200 Notice of some Recent [March 



quarter of an hour, and allowing the fibrous matter to be 

 deposited. The supernatant liquor should then be decanted, 

 and the fibrous matter again boiled with the same quantity 

 of water, and for the same length of time. This treatment 

 is to be continued until the filtered liquid, after evaporation 

 to dryness, leaves no residue, which is turned blue by iodine. 

 The matter is then dried by a moderate heat. When dried 

 at a temperature below 212° it possesses a slightly yellow 

 colour, and presents the appearance of small pellicles, mixed 

 with small lumps, easily pulverized. It is destitute of taste 

 and smell, and has no action on test paper. In an aqueous 

 solution of iodine a fine blue colour is occasioned when this 

 substance is introduced, which disappears by heating the 

 solution up to a temperature of 194°, but re-appears on 

 cooling. When kept for 100 hours in 10,000 times its 

 weight of boiling water, it is not converted into globules, 

 as has been stated by Raspail, Biot, and Persoz. It is 

 insoluble in cold and boiling water, alcohol, and sulphuric 

 ether. In contact with water it swells, becomes white and 

 elastic ; 100 parts of insoluble amidine, gently heated with 

 800 parts of nitric acid, produce 25*46 parts of anhydrous 

 oxalic acid. If 1 part amidine is digested with 2 J sulphuric 

 acid at 150°, after twelve hours a syrup is obtained, which, 

 when boiled with 200 parts of water for two hours, is con- 

 verted into sugar of starch and vegeto sulphuric acid. 



Varry finds the composition of fibrous amidine and woody 

 fibre, or lignine, almost identical. The constituents of these 

 substances are 



Oxygen. Hydrogen. Carbon. 

 Fibrous Amidine 40'67 6-59 52-74 



Lignine .... 41-78 5-69 52-33* 



Hence, I think there is very great propriety in his query. 

 Is not fibrous amidine merely woody fibre combined with a 

 small quantity of amidine, which exhibits an action on 

 iodine 1 The author, however, is rather inclined to consider 

 these substances as different, and to explain their similarity 

 on the principle of isomerism, a term which, like that of 

 nervous in medicine, is now employed on the Continent to 

 explain all difficulties in reference to analogous compounds. 



* By the analysis of Gay, Lussac, and Thenard. 



