430  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  (^S^S1 
yellow.  The  xanthoxylin  N  falls  out  at  first  amorphous,  but  on 
standing  over  night  it  becomes  crystalline.  The  crystals  are  col- 
lected on  a  strainer,  washed  with  water  and  recrystallized  a  couple 
of  times  from  alcohol." 
The  crystalline  principle  (xanthoxylin  S)  in  southern  prickly  ash 
does  not  behave  toward  KOH  and  C02  like  xanthoxylin  N,  and  the 
following  method  has  been  devised  for  its  isolation : 
"  The  powdered  southern  prickly  ash  was  exhausted  with  ben- 
zine, the  latter  distilled  off  completely,  and  the  oily  residue  mixed 
with  twice  its  volume  of  petroleum  ether.  On  standing  over  night 
a  considerable  amount  of  a  crystalline  sediment  separated  out.  The 
crystals  were  taken  up  with  cold  ether,  the  ethereal  solution  filtered, 
the  ether  distilled  off,  and  the  residue  recrystallized  repeatedly  from 
hot  alcohol." 
The  results  thus  far  tend  to  show  that  xanthoxylin  S  is  possibly 
an  alcohol  or  a  phenol  of  which  xanthoxylin  N  is  the  methyl  ether. 
The  formula  of  xanthoxylin  S  could  then  be  written  C14Hn  (OH)03, 
and  that  of  xanthoxylin  N,  C14Hn  (O.CH3)03 
Measurement  of  the  Wires  and  Meshes  of  Sieves. 
By  Raymond  H.  Pond. 
The  French  Codex  directs  not  only  the  fineness  but  the  kind  of 
material  to  be  used  for  the  sieves.  The  author  examined  the  commer- 
cial sieves  on  the  market  and  found  that  most  of  them  are  true  in 
one  direction,  but  in  the  other  the  number  of  wires  varies  considerably. 
He  also  found,  as  was  to  be  expected,  that  the  powders  in  the 
market  varied  considerably.  One  of  the  interesting  things  brought 
out  in  this  discussion  was  the  statement  by  Mr.  Kebler  that  of  a 
sample  of  so-called  "No.  20"  cinchona  powder  53  per  cent, 
would  not  pass  through  a  No.  20  sieve.  A  powder  of  nux  vomica 
had  a  similar  large  residue. 
Cod-Liver  Oil  and  Its  Adulterants. 
By  E.  H.  Gane. 
The  present  scarcity  of  Norwegian  cod-liver  oil,  coupled  with  the 
extraordinary  advance  in  the  market  price,  has  resulted  in  especial 
attention  being  drawn  to  this  article.  The  Jact  that  the  present 
year's  crop  of  oil  is  totally  inadequate  to  supply  the  normal  demand 
has  led  to  the  offering  of  numerous  substitutes  and  to  considerable 
