SULPHUR PRÆCIPITATUM. Sir,-At the June meeting of the Society of Public Analysts, the President, Professor Redwood, in the course of his remarks on Dr. Hill's paper, is reported to have said -"It would be found, if the two preparations were properly examined, that the sulphur existed in milk of sulphur in a more pure and less nauseous state than that in which it existed in precipitated sulphur. The method usually adopted in examining these preparations afforded a very imperfect insight into their respective natures. By the application of heat one was volatilized entirely, and the other left a residue of sulphate of lime; from which it was inferred that the one was pure sulphur and the other was not. If examined in another way, however, a different conclusion might be arrived at. Let each powder be treated with bisulphide of carbon, by which the sulphur would be dissolved, leaving in one case a darkcoloured oily residue of persulphide of hydrogen, and in the other case pure silky crystals of hydrated calcic sulphate." This statement seemed to me so remarkable, that I was induced to test its truth by experiment; and a short account of the results may not be without interest. A good sample of precipitated sulphur was treated with carbon disulphide, and there remained a dark coloured residuenot oily, however, but pulverulent. This was placed on a small filter, and washed with carbon disulphide, and as soon as it had become dry, a minute portion was put on a glass slide with a drop of water, and viewed under the microscope, when it appeared as a fine amorphous powder. The remainder was examined chemically, and found to consist chiefly of calcium, iron, chlorine, and sulphur.

Several other commercial samples were examined in the same way, and with similar results. All contained a little iron, and all gave dark brown residues.

A small quantity of precipitated sulphur was made in accordance with the directions of the British Pharmacopoeia. This specimen was of a pale yellow colour, without any tinge of grey, and on treatment with carbon disulphide left a light yellow residuum of insoluble sulphur.

I next prepared some hydrogen persulphide by pouring a solution of calcium disulphide into an excess of hydrochloric acid. When the yellow oily liquid was dropped into carbon disulphide, it quickly dissolved.

It is evident, then, that the method employed by Professor Redwood to prove the presence of hydrogen persulphide in precipitated sulphur is based on "scientific use of the imagination."

Sheffield, August 7, 1876.

JOHN T. MILLER.

I do not know whether any of your readers have observed the effect, but I first noticed it some time ago while preparing linimentum iodi, some of which I required, but it had run out of stock. Accordingly I proceeded to make the quantity ordered in the official formula, so having triturated the dry ingredients in a wedgwood mortar for a few minutes and continued the same while I reviewed the proportions I had used of the requisite constituents previous to adding the spirit, I observed the mixture had become quite moist and pasty. I, therefore, carried on the rubbing a little furthe when the mass assumed the form of a thick blackish looking semifluid of a tarry consistence, ultimately being converted into a dark reddish coloured mobile liquid (not unlike bromine in appearance), which occupied a bulk of six fluid drachms, and on dilution with 3vj of S.V.R., it measured exactly 3iss.

On that occasion I had not time for contemplation but simply attributed the cause of these physical changes to some unaccountable property, probably akin to the remarkable union of chloral and camphor-owing (as I considered) to the analogy of chlorine with iodine. However, I thought no more of the subject until the article alluded to published in the issue of July 29, brought the circumstance to my recollection and led me to think this time a suitable opportunity of eliciting (through the medium of the Journal) the opinion of some competent authority, which is always more satisfactory than mere speculation.

Since writing the above I repeated the process by way of experiment, excluding the potassic iodide, when the result attained was quite different, so that my rashly formed conThe questions which now present clusions were erroneous. themselves to my mind are:-Has the iodide anything to do in the matter? Is it the sole cause of the change? Would any other salt exercise the some influence? Is it a chemical combination or merely a mechanical mixture? But I am not in a position to answer these problems. Possibly the effect produced may depend on the humidity of the atmosphere, the moisture being attracted by the mineral salt. Still I scarcely imagine that the absorption of water from the air could have been so rapid, and I doubt whether the deliquescent property of the iodide of potassium be great enough to justify the acceptance of that assumption as a sufficient explanation, so I wait until the difficulty be solved by some one capable of handling the subject.

JAMES B. L. MACKAY.

"Nostrum."--Wittstein's Pocket Book of Nostrums' could probably be obtained through Messrs, Williams and Norgate, or any foreign bookseller. It is written in German.

"An Old Student."-You are recommended to address your question to the Secretary.

Aqua."-(1) It probably would do so. (2) You will find an account of the mode of procedure in any elementary work on analysis.

A. C.-The substance is bitartrate of soda. F. S. T.-See an article on the Preservation of Plants for Herbaria, in vol. iv. (1874), p. 754.

