FRUCTUS LIMONIS. 117 



to one of us hj Hoffmann, darkens when it is shaken with alcoholic per- 

 chloride of iron, and turns dingy blackish brown when gently warmed 

 with the latter. 



Hesixretin forms crystals melting at 228° C, soluble both in alcohol 

 or ether, not in water ; they taste sweet. They are split up by potash 

 in Phloroghicin and Hesperetic add, C'H'^O'. 



On addition of ferric chloride, thin slices of the peel are darkened, 



owing probably to some derivative of hesperidin, or to hespcridin 

 itself. 



The name hesperidin had also been applied to yellow crystals 



extracted from the shaddock, Citrus decmnana L., the dried flowers of 



which afford about 2 per cent, of that substance. It is, as shown in 



1879 by E. Hoffmann, quite different from hesperidin as described above ; 



he calls it Karingin and assigns to it the formula C^^'ff"0'' + 40H''. 



iNarmgin is readily soluble in hot water or in alcohol, not in ether or 



chloroform. Its solutions turn brown red on addition of ferric 

 chloride. 



bemon juice, some of the characters of which have been already 

 nofaced, is an important article in a dietetic point of view, being largely 

 consumed on shipboard for the prevention of scurvy. In addition to 

 citric acid it contains 3 to 4 per cent, of gum and sugar, and 2-28 per 

 cent, of inorganic salts, of wdiich according to Stoddart only a minute 

 proportion is potash. Cossa^ on the other hand, who has recently 

 studied the products of the lemon tree with much care, has found that 

 e ash of dried lemon juice contains 54 per cent, of potash, besides 15 

 per cent, of phosphoric acid. 



^toddart has pointed out the remarkable tendency of citric acid to 



^idergo decomposition,^ and has proved that in lemons kept from 



e)ruary to July this acid generally decreases in quantity, at first 



^J^wiy but afterwards rapidly, until at the end of the period it entirely 



^asea to exist, having been all split up into glucose and carbonic acid. 



bnf r T^^^^ ^""*^ ^^^^ ^P- S^- ^^ ^^^ i^i^^ "^^''^'^ found to have undergone 

 and 1 09-^ '!"'^^n^^^ion :— thus it was 1-044 in February, 1-041 in May, 

 bem • • ^^ '^^^^•^ ' ^^^^ *^^ ^^'^"^ ^^^^ hardly altered in appearance, 

 or e °^ '^^"'^^ ^^^y '^'^^^ ^^^^^6 precautions be kept unimpaired for months 

 of th ^^^ ^^^^^' ^^^ ^^ ^^ capable of undergoing fermentation by reason 

 ne sugar, gum, and albuminoid matters which it contains. 



exf,^?7"^^^^^— Lemons arc chiefly imported from Sicily, to a smaller 

 Stat f ^^^ ^^® Riviera of Genoa and from Spain. From the published 

 undr^^^ ^^ ^^^^®' ^^ which lemons are classed together with oranges 

 incr/ ^^^ ^^^^' ^* ajipears that these fruits are being imported in 

 dom • ^^^ quantities. The value of the shipments to the United Kmg- 

 f 115494?^^ (largely exceeding those of any previous year) was 

 and 1p ^^ ^^^^ ^^^' £98G,796 represents the value of the oranges 



-rom Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and 

 shipments of the same fruit from Italy ; and 



and len 



^^'^2, those from Malta. 

 Messina 



in 1877 from 

 The value of 



added 



<\siTV \ ^'- ^^^"^^^ '^02. detected in the mixture after a few days, is 



s statement that if potash be not supported by our observations. 



