CONSTITUENTS OF BAMBOO SHOOTS. 
43 
silver nitrate solution, which was added in slight excess, when 
a large quantity of a dark coloured precipitate was formed. The 
precipitate thus obtained, was collected upon filtering paper, 
washed with a dilute ammoniacal silver nitrate solution, and 
afterwards with cold water. It was then dissolved in hot 
dilute nitric acid of the specific gravity i.io (after the addition 
of a little urea), and the solution was allowed to cool, when a 
large quantity of a beautiful white crystalline substance was 
separated. After 24 hours’ standing, the precipitate wàs sepa¬ 
rated by filtration, washed with cold water, and suspended in 
hot water slightly acidified with hydrochloric acid, through 
which a stream of hydrogen sulphide was passed. The filtrate 
from silver sulphide being then neutralized by ammonia, was 
evaporated to dryness. The residue was repeatedly extracted 
with dilute ammonia, in which it was almost completely 
dissolved, leaving behind a small quantity of a yellowish 
powder. This latter substance amounting to about 1.5 centi¬ 
grams was found to be quite insoluble in water, alcohol, ether, 
and dilute ammonia, soluble in dilute acids and caustic alkalies, 
and sparingly so in boiling strong ammonia from which it was 
again thrown down in a crystalline form when cooled and 
left to stand. 1 2 This powder not only gave the well known 
Capranica’s guanine reaction 1 but also produced the character¬ 
istic change of colour when treated with nitric acid and caustic 
soda. 3 Hence there could be no~doubt that this powder was 
guanine. 
The ammoniacal solution from which guanine had separated, 
was again treated with ammoniacal silver nitrate solution, the 
precipitate thus 3 obtained was, after thorough washing with 
cold water, again dissolved in hot nitric acid of the said specific 
gravity, with the addition of some urea crystals, and the solution 
1 The property found by Drechsel, See Journal für practische Chemie, [2], 
Vol. 24, p. 44. 
2 Zeitschrift für physiologsiche Chemie, Vol. 4, p. 233. 
3 Hoppe-Seyler, Handbuch der physiologisch- und pathologisch-chemi¬ 
schen Analyse, 5th edition, p. 151. 