W. R. Fowler.-The Act may be obtained from Her Majesty's printers, Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode.

In reply to several correspondents who have sent specimens of plants, we regret being unable at present to furnish the information they require, since our Botanist is "over the hills and far away."

F. J. Barrett. (1) We know of nothing of the kind. If you refer to Watts's 'Dictionary' you will find the coefficient of expansion from which you can calculate what you want to know. (2) Bolley and Paul's Handbook of

calcium sulphate. Technical Analysis (Bohn's Scientific Series). R. J. Atkinson.-The crystals are selenite, or hydrated

COMMUNICATIONS, LETTERS, etc., have been received from Mr. Peters, Mr. Annacker. Mr. Edward, Mr. Lewis Mr. Fowler, S. W.

AVA, OR KAVA-KAVA. The root known under the name of Kava-Kava has lately attracted some attention in France as a remedy for gonorrhoea, and will probably be tried in this country.

Although the plant which yields it (Piper methysticum, Miq.) has been known since the time of Captain Cook, and although papers have more than once appeared in the Pharmaceutical Journal concerning it, yet a full description of the root and leaf for the purposes of pharmacognosy does not appear to have been given in either of the papers alluded to. A figure of the plant and of portions of the root were supplied with Mr. Morson's paper in

Fig. 1.—Piper methysticum, Miq.

1844, but since many of our readers may have some difficulty in referring so far back, Mr. Morson's

Pharm. Journ. [1], vol. iii., p. 474.

THIRD SERIES, No. 321.

figure of the plant is here reproduced, and a fresh figure of the root structure is added. We are led to believe that these wood-cuts, together with a description of the root and leaf, will be useful to some of our readers, from the fact that we have lately received from Paris, under the name of Kava-Kava, some leaves and fruit, which consist of matico leaves mixed with the fruit of the arnatto plant!

The Kava-Kava plant is known by different names in different islands: thus in Viti it is known as "Yaquona," in Tahiti as "Ava-Ava," in Hawaii as "Kawa,"* and in the Marquesas Islands as Kava, or Kava-Kava.t

In New Zealand a species of pepper (Piper excelsum, Forst.) very similar in appearance to Piper methysticum, Miq., is known under the name of Kawa-Kawa. This plant, however, does not appear to possess the intoxicating properties generally ascribed to the root of Piper methysticum, but is only used as a tea and for toothache. Its leaves, are generally only about half the size of those of Piper methysticum, and have only 5-7 veins radiating from the top of the leaf-stalk.

The Ava, or Kava-Kava plant, is cultivated in Viti, Tahiti, Hawaii, the Society and Tongan islands. Several varieties of the plant are distinguished by the natives. Those which grow on dry soil are said to produce the most active roots.

The Piper methysticum is a shrub about six feet high, with stems varying from 1 to 1 inch in

thickness. The leaves are rather large, varying in size from 4-8 inches in length, and being nearly as broad as they are long. In shape they are cordate, tapering above somewhat suddenly into a very short acute apex. The leaves are stalked, the petiole being usually from 1 to 1 inch long, and dilated towards its base. To the naked eye the leaves appear smooth, although with the aid of a lens they are seen to have the veins covered with minute hairs, while they of the Joof h

scattered over it. The principal veins of the leaf, of which there are usually ten to twelve, radiate from the top of the petiole, the three central veins being very close together for about half-an-inch upwards from the base of the leaf.

The root is large and fibrous, but rather light and spongy in texture. When fresh it is said to weigh usually from 2 to 4 lbs., although it sometimes attains as much as 20 lbs. in weight, or even more. In drying, however, it loses rather more than half its weight. Externally the root is of a greyishbrown colour, and has a very thin bark, which when sliced off shows a complete network of woody tissue (Fig. 2), some of the interstices of which are filled with soft yellowish-white cellular matter, whilst others are quite empty. Internally the root is of a yellowish-white colour (In a variety of the plant known as "Marea" it is citron-yellow internally, and in another variety known under the name of "AviniUte" it is of a pinkish colour.) A transverse section (Fig. 3) shows a number of narrow lines (woody

*Seemann, 'Fl. Vitiensis,' p. 260.

+ Pharm. Journ. [2], vol. iv., p. 85.

