300  Notes  on  Ipecacuanha  Wine.  {^°'june?iS^'°'- 
sible  state  of  divisioD,  otherwise  knots  are  formed  which  resist  the 
action  of  the  solvent,  and  if  not  broken  up  must  so  far  weaken  the  fin- 
ished product. 
The  next  point  taken  up  by  the  author  was  the  nature  of  the  pre- 
cipitate which  is  formed  in  ipecacuanha  wine  on  keeping.  On  this 
point  the  opinions  of  Duckworth,  Johnson,  Brownen,  and  others  were 
quoted,  and  criticised  in  detail,  the  object  of  the  author  being  to  show 
that  there  was  a  want  of  evidence  as  to  the  reputed  alkaloidal  nature 
of  the  deposit.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  deposit  is  formed  owing  to 
the  oxidation  of  the  ipecacuanhic  acid ;  also,  that  it  is  the  result  of  a 
fermentative  process.  These  are  mere  conjectures  to  a  large  extent. 
The  author  had  examined  the  old  and  new  wines  and  found  that  all  the 
deposits  were  evidently  alike  except  that  the  proportions  of  crystalline 
and  non-crystalline  matter  were  reversed,  the  crystalline  predominat- 
ing in  that  from  the  new  wine.  Under  the  microscope  the  crystals  were 
seen  to  be  prismatic,  the  primary  form,  so  far  as  could  be  made 
out,  being  an  octahedron.  The  non-crystalline  portion  was  composed 
of  what  seemed  to  be  minute  yellowish  granules  (generally  united) 
with  lai'ger  mycelium-like  pieces  interspersed.  A  sherry  deposit  was 
found  to  resemble  the  ipecacuanha  wine  one.  On  examination  chemi- 
cally the  crystals  were  found  to  be  tartrate  of  lime,  a  little  magnesia 
also  being  present  in  those  from  the  new  wine.  Xo  potash  was  found 
in  either  sample  examined.  An  examination  for  emetine  and  ipecacu- 
anhic acid  gave  negative  results.  Various  substances  were^  found,  but 
none  of  them  related  apparently  to  the  active  constituents  of  ipecacu- 
anha, the  author  summing  up  this  portion  of  the  paper  by  saying 
that  the  sherry  is  hardly  responsible  for  the  deposit,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  remainder  constituting  the  bulk  of  the  non- 
crystalline matter  is  chiefly  a  substance  belonging  to  the  pictic 
series  with  a  small  proportion  of  fatty  matter  derived  from  the 
ipecacuanha. 
The  author  then  gave  an  account  of  several  percolation  experiments,  in 
one  of  which  w^ater  alone  was  used,  instead  of  acetic  acid  and  water, 
for  exhausting  the  root.  The  waiery  percolate  on  evaporation  yielded 
a  brittle  extract  of  a  yellowish-brown  color  and  bitter  taste.  With  rea- 
gents it  gave  strong  evidence  of  the  presence  of  emetine  and  ipecacuan- 
hic acid.  Moistened  with  rectified  spirit,  it  hardened,  but  dissolved  in 
diluted  spirit.  It  contained  a  large  quantity  of  gummy  matter,  but  it 
was  noticeable  that  the  wine  made  from  the  extract  kept  longer 
