200 
ON  PTELEA  TRIFOLIATA. 
EXPERIMENTS  ON  THE  BARK  OF  THE  ROOT. 
First.  An  infusion,  two  ounces  to  a  pint  of  cold  water,  was 
prepared.  A  portion  of  it  was  heated  to  212Q,  which  produced  a 
coagulum.  To  another  portion  a  solution  of  bi-chloride  of  mer- 
cury was  added,  which  threw  down  a  dirty  white  precipitate. 
From  the  result  of  these  experiments  I  inferred^the  presence  of 
albumen. 
Second.  A  portion  of  the  infusion  was  treated  with  a  solution 
of  subacetate  of  lead,  which  produced  a  white  flocculent  precipi- 
tate. A  portion  of  the  infusion  was  deprived  of  its  albumen  by 
heat  and  filtered,  to  the  filtered  liquid  an  equal  bulk  of  alcohol 
was  added  which  also  produced  a  white  precipitate,  showing  there 
was  gum  present. 
Third.  A  decoction  was  made  by  boiling  some  of  the  bark 
in  water,  it  was  filtered,  and  to  it  was  added  a  few  drops  of  tinc- 
ture of  iodine  which  gave  a  dark  blue  color,  showing  that  starch 
also  existed  in  the  bark.  A  portion  of  the  decoction  was  tested 
for  tannic  and  gallic  acids,  but  there  were  no  indications  of  either 
being  present. 
Fourth.  Two  ounces  of  the  bark  was  reduced  to  coarse 
powder  and  macerated  in  water  for  twelve  hours,  it  was  then 
introduced  into  a  retort  and  distilled,  which  resulted  in  the  pro- 
duction of  a  small  quantity  of  volatile  oil  which  was  found  float- 
ing on  the  water  which  passed  into  the  receiver.  The  oil  was 
separated  by  agitating  the  distilled  liquid  with  ether,  decanting 
the  ether  and  evaporating  it.  The  oil  which  remained  was 
colorless,  had  the  disagreeable  and  peculiar  odor  of  the  bark,  and 
a  hot,  nauseous,  disagreeable  and  very  persistent  taste. 
Fifth.  The  dregs  which  remained  in  the  retort  after  distil- 
lation were  exhausted  with  alcohol ;  this  gave  a  bright  yellow 
tincture,  which  on  evaporation  yielded  a  fixed  oil,  extractive 
matter  and  resin.  The  oil  soon  separated  from  the  extractive 
matter,  it  was  decanted  and  it  was  of  a  light  brownish  color,  of 
a  mild,  bland  taste,  and  burned  with  a  bright  flame,  giving  off 
very  little  smoke.  The  extract  was  allowed  to  stand  for  several 
days,  and  on  examination  a  number  of  crystals  were  observed  on 
its  surface  and  around  the  edge  of  the  vessel.  They  were  of  a 
cooling,  saline  taste,  soluble  in  water,  and  bi-chioride  of  platinum 
