90 



HESIN OF SCAMMONY. 



1853. 



Resin of 

 Scammony. 



characters 

 Searmnony. 



This scammony is blackish, rather brittle and opaque, either 

 compact or frothy: fracture not bright, readily affording an 

 emulsion. Treated with ether, I obtained from it 79'3 per cent, 

 of matter soluble in that menstruum. 



6. Angora Scammony adulterated with calcareous earth and 

 starch to the extent of 65 to 68 per cent. This scammony is 

 heavy and greyish with a dull clayey fracture. It is evidently 

 very impure, affording only 33 - 4 per cent, of matter soluble in 

 ether. 



7. Imitation Scammony, " prepared," says Mr. Maltass, " from 

 the refuse of scammony gathered by the Turkish peasants after 

 the extraction of the resin, with the addition of gum arabic 

 and rosin." 



This substance is in hard, opaque, black, irregular cinder- 

 like masses. I have obtained from it 44'28 per cent, of resin 

 soluble in ether. It is needless to comment on the activity of 

 such a compound, yet I am assured that even this would fetch 

 10s. per pound in the London market. 



8. Pure Eesin of Scammony, extracted from Smyrna scam- 

 mony of 1846. Viewed in the mass it is blackish, in small 

 fragments transparent and greenish-brown : very brittle, outer 

 surface and fractured surface brilliant. A very scanty emul- 

 sion is produced when the surface is moistened and rubbed. 



9. Eesin of Scammony, rather less pure than No. 8. 



10. Pure Eesin of Angora Scammony : transparent and of a 

 golden-brown even in the mass. Like the natural Angora 

 scammony, it is cracked in all directions and extremely friable. 

 When moistened and rubbed no emulsion is perceptible. 



In conclusion I may remark that the striking characters of 

 pure natural scammony, I mean the unmixed inspissated juice, 

 are its pale, yellowish-brown hue, its transparency, its great brittle- 

 ness, its property of readily affording a white emulsion when 

 rubbed with water, and the scanty amount of a white, residue 

 which it leaves upon being treated with ether. All these char- 

 acters are well shown in samples 1, 2, and 3. 



The opaque Black Scammony No. 4 although marked pure is 



