270 



Tratisactions. — Chemistry. 



cellulose did not acquire any colour by treatment witli ammonia, but chlorine 

 water followed by ammonia water did stain it pink. When this fibre, so 

 treated (with nitric acid and potassium chlorate), was further acted on by 

 means of water at a temperature of 150° centigrade for four hours, it gave a 

 yellow acid liquid, and lost a considerable portion of its weight. And yet, 

 after this second and most severe purification, the residual cellulose still gave 

 the characteristic pink colour after a few minutes' soaking in chlorine water 

 and the subsequent application of ammonia. It is impossible to regai'd the 

 substance susceptible of the colour-change as other than a transformation- 

 product of the very substance of the fibre itself. 



2nd. Experhnent on the Pink Colouration, etc. 

 A similar purified sample of Phormium fibre, but in the preparation of 

 which the acid and alkali method had been employed, gave a dark red-brown 

 colouration with chlorine water followed by ammonia. 



Miscellaneous Observations on Phormium Fibre and the Fresh Plant itself. 

 Some experiments on the action of an ammoniacal solution of copper upon 

 the constituents of the fibre were made with the hope of gaining some further 

 insight into the cellulosic constituents of Phormium. The results were not 

 accordant with each other, nor with the deductions from the results of other 

 methods of analysis. It was found that the above-named re-agent dissolved 

 out only 21 per cent, of cellulose from a fair sample of machine dressed 

 Phormium fibre, but that it extracted no less than 40 per cent, of cellulose 

 from a sample of the same fibre which had been treated with nitric acid and 

 potassium chlorate. Thus it appeared that this latter treatment opened np the 

 fibre to the more complete penetration and solvent action of the ammoniacal 

 copper solution. In another experiment the residue of the action of oil of 

 vitriol upon a sample of Phormium fibre was submitted to the action of the 

 re-agent for cellulose. In this case the presence of some cellulose was also 

 indicated, although the previous treatment with sulphuric acid (of sp. gr. 1-53) 

 should have removed it altogether. 



It is diflicult to efiect a complete separation of the various soluble 

 constituents of the Phormium plant by means of precipitation with basic lead- 

 acetate, as described in § 1 of this report. The following table gives some idea 

 of the partial separations thus effected : — 



Lead precipitate contains pyrocatechin 

 and acids, a little bitter principle on 

 agitation with ether. 



The residue contains 

 the acids. 



The ethereal solu- 

 tion contains traces 

 of the bitter princi- 

 ple and resin. 



Filtrate from lead precipitate contains 

 much sugar and much bitter principle 

 on agitation with ether. 



The residue contains 

 the whole of the 

 sugar. 



The ethereal solution 

 contains the bit- 

 ter principle nearly 

 pure. 



