134 



water. — Crystallises in rhombic prisms, tastes sweet, but less so 

 than cane-sugar, fuses at 100° without a perceptil>le loss of weight, 

 intuuiesces at 130°, and loses 2 eq. water; becomes solid again and 

 loses no more water ; fuses at 210° again, becomes next brown, 

 and smells unmistakably like caramel. Dissolves in less than its 

 equal weight of water, in boiling alcohol not quite to the extent 

 of l°/oJ is not altered by alkalies or by alkaline tartarate of 

 copper; yields with nitric acid, oxalic, but no mucic acid; is 

 converted, liy heating with diluted sulphuric acid, into grape- 

 sugar. Rotates three times more to the right than cane-sugar, 

 and even more than dextrin. 



MyriCil AVilX. Obtained by boiling the berries of Myrica 

 cerifera, M. cordifolia, M. quercifolia, M. serrata, with water. — 

 Pale green, transparent, brittle and friable when cold, smells and 

 tastes aromatic; has 1*00 density; fuses at 44 to 49°. Contains 

 much palmitic, little myristic acid, mostly in the free state; no 

 oleic, nor any volatile acids. 



Myristic Aciclo C2S H27 O3 + HO. As for distribution, see 

 Myristin. Saponify myristin with soda-ley ; decompose the soap 

 with a mineral acid and crystallise in alcohol what has separated. — 

 White, wart-like groups or fine leaflets, fusing at 53.8°; insoluble 

 in water; soluble in 545 parts alcohol of 50°/^ at 17°; in 7 parts 

 absolute alcohol at 16°; and in. ^-part at the boiling heat; in 2 

 parts ether at 16°. The Myristates of the alkalies dissolve 

 undecomposed in water. 



Myristin = C90 Hse O12 (Ce H5 O3 + 3 Cgg H07 O3. ). Princi- 

 pally in the fat of the seeds of Myristica fragrans, M. Otoba, 

 M. sebifera, and of other kinds of this genus, in the fat of Cocos 

 nucifera, in the fat of Bassia species, of Myrica cerifera and other 

 congeners, of the Dica-bread (the fruit of Irvingia Barteri). 

 Dissolve the nutmeg-balsam in 4 parts boiling alcohol, let the 

 mixture cool, and wash what has crystallised with alcohol. — 

 White, 0])aque, or silky shining mealy mass, of granular appear- 

 ance under the microscope, inodorous and tasteless, fuses at 52°; 

 is insoluble in water, soluble in 4458 pai'ts absolute alcohol at 17°, 

 in 3 parts boiling alcohol, in 7\ 2^^^"^ ether at 17°, and in 3^ 

 parts boiling ether. 



MyrOlliC Acid. As Myronate of potash =:KO + C2o Hig 

 NS4 O20 ill the seeds of Brassica nigra. Press the seeds, draw 

 out with alcohol of 85% at first cold, then at 50° to 60°, treat 

 afterwards with cold or warm water, neutralise the free acid in 

 the aqueous extract with carbonate of baryta, evaporate to a 

 syrup consistence, remove mucous substances by digesting with 

 weak alcohol, and evapoi'ate the filtrate to the formation of 

 crystals. The Myronate of potash crystallises in limpid, short, 



