422  Isocinnamic  Acid  in  Cocaine  Alkaloids.  {AmAuJ.?i89hoarm* 
Besides  the  clove  buds,  the  stems  are  also  gathered,  and  form  an 
article  of  commerce,  commanding  about  one-fifth  of  the  price  of 
cloves  and  having  about  the  same  percentage  of  strength.  To  this 
circumstance  is  due  the  fact  that  ground  clove  can  frequently  be 
purchased  in  the  market  at  a  lower  price  than  whole  cloves. 
For  the  past  fifteen  years  the  cultivation  of  cloves  has  been  the 
chief  occupation  of  the  Arab  planters  anc}  has  always  netted  good 
returns.  It  seems  probable  that  it  will  continue  to  be  a  profitable 
crop,  since  the  consumption  of  the  article  appears  to  keep  pace  with 
the  inevitable  increase  of  production. 
Up  to  the  present  time  the  plantations  have  been  worked  with 
slave  labor  at  comparatively,  small  expense  ;  but  with  stoppage  of 
slave  supplies  from  the  mainland,  great  difficulty  will  be  experienced 
by  the  planters  during  harvest  time.  One  result  will  be  an  increase 
in  expenses ;  but  what  the  planters  have  most  to  fear  is  that  the 
•curtailment  of  the  labor  supply  will  entail  a  direct  loss  by  render- 
ing it  impossible  to  harvest  the  crop  until  after  it  has  blossomed, 
when  it  would  be  unfit  for  the  uses  of  commerce. 
ISOCINNAMIC  ACID  IN  THE  COCAINE  ALKALOIDS.1 
By  C.  Liebermann. 
The  decomposition-products  of  the  alkaloids  accompanying 
cocaine  contain  isocinnamic  acid,  which  can  be  isolated  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  :  The  crude  product  obtained  by  decomposing  the 
alkaloids  (38  kilos.)  with  hydrochloric  acid  is  filtered  from  the  solid 
acids,  and  the  filtrate  extracted  with  ether ;  on  evaporating  the 
ether  there  remains  a  semi-solid  mass  (700-800  grams).  This  resi- 
due is  filtered  to  separate  the  solid  acids,  which  consist  principally 
of  cinnamic  acid,  together  with  small  quantities  of  a-  and  /9-truxillic 
acids  and  benzoic  acid,  the  oily  filtrate  is  kept  for  some  days  at  o°, 
and  again  filtered  from  the  crystals  which  are  deposited.  The  fil- 
trate (300-400  grams)  is  dissolved  in  cold  sodium  carbonate,  the 
solution  shaken  with  ether  to  remove  ethereal  salts  which  may  be 
present,  and  the  acids  reprecipitated.  The  acid  mixture  is  then 
-extracted  with  warm  light  petroleum,  and  the  solution  evaporated. 
The  crude  isocinnamic  acid  (about  120  grams),  obtained  in  this  way 
in  a  crystalline  condition,  is  further  purified  and  separated  from 
1  Ber.,  23,  141-156.    Reprinted  from  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  May,  p.  494. 
