mo 
Separation  of  Mixed  Alkaloids,  etc. 
(  Ax.  Jock.  Pharm. 
I   Nor.  1, 1873. 
Each  pill  and  each  dragee  contains  about  5  centigrams  of  iodide  of 
iron  and  one  centigram  of  powdered  iron. 
The  iodide  of  iron  is  in  a  state  of  perfect  purity,  and  may  be  dosed 
with  great  precision.  Put  in  cold  water  some  months  after  their  pre- 
paration, they  will  dissolve,  save  the  excess  of  iron,  without  coloring  it. 
The  following  is  the  mode  of  coating  as  proposed  by  Mr.  Magnes- 
Lahens  :  Roll  the  pills  quickly,  about  fifty  at  a  time,  with  the  hand 
in  a  clear  mucilage  of  gum  arabic  spread  thinly  in  a  saucer ;  when 
they  are  completely  moistened  throw  them  into  a  basin  containing  a 
mixture  of  sugar,  9  parts,  with  gum  arabic  one  part ;  agitate  them 
until  they  are  covered  with  a  layer  of  the  powder,  heat  them  for 
about  eight  or  ten  minutes,  at  first  very  slightly,  and  afterwards  in- 
crease, the  heat,  rotating  the  pills  continually.  After  cooling  coat 
them  a  second  and  then  a  third  time,  following  the  process  just  de- 
scribed. These  pills  may  thus  be  prepared  in  small  or  large  quanti- 
ties ;  in  the  latter  case  they  should  be  put  in  the  drying  closet  after 
each  coating.  Made  with  this  precaution  they  will  keep  a  long  tjme 
in  good  condition.  C.  J.  M. 
THE  SEPARATION  OF  THE  MIXED  ALKALOIDS  FROM  CIN- 
CHONA BARKS. 
By  Dr.  J.  E.  De  Vrtj. 
Recently  a  London  firm  of  manufacturing  chemists,  who  had  read 
with  interest  my  paper  on  cinchona  alkaloids  published  in  this  Jour- 
nal, applied  to  me  to  inform  them  "  by  what  means  I  separate  the 
mixed  alkaloids  from  the  dry  bark."  I  therefore  suppose  it  may  per- 
haps be  useful  also  for  other  readers  of  this  Journal  if  I  publish  my 
actual  method — which  has  been  published  in  a  Dutch  periodical  in 
1871 — also  in  this  Journal.  20  grammes  of  powdered  and  sifted 
baik,  dried  at  100°  C,  are  mixed  with  milk  of  lime,  made  of  5 
grammes  of  dry  slaked  lime  and  50  grammes  of  water.  This  mix- 
ture is  slowly  dried,  and  when  entirely  dry,  heated  in  a  flask  with 
200  cubic  centimetres  of  very  strong  spirit  (the  strongest  possible) 
till  it  boils.  After  cooling  and  subsiding,  the  clear  liquid  is  poured 
on  a  filter  large  enough  to  contain  all  the  bark,  but  not  larger  than 
is  strictly  necessary  (a  filter  of  15  centimetres  diameter  is  sufficient.) 
The  residue  in  the  flask  is  now  mixed  again  with  100  cubic  centi- 
metres of  spirit,  this  mixture  well  shaken,  and  poured  on  the  filter. 
