Am.  Jour.  Pharin.l 
Sept.,  1890.  J 
Abstracts  from  Theses. 
437 
ether-soluble  resin  became  at  first  yellowish-brown,  and  subse- 
quently changed  to  reddish-brown.  Treated  with  manganic  dioxide 
and  sulphuric  acid,  jalapurgin  acquired  a  rose-pink,  but  the  ether- 
soluble  resin  a  dark  green  color. 
ABSTRACTS  FROM  THESES. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. — 
No.  77. 
H.  L.  Hurxthal,  Ph.G.,  examined  four  brands  of  commercial 
Codeine,  and  found  them  to  agree  closely  with  the  requirements  of 
the  U.S. P.,  except  that  they  all  gave  rather  dense  precipitates  with 
mercuric  chloride,  while  our  Pharmacopoeia  states  that  no  such  pre- 
cipitate should  form.  As,  however,  there  is  abundant  authority  for 
the  statement  that  codeine  should  give  a  precipitate  with  mercuric 
chloride,  our  standard  is  evidently  in  error  on  this  point. 
Codeine  has  recently  been  much  advertised  as  a  cure  lor  the 
opium  habit,  and  one  brand  in  particular  has  been  extensively  adver- 
tised as  being  especially  adapted  for  this  purpose  on  account  of  its 
great  purity.  In  all  the  tests  applied,  there  was  no  evidence  in 
favor  of  any  special  manufacture. 
The  water  present  was  very  near  the  theoretical  5-6  per  cent. 
No.  1  gave  on  drying  5-1  per  cent,  water. 
No.  2    "        "  5-3     "  " 
No.  3    "        "  5-6  " 
No.  4    "        "  5*6  " 
These  residues,  after  drying,  gave  the  following  melting  points : 
No.  1,  150-2°  C. ;  No.  2,  150-1°  C. ;  No.  3,  149-7°  C. ;  No.  4,1497° 
C. 
The  determinations  were  made  with  a  thermometer  corrected  at 
the  Yale  Observatory,  and  closely  agree  with  the  U.S. P.  requirement 
of  about  1500."  In  Beilstein's  Organic  Chemistry,  vol.  iii,  page 
554,  the  melting  points  1 53°  and  155°  are  quoted,  the  former  on 
the  authority  of  Grimaux,  and  the  latter  on  that  of  Hesse. 
Leonard  A.  Schoppe,  Ph^G.,  investigated  a  sample  of  "  artificial 
gum"  used  and  sold  as  a  substitute  for  acacia.  In  appearance  it 
resembled  granular  acacia  somewhat,  but  the  granules  were  larger 
and  more  transparent.  It  also  differed  in  having  a  sweet  and  only 
slightly  mucilaginous  taste. 
