Am'o2tu^88<rrm'}    American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  511 
Abstractum  Podophylli. — Five  samples  were  examined  by  treating  with 
alcohol,  concentrating  and  precipitating  with  acidulated  water;  the 
amount  of  resin  thus  obtained  varied  between  6*5  and  11 '5  per  cent.,  equiva- 
lent to  from  3*2  to  5*9  per  cent,  of  the  drug. 
Abstractum  Valeriana. — The  amount  soluble  in  strong  alcohol  from  5  gm. 
of  five  samples  varied  between  0  93  and  117  gm. 
Abstractum  Senegal. — The  abstract  was  exhausted  with  a  mixture  of  2 
alcohol  and  1  water,  the  liquid  concentrated,  freed  from  coloring  matter  by 
ether  and  precipitated  by  alcohol  and  ether.  The  yield  of  5  gm.  from  six 
samples  varied  between  "340  and  *503  gm.  Procter  obtained  5 J  per  cent,  of 
polygalic  acid  from  senega  root. 
Abstractum  Belladonnas. — The  alkaloid  was  estimated  by  the  method  of 
Dunstan  and  Eansom  (Am.  Jour.  Phar.,  1885,  p.  582),  and  in  five  samples  „ 
corresponded  to  from  *41  and  '68  per  cent,  of  belladonna  root. 
Evaporation  of  Percolates,  by  J.  U.  Lloyd. — Attention  is  called  to  the  re- 
sults of  evaporating  different  quantities  of  identical  percolates  under  other- 
wise similar  conditions.  Small  quantities  of  vinegar  of  squill,  after  con- 
centration, gave  a  light  amber-colored  liquid ;  but  on  concentrating  larger 
batches  the  color  is  finally  deeper  until  a  dark-brown  red  is  produced. 
The  temperature  used  in  the  experiments  was  between  175°  and  180°  F. 
Working  in  the  pharmacopceial  quantities  yields  the  less  altered  product. 
The  maintenance  of  standards  of  purity  was  discussed  in  a  paper  by  Prof. 
J.  M.  Good,  and  the  relation  in  this  respect  existing  between  the  wholesale 
druggist,  the  manufacturer  and  the  dispenser. 
Quality  of  Belladonna  leaves,  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Lyons. — In  a  large  number  of 
assays  of  the  leaves,  the  author  obtained  once  as  high  as  0*87  per  cent,  of 
alkaloid,  and  as  low  as  0'23  per  cent. ;  ,the  average  was  about  0*44.  Twelve 
assays  of  belladonna  root  yielded  between  0*42  and  0"86  alkaloid ;  average, 
0'618  per  cent.  The  average  yield  of  extract  with  66  per  cent,  alcohol  was 
for  the  root  26*27,  and  for  the  leaves  22*5  per  cent.  The  amount  of  alkaloid 
does  not  appear  to  decrease  in  pressed  leaves  kept  for  several  years. 
Oleum  menthse  piperita,  by  A.  M.  Todd. — The  paper  gives  a  brief  history 
of  the  cultivation  of  peppermint  in  England  and  in  the  United  States  for 
the  production  of  the  volatile  oil,  the  distillation  of  the  latter,  the  characters 
of  purity  and  tests  for  the  detection  of  some  adulterations.  The  more 
important  points  which  have  not  been  previously  noticed  in  this  journal 
will  be  referred  to  in  another  place. 
Cannabis  indica  was  again  examined  by  G.  W.  Kennedy  for  the  presence 
of  nicotine,  which  Preobraschensky  claimed  to  have  found  in  1876.  M. 
Kennedy  demonstrated  its  absence  in  the  commercial  drug. 
American  carbolic  acid,  by  Edgar  M.  Hatton. — The  author  arrives  at  the 
conclusion  that  carbolic  acid  is  made  in  America  which  can  well  be 
depended  on  as  a  medicinal  agent  and  may  be  used  in  dispensing.  Low 
grade  acids  are  strictly  American  products;  and  it  is  suggested  that  the  sale 
of  the  true  acid  be  encouraged. 
Hydronaphthol,  by  Thos.  W.  McElhenie. — This  substance  has  been  noticed 
in  this  volume,  pp.  93  and  158.    It  is  recommended  by  the  author  for  the 
