THE EESIN OF FICUS KUBIGINOSA. 
49 
especially the two first-named reagents ; the products, however, procured in this manner 
are only resin-like compounds not adapted for analysis. 
If, however, a warm alcoholic solution of the acetate of sycoceryl is employed, and 
the bromine or iodine also added in solution, and in small quantities at a time, the 
colour of these two reagents disappears, and after cooling a new bromo- or iodo-com- 
pound, as the case may be, is deposited in small crystals. The iodine compound is 
yellow, the bromine compound colourless. The purification of these two promising 
compounds, and their separation from the unaltered original substances, and another 
resinous body formed at the same time, was unfortunately not possible with the limited 
quantity of material which could be devoted to their preparation. 
Solution of potash, even when boiled for a long time with the substance under con- 
sideration, does not act upon it. If hydrate of potash, however, is melted with it a 
decomposition takes place, and if the temperature is raised some hydrogen is given oif. 
The product of this reaction, treated with water, leaves behind a colourless amorphous 
body, which could not be got in a crystalline state, or sufficiently pure for analysis. 
The alkaline mother-hquor saturated with diluted sul^^huric acid became slightly turbid, 
and the presence of acetic acid was then perceptible. Soda-tartrate of copper gave no 
reaction indicating the presence of sugar in the solution. 
Thus far we did not succeed in producing any derivative which would throw light 
upon the theoretical composition of our substance, and furnish us mth the means of 
ascertaining its rational formula. 
A combustion gave the following numbers : — 
I. 0‘2745 grm. of substance gave 0‘7962 grm. carbonic acid, and 0‘2527 grm. Avater. 
II. 0’2649 grm. of substance gaA’e 0-7681 grm. carbonic acid, and 0-2645 grm. water. 
These numbers correspond to the following per-centages : — 
I. II. 
Carbon .... 79-11 79-08 
Hydrogen . . . 10-23 10-34 
which agree with the empirical formula C.oHigOa, our substance being accordingly 
isomeric witli camphor, to which, however, it has no further resemblance. 
This composition varies also widely from that of the crystalline substances procured 
from analogous sources, and which have a great resemblance to our substance ; for 
instance, the crystalline resins on the one hand, Chinese wax and Avaxes generally on 
the other. 
We have mentioned above, in speaking of the action of various reagents on our new 
substance, the occurrence of acetic acid under two different circumstances ; we did not 
attach much importance to this fact at the time, because this acid occurs so frequently 
among the products resulting from the breaking up of organic substances ; we iieA^er- 
theless repeated subsequently these experiments on a somewhat larger scale, with the 
vieAv, hoAvever, chiefly of studying the other products of decomposition Avhich are formed. 
In order to eliminate as much as possible the effect of temperature, we made use of that 