Hooker, 'Flora of New Zealand,' Part I., p. 228.

bundles) radiating from near the centre to the circumference, the portions of the soft cellular tissue by which

Fig. 2.-Section exposing the network of woody
tissue below the thin root bark.

the lines are separated from each other being much wider than the lines themselves. The central portion of the root is soft and cellular, with a few woody bundles anastomosing with each other and proceeding at right angles to the radiating bundles, so

Fig. 3.-Transverse section of the root. that they form a network in the centre of the transverse section. The root has a pleasant odour, recall ing that of the lilac (Syringa vulgaris, L.), or meadowsweet (Spirea Ulmaria, L.). It has a slightly pungent taste, and causes an increase in the flow of saliva, with a slightly astringent sensation in the mouth, and a scarcely perceptible bitterness.

The root and extreme base of the stem are the parts generally used.

The form in which it has been used for medicinal purposes is an infusion made by macerating about one drachm of the scraped root in a quart of water for five minutes. Unlike most other remedies for gonorrhoea, the taste of the infusion is pleasant, while its bitterness improves the appetite and does not produce nausea. The root contains, according to M. Cuzent, an essential oil of a pale yellow colour, 2 per cent. of an acrid resin, and about 1 per cent. of a neutral crystalline principle called Kavahin or Methysticin, which is obtained in acicu

lar crystals by crystallization from a concentrated tincture. Kavahin differs from piperine and cubebin in being coloured red by hydrochloric acid, the red colour fading on exposure to air into a bright yellow, and in being coloured by strong sulphuric acid a purplish violet colour, which passes into green. The root contains also nearly half its weight of

starch.

The action of Kava root appears to vary with the amount taken. In small doses it is generally stated to act as a stimulant and tonic, but when taken in large doses it produces an intoxication which differs from that caused by alcohol in being of a silent and drowsy nature, accompanied by incoherent dreams, the drinker not being quarrelsome or excited.

The roots grown in damp soil, however, produce a slightly different effect, the drunken person becoming irritated by the least noise. For an interesting account of the way in which the intoxicating beverage is made the reader is referred to former papers in this Journal.*

It appears probable that the medicinal properties of the plant are due neither to Kavahin nor to the resin, since a watery infusion produces the characteristic effects of the drug, and neither Kavahin nor the resin are soluble in water. The therapeutical properties of the different chemical constituents of the root, therefore, still require more accurate investigation.

The root is stated to have been used with success in erysipelatous eruptions,t which is rather remarkable since when taken in excess as an intoxicating beverage it produces a peculiar kind of skin disease, called in Tahiti 66 arevarea." In old drinkers the vision becomes obscure, and the skin, especially in parts where it is thick, becomes dry, scaly, cracked and ulcerated. In Nukahivi the natives use Kava for phthisis and in bronchitis, a small dose being taken at bedtime. It has also been recommended to be used internally and locally for gout.

It was first recommended for gonorrhoea in 1857.§

COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF RADIX FILICIS MARIS.||

RY PROVISOR KRUSE.

In the Baltic provinces and many other districts in Russia the rhizome of the male fern collected at Wolmar is preferred as a remedy against tapeworm would be useful to undertake an analysis of this before all others. The author therefore thought it drug and especially to note the variations in composition which the rhizome might undergo at different seasons of the year.

dug up in forests; but that collected in the dry In the neighbourhood of Wolmar the male fern is ferred, because it is less decayed and yields a rhiforests of broad-leaved trees (Laubwäldern) is prehaving been freed from the frond and the decayed zome that can be more easily cleaned. The rhizome portions of the root is washed and quickly dried with a moderate heat. After drying the rhizomes

*Pharm. Journ. [1], vol. iii., p. 474; [2], vol. iv., p. 86,

+ Pharm. Journ. [1], ix. p. 218.

Medical Times and Gazette, Dec. 1854, p. 591.
Annal. de Therap., 1857, p. 61.

Institute in the University of Dorpat (Archiv der Pharmacie Abstract of a communication from the Pharmaceutical for July, p. 24.)

is taken up by alcohol also. Accordingly the total quantity soluble in ether and alcohol in C should be precisely equal to the quantity of substance soluble in alcohol in B. With the April and July rhizomes this proved to be nearly the case, but not with the October. The portion in C insoluble in ether and soluble in alcohol must be referred for the greater part to tannic acid and sugar. The portion in C insoluble in ether and alcohol and soluble in water consists of mucus, salts, and substances of unknown composition.

D. A fresh quantity of the rhizome was extracted with a petroleum spirit having a low boiling point, and the extract dried at 100° to 110° C. It was afterwards exhausted with alcohol and gave an extract that was soluble in water also.

The October rhizome, after treatment with petroleum spirit gave with alcohol a beautifully green coloured extract (probably chlorophyll which had retreated to the rhizome in the autumn), whilst the extracts from the April and July rhizomes were yellow.

