138 



EXPERIMENT STATION. 



[Jan. 



About 100 grams of roots were extracted by cold water and 

 the extract concentrated on the water bath to a thick, black, 

 tenacious syrup, which was strongly reducing to Fehling's so- 

 lution. Heat and ijrobably acid salts had brought about a 

 nearly complete hydrolysis during the evaporation. This ex- 

 tract failed to yield mucic acid, but oxalic acid was readily 

 formed. 



Portions of the syrup were subjected to distillation with 

 HCl of LOG specific gravity, and yielded a small quantity of 

 furfurol. The furfurol-phloroglucid, after being dried and 

 weighed, was found to lose about two-thirds of its weight by 

 solution in hot 93 jx?r cent, alcohol, indicating that it was largely 

 niethyl-furfurol. 



The action of polarized light was observed upon freshly pre- 

 ])ared water extracts of two different roots, and upon three 

 syrups which had been fractionated by strontium hydrate. The 

 solutions were clarified by lead subacetate, and the readings 

 were made in a Schmidt and Haensch triple shade sacchari- 

 meter through a 200 millimeter tube. The solutions were then 

 inverted and again polarized, together with two solutions of the 

 dense water extract above mentioned. 



Subsequent to the readings, the actual strength of sugar in 

 each solution was determined with Fehling's solution. The 

 solutions were necessarily dilute, because the roots on moisten- 

 ing swelled to a large volume and small charges had to be used. 

 The three syrups were small in amount, as before mentioned, 

 and the black syrup from the water extract was difficult to 

 clarify to a i)oint where light would pass through it. 



