ii2     ,  Ash  Determinations  on  Digitalis.      { Al\f ^h,'  S™* 
giving  results  which  are  concordant  within  2  per  cent.,  and  repre- 
senting, for  all  practical  purposes,  the  true  cineol  content  of  an  oil. 
3.  The  resorcinol  method,  as  slated  for  the  U.  S.  P.  IX,  should 
not  be  adopted  by  the  Revision  Committee,  for  it  will  unquestionably 
lead  to  the  introduction  into  commerce  of  low-grade  eucalyptus 
oils;  it  would  be  far  better  to  retain  the  present  unsatisfactory 
phosphoric  acid  method,  which  undoubtedly  is  responsible  for  the 
fact  that  the  majority  of  eucalyptus  oils  at  present  on  the  market 
possess  a  high  cineol  content,  as  seen  from  the  analysis  of  samples 
obtained  by  us.  We  may  suggest,  however,  that  the  Sub-committee 
on  Volatile  Oils  investigate  the  reliability  of  the  arsenic  acid  method 
with  the  view  of  including  it  in  the  forthcoming  edition  of  the 
Pharmacopoeia. 
Research  Laboratory,  Bristol-Myers  Company, 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 
SOME  ASH  DETERMINATIONS  ON  DIGITALIS.1 
By  Edwin  L.  Newcomb  and  Manley  H.  Haynes. 
In  view  of  the  proposed  ten  per  cent,  ash  standard  for  digitalis 
for  the  ninth  revision  of  the  United  States  Pharmacopoeia,  the  re- 
sults of  some  ash  determinations  upon  this  drug  are  hereby  offered 
for  consideration.  The  results  in  part  represent  some  of  the  work 
done  in  connection  with  the  production  of  digitalis  at  the  College  of 
Pharmacy,  University  of  Minnesota. 
The  fully-matured  green  leaves  of  the  first  year's  growth  of 
several  varieties  of  Digitalis  purpurea  were  collected  and  carefully 
cleaned,  including  brushing  to  remove  any  adhering  sand,  and  then 
immediately  dried  at  a  temperature  of  8o°  to  ioo°  C.  The  samples 
were  then  reduced  to  a  No.  60  powder  and  dried  at  low  temperature 
to  practically  constant  weight,  after  which  they  were  incinerated  in 
the  usual  manner. 
The  details  concerning  the  culture  of  the  plants  and  the  collec- 
tion and  drying  of  the  drug  have  been  earlier  reported  by  one  of  us 
(see  Newcomb,  Amer.  Journ.  of  Pharm.,  vol.  84,  pp.  201-214), 
and  the  results  of  physiologic  tests  with  these  samples  have  been 
1  Read  at  Thirty-first  Annual  Convention  of  Minnesota  State  Pharma- 
ceutical Association,  St.  Paul,  February  10,  1915. 
