Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1888. 
Aspidium  Marginale. 
229 
they  are  in  no  way  different  from  3  and  4.  Their  behavior  through- 
out during  the  process  of  preparation  was  the  same  as  that  of  3  and  4, 
and  the  finished  products  are  apparently  the  same,  and  just  as  Ukely 
to  remain  perfectly  clear  upon  standing. 
In  all  the  preparations  the  menstruum  used  entirely  exhausted  the 
drug.  In  I^To.  1,  all  the  coloring  matter  was  removed;  in  No.  2, 
nearly  all,  while  in  3,  4,  5  and  6  the  liquid  continued  to  drop  colored 
after  the  drug  was  entirely  tasteless.  But  the  coloring  matter  is  of 
little  moment  since  astringency  is  what  is  required  in  this  preparation. 
ASPIDIUM  MARGINALE,  WILLDENOW. 
By  Charles  DeWalt  Keefer,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay. 
The  drag  was  collected  in  September  along  a  hillside,  facing  north- 
ward, of  South  Mountain,  Franklin  County,  Pa.,  and  on  being  dried 
by  artificial  heat  at  a  temperature  of  about  31°  C,  lost  64*824  per 
cent.  Two  years  ago  185  rhizomes  were  collected  and  dried,  the  loss 
being  60*454  per  cent. 
For  analysis  50  gm.  of  the  drug  rednced  to  No.  60  powder  were 
used.  It  was  exhausted  with  petroleum  spirit,  and  the  liquid  distilled, 
evaporated  and  kept  at  100°  C,  when  the  oily  residue  weighed  4*40 
percent.  This,  on  exposure  to  110°C.,  lost  0*40  volatile  oil,  and  by 
treatment  with  hot  absolute  alcohol  was  separated  into  1*0  wax  and 
3*0  fat,  the  latter  dissolving  in  the  hot  alcohol,  melting  at  40°  C,  and 
saponifying  with  soda  solution. 
The  ethereal  extract  consisted  of  0*61  per  cent,  of  resin  and  chloro- 
phyll, was  free  from  tannin  and  sugar,  and  like  the  petroleum  extract, 
had  an  offensive  odor  and  nauseous  bitter  taste. 
The  alcohol  extract  weighed  3  per  cent.,  was  yellowish-brown, 
sweetish  and  astringent,  and  was  partly  soluble  in  water.  From  the 
aqueous  solution  0*60  filitannin  was  precipitated  by  lead  acetate  (0*54 
by  copper  acetate),  and  the  filtrate  contained  0*2848  cane  sugar,  which, 
after  boiling  with  hydrochloric  acid,  was  estimated  with  Fehling's  so- 
lution. The  portion  insoluble  in  water  contained  phlobaphene  and  a 
bitter  principle. 
Treatment  with  distilled  water  yielded  a  liquid  from  which,  with 
