BY T. STEEL. 445 



H. Prinsen-Geerlig's (Jour. Soc. Cbem. Ind., 16, 1897, p. 939) gives an 

 analysis made in Java of a plantain. E. Leuscher (Jour. Chern. Soc, 1902, Abs. 

 ii., p. 421) that of a ripe banana, husks removed. The abstract does not give 

 locality. Tlie results are as under: — 



T. Steel. Prinsen-Geerligs. Leuscher. 



Fiji. Java. — 



Cane Sugar 5.65 13.68 15.83 



Dextrose .... ) 4.72 , 



Levulose .. .. .. J ^^-^ 3.61 i ^'^^ 



Total Sugar .. 24.29 22.01 2553 



Water 71.64 — 67.10 



I found considerably more fruit sugar and less cane sugar than is reported 

 in the other analyses, so that evidently this fruit varies considerably in composi- 

 tion; the degree of ripeness may have to do with this. In addition to the other 

 sugars, Leuscher records the presence of 0.95% dextrin; I did not find any of 

 this substance present in my sample. 



VI. "Milk" op Unripe Cocoa-nuts. 



In December, 1885, wh-en resident in Fiji, I made a chemical examination of 

 several samples of the "milk" of gTcen cocoa-nuts at the stage when used for 

 drinking. The native name of this stage is "bu" (pronounced "mbu") though 

 they are commonly referred to as "niu" which is really the name of the tree. The 

 Fijians recognise by different names eight stages in ripeness of the nuts. 



Van Slyde (Amer. Chem. Journ., 13, 1891, p. 130) gives analyses of six 

 unripe samples, the average of which is stated below along with my Fiji 

 analj'ses. 



Van Slyde. T. Steel. 



Average. 1. 2. 3. 



Cane sugar Trace 0.61 0.53 



Fruit sugar 3.97 3.47 4.82 4.58 



Protein and fat 0.25 0.32 0.86 



Ash 0.62 0.59 0.48 



Water 95.01 9366 93.55 



99.85 100.00 100-00 



Sp. Gr 1.0227 10249 1.0250 1.0255 



It will be noticed that Van Slyde only records traces of cane sugar as being 

 present. In an analysis of "milk" of a ripe cocoa-nut in the same paper, he 

 shows traces only of fruit sugar and 4.42 of cane sugar. In my analysis the 

 cane sugar was determined by Clerget double reading on the saccharometer and 

 checked by copper titre after inversion. The water in my samples was ascertained 

 by drying by the paper roll method and is in extremely close agreement with 

 that corresponding to the Sp. Gr. for solutions of sugar. In Van Slyde's analyses 

 the water is in each case too high for the Sp. Gr., by this standard, being 0.76 

 per cent, high on the average. This perhaps indicates that there may have been 

 over-estimation of water and that about the same amount of cane sugar as I 

 found may have been really present. 



VII. Oxalic Acid in Flints. 

 Since the publication of my paper, "The Occurrence of Calcium oxalate in 

 Acacia Cambagei" (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S. Whales, xlvi., 1921, p. 256), I have 



