446 
EXAMINATION  OF  JAPANESE  PEPPER* 
From  the  above  numerical  results,  it  is  evident  that  the  oil  is 
a  hydrocarbon,  isomeric  with  oil  of  turpentine.  The  pure  hydro- 
carbon, to  which  I  propose  to  give  the  name  of  Xanthdxylene, 
is  colorless,  refracts  light  strongly,  retains  its  original  extremely 
pleasant  aromatic  odor  even  after  repeated  rectifications,  and 
does  not  undergo  the  alteration  of  odor  which  is  usually  ex- 
hibited by  hydrocarbons  obtained  by  the  distillation  of  essential 
oils  after  treatment  with  sodium.*  On  saturating  the  oil  with 
dry  hyrochloric  acid  gas,  and  allowing  it  to  stand  for  many  days, 
no  crystalline  tody  was  obtained,  but  a  liquid  combination  with 
hydrochloric  arid  was  evidently  produced. 
The  Stearopten — The  crystalline  body,  or  stearopten,  which 
deposited  on  the  surface  of  the  water  obtained  by  distilling  the 
seeds  with  that  liquid,  which  was  also  produced  by  the  spon- 
taneous evaporation  of  the  crude  oil  boiling  above  130°  C,  was 
purified  by  repeated  crystallizations  out  of  alcohol.  The  stea- 
ropten thus  purified  presented  the  form  of  large  crystals  of 
a  fine  silky  lustre,  and  when  analysed  gave  the  following  re- 
sults :■ — 
I.  0,2135  grms.  gave  0.118  grms.  of  water,  and  0.477  grms. 
of  carbonic  acid. 
II.  0.252  grms.  gave  0.139  grms.  of  water,  and  0.563  grms. 
of  carbonic  acid. 
III.  0.332  grms.  gave  0.184  grms.  of  water, 'and  0.748  grms. 
of  carbonic  acid. 
THEOEY. 
EXPERIMENT. 
i. 
ii. 
in. 
IV. 
N. 
Oio  =  60  —  61.22 
H6  =   6—  6.12 
04  =  32  —  32.66 
60.88 
6.31 
60.91 
6.11 
61.11 
6.00 
61.09 
6.45 
61.09 
6.80 
98  —  100.00 
The  stearopten  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  readily  soluble  in  alco- 
hol and  in  ether.    When  quite  pure  it  possesses  a  very  slight 
*The  pleasant  aromatic  odor  of  J apanese  pepper  is  due  to  Xanthoxylene. 
