Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1898.  j 
Powdered  Vegetable  Drugs. 
613 
tered  and  unaltered  starch  grains;  few  fragments  of  bast  and  crystal 
fibres  of  glycyrrhiza ;  soluble  in  water  and  taste  sweetish. 
480.  Opium. — Insoluble  in  water;  taste  bitter.    See  No.  338. 
B.     WITHOUT  STARCH. 
a.  Particles  of  organized  form. 
481.  Corn  Smut. — Grayish-brown,  nearly  spherical  spores  (7  x 
7  fi) ;  little  or  no  foreign  substances.  Spores  of  Coprinus  comatus, 
blackish  and  elliptical  (10  x  5  /jl).  Spores  of  Agaricus  campestris 
more  brownish  than  corn  smut,  are  egg-shaped  and  in  size  about 
5  x  7  fi. 
b.  Particles  of  inorganic  form. 
a.    Remain  opaque  {not  affected}  in  glycerin. 
482.  Aloes  (Socotrine). — Partially  unaffected.    See  No.  487. 
483.  Benzoin. — Colorless  and  wine-colored  irregular  fragments; 
some  rosette-shaped  groups  and  collection  of  small  tetragonal  or 
plates  of  crystals.  Upon  covering  a  fragment  on  a  slide  with  a  watch 
crystal  and  cautiously  heating  crystals  of  benzoic  acid  are  sublimed 
on  the  watch  crystal. 
484.  Elaterium. — Grayish  and  grayish-brown,  more  or  less  opaque 
and  irregular  fragments.  Heat  fragment  with  phenol,  and  when 
cool  add  H2S04,  a  deep  red  coloration  is  produced.  KOH  has  no 
action  on  elaterium, 
485.  Goa  Powder. — Small,  somewhat  transparent,  wine-colored, 
irregular  angular  fragments.  With  KOH  a  bright,  reddish  color 
produced. 
(/9).  Become  more  or  less  transparent  in  glycerin. 
486.  Aloes  (Barbadoes). — In  a  glycerin  mount  the  particles  be- 
come clear  and  behave  like  Cape  aloes,  but  generally  numerous 
acicular  or  large  prismatic  crystals  remain  or  separate  in  clear  yel- 
low space  where  fragment  of  aloes  was  originally. 
487.  Aloes  [Socotrine). — In  a  glycerin  mount  the  fragment  is  not 
very  perceptibly  affected.  At  the  most  there  is  but  a  faint  yellow- 
ish color  around  the  grayish  or  grayish-brown  masses.  In  old 
Socotrine  aloes  the  gray  masses  look  like  rosette  crystals, 
488.  Catechu. — Large  opaque  dark  brownish-red  masses  which  on 
the  edge  gradually  become  transparent  and  dissolve  with  a  sherry 
wine  color,  also  fragments  of  sklerenchyma. 
489.  Kino. — Fragments  become  clearer  and  a  deeper  red  (port 
wine  color)  compared  to  catechu. 
