Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Oct.,  1888. 
Catechu  and  Gambier. 
499 
aqueous  solution  with  ether.  By  this  process  the  following  percent- 
ages were  obtained : 
Sample  No.l.     2-80.  Sample  No.  4.  12-64. 
Sample  No.  2.     1-70.  Sample  No.  5.  7*76. 
Sample  No.  3.    1070.  Sample  No.  6.  19-76. 
The  aqueous  residue  from  the  agitation  was  warmed  to  expel  ether, 
and  treated  in  some  cases  with  gelatin  and  alum,  in  others  with  gela- 
tin and  ammonium  chloride,  to  separate  tannin.  The  results  in  all 
cases  were  low  and  unreliable. 
Portions  of  the  original  samples  were  then  treated  with  ^'  hide  pow- 
der," according  to  the  method  of  Simand  and  Weiss  {JDingler^s  Polyt. 
Jour.,  260,  564),  and  the  results  for  tannin  gotten,  which,  while  not 
entirely  satisfactory,  are  undoubtedly  the  best  to  be  obtained  with  our 
present  knowledge.    The  following  are  the  percentages  of  tannin  : 
No.  1.   81-94.  No.  4.  33-34. 
No.  2.   83-54.  No.  5.  47-18. 
No.  3.   25.50.  No.  6.  45-90. 
By  adding  to  these  figures  the  amount  of  catechin,  we  get  the  total 
available  value,  and  by  then  adding  the  mucilage,  ash  and  moisture, 
and  subtracting  from  100,  we  find  the  per  cent,  of  inert  constituents. 
Samples  No  
Cutch. 
Gambier. 
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
Catechu-tannic  Acid  
Total  Valuable  Constituents.. 
2-80 
31-94 
1-70 
33-54 
10-70 
25-50 
12-64 
33-34 
7-76 
47  18 
19-76 
45-90 
34-74 
27-40 
2-29 
12-50 
23-07 
35  24 
29-01 
2-27 
12-20 
21-28 
36-20 
20-50 
2-10 
15-36 
25-84 
45-98 
10-13 
4-74 
10-33 
28-82 
54-94 
15-20 
3-37 
1103 
15-46 
65-66 
1605 
3-  50 
9-90 
4-  89 
Ash  
Moisture  
Co  1  oring  and  other  Inert  Mat- 
100-00 
100.00 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
100  00 
Dr.  A.  Lehmann  (Dissertation,  Dorpat,  1880),  examined  a  large 
number  of  samples  of  cutch  and  gambier,  and  found  the  catechin  to 
vary  from  13*8  to  33'8  per  cent.,  and  the  catechu-tannic  acid  from 
22*6  to  50*8  per  cent.  He  was  evidently  able  to  procure  better  sam- 
ples than  the  average  that  come  to  this  country,  although  the  results 
