NEUTRAL SUBSTANCES. 127 



Lea-umin is a vegetable principle, found in the fleshy cotyle- 

 dons of all papilionaceous plants, such as peas, beans, etc. and 

 seems to be intermediate between gluten and vegetable albu- 

 men.* 



Amygdalin (C^^^H^CN^O^S) is found in bitter almonds. 



5. Caoutchouc is obtained from the milky juice of several 

 species of trees in South America, and in the East Indies. It 

 is is well known as India-rubber. 



6. Extractive, The term extractive is now restricted to what 

 is obtained by macerating vegetables in water, and evaporating 

 the infusion to dryness. There is a great variety of these ex- 

 tracts, and they are used extensively in medicine, in which case 

 they are generally preserved in alcohol. 



7. Bitter Principle. Many vegetable substances have an ex- 

 tremely bitter taste, and, on that account, are employed in medi- 

 cine. This is the case with the roots of the quassia gentian, 

 hop, camomile, worm-wood, etc. 



The following are some of the most remarkable bitter sub- 

 stances which have been examined. 



Quassite, obtained from the quassia amara and excelsa. Gen- 

 tianUe, from the seeds of the gentiana lutea. Cytisite, from the 

 seeds of the cytisus laburnum. Bryonite, from the root of the 

 Bryonia alba, or white bryony. Centaurite, from the leaves of the 

 centaurea benedida, or blessed thistle, ^^thanitite, from the cydor- 

 tnen Europeum, or sow-wort. Bitter principle of wormwood, trora 

 the artemisia absynthium, or worm-wood. Colocynthite, from the 

 cucumii colocynthii, or colocynth of pothecaries. Bitter principle 

 of aloes. Xanthropicrite. Berbente, from the bark of the com- 

 mon barberry, berbtris vulgaris. Lupinite, from the seeds of the 

 lupinus albus. Phloridzite, from the bark of the apple, pear, 

 cherry and plum tree. 



It would be nearly useless to enumerate any more substan- 

 ces, as the peculiar products of vitality, for but little more can 

 be done in this work, than to mention their names. These are 

 mostly technical and unintelligible to the farmer. Perhaps too 

 many have already been inserted. The object is simply to give 

 the reader, some idea of the great number of compounds, which 



* There are found in animal bodies three substances, which appear 

 to be identical with gluten, vegetable albumen and legumin ; they 

 are casien, the curd of cheese ; albumen, or the white of eggs ; and 

 fbrin, the substance which constitutes the muscular fibre of animals 

 It is probable, that these substances are derived by animals from vege- 

 tables. They contain large quantities of nitrogen, and hence th«ir 

 use for manure- 



