AmFeTSarm'}         Gleanings  in  Materia  Medica.  87 
it,  incorporated  with  one-half  a  grain  of  cacao  butter.  The  pills  are 
very  small. 
Suppositories  of  Quinine,  made  with  quinine  sulphate,  have  some- 
times produced  irritation,  which  J.  Addison  Eberly,  Ph.  G.,  believes 
to  be  due  to  faulty  manipulation.  This  is  entirely  avoided  by  triturat- 
ing the  salt  with  a  small  quantity  of  water  until  a  perfectly  smooth 
paste  is  obtained,  then  rubbing  well  with  the  cacao  butter  and  mould- 
ing in  the  manner  directed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia.  Bisulphate  of  qui- 
nine does  not  yield  satisfactory  suppositories  by  dissolving  the  salt  in 
a  small  quantity  of  water;  they  are  best  prepared  by  rubbing  the  cry- 
stals with  a  little  olive  oil  to  a  smooth  pasty  mass,  incorporating  this 
with  the  cacao  butter  and  moulding. 
Suppositories  of  Carbolic  Acid  will  be  free  from  small  globules  of 
phenol  and  destitute  of  caustic  properties,  if  the  carbolic  acid  is  dis- 
solved in  a  portion  of  the  cacao  butter  with  the  aid  of  heat. 
GLEANINGS  IN  MATERIA  MEDICA. 
By  the  Editor. 
Cocaine  and  Homologues. — The  synthesis  of  cocaine  was  accom- 
plished by  Scraup  (Monatsh.  d.  Chem.,  1885,  561),  by  heating  in  a 
sealed  tube  benzoyl-ecgonine,  sodium  methylate  and  methyl  iodide; 
but  the  yield  was  only  about  4  per  cent..  W.  Merck  (Ber.  D.  Ch. 
Ges.,  1885,  2264),  obtained  about  80  per  cent,  of  the  theoretical 
quantity  by  heating  in  a  sealed  tube  a  mixture  of  benzoyl-ecgonine, 
methyl  iodide  and  a  little  methylic  alcohol  to  100°  C,  when  hydrio- 
date  of  cocaine  was  produced.  An  attempt  to  effect  the  synthesis 
more  directly  {Ibid.,  p.  2953),  by  heating  anhydrous  ecgonine  with 
benzoic  anhydride  and  methyl  iodide  was  successful,  but  the  yield  was 
very  small.  By  following  the  preceding  process  but  using  ethyl 
iodide,  Merck  obtained  a  new  base  for  which  the  name  cocethyline  is 
proposed.  It  has  the  composition  C18H23N04,  and  crystallizes  from 
ether  in  colorless  radiating  prisms,  and  from  alcohol  in  glossy  prisms, 
which  melt  at  108°-109°  C.  The  yellow  precipitate  with  platinic 
chloride  crystallizes  from  much  hot  water  in  the  presence  of  some 
alcohol  in  splendid  shining  yellow  rhombic  scales.  Auric  chloride  gives 
a  yellow  voluminous  precipitate,  and  mercuric  chloride  a  white  pulveru- 
lent one,  soluble  in  hot  water.  The  alkaloid  is  sparingly  soluble  in 
alkalies  and  alkali  carbonates.    Prof.  Falck  has  ascertained  that  coce- 
