544 
Rap /tides  the  Cause  of  Acridity. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Nov.,  1891. 
83°,  is  very  soluble  in  ether,  alcohol,  benzene,  glacial  acetic  acid, 
toluene,  and  carbon  bisulphide,  exceedingly  soluble  in  chloroform ; 
very  sparingly  soluble  in  light  petroleum,  and  almost  insoluble  in 
water.  Its  alcoholic  solution  is  not  precipitated  either  by  normal 
or  basic  lead  acetate,  iodine  solution,  or  tannin.  Its  solution  in 
acetic  acid  or  in  alcohol  gives  a  white,  flocculent  precipitate  with 
wafer ;  but  these  solutions  give  no  coloration,  either  with  ferric 
chloride  or  potassium  chromate.  The  compound  becomes  first 
black  and  then  reddish-brown  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid. 
Sobieranski  considers  timboin  to  be  a  chemically  neutral,  indifferent 
substance,  and  a  nerve  poison  of  the  toxine  class.  Anliydrotimbdin, 
C27H2107,  was  obtained  as  slender,  colored,  needle-shaped  crystals 
during  the  refining  of  the  crude  timboin.  It  was  also  produced 
directly  from  timboin  by  heating  the  alcoholic  solution  with  hydro- 
chloric acid.  This  compound  melts  at  215-2160,  and  is  not  poison- 
ous. Light  petroleum,  boiling  at  38-400,  extracted  from  the  crude 
.timboin  an  oily  compound,  timbol,  C20H16O,  probably  also  a  poisonous 
compound,  occurring  chiefly  in  the  stem  and  branches  of  the  plants. 
RAPH1DES,  THE  CAUSE  OF  THE  ACRIDITY  OF 
CERTAIN  PLANTS. 
By  R.  A.  Weber,  Ph.D. 
At  the  last  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  Prof.  W.  R.  Lazenby  reported  his  studies 
on  the  occurrence  of  crystals  in  plants.  In  this  report  he  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  acridity  of  the  Indian  turnip  was  due  to  the 
presence  of  these  crystals  or  raphides.  This  opinion  was  opposed 
by  Prof.  Burrill  and  other  eminent  botanists,  who  claimed  that 
other  plants,  as  the  fuchsia,  are  not  at  all  acrid,  although  they  con- 
tain raphides  as  plentifully  as  the  Indian  turnip.  Here  the  matter 
was  allowed  to  rest. 
The  U.  S.  Dispensatory  and  other  works  on  pharmacy  ascribe  the 
acridity  of  the  Indian  turnip  to  an  acrid,  extremely  volatile  princi- 
ple insoluble  in  water  and  alcohol,  but  soluble  in  ether.  Heating 
and  drying  the  bulbs  dissipate  the  volatile  principle,  and  the  acridity 
is  destroyed. 
At  a  recent  meeting  of  Ohio  State  Microscopical  Society  this 
subject  was  again  brought  up  for  discussion.  It  was  thought  by 
some  that  the  raphides  in  the  different  plants  might  vary  in  chemi- 
