104 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. { April, 1905. 
the alcoholic solution was heated with dilute hydrochloric acid, 
when a bright scarlet product was obtained. This was filtered 
off and washed with alcohol. 
The yield was very small, but thus prepared, the colouring 
principle was only very slightly soluble inall solvents. If dissolved 
in large excess of alcohol and allowed to evaporate the colouring 
principle deposited a microscopic powder which seemed to be 
crystalline when viewed under an oilimmersion (-;). 
Preparation of the colouring principle.-—Since the above method 
was obviously not adapted to the preparation on a large scale, the 
colouring matter obtained by hydrolysis of the aqueous extract was 
dissolved as far as possible in alcohol and the solution heated with 
hydrochloric acid, when, as arule, the bright red colouring principle 
was deposited. It was only possible to work with small quantities at 
a time, and in some cases black tarry products resulted at once with 
no red deposit at all. Moreover in some cases it appeared that 
the hydrolysis of the aqueous solution resulted at once in precipi- 
tation of most of the colouring principle,in which case the 
precipitate from the acidified water solution would not dissolve to any 
extent in alcohol, and the colouring principle could not be extracted 
by this method. The extraction was thus attended with great 
difficulty, and it was foundthat the best method was to keep 
solutions dilute, not to add too much acid, and not to boil The 
flocculent precipitate from the aqueous extract was then moderately 
soluble in alcohol, and on warming the alcoholic solution with 
hydrochloric acid a red precipitate settled down which could be 
easily filtered off. This red precipitate was washed with alcohol 
and water, and the purified product collected. 
For a long time this could not be obtained pure, but it was 
eventually found to crystallize from pyridine and toluene. In the 
former of these it was very soluble, in the latter moderately so. 
The crystals were apparently of two kinds—one yellow and 
one red, but on gently warming the yellow crystals they became 
red. 
The melting point of the crystals was 225°—230°. They were 
tested for methoxy groups by Ziesel’s method; none were present. 
Two combustions of an incompletely purified sample (it 
yielded a trace of ash on combustion) gave :— 
C=69:10 nal C=68'91 
Bless WRB | H= 7:34 
an CAE O)) requires } ose 
=68°4 
Ci9H2,0; oy) {ho 7s 
Several other combustions of other samples had been made 
in the course of the work. Results varied from 68°60 to 
70°36 for carbon, and 7°34 to 8°3 for hydrogen. The author thus 
