Aleppo and Smyrna. 183 



by alcohol, a matter of a gray colour, which, when dried, 

 weighed 0*26. 



The alcoholic solution was evaporated to a syrupy con- 

 sistence. Cold water precipitated from it a resin forming 

 a homogeneous mass : the supernatant liquor was trans- 

 parent and colourless. Evaporated to dryness, we obtained 

 a brown matter soluble in water and in alcohol, forming a 

 precipitate by the acetate of lead. This substance seems 

 to be what is called the extractive matter : its weight was 

 found to be 0'2 after having been dried. 



The resinous mass separated and dried had a yellow co- 

 lour, and weighed 0*60. 



We afterwards treated the 0*26 of matter which was in- 

 soluble in alcohol, with boiling water. There remained 

 after the evaporation a gluey matter, weighing 0*3, having 

 all the characters of gum. The rest was merely the refuse 

 of vegetable matter and a little silex. 



The distillation of the scammony of Aleppo presented 

 nothing remarkable. It gave as products, a very acid 

 brown liquor and a light blackish oil. The charcoal re- 

 sulting from the operation was black, brilliant, and compact; 

 it contained carbonate of potash, carbonate of lime, alu- 

 mine, silex, and a little iron. 



Examination of t fie Scammony of Smyrna.- — The fusion 

 of the Smyrna scammony is less complete than that of 

 Aleppo : instead of going into a mass with boiling water, 

 it became knotty, and the water was dyed yellow. It is 

 neither acid nor alkaline : the acetate of lead precipitates 

 yellowish flakes from it. 



100 parts of this scammony taken up by boiling alcohol, 

 although less charged with resin, gave a deeper-coloured 

 tincture than that which was made with Aleppo scammony. 

 We obtained from the evaporation of the alcohol a brownish 

 transparent resin, the weight of which was 0*28. We 

 found 066 of insoluble matter in the alcohol. This re- 

 sidue treated with boiling water coloured it yellow : it had a 

 putrid sweetish taste, and alcohol precipitated from it flakes 

 soluble in water. The liquor evaporated left a thick gluey 

 matter like mucilage, soluble in weak nitric acid when 

 warm ; precipitating, on cooling, a white pulverulent matter 

 which presented all the characters of mucous acid. 



Iivthis experiment, the water had only taken up 0*8 of 

 the matter which was insoluble in the alcohol. The rest 

 was submitted, with the help of heat, to the action of the 

 nitric acid, which dissolves it with effervescence. Am- 



M4 monia 