The petroleum spirit extract is free from resinous substances and chlorophyll, and so far may be taken as a more exact expression of the quantity of fat than the ether extract in C. It is possible that it does not contain the whole of the filicin, but the greater part is certainly present in the extract.

E. Another quantity of the rhizome was treated with doubly rectified petroleum, and yielded a thick fluid dark green extract. The remaining powder was then treated with acetic ether.

A portion of the fat of the rhizome is insoluble in petroleum as well as in the less volatile portion of the petroleum spirit.

Estimation of the Starch.-In order to estimate quantitatively the amount of starch the rhizome was digested 48 hours in a steam bath with a 4 per cent. alcoholic potash solution, and then washed with alcohol and water until it showed no alkaline reaction. The impure starch remaining upon the filter was boiled with dilute sulphuric acid until no more dextrine was precipitated by alcohol, and the liquid was filtered, neutralized, and titrated with Fehling's solution. The starch in the April rhizome amounted to 28.2 per cent., in the July to 22.7 per cent., and in the October to 15'4.

Estimation of Sugar.-The rhizome was extracted with equal parts of alcohol and water, the product filtered, the alcohol distilled off, and the tannic acid precipitated with acetate of lead. The precipitate was filtered off, excess of lead removed from the filtrate by sulphuric acid, the liquor filtered, then neutralized with soda solution, and titrated with Fehling's liquor. The sugar amounted in the April rhizome to 1 per cent., in the July to 14 per cent., and in the October to 2.8 per cent.

Estimation of Tannic Acid.-The rhizome was exhausted with hot water and the product filtered under pressure. The filtrate was decomposed with acetate of copper and the precipitate of tannate of

copper washed, dried at 110° C. and weighed. It was then decomposed by moistening with fuming nitric acid and the oxide of copper thus obtained subtracted from the tannate of copper gave the amount of tannic acid precipitable by copper. This amounted in the April rhizome to 46 per cent., in the July to 6·9 per cent., and in the October to 5.9 per cent.

A second quantity was treated similarly with acetate of lead. This gave, however, for the April rhizome 92 per cent. of tannic acid, July 9-8 per cent., and October 11.7 per cent.

The tannic acid of the fern blackened solutions of ferroso-ferric oxide, and precipitated gelatine solution but not solution of tartarated antimony.

Estimation of Filix Red.-The ammoniacal aqueous extract of the root exhausted with water was evaporated with dilute sulphuric acid to dryness, the residue dissolved in water, the filix red collected upon a filter and washed with water until it showed only a weakly acid reaction. The filix red from the April rhizome amounted to 5.2 per cent., the July to 6-9 per cent., and the October to 7.8 per cent.

Estimation of Mucus and Albumen.-Two portions of each of the three samples were exhausted with water, the aqueous extract evaporated to a syrupy consistence, and alcohol added. The precipitate was separated by filtration, washed, dried at 110° C., and weighed. From the weight found the weight of ash was deducted and the difference was taken as the amount of mucus and albumen. It amounted in the April rhizome to 51 and 5:4 per cent., in the July rhizome to 2-2 and 2.5 per cent., and in the October rhizome to 2.1 and 2.15.

The

The Estimation of Filicic Acid was unfortunately without result. The fat oil was removed from the rhizome by means of twice rectified petroleum, and an attempt was made but unsuccessfully to obtain the filicic acid by means of acetic ether. petroleum could not be driven off from the root without a very strong heat, by which the filicic acid was decomposed. Further, a portion of the tannic acid always dissolved in the acetic ether. An experiment was also made by boiling the rhizome with carbonate of soda, dissolving with alcohol the compounds of soda with the fatty acid and filicic acid, and separating by addition of an acid. But the precipitated filicic acid dissolved in the fat oil. An attempt to separate the filicic acid from the fat oils by dissolving in acetone also failed, the filicic acid and the fatty oils always dissolving together. Neither could the methods given by Dr. Luck for the preparation of filicic acid be used for its quantitative estimation as the yield was much too small and the fatty oil separated always carried with it a part of the filicic acid.

BY PROFESSOR J. H. GLADSTONE, PH.D., F.R.S. Among the most venerable of the Chinese classics is the Shoo King,' a collection of ancient historical records; and one of these records, the fourth book of Chow, contains a still more ancient document, 'The Great Plan with its Nine Divisions,' which purports to date from the early part of the Han dynasty-according to Dr. Legge, about 2000 B.C. This remarkable treatise bears

A lecture delivered at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, Friday, May 5, 1876. From the Chemical News, August 4, 1876.