- 27 - 
this was evaporated and the residue was dissolved in absolute 
ether, which, on slow evaporation, gave crystals of quassiin, 
which further treatment with ether and alcohol rendered nearly 
pure. This process insures the isolation of the bitter 
principle actually exist? ng in the plants and avoids the 
formation 0:^" decomposition products. Repeated rocrystallization 
of the prc-.uct led to the separation of four compounds differing 
in their solubilities ancx mcltiri^ points. The melting points 
were 210-2ilo, 2r5-21?o , 221-326'^, and 2S9-242C. The first and 
last compounds co-.ild not to further examinod "becr.use of the lack 
of material; but the fir^t rgrees with the qurssiin obtained 
by boiling the wood witn watsr, as in Chrictensen' s extraction 
method, and in crystalliue form and rielting point is the same as 
that obser/ed by '.'.'ig/rers and by Oliveri and Denaro. Quassiin, 
melting point 215-21?° , en analysis f-ave Cr^^II^gO^^Q ^^^ that with 
melting point 221-226° gave C^-H^qO-j^q. The bitter principle 
picrasmin, obtained as above from F i^ racna excel la , melted at 
206-208° and was a rtiixture of two varieties, one relting at 204° 
and the other at 203-21^°. Some co^^ierciax crj'-strlline material 
was purifiei. and the tvi': varieties vere roadily isolated; that 
melting at "04° was found to liavo the form-'la Cgr^H^gOTQ while 
the other grve Cg^-IJ^gCiQ. It is probable that q-iassiin and 
picracmin are xiot iien'.ical but fcrm two series of homologous 
compounds. To elucidate this point, soce of the decomposition 
products of picr.i'^Min w^re stuo-im. Hydrochloric acid in a 
closed tube- with j.;icrasnin produced picrasmin acid; the barium 
salt of this acid was analyzed and r>howed the acid to be dibasic; 
its formation may be thus represented: '-'31^40^5 (^OOMc)^ + 
2KC1 = Cg-LH^QOgC CGCH) 2 + 2i-/ieCi. Zeisel' s reaction, in which 
picrasmin is treated with f\ming hydriodic acid in a current of 
carbon dioxide, s^^v;s that three me'-.hoxyl groups are present, 
but only two of these are r.tt^^.c-icd to carboxyl , as shov/n by 
treatment with hydrochloric acid. Q,aassiiric acid, C;3qH330]_o, 
obtained by Oliveri and Denaro, and picrasmic acid, C33H42G10 "^ 
SEgO , obtained by the author, strej.^;then the viev of the 
nonidentity of quassiin aad picrasjiin. 
(74) 
BEITBAG-E ZUR EEITIITIJIS DER CH?:kI.SCK3ir3ESTAlTDTEILF. VON gASSIA 
AMRa L. t'l^TD PIG R'JBK'. E::CELSA. LIITDS . 29 ipv. L^iss. Erlangen. 
Berlin. 1830. 
Similar to the preceding article. (73). 
MOON, A. (75) 
A CATALOGUE OF TI-3 INDIGENOUS AND EXOTIC PLillTTS GROWING IN 
CEYLOK. In seven sections, totaling 158 pp. Colombo, 1824. 
Ailanthus excelsa is listed. 
