386  Contributions  from  the  School  of  Pharmacy,  etc.  { AmSept  ^i??6arm 
separating  a  crystallizable  principle  from  the  root  of  Cimicifuga  race- 
mosa,  and  the  crystallized  principle  obtained  from  the  resinoid.  It 
crystallized  in  the  hexagonal  system. 
Samples  of  Resinoid  Hydrastin,  as  sent  out  by  six  manufacturers,  were 
examined.  In  each  case,  one  gram  of  the  resinoid  was  exhausted  with 
boiling  water,  till  the  washings  gave  no  turbidity  with  potassium  mer- 
curic iodide.  The  residue  was  dried  and  weighed.  The  water  solu- 
tion was  concentrated,  treated  with  hydrochloric  acid,  and  successive 
crops  of  crystals  obtained,  dried  and  weighed  as  berberina  hydrochlorate. 
The  mother  liquor  was  saturated  with  ammonia,  and  its  precipitate 
obtained  as  hydrastia.    The  following  percentages  were  found  : 
No.  i. 
No.  2. 
No.  3. 
No.  4. 
No.  5. 
No.  6. 
Berberina  hydrochlorate, 
351 
21*9 
6-9 
28-0 
36*0 
IOO'O 
Hydrastia,  . 
1*7 
17-4 
6-7 
6-8 
o*o 
Insoluble  in  hot  water,  . 
25*0 
21*1 
*3*5 
29*6 
25*2 
In  the  work  on  No.  1,  trial  was  made  for  the  third  alkaloid  found  by 
A.  K.  Hale  in  hydrastis  root,1  but  none  being  found,  the  ammonia  was 
added  in  excess  for  the  hydrastia.  The  filtrate  from  the  precipitate  of 
hydrastia  still  gave  a  slight  precipitate  by  Mayer's  solution,  therefore 
the  proportions  of  hydrastia  are  all  a  trifle  too  low,  but  suffice  for  cor- 
rect comparison. 
A  Volumetric  and  a  Gravimetric  Method  for  Determination  of  Berberina 
by  Potassium  Mercuric  Iodide.  The  precipitation  of  berberina  by  this 
solution  is  a  close  one,  but  the  investigator  found  no  statement  of  the 
amount  of  berberina  precipitated  by  a  cc.  of  Mayer's  standard  of  the 
solution. 
Firstly,  it  was  ascertained  that  a  precipitate  of  berberina,  formed  by 
any  excess  of  the  potassium  mercuric  iodide  solution,  weighs  exactly 
twice  as  much  as  the  pure  berberina  which  enters  into  the  precipitate. 
The  precipitate  should  be  dried  at  about  ioo°  F.  One-fyalf  the  weight 
of  the  precipitate  equals  the  berberina.  In  determining  this  value,  a 
sample  of  pure  berberina  was  prepared  by  extracting  a  solution  of  well 
crystallized  hydrochlorate  by  chloroform  in  presence  of  slight  excess 
of  potassa,  and  evaporating  the  chloroform.  Of  the  pure  alkaloid, 
0*050  gram  was  dissolved  in  acidified  water  and  the  solution  divided 
into  five  equal  portions.  To  these  portions  were  added,  respective- 
ly, J  cc,  1  cc,  2  cc,  3  cc  and  4  cc  of  Mayer's  solution  ;  the 
1  "Am.  Jour.  Phar."  XLIV.  (1873),  *47  5  also  XLVn-  (1875),  4§i 
