484     BEST  PART  OF  CONIUM  MACULATUM  FOR  MEDICINE. 
taken,  moistened  with  water  acidulated  with  oxalic  acid,  placed 
in  a  conical  percolator,  and  water  poured  on  till  the  same  amount 
of  liquid  was  obtained,  as  in  the  previous  experiments.  This 
solution  was  found  to  bear  dilution  with  7  volumes  of  water  be- 
fore reaching  the  limit  of  perceptible  reaction  with  the  test 
liquid.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  the  dried  seeds  retain  their 
activity  unimpaired  for  upwards  of  seven  years.  But  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  as  the  summers  of  1359  and  1866  proba- 
bly differed  in  temperature,  so  the  plants  grown  in  those  years 
may  have  differed  in  their  original  content  of  the  active  alka- 
loids. 
Specimens  of  Fluid  Extract  of  Conium,  (U.S. P.),  (that  is,  of 
dried  leaves),  prepared  by  Dr.  E.  R.  Squibb,  and  also  of  Fluid 
Extract  of  Conium  Seed,  prepared  by  the  same  hands  from  the 
dried,  full  grown,  but  green  fruits,  were  also  tested  in  the  way 
narrated  above,  the  same  amounts,  20  c.  c,  being  operated  on. 
The  results  obtained  were,  that  the  oxalic  solution  prepared 
from  the  fluid  extract  of  the  leaves  bore  dilution  with  32  volumes 
of  water,  while  that  from  the  fluid  extract  of  the  seed  bore  dilu- 
tion with  224  volumes  of  water,  making  the  seeds  in  this  case 
seven  times  as  strong  as  the  leaves. 
It  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  state  further,  that  a  Fluid 
Extract  of  Conium  bearing  the  label  of  Tilden  &  Co.,  and  one 
with  the  label  of  Henry  Thayer  &  Co.,  were  also  tested  in  the 
same  manner.  By  this  method  the  solution  from  Tilden's  ex- 
tract bore  dilution  with  but  2J  volumes  of  water,  while  that  from 
Thayer's  gave  no  reaction,  even  when  undiluted.  Some  further 
investigation  showed  that  this  want  of  reaction  was  due,  per- 
haps, to  the  presence  of  acetic  acid,  and  so  a  modified  form  of 
the  operation  was  tried  with  the  three  fluid  extracts,  i.e.,  Squibb's, 
Tilden's  and  Thayer's.  The  oxalic  solutions  obtained,  20  c.  c. 
of  the  fluid  extracts,  were  treated  with  solution  of  caustic  soda 
till  they  gave  decided  alkaline  reactions.  They  were  then 
shaken  in  closed  vials  with  about  three  times  their  bulk  of  ether, 
added  in  four  successive  portions,  and  the  ethereal  portion  decant- 
ed and  evaporated  in  contact  with  water  acidulated  with  oxalic 
acid.  The  same  bulks  of  etherial  solution  were  obtained  in  each 
case,  and  the  same  amounts  of  the  same  strength  of  acidulated 
