260 E Transactions. — Chemistry. 
Amr. XLV.—Further Report om the Chemistry of Phormium tenax.* By 
AnTHUR HERBERT Cuuncu, M.A, Oxon, Professor of Chemistry in 
the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, England.— April, 1873. 
Communicated by the Hon. the CoLONIAL SECRETARY. 
[Aead before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 1st September, 1873.] 
CONTENTS. 
$ 1.—Proximate Principles of the Leaf. $ 3.— Further Experiments with the Fibre, 
(a.) Gum. sorption of Mineral, Vege- 
(^.) Wax or Fat. table, and Animal Oil by the 
(c.) Sugar. ibre. 
(d.) Bitter Principle (b.) Colouration of the Fibre. : 
(e.) Colouring Matters, (c.) Miscellaneous Observations on 
J.) Organi i e Fibre. 
( апіс Acids, 
$ 2.—Mineral Matter or Ash of the Leaf. Appendix. 
$ 1. PROXIMATE PRINCIPLES OF THE LEAF Ок Phormium tenas. 
IN examining the constituents of the fresh plant, as received from the Royal 
Gardens at Kew, particular attention was paid to those substances which 
seemed likely to prove of interest in themselves, or in connection with the 
preparation of the Phormium fibre. The experiments and results given in 
this section of the report will be found to relate to the gum, wax, sugar, bitter 
principle, colouring matter, and organic acids of the Phormium leaf. A few 
words, however, may be first given in reference to the total percentage of 
Moisture zm ы ie vi» 71:6 
Organic matter  .., ae c m 26-8 
Mineral matter xi 1:6 
100-0 
By a reference to my previous report, $ ll,f it will be seen that these 
results are almost identical with those obtained in the analysis of similar 
leaves in the year 1871. 
The next step was to extract, identify, separate, and finally to examine the 
chief organic constituents, or proximate principles, of the leaf. The use of 
* App. to Journ. H. of R., 1871, G. No. 44, + loc. cit., p. 12. 
