INVESTIGATION 01" JAPANESE LAQUOR. 259 



1. Residue is, I think, uothing more than a mixture of 

 the bark, cellulose, dusts, &c. 



2. Gum is soluble in cold as well as hot water. It has 

 no smell, almost no taste, yellowish or rather brownish 

 colour, uncrystalline mass. It is insoluble in alcohol. 

 On subjecting this substance to organic combustion, 1 got 

 the following percentage amounts of oxygen, hydrogen, 

 and carbon : — 



I. II. 



Carbun 41-20 4i'43 



Hydrogen 6-51 658 



Oxygeu 52'29 5''99 



lOO'O lOO'O 



The formula calculated from I. is C,2Hj3,0„, and from 

 II. C,iHijO„. But I think this is near enough to conclude 

 it to be the same substance as ordinary gum. 



3. Part soluble in alcohol seems to be the principal part, 

 and has a smell like original laquor, but it never dries up 

 in the ordinary way. It is brownish black, slightly sticky 

 to the touch. When treated with potash solution it forms 

 a bluish-black precipitate ; but nothing is obtained on ad- 

 dition of dilute HjS04 to the filtrate. 



When boiled with HCl acid it merely forms an elastic 

 mass while hot, something like that when heated sulphur 

 is allowed to drop into cold water. 



When boiled with nitric acid, nitrous fumes were given 

 off and the mass gradually became yellow, and finally a 

 beautiful orange-coloured mass was obtained. This mass 

 was washed several times with hot water and then treated 

 with absolute alcohol ; the mass was to a greater extent 

 soluble, leaving behind still some ciuantity of a yellowish 

 mass. (This may be the part that has not been yet suffi- 

 ciently acted upon by the acid.) 



