A  OcffiS Pimm'}     Kino  in  Species  from  Myristica.  549 
Yet,  in  spite  of  the  far-reaching  and  chemical  analogies  existing 
between  the  official  Pterocarpus  kino  and  the  substance  drawn 
from  the  different  Myristica  species,  and  therefore  to  be  called 
Myristica  kino,  a  very  striking  difference  has  already  been  signalized 
by  Dr.  van  Romburgh,  and  further  confirmed  in  the  research  carried 
out  in  my  laboratory,  as  far  as  the  modest  quantities  of  the  new 
liquid  and  dry  kinos  would  permit.  The  liquid  juices  of  M.  glabra, 
tf  kapoeas,"  from  M.  species  and  M.  succedanea,  as  well  as  the  liquid 
obtained  by  shaking  and  dissolving  the  dry  kino  of  M.  fragrans  with 
a  ten-fold  bulk  of  water  or  weak  alcohol,  appeared  very  turbid  after 
short  agitation  ;  observed  with  the  microscope,  they  showed,  in  great 
number,  larger  prismatic  or  smaller  needle-shaped  crystals,  which 
deposited  as  a  whitish  micro-crystalline  sediment  when  the  juices 
were  allowed  to  stand  for  even  a  short  time.  The  crystals  were 
much  more  abundant  and  conspicuous,  as  may  readily  be  imagined, 
when  the  dry  inspissated  natural  juices  were  dissolved  in  a  little 
water  or  diluted  alcohol,  and  then  placed  under  the  lens.  In  this 
way  it  could  be  shown  that  even  the  pretty  translucent  "  Kat 
jadikai  "  of  Kew  (M.  malabarica),  probably  obtained  by  evaporation 
of  an  already  sedimented  juice,  contained  an  appreciable  number 
of  the  above-mentioned  crystals,  and  ought,  therefore,  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  genuine  "  Myristica  kino." 
This  crystalline  sediment,  however,  was  not,  as  might  perhaps 
have  been  supposed,  an  organic  compound  of  some  affinity  to  the 
substances  eudesmin  and  aromadendrin,  lately  observed  by  Maiden 
and  Smith  in  several  kinds  of  myrtaceous  kinos  of  Australia  (cf. 
Pharm.  J.  (IV),  Vol.  I,  p.  261,  September  28,  1895),  but  proved  to 
be  of  partly  inorganic  character,  a  fact  which  at  once  could  be 
deduced  from  its  behavior  on  platinum  foil,  insolubility  in  alcohol, 
and  solubility  in  several  reagents.  The  nature  of  the  micro-crys- 
talline constituent  of  the  liquid  M.  kino  had  already  been  noted 
in  a  letter  received  from  Dr.  Treub,  of  Buitenzorg,  dated  May  12th-, 
which  contains  the  following  communication  : 
"  Dr.  van  Romburgh  tells  me  that  these  juices  deposit  a  white 
crystalline  substance,  which  seems  to  be  the  magnesium  or  calcium 
salt  of  an  organic  acid.  But  he  has  not  yet  got  a  sufficient  quantity 
of  material  for  a  thorough  examination."  The  presence  of  a  micro- 
crystalline  deposit,  as  already  mentioned,  could  be  observed  in  all 
the  samples  of  kino,  but  was  most  conspicuous  in  the  case  of  the 
juice  of  M.  succedanea.    Thinking  it  rather  doubtful  whether  there 
