THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [Nor. i, 1893. 
ARECANUT. 
Arecaiiut is tlie fruit of tlie Ijctulnut piiliii, 
tireca catechu. It is iarfjely used as a niastieatoiy 
in the East Indies. Tlie following, aficonlin;; to 
tiie Chemist and Drwic/int, aie the dieiuical 
jji-inciples present, an inferior cateciiu, tannic 
and j.;allic acids, aniinoniuin acetate, fats, oils, 
yum, nitrogenous sul)stances and a dje (arcca 
ml). Tiie cliarcoal of tlie nut is used as a 
dentifrice and tiie j^round nut as an antlielniintic. 
Bentley and Trinien say : " Accordin;^ to Morin, 
arecanuts contain tannic and gallic acids, 
gluten, red insoluble matter, fixed oil, gum, 
oxalate of lime and ligiiiii. l''lii<-kiger and 
Hanl)ury found tlicm to (-(jutain 14 per cent 
of a crystalline fatty matter, tannic acid, nearly 
15 per cent of an amor|)lious tannic matter, 
2'26 per cent of a lu-own ash, containing jicioxide 
of iron and ])liosi)hate of magnesium, ami other 
Hubstances. They also came to the conclusion 
that catecliin is not a constituent (»f arecanuts. 
and that any extract made from them must be 
essentially difi'erant from the catechu of Acacia, 
or of Nauclea, and rather to be considered a 
kind of tannic matter of the nature of IvHtanhia 
red or Cinchona red." Three alkaloids have been 
received obtained from arecanut, of which tuo liavc 
the names aiecolinc and arecaine ies))ectively. 
It is from tlie fruit and wood of the aieca 
catechu that the article known in commerce as 
liomliay catechu is ])re|>;;red. The other im- 
portant kinds of catechu met with in commerce 
are Bengal catechu prejiared from the twigs iind 
unripe pods of mimosa catechu ; IJambier catechu, 
which is extracted from the leaves of the shrub 
micaria gainhicr and kino or gum kino. (<ood 
catechu (m ignition does not leave more tlian 
fi jier cent of ash, and should contain not less than 
88 per cent of matter soluble in boiling alcohol. 
ANNATTO. 
Annatto, which is variously written Arnatto, 
Arnotto and Annotto is the coloring matter 
derived from the seeds of the Bh-a orclloiia, 
an evergreen jilant common both to the East 
and West Indies. The two kinds best known 
in commerce aie the Spanish, which come from 
Brazil, and the French, prepared in ("ayenne. 
This substance is also exported from Ceylon. 
Each fruit capsule contains a large number of 
red seeds ; from these the dye is removed in 
three ways. The seeds may be Mjoiled with 
water till a thick paste is obtained, or the seeds 
may be rubbed with water and the coloring 
matter allowed to subside, excess of water is drawn 
off, and the remainder allowed to evaporate till 
the dye has attained a pasty consistency. A 
third method is to bruise the seeds, mix them 
with water and to allow the mixture to ferment 
till the coloring matter is removed from the seeds. 
The coloring principle of Annatto is called 
bixin C,cH2oO.^, M-hicli may be separated as 
yellow crystals. The composition of commercial 
annattos varies to a great extent. In ten samples 
analysed by Lawson (Pharin. Jour.) that analyst 
found the coloring matter varied from 1 to 12 
per cent. A good sample analysed by Dr. 
Wynter Blyth yielded 
per cent- 
Coloring resin ... ... ... 28'8 
Extractive matter ... ... ... 24-5 
Water ... ... ... ... 24-2 
Ash ... ... ... ... 22-5 
1000 
In a sample of Ceylon Annatto I found 
per rent. 
Mointure ... ... ... ... 4C-22 
Soluble in alcohol with aid of eodiuni 
carbonate ... ... ... MA^ 
* Insoluble in alcohol ... ... IS'S.'j 
UK>Of» 
'Containing soluble ash ... 2 41 ) 
,, in»oluble m^h ... l-9.'»j' * 
The following Ls an analysis of and report 
u])on a sample <if Ceylon Annatto by Wigner 
and H.trland, jiublic analyiits, Lombard Street, 
London. The sample hail been a much drier 
one than the aljove : — 
Moisture . . ... ... 27 58 per cent. 
Ash ... 816 ,. 
" It yields a rich extract to alcohol." 
"It yields a rich extract to a weak M>lution 
of soda." 
" It gives a very deep blue colouration with 
concentrated sulphuric acid." 
" When opened, the sample had a 8tron|! Kniell 
of ammonia." 
"It is an exallent sample of annatto. The 
colour is very goo<l." 
EltYTHKOXVLON COCA. 
This jdant is a native of South America. 
The dried leaves have long Iteien used as a 
masticatory by the natives <»f I'erii and of oth^r 
])arts of .Soiitli America. The dried leave.- are 
mixed with lime or wtKxl ashes, w hich has the 
eti'ect of liberating the alkaloiilal jninciples 
contained in the leaf, (he chief of which is the 
alkaloid cocaine. By chewing this mixture the 
Indians are enal)le<l to en<liire abstinence from 
ordinary food for long intervals without ex- 
periencing the pangs of Imnger or feeling of 
weakness. It is also .said greatly to lessen the 
desire for sleep. The alkaloid c<K;aine is now 
largely used as a local anaesthetic, particularlj' 
for operations upon the eye. 
The jilant has been cultivated to a small 
extent in Ceylon. 
A sample of Ceylon leaves .sent to nie wa.* 
tested by the process of E. K. Squibb. One 
jiortion of the sun-drierl leaves yielded -.544 per 
cent of crude cocaine alkaloiil, another smaller 
portion of the sam])le which I treated with fully 
cue and a half times the projKjrtion of solvent 
used in the first case yielded -648 per cent of 
c'ude alkaloid. The crude alkaloid obtained by 
this process is said to contain from 20 to 25 
per cent of impurities. 
The crude alkaloid which I obtaine<l was a 
clear almost colourle.ss .substance, resembling 
varnish in appearance. After standing for some 
time, it crystallised, the crj-stals spreading out 
from star-shaped nuclei. The crystals, after 
long drying, remained viscous to the touch. A 
small portion when laid upon the tongue and 
pressed against the palate had a slightly bitter 
taste, and after a short inter\-al produced a 
sensation of numbness. The effect, which was 
not very strong, but quite marked, passed 
com]detely away in a few minutes. A portion 
of the alkaloid obtained was dissolved in hydro- 
chloric acid to a clear and neutral solution, and 
evaporated to the consistency of varnish. After 
standing for some time and being stiired it 
changed its physical condition to Avhat looked 
