B66 ANALYSIS OF HEDGE HYSSOP. 



in water. Beside the bitter taste of the latter, it has consL 



derably pungency, owing to the salts it contains, the nature 



of which will be made known below. 

 The resin made It appears to be these salts, that communicate to the resin 

 thSs!"^^^^^*^^ faculty of dissolving in water more abundantly: for, 



once divested of them, it is much less soluble in this tluid. 

 Action of re- This resinous substance, while dissolved in water, wa^ 

 solution.^ '^ ^ exposed to the action of various tests, which exhibited the 



following effects : 



1. Oxalate of ammonia rendered the solution slightly 

 turbid. 



2. Nitrate of barytes produced no change. 



3. Muriate of platina formed a small quantity of a triplesalt, 



4. Nitrate of silver threw down a very copious yellow 

 precipitate, part of which was soluble in nitric acid, and 

 the remainder had all the appearance of muriate of silver. 



5. With acetate of lead it gave a brownish precipitate, 

 completely soluble in nitric acid. 



6. Litmus paper was pretty strongly reddened by it. 

 Calclued. 7. Part being evaporated, and calcined in a platina cru- 

 cible, exhaled a very acrid and pungent matter; after which 

 it was converted into a very bulky coal, with a taste some- 

 what alkaline. 



The coal lixivi- The lixivium of this coal, being evaporated, yielded crys- 

 ^'^^' tals, that tasted like muriate of soda. These crystals, 



when treated with dilute sulphuric acid, effervesced briskly ; 

 Avhich proves, that they were mixed with an alkaline car- 

 bonate. The solution of these crystals, evaporated to dry- 

 ness, calcined, and redissolved in water, yielded sulphate 

 of soda, mixed with a small quantity of sulphate of 

 potash. 

 gv^^ These results prove, that hedge hyssop contains muriate 



of soda, and another salt with base of potash, the acid of 

 ■which is of the vegetable kind, since it Mas destroyed by 

 heat, and leaves carbonic acid in its stead. 



It is to be presumed, that this acid is the malic, or the 

 acetic ; for t1^e salt composed of it was dissolved by alcohol, 

 and its solution, even when greatly concentrated, afforded 

 no nitrate of potash : the only salt besides, that, would 

 have dissolved in alcohol, and been decomposed by heat. 



Th« 



