]44» 0N CALAGUALA ROOT. 



amber colour, while the root had become of a pretty bright 

 red. 

 An alkali An alkali mixed with this fluid precipitated nothing; but 



it produced in it a very lively and agreeable violet red co- 

 lour. The filter too, through which I passed this nitric in- 

 fusion, assumed on crryinga pretty fine red. 

 Precipitated The same nitric infusion, being mixed with four parts of 



alcohol, yielded a light flocculent precipitate of a very fine 

 "white colour, which, when separated from the supernatant 

 fluid, and washed with fresh portions of alcohol, redissolved 

 ill cold water. This substance had all the appearance of 

 common starch, that had been dissolved in nitric acid, and 

 afterward precipitated by alcohol: but I had not a sufficient 

 quantity, to satisfy myself that it was so in a positive man- 

 ner. At least there is every reason to believe, that it is not 

 gum, otherwise it would have dissolved in water, and fur- 

 nished some traces of mucous acid on being treated with 

 nitric acid ; but I obtained from it only the oxalic. The 

 yitric acid then, according to all appearance, took up from 

 the calaguala root a certain quantity of amylaceous matter, 

 and a colouring substance insoluble in alcohol, which alka- 

 lis turn to a violet. 

 The residuum, The calaguala root treated by the different reagents men- 

 £ ofthewhoh *> tioned above, and afterward dried,, had lost a fifth of its 

 incinerated, fl^fefcfc All that remained was the woodv part, and the 

 earths insoluble in acids. To ascertain tha nature of the 

 latter, and pretty nearly their quantity, I burned the resi- 

 duum in a crucible till it was completely incinerated ; and 

 from about twelve grammes of the root, I obtained half a 

 gramme of ashes, which were composed of carbonate of 

 lime, that the nitric acid had not dissolved, and certainly 

 did not exist in that state in the root itself, with a small 

 quantity of muriate of potash, and some traces of silex. 

 The root treat- I treated the calaguala root a second time with the same 

 el with the menstrua, but in an inverted order, beginning with water, 

 trua in a diV- next employing alcohol, and finishing with nitric acid. By 

 ferent order, the first operation I obtained the sugar, the gum, part of 

 the salts, and a little colouring matter. By the second T 

 got therein, and a little of the sugar, that had escaped 



the 



