IOWA ACADEMY OP SCIENCE 
145 
THE FRUIT OP VIBURNUM NUDUM. 
BY EGBERT H. LOTT AND NICHOLAS KNIGHT. 
The fruit of Viburnum Nudum was gathered in the swampy portions of the 
territory around Sylvan Beach, N. Y., on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake, 
August 27th to September 5, 1907. The territory was formerly the lake bot- 
tom, at the time when the water was discharged into the Mohawk river. An 
elevation of the land took place, the lake was projected farther north, and the 
water now reaches Lake Ontario through the Oneida and Oswego rivers. The 
soil of the Sylvan Beach territory is almost a pure sand, unadapted to agricul- 
tural purposes. 
This species of Viburnum grows on shrubs four to seven feet in height. It 
is common in swampy regions from the New England states to Florida. 
The portion gathered August 27th was comparatively green, while on the 
4th and 5th of September it had become quite ripe. It was then a beautiful 
cardinal red, very abundant in the neighborhood of Sylvan Beach, and the 
most gorgeous object in the early autumn landscape. 
The dried fruit of the species consists of berries that resemble commercial 
currants. They differ in that their color is bluish black instead of brownish 
black, and they are more elongated. The odor of the berries is also similar to 
that of currants. 
The taste of the berry passes quickly through . different degrees of sweetness 
to that of a decided bitterness. The bitter taste is very similar to that of a 
wild cherry, or to the bark of a peach tree, although not quite so strong. The 
fruit when burned gives off three distinct odors; first, a sweet odor like that of 
taffy made from sorghum molasses; secondly, an odor somewhat resembling 
coffee; and lastly, the odor of burning damp straw or leaves, which is very 
penetrating. The fruits are very easily crushed in an agate mortar. There were 
270 grams available for the analysis. The average weight of each was 0.05 
gram. 
THE SUGARS. 
About 100 grams of the fruit were taken for the sugar extraction. They 
were placed in a 500 c. c. flask, fitted with an inverted condenser, and treated 
with successive portions of alcohol for about thirty-five days. The alcoholic 
extraction was removed each day, and a fresh portion applied. The alcohol was 
distilled off, and two substances remained behind; one a dark, thick syrup; the 
other a resinous, gummy substance possessing a bluish clay color. The alco- 
holic extraction gave an acid reaction to litmus paper. The color and odor of 
the first extraction bore a strong resemblance to new cider. In a short time 
the odor resembled old cider, and a test for acetic acid showed that fermenta- 
tion was taking place. 
A test with Pehling’s solution at the end of thirty-five days showed that the 
sugars were almost extracted, and distilled water was substituted for alcohol. 
The berries under the alcohol treatment remained hard, but on the addition of 
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