Bivero mid Boussingault on the Milk of' the CoW’-Tree. 101 
appearance of grease, the other more liquid. Alcohol, at the 
temperature of 40° cent., dissolves it entirely ; but it is precipitated 
when it becomes cold. It combines with caustic potash, and 
forms a soap ; boiled with ammonia, it forms a soapy unguent. 
Nitric acid dissolves it when heated, with disengagement of 
nitrous gas ; and a little oxalic acid is formed. This matter ap- 
pears to us to have exactly the same properties as the refined wax 
of bees ; and we believe it may be applied to the same uses. We 
have made with it wax-candles for our own use. 
We also examined the fibrous matter which swam in the 
wax in fusion ; and, by treating it with the essential oil of sas- 
safras and turpentine, we freed it entirely of the wax. To get 
rid of the oil, we boiled it in water for a long time, with a 
view to volatilize the essential oil. The fibrous matter ob- 
tained by this process, retains still a little essential oil ; it is of 
a dark grey colour, probably because it is altered by the action 
of the wax in fusion ; it is insoluble in boiling water ; it is 
fibrous, and without odour ; placed upon a hot-iron, it melts, 
swells, is carbonised, and exhales the smell of burnt meat ; put 
in contact with nitric acid and water, a gas is disengaged, which 
is not nitrous gas ; and it is transformed into a yellowish greasy 
matter, as is the case when nitrous gas is prepared by the ac- 
tion of nitric acid upon flesh. Alcohol does not dissolve it ; 
and we have used this liquid to prepare it purer. 
By repeatedly boiling the vegetable milk with alcohol, and 
decocting the hot liquor, we obtained the fibrous substance. 
This white and flexible fibrous matter dissolves easily in di- 
luted muriatic acid. From what precedes, it is obvious, that 
the substance which is separated from the wax, either by fu- 
sion, or the action of alcohol, possesses the same properties as 
fibrin; and though it may appear singular to meet, in a ve- 
getable product, a substance which has usually been consider- 
ed as peculiar to animal matter, we have not the least hesi- 
tation to consider it as fibrin, being persuaded it does not differ 
from it in any thing Consequently, in the milk of the cow- 
tree, wax is mixed with fibrin. It remains now to examine the 
* We do not pretend that this substance is exactly identical with the fibrin 
extracted from animal matters ; hut it seems to have the same relation to it as ve,- 
