ON C A LAG U ALA ROOT. 



143 



destroys the tape-worm ? This is not improbable, for me 

 know, that all acrid and caustic oils produce this effect. 



The saccharine substance, which had been dissolved by Saccharin* 

 t'je alcohol at the same- time with the resin, gives a slight matter. 

 lemon colour to water. It is reduced to a thick and viscous 

 substance by evaporation. Its taste is sweet, pleasant, and 

 slightly acid. Its smell is nearly similar to that of the juice 

 of apples when evaporated. On being heated it swells up, 

 grows black, and emits a smell exactly resembling that of 

 burned sugar. I found in it perceptible traces of muriate 

 of potash. Thus it appears there can be no doubt, that this 

 substance is a true sugar, with which an acid, probably the 

 malic, is mixed ; but of this I could not satisfy myself by 

 experiment, the quantity being too small. 



Exp. 3. To obtain those principles of the calaguala root, Root digest** 

 which are not soluble in alcohol, I digested in water for bei^treated**' 

 forty eight hours that portion of the root, which had already with alcohol. 

 been treated with alcohol, as has been seen. The colour it 

 imparted to the water was deep, as if it had given out 

 nothing to alcohol. This infusion had no bitter taste, like Properties of 

 that in alcohol : it frothed when shaken ; it precipitated this «*«»•■• 

 solution of silver pretty copiously in a substance which had 

 all the appearance of muriate of silver. Evaporated in a 

 gentle heat, it left an extract of a brown yellow colour, 

 transparent, very tenacious and stringy, on which spirit or' 

 wine had no effect. This extract had a mucilaginous and 

 slightly nauseous taste: mixed with a little sulphuric acid 

 it grew black, ami exhaled copious fumes of muriatic acid : 

 put on a redhot iron it swelled up, and emitted a smell 

 similar to that of gums. This matter then appears to h& 

 nothing but a mucilage coloured by a small quantity of 

 extractive matter insoluble in alcohol, and mixed with a 

 certain quantity of a muriatic salt, probably with potash 

 for its base. 



Exp. 4. The root of calaguala thus successively ex- Residuum 

 hausted by alcohol and water I afterward treated with weak treated with 

 nitric acid, in order to know whether it contained any amy- 

 laceous matter. After two days digestion with a gentle 

 beat, I filtered the liquid, which had acquired only a slight 



amber 



