AseptJembefhi89^'}    British  Pharmaceutical  Conference.  473 
by  a  microscopical  examination  of  the  powdered  drug.  A  chemical  assay  alone 
is  insufficient,  for,  as  pointed  out,  it  is  not  enough  to  know  that  a  powdered 
ipecacuanha  contains  2  or  2*5  per  cent,  of  alkaloid  capable  of  being  extracted 
by  a  particular  method,  and  yielding  the  emetine  reaction.  Sawdust  mixed 
with  the  alkaloid  obtained  in  de-emetinising  ipecacuanha  might  then  be 
regarded  as  complying  with  the  requirements  to  be  demanded  of  a  good  sample. 
The  two  assumptions  commonly  made  when  powdered  ipecacuanha  is  valued 
by  the  result  of  the  assay — first,  that  the  alkaloid  extracted  consists  of  nothing 
but  the  alkaloid  pre-existent  in  the  drug  ;  secondly,  that  such  alkaloid  is  the 
sole  active  principle  in  the  drug  and  alone  regulates  its  physiological  effect — 
may  be  either  or  both  incorrect.  The  liability  to  error  is  much  diminished  if 
the  freedom  of  the  powdered  drug  from  foreign  admixture  is  previously  deter- 
mined by  the  microscope,  but  before  such  an  examination  of  a  powdered  drug 
can  be  undertaken  with  any  prospect  of  obtaining  reliable  results,  the  pharma- 
cist must  familiarize  himself  with  the  structure  of  the  genuine  drug. 
A  minute  examination  of  a  number  of  different  commercial  samples  of  the 
genuine  drug  having  been  made  by  the  author,  he  next  obtained  thirty-two 
samples  of  the  commercial  powdered  drug  from  pharmacists  in  London  and 
the  provinces,  and  carefully  examined  them,  with  a  view  of  ascertaining 
whether  they  consisted  of  genuine  ipecacuanha,  also  from  what  commercial 
variety  they  had  been  prepared,  and  the  commercial  quality  of  the  drug  that 
had  been  used,  particular  attention  being  directed  to  the  presence'  of  stem  and 
of  an  undue  proportion  of  wood.  The  results  were  embodied  in  a  table  which 
shows  that  none  of  the  samples  were  adulterated  with  foreign  starch  or  with 
foreign  drugs.  Twelve  samples  proved  to  be  powdered  Carthagena  ipecacuanha, 
and  amongst  the  twenty  classed  as  Brazilian  some  few  may  have  been  in  reality 
Carthagena,  while  amongst  those  classed  as  Carthagena,  some  may  be  mixtures 
of  Carthagena  with  Brazilian.  Only  one  sample  could  claim  to  be  regarded  as 
a  powder  of  really  good  Brazilian  root  free  from  stem,  and  it  was  asserted  that 
much  of  the  powdered  ipecacuanha  sold  by  pharmacists  contains  an  undue 
proportion  of  stems.  Though  free  from  gross  adulteration,  therefore,  the 
powdered  ipecacuanha  of  English  commerce  appears  to  be  comparatively 
rarely  prepared  from  high  grades  of  Brazilian  root. 
A  STILL  ALARM. 
By  N.  Crossley  Jones  and  P.  W.  Jones. 
This  consisted  of  a  float  to  be  attached  to  a  receiver,  so  that  when  the  liquid 
in  the  receiver  reached  a  certain  height,  the  float  rising  would  move  a  lever 
with  which  it  is  connected  and  complete  an  electric  circuit. 
ACETIC  EXTRACT  OF  IPECACUANHA. 
By  F.  C.  J.  Bird. 
This  was  a  record  of  experiments  made  with  the  view  of  reducing  the  great 
alkaloidal  loss  entailed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia  method  of  making  wine  of  ipecac. 
Paul  and  Cownley  have  demonstrated  that  both  emetine  and  cephaelene  are 
affected  when  their  acetic  solutions  are  evaporated  to  dryness  and  exposed  to 
the  temperature  of  the  water  bath  for  any  length  of  time.  Bird  proposes  a 
triple  method  of  extraction  ;  first,  percolation  with  alcohol,  then  with  acetic 
acid,  and,  finally,  w7ith  diluted  acetic  acid;  evaporating  the  menstruum  and 
drying  the  extracts  separately,  then  mixing. 
