304 
ON  CAPSICUM  ANNUUM. 
plant  have  led  to  the  suspicion  of  the  existence  of  such  a  principle. 
Professor  Procter  has  also  made  the  observation  that  the  so- 
called  capsicin  of  Bucholz  afforded  a  copious  inert  precipitate 
with  subacetate  of  lead,  while  the  remaining  liquid  on  evaporation 
yielded  a  powerfully  pungent  extract.  In  selecting  capsicum  for 
a  series  of  experiments,  I  have,  therefore,  confined  myself  chiefly 
to  the  search  after  a  peculiar  crystalline  principle,  and  as  the 
sequel  will  show,  not  without  success.  The  process  by  which 
Bucholz  obtained  his  "acrid  soft  resin"  was  by  digesting  an 
alcoholic  extract  in  ether  and  evaporating ;  by  this  means  the 
essential  oil  and  crystalline  principle  were  obtained  together,  and 
were  not  easily  separable.  By  reversing  the  application  of  these 
menstrua,  and  separating  the  associated  inert  ingredients  with 
subacetate  of  lead,  and  then  freeing  the  solution  from  lead,  the 
true  "  capsicin"  was  obtained.  I  shall  detail  only  such  of  my 
experiments  as  resulted  favorably,  and  shall  do  this  as  briefly  as 
possible. 
Experiment  "1st  Five  hundred  grains  of  powdered  African 
capsicum  were  treated  with  "  concentrated"  ether  by  displace- 
ment, and  exposed  to  evaporate  spontaneously  ;  eighty-eight 
grains  of  oleo-resin  were  obtained.    This  process  was  repeated 
upon  a  larger  quantity,  and  the  semifluid  oleo-resin  mixed  with 
the  first  obtained.    This  was  now  digested  in  alcohol  of  sp.  gr. 
.809  and  filtered  ;  the  alcohol  solution  obtained  was  now  treated 
with  subacetate  of  lead,  which  threw  down  a  copious  precipitate ; 
this  was  separated  by  filtration,  and  the  clear  alcoholic  solution 
treated  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen,  which  separated  a  large 
amount  of  sulphuret  of  lead.    After  boiling,  again  filtering  and 
evaporating,  it  was  set  away  for  a  day  or  two,  and  was  found, 
when  examined,  to  have  solidified  into  a  mass  of  beautiful 
crystals.    A  portion  of  the  mass  was  nearly  white,  while  the 
remainder  was  impregnated  with  the  coloring  matter  of  the  fruit. 
In  subsequent  testings  this  was  found  to  contain  traces  of  lead, 
and  farther  treatment  with  sulphuretted  hydrogen  was  resorted 
to.    Owing  to  the  comparative  insolubility  of  this  gas  in  alcoholic 
liquids  the  entire  separation  of  the  metal  as  sulphuret  was  difficult. 
The  crop  of  crystals  obtained  after  further  exposure  to  the  gas 
and  to  evaporation  was  less  complete,  owing,  perhaps,  to  the 
first  having  been  thrown  down  at  a  very  low  temperature  on  one 
