18  Spiders  Used  in  Medicine.  { A%l™yf^\m- 
The  results  with  ether  bear  out  the  conclusions  of  previous 
workers.  Thymol  is  completely  and  somewhat  readily  removed 
from  a  dilute  alkali  solution  with  ether  and  after  three  extractions 
with  about  equal  volumes  of  ether,  practically  no  thymol  remains 
in  solution.  Apparently  in  every  case  it  was  recovered  as  the  free 
phenol  and  readily  obtained  crystalline.  Heptane  is  the  most  in- 
different solvent  chemically  and  extracts  the  least  amount  of 
thymol.  This  is  in  accord  with  the  observations  previously  made 
that  it  exhibits  a  striking  selective  solvent  action  in  many  cases.  It 
would  be  very  valuable  in  purifying  an  alkaline  solution  obtained  in 
extracting  thymol  from  an  oil.  Thymol  recovered  by  the  use  of 
carbon  disulphide  seemed  to  be  the  brightest  and  of  the  most  pleasing 
appearance.  There  is  some  color  developed  in  the  alkali  and  carbon 
disulphide  reacts  with  the  dilute  alkali  because  hydrogen  sulphide  is 
given  off  on  acidification  for  recovery  of  thymol.  However,  benzene 
is  about  equally  effective  as  a  solvent. 
The  increasing  concentration  of  alkali  with  diminution  of  thymol 
content  does  not  seem  to  effect  ether,  and  benzene  and  carbon  disul- 
phide respond  slowly,  but  heptane  and  carbon  tetrachloride  are 
effected  very  considerably.  This  fact  is  also  of  interest  in  the  assay 
of  phenol-containing  oils  by  means  of  dilute  alkali  where  heptane  is 
used  to  prevent  the  formation  of  emulsions  and  permit  easier  and 
quicker  readings  of  the  volume  remaining  unabsorbed. 
SPIDERS  USED  IN  MEDICINE. 
By  J.  T.  Lloyd,  Ph.D. 
CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 
That  insects  and  their  by-products,  such  as  shellac  and  honey, 
play  an  important  part  in  the  economy  of  man,  is  known  to  all. 
Perhaps,  however,  it  is  better  known  to  the  physician  than  to  the 
layman,  that  a  few  spiders  play  their  role  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. These  spider  remedies,  like  the  insect  medicines,  are  not 
of  modern  origin.  In  old  works  one  finds  frequent  references  to 
cobweb,  which  was  then  administered  in  the  form  of  pills  instead 
of  the  modern  alcoholic  pharmaceutical  preparation,  Tela  Aranese. 
In  the  popular  mind  there  is  often  little  knowledge  of  the  dis- 
tinctions between  spiders  and  insects,  although  the  class'  Arachnida 
