Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
May,  1901. 
Pharmaceutical  Meeting. 
255 
crystal  showed  the  same  color  effects  as  was  shown  in  the  test  for 
pure  strychnine. 
After  four  hours  three  or  four  drops  of  sulphuric  acid  and  a  some- 
what larger  crystal  of  bichromate  were  added  to  each  test,  produc- 
ing after  a  time  a  gradual  change  of  the  purplish  colors  of  Nos.  2, 
3,  4,  6  and  7  to  violet  brown  in  the  case  of  Nos.  2,  3  and  4,  and 
light  green  in  the  case  of  Nos.  6  and  7  ;  but  in  none  of  these  five 
cases  could  any  indication  of  the  presence  of  strychnine,  either  by 
streak  or  after-color,  be  detected.  Mr.  Stroup  also  tested  these 
powders  before  the  audience  at  the  close  of  the  meeting. 
Prof.  F.  X.  Moerk  spoke  of  the  influence  of  one  alkaloidal  body 
upon  another  and  as  interfering  in  giving  definite  characteristic  reac- 
tion. He  spoke  of  the  use  of  solvents  as  in  Dragendorff's  scheme  for 
separating  the  alkaloids  and  showed  how  it  could  be  applied  in  the 
examination  of  the  above  powders.  He  also  referred  to  the  old  acid 
color  tests  for  the  identification  of  fixed  oils  and  said  that  owing  to  the 
recent  improvements  of  the  oils  the  bodies  which  had  given  these 
reactions  were  removed  and  therefore  color  tests  were  now  con- 
sidered to  be  of  less  value.  The  last  of  these  to  be  abandoned  was 
the  test  for  oil  of  sesame  with  hydrochloric  acid  and  sugar.  On  the 
whole  it  was  the  opinion  of  Professor  Moerk  that  these  tests  are 
valuable  so  far  as  they  go,  but  that  all  other  tests  must  be  used. 
Mr.  Beringer  spoke  of  the  difficulties  in  the  examination  of  post- 
mortem material,  and  referred  to  the  influence  of  ptomaines  in 
modifying  color  reactions  as  many  of  these  closely  simulate  the 
alkaloids  and  other  substances.  In  nearly  all  cases  of  this  kind 
Mayer's  reagent  will  give  a  reaction,  but  the  substance  cannot  be 
isolated  on  account  of  the  smallness  of  the  quantity  present.  He 
mentioned  the  following  alkaloids  as  being  closely  simulated  by 
ptomaines  :  Colchicine,  atropine,  strychnine,  etc.  He  spoke  of  a 
musty  sample  of  corn-meal  which  yielded  a  ptomaine  giving  the 
reaction  and  physiological  symptoms  of  strychnine.  This  body  was 
subsequently  broken  up  into  a  body  resembling  nicotine  and  another 
one  like  strychnine. 
F.  T.  Gordon  referred  to  a  post-mortem  case  in  which  what  was 
supposed  to  be  six  or  seven  grains  of  strychnine  were  isolated, 
but  which  was  found  upon  investigation  to  be  a  ptomaine.  He 
thought  that  an  important  point  had  been  overlooked  in  this  con- 
troversy, and  that  was  if  we  did  not  know  the  composition  of  the 
