^m.  Joar.  Pharm.  \ 
April,  1888.  / 
Apocynum  Cannabinum, 
169 
Structure. — The  bark  is  about  as  thick  as  the  wood,  consisting  of  an 
outer  thin  layer  of  cork  and  an  inner  fleshy  layer  made  up  of  paren- 
chyma, which  contains  laticiferous  ducts  and  small  patches  of  resin. 
The  cells  of  parenchyma  are  filled  with  starch. 
The  central  portion  consists  of  a  small  central  pith,  of  wood- wedges 
which  are  very  narrow,  and  separated  by  delicate  medullary  rays,  and 
of  ducts,  forming  concentric  circles. 
A  longitudinal  section  shows  the  ducts  to  be  scalariform  in  appear- 
ance when  enlarged  about  ninety  diameters.  They  are  then  very  plain 
and  are  of  a  beautiful  appearance.  (See  also  American  Journal  of 
Pharmacy,  1881,  p.  510  and  55  I. 
Portions  of  the  upper  stem  were  found  attached  to  some  of  the  roots, 
of  which  sections  were  made  and  examined.  The  greater  portion  con- 
sists of  woody  tissue  enclosing  a  large  central  pith.  The  bark  consists 
chiefly  of  bast  tissue,  which  is  very  fibrous. 
Analysis. — The  roots  for  analytical  examination  were  reduced  to  a 
very  fine  powder  (No.  100).  Only  a  qualitative  examination  was 
made;  which  was  carried  out  after  the  directions  in  ^^Dragendorff^s 
Plant  Analysis." 
Three  grams  of  the  powdered  root  were  heated  upon  a  water  bath 
for  several  hours,  for  determining  the  moisture,  which  equaled  to. 285 
gram,  or  9.5  per  cent.  This  dry  drug  was  then  subjected  to  a  high 
heat  with  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of  nitrate  of  ammonium 
after  carbonization  for  completing  incineration.  The  total  amount  of 
ash  equaled  .35  gram  or  11.6  per  cent.  ;  it  contained  iron  in  traces, 
aluminium  and  potassium,  combined  with  sulphuric  and  hydrochloric 
acids. 
Ten  grams  were  treated  in  succession  with  the  different  solvents  in 
a  graduated  bottle  by  maceration,  for  a  period  of  eight  days,  shaking 
the  bottle  frequently.  The  extract  obtained  by  treatment  Avith  petro- 
leum benzin  was  found  to  contain  wax,  fat  and  some  resin.  The  ether 
extract  yielded  about  two-thirds  of  its  weight  to  absolute  alcohol,  and 
the  residue  was  insoluble  in  water ;  the  extract  contained  a  crystalli- 
zable  resin  and  a  glucoside,  the  latter  soluble  in  alcohol,  and  decom- 
posed by  boiling  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid. 
About  twenty-eight  per  cent,  of  the  extract  obtained  with  absolute 
alcohol  was  soluble  in  water,  and  it  was  totally  insoluble  in  ether ;  it 
-contained  tannin,  glucose,  a  glucoside,  bitter  principle,  etc.,  but  no 
alkaloid. 
