502 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



collected for the purpose in Victoria, Australia. An alcoholic extract of the 

 material, when distilled with steam, yielded a small amount of a pale yellow 

 essential oil, which i)ossosswl a ])leasant, aromatic odor, and gradually deposited 

 some crystals of benzoic acid. 



" From the portion of the alcoholic extract which was soluble in water tlie 

 following definite compounds were isolated: (1) Benzoic, salicylic, p-coumaric. 

 and fumaric acids; (2) a crystalline benzojd derivative of a new disaccharid 

 (glucoxylose), which possesses an extremely bitter taste. This bitter substance 

 has the empirical formula C^oHosOnHsO, melts at 147 to 148°, and has been des- 

 ignated dibenzoylglucoxylose ; (3) a quercetin glucosid, C^iHmOio, which is prob- 

 ably identical witli rutin. The aqueous liquid contained, furthermore, a quan- 

 tity of sugar, which yielded d-phenylgluco.sazone (melting point 210°). 



" The portion of the alcoholic extract which was insoluble in water, consisting 

 chiefly of resinous material, amounted to about 8.G per cent of the weight of 

 the drug. From the resinous material there were isolated: (1) Myricyl alcohol, 

 CaoHcaO; (2) hentriacontane, CsiHm; (3) a phytosterol, C27H«0 ; (4) a mixture 

 of fatty acids, consisting of palmitic, stearic, and linoleic acids. The resin also 

 contained a considerable proportion of the above-mentioned dibenzoylglucoxylose, 

 together with free benzoic acid. 



" This investigation has shown that the bitterness of the leaves of D. latifoUa 

 is due to tlie crystalline substance which has been designated dibenzoylglu- 

 coxylose. The latter represents a type of compound which has not hitherto 

 been observed to occur in nature, and its characters will be fully described in a 

 subsequent communication." 



The nitrogenous constituents of hops, A. C. Chapman {Jour. Gliem. Soc. 

 [Lomloni, 105 {1911,), No. 621, pp. 1895-1907).— A detailed study of the various 

 nitrogenous constituents present in hops, made for the purpose of noting espe- 

 cially those substances which might be of help in solving some of the vexed 

 questions as to the therapeutic effects of various Ivinds of beers, and also as to 

 whether the nitrogenous substances would have some effect on the vitality of the 

 yeast organism. In some cases the hops were extracted in the laboratory and in 

 others the extract prepared by a commercial concern was used. 



The investigation was confined especially to those substances soluble in boiling 

 water. From the aqueous solution histidin, arginin (?), betain, cholin, aspara- 

 gin, adenin, hypoxanthin, a small amount of a definitely alkaloidal substance, a 

 colored nitrogenous substance wliich was acid in character and soluble in alkali 

 and forming a brownish-red solution, and substances exhibiting properties of 

 complex amino acids or polypeptids, or mixtures of the same, were isolated. A 

 crystalline substance melting at about 70° C, which was c. nonuitrogenous com- 

 pound and almost insoluble in alcohol, was also noted. Potassium nitrate was 

 obtained from an alcoholic extract of hops. 



The carbohydrate matter was also investigated and will be reported upon in a 

 later communication. No alkaloids giving reactions similar to morphiu were 

 noted except with one method and then only a trace. 



An investig-ation of the diastase of alfalfa and the effect of rapid curing 

 upon the food value of alfalfa, R. C. Shuey {Jour. Indus, and Engin. Chew., 

 6 {191J,), No. 11, pp. 910-919, fig. i).— The fact that diastase has been demon- 

 strated in a large number of plants and in various parts of plants indicated 

 the probability of the diastatic content of fodders bearing an important relation 

 to the availability of the food constituents. " Exi^eriments were conducted 

 along similar lin&s, using alfalfa as an example of a highly diastatic plant, and 

 endeavoring to learn the optimum conditions for the production and retention 

 of diastase in a cured hay." 



