162 
ON  CAPSICUM  ANNUUM. 
subject,  and  found,  by  adding  to  an  alcoholic  solution  of  the 
oleoresin  a  solution  of  subacetate  of  lead,  a  copious  precipitate 
was  thrown  down,  which,  when  thoroughly  washed  with  alcohol, 
possessed  none  of  the  acrimony  of  the  plant.  But  that  the 
matter  remaining  after  evaporating  the  filtered  liquid  was  much 
more  pungent  than  before. 
Mr.  Horace  B.  Taylor,  a  graduate  of  the  Philadelphia  College 
of  Pharmacy,  took  up  the  subject  for  his  inaugural  essay,  which 
was  published  in  the  fourth  number  of  the  American  Journal  of 
Pharmacy,  for  1857.  In  the  course  of  his  experiments  he  ob- 
tained a  crystallizable  principle,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the 
true  capsicin  and  active  principle  of  the  plant. 
As  the  process  adopted  by  Mr.  Taylor  was  followed  by  myself 
for  the  first  experiment,  it  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  mention 
it  here. 
The  capsicum  was  exhausted  by  means  of  ether, — the  ethereal 
solution  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously.  The  resulting  oleo- 
resin was  dissolved  in  alcohol,  precipitated  by  solution  of  sub- 
acetate  of  lead,  filtered,  a  current  of  sulphuretted  hydrogen 
passed  through  the  filtrate  to  free  it  of  lead,  the  solution  again 
filtered  and  heated  to  the  boiling  point  to  drive  off  the  sulphu- 
retted hydrogen. 
This  solution  was  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously.  When 
the  alcohol  had  all  passed  off,  it  shot  out  in  beautiful  crystals, 
without  a  mother-liquid. 
He  states  that  they  were  obtained  on  the  coldest  day  of  that 
winter,  and  supposed,  from  other  experiments  that  were  made, 
that  it  was  due  to  the  low  temperature,  that  the  crystals  were 
formed.    They  possessed  the  acrimony  of  the  plant. 
Mr.  Heydenrich  next  considered  the  subject,  (published  in  the 
Third  Series,  vol.  vi.,  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,)  repeat- 
ing Mr.  Taylor's  experiments,  but  could  not  obtain  the  crystals. 
Other  experiments  were  tried  by  this  gentleman  to  procure,  if 
possible,  a  crystalline  principle,  but  failed  to  obtain  them.  . 
He  concluded  that  the  activity  of  the  fruit  was  due  to  two 
fixed  oils,  differing  from  each  other  in  fluidity  and  color,  and 
that  the  oil  of  Prof.  Procter  contains  them  both. 
1st.  In  commencing  my  researches,  4000  grains  of  capsicum 
