258 Mr. B. C. Brodie o» Myricine. 



from the solution from which the above substance had been 

 separated, had a melting-point half a degree lower, and gave 

 to analysis rather less carbon, namely, C. 81°-0 per cent. 



The greater part of the difficultly saponifiable portion of 

 the wax appears to consist of the substance, the analysis of 

 which I have just given, and to which we may confine the 

 name myricine. We have, however, clearly some other body 

 present accompanying it, the products of the decomposition 

 of which by potash are to be found with both the acid and 

 the wax-alcohol procured by saponification of the impure sub- 

 stance, which, as I have said, render extremely difficult the 

 preparation of these bodies in a pure state. I shall proceed 

 to give some experiments which throw some true light upon 

 the nature of this substance, although I cannot say that its 

 history is satisfactorily made out. The solution of aether or 

 naphtha (p. 247) from which the melissine of 85° has been 

 separated, still contains a large quantity of substance of a 

 similar appearance, but of a melting-point much lower than 

 that of the melissine itself Notwithstanding however the 

 differences in the melting-point, analysis shows us but little 

 or rather no difference in the constitution of the different por- 

 tions of this substance. In the case for example of a substance 

 melting at 78°-5 C, — 



CO2. HO. 



0-2522 grm. gave . . 0*764 0*324 



which gives in 100 parts, — 



100*00 



Other analyses gave similar results. 



These analyses do not differ seriously from one another, 

 and give precisely the numbers of the melissine itself (p. 247). 



