De la Rue and Muller on the Resin of the Ficus rubiginosa. 225 



8thly. As sugar is found in the liver at the moment of death, its 

 presence cannot properly be ascribed to a post mortem change, but 

 is to be regarded as the result of a natural condition. 



" Hereditary Transmission of an Epileptiform Affection accident- 

 ally produced." By E. Brown-Sequard, M.D. 



Feb. 9. — Sir Benjamin C. Brodie, Bart., President, in the Chair. 



The following communications were read : — 

 " On the Resin of the Ficus rubiginosa, and a new Homologue of 

 Benzylic Alcohol." By Warren De la Rue, Ph.D., F.R.S., and 

 Hugo Miiller, Ph.D., F.C.S. 



In this communication the authors give an account of a new alcohol 

 homologous with benzylic alcohol (C 14 H 8 2 ) which they have found 

 occurring in the state of a natural acetic ether in the exudation from 

 an Australian plant known as the Ficus rubiginosa. 



This acetic ether, for which they propose the name of Acetate of 

 Sycoceryle, constitutes about 14 per cent, of the crude resin ; the re- 

 mainder consisting principally of an amorphous resin which they 

 name Sycoretine. 



The different degree of solubility of the various constituents in 

 alcohol, afforded the means of the separation of the one from the 

 other ; none of them present any remarkable properties except the 

 new ether ; so that the authors have devoted their attention mainly 

 to the working out of the chemical relations of this substance. 



Acetate of sycoceryle, having very characteristic properties, could 

 be readily obtained in beautiful crystals ; but some difficulty oc- 

 curred in obtaining it absolutely pure, on account of the presence 

 of a parasitical body which accompanied it constantly in solution, and 

 always cystallized upon it. At last means were found of removing 

 the latter substance by dissolving out the acetate of sycoceryle with 

 ether. The per-centage composition of this parasitical body was 

 found to be — 



Carbon 76*56 



Hydrogen 12*30 



Oxygen 11-24 



but it existed in too small a quantity to admit of its true chemical 

 relations being made out. 



Acetate of sycoceryle gave on analysis the following per-centages as 

 the mean result of two accordant analyses : — 



Carbon 79*09 



Hydrogen 10*28 



Oxygen 10*63 



These numbers agree well with those required by the formula 

 C 40 H 32 4 based upon experimental evidence. 



Acetate of sycoceryle, when acted upon by sodium-alcohol, yielded 

 acetic acid and a beautiful crystalline body resembling caffeine or 

 asbestos ; this proved to be a new member of the benzylic alcohol 

 series having the composition C 36 H 30 2 , which requires the following 

 per-centage quantities : — 



