Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1886. 
Cdoutchouc  in  Benzoin. 
331 
CAOUTCHOUC  IN  BENZOIN. 
By  Charles  Schmidt. 
Ten  ounces  Sumatra  benzoin  were  reduced  to  No.  20  powder  and 
macerated  for  seven  days  with  an  equal  weight  of  alcohol.  The  re- 
sulting tincture  wTas  filtered.  On  examining  the  dregs  on  the  filter, 
which  seemed  to  consist  chiefly  of  bark,  the  writer  noticed  a  whitish 
substance  running  through  the  dregs  in  fine  veins,  just  below  the  sur- 
face. Upon  taking  hold  of  a  vein  it  was  found  to  be  elastic.  This 
substance  was  easily  separated  from  the  dregs,  and  washed  with  al- 
cohol and  water.  Slight  pressure  between  the  fingers  caused  it  to 
form  into  a  mass  very  much  resembling  caoutchouc.  It  was  for- 
warded to  Prof.  Power,  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  who  kindly 
examined  it  and  determined  it  to  be  really  caoutchouc. 
The  writer  procured  a  second  sample  of  Sumatra  benzoin  from 
another  lot,  but  failed  to  find  caoutchouc  in  it  by  the  above  simple 
process.  In  this  second  operation,  the  dregs  remaining  in  the  filter 
were  dried  and  shaken  with  carbon  disulphide.  The  clear  liquid  was 
poured  off  and  evaporated  spontaneously,  leaving  a  light  yellow  resi- 
due. The  portion  insoluble  in  carbon  disulphide,  was  shaken  with 
chloroform  and  the  clear  solution  poured  ofl  and  evaporated  spontan- 
eously, leaving  a  light  brown  residue.  Both  these  residues  were  ex- 
amined at  the  John  Hopkins'  University,  through  the  kindness  of 
Prof.  Renisen,  but  no  caoutchouc  was  discovered  in  either  of  them. 
This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  caoutchouc  in  the  first  speci- 
men was  an  accidental  impurity  and  not  a  natural  constituent  of  ben- 
zoin, as  was  at  first  supposed  by  the  writer. 
Baltimoee,  June,  1886. 
ON  SOME  PHARM ACOPQEI AL  SYRUPS. 
Abstracts  from  Theses. 
Syrupus  Ipecacuanhas. — On  mixing  fluid  extract  of  ipecac,  pre- 
pared strictly  in  accordance  with  the  present  pharmacopoeia,  with 
simple  syrup,  a  slight  amount  of  flocculent  matter  will  separate  and 
float  in  the  syrup.  Fred.  Dunn,  Ph.G ,  observed  that  the  addition 
of  a  few  drops  of  ammonia  water  will  prevent  the  separation ;  but, 
it  is  preferable  to  mix  the  fluid  extract  with  water,  adding  8  drops  of 
ammonia  water  for  1  ounce  of  fluid  extract,  and  percolating  this 
mixture  through  the  requisite  quantity  of  sugar.    The  resulting 
