56 SUGAR. 



or Peruvian bark, Lamberl Cinchona, t. ] , and every 

 species, more or less, of Gentian. 



Acid secretions are well known to be very general 

 in plants. Formerly one uniform vegetable or acetous 

 acid was suj)posed common to all plants ; but the re- 

 finements of modern chemistry have detected in some 

 a peculiar kind, as the Oxalic acid, obtained from 

 Oxalis or Wood Sorrel, and several others. The 

 astringent principle should seem to be a sort of acid> 

 of which there are many different forms or kinds, and 

 among them the tanning principle of the Oak, Wil- 

 low, &c. 



On the other hand, two kinds of Alkali are furnished 

 by vegetables, of which the most general is tlie Vege- 

 table Alkali, properly so called, known by the name 

 of Salt of Tartar, or Salt of Wormwood, or more cor- 

 rectly by the Arabic term Kali. The Fossil Alkali, or 

 Soda, is most remarkable in certain succulent plants 

 that grow near the sea, belonging to the genera Che- 

 iwpodium, Salsola, &c. When these plants are culti- 

 vated in a common soil, they secrete Soda as copiously, 

 provided their health be good, as in their natural ma- 

 ritime places of growth. 



Sugar, more or less pure, is very generally found in 

 plants. It is not only the seasoning of most eatable 

 fruits, but abounds in various roots, as the Carrot, 

 Beet, and Parsnip, and in many plants of the grass or 

 cane kind besides the famous Sugar Cane, Saccharum 



