Schorger—Chemistry of American Conifers. 763 
tillate are collected. To the total distillate, add 40cc of filtered 
phloroglucine solution that has been prepared at least a week 
previously by heating 11 grams of phloroglucine in a beaker 
with 300 cc of 12 per cent HC1, and after solution has taken 
place make up to 1500 cc with 12 per cent HC1. After addi¬ 
tion of the phloroglucine, the solution soon turns greenish black. 
Let stand 16 hours, when the furfural phloroglucide will have 
settled to the bottom of the beaker. If a drop of the super¬ 
natant liquid gives a pink color with aniline acetate paper 2 the 
precipitation of the furfural is incomplete. A further amount 
of phloroglucine solution is then added and the beaker allowed 
to stand over night as formerly. 
The furfural phloroglucide is filtered through a tared asbestos 
crucible and washed with exactly 150 cc of water. The crucible 
is then dried for four hours in a water oven and weighed in 
a weighing bottle. 
The crucible is then placed in a small beaker and 20 cc of 95% 
alcohol are added to the crucible. The beaker is then placed 
in a water bath, maintained at 60°, for ten minutes. The alco¬ 
hol is then removed with a suction pump and the process re¬ 
peated (usually four or five times) until the alcohol that runs 
through is practically colorless. * 1 The crucible is then dried 
for two hours in the water oven and again weighed^ The weight 
of the residual phloroglucide subtracted from the weight of 
mixed phloroglucides gives the weight of methyl furfural- 
phloroglucide. From the weights of furfural-phloroglucide 
and methyl-furfural-phloroglucide obtained the amounts of pen¬ 
tosan and methyl-pentosan present in the wood are calculated 
from the tables of Kroeber and Tollens on pages 137 and 154 
of Vol. II of Aberhalden’s “Handbuch der Biochemischen Ar- 
beitsmethoden. ’’ 
Cellulose —'Two grams of shavings in a tared alundum crucible 
are extracted in a Soxhlet extractor for 3 or 4 hours with a mix¬ 
ture of equal parts of alcohol and benzol. After removal of 
2 The aniline acetate paper is conveniently prepared by dipping strips of 
filter paper into aniline acetate. The latter is prepared by adding acetic 
acid drop by drop to a mixture of equal parts of aniline and water until 
a clear solution is obtained. 
1 Extraction of the methyl-furfural-phloroglucide in a modified Soxhlet 
extractor as described by Ishida and Tollens (J. f. Landw. (1911) 59) in 
the author’s experience does not give accurate results owing to the difficulty 
in determining when the extraction is completed. 
