248  Hydrastis  Canadensis,  etc,         { A MJuJn°eu *; 
hydrastia  by  adding  water  of  ammonia  (10  per  cent.),  until  a  precipi- 
tate ceased  to  be  thrown  down.  This  precipitate  I  separated  by  fil- 
tration, and  dissolved  in,  and  crystallized  from,  alcohol,  when,  in- 
stead of  hydrastia,  as  the  books  described  it,  I  found  that  the  char- 
acteristic prisms  of  hydrastia  were  colored  by  and  intimately  mixed 
with  a  yellow  powder,  which  I  supposed  to  be  berberina  that  had  not 
been  thrown  down  as  a  hydrochlorate. 
Being  thus  a  little  disconcerted  at  not  obtaining  the  result  I  hoped 
for,  I  made  another  percolate  of  the  drug,  and  to  the  mother  liquor 
of  berberina  I  carefully  added  water  of  ammonia  (10  per  cent.)  to  the 
neutral  point.  The  precipitate  thus  obtained  I  dissolved  in  and  crys- 
tallized from  alcohol,  which  furnished  beautiful  and  well  defined 
prismatic  crystals  of  hydrastia,  free  from  yellow  coloring  matter  at 
all  resembling  berberina. 
To  the  neutral  mother  liquor  of  hydrastia  I  now  added  water  o^ 
ammonia  (10  per  cent.)  to  a  strong  alkaline  reaction.  This  gave  me 
a  yellow  precipitate,  which  I  separated,  and  found  to  correspond  with 
the  yellow  powder  above  mentioned,  as  accompanying  the  first  attempt 
to  obtain  hydrastia,  and  to  be  darker  in  color  than  berberina  and  to 
possess  the  following  reactions.  When  dissolved  in  alcohol  it  has  a 
neutral  reaction  with  a  solution  of  litmus. 
Taking  corresponding  proportions  of  berberina  (designated  by  "a") 
and  the  new  substance  resembling  berberina  (designated  by  "6"),  and 
applying  a  few  reagents,  the  following  results  were  obtained: 
In  cold  nitric  acid  is  the  least  soluble,  and  both  form  red  solu- 
tions when  the  acid  is  heated.  In  water,  at  60°  F.,  ab"  is  the  least 
soluble  ;  both  dissolve  in  hot  vvater.  In  hot  sulphuric  acid,  "a" 
gives  a  yellow  solution  ;  "6,"  a  reddish-brown  solution.  Iu  cold  solu- 
tion of  caustic  potassa,  "a"  is  the  most  soluble.  When  heated  in 
hydrochloric  acid,  ua"  furnishes  the  darker  solution ;  and  when  the 
hot  hydrochloric  acid  solutions  are  allowed  to  cool,  "a"  crystallizes 
while  the  solution  is  still  warm,  giving  an  abundant  crop  of  bright  yel- 
low needles,  while  "5"  remains  in  solution  until  nearly  or  quite  cold, 
and  then  only  crystallizes  sparingly  in  darker  and  larger  needles 
than  "a."  Dissolved  in  warm  water  and  tested  with  iodohydrargy- 
rate  of  potassium,  "a"  gives  an  abundant  yellow  precipitate,  while 
the  precipitate  furnished  by  "6"  is  less  abundant  and  of  a  very  light 
yellow,  almost  straw-color. 
Fearing  "6"  might  be  a  modification  of  "a"  by  the  action  of  am- 
