Am'ja°nUri8P76arm'}  Alkaloids  of  Veratrum  Viride  and  Album.  3 
The  claims,  as  we  have  already  seen,  that  the  alkaloid  in  question 
from  the  three  different  veratrums  was  not  the  same,  has  been  based 
chiefly  upon  the  behavior  of  the  product  obtained  with  concentrated 
sulphuric  acid  ;  and  also  in  part  upon  its  behavior  with  hydrochloric 
acid. 
It  may  here  be  stated,  that  several  years  since  we  received  of  Dr. 
Percy,  of  New  York,  a  small  sample  of  the  alkaloid  prepared  by  Mr. 
Scattergood,  of  Philadelphia,  from  veratrum  viride,  which  yields  color 
reactions  with  sulphuric  and  hydrochloric  acids,  identical  with  those  of 
pure  veratria,  when  compared  side  by  side  with  that  alkaloid. 
It  has  also  been  claimed  that  "  veratralbia  "  differed  from  "veratria 
and  veratroidia,"  in  that  its  solution  failed  to  yield  a  precipitate  with 
chloride  of  platinum.  But  we  find  that  solutions  of  each  of  the 
so-called  different  principles,  when  of  the  same  strength  and  under 
like  conditions,  if  not  too  dilute,  will  yield  precipitates  that  in  no  way 
can  be  distinguished. 
Preparation  of  the  Alkaloids  : — For  the  preparation  of  the  alkaloids  of 
veratrum  viride,  a  fluid  extract  of  the  root,  prepared  by  Sharp  &  Dohme, 
of  Baltimore,  was  employed  throughout  our  examinations.  After  a 
number  of  experiments  the  following  method  was  adopted  : 
The  fluid  extract,  acidulated  with  acetic  acid  in  the  proportion  of 
fifteen  minims  per  fluidounce,  is  added  with  constant  stirring,  to  eight 
volumes  of  pure  water, — the  mixture  allowed  to  stand  24  hours,  or  at 
least  until  the  precipitate  has  completely  subsided,  and  the  liquid  then 
filtered.  The  clear,  yellowish  filtrate  is  concentrated  on  a  water-bath 
to  something  less  than,  or  even  to  one  half,  the  volume  of  the  fluid 
extract  employed,  when  it  is  allowed  to  cool  and  again  filtered. 
The  filtrate  thus  obtained  is  treated  with  slight  excess  of  carbonate 
of  sodium,  which  will  throw  down  a  voluminous  precipitate  of  the 
mixed  alkaloids.  This  mixture  is  agitated  with  about  its  own  volume 
of  ether,  which  will  readily  take  up  the  precipitate.  After  decantation 
of  the  ether,  the  alkaline  fluid  is  washed  with  a  small  quantity  of  fresh 
ether,  which  in  its  turn  is  decanted. 
Although  jervia  in  its  pure  state,  when  precipitated,  is  only  very 
sparingly  soluble  in  ether,  yet  under  the  above  conditions,  it  is  very 
freely  soluble  in  this  liquid,  100  fluidgrains  of  the  liquid  readily 
taking  up  between  two  and  three  grains  of  the  mixed  alkaloids.  In 
its  crystalline  state,  the  alkaloid  appears  to  be  wholly  insoluble  in  this 
menstruum. 
