40 '' 'ollcfjc of Forestry 



was reduced to shavings and, after thorough drying, both 

 samples were ground finely. 



These samples of finely divided wood were first successively 

 submitted to a preliminary extraction, without heating, for 

 ■24 hours with ether, 95 per cent alcohol, a 10 per cent solution 

 of sodium hydroxide, and a 5 per cent solution of hydrochloric 

 acid so that, when the decomposition products were extracted 

 finally they would be free from many extraneous substances. 

 Parallel tests Avere conducted on equal quantities of infil- 

 trated wood and of the normal sapwood. The ethereal and 

 alcoholic filtrates, in both cases, contained such exceedingly 

 small amounts of substance that they were not further inves- 

 tigated. The alkaline filtrate from the sound wood residue, 

 upon the addition of 90 per cent alcohol, gave a character- 

 istic precipitate of xylan (wood gum). The alkaline filtrate 

 from the infiltrated M'ood, however, upon the addition of 90 

 per cent alcohol gave a brown flocculent precipitate which, 

 judging from its solubility and. other chemical reactions, con- 

 sisted of a mixture of two or more substances — at least very 

 little wood gum was present. After the alkaline extraction 

 the woody residues were washed and then subjected to extrac- 

 tion with a 5 per cent solution of hydrochloric acid for 24 

 hours. The acid filtrates thus obtained were practically 

 colorless and the woody residues, in both cases, apparently 

 remained unchanged. After this extraction the one from the' 

 infiltrated wood was, as far as could be determined by micro- 

 scopic examination, as darkly colored as it was at the begin- 

 ning of the original treatment. 



Both the woody residues were then subjected to the action 

 of an oxidizing agent (hydrochloric acid and potassium 

 chlorate) after which, according to Temme (1885) and 

 Frank (1884), the decomposition products are rendered 

 soluble in alcohol. Miinch (19 10"), however, considers that 

 Temme and Frank are in error for giving this reaction 

 (alcohol solubility after digestion with hydrochloric acid and 



