Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
January,  19 19. 
Stramonium. 
13 
of  each  of  five  plants  were  carefully  mixed  together.  Hence,  since 
fifteen  plants  were  collected,  there  resulted  three  large  samples  of 
leaves.  Similarly  the  secondary  stems  of  the  same  five  plants  were 
mixed,  thus  resulting  in  three  samples  of  secondary  stems.  The 
primary  stems  and  roots  were,  in  like  manner,  mixed. 
In  making  these  samples,  great  care  was  taken  so  as  to  have 
small,  medium,  and  large  plants  in  each  group  of  five  plants.  Hence 
each  sample  represented  as  good  an  average  of  plants  as  could 
be  expected  under  field  conditions.  Thus  the  samples  which  were 
submitted  for  analysis  were  as  follows :  Three  samples  each  of 
leaves,  secondary  stems,  primary  stems  and  roots.  Since  the  U.  S. 
P.  calls  for  leaves  of  stramonium  with  the  addition  of  not  more  than 
10  per  cent,  of  foreign  material,  it  was  thought  desirable  to  prepare 
samples  containing  the  largest  amount  of  inert  matter  that  the  U.  S. 
P.  would  permit,  and  so  three  samples  of  leaves  with  the  addition 
of  10  per  cent,  secondary  stems  were  also  submitted  for  analysis.  If 
machinery  is  to  be  employed  in  harvesting  stramonium,  the  leaves, 
the  secondary  and  the  primary  stems  would  all  be  contained  in  the 
product,  as  the  plants  would  be  cut  off  near  the  ground.  Conse- 
quently to  determine  to  what  extent  the  added  stems  reduce  the  total 
per  cent,  of  alkaloid,  samples  were  prepared  in  which  the  leaves  and 
stems  were  in  the  same  proportions,  by  weight,  as  when  they  grew 
in  the  field.  Similarly  samples  in  which  leaves,  stems  and  roots 
were  considered  in  their  proportion  under  growing  conditions,  were 
prepared. 
To  show  in  what  relation  the  leaves  are  to  the  stems  on  the  plants 
in  the  field,  a  table  of  data  is  presented. 
TABLE  II. 
Table  Showing  the  Relation  of  the  Leaf  to  that  of  Stems  of  Stramonium. 
Sample  No. 
Leaves,  Per  Cent. 
Secondary  Stems, Per  Cent. 
Primary  Stems,  Per  Cent. 
211 
48.3 
24.7 
27.O 
212 
46.5 
26.0 
27-5 
213 
47-3 
23.6 
29.1 
The  results  show  that  with  these  fifteen  plants  under  considera- 
tion, the  proportion  of  leaf  is  slightly  smaller  than  that  of  all  the 
stems. 
The  following  table  is  inserted  to  show  the  relation  in  which  the 
roots,  stems  and  leaves  appeared  in  the  fifteen  plants  here  under 
consideration. 
