^ju^ST™'}     Study  of  Astragulus  Caryocarpus.  321 
this  bitter  taste  is  due  to  an  alkaloid  there  can  be  little  doubt.  It 
seemed  to  be  located  in  the  woody  part  of  the  fruit  and  was  later 
found  in  the  plant  itself.  The  work  of  O'Brien  on  the  "  loco  weed," 
already  referred  to,  likewise  indicates  that  A.  mollissimus  is  not 
poisonous,  notwithstanding  the  many  reports  to  the  contrary  and 
the  fact  that  distinct  alkaloidal  reactions  were  obtained  by  him. 
ASTRAGULOSE. 
Among  the  peculiar  properties  of  the  ripe  fruit  of  the  A.  caryo- 
carpus is  its  peculiar  sweet  taste,  due  to  the  presence  of  a  carbohy- 
drate. It  is  probable  that  this  sugar  will  account  for  the  vulgar 
name  above  mentioned.  It  would  likewise  account  for  the  some- 
what mythical  statement  of  its  use  by  the  aborigines  of  the  plains. 
I  have  positive  knowledge  of  its  use  by  the  early  settlers  of  the 
plains,  especially  in  the  making  of  pickles. 
An  examination  was  begun  by  a  preliminary  test  of  the  juice  of 
the  ripe  fruit.  It  gave  all  of  the  common  tests  for  the  sugars,  being 
optically  active,  reducing  Fehling's  solution  and  forming  a  beautiful 
hydrazone.  Material  was  therefore  gathered  preparatory  to  a  care- 
ful examination. 
The  fruit  upon  which  the  following  experiments  were  made  was 
collected  about  the  middle  of  June,  when  it  had  reached  maturity. 
In  this  ripe  state  it  resembles  the  common  small  green  plum,  with 
frequently  a  peach  color  when  not  too  much  protected  from  the  sun. 
In  the  preliminary  examination,  I  kilo  of  the  ripe  fruit  was  mace- 
rated and  the  juice  removed  by  pressing  through  a  linen  cloth. 
About  350  c.c.  of  the  impure  juice  were  thus  obtained.  The  fibrous 
matter  was  extracted  with  water,  filtered  and  the  filtrate  added  to 
the  original  juice.  At  this  stage  the  juice  had  a  yellowish-green 
color  and  a  peculiar  sweet  taste.  It  was  purified  by  passing  through 
a  filter  press,  then  treating  first  with  sodium  sulphite  and  after- 
ward with  basic  lead  acetate  and  filtering.  Excess  of  lead  was 
removed  by  sulphuric  acid  and  the  clear  filtrate  evaporated  on  a 
water-bath.  The  residue  was  a  dark  brown  syrup  showing  indica- 
tions of  decomposition.  It  was  redissolved  in  water,  again  purified 
and  evaporated  on  a  water-bath.  The  same  brown  residue  was 
obtained.  An  examination  showed  the  presence  of  a  considerable 
quantity  of  free  sulphuric  acid.  It  was  supposed,  therefore,  that  the 
change  of  color  was  due  to  the  presence  of  free  acid.    The  residue 
