ON  SOME  CONSTITUENTS  OF  ERGOT. 
143 
administered  in  much  larger  doses,  and  thus  reach  cases  where  a 
syrup  would  be  inadmissible  on  account  of  the  sickening  proper- 
ties of  the  sugar,  or  where  a  tincture  would  be  interdicted  by 
reason  of  the  stimulating  qualities  of  alcohol. 
The  preparation  has  been  exhibited  to  a  number  of  physicians 
of  respectability,  and  has,  in  every  instance,  met  their  unquali- 
fied approval. 
Wheeling,  West  Virginia,  Feh.  14th,  1870. 
ON  SOME  CONSTITUENTS  OF  ERGOT. 
By  J.  Carl  Herrmann. 
The  author  extracted  20  oz.  finely  powdered  ergot  with  ether 
and  obtained  6  oz.  of  a  brown-yellow  thickish  non-drying  oil,  of 
an  aromatic  odor  and  acrid  taste,  at  18°  C.  of  0'92496  spec, 
grav.,  which  at  a  lower  temperature  separated  floccules  of  a 
solid  fat. 
4  oz.  of  the  oil  were  saponified  with  caustic  soda ;  during  the 
boiling,  traces  of  ammonia  and  trimethylamina  were  observed  in 
the  vapor.  The  crude  soap  had  a  brownish-yellow  color,  which 
remained  in  the  mother  liquor  on  salting  out  the  soap  ;  this 
gradually  became  sticky  in  the  air.  The  fatty  acids  were  sepa- 
rated by  sulphuric  acid  and  repeatedly  boiled  with  water  ;  the 
first  portions  of  which  assumed  a  golden-yellow  color  and  sepa- 
rated a  brown  powder,  which  was  similar  in  color  to  powdered 
ergot,  retained  a  little  fat,  had  an  acrid  bitterish  taste,  the  odor  of 
the  oil,  was  insoluble  in  w^ater  and  dilute  acids,  readily  soluble 
in  alcohol,  ether  and  alkalies,  and  may  be  regarded  as  coloring 
matter. 
The  aqueous  liquid  was  distilled,  and  small  quantities  of 
butyric  and  acetic  acid  were  found  in  the  distillate,  while  nearly 
half  an  oz.  of  glycerin  was  obtained  by  concentrating  the  residue 
left  in  the  retort  and  treating  it  with  strong  alcohol. 
The  fatty  acids  were  filtered  in  a  water  bath  funnel,  combined 
with  carbonate  of  soda,  and  the  soda  soap  in  alcoholic  solution 
precipitated  by  acetate  of  lead.  The  resulting  plaster  was 
washed  with  water  and  exhausted  by  ether.  The  undissolved 
powder  contained  1-45  water,  5940  oxide  of  lead  and  39-61 
fatty  acid  (mean).    On  evaporating  the  ether  the  lead  soap  was 
