Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
July  1, 1873.  / 
Anemone  Ludoviciana. 
299 
About  one  pint  of  the  expressed  juice,  to  which  had  been  added 
about  three  ounces  of  i*5°  alcohol,  was  also  treated  in  the  same  way, 
namely,  by  the  addition  of  water  and  subsequent  distillation.  Chlo- 
roform was  added  to  the  distillate,  and,  after  repeated  agitation,  the 
same  was  separated  and  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously.  In  a 
very  short  time  crystals  were  observed  to  form,  but  after  a  short  time 
the  liquid,  which  was  perfectly  colorless  at  first,  became  dark  red, 
and  when  the  chloroform  was  entirely  evaporated  the  residue  became 
of  a  dark  brown  color,  although  it  retained  its  crystalline  form  in  the 
centre.  It  was  strongly  acid  to  litmus,  and  of  a  peculiar  penetrating 
odor,  very  irritating  to  the  nostrils.  Before  the  chloroform  had  evap- 
orated from  this  distillate  of  the  expressed  juice,  a  few  drops  were 
accidentally  spilled  on  the  writer's  fingers,  but  nothing,  except  the 
coldness  produced  by  the  evaporation  of  the  chloroform,  was  noticed 
at  the  time.  A  few  hours  afterwards  the  finger  began  to  pain,  and 
the  skin  to  assume  a  red  color.  Shortly  after  this  a  number  of  blis- 
ters appeared,  the  sense  of  pain  seeming  to  increase  for  some  time 
afterwards.  It  was  nearly  six  weeks  before  the  finger  was  entirely 
healed,  although  it  was  well  •  protected.  Whether  this  was  caused  by 
the  poisonous  action  of  the  anemonic  acid,  or  whether  it  penetrated 
deeper  into  the  skin  than  other  rubifacients,  was  not  possible  for  the 
writer  to  determine. 
Some  three  months  after  the  foregoing  experiments  had  been  made, 
the  balance  of  the  leaves  (about  eight  pounds)  were  subjected  to  dis- 
tillation, and  treated  with  chloroform  in  the  same  manner  as  pre- 
viously described.  No  crystalline  body  was  formed  after  the  evapor- 
ation of  the  chloroform,  and  only  a  dark  amorphous  residue  of  an 
acid  character  remained^.  From  this  it  was  supposed  that  only  from 
the  fresh  leaves  or  juice  the  anemonin  could  be  obtained,  as  there  was 
no  trace  of  crystalline  matter  in  the  leaves  that  had  been  kept  five  or 
six  months. 
The  semi-crystalline  matter  left  after  distilling  the  expressed  juice 
could  not  be  redissolved  in  chloroform.  There  seemed  to  be  a  slight 
action  (the  chloroform  becoming  somewhat  discolored),  but  the  mass 
retained  its  shape  and  appearance. 
Particular  attention  was  given  to  detect  vegetable  albumen,  which, 
however,  could  not  be  found.  About  two  ounces  of  the  leaves  were 
treated  with  one  pint  of  cold  water,  and  allowed  to  macerate  for  two 
-days  ;  a  portion  of  this  was  heated  to  the  boiling  point  with  no  per- 
