278 Method of collecting Snccinic Acid 



washed and soaped there do not remain a red spot, which 

 is called mordant, the anatto is considered as of no value. 



Such is the process employed tor the fabrication of anatto. 

 The author of the memoir remarks that this tedious, labo- 

 rious, and unheal thful operation gives an uncertain pro- 

 duct of a bad quality. He proposes merely to wash the 

 seeds till they are entirely freed from the colour, which is 

 placed at the surface; to make the water pass through fine 

 sieves, to separate the remains of the bark, to precipitate 

 the colour by means of vinegar or lemon juice, aild to bake 

 it in the usual manner, or to make it drain in bags, as is 

 practised for indigo*. This process is founded on this cir- 

 cumstance, that, as the colour is entirely at the surface of 

 the seeds, it is needless to bruise the latter, and to reduce 

 them to a state of putrefaction. This method would be ad- 

 vantageous to the planter who may wish to save hands; to 

 the merchant, who would gain in regard to the freight; 

 and to the dyer, who, being sure of the quality of his co- 

 louring matter, would be enabled to determine with exact- 

 ness the quantity necessary for his purpose. If the planters 

 of Guyana refuse to change their process, it might be advan- 

 tageous to send to Europe the seeds without preparation. 

 The saving in the manipulation would be equal to, and even 

 surpass, the expense of carriage. The annual consumption 

 of anatto amounts to 240 tons. When the crop exceeds 

 280, the price of this article, the use of which is limited, falls 

 so much that the cultivation of it ceases to be advantaE;eous, 



XLVII. Observations on the PossihiUty of collecting a cer- 

 tain Quantity of Succinic Acid during ilie Process of 

 making Amber Varnish, without lessening the Property of 

 the Famish. By M. Planche, Member of the Pharma- 

 ceutic Society of Paris f. 



xIaving had occasion to assist some time ago in the pre- 

 paration of amber varnish on a large scale, 1 observed that 



* Jussieu, Desfontaines, Cels, and Vauquelin, commissioners of the 

 National Institute, huve verified the excellence of tliis new process. The 

 anatto which thence results is less mixed with impurities, and conse- 

 quently of a finer tint; so that one part of the anatto extracted by simple 

 washing produces the same effect as four of common anatto. This fact 

 is confirmed by a ceriiticate from C Ducurcr jun. and Genet, dyers at 

 Paris. They add also that this anatto is more easily employed; that it 

 requires less solvent, and gives a purer cf lour. 



t From the AnnaUs de Qbimie^ No. 145. 



durins: 



