530 
Notes  on  Curing  Cacao. 
(Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     October,  1895. 
A  solution  containing  009698  gramme  emetine  in  85  minims  of 
acetic  acid,  diluted  with  2  fluidounces  of  water,  was  evaporated  to 
dryness  in  an  open  basin  on  a  water  bath,  and  the  dry  residue  kept 
at  the  same  temperature  for  16  hours.  The  quantity  of  alkaloid 
was  then  determined  by  dissolving  the  residue  with  hydrochloric 
acid,  adding  ammonia  and  shaking  out  with  chloroform,  then  titra- 
ting the  residue  from  the  chloroform  solution ;  it  amounted  to 
0-07087  gramme,  showing  a  loss  of  -02611,  or  nearly  27  per  cent, 
of  the  alkaloid  operated  upon. 
In  a  similar  experiment  with  -09504  gramme  cephaeline,  the 
quantity  of  alkaloid  found  in  the  residue  was  -07392,  showing  a  loss 
of  -02 1 1 2,  or  upwards  of  22  per  cent. 
In  both  cases  there  was  evident  alteration  of  the  alkaloids.  The 
residues  left  by  the  acetic  solutions  after  evaporation  were  very  dark 
colored.  That  obtained  from  cephaeline  no  longer  gave  the  charac- 
teristic crystallization  when  shaken  with  ether  and  ammonia,  and 
the  alkaline  liquor  was  highly  colored  as  well  as  fluorescent. 
In  order  to  further  test  the  influence  of  heat  in  altering  the 
alkaloid  contained  in  ipecacuanha,  the  emetic  action  of  the  residue 
obtained  by  heating  cephaeline  with  excess  of  acetic  acid  was  tried, 
and  it  was  found  that  a  dose  of  -o.i  gramme  produced  no  emesis  in 
30  minutes. 
The  alteration  above  mentioned  does  not  appear  to  be  merely  the 
result  of  heating,  for  when  cephaeline  was  heated  to  its  melting 
point  for  13  hours  in  a  partially  closed  vessel,  there  was  practically 
no  alteration  of  alkaloid  beyond  a  very  slight  loss  of  weight,  which 
might  be  ascribed  to  the  presence  of  some  adherent  ether  or  moist- 
ure. This  result  seemed  to  point  to  the  fact  that  presence  of  air  is 
necessary  for  effecting  the  alteration  observed  when  the  alkaloid  is 
heated  in  an  open  basin. 
Chemical  Laboratory, 
13  Fenchurch  Avenue,  E.  C. 
NOTES  ON  CURING  CACAO. _ 
By  W.  Cradwick,  Superintendent  of  Hope  Gardens. 
The  following  instructions  to  those  who  grow  cacao  on  a  small 
scale  have  been  issued  by  the  Department  of  Public  Gardens  and 
Plantations,  Jamaica,  and  appeared  in  the  Bulletin  of  that  depart- 
ment for  July,  1895  : 
