PREPARATION  OF  RESIN  OF  PODOPHYLLUM. 
135 
as  contained  in  the  precipitating  vessel  in  a  water  bath  till,  just 
below  the  boiling  point,  nearly  all  the  resin  was  fused  and  collect- 
ed on  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  jar,  then  by  a  spoon  or  spatula 
the  main  portion  could  be  collected  together,  and  by  rotating  the 
mass,  all  adjacent  particles  could  be  made  to  adhere  to  it.  The 
6i  Eclectics  "  are  in  the  habit  of  adding  muriatic  acid  to  the 
water  to  aid  the  separation  of  the  resin.  I  have  found  this  highly 
advantageous  both  with  reference  to  collecting  the  precipitate  as 
only  partially  separated  by  water  alone,  and  to  procuring  the 
remaining  portion  after  the  more  completely  separated  precipi- 
tate has  been  removed.  There  is  an  objection  on  the  part  of 
some  to  such  an  addition  under  the  supposition  that  the  change 
must  be  a  chemical  one,  but  I  observe  no  difference  between 
specimens  whether  collected  with  or  without  this  addition,  and 
am  inclined  to  attribute  the  more  complete  coagulation  of  the 
particles  of  resin  under  the  influence  of  the  acid,  which  may  be 
used  in  very  small  proportion,  to  a  mechanical  rather  than  a 
chemical  alteration. 
5th.  The  drying  of  the  precipitated  resin  in  powder  is  not  a 
very  easy  matter.  It  is  rather  unsuitable  to  wrap  in  paper, 
especially  where  artificial  heat  is  to  be  used,  which  is  apt  to 
fuse  it  and  occasion  its  absorption  by  the  paper.  In  one  case 
in  which  it  had  been  collected  on  a  filter,  I  was  obliged  to  redis- 
solve  it  in  alcohol,  and  then  pour  it  out  on  plates  of  glass  in 
the  manner  directed  for  citrate  of  iron.  It  was  readily  scraped 
off  from  the  glass  but  was  not  in  handsome  scales.  If  collected 
in  mass  by  fusion  under  water,  as  above  described,  it  may  be 
kneaded  and  pulled  so  as  to  wash  it  thoroughly  and  lighten  its 
color,  and  may  thus  be  dried  without  the  least  difficulty  by 
wiping  with  paper  and  exposing  to  the  air  at  ordinary  tempera- 
tures. If  preferred  in  powder  it  is  readily  reduced  by  trituration. 
I  prefer  it  in  lumps  or  pieces,  in  which  condition  it  is  more  charac- 
teristic, and  resembles  resin  of  jalap  of  the  shops.  It  is  more 
characteristic,  and  less  liable  to  sophistication  or  adulteration, 
when  in  the  condition  of  broken  mass,  than  in  that  of  powder 
in  which  it  is  usually  sold. 
The  yield,  by  the  process  described,  varies  from  three  to  five 
percent,  of  the  root ;  there  is,  perhaps,  always  some  loss  in  the 
course  of  the  process,  which  is  proportionably  less  in  operating 
on  large  quantities. 
