  '44 
16-34 
13-  38 
12-38 
12-41 
9-72 
62-99 
7i-«4 
75-73 
75-05 
74*73 
75-94 
7o  93 
7o-75 
62-16 
