■94  Ervum  Ervilia,  the  Bitter  Vetch.     { ^""'FiTis^o.^'''"' 
An  Elixir^  very  pleasant  to  the  palate,  is  made  by  adding  sugar  to 
this  preparation. 
Extracts.  —  Both  the  aqueous  and  alcoholic  extracts  may  be  prepared 
by  the  ordinary  processes. 
Syrup. — Quebracho  bark,  3  parts  ;  water,  32  parts;  sugar,  16  parts. 
Boil  the  bark  with  the  water,  filter  and  evaporate  down  to  the  fourth 
.part,  add  the  sugar  and  make  the  syrup  secundum  artem. 
Preparations  with  the  Alkaloid. — Aspidospermin  or  quebrachin  is  insol- 
uble in  glycerin.  It  dissolves  readily  in  fats  and  fixed  oils,  and  may  be 
■hicorporated  with  codliver  oil  in  larger  proportion  than  quinia.  The 
following  ts  a  suitable  formula  : 
Codliver  oil,  100  parts  ;  aspidospermin,  6  to  8  parts  ;  dissolve  with 
the  aid  of  heat.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  usefulness  of  such  a  prepa- 
ration as  this,  in  which  the  special  properties  of  the  oil  are  joined  with 
rthose  of  the  alkaloid,  and  which  in  small  doses  acts  as  an  eupeptic. — 
Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans. Dec.  20,  1879. 
NOTE  ON  ERVUM  ERVILIA,  THE  BITTER  VETCH. 
By  William  Southall,  F.L.S. 
In  the  Journal  for  April,  1873,  given  the  result  of  a  trial  at  the 
Birmingham  County  Court,  as  follows: 
'^An  action  has  recently  been  brought  to  recover  damages  alleged  to 
have  been  sustained  by  the  death  of  fifteen  pigs,  caused  by  eating 
adulterated  meal  supplied  by  the  defendant.  Evidence  was  given  that 
the  stomachs  of  the  dead  pigs  presented  symptoms  of  irritant  poison- 
ing. Y)v.  Hill,  the  borough  analyst,  said  that  he  had  analyzed  a  por- 
tion of  the  meal,  and  had  been  unable  to  detect  any  trace  of  poison, 
but  that  there  was  some  sand  present,  to  which,  perhaps,  the  inflam- 
mation was  due.  For  the  defence,  chemical  evidence  was  given  by 
experts  that  the  meal  contained  no  poison.  The  judge  decided  in 
favor  of  the  defendant,  expressing  an  opinion  that  the  deaths  resulted 
from  the  improper  manner  in  which  the  food  was  given." — Birmingham 
Gazette. 
This  trial  occupied  two  days,  and  twenty-four  witnesses  were  called. 
My  firm  was  employed  by  one  of  the  several  parties  interested  to 
analyze  the  meal,  but,  the  result  being  negative  as  regarded  the  ordi- 
nary poisons,  was  not  called  upon  to  give  exidence.    The  hypothesis 
