ON  THE  VOLATILE  OIL  OP  MYRCIA  ACRIS. 
297 
paper  with  some  difficulty,  but  without  leaving  any  stain  behind. 
It  is  lighter  than  water ;  on  account  of  the  small  quantity 
which  I  received,  I  could  not  ascertain  the  specific  gravity  di- 
rectly, but  as  it  floats  in  diluted  alcohol,  and  rises  very  slowly 
to  the  surface,  it  must  be  near  -QSO.  It  is  readily  soluble  in 
ether,  from  which  solution  it  is  precipitated  by  alcohol  of  -835 
spec.  grav.  With  alcohol,  a  clear  solution  cannot  be  obtained  ; 
if  a  single  drop  is  added  to  half  a  fluid  ounce  of  85  or  95  per 
cent,  alcohol,  it  sinks  to  the  bottom,  marking  its  passage  down 
by  a  milky  streak,  and  on  agitation  a  white  turbid  fluid  is  ob- 
tained, which  gradually  deposits  a  white  film,  leaving  the  super- 
natant liquid  clear.  Dropped  into  diluted  alcohol,  it  is  not 
dissolved,  and  by  slight  agitation  the  large  drop  may  be  divided 
into  numerous  minute  perfectly  transparent  globules  floating  in 
the  alcohol  and  yielding  by  continued  shaking  a  very  opaque 
milky  mixture,  which  slowly  separates  on  the  surface  an  opaque 
oily  film,  collecting  afterwards  into  minute  transparent  globules. 
Odor  and  taste  of  these  alcoholic  solutions  approach  that  of  bay 
rum  very  much  ;  the  difi"erence  in  the  odor  and  taste  of  the  latter 
must  be  ascribed  partly  to  the  use  of  another  spirit,  and  partly 
to  the  direct  distillation  from  the  leaves,  by  which  process  other 
volatile  bodies  besides  the  oil  distil  over.  The  alcoholic  solution 
has  a  slight  acid  reaction. 
The  behaviour  of  this  oil  to  the  various  reagents  proposed  for 
the  volatile  oil,  is  as  follows  : — 
Solution  of  Oaustio  Soda  dissolves  a  portion  of  the  oil  to  a 
golden  yellow  liquid,  gradually  becoming  transparent;  a  yellow- 
ish brown  oily  stratum  collects  on  the  surface;  after  24  hours 
the  oily  stratum  has  disappeared,  and  colorless  flat  prisms  are 
deposited. 
Bitric  acid  The  color  changes  to  orange,  brownish  yellow, 
brownish  red,  and  reddish  brown  ;  now  an  evolution  of  gas  takes 
place,  and  the  oil  congeals  to  a  soft,  dark,  reddish  brown  resin, 
which  becomes  hard  and  friable,  and  assumes  more  of  the  reddish 
tint. 
Sulphuric  acid. — The  oil  changes  to  a  brown  resin,  having  a 
shade  of  red,  and  soon  becoming  hard ;  the  acid  has  a  brown 
color. 
Iodine — Solution  takes  place  slowly  and  without  any  visible 
