78 



Kceodji : TJie Chcmisiry of Seme Ccmmou Plants. 



stout fibres projecting into five strong ribs, and enclosing a very 

 thin-walled large-celled ' pith,' the whole so brittle that the 

 head (sj>ike) ol the ' sodger ' is easity lopped off by children. 

 There are mycorhizae attached to the roots. On 25th June, the 

 dried leaves contained 1.8 per cent, of wax and carotin, but no 

 fat or resin ; the alcoholic extract is acid and bitter, and has a 

 considerable quantity of an iron-greening tannin which does not 

 precipitate gelatin, and yields quinic acid on oxidation. There 

 is also a bitter principle or resinous glucoside which is decom- 

 posed by the action of mineral acids into a purplish, black sub- 

 stance and some sugar ; there is not much soluble mucilage or 

 ]n"oteid, no starch or pararabin, and only a little oxalate of 

 calcium. The crude fibre amounted to 38.8 per cent., and the 

 ash to 8.3 per cent., which had 7.9 per cent. P^O^. The ash of 

 the overground parts of the plant contained 39.5 per cent, 

 soluble salts, 5.2 silica, 17.3 hme, 5.6 P20^ 6.2 SO^, and 7.8 

 chlorine. There were no soluble carbonates. A ferment 

 identical in properties with the rennet of animals has been de- 

 tected in the leaves. The seed with shell encloses much fat 

 and crude fibre, and is also very mucilaginous. The foregoing 

 analysis recalls that of certain members of the order Scrop- 

 hulariacese, those especially of slow growth, which inhabit poor 

 soil, have no nitrates in the leaves, have a feeble transpiration, 

 and are enormously prolific. 



Red Dead Nettle [Lamium purpureum) — .This annual plant 

 is conspicuous in waste, and cultivated ground, etc, where its 

 grovelling, decumbent habit renders analysis in some respects 

 unsatisfactory. The chemistry, however, is very interesting, 

 if only by way of contrast to that of other Labiates. On June 

 ist, the overground parts contained 3 per cent, fatty matter, 

 Avith some wax, and a moderate amount of carotin. The 

 alcoholic extract was acid, and of a strong red tinge, and had a 

 lannoid or tannin which was iron-greening and precipitated 

 bromine-water, but not gelatine, and was evidently a derivative 

 of hydroquinone ; also a resin dissolving in sulphuric acid with 

 brown colour, and a bitter principle dissolving in the same 

 reagent Vv'-ith a reddish yellow colour. There was a considerable 

 amount of pectosic mucilage, some sugar, no reserve starch, 

 a substance (probably a ferment) which yielded strong proteid 

 reactions, and a large quantity of oxalate of calcium. The ash 

 contained 36 per cent, soluble salts, 18 sihca, 15.8 lime, 6.7 

 P^O^, 2.7 SO^, and 2.3 chlorine, presumably here, however, 



Naturalist, 



