Am.  Jour.  Pharm,  ) 
Aug.,  1875.  I 
Jervia — Its  History etc. 
451 
drachms  of  hydrochloric  acid  to  the  pint.  After  precipitation  of  the 
resin,  the  filtered  solution  was  evaporated  to  remove  the  alcohol,  a  resin- 
like deposit  took  place  in  the  solution  freed  from  alcohol.  This  w^as 
collected,  dried,  powdered,  digested  with  carbonate  of  soda,  thrown 
upon  a  filter  and  washed  with  water  as  long  as  the  washings  had  any 
color.  In  this  way  nearly  all  resinous  and  coloring  matter  was  removed. 
The  product  was  then  digested  with  warm  dilute  acetic  acid.  On  addi- 
tion of  ammonia  water  to  the  acetic  solution,  a  precipitate  was 
obtained  which,  when  dry,  was  almost  colorless. 
The  alkaloid  was  powdered  and  digested  with  ether  [free  from 
alcohol]  to  remove  any  adhering  veratroidia.  It  was  then  dissolved  in 
alcohol,  digested  with  a  small  amount  of  animal  charcoal,  filtered  and 
set  aside  to  crystallize. 
The  etherial  washings  were  evaporated,  and  the  residue  dissolved 
in  dilute  acetic  acid  ;  the  solution  was  found  to  contain  both  veratroidia 
and  jervia.  The  two  alkaloids  were  separated  by  a  process  hereafter  to 
be  descril^ed. 
The  normal  hydrochloric  solution  from  which  the  crude  jervia  had 
been  deposited  was  precipitated  by  ammonia,  and  the  mixed  alkaloids 
treated  with  ether.  An  examination  of  the  products  showed  the  pres- 
ence of  both  jervia  and  veratroidia,  the  major  part  being  veratroidia. 
FIG.  2. 
JERVIA. 
NITRATE  OF  JERVIA. 
Jervia  was  obtained  from  its  solution  in  alcohol  in  small  prismatic 
crystals,  which,  when  viewed  in  water  under  a  magnifying  power  of  500 
diameters,  present  the  forms  shown  in  fig.  i.    It  is  very  sparingly 
