388 
ON  ANTHEMIS  COTULA. 
stoppered  bottles,  as  they  rapidly  lose  a  part  of  their  water  of 
crystallization  when  exposed  to  the  air.  The  mother-liquors 
having  an  acid  reaction,  contain  a  not  insignificant  amount  of 
quinia  in  solution,  and  ought  to  he  precipitated  by  ammonia  to 
gain  this  valuable  alkaloid. 
If  the  washings  of  mortars  are  preserved  for  the  purpose  of 
regaining  the  quinia  in  the  form  of  the  medicinal  sulphate,  they 
must  be  precipitated  by  ammonia,  and  afterwards  treated  in  the 
usual  way  with  sulphuric  acid,  animal  charcoal,  &c. 
Philadelphia,  August,  1858. 
OBSERVATIONS  ON  ANTHEMIS  COTULA. 
By  William  H.  Warner. 
(Extracted  from  an  Inaugural  Essay.) 
The  Anthemis  Cotula  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  native  of 
Europe,  but  is  now  abundantly  naturalized  throughout  all  parts 
of  the  United  States.  It  is  known  by  the  common  name? 
«  May  Weed,"  «  Wild  Chamomile,"  &c. 
Notwithstanding  the  low  estimation  in  which  this  plant  is 
held  by  the  medical  profession,  it  nevertheless  possesses  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  activity,  and  has  been  selected  as  a  fit  subject 
for  analysis. 
An  infusion  was  prepared  by  macerating  the  bruised  flowers 
in  cold  water  for  24  hours.  This  had  a  reddish  brown  color  and 
presented  the  following  reactions  with  tests  : 
1.  It  reddens  a  solution  of  litmus. 
2.  It  caused  a  grayish-black  color  with  a  sesquisalt  of  iron. 
3.  It  yielded  a  copious  precipitate  on  the  addition  of  subace- 
tate  of  lead. 
4.  With  lime  water  it  produced  a  white  precipitate,  insoluble 
in  acetic  acid,  but  soluble  in  nitric  and  oxalic  acids. 
5.  With  solution  of  ammonia  it  afforded  a  white  precipitate  of 
oxalate  of  lime,*  this  salt  existing  in  a  soluble  state  through  the 
agency  of  the  oxalic  acid  indicated  in  the  fourth  experiment. 
6.  The  infusion  when  boiled  for  short  time,  deposited  a  small 
portion  of  coagulated  albumen. 
[*  This  statement  does  not  appear  to  be  correct ;  oxalic  acid  in  solution 
is  precipitated  by  lime  water,  though  the  acid  is  in  large  excess. — Ed. 
Am.  Journ.  Pharm. 
