160 
SELECTED ARTICLES. 
I. II. III. IV. V. VI. 
Carbon 68.57 68.59 6S.09 72.96 72.95 
Hydrogen 5.80 6.02 " 5.83 5.75 6.00 
Oxygen 25.63 25.29 " 21.21 21.30 
100 00 100.00 100.00 100.00 
During the change of salicin into saliretin no gas is disen- 
gaged. Atmospheric air is not necessary for this change, for 
it takes place in an atmosphere of carbonic acid. 
Saliretin being much richer in carbon than salicin is, we 
are tempted to suspect that the change is due to the withdrawal 
of the elements of water, but as the hydrogen is unchanged, 
and the oxygen is likewise less, this cannot be the case. From 
this consideration I was led to seek whether any other sub- 
stance was at the same time produced. I saturated the acid 
liquor from which the saliretin had been separated, with 
recently precipitated carbonate of lead, filtered, and evaporated 
to dryness. Alcohol digested on this mass, and then evaporated 
on a salt water bath, left a transparent viscid matter of a sweet 
taste, soluble in every proportion, in alcohol, but not in ether. 
Nitric acid changed this into oxalic acid. Left to itself, at the 
end of two or three days the surface becomes covered with 
small round opaque spots. After a longer period, each of 
these becomes the centre of a mamillary crystallization, which 
finally extends to the whole mass. This substance, dissolved 
in water and mixed with yeast, undergoes the vinous ferment- 
ation. Heated with caustic alkalies, it becomes a deep brown. 
It results from these reactions that this matter is identical with 
sugar of grapes. To render this certain I subjected it to analy- 
sis with this result — 
Carbon, 36.3 
Hydrogen, 7.4 
Oxygen, 56.3 
1 100.00 
•flclion of Chlorine. 
When a current of chlorine gas is caused to pass through 
water holding salacin in suspension, solution immediately 
