5  7  8  Alkaloid  of  Baptisia  Tinctoria.       { Am-J££-Xf£,m- 
form  of  an  iodide,  was  then  concentrated,  carbonate  of  ammonia  added 
in  slight  excess  and  the  syrupy  liquid  shaken  with  chlorofotm.  On 
separating  and  evaporating  the  chloroform  solution  there  remained  an 
amoiphous  mass,  which  was  dissolved  in  water  acidulated  with  hydro 
chloric  acid.  1  his  solution  was  treated  with  animal  charcoal,  filtered 
and  concentrated  to  one-third  its  bulk,  when  it  yielded  long,  needle-like 
crystals. 
It  will  be  seen  from  the  above  process  that  the  opinion  in  regard  to 
the  presence  of  an  alkaloid  in  this  plant  was  based  solely  upon  the  for- 
mation of  a  precipitate  when  Mayer's  test  solution  was  added  to  an 
acidified  aqueous  solution  of  its  root,  and  consequently,  as  the  crystals 
obtained  in  the  above  manner  were  not  afterwards  so  treated  as  to  yield 
the  uncombined  alkaloid,  the  results  of  this  examination  have  not  been 
accepted  (uPrac.  Pharm.,"  Parrish,  1874,  p.  475)  as  conclusively 
establishing  the  existence  of  such  principle  in  this  root.  The  following 
experiments,  while  rendering  it  doubtful  whether  the  base  of  the  salt 
obtained  as  above  was  really  an  alkaloid,  prove  conclusively  that  the 
root  of  the  Baptisia  tinctoria  does  contain  such  a  substance. 
A  few  ounces  of  the  powdered  root  were  exhausted  by  percolation 
with  distilled  water,  the  percolate  filtered,  calcined  magnesia  added  and 
the  mixture  evaporated  to  dryness.  The  magnesia  mass  was  then 
extracted  with  absolute  alcohol.  On  evaporating  the  alcohol  from  this 
solution  there  remained  a  light  yellow  amorphous  mass,  a  small  portion 
of  which  was  placed  on  a  piece  of  reddened  litmus  paper,  and  moistened 
with  a  drop  of  distilled  water,  when  a  deep  blue  coloration  was  pro- 
duced. A  small  quantity  of  the  mass  was  then  dissolved  in  a  little 
distilled  water,  and  the  filtered  solution  placed  under  a  bell-glass  over 
sulphuric  acid.  On  the  evaporation  of  the  liquid  no  crystals  could  be 
discovered  in  the  residue.  It  was  therefore  re-dissolved  in  slightly 
acidulated  water,  and  again  evaporated  over  sulphuric  acid,  when  the 
mass  was  still  found  to  be  amorphous.  It  was  finally  dissolved  in  dis- 
tilled water,  and  the  acid  solution  tested  with  the  various  reagents  for 
alkaloids,  with  the  result  of  giving  very  decided  precipitates  with  potassio- 
mercuric  iodide,  iodine  in  iodide  of  potassium  solution,  potassio-cadmic 
iodide,  phospho-molybdic  acid,  phospho-tungstate  of  soda,  and  tannic 
and  picric  acids.  The  whole  of  the  light  yellow  amorphous  mass  was 
then  dissolved  in  a  small  quantity  of  distilled  water,  a  little  calcined 
magnesia  added,  the  mixture  evaporated  to  dryness,  when  it  was  suc- 
