Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
April,  1876.  J 
Veratrum  Viride. 
cipitate  the  alkaloids,  and  the  whole  thrown  upon  a  filter  of  strong 
paper.  After  draining  off  the  dark  liquor,  the  contents  of  the  filter 
were  washed  until  the  filtrate  was  almost  without  color.  The  solid 
matter  in  the  filter  was  then  partially  dried  and  digested  in  a  warm 
solution  of  acetic  acid.  After  filtration  the  acetic  solution  was  precip- 
itated by  soda,  washed,  pressed  between  folds  of  bibulous  paper,  and 
digested  in  hot  alcohol,  with  addition  of  a  little  animal  charcoal.  The 
alcoholic  solution  was  evaporated  until  precipitation  commenced.  On 
cooling  it  formed  an  almost  solid  crystalline  mass.  When  dry,  this 
product  weighed  eighty  grains. 
It  was  dissolved  in  dilute  acetic  acid,  and  an  equal  volume  of  cold 
saturated  solution  of  nitrate  of  potassium  added,  causing  an  abundant 
precipitate.  After  separating  the  nitrate  of  jervia,  the  mother-water 
was  precipitated  by  soda,  the  precipitate  washed,  dried  and  digested  in 
washed  ether.  The  etherial  solution  yielded  a  residue  on  evaporation 
weighing  about  two  grains.  An  examination  of  this  product  proved  it 
to  be  jervia  mixed  with  resin. 
PART  SECOND. 
After  draining  the  liquid  from  the  drug  in  the  precolator  displace- 
ment was  continued  with  strong  alcohol,  until  the  root  was  exhausted  ; 
two  pints  of  water  were  added  to  the  precolate,  and  the  alcohol  re- 
moved by  distillation.  The  resinous  residue  left  on  evaporation  was 
treated  with  a  warm  solution  of  caustic  soda  until  the  resin  was  dis- 
solved, then  diluted  with  water  and  set  aside  to  settle.  After  decant- 
ing the  dark  supernatant  liquor,  the  precipitate  was  thrown  upon  a 
filter,  washed,  treated  with  a  solution  of  warm  acetic  acid,  and  the 
acetic  solution  precipitated  by  soda.  After  washing  and  pressing  be- 
tween folds  of  paper,  the  precipitate  was  dissolved  in  hot  alcohol  and 
digested  with  animal  charcoal ;  the  alcoholic  solution,  on  evaporation 
and  cooling,  deposited  the  alkaloid  in  fleecy  prismatic  crystals,  having 
a  rosy  tinge  of  color.  Washing  in  a  filter,  when  nearly  dry,  with  ether, 
removed  the  coloring  matter  and  left  the  product  almost  colorless.  The 
amount  of  alkaloid  obtained  was  42J  grs.  ;  this  added  to  the  80  grs. 
obtained  by  the  first  process  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  dilute  alcohol, 
gives  1 22 J  grs.  crystallized  jervia  as  the  yield  from  five  pounds  of  root. 
The  examination  for  veratria  was  conducted  as  follows  : 
After  most  of  the  jervia  had  crystallized  out  from  the  alcoholic  solu- 
tion, and  resinous  and  coloring  matter  commenced  depositing,  the  solu- 
