1911.] • PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 31. 137 



were filtered and washed, and the residues then subjected to two 

 hours' boiling under reflux condensers, with 100 cubic centi- 

 meters of HCl of approximately 6 per cent. After cooling the 

 solutions they were nearly neutralized with NaOH, and made 

 up to 250 cubic centimeters. The reducing sugars were then 

 determined by Fehling's solution and the weights of copper cal- 

 culated to glucose. The G samples averaged 8.6 per cent, of 

 glucose by this hydrolysis ; but since the same samples averaged 

 8.G7 per cent, of pentosans, reckoned from furfurol-phloro- 

 glucid, it is improbable that there are any hydrolizable carbo- 

 hydrates unaccounted for by the usual analytical methods. 



From these different analyses it was found that the dry mat- 

 ter of 16 roots contained — 



Per Cent. 



Sugars calculated as invert sugar, 41.43 



Pentosans, ........... 8.78 



Galactans, 1.04 



The carbohydrate forming over 40 per cent, of the dry matter 

 was at first assumed to l)e sucrose. The analytical procedure 

 had shown it to be soluble in cold water and inactive to Feh- 

 ling's solution until hydrolized, which was easily accomplished 

 by dilute acids. Repeated attempts to recover sucrose by means 

 of strontium hydrate ■^ resulted in securing only very small 

 quantities of a straw-colored syrup which could not l)e crystal- 

 lized, but did not reduce Fehling's solution. 



Methyl alcohol was found to extract considerable quantities 

 of the sugar from the roots, which suggested raffinose; but no 

 mucic acid could be obtained by oxidation with nitric acid, 

 although a parallel test with lactose under the same conditions 

 yielded it in abundance. 



Osazones were prepared from both methyl alcohol and water 

 extracts, before and also after inversion. The characteristic 

 yellow, crystalline precipitate was easily obtained in every case. 

 Five such precipitates had their melting points determined, and 

 thoy ranged between 203 ° and 210 °, and were accom])anio(l by 

 an ('\'(ilution of gas. Glucosazone was evidently lho only one 

 forniod. 



I E. Schulze, Zeitschr. Physiol. Chem., 20, 513-515. 



