304      ON  SOME  PREPARATIONS  OF  WILD  CHERRY  BARK. 
point  to  effect  this  solution.  It  was  active  in  the  dose  of  one 
quarter  of  a  grain,  producing  an  effect  like  the  same  amount  of  the 
podophyllin  ;  than  which  it  does  not  appear  to  be  more  powerful. 
Though  treated  repeatedly,  with  purified  animal  charcoal  and 
boiling  alcohol,  it  was  found  impossible  to  free  it  of  color. 
A  white  principle,  however,  was  obtained  from  it  by  treatment 
with  boiling  acetic  acid,  which,  on  cooling,  deposited  a  yellowish 
powder,  which,  on  purifying,  was  obtained  nearly  colorless  ;  this 
constituted  nearly  ten  per  cent  of  the  quantity  operated  upon, 
but  in  double  the  dose  failed  to  produce  any  effect. 
Another  inert  and  colorless  principle  was  also  procured  by  the 
action  of  boiling  distilled  water,  to  which  it  imparted  a  milkiness. 
It  was  separated  by  agitation  with  ether. 
It  was  thought  that  there  might  exist  in  the  podophyllin,  a 
volatile  principle,  as  it  was  known  that  exposure  to  the  air,  and 
a  high  heat,  rendered  it  less  active.  To  ascertain  this  point,  a 
portion  was  distilled  in  contact  with  potassa,  but  the  distillate 
exhibited  no  phenomena  by  which  the  presence  of  such  a  princi- 
ple could  be  inferred,  and  internally,  in  a  large  dose  it  produced 
no  effect.  The  residue,  after  the  operation,  was  tested  by  an 
acid,  which  caused  a  precipitate,  as  in  the  case  of  common  solu- 
tion. 
Various  attempts  were  made  to  obtain  a  crystallizable  princi- 
ple, but  unattended  with  any  success. 
From  the  foregoing,  it  may,  with  safety,  be  concluded  that  the 
active  principle  of  the  May-apple  root  exists  in  a  resinous  sub- 
stance, soluble  in  ether  and  alcohol,  and  present  to  the  amount 
of  at  least  seventy-five  per  cent  in  the  commercial  podophyllin 
prepared  from  the  said  plant,  and  that  it  may  be  employed  with 
advantage,  where  the  necessity,  either  of  a  mild  purgative  rem- 
edy, or  of  a  harsher  cathartic,  is  indicated. 
ON  SOME  PREPARATIONS  OF  WILD  CHERRY  BARK  (CERASUS 
SEROTINA.] 
By  Francis  A.  Figueroa. 
(Extracted  from  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
Syrup  of  Wild  Cherry  Bark.  (No.  1.)  — Four  ounces 
(Troy)  of  ground  wild  cherry  bark,  was  treated  by  displace- 
ment, first  moistening  the  bark  with  two  ounces  of  Price's 
