338  Chemical  Notes.  {Amju^i8Pwarm- 
Milk  of  lime  will  also  destroy  the  bacillus  of  charbon,  but  not  its 
spores.  The  bacillus  of  tetanus  and  of  tuberculosis  are  not  affected 
by  lime,  and,  in  these  cases,  corrosive  sublimate  should  be  used. 
To  destroy  the  staphylococcus  pyogenes  aureus,  a  prolonged  action 
of  the  lime  preparation  is  necessary ;  50  per  cent,  applications 
should  be  made  upon  the  walls  four  times  in  quick  succession  in 
order  to  insure  a  complete  destruction  of  the  germs. — Ann.  de 
microg.  ;  Repert.  de  Phar.,  May. 
CHEMICAL  NOTES. 
By  Henry  C.  C.  Maisch,  Ph.G.,  Ph.D. 
On  Panax  Ginseng. — Davydow  {Pharm.  Zeitschr.f.  Russl.,  1890, 
p.  97,  113,  1 30)  has  taken  up  the  analysis  of  this  root  made  by 
Garrigues  (Am.  Jour.  Pharm.,  1854,  p.  511).  For  panaquilon  he  uses 
the  following  process  :  The  finely  powdered  root  is  repeatedly 
extracted  with  cold  water  until  the  same  shows  no  acid  reaction. 
The  several  aqueous  extracts  were  united  and  treated  with  animal 
charcoal,  filtered  and  evaporated  to  dryness.  The  residue  is  dis- 
solved in  boiling  95  per  cent,  alcohol,  filtered,  and  the  alcohol 
recovered.  Panaquilon  remains  as  an  amorphous,  light  yel- 
low mass,  easily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  water,  insoluble  in  ether,  and 
does  not  contain  nitrogen.  Concentrated  sulphuric  acid  gives  a 
blood-red  color,  gradually  turning  to  a  reddish  violet.  Panaquilon 
is  neither  an  alkaloid  nor  a  glucoside.  On  boiling  with  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid  a  crystalline  powder,  panacon,  separates,  which  is 
insoluble  in  water  and  ether,  but  soluble  in  alcohol.  Concentrated 
sulphuric  acid  dissolves  and  colors  it  purplish  red.  Concentrated 
nitric  acid  oxidizes  it  to  oxalic  acid.  Garrigues  gives  the  following 
formulae  :    Panaquilon  C24  H25  018,  panacon  C22  H19  08  (0=8). 
Chemical  Constituents  of  Quassia  amara,  L.,  and  Picrcena  excelsa, 
Lindl. — F.Massute  (Lied.  Ann.,  ccxxviii,  147-141)  isolated  the  bitter 
principles  quassiin  and  picrasmin,  and  found  that  they  are  mixtures, 
the  constituents  being  separated  by  fractional  crystallization. 
Quassiin  contains  the  following :  C32  O10  (Wiggers)  (C32  Hu  O10 
Oliveri  and  Denaro)  melting  at  2io°-2ii°  C.  C32  O10  (C  H2)3, 
m.  p.  2I5°-2I7°  C;  C32  O10  (C  H2)5  m.  p.  22i°-226°,  and  a  new 
body,  not  analyzed  m.  p.  239°-242°  C.  By  heating  quassiin  with 
hydrochloric  acid,  Oliveri  and  Denaro  obtained  quassiinic  acid, 
