92  Two  Toxicological  Investigations.      { ArebruarVPiw5m' 
Preliminary  tests  for  volatile  poisons  and  for  non-organic  poisons 
gave  negative  results,  but  a  few  drops  of  the  filtered  liquid  contents 
gave  distinct  creamy  precipitate,  with  Meyer's  reagent,  and  a  de- 
cided brown  precipitate  with  iodo-potassic  iodide.  The  following 
method  which  had  on  previous  occasions  given  good  results  was 
adopted.  The  stomach  wall  was  cut  up  into  small  pieces  with  a 
clean  scissors,  and  then  beaten  to  a  pulp,  and  this  and  the  stomach 
contents  warmed  on  a  water  bath  for  one  hour,  with  100  c.c.  of  dis- 
tilled water  and  sufficient  sulphuric  acid  added  to  render  it  distinctly 
acid.  This  was  now  strained  through  a  double  piece  of  clean 
washed  gauze  and  the  dregs  warmed  up  again  with  100  c.c.  of  acid- 
ulated water,  and  again  strained  with  pressure.  The  strained  liquid 
acid  solutions  were  combined,  filtrated  and  evaporated  on  the  water 
bath  to  a  syrupy  consistence.  This  was  extracted  with  alcohol  by 
repeated  application  and  decantation.  The  alcoholic  solution  fil- 
tered and  evaporated,  and  the  residue  extracted  by  treating  with 
portions  of  distilled  water,  acidulated  with  sulphuric  acid,  as  long 
as  the  washing  gave  a  precipitate  with  Meyer's  reagent.  This  acid 
aqueous  liquid  concentrated  on  the  water  bath  to  about  40  c.c.  was 
filtered  into  a  separatory  funnel,  and  then  treated  successively  with 
petroleum  ether,  chloroform  and  amyl  alcohol.  These  solvents 
removed  a  large  amount  of  the  extraneous  coloring  matter  and 
organic  substances  from  the  acid  solution.  To  remove  traces  of  the 
amyl  alcohol,  it  was  again  washed  with  petroleum  ether,  then  sepa- 
rated and  warmed  for  a  few  minutes  to  dispel  any  traces  of  the  lat- 
ter solvent,  then  cooled  and  returned  to  the  funnel  and  rendered 
alkaline  by  ammonium  hydroxide  and  extracted  with  several  suc- 
cessive portions  of  chloroform.  The  chloroform  solution  on  evapo- 
ration gave  a  residue,  having  a  very  bitter  taste,  giving  alkaloidal 
reactions,  and  imperfectly  the  well-known  strychnine  color  reaction 
with  potassium  dichromate  and  sulphuric  acid. 
This  residue,  not  being  colorless  or  free  from  foreign  organic  sub- 
stances, needed  further  purification,  which  was  satisfactorily  accom- 
plished by  the  following  process :  The  chloroform  residue  of  impure 
alkaloid  was  dissolved  in  a  few  cubic  centimeters  of  distilled  water 
and  just  sufficient  sulphuric  acid  to  render  the  solution  faintly  acid. 
This  was  now  filtered  through  a  minute  filter  into  a  small  sepa- 
ratory funnel,  and  washed  with  small  portions  of  chloroform  as  long 
as  the  chloroform  extracted  coloring.     The  solution  was  now 
