404 
Eriodictyon  Californicum, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharn»„ 
Aug.,  1880. 
The  liquid  was  then  filtered,  and  to  the  filtrate  was  added  ammonia 
in  excess,  which  changed  it  to  a  darker  color. 
Chloroform  was  then  agitated  with  the  ammoniacal  solution  in  sep- 
arate portions,  being  allowed  to  remain  in  contact  each  time  for  five  or 
six  hours,  with  frequent  agitation,  then  separated  and  evaporated  spon- 
taneously, when  a  yellowish,  bitter  mass  was  left,  similar  to  that 
obtained  by  the  first  process,  and  was  soluble  in  water  and  ether. 
It  was  dissolved  in  water  acidulated  with  muriatic  acid,  filtered, 
evaporated  and  set  aside,  with  the  expectation  that  it  would  crystallize,, 
but  it  refused  to  do  so. 
This  principle,  therefore,  to  which  the  bark  owes  its  bitter  property^ 
seems  to  be  an  uncrystallizable  alkaloid  of  some  kind,  which  deserves 
more  time  and  attention. 
By  distillation  with  water  the  bark  yields  a  small  quantity  of  volatile 
oil,  which  oil,  therefore,  gives  to  the  bark  its  aromatic  property. 
By  incineration  the  bark  yields  between  three  and  four  per  cent, 
of  ash. 
The  ash  obtained  from  three  hundred  grains  of  the  bark  was  digested 
in  a  half  ounce  of  water  and  filtered. 
To  a  portion  of  the  filtrate  a  strong  solution  of  tartaric  acid  was 
added,  and  at  the  end  of  an  hour  crystals  of  bitartrate  of  potassium 
were  found  to  be  present,  proving  the  presence  of  potassium  salt. 
To  another  portion  of  the  filtrate  a  solution  of  oxalic  acid  was 
added,  which  occasioned  a  white  precipitate  and  refused  to  dissolve  in 
an  excess  of  acetic  acid,  thus  proving  the  presence  of  calcium  salts. 
The  organic  constituents  of  the  bark  are  starch,  glucose,  gum,„ 
pectin,  two  acrid  resins,  volatile  oil  and  an  alkaloid. 
ERIODICTYON  CALIFORNICUM. 
By  William  C.  Holzhauer. 
[Fro?n  a?i  Inaugural  Essay.) 
The  leaves,  exhausted  by  stronger  alcohol  and  then  by  water,  yielded' 
the  following  results: 
I.  The  alcoholic  percolate,  evaporated  to  the  consistence  of  an 
extract,  yielded,  by  distillation  with  water,  a  small  amount  of  volatile 
oil,  lighter  than  water,  of  a  pale  straw  color,  aromatic  taste  and  odor,, 
but  slightly  resembling  that  of  the  leaves.     The  distillate  was  neutral 
