422 
DR. JOHN STENHOUSE ON THE ACTION OF 
As the extract of broom, Spartium scoparium, besides yielding- nitropicric acid, ex- 
hibited some interesting peculiarities, I was induced to subject it to a more minute 
examination, the results of which I now briefly subjoin. 
Spartium scoparium, Linn. 
The first portion of broom operated on was grown on low-lying sandy ground in an 
open, sunny situation, about two miles to the east of Glasgow. I mention this cir- 
cumstance from a reason which will subsequently appear. The broom plants, though 
full-grown, were only from two to two and a half feet in height, and had an exceed- 
ingly bitter taste. They were cut into small pieces and then boiled for six or eight 
hours with a considerable quantity of water, till they were thoroughly exhausted. 
The decoction was evaporated down to about one-tenth of its bulk, and set aside in a 
cool place for four-and-twenty-hours. It was then found to have gelatinized into a 
greenish-brown, coherent mass, which was thrown upon a cloth filter and washed 
with a little cold water. This very impure jelly consisted chiefly of a crystalline 
yellow colouring matter (scoparine), which was contaminated with a considerable 
amount of chlorophyl and oxide of iron, derived from the iron vessel in which the 
decoction of the broom had been made. It also contained a small quantity of a volatile 
organic base (sparteine), which gave the jelly its extremely bitter taste. In order to 
obtain the scoparine in a pure crystalline state, the first step taken was to dissolve 
the crude jelly by boiling it with a considerable quantity of water, acidulated with a 
little hydrochloric acid. The hot aqueous solution was then poured through a funnel, 
the neck of which was imperfectly stopped with a little cotton wool. The clear liquid 
which passed through coagulated on cooling again into a greenish-yellow jelly, which 
was collected on a filtering cloth and again washed with a little cold water. The 
jelly was then gently compressed to remove the greater portion of the adhering mother- 
liquor, and was evaporated to dryness on the water-bath. The impure scoparine, 
when thoroughly dried, was reduced to powder and again dissolved in boiling water, 
while the greater portion of the chlorophyl having been rendered insoluble remained 
behind. Instead of evaporating the crude gelatinous scoparine to dryness, in the way 
just described, the greater portion of the chlorophyl adhering to it may likewise be 
separated either by long-continued boiling or by filtering its solutions after they have 
cooled to a certain degree, the impure portion of the scoparine being that which is 
first deposited. The gelatinous scoparine obtained by either of these methods, when 
dried at a moderate temperature, either in the open air or in vacuo, forms a pale yellow, 
or sometimes greenish-yellow, brittle mass, which is perfectly amorphous. It is very 
slightly soluble in cold water, a little more so in cold spirits of wine, but pretty soluble 
in boiling water and in hot spirits. The colour of its aqueous solution is pale yellow 
with a greenish shade,that of its alcoholic is pale yellow. It dissolves readily in the 
caustic and carbonated alkalies, forming deep greenish-yellow solutions. When scopa- 
rine has been dissolved in a cold solution of ammonia or carbonate of soda, and the 
