492 
Gleanings  from  Foreign  Journals. 
Am,  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1886. 
following  table  shows  the  quantities  of  different  menstrua  required  to 
exhaust  10  grams  of  an  8*8  per  cent,  succirubra  bark : 
In  order  to  hasten  exhaustion  the  bark  was  mixed  with  50  grams 
of  acidulated  water  and  heated  by  means  of  a  water-bath  but  the 
solutions  were  turbid,  then  muriatic  acid  and  alcohol  were  used  with 
much  better  results.  Hydrochloric  acid  is  preferable  to  sulphuric 
acid,  because  an  excess  can  readily  be  evaporated.  Kaspar's  method 
is  as  follows :  Into  a  flask  holding  about  150  cc.  and  connected 
with  a  condensing  tube  are  placed  50  cc.  of  90  per  cent,  alcohol, 
20  drops  of  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  and  10  grams  of  finely  pow- 
dered bark,  the  whole  heated  in  a  water-bath  for  10  minutes,  then 
expressed,  the  operation  repeated  with  50  cc.  of  alcohol  and  10 
drops  of  dilute  hydrochloric  acid,  expressed,  and  treated  for  the  third 
time  with  50  cc.  alcohol  and  expressed — the  liquids  are  mixed,  fil- 
tered and  evaporated — stirring  constantly — to  10  grams.  To  assay 
the  alkaloid  Hager  uses  picric  acid  ;  Schmid  and  Wolfram  mix  with 
marble  and  evaporate,  then  exhaust  with  absolute  alcohol ;  Prollius 
advises  mixing  ether,  alcohol  and  ammonia  with  the  powder ;  Losch  pre- 
cipitates with  a  saturated  solution  of  alum  and  subsequent  super- 
saturation  with  ammonia,  the  precipitate  is  dried  and  treated  with 
amylic  alcohol  or  chloroform.  Mayer  uses  potassio-mercuric  iodide ; 
Fliickiger  moistens  the  bark  with  ammonia,  and  after  the  lapse  of 
one  hour  mixes  with  milk  of  lime,  when  dry  it  is  treated  with  ether, 
chloroform  or  alcohol;  Kabourdin  precipitates  the  infusion  with 
caustic  potash  and  extracts  with  chloroform;  Coeytaux  extracts 
with  a  mixture  of  1  volume  of  amylic  alcohol  and  3  volumes  of 
benzol.  Hager's  method  yields  small  quantities  due  very  likely  to 
the  solubility  of  the  picrates.  By  treating  calisaya  bark  according 
to  Schmid -Wolfruni's  method  3*575  per  cent,  of  a  brown,  amorphous 
mass  was  obtained,  after  purification  the  yield  was  only  1*96  per 
cent.  Prollius'  method  appears  to  be  a  practical  one,  but  requires 
too  much  material  to  exhaust  the  bark  thoroughly. 
Comparative  tests  made  according  to  these  methods  gave  the  fol- 
lowing percentages  :  Hager,  1*65  percent.;  Schmid- Wolfrum, impure, 
Water,. 
 HOO'OO  grams. 
  650.  grams. 
and  2*0  glycerin,    350.  grams. 
"    with  1'50  sulphuric  acid, 
Diluted  alcohol, 
Stronger  " 
150.  grams. 
90.  grams. 
