400 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



4. There is no advantage in allowing before distillation the green 

 leaves of the cherry -laurel to macerate in water, even with the addi- 

 tion of the milk of sweet almonds, for the purpose of preparing a 

 stronger distilled water ; for the cold water does not dissolve the 

 substance contained in these leaves analogous to amygdalin, and 

 susceptible of being transformed by emulsion into hydruret of ben- 

 zoyle and prussic acid. 



5. In the decoction remaining after distilling the leaves of the 

 cherry-laurel, the bitter matter described by Winkler always occurs ; 

 this is susceptible of being transformed into essential oil and hydro- 

 cyanic acid by almond emulsion. 



6. Cherry-laurel water distilled from dry leaves, first macerated 

 in boiling water, to which milk of sweet almonds is added when 

 cold, contains hydrocyanic acid and volatile oil, but in much smaller 

 quantity than that prepared with fresh leaves ; the dry leaves ought, 

 therefore, never to be substituted for them. 



7. The water prepared with the dry leaves macerated in cold 

 water, before distillation, contains also a quantity of hydrocyanic acid, 

 but no quantity of volatile oil appreciable by the minutest tests. 



8. The various reagents which it is convenient to employ to ap- 

 preciate the quantity of distilled bitter almond and cherry-laurel 

 waters may be divided into two classes : 



First Class. — Reagents which serve to prove the presence of hy- 

 drocyanic acid ; these are nitrate of silver, acid sulphate of ferroso- 

 ferric oxide of iron and potash, and protosalts of mercury: 



Second Class. — Reagents which serve to prove the presence of the 

 volatile oil ; these are, ammonia, ammoniuret of copper, iodine and 

 bromine : chlorine, which was not tried, might probably act like the 

 two last. 



9. Ammonia, the sulphate and the sulphotartrate of quina, cannot 

 be employed to determine the strength of distilled cherry-laurel and 

 bitter almond waters ; but chloride of gold employed cold and in 

 proper proportion, appears suitable for this purpose. When this salt 

 reacts upon the hot distilled waters, hydrochloric acid is formed and 

 cyanide of gold is deposited by concentrating the liquors. 



10. The distilled waters above-named, when exposed to the action 

 of the air in wide open vessels, simply covered with paper, lose, 

 after a certain time, all the oil and acid which they contain ; the 

 bitter almond water requiring about a month, and the cherry-laurel 

 water, which is more stable, ten weeks to three months. 



11. These distilled waters also undergo the same alteration in well- 

 closed vessels if partly empty ; but when the vessel is small, and not 

 too frequently opened, the waters scarcely lose their active principles 

 in four or five months. 



12. At the expiration of twelve months these waters, kept in ves- 

 sels perfectly filled and with glass stoppers, lost none of their active 

 principles. In this case, as also when kept in partially full bottles, 

 there occurs, after a certain time, a deposit of a lightyellowish sediment. 



13. Lastly, a small quantity of an ammoniacal salt always occurs in 

 these distilled waters when they have undergone change. — Journ. 

 de Plutrm. et de Ch., Septembre 1848 



