206 On the Peruvian Matico, 



a clear orange, and the salts collected into a gritty cake. 

 Upon evaporating the filtered alcoholic solution, a yellowish- 

 brown extractive matter, maticinCi remained. It had a dis- 

 agreeable smell and exceedingly bitter taste, like aloes, which 

 remained a long time on the palate ; it attracted moisture 

 from the atmosphere, dissolved readily in alcohol and in water, 

 but was not acted on by aether : heated on platinum foil it be- 

 came brown, swelled up without decrepitation, and left a 

 bulky charcoal. Its solution in water was not affected by 

 chloride of platinum, but gave a yellow precipitate with solu- 

 tion of potash, and also with ammonia: chloride of barium 

 did not alter its colour ; tinct. ferri muriat. rendered it of a 

 deep rich carmine colour, but did not form a precipitate. 



Experiment 6. — A tincture was made by macerating half an 

 ounce of the leaves, reduced to a coarse powder, with 4 fluid 

 ounces of alcohol of 84°. In half an hour the liquid had a 

 light green colour ; after macerating for six days the filtered 

 tincture had a fine brownish-green colour, and the specific gra- 

 vity 0'860. It possessed in perfection the aromatic astringent 

 taste of the leaves ; water made it muddy but occasioned no 

 precipitate; tinct. ferri muriat. gave a copious brown black, 

 and acetate of lead a greenish yellow precipitate ; solution of 

 potash rendered its colour deep orange, and threw down a 

 deep orange precipitate ; ammonia produced a yellow preci- 

 pitate. 



Experiment 7. — The leaves were incinerated and gave 15 

 per cent, of a light gray ash, which contained the usual ash 

 constituents. I am at the present time engaged with their 

 quantitative examination, after the excellent method of Hert- 

 wig. Annul d. Chemie und Pharmacie, xlvi. Bds. 1 Heft. 



Experiment 8. — When a portion of the leaves from which 

 all the parts soluble in water had been separated was treated 

 with aether and afterwards with alcohol, chlorophylle and a 

 dark green resin were procured. The resinous matter was 

 heavier than water, adhered to the fingers with great tenacity, 

 and when heated on platinum foil burned with a strong odour 

 of empyreumatic oil, leaving a bulky charcoal. 



From the preceding experiments we may conclude that the 

 leaves of the Matico contain the following constituents : — 



1. Chlorophylle. 



2. A soft dark green resin. 



3. A brown colouring matter. 



4. A yellow colouring matter. 



5. Gum and nitrate of potash. 



6. A bitter principle, maticine. 



7. An aromatic volatile oil. 



