348 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL EXP. STA., RESEARCH BULLETIN NO. IO 



phide. The pigment was again found quantitatively in the petroleum 

 ether and carbon bisulphide. A portion of pigment was again put into 

 alcohol and the solution made strongly alkaline with solid sodium 

 hydroxide. On addition of much sodium chloride to this solution 

 the pigment was not precipitated. The remainder of the pigment 

 was now dissolved in carbon bisulphide, after evaporation of the solu- 

 tion (petroleum ether), and the carbon bisulphide solution filtered 

 through the CaCO 3 column again. It passed through unadsorbed 

 as a rose colored zone. 



TABLE 1. ABSORPTION (a) BANDS OF ALFALFA CAROTIN 



(a) Note: It should be noted that all spectroscopic measurements, both 

 this and subsequent ones, were made according to an arbitrary scale which was 

 attached to the spectrometer. This scale was always set to a fixed standard be- 

 fore studying each pigment, the standard being produced by a sodium flame 

 with the spectrometer slit closed to furnish the narrowest possible line. The 

 spectrometer was equipped with a crown glass prism and lenses and had a nar- 

 row dispersion. 



The study of the alfalfa carotin showed conclusively that its 

 adsorption, spectroscopic and solubility properties were clear and 

 characteristic and were unchanged by boiling in alcoholic potash. 

 It was also shown that the pigment could not be salted out of its 

 sodium alcoholate solution with common salt when the pigment was 

 free from fat. If the solution had contained much soap the pigment 

 would in all probability have been precipitated with the soap in 

 the salting out process. The object of the test was to see whether 

 this was or was not a characteristic test for a comparatively pure car- 

 otin. Newbigin 1 claimed to have found a true lipochrome which 

 could be salted out of its alkaline solution. 



1. D. Ndel Paton. "Investigations on Life History of the Salmon." 1898,. 

 Art. XV. p. 159. 



